While it is said that for a siege, one should have a force ten times that of the enemy, Tugu Kun was confident that on open ground, his 400,000-strong East Xiongnu Empire army could face the Great Qin Empire’s million-strong force head-on without issue.
While Tugu Kun was busy besieging Hanxiong Pass, a key stronghold on the Great Qin Empire’s border, his 400,000 troops were also being monitored from ten kilometers away by the 800,000-strong army led by the Prince of Yan and the First Heir. What the 400,000 Xiongnu troops failed to notice, however, was that the 400,000-strong force commanded by Dugu Sheng was quietly and swiftly encircling them from all sides, effectively trapping the very army that was busy attacking Hanxiong Pass.
As the 800,000 East Xiongnu soldiers launched a fierce assault on the walls of Hanxiong Pass, they found the defenders’ resolve unexpectedly strong. Within four hours, the East Xiongnu Empire had suffered heavy casualties, though they did manage to seize ten strategic points along the ramparts. In those four hours, the 30,000 Dragon-Tiger Guard Officers and Soldiers had each, on average, shot or engaged in close-quarters combat to kill no fewer than four enemy soldiers. The soldiers of the Bohai Legion had each accounted for at least two kills. After all, the defenders currently on the ramparts—both the Dragon-Tiger Guard and the Bohai Legion—had mastered the Piercing Cloud Archery technique to the second or third tier.
Chapter 764