Chapter 487 Fighting on the battlefield, like the battle of the gods
Xunyang County of Xia State, outside Qichang Prefecture.
The sound of military drums and horns sounded one after another.
The infantry of the Yunxia and Xia armies, respectively wearing black and white armor, heard the order from the army, raised their spears in their hands, stood in a forest of spears, and rushed forward boldly.
The two armies of Yunxia and Xia were all elite men, marching like a wall in a mountain city, but their military appearance did not appear scattered at all. They were fighting in an orderly and solemn manner, and their military power was so powerful that no one dared to look directly at them.
The muffled sound of military boots on the ground is heavy and powerful, and it sounds like rumble and muffled thunder when the heavy foot is stepped on the ground.
The next moment, the two soldiers and horses collided with each other like an overwhelming force.
In an instant, there were sounds of killing, roaring, swords clashing, and arrows flying...
All kinds of sounds, mixed together, together with the pungent smell of blood, the thick smoke from the war, the broken and bloody swords, and the casualties of the Yunxia and Xia armies lying on the ground, together formed a picture of a chilling and bloody battlefield expedition.
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Looking further out, this solemn military formation can be seen at the endless flanks of the two armies. The elite cavalry teams from both Yunxia and Xia actually chose to outflank the enemy from the side, hoping to catch the other side off guard.
At this time, two cavalry teams roared towards them. They met on a narrow road and collided!
Without any hesitation or flinching, the cavalry commanders of the two sides gave orders and rushed towards the enemy.
The sound of horse hooves roared, and billows of smoke and dust were rolled up. The formations of the two armies were like thousands of raging waves, colliding together. The sounds of killing and roaring filled the sky and the earth with blood.
The two armies fought fiercely, and the bloody and ferocious aura shot straight into the sky.
The power of the underworld between heaven and earth was pulled by the army's momentum, and the destiny of the army suddenly appeared.
The visions of many elite soldiers and horses from Yun and Xia were now condensed and manifested on the battlefield, either echoing each other and connected with each other, or fighting each other to the death.
The cries of birds and beasts affect the weather of heaven and earth, set off strong winds, roll up smoke and dust, obscure vision, and block incoming arrows.
The ferocious beast looked up to the sky and roared, displaying its cruelty, and exerted supernatural powers, making the swords and swords wielded by the generals and the bows and arrows fired by all the soldiers were blessed with supernatural powers, making them irresistible!
There are also the powers of the four images and five elements, which are condensed into physical visions, driven by the army, and contain the power of heaven and earth. Wherever it passes, the earth shakes and the mountains are destroyed, almost with the power of an immortal god.
…
This mighty momentum no longer resembles a fight between mortals. Under the blessing of the vision of the army, the destructive power displayed by the two armies is just like the battle between gods and gods in mythology!
The two armies fought hard until nightfall, when they each stopped fighting. The Xia army retreated into Qichang City, while the Yun army set up camp outside Qichang City.
In the city of Qichang, where the Xia army was stationed, a group of generals gathered here, all of them looking grave and worried.
"Commander, our army's scouting horses have also found out that the river water division in Yunnan has flowed down the river. I am afraid that the Panlong Water Village has fallen..."
"Commander, the Yun Army's attack this time is fierce and unprecedented. Within one day of the war, all the camps and military strongholds outside our army's city have been uprooted!"
"Today's casualties have been roughly calculated. There are nearly 10,000 casualties among soldiers..."
"The five thousand Beisei Jingqi who were ordered to attack from the flank actually ran directly into the Yunguo Guan Ning cavalry who also wanted to attack from the flank. In order to prevent the Guan Ning cavalry from breaking into the Chinese army, the Beisai Jingqi charged desperately and fought to the death, resulting in
The survivors after the war are not enough, not enough... less than two hundred!"
Every time the military situation was reported, the faces of the generals became a little uglier.
The Xia army at the front lines of Xunyang and Nanyang counties under the command of Liao Gu totaled 250,000. Among them, 180,000 soldiers and horses were stationed in the states and counties under Qichang Prefecture and at key passes to prevent the Yun army along the river.
Then he went down and raided Jinling, the capital of Xia Kingdom.
And in the camp outside Qichang City, there are even more than 100,000 Xia army elites stationed!
But even so, in today's battle, the Yun army's offensive was more ferocious and its combat power was even more tyrannical than two years ago. The Xia army was caught off guard and found it difficult to resist.
In a day's time, all the military strongholds and camps outside the city were surrounded and captured by the Yun army.
Even though the Xia army fought desperately, it was difficult to restore the decline. In the end, they had no choice but to abandon the camp outside the city and all the troops withdrew into the city, hoping to rely on the city to hold on and resist the Yun army.
"As soon as the Yun army started fighting, they divided their forces and destroyed all the camps. They were overwhelming. Finally, they encircled them from all sides and directly captured the camp outside the city. With such an arrangement, I am afraid that the deployment of my army will be clear to all!"
A Xia Army general said with a sad face and even a hint of despair in his tone.
Another general sighed bitterly;
"Alas, the Yun State uses spies to monitor all the countries in the world. Its influence has penetrated into the imperial court, and its hands and eyes are all over the sky. I am afraid that it has already found out the military situation of our army before the war begins..."
"Damn it! Those embroiderers are so arrogant and majestic on weekdays. Why are they as dead as if they are facing the Yun Kingdom spies, and are of no use at all!"
Some people were so filled with grief and anger that they could not vent their anger, and even began to curse the Embroidered Clothes Envoy who had not dared to offend him before.
Faced with the sadness, anger and despair of the generals, the commander-in-chief Liao Gu looked a little dazed.
"Commander, Marshal?"
It wasn't until the people around him called several times that Liao Gu suddenly came back to his senses.
He calmed down his mind, raised his head and glanced at the Xia Army generals, took a deep breath, and said:
"Order, withdraw troops!"
Hearing this, the generals were suddenly startled, looked at Liao Gu suddenly, and exclaimed in unison:
"Withdrawal?"
After a moment of silence, some generals blushed and shouted angrily:
"Commander, why do you want to withdraw your troops?"
"Although we lost the camp outside the city today, the city of Qichang is high and deep, so it can be considered a strong city. Our army can still rely on the city to hold on and resist the Xia army!"
"Commander, we can't retreat so easily!"
The reason why these Xia army generals reacted so excitedly was because, firstly, the sense of honor of soldiers made them unable to accept that they could only hold on to Qichang City for one day in the face of the Yun army's offensive!
Secondly, it was also because if they abandoned the defense of Qichang City so easily and retreated without a fight, the Jinling court would definitely punish them, and these Xia army generals were naturally unwilling to do so.
Facing the angry protests from the generals, Liao Gu had a stern face, shook his head and said:
"The Yunguo River Navy has broken through Panlong Water Village. Tomorrow, the Yunguo Navy army will definitely go down the river and directly attack the county town of Chaisang!"
"Our elite troops are all in Qichang Mansion. If we don't withdraw our troops and come back for reinforcements, I'm afraid Chaisang will be lost, Xunyang and Yuzhang counties will fall, and the capital will be in danger!"
How important is Chaisang, the county seat of Xunyang County?
This Chaisang City is located on the Yangtze River waterway. It is the intersection point of many water veins in Yuzhang County and the Yangtze River waterway. It is known as "opening to Yuzhang in the south, leading to the Five Ridges, leading to the Yangtze River in the north, and traveling far to Jiangyang."
And because there are many mountains in Yuzhang County, the roads are not suitable for large armies to march. If they march by force, they will suffer too much loss and be detrimental to the morale of the army. Therefore, it is obviously not a wise choice for the Yun State army to attack Yuzhang County from Shaoyang County.
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But if the Yun army takes control of Chaisang City, they can not only continue eastward and down the river to attack Jinling. They can also go south and seize Yuzhang County, which can defend the city no matter how strong it is.
It can be said that the gain or loss of Chaisang City is related to the survival or loss of the two counties of Xunyang and Yuzhang, and even the key to the safety of the capital of Xia Kingdom and the counties south of the Yangtze River!
Having said this, Liao Gu looked around at the generals again, his voice deepened, and he said:
"If Chaisang City is lost, Qichang City will be an isolated city, just like Rong City, it will become a place of death..."
As soon as these words came out, the hearts of all the generals suddenly shivered.
During the battle at Rongcheng, Liao Gu was the commander-in-chief, and he personally led hundreds of thousands of Xia army's frontier troops to death and were completely destroyed, thus making Yun General Wu Zixu famous.
Ever since Liao Gu regained his power, no one in the army dared to mention this matter in front of him.
But I never thought that in order to persuade the generals to retreat today, Liao Gu would openly tell the matter without any hesitation!
After the generals were silent again for a while, someone just looked at Liao Gu with a complicated look, cupped his hands and said:
"I am willing to obey the command of the commander-in-chief and return to support Chai Sang!"
The remaining generals, after looking at each other, stood up one after another, bowed their heads and saluted Liao Gu, expressing their submission.
Seeing this, Liao Gu nodded slightly, gave the generals a complicated look, and said in a deep voice:
"The generals will lead their troops back to support Chaisang, and I will personally take command of Qichang City to cut off the rear of the army!"
The generals heard this and did not speak out against it.
In the eyes of the generals, after today's battle, the morale of the Xia army has been severely damaged.
At this time, a sudden order to withdraw troops would inevitably shake the morale of the army.
If there is not a person of sufficient weight to be stationed in Qichang Mansion to maintain the morale and fighting spirit of the soldiers responsible for cutting off the rear, I am afraid that once the army withdraws, the soldiers and horses responsible for cutting off the rear will suddenly collapse.
Without any resistance, the Yun army would pursue them one after another, eventually leading to the destruction of the army.
Therefore, the prestige in the army is now very high, and the Marquis of Hanchuan, who is regarded as the commander-in-chief of the army, is the best candidate to sit in Qichang City and be responsible for the end of the war!
However, Liao Gu, the Marquis of Hanchuan, was the person with the highest official status among the spies of the Yun State in the Xia State.
Did Liao Gu really want to protect Chaisang City when he issued such an order at this time?
I'm afraid it is, but not necessarily...
In order to send him to the throne, Xiao Cheng and Wu Zixu planned for several years and gave him countless military exploits. How much effort did they put into it? This was not just to obtain the defense map of the Xia army on the front line!
——
At this time, outside Qichang City, in the Yun Army camp.
Zhou Yu, who had just led his navy to join the army, quickly walked into the commander's tent, clasped his fists and saluted Wu Zixu, and said loudly:
"I've met the handsome man!"
When Wu Zixu heard this, he turned around.
Looking at Zhou Yu in front of him, Wu Zixu's stern face showed a smile of approval and nodded:
"Panlong Water Village blocks the river channel and prevents our navy from going down. It's like a fishnet stuck in the throat. We can't use skill and can only attack by force. You can capture this stronghold in one day and you should be credited with your first achievement!"
Wu Zixu truly admired Zhou Yu!
After all, all he wanted to do was invade the Xia Kingdom and destroy the Xia Kingdom's Sheji Ancestral Temple. However, he alone was too weak to take care of the more than 200,000 soldiers and horses of the land and water armies.
Having Zhou Yu, a general who is best at water warfare, is to share the worries. It also makes him more confident that this time he can break through the heavily guarded Yangtze River coast and take Jinling directly!
Zhou Yu bowed again and said with a smile:
"The last general, Marshal Xie values him!"
Wu Zixu nodded and waved to him, gesturing for him to come forward.
Zhou Yu stepped forward and came to the table, where he saw an extremely detailed map of counties and prefectures along the Yangtze River placed on it.
Wu Zixu pointed to the city marked Chaisang on the map and said:
"Chaisang City is a critical place and must be captured as soon as possible! Otherwise, if the Xia Kingdom reacts and continuously mobilizes heavy troops to guard it, it will be in trouble!"
Seeing this, Zhou Yu nodded in agreement.
After all, only by capturing Chaisang can the Yun army capture Yuzhang County and continue their attack on Jinling City!
Wu Zixu looked at Zhou Yu and said in a deep voice:
"Tomorrow, you don't need to wait for the main force of the army. You can directly lead the navy down the river."
Hearing this, Zhou Yu frowned slightly and said thoughtfully:
"Will the commander-in-chief take Chai Sang directly?"
"Chaisang City is definitely empty of troops now, but after all, it is the throat of the southeast of Xia Kingdom. The city is high and the pool is deep. With only the 50,000 navy under the general's command, no siege equipment, and no main force to help, it is difficult to conquer this place.
ah!"
Navy officers are not as good as ordinary officers because they need to fight on the water, so their armor and weapons are not as good as ordinary officers. Even though they are fierce and elite on the rivers and seas, their abilities are somewhat reduced once they are on land.
To capture the strong and tall Chaisang City, at least tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, carrying enough siege equipment, are needed to capture it. It is obviously difficult for the river navy alone to complete such a task.
Naturally, Wu Zixu could also see clearly the problems that Zhou Yu could think of.
Regarding Zhou Yu's question, Wu Zixu just shook his head slightly and said in a deep voice:
"No, I don't want you to rush to attack Chaisang City!"
"Tomorrow, most of the Xia army in Qichang City will march back to defend Chaisang. I want you to stop this army!"
Having said this, Wu Zixu pointed to a city on the map and said in a deep voice:
"This Ruichang County is the place where Qichang City's army must pass when they retreat to Chaisang."
"I want you to lead the navy army overnight, go down the river, use the Saihu Waterway, a tributary of the Yangtze River, to raid Ruichang County and intercept the Xia army's soldiers and horses!"
"In addition, after midnight tonight, all the Xia Army beacon towers along the Yangtze River will be taken over by the people at Sticky Post. You don't need to worry. To ensure nothing goes wrong, I will allocate three thousand Tianxiong troops to you.
I will go with you to seize Ruichang County."
Nearly 100,000 elite Xia troops were trapped in a city. Even the elite Yun troops led by Wu Zixu found it extremely difficult.
What's more, even if Qichang City is captured, there will still be Chaisang. After Chaisang is captured, there will be Shuzhou in Yicheng County, and Dangtu, a major military town guarding the Xia Kingdom's capital!
These places were all carefully managed by the Xia army. They were easy to defend but difficult to attack, and were garrisoned with heavy troops.
If we attack each fortified city and strategic location one by one, even the elite of the Yun Army will probably suffer heavy casualties!
In order to reduce casualties, preserve the vitality of the army, and ensure that there is enough power to capture Jinling, Wu Zixu came up with this plan.
Ask Liao Gu to cooperate and withdraw the Xia army in Qichang City to Chaisang in the name of returning to defense, and then send the Yun army to raid Ruichang County, where the Xia army must pass, intercept most of the Xia army here, and defeat it head-on!
When Zhou Yu heard this, his eyes moved slightly.
Why is the commander so sure that the commander of the Xia Army will order the army to return to defend Chaisang City?
Although there were doubts in his heart, with Zhou Yu's ingenuity in planning, in fact, after just a little thought, there was a hidden guess in his heart.
Of course, Zhou Yu did not ask too much at this time, but immediately cupped his fists and saluted, and said loudly:
"Yes, the general will lead the troops right away!"