The next day, early in the morning.
"All the wounded will be returned to Qin, and the remains of the fallen brothers will be properly taken back and settled. The matter of compensation will be handled after this general returns in triumph."
"Send word: march on Anyi!"
With the wicked man issuing several orders, approximately 90,000 troops headed straight for Anyi, while several thousand soldiers escorted the wounded and the remains of fallen soldiers, running in the opposite direction from the main army and returning to Qin.
"Brothers, speed things up, let's make sure we have dinner in Anyi tonight!"
The army surged forward like a tidal wave, its iron hooves shattering the tranquility of the morning.
The flags fluttered in the wind, and the soldiers, having rested overnight, were full of energy and high morale.
At noon, the army arrived at the city of Anyi.
The city wall was crowded with people. After receiving news of the Qin army's attack, they hurriedly began to set up defenses. Even now, their commander-in-chief, Ke Lan, has not appeared.
General's Mansion.
"General, the Qin army is attacking and has already reached the city gates..." a soldier rushed in to report, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
The soldier glanced at the singing and dancing in the hall, his heart filled with disdain. The enemy army was at the city gates, yet the commander-in-chief, Ke Lan, was still indulging in pleasure?
"What?!"
Upon hearing this, Ke Lan's somewhat dazed eyes instantly cleared, and her face visibly panicked. "The Qin army is here? How many are they, and from whom?"
The soldier shook his head. "I don't know where they came from, but their numbers are estimated to be at least 100,000. As for whether they have set up an ambush, I have no idea."
Ke Lan threw down his wine cup, stood up and shouted, "Everyone, come with me quickly to take a look."
The generals present were so drunk that they barely managed to get up and follow Ke Lan to the city wall. They walked unsteadily, staggering from side to side, and the soldiers' eyes flashed with despair.
Could these good-for-nothings really stop the Qin army from advancing?
Outside the city.
The wicked man gave the Wei soldiers no chance to prepare and launched an attack directly, still using the previous strategy: a large army to hold the line, with the Black Dragon Armored Army taking the lead in scaling the city walls.
Li Balang is now highly regarded by the wicked husband, who has handed over command of the army to him, while he himself follows the Black Dragon Armored Army straight to the city wall.
"Order the archers to fire volleys to suppress the Wei soldiers and buy the general time to get to the wall."
Li Balang was indeed quite capable. In order to prevent the Wei soldiers from blocking the Black Dragon Armored Army's path with arrows, he ordered a fire suppression operation in advance, which made the evil man look at him with some new respect.
"Swish, swish, swish..."
A hail of arrows rained down instantly, suppressing the Wei soldiers on the city wall so they dared not show their faces.
Taking advantage of this brief respite, the wicked man led the soldiers of the Black Dragon Armored Army straight to the foot of the city wall, arriving at the base of the wall in just a few dozen breaths.
The ladder was erected and the ascent to the city wall was completed in one smooth motion, without the need for the wicked husband to give any orders.
Seeing this, Li Balang hurriedly ordered, "Immediately advance two hundred paces!"
Upon receiving the order, the Qin soldiers moved into action, with archers firing in alternating bursts, and quickly advanced two hundred paces.
At this moment, they were exactly two hundred paces away from Anyi City!
"Change scattering to aiming, and under no circumstances should the general or the brothers of the Black Dragon Armored Army be injured!" Li Ba changed the battle order, and the rain of arrows stopped instantly.
"Huff...huff..."
The flag bearer waved the flag wildly, signaling to the wicked man that the siege could begin.
"superior!"
The moment the wicked man saw the command flag, he was the first to leap up the cloud ladder. His movements were as agile as a monkey's, and he reached the top of the cloud ladder in just a few breaths.
"Stop the arrows!"
Li Balang's attention was entirely focused on the city wall. Seeing that the wicked man had reached the top, he immediately ordered the archers to stop.
Immediately afterwards, a steady stream of Black Dragon Armored Soldiers climbed the city wall and firmly occupied a spot on it, like a nail.
With their commander absent, the Wei soldiers were leaderless and disorganized, unable to launch a chaotic attack on the Black Dragon Armored Army. They posed no threat whatsoever and were instead driven into retreat by the wicked man and his men.
Seeing that the wicked man had gained a foothold on the city wall, Li Balang ordered the entire army to attack, circling around to the south gate. The reason for this was simply that the south gate had been in disrepair for many years and was the easiest of the four city gates to breach.
The drunken Ke Lan and his generals arrived late. Seeing the chaos on the city wall, they were terrified and quickly began to mobilize troops to support the encirclement and suppression.
At this time, the morale of the Wei army was already low, and seeing the generals reeking of alcohol and drunken, their fighting spirit and will to fight became even lower.
"The only way to get to Anyi is through the Liangdang Mountains. Jian Zhang also had to pass through here to provide support. Where did this Qin army come from?"
Ke Lan deeply regretted his past actions; if only he had listened to Li Balang's advice, things wouldn't have come to this. He racked his brains trying to understand the appearance of the Qin army, but to no avail.
"General, the south gate is in imminent danger. The Qin army's offensive is too fierce, and we are afraid we cannot withstand it." The commander of the Wei army strode over, his face full of anxiety.
"South Gate?"
"How did the Qin army know the south gate was weak? No... it must have been a coincidence..."
Ke Lan's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly shouted, "Immediately strengthen the defenses of the south gate! We must not allow the Qin army to break through the gate!"
Outside the city.
Li Ba, with his wisdom in his heart, whispered to the soldiers beside him, "Go and have General Erniu lead 20,000 troops to attack the west gate!"
Upon receiving the news, Erniu led his men to attack the west gate without hesitation. He now greatly admired Li Balang, whose command was well-organized and seemingly chaotic yet orderly, giving Erniu the feeling that this was what warfare was all about.
Previously, the wicked husband's command of battle was very brutal, a complete head-on collision, which sometimes felt a bit tiring. But following Li Balang was very comfortable, and even felt a bit relaxed and pleasant. They were completely different styles.
"General... the Qin army has started attacking the west gate again! Please send reinforcements!" A Wei soldier who had come from the west gate found Ke Lan, his face full of anxiety.
Ke Lan frowned, thinking to himself that this Qin army was really troublesome. The series of attacks left him overwhelmed, like a barrage of punches that he couldn't defend against.
"How many troops are still available in the city?" Ke Lan asked urgently, looking at the several lieutenants beside him.
"No...nothing!" The lieutenants had already sobered up from the fright, and their faces were filled with panic when they heard Ke Lan's question.
Damn it!
Ke Lan cursed angrily, then had a sudden inspiration and said, "Immediately draw able-bodied men from the city to guard it, and tell them that once the city falls, given the Qin army's brutal nature, they will surely massacre the city."
Several lieutenants' eyes lit up, and they immediately felt that this plan was feasible. They called to the soldiers around them, wanting to personally go and supervise the matter.
"The south gate has fallen!"
"The West Gate has been breached!"
"The city walls can't be defended..."
Several roars came from the mouths of the Wei soldiers rushing towards them from afar, striking Ke Lan and his generals like a thunderbolt, leaving them standing there dumbfounded.
"It's over...it's all over...."
Ke Lan had only one thought in his mind. His regret was like a surging river. The city had no more than 100,000 troops. If the Qin army entered the city, how could he resist them?
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