The Eighth Prince's army was divided, with each faction acting independently, their relationship superficially harmonious but inwardly discordant, and some even unable to maintain a facade of harmony.
There are often frictions, and sometimes even fights.
If they get Gold Mountain, the chaos will only intensify. They might even fight each other over it.
These conflicts were known to all the princes, but they were powerless to do anything about them.
Those who lead troops may nominally obey the princes, but when their own interests are truly at stake, they will definitely fight for power.
Moreover, these military leaders were mostly former local chieftains, and these people could attach themselves to the prince in order to gain more benefits.
But now that the princes have been chased here, they can no longer gain any more benefits, so naturally they all say one thing in public and another in private.
If the Eighth Prince can properly rest and reorganize in Yuzhang Prefecture for a period of time, with the princes' own elite troops, he might actually be able to suppress or greatly weaken the power of these people.
However, this made them too anxious, wanting to recapture the two counties and seize Jinshan.
Otherwise, why would Chenxi have said that the Eighth Prince had lost his mind when he saw the document about the Eighth Prince attacking Shanghe County?
The eighth prince, who has a screw loose, is sending one of his favorite generals, Cai Yunchang, to attack the local defenses of Shanghe County.
The Eighth Prince had not expected that the city defenses around Shanghe County would be so formidable, even before reaching the county seat.
High city walls were built around the entire Shanghe County.
The road is winding and twisting, with passageways and battlements that can provide shelter for people.
Such defensive fortifications cannot be built without considerable skill.
The Eighth Prince has launched no fewer than a dozen attacks.
Of course, he always sent people from the collateral branches to attack.
But those people weren't stupid. After several attacks, they suffered heavy losses and started making excuses.
Such defensive fortifications could truly achieve the effect of "one man can hold off ten thousand."
The Eighth Prince had no choice but to send his beloved general, Cai Yunchang, to fight.
Cai Yunchang once rallied many refugees outside the capital. Later, taking advantage of the chaos, he entered the capital and rescued his second brother. In order to find refuge, he led his men to seek refuge with the Eighth Prince.
But who knew that the Eighth Prince would suffer defeat after defeat and now he could only stay in Yuzhang Prefecture.
Cai Yunchang was capable and talented, but he arrived late. Although the Eighth Prince valued him, the veteran generals looked down on this rough-and-tumble hero who came from the ranks of refugees.
Therefore, Cai Yunchang never had a chance to rise to prominence.
Now that those veterans have been thwarted in Shanghe County, the Eighth Prince has no choice but to let Cai Yunchang give it a try.
Cai Yunchang led his troops to attack, personally taking the lead and actually charging up the battlements, fighting against more than fifty people single-handedly.
In the end, even the deputy general Li De had his arm cut off by him with a single stroke. He was only able to escape after being surrounded and protected by soldiers.
Despite the pain of his severed arm, Li De refused to go down to receive treatment, only allowing the military doctor to bandage and stop the bleeding on the spot. The pain caused him to faint several times.
We must not let the enemy break through, no matter what.
Once the city walls fall, the land beyond will be flat and open, making it easy for other attacks and defenses to be caught in a pincer movement.
At this critical moment, a young soldier rushed out.
It was Mu Fanzheng, who had already graduated and spent two years training in the military.
Mu Fanzheng today is quite different from how he was a few years ago.
He has matured a lot, with a resolute and imposing face.
Mu Fan, holding a spear, charged forward and engaged Cai Yunchang in battle.
Cai Yunchang didn't pay much attention to the other party's youth, thinking that even if someone had been learning martial arts since birth, how much potential could they possibly have?
A skilled person can tell whether someone has the ability or not simply by extending their hand.
Mu Fanzheng's moves were swift, accurate, and ruthless, always hitting Cai Yunchang's vital points.
Cai Yunchang then took it seriously and rallied his spirits to fight Mu Fanzheng.
The two were evenly matched and neither could gain the upper hand.
But the soldiers below were different. Even though the Shen family army was attacked and suffered heavy losses, their will remained undiminished, and they defended their position to the death.
Taking advantage of their familiarity with the terrain, they lured Cai Yunchang's troops to another bunker.
The other bunker was already prepared, with various weapons being used in turn, and even a round object was thrown out, which immediately caused a loud bang.
But a loud noise would have been tolerable, but it exploded on the spot.
Although the explosion was not severe, only injuring two people and not even shaking the battlements, the loud noise immediately stunned Cai Yunchang's troops.
Chaos erupted immediately.
Shen's army took the opportunity to attack.
As the saying goes, a defeated army collapses like a landslide. Cai Yunchang's troops were thrown into chaos and fled back like a flowing river.
Many were trampled to death during the escape.
The cavalry wouldn't give way to the infantry, and the infantrymen pushed and shoved each other. No matter how much Cai Yunchang shouted, it was to no avail.
Forced to leave Mu Fanzheng behind, they too retreated in defeat.
Mu Fanzheng did not pursue them relentlessly. Instead, he withdrew his troops after a short chase and ordered the city walls to be repaired quickly to prevent the enemy from launching a counterattack.
At the same time, mobilize soldiers to prepare defenses, and then order people to carry all the dead and wounded away, treat the wounded, register the dead, and find a place to bury them.
Only then did they arrive at the bunker where Li De, the deputy general, was located.
Li De was covered in sweat, but he still gritted his teeth and ordered, "Have the first and third battalions replace the second and fourth battalions. The second and fourth battalions will be withdrawn for rest and recuperation. Find replacements for the missing personnel."
Mu Fanzheng immediately ordered, "Carry the deputy general away to the rear camp for proper treatment."
Li De knew that the battle was over by now, so he nodded in agreement.
He knew that if he delayed any longer, he might get infected.
Mu Fanzheng took over Li De's position, reorganized the troops, and began guarding the area.
Lu Shan, who was following Mu Fanzheng, said with a smile, "The hand grenades that the commander ordered to be developed are indeed very effective. The other side was thrown into chaos by the fear."
Lushan is no longer the village chief. Although he is a bit older, he is still very strong and can fight fiercely.
Mu Fan shook his head. "As per the leader's request, this grenade was not successfully developed. Those people in the Ministry of Industry are really stupid. They spent several years researching it and this is all they came up with."
It can only scare the enemy; it can't cause any real damage.
If Zhou Ren from the Ministry of Industry heard this, he would definitely curse.
The commander has given them too many things to study. They've done their best with this grenade. It's not that it can't be detonated, but whether it will be extremely powerful depends on luck.
The one used this time was louder, but it didn't have much power. Maybe this bomb wasn't very well made.
The Ministry of Industry has been actively working to improve the situation in Shenxi.
But the flawed bombs were still fired, since they could at least intimidate the enemy, no matter what.
Especially since this is a new thing, it's not bad if it has a deterrent effect.
Every region treated this novel thing as a treasure, and wouldn't allow its use until a certain level was reached.
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