The video takes us to ancient times; Li Er transforms into the Tongtian Emperor of Shu Han.

"Even if they were a bunch of good-for-nothings, with such a large numerical advantage, they could easily win, right?"

"How many days has it been?"

"You're just making feints every day, how long do you plan to keep this up?"

“The daily food and fodder consumption of 100,000 troops is astronomical. If this continues, and the imperial court’s food and fodder supply is disrupted, none of you will receive His Majesty’s reward!”

In the Da Shun army, Li Yan had lost count of how many times he had lost his temper.

But no matter what he said, the generals remained silent and made no changes when they launched their next offensive.

It's as if everything he says is just bullshit.

"What are you all thinking? Do you really want to drag this out until your supplies are cut off, until you suffer a humiliating defeat, and then nail your names to the pillar of shame, letting the world laugh at you?"

"That's ten times the manpower, but we're facing the Tartars!"

"Even if you manage to seize it by then, you still won't receive His Majesty's reward; instead, you'll face punishment. What's the point?"

Li Yan tried his best to persuade him.

In the end, all I got in return was a single sentence.

Even if we lose, His Majesty can still appoint us, can't he?

It doesn't matter if we don't get Dorgon's head this time.

In their eyes, it was simply a matter of keeping his head on his neck for a little longer.

If no one can get it, it means that everyone still has a chance to get it.

But if you exert too much effort in this battle, and someone else takes away your enormous merit and the opportunity to be granted a fiefdom, then you will really have no chance!

As for the punishment for setbacks in the war, that was the least important thing to them.

All of you here are founding heroes who made great contributions to Li Zicheng's conquest of the Central Plains.

What good is a little punishment?

"You, how could you do this!"

"His Majesty's bestowal of honor is a great favor; how can you betray such a grace!"

"Aren't you afraid that if the war goes badly, His Majesty will hold you all accountable one by one after we return, and even confiscate your property and exterminate your entire clan?!"

Li Yan was so angry that his hand trembled as he pointed at them.

But his anger could only be a powerless rage.

His threats solve nothing and don't even scare anyone.

"Don't be ridiculous. If you punish us, does the King of Chuang still care about the morale of his army? Who will fight for him then?"

"Without us, who in the court can solve the problem of the Tartars?"

"Strategist, you can rest assured, we all know what's going on."

"We are using multiple feint attacks to wear down the enemy's patience and energy. When the time is right, we will naturally launch a general offensive."

"At that time, taking this city in one fell swoop and cutting off Dorgon's head will not be a problem!"

To wear down the enemy's patience and energy?

Is that what military strategy says?

Li Yan was stunned.

This was the only time in recent days that these people had explained something to him.

That makes sense.

After all, he wasn't good at military strategy, so if these people said so, they probably weren't wrong.

"Since you generals are aware of the situation, I am relieved."

"His Majesty's favor will never be stingy. Even if you don't achieve the greatest merit, it will definitely satisfy all the generals."

……

"absurd!"

"In siege warfare, the key is to strike with full force at the first attempt, then weaken at the second, and finally exhaust the strength at the third."

"One or two feint attacks can be said to lower the enemy's guard and wear down their patience, but continuous feint attacks will only erode the morale of our own soldiers!"

"These people clearly understand this too; they are deliberately wearing down the fighting spirit and morale of their own people!"

He wears down the morale of others, then secretly inspires his own troops.

This will increase the chances of getting the first credit after the city is captured!

"That's ridiculous. The city hasn't even fallen yet, and it's not even close to being conquered, and they're already scheming about how to steal the credit."

"These generals are only spared because they are not under my command; otherwise, they would all be skinned alive, their families wiped out, and their clans exterminated!"

"A general like this is simply treating the fate of a nation and the lives of over 100,000 soldiers as a joke!"

"Let alone a bunch of mediocre soldiers, even if they were all military geniuses like Han Xin, they would still be killed when the time comes!"

Any emperor with an iron fist would probably have drawn his sword before the war even reached this point.

At worst, the emperor himself will lead the army!

Unfortunately, Li Zicheng was not that kind of person.

After receiving the battle report from the front, he sensed something was wrong, but he did not reprimand the person too harshly.

In his view, victory was assured, and since the generals wanted to claim the credit, he would let them.

As long as he doesn't mess things up, he doesn't care about the rest.

"He doesn't even realize how serious the situation is?"

Cao Cao was shocked by Li Zicheng's reaction.

Logically speaking, anyone with even a slight understanding of military strategy should be able to see the danger of this battle, right?

If this drags on any longer, it will damage morale and deplete supplies. If there are even the slightest logistical problems, morale will completely collapse.

At that point, Dorgon would only need to lead a thousand men in a single charge to have a chance to defeat them!

"If you don't look at it from your own perspective, you might be able to understand it."

"Li Zicheng had no idea that Dorgon almost single-handedly killed Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, through his command."

"He would never have known that the Qing army was defeated so decisively because they were up against the military genius, Emperor Gaozu, and the Hegemon-King."

"If he knew as much about these things as you and me and could still sit comfortably in the palace, then I would truly admire him as someone of importance!"

This explanation makes sense.

In Li Zicheng's mind, although the previous defeats proved the bravery of the Qing army, they were more likely due to his own carelessness and the generals' underestimation of the enemy.

Therefore, he mobilized nearly half of the country's military force, sending out all his capable generals, and even transferring his chief strategist along with them.

They had 100,000 troops fighting against 10,000, and they were equipped with many top-notch generals.

He didn't even know how he was going to lose!

"So he will receive the worst news of his life."

A complete failure!

This last battle report was delivered to him by Li Yan.

Before this, Li Zicheng never imagined that he would lose, let alone lose so completely!

"What did you say? You lost?"

"That's a full 100,000 troops!"

"How many Tartars are there? Even if I include the surrendered rebels, they number no more than ten thousand!"

"Ten times the troops, plus I've assigned almost all the best generals in the court to you, and this is how you repay me?"

"How did you lose!"

"Why did we lose!"

"Could it be that all those Tartars have three heads and six arms?!"

After reading the battle report handed to him, Li Zicheng trembled all over.

It wasn't just anger, it was also fear.

He knew all too well that this defeat meant much more than just the outcome of this battle!