The iron barrel formation can effectively resist the arrow formation, but in this case, more than 4,000 county soldiers led by Cen Peng were also surrounded by more than 10,000 Chongling regiments.
The two sides faced off for a meal when a horse suddenly came out of the Chung Ling Army camp. The knight on the horse was tall and rough-looking. He had no weapons in his hands and a sword hanging from his ribs. This was the commander of the Chung Ling Army. , Liu Yan.
"I am Liu Yan, General Cen, please come out and speak!" Liu Yan urged his horse to take a few steps forward and shouted loudly at the iron barrel formation of the county soldiers.
Not long after, a crack appeared in the iron barrel array, and then, Cen Peng, holding a three-pointed two-edged sword, strode out of the array.
The two stopped about ten meters apart. Cen Peng raised his eyes and stared at Liu Yan, his eyes deep and cold, and said quietly: "Liu Yan, you are so bold and want to raise an army to rebel. Do you know that this is a capital crime for genocide?"
Cen Peng and Liu Yan had met before in Xinye, and they had fought side by side, fighting Pinglin together. The Green Forest Army in Xincheng, who were originally comrades on the same front, were now on opposite sides.
After hearing Cen Peng's accusation, Liu Yan smiled calmly and said: "The reckless thief is stupid and rebellious, causing trouble in the world and harming the people. It can be said that people and gods are angry. Now all the wise people in the world are rising up to resist. I, Liu Boxheng, obey the way of heaven and want to restore the great ancestor's rule." It’s a great cause, so what’s wrong with it?”
Cen Peng raised the three-pointed two-edged sword in his hand, pointed the tip of the sword directly at Liu Yan opposite him, and said in a solemn voice: "We have different ways, and we don't want to conspire against each other! There is nothing more to say between us. Let's see the truth on the sword." Bar!"
"Cen Peng, you kid, do you really think that I, Zhu Tiandu, are afraid of you?!" With a roar, Liu Ji walked out dragging the Chunqiu sword, followed closely by Deng Feng, holding a spear, and also walked out of his side. camp.
Liu Yan raised his hand to stop Liu Ji and others. He looked at Cen Peng and said meaningfully: "Bo Sheng admires General Cen's character, talent and integrity! The reckless thief is on his deathbed and the court is in ruins. Bai Kong, why is General Cen still so stubborn? Is he really planning to be buried as a martyr for the thief?"
Cen Peng suddenly threw his head back and burst into laughter, saying: "A horse with no harness and two saddles, a loyal minister without two masters! Although I, Cen Peng, dare not claim to be a noble and upright person, I also understand the principle of 'eating the emperor's salary and being loyal to the emperor' !Liu Yan, in today’s battle, either you die or I die!”
Liu Yan shrugged and smiled, and said: "Eating the emperor's salary and being loyal to the emperor are well said! But Cen Peng, where are your colleagues now?"
His words left Cen Peng speechless.
According to the agreement, for today's decisive battle, the county army led by Liang Qiuci should have arrived in Xinye long ago, but until now, not even the shadow of the county army can be seen, only they, the Xinye county soldiers, are fighting alone.
Liu Yan said quietly: "Now, Zhen Fu is in the county and Liang Qiu is in Tuoyang. Neither of them has sent troops to assist Xinye. Is this your "eating the emperor's salary and being loyal to the emperor"? Cen Peng, Zheng As the saying goes, good birds choose trees to roost, and scholars die for those who know their friends! Look at the court now. Is it really the court you want? Is it really worth your while to work for it? "
"..." Of course not! Cen Peng is not a fool. He is serving in the county government. How could he not see Wang Mang's stupidity, the court's incompetence, and the intrigues and infighting among officials.
It can be said that the Xinmang court has long been rotten to the core and there is no cure. But even so, what can he do?
Surrender to the Chung Ling Army? That is simply impossible. Not to mention that he can't overcome this problem in his heart. His family members are all in the county. As long as he surrenders, none of his family members will survive and will have to be punished. Fu killed them all.
Cen Peng cannot let his own survival be based on the death of his relatives.
He took a deep breath, tapped Liu Yan again with his knife, and said loudly: "Stop gossiping, stop talking nonsense, I, Cen Peng, will accompany you to the end of today's battle!" As he spoke, he flicked the knife and turned around. Return to the iron barrel formation of the county soldiers.
Liu Ji, Deng Feng and others looked at Liu Yan and said at once: "General, Cen Peng is a stubborn, loyal and reckless thief. We have nothing to say to him!"
"Yes, General, give the order to attack! Today our army will definitely kill all the Mang troops and chop off the head of Cen Peng's son!"
For this reason, Cen Peng wanted to persuade him to surrender, but it was no longer possible. Next, he could only fight hard.
Liu Yan said: "It's hard to persuade a damn ghost with good words! Since Cen Peng is so stubborn and stubborn, let's help him and send him on his way!"
"Kill!" After hearing Liu Yan's words, all the surrounding generals shouted in unison.
"Roar--" the shouts of the generals caused the tens of thousands of Chung Ling Army soldiers present to shout in unison. Next, the Chung Ling Army launched an all-out siege on the iron barrel formation of the county soldiers.
In this battle, the two sides fought fiercely. On the county soldiers' side, the soldiers in the front row held a shield in one hand and a spear in the other. While blocking the opponent's attack, they stabbed the opponent with their spears. The Chung Ling Army The same is true here. The soldiers in the front row raised their shields, and the soldiers in the back held their spears and thrust forward. In the center of the battle between the two sides, there was the sound of shields clashing with each other, the muffled sound of spears piercing the human body, and the heart-rending sound of people. The shouts have already become loud.
The enemy and we are fighting in a large-scale battle formation. There is no opportunism. They are just gritting their teeth and pushing forward, fighting, pushing forward, and fighting again, competing to see who has stronger willpower and who can consume more energy.
You stab one of me to death, and I stab one of you to death. If the person in the front row falls, the people in the back will immediately step up to take over. The soldier who takes the place may not even have time to lift his shield, and will be attacked from the opposite side. The spear stabbed him to the core, and then the people behind him continued to step forward to take up their positions.
On the battlefield, soldiers from both sides fell in rows. Corpses, shields, and weapons on the ground were piled on top of each other, mixed together, and blood gathered in one place and flowed into a river.
Such a battle is an extremely difficult war of attrition for both sides.
The battle lasted for more than two hours. The two sides fought from morning to afternoon. After more than two hours, more than 4,000 county soldiers fought until only about 1,000 people were left. The casualties on the Chung Ling Army's side also exceeded 2 thousand.
The corpses surrounding the county soldiers' iron barrel array were no longer spread out on the ground, but were piled high.
Watching the sunset, Liu Yan ordered the entire army to suspend the attack and let the soldiers rest. While resting, they readjusted their formations. They pulled down the troops with heavy casualties in the front one by one, and moved the troops with no casualties in the rear. Then push to the front in waves.
In such a war of attrition, the side with more people will naturally have a huge advantage.
On the Chung Ling Army's side, they could exchange songs one by one, but on the county soldiers' side, they couldn't exchange them at all. In some cases, the original 500 people in the army were reduced to less than 50 people.
The battle has reached this stage, and the remaining more than a thousand county soldiers are on the verge of despair.
A dozen military commanders walked up to Cen Peng, knelt down on one knee, stepped in to salute, and choked with tears: "General Cen, there are only a thousand brothers left in our army, and the Chung Ling Army...
There are nearly ten thousand people, and we...we have already fought this battle!"
At this time, Cen Peng was covered in blood, and he couldn't tell which ones were his own and which ones were the enemy's. He poked the three-pointed two-edged sword on the ground, holding the knife shaft in one hand, and looked around at the many kneeling military commanders.
, asked: "You want me to surrender to the rebels?"
"General Cen!" A military commander raised his head and said with tears streaming down his face: "It's not that we are greedy for life and afraid of death, but that we want to find a way to survive for the remaining brothers!"
Following his words, many of the soldiers standing around cried out, and then, some of them knelt down on one knee.
Cen Peng looked around at everyone, sighed softly, and said: "Get up! Wait, everyone get up!"
"General Cen!"
"Brothers who have persisted until now are all good. You have fulfilled your responsibilities. It is understandable that you want to find a way to survive for yourself. Now, you can go and surrender to the rebels. I will not stop you." Cen Peng said softly.
His voice was not loud, but it was enough for everyone present to hear.
Hearing this, everyone had expressions of surprise on their faces. They all raised their heads and looked at Cen Peng excitedly. A military commander hesitated for a moment and asked cautiously: "General Cen, then... what about you?"
"Me?" Cen Peng was delighted. He squinted his eyes and turned to look north. At this time, he really hoped that the banner of the county army would suddenly appear in his field of vision. Unfortunately, that was a delusion, and it was a luxury.
He said faintly: "We have different responsibilities. You can surrender, but I can never surrender! There is no chance of winning this battle. We can fight until now because of you!"
After hearing this, the faces of the county soldiers changed drastically.
Cen Peng continued: "My duty to defend the city has been fulfilled. The next step is to break out. If there are brothers who are willing to surrender to the rebels, I will not stop them. If there are brothers who are willing to break out with me, we will fight with the rebels today.
Let’s fight again!”
Everyone who was kneeling stood up one after another, looked at each other, and then everyone stepped in to salute, saying in unison: "I am willing to follow the general, fight to the death, and break out!"
It was clear that they were in a desperate situation, and they were all newly recruited soldiers, but when Cen Peng decided to break out, even if people only saw a glimmer of hope of success, no one chose to quit and surrender, and everyone was willing to follow Cen Peng to the death.
Peng, fought to the death with the Chung Ling Army.
This is Cen Peng’s personality charm and strong appeal.
Towards evening that day, when the sky gradually darkened, the Chung Ling army had not yet launched an attack, but the county soldiers began to counterattack first. The county soldiers led by Cen Peng chose to break out to the north.
This battle lasted until dark. In the end, Cen Peng really managed to fight his way through the encirclement of the Chung Ling Army and successfully broke out. However, the more than a thousand county soldiers who followed him did not arrive.
In the end, less than a hundred people were left.
In the Battle of Xinye, more than 4,000 county soldiers were wiped out. Only Cen Peng, with less than 100 men, managed to break through and fled northward.
Although they failed to capture Cen Peng in the end, they successfully captured Xinye, which was enough for the officers and soldiers of the Chongling Army to be excited.
At present, the Chongling Army has captured six counties: Caiyang, Tongling, Dengxian, Chaoyang, Huyang, and Shandu. Taken together, none of them is as important as a new field.
Taking Xinye is equivalent to taking the southern hub of Nanyang. It can be attacked when advancing and defended when retreating. It also lays a material foundation for the Chongling Army. Xinye County requires food, people, and minerals.
After that, the Chongling Army was completely self-sufficient in producing various strategic materials.
