Gunpowder smoke fills the sky at the top of Suiyang City. A quick glance inside the city road reveals corpses of soldiers wearing Qin and Chu armor everywhere. Weapons, sharp blades, and arrows can be seen everywhere. In the dense footsteps, more and more Qin soldiers The soldiers chopped down the few Chu soldiers together.
When the screams and killings gradually subsided, at a glance, the dead bodies of the Chu army were everywhere outside the city. Countless corpses, along with the Chu army receding like the tide, were all exposed in front of the eyes of the Qin soldiers on the top of the city.
Frames of ladders and carriages that had been burnt to coke but were still standing could be seen everywhere outside the city wall.
Viewed from mid-air, there were densely packed Qin soldiers standing in the city road. All the soldiers looked outside the city with fierce eyes. Among them, a Qin general hurriedly walked towards the city tower from behind the dense Qin army. , because the city wall is very far away, it can be seen that the general's pace is not particularly fast.
"General, all Chu soldiers in the city have been cleared!"
The generals of the Qin army came outside the city tower and reported to Bai Yan, who was sitting on the stone steps with his armor covered in blood.
"Okay! Let the soldiers clean the city roads and take a good rest!"
Bai Yan ordered.
After watching the general accept the order and leave, Bai Yan wiped the spot-like blood stains on his face and looked at the distant place outside the city, where the massive Chu army slowly left.
This has been five consecutive days. Since they detained my uncle in the city, the Chu army has never stopped attacking the city in these five days. The devastated city walls and corpses on the ground outside the city can be seen how powerful the Chu army has been in these days. crazy.
However, the more anxious the Chu army was to attack the city, the less anxious Bai Yan was.
"General, the Chu army has planned to use up all the arrows and baggage in the city!"
At this time, Zhang came over, frowned and looked outside the city, then turned to Bai Yan and said.
"How much is left in the warehouse?"
Bai Yan looked at Mang and asked.
"The storehouse has been used up! The arrows on the city top can only last for less than half a day at most!"
He shook his head.
With arrows, it is easy to defend the city and it is easy to kill the Chu soldiers. However, relying only on the blacksmiths in the city cannot make up for the consumption of the soldiers defending the city.
If there had not been a siege when Wei was destroyed before, the arrows brought from Daliang would have been squandered as early as the second day of the battle with the Chu army. Now these days, the Chu army is When the city cannot be attacked and retreats, the Chu soldiers will also desperately pick up the arrows on the ground.
This made the Qin army officers want to go out of the city at night to secretly pick up some arrows and come back. When they saw that there were no arrows left for them, they had no choice but to give up this idea completely.
"General, if you don't wait until night, I will lead some troops to harass the Chu army!"
Looking at Bai Yan's frown, he asked.
"Xiang Yan will definitely be on guard!"
Bai Yan shook his head and did not agree to let Mou harass the Chu army camp.
"Go down and rest first! There are many ways to defend the city without arrows!"
Bai Yan stood up, patted Zhang's shoulder, and came to the outer city wall.
On his blood-stained cheeks, looking at the darkening scene outside the city, Bai Yan counted the time. Within the next two days, Huang's people should arrive at the Chu army's camp.
The Huang family is not a small clan in the Chu State, and from the tens of thousands of troops Huang Ye led, it can be seen that the Huang Ye lineage is the main lineage of the Huang family.
Although Huang Ye is not an only son, Huang will never give up on Huang Ye easily when he learns that Huang Ye is alive.
It gets dark.
On the top of Suiyang City, torches began to light up, and rows of Qin soldiers were patrolling, checking to see if any soldiers on guard were dozing off.
At this time, in the distance outside the city gate, dozens of fires suddenly appeared in the sky, which was immediately noticed by the soldiers on the city tower.
"There's movement!"
Amidst the exclamations of the soldiers, the Qin soldiers standing guard by the outer city wall all looked outside the city with vigilant faces. After experiencing the Chu army's night attack, the Qin soldiers did not dare to be careless about any trouble outside the city.
Many patrolling Qin soldiers also stopped at this time and leaned against the outer city wall, bending down slightly to prevent the Chu army from pointing their bows and shooting arrows in the darkness outside the city where they could not see anything.
After a long time.
As more than a dozen firelights slowly approached, several Qin soldiers holding bows in the tower quietly took off their arrows, stringed their bows, and pointed them at the Chu soldiers who were gradually approaching.
"who?"
The leading Qin army general turned his head and glanced at Bai Yan, who was writing under the candlelight and holding a bamboo slip in his hand. He was not fast asleep. Then he felt relieved and turned his head and shouted loudly outside the city.
"I am the envoy of Chu. I want to enter the city and pay my respects to General Bai! Please report!"
Outside Chen Tower, under the light of more than a dozen Chu soldiers holding torches, a man in Chu uniform walked out of a carriage and responded loudly.
Upon hearing this, the general of the Qin army turned around, returned to the wooden house, held his hands in front of Bai Yan, and asked Bai Yan if he wanted to see anyone outside the city.
"See!"
Bai Yan glanced at the Qin army general and said softly, then continued to look at the bamboo slips in his hand.
In the face of the Chu army's attack on the city, Bai Yan, commander of the west city gate, Gu, Huipu, and other generals were stationed to deal with the Chu army's main battlefield, while the other city gates were all left to HP to deal with.
As the commander-in-chief, Bai Yan led the soldiers in a decisive battle with the Chu army, while Huipu also had to be at the rear to count all the military supplies and equipment, and finally handed them over to Bai Yan for review.
Only by cooperating with the generals and lieutenants can they be calm and unhurried when facing the Chu army.
This is why Bai Yan, who is sleeping here in the city tower at night, still looks at the bamboo slips under the candlelight.
After a long time.
In the quiet environment, footsteps were heard, and not long after, a general led a man in his thirties, wearing silk clothes, to the building, and then walked up to Bai Yan.
Bai Yan put down the bamboo slips and looked at the man.
Under the weak candlelight, the man couldn't help but glance at the young Bai Yan, and then looked around with a hint of surprise.
The city tower is very dilapidated. Not only are there traces of arrows shot everywhere outside, but also the inside of the house is full of the smell of blood. The source should be the blood-stained armor next to it, and the armor next to the armor. An eye-catching sword.
Zhanlu! ! !
Is that the rumored famous sword that Ying Zheng gave to Bai Yan?
The man thought with some curiosity, but it was all a momentary thought. Then the man turned his head and looked at Bai Yan.
"Huang Zhong, a native of Chu, pays homage to General Bai!"
The man named Huang Zhong saluted Bai Yan.
Bai Yan stood up slowly and returned the greeting to the man.
"I don't know why Chu Chu is visiting me at night?"
After Bai Yan finished the ceremony, he looked at Huang Zhong and asked.
Huang Zhong put down his hands and looked through the dim candlelight at Bai Yan, who was dressed in simple black clothes. Even a few steps away, he could smell a strong smell, and with such a cold complexion, Bai Yan sat down Under the cloth, there was actually hay as a mat.
These things that caught Huang Zhong's eyes made Huang Zhong extremely surprised, but he felt confident in his heart.
"Huang Zhong once heard the name of the general and has admired him for a long time. Now that he sees the general, he is young, which really surprises Huang Zhong! What makes Huang Zhong even more surprised is that he did not expect to see General Bai here!"
Huang Zhong said to Bai Yan, both his eyes and tone revealed his surprise at seeing Bai Yan here.
"To be honest with General Bai, Huang Zhong has also seen battles and defenses of the city, but when he saw the general guarding the city tower at night, the general was still the first!"
Huang Zhong smiled while speaking, and then glanced at Bai Yan without any trace, and almost said bluntly in his words, was it because General Xiang Yan ordered people to attack Suiyang City at night that made Bai Yan do this?
In Huang Zhong's expectation, when the young and energetic Bai Yan heard these words, he should take him to the mansion for a talk. It should also be understood that the meaning of his words was that even the general was in such a state of desolation. When the Qin army came, it was also the end of its powerful crossbow.
As a result, Bai Yan seemed indifferent to his words.
"The Chu envoy made it clear that if the Chu envoy felt that Bai Yan was afraid of Xiang Yan, then Bai Yan could go back to his mansion and ask the Chu envoy to leave the city. After bothering the Chu envoy to return to the Chu army's camp, he should remember to tell Xiang Yan that Bai Yan I have returned to the mansion and asked Xiang Yan to attack Suiyang City at night. As long as Xiang Yan sends troops to attack Suiyang City at night, Bai Yan will not get even half a step closer to the city gate!"
Bai Yan said calmly, but his tone made Huang Zhong's smile disappear. He stared at Bai Yan suspiciously, as if thinking about whether Bai Yan's words were true or false.
After a few breaths, Huang Zhong frowned slightly, his expression no longer as confident as before, but he still looked at Bai Yan unwillingly.
"If the general is not afraid of General Xiang Yan, why do he stay here in this cold weather and treat the envoy like this?"
Huang Zhong asked in reply, lifting up his spacious embroidered robe, facing the scene around him with his palms, and looking at the hay written on Bai Yan's cushion.
"Bai Yan is here because all the soldiers of the Qin army are here. The weather is cold and the ground is freezing. On top of this city, if the soldiers are cold, Bai Yan will be cold with the soldiers, and the soldiers will kill the enemy. Bai Yan can also draw his sword and kill the enemy with the soldiers! Although the city tower is crude, Bai Yan is content! Although the Chu army is large, the soldiers have no fear! Even if they die in battle, no one will regret it! As long as Bai Yan and the soldiers in the city With one heart, Xiang Yan wanted to capture this city, but he turned against him with his sharp sword! Qin is not afraid of battle, and Qin will also fight!"
Bai Yan said something in a low voice, but Huang Zhong was stunned on the spot, especially when Huang Zhong looked at Bai Yan speaking, the corners of his mouth were slightly raised, and his eyes were full of burning eyes.
madman!
This was an idea that instinctively came to Huang Zhong's mind after hearing these words.
Listening to Bai Yan's words, he thought of the Qin soldiers in the city. For some reason, Huang Zhong, who had just arrived at the Chu army camp today and didn't know much about the situation, suddenly understood why General Xiang Yan, commanding The elite army numbered no less than 200,000. After so many days, they were helpless in the face of Suiyang City guarded by the Wei people. Why would my brother be defeated by the young Qin general in front of him?
In Qufu, Prince Xiong Qi commanded more than 100,000 troops, but they could not stop the Qin army from attacking.
Facing such a general, it is not surprising that Jing Qi once said when he was in Shouchun that Bai Yan must die while serving the Qin State, otherwise it would be a serious danger to the Chu State.
It's a pity that many people admitted that Bai Yan was a famous general at that time, but not many people really took Jing Qi's words to heart, thinking that Jing Qi was exaggerating. At that time, Huang Zhong was the same, and at this moment, Huang Zhong listened to Bai Yan Yan's words shocked his whole mind, and he finally understood why Jing Qi said the name Bai Yan several times in the Chu court, in front of the King of Chu and all the officials of Chu.
"Does Ambassador Chu still think that Bai Yan is afraid of Xiang Yan?"
Bai Yan looked at Huang Zhong with a solemn expression and asked with a smile, "Are you bluffing?" Bai Yan was good at fighting with words. How could Huang Zhongchu know that Bai Yan had already been waiting for his arrival.
Huang Zhong came back to his senses, looked at Bai Yan, sighed, raised his hand and saluted Bai Yan again. Although he didn't say a word, his actions already expressed admiration and acceptance.
"The Chu envoy has not yet answered Bai Yan's words!"
After Bai Yan finished speaking, he asked the general to get a bundle of arrows and sit them for Huang Zhong, the envoy of Chu.
"Huang Zhong came here today because he wants to ask General Bai to release our Chu State General Huang Ye and the two Chu envoys who were previously detained!"
Huang Zhong looked at the general of the Qin army and actually brought a bunch of arrows over. Seeing this scene for the first time, Huang Zhong didn't know what to do. Looking at the surroundings, there were indeed no wooden benches. Huang Zhong thought for a moment, All he could do was get some clothes and sit on a bundle of arrows.
that's all.
In the simple building, one was the Qin army general sitting on a hay mat, and the other was the Chu envoy sitting on a bundle of arrows, and the two started talking.
During this period, Mang seemed to have something to report. As soon as he opened his mouth to speak, he quickly shut his mouth when he saw Huang Zhong.
late at night.
In the Chu army's camp, in the huge commander's tent, there were charcoal-burning stoves on both sides of the tent. This also made the people in the tent not feel the biting cold wind outside the tent.
"Fifteen days of grain, impossible! This is almost half of our Chu army's grain!"
When Xiang Yan heard that Huang Zhong had come back and told Bai Yan's conditions, he instinctively shook his head and rejected it.
Tens of thousands of people had to eat grain for fifteen days. Bai Yan really dared to think that in Xiang Yan's eyes, under the situation where hundreds of thousands of Chu troops surrounded and destroyed the Qin army, Huang Ye, even a famous general who was good at fighting, could not It is worth spending so much grain and millet to exchange with the Qin army.
"General, there is news from Qin's spy. The Qin army led by Wang Ben is trapped in Yingchuan due to heavy snowfall. Qin is unable to send troops south again. Facing Chu's encirclement, Bai Yan has already spread his wings and cannot escape. He might as well... "
Huang Zhong looked at Xiang Yan with a humble expression. After speaking, he glanced at the other Chu generals around him, and then looked at Xiang Yan.
"Promise Bai Yan, we and the King of Chu have prepared more food and fodder for the army, and we will arrive here soon!"
Huang Zhong said these words, but he was still very nervous. After all, the general in front of him was Xiang Yan.
The Xiang clan is slightly stronger than the Huang clan, not only in terms of military strength and fiefdom, but also after King Chu succeeded to the throne, King Chu handed over almost all military affairs of Chu to Xiang Yan. .
This is also the reason why Huang Zhong is worried. In any case, Xiang Yan must agree to this matter, otherwise Huang Zhong would not dare to secretly give the grain to Bai Yan.
Inside the tent.
Although there were many Chu generals and scholars, the atmosphere became extremely quiet following Huang Zhong's words, and everyone remained silent. Even Fan Zeng looked at Huang Zhong and Xiang Yan calmly and shut up. Standing silently beside many generals.
Everyone knows that they can't make the decision in this matter. The one who makes the decision is Xiang Yan. As for not giving grain to Bai Yan, that is naturally the best. But if they say it out loud, it will eventually lead to Huang Ye being killed by Bai Yan. Everyone is afraid of being hated by the Huang family for this.
The Huang clan is not a small clan. After Bai Yan's death, the Huang clan will naturally not seek revenge on the dead person. Naturally, at this time, whoever opposes the replacement of Huang Ye, the Huang clan will put their hatred on whomever, maybe for what reason. When the time comes, he finds an opportunity to take revenge.
"Father, I also think that I might as well give Bai Yan grain for fifteen days. For fifteen days, Bai Yan won't be able to cause any trouble!"
At this time, Xiang Liang looked at everyone in silence and spoke to his father Xiang Yan again.
In the past few days, this is not the first time that Xiang Liang has said these words. Everyone has become accustomed to it. Everyone knows that Xiang Liang did nothing more than rescue his friend Xiao Gu.
Think of the valley.
Many Chu generals also expressed their admiration. If he hadn't encountered the unreasonable Bai Yan, Kogu would have made meritorious service at this time and would be reused by Xiang Yan.
Unfortunately, at this time, Bai Yan was imprisoned in Suiyang City.
"What else did Bai Yanke say when we were in the city just now?"
At this time, Fan Zeng looked at the silent Xiang Yan, thought of something, and turned to look at Huang Zhong.
After hearing Fan Zeng's inquiry, Huang Zhong thought for a moment and truthfully told everything he saw after entering the city under the gaze of Lu Qing and all the Chu generals.
When Fan Zeng and other Chu generals learned from Huang Zhong what Bai Yan said and what they saw, they all frowned and looked at each other helplessly.
"No wonder he can win people's hearts. Bai Yan's methods are really impressive. It seems that it may be difficult to break through Suiyang City in a short period of time!"
Fan Zeng shook his head helplessly at this time. Bai Yan was the first person to make Fan Zeng so helpless.
However, when he accidentally mentioned that when a general of the Qin army came in to report the matter, he quickly stopped talking when he saw Huang Zhong was there, Fan Zeng suddenly frowned.
"Did something happen?"
Fan Zeng was a little confused.
Then he suddenly thought of what happened to Xiao Gu and turned to look at Xiang Yan.
"I'm afraid, the generals of the Qin Army concealed it only when it was related to the Qin Army! The only possibility is that all the soldiers of the Qin Army have been poisoned. It is so cold that the Qin Army cannot detect it, so..."
Fan Zeng analyzed it, but he was not sure, so he shook his head, sighed, and kept silent.
"Can you give Qin Jun some more medicine?"
Lord Changping, who had been silent all this time, suddenly looked at Xiang Yan and suggested something when he heard Fan Zeng's words.
Now that we know that the Qin army was not aware of the poisoning, we might as well try it again. Compared with the previous smoke poison, the poisoned Qin army was no more than a soldier guarding the city. If we could take the opportunity to use the medicine on grain and millet, Those who were poisoned were all the Qin troops in Suiyang City.
After all, Chang Pingjun felt in his heart the difficulty of attacking Bai Yan at this moment.
"This is a good idea!"
"Indeed! If we can poison the Qin army again, it will prevent our generals from climbing the city and dying in battle!"
"But I don't know if there is any poison that Qin Jun can't detect!"
After hearing what Chang Ping Jun said, many Chu army generals in the camp started talking. Although the two armies were fighting, poisoning was somewhat unscrupulous.
But when they heard what Huang Zhong said about Bai Yan, all the Chu army generals couldn't help but feel a sinking feeling. Facing such a stubborn and single-minded Qin army, no one was willing to fight with such an enemy.
Chu State is different from Qi State, Wei State, Zhao State and even South Korea. Chu State naturally has Chu Army, but in the final analysis, the Chu State Army under the command of King Chu is not much at all. The ones here now are all gathered by major families. The same is true for the private soldiers who are together and the generals Jing Qi and Chang Wenjun in another place.
Regarding the attack on Suiyang City, since General Xiang Yan ordered Xiang's elite to attack the city and suffered heavy casualties, all the generals would argue with each other almost every night about who should lead the attack on the city the next day.
No one wants to be the one who leads the troops to the city.
Hearing Bai Yan's words again at this time, all the Chu generals couldn't help but murmur, if they really want to fight Bai Yan to death and consume all the private soldiers in the clan, they will be killed by then. Without Bai Yan, it would be difficult to make up for the losses in the clan!
Think about it, in Shouchun, Jing Qi destroyed the Li Yuan clan, and many of the noble clans who supported Xiong You were quickly eliminated by Jing Qi. Now, any of the noble clans who are still safe and sound in the Chu country have many private soldiers. Let Jing Qi not dare to retaliate easily.
Think about the fate of those nobles who were wiped out by Jing Qi. They did not have private soldiers in Chu State, and they had fiefdoms, so they were not necessarily safe!
Since Bai Yan must be eliminated and the Qin army under Bai Yan's command must be eliminated, it would be great if they could poison him and defeat him without a fight!
Thinking of this, more and more generals couldn't help but look at Xiang Yan and Lord Changping.
Xiang Yan saw this.
Little did he know that all the generals of the Chu State were already thinking about it. During this period of continuous strong attack, many generals were already shaken. Thinking of this, Xiang Yan and Xiang Liang looked at each other, looking at the pleading eyes of their son Xiang Liang, and then Looking at the Huang clan members Huang Zhong and Huang Xia standing aside.
At this time, Xiang Yan looked at the two scrolls of bamboo slips placed beside the wooden table. One scroll was the news sent by King Chu of Chu, and the other scroll was from Prince Xiong Qi.
The King of Chu carried Chu because in the army, the elite soldiers of the Huang clan were still there, and under Jing Qi's command, the Huang clan also sent out all their troops. If Huang Ye was not rescued, some people in the Huang clan would inevitably be dissatisfied, and the Chu State In the future, with the Qin State, it will not be as simple as just getting rid of Bai Yan. Considering the future...
Thinking of this, Xiang Yan looked away from the bamboo slips, looked at the many Chu generals in front of her, turned around, closed her eyes and thought.
After a long time, Xiang Yan finally sighed.
"Wizard, is there a way to poison me?"
Xiang Yan opened his eyes and asked, perhaps considering Bai Yan's words and the fact that the momentum of the Qin army in Suiyang City has not diminished at all in the past few days, or perhaps considering the overall situation of Qin and Chu and the sophistication of people, Xiang Yan Yan finally chose to compromise and agreed to exchange food for people. Even Xiang Yan couldn't help but think at this moment that perhaps this was the only way to quickly break the situation.
Otherwise, facing an enemy general like Bai Yan who personally led the troops to guard Suiyang City, Xiang Yan could not be sure that he could capture Suiyang City in a short period of time, before the snow fell, no matter how many troops he had.
……………………
The next day.
The sky was getting brighter, and in the city of Suiyang, soldiers of the Qin army kept coming and going, carrying things, and the generals were also busy.
In the city walls, densely packed soldiers of the Qin army were waiting in the cold wind, preparing to face the Chu army's uninterrupted attack on the city all day long. However, as time passed, facing the empty air outside the city, In the empty plain, all the Qin army officers and soldiers were a little confused.
Why did it take so long to see no trace of a Chu soldier?
It wasn't until another hour passed that all the officers and soldiers of the Qin Army saw a carriage slowly approaching from the direction of the Chu Army's camp!
Inside Suiyang City.
A man in civilian clothes hurriedly walked down the street, and then quickly came to a mansion. After opening the door, he entered the mansion, followed the corridor and passed the yard, and came to a study.
In the study, Tian Ding and Gongzi Sheng were talking about something.
When he saw the man come in, he stopped talking and looked at the man.
(End of chapter)
