''Mr. Chen, we have been here in the bush for a day. You are not allowed to light a fire for cooking. You are not even allowed to put up a tent. The soldiers are jumping from the cold! what to do? "Zhang Yun and Tang Huai, a commander of the Zheng army, stood in front of Chen Xiaomu and complained.
Chen Xiaomu stood quietly behind a tall and straight larch, staring at a wide official road five hundred meters away from them in front of him. He didn't even look back and said, "Let everyone be patient a little longer. I It is estimated that the Chu army stationed in Xinjing will definitely leave the city this evening at most."
Last night, Li Gui followed Chen Xiaomu's instructions and found a large forest and bushes on the roadside thirty miles from Xinjing City to Xinyangguan. Then he led Chen Xiaomu's more than 10,000 horses and lurked quietly before dawn. When we came in, the day almost passed in the blink of an eye, and the setting sun in the distance was already hanging on the treetops. On the road in front of me, except for some pedestrians who occasionally walked by, even the birds shrank into their nests in the cold.
Chen Xiaomu asked Zhang Yun to set up a lightweight trebuchet designed by him every two feet in the bushes. There were fifty units in total. Ten explosive packets were placed next to each trebuchet. He stipulated that When the Chu army came over, of the four trebuchets beside each trebuchet, one person was responsible for lighting the fuse on the explosive package, one person was responsible for putting the package on the trebuchet, and two people were behind the trebuchet to pull the trebuchet winch. , all ten explosive packets next to the trebuchet must be thrown out within a moment.
Zhang Yun didn't know the use of throwing these tight bags with leads and wrapped in oilcloth. He thought it would be more lethal to use stones, so he suggested to Chen Xiaomu that he could replace these bags with stones. However, Chen Xiaomu vetoed it and insisted that he throw these oilcloth bags to the Chu army first.
After deploying these trebuchets, Chen Xiaomu asked Zhang Jian to leave. He appointed Zheng Jun, who was temporarily leading the Zheng army, to control Tang Huai, and asked him to select 500 horses in better condition from the Zheng army, and 500 soldiers. The strong cavalry was ready for the first round of killing. For the second round, he handed over to about a thousand cavalry from Zheng's army who were selected by Tang Huai. Because Zhang Yun's men still wore the same armor as Chu's army, they were afraid of being killed. At that time, they could not distinguish between ourselves and the enemy, which led to fratricide. Chen Xiaomu only asked them to be responsible for throwing explosive packets. He made no other arrangements. He just asked them to sit on the mountain in the bushes and watch the tigers fight.
After two rounds of explosive bombings and cavalry charges, Chen Xiaomu estimated that by the time Zheng's entire army attacked in the third round, the battlefield would have been basically cleaned up.
The sun finally set on the treetops, and darkness began to cover the earth. A rapid sound of horses came over, and more than a dozen war horses ran on the road in front of the bushes.
"This is the outpost of the Chu army, which is the pathfinder. It is estimated that the Chu army's troops will not be more than ten miles away from here!" Li Gui, the commander of the reconnaissance company, whispered in Chen Xiaomu's ear.
About half an hour later, the unique squeaking sound of the wooden wheels of the cart came again on the road, accompanied by many chaotic howls and cries, and loud shouts one after another.
Chen Xiaomu looked at Li Gui who was standing next to him. Li Gui gritted his teeth and whispered softly: "These are the common people in Xinjing City whom the Chu army captured to use as human shields. When they attack us, they often drive these common people in front of them. We were unable to be cruel for a while. When they were not far away from us, they stepped over these ordinary people and fought with us decisively.
Chen Xiaomu had only heard Ximen Ruoen talk about this before, but now he finally saw it with his own eyes, and his teeth ached with hatred.
More than 20 horse-drawn bare carts could be vaguely seen on the road, and the carts were crowded with people. On both sides of the carts were two teams of Chu army cavalry, watching these carts in the middle.
Not long after these carts passed by, the sound of a large group of people walking and kicking could be heard from behind. The Chu army was divided into four columns, three of which were infantry with spears, and one of which was cavalry on horseback. There were crowds in the middle of the group. There were four or five carriages with carriages. From a distance, it looked crowded and densely packed, but the military discipline was really good. With so many people marching together, you couldn't hear a single voice!
Chen Xiaomu made a visual inspection, and when the Chu army on the road had almost entered the strike range of his trebuchet, he waved his hand to the soldier who was waiting next to him and stood beside the trebuchet. The soldier immediately waved his hand lightly in the wind and lit it. Then he lit the fuse on the explosive bag. In the dark bushes, the light from the fire stick in the soldier's hand was extremely bright. Because of the explanation in advance, soon all the lights behind the row of trebuchets were lit. The light that started the fire.
"Boom!" As the first explosive package thrown out exploded in the Chu army's column, the following explosive packages exploded in the Chu army. First there was a bright fire, followed by a thick smoke rising into the sky. When it rose up, it not only blew up the Chu army, but also shocked the Zheng army and the Hubei army soldiers hiding in the bushes, including Zhang Yun, Ximen Ruoen and others. Ever since Chen Xiaomu invented explosives in this world, , this is the first time it has been used on a large scale on the battlefield. Except for Li Gui and more than a dozen soldiers from the reconnaissance company, who had seen its power during the sneak attack on Guo Huai's camp, no one else had seen it before.
At this time, the Chu army on the road had been blown up and their flesh and blood were flying everywhere, and they were dizzy. Many soldiers thought that this was God punishing them, and knelt on the ground and kowtowed, but the explosive packs were like hail falling from the sky. When they stopped flying, several carriages with carriages surrounded by Chu troops were instantly blown to pieces.
When they finally waited for explosives to stop flying from the sky, the Chu army on the road was still in shock. Before they could take a breath, another large group of cavalry rushed out of the bushes beside the road, holding sabers in their hands and charging towards them like a whirlwind. The remaining Chu troops panicked and fled in all directions under the sabers of this cavalry!
When the five hundred cavalrymen rushed all the way, Chen Xiaomu did not relax at all. With a wave of his hand, the more than a thousand cavalrymen waiting behind him once again swept towards the Chu army on the road. Another burst of blood and flesh flew across the road. The resistance was not even organized before they fell one after another under the iron hooves of the cavalry. The charge between the two waves of cavalry was less than a moment apart.
Zhang Yun and Ximen Ruoen stood in the grass in shock. They had never seen such a fierce fighting style. In the blink of an eye, the battle was coming to an end. When they turned their eyes to Chen Xiaomu again, they immediately turned to Chen Xiaomu. I admire his calm and methodical commanding demeanor.
After two rounds of cavalry charges, there were few Chu troops alive on the road. When more than 10,000 infantrymen hidden in the bushes rushed up again, they basically just lasted one last blow, cut off people's heads, and cleaned up the battlefield.
Tang Huai, the commander of the Zheng army after charging with the cavalry, had never fought a happy battle like today since he joined the Zheng army. He had almost no casualties, but the bodies of the Chu army were lined up along the road for several miles. Going down, he saw Chen Xiaomu standing on the side of the road commanding the infantry to clean the battlefield. He quickly drove his horse over, got off his horse in front of Chen Xiaomu, knelt down in front of Chen Xiaomu with sincerity, and reported loudly, "Mr. Chen, our army has won a great victory." Victory, this time all the Chu troops who left the new capital have been killed and wiped out by us. Please give me your instructions for the next step."
Chen Xiaomu nodded, "Now you lead a part of the cavalry to catch up with the Chu army that escorted the people to serve as human shields and rescue the people of Zheng State!"
"I will obey the order!" Tang Huai agreed loudly, got up and led his troops to chase the Chu troops who had passed by before.
"Mr. Chen, what should we do?" Zhang Yun walked to Chen Xiaomu and asked respectfully.
Chen Xiaomu raised his hand and pointed in the direction of Xinjing City, and said proudly: "We are entering Xinjing City now. You can try to find a prisoner of the Chu army to ask about the current situation in Xinjing City, and who are the Chu soldiers who are leaving the city?" Lead? Which part of the Chu army belongs to you? Then you will stand in front, shout open the city gate in the name of this Chu army general, and say that there is an ambush on the road, and then withdraw. If they don't believe it, use explosives to blow it open. City gate, in short, I must spend the night in Xinjing City tonight, and tomorrow morning I will hold a ceremony for Zheng Jun to enter the city!"
Zhang Yun's process of shouting to open the gate of Xinjing City went extremely smoothly. It happened to be a coincidence that the prisoners of the Chu army he found happened to be the personal soldiers of Wu Yan, the Chu State's guard in Xinjing City, because one of his legs was injured by an explosive pack. When he was lying on the ground, he happened to encounter a Zheng Jun infantry who came to cut his head with a knife. He was so frightened that he cried bitterly and kept kowtowing to the Zheng Jun infantry and begging for mercy. The Zheng Jun infantry softened his heart and They let him go, helped him up, and pulled him to the roadside to sit down. They happened to meet Zhang Yun coming to ask the prisoner for questioning. The infantry knew Zhang Yun, so they handed over Wu Yan's personal soldiers directly to him.
Zhang Yun quickly asked Wu Yan's personal soldier about the situation in the capital and the division he belonged to. It turned out that there were no real Chu troops in the capital now, only more than a thousand and Zhang Yun's past identity. Almost all the Hubei auxiliary troops are maintaining law and order in the city. All the Chu troops in the city, plus some Hubei auxiliary troops, a total of more than 35,000 people, have been taken out of the city by Wu Yan and are preparing to fight at Xinyang Pass. The Zheng Guo army led by Zhang Jian lured the enemy troops into a fight to the death!
Zhang Yun led his troops to the foot of Xinjing City and reported Wu Yan’s name. In addition, Wu Yan’s accent was from Hubei. The person on duty at the city gate was also a captain from the Hubei auxiliary army of Chu State. He immediately asked someone to open the city gate and lower the drawbridge. When he saw that the Chu army was followed by the Zheng army, it was too late. Zhang Yun persuaded him again. The captain knew that now If you resist, it will be as good as death. Immediately notify all the security auxiliary soldiers in the city to put down their weapons, and any resistance is prohibited.
Accompanied by Zhang Yun and Ximen Ruoen, Chen Xiaomu went to Su Chengxuan's former palace in the dark, held a torch and walked into the cold and dark hall. A huge broken horizontal sign was thrown on the steps at the door of the hall, writing a letter. There are three big characters with flying dragons and phoenixes in the political hall.
The three people walked around the horizontal sign, holding torches and continued inside. The political hall, which used to be filled with civil and military ministers, was empty and cold. On the front steps was the dragon chair where Su Chengxuan used to sit. The dragon case had long been unknown. Where to go, because the ancients were superstitious, the victorious country, from the emperor to the groom, was unwilling to live in the palace left by the fallen king, for fear of bringing bad luck to themselves, even if the huge palace was abandoned, they were unwilling to live in it. Come in.
Touching the scene, thinking about the fact that his homeland has been subjugated for more than ten years, and now these palaces in the homeland may no longer exist, Ximen Ruoen couldn't help but sob softly, Chen Xiaomu turned around and gently hugged Ximen Ruoen's shoulders, letting go She cried her heart out in her arms!
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" At this moment, an old voice suddenly came from behind the screen on the steps.
The three of them were startled. There was actually someone here. Ximen Ruoen also stopped crying and raised his head in Chen Xiaomu's arms. The dozen or so guards who were following the three of them from a distance immediately dispersed and formed a circle around them. Come up.
Not long after, an old eunuch carrying a lantern came out from behind the screen. He raised the lantern in his hand and looked at Chen Xiaomu and the others.
Since Zhang Yun and others who were following Chen Xiaomu were still wearing the armor of the Chu army, the old eunuch sighed and said: "Master Jun, I asked you to move all the valuable things in this palace, and now we are the only ones left." An old eunuch with nowhere to go lives here, and he only has one meal to eat. There are really no valuable items in this palace now, so you should please come back!"
Chen Xiaomu smiled, clasped his fists at the old eunuch and said, "Father, you may have misunderstood. We are Zheng Jun. The Chu people have been beaten away by us. We are not here to rob, we are just here to take a look." But myself.”
