The hand crossbows of the Tengjia Army will basically only be used once per battle. After breaking through the enemy's defense line, they will rush forward to kill them. This time too.
The elites of Huai State broke through three formations in a row, and the soldiers of Qin State suffered heavy casualties. At the critical moment, the Qin army forced a chariot charge and suffered heavy casualties before blocking the Huai army's attack.
Just as the Huai army was besieging Maojin Ferry, on the other side of the battlefield, Bai Qi, who originally commanded the army to retreat north, received news that Maojin Ferry was attacked by Huai army elites. Instead of sending a large army to rescue, Bai Qi turned around. In the direction of the march of the army, they launched a sudden attack on Yangyi.
After seeing the Qin army retreating, the defenders of Shangyang City had relaxed their vigilance slightly. But at this moment, the Qin army made a surprise attack. The iron eagle warriors led the charge, and the Qin army's crossbow formations also came forward. Arrows fell like rain on the city wall, and the Huai army on the wall was suppressed and unable to raise its head.
The Tie Ying Rui took the opportunity to attack the city. At the same time, a large number of Qin troops followed closely, and various engineering equipment advanced rapidly. Looking at the posture, it seems that he has been prepared for a long time.
Is Bai Qi preparing to withdraw his troops? It was clearly a false shot, in order to make the Huai army relax their vigilance and think that the Qin army was withdrawing, and then let the Huai army send a large army to besiege Maojin Ferry, hoping to cut off the Qin army's retreat and annihilate the remaining Qin army.
If Le Yi was attracted by the results of annihilating the Qin army, he would send the elite Huai army to besiege Maojindu. Bai Qi will immediately gather his elite troops and attack Shang Yangyi at any cost. As long as Shangyang is captured, the Qin army can attack Hangu Pass from the east and west. At that time, even if Maojin Ferry is lost, it will not affect the Qin army.
Bai Qi did not have an advantage over the Qin army, so he used strategic deception to turn defeat into victory. If Le Yi had been a little careless and greedy for victory, he would have fallen into Bai Qi's plan this time.
It's a pity that as a top commander, Le Yi is very aware of the power of enemies of this level. Just when you thought it was a sweet fruit, it was actually a deadly trap.
Just when Bai Qi sent an army to attack Shang Yangyi, the next second he heard the sound of "Beng Beng Beng" bow strings, and thousands of fist-sized stones flew out of the sky and fell on the Qin army's siege army. among. Stones the size of fists fell like rain, and the Qin army's armor and shields were completely useless in front of these stones.
The shield was smashed into pieces, the armor was deformed, bones were broken, tendons were broken, and the skull was cracked. The attacking Qin army suddenly suffered heavy casualties. At the same time, continuous stones flew out of Shangyang City, and even the Qin army's siege equipment could not withstand a few hits.
In Shangyangyi, dozens of catapults were filled with polished stones. After many improvements by Mohist and Huai craftsmen, these catapults had changed from instruments that originally required the cooperation of dozens of people to use to five people. A controllable weapon for defending the city.
The Huaiguo collection room contains many books on machinery, which is naturally the legacy left by Zijue. It was also with this valuable knowledge that the catapults of Huai State were much more advanced than those of other countries in Bangzhou.
The trebuchets of this era were not only cumbersome and required dozens of people to control them, but they could also only throw stones weighing more than ten kilograms about fifty meters. The intervals between attacks were also long, making them useless. Huai's trebuchets did not throw farther, but became smaller, easier to control, and the time between attacks was shorter.
All the trebuchets in Shangyang were not used. After Le Yi discovered that the Qin army was retreating, he did not rush to pursue them. Instead, all the trebuchets in the general were placed in Shangyang. He knew very well that the purpose of the Qin army's large-scale attack was to attack Hangu Pass, so no matter how the Qin army acted, they would eventually attack Shangyangyi and Hangu Pass.
Thousands of elite Qin troops raided Shangyang, and were beaten by trebuchets that fell like raindrops. The Huai army even put earthen jars in their trebuchets, filled with kerosene, and threw them out. The Qin army's ladders, columbiners and other engineering equipment were burned.
Bai Qi saw on the battlefield that the Qin army had failed in their attack, his face still grim. After seeing that the army had no chance, he no longer allowed the army to attack, and directly led the army to retreat, and rescued Mao Jindu in the early stage.
This offensive and defensive battle was carried out extremely quickly. It seemed that not many troops were used, and the casualties were only a few thousand. However, if there was any carelessness, the opponent would immediately swarm up like a shark that smelled blood.
Just when you think the enemy is about to withdraw and pursue the enemy, the enemy suddenly turns around and rushes straight into the vital area. Bai Qi's way of using troops is simply magical, making the most of everything. Le Yi was also calm and calm, not giving Bai Qi the slightest chance, and at the same time, he did not let go of Bai Qi's weaknesses. Bai Qi was forced to retreat.
Bai Qi saw that the attack on the city was not going well, so he led his troops to evacuate without any hesitation, and then rescued Mao Jindu. The Qin army quickly felt the Maojin crossing. When the Huai army saw the Qin army's reinforcements arriving, they did not attack again and quickly withdrew from the battlefield.
At this time, the war was finally coming to an end. The Qin army mobilized two to three hundred thousand elites. First, they defeated Han and Wei and captured the land east of Hedong. Then they went south to capture Hangu Pass. As a result, they were blocked by the Huai State in Shangyang City, and the two sides fought fiercely. Tens of thousands of troops were killed and injured every month, and ultimately returned without success.
The most important thing is that Bai Qi has realized that Le Yi is a general who is not inferior to him in the slightest. If it were not for the terrain restrictions this time, the Huai army could not massively reinforce the attack. He would never have expected to lead the Qin army to retreat so easily this time. Even if they move to other places, the Qin army will be defeated this time.
Bai Qi was not disappointed when he went south this time. He had no good solution for Le Yi for the time being. But there is a solution that is not a solution. Le Yi is over fifty years old this year, while Bai Qi is less than thirty. He has time to wait. Time is on his side. Ten years later, Le Yi will be in his sixties. Even if he can go to the battlefield, his energy will not be as good as before. How can he continue to spend time with him?
How could the Huai State without Le Yi be a match for the Qin army led by him?
Looking at Qin Jun who was gradually disappearing, Le Yi's expression did not relax at all. This time he fought in person, and he had a clearer and more intuitive understanding of Bai Qi's strength. When Le Yi was as young as Bai Qi, his command and deployment of the army were inferior to Bai Qi's.
He also understood that if ten years later, his energy declined, Bai Qi would be in the prime of life. I'm afraid he will no longer be Bai Qi's opponent by then.
Le Yi is also worried about this. If you want to cultivate such a top commander, you don't need to rely on study and guidance, but on talent. Only with enough talent and training can you become a top commander.
(End of chapter)
