Chapter 224 Chapter 6 The Battle of Min City

Huan Jue went out of the city thirty li to meet them. At this time, there were only about 20,000 cavalry troops left in the cavalry team originally composed of 10,000 Duqi and 20,000 quick-relief troops, which showed the fierce pursuit along the way. Leaving the mountainous area, set foot on the vast plain to the east of Mincheng, surrounded by mountains. The Weishui section of the Yellow River flows from west to east fifty miles to the north. Spectacular scene of rushing river.From Hangu Pass to the north, there is a journey of three hundred li. Xiang Shaolong and Huan Jue rode side by side, the army headed towards Mincheng.The former saw that the fortifications along the way had been well done, and all the commanding heights were equipped with forts made of earth and rocks, and said with satisfaction: "Xiao Yu really has skills, just looking at the formation shown here is enough to teach Pang Nuanxin. "

Huan Yu won his praise and said happily: "The general was born and died on the front line. How can I hide here and just enjoy the blessings? Now Mincheng has joined the retreating army, with a total strength of 150,000. Accumulate energy, know more clearly that the general is in the rear so that they can reach Mincheng safely, and also know that the general aims to lure the enemy to the west, so that the enemy will become a tired army and then attack hard, so now everyone is gearing up to fight for the general Doom." Jing Jun and Huan Juan who were behind couldn't help laughing, and scolded with a smile: "Xiao Yu is so cunning and knows how to spread rumors. Fortunately, these rumors have the effect of boosting morale, otherwise you must be dealt with according to military law."

Everyone laughed. Huan Jue greeted Zhou Liang who was behind Shaolong, and praised: "Brother Zhou has done a great job this time, now everyone in the army calls you the eagle god, as long as they see you, no one will worry about the enemy's surprise attack. " Zhou Liang laughed so hard that he couldn't even close his mouth, he touched the Eagle King on his shoulder, and acted modestly. While chatting and laughing, Xiang Shaolong and others crossed the moat and entered the city through the lowered suspension bridge. That scene immediately frightened Xiang Shaolong and the others, the soldiers and civilians in the city flocked to both sides of the main street, cheering like crazy.It's like they have come back with a big victory, but in fact the real big battle hasn't happened yet.

Three days later, the vanguard of the United Vertical Army reached the area east of the Mincheng Plain. Taking advantage of their exhausted men and horses and their lack of familiarity with the weak points of the terrain, Huan Jue attacked them day and night, and set fire to the camp for food. However, nearly ten thousand people have been lost, and the blow to morale is particularly serious. Xiang Shaolong and others took this opportunity to gain space to rest and recover, and rehearsed formations outside Mincheng all day long. From Mozi's Art of War, Xiang and Teng chose the "crab" formation that is most conducive to playing in such a closed environment, that is, they do not concentrate their forces on the front as a "normal soldier" as usual, but concentrate their forces The "surprise soldiers" who came to attack on the two wings.

Since they are fighting with their backs to the city, the "right soldiers" can use the catapults on the high wall and the condescending crossbow arrows to increase their defense, so they are not afraid of the enemy's main frontal impact.As for the surprise soldiers on the two wings, the most elite cavalry and quick support cavalry are the main force. Their thick-backed swords are most suitable for this kind of charge and chop task. This time the enemy came to the west, the road was full of mountainous areas, and the heavy siege vehicles and trebuchets had to be abandoned on the way, reducing the threat of containment to the Qin army.At present, the only favorable condition for the joint vertical army is the superior number of people.

Now that it's autumn, if the joint vertical army can't break through Mincheng before the severe winter, they will fall into the predicament of ice and snow cover, and the whole army will be wiped out at every turn, so Xiang Shaolong is not worried that they will build a fortress and hold on.So as long as Xiang Shaolong is willing to go out of the city to fight, Pang Nuan and others will just be thankful and hope for a quick victory. Ten days later, the joint vertical army advanced to Mincheng again, slowly entered the vast plain fifty miles away from Mincheng, set up camps and tents in the marginal mountainous area, and formed defensive barriers with chariots.

Xiang Shaolong ordered to stop all attacks that disturbed the enemy, and let the enemy stand firm.But the atmosphere of the imminent war tensed the nerves of everyone on both sides. Three days later, all the allied forces of the five countries arrived, Xiang Shaolong waited on the city wall and watched, on the surface, it seemed that the opponent's army was indeed at its peak, and there was no sign of fatigue. After watching carefully for a while, Huan Yu said with a smile: "In terms of the quality and training of soldiers and generals, except for Zhao Jun, the other four countries in the combined vertical army are far behind me. Due to years of confrontation, Pang Nuan and others have already figured out his combat methods. Therefore, it is easy to adopt various targeted measures to win."

After a pause, he continued: "General Wang Jian once said that looking at the famous generals in modern times, only Bai Qi and Li Mu have never been able to fight well, and they have never followed the established rules. It can be found. And now General Wang should add General Xiang Da to the list of generals." Xiang Shaolong scolded with a smile: "You brat is becoming more and more aware of the way of flattery and praise." After everyone chatted and laughed for a while, the atmosphere became more relaxed. Teng Yi said: "Although the enemy has suffered losses, they still have 500,000 troops, but I am not worried about it. The weather and soil here are especially unfavorable to the southern army of the Chu people. We also blocked the nearby streams with sand and rocks, making it even more difficult for these tired soldiers. The strength of our troops is not far from ours. And we have a strong city to protect us, and we are not afraid of a long battle. The opponent must rush to send troops and try to buy time. The advantages and disadvantages of the situation are self-evident."

Huan Jue looked into the distance and said: "The enemy's cavalry sent a message from the center to the left and right. It is obvious that they are going to call the generals and gather for the central army meeting. It seems that the enemy is about to attack on a large scale." Xiang Shaolong's heart moved, and he said lightly: "As far as I think, this is just a show for us to see. If I am Pang Nuan, and I am really strong and strong, and my morale is like a rainbow, I will simply put on a weak state to attract us. Going out of the city to attack, and now they are putting on a mighty posture, which is enough to show that they are timid and afraid that we will attack them."

At this time, Cheng Jun had already regarded Xiang Shaolong as a general, and he agreed after hearing the words: "There is also a saying in the book of war, 'Scholar Ma Xiaoxiong shows me that I am weak, and the formation of a neat line shows me that I will not fight.' The general's opinion is very strong. See you." Huanju, Teng Yi, and Jing Jun were moved at the same time, and Jing Jun immediately asked for orders to fight.Xiang Shaolong was afraid that he might lose something, so he ordered Huan Jue to be his assistant. Half an hour later, the gates of the city were opened wide, and each of them led a mixed force of 20,000 cavalry and catapults across the plain to attack the enemy.Xiang Shaolong and Teng Yi led the troops to hold the formation, so as to cover their retreat if necessary.At dusk, they broke through several enemy camps before withdrawing their troops and returning to the city.

The next day it was the turn of the enemy to send troops to fight, but the Qin army stayed behind closed doors and only responded with arrows, and the enemy had no choice but to retreat. After three days of this kind of tug-of-war with mutual casualties, in the early morning of the fourth day, the joint vertical army finally lost patience and launched a full-scale siege battle with newly built siege vehicles and wooden chariots. Xiang Shaolong still stood firm, and waited until the enemy was exhausted and completely retreated, and then came out with all their strength, and formed the formation set up outside the city. Although the joint vertical army was unwilling to fight at this time, because they didn't want to miss the good opportunity of the battle, and were even more afraid of being attacked by the Qin army, they also mobilized in an all-round way, setting up a battle formation on the other side of the plain. Xiang Shaolong and Teng Yi boarded a small hill of the Chinese army to observe the enemy's deployment. At this time, the morning sun rose from Lai Mountain, and under the sunshine, the weapons and armors of the enemy and our side shone brightly, with a little bit of light, spreading over the plains on both sides, permeating the atmosphere of a war that was about to break out. The strength of the joint vertical army was significantly reduced, only about 400,000 people, divided into five formations. The troops are mainly concentrated in the center, mainly infantry, with chariots in front and cavalry in the rear, forming three formations: front, middle and rear. The left and right formations are fast cavalry. The infantry in the center is divided into nine small formations according to the types of arms. The first three formations are shield soldiers and light infantry, and the other six formations are heavy infantry attacking the main force. Shields, horses, spears, halberds and other weapons for long-range defense or attack.The size of the area occupied by each team and the distance between them are all familiar with the rules of a certain battle formation, and they are by no means a mob. Teng Yi sighed: "Third brother is leading the army for the first time, but every time he predicts the enemy like a god, he avoids the main force of the enemy's center as before, and puts the heavy troops on the two wings. If he knew it was wrong, it would be difficult to change formation. What's more, he didn't know that each of our cavalry has a thick-backed broadsword that is at least half as powerful as Baizhan Dao, which guarantees that the opponent's cavalry fighting with swords on both wings will suffer a big loss." The drums of the enemy's battle suddenly roared into the sky, and nearly 3,000 chariots gathered in the front line, followed closely by the infantry, shouted and began to advance. The Eagle King on Zhou Liang's shoulders also felt the vicious atmosphere of war, flapping his wings and humming. Xiang Shaolong gave the order to stand firm, the drums sounded, and the messengers used banners to inform Huan Juan and Jing Jun on the two wings. Just when they were about to enter the shooting range, the first two rows of 3,000 chariots that came in six rows suddenly accelerated and charged forward. In addition to the driver and a chariot soldier, each chariot also followed a team of chariot infantry, each with its own duties.The imperial hand drives the chariot, and the chariot soldiers are equipped with bows, crossbows, spears, halberds and other weapons. They use bows and crossbows when they are far away from the enemy, and they use spears and halberds to fight in close combat. Cover and respond to each other to expand the lethality and defense. The drivers and warriors of the chariot wear heavy helmets and solid armor because they don't need to walk. They are not afraid of ordinary arrows, and so are the horses.If they rush into the formation, the battle formation will never be able to remain intact. At this time, if the opponent's backup continues to attack, there will be few undefeated ones. For a while, both sides drummed and shouted, arrows flew together, and the sound of killing shook the sky.The cavalry on the two flanks of the enemy also sent out 10,000 soldiers each to cover the two wings of the center forward. The war finally kicked off. Xiang Shaolong waited until the opponent was completely within range, and then ordered the catapults on the city to start, throwing huge boulders all over the sky towards the enemy's charging chariot from time to time.The people turned their backs on their cars, and there were still nearly a hundred chariots rushing close to the formation. With Xiang Shaolong's order, the Qin army's tide retreated from the front line, revealing countless deep pits behind the horses. How could the enemy's car expect the Qin army to make such a move, and immediately the car overturned and trapped, and the Qin army took advantage of the momentum to kill them.Arrows rained down on the city, and the foot soldiers who lost the cover of their chariots fell to the ground one after another. Xiang Shaolong couldn't bear to see the tragic situation, but there was nothing he could do.On the battlefield, either you die or I die, where is the place for a woman's benevolence. At this time, the enemy cavalry on both wings arrived. Xiang Shaolong then asked the flag bearer to unfurl the banner, and the cavalry on the left and right flanks rushed out, each holding a big saber, and the enemy cavalry wielding their swords were hacked and smashed to pieces.The Qin army's iron cavalry has always been superior to the Eastern soldiers, and now with the new weapon that is the most powerful to attack immediately, it is even more unstoppable. After smashing the enemy's first round of offensive, Xiang Shaolong's central army began to advance, and advanced hundreds of steps towards the enemy's second round of attacking chariots and pawns, and formed an formation again, using catapults and arrows to attack the enemy from a distance. Attack from a distance. At this time, the cavalry on the enemy's two wings were defeated, and the enemy's central army was afraid that they would lose the cover of their two wings and fall into the dilemma of being attacked on three sides, so they retreated hastily.Unexpectedly, although the chariot was unstoppable when it was charging forward, it was not flexible to rotate. Nearly half of the chariots collided with each other when they hurriedly turned around, causing extreme chaos.It's no wonder that the joint vertical army, who would have guessed that the cavalry on the two wings were defeated so quickly and so badly. Xiang Shaolong knew that the time had come, and gave the order to attack in an all-round way.First, the two left and right cavalry troops of Huanju and Jing Jun, 20,000 each, bit the tail of the defeated enemy and killed them from the two wings, and then the 60,000 infantry on the two wings followed the cavalry and advanced towards the enemy from both sides. Xiang Shaolong's central army consisting of 40,000 infantry, 10,000 cavalry, and 1,000 Wu family disciples also began to attack the enemy's retreating central army, killing the enemy's corpses all over the field, blood flowing like rivers, it was extremely brutal.When the two-winged cavalry broke into the enemy's formation with thunderous momentum, the combined vertical army immediately panicked, and the chaos spread like a wave, affecting the whole situation. Pang Nuan also knew something was wrong, beat the drum and sounded the trumpet, and ordered the whole army to continue to advance against the enemy, but it has changed from active to passive. When the combined vertical army was able to resist the Qin army, Xiang Shaolong and a thousand Wu family disciples rushed out like flying tigers into a flock and defeated the most powerful central army of the combined vertical army. At this time, the combined army's defeat had already been accomplished. Even if Sun Wu came back to life and Bai Qi came back, it would be difficult to recover from the defeat. After only half an hour, the Chu army retreated first. Chaos.The joint vertical army abandoned their weapons and armor and fled, no longer able to resist. The Qin army pursued them for more than 20 miles, killing 80,000 enemies and taking more than 20,000 prisoners.The Five Kingdoms joined forces to attack Qin, and had never experienced such a disastrous defeat. That night Xiang Shaolong camped in the mountains, prepared to recharge his spirits, and pursue the enemy tomorrow, so as to recover all the lost ground.Suddenly, his men came to report and captured the enemy's general. Xiang Shaolong didn't even have time to put on his armor, so he went out of the camp to see Han Chuang, who was covered in blood and dejected, being taken to the front of the tent. When he saw Xiang Shaolong, he smiled miserably and said, "Brother Xiang, give me a good time." .” Xiang Shaolong was taken aback and shouted: "Untie me immediately!" All his subordinates respected him like a god, and immediately cut the rope upon hearing this.Xiang Shaolong sent someone to heal Han Chuang's wounds, and after everything was settled, he invited him into the commander's tent for a meal. Han Chuang smiled wryly and said, "Shaolong will be famous all over the world in this battle, and his prestige is as high as that of Bai Qi. I, Han Chuang, am convinced of my defeat." Xiang Shaolong sighed: "Everyone is the master, everyone is helpless in this battle. Brother Han will sleep here tonight, and return to your country on horseback tomorrow morning." Han Chuang was startled and said, "Shaolong released the enemy general privately. The charges can be big or small. How can I feel sorry for it?" Xiang Shaolong said sincerely: "This matter is so unreasonable. I will return Brother Han's entourage to Brother Han. Brother Han must escape from the Qin State as soon as possible. With the current situation, we have to pursue the victory." Han Chuang is a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death. He was grateful for this chance, and said, "If I want to leave, I'd rather leave tonight, alas! Shaolong is really a friend." Xiang Shaolong sent off Han Chuang and nearly a thousand of his personal guards that night, and in the early morning of the next day, while sending the captives to Mincheng, he chased after the enemy again. Although Pang Nuan reorganized the vertical army on the way, due to lack of morale and lack of weapons and food, he was completely repelled within three days.Xiang Shaolong drove straight forward and recaptured Hangu Pass like a broken bamboo, shattering the dream of the five eastern countries uniting to fight against Qin. Xiang Shaolong sent people to rebuild the fortifications and strengthen the defense of Hangu Pass. After the winter, Xiaopan sent a special envoy to read out the imperial decree signed by Xiaopan and Zhu Ji, and named Xiang Shaolong as the top general. Officials were promoted to a higher level, Huanju and Cheng Jun were promoted to generals at the same time, Teng Jing was also promoted to the ranks of generals, Zhou Liang was promoted to lieutenant generals, and everyone else was rewarded for their merits. Double the salary and silver, everyone is happy at once. Except for Cheng Jun staying in Hangu, Xiang Shaolong and others were recalled to Xianyang to report on their duties. This battle made Xiang Shaolong famous all over the world, and his power was especially higher than that of Wang Hemengao, and he was listed with Wang Jian as the two new generals of the Western Qin Dynasty.