Warring States Survival Guide
Chapter 202 - 140: Building Fortifications Under the Enemy’s Nose

Chapter 202: Chapter 140: Building Fortifications Under the Enemy’s Nose

Harano stood atop the wall, staring, utterly confused, at the Imagawa family who were busy constructing their camps in the distance. The situation had seemed dire before, and he’d been prepared for a bloody battle, but now, after two days, things weren’t quite as he’d imagined...

Of course, it wasn’t that there hadn’t been any fighting. The Wanjin Army and the Imagawa family had been constantly driving each other’s scouts away. Over these past two days, there had been twenty or thirty small skirmishes on the wild plains. The Imagawa family, using their numerical advantage, managed to push out his side’s scattered scouts, and even tried launching a few attacks, but none were large-scale—their incursions would stop at the first sign of casualties. Today, they simply started building their camp, ceasing even the probing attacks.

The intensity of these battles was much lower than he’d expected—almost like someone just scratching an itch for him. It really felt off.

He mulled it over for a while without figuring it out, then turned to the trainees of the "Camp School" and asked, "What do you all make of this?"

These junior officers and sergeants glanced at each other. One of them, Flag Captain Duji (a mid-ranking officer commanding five small flags), said cautiously, "Could the enemy be trying to lull us? Their attacks these past two days have all been focused on the front. Maybe they want us to get complacent and let our guard down, so they can hit our flanks with a sudden assault? Like a nighttime river crossing straight into our rear..."

Harano had always been encouraging these "Camp School" junior officers and sergeants to think for themselves. Every day, he would guide them with map exercises and primitive wargames in hopes of having a few more military assistants. Even though he didn’t think the enemy could manage a silent nighttime river crossing with a large force, he still encouraged, "That’s a real possibility. We do need to be especially vigilant on both flanks."

After he finished speaking, he looked to the others. "How about you? What do you think?"

Someone chimed in, "Maybe the enemy is waiting for reinforcements..."

Another disagreed, "But the enemy already has enough numbers to launch an attack. Shouldn’t they at least try a few real offensives first, and only call for help if they can’t take us?"

"True, the enemy doesn’t really need to wait."

Thanks to Harano’s indulgence, these junior officers and sergeants had gotten bold enough to speak out and give their opinions. They all began to discuss why the Imagawa family was dragging their feet like this, but none of their ideas were really new. Then, Stone Bodhisattva—a sergeant who’d only joined the "Camp School" a few months ago—scratched his head and said sheepishly, "Maybe the enemy’s scared of us!"

The room went quiet. Harano’s gaze turned to him, curious. "Why do you say that? From what we’ve heard, the enemy’s got at least fifteen hundred armored troops, and with the Chita noble families’ Armored Lang Faction, probably even more. Their advantage is obvious. What would they be afraid of?"

Stone Bodhisattva kept scratching his head. Facing Wanjin’s top boss, he wasn’t nervous at all—instead, he said directly, "But we’ve got several thousand people. We look like we’ve got more men than they do. Of course they’d be scared!"

"We only have six hundred and seven armored combat troops—not even half of what they have," a small flag officer reminded him. "The rest of our people can’t fight."

"But the enemy doesn’t know that." Stone Bodhisattva wasn’t much of a talker, so he gestured with his hands and said, "Back when I used to steal things, I always felt like someone was watching me, like someone was about to rush over and catch me. So I’d get all hesitant, and my heart would start pounding, and I wouldn’t dare do anything... Uh, I can’t say it well, but I think the other side is like I was before—nervous, afraid of getting hit, afraid of us."

Several officers and sergeants burst out laughing, thinking his idea was a bit ridiculous, but Harano didn’t laugh. Instead, he patted Stone Bodhisattva on the shoulder and encouraged him: "It’s good to have your own thoughts. That’s definitely a possibility."

This sergeant made a strong impression on him. In the last battle, he’d fought with great courage, his face covered in blood as he broke through the enemy lines at the forefront. But after entering the "Camp School," he still hadn’t passed basic literacy classes—even after several months, he didn’t know a hundred characters. Harano was about to send him back as a regular soldier, but now, seeing that this guy had rather quirky ideas, maybe it was worth giving him another chance.

As for whether the other side really was afraid of them...

He couldn’t tell. His officer corps was pretty awful right now and couldn’t be sure of the enemy’s intentions, but it was clear that the other side wasn’t eager for battle.

After gathering everyone’s opinions, he pondered a moment, then simply ordered, "Dismissed, everyone back to your posts. Call back a few more construction teams—we’re going to keep working on the fortifications!"

He didn’t have any particular military genius, and since he couldn’t figure out the enemy’s intentions, he decided to stick to the plan and respond to change with constancy: lean on the defender’s advantage and wear down the enemy. If the enemy didn’t want to attack, he’d just keep improving the defenses, building the place up into a turtle shell; and if they did attack upon seeing the construction, so be it—that was still better than having no clue what the enemy was planning!

His orders were quickly relayed. Under the coordination of internal affairs officers like Endo Chiyoda, several construction units soon arrived from the harbor in tight formation, bringing their tools with them. This was the best group of builders—mostly former workshop workers, now militia soldiers, relatively disciplined and good at cooperating, basically able to follow orders. If attacked, they wouldn’t panic easily.

Behind them trailed a bunch of less disciplined new immigrants—now the real manual labor squad. They hauled large quantities of building materials with handcarts, following along in a noisy, disorderly procession, temporarily pressed into service as a supply convoy.

Harano lay prone atop the city wall watching for a while. After Stone Bodhisattva’s comment, he was now struck by a new idea.