The Battle of Hika was a major battle fought between the Kan Ki Army and the Ri Boku Army during the state of Qin's campaign for the regions of northern Zhao in 233 B.C.
Location[]
The battle took place roughly between the fortified cities of Gian and Hika in a wooded and forested area.
Background[]
Aftermath of the Battle of Gian[]
Following the utter defeat of Qin at the Battle of Gian, the remaining Qin soldiers are in rout. The Hi Shin Unit and Gaku Ka Army have each lost about half of their soldiers and are fleeing from the pursuit of Zhao General Kotsu Min Haku's army. They meet by chance in a forest where they had taken refuge as they regroup. They meet Han Zen, the Kan Ki Army's sieging engineer, his siege tower team and the Saki Clan from the Kan Ki Army. It was a detachment which had been ordered to follow another way that the main army and had to participate in the siege of Gian later. It's decided by mutual agreement between Ri Shin and Mou Ten to make the siege of Gian during the night. The fortress and city were captured despite their small manpower because all the troops had been dispatched for the battle of Gian and all the civilian population had been moved to Hika.
Meanwhile, another part of the routed Qin soldiers retreats to Sekirei. The armies of Heki, Fuu Han and parts of Kan Ki's soldiers have survived and are preparing to withstand the siege they expect from Zhao. All their armies were wiped out before Zhao's arrival. The city's wells were poisoned by the few civilians left in the city. In retaliation for the massacre perpetrated by Kan Ki at the end of Battle of Eikyuu, they agreed to make the land in the region uninhabitable for decades in order to defeat Qin. Sekirei is retaken by Zhao in the morning. The rare survivors of this poisoning are made prisoners, it's the case for Heki.
Finally, the Kan Ki Army is pursued all night by the pursuing armies of Ri Boku. Kan Ki, his officers, and only a few hundreds of his soldiers managed to escape from their pursuers and returned to Gian at dawn after it was taken by Ri Shin and Mou Ten's efforts.
Setting up the Ambush[]
Ri Boku and his allies learn of Gian's capture by the Qin, and after confirming the fall of Sekirei, he mobilizes all Zhao soldiers in the region to retake Gian.
It's taken back without any resistance. The armies of Qin had already fled the city with Kan Ki leaving behind a few soldiers to fake the appearance of occupation. Kan Ki tasked the Saki Clan to make a tree of human bodies with the few soldiers and civilians left in the city's squad with a message stating that he was going to make the massacre of Hika enter history, where the civilians of Gian had been moved.
In order to avoid a new massacre by Kan Ki, it's ordered to reach Hika's fortress as soon as possible. There is a wooded area on the road. It's here that Kan Ki prepared his ambush to kill Ri Boku. He previously started a fire in the forest near Hika to make them believe that the city was indeed his objective. The En Kan army reaches Hika first and realizes the subterfuge. Kan Ki manages to ambush Ri Boku's personal unit while the Hi Shin Unit and Gaku Ka Army, which were waiting on 2 other possible paths, are tasked with delaying Ri Boku's reinforcements as much as possible.
Story[]
Kan Ki's Last Gamble[]
Kan Ki Army's side[]
The ambush of Kan Ki takes Ri Boku by complete surprise, the horn is sounded immediately to warn the other Zhao armies around to come to their aid.
Ri Boku realizes that the fast fall of Gian made him panic, and he thought that Hika would suffer the same fate. However, if he had thought clearly, he would have realized that it was impossible for their wounded and exhausted army to take Gian and Hika in a row, especially since Hika's castle is full of civilians and much better defended than Gian. He fell victim to Kan Ki's usual tactic of spreading their main camp thin and taking them out with a surprise attack. However, it is a risky gamble because if the ambush fails, the entire Qin army will be annihilated.
Ri Boku orders his soldiers to kill Kan Ki in order to end this battle, but Zenou and Shu Ma appears and rushes on him with their respective units. Kaine and her unit are the first to defend Ri Boku. She orders her mounted archers to concentrate on Zenou to push him back. She fights in the front in order to let an opportunity for Ri Boku to escape. She says that she is Ri Boku's "shield," and he answers her that if's is the case, she must be by his side. She kills many members of the Shu Ma Clan and faces their leader, Shu Ma. She barely manages to parry and withstand all his attacks and is nearly killed by him as he is about to give the final blow, but Ri Boku saves her. They fight together against Shu Ma, and Ri Boku manages to kill him but is wounded from the exchange.
A few moments later, Koku'Ou takes advantage of their lack of attention to fire an arrow on Ri Boku's back, but Kaine manages to realize it and uses her body to protect Ri Boku as she takes 2 arrows to her collar bone and falls off her horse. Rin Gyoku attacks Ri Boku before he can come to her help.
Ri Boku's soldiers come to his aid and start to escort him to escape, but he decides to go back for Kaine and gets off his horse to rescue her. When Kaine, in tears, asks him why he came to her rescue twice, he tells her that they made a promise, to return to Ganmon together when everything is over.
Rin Gyoku attacks Ri Boku again and manages to wound and nearly overwhelms the Great General but is stopped by Ri Boku's soldiers. Rin Gyoku orders one of his soldiers to dismount and kill him, but Fu Tei kills him by throwing one of his swords. Fu Tei and Ba Fuu Ji armies arrived at the same time to rescue Ri Boku. They start fighting Rin Gyoku's unit, and Ba Fuu Ji stops an arrow of Koku'Ou with his left arm.
Zenou, riddled with arrows, comes back to the area, but Ba Fuu Ji says not to worry because there are many Ganmon soldiers to stop him, and moreover, he hears a large army of cavalry arriving.
While Ri Boku is brought away from the fighting, Kan Ki suddenly appears on horseback and charges at the Great Heaven. Kan Ki and Ri Boku exchange blows, but Kan Ki breaks Ri Boku's sword and wounds him in his right temple. As everyone present sees Ri Boku fall, the Great General refuses to fall. Ri Boku, wounded and bleeding, orders Fu Tei to kill Kan Ki but Rin Gyoku and Koku'Ou prevent him. A soldier of Fu Tei, Katsu Ho destroys Koku'Ou's bow and wounds her before being killed by her. Ba Fuu Ji cuts deeply Zenou's left arm, but Zenou breaks his left arm and some ribs with his mace in return.
Finally, the armies of Ko Haku Kou and Jyou Ka Ryuu join the battle. And Kan Ki's ambush ends in failure.
Hi Shin Unit's side[]
Meanwhile, the Hi Shin Army is confronted with the army of Gaku Shou and his lieutenant Fuuon, preventing them from sending reinforcements to aid Ri Boku.
Shin realizes that the Saki Clan is also with them and that they are in trouble. He orders Na Ki to help them. Naki manages to bring them back to him, Shou is wounded.
The armies of Jyou Ka Ryuu rush in to rescue Ri Boku by avoiding the confrontation in progress against Gaku Shou.
Gaku Ka Army's side[]
The Gaku Ka Army confronted the army of Shun Sui Ju. Mou Ten is able to prevent them from joining Ri Boku, but when Ko Haku Kou's cavalry appears, Shun Sui Ju orders to make a way for them to join Ri Boku as soon as possible.
Ma Ron's side[]
Ma Ron was placed since the beginning farther away than Kan Ki's position. While he is about to disobey the orders of Kan Ki and move to join him, Ogiko appears to give him a message from the Great General and was ordered to bring him to the Hi Shin Unit.
Failure[]
Kan Ki Army's side[]
A Ko Haku Kou's soldier pierces the stomach of Koku'Ou with his spear. Jyou Ka Ryuu cuts deeply into Zenou's body with his podao to finish him off but his blade is stuck inside the berserker's body.
Surrounded and on the verge of being executed, Ri Boku offers Kan Ki the chance to surrender in exchange for the lives of his subordinates, but Kan Ki refuses. He shouts the name of Zenou, who was still barely alive. Zenou, in his final moments, smiles at how things were always exciting around Kan Ki and crushes the skull of Jyou Ka Ryuu with his bare hands by surprise before he is finally killed. Koku'Ou eventually succumbs from her injury while Na Ki gives his goodbyes to Shin, So Sui, and the rest. The Na Ki Clan then rides out to join Kan Ki in his final moments. In their final charge, Ro Bin is killed by Un Gen but Na Ki kills him in return before he is pierced by a Zhao soldier's spear.
Back over at the center, Ko Haku Kou cuts off Rin Gyoku's left hand, but Kan Ki instantly kills the Zhao duke with a beheading. Rin Gyoku is then killed by three Zhao soldiers' spears, and Kan Ki is pierced by multiple spears from Zhao soldiers while killing as many of them in his path till his sword breaks. With his signature smirk, Kan Ki dies in front of Ri Boku as his broken blade nearly reaches the Great Heaven's face.
Hi Shin Unit's side[]
Gi Kou informs Shin and the others that Kan Ki's surprise attack has failed. Ma Ron and Ogiko join him at the same time, and Ogiko delivers his Kan Ki's final message to him. Kan Ki hands the golden wing of the Six Great Generals to Shin to return to Ei Sei and asks him to flee with Ma Ron, Ogiko and the Saki Clan.
Shin, enrage with the situation, orders an immediate retreat, but Na Ki refuses to follow him as he decides to head back to Kan Ki and rejoin the Kan Ki Army. He realizes that despite everything, he still sees Kan Ki and Kan Ki's clan as family and gives his final farewell to everyone with him stating he truly believes that Shin will become a Great General. A tearful So Sui escorts Na Ki and his clan to enable him to join Kan Ki's side. The Hi Shin Unit then escaped to the southwest.
During their escape, Shou tells Shin the rest of Kan Ki's history in which he tells them about how Shio was cruelly murdered and violated by the lord of Kiha. Kan Ki left the Saki Clan, formed the Kan Ki Clan, and spent many years growing his clan until he was able to take down the castle of Kiha. He personally beheaded every single person there, giving him the moniker of "the Beheader" since that day. Shou dies of his wounds soon after.
Gaku Ka Army's side[]
Gaku Ka Army also broke free of their melee and escape directly west so as to split the focus of any pursuing Zhao Armies.
Aftermath[]
While victorious, the Zhao army doesn't cheer or celebrate. Ri Boku admits that he vastly underestimated Kan Ki as the Qin Great General nearly killed him and sees the sacrifices in his war against the Fifth Great. Kaine is rendered unconscious and misses the rest of the battle while her wounds being treated. The remaining Ko Haku Kou soldiers want to perform posthumous execution on Kan Ki and his commanders' bodies, but Ri Boku rejects the idea in its entirety much to their frustrations. The Great Heavens orders his soldiers to send the report of Kan Ki's death to Kantan and to chase down the remaining Hi Shin and Gaku Ka armies in order to destroyed them. He then collapses from his wounds.
| “ | We're still alive. All of us. But the border is still pretty far. Let's return to Qin together. | ” |
—Shin to Kyou Kai and the Hi Shin soldiers. | ||
The remaining Qin armies are chased by the Zhao armies with the Shun Sui Ju Army pursing the Gaku Ka Army, which they were originally fighting against. And the Kotsu Min Haku chasing after the Hi Shin Unit and remaining Kan Ki Army with assistance from Gaku Shou and Fuu On.
After meeting up with their rearguard, the Hi Shin Unit made their back to the Qin border. Meanwhile, the scattered remnants of the Kan Ki Army are either captured or executed into the rest of the night. The next day, the Hi Shin Unit make it to the border but see a large Zhao border army. As they choose to wait for nightfall to mount a raid, Shin sees an attack on the Zhao army and determines it to be a Qin army. The Qin army is reveled to be Sou'Ou and his army attacking the Zhao in order to gauge the strength of their cage, but they switch strategies to rescue after seeing their allies.
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References[]
- ↑ Chapter 736, page 12