Xing Chi is a eunuch who has been in the palace for many years. He only thinks about power and power. He doesn't know that leading troops to fight requires morale.
This matter did not even go through Yang Ting, and she directly ordered Li Yan, who was stationed outside the city, to lead an army of 50,000 to the north to attack Gu Shi.
Li Yan originally thought there was no problem with this order... He was just a deputy general and didn't know the entire battle plan. Maybe they were just the vanguard?
Unexpectedly, when the army arrived at Gushi City and the water supply brought with them was about to be used up, the water from behind did not come up for a long time.
I sent a quick horse back to Loulan to ask, and the answer I got was: "Loulan is short of water supply. You can solve it yourself."
Li Yan was stunned on the spot. This vast desert was surrounded by Shen Bing's cavalry. Every water source was under his control. How could he "solve it by himself"?
There was no other way, so Li Yan kept the news tightly under lock and key and at the same time asked Lou Lan urgently for instructions... The reason why he had to keep the news under lock and key was because he knew that if the news was leaked, it would immediately cause riots and the war would not be fought.
However, there is no airtight wall in this world, especially during this period when the already small water supply has been reduced again and again. Tens of thousands of people in the army are eagerly waiting for water to be delivered from the rear.
Li Yan always said to his subordinates: "The water supply will arrive soon, not just..."
The results haven't arrived after a few days, and I can't even urinate.
The men were in a hurry, so several people stopped the fast horses heading for Loulan. After asking, they found out that Loulan wanted the troops to "solve it themselves" but did not allow the army to return to Loulan.
Qin Jun refused to agree:
"This is driving us to a dead end!"
"We are here risking our lives to besiege the city, but they are enjoying themselves in Loulan. How can we not depress the soldiers' devotion to the country?"
"Xing Chi and a group of eunuchs have never been short of water. Why do we still have to sacrifice our lives for him?"
…
This is indeed true. No matter how short of water the troops were, Xing Chi and the eunuch he brought with him were not lacking. Not only were they not short of water, they also had a good meal of wine and meat.
How could Qin Jun balance this comparison?
Then someone shouted: "If you don't do it now, when will it be better? Go back to Loulan and take the life of that lucky dog!"
The crowd was so angry that they drew their bronze swords and shouted to go back to Loulan.
But at this time someone shouted: "It will take more than ten days to go to Loulan. We will die of thirst halfway through the journey. How can we kill Xingchi?"
The officers and soldiers of the Qin Army sighed: "Xing Chi is so vicious. He only dared to do this when he knew we couldn't turn back!"
After a moment of silence, someone suggested:
"Why don't we surrender to Shen Bing? Otherwise, we will die but not live!"
"I heard that Fusu was killed by a traitor. It's not like the outside world rumored that there was a plot to kill the emperor."
"We should not disbelieve ourselves before, but now that we are lucky enough to do this, how can we still disbelieve it?"
…
So in response to the call, the Qin army launched a riot like a tide and attacked Li Yan's tent.
Most of the Qin army's riots started from the lower-level soldiers. The reason was the same as the Xuquan riot. No matter how strict the Qin law was, there was a saying that "the law does not blame the public."
For example, among the 50,000 Qin soldiers, if everyone wanted to use Qin's laws to confiscate their homes and even sit down together, then there would be only a million people involved.
Even with Ying Zheng's cruelty, he would not dare to order the massacre of millions of people in one go.
Therefore, even if this kind of riot is suppressed, the generals who took the lead or commanded the troops will be held accountable, and they will be used as scapegoats to scare the monkeys.
In fact, let alone these soldiers, even Li Yan had objections in his heart.
But he didn't dare to rebel. His family was all in Xianyang. As the deputy commander of the army, if he rebelled, the whole family would be dead.
At this time, seeing his subordinates making trouble and knowing that they would not harm him, he hoped that Li Yan could lead them to surrender to Shen Bing or ask for an explanation...
But Li Yan still sighed helplessly, and led his men on their horses to escape from the camp and go straight to Loulan.
So Shen Bing added 50,000 Qin troops.
Shen Bing believed that the time had come, so he ordered the distribution of water and food to the 50,000 Qin troops, and taking advantage of the anger, he led a large army to attack Loulan.
There are still 100,000 Qin troops in Loulan, so it should be an easy-to-defend but difficult-to-attack place.
But when the 50,000 Qin troops stood outside the city and cursed at the top of the city, the Loulan defenders knew what was going on.
There is a saying that "the rabbit dies and the fox is sad". These 50,000 Qin troops were treated as abandoned sons and sent to die in Gushi. At this time, Loulan's water supply was still insufficient... So will the next batch be treated as abandoned sons?
Or is it that being sent to defend the city at this time means being treated as an outcast without knowing it?
The more I think about it, the more wrong it becomes. Xing Chi's party is drinking and eating meat in the city, but they are fighting at the top of the city despite being thirsty. How can they convince people?
So the riot spread into the city like a plague, and the 100,000 Qin troops soon became chaotic.
However, Li Yan was well prepared. As soon as there was any movement, he immediately took Yang Ting and a thousand personal guards and fled out of the city with supplies.
It's ridiculous that Xingchi and his party didn't know the end was coming before they died, so they shouldn't be drinking and having fun in the city.
When the Qin army rushed into his residence, Xingchi shouted loudly...
The soldiers of the Qin army didn't care about so many people. They stepped forward and chopped off his head with a sword. Then he grabbed the bloody head by his hair and raised it outside the door. He shouted: "Xing Chiye has been decapitated!"
The soldiers of the Qin army roared with thunderous shouts, as if they had won a battle.
As a result, most of the 150,000 Qin troops joined Shen Bing, and only about 20,000 people fled to Shazhou with Li Yan, fearing that their families would be affected.
Yan originally wanted to take advantage of the situation and pursue him...
This was a good idea from a tactical point of view. The Qin army had no morale and was temporarily routed without water or supplies. If they were pursued along the way, most of the 20,000-odd defeated troops would be beheaded.
But Shen Bing didn't let Lai do this.
The reason is very simple. What is tactically correct may not be strategically correct, and may even be a failure.
What will these defeated soldiers do after they escape back to the sandbank?
Do you think that Shen Bing is too powerful?
Or shouldn’t those 50,000 Qin troops rebel against Qin?
Or is it because other Qin troops should not be rioting?
of course not.
After they return to Shazhou, they will definitely accuse Xing Chi of his crimes, and Xing Chi is Zhao Gao's confidant... This will directly affect the prestige and control of Zhao Gao's party.
If Shen Bing chased and killed these defeated soldiers, wouldn't he be helping Zhao Gao?
Therefore, Shen Bing not only did not pursue these defeated troops, but instead ordered the cavalry guarding the water source along the way to withdraw to Loulan and Gushi.
They were even worried that the Qin army would be defeated and unable to find water, so they rebuilt the road signs that had been demolished, leaving small groups of riders along the way to guide them, and sometimes throwing water bags filled with water to the Qin army who was about to die of thirst.
But of course, while doing this, the cavalry also took advantage of the situation and made a wave of advertisements for Fusu:
"If it weren't for the kindheartedness of Mr. Fu Su's house, and the fact that you and others are all citizens of the Qin Dynasty, I would have made you die of thirst in a foreign land right now!"
In this case, what would those Qin troops think of Fusu?
When they return to Qin, how will they evaluate Fusu?