Around dusk, when they saw the Chu soldiers under the city retreating like an ebbing tide, the Wei soldiers who had been holding on to the south wall of Daliang City breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately couldn't help but cheer.
Today's fierce battle was more brutal than yesterday, but fortunately they finally repelled the Chu army and defended the city tenaciously.
While the Wei soldiers on the city were beaming with joy, even with tears in their eyes, Jin Ju, the commander of the Daliang Guards, lowered his head and silently glanced at his right waist, only to see that on that part of the armor, there were
A very clear stab mark, as if it was left when a sharp sword penetrated the armor.
It was left to him by Chu General Zi Che Ji.
"call--"
Enduring the pain, Jin Ju took a long breath and looked around.
At this moment, he realized that the two centuries who had followed him to aid the city wall had more than two hundred imperial guardsmen, but now only a dozen or so were left.
Seeing this, he sighed silently again.
"General Jin, we have defended the city!" Several young Wei militiamen came to Jin Ju and said happily.
Jin Ju nodded and spared no effort to praise and praise all the soldiers who had died or survived on the city wall, praising them as all the heroes of Wei.
Looking at the joyful smiles on the faces of the surviving soldiers, the smile on Jin Ju's face seemed slightly forced.
Just because today's siege battle was so brutal that Jin Ju was not sure about the future.
There are some things that only he, as the defender of Daliang City, knows, for example, how many people died heroically on the south wall of today's siege.
I remember that three days ago, when Daliang City had sufficient city defense weapons, the casualty ratio between Wei soldiers and allied soldiers was a terrifying one to twenty - that is, almost twenty soldiers of allied armies needed to be sacrificed.
In exchange for the death of a Wei Imperial Guard soldier, but after two fierce battles yesterday and today, the casualty ratio between the two armies was suddenly narrowed to one to three.
And this means that the casualty ratio between the militiamen and rangers who fought on the city wall yesterday and today compared with the coalition forces of various countries was actually between one to one to one to two. It can be imagined that in order to defend this city
In the old imperial city, how many brave men from Liang died in battle?
The problem is that after losing hundreds of thousands of soldiers, the total strength of the coalition forces of various countries is still far more than one million. On the side of Daliang City, almost all of the 15,000 Imperial Guards were killed, and the men in the city were all killed.
When tens of thousands of people were sacrificed, how could they withstand the next wave of Chu army's offensive?
Although Jin Ju kept saying, "Where the people are, the city is there," but in fact, he knew in his heart that maybe tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, the coalition forces outside the city would be able to capture the city after all.
Returning to the tower alone, he met Zhao Shu, the prince of Shanglianghou.
Jin Ju heard about it, and when the Chu army's siege vehicles crashed into the city gate, Zhao Shu, the crown prince of Shangliang who was sitting on the tower for him, mobilized the militiamen and civilians above and below the city to carry mud and rocks to block the city gate.
, causing the Chu army's siege vehicles to return without success.
As for Zhao Shu himself, he never retreated from the tower from beginning to end.
Jin Ju must admit that he underestimated this young man's courage and ability.
"General Jin, are you injured? Your complexion..."
After telling Jin Ju about his achievements in the city tower as if claiming credit, Zhao Shu asked in shock.
Because he saw that Jin Ju's face was quite pale, as if he had lost too much blood.
"It's okay."
Jin Ju smiled and waved his hands, and was about to go back to the tower to rest for a while. Suddenly he staggered and his body fell forward. Fortunately, Zhao Shu had quick eyesight and quick hands to hold Jin Ju back.
"General Jin? General Jin?"
Zhao Shu was horrified. He shouted several times but no response from Jin Ju. He quickly summoned the nearby Wei soldiers. At this time, he saw Jin Ju holding his wrist and whispering: "Don't make any noise, for fear of affecting the morale of the army..."
…Help me into the building.”
Zhao Shu immediately kept silent, supported Jin Ju to the tower, and fetched the golden medicine according to the latter's instructions.
Since Jin Ju was already very weak, Wei Zu, who was helping him in with Zhao Shu, took off his armor for the former.
Only then did Zhao Shu notice that there was a gash on Jin Ju's right waist, and half of his body was dyed red with blood.
"...After suffering such serious injuries, he was still able to persist in killing the enemy and support the Chu army until they retreated..."
At this moment, Zhao Shu was in awe of Jin Ju.
"General Jin...general?"
Suddenly, Zhao Shu noticed that Jin Ju was lying on the bed unconscious. He was shocked and immediately sent for doctors in the city to treat Jin Ju.
However, the city doctor who came after hearing the news sighed and shook his head after diagnosing Jin Ju's injuries.
Seeing this, Zhao Shu asked in shock: "Doctor Chen, what do you mean by shaking your head?"
The old doctor heard this and explained: "General Jin Ju's right kidney was penetrated by a sharp object, and he also lost too much blood. I'm afraid he will die soon..." After that, he glanced at Jin Ju who was unconscious on the bed.
, and added with emotion: "If an ordinary person suffered such a serious injury, he would have died long ago, but General Jin can still support himself and continue to kill the enemy. The fierce generals of ancient times are no more than this, but... what a pity, what a pity."
"How could..."
Zhao Shu felt as if he had been struck by lightning when he heard this, with a look of disbelief on his face.
At the same time, Chu Shuijun had withdrawn from the coalition camp.
After returning to the commander's tent, he sat on the main seat and remained silent for a long time.
From the side, the witch who followed him into the tent picked up the teapot and poured a glass of water for Mr. Chu Shui.
Chu Shuijun drank it in one gulp, took a long breath, and then said with a smile but not a smile: "Wei general Zhou Ji is an unknown person, but today he is guarding the east wall of Daliang, and his names are Wei Shao and Wei Yun.
Wei Zhen and the others cannot advance even an inch... Could it be that he is the supreme general of the Wei State? Or are all the generals of the Wei State so brave?"
After hearing this, the witch said expressionlessly: "Do you need me to kill Zhou Ji?... I can pretend to be an ordinary Chu soldier and escape immediately with one successful blow."
"It's meaningless." Chu Shuijun shook his head and said: "Cang Qing, the victory of a war cannot be changed by assassination, let alone Daliang City where everyone is united at this moment. Even if you assassinate Zhou Ji, Daliang will not be able to change it.
Ma Ji, Chen Ji will appear..." After that, he said with emotion: "This city and the Wei people in the city are indeed tenacious."
Having said this, he smiled slightly and changed the topic and said: "However, as far as I can see, the opponent's tenacity may end there. In just one or two days, our army will be able to..."
As soon as she said this, the witch Cang Qing suddenly turned her head to look in the direction of the tent. A moment later, soldiers outside the tent reported: "Mr. Chu Shui, Lord Zhangyang wants to see you!"
"Jun Zhangyang?" Chu Shuijun murmured and said with a smile: "Invite him in."
Immediately, the tent was lifted, and Zhangyang Lord Xiong Zheng stepped in, followed by a general with some blood stains on his armor. The witch Cang Qing, who was quite sensitive to blood, sniffed her nose and stared at him with cold eyes.
That general.
"Jun Zhangyang..."
Chu Shuijun had just stood up with a smile on his face when he saw Zhangyang Jun said eagerly: "Chu Shuijun, something serious has happened. Wei Wang Zhao Run is here!"
"..." Chu Shuijun was stunned for a moment, and then the expression on his face gradually became serious.
He frowned and asked, "What's going on?"
Seeing this, Zhangyang Jun Xiong Zheng turned his head and glanced at the general behind him, signaling for him to reply.
The general nodded, clasped his fists towards Chu Shuijun and said: "The last general "Fengli" is a general under Lord Xiong Zheng. He was ordered by Lord Xiong Zheng to station at Bolangsha River Port a few days ago... Around the time of Shenshi today, suddenly
Tens of thousands of cavalry poured into the river port. Lord Chu Shui, you know, the Wei people
There is no city wall in Bolangsha, so our army cannot stop those cavalry at all..." At this point, he glanced at Chu Shuijun secretly, and then said cautiously: "The general saw that he was unable to defeat the enemy, so he ordered
Withdrawing the troops, I never expected to be chased by the cavalry for a while..."
Chu Shuijun glanced at Fengli and did not care about the loss of Bolangsha River Port - after all, compared with the major news that "Wei King Zhao Run personally led the army to Liang County", the recapture of Bolangsha River Port by the Wei army really seemed
negligible.
In contrast, he was even more surprised by what Fengli said: "tens of thousands of cavalry."
"Wei still has over 10,000 cavalry?" he said in surprise.
After hearing this, Feng Li quickly explained: "Hui Chu Shuijun is the tribal cavalry of the Sichuan-Luo Alliance... I interrogated the local Wei people about this matter. The Sanchuan County of Wei State has so far formed two
Tribal alliances, one of which is called the "Northern Sichuan Alliance", has a cavalry named "Jiejiao Army"..."
"Hmm."
Chu Shuijun nodded, and couldn't help but think of the alien cavalry that was still attacking their food road at this moment. It was the "Jiejiao Cavalry" that Feng Li mentioned.
"...The other tribe, the "Sichuan-Luo Alliance" in Luocheng, is mainly composed of the Yi and Yi tribes, the Yinrong. The warriors under it are all proficient in bow and horse. Except that they do not have an army number, their strength is the same as that of ordinary people.
Compared with the regular army, it is even worse." Feng Li explained with a serious face.
After hearing this, Chu Shuijun paced back and forth in the tent with his hands behind his back, and then asked: "So, Zhao Run's army has arrived at Bolangsha?"
Feng Li was stunned when he heard this, shook his head and said: "That's not true... At least when the general led the retreat from Bolangsha, he hadn't seen the Wei army yet. I think the over 10,000 cavalry were the vanguard of the Wei army.
, the army led by King Wei is probably still on the way..."
Chu Shuijun nodded slightly and asked again: "Did that cavalry chase your defeated army all the way to the vicinity of Daliang?"
"This..." Feng Li hesitated for a moment, swallowed his saliva with some fear, and explained in a low voice: "I guess... he hasn't arrived in Liang County yet. At that time, in order to deliver the news in time, the general stayed behind.
After killing many soldiers..."
"..."
Chu Shuijun took a deep look at Feng Li and said calmly: "To deliver a message, you only need one pawn, so why... Forget it, according to your estimate, when will the over 10,000 cavalry arrive?
This area?”
Seeing that Chu Shuijun did not reprimand him for fleeing in the face of battle, Fengli secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and after thinking for a while he said: "Bolangsha is not far from Daliang. Even if the general leaves many soldiers behind, the cavalry will not be able to do so."
They'll probably be able to arrive...at midnight tonight...unless they stop moving forward."
"Midnight tonight?"
Chu Shuijun frowned deeply.
Because according to common sense, in an expeditionary army, the distance between the vanguard army and the main army will basically not be more than half a day's journey. In other words, the army led by Wei Wang Zhao Run himself will most likely be around noon tomorrow - the last
Arriving in the Daliang area before dusk.
And this means that if the coalition forces of various countries hope to capture the city before Wei Wang Zhao Run arrives at Daliang, then tomorrow is the last day - if Daliang cannot be captured tomorrow, the "Daliang Strategy" can basically be declared complete.
fail.
Then the question becomes, will we be able to attack the main beam tomorrow?
Chu Shuijun frowned and paced inside the tent.
After a long pause, he finally said: "Come here, please tell me that Xiang Mo, Xiang Juan, Tian Dan and other generals have come to the commander's tent to discuss important matters."
"yes!"
The soldiers who walked in from outside the tent followed the instructions and left.
About half an hour later, Xiang Mo, Xiang Kuan, Tian Dan, Ji Wu, Huan Hu, Wei Shao, Wei Yun, Wei Zhen and other coalition generals came to the commander's tent one after another and took their seats one by one.
At this time, except for Xiang Pei, Lord of Xinyang, who was still attacking Yecheng, and Wu Qi, general of Yue State, who had not yet returned, all the generals of the coalition forces from other countries had arrived.
Chu Shuijun looked around at the generals in the tent and said in a deep voice: "Everyone, I have just received urgent news. The army led by King Zhao Run of Wei is only one day away from Daliang..."
After hearing this, the generals who were acting differently in the tent all looked at Chu Shuijun in unison.
Among them, Chu General Xiang Mo and Qi General Tian Dan both showed solemn expressions; while Chu General Xiang Juan had a look of interest on his face; Ji Wu of Lu State still didn't know why, and he was doing the same thing beside him.
Huan Hu, the general of the Lu State, licked his lips and showed a faint smile with some unknown meaning.
Among the generals present, I am afraid that Wei Shao, Wei Yun, and Wei Zhen, the three generals of the Wei Kingdom, are in the most complicated moods, so that the expressions on their faces are extremely complicated and unpredictable.
At this time, Chu Shuijun continued: "Therefore, I summoned all the generals to discuss whether we should continue to attack Daliang City tomorrow, or whether we should give up the attack on Daliang City and prepare for the army of Wei Jun Zhao Run."
After that, he saw that after waiting for a long time but no response from the generals, he called them by name and said: "General Xiang Mo, please tell me your opinion first."
After Xiang Mo thought for a moment, he said in a deep voice: "Xiang Mo thinks that he should give up attacking Daliang and prepare for the battle with Wei King Zhao Run..."
"Brother?" Xiang Kuan glanced at Xiang Mo and said incredulously: "Daliang City is already crumbling and the city is about to be destroyed. Wouldn't it be a pity to give up now?"
"It's no pity." Xiang Mo shook his head and said: "Although Daliang City seems to be crumbling and the city is about to be broken, the soldiers and people in the city are united and are not afraid of death. The city will not be broken in one day, even if our army captures Daliang City tomorrow.
The city wall, I believe that the soldiers and civilians in the city will also choose to fight with our army in the streets and alleys of the city... If we insist on capturing Daliang, then when Wei Wang Zhao Run leads the army to Daliang tomorrow, our army will be in a dilemma.
When the time comes when we are in a dilemma, we might as well give up on taking Daliang and actively prepare for war before King Zhao Run of Wei has arrived here..."
"Tian seconded the motion."
Qi general Tian Dan nodded and agreed with Xiang Mo's judgment.
It is undeniable that Zhao Run has not truly defeated Xiang Mo and Tian Dan, but this does not mean that Xiang Mo and Tian Dan have not suffered losses at the hands of Zhao Run.
Take Xiang Mo as an example. When the four kingdoms of Qi, Lu, Wei and Yue attacked Chu, although the main reason was the lack of food in Xiang Mo's army, it cannot be denied that Zhao Run did defeat the enemy with only 50,000 soldiers at that time.
The second enemy, while suppressing Xiang Mo who was stationed at "Fang Zhong", attacked Shoulingjun Jingshe who was stationed at "Ju Yang".
What is even more incredible is that at that time, Xiang Mo had hundreds of thousands of Chu troops under his command, and Shouling Jun Jingshe also had a hundred thousand Ju Yang troops under his command. But even so, with the combined strength of the two of them, they still could not stop "Wei Gongzi Run".
” Take Shouying directly.
As for Tian Dan, needless to say, he was tricked by Wei King Zhao Run when he was in Ningyang. But a while ago, he fell into the trap again and led reinforcements to Linzi for rescue. As a result, Wei's Huling navy was just
After a false shot in Linzi, he headed north to attack South Korea.
Faced with the then Wei Gongzi Run and the current Wei King Zhao Run, Tian Dan failed miserably twice strategically. How could he dare to underestimate the most terrifying enemy in his military career?
"simply……"
Seeing that his brother Xiang Mo and Tian Dan of Qi State agreed to give up taking Daliang and prepare for the army of Wei King Zhao Run, Chu general Xiang Juan could not understand it.
Daliang suffered a slight setback, but our army still has 1.5 million troops and is fully capable of doing so.
Ability to start a war on two fronts, capture Daliang on one side, and challenge Wei Wang Zhao Run on the other... Why should I give up taking Daliang? How can I explain this to my soldiers? It is obvious that Daliang City is on the verge of collapse, and the city is about to be destroyed, but we and others are not yet captured by someone.
The guy who led the army here was frightened..."
"Aluan!"
Xiang Mo scolded with a displeased look on his face: "Don't underestimate the enemy! ... Just because Wei Wang Zhao Run swept across the Central Plains without a single defeat, it's worth being vigilant for you and me."
"..." Xiang Kuan looked straight at Xiang Mo. After looking at each other for a while, he curled his lips, turned his face and changed his sitting position, and stopped talking.
Looking at Xiang Mo and then at Xiang Juan, Huan Hu, the general of the Lu State, touched his chin with great interest, his eyes rolled slightly, and he didn't know what he was thinking.
At this time, Chu Shuijun was also looking at Xiang Mo and Xiang Kuan brothers.
In Chu Shuijun's view, what Xiang Mo said was certainly reasonable - in fact, he also took this into consideration before convening the generals to discuss the matter. However, it is undeniable that Xiang Kuan's views are also very reasonable.
After all, the coalition forces of various countries still have more than 1.4 million soldiers. They are fully capable of fighting on two fronts as Xiang Kuan said. While dealing with the army of King Zhao Run of Wei, while continuing to capture the beam, why give up an almost-conquered beam in vain?
What about the city?
Thinking of this, he smiled and said: "I think everything General Xiang Kuan said is reasonable...General Ji Wu, what do you think?"
Leng Buding was asked by Chu Shuijun, and the commander-in-chief of Lu State, Ji Wu, opened his mouth and was speechless. After all, he also felt that what Xiang Mo and Xiang Kuan said was very reasonable.
At this moment, Huan Hu glanced at Chen Shou beside him, saw his sullen face, and immediately laughed and said, "Actually, this matter is very simple."
"Oh?" Chu Shuijun was greatly surprised when he heard this. He turned to look at Huan Hu and said, "What do you think, General Huan?"
Seeing that all the generals in the tent turned to look at him, Huan Hu stroked his beard and said with a smile: "I dare to ask you, what is the purpose of capturing Daliang? But it is to make the Wei people fear this and give up confrontation with our countries.
?But Huan felt that if he could defeat Wei King Zhao Run in one fell swoop and destroy the last hope in the hearts of the Wei people, the blow to the Wei people would probably be more effective than the capture of Daliang, the old capital of Wei State... What's more important is that
, The rise of the Wei State over the years is due to Wei Wang Zhao Run, not Daliang City... Daliang is over there, and will not run away, but Wei Wang Zhao Run... Haha, this may be the only thing our army can kill.
This monarch’s opportunity. Tsk tsk tsk, Huan is short-sighted, but he also knows that once Wei loses its monarch Zhao Run, it will be like Qi losing King Xi and Wei losing Gong Ziyu..."
Hearing this, Tian Dan of Qi State, as well as Wei Shao, Wei Yun, and Wei Zhen of Wei State, all looked at Huan Hu with some displeasure.
But it cannot be denied that what Huan Hu said is very reasonable and can be said to be to the point, every word is accurate.
No, when Chu Shuijun heard this, he touched his palms and praised: "Good! Good! Good!... I finally understand why Shouling Lord (Jingshe) and General Xiang Mo praised General Huan so much in the first place..."
He was really surprised. Even though Huan Hu behaved like a bandit, he was really very visionary.
Xiang Mo, on the other hand, glanced at Huan Hu with some embarrassment. After all, when he attacked Lu, he was repelled by Huan Hu - he was defeated by Huan Hu, whom he highly praised and who deliberately recruited him from Chu.
This made Xiang Mo very embarrassed at the time.
However, Xiang Mo still nodded towards Huan Hu with dignity.
At this time, Xiang Juan also glanced at Huan Hu with some surprise. The reasons given by Xiang Mo and Tian Dan did not convince him, but Huan Hu's words really made him change his mind.
It's right to think about it, Daliang City is there, there will be no long legs to escape, and it can be captured at any time, but the chance to defeat Wei Wang Zhao Run is unique. After all, if Wei Wang Zhao Run chooses to cut off his wrists and abandon Liang County and Yingshui
The county is firmly guarding Chenggao Pass and Yique Pass. Even if all the countries join forces, they may not be able to attack Wei State's Sanchuan County.
At the military meeting that day, the generals from all the countries present here finally agreed to give up the continued attack on Daliang and actively prepare for a war with Wei King Zhao Run.
After returning to his camp, Chen Shou hesitated for a while and finally said to Huan Hu: "I was in Chu Shuijun's camp just now. Thank you very much..."
"What did you say?" Huan Hu pretended not to know.
Chen Shou ignored Huan Hu's impropriety, looked at the latter seriously and said, "I owe you a favor... As far as I know, Daliang City can no longer stop the coalition forces of various countries."
Looking at Chen Shou's serious look, Huan Hu chuckled and said, "That's because Zhao Run owes me a favor, not you." After that, he licked his lips and said, "Say, I will ask Zhao Run for credit in the future.
, what kind of promise will he make to me?"
Seeing Huan Hu's salivating look, Chen Shou rolled his eyes and said angrily: "How about revoking your wanted order in Wei?"
"Hey, hey, that's Daliang City..."
"It just offsets your unforgivable crime of leading a group of thieves to attack the old king of Wei."
"Well……"
Early the next morning, Daliang City was ready, waiting for the attack of the coalition forces of various countries.
But the strange thing is that until noon, not a single coalition soldier appeared outside Daliang City.
Regarding this, the Wei soldiers on the city wall looked at each other, feeling very puzzled.
At this moment, an army slowly came from the northwest, with the flag "Wei" flying in the army.