Chapter 49: Three Battles to Decide the Outcome
It has been almost four hundred years since the time of King Su.
The IQ of the barbarians is not worse than that of the Xia people, but their culture is backward. After so many years, it has become completely different from when it was first established.
Their civilization has advanced a lot compared to the past, and they have even begun to build cities.
In particular, the barbarians who lived together with the princes in the Central Plains gradually became an agricultural people.
But this is not good news for the Luo family. It is easy to conquer barbarians, but it is not easy to conquer another civilization.
The civilization of the Xia people has been clearly distinguished from that of the four barbarians since King Su. A large number of classics have distanced the heritage of the Xia people from those barbarians.
Especially the Luo family who had first-hand information about King Su, they knew how great King Su was and how profound his wisdom was.
As the carriers of his wisdom, the Chinese must always remain prosperous.
Therefore, these barbarians who represent another civilization must perish!
Ji Zhao cared very much about the development of Zhu Xia.
Not to mention his own simple feelings, the tangible benefits alone made him unable to give up. The crusades against the barbarians by the various states of the Xia Dynasty could bring him luck.
The more prosperous Zhuxia is, the faster his luck points will grow.
If Luo played a significant role in this, then the increase in luck points would be very considerable.
The king and minister, Lu Xiaobai and Guan Zhong, were deeply influenced by Luo.
Therefore, this major historical event of respecting the king and expelling the barbarians could enable Ji Zhao to gain a considerable amount of luck points.
The State of Qi and the State of Laiyi fought for a full three hundred years. In the early stage, the State of Laiyi suppressed the State of Qi, but later on, both sides won and lost alternately.
However, since Qi occupied an advantageous terrain, the outcome gradually fell into Qi's hands. Even though Lai Yi had some victories during the reign of Lu Wujiu, it did not affect the overall situation.
Now, after Guan Zhong's governance, Qi State has become stronger than ever before, and Laiyi State is unaware that they are in danger of destruction.
Faced with the fierce attack from Qi, which was an old rival, Laiyi responded quickly and assembled a large army to fight as usual.
Then, in the cool and crisp October, Laiyi suffered a great defeat!
Zhang Qi led the Qi army and defeated the Laiyi army who underestimated the enemy in a field battle. Due to the special terrain, the Laiyi people had nowhere to escape and the number of casualties reached nearly 30,000.
This was the greatest victory in many years. When the news spread back to the State of Qi, there was naturally a lot of excitement.
Guan Zhong and Zhang Qi witnessed the victory and said with a smile, "Mr. Zhang, the defeat of Laiyi must have been caused by their underestimation of our army. We should continue to attack and achieve our goal in one battle, without giving Laiyi any chance to adjust."
Guan Zhong was a man of both civil and military talents. His military strategy was actually quite good, but it could not be compared with his political strategy.
At least as professional generals, Zhang Qi and Guan Zhong had exactly the same predictions about the situation in Laiyi State.
Before the first battle was over, Zhang Qi discovered that Laiyi was completely unaware of the changes in Qi and was still looking at the Qi army with the past perspective, which was why they underestimated the enemy.
After hearing Guan Zhong's words, Zhang Qi immediately laughed and said, "What the Prime Minister said is absolutely right, I also think so.
This time, if the 100,000-strong army cannot win a quick victory, farming will probably be delayed.
Now we need to choose a suitable place, drive the soldiers of Laiyi Kingdom there, and then let them fight a tough battle with our army.
Our country's military strength is strong and cannot be compared with these Laiyi people.
If one more annihilation war is fought, the available troops in Laiyi Kingdom will certainly be greatly reduced.
Then we can directly attack their capital, and we won’t be afraid of siege warfare.”
After Guan Zhong and Zhang Qi decided on the strategy, they attacked decisively and began to gather the Laiyi army into small-scale battles.
After another half a month of trekking, they continued to advance eastward. This was another weakness of the Laiyi Kingdom.
In fact, they had been blocked on the peninsula by Qi, Ju and other Xia countries, with no way to escape. They could only escape this cage by defeating Qi.
Zhang Qi began to feed meat to his core soldiers and all the horses with good fodder, ready to engage in a second battle with the regrouped Laiyi defeated army.
On the banks of the Jiaoshui River, Zhang Qi finally met the regrouped Laiyi people and the troops that came to support them from the Laiyi Kingdom.
Most cities in this era were built along rivers.
Therefore, all the major battles were fought not far from water sources. After Zhang Qi defeated the Laiyi army, he captured five cities in a row and came here.
The season has gradually entered late autumn. The strong wind blows up the fallen grass leaves on the ground, and the air is filled with a solemn and murderous atmosphere.
Zhang Qi led the most elite 50,000 troops in the center of the army, and the two deputy commanders each led 20,000 troops to guard the left and right wings.
Guan Zhong looked at his troops in good order and asked calmly, "Mr. Zhang, are you sure of this battle?"
Zhang Qi bowed and said, "Prime Minister, you are a great scholar and have trained such a strong army for Qi.
If we still fail with this kind of military display, I will commit suicide right here and will not be able to face the king or you."
This was Zhang Qi's inner thoughts. He had been in Yan State for 30 years. When did he ever think that he would be able to lead such a powerful army?
If the State of Yan had such an army, what would the Shanrong and Donghu have to fear?
Zhang Qi expressed his determination to win.
Guan Zhong patted Zhang Qi's arm and said, "Mr. Zhang, the king only wants you to win, and my wife also hopes that you can return with news of victory."
The armor-wearing rate of the Qi army is much higher than it was five years ago.
Not only was this armor forged by Qi itself, but a lot of it was also purchased from Luo.
On the other hand, the technical level of the Laiyi people is completely incomparable to that of the Qi State.
It was bloody and barbaric, full of primitive flavor. If these barbarians were not brave and numerous, they would have been wiped out by the State of Qi long ago.
Zhang Qi stood on the chariot and began to encourage the soldiers to fight against the Yi people, which was completely different from the previous battle with the Qu State.
These barbarians do not abide by the Zhou rituals. They will not be pursued if they run more than fifty or one hundred steps. This is a real fight of life and death.
"The men of Qi are facing the Laiyi people.
These stray dogs were just defeated by you a few days ago, and now they are delusionally trying to continue fighting against our State of Qi.
I will ask you, are you afraid?"
"Victory to Qi!"
All the Qi soldiers shouted, victory is the best morale-boosting thing.
"Beat the drum! March!"
As Zhang Qi gave the order, the drummers began to beat the drums, and all the Qi soldiers began to advance forward according to the drumbeats.
Especially the shield soldiers in the front row, they bear the heavy burden of blocking the arrows for the soldiers behind them.
The clear blue sky, the gurgling stream, the rapid drum beats, the rumbling sound of chariots, and the crisp sound of metal clashing.
The fallen corpses and the bright red blood flowing on the ground formed a cruel picture.
Zhang Qi led the most elite Qi soldiers and rushed forward.
The combat effectiveness of these armored soldiers was completely on a different level from that of the peasant soldiers, and they directly broke through the Laiyi people's formation.
With such an army charging left and right, the entire Laiyi army, which was divided into several parts, soon lost the ability to receive accurate military orders and fell into a situation where they could not focus on one thing at a time.
After an hour of fierce fighting, the Laiyi people were already losing ground and the Qi offensive was becoming increasingly powerful.
Fortunately, the Laiyi people did not use slave soldiers this time, but used their own troops to fight. Otherwise, under such circumstances, the camp would have been blown up long ago.
But now it is only a matter of time. Zhang Qi has keenly realized that the Huaiyi people are about to collapse. Now as long as any gap can be opened, the entire Laiyi army will be shattered.
He climbed up to a high place, scanned the battlefield, and locked onto the eastward direction of the right wing.
The Laiyi people in that place believed that they were protected by the river, so their numbers were small, and they could form a breakthrough point for a fierce attack.
Opportunity is fleeting, once lost, it will never come back.
Zhang Qi immediately called people over and said, "I'll give you a thousand elite chariot soldiers. Charge straight ahead from that place with three chariots abreast.
There is no need to fight or stop, just use the power of chariots and horses to attack them!"
This strange tactic was indeed effective. The Laiyi people had never imagined that the State of Qi would abandon the combat effectiveness of the chariot soldiers and directly let the horses lead the chariots to charge.
This caused heavy casualties to the horses. In a short period of time, dozens of chariots were damaged and the wreckage fell into the water.
As for the horses, blood and flesh were flying everywhere. Some horses even ran directly onto the tips of the guns and died instantly.
But the effect was astonishing. The number of people in this corner of the Laiyi formation was originally relatively small, and now facing the desperate charge of Qi, they were simply unable to resist. Just one round of charge directly crushed these people into meat paste.
The changes on the battlefield were so fast that the Laiyi commander didn't even have time to react.
Zhang Qi followed up with his truly elite troops, which charged into their formation.
It was like a sharp knife, and it did not encounter any decent resistance at all. The leading general stood on the chariot and knocked down the banner with one blow.
The commander of the Laiyi people was about to run away when he was shot down by an arrow.
The arrow was so powerful and heavy, and at such a close distance, even if he didn't die, he would definitely feel uncomfortable.
The most important thing is that it doesn’t matter whether he lives or dies. On the battlefield, the banner and the flags of each camp are far more important than the commander.
When Zhang Qi saw that he had succeeded, he immediately shouted, "All troops, attack!"
The influence of the banner and the commander on the morale of the army is immeasurable.
Only a few armies with their own will, such as the brave warriors of Luo State, can continue to fight even if they lose both.
The Laiyi people, a mob with a low level of civilization, are naturally not included in this list.
As if the scene was replaying itself, the entire Laiyi people's formation was broken, and the situation that happened last month appeared in front of Zhang Qi again.
When all the troops were fleeing, those without armor ran the fastest, so the first thing they did when fleeing was to drop their armor, and then these people would become food for the archers.
Waves of arrows rained down on them, and chariots rolled over the corpses, crushing many people into meat paste.
It is extremely difficult to leave an intact body on the battlefield. It is impossible to tell who those human organs and limbs scattered on the ground belong to.
The final outcome was to burn all the corpses in order to prevent the plague.
"General, after this victory, I'm afraid the Laiyi Kingdom will really fight to the death."
Guan Zhong looked at the Qi soldiers who were chasing the Laiyi people and couldn't help but say to Zhang Qi.
Zhang Qi certainly knew that once this annihilation war was over, almost half of Laiyi Kingdom’s elite troops would be gone.
This is already a sign of the country's demise. Even if the Xia countries were to be destroyed, other princes would help to restore them. If the Laiyi Kingdom was destroyed, the other Yi tribes would be able to laugh out loud.
Therefore, King Laiyi would not sit still and wait for death. He would definitely mobilize people from various tribes to guard the capital.
But Zhang Qi remained unafraid, "Don't worry, Prime Minister Zhong.
The king's order to me is to destroy the Laiyi Kingdom, so he must be destroyed.
Even if King Lai Yi recruited all the men over the age of fifteen in the country, they would only be dead souls on the battlefield.
Be cautious and take steady steps, and you will win one victory after another."
Guan Zhong felt relieved when he saw that Zhang Qi did not become complacent because of the two great victories.
In this battle, the Qi army also suffered a lot of casualties. After all, this kind of annihilation war is completely different from a crushing war.
However, the battle damage was completely within Zhang Qi's acceptable range, and he should have rested in place at this time.
However, Zhang Qi thought that this place was surrounded by enemies and was not easy to defend, so the Qi army brought the wounded to a place that was easy to defend but difficult to attack and set up camp. Guan Zhong was very satisfied with Zhang Qi's move.
"The general is very cautious. The king has entrusted you with the right thing." For a big country, taking risks is the way to bring disaster.
Zhang Qi sighed, “The king has handed the nation’s best troops to me, so I can never be too cautious.
The decisive battle that will follow will certainly be very brutal. Prime Minister, you should stay in the center of the army at that time. I will leave soldiers behind to protect you.
If anything happens to you, even if you turn King Laiyi's bones into ashes, I will be blamed for it."
He did not lie at all. As long as Guan Zhong was there, even if Qi failed this time, it would still be able to make a comeback in five or ten years.
But if something went wrong with Guan Zhong, even if the war against Laiyi was won, it would be a loss.
Although Guan Zhong was proud of his bravery, he also knew that he was not a general and there was no need for him to charge into battle, so he accepted Zhang Qi's arrangement.
After the Qi army had rested, Zhang Qi led the army directly towards the capital of Laiyi State.
The Laiyi State no longer had the ability to disperse its forces to stop the Qi army. All the tribes fled with their tribes, fleeing towards the capital.
Finally, outside the city of Laiyang, the Qi army encountered the Laiyi army who were ready for battle.
Perhaps because they were on high alert, Zhang Qi was a little dumbfounded.
"Mr. Zhang, the number of the Laiyi Army is quite large. I'm afraid it's over 200,000, right?"
There were so many people that it was impossible to count them. Guan Zhong made a rough estimate based on the number of Laiyi army's tents.
When Zhang Qi saw that the Laiyi army was so large in number, he did not feel the slightest bit of fear, but instead became excited.
"Prime Minister, I never thought that King Laiyi would be so stupid. He actually dared to bring out 200,000 horses to fight against our army.
Prime Minister, you have ruled Qi for five years. Qi is a big country with a population of one million, and deploying an army of 100,000 is already the limit.
Not to mention the consumption of various food and fodder, this battle must be fought before the spring plowing, otherwise the farming season in the country will be delayed.
Big countries like Qi have such concerns, so wouldn’t backward barbarians like Laiyi have the same concerns?
This is unreasonable.
After the previous two battles, of the so-called 200,000-strong army, less than 20,000 were able to actually fight against our army.
Twenty thousand tigers and two hundred thousand pigs mixed together are like a drop of water merging into the ocean.
Even a tiger can be led astray by a pig.
As long as our army launches a fierce attack and uses its unstoppable force to break through the enemy's weak points, they will explode their camp!"
After hearing what Zhang Qi said, Guan Zhong looked at the camp of the Laiyi army again.
As expected, we discovered that although they had a large number of people, not only did they not have a neat military appearance, even their flags were different.
This is just a large mob that has just gathered together.
Faced with such an opponent, Zhang Qi was already a little impatient. He ordered the Qi army to rest and let the soldiers eat all the last greasy food.
This will be an extremely intense and bitter battle, and many Qi soldiers may die in an instant, but it will not be a tug-of-war, and victory will come soon.
“Boom boom boom!”
The war drums of Qi were beating, and the Laiyi army began to gather, but their speed was obviously much slower and a little chaotic.
The loss of generals in the previous two wars could not be replaced in a short period of time.
In the war against the barbarians, Zhang Qi would not talk to him about etiquette.
He simply beat the drum three times to order the soldiers to press forward, without using any fancy tactics that would only be used in a stalemate.
This time, in addition to the shield soldiers and archers in the front row, Zhang Qi directly placed Qi's 10,000 most elite soldiers at the forefront, and all these people gathered together. Zhang Qi was determined to break up the formation of the entire Laiyi army.
With such an arrangement, during the early stages of contact, in the absence of elite troops in other directions, the casualties of the Qi army would definitely be slightly greater. However, once the main attack direction is successful, the results of the war would be unimaginable.
A war to determine the ownership of the entire peninsula began, with soldiers from Qi and the Laiyi people fighting on this land.
After all, the Laiyi people had more people, so their morale was still very good. The Qi soldiers, who lacked a strong army, did suffer a lot of losses in the early stages.
However, Zhang Qi had anticipated that the alternating use of law enforcement officers and reserve troops in the army would allow Qi's front line to be maintained and not collapse.
But it is completely different for the Laiyi side. The elite among the ten thousand elites are an irresistible force in this world. The resources spent on these ten thousand people exceed that of the other ninety thousand troops.
Now is the time to show their worth.
Unless they encountered the elite troops of the Laiyi Kingdom, they would have been no match for them.
Whether it was the chariot soldiers or the other soldiers who cooperated with the chariots, they rushed forward with almost no pause, leaving behind a pile of corpses.
The power gap was so great that one side was a samurai who made a living by killing people, while the other side was just a farmer who worked the land.
The two actually met on a battlefield, the warrior holding a sword and wearing armor, and the farmer holding a rusty weapon and wrapped in linen.
Despair is a terrible emotion. When the Laiyi people found that they could not defeat these people at all and they even killed hundreds of them without any casualties, they collapsed directly.
The first person dropped the sword in his hand, and immediately there was a loud noise and everyone ran backwards.
The soldiers behind had no idea what was happening until they saw their own soldiers suddenly rushing towards them.
If the elite troops are not used, they will become invalid after expiration!
What's the point of keeping the elite troops once they are overwhelmed by the defeated soldiers? This is the current situation of Laiyi State.
Then we saw the chariots of Qi rolling over those people, and all the soldiers of Qi were like gods of war.
They tried to shoot arrows at these men, but they had bronze armor on their faces.
Except for the strong men with strong bows, no one else can break through the defense. How many strong bows do these barbarians have?
They finally understood why the soldiers ran.
The nobles of the Laiyi people wanted to restore order, but they were called out one by one by the archers on the chariots. These elite soldiers were modeled after the brave warriors of the Luo State, and they were all able to shoot strong bows.
Zhang Qi's tactics were very successful. The collapse of the army could only be prevented at the very beginning, and the speed of the collapse was beyond anyone's control.
How terrifying is the collapse of an army of 200,000?
Zhang Qi did not even dare to let the Qi army engage in a melee with the Laiyi people. He issued orders to all the armies to pursue the enemy only on the fringes and not to engage in a fight with the Laiyi people.
Because this kind of chaos is likely to involve the Qi army, and by then it would be too late to cry.
The Qi army intimidated the Laiyi people into running around in disorder, and countless people were trampled to death in the process.
There were ferocious Qi people in three directions, and all of them rushed towards the central army.
The elite troops in the central army wanted to resist, but as soon as they stabbed one person to death with their long spears, ten more people rushed over.
As the big banner fell to the ground, the casualties of the Laiyi people were difficult to estimate. The Qi soldiers no longer wanted to swing swords to kill these people because they could not even capture the nobles alone.
Especially since the royal city of Laiyi Kingdom is right in front of us, there are so many kings, queens, and nobles inside. Which one of them is not more important than these soldiers?
"Victory to Qi!"
The Qi army shouted and rushed into Laiyang city.
[The Laiyi Kingdom was destroyed, and the son of destiny, Luo Xiu, assisted Qi Hou Lu Xiaobai. The power of Zhuxia has made great progress, and you have gained luck points. ]
Ji Zhao felt the countless luck points surging in and narrowed his eyes slightly.
…
Qin was located in the west and annexed the Quanrong; Chu was located in Hanyang and annexed the Nanman; Wu and Yue were located in the Yangtze River and subdued the Shanyue; Qi was located in the East China Sea and destroyed the Laiyi; Jin was located in Taihang and eliminated the Beidi.
The Xia Dynasty prospered and the kingdom was established.
The war to annihilate a nation was written in one chapter. Wasn’t it a bit hasty?
You can leave a message. I am gradually learning to write about war scenes. If you want more details, I can expand on it later. However, the plot will definitely progress more slowly. Anyway, there are pros and cons.
The plot is advanced quickly because the main characters appear for too short a time in these chapters, and I don't really like this kind of reading.
But these are Guan Zhong and Xiao Bai. The whole book is about the Chinese people and the barbarians. If I skip these two great figures, I will become a joke.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
