Chapter 262 Thousand Bells Ringing
King Xiao Ming of Qi strode back to the tent, took off his helmet with both hands and placed it on the rack.
Even when he is angry, he will not lose his temper easily.
"Father, listen to me," Xiao Beiheng followed him into the tent, his armor askew and loose, his hair loose, "I was careless in this battle, forgetting that Xiao Zhuo had a repeating crossbow. We will surely win if we fight again tomorrow."
Xiao Ming snorted through his nose and did not comment.
After the battle, his infantry suffered over 2,000 casualties, which was considered good compared to Xiao Zhuo's. Xiao Zhuo's infantry was weak, with casualties reaching 4,000. However, the cavalry suffered heavy losses, with nearly 3,000 of the 10,000 cavalry killed or wounded by crossbow fire. If he hadn't immediately sent reinforcements to repel Xiao Zhuo's cavalry, Xiao Zhuo would have surrounded and killed the remaining Dingbei cavalry.
Xiao Beiheng was lucky enough to hide behind a dead horse without getting hurt and hold on until reinforcements arrived.
After taking all the factors into consideration, I found that I was the one who suffered the loss.
He originally wanted to scold Xiao Beiheng, but when he remembered that it was he who gave the order and agreed to his attack, he had to suppress his anger.
"I've heard about the power of Xiao Zhuo's repeating crossbow since I was in Beidi," he said as he sat down. "I only realized today how powerful it is after seeing it. Was it made by Duke Shen's granddaughter?"
"That's Shen Yuexi." Xiao Beiheng also sat down and waved for the servants to quickly serve tea. "I copied it from a book called Tiangong Wuyu."
Xiao Ming was somewhat emotional and said, "I never thought that a mere woman could actually create weapons for battle. Since ancient times, women have never been allowed to intervene in military conflicts. Yet, she can actually help Xiao Zhuo."
"Father, that repeating crossbow is nothing serious," Xiao Beiheng said, feeling a little unhappy when he saw Xiao Ming praising Shen Yuexi. "Our army has large shields that are shoulder-high, specially designed to protect against crossbows. If we fight again in the future with large shields in front, the repeating crossbows will be useless."
As the father and son were talking, the servants brought hot tea. Xiao Ming picked up a cup of tea and said:
"You know the weakness of the repeating crossbow, so how could Xiao Zhuo not know it? He used the repeating crossbow to catch us off guard this time, so he must have expected that we would have a countermeasure and would not use it again in the next battle."
"Without the crossbows, those new recruits can't stand up to me," Xiao Beiheng finished his tea and put down the teacup. "When I lead the army into battle again in the future, I will definitely return the shame of defeat to him."
Xiao Ming took a sip of tea and said, "Yes, but Xiao Zhuo is very cunning. You should not be impatient or too eager for success."
Xiao Beiheng stood up and said, "Father, please rest assured. I will definitely defeat Xiao Zhuo."
After bidding farewell to Xiao Ming, Xiao Beiheng left the tent, climbed up the watchtower, and looked at Xiao Zhuo's camp opposite.
As dusk fell, the wind carried faint sounds of laughter from the camp opposite. Xiao Beiheng tightly gripped the hilt of the Yanque Sword at his waist and said bitterly, "I'll let you be proud for a while."
There was a great deal of jubilation in Xiao Zhuo's camp. From generals to soldiers, everyone was drinking wine and eating meat in large quantities, celebrating with abandon.
Things are different now than in the past. Not only does Xiao Zhuo's army have continuous food supplies from Xiliang, but they can also get beef and mutton from the Xirong settlement at Langya Pass to reward themselves, so they can eat and drink to their heart's content.
Inside the big tent, the generals were toasting each other, playing rock-paper-scissors and making calls, and the atmosphere was lively and lively.
Shen Yuexi pushed the wine bowl from Xiao Zhuo's hand and said, "Husband, please don't drink yet. Tell me how we won."
She didn't understand it until the end of the battle. She only knew that Xiao Zhuo's side was defeated at the beginning, and then suddenly won.
"Do you really want to hear it?" Xiao Zhuo put down his wine bowl and asked.
Shen Yuexi said: "I don't know how to fight, so I don't understand what happened at all. Of course I'm confused if you don't explain."
"These soldiers were primarily recruited from Xiliang. Up to now, they haven't received adequate training and are unable to confront the Qi King's army. I tell you, as long as your infantry can hold out for a cup of tea and then retreat, it won't count as desertion."
Shen Yuexi was stunned when she heard this: "There is such an arrangement."
She had also seen Xiao Zhuo fight, but she didn't expect that he had such a tactic, telling everyone in advance that they could escape.
"When Xiao Beiheng saw my infantry retreating, he became impatient and decided to pursue. I ordered the crossbows, which had been deployed long ago, to meet their attacks head-on. Taking advantage of their panic, I used my cavalry to encircle them from both sides," Xiao Zhuo picked up his wine bowl again. "However, the King of Qi's military prowess was truly remarkable, and we were unable to destroy Xiao Beiheng's cavalry."
Before Shen Yuexi could ask, Xiao Zhuo raised his wine bowl and said to the generals, "Gentlemen, today's victory over the Qi Wang army is enough to prove that your might is not inferior to the Qi Wang army."
The generals raised their wine bowls and said to Xiao Zhuo, "Prince Zhao is a master of strategy, unmatched by any general since ancient times."
Since they had followed Xiao Zhuo here, everyone, from generals to soldiers, had been nervous, worried that they would be no match for the battle-hardened Qi army. After this battle, the morale of the three armies was greatly boosted, and they all gained confidence in their ability to defeat the enemy.
"Everyone's eyes are shining," Xiao Zhuo turned and smiled at Shen Yuexi, "This is a sign of great victory."
Shen Yuexi advised with some concern: "Husband, please stop drinking. What if the enemy comes to steal the camp at night?"
Xiao Zhuo said, "Yuexi, if we were always worried about the camp being stolen like you, we wouldn't dare to sleep every night. It wouldn't be long before we would collapse first."
Seeing that Xiao Zhuo was confident, Shen Yuexi felt relieved.
A night passed and everything was indeed safe and sound.
The next morning, Xiao Zhuo, unusually, stayed in bed, sound asleep. Shen Yuexi had already washed and dressed, and even prepared the meal, but he was still sound asleep.
Shen Yuexi thought it might be due to drinking with the generals last night, so she didn't go to call him and left the food on the stove to heat it up.
After the battle, they had confiscated a vast amount of weapons. She planned to make a prosthetic arm for her sister, Chen Lan. However, Chen Lan was a woman with limited strength, so she had to ask Da Xiong to make a lightweight one.
Just as I was discussing the manufacturing plan with Daxiong in my mind, Qiu Liming came to find me.
"Madam, is the lord still awake?"
Last night, Xiao Zhuo had given him the responsibility of the roll call. After he had finished handling the matter, Xiao Beiheng led his troops to challenge him, and they were arrayed outside the camp, shouting and cursing. He was unsure whether he should accept the challenge, so he came to ask Xiao Zhuo.
"Uh, not yet." Shen Yuexi stood up and said, "I'll go call him."
"Don't shout," Xiao Zhuo's lazy voice sounded in the back tent, "General Qiu, what weapons did the enemy bring?"
"Ten thousand infantrymen, with large shields in their left hands and swords in their right hands. Three thousand archers will support the formation."
"Hold the exemption sign."
Qiu Liming received the order and left.
Shen Yuexi was worried and went to the back tent to see Xiao Zhuo: "Husband, Xiao Beiheng is yelling and cursing outside, are we really not going to fight him?"
"I won't fight," Xiao Zhuo said, lying on the bed with his eyes closed. "They are carrying heavy shields, specially prepared to defend against crossbows. How can I fulfill their wish?"
Xiao Beiheng formed a battle array outside Xiao Zhuo's main camp and selected fifty soldiers with loud, high-pitched voices to lash out at him, hoping to get Xiao Zhuo to accept a challenge. From morning to noon, the soldiers' voices were hoarse. Xiao Zhuo's main camp simply hung a banner refusing to fight, and not a single soldier emerged.
He wanted to continue, but everyone looked hungry, so he had to retreat and go back to eat.
The big shield was made of metal and was extremely heavy, weighing a full fifty kilograms, plus dozens of kilograms of armor. He brought it out of the camp and walked such a long way, but did nothing with it and then took it back.
After lunch, Xiao Beiheng got anxious and brought out his old soldiers again. He replaced them with a new group of soldiers with loud voices and high pitches. They started cursing in the afternoon and continued to curse until dark. Their voices were hoarse, but Xiao Zhuo's camp still ignored them.
A trusted general advised Xiao Beiheng:
"Your Highness, Xiao Zhuo is teasing us. The soldiers carried their large shields back and forth four times, and they were quite complaining."
Xiao Beiheng was furious and wanted to attack Xiao Zhuo's main camp directly, but the soldiers were armed with large shields and swords, neither of which was suitable for attacking. He had no choice but to order the troops to return to the camp.
The soldiers had been standing there for a day, their morale low. When they heard the military order, as if they had received a general amnesty, they all dragged their shields and walked back. At this time, the gate of Xiao Zhuo's camp suddenly opened, and a cavalry rushed out, brandishing hammers and charging.
Xiao Beiheng's soldiers were exhausted, and the archers, unable to distinguish friend from foe in the darkness, dared not release their arrows. Xiao Zhuo's cavalry, having been resting all day and gathering their strength, were in high spirits. They charged unhindered into the crowd, hammering away with their hammers.
For a moment, it seemed as if there were countless monks ringing bells on the battlefield, and the sound of clanging was endless.
While large shields were good for defending against bows and crossbows, they were no match for hammer blows. Xiao Zhuo's cavalry, using the momentum of their horses, struck down with hammers that rang like a bell, denting the shields and sending the men behind them reeling and dizzy, unable to swing their swords.
After two rounds of attacks, Xiao Beiheng's army had suffered nearly a thousand casualties.
The Qi army was no idiots either. Seeing that their large shields couldn't stop the hammers, and that their movements were slow, they threw away their large shields without waiting for Xiao Beiheng's orders, regrouped, and charged towards Xiao Zhuo's cavalry.
What they didn't expect was that when Xiao Zhuo's cavalry saw them put down their shields, they turned around and ran without hesitation.
Xiao Beiheng waited for a whole day in vain, and just as he was about to withdraw his troops, he was hit head-on. He was so angry that he ordered his soldiers to pursue.
The soldiers raised their swords and rushed towards Xiao Zhuo's camp shouting, but two legs could not catch up with four legs. They watched helplessly as Xiao Zhuo's cavalry split into two groups and ran away around the camp.
The camp gate opened again, and this time Xiao Zhuofang took out a repeating crossbow.
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