Chapter 658: Under the heavy reward, there must be brave men
On that day, just as Zhao Hongrun had predicted, the Yanling Army failed to capture Qi County in the end.
However, according to Xu Yin, the general of the Fenxing Army, the Yanling Army had greatly shaken the Chu Army's belief in whether they could defend the city in Zhi County. This was the Yanling Army's biggest gain from this battle.
Waiting until dusk, the commander of the Yanling Army, Qu Cheng, ordered the troops to withdraw with gold.
Watching the Wei army retreat slowly, Sun Shuke, the guard of Qi County, felt relieved.
It has to be said that Sun Shuke was shocked by the combat effectiveness of the Yanling Army, and Yan Mo, the deputy general of the Yanling Army who was commanding the battle this time, made Sun Shuke even more frightened by his on-the-spot command and dispatch.
Because in the afternoon, two opportunities actually appeared, which almost caused Sun Shuke to lose Zhi County. Fortunately, he had been on guard and replenished the troops on the city wall in time, cutting off the Yanling Army's momentum. Otherwise, Zhi County might have
The city was captured on the first day of siege.
"General, the Wei army has retreated."
Perhaps because he saw Sun Shuke standing in a daze at the top of the city, his soldiers reminded him in a low voice.
"Hmm." Sun Shuke nodded and immediately ordered: "Collect the corpses and clean up the battlefield."
A nearby general heard this and asked, "What should we do with the bodies of Wei soldiers?"
"Bury them all together without being humiliated." Sun Shuke sighed melancholy.
Because he knew that the Wei army called the Yanling Army that attacked his Zhi County today was actually from Chu.
After finishing his instructions, Sun Shuke dragged his tired body back to the county government office in the city.
In the county mansion, Zhixian County Duke Wan Xi was waiting on crutches. He saw Sun Shuke walking in from a distance along the courtyard. He quickly stood up to greet him and asked eagerly: "General Sun Shuke, how is the battle going?
"
This old man Wan Xi is the county magistrate of Zhi County.
Although the power of the county magistrate in the state of Chu is equivalent to that of the county magistrate in the Wei state, the county magistrate in the Chu state is not an official position but a title.
To put it bluntly, it was the preferential treatment given by Ju Yang Lord Xiong Li to commend and reward the Wan clan.
And the preferential treatment is not just the honor of being a county official, but more practical interests that exploit the interests of civilians in Zhi County.
What the Wan clan did in Zhi County in the past was, to put it simply, they helped the evil tyrants, assisting the Juyang Lord Xiongli they were loyal to to drain the blood and sweat of the local people, and dedicating the huge wealth to Juyang Lord Xiongli of the Chu Kingdom.
It is not ruled out that there are also gentlemen who pay attention to the interests of the country among county officials, but the vast majority of county officials are like this.
The reason why Wan Xi is so anxious is because Zhi County is related to the vital interests of their Wan clan. Most of the Wan clan's family properties are in this city. If the city is breached by the Wei army, it will mean that they
The family will be completely destroyed.
Facing Wan Xi's inquiry, Sun Shuke had a sad expression on his face.
Because the date when the Wei army attacked Qi County was far beyond his imagination: he originally thought that Xiangcheng could stop the Wei army, and at least allow Qi County to safely harvest the grain outside the city.
Unexpectedly, Xiangcheng fell in just a few days.
Now it's better. The Qiugu outside the city of Zhi County was all looted by the Wei army. Sun Shuke could only watch helplessly and did not dare to act rashly.
"Zhi County... I'm afraid it will be difficult to defend it."
After briefly describing the situation of today's defense of the city to the county magistrate Wan Xi, Sun Shuke said to the former in a solemn tone.
After hearing this, County Duke Wan Xi's expression changed drastically, and he said inexplicably with horror: "Uncle Sun, what do you mean by this? Can Zhi County be defended? That... that... doesn't mean that the result of today's defense of the city is not bad.
What?"
"That's just a decent result on the first day." Sun Shuke exhaled slightly and said with a frown: "In today's battle, our army is the defender, but the number of casualties is almost the same as that of the Wei army. This has a negative impact on the morale and morale of the army.
It is a heavy blow to everyone... My Lord, I hope that the Wan family can come up with a batch of property to inspire the soldiers in the city..."
Hearing this, County Duke Wan Xi's old face suddenly wrinkled, like a dried orange peel. He rolled his eyes slightly and said in embarrassment: "General Uncle Sun, all the wealth of my Wan family has been dedicated to
Your Majesty, where is the money left to reward the soldiers? Look at this..."
At this point, he couldn't continue, because Sun Shuke's face already showed a look of displeasure.
How could this old man be so ignorant?!
Sun Shuke was slightly angry and said in a serious tone: "My lord, after today's fierce battle, the morale of the army will definitely be low. If there is no external stimulus, it will be difficult to protect Qi County in the next few days... You have to think clearly.
Well, if Qi County is destroyed, the general will not be able to escape his punishment, but you, the Wan family...all the people's wealth you collect in your daily life will fall into the hands of the Wei army!"
This semi-threatening tone caused County Prince Wan Xi's complexion to change drastically. He gritted his teeth and said a number.
"How about ten, one hundred thousand dollars..."
When Sun Shuke heard this, his brows suddenly tightened, and his eyes looking at Wan Xi became even more unhappy.
You must know that the defenders in Qi County, including the main army of the Chu State and the Qi County Division, initially numbered about 30,000 people. Even though thousands were lost in today's battle, there are still more than 20,000 soldiers.
.
But the county man in front of him, Wan Xi, was only willing to give out 100,000 yuan?
Based on this division, doesn't it mean that each soldier can only get five Chu sword coins?
What's the point of this?!
Just when Sun Shuke was about to have a seizure, the county magistrate seemed to have an idea and said quickly: "General, if we don't have enough money, we can temporarily levy a tax from the civilians in the city..."
Looking at Wan Xi's flattering smile, even though Sun Shuke had known about this man's greed earlier, he was still stunned: At this time, you are still thinking of taking money from civilians? Aren't you afraid of provoking a riot?!
"Three million Da Chu Dao coins!" Sun Shuke was too lazy to talk nonsense to the guy in front of him, and said firmly: "And I want the thirty-six baht Da Chu national coins that are of sufficient weight, not those privately minted things."
Hearing this, Wan Xi trembled all of a sudden and said in horror: "General Uncle Sun, are you trying to force my Wan clan to death?!"
Hearing this, Sun Shuke angrily rebuked: "If taking out this batch of property will kill your Wan clan, you know best, Lord County Lord!... I only advise you, wait until the Wei army breaks through Qi County, they will never do it."
The general is so easy to talk to!"
After saying that, Sun Shuke stood up with a cold face and walked away.
A moment later, outside Wan's mansion, Sun Shuke met two of his generals: Gan Ben, a general of three thousand men, and She Li, a general of three thousand men.
When Qian Ben and She Li saw Sun Shuke walking out of Wan's county government office with a dark face, they asked suspiciously what happened.
So Sun Shuke told the two generals about what had just happened, and the two generals also sneered.
No, Gan Ben completely ignored that the three of them were still in front of the Wan clan's mansion. He sneered and mocked on the spot: "General, doesn't he know the virtues of the Wan clan?"
After succeeding him, She Li sighed and said: "If there is an incentive of three million knives, the morale of the soldiers in the city can be restored... Oh!"
Sun Shuke frowned, as if he heard something, and asked quickly: "How is the morale of the army now?"
"Right now, the soldiers are carrying and burying the corpses of the enemy and our soldiers..." She Li said cryptically.
The reason why he said this is because as a general who controls the situation on the battlefield, even if the generals do not count the number of casualties after the war, the generals still have a certain number in mind.
For example, Sun Shuke knew at this moment that in this siege, the Yanling army on the attacking side would not suffer much more casualties than the defenders. At best, the difference would be only two to three thousand people.
In a war in which both sides often invested 50,000 or 60,000 soldiers, was two or three thousand soldiers a big number?
Come on, in the past city defense battles, the number of casualties on the defending side and the number of casualties on the attacking side could reach one to ten!
"This battle is not easy to win. Zhi County needs support..." She Li said to Sun Shuke after pondering for a while.
But after saying this, the three of them fell silent.
It is undeniable that the Yijun they are loyal to, Ju Yangjun Xiong Li, still has a huge army in his hands, but this army, the Yijun, ordered to defend Juyang to protect his wealth. How could it be like this?
Dispatched easily?
As for the main army of the Chu State, Xiong Xu, the king of the Chu State, deployed as many as 500,000 troops in the Fulisai area. In addition, he deployed as many as one million troops in the royal capital Shoying area. They almost
As a general of Juyang Lord Xiong Li, how do you command the Chu army?
Fortunately, King Xiong Xu of Chu was still aware of the importance of the Hui River, so tens of thousands of troops were deployed in cities along the river such as Zhi County and Qi County. Otherwise, Sun Shuke would not have had the slightest confidence in the face of the menacing Wei army outside the city.
Suddenly, Qian Ben seemed to have thought of something and said: "General, aren't there still three to five thousand troops in Nanmen Huai, northwest of the city?"
Sun Shuke shook his head when he heard this, and said coldly: "Xiangcheng fell in just a few days. Who knows whether the Nanmen clan has an affair with the Wei army?... Humph! Just seeing that he didn't dare to enter the city alone, I know that he has something in his heart.
ghost!"
Having said this, he couldn't help but sigh.
In fact, he had already received the news: the Nanmen clan had indeed rebelled, and assisted another Wei army in cooperating with the outside world to seize half of Qixian County.
And the reason why he didn't dare to speak directly was because he was afraid of damaging the morale of the soldiers in the city.
You must know that once Qixian County is lost, it means that the Wei army will have a way to cross the Hui River from Qixian County, which means that it will defend Qixian County and lose its original strategic significance.
It seems that we can only wait for reinforcements from Fulisai... General Xiang Mo is a highly respected general. He will definitely not sit back and watch Qixian and Qixian fall into the hands of the Wei army, so that Fulisei is threatened from the rear...
Sun Shuke secretly cheered himself up.
"Qian Ben, She Li."
"The end is here!"
"Today you and I have to work harder to boost morale in the army, otherwise this battle... will really be impossible to fight."
"yes!"
Qian Ben and She Li looked at each other, as if they could see the wry smile in each other's eyes.
At this point, they can only do their best and wait for God's will. (To be continued.)