Chapter 260: No Way Out
The flames in the Lower Round Valley were raging, and thick smoke could be seen billowing in the flames, which was particularly eye-catching under the night sky.
Song Zhen and the generals of King Qi's army stood on the watchtower of the siege camp, waving feather fans and looking at the red sky in the west.
Everyone was asleep when a raider woke the entire camp. By this time, they had just seen a fire in the lower valley, so they all went up to the watchtower to watch.
"Military Advisor, His Royal Highness has indeed burned the enemy's granary," a deputy general leaned on the railing and excitedly pointed in the direction of Yuangu. "The fire is really big."
Song Zhen just nodded slightly, without showing any joy like the people around him.
Why is the fire so big?
He had followed Xiao Zhuo in battle and had witnessed the burning of enemy military rations, but he had never seen such a large fire.
"Military Advisor, the damaged area in the northwest corner of the camp is too wide. It may take until morning to repair it."
A general's report interrupted his thoughts.
"What's going on?" Song Zhen turned around and looked at the sergeant. "You didn't catch the man who stormed the camp. Now I ask you to repair a breach, but it takes you a whole night?"
The reprimanded general rubbed the back of his head and said, "Military Advisor, there's no fence at all in the northwest corner. I suspect it was destroyed by Xiao Zhuo when he led the cavalry to charge the camp. The deputy general in charge of building the camp was lazy and never repaired it, so that person took advantage of it."
Song Zhen said, "After Xiao Zhuochong arrived at the camp, His Royal Highness ordered that the parapet be reinforced. I will go and see for myself."
Back in Xiayuan Valley, the Prince of Qi and his son had successfully burned the military rations. Without their provisions, Xiao Zhuo's army would be in chaos within two or three days, and even gods wouldn't be able to save them. He didn't need to worry about this matter anymore and would just wait for the Prince of Qi and his son to return at dawn to hold a celebration banquet.
The most important thing now was to quickly repair the breach in the camp. It was late at night, and with no moonlight, a surprise attack by the enemy would be disastrous.
Song Zhen and a group of generals went down from the watchtower and walked towards the northwest corner of the camp.
"His Royal Highness has ordered me to guard the main camp. I cannot be careless," Song Zhen said to the general beside him as they walked. "If the generals who are building the camp fence are lazy, they must be punished according to military law."
Everyone echoed, "Don't worry, Military Advisor. The responsible lieutenant and the soldiers who patrolled that night have been detained and are awaiting your interrogation."
Arriving at the northwest corner of the camp, in the light of the campfire, the soldiers were carrying and sawing, people coming and going, very busy.
"It really hasn't been repaired," Song Zhen angrily pointed at the empty gap with his feather fan, "Where's the person in charge here? And the soldiers patrolling nearby, bring them over immediately."
The other generals did not dare to delay and immediately brought the relevant people to Song Zhen.
Song Zhen asked, "You cunning and lazy people, what else do you have to say?"
A general at the front of the crowd cried out in grievance: "Military Advisor, I swear to heaven that the barracks here are definitely complete!"
"You still dare to quibble," Song Zhen raised his feather fan and pointed at the gap, "Where is the wall?"
"The wall... I don't know either," the general said with a sad face, "it disappeared inexplicably."
The soldiers around the general all nodded. "Military Advisor, what the general said is true. The parapet here was fine, but when that person rushed over, it inexplicably disappeared. By the time we reacted, he had already rushed through the camp."
Song Zhen became increasingly angry: "How dare you lie together? Do you think military law is a joke?"
These generals and soldiers are all under Xiao Beiheng's command. Could it be that they think he is a surrendered general, and are trying to please him on the surface, but actually look down on him in their hearts, and want to put on a show for him?
Then don't blame him for killing the chicken to scare the monkeys.
When the general heard Song Zhen mention military law, he stood up and walked quickly to the gap. He patted his chest and shouted, "This general has followed His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for many years, and I was responsible for building the camp. Although my position is low, I have made no contributions, but I have worked hard. Even if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince came in person, I would not dare to say anything about this matter today..."
As he was shouting, there was a whoosh sound in the darkness and a feather arrow pierced his shoulder.
The general yelled and just as he turned to look at the darkness outside the camp, dozens of arrows flew towards him, shooting him from head to toe into a target, and he fell straight to the ground.
"Enemy attack!" Some people drew their swords from their waists, some raised their shields to protect Song Zhen, and some pulled Song Zhen back, "Military Advisor, hurry up."
Song Zhen was horrified and retreated while raising his fan and shouting, "Hurry up and meet the enemy, hurry up and meet the enemy."
He was extremely upset. Such a small flaw was immediately caught by Xiao Zhuo.
There were more than a thousand soldiers of the King of Qi present. They were all carrying wood and sawing boards. Many of them dropped the wood on their shoulders. Countless arrows flew in the darkness and shot down nearly a hundred people on the spot.
The cries of killing rang out everywhere, and the soldiers of Xiao Zhuo's army rushed out from the darkness, pouring into the camp of King Qi's army through the gap like a tide, killing anyone they saw.
"Don't panic!" a Qi Wang army general shouted, "The enemy troops are all new recruits, they can't defeat us. Dingbei troops, follow me and charge."
The Dingbei Army was the elite force under the command of the King of Qi, and despite being attacked unexpectedly, they did not panic. Under the command of their general, the Dingbei Army soldiers who came from all over the camp to support them formed a battle formation and fought alongside Xiao Zhuo's army.
…
"Shoot!"
Following Qiu Liming's loud shout, a thousand crossbows fired arrows at the same time, shooting the cavalry of King Qi's army that had rushed to the valley entrance to the ground, leaving no one alive.
"King Qi!" A dusty general rushed up to Xiao Ming and Xiao Beiheng, "There's a repeating crossbow at the entrance of the valley!"
"Crossbow!" Xiao Ming and Xiao Beiheng exclaimed at the same time.
When the fire broke out, the entire army evacuated to the valley entrance, but they did not expect that there were crossbows waiting at the valley entrance.
They had heard of the reputation of the Crossbow before, and they had personally suffered from its effects in this battle. They knew very well that the Crossbow was guarding the entrance of the valley and it was impossible for them to break out.
"Xiao Zhuo is such a cruel person. He would rather burn his own food than kill me."
Xiao Ming gritted his teeth and looked around.
Fires were burning everywhere in the valley. The flames were dazzling, the air was filled with thick smoke, and the air was so hot that it stung the skin. The burning soldiers and horses were running around like headless flies.
The only place without fire was the road leading into the valley. Nearly a thousand cavalrymen, nearly all of them with burns, were crammed along this road, caught in a dilemma. If they advanced, they faced the deadly crossbows guarding the valley entrance. If they retreated, the fire would intensify. Even if they didn't die from the flames, they would likely be choked to death by the thick smoke.
Some generals refused to believe it and led more than a hundred cavalrymen to charge forward, but still no one escaped.
Xiao Beiheng had personally experienced the power of the repeating crossbow, and now seeing that none of the people who rushed forward survived, he was terrified and turned over and ran back.
"Beiheng, wait!" Xiao Ming caught up with Xiao Beiheng, tore off a piece of his battle robe, poured the water from the water bag at his waist onto the cloth, and handed it to Xiao Beiheng, "Cover your mouth and nose quickly, don't inhale the smoke."
Xiao Beiheng grabbed the wet cloth to cover his mouth and nose, and without paying any attention to Xiao Ming, he ran back on his own.
Xiao Ming tore off another piece of his battle robe, poured water on it to cover his mouth and nose, and said to the soldiers, "Hurry up and cover your mouth and nose with wet cloth." After that, he chased after Xiao Beiheng.
The soldiers were deeply moved to see that King Qi still thought of them in such a dangerous time, and followed Xiao Ming.
Xiao Beiheng rushed into the valley until a wall of fire blocked his path. The thick smoke stung his eyes, bringing tears to his eyes. He forced himself to open his eyes and look around, only to find himself in a massive furnace. Everywhere he looked was ablaze, and even the Yanque sword at his waist began to burn.
There is a wall of fire in front and crossbows behind. There is no way to go up to the sky and no door to enter the earth.
He turned back in despair, knelt on the ground, and cried to Xiao Ming who came over: "Dad, we are finished, we are finished."
Xiao Ming had also seen the fire around him and knew that his father and son would die at this moment.
He was going to die anyway, so he simply threw away the wet cloth, hugged Xiao Beiheng and cried, "My father and I will die today."
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