Looking at Xiangcheng in the distance, Zhai Chong said to Heifu: "This small city, even if it is packed with people, can have at most thirty or forty thousand people. How can it get an army of one hundred thousand?"
Xiangcheng was originally an independent country of Xiang in the Spring and Autumn Period, but was conveniently destroyed by the State of Lu when the princes gathered for an alliance. Later, it was acquired by the State of Chu. The king of Chu granted the place to a noble family, so he named Xiang as his surname. This is
The origin of the Xiang family of the Chu State. The Xiang family was not very conspicuous in the Spring and Autumn Period. After the Chu State moved eastward, it became more and more prominent. Now Xiang Yan has become the real "pillar state" of the Chu State. When Xiang Yan is there, Chu State
An, if there is no Xiang Yan, Chu will be in danger.
Xiangcheng is the end point of the chasm. In peacetime, it is a bustling trading center. In wartime, it is a battleground for military strategists traveling from south to north. Under the Xiang family's hundreds of years of management, the city here is better than ordinary
The county is large, the walls are taller, and it is protected by Yingshui. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack. The city is already full of soldiers, ready to meet the enemy at any time.
"Even if it's only 30,000, it's still a lot."
Heifu looked back at his well-equipped troops, only three thousand.
After conquering Dun County, they rested for two days, leaving a few soldiers to guard, and then continued southward. Today is the seventh day of October. Three thousand soldiers arrived seven or eight miles away from Xiangcheng and began to camp. This is where the Ying River flows.
Standing at the head of Xiangcheng, you can see their behavior clearly.
"Captain, what do you mean?"
After receiving the order to help set up camp, colleague Zhai Chong whispered to Heifu: "He already knew that there was a large army of Chu in Xiangcheng, and he dared to lead three thousand of us to camp nearby, so he didn't wait any longer.
Huaiyang’s main force?”
This is the strangest thing about Zhai Chong. There are clearly no Chu State passes coming from Huaiyang, but looking at the north bank of Yingshui River, General Li Xin's main force is nowhere to be seen.
Heifu smiled. Although Li You did not explain the battle strategy issued by Huaiyang to his subordinates out of confidentiality, Heifu had already made a rough guess.
"The Art of War says that if you can make the enemy come to you, you will benefit from it."
Ever since I borrowed a few volumes of "Wu Sun Tzu" brought by Li You to read, Hei Fu can now say a few sentences like "The Art of War is like Sun Tzu said" from time to time. In order to get promoted in the future, Hei Fu is trying his best to package himself as educated.
of military officials.
He pointed at Xiang Cheng, who was full of soldiers observing what was going on here, and then pointed at themselves: "This is a small profit we use to lure the enemy!"
"Hiss..." Hearing this, Zhai Chong took a breath and understood. No wonder the captain only led so few soldiers and blatantly camped not far outside the city. These Nanjun soldiers were just bait.
But now that we have the bait, where is the hook?
"We only have three thousand people, and we have traveled two days. If tens of thousands of soldiers from Xiangcheng come to attack, wouldn't it be..."
Zhai Chong looked around and could not see where his ambush troops were, especially on the north bank of Yingshui River, which was deserted. He couldn't help but feel worried.
Hei Fu comforted him and said: "Have you forgotten that after leaving the city the day before yesterday, a leader with a thousand soldiers and two thousand civilian prisoners from Yingchuan County disappeared? By the way, that Qin Mo Cheng Shang also
Among them, what do you think they are going to do?"
"Escorting grain?"
"How much grain do we need to have so many people escorting us?"
Heifu smiled and said: "I looked back and saw that they were going in the direction of Yingshui. If I guessed correctly, there was already a partial army on the Huaiyang side. Relying on the support of these civilians, they sneaked over from the vicinity of Dun County.
Now, he is already far behind us."
Otherwise, how could they, a mere three thousand people, dare to be so unscrupulous?
What happened next proved Heifu's suspicion. There were constant Qin cavalry flying horses in the rear to keep in touch with Li You. Li You, relying on the friendly troops behind him, became more and more chaotic. He picked a humid place that could not be used as a camping site in terms of military tactics.
In the hilly areas, the soldiers were asked to move rocks, cut trees, and build forts. The military flags erected were also crooked, as if the general was incapable of using troops and his morale was low.
However, the gates of Xiangcheng in the distance were closed, and it seemed that the Qin army had no idea at all about the Qin army that came to the city rashly.
After failing to lure the enemy for the first time, Li You had to stop the performance and let everyone take a rest when night fell. However, he secretly ordered that half of the people should be awake and on duty tonight. There were soldiers waiting inside the camp walls, as long as there was any movement outside.
, and immediately got up to meet the enemy.
At this time, even Heifu, who was sure that there were reinforcements behind him, was breaking out in a cold sweat.
"The captain is working too hard. If Xiangcheng really sends people out to attack and rob the camp at night, they may fall into the trap and be attacked by ambushes ten miles behind us. But before that, the Nanjun soldiers will also suffer heavy losses.
…”
Fortunately, Hei Fu and the others, as short-range soldiers, only had to surround and guard Li You's tent. Hei Fu was prepared to pay attention. If the Chu army really came to attack at night, it would be better for him to protect Li You and retreat first, so as not to fight when the time comes.
They won the battle, but their Captain Li died among the rebels, which made him want to cry without tears.
But the whole night passed, and the soldiers who were shivering in the frost did not wait for anything. When Heifu suddenly woke up from his drowsiness, it was already broad daylight.
Li You walked out of the camp wearing a big cloak and looked at Xiang Cheng, whose door was still closed, with a worried look on his face.
Both attempts to lure the enemy were fruitless. It seems that the general of the Chu army in Xiangcheng City is really able to keep his composure.
"Could it be that Xiang Yan is really in charge?"
Li You and Li Xin were both palace officials, so he knew Li Xin very well. This General Li did not like to attack the city, but liked to solve problems with his skilled chariot and cavalry raids, so he preferred to formulate strategies to lure the enemy out of the city for field battles.
However, the Chu army took advantage of Qin's weakness that it had just finished the battle to destroy Wei this year and did not have enough manpower and food. Did it plan to concentrate its forces and defend the dangerous and fortified city?
On the next day, a thousand soldiers and two thousand civilians who had fallen behind a few days ago followed up. They not only brought new grain and fodder wagons, but also carried many wagons of wood, ropes and other things.
Heifu knew that this was Li You's third attempt to lure the enemy. They were going to build a pontoon bridge on the Ying River in front of the Chu army in Xiangcheng.
As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, floating bridges were built using the method of "building boats as beams", and they could even span large rivers, including the Yingshui River, which is more than 100 meters wide.
At noon, dozens of wooden boats came one after another from the upper reaches of Yingshui River. These were all temporarily collected and plundered from the cities along the coast.
Li You gave an order, and this time the Nanjun soldiers simply put down their weapons and went into battle together to help build a pontoon bridge in the already slightly cold river water. It seemed that the scene was very chaotic and disorderly...
This scene made Heifu frightened. Even if he knew that this was to lure the enemy, if the Chu army sent chariots out of the city, they would arrive in an instant. Thousands of them working by the river could easily fall into chaos. You know, Nanjun soldiers have always been
Not elite.
He held the sword and stared in the direction of Xiangcheng. There seemed to be someone looking over at the top of the city.
"The city gate seems to be open..."
Heifu stared at it for a while, then suddenly made a sound. The short-soldier guards who were sitting on the ground beside him immediately jumped up and stood up with their shields in hand.
But when I saw Xiangcheng, there were indeed some black spots coming out of the city gate, and then they were speeding towards this side carrying billowing smoke and dust!
It's a chariot.
Hundreds of four-horse military chariots were galloping on the road. The flat plain on the south bank of Yingshui River was a battlefield suitable for chariots to gallop and fight. The target of the chariots was the Qin army, which was busy building a pontoon bridge by the river. It looked chaotic...
The chariots of the Warring States Period were used to trap battles!
They are the heavy-armed tanks of this era. Although their maneuverability is far inferior to that of cavalry, their impact and destructive power are even better.
If the enemy is in front and behind, and the line is not fixed, he will be trapped. If the banners and flags are disturbed, and the men and horses are moving, he will be trapped. If the soldiers are in front or behind, or on the left or right, they will be trapped. If the line is not strong, and the soldiers will look at each other in front and behind, they will be trapped.
If you go forward with doubt, then you will be fearful and timid, then you will be trapped. If the soldiers of the three armies are frightened and all of them rise up, you will be trapped. If you fight in a changed place, if you are unable to solve it, you will be trapped. If you travel far away and stay late at night, if the three armies are afraid, you will be trapped.
Of!
These eight are the best places to drive!
Heifu was reciting the description of chariots in the Art of War in his mind, and his palms were covered with sticky sweat. Although he had fought several siege battles, he had never encountered an enemy in a wild battlefield, let alone faced the impact of a chariot.
"The chariot has eight victories. The opponent is considered safe. Lieutenant Li is a really hard-working actor. Don't make the fake come true in the end."
"Commander, immediately fly to the rear to report, and the short-distance soldiers will follow me!"
There was no fear on Li You's face. Seeing that the Chu army that had been seduced for a long time finally left the city, he also rode in front of the Qin army and loudly ordered the soldiers who pretended to build a pontoon bridge but were actually hiding among the civilians to return to the shore and prepare to meet the enemy!
Even though the chariots are full of impact and are now two miles away, Li You knows that as long as he can hold them back for a moment, the Qin army's chariots and cavalry five miles behind him will be able to arrive in time, and then there will be tens of thousands of Qin troops.
By then, these elite troops of Chu will be destroyed.
After annihilating part of the Chu army, the city will be much easier to fight.
Hei Fu and the others followed Li You, holding short-edged shields behind them. In front of them, there were already a thousand Qin soldiers lined up, holding spears and preparing to meet the enemy! Facing the giant beasts that were speeding towards them, everyone was a little uneasy.
.
But at this time, Heifu suddenly discovered a problem.
He quickly squeezed in front of Li You's car and loudly reported:
"Captain, there are no soldiers following the enemy chariot!"
Li You, who was still immersed in the excitement of successfully luring the enemy, couldn't help but change his color when he heard this.
"No, I fell into a trap!"
Sure enough, after charging a mile away, those chariots suddenly slowed down, then the front team changed to the rear team, turned around, and slowly withdrew towards Xiangcheng...
After they all entered the city, more than a thousand cavalry who were ambushing behind the Nanjun soldiers arrived belatedly. At this time, it was already too late to hide their whereabouts.
At the top of Xiangcheng City, Zhou Wen, who had been observing the Qin army for a long time, also breathed a sigh of relief.
He has good eyesight, is proficient in the art of war, and has been a guest of Chun Shenjun. Now he is the "sun-sighter" specially used by the Chu army to observe the enemy's situation in the distance and calculate the time.
Looking at the Qin army's chariots and cavalry, Zhou Wen smiled and said to the Chu soldiers beside him: "Go and report to General Xiang quickly. The Qin army is indeed luring the enemy!"