Crown Prince Gu Lintian's army was decimated. More than a hundred thousand men were either burned alive or poisoned to death. Most of their supplies had been incinerated, while all their remaining supplies were most likely tainted thanks to the arsenic fumes.
Many soldiers had fled, not looking back at the devastation they were fleeing from. The fires took hours to die down; they had burned down all the trees in the area and scorched the earth in the process.
Crown Prince Gu Lintian had been missing since the chaos started. When his guards had died, he tried to flee; however, no soldier had found him. They feared the worst had happened. Given that he was exposed for a few minutes to the poisonous fumes, it was fair to assume he died a horrific death.
Without a stable chain of command, bands of Gu soldiers deserted the army, whittling its numbers down to over half of its original strength. The effects of the poisonous warheads were not only inflicting physical damage but also psychological damage. The sheer chaos that was unleashed upon them had soldiers scarred for life.
General Kamensky's plan to turn the siege in their favour was a huge success, from their point of view. The Gu Army was battered and mentally drained. It did not seem like they would be able to continue the siege. With this in mind, General Lasalle was eager to ride out and truly crush them; alas, General Kamensky did not allow it and ordered patience.
The day passed by slowly. There was no movement from the Gu Army. Its top officers could not decide what to do. Their heavy losses were demoralising, and the disappearance of the Crown Prince was concerning. With no clear leader or direction, the Gu Army was basically in a daze.
Victor spent most of the day locked away in his room, replaying the horrific symphony of wails. The pungent odour of charred flesh could be smelled from the walls. His weapons had succeeded in causing devastation. The weight of over 100,000 souls rested on Victor's heart.
He was inconsolable, Field Marshal Schwarzenberg, Marshal Lannes and Marshal Bessières had all tried to comfort Victor, but to no avail. Victor was too far in his own head to comprehend the efforts of his trusted commanders. While he was locked away in his room, his generals began preparing for the next phase of the siege.
General Kamensky was atop the southern gatehouse, looking out towards the worn-down camp of the Gu Army. Many of its defences had withered away during the fire. Tents were being made out of salvaged pieces of wood and cloth. The Russian General waited for the arrival of two other generals.
The two Generals who had answered his summons were General Lasalle and General Rapp. The reason they were summoned was due to the next plan of attack. Since General Kamensky was temporarily given command to execute a counter-attack against the besiegers, he had already begun preparing for the next phase of his plan.
"Gentlemen, thank you for meeting me. As you two are aware, we still have a demoralised army on our doorstep. It seems they have not taken the opportunity to retreat. Quite frankly, I am growing tired of being boxed in this city, hence why I have summoned you two," General Kamensky stated in a playful tone.
Both of the French Generals smirked, intrigued at what the Russian General was planning. "What would you have us do?" General Lasalle asked.
General Kamensky smiled and replied, "I have sent orders for all our cavalry to prepare to sally forth from the city and wipe out the enemy. You both will have 25,000 cavalrymen each under your command. Infantry from our 3 corps will support your assault. You will depart from the city in 3 hours, just before the sun sets."
Both French Generals beamed and cupped their fists. They would shortly dismiss themselves and begin preparations for their attack. While they were doing that, General Kamensky visited Victor to alert him of what was going to happen.
"Pardon the intrusion, My Liege. I thought it proper to inform you of the next phase of my plan. Since you appointed me in charge of dealing with the Gu Army outside our walls, I have taken the liberty to prepare another attack on their camp," General Kamensky reported.
Victor, who looked miserable, replied in a soft and sad tone, "Alright, General. I trust you will lead the men to victory. What is your plan?"
General Kamensky briefed Victor about his plan. "I have ordered that all our cavalry prepare to sally forth from the city. General Rapp and General Lasalle will be leading the charge, while the infantry and I will follow behind and support them. We will begin the assault in a few hours, just before sunset."
Victor nodded slowly and dismissed the Russian General. More lives were soon to be ended. It was at times like this, when Victor felt lost, that Sergeant Junot would have been able to console him and help him find his way. Doubt had crept into his mind about his whole purpose here. What he had done against the poor people of this land was something that did not sit right with him. His guilt remained with him as he watched his army's attack
General Rapp and General Lasalle had rallied their men on the streets of Hunyuan. Cavalrymen bunched together; they clamoured in the street. The time was upon them to sally forth and bring victory for the Luxenberg Army.
General Lasalle delivered a powerful speech to impassion his men before the attack. "Soldiers of Luxenberg, hear me! We ride to meet the enemy. They enjoyed our artillery bombardment, now let them taste our steel! Strength and honour, brothers!"
The soldiers erupted in cheers as they drew their weapons and thrusted them into the air. Emboldened by General Lasalle's words, the gates were opened, and the cavalry poured out, charging straight into the enemy camp.