Three days before the messenger reached Hyou's headquarters, Ri Yue and Lu Shen finally arrived at the fortress city of Baou after an exhausting march from the south. Instead of finding a city preparing its defenses, they were met with a horrifying sight.
Across the plains surrounding Baou stretched an endless sea of Zhao banners.
More than one hundred and twenty thousand Zhao soldiers had completely encircled the fortress, siege camps extending beyond the horizon. Siege towers, battering rams, and supply depots had already been established, making any direct assault impossible.
Lu Shen narrowed his eyes.
"If we attempt to break through that siege with our current strength, our army will be annihilated before reaching the walls."
Ri Yue silently observed the battlefield for several minutes before speaking.
"A change of strategy is necessary."
Her calm words immediately shifted the atmosphere among the commanders.
"Our objective is no longer to reinforce Baou."
"It is to deny Zhao everything they need to maintain this invasion."
Without wasting another moment, Ri Yue issued her first orders.
A trusted messenger was dispatched immediately toward Hyou Ren's main army, carrying a complete report on Zhao's numbers, formations, and the desperate situation surrounding Baou.
At the same time, dozens of additional riders galloped toward every nearby village, fortress, and settlement throughout the Baou region.
Ri Yue's command was absolute.
Every settlement was to evacuate its civilians immediately.
All food stores, grain silos, livestock, wagons, bridges, and military supplies that could not be carried away were to be burned.
Nothing was to remain for Zhao.
The fertile lands surrounding Baou would become a wasteland if necessary.
The order spread throughout the countryside before sunset.
Smoke rose across the northern frontier as Qin civilians abandoned their homes, denying the invaders every possible resource.
The first day ended with flames lighting the horizon.
Far away, Zhao scouts could only watch helplessly as the countryside disappeared into fire.
The second morning marked the beginning of Ri Yue's true strategy.
She summoned Lu Shen.
"General Lu Shen."
"You are hereby given command of our mobile forces."
"Do not seek battle."
"Become the shadow that follows the Zhao army."
Lu Shen smiled.
"So... guerrilla warfare."
Ri Yue nodded.
"Attack only isolated detachments."
"Destroy supply caravans."
"Collapse bridges."
"Poison wells after our civilians have withdrawn."
"Disappear before their main force can react."
"The people of Baou know every mountain trail and every forest path."
"They shall become our greatest weapon."
Using local hunters, woodsmen, and scouts as guides, Lu Shen divided his forces into numerous independent units.
Throughout the day, Zhao supply wagons vanished.
Messenger patrols disappeared without a trace.
Small detachments sent to forage for supplies never returned.
Entire roads were blocked by fallen trees and destroyed bridges.
By sunset, confusion had begun spreading through the massive Zhao army.
No enemy army confronted them directly.
Instead, the land itself seemed determined to destroy them.
As darkness covered the battlefield on the second night, another force moved silently through the forests.
Ri Shou had arrived.
Unlike Lu Shen's soldiers, Ri Shou's elite warriors did not attack supply lines.
Their targets were far more valuable.
Under the cover of darkness, they infiltrated Zhao encampments with terrifying precision.
Command tents were quietly entered.
Patrol leaders vanished.
Several mid-ranking commanders were found dead before dawn, their guards never realizing an assassin had entered their camps.
More importantly, Ri Shou gathered invaluable intelligence.
The locations of Zhao headquarters.
The identities of senior officers.
The organization of their armies.
Supply routes.
Reserve forces.
Every piece of information was carefully recorded before his assassins disappeared once again into the night.
Morning arrived with Zhao soldiers waking to chaos.
Rumors spread through the camps.
Some claimed Qin ghosts haunted the forests.
Others believed elite assassins had already infiltrated every camp.
Morale steadily declined.
By the third day, Ri Yue had completed the second phase of her preparations.
Every surviving soldier from nearby fortresses, militia, retired veterans, and volunteers from the surrounding Baou region answered her call.
Though many lacked formal military training, they possessed one invaluable advantage.
They knew the land.
After reorganizing every available fighting force, Ri Yue assembled an additional twenty-five thousand soldiers.
Combined with her original fifteen thousand troops, her army now numbered forty thousand.
She immediately integrated them into Lu Shen's strategy.
Rather than forming one large army, Ri Yue divided her forces into numerous smaller groups that constantly shifted positions.
Every night, camps were attacked.
Supply depots burned.
Signal towers collapsed.
Messenger routes vanished.
The Zhao army remained unable to locate the true position of the Qin forces.
For an army of one hundred and twenty thousand men, every passing day became increasingly costly.
Dawn finally arrived on the fifth day.
A distant cloud of dust appeared upon the southern horizon.
Moments later, countless black Qin banners emerged.
At their head rode Hyou Ren.
Thirty-five thousand fresh soldiers marched in perfect formation behind him.
Their arrival transformed the battlefield.
The scattered Qin forces quickly united.
Forty thousand soldiers under Ri Yue joined with Hyou Ren's thirty-five thousand veterans.
The Qin army now stood seventy-five thousand strong.
Though still heavily outnumbered by Zhao's one hundred and twenty thousand soldiers, they finally possessed sufficient strength to contest the invasion.
As the armies completed their deployment, Hyou Ren rode toward Ri Yue.
His normally composed expression softened.
"You've done more than preserve this army."
"You've preserved northern Qin."
Ri Yue smiled gently.
"I merely carried out my duty."
Hyou Ren shook his head.
"No."
"You denied Zhao their supplies."
"You delayed an army more than three times your size."
"You strengthened our numbers."
"You turned an impossible situation into one we can fight."
"You have my deepest admiration."
The surrounding officers exchanged knowing smiles as Lu Shen quietly looked away.
That evening, after the army had completed its preparations for the coming battle, Hyou Ren and Ri Yue finally found a brief moment alone.
Away from the camp's noise and responsibilities, he thanked his wife with warmth, affection, and the closeness they had been denied throughout the campaign. For one peaceful night amid the uncertainty of war, they allowed themselves to celebrate their reunion before returning to their duties at dawn.
Far to the south...
Within the royal capital of Kanyou...
An exhausted messenger rushed through the palace gates before collapsing before the assembled ministers.
"The northern frontier..."
"Baou..."
"One hundred and twenty thousand Zhao soldiers have invaded Qin!"
Silence filled the royal court.
The war that had begun in the north had finally reached the heart of Qin.