The Chu cavalry were scurrying around in chaos, with no way forward or retreat. The pine forests on both sides were on fire fiercely and poured thick smoke into the Chu army, making the Chu army unable to see their direction and having difficulty breathing.
Occasionally, a few groups of Chu cavalry would rush into the sea of fire desperately... but those who were not afraid of death had a chance to rush out. The reason was that although the forest fires on both sides were strong, most of them only burned the shallow layers of dead branches, and the trunks of the trees had not yet had time to burn.
It is light and the area is not very wide.
Therefore, it is really possible to escape if you ride on a horse and break through.
But that's just a possibility.
If you run too fast on horseback, you will be blocked by branches and tree trunks. The rider will either trip over the branches or be thrown off the horse. Needless to say, without the speed of the horse, you can only scream in the sea of fire.
Occasionally, a few were lucky enough to break out of the fire, and were immediately shot down by the black-armored troops guarding the perimeter.
If you're lucky enough to get through the arrow array, you'll still be faced with stumbling ropes and horse-repelling spears...
As a result, these five thousand Chu cavalry did not even have a chance to surrender. Most of them were burned or smoked to death on the road, and only a few became prisoners.
However, the Black Armored Army did not keep any prisoners... This battle was fought deep behind enemy lines, and keeping prisoners would cause trouble for themselves, so the soldiers simply cut off their heads and hung them around their waists.
Zhang Qi survived.
He found a small ditch for irrigation on the side of the road, and then ordered his guards to cut down trees and pull weeds around the ditch.
This Chu army was originally going to Ruyin to make siege equipment. They were equipped with hatchets, hand saws and other tools, and they managed to create a safe space before the fire spread.
But this is also because the Black Armored Army cannot stay here for long.
The Chu army was followed by a main force of 15,000 troops. Because they carried a large amount of grain, grass and supplies with the army, they lagged behind for more than 30 miles.
Although they were more than thirty miles behind, their spies were following almost behind the vanguard. When they saw the fire burning in Yelang Ridge in the distance, they knew something was wrong and turned back to report.
The main force of the Chu cavalry quickly organized the light cavalry to come for reinforcements.
Of course, the black-armored army couldn't wait for them to come up for a head-on confrontation, so Shen Bing withdrew after giving the order.
As a result, Zhang Qi and his group of dozens of people were able to save their lives. Otherwise, the Black Armored Army had time to clean up the battlefield and would have to capture them all.
However, Zhang Qi was not having a good time either. He was covered in mud, with many burns on his body, and even his voice was hoarse.
Zhang Qi couldn't care about this. He climbed up from the ditch angrily and shouted:
"Catch up with these traitors."
"If I don't trample the black-armored army under the horse's hooves in this life, I, Zhang Qi, will never be human again!"
Of course, the Chu army failed to catch up with the Heijia army.
Not to mention the cavalry on both sides, it would be extremely difficult to catch up. The fire at Yelangling had not yet been extinguished and the road was blocked, so the Chu army could only take a long way to Ruyin.
By the time they arrived, Ruyin's city gate was already closed, leaving only a hoof print outside the city.
In this battle, the Chu army suffered more than 4,000 casualties, and almost all the forward troops were wiped out.
In addition, this battle also damaged the morale of the Chu army... The capital guard army has always been considered by the Chu army to be the elite among the elite. If it really broke out, even Xiang Yan's Jiangdong disciples would not lose half a point, and there were fifty thousand of them.
Everyone, their combat power cannot be underestimated.
Before setting off, Zhang Qi vowed to the entire army to crush the Black Armored Army and capture Shen Bing alive.
However, such an army had just set off and even before it reached Ruyin, it was hit in the head by the Black Armored Army and was stunned... In ancient battles, great emphasis was placed on the first battle. A bad start would be considered unlucky, so morale was affected.
Great impact.
In fact, what is more important is that this battle made Zhang Qi, the general of the Zhu Kingdom, into a state of rage.
Objectively speaking, although Zhang Qi is talented, he does not live up to his reputation as a general of the Zhu Kingdom.
At the end of the Warring States Period, only Chu State retained the position of General Zhuguo, whose power was only under that of the Prime Minister and was the head of the military attache.
In terms of strength and military exploits, Xiang Yan should be the leader of military attaches. How can Zhang Qi be called the general of Zhuguo?
However, another meaning of Zhuguo is the official who protects the capital (Zhuguo originally means capital).
Of course, the King of Chu had to choose a trustworthy person to serve as Zhu Guo rather than a certain nobleman, otherwise he would be putting the safety of the country and even himself in the hands of the nobles.
The range of choices among one's own family was limited, and the princes and nobles were often idle and lacked real talent and learning, so Zhang Qi was chosen among the taller ones among the short ones.
Zhang Qi was only in his early thirties. Although he could not be said to be young and competitive, he was born in a noble family and was accustomed to being arrogant. He usually relied on his elite soldiers to be unruly. How could he expect that he would be beaten and chewed in the mud when he went into battle.
This made him lose face, and immediately he lost his mind and became furious. He was in a state of rage for almost the entire battle.
Just like now, Chu Qi only prepared dozens of simple siege ladders in an hour and launched an offensive against Ruyin...
Shen Bing was a little confused at first. There was no trebuchet, no cart, and even crossbowmen were not arranged. He was just carrying a siege ladder to attack the city?
Then Shen Bing understood, and General Chu became angry after being beaten so hard.
This is an unexpected gain.
In fact, Shen Bing had no idea that the enemy general was among the five thousand ambushed knights. He didn't even know who the enemy general was.
There is no way, the communication and reconnaissance methods of ancient battles were backward, and sometimes knowing it depends on luck.
But Shen Bing at least knew one thing: if the Chu army attacked like this, then Ruyin would be able to defend for ten days and a half without any problem.
Sure enough, the Chu army's offensive did not pose much of a threat to the Heijia army.
A very important point in this is that the black-armored army is better at bows and crossbows.
They were cavalry when they were still Wei soldiers, and then they specialized in mounted archery every day.
At this time, standing on the city wall, you are condescending and do not need to maintain balance. Your accuracy and strength are improved exponentially.
Even if the Chu army held up their shields and attacked the city, it would be of no avail... The shields could only protect the front, but the arrows of the black armored army would attack its weak points from both sides.
So the soldiers of the Chu army fell off the siege ladder one by one, screaming.
Even more powerful is the pole shooting.
The shooting pole was transplanted from the wheeled warship by Shen Bing... Why can't it be used to defend the city wall if the wheeled warship can be used?
And because this shooting pole is located on the top of the city, it is heavier and has a longer body, making it more powerful.
This stroke not only knocked down the enemy from the siege ladder, but also directly broke the siege ladder into two pieces. In an instant, the entire Chu army on the siege ladder screamed and fell to the foot of the city wall.
It's because the siege ladder has a barb at the front, so the upper half can still be hung on the city wall.
However, the Chu soldiers hanging on it certainly have no attack power at all, and instead need to be rescued by the black armored army.