The quiet before the storm was palpable. Linzi stood as a fortress under siege, its once-mighty gates and towering walls now showing the marks of Ayanokoji's relentless tactics. Yet, there was no rush in his approach. He knew the value of patience, of waiting for the perfect moment to strike. As his army encircled the city, he took time to reflect on the strategy that had brought him to this point and to explain the intricacies of his plans to his closest officers. They had followed him from the beginning, through countless battles and sieges, but even they were sometimes awed by the meticulous nature of his approach.
"General," one of his officers said, stepping forward with a scroll in hand, "it appears that the city is beginning to feel the pressure. The defenders are not responding as they once did. They are growing restless."
Ayanokoji did not look up immediately but instead fixed his gaze on the map of Linzi laid out before him. His finger traced the key points—gates, walls, choke points—before he finally spoke.
"You see, this is exactly what I anticipated. The external pressure will mount, and that will fracture their unity. They are not simply defending a city—they are defending an ideal, a legacy. But when that pressure turns inward, when the city's own survival is threatened, their allegiances will shift. Watch, and you'll see what I mean."
His voice was calm, as if he were discussing a chessboard rather than the lives of thousands. His generals listened intently, knowing that Ayanokoji had a way of seeing battles unfold that few could match.
"We have already set the stage," Ayanokoji continued. "Now, it is time to push them closer to their breaking point."
One of Ayanokoji's primary tactics was isolation. Linzi had already been severed from the outside world, and this was a key element of his strategy. While the defenders inside the city clung to their fortifications, Ayanokoji knew that the longer they were cut off, the more their morale would falter.
"They believe that reinforcements are coming," Ayanokoji said, turning to his strategist, "but they are gravely mistaken. No help will come. The city is surrounded, and their supply lines are dead. Every day they hold out is one more day of diminishing returns."
"But what of their soldiers?" his strategist asked. "They are still well-trained, and their generals have not yet surrendered."
Ayanokoji nodded thoughtfully. "That is true. But these things, soldiers, generals, walls they are only temporary obstacles. The true crux of warfare lies in the mind of the enemy. I have already won, because I understand that their greatest asset is their belief in their own strength."
He turned his gaze back to the map. "I have always said that war is not won by armies alone. It is won by breaking the resolve of the people. The soldiers will fight on as long as they believe in victory. When they lose that belief, the fight is over."
Ayanokoji's eyes glinted with cold calculation. "We will continue tightening the noose. When their food supply dwindles and they begin to fear starvation, when they realize that reinforcements are not coming, that is when their hearts will break."
Ayanokoji now focused on the next stage: attrition. The siege was slowly wearing down the defenders, but Ayanokoji had a more refined approach than simply bombarding the city day after day. He had studied the psychology of those within Linzi, and he knew that a continuous barrage would only delay the inevitable. What he needed was a tactical breakthrough, a shift in the defenders' mindset that would make their situation impossible to deny.
"We will not waste our resources on futile attacks," Ayanokoji explained, pacing as he spoke. "Instead, we will apply selective pressure. We will focus on specific parts of the city—particularly the areas where morale is already faltering. Let their walls stand in some places. But where we strike, it will be like an invisible wound, slowly bleeding them dry."
The senior strategist knew what he was talking about. 'Such a cold and ruthless strategy. Using citizens of the nation against them!'
Seeing the confused look on the lower ranked officers Ayanokoji pointed to the map again. "See here, near the western gate? There is a food depot there. It's well-stocked, but it is the last place we need to cut off. If we strike there and destroy it, the defenders will lose not only their food, but their will to fight. A starving army is a broken one."
He continued, "Our siege engines will focus on specific targets—these weak spots, these supply centers. We won't waste time with full-on assaults on the walls. No. We will starve them, break them from within. When they can no longer eat, when they begin to fight each other for scraps, then the city will fall."
The strategy was brutal, but Ayanokoji knew it would work. He had used it before. A slow, methodical grinding down of the enemy, forcing them to face the cold truth that no matter how hard they fought, there was no escape.
"Now, we move to the next layer of the strategy: psychological warfare," Ayanokoji said. "By now, they will have received messages that their neighbors are under threat, that the outside world is crumbling. They will hear of our victories in other cities, how we've crushed every army that dared to stand against us. This, too, will erode their will to fight."
Ayanokoji paused, allowing the full scope of his plan to sink in. "I will send emissaries into the city, not to offer peace of course, but to give them the truth. They will tell the defenders that their fate is sealed. That Linzi will fall, that they will be surrounded and crushed. This is not an offer of surrender; it is the harbinger of their doom."
His generals nodded, understanding that this final psychological blow would push the defenders to the brink. "They will begin to fracture," Ayanokoji continued, "and when the cracks appear, we will exploit them. We will target their leaders, their commanders. Not with force, but with subtlety."
He turned to one of his officers. "You will identify the dissenters. There will always be some who doubt, some who wish for an end to the suffering. They will not be hard to find. Once we isolate them, we offer them a choice: fight and die for a lost cause, or surrender and live to see another day."
"Finally, the moment of assault," Ayanokoji said, his voice lowering. "I will not throw my forces into the breach blindly. No. We will strike when the defenders are at their weakest, when they no longer trust their leaders, when their food has run out, and when they know that no reinforcements are coming. That will be the moment we make our move."
He stood silent for a moment, allowing the weight of his words to settle on the men around him. "The final assault will be swift. We will breach the gates, break their walls, and sweep through the city with the full force of our army. They will have no place to hide. No more hope."
"Once the city is ours, we will integrate it swiftly into the Qin Empire," Ayanokoji continued, now focusing on the aftermath. "The people will be exhausted, broken, and ready to accept our rule. We will rebuild Linzi, not as a symbol of Qi's might, but as a testament to Qin's enduring strength."
He turned toward his officers, his gaze cold and resolute. "There is no alternative. Linzi will fall, and with it, the last vestige of Qi's power will crumble."
As Ayanokoji finished outlining his plan, he could already see the cracks in the defenders' resolve. The siege had done its work. The defenders were losing heart. The messages of doom, the steady erosion of their resources, and the psychological pressure had combined to bring them to the edge of collapse.
"In the end," Ayanokoji said, his voice softening as he looked at the map of Linzi, "the city will surrender not because of our strength, but because they will have no more strength to resist. And when they surrender, it will not be out of honor or bravery. It will be because they have no other choice."
With that, he turned to leave the tent, his mind already focused on the next stage. "Prepare for the final assault," he said, his voice as cold and calculating as ever. "Linzi will fall, and with it, Qi."