Since it was a "must-win" battle, Huang Xie didn't put much effort into arranging his troops. He was even worried that if his side's formation was too good, it would put psychological pressure on the Qin army's general, Ying Feng. It’s just superficial work!
When "Ying Feng" appeared in front of the Qin army wearing his signature armor, Huang Xie smiled. The moment of becoming famous in a battle had finally arrived.
"Master, why is Yingfeng wearing a scarf?" Mu Chun asked behind Huang Xie. Logically speaking, a civilian counselor like him should not appear in the battle formation. Isn't this because of the special situation? Not only Mu Chun, but also Chun Shenjun The top ten counselors in the government are all here.
"Maybe he feels that he is losing face!" Huang Xie said with a smile: "After all, he has to face a destined defeat. Wearing a scarf will make him feel better!"
"Haha, Master's analysis is right!" Mu Chun said with a smile.
"Blow the war drums!" Huang Xie issued the attack order: "After three drums, the whole army will cover up and kill them. This battle will be won!"
The Chu army sounded the first war drum, and the Qin army followed closely.
After a short interval, the Chu army's second battle drum sounded. At this moment, "Ying Feng" waved his long sword in his hand and shouted: "Attack!"
Then, the Qin army rushed towards the Chu army with the sound of the second drum, 50,000 people all cavalry, and the ground shook under the horses' hooves.
"Are you crazy to win a seal?" Mu Chun was startled.
Huang Xie waved his hand and assumed that Ying Feng's behavior was to reduce his culpability for the defeat. Even if he was defeated, at least he fought bravely and led his soldiers to attack the enemy's battle formation. The reason for the defeat can only be explained by both sides. The disparity in military strength is too great.
"Since the Qin army has taken the initiative to attack, let's withstand it first, and then defend and counterattack!" When Huang Xie ordered, the Qin army had already rushed within the range of the Chu army's bows and arrows.
Since Huang Xie abided by the agreement he had made with Yingfeng in advance, he did not order the archers to release arrows. Besides, he had no intention of using bows and arrows in the first place.
The Qin army was getting closer and closer, and the legs of many Chu soldiers began to tremble. To be honest, they had never fought such a battle. What was the difference between this and putting your head on someone else's knife? Huang Xie did not follow the soldiers either. I said this was actually an "exercise".
Except for Huang Xie, all the counselors' expressions changed. Although they had never experienced such a scene, the murderous look on the faces of the Qin soldiers did not look like they were fake.
Huang Xie also noticed this and placed his right hand on the hilt of his sword involuntarily. He looked back at the counselors and suddenly wanted to escape.
No, you have to hold on!
"Warriors, defend the enemy!" Huang Xie shouted, but everyone around him could hear that his words were not confident enough.
The result, of course, was no doubt that the Qin army was like a sharp knife, fiercely inserted into the Chu army's formation, as if it was devastating, the Chu army cried for father and mother, and the square formation was quickly cut off at the waist.
"How could this happen?" Huang Xie exclaimed. The Qin army's charge caused such serious consequences.
"Master, something is wrong!" Mu Chun was shocked.
At this time, the Qin army had completed an attack, turned back and charged again, this time heading straight for Huang Xie.
"Did Ying Feng get rich by breaking his promise?" Huang Xie scolded: "This bastard, even if he doesn't cooperate, he actually plotted against me and gave me all his strength to kill the Qin army general!"
"Huang Xie, stop dreaming!"
With a tiger's roar, "Ying Feng" who was rushing to the front took off the scarf on his face, revealing his true face.
It was not a win at all. Huang Xie was stunned for a moment, then pointed at the other person with a trembling finger and asked: "You... who are you?"
"The new commander-in-chief of the Qin Army, Meng Ao!" Meng Ao sneered and reported his name. In order to make Huang Xie give up, he added: "Yingfeng has been taken into custody and is now being escorted back to Xianyang. Huang You've fallen into a trap, and you're going to die!"
"Ah!" Huang Xie sat down on the chariot and shouted hysterically: "Retreat, retreat to the camp...quickly..."
As soon as Huang Xie ran away, the Chu army was in chaos and then collapsed. Meng Ao took advantage of the victory and pursued him until he reached the Chu army's camp. The panicked Chu army was unable to withstand the impact of Qin's cavalry. Even the camp was abandoned and he was dead. They fled towards the hinterland of Chu State.
The 200,000 troops were killed and wounded and fled in all directions. Less than a hundred people followed Huang Xie. Four of the ten counselors died from random swords, three were shot to death by crossbow arrows, and two accidentally fell off their horses and were killed by themselves. The man was trampled to death, leaving only Mu Chun with half an arrow on his butt, and the blood that flowed out almost stained the saddle red.
"How could this happen?" Huang Xie couldn't understand that things would develop to such a point, and how could Meng Ao replace Yingfeng at the critical moment!
"Master, Meng Ao is Lu Buwei's man, so the mastermind behind this moment must be Lu Buwei!" Mu Chun endured the pain and analyzed: "Suwen Lu Buwei has many capable people under his command, especially Sima Jing in terms of intelligence. Such a person can find out that you want to bribe the Qin general!"
"What a failure!" Huang Xie regretted it. He was obviously an undercover agent of his enemy by his side! But now it was important to escape. Besides, the matter was already like this. Not to mention that there was no time for a thorough investigation, and even if there was, it could not be undone!
"Master, where are we going?" Mu Chun asked.
Huang Xie thought for a moment and said, "Go to Xingcheng. It's still under my control. As long as I hold on, Empress Yan and Li Yuan can't do anything to me!"
After running wildly all the way, Huang Xie and others returned to Xingcheng, setting up defenses while gathering the remaining soldiers. The Chu army who fled here with him was less than 10,000 people, and the 200,000-strong army was almost wiped out in this battle.
Meng Ao did not pursue Xingcheng. After all, he only had tens of thousands of cavalry at his disposal. After going deep into the empire, he could not keep up with supplies and could easily be surrounded and annihilated by the enemy.
However, the Qin army still took away nearly two hundred miles of land and dozens of villages and towns from Chu, and tens of thousands of Chu people became Qin people.
This incident spread to the capital of Ying, and the whole country was shocked. The 200,000-strong army fought a decisive battle with 50,000 Qin troops, but was killed without the ability to fight back. The remaining soldiers who fled to various places were gathered on the spot, and the defeated troops who were still in Huangxi were gathered together. The 10,000 people under control were only 40,000 to 50,000, which meant that more than 150,000 Chu troops were killed.
From the mouths of the defeated army, brother and sister Li Yan and Li Yuan obtained the "truth" about the defeat. Huang Xie did not have the ability to command an army at all, and actually watched the Qin army coming and remained indifferent. What's more, he naively thought that he Being able to bribe the opponent's general to let him off the hook eventually fell into their trap.
Then, the two brothers and sisters publicized Huang Xie's ambitions for this war, and soon the whole country knew that he intended to use fake military achievements to gain the support of the people.
Huang Xie's reputation in Chu State was disgraced. He turned from a wise minister to a street rat. He ended up betraying his relatives and alienating his relatives. Especially the retainers he spent a lot of money to support not only scattered the animals, but also robbed his mansion before leaving.