On the other side, Meng Ao and Meng Wu's father and son led their troops to sweep away the Qin army's camp between Rangcheng and Dengcheng, and captured and killed nearly 30,000 Qin soldiers.
After this battle, the Qin army's water defense line was completely broken, leaving only a crumbling Rangcheng.
The Zhao army set up camp at the original Qin army's camp to guard against the Qin army neutralizing Dengcheng. They also sent cavalry to cut off the Qin army's food routes, turning Rangcheng into an isolated city.
"Your Majesty, please... go back to Xianyang, and leave the front line to the general." In the tent, Bai Qi half-knelt in front of Qin Wangji with his head lowered. He no longer had any pride in his heart, and his hair on his temples had turned gray at some point.
The Fei Lian Army, which had been inherited by the Qin State for hundreds of years, was destroyed in his hands. This was an unforgivable crime. At this moment, even if Qin Wangji killed him, he would have nothing to say.
"Your Majesty, the people's livelihood in the country is in decline, the people are in dire straits, and the Zhao army is still attacking Longxi. Guanzhong needs you to go back and take charge." Wei Ran and Lu Buwei also leaned over to persuade.
Rangcheng is just an isolated city and cannot be defended for a long time.
As long as Qin Wangji was in Rangcheng for one day, the Qin army would have another flaw.
If Qin Wangji dies on the front line, no matter how powerful Bai Qi is, he will not be able to stabilize the morale of the army.
The special role of the monarch cannot be replaced by famous generals.
Although Qin Wangji's departure will inevitably lead to a sharp drop in the morale of the army and make the soldiers think, "The king has abandoned us and fled back, we can't win." However, compared with the huge impact of Qin Wangji's death on the front line, this point The loss is not unacceptable.
"I am not going anywhere. Wherever the army is, I will be there." Qin Wangji's lion-like gaze slowly swept over everyone's face, and his voice was deep and firm.
When he learned that Fei Lian's army was destroyed, he did have the urge to kill Bai Qi, but in the end he suppressed it. Killing his own commander during a battle between the two armies was definitely a taboo for military strategists, not to mention the Qin Dynasty. The army currently has no generals who can replace Bai Qi.
Whether it is Wei Ran, Sima Cuo, Wang Lu, Wang Jian, there is a certain gap between them and Bai Qi.
"Your Majesty..." everyone advised again.
"No need to say any more." Qin Wangji waved his hand and motioned for everyone to retreat.
Wei Ran and others looked at each other, sighed deeply, and exited the camp.
"There is still half a month of food and grass in the city..." Lu Buwei said slowly after leaving the camp.
Although he has not finished speaking, everyone understands what Lu Buwei means. Rangcheng can be defended for up to half a month.
…
In early March, it rained heavily in Nanyang for three days and nights.
Raindrops fell from the sky one after another, shrouding the world in mist. A bolt of lightning pierced the sky, and then, a thunder exploded, lighting up the sky.
Wei Wuji stood in front of the tent, looking in the direction of Dengcheng. When the raindrops were about to fall on him, they automatically fell to both sides without getting his robes wet.
Zhu Hai and Li Tong stood behind Wei Wuji, while Hou Ying sat in the tent, looking at the map on the wall, thoughtfully.
He is old and cannot stand the rain.
Since the beginning of spring, it has been more than a month since the Wei army attacked Deng City, and there is still no sign of breaking the city.
The city wall of Deng City is taller than that of Rang City. It is surrounded by a moat and is backed by Nanjun. A steady stream of grain and grass is sent to Deng City from the Han River, making the city indestructible.
Wei Wuji tried to bribe the officials in the city, but no official was willing to take the risk of killing the nine tribes and act as an internal agent for the coalition forces.
In the past hundred years, Qin has been victorious in all battles and invincible in all attacks. Even if you are defeated occasionally, it won't be long before you get your money back with profits.
Most Qin officials do not believe that Qin is already in decline, but believe that Qin's current predicament is only temporary, and it will not be long before Qin can fight back again.
If they defect to the coalition forces at this time, they are likely to be liquidated by the Qin State in the future, so most officials are still aligned with the Qin State.
Wei Wuji finally bribed a minor official, but was reported by other officials before he could pass on the information. Wang Lu used this minor official to pass false information to the Wei army.
Fortunately, Wei Wuji did not completely trust the bribed petty officials and was always vigilant, so Wang Lun did not succeed.
"Master, let's go back to the camp." After a while, Zhu Hai couldn't help but say.
"Hey." Wei Wuji sighed, turned around and walked into the camp.
"Master, have you gained anything?" Hou Ying saw Wei Wuji coming in, but did not get up. He poured a cup of tea for Wei Wuji and said with a smile.
"No." Wei Wuji picked up the tea and drank it all in one gulp, sighing again.
"I have an idea." Hou Ying looked at the heavy rain outside the curtain, and then glanced at Wei Wuji.
"Old sir, please speak." Wei Wuji leaned over and bowed.
"The Han River burst its banks and flooded Dengcheng!" Hou Ying pointed at the map with a dry finger and said sternly, "It rained heavily for three days and three nights. The water level of the Han River surged and overflowed into the surrounding low-lying areas. As long as our army digs If the embankment is opened, the sky-wide flood will submerge Dengcheng in an instant. Even if Wang Hao has an army of 100,000, there is no way he can resist it."
"The people in the city..."
"My lord, now is not the time for women's benevolence. If you care about the people in the city, you can distribute food to appease the people after capturing Deng City, but you must not give up this opportunity because of women's benevolence. If you miss this opportunity, If our army wants to capture Deng City in the future, it will have to pay at least thousands, or even tens of thousands, of soldiers' lives. This is not kindness, but stupidity. The lives of the people in the city are their lives, does it mean that the lives of our soldiers are not lives? Kindness towards the enemy is evil towards one’s own people!”
Hou Ying said loudly, ringing in Wei Wuji's heart like morning bells and evening drums.
He only thought about not causing too much killing, but ignored that before Deng City was captured, the people in the city were enemies, not one of his own. They would only provide food and soldiers for the Qin army defending the city.
Only after Deng City was captured and everyone surrendered, they became their own.
"Thank you sir, Wuji almost missed a big event." Wei Wuji bowed deeply and continued, "I will lead everyone to cut down trees and build ships."
After saying that, Wei Wuji led Zhu Hai and Li Tong towards the outside of the camp.
It was still raining heavily, but I couldn't care less about it at this time.
Hou Ying watched Wei Wuji and the others leave, stood up, stretched, walked to the rocking chair and lay down.
He was old and could not see the scenes of fighting and killing, so it was better to stay safely in the tent.
Three days later, the five consecutive days of heavy rain finally stopped, the sky began to clear up, and a rainbow hung in the northwest sky, which was refreshing.
The Qin troops stepped onto the city wall one after another to welcome the long-lost sun.
During the days of heavy rain, the Wei army did not attack the city, and the Qin army was able to relax.
Everyone was talking and laughing, talking about various things.
Wang Haoze and several lieutenants discussed how to deal with the next Wei army's attack on the city.
At this moment, a huge and majestic sound came from a distance. The sound became louder and louder, and the earth was shaking. Immediately afterwards, the boundless flood appeared in front of people, like an unstoppable ancient beast rushing towards Dengcheng. Come.
boom!
The flood hit the city wall and created thousands of waves. The soldiers on the city instantly felt the earth shake. Several soldiers failed to stand firm and fell off the city wall, submerged in the torrential flood.
The hearts of all the Qin army officers and soldiers sank to the bottom of their hearts.
The Wei army broke the dam!
It rained heavily for five days and five nights. You don't need to think about it to know how high the water level of the Han River has risen. Dengcheng will never be able to stop this level of flooding.
Soon, something more terrible happened.
Along with the flood, there were also thick pieces of wood. The two ends of the wood were sharpened by the Wei army. Under the impact of the water, they crashed into the city wall. The entire city wall was shaken, and a large piece of soil fell into it. In flood.
The water level outside the city rose faster and faster. Flood and wood poured into the city along the city gate. Wang Hao could only order to block all the city gates with bricks and stones.
Not long after, the Wei army rowed a boat and appeared outside Deng City and began to move towards the city to persuade them to surrender.
Wang Lu collected all the letters urging surrender.
He got up and burned it, ordered the whole city to defend it, and told everyone that they had sent people to ask for help from the king and that the reinforcements would arrive soon.
Then, Wang Lu summoned everyone in the city and ordered the demolition of houses, reinforcement and heightening of the city walls. No one was allowed to refuse.
The water level is rising too fast. If the city wall is not heightened and reinforced, Dengcheng will not be able to hold on for long.
Wang Hao also ordered the people in the city to hand over all the food in their homes, and the army would manage it uniformly, and distribute the food and grass according to their contributions. If they did not help the army work, there would be no food and grass.
The people in the city dared not speak out in anger, so they could only let the Qin army steal all their food.
The scene in front of them reminded them of the Qin army's invasion of Deng City more than 20 years ago, occupying this land and taking away their belongings like bandits.
Today, the Qin army, as the defender of the city and nominally their own people, still snatched all the food from them like bandits.
Something called resistance gradually arises in people's hearts and quickly spreads among the crowd.
Three days later, the Qin army in the city did not wait for reinforcements, but instead waited for the Wei army to launch a general attack.
The city wall had already become riddled with holes due to the impact of floods and wooden piles. Some sections had been collapsed by the flood. The wooden piles poured in with the water, and the terrifying impact instantly hit the Qin army who came to repair the city wall. It was cool to wear it.
Boom, boom, boom!
Boom, boom, boom!
Boom, boom, boom!
War drums beat and flags flutter.
Wei Wuji led the Wei army to attack Dengcheng on a raft.
A bright sword light dozens of meters long fell from the sky and landed on the city wall. The already precarious city wall could no longer hold up and collapsed instantly.
The morale of the Wei army was greatly shaken. They rushed out of Dengcheng along the gap and fought with the Qin army who came to support them.
Wei Wuji took the lead, with Zhu Hai and Li Tong on the left and right, guarding Wei Wuji on both sides. The three of them were like three sharpest awls, piercing into the Qin army, killing the Qin army and retreating steadily.
"Death!" Wei Wuji cut the Qin army general in two with a sword, ignored the remaining remnants, and led the Wei army towards the city gate to kill.
At this time, Wang Hao was mentally exhausted. Several sections of Deng City's walls had collapsed. The people in the city were vaguely resisting. Even if they obeyed orders, they did not work as hard as before. Instead, they were perfunctory and looked at Qin Jun's eyes. With hatred.
Dengcheng belonged to the Chu State for hundreds of years, and was captured by the Qin State for less than thirty years. In addition, the Qin State did not implement a benevolent government of recuperation, but a harsh government of tyranny and expropriation. Many people still remember it in their hearts. The former Chu State.
As a military general, Wang Lu was good at leading troops in battles, but he was unable to deal with the relationship between the army and the people and resolve hatred.
Besides, Wei Wuji didn't give him time.
"General, it's bad, the Wei army is coming." A soldier covered in mud rushed over in a panic from a distance.
"Where?" Wang Hao asked urgently.
"Just... right behind. The city wall... the city wall collapsed, and the Wei army came in through the gap," the soldier said quickly.
"All the troops obey the order and follow me to meet the enemy!" Wang Lu ordered. Fiery red war clouds gathered over the army. The Qin army quickly formed formations and prepared for battle.
Soon, Wei Wuji led the Wei army to kill them.
"Mr. Xinling!" Wang Hao saw Wei Wuji rushing to the front from a distance.
"Wang Lu, Zuo Shu Chang! You have been defeated again and again. Didn't King Qin demote you?" Wei Wuji asked curiously.
Wang Hao's face instantly darkened. King Qin did not demote him at first, but only said that next time he would do meritorious service, the punishment would be waived this time.
But he was defeated again and again, and the King of Qin had no reason to protect him, so he could only demote him.
If it weren't for the lack of leading generals in the Qin State, it is possible that all his titles would have been cut off.
Wang Hao stopped talking and led the Qin army to kill Wei Wuji.
"How dare you hurt the lord!" Seeing this, Zhu Hai immediately rushed forward and hit Wang Hao with two big hammers.
Boom!
There was a loud noise, Wang Hao
The spear in his hand was bent instantly, and a terrifying force came from the barrel. Wang Hao's whole body went numb and he almost lost his grip on the spear.
At the same time, Wei Wuji also led the Wei soldiers to rush towards the Qin army.
Wang Hao was entangled by Zhu Hai. No one in the entire Qin army was Wei Wuji's enemy, and these Qin soldiers were no match for Wei Wuzu.
"Fire the arrow!" Wei Wuji ordered.
The overwhelming rain of arrows covered the Qin army, and the Qin army continued to fall to the ground like wheat.
Dang Dang Dang!
The arrows of the Qin army fell towards the Wei army, making a crisp sound when they collided. The Wei soldiers easily blocked the arrows without losing a single soldier.
Wei Wuzu had a contemptuous smile on his face, looking at Qin Jun like a wolf looking at a sheep.
"The soldiers of Wei, go forward without hesitation! Kill!" The soldiers of Wei shouted in unison, slashing forward with their heavy swords. Blood flowers bloomed one after another, and the Qin army fell down in a row instantly.
There was a disgusting smell of blood in the air.
The Qin army fought desperately towards Wei Wuzu, but the gap between the two sides was too big. Under the ultimate defense, their attack fell on Wei Wuzu, leaving nothing but a white mark.
Even Wang Lu's personal guards were no match for Wei Wuzu. Those who were killed retreated steadily, and their corpses were spread on the ground.
Wei Wuji and Li Tong each killed several Qin army lieutenants, and then surrounded Wang Hao from left to right.
"Surrender without killing!" Although he knew that it was almost impossible for Wang Lu to surrender, Wei Wuji still asked out of politeness.
"Kill me if you can." Wang Hao's eyes were about to burst, he roared to the sky and rushed towards the three of them.
"In that case, then go and die." Wei Wuji said calmly.
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