There were about 60,000 Qi troops crossing the Huaihe River, and all five pontoon bridges were burned down. The return journey of 60,000 Qi troops was cut off, and the Huai army defeated them in one fell swoop.
Lu Ji looked at the Qi army in chaos on the north bank and knew that this battle was hopeless. When the Huai army defeated the Qi army on the north bank of the Huaihe River, it would be their turn next.
Lu Ji's face was ugly. He had no way out now and only had five days of food and grass left. He could eat sparingly and eat for up to seven days. By then, the army would have collapsed even if no one attacked.
Seeing this situation, Lu Ji could only make a desperate move. He immediately gritted his teeth and accelerated his army towards Huai'an. In this situation, Lu Ji wanted to attack Huai'an in a surprise attack. If he could defeat Huai'an, not only would the more than 60,000 troops he led be safe, he would even be able to turn defeat into victory and cut off the Huai army's logistics.
Now that we have reached this point, we can only give it a try.
Lu Ji no longer took care of the rear army on the north bank of the Huai River, and immediately led more than 60,000 troops to advance towards Huai'an.
Huai'an is not far from Huai River, no more than a hundred miles away. Lu Ji's army can reach it in a day's march. The army quickly marched towards Huai'an, and Sun Bin commanded the army to cut and surround the Qi army, and then eat it bit by bit.
Tens of thousands of Qi troops were blocked in the Huaihe River, unable to advance or retreat. In the Huaihe River, the Huai navy continued to fire arrows at them, causing the Qi army to suffer heavy losses.
Sun Bin took the Tengjia Army as the vanguard, broke through three formations of the Qi Army, and surrounded the Qi Army. In the end, the Qi Army suffered 30,000 casualties, and the rest surrendered, while the Huai Army also paid the price of 10,000 casualties.
A large number of Qi troops abandoned their weapons and surrendered. Sun Bin left some soldiers to guard the surrendered troops, and then led his army across the river to attack the Qi troops on the south bank.
Lu Ji quickly rushed to the gates of Huai'an City. At this time, Huai'an had already received the beacon message, closed the city gates, and defended. Seeing Huai'an with a high city and deep pools, Lu Ji had no good idea and directly ordered the army to attack.
In this sneak attack south, the Qi army brought a large number of siege equipment. Although part of it had been burned or fell into the hands of the Huai army, Lu Ji still had a lot left here.
Tens of thousands of Qi troops attacked frantically. They knew that conquering Huai'an was their only chance. The army did not test it at all and just attacked with all its strength.
Dozens of ladders advanced, and a large number of archers fired, suppressing the city of Huai'an for a while. The Qi army took the opportunity to start the project. But at this moment, a large number of archers suddenly stood up on the city wall and fired at the Qi soldiers.
Qi's carelessness resulted in heavy casualties.
Seeing this situation, Lu Ji had no intention of stopping. He knew very well that their time was limited. Once the Huai State defeated the Qi army on the north bank of the Huai River, they would immediately come to attack them. If Lu Ji had not captured Huai'an by then, Qi's army would face internal and external attacks.
Therefore, they must make a time lag and conquer Huai'an before the Huai army arrives.
Tens of thousands of Qi troops besieged Huai'an, but the Qi troops did not know that the city of Huai'an was not as empty as they imagined. After Sun Bin and Otsuka Zai arrived in Huai'an, they specially invited all the officials and nobles in Huai'an City to hand over their private soldiers.
These ministers and nobles did not dare to resist at all, and they handed over their private soldiers one by one. Almost every family of these ministers and nobles had more than fifty private soldiers, adding up to almost 3,000 people. Including Huai'an's original garrison of 5,000 people and the recruited soldiers, there were more than 10,000 people.
If these 10,000 soldiers go out to fight in the city, they will definitely fail. They may be defeated in one battle, but if they are used to defend the city, it will be completely different.
Most of the families of these soldiers are in the city, and the nobles and ministers also live in the city. When the Qi army attacks the city, these people must work together to resist desperately. Their combat power is ten times higher than in the previous field battle.
This is also the reason why Sun Bin asked these people to defend the city.
Countless arrows fell from the sky, and a large number of shields were quickly erected on the top of Huai'an City. Arrows rained down from the city wall non-stop. Although the Qi army fought tooth and nail to attack, they were still unable to capture the city.
In just one day, he attacked five times, but all failed. The morale of the army was low, and Lu Ji had to withdraw the army to rest.
After enduring the first day, the defenders in Huai'an City also breathed a sigh of relief. When the army set out for the expedition, Sun Bin had already told them that if the Qi army attacked, it would basically be a cornered beast still fighting. As long as it could withstand Qi's attack on the first day, the Qi army would only become weaker and weaker. Prevent the Qi army from attacking at night.
Sure enough, that night, the Qi army sent elite troops to steal the city. As a result, the Huai'an army was well prepared and threw a large number of torches and rockets from the city wall. The Qi army who attacked at night had nowhere to hide and were shot in large numbers. The Huai'an defenders once again The Qi army was repulsed.
On the next day, the Qi army attacked the city again. Lu Ji knew that there was not much time left for him, so he ordered the army to attack with all his strength. However, most of the siege equipment was destroyed yesterday, and the outside of Huai'an City was also fortified and clear, and there was no way to find it. After reaching a few pieces of wood, the intensity of Qi's attack was not even as strong as yesterday, and it was easily blocked by the Huai'an City defenders.
Lu Ji looked ugly. At this time, his idea of taking Huai'an by surprise was basically impossible to realize. At the same time, Sun Bin, who had finished dealing with the Qi army on the north bank of the Huaihe River, led an army to pursue him.
One hundred thousand Huai troops surrounded them on all sides, and tens of thousands of Qi troops had no way to escape. In addition, they ran out of food and grass, and finally had to surrender.
After solving the Qi army going south, Sun Bin led his army north again, preparing to defeat the remaining Qi army. However, after Sun Bin defeated the Qi army on the south bank of the Huaihe River last time, Zou Ji had already received the news. After all, there was no river blocking the south bank of the Huaihe River. Many defeated soldiers fled all the way back.
After Zou Ji learned that the capture strategy failed, he did not hesitate at all and immediately commanded the army to retreat under the cover of night.
In order to prevent being discovered, Zou Ji placed a large number of straw men in the camp with flags everywhere. At the same time, people hoisted the goat and hung it on the drum.
The goat was struggling with its hooves, the war drums were beating, and the flags were flying, making people think that there were still people in the camp. It was not until the next day that Xu Feng realized something was wrong. He sent people to investigate and found that the Qi Army camp had long been empty.
After Xu Feng learned that the Qi army had retreated, he immediately commanded the army to pursue it. However, the Qi army had already withdrawn for two days. Even though Huai State pursued it with all its strength, it still did not catch up with the Qi army and only regained the lost ground.
Sun Bin led the army to Xiapi again and was not disappointed to learn that the Qi army had retreated. He just summoned the generals and left a hundred thousand troops to garrison Tancheng. He and Otsuka Zai led the army to prepare for the three Jin Dynasties.
Sun Bin had been looking forward to Pang Juan, the famous general of the Three Jin Dynasties for a long time. Pang Juan, don’t let me down! Sun Bin looked at the northern sky and said.
(End of chapter)
