Chapter 29 3. Dying struggle

Xianyang City, the residence of Ziying.Ziying is still immersed in the joy of intercepting Concubine Yu, Liu and Xiang are about to have internal strife, and the restoration of the country is just around the corner.He came to the place where the queen was buried. There was a plum tree beside it, and the branches were full of pink plum blossoms.Ziying stared at the flower tree for a long time, as if it was the incarnation of the queen who had been sleeping in the ground.Because there was too much snow on the branches, a plum blossom broke off and fell on the snow.Ziying bent down to pick it up, and the snow fell all over himself.

Ziying inserted the broken plum branches in the place where the queen was buried, and muttered to himself: "When the great cause of restoring the country is completed, I will bury you in a place with beautiful mountains and rivers. Are you lonely over there? Don't worry, I will put After finishing what I should do, I will come down to accompany you. We will still be husband and wife in that world." Ying Fu and the two princes stood behind him at some point, seeing his father miss his mother here alone, the two princes couldn't help sobbing.Ying Fu said: "Your Majesty, take care! As long as your Majesty is here, there is hope for the restoration of the country. As long as we can revive our Great Qin's glory, the Queen will be able to rest in peace under the Nine Springs."

Ziying stood up, faced the loyal Ying Fu, looked at his white hair, and said with emotion: "Ying Fu, you served the First Emperor, and now you serve me. You have been loyal for decades, and you belong to the Ying family." A hero, a hero of the Qin State. If I can revive the Qin State, I will never forget your contribution; if..." Ziying looked at the two princes and said, "If there is something wrong with me, you have to protect the two princes. Prince, take them out of Xianyang. As long as they are alive, they will be the spark for Qin's revival." The two princes said excitedly: "Father, we will not leave unless you leave. We will live and die together!"

Ziying smiled wryly and said: "If I really get to that point, the enemy will not let me go. I can't go with you, and no one can run away. As long as I stay, I can attract their attention." , let you take the opportunity to escape." Ziying seemed to have an ominous premonition in his heart. The two princes were still about to say something, when suddenly there was a commotion outside, accompanied by the sound of Jin Ge's chirping.The faces of the four people all changed, Ziying said: "Ying Fu, protect the two princes!" Then he rushed towards the gate, drawing his sword as he ran.Before he could reach the gate, the door was knocked open, and a group of heavily armed soldiers rushed in.Ziying took a closer look and found that the leader was none other than Meng Hong, the commander of the Imperial Guard, and those who followed him were all soldiers of the Imperial Guard.

"What's going on?" Ziying asked eagerly. "Your Majesty", Meng Hong and the soldiers bowed to Ziying with one knee on the ground, "It's a big deal! Concubine Yu has been robbed, our plan has been leaked, and Your Majesty is very dangerous here, so after we discuss, Decided to act immediately, rescue the king, rush out of Xianyang City, and join General Han outside the pass." Ziying couldn't speak, the situation was changing rapidly, just now he was complacent about the hope of restoring the country, and he was about to run for his life in a blink of an eye.Meng Hong urged: "Your Majesty, don't hesitate any longer, there is no time!"

Ying Fu, who was following Ziying, also said, "Yes! Let's go!" Ziying shook his head and said, "Take the two princes away. They are the heirs to the throne. Take them outside the pass and hand them over to General Han, and wait for the opportunity to raise the banner of restoring the country. I won't go, I'm very tired , to stay here with the queen. I will hold the enemy back, and you will be able to escape." Meng Hong resolutely said: "How can we do that? Even if we all sacrifice our lives for the country, we must also escort the king to kill Xianyang!" The soldiers shouted in unison: "Defend the king to the death!"

The tragic scene made Ziying's blood boil, "Okay, today we will have a quick battle, let these traitors see the glory of the Great Qin soldiers!" "Kill! Kill! Kill!" The voice echoed for a long time in the snowy night. Thousands of imperial guards scattered among the people have been summoned, put on their armor again, and unfurled the black banner of the Qin army.This elite Qin army guarded Ziying, members of the clan, "Three Dukes" and other important ministers and their families, and rushed towards the city gate.The defenders left by Liu Bang were only a few thousand people. The strength of the two sides was equal, but the combat effectiveness was very different.The defenders came to intercept them one after another, but they were soon defeated by Ziying's imperial guards. The fleeing team approached the city gate, and they were about to rush out of Xianyang City.

At this moment, a group of warriors rushed out from the surrounding streets and alleys, rushed towards the fleeing team, and started a fierce battle with the imperial guards.These people are much stronger than the defenders. In a one-on-one duel, Ziying's Imperial Guard may not be the opponent, but they are only good at fighting alone, and they don't know how to form an formation to exert the power of the whole. What the well-trained Qin army is good at.Ziying's imperial guards formed a team of dozens of people. Shield players, archers, and spearmen cooperated with each other to launch a powerful attack on the enemy. people isolated.

The owner of the restaurant was watching the battle not far away.It turned out that Lu Gong ordered him to closely monitor Ziying, and if the situation changed, he would cooperate with the defenders to prevent Ziying from escaping.Therefore, he gathered hundreds of warriors distributed in the city and stood by at any time.As expected, Ziying began to struggle to his death. Seeing that the defenders were easily defeated by the Qin army, he had no choice but to take his subordinates into battle.But these people of his are not the opponents of the Qin army, so they can only delay the time temporarily, waiting for Liu Bang's reinforcements to arrive.

While fighting, the imperial guards protected Ziying and others as they approached the city gate.Under Meng Hong's command, the hundreds of imperial guards in front of the team formed a formation of sharp arrow clusters, attacking forward, unstoppable.There are still two or three hundred defenders under the city gate, who have lost their fighting spirit in front of the iron flow of the Qin army rolling forward, and are about to disperse like birds and beasts.Seeing that the situation was critical, the owner of the restaurant suddenly drew his sword and ran towards the city gate with a few followers. While running, he shouted to his warriors: "Go to the city gate, go to the city gate!" Seeing this, all the warriors left the enemy and gathered towards the city gate.

Soon, more than a hundred warriors gathered under the gate of the city. Under the leadership of the restaurant owner, they stood between the defenders and Ziying's imperial guards, preparing for the final life-and-death struggle.The defenders who were about to flee were infected by their devotion to death, and stabilized their positions to meet the impact of the Qin army. Seeing this situation, Meng Hong smiled contemptuously, "A group of mobs still want to block the way of our elite troops from the Great Qin!" He called out to the archers and ordered them to aim at the city gate and concentrate their arrows to clear the way for the large team.Dense clusters of arrows flew towards the city gate, and the warriors around the restaurant owner fell to the ground one after another. The screams rang out one after another, which stimulated the tense nerves of the owner and made his heart tingle.These samurai are the wealth accumulated by his painstaking efforts over the years. They have followed him through life and death, and now they have lost all casualties overnight. The eyes of the restaurant owner are red, and they look ferocious. He nodded and looked left and right. There were only a few dozen people around him. It seemed that he couldn't escape this catastrophe today.He shouted loudly to everyone: "Brothers, we have suffered together for many years, and today is the time to die! Let us have a good time together and be companions on the road to Huangquan!" Despite the heavy casualties, seeing many companions fell in a pool of blood, But the warriors still had high fighting spirit, "Kill! Kill! Kill!" The owner of the restaurant just turned his head and was about to be the first to rush to Qin Jun when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. He looked down and saw that an arrow cluster had shot himself in the left chest.He gritted his teeth, broke the shaft of the arrow, and raised his long sword with his right hand, "Follow me!" Dozens of warriors and the defenders behind him followed him and rushed towards the Qin army. Meng Hong snorted, "The courage of the common man, moths fly into the flames, and kill themselves!" Following his order, the shieldmen in front of the team erected their large shields, and the spearmen stood behind them.The moment the warriors were about to hit the shield, sharp spears emerged from the gaps in the shield, piercing their flesh and blood mercilessly.When the spear was withdrawn, blood gushed out and the corpse fell limply.Before the people behind had time to stop, the spear poked out again, stabbed and retracted, leaving another row of corpses. The owner of the restaurant who rushed to the front of the line was stabbed by two spears at the same time, one in the chest and the other in the abdomen.The long sword in his hand is still in the air, and the person has been frozen.With the spear withdrawn, his knees failed and he fell to his knees, his sword falling in the dust.At this point, he had no pain, no feeling of anything, and he couldn't remember anything.He raised his head, took one last look at the sky in Xianyang, and fell backwards. Qin Jun cleared the last obstacle, opened the city gate, and protected Ziying and others to leave the city.Thousands of imperial guards protected hundreds of princes and nobles and their families, and moved quickly to the suburbs.Ziying walked in the middle of the team, looked back at Xianyang City, his eyes were full of sadness, he didn't know when he would be able to return to the capital of Qin State!He has lived in this city for so many years, married a wife and had children, and lived a happy and peaceful life. Later, despite the vicissitudes of the political situation and personal gains and losses, he became the king of subjugation and lost the person he loved the most. , but what this city left to him are still those good memories and infinite nostalgia. Ziying and the two princes and Ying Fu rode in the same carriage.He pulled the hands of his two sons and Ying Fu together, and told them in this way: "No matter how difficult and dangerous the road ahead is, we are in the same boat through thick and thin, and live and die together!" The whole team was immersed in the joy of escaping from the dead, Meng Hong, the commander of the imperial guards, showed a gratified smile. He finally fulfilled his mission and brought Ziying and others out of Xianyang.He looked back at the long team behind him, and secretly planned to bring this team to the straight road as soon as possible. Once on the straight road, the speed of action will be faster, and he will be able to reach the Great Wall in a few days. Army join forces.In that case, Ziying and the others would be truly safe. At this time, a lady walking in the procession shouted, "I can't walk! Get me a carriage, or I won't go!" A pebble caused circles of ripples, which immediately aroused a strong resonance in the silent team.Due to the limited number of carriages and horses, most of the family members of the nobles in the palace can only walk.These noble family members who are usually pampered and pampered, after a night of swords and swords, long-distance travel and fear, are already exhausted and can't even move their legs.The lady's voice was also their heart's voice, so everyone immediately became noisy. Meng Hong hurriedly stepped forward to stop them, but these people used to be high-ranking figures in the state of Qin, powerful officials and dignitaries. Although Meng Hong was the commander of the imperial guards, in their eyes, they were nothing more than warriors. Don't take it seriously.Therefore, no matter how Meng Hong scolded, threatened, and tried his best to suppress him, these people just ignored him, sat down one after another, and refused to move forward.The leading lady even took the reins of Meng Hong's horse and asked him to dismount, giving the horse to herself. Meng Hong's eyes were burning with anxiety, but because of the other party's prominent status, there was nothing he could do. "Now we are not completely out of danger. The longer we delay here, the more dangerous we will be. Don't make trouble for no reason. Hurry up and go. When you get to a safe place, take a good rest!" Seeing that the threats failed, Meng Hong had no choice but to soften his attitude , good words to persuade. The lady was still relentless, and asked, "Where is it safe? I can't even walk a step now!" Meng Hong was at a loss for words for a while, if he told these people that it was safe to go outside the customs, they would be even more reluctant to leave.Such a long distance, if these nobles who are used to going in and out of the car walk over it on foot, it will kill them.However, in a hurry, where should I go to find chariots and horses for them? At some point, Ziying got out of the carriage and walked behind the lady. Meng Hong hurriedly bowed his knees and saluted, "Your Majesty, everyone can't move anymore, and I don't know what to do." The lady saw Ziying Baby, the arrogance just now subsided immediately, and he also saluted respectfully, revealing his true face of flattery and bullying. Ziying glanced at the noble lady coldly, and asked, "How about giving you my king's carriage?" The lady was stunned, "This...how can this be done?" Ziying asked again, "Then can you walk by yourself?" "I..." the lady said hesitantly, "I really can't move anymore!" "You dare not sit in my carriage, and you can't walk anymore, what should you do?" Ziying sounded calm, but there was a hint of coldness. Seeing that the lady was silent, Ziying said, "I have a solution!" "What way?" The lady was delighted when she heard the words. "The living need to travel, but the dead don't need it, they can rest forever!" The lady was stunned for a moment, but before she could react, Ziying's hand on the hilt had already been drawn out of its sheath, and he slashed After the lady's head fell, blood gushed out from her neck like a crimson fountain. Everyone, including Meng Hong and the imperial guards, was stunned by this scene.Those who stayed on the ground and refused to move quickly got up, for fear that they would become Ziying's next ghost under the sword.Ziying glanced at everyone blankly and ordered: "Let's go!" Then he returned to his car.Ying Fu, who witnessed all this, lamented in his heart: "The king has really changed. Since the queen passed away, he has become more withdrawn, taciturn and ruthless!" Just when Ziying was about to board his king's chariot, shouts of killing suddenly sounded from all directions, and torches winding like a long dragon appeared around the Qin army's team, surrounding the team of thousands of people.Ziying's head "buzzed", half of his body was already on the car, and he almost fell down again, Ying Fu hurriedly supported him. "It seems that we were too happy too early. We still haven't escaped from the enemy's grasp." Ziying smiled miserably and said to Ying Fu. Meng Hong galloped over, "Your Majesty, there are ambushes on all sides, it seems that there are no less than ten thousand people, what should we do?" Ziying looked around, and there was a low mound not far away.He decisively ordered: "Retreat to the top of the earth mountain, condescending to resist the enemy!" Under Meng Hong's command, everyone ran to the earth mountain.After climbing up the earth mountain, Meng Hong immediately organized the imperial guards and set up defense lines on all sides.As soon as the line of defense was established, the enemy had already reached the foot of the mountain and surrounded the small earth mountain. This ambush was exactly the reinforcement army led by Cao Shen.As soon as they arrived at Xianyang City, Ziying's imperial guards broke out of the city.Cao Shen was quick-witted, and led the army to take a shortcut and rushed to the front of Ziying and others, and lay in ambush, waiting for the prey to slip into his pocket.Ziying's team moved slowly because there were many nobles and their families mixed in, and there was another riot in the middle, and was overtaken by Cao Shen's men.When they were about to set off again, Cao Shen's ambush circle had closed and a signal for a general attack was issued. The combat effectiveness of the troops led by Cao Shen is much stronger than that of the Xianyang garrison. It is an elite division under Liu Bang's command, and it is supported by cavalry and chariot troops.The Imperial Guard under the command of Meng Hong met a real opponent.After completing the siege of the earth mountain, Cao Shen looked at the Qin army on the mountain and gave the order to attack.The soldiers rushed up the mountain like a tide. Standing on a high place, they looked like densely packed ants. Menghong ordered the archers to release arrows, and the shieldmen and spearmen were ready to meet the enemy's impact.Arrows rained down on the Chu army from top to bottom, and the people who were shot fell down row by row, but the people behind had no intention of retreating and continued to rush up the mountain.The two sides fought desperately in front of the Qin army's defense line. The Chu army had the numerical and psychological advantage, while the Qin army occupied a favorable terrain, determined to die, and fought back desperately.A vicious battle turned out to be inconclusive for the time being. The Qin army has repelled the enemy's attack three times in a row.Meng Hong ran to Ziying's side, "Your Majesty, it's not an option to hold on like this. When our arrows are exhausted and the enemy's reinforcements arrive, we'll just capture them without a fight. We have to find a way to break through!" Ziying looked down the mountain, and there were torches and shouts of the Chu army everywhere.He turned his gaze to the nobles and their families scattered on the top of the mountain, and finally settled on his two sons.After weighing the matter, Ziying said to Meng Hong: "You go and choose some capable warriors to form a guard, and you will personally lead it to protect the two princes from breaking through." Before Meng Hong could speak, he walked towards Ying Fu and said, "Take care Good two princes!" The "big king", "father", Ying Fu, Meng Hong and the two princes all understood what Ziying meant. He wanted to sacrifice himself to attract the attention of the enemy and cover the two sons to break through.Ziying put his hand on the hilt of the sword, and said sharply: "Those who do not obey the king's order will be killed without mercy!" This move stunned both Ying Fu and Meng Hong. They had witnessed the scene of Ziying beheading the noble lady just now. From what I saw, I knew that Ziying was not kidding. Ziying hugged the two princes in his arms, showing the last tenderness of a father, "I don't want you to be buried with me! Remember, you must escape alive, go to the outside of the pass to find General Han, and revive Daqin! "The two princes nodded tearfully and bid farewell to their father. Watching Meng Hong and Ying Fu leave with the two princes, Ziying fulfilled his wish, facing the imminent death, his fighting spirit was aroused again, and the tragedy of seeing death as home emerged spontaneously.Ziying went to a high place and shouted to the terrified nobles who were sitting on the ground: "Dear clansmen and ministers, now we are in a desperate situation and surrounded by enemies. Instead of waiting to die, it is better to give it a go. I will personally lead the guards Let the army open the way and cover everyone to break through. You must obey my orders and act in unison. Acting without authorization is a dead end." After hearing Ziying's words, these desperate nobles seemed to see a glimmer of life again and stood up one after another. , Waiting for Ziying's order. The attack of the Chu army has temporarily stopped, and they are repairing and re-forming at the foot of the mountain, preparing for the next round of attack.This is the best time to break through, and the Chu army never expected that the Qin army would launch a counterattack so soon.Ziying looked not far away, Meng Hong had already gathered a group of warriors and prepared to cover the two princes to break through.Ying Fu and the two children were looking at him. "I can't hesitate anymore, otherwise the two children will be reluctant to part with their father, and they will be in trouble if they insist on walking with me!" Ziying sent an order, and the imperial guards gathered on the side of the hillside and formed a shock formation. The nobles and their families were in the middle of the team, and Ziying went to the front of the team to personally command the battle. "Forward!" Following Ziying's order, the team swooped down from top to bottom by taking advantage of the terrain.The Chu army at the foot of the hill discovered the enemy's movement on the hill and made preparations for defense.The Chu army on the other three sides also concentrated here, preparing to encircle and wipe out the enemy. Under the protection of their shields, the imperial guards charged forward against the enemy's arrow rain, and soon came into close contact with the enemies at the foot of the mountain, and fought fiercely at the foot of the mountain.While commanding the battle, Ziying turned his head to look up the mountain, not knowing if Meng Hong, Ying Fu and the others started to break through with the two princes.The battle was extremely fierce, with more and more Chu troops, and Ziying's imperial guards also knew that this battle would be dangerous, and everyone planned to shed the last drop of blood to defend King Qin, and they fought extremely bravely.But after a night of fierce fighting and a long journey, the Qin army was exhausted, while the Chu army's morale was high, and they wanted to catch Ziying at all costs.The battle fell into a stalemate, and the sky in the east had already turned white. Although Qin Jun tried his best and gritted his teeth to support him, he was still gradually at a disadvantage. Ziying didn't know whether the two princes had successfully broken through, and felt uneasy.Seeing that the encirclement circle of the Chu army was gradually shrinking, and the soldiers couldn't hold on any longer, Ziying sighed in his heart, "It all depends on God's will, I have tried my best. If God didn't abandon Qin, Qin would still be here." Bless the country that the first emperor conquered, and the two children will be able to leave Xianyang safely. Now, let me die for my country like a real Qin warrior!" Firmly determined to face death, Ziying burst out with boundless courage, and his whole body was full of strength.Leaving aside his guards, he picked up a spear from a dead Qin army and walked towards the enemy.The defense line formed by the shield players was on the verge of collapse, and the Chu army continued to pour into the team from the gaps between the shield players, and started hand-to-hand combat with the Qin army. Holding a spear in his hand, Ziying stabbed in the ribs of a Chu soldier who was fighting with the imperial guards.The feeling of the spearhead piercing into the flesh and bone was transmitted along the spear handle to Ziying's hand. Ziying felt a kind of pleasure that he had never experienced before. The killing turned out to be so exciting and exciting. The guards followed and surrounded Ziying, "Your Majesty, be careful!" "Go to the back, it's too dangerous here!" Ziying looked up to the sky and laughed, it was hard to tell whether it was excitement or despair.His two eyes were narrowed into a line, looking at the Chu army who was waving weapons and howling like a pack of wolves, the muscles on his face were twisted, and his eyes were like two daggers shining with cold light.At this time, Ziying has become a killing machine, and the fear, compassion, and pity inherent in human beings have disappeared in him, and what is left is only the desire to kill, the pleasure and satisfaction brought by blood. Ziying let out a howl like a hungry wolf, pushed away the guards, and rushed towards him like another Chu army who broke through.The spear seemed to have life in Ziying's hands, flexibly avoiding the intercepted blade, and pierced the enemy's heart accurately. Qin Jun around saw Ziying's bravery, the wolf nature in his body was aroused, and his spirit was lifted. First, a few people let out a terrifying howl like Ziying, and then more people shouted, as if they were being killed. The hunters surrounded, like a pack of wolves who started to fight back in desperation.The shocking cry in the wilderness had a miraculous effect, driving away weariness and despair, and at the same time driving the fear of death into the heart of the enemy.Shocked by the shouting, the Chu army was frustrated and retreated involuntarily. Ziying's eyes lit up, and the dawn of hope appeared again.He commanded the soldiers to regroup, line up in a tight formation, and block the gaps, "Steady your ground and move forward!" The sharp arrow cluster began to move forward again. The situation on the battlefield changed instantly, making Cao Shen, who was commanding the soldiers to besiege the Qin army, confused.He ordered the chariots and cavalry to dispatch immediately to attack the formation of the Qin army, hoping to divide the enemy and defeat them one by one.However, the swift and fierce cavalry and the powerful chariots also flinched in front of the Qin army's spears, and were blocked from the formation, failing to tear the Qin army's iron-barreled team.The horses stabbed by the spears wailed one after another, dragging the chariot and rushing in their own ranks, trampling and crushing the soldiers of the Chu army.Seeing that their companions were injured, the other war horses uttered fearful cries in the face of the hedgehog-like spear array of the Qin army, and spun around in place, refusing to move forward. The attack was frustrated again, Cao Shen was in a hurry, urged his horse forward, and planned to approach the front to command the battle.Only a dozen steps away from the Qin army, Cao Can observed from the horseback condescendingly, and suddenly found a familiar face among the Qin army's forwards.When he was surrendered with Liu Bang, Cao met Ziying and had some impressions of him.Ziying's clothes were quite different from those of other armored Qin soldiers, and he stood out in the ranks, so he immediately attracted Cao Shen's attention.After careful identification, Cao Shen was ecstatic in his heart, and this person was Ziying. He took a strut from the guard beside him, wound it up quietly, and aimed at Ziying's back.The range of this kind of Jinnuo is as far as a hundred steps, but the distance between him and Ziying is less than thirty steps, which is completely within the effective range. Ziying was brandishing a spear, encouraging the Qin army to attack and advance.Suddenly, there was a sharp pain from behind. Looking back, there was an arrow stuck in his waist, and the cluster of arrows had completely penetrated into his body.The pain became more severe as Ziying turned his body. The spear in his hand fell to the ground, and his eyes were completely dark.He held on and did not fall down. Before he recovered his vision, there was another sharp pain in his chest. Cao Shen's second arrow hit his left chest. This time, Ziying couldn't hold it anymore. These days, his body and mind have been devastated and hit, the shame of subjugation, the queen's death, and this thrilling night, Ziying's spirit and body are on the verge of collapse. edge.Although Cao Shen's two arrows were not fatal, they became the last straw that crushed him and made him completely collapse.Ziying's body fell straight down like a wall that was suddenly overturned.All consciousness was lost, and the whole person passed out. With Ziying's fall, Qin Jun's team lost its last pillar and began to fall apart.