Chapter 169: Kings, princes, generals, and common people all have to die
Extremely thick inky black clouds covered the entire sky, without a single ray of light being able to penetrate through them. It was as if the nine heavens were about to crush the earth and almost touch people's heads.
The world was silent, without the sound of flowers, grass or insects. In the silence, there was only the sound of the wind which gradually grew louder, gently blowing the corners of people's clothes, until gradually people could not even stand steadily.
“Tick-tock.”
Fingernail-sized raindrops fell and soon turned into an all-encompassing rain curtain, landing on the mountains and merging into mountain springs, then gathering into small streams and flowing down the mountain.
Amid the sound of rain, one could faintly hear a few people talking, with a distinct Chu accent and a hint of anxiety in their voices.
There were four or five people sitting in the cave, all dressed very simply, reminiscent of the Mohists of yesteryear.
These people were all very young, with flashes of light in their eyes from time to time, extremely sharp.
His body looked strong and capable, with bulging muscles on his arms, his skin was tanned from the wind and sun, and his hands were covered with calluses.
If you have been in the military for many years, you will know at a glance that these people are sharpshooters in the army.
The oldest black-faced man among the group stroked the strong bow and crossbow beside him and murmured, "I don't know when this rain will stop.
I don’t know how far the war between Qin and Zhao has progressed. I hope we don’t show up too late.
I must kill Bai Qi with my own hands to appease the spirits of my parents and brother."
Of his family of 17, only three brothers and sisters were left in Jiangdong. All his relatives in Yingdu had died in that great defeat.
Not only did relatives suffer casualties, but all wealth also disappeared in the flood.
If he did not have a surname to rely on, he would probably have become a commoner and his ancestors would have been brought shame upon him after his death.
Anyone who kills Bai Qi will be rewarded with fifty miles of land. This is the bounty issued by the royal family of Chu to the entire Xia state.
I don’t know how many people went to the battlefield between Qin and Zhao, and then were trapped in the mountains by the heavy rain.
If they couldn't find a good place to shelter from the rain, in this era where fever is basically equivalent to death, many warriors would probably die directly in the rain.
Everyone bowed their heads and said, "Taiyi Su Wang, the supreme god will bless us."
The tradition of witchcraft in the Chu State was already very strong, and the Chu people's love of ghosts and gods was well-known throughout the country.
In the poems of Qu Yuan, which were circulated in various countries, the gods were praised and extold by the extreme. The royal family of Luo State liked it very much and praised it as "the beauty of Chu songs, unmatched after poetry."
Especially after King Su joined the Chu faith.
This is the only ancestor god who has actually performed a large number of miracles.
After the Chu royal family spread the word, the Chu people became even more convinced of the beliefs of ghosts and gods.
"The King of Su will be with us."
A voice with an accent clearly different from that of the Chu people sounded. He was naturally not a Chu person, but a Luo person.
Qiao Yun is the best among Luo Mo. His father is Qiao Cheng, Wu Gong's younger brother.
His wife was a woman from the State of Chu who came to Luo State with the diplomatic mission. She eventually died in the seemingly never-ending rain when she returned to Ying City to visit her relatives.
He was silent for a long time. After the royal office decided to kill Bai Qi, he took the initiative to ask his cousin Luo Ze to go and assassinate Bai Qi. This was a personal vendetta, so he chose to go with his uncle.
He has a very strong body, especially his arms. The muscular lines almost support his clothes, but he does not look bloated, but full of strength.
There was a clearly different and powerful bow placed beside him. That bow was obviously a specially made bow and arrow. Most people probably wouldn't be able to even slightly pull the bow apart, let alone shoot it.
The arrow held in this man's hand was also extraordinary. The arrowhead was not bronze in color, but a brighter metal with a hint of white light.
This metal is called "sharp gold" in Luo State.
It is difficult to mine and make weapons from, but this metal is extremely effective at breaking down armor.
It is far superior to bronze, a metal that is easy to curl. As long as the arm strength is sufficient, it can be shot through directly. It is also not as brittle and easily damaged as iron.
It is indeed a must-have artifact for killers and assassins, but it is a pity that this kind of metal is too rare.
The part in Luo's hands was copied by directly exchanging for whiteboard props.
Everyone looked at the powerful bow and arrow with some envy, but they had all tried that bow before, and with their arm strength they could only barely pull it open.
If they can't pull the bow that strong, the sharp arrow will be wasted in their hands.
“Boom!”
The gods above the nine heavens were furious and vented their divine power wantonly. Lightning that meandered like a web appeared in an instant, bringing a moment of light between heaven and earth, and then returned to darkness again. The deafening thunder resounded in everyone's heart.
This sudden heavy rain not only did not stop, but it became even heavier, as if it was offering a requiem for the world, mourning the lives that died in the war.
There was an expression of pain on everyone's face. The heavy rain that seemed to never stop reminded everyone of the heavy rain that almost destroyed the State of Chu.
…
The battlefields between Qin and Zhao were already littered with corpses.
Lian Po has left the battlefield and was transferred back to Handan by King Zhao. Now on the battlefield is Zhao Kuo, the most outstanding talent of the new generation of Zhao State.
The story begins with the confrontation between Lian Po and Bai Qi.
Just as Lian Po had expected, Zhao State, which lacked mountains and rivers, was unable to effectively resist the attack of Qin State. He could only use the existing terrain of Zhao State to rebuild some difficult-to-break city fortresses.
But what is built by human effort is naturally inferior to what is created by God.
Just like the Xiaoshan Mountains leading to the Qin State and the mountains in the Bashu area, which are rugged and difficult to travel, building a city can resist a million-strong army. How can humans compare to this?
However, the reason why Zhao was able to hold on was because Bai Qi wanted to lure the enemy deep into his territory and lead Zhao's army into a pocket formation.
Then the Qin State only needs to guard a few key passes, and the Zhao State’s army will be trapped and killed in them. This is Bai Qi’s usual practice.
But Lian Po was a famous general in the world and he would not be fooled at all.
He knew very well that most of the passes in Jinzhong were in the hands of Qin.
If he attacked rashly, there was a high probability that he would be defeated by the Qin army and his retreat would be cut off.
The Qin army only needed to control a few cities to complete the encirclement of the Zhao army, which was not a very difficult task in plain words.
Once trapped and cut off from food and water, the only thing the Zhao army could do was to charge into the defense line formed by the mountains and dangerous passes.
This sounds stupid. It is simply a dream for the Zhao army, which has been cut off from water and food, to attack the defense line formed by the elite Qin army.
So when faced with the Qin army's repeated defeats, Lian Po concluded that there must be a trick.
Even now, when we are at war with the State of Qin, our defense line is always shaky.
But Lian Po would never be greedy for the advantage. He would just fight with Qin State here and would never take any risks.
Although he was very anxious, because Zhao's food and grass were indeed not enough to supply the army as he expected.
And it is far from enough.
Because of the successive natural disasters that Zhao State had suffered over the years, a large reduction in grain production had occurred.
In the past, the powerful Zhou State was defeated by natural disasters. How could Zhao State avoid it?
For a moment, the generals of both sides confronting each other on the battlefield were very anxious.
Bai Qi could not achieve his strategic goal, and he did not know that Zhao was about to run out of food, so he had to rack his brains to think of a countermeasure.
Lian Po was completely unable to find a way to win the battle, and had to watch the war situation gradually go in Qin's favor.
Moreover, once the food ran out, Lian Po's only choice was to lead his army to withdraw from these cities and hand them over to the Qin State.
When Bai Qi learned that there were complaints in Zhao State about Lian Po's conservative war strategy, he immediately decided to use Qin's classic tactics to force Zhao State to change its generals.
The Zhao court had sent many letters of rebuke to Lian Po before this. In the letters, Lian Po was rebuked: "You are a great general of Zhao, and the king appointed you as the commander-in-chief because he trusts you.
But you have been hiding in the city and dare not engage in battle. Is it because of fear?
The battle report said that the men of Zhao were brave and had defeated the Qin army several times, but you did not allow them to pursue, causing the opportunity to fight to be delayed. Isn't this your fault?
As a commander who is afraid of the Qin people, can he lead Zhao to victory?"
Bai Qi's plan to lure the enemy deep into our territory, coupled with the fact that Lian Po was indeed good at using troops.
On the surface, Zhao State did achieve a considerable victory.
This made the King of Zhao and his ministers who knew nothing about military affairs look down on the Qin people and Bai Qi. In addition, as food and grass were exhausted, Zhao urgently needed a decisive battle.
When the order to replace the general arrived, Lian Po was not angry, but had a complicated expression, because he knew that this was his destined outcome.
He said to his left and right: "Human power is sometimes exhausted, and I cannot solve the current situation.
If there were generals like King Wu, Xiong Dun, and Duke Wu of Luo who were capable of fighting, they could lead the way, lead 30,000 elite troops, and control the wind and snow. Perhaps they could have faced Qin head-on and won, thus making Bai Qi's plans come to naught."
Lian Po was also a general who specialized in military strategy. Although there was a gap between him and Bai Qi in terms of personal ability, it was not that big. The main reason was that they were good at different things.
However, due to the gap in national strength between Qin and Zhao, Lian Po had to withdraw in disgrace.
…
Blood.
There were corpses all over the mountains and countless Zhao people were swarming towards the pass like a plague of locusts.
But everything was in vain. Without a large number of siege equipment, it was simply a dream to attack the city. Countless corpses fell on the ground, but the city was like a towering mountain, unshakable.
A complete defeat.
Surrender.
You won't die if you surrender.
The Zhao people laid down their weapons.
Then came the massacre.
As the morning light broke, Bai Qi finally appeared in front of everyone.
This is the closest city to Handan. He looked at it from afar, feeling excited.
Within a few dozen steps of him, teams of fully armored warriors were protecting him, and within three hundred steps, the elite troops of the Qin army could arrive at any time.
This was the time when the defense was at its weakest, and the Qin army was searching the entire city.
The surrounding houses have been demolished and no one can hide.
In fact, as long as the distance is controlled within a hundred steps, the assassin is basically useless.
He gently took off his armor, his face looked old and pale.
All the Zhao people kneeling on the roadside looked at him with hatred, but Bai Qi didn't care.
Since he showed up, he encountered assassination attempts almost every day, and he couldn't even travel on his own in Zhao State.
That's simply seeking death.
"Your Majesty, only Luo Kingdom remains, and you will be the new emperor."
Bai Qi gently stroked the sword, and then his face froze.
“Puff!”
Six hundred steps away, Qiao Yun's arms were covered in blood. His arms were disabled, but his face was grim.
"Everyone will die one day!"
(End of this chapter)
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