More than twenty scouts were fighting with the Qin army at the city gate, and there were also two pairs of Qin soldiers fighting with the Huai army scouts on the city tower. Scouts are the elite among the elite in the army.
In panic, the Qin army was no match for these scouts, not to mention that these scouts were also equipped with hand crossbows. As soon as they came into contact, the Qin army's night watch team was killed and suffered heavy casualties.
Immediately afterwards, a large number of Vine Armor troops rushed up, even specially equipped with flying claws and flying ladders in order to prevent the city gate from being blocked. The flying ladder is actually a beggar’s version of a cloud ladder. It is very simple to make and is just an extended version of the ladder.
The vine-armored soldiers took advantage of the darkness and directly put the ladder up to the top of the city. The soldiers next to them took a running start and climbed up as quickly as apes. In just a few breaths, he climbed up to the top of the city.
More than a dozen flying ladders were set up, and within a short time, dozens of Vine Armor troops boarded the city. These Vine Armor troops quickly occupied a section of the city wall, and then more and more Vine Armor troops rushed up.
The Huai State's night attack caught the Qin army off guard. Not only did some internal officers open the city gates, but some even set fire to the city. The soldiers of the Qin State who had originally escaped had become frightened. Now they were attacked and suddenly became panicked. They even screamed because of the huge mental pressure.
Fires broke out in the city of Mian County. Gongzi Zhang, who had just been woken up, saw the chaos in the city and immediately sent his personal guards to take control of the army and direct the battle. However, in this case, his orders could not be communicated effectively at all. In addition, no less than Huai's Tengjia Army entered the city, and the soldiers of Qin were beaten and retreated, and Gongzizhang was unable to recover.
Gongzizhang mobilized hundreds of soldiers to recapture the city gate, but was defeated by the Huai army here. The city was ablaze, and the second-line army left behind by the Qin State soon became unable to withstand it and began to flee.
There are only two city gates in Mian County, and both of them were blocked by the Huai army. The Qin army could only struggle to death in the city. As the Huai army increased in size, the Qin army's ability to resist became weaker and weaker, and gradually more and more Qin armies laid down their weapons and surrendered.
In the end, the Qin army led by Gongzizhang was blocked in a small area in the city, and had no choice but to lay down its weapons and surrender.
The Qin State has been fighting continuously over the years. Although it has won many victories, it has also suffered many casualties. Especially this time during the war with Zhao State, Huai State made a sneak attack, and Qin State had to recruit many old and weak people.
With the surrender of Gongzizhang, the Huaiguo army successfully occupied Mian County, and the western part of Hanzhong also fell into the hands of the Huaiguo. After the land of Bashu and central and western Han Dynasty fell into the hands of the Huai State, the Qin State completely lost Bashu. In the Bao Valley, although the Qin army commanded by Bai Qi broke through several camps, the Huai State army also resisted tenaciously. There were heavy casualties.
After learning that Mian County had fallen into the hands of the Huai people, Bai Qi sighed and said: "It's up to people to plan things, and it's up to heaven to make things happen. If God doesn't bless Qin, there's nothing we can do."
Then he led the army out of Bao Valley and returned to Qin.
After Qin Wangji learned that Bashu and everything west of Hanzhong had been lost, he fell to the ground as if his energy and spirit had been sucked away in an instant. It took a long time before he finally came to his senses and said, "How is Bai Qi doing now? How many troops do we have left?"
"Your Majesty, General Bai Qi has led his army to retreat. There are still 40,000 soldiers. In addition to the garrisons in Wuguan, Hangu Pass, and Hexi, there are 50,000 troops confronting the Qin army in Shangjun. There are also 10 soldiers in Xianyang City. Ten thousand troops are stationed there.”
After Qin's garrisons in various places were added to other armies, Qin had only an army of more than 300,000 soldiers left. In just a few years, Qin lost more than 250,000 troops, and most of them were in their prime. This made Qin also short of troops.
Especially the loss of the Bashu land caused Qin to lose nearly one million people. The original population of about five million was now less than four million. More importantly, the food supply in Bashu was lost. Qin could no longer maintain such high-intensity operations.
Because of the last sneak attack by Yiqu State, Qin State deployed heavy troops in Xianyang, which made Qin State's mobile strength very limited.
Qin Wangji is indeed a rare wise king. After seeing this situation, he immediately responded. He sent envoys to ease relations with Han and Wei, and at the same time sent envoys again to negotiate peace with Zhao.
Because Qin still had some advantages in the war with Zhao, Qin Wangji sent an envoy to Zhao, willing to send protons to each other to negotiate peace. At the same time, the land east of the river occupied this time was returned to Zhao.
After Zhao Guo saw Qin Guo's conditions, he did not agree immediately. Although they don't know what happened in Qin, they know very well that the dominant Qin will not propose such an alliance that is obviously beneficial to Zhao.
The news that Qin was defeated and lost the land of Bashu could not be concealed at all, not to mention that the Huai State deliberately spread it, so Zhao got the news quickly. After getting the news, Zhao State began to speak loudly, not only asking Qin State to return more than 100,000 Zhao army prisoners, but also asking Qin State to give up Shangjun.
Naturally, it is impossible for Qin to agree to such a request. If Qin cannot defeat Huai, how can it be that it cannot defeat Zhao? What's more, the Qin army still has 100,000 Zhao army prisoners in its hands. At worst, there will be a fight, and the 100,000 Zhao army prisoners will never be able to go back.
After hearing these words, everyone in the Zhao State calmed down and began to discuss seriously. In the end, in accordance with Qin's request, Qin gave up the land of Zhao east of the river, and the two sides exchanged protons. Then Zhao State exchanged 50,000 mature slaves, 100,000 stones of grain and grass, and 3,000 horses in exchange for 100,000 Zhao army prisoners.
After confirming the alliance, Zhao and Qin quickly sent protons to each other. King Ji of Qin sent his unpopular son to the State of Zhao. King Zhao also sent his unpopular son to Qin.
Then the Qin army began to retreat, and Zhao also began to hand over slaves to Qin in batches. After Qin received slaves again, it also began to release Zhao's prisoners of war.
The return of 100,000 prisoners of Zhao State made everyone in Zhao State relieved. You must know that these 100,000 prisoners are not the strong people, but soldiers with combat experience. Zhao State used 50,000 slaves plus 100,000 stones of food and grass and 3,000 soldiers. The exchange of a good horse is already a big advantage.
Zhao State is different from other countries. Until now, it still implements a semi-slavery and semi-feudal system. Zhao State has always had a large number of slaves.
After releasing 100,000 prisoners of war, Qin obtained 50,000 slaves, grain, grass and war horses, finally regaining some strength. Both Qin and Zhao understood that this alliance was only a temporary peace.
After losing the land of Bashu, Qin began to deploy heavy troops in Chencang and Xi counties, build cities, and block all the passages between Hanzhong and Bashu. The 20% of the destiny purple energy that Qin had originally monopolized was half disintegrated at this moment, and even the remaining destiny purple energy became shaky.
(End of chapter)
