Preliminary Battles is the 180th chapter of the Kingdom manga, written and illustrated by Yasuhisa Hara.
Summary
One month has passed since the formation of the Zhao/Qin alliance. Shin has now returned to the Hi Shin Unit and with this a new level of ferocity compared to before. Heads are flying as Wei is unable to stop Qin. Suddenly Gou Tan, a large soldier of Wei appears, as he kills a few hi Shin soldiers and nearly takes Shou Sa's head. He calls the Hi Shin Unit a cocky unit and that they shouldn't get ahead of themselves for it. The hi Shin soldiers are shocked to see that he is even bigger than Ryuu Sen. Gou Tan then calls out for Shin. He agrees and dodges one of this Wei soldier attack with ease while slaying him with one slash. The Hi Shin captain state he doesn't have time to waste on the likes of him as he has only five more years left to get to the rank of General. With this the Wei soldiers call for a retreat. A lot of Qin soldiers were wounded as then suddenly a man on a horse walk towards Shin telling him that this is not the face of a victorious man. Shin rises his head as he sees Heki.
Shin joins Heki in his camp. Heki says he is surprised that Shin has made a quite name for himself on the front lines, but Shin is not happy as these are only small skirmishes. Heki tells that he then came at the right time as he is headed to Asui for a meeting with Duke Hyou. Shin is shocked as he recalls Duke Hyou from the Battle at Dakan Plains. Heki then tells him the real reason he is here. The full effects of the Qin/Zhao alliance are about to come into play. Now that they no longer need to be cautious of Zhao, they are able to fully concentrate their military resources on Wei alone. Kanyou already devised a plan to conquer all the way to Sanyou City and to conquer all twenty cities in the surrounding region in one sweep. Shin is shocked to hear such a massive campaign is going to take place. Heki mentions that both Duke Hyou and Mou Gou have been nominated as potential candidates to lead this campaign. Heki wants to meet with Duke Hyou to asks for his opinion. He then says that this information is still a secret and tells him that if he wishes to jump up in ranks quickly, getting big accomplishments in large campaigns like these are the best choice. However, this will only be possible if he and his men are posted at important positions within the army.
After all, if he were to get stuck in the rearguard or auxiliary, he probably not going to get much done. Heki states that there won't be a year time remaining until the invasion on Wei. He gives Shin the advice until that day he needs to make the effort to earn as much merit as he can, no matter how small it may be. Also, he says that this information has been leaked to other noteworthy officers. Not to mention that other ambitious man is gathering on this battlefield. Shin thanks Heki for this information and tells him that he sees him as an older brother that is looking out for him.
A few days later a large clash was actually about to occur on Shin battlefront. For the purpose for pushing back Qin, Wei had drafted a 10,000 men strong army from the surrounding area. Qin reacted by making two armies to the south and north. This would become the region's first middle scale battle. Shin and his unit are together to come up with their strategy for this battle. With this the battle continuous and Qin north army is unable to reach the Wei HQ. The Hi Shin Unit are avoiding the Wei defenses are circling around the enemy HQ rear. Shin and his unit are pushing to get as fast as they can to the Wei HQ. Finally, Shin reaches the HQ, but to everyone surprise the HQ soldiers are already death. Another unit then approaches Shina and the Hi Shin Unit. Qin southern army special 300-Man Commander Ou Hon. Shin is angry as he was too late.
Characters
Qin
- Duke Hyou Army
- Duke Hyou (shown)
- Mou Gou Army
- Mou Gou (mentioned)
- North Army
- Unnamed members
Wei
- Unidentified Army
- Wei HQ commander and personnel (corpses)
- Gou Tan
- Unnamed infantry commander
- Unnamed members
High Points
- One month has passed since the formation of the Zhao-Qin alliance.
- Qin is at war with Wei.
- Qin plans to conquer up to 20 cities of Wei in one sweep.
- Duke Hyou and Mou Gou have been nominated as potential candidates to lead this campaign.
- Wei drafted a 10,000 soldiers army from the surrounding area where Shin is located.
- Qin reacted with making two armies to pincer Wei.
Trivia
- First appearance of Gou Tan and Ou Hon.