Soldiers holding long swords stood next to the huge rocks blocked by the thick mesh rope. As long as Meng Wu gave an order, they would cut the rope and block the exit of Yixiantian.
Seeing the Chu army getting closer and closer, Meng Wu's raised hand immediately fell down, and the soldiers immediately cut the rope. The sound of falling rocks echoed throughout the valley, and the entire Chu army was suddenly in chaos. The cavalry horses were frightened by the sound of falling rocks, and they all neighed and jumped up.
Everyone looked up and saw a large number of stones falling down one after another. The cavalry at the front immediately shouted
"There's an ambush!"
The cavalry immediately withdrew back, and some of those who had time withdrew quickly. The cavalry at the front who had no time to retreat were buried by the falling boulders. The dust from the boulders flew up, and the dust covered the entire front of the valley.
"Xiang Yan, today is the day you die!" Meng Wu shouted.
As Meng Wu's voice fell, all the crossbow strings in the Qin army's hands were loosened, and dense arrows were shot into the canyon, causing numerous casualties to the cavalry in front.
Xiang Yan, who was sitting in the middle army, knew something was wrong when he heard the sound of falling rocks. Meng Wu's voice hit him in the head and knocked him completely unconscious. He did not expect that the Qin army really had an ambush, and he had great fear in his heart. Puzzled, he didn't understand why the Qin army ambushed here. They chose this road because there were the fewest defenders on this road, and it was impossible for the surrounding city defenders to mobilize in time. Even the nearest Hanzhong mobilized soldiers. It also takes seven days to get here.
Although Xiang Yan's mind was still in a state of confusion, his basic military literacy allowed him to issue the correct order immediately.
"Raise your shield! Defend."
The messenger screamed and conveyed Xiang Yan's order. These soldiers were all elites in the Chu army. They had experienced many battles, large and small. At the reminder of the messenger, everyone reacted immediately and put their shields on their heads. Above, there were five people in a group, and some people without shields were also covered in. The shields greatly blocked the Qin army's crossbows, reducing casualties.
"The rear army becomes the front army, and the front army becomes the rear army. Everyone evacuates in an orderly manner!" Xiang Yan continued to command.
In this situation, he, the general, must maintain effective command. Only orderly evacuation can greatly reduce casualties. In such a narrow area, once the army is in chaos and the soldiers rush to escape, the stampede casualties caused will be far greater than that of Qin casualties caused by the military.
The messengers continued to convey Xiang Yan's orders. Under the command and dispatch of the officers, the chaotic Chu army became orderly again, and everyone turned around and began to evacuate effectively.
"Commander, tell Mr. Fan that there is an ambush in retreating quickly!" Xiang Yan said.
After the Chu army stabilized, Xiang Yan was most worried about Fan Zeng's troops in the rear. Fan Zeng's troops were mostly filled with supplies and armaments. These items were too bulky and difficult to mobilize and retreat. If he reunited with Fan Zeng and then turned around to retreat, it would be a huge waste of money. At this time, the army will also panic because of the road blockage, so Fan Zeng must make a complete U-turn first.
Secondly, Xiang Yan understood that if the Qin army dared to block the road ahead, he would definitely send people to block the road in the rear. Although there were troops left behind to guard the entrance, there were only more than a thousand people in the rear, which could not block the Qin army at all. Evacuate quickly before encirclement.
"promise!"
The orderly soldier ran towards the end of the team, with military horses behind him. The orderly soldier ran towards the rear after riding on the military horse.
Seeing the Chu army stabilized after a moment of panic, Meng Wu was very shocked. In this life and death situation, it was extremely difficult to keep the soldiers calm and retreat in an orderly manner. This test not only It is the quality of soldiers, and more importantly the commander's command and prestige in the army.
The commander-in-chief must send someone to convey the correct order as soon as the army is in chaos. Otherwise, once the army is in chaos, the soldiers will no longer obey the orders and become extremely confused. When the army marches and fights, the commander-in-chief's orders It is passed down through layers of officers, and it is the officers at the grassroots level who ultimately control the soldiers, and they must also rely on these people.
The fact that the officer was able to maintain his subordinates in such a chaotic situation reflects Xiang Yan's level of training of the army on weekdays; only a moment of lapse in concentration to give correct orders is enough to illustrate Xiang Yan's commanding ability. After the order was issued, the soldiers formed a team with peace of mind and did not run away alone because of fear. This shows Xiang Yan's prestige in the army.
With just an order, Meng Wu knew that there are no empty warriors under the famous reputation. Xiang Yan is worthy of being the number one general today besides Li Mu. As for who is stronger, Li Mu or Xiang Yan, Meng Wu can't say, because Xiang Yan and Xiang Yan are stronger. Li Mu gave him the same feeling, like a high mountain that he couldn't climb. The one in Qin who had the most hope of competing with these two people was Wang Jian.
When he thought of this, Meng Wu felt depressed. When his father Meng Ao died, he did not leave him any military instructions, only the instructions he gave him during his lifetime. As a result, his ability to lead the army in this life could only be mediocre, without much. Although he was not as well-known as Wang Ben and Li Xin among the Qin army's Qingzhuang sect, he was not as well-known as Wang Ben and Li Xin. His talent is not weaker than that of the strongest Wang Bi, and neither Li Xin nor Yang Duanhe can match it.
"Send people up the mountain to put down the fallen rocks, and the archers continue to fire arrows." Meng Wu said to the messenger beside him.
The messenger nodded and began to convey the order. Meng Wu looked at Xiang Yan who was riding a horse and giving orders to the Chu army. He fully drew the strong bow in his hand and aimed the sharp arrow at Xiang Yan's chest.
Xiang Yan is still maintaining the evacuation of the army. Although the Chu army has stabilized now, the fear in the hearts of the soldiers is still there. He must stand up and let the soldiers see his presence. Only by relying on his own prestige can he maintain the stability of the army. .
Xiang Yan was still giving orders, unaware that Meng Wu's arrow was already aimed at him. Meng Wu's fingers loosened the bow string, and the sharp arrow cut through the air, making a harsh sound.
The guard on the side was wielding a long sword to block the incoming arrow, and did not notice the cold arrow at all.
The hair on Xiang Yan's back stood up, and alarm bells rang in his heart. Having led troops in wars all year round, he had a unique feeling when faced with the threat of death. But when he reacted, Meng Wu's arrows had already arrived. One shot into his back. Xiang Yan spat out a mouthful of blood, and the pain from his back made his whole body tremble. He wanted to fall down, but for the sake of Chu Jun's stability, he could only hold on and prevent himself from falling.
The guards on the side discovered Xiang Yan's situation, and immediately formed a defense team and surrounded Xiang Yan.
"General, are you okay?" the guard dismounted and supported Xiang Yan's horse.
"No, it's not in the way. I can't fall, otherwise the Chu army will be in chaos." Xiang Yan said while his body was trembling. The arrow just now had hit the back of his heart, but fortunately, the two layers of armor and the soft weapon developed by Qin Mo A counteracted most of the force, which prevented him from being killed on the spot.
Seeing Xiang Yan, who was pale and covered with cold sweat on his forehead, a guard immediately held Xiang Yan's horse, and the remaining people gathered tightly around Xiang Yan to prevent any more cold arrows from coming.
"Send the order and retreat quickly." Xiang Yan said through gritted teeth.
"promise!"
Meng Wu looked at Xiang Yan, who was surrounded by guards, and sighed helplessly. He had no choice but to let the soldiers shoot arrows faster, and at the same time let the soldiers above drop rocks.
At the entrance of Yixiantian, most of the Chu troops guarding the entrance were killed by cold arrows shot from the woods before they had time to react. As the shocking sound of charging and killing sounded, a large number of Qin troops rushed towards them, frightening these Chu troops while resisting. One side retreated towards the canyon.
"Keep an eye on the exit, don't lose it." The general responsible for guarding the exit shouted, and at the same time asked the messenger to notify Fan Zeng that the Qin army was attacking the entrance.
At this time, Fan Zeng had already marched to the middle, and happened to meet the herald who came from the front to convey the order. When Fan Zeng saw that the messenger was disgraced and covered in blood, he knew something had happened to the former army.
"What happened ahead? How is the general?" Fan Zeng said, grabbing the herald's arm.
"Mr. Fan, we encountered an ambush by the Qin army. The exit was blocked. There were numerous casualties among our brothers. The general asked us to evacuate quickly." The herald said with a cry.
"How many people are there in the Qin army?" Fan Zeng asked hurriedly.
"I don't know. There are Qin troops all over the mountains and plains. It looks like there should be no less than 100,000 people." The messenger said.
Fan Zeng's pupils suddenly tightened, and he had the same thoughts as Xiang Yan. They thought that their plan had been flawless, and the only people who knew about the advance plan were him, Xiang Yan and Lord Changping. Even Xiang Liang and Xiang Bo both knew about it. I don't know, they don't know how the Qin army got the news and ambush 100,000 people in advance.
"Quick, everyone turn around and retreat." Fan Zeng shouted.
The messenger next to him immediately conveyed Fan Zeng's order. Fan Zeng looked at the messenger and asked again
"How is the general?"
"The general is fine. The general has stabilized the army and is evacuating in an orderly manner." The herald said. He left early and did not know that Xiang Yan had been hit by an arrow.
"That's good." Fan Zeng breathed a sigh of relief. With Xiang Yan, the Chu army would at least not be in chaos without attacking. The same question has been lingering in Fan Zeng's mind.
The total number of defenders in Wu County was less than 100,000. Fan Zeng felt that the only option was to mobilize troops in advance, so how did the Qin army guess this incident? Fan Zeng couldn't figure out which link went wrong. The Qin army predicted that they were going to send troops to Bashu. There was no intention within the Chu state that they would send troops. Even if they mobilized troops to Yingdu, they would be small-scale mobilizations from various places. On the one hand, it was to prevent Qu Jingzhao Sanjia and Li Yuan knew that on the other hand, they wanted to avoid being discovered by Qin.
Fan Zeng probably couldn't have imagined that Sima Xin discovered the Chu army's mobilization due to the soaring grain prices in Yingdu. As the saying goes, grain and grass go first before the soldiers and horses are moved. It is speculated that the main basis for the army's mobilization is grain and grass, and it is also the easiest to be discovered.
Because they were deploying troops privately, they did not have the support of the court, so they relied on merchants to purchase grain. Moreover, Lord Changping was worried about being discovered, so he sent dozens of people pretending to be grain merchants to purchase grain. However, they forgot that excessive grain purchases would This will lead to an overall increase in food prices. This was not an eye-catching thing originally. After all, everyone looked down on businessmen and business, so they ignored it. However, as a military strategist and the Sima family was also involved in business, Sima Xin discovered this. The Chu army mobilized.
If Fan Zeng and Xiang Yan knew that they had lost on simple economic laws, they would probably kill themselves. After fighting for half their lives, they had lost on business that they had never valued. They would only feel shameful and shameless. Survive in the world.
Just when Fan Zeng mobilized his troops and prepared to evacuate, the ordering soldiers at the exit also arrived. Seeing that the ordering soldiers at the exit were covered in blood, Fan Zeng became furious, his eyes darkened, and he fell off his horse.
"Mr. Fan!"
The guard on the side immediately got off his horse and quickly helped Fan Zeng who fell to the ground.
Looking at the unconscious Fan Zeng, the guard poured water into Fan Zeng's mouth. Fan Zeng coughed twice and opened his eyes, but his eyes were filled with sadness.
"How is the exit?" Fan Zeng asked with sadness in his voice.
"A large number of Qin troops rushed out from nowhere. We only have a thousand people and can't stop them. Commander Xiang and his brothers are still resisting. When I came to Mr. Fan, I asked for support." The messenger said.
"Quick, quick, quick! Let Long Qi lead the cavalry of the Longteng Legion to support Xiang Qie. If the entrance is occupied by the Qin army, we will be trapped here." Fan Zeng said hurriedly, grabbing the hand of the deputy general beside him.
In this dispatch, the entire Longteng Legion was dispatched, and the commander of the Longteng Legion, Long Qi, also followed. Long Qi was the successor of Dr. Chu, and was also a noble of the Chu Kingdom. He was not much worse than the Xiang family, a royal family of the Chu Kingdom.
"No!" The deputy general immediately went to convey the order.
Fan Zeng was helped onto his horse again. Looking at the baggage and armaments in the army, he almost fainted again. In such a narrow passage, these things were simply the biggest obstacles. If they were not cleared away, they would not be able to evacuate Xiantian.
"Quickly, transport all these supplies to the exit and push them down the hillside." Fan Zeng said.
Although these baggage and grain supplies are in the way and must be cut off, they must also be used to their maximum effect. These grain and grass baggage can be pushed down the mountain and overwhelm the Qin army. Another deputy general was stunned. He could not understand Fan Zeng's order and was about to ask. Did Fan Zeng give the order indiscriminately because of his coma and dementia just now?
"Go quickly, do as I say, and use this food and grass to make a way for us." Fan Zeng shouted.
The deputy general saw Fan Zeng's angry look and did not dare to hesitate any longer. He immediately ordered the soldiers to push the baggage and food and grass towards the exit. Fan Zeng asked the army to quickly move towards the exit to support them. They must recapture the mountain pass before the Qin army occupied it.
Fan Zeng himself slowed down. He needed to wait for Xiang Yan and discuss with Xiang Yan how to break out of the siege.
I’m going out for a bit today, so I’ll post a chapter first tonight, and the rest will be updated for my brothers tomorrow afternoon.
I have been very busy these days, I have to go out all the time, and I have to go back to school on the 28th to hold a graduation ceremony. It is mainly for the graduation certificate. I am not allowed to collect it on my behalf, which is nonsense.
(End of chapter)
