On the other side of the battlefield, 20,000 Chu troops and 20,000 Han troops were fighting in a bloody battle. This was a clash of swords and a dignified decisive battle.
Huang Zhong, the general of the Chu army, was leading 8,000 soldiers in the Bagua formation set up by Zhuge Liang, attacking from left to right and fighting in all directions. This Chu army looked fierce, but in Zhuge Liang's eyes, it looked like a headless fly, just running around, and of course it couldn't break his formation.
But Zhuge Liang's face darkened because he already knew that his opponent was his junior brother Pang Tong.
Pang Degong, Sima Hui, and Huang Chengyan had many disciples, and those who could become disciples were all famous in Jingchu. Among them, leaders such as Xu Shu and Huang Yueying were highly regarded by the princes.
However, among the disciples, there were only two who were truly recognized by several teachers - Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong.
Zhuge Liang knew very well that Pang Tong had some flaws in his character, but his talent and diligence were by no means inferior to his own. Pang Tong would never give him a piece of meat to swallow for free!
He stared at the battlefield intently, gently conveyed the order to move the flags into a large formation to strangle Huang Zhong, and waited for Pang Tong to make his move.
Not long after, there was finally new movement in Pang Tong's army, and more than a dozen "chariots"-like equipment were pushed forward.
Zhuge Liang's pupils shrank, it was a siege crossbow!
boom!
Different from the sharp wind-piercing sound of ordinary crossbow arrows, the sound of the siege crossbow being launched was more like roaring thunder. The heavy arrows shot towards Zhuge Liang's Bagua array at a speed that could only be vaguely captured by the naked eye.
The indestructible shield in the hands of the soldiers in the front row shattered, and the strong inertia even dragged their corpses and pierced one more person before stopping.
Zhuge Liang was so shocked that he took two steps forward and quickly ordered the soldiers to repair their formation.
His right hand was still shaking the feather fan gently, and he was still calm and calm when speaking, but his left hand hidden under his sleeve was trembling slightly.
The dozens of siege crossbows used iron cross-shaped arrows. The arrows were about 3 feet long. There was a receiver on the crossbow that protected seven or eight crossbow arrows and loaded them automatically. There are two soldiers on the left and right using winches to tighten the bow strings. The shooting speed is extremely slow, the movement is slow, but the power is extremely powerful.
How useful can these dozens of planes be? Can you kill many people?
Of course not!
Even if it could kill two people with each shot, it would only kill more than 30 people in one round. Even if 20,000 Han soldiers stood there and let him shoot, he would not be able to finish them all until dark.
But the plague of fear has spread. Who is willing to step forward and be in the front row, knowing that those who stand in the front will definitely die? Soldiers will long for military merit and glory, but they will not long for death.
This is true even for the elite soldiers under Liu Bei's command. The sword in the hands of the non-commissioned officers became the only courage for the soldiers to step forward.
"Kill!"
Lu Meng, a young general of the Chu army, led 3,000 Jinfan troops and began to attack the "Shengmen" of the Bagua array on the periphery.
Is this when Pang Tong begins to plan to crack his own formation?
Zhuge Liang frowned. He had not forgotten that Huang Zhong's followers were still running around in the Bagua array. Sometimes attacking the "closed door" can reduce losses and open a gap, but Huang Zhong wants to attack the "death door"; sometimes attacking the "open door" may break out of the formation, but Huang Zhong wants to attack the "shock door".
That Huang Zhong couldn't tell the difference between the eight gates at all, he was just a fool who didn't understand anything!
In comparison, Lü Meng's tribe obviously received direct orders from Pang Tong and knew when and where was most appropriate to attack.
Zhuge Liang kept issuing orders to change the formations. The two troops, one positive and one strange, put a lot of pressure on him. He has countless ways to deal with Huang Zhong, but there are often only two or three ways to deal with Lu Meng, and it is even more laborious to take care of both of them at the same time!
In addition, the panic caused by the siege crossbow makes the formation stagnant, which is even more deadly!
Zhuge Liang finally understood that Pang Tong was not breaking the formation, he was attacking the city!
Introduce Huang Zhong into the battle as the "internal response", use the elite Jinfan Army under Lu Meng as the "main siege force", and use siege crossbows to smash the "city wall" in the hearts of the soldiers.
This is not a good match, this is evil!
Although it is an evil way, it is very effective!
Zhuge Liang was sweating slightly on his forehead, and the "castle" he built was crumbling bit by bit.
Even Zhou Cang next to him saw the key point, and he anxiously said to Zhuge Liang.
"Military advisor, I will lead a group of soldiers and horses to destroy the Chu army's siege crossbows!"
Zhuge Liang was shocked.
"No! If you divide your troops too little, it won't help. If you divide your troops too much, the formation will collapse."
After finishing speaking, Zhuge Liang sighed again and continued to speak to Zhou Cang.
"Junior brother has identified the shortcomings of this formation's extremely high defense and insufficient attack. That's all. It's only a matter of time before the formation is broken. Even if he is allowed to open this path, he will not be able to break the deadlock."
"General Zhou, if I can hold on for another hour, go and burn all the boats along the Guangling coast."
Zhou Cang swallowed his saliva and glanced at Zhuge Liang in embarrassment. Even though he knew that this was an established military order, he couldn't help but ask again.
"Military advisor, is it really burning? This is the livelihood of fishermen and the lifeblood of many people in Xuzhou."
Why didn't Zhuge Liang understand?
He did not choose to hold on in Guangling City, but set up the Bagua Formation to block Sun Ce's way. Wasn't it just to save the fishing boat?
He gritted his teeth, hating his own shortcomings.
"Burn! If you don't burn, will Sun Ce's army be left to cross the river? Tell the people that the King of Han will compensate them later."
"Go quickly. The more sophisticated something is, the harder it will be to deal with it once it collapses. Our army must retreat before the formation completely collapses. After you burn all the ships, we will retreat to Guangling City and hold on."
Zhou Cang had no choice but to obey the order, turned around and left.
??????
After two days of continuous fighting, another group of soldiers and horses arrived on the official road of Huaiyin.
The war is getting more and more intense, and people and businessmen no longer dare to walk on the roads. There are only soldiers rushing to fight on the empty roads.
The army in front of them consisted of about 7,000 people, divided into 2,000 cavalry and 5,000 infantry. Under the banner of "Chu", they were the Yulin Army directly under Ji Shu.
A horse riding in front raised dust, and the scout Pegasus came to report.
"Commander, the situation of the battle has been confirmed."
After detailed reports from the scouts, Ji Shu and others learned that Zhao Yun had joined Sun Ce two days ago and helped Sun Ce severely inflict a heavy blow on Xu Shu's tribe. In this battle, the Chu army lost 7,000 people and killed 14,000 enemies.
In addition, Pang Tong defeated Zhuge Liang in Guangling, losing 13,000 men and killing 10,000 enemies. Although it was a tragic victory, he finally opened the road to the port.
Now, Sun Ce still has 16,000 soldiers and horses with him, and they have all gathered near Guangling Port and are heading south along the coast.
Liu Bei personally led an army of 20,000 people and was coming from Dongbu Port. The vanguard Zhang Fei had already led an army of 10,000 people and was about to catch up with Sun Ce.
Xu Shu reorganized his army, collected the scattered defeated troops, and came back with an army of 16,000.
After Zhuge Liang burned the ships in the port, he retreated to Guangling City with 10,000 troops and blocked the main road, so Sun Ce had to detour along the coastal path. He used most of his troops to defend the city, and divided small groups of troops to harass Sun Ce's army.
This battle was so brutal, Jiangdong's scouts must have discovered the situation and reported back, but how long would it take to wait for Jiangdong's reinforcements?
Three days? Four days? Or five days? Can we hold out under the siege of Liu Bei's army until reinforcements arrive?
No, first of all, is there enough food and grass?
"Has my lord found a ship to return to Jiangdong?"
Jiang Qin asked anxiously about the scout.
Those scouts went around in disguise to inquire for information, and in many cases they just watched from a distance. How could they break through the siege and contact the lord's troops?
The scout who responded quickly replied that he didn't know. He didn't know, but Ji Shu had the answer in his heart.
Ji Shu couldn't believe that he couldn't even find a small boat on such a huge coast. Even if you really can't find it, tens of thousands of soldiers can build a small boat in an instant with a single knife and careful carving.
But will Sun Ce leave?
As a king, leaving his soldiers, all his pride, and escaping with his own life?
He won't, he will stay and advance and retreat together with the soldiers. Even if they are running out of arrows, no food and grass, and surrounded from all sides, they are waiting for Jiangdong reinforcements to arrive. If he couldn't take them back to Jiangdong, he would probably prefer to bury their bones in Xuzhou with them.
He always makes such stupid and right decisions. Ji Shu knew what he was thinking without even guessing, and so did all the officials and generals.
Therefore, many talents often worry about this, and are willing to die for it.
He was right there at Guangling Port, but Ji Shu suddenly hesitated and became afraid.
How should I go to see him? I regard Zhou Tai as an abandoned son, how should I face him when I see him?
