Not only in the city gate, with the departure of the Chu army general, the Qin army on the city wall, which had been suppressed back, also launched a counterattack after accumulating enough strength, and soon regained control of the stairs.
Seeing the Qin army and even the Korean army in green armor pouring in from the city tower and the city gate, even Xiaobai, who didn't understand war anymore, already understood that the north gate had been lost.
And it’s not just the North Gate.
The departure of the Chu army's general led the south gate defenders not only to mobilize troops, but also to deal with a serious blow to morale.
Everyone was wondering where the general had gone and whether there was something wrong with the North Gate.
Naturally, under such circumstances, the suppression of the Qin army by the Chu army at the south gate was also greatly weakened.
Of course Wang Hao believed that the Qin-Korean coalition led by Meng Ao would be able to successfully capture the North Gate, and Wang Hao could also slightly moderate the attack on the South Gate to reduce losses.
But Wang Hao didn't do that.
Firstly, once the south gate loses enough strength, the Chu army is very likely to mobilize troops again, which will make Meng Ao's attack more difficult; secondly, neither Wang Lu nor the Qin army has the habit of waiting and relying. , the most reliable thing is always the sword in your hand.
Immediately, the main force of the Qin army located at the south gate did not relax the pace of the attack, but accelerated the pace of the attack.
The troops who had been waiting behind to lay the bridge deck were finally released by Wang Hao.
The Qin army continued to swim across the Caishui River. Ropes were strung across the Caishui River, and wooden planks were immediately covered with them. Floating bridges were about to take shape quickly.
The Chu army on the tower was even caught in a dilemma. Suppress the Qin army who was crossing the river, and the Qin army who was laying the pontoon bridge would be left alone. Suppress the people who were laying the pontoon bridge, and more and more ropes would be erected. Coupled with the fact that the Qin army on the arrow tower kept suppressing them, the entire South Gate Chu army was already in some confusion.
Because of the departure of the main general, the assistant general in charge of the archers had no choice but to divide the few archers and crossbowmen into three to suppress the Qin army on the arrow tower, swimming crossing and wooden planks respectively.
In this way, it seems that none of the three are spared, but in fact, none of the three are suppressed.
Also because of the lack of troops to suppress the arrow tower, the crossbowmen on the Qin army's arrow tower even gradually began to take the initiative on the battlefield and began to suppress the Qin army on the tower.
As for the soldiers of the Qin army who were swimming and laying planks, although they would inevitably be attacked by the Chu army, this loss was nothing compared to just now.
Soon, with the efforts of successive Qin army soldiers, more than a dozen simple pontoon bridges had been set up.
Wang Hao waved his big hand, and the Qin army's infantry carrying the ladder (simplified version) quickly advanced forward. Stepping on the slightly shaky pontoon bridge, the soldiers of the Qin army quickly crossed Caishui.
Finally, after more than two hours of fierce fighting, the main force of the Qin army at the south gate finally arrived under the city wall.
Immediately, one ladder after another was set up on the tower by the Qin army. Groups of Qin troops even rushed directly to the ladder from the pontoon.
This kind of attacking rhythm can be described as smooth and smooth.
Looking at the Chu army, the disadvantages of the general's departure are undoubtedly apparent again - the dispatch of troops is almost unorganized.
The infantry, which originally retreated to give up more positions, failed to reoccupy favorable terrain according to the situation. It wasn't until the Qin army put up the ladder on the top of the city that they were shocked. The Chu army's crossbowmen quickly retreated, while the Chu army's infantry also hurried forward.
Inevitably, the advancing Chu army's infantry and the retreating crossbowmen collided.
The collision didn't matter, it wasted precious time.
At this time, the Qin army in front of them was piling up the towers all the time.
As a result, the South Gate Tower, which was originally relatively stable, suddenly became anxious.
Before he had time to report to the general the danger of the south gate tower, bursts of cheers came from the north of the city, and the news that the north gate had been breached reached the south gate almost instantly.
The South Gate Tower, which was already panic-stricken, suddenly fell into panic.
Without any suspense, the Chu army on the south gate tower was defeated.
Amidst the sound of "ding bells clanging", hundreds of Chu troops began to scurry towards the east, west and even north of the city like headless flies.
There were discarded weapons and armor everywhere, and shrill shouts everywhere.
Qin Jun, who had just climbed up the tower, was naturally very happy when he saw this scene. However, good military literacy and strict military laws of the Qin army still prevented them from pursuing and killing them wantonly.
Several Qin soldiers rushed towards the stairs quickly. In almost no time to drink tea, the city gate to the south was slowly opened.
At Wang Lu's order, hundreds of thousands of Qin troops began to march into the city.
At the same time, while the battle at the south gate was still going on, the Chu army under the north gate saw that the gate tower and gates had been broken, and then withdrew to the east gate under the leadership of their general.
It was just a pain for the Chu soldiers on the tower. Because several stairs were occupied, they either had to climb down from the tower, or they could only run along the tower to the east or west of the city. This was also a quick defeat. The main reason why it spread to the south of the city.
Of course, the situation of the Chu army that followed the Chu general's retreat was not much better. After the city gate was opened, Meng Ao quickly commanded the coalition forces to meet the main force at the south gate and pursue the remaining Chu army. .
Under the fierce pursuit of the Qin army, the Chu army paid a huge price in an instant.
But it is a pity that the general of Chu State still escaped without any suspense.
It should be said that the general of the Chu army had tried his best, and except for easily transferring the troops from the north gate to the south gate, the general of the Chu army made almost no mistakes during the entire battle.
It can even be said that mobilizing troops from the North Gate to the South Gate was a forced error.
Facing the menacing Qin army, whose strength was several times larger than his own, any general would want to concentrate more troops to defend Caishui's natural barrier, and the scouts had already mapped out the situation within five miles of Caishui and sent out It is possible for the Qin army to cross the river and make a detour. Under such circumstances, it is normal to mobilize troops.
Who would have thought that the Qin army would actually make a huge circle, bypassing the entire state of Chu, send troops from the state of Han southward, and go straight to Xincai?
It can be said that the leader of the Chu army made a mistake at every step.
As for the final retreat, this was already the third Chu general to flee.
Although there are certain differences between this general and the previous two generals in their retreat, in essence they both chose to save themselves and their troops in the face of inevitable defeat.
This is obviously no accident. (Some people question why the Chu army always runs away.)
If it were the Qin army, it was very likely that Qin would fight with his troops until the last moment. This does not mean that Qin generals are selfless and dedicated to serving the country, but they are just forced by Qin's laws.
Qin's laws are strict. If you lose an army and humiliate the country due to your own mistakes, it will be okay if you can save most of the troops. If you escape alone, not only will you go to jail, but the family behind you will also be humiliated and implicated.
This point can be referred to the Qin general Hu Yang (also known as Hu Shang) who lost the battle with Yan. He obviously did not die in Zhao State, but after the battle with Yan, there was no news about him, and even Hua Almost all the credit for the Yang War goes to Bai Qi.
Obviously, Qin's punishment for Hu Shang's defeat was not small. (Don’t talk about Li Xinha. In fact, the blame for Li Xin’s defeat in attacking Chu did not lie with him.)
Therefore, among the Qin army, if the defeat has become a fact, and the main force has been unable to escape, leading the troops to fight to the death and causing as much damage to the enemy as possible is a way of exchanging merit for guilt. .
Whether it is for the family or for his own descendants, General Qin will make this the best choice in such a situation.
But this is obviously not the case in Chu State.
The reason has actually been mentioned many times before. In Chu State, the king of Chu actually co-ruled the country with nobles of all sizes. Each noble has his own fief, and within the fief, the noble is the king. .
This is fundamentally different from Qin’s military merit system.
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Under a system like the Chu State, as long as one's family's fiefdom is not taken away, the family's fundamentals will not change. Even if it means losing a master and humiliating the country, it is nothing more than dismissal from office, then jailed, and then paying a fine.
Problems that can be solved with money are never problems.
This is true now, and it was true during the Warring States Period a thousand years ago. As long as the fiefdom remains, it is nothing more than suffering for the people. This weakened the family and had almost minimal impact on one's own lineage.
Even if the head of a family is on an expedition, his safety is a major issue related to the family's inheritance, prosperity and decline.
Once someone dies in a war, not only may the king take the opportunity to reduce the fiefdom, but the family may also start fighting against each other because they are leaderless until a new head of the family is born.
After such a series of internal and external difficulties, except for the three top aristocratic families of "Qu, Jing, and Zhao", few families can maintain their original strength.
Under such circumstances, it is not surprising that Chu generals often choose to escape at the last moment.
Only this time, Wang Hao obviously did not need the Chu army to promote the invincibility of the Qin army. Therefore, as soon as he quickly passed Caishui, Wang Hao sent his cavalry team to pursue Chu. military.
And this cavalry team of 30,000 people did not return slowly until the evening, carrying countless heads of Chu soldiers.
Fortunately, when the Chu army commander saw that the Qin army was pursuing them, he decisively cut off his arms and left with his own soldiers and cavalry. However, he was not overtaken by the Qin army's cavalry.
At this point, the first and second stages of the Qin army's attack on Chu were considered a complete success.
In just two battles, through the strategy of seizing the gate and attacking from the south to the north, they not only defeated Chu's nearly 50,000-strong army, but also successively captured the two important towns of Zengcheng and Xincai, successfully opening up the road leading to the capital of Chu. Chen Du has to open the door.
For this reason, the Qin army only paid a price of less than 4,000 men.
Although more than half of Chu's 50,000 troops can be regrouped in Chendu, the most important thing is that the time advantage that Zhao has gained after long-term planning has been regained by Wang Lu in an almost unconstrained way.
Because it only took Wang Lu less than twelve days from receiving Zhao's invasion of Yan to conquering Xincai.
More than half of this time was spent rushing to the battlefield.
In other words, it took Wang Lu less than twelve days to wipe out the first-mover advantage that Zhao had been brewing for a whole year.
Now, although Zhao State has completed the sweep of most areas of Yan State, Jicheng still stands in front of Lian Po and Tian Dan; and in front of Wang Lu, there is only Chendu left.
It can be said that Zhao and Qin are on the same starting line again.
The real fight has just begun...
