The Battle of Kokuyou Hills was a war that took place in 237 B.C. between Qin Army led by General Kan Ki and combined Zhao armies of Rigan and Kei Sha.
Location[]
The battle took place in the Region of Kokuyou, located on the original Qin/Zhao border. One of the closer Zhao cities is the city of Rigan.
The region of Kokuyou consists mainly of five hills that are covered and surrounded by dense forests. In the surrounding area of the hills were numerous little villages, that were mainly untouched by the warfare between Zhao and Qin. This was because the area was so big, that the armies could easily avoid those villages. This changed, when general Kan Ki of Qin ordered his soldiers to directly search for and raid those villages.
Background[]
Qin High command tasks the Kan Ki Army aid and reinforced by the Hi Shin Unit to seize and capture the Region of Kokuyou from the Zhao's hands, which will become the entry point for the Qin Military to begin their invasion of Zhao. In response to this, Ri Boku sends his deputy Kei Sha along with 40,000 Zhao soldiers to help reinforce the area together with Ki Sui of Rigan's 30,000 soldiers. Due to lack of cities in the area the success of the battle depending on taking the five hills of the deep forested area.
The Battle[]
1st Day[]
| “ | There's just one thing the two of you should keep in mind. I am certain that...this battle will not be as straightforward as a simple contest for these hills. | ” |
—Kyou Kai to Shin and Ka Ryo Ten. | ||
On the first day Kan Ki's strategy was to send the Rai Do Clan to the left and Hi Shin Unit to the right in order to push in as deep as possible before engaging the enemy and establish a defensive line. This would allow them to take the central hill.
Kyou Kai was sent first in order to scout for enemies, while the rest of the Hi Shin Unit followed behind as quickly as possible. However, Shin and the others were ambushed by Ba Tei’s Army. Meanwhile, Ryuu Tou was able to use the river in order to sneak his way far into the forest and take the hill on Qin's side. Hi Shin Unit went back to recapture the hill, but they found out that it was abandoned by Zhao and the attack was only a ploy to distract them from pushing forward. Due to that Kan Ki's plan to establish a line past the central hill, had gone up in smoke and the hill became Zhao's zone of control.
The Hi Shin Unit found themselves struggling with Ba Tei and Ryuu Tou's guerrilla warfare for the rest of the day and unable to push back the Zhao's lines. Meanwhile, Kyou Kai discovers human settlements in Kokuyou Forest. She decided to warn the civilians about the battle.
On the left side of battlefield Kan Ki has personally come to Zenou and ask him to turn the tables. Thanks to the Zenou Clan, the Qin began to break through Zhao's 20,000 army. In response Kei Sha decided to send his soldiers to the center hill as a bait. After that he launched a flanking attack on the 2nd unit in order to completely cut off Rai Do's reinforcements. This enabled him to isolate Rai Do and Zenou clans and force them to retreat. However, Zenou and Rai Do climb to the hill and burned all the fortifications that Zhao tried to build.
After the sunset Kyou Kai found herself stuck behind enemy lines. She decided to use this opportunity to sneak into Zhao camp and assassinate Ryuu Tou. However, Ryuu Tou was prepared for an attack and her mission failed.
2nd Day[]
On the morning of the 2nd day, Kyou Kai was saved by the villagers living in Kokuyou region. Ma Ron came to Hi Shin Unit camp in order to inform them about the new strategy. Their objective was to begin their attempt to capture the central hill in earnest. Shin's and Rai Do's mission was to force back their respective enemies and then launch an assault on their unguarded rear as a decisive blow. Hi Shin Unit began to press Zhao forces on the right, however they had to stop when they found out that Ba Tei fortified a position on a riverbank, which is the hardest formation to break. After a while Ten cooks up a plan to cross the river. First, the wider pathed shallow in the center was manned by a large force of Hi Hyou and So Sui Unit's shielded soldiers lead by Shin. This was to focus enemy attention on the first attack, while So Sui and a small group of seasoned veterans made another attack on the other shallow at a point which sticks out from the bank. The third step was an attempt made by En to cross the river at the deepest point of the river where Ba Tei didn't bother to place any soldiers and attack Zhao from behind. With this strategy they were able to take control of the shores and force Ba Tei to retreat. Rai Do’s forces on the left were ordered to wait and restrain themselves from attacking. On the left side of the hill Ma Ron clashed equally with Kin Mou, while on the right Zhao’s Kai Gou was being dominated by Qin forces led by Koku'Ou. However, the situation changed when Ki Sui personally appeared on the hill to boost morale. In response Koku’ou summoned Kaku'un but he was quickly slain by Ki Sui. This forced Koku Ou to make a full retreat.
3rd Day[]
On the 3rd day, Ba Tei and his forces struggle against the Hi Shin Unit. Ka Ryo Ten decides to not push their forces further and instead sent most of the unit right under the hill. This forced Ki Sui to spread his army against two enemies which naturally made some openings in his formation. Both Ka Ryo Ten and Koku On did not attack and instead were waiting for Kan Ki's orders. Every strategist on the field was waiting for Kan Ki to make a move in that moment. However, Kan Ki simply allowed 3rd day to come to an end without doing anything.
4th Day[]
On the 4th day, the Hi Shin Unit once again engages the combined armies of Ba Tei and Ryuu Tou, while waiting for Kan Ki's orders. Every other location on the battlefield maintains the same stalemate as the day prior. This resulted in Kei Sha becoming inpatient and attacking Hi Shin Unit with his elite guards leaving his "web". Shin's men became surrounded between Ba Tei and Ryuu Tou Armies and Kei Sha forces, and they've been slowly wipe out. However, it turned out this was all according to Kan Ki's plan and Kei Sha found himself attacked by Zenou Clan that broke diagonally through Ki Sui's formations and went for Kei Sha's head. Despite that, Kei Sha manages to escape the clash when saved by Ki Sui who descended from the hill. Koku Ou used this opportunity to attack Zhao forces on the hill and Ki Sui was forced to get back.
Meanwhile, Shin decided to chase after Kei Sha. Ryuu Tou and his soldiers try to stop them. Before they could kill Ten, they are confronted by Kyou Kai who just return to the battlefield.
Kei Sha vs Shin.
Thanks to Na Ki's assistance Shin was able to catch up to Kei Sha and killed him after an intense one on one duel.
Shin of the Hi Shin Unit slays General Kei Sha, the man closest to the final sit of the Three Great Heavens and protégé of Ri Boku.
At the same time, Ryuu Tou is killed by Kyou Kai as she stabs him in the chest. Ryuu Tou, now dying, is still adamant in stopping the Qin invaders but Kyou Kai swears to the Rigan General that she will make sure that whatever fate he fears for Rigan will not happen on her watch, she then returns his protective ideal. Ryuu Tou breathes his last breath and dies. As the soldiers of the Kyou Kai Unit cheer, Ryuu Tou's soldiers, stricken with grief, prepare to kill her. Kyou Kai, still fatigued from her wounds, falls in moving but suddenly Shin appears and saves from the Ryuu Tou soldiers. The Hi Shin Unit, successful in their task, retreat immediately.
On the top of the hill, Ki Sui and Kin Mou decided to keep fighting and claim the hill. Ba Tei was sent to the left side in order to begin to push Koku’Ou's back. At the same time Ki Sui supported Kin Mou on the right flank to pincer the Ma Ron Clan. Kan Ki realized that something had changed on the battlefield and summoned the Saki Clan to torture captured Zhao soldiers. After that he realized the way to win the battle and ordered all of his forces to surrender the central hill to Zhao troops. His lieutenants returned to the main camp surprised, while Zhao army took the hill and began to fortify it into a stronghold.
5th Day[]
Kan Ki's Gift to Ki Sui.
In the morning of 5th day, Ki Sui and Kin Mou are greeted by the sight of burning villages in the forest. Shin and Kyou Kai discovered that the villages were burned by Kan Ki's men and all the citizens were slaughtered. They immediately went back to Kan Ki and burse in anger in front of him. The argument turned into a fight and soon both Kan Ki and Shin became a hostage. However, after a while Kan Ki decided that he will let them go and promised to not plunder any more villages in the region.
Later Ki Sui's soldiers discovered a "gift" that was sent by Kan Ki - a giant bridge arc made from the corpses of slaughtered villagers of Kokuyou , which made all those present tremble from utter shock and anger at the brutality, sick to their stomachs as they threw up, or scream in anger as they called Kan Ki and his soldiers mad. The message attached to it was stated that Kan Ki will do far worse to Rigan castle. In the same moment that Ki Sui read the message he was informed by his soldier that more than half of Kan Ki Army began to move towards the Rigan city. Ki Sui who worried about the City of Rigan above anything else decided to abandon the hill and return to the city. Afterwards, the Hi Shin Unit, Zenou Clan and other units were able to easily recapture it, since the fortifications were not yet finished. With the central hill recaptured, the battle ended with Qin's victory.
Gallery[]
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