Except for one of the three explosion points that did not directly blow out a gap in the city wall, the other two were very successful. The length of the gap was more than five feet, which was much wider than the city gate which was only one foot wide.
The explosion occurred just before dawn. People are often the sleepiest at this time, and there were not many defenders on the city. So after the explosion, the Qin army soldiers ran here while putting on their armor.
My dear, you have two such wide holes!
When the Qin army saw this, they were all dumbfounded. Although there was a wide and deep moat outside the gap, without the city wall as a barrier, how much role could a river play?
"What the hell is going on?" Tongguan guard general Ying Ming yelled.
A soldier stepped forward and said: "The Zhou army took advantage of the night to set up three explosion points outside our city wall, and then detonated the gunpowder. The result was..."
"Charge, kill..."
At this time, shouts of killing were everywhere, and the Zhou army divided into three groups and rushed towards the city wall quickly. Although there was an explosion point that failed to blow open the city wall, that area was already crumbling. With a little more material, It will collapse.
"Order the soldiers to mount the city wall to defend, order the trebuchets to move back, aim at the open fire, and be sure to keep the enemy out!" Ying Ming roared.
Under normal circumstances, the defending side will place its main force on the city gate building and a section of the nearby city wall. But now, the three explosion points are far away from the city gate. It is difficult for the Qin army to attack those three for a while. The local area formed effective defensive measures, which gave the Zhou army an opportunity.
The Zhou troops at the front were cavalry. They held shields and put two bags of earth on their saddles. With the impact of their horses, they rushed to the river and threw them into the moat, then quickly returned.
Following the cavalry were the infantry. They carried ladders with shields tied to them, placed them on the moat that had been almost cut off at the waist, stepped on the shields and continued to charge forward.
…
Chu State, royal palace.
"Sister, I really don't know what you are thinking. How can you say that you want to surrender to Da Zhou?" Li Yuan's eyes widened with anger, glaring at Li Yan who was sitting on the bed holding his son.
Li Yan raised his head and said calmly: "Don't you think this is a good method? Although our Chu State has thousands of miles of fertile fields and hundreds of thousands of troops, it has never been the opponent of Qin State, and now it is not even the great Zhou Dynasty. The opponent of Qin is about to be destroyed by Zhou Dynasty. What else can we do if we don’t surrender?"
Li Yuan shook his head and said: "Sister, you are wrong. As the saying goes, when two tigers fight, one of them will be injured. Qin and Zhou saw that no matter who wins or loses, the winning side will suffer great losses. I don't believe it. After their tragic victory, they still have the strength to attack Chu! You are thinking too much. For ten thousand steps, Zhou will definitely win. What if we surrender to them and they lose to Qin? What should I do?”
Li Yan opened her mouth, but hesitated. She knew very well that Ji Jie could never be defeated by others, and it was impossible for Dazhou to be defeated by Qin.
"But Zhou Dynasty has already sent troops to our border!" Li Yan said.
"I know this!" Li Yuanyin said with a smile: "Our Da Chu is not the Qi State. Ji Jie's two-front battles cannot be so smooth every time. Don't worry, brother, as the marshal of the army, I will definitely I will lead the people to fight against the enemy's invasion and drive them out of the Chu Kingdom."
Now, Li Yan regrets handing over the military and political power of the Chu State to Li Yuan. As a result, her words now have almost no weight, and Li Yuan has the final say on all matters in the country.
After walking out of the palace, Li Yuan spat on the ground and said to himself bitterly: "Sister, since your elbows are turned outward, don't blame your brother for being unkind. My dear nephew, you did it at such a young age. Having served King Chu for such a long time, he must have had enough of it. How can my uncle watch a child like you endure such great pressure? I’d better leave it to my uncle!"
Returning to his home, Li Yuan recruited a group of close followers and began to plan to usurp the throne of the King of Chu.
…
Although the Qin army resisted vigorously, they still could not stop the Zhou army's tidal attack. More and more Zhou army soldiers entered the tube through the gap in the city wall and started a melee with the Qin army.
"Report to General, there are more and more enemies, and our army is almost unable to withstand it!" the ordering soldier knelt down in front of Ying Ming and said.
Ying Ming punched the table and said: "If you can't stand it, you have to stand up to me. I will personally go up to supervise the army and give orders to all ministries. If anyone dares to take a step back, I will punish you on the spot!"
"yes!"
The appearance of Ying Ming cheered up the demoralized Qin army, but this situation did not last long. Who let them face the Zhou army that was several times their own? In Ji Jie's view , their previous appearance was more like the reflection of a dying old man.
The city wall at the gap was already controlled by the Zhou army. Ji Jie came over calmly on his war horse. He smiled and said to the people around him: "The defensive ability of the Qin people is nothing more than this. Under the attack of our Zhou warriors, , they are also helpless!"
"Yes!" A general nodded, and then asked the battle: "Your Majesty, all the credit has been taken away by General Xiong Ben. We are greedy. Do you think you can let us go up too? We haven't eaten the meat. , you have to take a sip of the soup!”
"You guys, okay, come on up!" Ji Jie waved his hand generously, and several generals were overjoyed, and quickly led their troops to press forward.
Seeing that the situation was irreversible, Ying Ming had no choice but to issue the order to retreat, and fled to Xianyang with the remaining defeated generals.
Xiong Bi led his men to chase Ying Ming for dozens of miles, but he still felt that he still had some unfinished business. If not for Ji Jie's order, he would have dared to chase Ying Ming all the way to Xianyang City.
The fall of Tongguan awakened the Qin ministers who were dreaming of victory, and everyone in the government and the public was shocked.
Ying Ming, who was extremely kind in the court, his clothes and armor were in tatters and his face was dirty, he knelt in the main hall, lowered his head and told the whole story of the fall of the pass.
Ying Zheng was furious and shouted: "Tongguan is the last barrier of our Qin capital. It must be caused by your neglect of duty. Do you know your guilt, Ying Ming?"
Ying Ming was so frightened that he trembled all over and said, "The general will finally be convicted!"
"Then take him out and chop him down as a warning to others!" Ying Zheng had murderous intentions.
"No, Your Majesty!" Wang Jian stepped forward and pleaded for Ying Ming: "Although General Ying was defeated, the number of soldiers who escaped with him was only a few hundred. This shows that he had tried his best at that time. Victory or defeat is a common matter for military strategists. , Your Majesty, please give me a gentle sentence!"
"What General Wang said makes sense!" Lu Buwei also took a step forward and said, "Let the winning general accept his guilt and make meritorious service!"
"Report..." A court lieutenant knelt down on one knee in front of the superior Ying Zheng, clasped his fists and said: "Report to your Majesty, the Zhou army has already arrived at the city, surrounded our Xianyang City, and threatened that we will not attack within three days. If the city surrenders, they will rush in!"