This was akin to a breach in a dam. Once the water found an opening, there was no stopping its flow. The more people there were, the greater the chaos, and the more trampled upon they became while fleeing…

By dawn, Sun Pu’s army had retreated over 40 miles and regrouped. They had suffered losses of over 20,000 men out of the initial 50,000!

Only about 30,000 remained, many of whom were injured.

The grain supplies were practically ruined and irretrievable.

At least 3,000 horses were also lost, likely captured by the enemy…

Sun Pu’s vision dimmed, and he collapsed from sheer anger!

When had the pampered Young Master of the Sun family ever faced such a devastating loss, such shock, and such indignity?

The hatred burning within him was raw and consuming, fueling his rage…

It was a relief that he merely fainted and didn’t spew blood.

The generals exchanged glances, their hearts filled with curses!

How could they wage war under such leadership? The commander was utterly incompetent! There was no need to deliberate; another battle would surely end in defeat.

It was an ill omen.

Though this scion of the Sun family held the title of general, he was pampered as a young son. Raised in the capital like other noble scions, he had never set foot in a military camp, let alone seen combat. He likely hadn’t even read many military texts!

Without his influential father, he would never have commanded an army.

These 50,000 troops had been secured through his father’s influence.

He had been confident of a resounding victory with overwhelming numbers and uproar. Who could have predicted this outcome?

“Retreat,” came the command.

After a brief discussion, the generals decided not to disturb the unconscious Sun Pu. His life wasn’t in jeopardy, after all.

Instead, they had him carried into a carriage and tended to. Orders were given for the soldiers to retreat at full speed.

They doubted he’d have the audacity to halt their withdrawal once he regained consciousness.

The jolt of their hasty retreat was quite effective. Before long, Sun Pu was stirred awake.

But he feigned slumber.

He wished he could just faint again! Waking up was too humiliating.

He had demanded 50,000 troops, yet lost half of them. And the lost horses, catapults, and siege ladders–they were all costly! A fortune in silver!

How would he ever explain this when they returned…

Unlike Sun Pu’s grim situation, the entire Huaixi province was in a frenzy!

Everyone was jubilant and brimming with confidence!

Lord Shao had proven himself once again!

With just one strategic move, he had decimated the enemy’s force of 80,000 troops!

Following Lord Shao was undoubtedly the right choice.

Zheng Sangge, Wu Guan, and their comrades led their troops to seize Sun Pu’s abandoned camp. They collected weapons and warhorses, their smiles stretching from ear to ear.

Their horse supply had been dangerously low!

Even with every available steed accounted for, they had less than 2,000 qualified warhorses. Suddenly, they had gained over 3,000 more! Now, they boasted a force of 5,000 sturdy warhorses!

Wu Guan and his men unearthed the catapults and ladders. After some tallying, they were stunned. Sun Pu had brought at least fifty catapults and hundreds of ladders.

Fortunately, luck was on their side. By some stroke of misfortune, all the catapults and ladders had been rendered useless.

Otherwise, the outcome of this war would have been unimaginably grim!

They truly had luck on their side to emerge victorious…

Later on, Zheng Sangge had someone gather all the equipment and enlisted a craftsman to assess how much could be salvaged and repaired.