Chapter 116: The Battle of Lu Chu (3) [Two in One]
Despite receiving the secret message sent by Huan Hu, Tian Ao's army still attacked the Chu army's camp that night.
As the veteran general Tian Ao of Qi judged, the two nobles of the Xiong clan in Eastern Chu, Xiong Zheng of Zhangyang and Xiong Yi of Pengli, did not know much about military affairs. They thought they had hundreds of thousands of troops under their command.
The Lu Army and Qi Army in the city area did not dare to act rashly. They never thought that although the veteran general Tian Ao was old, his ambition was still the same as before.
Maybe these two nobles of the Xiong clan in Chudong were thinking about how to capture the wealth in Xuecheng after they captured it.
That night, Tian Ao and Tian Tian's ancestors and grandsons divided their forces into two groups and attacked the Chu army's camp at night. Even they did not expect that the Chu army's defense would be so loose. When they broke through the Chu camp's gate, they
At that time, most of the Chu soldiers in the camp did not even know what had happened.
With deliberate calculations but no intention, even if the Chu army numbered hundreds of thousands, it was difficult to avoid a huge defeat.
When the young general Tian Tian led a strange force to attack the central army in the Chu camp, Xiong Zheng, the Lord of Zhangyang, and Xiong Yi, the Lord of Pengli, ran out of their respective commanders' tents in a panic with their clothes uncovered, and watched.
The whole camp was overwhelmed by the chaos.
It has to be said that the two of them were able to block the Dongou Army led by Wu Yue's general "Wu Qi" in person. They really relied on one of the "Three Pillars" of the former Chu Kingdom, Qu Ping, Lord of Xiling. Otherwise, at their level,
How can one resist Wu Qi, a general of the Yue Kingdom?
I'm afraid no one can imagine that in the Chu camp that numbered hundreds of thousands of people, Qi's young general Tian Tian only led a few hundred elite men to fight all the way to the Chinese commander's tent in the Chu camp.
It's a pity that at this time, Zhangyang Jun Xiong Zheng and Pengli Jun Xiong Yi had already escaped under the protection of their personal guards. So when Tian Tian killed the two men in their tent, the only people in the tent were prisoners of the Chu army.
Several young and beautiful Lu women came, huddled on the bed with frightened faces and shivering.
"Hey! A courageous bandit!"
Tian Tian, filled with various emotions such as annoyance, disdain, and regret, couldn't help but curse angrily. Then, he ordered people to rescue these Lu women and ordered them to take them back to Xuecheng, while he and his grandfather Tian
Ao joined forces and continued to attack the Chu camp from left to right.
During this period, although the generals of the Chu army under Zhangyang Jun Xiong Zheng and Pengli Jun Xiong Yi tried their best to control the chaos in the camp, the fighting quality of the grain recruits in the army was really poor. Under the pressure of the Qi army, they all panicked and chose their own way.
, but repeatedly broke up their own formation, making the chaos in the camp unable to be controlled.
They continued to fight until dawn the next day, and then Tian Ao and Tian Tian led the troops to retreat with satisfaction. At this time, looking at the Chu camp, it had just been built a few days ago, and most of the camp was burned to the ground by the Qi army.
After it got dark, Xiong Zheng, Lord of Zhangyang, and Xiong Yi, Lord of Pengli, returned to the camp. Seeing the mess in the camp, the two nobles of Eastern Chu Dynasty were angry and angry.
What makes them angry is that Tian Ao, an old man with only 10,000 troops, actually dared to attack them at night; and what makes him angry is that the hundreds of thousands of Chu troops under their command were beaten to the ground by the Qi army last night with only 3,000 or 4,000 troops.
Looking for teeth everywhere.
Of course, the nobles of Chudong, who were accustomed to being pampered and pampered, would not think it was their problem. They attributed the fault to the generals under their command for being too negligent. The generals summoned the generals to the commander's tent and reprimanded them severely.
.
Fortunately, these generals were their confidants. Apart from being scolded, they received no other punishment. It was like letting it go. It was just a pain for the Chu soldiers under their command. Due to the incompetence of the commander, they were killed by Tian Ao's army in vain.
After a battle, the Qi army killed more than 10,000 people, including those who were trampled on each other, and countless others were injured.
I have to say that this is simply the best interpretation of "one general is incompetent and the three armies are exhausted".
But again, the Chu army could fully bear this loss, so after spending a whole day reorganizing the army, Xiong Zheng, the Lord of Zhangyang, and Xiong Yi, the Lord of Pengli, immediately targeted the conflict in the eastern suburbs of Xuecheng.
Tian Ao's army encamped in retaliation for the Qi army's night attack on them the day before.
In terms of head-on confrontation in the daytime, the Chu army was still worthy of Tian Ao's army. After all, Tian Ao's army did not have many war weapons. Therefore, even if Tian Ao's army stubbornly repelled the Chu army's attack in the end, it also paid a heavy price.
.
After the war, after seeing the casualty report submitted by the general, veteran general Tian Ao stood at the commander's tent and looked at the wounded soldiers in the distance in the camp without saying a word.
"Grandpa." Tian Tian came to his grandfather Tian Ao, looking like he was hesitant to speak.
Seeing this, Tian Ao forced a smile and asked, "My dear grandson, what's the matter?"
Tian Tian hesitated for a moment and said: "Grandpa, my grandson thinks that Huan Hu's suggestion..." He paused and then said: "Grandpa, you have also seen that this time our army is completely
They were fighting for Xuecheng, but when our army suffered revenge from the Chu army, Ji Min of Xuecheng stood up.
He stood by and watched indifferently... Sun'er did not say that he was greedy for life and afraid of death. In Sun'er's opinion, as long as he knew something about military affairs, he should know how to wait for opportunities to sneak attack the Chu army from the flank and reduce the pressure on our army... Such greedy people
What benefit can a guy who is afraid of death and doesn't know much about military affairs bring to this battle?"
Tian Ao pondered for a moment and asked: "My dear grandson, do you think Huan Hu's suggestion is correct?"
"My grandson didn't mean that."
Tian Tian shook his head and said seriously: "As my grandfather said, my grandson also feels that Huan Hu is very ambitious and may have disobedient intentions. However, the most urgent task at the moment is to try to repel the Chu army so that the Lu State will not be defeated."
was destroyed by the Chu State, as for Huan Hu, what exactly did he do?
After all, plotting is a matter of the future... isn't it?" After a pause, he added: "At least Sun'er feels that Huan Hu's words are still correct, "We alone cannot save this country.
Only the Lu people who are immersed in peace can be awakened."
"Well..."
After hearing this, Tian Ao remained silent for a long time before sighing and saying: "I'm afraid this is the only way to go..."
After that, he waved his hand seemingly tiredly and said: "My dear grandson, go and pass the order. Give the order to the whole army. Our army... withdraws thirty miles to the north."
"Yes, Grandpa!"
Tian Tian clasped his fists and retreated.
On that day, shortly after repelling the Chu army's attack, Tian Ao's army broke camp and retreated thirty miles north, which was equivalent to giving up its continued defense of Xuecheng.
When the news reached the Chu army, Xiong Zheng, the king of Zhangyang, and Xiong Yi, the king of Pengli, were quite proud. They changed their previous anger and said with a smile to their generals: "That old man is afraid after all."
After that, Xiong Zheng and Xiong Yi remained silent about the army chasing Tian Ao.
Think about it, since Tian Ao has shown weakness and surrendered Xuecheng in disguise, why should they put more effort into chasing Tian Ao's army? In the current situation, of course they should capture Xuecheng first and seize the wealth in the city.
Therefore, Xiong Zheng, Lord of Zhangyang, and Xiong Yi, Lord of Pengli, discussed with their generals the tactics for attacking Xuecheng.
Immediately, the news that Tian Ao's army was evacuating to the north was also learned by Ji Min, the defender of Xuecheng City.
To be honest, Ji Min was not disappointed with the matter of "Tian Ao's army withdrawing northward". On the contrary, in fact, he had been longing for Tian Ao to withdraw north quickly.
The reason is very simple, because he Ji Min doesn't want to stay in Xuecheng at all. He has long considered giving up Xuecheng and leading his troops to stick to Lu County. However, Tian Ao's army was still holding on to Xuecheng area before, so it was not good for him to leave just like that.
To prevent anyone from gossiping - Qi's friendly forces are still defending Xuecheng, why did you, the defender of Xuecheng, escape so early?
And now, since Tian Ao's army has withdrawn to the north, Xuecheng has lost even the last glimmer of hope. Naturally, if he retreats under such circumstances, no one will gossip anymore.
Ji Min had secretly made up his mind that when the Chu army attacked the city in the future, as soon as the city gate was breached, he would immediately lead his army to abandon the city and leave. In this way, no one could say that he would retreat without a fight.
On the seventh day of the fifth lunar month, Xiong Zheng, Lord of Zhangyang, and Xiong Yi, Lord of Pengli, led 100,000 Chu troops to attack Xuecheng.
To be fair, the siege equipment used by the Chu army to attack Xuecheng this time was very crude. Except for a few siege vehicles that hit the city gate, they were at best some ordinary long ladders used to climb the city wall, and the rest were like wells, ladders, etc.
There was not a single siege equipment, but the walls of Xuecheng were six or seven feet high.
But in the end, in less than a quarter of an hour, the soldiers of the Chu army attacked the wall of Xuecheng. It must be said that this was simply unbelievable in the eyes of many Wei soldiers and generals.
Even Xiong Zheng, Lord of Zhangyang, and Xiong Yi, Lord of Pengli, found it hard to believe: When did the soldiers under our command become so fierce?
In fact, of course, it was not that the soldiers of the Chu army became more ferocious, but that Ji Min, the defender of Xuecheng City, had already informed the generals guarding the city that once the Chu army broke through the city wall, they would immediately abandon the city and retreat.
Under such circumstances, where did the Lu soldiers who defended the city have the fighting spirit? Even if they had previously made the decision to surround Xuecheng and fight to the death with the Chu army, after hearing Ji Min's negative order, they felt so excited in their hearts.
I'm afraid the hot blood in my heart has become completely cold.
"The city gate has been breached!"
Following the ecstatic shout of a Chu soldier, the south gate of Xuecheng was breached by the Chu soldiers with a loud bang.
Suddenly, the Chu troops outside the city poured into the city like a tide.
After learning about this incident, Xuecheng City Guard Ji Min led his troops to flee from the north gate without hesitation.
Just as Ji Niao expected, no one of the Chu army soldiers who invaded Xuecheng pursued them at all, and they only focused on looting property and women in the city. Although some people in Xuecheng also expressed their anger after learning that the city had been breached by the Chu army.
They fled from the north gate, west gate, and east gate, but many innocent Lu people were still killed by the Chu army.
Just like when the Chu army captured Lingqiu, the soldiers of the Chu army looted wealth in Xuecheng, raped people, and committed all kinds of evil.
During this period, some of the Mohist disciples who chose to stay in the city resisted desperately, but with just a few swords, how could they stop the Chu soldiers who were like wolves and tigers after breaking through the city? - You know, the Chu army after breaking through the enemy city
When did the soldiers' combat effectiveness increase several times compared to when they attacked the city?
In the end, those Mohist disciples sacrificed their lives for justice and sacrificed their lives to protect the people of their country in the city.
Unfortunately, their sacrifices were meaningless. After their deaths, the Chu soldiers stepped over their corpses with a grin and continued to burn, kill and loot in the city, so that the corpses of Lu men were everywhere in the city.
The miserable cries of the innocent woman can be heard.
For a time, Xuecheng turned into a hell on earth, and countless people in the city were poisoned. Those people in the Lu State who were lucky enough not to be poisoned fled one after another with their families.
In that chaotic crowd, relatives were separated, and the children who were scattered by the crowd cried helplessly because they were separated from their parents, but no one paid attention to them. More people just ran for their lives.
Seeing this scene, some old people in the city stamped their feet and beat their chests: "If the rituals and music collapse, the country will perish!"
I have to say that the scene in Xuecheng at this moment is quite similar to the scene when the Song Dynasty fell: many people only focused on escaping for their own lives, but no one could stand up as bravely as the hero of the Song Dynasty, the scholar-official Xiang Ju.
"Report!"
Several messengers hurriedly came to the Chu army's main formation outside the city and reported to Xiong Zheng, Lord of Zhangyang, and Xiong Yi, Lord of Pengli: "To the two princes, our army has captured Xuecheng!"
Zhangyang Jun Xiong Zheng and Pengli Jun Xiong Yi were surprised and happy when they heard this. After all, they had never expected that the attack on Xuecheng would go so smoothly.
"What about Ji Min?" Zhangyang Jun Xiong Zheng asked.
"After breaking the city, it seems that he led the remaining army to escape." The messenger replied.
Xiong Zheng, the Lord of Zhangyang, laughed loudly when he heard this: "This coward!"
After laughing, Xiong Zheng, Lord of Zhangyang, and Xiong Yi, Lord of Pengli, rode their horses slowly into the city.
After entering the city, the two Chudong nobles turned a blind eye to all the tragedies caused by their Chu troops in the city, and talked and laughed with each other.
"As soon as Xuecheng is defeated, Xue County will be in your and my hands. In the future, the Lord of Yangcheng will reward you based on your merits. I am afraid that both the wise brother and I will get a good fiefdom."
"That's right, that's right... It would be great if we could get a piece of Qi's fiefdom. Well, Lu's side would be able to accept it."
While they were talking, not far in front, an old man from Lu was holding a cane to hit a soldier on the head, but was kicked to the ground by the latter, causing the Chu soldiers nearby to laugh.
laughing out loud.
"You old man, you dare to sneak up on me."
A Chu soldier with faint bloodstains on his head stabbed the old man in the chest with his long sword.
The old man's mouth was bleeding, and he was still cursing angrily. Unfortunately, his cursing was too formal, and the Chu soldiers couldn't understand it at all.
"grandfather!"
A girl of about ten years old, with torn clothes, staggered out of the house, lay on the old man's body and cried bitterly. As a result, before she could cry a few times, several people came out of the house after her.
The Chu soldiers who rushed out picked him up and put them on their shoulders.
"Let me go! Let me go!"
The girl's face turned red and she struggled hard, but in the end, she was pushed back into the house by those arrogant Chu soldiers amid laughter.
"..."
Glancing at the situation here indifferently, Xiong Zheng, Lord of Zhangyang, and Xiong Yi, Lord of Pengli, rode their war horses and passed by slowly, continuing the previous topic: "I think the fiefdom of Beihai County of Qi State is better, and the fiefdom of Beihai County of Lu State is better.
This place is still too barren..."
"Beihai County? Oh, it turns out that Brother Xian is interested in salt profit... This salt profit is indeed very promising, but I guess Mr. Yangcheng will hold it in his hand, like rice, a weapon of salt, he I'm afraid he won't use manpower... I guess he may reuse "Zi Cheshi"."
"Zi Che's family? Isn't Zi Che's family from Mr. Xiong Wu's side?"
"What Brother Xian knew was a long time ago. Has Brother Xian forgotten that Master Yangcheng's favorite general Zi Cheyu? Aren't brothers Ziche the sons of Ziche? Now Lord Yangcheng This is the general trend, and those people from the Ziche family are not fools, so how could they hang themselves on Xiong Wu's tree?"
"Master Xiong Wu's mother is the queen..."
"Hey, so what? Mi Jiang, Lord Yangcheng's sister, is still the crown prince of Wei. Once Wei Gongzi Run succeeds to the throne in the future, Mi Jiang will be the queen of Wei. With this relationship, Wei will definitely stand on the throne. On Yangcheng Jun's side, Xiong Wu wants to stand up with his mother? I think it's difficult!... According to me, since Yangcheng Jun has shown kindness to us, you and I might as well..."
"Hmm... To be honest, as long as Xiong Tuo doesn't do what Xiong Hao did back then, I don't have any other prejudice against him... Hey, weakening the interests of my clan and giving it to those untouchables... Hey, I still feel I can’t even figure out what Xiong Hao is thinking, he is such an outstanding member of our clan..."
"yes……"
On this street, you can see all kinds of atrocities committed by Chu soldiers everywhere, but Xiong Zheng, Lord of Zhangyang, and Xiong Yi, Lord of Pengli, turned a blind eye and talked about topics they cared about.
After arriving at the city guard's mansion in the city, Xiong Zheng, Lord of Zhangyang, and Xiong Yi, Lord of Pengli, summoned their generals to discuss the next plan for the invasion.
Unexpectedly, a moment later, all the generals arrived, but one general named "Si Dong" was missing.
Seeing this, Xiong Zheng, Lord of Zhangyang, asked curiously: "Where did Si Dong go?"
There may be a general in the hall who knows about it, and he said with a smile: "Reporting to the king, General Si Dong said that he was chasing Ji Min."
"Chasing Ji Min?"
Zhangyang Jun Xiong Zheng was stunned for a moment, and then he immediately realized that the general must have gone after the people of Xuecheng who fled to the north. He thought that the Lu people who came here would probably bring precious things with them when they fled.
Shaking his head, Zhangyang Jun Xiong Zheng said angrily: "Forget it, I won't wait for that guy, let's discuss the next route of marching first..."
At the same time, just as Zhangyang Lord Xiong Zheng had guessed, the Chu army general named Si Dong really led his soldiers to pursue the fleeing people of Xuecheng.
I saw the corpses of Xuecheng people everywhere along the way. Some Xuecheng people who wanted to protect their property from being taken away by Chu soldiers were killed by the arrogant Chu soldiers. Some of the young and beautiful women among them were also killed. Escape from the fate of being insulted by Chu soldiers.
It is hard to imagine that these Xuecheng people, numbering as many as 20,000 to 30,000 people, were driven away by a mere three to five thousand soldiers led by Chu general Si Dong and fled in embarrassment.
Finally, several men from the Lu State could no longer endure the persecution of their compatriots by the Chu army, and called on the fleeing people with resentment: "Uncles and brothers, the Chu people are aggressive. Now that things have happened, we have no choice but to fight them!"
Unfortunately, their words could not move the fleeing people at all.
No, someone immediately said in frustration: "Ji Min has given up resistance and fled with his army. How can ordinary people like us resist the arrogant Chu army?"
It has to be said that the passive resistance of Ji Min, the guardian of Xuecheng City, greatly hurt the hearts of the people of Xuecheng.
Of course, some young and energetic Lu people were persuaded, their faces turned red and they shouted: "Rather than die in vain, let's die together with the Chu soldiers!!"
As a result, hundreds of Lu men quickly gathered, some carrying wooden sticks, and some simply using their bare hands to fight towards the approaching Chu army.
"Hey! Are you here to die?"
Seeing that the hundreds of young men from the Lu State, instead of continuing to run for their lives, were rushing towards him with angry expressions, Chu General Si Dongfei not only did not panic, he even laughed.
You must know that most of the soldiers under his command are regular soldiers. How can unarmed ordinary people be their opponents?
Facts have proved that although the soldiers of the Chu State are indeed not as brave as the Wei soldiers, Han soldiers, and Qin soldiers, they are not able to resist the unarmed people of the Lu State. The Chu general Si Dong only sent 500 regular soldiers, and he easily
Song defeated those men of Lu who only had passion.
It was simply a complete massacre.
But such massacre also aroused the indignation of the fleeing people.
"Fight with these Chu people!"
An old man with gray hair and beard, leaning on a cane and shouting with a red face, said: "Are these athletic people worse than an old man?"
Regrettably, this old man was mercilessly killed by a Chu soldier without posing a threat to a Chu soldier. However, his words and deeds stimulated many young men in the fleeing team.
Seeing that the people's anger seemed to be aroused, Chu General Si Dong sneered: "You dare to resist, I will kill them all!"
With an order, three to five thousand Chu soldiers massacred the fleeing people mercilessly, leaving corpses everywhere and blood flowing like rivers.
Seeing that the disparity in strength between the two sides was too great, countless people wailed and cried: "Could it be that God is going to kill us?"
At this moment, a cloud of dust rose in the distance, and a cavalry group was vaguely visible, approaching quickly.
Noticing this situation, a Chu soldier immediately reported to Chu General Si Dong: "General, there is a cavalry approaching from the north!"
"cavalry?"
Si Dong, the general of Chu, frowned and turned his head to look, secretly wondering: Does the State of Lu actually have cavalry?
At this time, the people of Lu who had long given up hope of survival also noticed the cavalry in the distance and shouted as if they were surviving a disaster: "Reinforcements! They must be reinforcements from our country! We are saved!"
But more Lu people have little hope for this so-called reinforcements.
It's no wonder, after all, when the Chu army attacked Xuecheng, not only did the royal capital Qufu not send any reinforcements, but even Xuecheng's city guard Ji Min gave up Xuecheng easily.
Doesn't this mean that they have been abandoned by Qufu?
Just when people on both sides had other thoughts, the cavalry approached quickly, and their speed became faster and faster, as if they had entered the sprint stage.
Seeing this, Chu General Si Dong was shocked and shouted at the general leading the cavalry: "Who is coming?!"
In the blink of an eye, the cavalry quickly rushed into the array of thousands of Chu troops. The leader of the cavalry, a general, picked up the Chu general Si Dong on the tip of his spear with one shot, and then threw it aside like a rag.
"Puff-puff-"
The war horse under his crotch snorted loudly, and his heroic posture was like a divine soldier descended from heaven, which dazzled the desperate people of Lu State here.
"You...are you..." an old man asked excitedly.
The general looked around at the people of Lu and said solemnly: "Huan Hu came late and made you suffer..."
After saying that, he raised his hand, pointed forward, and shouted sternly: "My subordinates, Jian'er, obey the order and kill these Chu soldiers to avenge my compatriots who died in vain!"
"Whoa whoa!"
Hundreds of cavalrymen raised their arms and shouted, and launched a one-sided massacre against the bewildered Chu soldiers.
Looking at those heroic cavalry, and then looking at Huan Hu, whose face was filled with grief and anger, and who came to save them as if a divine soldier descended from heaven, the people of Lu who had once been in despair suddenly felt that this man was called Huan Hu.