28 Analysis Again

With the surprise ambush and the following confusion it caused, Ban Chao's army was in complete and utter disarray. Ban Chao and his officers tried to calm everyone down and restore order, but their voices were drowned out by a combination of screams and explosions. This was the situation for about an hour, then the walls of the outpost Key caught on fire and this only added fuel to the fire. There was no way out now, Ban Chao had lost far too many men during this night raid.

Halfway through the night the attack stopped, and Ban Chao had realized just how much of a loss he had just taken. Close to two thirds of his army present were either dead or injured. He had tried to evacuate everyone, but every time he gathered up some of his men they were soon separated by the flames or there would be Moro attackers waiting in ambush when some of his men actually managed to leave the outpost. All of his efforts had gone to waste as he wasn't able to do anything in the end.

He still had another army that was sent away just before their attack on Key, but with how much casualties he had taken, morale would be basically non existent. He felt complete despair. No matter what he did now, he wouldn't be able to fight Han Xin as well as he did before. Ban Chao felt extremely depressed, so much so that he surrendered the moment that he got a tally of his casualties during the night ambush.

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Baron, Yue Fei, and Xu Da was surprised to say the least. Not because Ban Chao had surrendered, but because Han Xin had managed to force Ban Chao into such fire straights within just a few hours. They called for another meeting with the four of them and they started to discuss their thoughts on how the previous simulation had gone.

(BM)"So what did you guys think? You go firstam Chao, since you did face him."

(BC)"He is a very patient man, and he seems to have exceptional perception of the battlefield. I was utterly no match for him. Even with all of the advantages that the attacking army received, I still lost in such a dishonourable way."

(BM)"Don't say that, Han Xin had manipulated you into attacking Key and dealt you a devastating blow."

(BC)"That doesn't make me feel any better, Baron."

(YF)"Is there anything that you noticed while facing Han Xin?"

(BC)"For the first 4 months, it seemed like Han Xin was completely non existent. He didn't make any major moves, and he just let me take any outpost that I wanted. However, once he did launch his counterattack though, I had no way of retaliating."

(BM)"It seems that this is a habit that Han Xin has."

(BC)"Huh? what habit?"

(BM)"He seems to like to save up his forces andlaunch a massive attack that his enemy can't recover from."

(XD)"You seem to be onto something Baron, he did the same thing with you and me during our battle at Jerusalem."

(BM)"As a spectator there was something else I found interesting. He had managed to dig a network of spies and tunnels in just the first two months of battle. He then proceeded to steal a couple of your stores of weapons that you let go unnoticed."

(BC)"Really? I had completely no idea."

(BM)"It seems like Han Xin is also a master of espionage to even let things slip by unnoticed from Ban Chao. Yet another thing we must be aware of when facing Han Xin

(YF)"That's true, I might be able to use this to my advantage when I face him next."

(BM)"Make sure to be careful, we still don't know very much about how he thinks, he might not go all out this next time just to throw us off."

(YF)"I understand, let's hope that he doesn't have another blueprint as scary as the exploding gunpowder that he just used against Ban Chao."

(BM)"Even if he does you just need to be prepared for everything."

(YF)"I can be prepared for the exploding gunpowder now that I know he has it. However, to be prepared for everything is just asking you much of me."

(BM)"Just try your best, hold out for as long as you can."

(YF)"I'll try my best."

The four of them nodded to each other and then Yue Fei went to challenge Han Xin. However, this time was different. Han Xin actually allowed Yue Fei to choose the setting himself instead of letting random luck decide it, the other three were stunned. Baron, Xu Da, and Ban Chao had only ever perceived Han Xin as a sort of cold and distant person. This behaviour that he exhibited to Yue Fei was the first they had ever seen this side of him. Han Xin was indeed a curious person.

At first Yue Fei was hesitant to accept this offer, but after a little back and forth and a little persuasion from Baron, Yue Fei decided to choose the setting himself. Yue Fei consulted with Baron and after a little discussion they decided to pick the Battle of Thermopylae as the simulation setting. Yue Fei would naturally be the attacking side since he got to choose the settings.

No matter what Baron thought of Han Xin, it was clear that Han Xin was very skilled in the art of warfare. Although the previous two simulations with Xu Da and Ban Chao told a lot about Han Xin, Baron didn't have nearly enough to get a solid picture of this legend just yet.The simulation began just like it did with Baron and Xu Da. Both sides had a week to prepare, and after that period the war would begin.

Regardless of who it was, nearly everyone on planet 4 had been in a simulation with the settings turned to the Battle of Thermopylae. This was because this setting was the preferred mode to train ones strategical prowess by being insanely outnumbered. This would allow the strategist on the defending side to greatly show their strategical brilliance in the heat of an extremely disadvantageous battle.

Yue Fei was not one to underestimate people, he knew that if he showed the slightest bit of mercy, nothing good would come with it. It made sense to be ruthless on planet 4, after all showing weakness here was akin to letting your enemy walk all over you. Especially against an enemy as tough as Han Xin.

Han Xin was a man of action, he spoke through the way he acted instead of talking and getting nowhere. He believed in karma, but he would actively seek out justice for those that needed it. Except, he did all this in the shadows. All of the good deeds he's done on planet 4 has gone unnoticed. This is partially why Han Xin preferred to keep his life as quiet as it was now. He loved to dish out justice where justice was due, he could be considered one of the elders had he contributed anything to the community.

The reason that Han Xin was friendlier towards Yue Fei was because right after Yue Fei had made it to the seat of an elder. Yue Fei used his position to help many others out of the kindness from his heart. Han Xin met an unfortunate end when he was back on Earth. He had risen to prominence too fast and attracted a lot of enemies, he was a brilliant strategist. So much so that many became envious of him, and through connections they managed to get Han Xin executed along with the entirety of Han Xin's clan. This was not an uncommon situation in China's history, but Han Xin had never thought that it would happen to him.

During the preparation time, Han Xin had built quite a bit of weapons to fight back Yue Fei's 450,000 strong army. While Yue Fei constructed his own secret little blueprint, this was a secret blueprint that Baron had gave to him to use against Han Xin. The only thing was he needed some time to build it, this would take about 3 weeks.

Once the battle started Yue Fei's attacking army did not do anything but stay still. This was the case until the third night when Yue Fei ordered his troops to let loose as many arrows as they could into the general direction of the enemy. Although this was a completely dark night, Han Xin had quickly reacted and ordered everybody to take shelter or hide behind their shields. Yue Fei had used over a million arrows, yet the only result he got was tens of enemy deaths and a few injured. This was not a great start.