Warfare's Ultimate Frontier 1

by Quasar Magellan

  Xu Da grunted affirmatively. “I understand. Will you three be spectating, then? Or will you be busy with other matters?”

  “I will definitely be spectating ,as this matter is currently my highest priority. You two should come to watch as well if you aren't too busy.” Baron looked to Ban Chao and Yue Fei.

  In the end, Xu Da and Han Xin battled in the simulation with Baron, Yue Fei, and Ban Chao all spectating. Baron had warned the three that focusing on defence was their best course of action. Even so, they’d told Han Xin to not hold back when fighting so that they could get a better idea of his tactics and strength.

  For Xu Da and Han Xin's simulation, the setting was the siege of Jerusalem in the year 1099.

  The defending side would be Xu Da. His Fatimid Caliphate consisted of a sizable garrison and about four hundred elite cavalrymen. On the other hand, Han Xin and his Crusaders consisted of over ten thousand foot soldiers, and twelve hundred knights. The difference in commanders was vast as well. Xu Da only had one person capable of leading his troops, while Han Xin had ten. Things looked bleak for Xu Da.

  No matter what, though, Xu Da had to try and drag out this battle for as long as he could, no matter the odds. This time both sides had a week to prepare and both sides were provided a map of the surrounding area. The map was extensive, including several nearby cities and ports, as well as each side’s starting position.

  Since Xu Da was defending, he had to stay in Jerusalem. Han Xin however, had set out for Jerusalem the moment the simulation started instead of taking the time to prepare his troops and strategy.

  At this moment, Baron contacted both Xu Da and Han Xin through the system and made a proposal. Baron would become an advisor to Xu Da during this simulation and would therefore not see everything happening on the battlefield as a spectator should. Han Xin thought nothing of it and agreed. Xu Da also instantly agreed and soon enough Baron arrived by Xu Da’s side, and began planning and ordering troops around with Xu Da.

  Baron had decided to become an advisor because, as far as he knew, this map was not very well known. Therefore, there were a few secrets to the battlefield that weren’t well known to the Chinese community. Naturally, Baron knew a few things...

  One of these secrets was that the Crusaders Han Xin commanded had better-trained soldiers and commanders, but they hadn’t brought wood to build ladders and siege towers, and therefore could not scale the walls of Jerusalem. So, the very first thing that Baron did was to send an order for all the trees near Jerusalem to be cut down..

  Soon enough, there was not a single standing tree to be seen within ten kilometers of Jerusalem. This took Jerusalem’s inhabitants and their soldiers five days to complete. The remaining two days were spent making repeating crossbows and a few other surprises for the approaching army.

  The two days quickly passed and the siege between Xu Da/Baron and Han Xin began.

  Chapter 25

  The Victor is...

  The first day began with Xu Da and his Fatimid Caliphate waiting inside the city for the attack to commence.

  Han Xin stood outside the city, thinking about the best way to invade it. He hadn’t thought much of it, but on the way to the city he’d noticed that the nearby trees had all been cut down. He knew that this had to have been done for a reason — he just didn’t know what.

  As someone who wasn’t big on chatter and gossip, he didn’t know that Baron knew, and could teach others, how to build repeating crossbows.

  But still, he could fathom that the wood from the trees would be used to create some sort of weapon. Thankfully, his elite units and even foot soldiers were equipped well, with metal armor. Any weapons that Xu Da could have made in such a short amount of time would likely be useless against his troops’ armors.

  With the lack of wood, though, he was faced with a large problem. Without wood to build ladders, trebuchets, and siege engines, he had no way to surmount Jerusalem’s walls. He had to think of something before his men began to lose morale.

  There was the option of just rushing the city walls — but he wasn’t so foolish. Despite their armor, his troops weren’t invincible. With nothing better to do, he and his commands retreated from the city and began to strategize.

  Just like this, the first day of battle concluded. Come morning, they continued to brainstorm.

  However, Baron was aware of the reason that the Crusaders managed to win this battle in history. They had gone to the nearest port city to destroy the ships and take the wood from that. So Baron, knowing that Han Xin would think of doing this very thing eventually, decided to march a few thousand soldiers of his army there to recruit the citizens of the nearest port and set their ships ablaze.

  Surprisingly, the people agreed. Although the ships were the sources of their livelihoods, they hated the enemy more. Baron's efforts bore fruit and within a short half-day, he had managed to recruit the citizens and destroy a source of wood for Han Xin.

  Just in time too — Han Xin and his men had ordered a detachment of their men to take over the port. But the only thing waiting for them was an abandoned, burnt, port.

  The logical explanation for this would've been to assume that this port had been ransacked, but Han Xin knew better. He had experienced many simulations, and this didn’t faze him — he knew that Xu Da and Baron had done this.

  However, the speed at which they’d executed the task was impressive, to say the least. The problem still remained, though. He needed to lay siege to the city and going by what he’d seen, the land around Jerusalem was terrible for both foraging and sourcing clean water. But he had limited supplies for his men. What was he to do?

  He also needed wood to build the proper weapons for a siege. Would he risk it and attack other cities or ports for their wood? Or perhaps he should retreat to source wood from farther away, and then lay siege to the city long after?

  No — Han Xin decided to attack Jerusalem directly.

  This was where Han Xin, as a Chinese person, didn’t understand why his troops wanted to do battle. The crusades were quests filled with religious backing and fervor. The crusaders and even common soldiers were mostly Roman Catholics, and desired to free the holy Capitol of Jerusalem from Muslim rule.

  Had he used a speech that included this factor, he may have stirred up more courage and fighting spirit from the men. But, he didn’t. He directly sent them to attack the walled city and using a few makeshift rams they’d made out of the tree stumps remaining from the fallen trees around Jerusalem.

  No matter how experienced he was, there was no way that he could've predicted that Baron and Xu Da had obtained the blueprint for the repeating crossbow. Still though, he didn’t bother to call for a retreat, and just watched on as his men were killed by the thousands and thousands of arrows.

  Han Xin had arranged his men so that his crusader knights would be at the front, the foot soldiers at the rear. His crusaders had a few archers too, but against the might of the repeating crossbow what could they do but shoot back in vain? By the end of the day, they’d not made a single inch of progress.

  They had sustained many casualties, too. Most were injuries, but many had died as well. The Crusaders had lost about 300 soldiers today and many, many more were injured. On the other side, the Fatimid Caliphate led by Baron and Xu Da had less than 50 dead and even less injured.

  Han Xin spent the night concocting a plan to claim the city. By morning, he knew exactly what to do. He spent the next few hours preparing his men to carry out his new plan.

  By his estimates, it would take a great deal of time to gather wood and make the necessary siege weapons. By midday, he called for the retreat, and within moments his troops had retreated so quickly that Baron’s scouts lost sight of them.

  Baron was shocked by how effortlessly Han Xin had ordered a full-scale retreat, so efficiently that his men didn’t know where they’d gone. He was suspicious, to say the least, of what Han Xin was thinking. Why did he order a full-scale retreat? Was it to launch a surp
rise attack at a strange hour, or was he trying to buy time for something else entirely? In the end, he and Xu Da could only guess as to what Han Xin had planned for them and increase the lookouts posted on the walls.

  Baron and Xu Da waited for news. One day passed, then two, three, a week, two weeks. At this point, Baron was getting extremely nervous and ordered that multiple ditches be dug in certain areas around the city. These were strategically placed to cover up the weak spots on the walls.

  It would be after an entire month before the two of them received any news regarding Han Xin and the crusaders. They had finally just completed their ditch building project and were awaiting Han Xin to make the move.

  Although Han Xin could've chosen to attack at any time, he chose to study the area with the newly dug ditches and form a plan before proceeding. He noticed that although Baron and Xu Da had managed to improve the city’s defenses, they hadn’t fixed all the weaknesses. Han Xin's incredibly sharp eyes saw two openings through which his siege towers could advance.

  During the last 6 weeks, he had made twelve siege towers, twelve catapults, a few trebuchets, and hundreds of ladders. All of the fundamental machines of siege warfare.

  He wasted no time ordering his troops to get into formation and stand in formation just outside of the city’s defenses. He then had his catapults and trebuchets pelt the city nonstop for the day. He then ordered his men to advantage with the siege towers, along specific paths Han Xin had pointed out to them earlier in the day.

  The rate at which the catapults and trebuchets destroyed the city walls was frightening. The charge by the siege towers and crusaders directly after was even more so. Although the defending army managed to hold on until nightfall, they had close to no morale left in the wake of the destruction. What little they had after the biblical nightmare that was the catapult and trebuchet assault, was completely shattered in the crusader’s attack.

  By this point Baron and Xu Da saw no point in continuing this simulation so they surrendered. Han Xin had claimed victory from the two of them despite all of Baron's careful planning and better knowledge of the map. Han Xin had turned it all around with patience and even better preparation.

  Chapter 26

  Analysis

  Despite the results, it was a learning experience for all involved. Han Xin had learned that Baron was a lot craftier than he had imagined him to be. Baron learned that he had grossly underestimated Han Xin. He’d known that Han Xin would be a difficult opponent, but what he didn't hadn’t expected Han Xin’s utter efficiency.

  After the simulation ended in Han Xin's victory, Baron called a team meeting with the three others.

  “Yue Fei, Ban Chao. You saw just now how well Han Xin handled me and Xu Da. What are your thoughts?”

  Ban Chao tapped his notepad. “The way he ordered that full-scale retreat was downright flawless. Even if I saw everything that he ordered his men to do, I don't think I could replicate such a strategy.” Ban Chao said with the utmost praise.

  Yue Fei shook his head. “I don't know if you noticed, Ban Chao, but there were a few things he did that really caught my attention. And at least two of these things deserve even more praise than his swift retreat.”

  “Even more praise?”

  “Yes.” Yue Fei continued. “The first was that Han Xin and his crusaders even managed to evade the scouts that Baron had sent out to gather information on Han Xin's army. It isn't easy to hide an entire army. But, the key thing here was that he denied Baron any information needed for him to properly prepare for the next attack. Information that could have very well helped Baron and Xu Da win.”

  Realizing what he’d missed, Ban Chao emphatically nodded. “Now that you mention it, absolutely. I took a look at the map Baron and Han Xin received at the start of the simulation and took a look at where Han Xin stationed his army after the retreat. It is nearly impossible to pinpoint it on the map, Han Xin must've figured it out by just looking at the map.”

  Baron whistled. “That means he came up with this plan on the fly? He sure knows how to surprise people. What's the other point you mentioned, Yue Fei?”

  “The other point would be that he decided to invest time into creating enough ammunition for him to use only heavy ballista attacks for hours and hours before sending his men in. The hours of bombardment served to not only break down the walls, but the morale of the defending men. The Fatimid Caliphate’s morale was much sapped after the demolition of their walls.

  “The worst part of it was that you didn’t have any weapons that could counterattack.”

  Baron nodded. “Precisely. This was why our army was pushed back so quickly by the crusaders. I would also point out another thing that we should watch out for, from Han Xin.Precisely, this led to our army being effortlessly pushed back from the crusaders. I would also add another point that we should watch out for from Han Xin.”

  Yue Fei raised an eyebrow. “Did I miss something?”

  “It's not that you missed something, it's that Han Xin has excellent reasoning, and he is quite decisive. His actions and orders were quick and decisive, almost abrupt. But make no mistake, he was in control the entire time. He thought of a plan on the spot, and executed it to perfection with just a few orders. Despite his...attitude, he has the mind of a great general.

  Yue Fei whistled. “Wow, Han Xin is that incredible?”

  Baron chuckled. “By my count, if we were to rank ourselves, I’d say he’s the best, Yue Fei is the second, and I would be third.”

  “You've been through quite a few simulations with me already, what do you think of the gap between me and him is, then?” Yue Fei asked.

  “I've only seen him in action once, so I can't say for certain, but I'd say the gap is quite large.”

  “What about the gap between you and Yue Fei?” Ban Chao asked.

  “I'd say the gap between me and Yue Fei is sizable, but not as big as between Yue Fei and Han Xin. I only rank Yue Fei as higher than me because Yue Fei has had a lot more battlefield experience.

  “You don't have to be so modest, Baron. You’ve surpassed me in blueprints, and you’ll surpass me in tactics soon enough. You’re young, and your growth on planet four has been amazing. It’s been far greater than even mine when I came here.

  “Right. Ban Chao, get ready. You will be the next one to face off against Han Xin. Remember, you are great at defence, so just focus on that.”

  “Haha, I'll try. You made Han Xin out to be such a great strategist, I don't think I’ll fare well against him.”

  Baron frowned. “Strategists shouldn't think of how amazing or how tough to beat their opponents are. They should focus on finding ways to beat such amazing strategists.”

  Ban Chao nodded. “You're right. Strategists should have more confidence, otherwise what’s the point? Will you be an advisor to me for this next simulation?”

  Baron thought about it, but shook his head. “This time I'll just be a spectator. You should have no trouble dragging out the battle. After all, you are known for your defence.”

  “Right, right,” Ban Chao said as they all went back to where Han Xin was resting.

  The simulation between Ban Chao and Han Xin commenced. The setting was still random, and they drew the Moro Rebellion scenario. This scenario pitted the United States against a group of Filipinos called the Moro.

  The original conflict erupted when the Spanish imperialists ceded the Philippines to the United States. Many people, particularly a group called the Moro, routinely clashed against the US troops. In terms of raw military power, the United States was clearly miles ahead. But the Moro people fortified the mountain they lived on, and constantly launched attacks from the wilderness. Death meant nothing to the people of Moro if it meant resisting imperialism.

  This specific battle setting was the last battle between the people of Moro and the United States. It had ended with a US victory and the massacre of over five hundred of the Moro people.

  Just before the final battle though, t
hen-president Theodore Roosevelt had declared that all hostilities in the Philippines would cease, except against the Moro People, on the 4th of July in the year of 1902.

  The US army consisted of twenty-five thousand soldiers, while the Moro had a few thousand soldiers, some of whom were women dressed in male clothing. Although their numbers were vastly inferior, the Moro people had faced death with open arms.

  In this scenario, though, Han Xin would be the defender, and the attacker would be Ban Chao.

  Although Ban Chao held the advantage, being in control of the American army, it wouldn’t be an easy battle for him to win. Especially with someone as adept as Han Xin leading the fearless Moro. As this was a very complicated scenario, both sides had an entire month’s time to prepare.

  And although they’d experienced countless scenarios before, this was the first time either Ban Chao or Han Xin had seen this particular simulation. Thus, they were rather unfamiliar with it.

  From what they could see, though, Han Xin would have to be a miracle worker to win the simulation. This battle could be considered to be similar to the Battle of Thermopylae that Ban Chao and Baron had fought in — the attacker was heavily favored, but the defender had a few advantages up their sleeve to pin their hopes on. In this case, the people of Moro were more accustomed to the terrain, were more willing to die for the cause, and were incredibly disciplined.

  The month of preparation time was better for Han Xin, as he would have more time to build outposts and increase the mountain’s defenses.

  Ban Chao could really only sit around and come up with potential plans, and drill his troops.

  This type of guerilla warfare did not suit either of the strategists, but what could they do?

  Quickly, the month passed and the two sides began probing each other's defenses. After a few days of waiting, the defending Moro made the first attack.

  The US army was split up into platoons of ten men each and these platoons were tasked with patrolling around the mountain, attacking stray groups of Moro people and reporting back to central camp if they spotted an enemy outpost. The platoons were to report back to central camp regardless of events at least once a week.