"It's not that our army doesn't hold on, but the Qin army has huge cannons!"
At the top of Chenying City, Yangxia guard Feng Hou Yi, who had been lucky enough to escape, was reporting to Ling Yin Xiang Yan with a sad look on his face.
He said with a mournful face: "With the help of Mo Zhi, our army has arranged the city of Yangxia like an iron wall and a copper wall. If the Qin army attacks the city with ordinary ants, they will definitely suffer heavy casualties."
"But this Qin army not only had a large number of people, but its commander was very cautious. It took three days to build a huge cannon, and then a single attack smashed our army's layout on the city wall. Those stone bullets weighed more than a hundred kilograms, and they could still The attack direction and distance are constantly adjusted, which is completely different from ordinary stone-throwing machines. Our army was completely unable to stop it. As soon as the soldiers saw the huge stone flying into the sky, they all fled..."
"That's enough, go down."
Xiang Yan felt irritated and waved her hand.
Seeing that Ling Yin didn't say anything about punishment, Feng Hou Yi was overjoyed and quickly handed him over.
Beside him, Jin Xia, the supervisor, suddenly frowned.甼
He said: "Your Majesty, when Hou Yi abandoned the city and fled, he was intercepted and killed by the Qin army on the way, and many soldiers were killed. It's fine that he didn't kill himself to apologize. If your Majesty doesn't punish him now, I'm afraid Is it difficult to convince the public?"
"I think it would be better to kill him as a warning to others. This way, the generals will be in awe and no one will dare to abandon the city and run away in the future."
Xiang Yan looked at the Chu State Right Yin with disgust. He was subordinate to him and should have obeyed his orders. However, King Chu appointed him as the supervisor of the army. He had the responsibility to supervise himself, but he was not afraid of him. .
"Your Majesty, you don't believe in yourself..."
It is indeed difficult for the monarch to rest assured that a minister can control hundreds of thousands of soldiers who can conquer the country, so it is reasonable to send his trusted followers to supervise the army.
But Xiang Yan still couldn't help but feel sad.
He knew that the king in Shouchun City was probably still resenting the fact that he did not personally come back for help last time. If the Qin State had not sent 600,000 troops this time, the king would never have allowed himself to take control of the military again. .甼
Suppressing the disgust in her heart, Xiang Yan explained: "The Qin army's cannons are indeed powerful. Last time, even Xiangcheng's city wall was almost collapsed by the Qin army. The walls of Yangxia City are thin, so it is normal that they cannot withstand it. If Hou Yi can hold off the opponent for three days, it will be enough to give our army time to prepare."
"Currently, 600,000 Qin troops are pressing down on the country, and our army is outnumbered. If we kill the general at this time, it will only weaken our army's combat power. It's better to let him plead guilty and make meritorious service."
Xiang Yan knows very well that the Chu State is currently facing a real desperate situation and is in danger of subjugation at any time, and needs all the power at its disposal.
Compared with Qin General Li Xin who was only punished by being reduced in rank after his defeat, he would still have the opportunity to return to the battlefield in the future.
The Chu State's tradition of overthrowing the army and killing generals has caused countless generals to commit suicide in defeat, resulting in a scarcity of generals in the Chu State today, especially those with battlefield experience.
For example, Zuo Sima Zhaoping in the Battle of Surabaya, if he had not killed himself after defeat, but had followed him to assist the left, Xiang Yan would have been much more relaxed when facing the Qin army going south in this battle.
Thinking of Zhaoping, Xiang Yan couldn't help but think of the Qin general Zhao Tuo who traveled thousands of miles to the Chu land and stood on the banks of the Si River with his back to the water.甼
According to the information from Chu State, Zhao Tuo seems to be only more than ten years old.
This is really God's blessing for Qin.
There are not only veterans Wang Jian and Yang Duanhe, but also backbones such as Meng Wu, Wang Ben, and Li Xin, and their descendants include geniuses like Zhao Tuo.
The Qin State has many famous generals, one generation after another, one after another, but it is not like the Chu State who can only rely on Xiang Yan.
Whenever he thinks of this, Xiang Yan feels a deep sense of powerlessness in his heart.
Therefore, although Feng Houyi abandoned the city and fled, it was excusable because Xiang Yan did not want to weaken the Chu army again.
When Jin Xia saw Xiang Yan's explanation, she hummed, said a few words and walked away.甼
"In that case, we will follow what Ling Yin said. However, now that the Qin army is aggressively suppressing the territory, I hope Ling Yin can guard it seriously and keep the Qin people out of Chen Ying. Don't repeat what happened in the Eight Mountains of the past."
Looking at Jin Xia's leaving figure, the warning left by the other person echoed in her ears, and a flash of light flashed in Xiang Yan's eyes.
Apply harsh colors.
But he endured it, and now the overall situation is more important.
Xiang Yan had his son Xiang Qu summoned, as well as several key generals of the Chu army, including Qu Mao of the Qu family, Jing Tong of the Jing family, Zhao Ping's younger brother Zhao Yuan and others.
[In view of the general environment,
"The Qin army has conquered Yangxia, and I think Guling will also fall in the next two days. It won't be long before the Qin army can cross the chasm south and approach the city of Chen Ying. You should restrain your soldiers and rest and refresh yourself these days. There will inevitably be a fierce battle."
Qu Jingzhao and the three generals all accepted the order and agreed.
Xiang Yan turned to Xiang Chuan again and said, "Our army has gathered at the foot of Chenying City and camped towards Honggou. We will only wait for the Qin army to cross the water and then attack halfway across the river."
"But Wang Jian, who has always been known for his stability, will definitely not give our army this chance. He may cross the water from upstream first. You can send more cavalry to patrol and explore the area within a hundred miles. Once the Qin army's movements are discovered, , report immediately."
"At the same time, let the civilians strengthen the barracks of the military camp. If the attack fails halfway across, the Qin army will cross the chasm and reach the bottom of the city. Our army will rely on the city wall and defend with the barracks to consume the Qin army here. Chen Ying's city wall must also be surrendered No matter how hard we reinforce it, it will be able to withstand the bombardment of the Qin army’s giant artillery.”
"only."
Xiang Qu immediately handed over his hand.
Xiang Yan also sent a message to Ye Sheng, the right commander of the Chu State in the direction of Cai Pingyu, asking him to guard the camp and not go out to fight easily. He only had to drag Yang Duan and the Qin army's partial division there to prevent the opponent from breaking into his camp. The rear area of the army is a great achievement.
After making these arrangements, Xiang Yan sighed deeply.
Based on his understanding of Wang Jian, he knew that this man was a scheming general who had defeated two famous generals in a country of ten thousand chariots.甼
Judging from his record, he is not an impulsive and reckless person like Li Xin. I am afraid that the next situation will not be what he thinks.
Sure enough, within a few days, there were sentry reports from the Chu army.
After the Qin army went south to the direction of Guling, they stopped moving forward. They had no intention of continuing to march to Chenying. Instead, they dug forts and overhauled the walls there.
To the north of Chen Ying, from Yangxia to Guling and hundreds of miles on both sides of Honggou, Qin's 450,000-strong army was stationed separately, building ramparts and walls to wrap Honggou grain transport wharf.
This is also the case for the Qin Army Yang Duanhe in the west. The 150,000-strong army is stationed in the military camp outside Shangcai City, backed by Rushui Pier, and has overhauled the barriers. It has no intention of actively attacking the Chu Army.
"Damn it, Wang Jian is an old man with turtle ears!"
After hearing the news, Xiang Yan knew Wang Jian's strategy and couldn't help but cursed angrily.甼
The other party did not want to take the initiative to attack Chu's city, nor did it want to fight with him in the wild.
The Qin Army's 600,000 troops were stationed at the border between Qin and Chu, neither advancing nor retreating, in order to hang all Chu's nearly 400,000 troops here to confront the Qin Army.
In this way, the two sides are not competing for the master's military skills, nor for the combat prowess and courage of the soldiers on both sides, but for the national strength of Qin and Chu, to see who has more food and who can carry it more. Long.
And, see who can win the monarch's trust more.
Xiang Yan knew exactly what kind of shabby state the Chu State was in.
"Qu'er, you immediately lead your army to attack the Qin army and prevent the Qin people from building walls and fortresses. It is best to lure them out and let the Qin army take the initiative to attack."
Xiang Yan sent his son to personally lead the Chu army to attack the Qin army's camps on both sides of the divide.甼
As a result, the other side did not go to war at all. Every civilian who built a fortress and wall was flanked by a corresponding Qin army guarding that place.
These Qin troops waited for work, armed with strong bows and crossbows, and fired randomly at the attacking Chu troops.
Even if the Chu army occasionally captures and destroys a wall due to its numerical advantage, it will be recaptured immediately by the Qin army who rushes to support. Moreover, in this way, the number of casualties paid by the Chu army in each attack is higher than that of the Qin army. Even bigger.
In addition to overhauling the walls outside the military camp, the Qin army also built a wall at its boundary and at the dock where Ru River transported grain.
There are layers of barriers and turrets everywhere.
On the route from the dock to the Qin army's granary, a more than ten miles long "corridor" surrounded by barriers on both sides was built.
There are also a large number of well-armed Qin troops guarding nearby. Their defense is very tight and does not give the Chu army any opportunity to take advantage of.
"Old turtle has thick armor!"
Xiang Yan couldn't help but cursed angrily, feeling that Wang Jian was really like an old turtle, with his head and limbs shrunk inside the thick turtle shell and not coming out at all, leaving him unable to do anything.
Unable to lure the Qin army out of the camp, Xiang Yan did not dare to withdraw, so he could only fight with the Qin army here.
He knew very well that Wang Jian's old tortoise, even though he was currently huddled in his shell and motionless, would still show any signs of retreat if the Chu army dared to show any signs of retreat.
Wang Jian will definitely stick his head out from the turtle shell and bite Chu Jun hard, and that bite will probably be very painful.
"In that case, I have no choice but to try this."
Xiang Yan took out a silk painting.
It shows the manufacturing method of some kind of siege equipment.甼
It was something that Prince Qi gave to Xiang Yan after he returned to Chu State last year.
This is the blueprint of a siege weapon that Young Master Qi obtained using his identity in Qin.
Among the Chu army, there were also craftsmen of the Qin army who had been captured after defeating the Mongol army.
Xiang Yan slapped the bronze gum hard and roared: "It's not just your Qin army that has giant cannons, our Chu army also has them!"
"You're not coming out, are you?"
"Wang Jian, just wait to take a shot from me!"
