Ningxia Prefecture, Zhoukou County.
A large number of soldiers were gathered outside the county town of Zhoukou. These men were also clad in armor, but it was vastly different from that of the Central Plains soldiers, appearing altogether dissimilar.
Their faces, full of exotic charm, were contorted into ferocious expressions, like beasts staring at the not-too-high walls of Zhoukou.
Vasily, astride a tall horse, gazed at the distant walls of Zhoukou and asked the man beside him, "Where is that person we just captured? Bring him here."
Several Roman soldiers obeyed and brought a man, covered in dust and grime, before Vasily.
Upon seeing Vasily, the man trembled all over, daring not to look him in the face.
Vasily, on his horse, looked at the man on the ground and asked, "Is it you who said you saw Wei soldiers enter this city yesterday?"
"Yes, little one saw it," the man replied tremblingly. "Quite a few people entered this city, they looked like county soldiers."
"How many men?"
"Little one, little one is not quite sure, just saw a vast sea of people."
Valerie looked towards the city in the distance, lost in thought, then casually waved his hand, signaling the soldiers to take the man away.
Several Roman soldiers immediately stepped forward and dragged the man away.
"General, no matter how many reinforcements come to rescue this city, we can take it down. The great Roman Empire fears no enemy."
A副将 (fùjiàng - deputy general) beside Vasily declared loudly.
The successive victories of the Roman Empire had filled Roman generals with immense confidence, believing that no enemy could ever match them.
Vasily, however, looked at the city before him and unexpectedly shook his head, saying, "Let's retreat for now."
"General, we can take this city very quickly, why retreat!" the副将 exclaimed.
Vasily did not look at him, but turned his horse and rode back.
...
On the walls of Zhoukou City on the other side, Wei soldiers were hurriedly setting up defenses.
Zhoukou City was not large, but defending it was not an easy task. Numerous soldiers needed to be stationed along the four city walls, in addition to preparing various rolling stones, arrows, and other defenses.
Furthermore, manpower was not sufficient, and Zhang Hu was incredibly busy.
"You, yes, you, go move those giant stones up here, quickly."
"You and you, hurry up and check how the arrow construction is coming along, and put them in secure places."
Zhang Hu was agitated at the moment.
Zhoukou City was still some distance from the border, with several cities in front of it. Normally, the nomadic tribes rarely attacked cities directly.
Therefore, the defenses of these cities were all rather rudimentary.
Before leading his troops here, Zhang Hu had actually planned to make a stand at Tangshi County, but he hadn't expected that Tangshi County had already fallen.
Thus, Zhang Hu had no choice but to defend in Zhoukou City. However, the rudimentary defenses of Zhoukou City made Zhang Hu feel quite troubled.
Still, Zhang Hu had no more energy to focus on these matters; most of his attention was on commanding his county soldiers to race against time and strengthen the defenses.
"General, General, look quickly, the enemy is retreating, they are retreating!"
"The enemy has retreated, the enemy has retreated!"
A wave of cheers suddenly erupted from the city walls.
Zhang Hu looked up towards the outside of the city. Indeed, the dense Roman army was withdrawing in large numbers.
*Whoosh~*
Zhang Hu finally managed to breathe a sigh of relief.
Regardless of why the Romans were retreating, their withdrawal had at least eased Zhang Hu's concerns, as he no longer had to worry about the city being breached for the moment.
During this period, Zhang Hu could quickly lead his troops to further repair Zhoukou's defenses.
After all, Zhang Hu had only led his army to Zhoukou City yesterday, and his preparations were not sufficient in all aspects. Thus, he had the opportunity to make more preparations.
Zhang Hu looked towards the horizon, murmuring to himself, "When will the reinforcements arrive? If they don't come soon, this Zhoukou City will definitely not be held."
When he led his troops here, Zhang Hu had prepared himself for danger, but seeing the dense ranks of the Roman army still made his scalp tingle.
The Roman infantry was exceptionally skilled in a formation known as the phalanx, which appeared incredibly imposing from afar, causing enemies to be intimidated even before engaging.
When a multitude of people gathers, they become a boundless expanse. So many Roman soldiers made the defenders on the city walls feel suffocated, as if a dark cloud was pressing down.
...
On the other side, the Roman army had temporarily retreated to their camp.
At this moment, the Roman generals were also puzzled by Vasily's sudden order to retreat.
"Why did the Marshal suddenly order a retreat? It's just a small city ahead; as soon as our army surges forward, the enemy will surely collapse."
"Yes, yes, Marshal, why the sudden retreat?"
Seeing the generals in the tent looking puzzled, Vasily lightly twisted his ring and said, "We have been advancing like breaking bamboo. Do you all think the people of Wei are all incompetent?"
"Naturally. These Wei people are all like chickens and dogs, completely no match for our army," one general said with a touch of arrogance.
Vasily surveyed the room, seeing that most people had such expressions, and said, "You all think this way, don't you?"
Although the others remained silent, they all agreed with this statement.
"Hmph!"
Vasily scoffed disdainfully, "Your vision is simply too short-sighted."
"You saw the Xiongnu army that fought us a while ago, didn't you? Their combat power was not bad! Although we defeated those Xiongnu, they also caused us considerable casualties."
"Have you ever thought about why these Xiongnu, who are not far from here, do not dare to invade this territory? It's because these Wei people are not as weak as they appear."
Vasily's eyes held a deep gaze.
"These Wei people are not easy opponents. The reason our advance has been so smooth so far is simply because they haven't reacted yet."
"I have gathered intelligence on the Wei. Their garrisons are very far from here, and it will take considerable time for them to arrive."
"The troops that just entered the city are likely just a small contingent from the vicinity. If we set an ambush here and annihilate all the Wei reinforcements that arrive later."
"Then the Wei will not be able to muster more troops for reinforcement for a while, and we can more easily capture all these cities. Otherwise, there are still hundreds of cities like this one ahead. Are we going to attack each one of them?"
Vasily asked the people before him.
Upon hearing Vasily's explanation, everyone's doubts were cleared, and they praised in unison, "The Marshal is wise!"