Standing on the east wall of Linyang, Heifu observed the Chu people outside. Several chariots had arrived at the city and were circling Linyang for reconnaissance. Several scouts on horseback were running back to report the military situation.
A mile away in the distance, a large army of Chu troops with clear flags were crossing the creek east of Linyang. Looking at the rising sun, Heifu roughly estimated their number.
"I am afraid that the Chu army has more than 2,000 people, which is three times the size of our army."
Seeing that the number of Chu troops did not reach the terrifying level of tens of thousands, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Zhai Chong smiled and said: "In this case, even if the Chu people come to attack, there is no need to be afraid. The circumference of this city is only one mile, but we are
There are more than 700 people, and I just went to inspect them. After a night's rest, the soldiers are full of energy and can withstand the attack of the Chu people."
Qin Mo and Cheng Shang, who followed them to the city to watch the enemy, also interjected: "Heifu Baijiang, I have learned the art of city defense, and I can also help Baijiang defend the enemy."
However, Heifu shook his head: "This is not a question of whether it can be defended. Once the enemy finds it difficult to capture, they can stop and wait and just keep an eye on us. Just wait and see, the Chu people are coming from the east. This means that the enemy is coming from the east.
Qiu has fallen. Although we can withstand the attack, if we are stranded in Linyang, we will have to face more and more Chu reinforcements, and we will be isolated and helpless."
"Therefore, the first thing to consider now is not how to defend Linyang, but how to escape smoothly. We must leave this place within today, otherwise, the situation will get worse and worse."
Xu Yang came up with an idea and said: "The enemy only sent their chariots and cavalry to reach the city. Most of them are still crossing the Lin River. It will take a while before they can reach the city. How about ordering everyone to open the west gate and leave the city immediately?"
"You can't run far."
Tu Si shook his head worriedly: "General Xu Bai, please see, this Chu army has at least thirty chariots and nearly a hundred individual riders, but we have sent out all the horses that can run to deliver messages, and the only chariot is still there."
If you get caught halfway while carrying Captain Li, you will have no way to escape."
At this time, a Chu chariot stopped in the distance dozens of steps outside the city. On the right side of the chariot, it held a long spear high and shouted provocatively towards the city, all saying unpleasant things.
if.
"Jing people are so brave!"
Zhai Chong was furious. He took the horned bow of a soldier next to him, aimed at the chariot warrior, and shot an arrow at him! He was worthy of being from Bai Zhai in Shangjun, and he was a good arrow shooter. Unfortunately, the distance was too far, and the arrow fell on the battlefield.
A few steps away from the car.
Seeing this, the three people on the chariot became even more aggressive, shouting and cursing from afar. They were all the Qin people who were courageless and were the defeated generals.
Zhai Chong put away his horned bow and gritted his teeth and said, "Chu people are so arrogant! Why don't you rush out and fight to the death?"
In the defeat of Xiangcheng, they were attacked by multiple groups of Chu troops, including arsonists from Chen Ying. They lost inexplicably and were quite unwilling to do so. After a night's rest, their morale and energy were restored, and they had the will to fight.
So we came back again. After all, we are all relatively elite short-handed personal guards.
"That's what I meant."
Hei Fu nodded: "The Art of War states that my division will leave the country and place troops in the enemy's territory. The enemy is huge and surrounds us heavily. We want to break out and are blocked by four obstacles. At this time, it is better to defend and die, and to flee is also to die. It is not as good as
Encourage the soldiers and fight them decisively! After defeating this Chu people, seize their chariots, horses, flags, and armor, so that you can retreat westward smoothly."
However, they were outnumbered and faced with the Chu army, which had just won a battle and had high morale. It was difficult to know whether they would win or lose. Even if they succeeded in defeating the enemy, their own side would definitely suffer heavy losses, at least half...
While they were talking, the Chu troops had already arrived at the city and set up their formation. It looked like an experienced military officer was commanding them in an orderly manner.
Then, two chariots drove straight to the city. After the chariots stopped, a man dressed as a Qin military official, threatened with a spear behind him, approached the city and shouted:
"I am Liao Ping, the five-hundred leader who guards Qiu Qiu under the orders of General Li. Now Qiu Qiu has surrendered to Chu. Fortunately, thanks to the kindness of Duke Hu and Qi Gong, all generals and soldiers will survive. You don't have to kill a hundred generals.
It’s better to resist and surrender quickly!”
"It's really Liao Ping who guards Qiu Qiu."
Tu Si spat and cursed: "I usually feel that although this man is old, he is greedy for life and afraid of death. As expected, he surrendered to Chu. Not only did he become a 'military thief', but he also implicated hundreds of soldiers. It's pitiful
Their parents, brothers, wives and children will all be taken as concubines."
In Qin's military law, the worst behavior is not losing troops and losing territory, but surrendering.
Fortunately for Nanjun, in Guanzhong where Qin law has been immersed for more than a hundred years, before a father sends his son, an elder brother sends a younger brother, and a wife sends her husband to join the army, they will all warn each other: "If you break the law and leave the order, if you die, I will die, and the township will be governed." The subtext is
Yes, even if it is for your family, you must abide by military orders and fight hard. You must never desert or even surrender...
Therefore, in order not to harm their families, many Qin soldiers would rather die in battle than surrender.
The same is true for Heifu. Surrender is the worst option for him. What's more, he also knows that Chu will be destroyed. Surrendering is temporary. A few years later, the state of Chu suddenly perished and was waiting to be liquidated by Qin Law.
Become a subordinate to build the Great Wall for the First Emperor?
Everyone on the top of the city had the same attitude. The five hundred masters dedicated their sleeping mounds. This was probably because the Chu people came so quickly. Even if they resisted for an hour, they had already left safely.
This assumption was meaningless, but seeing the five hundred masters wasting their words trying to persuade them to surrender, Hei Fu had an idea.
"The enemy army doesn't know that there are more than a hundred people in the city?"
Unfortunately, the 500 Lords later told Tu Si to persuade the 500 Lords who entered the city last night to surrender as well.
"It seems that the enemy generals already know about it. We must have been discovered by Chu scouts who were observing from a distance when we entered the city yesterday."
However, the Chu people's scouts only knew that hundreds of people had entered the city, and thought it was a leader or five hundred people, but they did not expect that there was a big fish like Li You in the city.
Heifu was a little discouraged. He also thought that if the enemy didn't know the actual number of people in the city, they could use an "empty city strategy" to lure the Chu people to take over the city, and then make a sudden attack. It seemed that they would have to make another plan.
At this time, Zhai Chong began to draw his bow again, intending to shoot the traitor Liao Ping.
But Heifu quickly stretched out his hand to stop Zhai Chong and said to everyone: "I have made up my mind. I will gather everyone in the city later and go out to attack the enemy! But before that, maybe we can use the trick to make the Chu people relax their vigilance and let us
Wait for a better chance of winning..."
Xu Yang frowned: "How to use the trick?"
But Hei Fu didn't want to say it now: "This strategy must be approved by Lieutenant Li, and it must be implemented by someone with great wisdom and courage to have a chance of success!"
Just now when the Chu people sent chariots and cavalry to scout, Heifu had already left the city battlements to prevent people outside from seeing his appearance. At this moment, he said to Tu Si:
"General Tu Bai will continue to stay here and reply to the military thief, saying that we will send someone out to discuss it soon!"
…
"General Dou, General Sun, people in the city say they will send someone to discuss it later."
"It would be good if there is a willingness in the city to surrender."
Sun Feng, the Duke of Di, breathed a sigh of relief. It was a good thing that they didn't have to fight anymore. Although the Chu army defeated the Qin people in the final battle, Sun Feng still remembered the scene when Li Xin's army defeated the Chu people outside the city of Diqiu.
All he wants now is to complete the mission as soon as possible, return to the territory, and repair the walls and houses that were damaged during the war.
"It seems that the Qin people were really frightened by General Xiang Yan. This is the third batch of guards willing to surrender."
Hu Gong Douran was sitting on the chariot. After receiving the reply from the Qin general, he smiled with satisfaction.
After being the Ruo'ao family who moved eastward, Dou Ran's family has not been comfortable in the past few decades. The good territory in Huainan and Huaibei has been occupied by Qu, Jing and Zhao. Recently, the Xiang family has risen and entered the court.
They, the Dou family, could only become second-rate nobles like the Sun family, barely surviving in Hu County.
But this is not bad. If the Qin army destroys the Chu State, the Dou family and the Sun family will lose even their last territory.
Fortunately, when the Qin army pressed upon the territory, the Chu people were rarely united under the threat of national subjugation. The nobles also tried their best to send their best soldiers and put them under Xiang Yan's command, and defeated them with a mournful force.
The arrogant Li Xin saved Chu from the fate of national subjugation.
After the decisive battle of Xiangcheng, Dou Ran, who led troops from Hu County to the north for reinforcements, was only halfway through when he received a new order: to recover the cities previously captured by Li Xin.
So Dou Ran led his army to the west, and with the help of the local Chu people, he successfully besieged Xiqiu.
The five hundred lords guarding Qiu Qiu found that they not only had to face more than a thousand Chu soldiers, but also Chu people in the city who could cause trouble at any time, so they wisely chose to surrender.
Only then did Sun Feng escape from captivity and resume his status as benefactor. So the two of them joined forces and led two thousand people to continue heading west. Their ultimate goal was to follow the route Li Xin came from.
Join the army besieging Pingyu.
Although the Qin people in Linyang City showed their willingness to surrender, Dou Ran was not careless. He asked his men to prepare for the attack and set up his own tent. The nobles of Chu State were very particular about etiquette, which would come in handy when they accepted the surrender later.
After the big tent was set up, the Chu soldiers outside also came to report that the people sent from the city to contact them had arrived.
"Bring it in."
Dou Ran sat in the middle of the tent, Sun Feng sat beside him, and Liao Ping, the leader of the five hundred surrendered Qin people, also sat below.
But outside the tent, there were two rows of Chu people wearing red leather armor, all holding halberds in both hands, with the two halberds crossed. At this time, the sun had peeked out from the clouds, shining on the swords, and the reflection was flickering.
, dazzling the way forward, and more than a dozen Chu soldiers also turned their faces to look at the people coming from the city, their round eyes full of murderous intent!
The person who came was a black-faced man seven and a half feet tall. He wore a right bun with a red scarf wrapped around it. From that look, he should be a top-notch man. The man looked at the road ahead where the two halberds crossed and hesitated for a while.
He walked slowly with his head lowered, but he couldn't hide the trembling in his legs.
After entering the camp, he immediately saluted Dou Ran and Sun Feng, and said in the thick Nanjun Jingchu dialect: "The villain is called Zhong. He is the commander of the camp sent by the five hundred lords in the city to negotiate the surrender. I have met all the generals!"