General's Caliber is the 222nd chapter of the Kingdom manga.
Summary[]
During the midst of battle Shin, Ou Hon and Mou Ten suddenly feel a strange sensation and Rin Ko feels it as well as he realizes that it means that his lord, Ren Pa, is on the move.
Meanwhile, it was often said that the people of Wei tended to lack explosive power due to their serious nature but the appearance of Ren Pa would cause them to completely throw off their shackles as they explode into a fever of moral. The Qin soldiers don't know what is happening as they are being overpowered by the Wei soldiers. Heki feels it as well and he needs to force himself to calm down. Moments later a group of archers are targeting Qin as Heki tells that he understands now.
So long as the clifftops remain under their control, the terrain advantage granted by the Wei Di will remain with the Qin army. They only lost a small part where Ren Pa has appeared. Heki deduces that Ren Pa that should have been at his HQ to appear here must mean that he is only leading a small-scale army. He deduces that the can only number 1000 soldiers at most. Taking in account the loses that have been suffered at both sides thus far it should be 10,000 Qin vs. 8,000 Wei. The appearance of Ren Pa might have granted the enemy morale, but their side still holds absolute terrain advantage. Depending on their actions from this point on, it's entirely possible to slay Ren Pa right here.
Kyou En is escaping back to his allies. The soldiers of Ou Sen ask their general on what to do as their troops in the middle are a mess.
Ren Pa is watching Ou Sen's every move as he notices that his first move is to reform his scattered allies. Ren Pa is very interested on how Ou Sen will move from here on out. The number on each side were nearly even. Against Qin's terrain advantage, the Wei possessed even greater morale. There could be no better conditions than this for a tactician's worth. Just how would Ou Sen, who was considered by Ou Ki to be on the same level as the Six Great Generals of Qin, handle this situation. Hence, Ren Pa was planning on using this one battle to precisely evaluate Ou Sen's caliber as a general.
Ou Sen's army has gathered their scattered allies. However, Ou Sen's reaction was to splendidly betray Ren Pa's expectations as he chose to retreat. This action shocks both sides. Ou Sen then apologizes to old Great General. Stating that he has no interest in anything other than battles he can definitely win. Both Ren Pa and Kyou En armies would immediately begin a fierce chase of the retreating Qin forces. It becomes a fierce battle and Heki notices that the Infantry can't keep up. He plans to go to the back to help him, but his soldiers say that this has become impossible and that he should go to the front.
Kyou En who is still pursuing doesn't understand. He asks himself why his lord look so happy when you've been disappointed by Ou Sen. Ren Pa asks Kyou En which of the Qin's six greats, he has crossed swords before. He says that he has been up against Haku Ki, Ou Kotsu, Ou Ki and Kyou. He then asks which of them made his blood boil the most as he tells that would be Kyou. Due to the fact that both of them were heavily offence oriented, each time they clashed, there would be tens of thousands of casualties. Ren Pa then asks which of them he found the hardest to deal with. Kyou En responds that this would be the leader of the Qin's six generals Haku Ki. Ren Pa laughs as he tells this is the same for him. He states that Haku Ki wasn't a general who took risks. No matter how tempting the bait they laid down was, he would never take it. The more worked up they got, the more casually and relaxed he would evade them. No matter what time, that man could always see right through you. He tells that getting angry and chasing him too far, only to be countered, became the norm in all his battles with Haku Ki as he then laughs.
Kyou En asks his lord why he brought up the Qin's six greats. Ren Pa tells he isn't sure either. However somehow looking at Ou Sen's leisurely retreat just now reminded him of Haku Ki. Kyou En is shocked and asks him if he believes Ou Sen to be at the same level as Haku Ki. Ren Pa laughs as he didn't say it was quite as much as that. But so far, their strategies certainly share quite a few similarities. That their strategies are so alike could possibly indicate that the world they see is also very much identical. Kou En responds that it's true his sudden appearance back then was quite a well-played scheme, but just that alone isn't enough. After all, Haku Ki really was a genuine monster.
Suddenly a report comes in for Kyou En and Ren Pa. He doesn't know how to tell what has transpired and asks them to come to the front. Field battles, siege battles, defensive siege battles. Ren Pa tells he fought Haku Ki in all kinds of ways. Just like now, there have been many times where he has pursued him into the depths. Whenever he pulled back to there was always something waiting for him of which the sight of would cause his entire body to freeze. Such as, even in the middle of the mountains like these there would be a gigantic fortress constructed right under everyone's noses. These shocks the Wei soldiers in pursuit, especially Kyou En.
Ren Pa is impressed as it's quite rare to see a general capable of incorporating fort construction into his tactics. That by itself is enough, as an indication of Ou Sen's caliber. Ren Pa laughs as he never thought there would still be a man like him hiding behind the shadows of Qin's six greats.
Characters[]
Qin[]
- Mou Gou Army
- Do Mon Army
- Hi Shin Unit
- Shin
- Unnamed members of cavalry
- Unnamed members of armored infantry
- Gaku Ka Unit
- Mou Ten
- Unnamed members
- Gyoku Hou Unit
- Ou Hon
- Unnamed members
- Hi Shin Unit
- Ou Sen Army
- Do Mon Army
Wei[]
- Haku Ki Sai Army
- Ren Pa Army
- Ren Pa
- Unnamed members
- Kyou En Army (Right Army)
- Kyou En
- Unnamed officers
- Unnamed members
- Unnamed messenger
- Rin Ko Army (Center Army)
- Rin Ko
- Unnamed members
- Ren Pa Army
Chapter Notes[]
- Ren Pa raises the Wei soldiers' morale.
- Tha battle at the clifftops is now 10,000 Qin vs. 8,000 Wei.
- Ren Pa is testing Ou Sen's caliber as a general.
- Ou Sen's army gathered their scattered men.
- Ou Sen's army is retreating.
- Both Ren Pa and Kyou En armies chase the retreating Qin forces.
- Kyou En has been up against Haku Ki, Ou Kotsu, Ou Ki and Kyou.
- Ren Pa believes Ou Sen's strategies to be similar as Haku Ki's strategies.
- Ou Sen constructed a gigantic fortress in the mountains without anyone noticing it.
Trivia[]
- Haku Ki is revealed to be a leader of Six Great Generals.