World Shock 168. Final Battle
Outside Hongzhou City, the sound of killing was still deafening. But no one in the city was frightened by this. Ye Li was sitting in a deserted teahouse, drinking tea. She could see the soldiers on the tower not far away trying to defend the city through the open window. Zhuo Jing, Lin Han and others stood beside her in silence, looking at the tower in the distance. Qin Feng, who usually followed her closely, was nowhere to be seen. Mo Hua, who was responsible for protecting Ye Li, looked at the people in front of him in silence with some entanglement.
"Princess, I'm afraid the situation in the north of the city can no longer be sustained." Wei Rui came hurriedly and said respectfully. Ye Li lowered her head and thought for a moment and asked, "Is everything ready?" Lin Han nodded and said, "Princess, please rest assured, everything is ready. Please get up and leave Hongzhou as soon as possible." Ye Li said lightly, "Since it has been arranged, there is no need to worry. Zhuo Jing, what are your results?" Zhuo Jing said in a deep voice, "Although the time is too short, those who remain in the city are the elites of the Mohist Army. It is quite effective. Please rest assured, princess." The word "elite" made Ye Li's face change slightly. After a long time, she sighed and said, "Yes... They are all the elites of the Mohist Army..." Lin Han looked at her and said, "If the Xiling army is allowed to cross Hongzhou City, the Mohist Army left behind in the northwest will have to commit suicide to atone for their crimes. So... princess, don't feel guilty." Ye Li pulled the corners of her lips and smiled bitterly. No matter how high-sounding the reasons are, they cannot cover up the fact that she lacks the ability to lead a commander. If there were another general who was on par with the King of Zhennan or the King of Zhennan himself who was in her position, they would definitely not use her current style of fighting - killing one thousand enemies and losing eight hundred of their own. This is also because of the shortcomings and defects of the Mohist Army. There may be candidates in the army who are more suitable than her to lead the Mohist Army, but... the generals under her may not obey these people. The tradition of being loyal only to the King Ding has created the current situation of the Mohist Army. There are many ordinary generals who are good at fighting, but it is difficult to find a general who can truly become the commander of an army. This is also the reason why the royal family is jealous of the Mohist Army. In a country, the most valiant and capable troops are not the imperial army but the private army of a certain family...
After drinking the last sip of water in the cup, Ye Li stood up and took one last look at the flag of the Mohist Army flying high on the tower, and said, "Let's go."
At noon on October 16, after two days and two nights of uninterrupted attacks, Hongzhou City was captured.
This time, after breaking through Hongzhou City, the Xiling Army did not rush in like they did last time in Xinyang. Instead, they sent a small number of soldiers to explore the city first, obviously fearing that the Chu would repeat the same trick. The number of soldiers killed in the battle of Xinyang was far less than the number of soldiers burned to death or suffocated in the fire. The soldiers who explored the city first were teams of soldiers walking through every street in the city, and soon found that the streets in the city were all empty, not to mention the Mohist Army, even ordinary people were not there. After carefully checking the city and finding that there was indeed no problem, they sent people out of the city to report.
Outside the city, King Zhennan frowned as he listened to the soldier's report, "There's no one in the city?"
The soldier who reported back replied, "Your Highness, there is no one. Moreover, most of the buildings in Hongzhou City are made of stone, so it is difficult to catch fire. It is unlikely that the people of Dongchu will use the same trick again." The King of Zhennan still had a frown on his face. He was of course happy to have conquered Hongzhou City, but the situation in front of him was obviously abnormal. After the city was conquered, even if the original army evacuated in a hurry, there would always be a few remnants who did not have time to evacuate. However, the situation in front of him explained one thing. The other party had intended to evacuate a long time ago. Compared with the fierce resistance that seemed to be endless in the past few days, the empty city in front of him seemed even more weird. Ye Li...what are you planning?
"Prince, should we enter the city first?" asked the general beside him. After finally conquering Hongzhou City, the prince stood in front of the city gate in a daze, which puzzled the generals and soldiers.
After a moment of silence, King Zhennan said in a deep voice: "Go through Hongzhou immediately to chase the remnants of the Mohist army. Do not stay in Hongzhou City!"
"This... Your Majesty, the reinforcements and food will take at least ten days to arrive. Once we enter the pass, if something unexpected happens..." The general in front of him advised carefully. The army goes out, and food goes first. He didn't say that they only have a mere 100,000 soldiers and horses now, and they may not be enough to fill the teeth of the Chu garrison after entering the pass. Their food can only support them for half a month at most. If they are too far away from the army that transports food, if the food cannot be delivered in time... The 100,000-man army will starve to death without the enemy.
King Zhennan frowned and said in a deep voice: "Enter the city!"
Soon, the army poured in from the city gate. King Zhennan was outside the city, staring at the towering tower in front of him, and he always felt that something was wrong. The soldiers around him didn't dare to say anything because the king was in a bad mood. Seeing that most of the troops had already entered, there was a sudden noise in the city. King Zhennan's heart sank, and he shouted: "No! Leave Hongzhou immediately!"
But... it was obviously too late. After a few loud noises, smoke and dust rolled out of the city gate. When I could see clearly, I saw that the originally open city gate had disappeared, and what I saw was the rubble and mud that slowly blocked the entrance of the city gate. The entire two-person-high city gate was left with only a gap less than half a person's height at the top. Looking at the top of the city tower, half of which had collapsed, it was obvious that someone had tampered with the tower earlier.
"Prince?!" The generals beside him were pale. Nearly 70,000 soldiers had entered the city, and now there were less than 30,000 soldiers left. How did everything happen? As if to prove the saying, good fortune never comes alone, and misfortune never comes alone. Just as the city heard the deafening sound of killing, several black whirlwinds rushed out from the southwest and northwest, sweeping towards the Xiling soldiers who were changing their positions in front of the city gate.
At this time, the city was already a river of blood. The buildings of the entire Hongzhou were piled up with stones, forming deep and shallow alleys. After the sudden appearance of several Mohist army troops on the main street, countless black-clad soldiers holding bows and arrows suddenly appeared on the roofs on both sides of the street. No one could fail to recognize that they were the most elite Black Cloud Cavalry of the Mohist Army. Legend has it that every soldier of the Black Cloud Cavalry is a master archer selected from a hundred. The rain of arrows poured mercilessly towards the Xiling soldiers on the street. This was not a battle, it could almost be regarded as a one-sided massacre. The Black Cloud Cavalry was in a high position and took the initiative. It was obvious that their archery skills were generally better than those of the Xiling soldiers. The Xiling soldiers had no chance to fight back and were forced into the narrow and deep alleys. However, what awaited them was not a good fate. They were either shot through the chest by arrows shot from the roof or had their throats cut by people who appeared out of nowhere. The originally empty Hongzhou City instantly turned into a hell on earth.
Outside the city, the face of the King of Zhennan turned pale. Now that things have come to this, he finally figured out what he had been thinking was wrong. They thought they were chasing the Mohist army and retreating to Hongzhou, but who could tell him where the cavalry behind them came from? Ye Li had hidden a cavalry of nearly 30,000 behind them without anyone noticing. And the people who were overwhelmed by victory these days never thought about how powerful the Mohist army, which was once known as the leader of all countries, was.
Among the countless black whirlwinds, the red figure in the front was particularly conspicuous. Feng Zhiyao sat on a sharp horse, like a red whirlwind sweeping past, and all the Xiling soldiers avoided his sharp edge wherever he went. His handsome face was full of recklessness and joy. After enduring for so many days, he could finally have a good fight. He was not as good as the King of Zhennan in terms of marching and deployment, and he was not as good as the King of Zhennan in terms of military experience, but what did it matter? 30,000 cavalry against 30,000 infantry, there was no need for military tactics or strategies in this flat land, and it did not prevent him from suppressing the Xiling people and beating them hard. With a joyful look, he stabbed several Xiling soldiers in the throat with his spear. Feng Zhiyao rode past the Zhennan King's army and smiled from a distance, "Your Highness, the King of Zhennan, our princess will ask about your well-being in the next generation."
The greeting at this time was definitely a mockery. The face of the King of Zhennan turned livid, and he sneered, "Princess Ding is very calculating. But... I want to know how Princess Ding will defend Hongzhou after burning Xinyang and destroying the city tower of Hongzhou when my reinforcements arrive?" Feng Zhiyao laughed loudly, "Thank you for your worry, but our princess also said that all the soldiers from Xiling who enter the northwest will be killed without a single one left alive!" The King of Zhennan snorted lightly, "What a big tone! My army of only 200,000 is already overwhelmed, yet you dare to make such a boast. Even though my army has suffered heavy casualties, the Mohist army is not much better." Feng Zhiyao raised his eyebrows and smiled, "Does your Majesty think that the Mohist army is afraid of you Xiling people? The princess is only concerned about His Royal Highness the King of Zhennan. The 300,000 reinforcements do not have the King of Zhennan in charge. Whether they can come to Hongzhou is still a matter of time."
King Zhennan's face changed slightly, but he still managed to remain calm. But his heart was already in turmoil, he had lost this battle. Even though he hadn't seen the final solution, King Zhennan still understood that he had been a successful warrior for half his life, but he lost to Mo Liufang in the first half, but he didn't expect to lose to a woman in the second half! Even though he had seen the outcome, he couldn't accept it. After several confrontations, he knew that Ye Li was not a world-famous general. It was because of this that he couldn't understand how the solution in front of him came about.
"Send a message to the Golden Guards to capture Ye Li at any cost!" After a long while, King Zhennan said with a sly look as he watched the red-clothed figure walking away with a long laugh.
"My Lord, here now..."
"Kill!"
"The reason why the King of Zhennan was fooled is because he underestimated me." In the small valley about ten miles from Hongzhou City, Ye Li listened to the sound of fighting that had not stopped in the direction of Hongzhou. She said to Zhuo Jing and others who were puzzled, "If it was Xiu Yao who was fighting against him, he would never be fooled like this." Zhuo Jing said, "The princess is... If If the prince acts like this, the king of Zhennan will only think it is a fraud, but he will not do that if it is the princess?" Ye Li smiled and said, "No matter how careful the king of Zhennan thinks he is, but... men are naturally contemptuous of women. At most, he is less than others." Wei Wei smiled and said, "I believe that after this time, the king of Zhennan will never look down on the princess again."
"Princess...after the war outside the city is over, will you go into the city to support our brothers inside?" Lin Han asked.
Ye Li was silent for a long time, and finally spoke: "No, they have to support Nan Hou immediately." Everyone was silent. There were 70,000 Xiling troops in the city, but only more than 10,000 Mo family troops were left. It was hard to say how many of them would be able to come out in the end. And the 30,000 Black Cloud Cavalry hidden outside the city, after destroying the 30,000 Xiling soldiers under them, had to go to the border without stopping to support Nan Hou. Nan Hou and Nan Hou's son, Yun Ting and a few other young generals only had 30,000 troops to intercept the 300,000 troops of Xiling reinforcements, and it was hard to say how many of them would come back. It was not that the princess was cruel, everyone understood that they did not have that many troops, and the princess had made the best arrangements.
"Princess, it's time to set off. We can reach a small town to rest tonight." Ye Li looked back at the city in the distance and nodded silently.
"Your Highness, there is a large number of soldiers heading towards Hongzhou." The secret guard who was exploring the way ahead hurried back to report.
Ye Li was startled, and frowned slightly and asked, "Who are they?" The secret guard said, "They are from the local garrison near Hongzhou."
"Why are they here now?" She knew that the generals of the nearby garrisons had written to the emperor to support Hongzhou. But these generals were loyal to Mo Jingqi. She had sent people to ask for troops, but without Mo Jingqi's will, these generals were unwilling or afraid to lend her troops. They just promised to submit a memorial to the capital to request troops. Ye Li also understood Mo Jingqi's mentality, so she naturally didn't have any hope for this promise.
"Could it be the troops coming to support Hongzhou?" Lin Han asked.
Zhuo Jing said coldly: "The timing is too good. Princess, I will go and take a look." Ye Li frowned and said: "Go ahead, be careful."
Zhuo Jing was trained by Ye Li himself, and he was very efficient. He came back in less than an hour, but his face was very ugly. Looking at Ye Li, Zhuo Jing said, "Princess, they are not here to help." Everyone was stunned, and Mo Hua said coldly, "Could it be that they are here to help the people of Xiling?" Zhuo Jing shook his head and said, "They set up camp more than ten miles away, and I went in and eavesdropped on their conversation. His plan is to stand by and watch. If we win, they will take advantage of us before we have time to rest. If Xiling wins, they will act according to the situation and retreat to their base. It would be better if both sides lose, and they will just take advantage of it."
"What is that person in the palace thinking? Doesn't he want Hongzhou anymore?" Lin Han said in astonishment.
Ye Li sneered and said, "He had already given the three northwestern states to Xiling. Whether he wins or loses this battle, the northwest will not belong to him, so it naturally has nothing to do with the itching."
"What a lunatic!" After a long while, Wei Rui finally uttered a word. How important the northwest is to Da Chu, even someone like him who has no interest in military affairs knows. In order to deal with the Dingguo Palace, Mo Jingqi even gave up the northwest...
"Also..." Zhuo Jing said with a sullen face, "The troops stationed in nearby places have received the emperor's secret order to take the opportunity to destroy all the Mohist troops in the northwest. The most important thing is... to capture the princess, regardless of life or death!"