Chapter 181: The Last Gambler
On the front line of Hangu Pass, there was a very magical scene, the five-nation alliance army faced the Qin army camp, did not attack, did not retreat, but was so quietly confronted, as if waiting for something.
Such a magical scene made Huang Xie in the remnant camp of the Chu State numb in his heart, and only Xiang Yan was angry like thunder.
"It has always been the case with the longitudinal group, when the wind is downwind, one by one scrambles, for fear that it will not be beneficial when it is slower, and when it is against the wind, one by one it will cringe, for fear that they will be damaged, what is the meaning of such a combination." Xiang Yan, who was laughing angrily, couldn't help but feel a sense of pathos.
Hezong is obviously the most beneficial thing for Han Zhao Wei, the country of the Three Jin Dynasty, although the State of Chu also has to face the pressure of the State of Qin, but the Three Kingdoms of Han, Zhao and Wei are the countries that face the threat of the State of Qin, why don't they want to think about their own back road, if the Qin army goes east, can they stop it?
"It's useless to talk more, it seems that we won't stay here for long, this is probably the last time we will see the Hangu Pass of the Qin State in this life, and in the future, alas, ......" Huang Xie sighed, he seemed to have seen the end of the Five Kingdoms.
The Qin State is strong, but it is not strong enough to fight the entire world with the strength of one country, but unfortunately, what the Qin State wants to fight against is not the entire world, but the countries with their own thoughts.
Among the nations, there are so many so-called smart people that each has his own mind and calculates too much, and in the end it can only be a failure.
"Prepare the troops and horses, we are about to retreat, our army has not much left, we must bring them back to Chu safely, we have to defend it, the offensive is fashionable and we can't work together, and it can only be more dirty when we retreat." Huang Xie reminded Xiang Yan.
When the Chu army camp was depressed, Lü Buwei finally led the army out of the lofty mountains.
I hope that this time the old man made the right bet, otherwise, even the old man would not be able to bear the price. Lü Buwei glanced at the mountains behind him, and regardless of his weakened body, he ran with the army in the direction of Xianyang.
On the second day, during the march, Lü Buwei finally got a message from Xianyang, a piece of news that completely relieved him.
"The Zhao Wei coalition army is blocked in Yucheng?" Looking at the scroll from Xianyang Palace in his hand, Lu Buwei had never had a stable heart, and now he completely let it go.
"The Qin State is still Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." Lü Buwei groaned, in the scroll he saw familiar names and unfamiliar names, but no matter which name it was, the Qin State at this time was undoubtedly a heroic existence.
"Command the three armies and go straight to Yucheng."
When Lü Buwei led tens of thousands of Qin troops towards Yucheng, the offensive and defensive battle that took place under Yucheng had been going on for four days, plus the first battle when the Zhao-Wei coalition army first arrived at Yucheng, the two sides had actually been fighting for five days.
After all, more than half of the defenders in the city are just people, although in this era when all the people are soldiers, even if they are people, they have to be compared to good combat power, but after all, compared with the most elite armies of Zhao and Wei, even if they have the city wall as a backing, the defenders of Yucheng still paid huge casualties.
If it weren't for the Praetorian Guards outside the city to respond, breaking through the enemy's obstruction again and again at any cost when the city was in danger, halting the enemy's offensive and allowing the defenders in the city to breathe, I'm afraid the city would have been unable to stand it.
But it is precisely because of this that the attrition of the three thousand Praetorian Guards is very serious, in just three days, the casualties have been nearly half, and among the casualties, more than half of them were directly killed, and with the continuous attrition, if the Praetorian Guards want to attack the Zhao Wei coalition army, the price they have to pay will only be greater than before.
"Two days at most." On the wall of the city, Wang Qian, who had messy hair, looked at the enemy camp under the city, and his words were full of solemnity.
"General Wang, two days may be enough." The county lieutenant of Yucheng said on the side, as for the county magistrate of Yucheng, he had been seriously injured by a first-class arrow in yesterday's battle, and now he is lying on the sickbed, struggling between life and death.
"I'm talking about two days when the Praetorian Guards outside the city are all wiped out." Wang Jian said.
"This?" The county lieutenant of Yucheng was silent, if the three thousand guards were wiped out, even if they held Yucheng, it would be difficult for them to explain to Xianyang.
At the head of the Jingshui pontoon bridge, Yang Ming, Li Xin, and Wang Ben sat on the ground, scratching their unkempt hair at will, and the continuous battle made them simply not have enough time to tidy up their appearance.
"Tomorrow we're really in danger." Yang Ming looked at the Jingshui Road that was rolling east.
At this time, the Jingshui is extremely beautiful, in the twilight, the water surface ripples with waves, flashing and flashing, like a golden belt in the Guanzhong Plain, pontoon bridge, three war horses, three military generals sitting on the ground, the distance is a huge battlefield, for a time, there is really a special artistic conception.
Unfortunately, beneath the beauty lies a cruel and cold reality.
"Zhongcheng is saying that Pang Xuan's patience is about to be tortured by us, is he going to focus on attacking us tomorrow?" Li Xin asked.
Here, he has learned to be humble, because not only Yang Ming, but even Wang Ben also has the ability to make him humble.
"Actually, Pang Xuan should have tried his best to deal with us from the beginning, but unfortunately, Xianyang was so tempting that he blinded him, but today he has already reacted, don't you see this afternoon's battle, is it he who lured us into an ambush?" Wang Ben said.
In the battle in the afternoon, Pang Xuan still attacked the city according to the previous situation, but when the Praetorian Guards supported the defenders of Yucheng, he was almost surrounded by Zhao Junbianqi and Wei Wushu, if it wasn't for Yang Ming's quick opportunity, whether they could rush out is really a problem.
"Although Xianyang is good, it is not so easy to take, Pang Xuan should not have thought about capturing Xianyang from the beginning, if he had a different way of thinking, it might be a different situation now." Yang Ming shook his head and said.
Pang Xuan and the Zhao State behind him have always been very gambling, from the original Zhao Wuling King Zhao Yong, thinking about attacking Xianyang from the north bank of the Yellow River, to the Battle of Changping that year, and then to the Battle of Pang Xuan at this time to attack Xianyang.
"If Zhongcheng is Pang Xuan, what will Zhongcheng do?" Li Xin asked.
"Whether it is to encircle the point for reinforcements, or to respond to the front line of the five-nation alliance to attack the defenders of Hangu Pass from behind, it is a wise choice, of course, considering the situation of Zhao Guo's border cavalry, it should be a better choice to encircle and send reinforcements." Yang Ming said with a smile.
Suddenly, Yang Ming's face froze, and he suddenly stood up from the ground, looking in the direction of the coalition barracks.
"Zhongcheng, what's wrong?" Li Xin and Wang Ben hurriedly stood up and looked in the direction of the coalition barracks.
"It seems that Pang Xuan really hates us to the limit, and this is not going to give us a chance to breathe." Yang Ming said solemnly.
"The enemy wants to fight at night?" Li Xin was stunned.
"I'm afraid it is, it's just that night battles are not a good choice for both sides, what is Pang Xuan choosing to fight at night for?" Yang Ming hesitated.
"Could it be that the front-line army has returned?" Yang Ming thought about it, but felt that this was also a possibility.
"If so, wouldn't we have won the battle?" Li Xin said excitedly, if the army comes back to help, then in this battle, their military merits will be in hand.
"It was the Qin State that won, but we? We still have to live to experience the joy of victory, so get ready, this night, we can't rest. Yang Ming said.
The front-line army returned to help, although Yucheng could be safe, but at the same time, it would also put Yang Ming and the guards under his command into a desperate situation, and Pang Xuan, who was already on the top, was likely to annihilate Yang Ming's guards at all costs before the Qin reinforcements arrived.
Pang Xuan is a vengeful and small-minded old guy.
After the Praetorian guards who were resting in the sandbank barracks received the military order, they got up one by one and lined up in formation, waiting for further military orders.
As time passed, a long line of torches was formed in the camp of the coalition forces, heading towards the Jingshui waterfront.
"At the moment, we can only defend, as long as we hold this pontoon bridge, so as not to cut off our way forward, the order, a team of twenty people, take turns with me to guard the pontoon bridge." Yang Ming ordered.
The pontoon bridge must not be lost, even within dozens of steps of the bridge, otherwise these people will really be blocked on the sandbar, and in the case of uncertainty about when the reinforcements will arrive, the Praetorian guards must not retreat, otherwise those people in the city will be in danger.
Li Xin opened his mouth, what he wanted to say couldn't be said after all, if the enemy army wants to fight to the death, it is necessary to avoid its edge, but at the moment, it is no longer suitable to say this.
As the torch dragon got closer and closer, Yang Ming finally saw his opponent this time, a mixed army composed of Zhao Guobian cavalry and Wei Wushu, which numbered in the thousands.
With the sound of horns, twenty guards lined up to guard the bridgehead, and Wei Wushu stood out, on the limited battlefield at the bridgehead, of course, it was Wei Wushu who was more suitable for attacking the Qin State Janissaries who were on the defensive.
Wei Wushu walked in a neat pace, with twenty-five people in a column, five columns in a formation, five formations in a group, divided into five divisions, and retreated towards the bridgehead.
Yang Ming put down the Canglong Heavenly Halberd in his hand, his palm was already on the hilt of the sword on his waist, and he was in close arms, of course, he still had to use Tianwen.
In the neat pace, Wei Wushu finally got closer and closer in Yang Ming's sight, and the battle was about to break out.
"Kill." In a burst of drinking, Wei Wushu and the Qin State Guards had their first short-handed encounter.
Yang Ming slapped out with a palm, splitting an iron shield in pieces, and then Tianwen slashed horizontally, and the sharp blade emitted a sharp sword, breaking Wei Wushu's heavy armor and cutting off his life.
This is just the beginning.