The Rise of History’s Most Powerful Empire

Chapter 72: Bow

The dawn was welcomed with the loud sound of bugles from the barracks.

The recruits and captains assembled outside, got in formation, had chow and took it easy before going into the thick of it.

Zhong Yu showed great concern for his men's daily routine. He gave them meat at every meal, even if just a little, but he made it up with a large bowl of rice and veggies.

It was a meal many peasants couldn't afford. While Zhong Yu got all of these from the clans hoarding for centuries.

The best part was forgoing logistics and supply chain as he took these foodstuff with him. 

He couldn't let them eat too much anyway since they'd be going into the meat grinder that was war. With even two out of ten coming out of it being a miracle, getting stingy was natural. 

Looking at them, he saw the excitement of having such a lavish breakfast after not having a full stomach in years. It was the least he could do before they went to war.

The leaders let them have it, but there was the order to keep the noise to a minimum. 

On the city's side, the defenders held strong, far better than the previous regions' guards he met.

To take the city he'd have to go through five or six waves of his men. The first one was bound to suffer the most. The guards would give their all to intimidate his forces.

These happy recruits would find the afternoon bloody. Who knew how many would die and how many would break and crumble.

Zhong Yu had them go through a warm up after the meal, avoiding a full stomach for the battle.

An hour later, the bugles sounded and the drums banged, telltale signs of battle.

The five waves entered formation, leaving some distance between them.

Behind them were two 5,000 archery divisions. Zhong Yu got the gear from the four regions' armories he conquered and the clans.

The last division was equipped with iron bows, with a range of 150-300 meters.

Zhong Yu set up another division formed of his 2,000 system soldiers and three thousand survivors from Hanzhong Region behind the other five divisions.

The command post on the battlefield had a high platform built, just as high as the city's walls, 20 meter tall; to inspect the battlefield and the city.

The divisions were in formation, waiting for the attack order, to give their lives for glory and fortune.

"Attack!" Zhong Yu surveyed the sides and found his to be in better shape.

His cannon fodder was under low morale and bitter from yesterday's losses.

But because of so many leaders on his side and the families he had at his whims, the men pushed forward.

The first division of 5,000 men slowly made their way to the walls.

They all wore masks of fear, but the 1,000 leaders drew a fine line behind them.

The ones to cross them would be killed on the spot.

All they could do was push on despite the resentment, hoping the road to the wall would never end as they dragged their feet.

A wishful thinking and delusion made so these cannon fodder would retain their fragile minds intact. As they entered the bow's range, the guards on the walls fired. 

Being the seat of goverment for Yi State, it was the best equipped and flourishing.

It didn't lack weapons, nor bows, even having 3,000 of them.

But with the long absence of war, these weapons rusted and only a fraction was usable.

While the 3,000 bows were given to the guards, not many expected to fire many arrows.

They all hoped the bows would last enough to take down their enemies before they broke.

The arrow rain of 3,000 arrows covered the division like a black cloud.

Even with the shoddy accuracy, hundreds of recruits fell still. Against a group so packed of targets, a hit was bound to happen.

One could refer to the movie Hero, where the Qin army unleashed a volley of arrows against Zhao just as big as these guards.

The cannon fodder scrambled away in panic, with many wailing and others shivering on the ground. Some tried to escape, only to be shot dead by their allies.

The leaders cut down hundreds, trying to force the recruits back into the meat grinder. Yet they refused still to go back, prefering a quick death from them than the enemy.

Zhong Yu knew that further killing of the allies would result in a mutiny and would have the entire army against him soon.

Since he drafted them from their home, they would no way hold him in high regard, or thank him for the bottom of their hearts for such a great meal before sending them to die.

He had the leader stop the slaughter and signaled for the archery divisions to move in front and fire at the walls 200 meters away.

With some training, these soldiers had better accuracy than the rookies on the walls. While not deadshots, they knew the general direction and concentrating fire.

It came to a point that no matter where the guards hid, they'd still find themselves a pincushion.