Due to the restrictions on the battlefield, Xiao Yuan mobilized a total of 100,000 troops for this battle. The total defensive troops of the ghost clan at various strongholds were also more than 100,000, and there were 70,000 troops stationed in Seth City in the rear.
On the sixth day of April, the war broke out.
The ghost army had six fortresses along the entire defense line, and the first one to be attacked was Shabei Land.
Since it is a fortress, there are naturally military facilities here, including some simple city walls, horse guards, arrow towers, sentry towers, etc.
On the city wall, looking at the black phalanx outside, the ghost general stationed at the sand monument had a solemn face: "Quick! Send the news to General Laisen!"
"Yes!" A soldier took the order and left.
Not long after, the Qin army's formation changed. A messenger galloped on horseback, raising a cloud of dust in front of the formation.
Wow! The neat sound of armor rubbing together.
"Fire the arrow." Xu Rong's voice was cold.
The flag was waved fiercely.
With a buzzing sound, countless bowstrings were stretched at the same time, and sharp arrows shot out!
The Qin army's arrows rose up, forming a large black screen, densely pressing, and coming towards them!
Puff puff puff puff! The sound of arrows piercing flesh and the howls of the ghost army could be heard all over his ears. The guard of Sand Monument was protected by several round shields for the first time. He was shouting what he was commanding and retreating to a safer place.
The shield soldiers protected and followed, with arrows stuck on the shields like hedgehogs. From time to time, some people were shot over, but others immediately filled the gaps in the round shields.
The ghost general was very frightened in his heart. This kind of arrow formation of the Qin army was the most terrifying. Not only would it be hit on the city wall, but also inside the fortress.
Beyond the distance of ordinary arrows, the large-scale coverage caused the crackling sound to continue to sound.
After a round of arrow formation, the ghost army was already dead and wounded. Looking at the wall again, there were white arrow tails, black arrow shafts, random arrows inserted diagonally, and carved feathers all over.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Before the ghost army could make a further reaction, the war drums of the Qin army were already rising.
Xu Rong unsheathed his sword: "Attack——"
"Kill--"
The shouts shook the sky, and all the soldiers raised their swords and rushed towards the fortress. The scene was surging. The morale of the Qin army was high. Under the inspiring drums, they launched a fierce offensive.
At the same time, the sound of mechanical vibrations sounded one after another.
Oil jars flew over the heads of our own soldiers, hitting various parts of the ghost army, bursting open, and spraying fire oil.
One by one, the firemen howled miserably and danced around the city wall.
The rumbling sound was right next to him. The ghost general squatted down and held his head subconsciously, while yelling: "Avoid! Be careful to avoid-"
"Don't panic! Guard this place!"
"Don't let the Qin army cross even half a step!"
The ghost army would replace the next batch that died on the city wall, and another group of two would quickly carry off the wounded.
The battlefield was fierce. After reaching a certain distance, the ghost army finally started to fight back. Both sides fired arrows back and forth in the sky.
The Qin army's shield soldiers were in front, and their powerful crossbows were behind. They raised their shields to block, and dropped their shields to shoot back. The battle-hardened soldiers cooperated extremely well.
Under the cover of long-range attacks, the infantry quickly rushed to the bottom of the wall. Aerial ladders were erected all over the city wall one after another. The brave and capable Qin soldiers began to use their hands and feet to climb up crazily.
"Hold it! Hold it all--"
"Quick! Throw stones! Don't let them come up!"
The ghost general was running back and forth, protected by several shield soldiers, and random arrows were shot from time to time.
On the front, the Qin army's siege vehicles were slowly advancing, and this was also the place with the most random arrows.
This was a fierce battle, and the two sides continued to fight bloody battles. Although the ghost army was not strong enough, it was defensive and would rather die than retreat.
As for Laisen, his command post was on the front line, not far from here, and the news quickly reached him.
The sand monument was attacked again, more fiercely than the last time. Laisen didn't seem surprised. He waved his hand to the messenger and said: "Go and tell Dole that the general has been prepared. Let him rest assured and just keep it safe." Sand Monument, our army will never let the enemy break through from here!"
"Yes!" The messenger saluted and left quickly.
After he left, the deputy general of the Ghost Army couldn't help but said: "As expected by the general, the Qin army's last battle was just to test the strength of our army. They found the weakness of the Shabei Fortress. This time they came to the real point. of!"
"Yeah." Lathan nodded: "This is an obvious thing, isn't it."
"Then why don't we let other strongholds support Shabei? Maybe we can launch a two-wing attack on the Qin army." The deputy general said tentatively.
Laisen thought for a moment and shook his head slightly: "Don't be anxious now. The troops we have left for Shabei Fortress are enough and should be able to hold it. Rushing troops from top to bottom will disrupt the original deployment and easily fall into the trap of the Qin army. plan."
"The general is saying that the Qin army's target may not be in Shabei yet?" the deputy general said.
"It's hard to say now." Lathan touched his chin: "At least, we have to wait until the war situation becomes clearer."
Since Laisen was sent by the Ghost King to lead the army, he still has something, but not much.
He had participated in wars of aggression against the Central Plains before, but they were all in the form of plunder. The Central Plains troops were weak at that time, and he had not experienced any serious battles.
In previous battles, the Ghost Army always relied on bravery and rarely made decisions, let alone the mobilization of large corps and the use of multi-line tactics.
But compared with the soldiers of Qin, haha.
Two hours later.
The fierce battle in Shabei was not over yet, and other strongholds of the ghost army were attacked again. Zhang Dashan led his troops to divide into three groups and began to pretend to attack the northern line.
When the news came back, the deputy general of the Ghost Army felt that Laisen's prediction was accurate and flattered him: "The general knows things like a god, and the Qin army's target is indeed not at the sand monument."
"Haha." Laisen smiled and said to the messenger: "Tell all defense lines to hold on to their own places!"
"yes!"
On the other side, Zhang Dashanbe.
After the war broke out, the ghost army's resistance was the same as before. It couldn't be said to be particularly difficult, but it wasn't something that could be won immediately.
Zhang Dashan did not fight with him, but he still said to the deputy general: "Tell me, can we really break through from here? If we open this line, I am afraid we can also scare the ghost army."
The lieutenant general said: "Although it is difficult, the general thought that maybe we could give it a try."
"Yeah." Zhang Dashan pondered for a moment, his one-eyed face with an eyepatch on his face was a bit scary: "Don't worry, let's take a look at the situation on the battlefield. If there is a fighter opportunity, feign an attack and turn it into a real attack!"
"Understood!" the deputy general responded.
This is the ability to adapt to situations that a general must possess, and it is also an experience honed on the battlefield.
The battle continued, and the status of both sides was immediately reported back to the commander.
After understanding the situation on the northern front, Laisen said confidently: "Sure enough, the Qin army on the northern front is most likely a feint attack. Its purpose may be to let us divide our troops to defend and reduce the pressure on Shabei. Such trivial tricks, How could you hide it from me? It’s too early to reveal the Qin army’s goal of pointing at the sand monument.”
