General Qin

"It's not that our army doesn't stick to it, but the Qin army has giant cannons!"

At the head of Chen Ying City, Feng Houyi, the guard of Yang Xia who had escaped by luck, was reporting to Ling Yin Xiangyan with a sad face.

He said with a mournful face: "Our army has Mohists to help, and we have already arranged the top of Yangxia city like a wall of iron and copper. If the Qin army attacked the city with ordinary ants, they would definitely suffer heavy casualties."

"But this Qin army not only has a large number of people, but also its commander is very cautious. It took three days to build a giant cannon, and then smashed the layout of our army on the city wall with one attack. Those stone bullets weighed more than a hundred catties, and they can still Constantly adjusting the direction and distance of the attack, it is completely different from the ordinary rock machine. Our army can't stop it at all. When the soldiers saw the boulder flying into the sky, they all fled..."

"Enough, you go down."

Xiang Yan was irritated and waved her hand.

Seeing that Ling Yin didn't say anything about punishment, Feng Houyi was overjoyed and hurriedly bowed his hands.

On the side, Jin Xia, who was the supervisor of the army, frowned suddenly.

He said: "Ling Yin, when Hou Yi abandoned the city and fled the army, he was intercepted and killed by the Qin army on the way, and many soldiers were lost. It's fine if he didn't commit suicide and apologize. If Ling Yin doesn't punish him now, I'm afraid Is it difficult to convince the public?"

"I think it's better to kill him as a warning to others, so that the generals will be in awe, and no one will dare to abandon the city and flee in the future."

Xiang Yan cast a disgusted look at this right Yin of Chu State. The other party was subordinate to him and should have obeyed his orders, but the King of Chu appointed him as the supervisor of the army and had the duty to supervise him. .

"Your Majesty doesn't believe in yourself..."

It is really difficult for a courtier to control hundreds of thousands of soldiers who are overwhelming the country. It is really difficult to reassure the monarch, and it is only natural to send cronies to supervise the army.

But Xiang Yan still couldn't help feeling sad.

He knew that the great king in Shouchun City might still be jealous of the fact that he didn't come back in person last time. If Qin hadn't sent 600,000 troops this time, the king would never let him take over the military power again. .

Suppressing the disgust in her heart, Xiang Yan explained: "The cannons of the Qin army are indeed powerful. Last time even the city wall of Xiangcheng was almost collapsed by the Qin army. The small walls of Yangxia City are thin, and it is normal that they cannot withstand it. Then Feng Houyi can hold off the opponent for three days and give our army time to prepare, that's enough."

"Nowadays the 600,000 Qin army is pressing down on the country, and our army has few generals. If we kill the general at this time, it will only weaken our army's combat power. It is better to let him take the blame and make meritorious service."

Xiang Yan is very clear that Chu State is facing a real desperate situation, and the country is in danger of subjugation at any time, and needs all the power it can use.

Compared with Qin General Li Xin who was only punished by cutting his rank after his defeat, he still has the opportunity to return to the battlefield in the future.

The Chu State’s tradition of overthrowing the army and killing generals has caused countless generals to defeat and kill themselves, resulting in the scarcity of Chu State generals today, especially those generals with battlefield experience.

For example, Zuo Sima Zhaoping in the Battle of Surabaya, if he had not been defeated and committed suicide, but had followed him to assist, Xiang Yan would have faced the Qin army going south in this battle, and it would have been much easier.

Thinking of Zhaoping, Xiang Yan couldn't help but think of the Qin general Zhao Tuo who moved thousands of miles away from Chu and fought on the banks of Surabaya.

According to the information of Chu State, that Zhao Tuo seems to be in his teens.

This is really God Blessing Qin.

Not only are there veterans like Wang Jian and Yang Duanhe, but there are also men like Meng Wu, Wang Ben, and Li Xin in the backbone, and there are geniuses like Zhao Tuo in their descendants.

Famous generals of the Qin State came out in large numbers, one generation after another, and one after another was destroyed. It's not like the Chu State can only rely on Xiang Yan now.

Whenever thinking of this, Xiang Yan felt a deep sense of powerlessness in her heart.

Therefore, although Feng Houyi abandoned the city and fled, it was justifiable, and Xiang Yan did not want to weaken the strength of the Chu army again.

Seeing Xiang Yan's explanation, Jin Xia hummed a few times, left after saying a few words.

"In that case, then follow Ling Yin's words. But now that the Qin army is aggressively suppressing the territory, I hope Ling Yin can seriously defend and keep the Qin people away from Chen Ying, so that we don't want to repeat the old things about Bashan."

Looking at the back of Jin Xia leaving, and the warning left by the other party echoing in his ears, a stern look flashed in Xiang Yan's eyes.

But he held back, and now the overall situation is more important.

Xiang Yan had his son Xiang Qu called, as well as several key generals of the Chu army, such as Qu Mao of the Qu family, Jing Tong of the Jing family, and Zhao Yuan, the younger brother of Zhaoping, and others.

"The Qin army has pulled out Yangxia, and Guling will also fall in two days. It won't be long before the Qin army will be able to go south and cross the chasm, and arrive at the city of Chen Ying. You should restrain your soldiers well these few days, rest and refresh your mind. There will be a fierce battle."

Qu Jingzhao's three generals all took orders and promised.

Xiang Yan turned to Xiang Channel again: "Our army gathered under the city of Chenying and set up camp towards the chasm. As long as the Qin army crosses the water, they can attack halfway."

"But Wang Jian, who has always been known for his prudence, will definitely not give our army this chance. He may cross the river from the upper reaches first. You should send more cavalry to patrol and explore the area with a radius of hundreds of miles. Once you find the movement of the Qin army , report immediately."

"At the same time, let the civilians strengthen the barriers of the barracks. If the attack fails halfway, the Qin army will cross the chasm and fall below the city. Our army will lean against the city wall and defend with the barracks, and consume the Qin army here. The city wall of Chen Ying must also be let If the people are reinforced, they will be able to withstand the bombardment of the Qin army's giant artillery."

"only."

Xiang Qu immediately surrendered.

Xiang Yan also sent someone to tell Ye Sheng, the right Sima of the state of Chu in the direction of Cai Pingyu, to guard the camp and not to fight easily, as long as he dragged Yang Duan and the Qin army's partial division there to prevent the opponent from rushing into him. The rear of the army is a great achievement.

After making these arrangements, Xiang Yan sighed deeply again.

Based on what he knew about Wang Jian, this man was a cunning and scheming general, and he was a famous general who wiped out two kingdoms of ten thousand chariots in a row.

Judging from his record, he is not an impulsive and reckless person like Li Xin. I am afraid that the next situation will not be as he thought.

Sure enough, within a few days, sentry cavalry from the Chu army reported back.

After Qin's army went south to the direction of Guling, they stopped and did not intend to continue to march into Chenying. Instead, they dug camps there and overhauled the walls.

In the north of Chen Ying, from Yangxia to Guling and the hundreds of miles on both sides of the gap, Qin's 450,000 troops were stationed separately, extensively repairing barriers and walls, and enclosing the Honggou grain transportation terminal.

This is also the case with the Yang Duanhe Department of the Qin Army in the west. The 150,000 troops were stationed in the barracks outside Shangcai City, backed by the Rushui Wharf, and the barriers were overhauled. They did not intend to actively attack the Chu Army.

"Damn it, Wang Jian is an old man with turtle ears!"

After hearing the news, Xiang Yan knew Wang Jian's strategy and couldn't help cursing angrily.

The opponent didn't want to take the initiative to attack Chu's city at all, nor did he want to fight him in the wild.

The 600,000 troops of the Qin Army were stationed on the Qin-Chu border, neither advancing nor retreating, just to hang all the nearly 400,000 troops of the Chu State here and confront the Qin Army.

In this way, the two sides are not competing with each other for the mastery of war, nor are they competing for the combat power and courage of the soldiers of both sides, but to consume the national power of Qin and Chu, to see who has more food, and who can carry more. Long.

And, let's see who can gain the monarch's trust more.

He, Xiang Yan, knows exactly what the state of Chu is like.

"Qu'er, you should immediately lead your army to attack the Qin army to prevent the Qin people from building walls and barriers. It is best to lure them out and let the Qin army take the initiative to attack."

Xiang Yan sent his own son to lead the Chu army to attack the Qin camps on both sides of the divide.

As a result, the opponent did not fight at all, and the corresponding Qin army guarded every place where the peasants built the walls.

These Qin soldiers waited for work with leisure, and wielded strong bows and crossbows, shooting randomly at the attacking Chu army.

Even if the Chu army can occasionally capture and destroy a wall by virtue of its numerical advantage, it will be taken back immediately by the Qin army rushing to support it. Even bigger.

In addition to overhauling the walls outside the barracks, the Qin army also built layers of barriers and turrets at the chasm and the pier where grain and fodder were transported in Rushui.

On the route from the wharf to the Qin Army's granary, a more than ten-mile-long "corridor" surrounded by barriers on both sides was built.

There are also a large number of well-armed Qin troops guarding nearby, and their defense can be said to be tight, without giving the Chu army any opportunity to take advantage of it.

"Old tortoise with thick armor!"

Xiang Yan couldn't help cursing angrily, feeling that Wang Jian was really an old tortoise, with his head and limbs tucked into the thick tortoise shell, and he didn't get out at all, making it impossible for him to do anything.

Unable to lure the Qin army out of the barracks, Xiang Yan did not dare to withdraw the army, so he could only fight the Qin army here.

He knew very well that Wang Jian's old tortoise, even though it was now huddled in its shell and not moving, but if the Chu army dared to retreat and retreat, it would show the slightest flaw.

Wang Jian would definitely stick his head out of the tortoise shell and bite Chu Jun hard, and that bite would probably be very painful.

"Since that's the case, then we have to try this."

Xiang Yan took out a silk painting.

On it was a drawing of the manufacture of some kind of siege engine.

It was something that Young Master Qi gave to Xiang Yan when he returned to Chu State last year.

This is a blueprint of a siege weapon that Young Master Qi obtained by using his identity in Qin State.

In the Chu army, there are also craftsmen from the Qin army captured after defeating the Mengwu army.

Xiang Yan slapped the bronze table hard, and growled, "It's not your Qin army that has giant cannons, but our Chu army as well!"

"Not coming out, is it?"

"Wang Jian, you just wait to eat me!"