Chapter 588 The decisive battle is coming, orderly arrangements
"Quick! Bring the arrow over here!"
"Get more boulders!"
On top of the city, many Chu people were rushing back and forth. Amidst the angry shouts of the Chu army generals, they could clearly see that every citizen was holding a stone in his hand, and some were carrying it.
There were bundles of arrows, and beside the city road, rows of Chu soldiers looked quietly at the mighty Qin army not far outside the city.
"County Duke, County Yin! The Qin army has at least 50,000 troops. I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to hold on!"
A man in silk clothes walked among the people of Chu State, and then came to two men, one old and one strong. After hesitating, he raised his hands and said.
When Qu Fang heard the man's words, he frowned slightly and looked at the Qin army outside the city. Qu Fang naturally understood that trying to resist the Qin army with only a thousand soldiers and three thousand men in the city was nothing more than a dream.
But within a few dozen miles, it was the territory of his Qu family, and Qu Fang was still unwilling to give it to Qin.
"If you can't hold it, you have to hold it, and delay it for General Xiang Yan and General Jing Qi!"
When Qu Fang said this, he looked at his guest and said, "Squeeze."
"The news came yesterday that General Xiang Yan defeated the Qin army and beheaded 200,000 of the Qin army! Seven captains, when General Xiang Yan arrives with his troops, Bai Yan will undoubtedly die!"
After Qu Fang finished speaking, he looked out of the city with crazy eyes.
The old face of the county magistrate Qu Tian on the side was also full of melancholy at this moment. Unfortunately, most of his clan's troops had already been transferred to Juyang City. Otherwise, if the Qin army wanted to capture this place, it would take less than ten days and a half.
Nothing less than delusion.
However, Qu Tian also couldn't understand why the Qin army could attack more than 20 cities in a short period of time. This speed of attack was something that Qu Tian had never seen in his life of dealing with Qin.
, is no exception.
what happened?
Also, as important places to the east of Chu State, such as Zhongwu City and Hongcheng, why did they not play any role in stopping the Qin army?
As long as Zhongwu City and Hongcheng led the troops to defend, the Qin army would never be able to arrive here so quickly!
Dong Dong Dong~
While thinking about it, Qu Tian heard the Qin army beating drums outside the city. Qu Tian, who had fought against the Qin army at a young age and had joined the United Nations, knew the meaning of the Qin army's drum beats.
"The Qin army is attacking the city, let people prepare!"
Qu Tian said, with a look of melancholy and worry on the old man's face.
"promise!"
Qu Fang's retainer, hearing the words, quickly accepted the order and turned to leave.
At the moment when he turned around and left, all the people who were running back and forth in the city slowly stopped and looked outside the city. All the Chu soldiers standing beside the city walls were holding crossbows, long spears, and sharp swords.
, also fell silent and stood up unnaturally.
It turned out that just outside the city, the mighty Qin army, under the eyes of everyone, formed a black phalanx of Qin soldiers and began to press into the city wall.
This made everyone who saw it feel nervous and their breathing seemed to stop.
"Quick! The Qin army is coming! Defend the city!"
"Prepare arrows! Kill the Qin army!"
Amidst the loud shouts of the Chu army generals, the common people, whose faces were full of fear and sluggish expressions, finally came to their senses and continued to walk quickly. Their tired steps also intuitively accelerated much at this time.
After a while.
As the Qin army came like a sea of people, the soldiers of the Chu army in the city road held bows and crossbows and fired arrows at the Qin army outside the city.
However, there were too few crossbows in the city, and there were not even many Chu soldiers guarding the city. Although it was clear that many Qin soldiers were killed after arrows were shot at the Qin army, but compared with the huge crowds of Qin soldiers,
The Qin army's casualties and casualties were like a few drops of raindrops on the lake. They were swallowed up by the Qin army behind them in an instant.
Four or five arrows passed by in succession. When the soldiers of the Chu army were firing arrows, they saw the Qin army who had reached the city wall not far away. They also raised their bows and fired arrows at the top of the city.
This scene shocked many Chu soldiers and lowered their heads almost instinctively.
When many young Chu soldiers saw this scene, they did not react. Just as they looked outside the city, a dense rain of arrows fell from the left and right. One after another, the Chu soldiers were hit by arrows and fell to the ground dead.
And in the city road, many people did not react and fell to the ground directly after being shot by arrows.
Countless screams suddenly filled the entire city.
"kill!!!"
"kill!!"
Listening to the roar of killing, I felt the morale of the Qin army. Not to mention the people on the city road, even the soldiers of the Chu army couldn't help but have cold hands and feet and trembled constantly.
Now the gap between the Chu people and the Qin army is not only in the number of people, but also in the military reserves and the morale of the soldiers. They are far from compared with the Qin army. Just like just now, the soldiers of the Qin army were still able to escape their arrows.
And they have nothing.
Having said that, being in the hinterland of Chu State, far away from the border, who would have thought that Qin State would attack here so quickly. This also caused all the previous reserves to go to Juyang City along with the soldiers and horses in the city.
Looking at the arrows all over the city road, almost all the soldiers of the Chu army were filled with despair. At this time, the crashing sound coming from behind made the soldiers of the Chu army even more nervous. Some old soldiers stood up and looked outside the city.
In an instant, he saw the dark Qin soldiers outside the city, climbing up the city ladder one by one.
"The Qin army is waiting for the city, kill them quickly!"
"kill!!!"
At the reminder of the old soldiers of the Chu army, the soldiers of the Chu army who were hiding behind the wall raised their crossbows again, braved the rain of arrows, and fired arrows at the top of the city.
Under the orders of the generals of the Chu army, the people of Chu State continued to throw huge rocks and trees towards each other outside the city.
In an instant.
On the ladders outside the city, the Qin soldiers who kept climbing were hit by arrows or fell down one after another. Some of the ladders even made a faint sound when they were hit by boulders on the crossbars. Then the boulders hit the Qin soldiers on the ground outside the city.
Death.
But all the Qin soldiers seemed to be red-eyed. Whenever a Qin soldier fell down, there would be countless hands grabbing the shield, holding the shield on their heads, and climbing up the city ladder.
One after another, it seemed that no one was afraid of those arrows and boulders. Those Qin soldiers who fell down and died miserably, or screamed in pain, it seemed that other Qin soldiers could not see them, even some impatient Qin soldiers, even if they did not
Wooden Shield also scrambled to grab a sharp sword and climbed up.
All the Qin soldiers were going crazy. At a glance, all the Qin soldiers on the stairs to the city were climbing desperately.
"kill!!!"
"kill!!"
The roaring sound echoed throughout the sky.
In the distance in front of the Qin army, under the gaze of a group of Qin army generals, everyone was patiently watching the scene on the city wall under the cold wind.
The leader, Bai Yan, rode a war horse and looked at the city wall in the distance. He saw that the Qin army's offensive became more and more fierce, and the defensive force on the city head was weakened visibly. Bai Yan knew that this city would be destroyed by Qin soon.
The army captured.
"Report! General! In the direction of Lingcheng, Chu's army has been discovered! The number is no less than 100,000!"
A soldier from the scout battalion hurriedly rode his horse and came to Bai Yan to report.
Hear the words.
Bai Yan was not surprised, but Huipu, Yanmao, Xunshuo and other generals, as well as Cai Yue, Zhongli Hao and others who had surrendered to Qin, all frowned.
"It should be Jing Qi who leads the troops back to defense! What should we do now?"
Zhong Lihao took the lead in looking at Bai Yan and said.
When Cai Li heard this, he frowned in confusion and looked at everyone.
"But isn't General Wang Ben stationed in Jiaocheng? Why can Jing Qi still lead a hundred thousand troops to defend?"
Cai Yue's words made Zhong Lihao feel vaguely uneasy. Jing Qi had already led the Chu army to attack Jiaocheng. Why did he dare to return to the defense now? Even the soldiers and horses didn't seem to have much damage. How could this happen?
What's going on?
Could it be that Jingqi never attacked the city?
"General Bai Yan, if you don't let us, immediately mobilize all the Qin troops to fight Jingqi! Shouchun is close at hand, and if Shouchun is destroyed, the general will be immortal!"
Zhonglihao looked at Bai Yan and suggested that in Zhonglihao's eyes, after Bai Yan defeated Xiang Yan's Chu army in Qufu, as long as he defeated the army led by Jingqi, nothing could stop him.
Bai Yan attacked Shouchun and destroyed Chu.
Zhongli Hao also had selfish motives for making this suggestion. After surrendering to Qin to help Bai Yan, brothers Zhonglihao and Zhonglichuan had no way out, as did Cai Yue and other surrendered generals.
If Bai Yan fails to destroy Chu, or if the King of Qin suddenly changes his mind and orders the troops to retreat, then they will have no way out. Cai Yue and others' clansmen will be killed, and the two brothers will lose Zhongwu City again and become useless.
.
"Success cannot be accomplished in a day. There must be a reason for Jing Qi to lead the army back to the defense without caring about General Wang Ben in Jiao City!"
During this period of time, Bai Yan did not tell anyone else what Xiong Qi said.
But now, when I saw that the soldiers of the Qin army had killed and wounded the city, in an instant, the city was filled with howling and killing sounds, and there were scenes of people coming and killing each other everywhere.
“Enter the city first and then make plans!”
Bai Yan ordered.
Hewlett-Packard on the side heard this and looked towards the city in the distance.
"kill!"
HP drew his sword, pointed it at the city, and gave a loud order.
In an instant, all the generals under Huipu's command, as well as all the messengers, drew their swords and charged towards the city. The mighty Qin army was like a tsunami, all heading towards the city gate.
The number of Chu soldiers on the city was limited, and if one died, there would be no replacement. Facing the steady stream of Qin troops ascending the city, all advantages were lost, and more and more Chu soldiers began to have the idea of escape.
Within the city road.
After Qu Fang killed a Qin soldier with a sword, he keenly noticed that although the Qin soldier's clothes were black, his armor was made from Wei. For a moment, Qu Fang froze on the spot.
Wei Guo surrendered!!!
Qu Fang stared with disbelief as he looked at the Qin army heading into the city road to fight with the Chu soldiers.
Qu Fang couldn't believe that all the Qin soldiers in front of him who were rushing to the city to fight without their lives were actually Wei people!
"Impossible! Why do the Wei people sacrifice their lives for the Qin people like this?"
Qu Fang's bloodshot eyes gradually revealed a hint of shock and confusion in addition to madness.
"Sir, be careful!"
There was a cry of surprise in his ears, and Qu Fang turned his head instinctively. Then he saw two Qin soldiers jumping into the city road one after another. One of them killed Hao directly and fell to the ground. Blood splashed on the face of the Qin soldier.
, however, the Qin soldier's eyes were as crazy as his own, and when he looked over, his face was filled with joy and excitement.
Under the wide embroidered robe, Qu Fang held up his sword to block Qin Zu's assassination. Looking at Hao's body, he turned his head angrily and slashed down with his sword. Qin Zu fell to the ground instantly, but before Qu Fang could breathe a sigh of relief, another
The Qin soldiers also came towards him with excitement, but Qu Fang quickly blocked them.
During this period, Qu Fang saw with his own eyes that another Qin soldier who climbed onto the tower was stunned for a moment when he saw him, then his eyes widened and he rushed towards him crazily.
"kill!!!"
Some of the clan's most trusted generals, after initially beheading the Qin soldiers, stepped forward to help Qu Fang resist the Qin soldiers. However, as each of their close followers were killed, not only the Qin soldiers who climbed up the city road, but also the Qin soldiers who climbed up the city road.
Even the Qin soldiers in the city were rushing towards him desperately.
Qu Fang stood there, killing a Qin soldier with all his strength, and blood splashed on his face. For some reason, while Qu Fang was breathing, he suddenly noticed that the surroundings were getting quieter. He turned around and realized that there was no one except himself.
, all the cronies and retainers have fallen into a pool of blood, lying in confusion among the corpses on the ground.
"kill!!!"
"kill!!"
In an instant, countless Chang Ge stabbed towards Qu Fang. Qu Fang took a deep breath and his eyes became hollow. In an instant, before Qu Fang could fall to the ground, he saw countless Qin soldiers.
They rushed forward and slashed at Qu Fang's head with the Qin sword, fighting for Qu Fang's head.
The city gate slowly opened.
The soldiers of the Qin army, armed with long swords, poured into the city one after another.
Half an hour later.
In the mansion in the city, just as Bai Yan arrived at the mansion of County Yin Qufang and watched boxes of gold and silver treasures being moved into the courtyard, he suddenly saw a general hurriedly bringing a scholar in front of him.
"Report to the general, this person said that he has something important to report to the general!"
After the general finished speaking, he stepped aside.
Beside Bai Yan, Xun Shuo, Hui Pu, Yan Mao and other generals also looked at this man in his thirties.
"General, my name is Jun, and I am Qu Fang's retainer. Yesterday in the mansion, I heard that Qu Fang had said that General Xiang Yan defeated the Qin army at Chengfu. Li Xin and Meng Tian fled, and the Chu army beheaded them.
The Qin army has 200,000 soldiers and seven captains."
Before Bai Yan could speak, the man named Yan knelt down on the ground and spoke tremblingly. Occasionally, when he raised his head slightly, his eyes were full of fear, fear of being killed.
"What? General Li Xin was defeated?"
"this……"
Cai Yue, Zhong Lihao and others were shocked when they heard the man's words. They looked at each other with very ugly expressions and even started to panic.
Yanmao and HP looked at each other worriedly.
Xun Shuo was surprised and was about to talk to Bai Yan when he noticed that Bai Yan frowned slightly and his eyes were solemn, but he seemed... not very surprised, which made Xun Shuo confused.
"No wonder Jing Qi can lead the Chu army to come. General, I'm afraid General Wang Ben has already led his troops back to defend Qin! Our retreat..."
Cai Li suddenly thought of Jing Qi's arrival. After hearing the man's words, he immediately reacted and looked at Bai Yan with fear in his eyes.
Zhong Lihao and others also felt their hands and feet were cold at this time. They could only look at Bai Yan, hoping that Bai Yan could think of a countermeasure now.
"This news has not been confirmed to be true or false! Anyone who dares to disturb the morale of the army will be killed without mercy!"
Bai Yan didn't turn to look at anyone, but his words made everyone's hearts skip a beat.
"promise!"
"promise!!"
Yanmao, HP and others all accepted the order.
"Send a spy to Chu State to investigate the news!"
Bai Yan said to Xun Shuo, and then turned to look at Huipu: "Order the entire army to rest outside the city and distribute the rewards. Remember, it must be in front of the Chu army's surrender."
"promise!"
HP accepted the order and looked at the man solemnly. Thinking back to the man's words, HP was filled with worry, but he also knew that no matter whether the matter was true or false, he could not shake the morale of the army at the moment.
After receiving the order, HP turned around and left. Bai Yan watched HP leave, then looked at Cai Li, Zhong Lihao and others.
"Don't worry about this matter. You will send people to your respective clans first, and then you will surrender to Qin. Regardless of whether this matter is true or not, if anyone with intentions gets this information, they will definitely take the opportunity to cause chaos!"
Bai Yan ordered.
When Cai Yue, Zhong Lihao and others heard this, although they looked frightened, they knew that Bai Yan was right. They all took orders from Bai Yan, looked at each other, turned and left together.
"General! Now that Jing Qi has arrived, can we use the 30,000 Chu soldiers?"
After Yanmao saw that most people had left, he came to Bai Yan and asked curiously.
“It works!”
Bai Yan looked at the boxes of gold and silver jewelry in front of him. Since the death of Ban Ding, the affairs of the Ruo Ao family have been learned by the Chu State. The Ruo Ao family has been searched and hunted everywhere in the Chu State. At this time, there is no way out.
Apart from taking money and rewarding the soldiers during this period, there were two other reasons why they were able to attack the city so quickly. One was that the Chu army did not have enough defenders, and the other was the help of the Ruao clan.
Especially the Ruo Ao clan. After coming into contact with them, Bai Yan just became more and more emotional. He really underestimated Ban Ding at the beginning. These Ruo Ao soldiers were lurking in almost all cities. They had the identity of Chu people, neighbors, and even some people.
All have wives and children.
Thinking of the matter of burning Chu's grain and grass, half of which had been handed over to the Ruo'ao clan, and Xiong Qi also sent him back to Shouchun, Bai Yan turned his head and looked at Yanmao.
"Those Chu soldiers must be used even if they can't be used! We will immediately find out in these two days that all the generals in the Chu army, including those above the corps commander, must be enthroned! If Xiang Yan has really defeated Li Xin, he will use those Chu generals.
We will exchange for the captured Qin generals, and all the generals above the rank of corps commander will be sent back with one hand."
Bai Yan ordered.
Yanmao was shocked when he heard Bai Yan's words, with a look of astonishment on his face.
"General, everyone above the corps commander must be released? This... if we let those people go back, the Chu State will soon be able to train a large army again! General, I will see, it is better not to release them!"
Yanmao said worriedly.
As the leader of the army, Yan Mao understood that, contrary to those Chu generals, how well an army is trained and how long it takes to go to the battlefield often depends on the number of soldiers rather than the individual generals.
If you look at what happened in Qufu before, you will understand that when HP was training those Wei soldiers, all the corps commanders were veterans of the Wei State, and those above were all HP's former generals.
This is also the reason why the Qin army, composed of common people and Wei soldiers, was able to enter the battlefield so quickly, and was very obedient and well-trained.
The same is true in the Chu army. Most of the Chu army commanders and the like are soldiers who are good at leading troops and training. They are also the generals of the Chu army and the confidants of the generals of the Chu army. If those people are allowed to return
The Chu State, for the Chu State, not only got back generals and generals, but also a large number of corps commanders, what a commander!
Then soon, they will be able to pull out a large army. Wouldn't this help the Chu State?
Thinking of this, Yanmao couldn't help but worry.
"You have to give up before you can gain! Only when it is of great benefit to the Chu State and in addition to the requirements of the Chu general's family, the Chu State will agree to change the general without hesitation, and even provide other conditions."
Bai Yan said this and looked at the sky.
"It's going to snow! Even if the Chu State wants to recruit a new army, it will have to wait until next year! If we let these people go back so easily, will the Chu State be suspicious? Do we want to investigate carefully? And for us,
Let these generals, who are above the rank of corps commander, return to Chu State, and in the blink of an eye we will have more than 30,000 troops and horses!"
Looking at the weather that was about to snow, and thinking that the Ruo'ao clan had already started to attack the Chu army's food and grass, Bai Yan turned his head and saw that Yan Mao still had a puzzled look on his face, looking like he was thinking blankly. He couldn't help but laugh, and signaled to Yan Mao and him
Together we looked at the boxes of jewelry in front of us.
"Chu people are all human beings, and everyone has humanity. During this time, in front of the 30,000 Chu soldiers, I gave the officers meritorious service, titles and rewards. I sent them to the Chu State Wu Commanders in the past. When Shi Chang returned to Chu State
, we must also distribute all these gold, silver and jewels to the generals of the Chu army in front of the more than 30,000 Chu troops! Let those generals take them back!"
Bai Yan said softly.
Hearing this, Yanmao looked surprised. He wanted to ask why he had to give so much money to let him go! But when he realized what he was doing, his pupils shrank and his face suddenly showed a joyful smile.
"promise!!"
Yanmao quickly accepted the order, turned around and left excitedly.
Bai Yan watched Yanmao leave and looked at the sky again. Li Xinzhen was defeated and suffered heavy casualties. So the reason must still be Lord Changping.
Recalling what Jiu secretly investigated when he was still in Daliang.
Lord Changping, Lord Changwen's traitor here, is not Bai Yan a powerful means when fighting against Xiang Yan, Jing Qi, Lord Changping. Just like before, the more people who reassure Lord Changping, the more peaceful Lord Changping is.
The more things happen, the more Bai Yan can rely on.
"General! The arrangements have been made!"
After Xun Shuo arranged for Xi Zuo to leave at this time, he watched Yan Mao leave and walked to Bai Yan again. Looking at Bai Yan's appearance, Xun Shuo seemed to have guessed something and settled down in his heart without asking.