Over the next few days, the Qin Army remained surprisingly quiet. All of Wang Hong's minor injuries healed, and Zhang Tiemao also snatched back his life after using Wang Hong's medicine.
The day after the battle, their superior, Feng Li, came to see him. The original centurion had suffered grave injuries and was still hovering between life and death. In light of Wang Hong's performance in the battle, he was appointed centurion of the Sixth Battalion of Qingyang Camp.
Wang Hong felt rather pleased as he accepted the appointment. After all, a soldier who did not want to become a general was not a good soldier. Back when he and his younger brother had entered Qingyang Academy, they had even dreamed of becoming great generals.
Yet the Sixth Battalion's current state poured a bucket of cold water over his enthusiasm. Including Wang Hong, there were only seventy-three men. After the previous brutal battle, nearly everyone among those seventy-three was wounded, differing only in severity. Wang Hong went to Feng Li to ask for some Healing Medicine, but Feng Li's answer remained as crisp and decisive as ever: two words—"None."
There was no helping it. They were his soldiers, after all, and they had fought shoulder to shoulder. He could not simply stand by and watch with his eyes wide open. Without timely treatment, the Sixth Battalion would lose at least another ten or twenty men to severe-injury retirement and death from grievous wounds.
Wang Hong entered his space and pulled up a large handful of five-year White Jade Ganoderma, then prepared some White Jade Powder. In any case, five- or six-year White Jade Ganoderma grew in great swathes inside his space. It only took two or three months to cultivate it.
As for the White Jade Life-Extending Pill, he did not dare reveal it casually yet. Wang Hong merely slipped a few pills into the water of those severely injured men who were on the brink of death, then fed it to them. Once something capable of directly saving a life was exposed, his current strength would not be enough to protect it. Even if he could protect it, endless trouble would follow. He was no saint who wished to heal the whole world.
Wang Hong also used several bottles of White Jade Powder to trade Li Xiaoya, Lu Jingou, and Zhang Tiemao over from their battalion. Hua Wenjue was now a Ten-man Squad Leader as well, making him difficult to trade for, so that would have to wait. Having a few more trusted people by his side made everything far more convenient.
After lying low for five days, the Qin Army began attacking the city again. This time, they had made ample preparations and did not rush in recklessly.
Wang Hong's battalion and an archer unit defended a short stretch of wall. Wang Hong's battalion consisted mainly of sword-and-shield soldiers and spearmen. They had no archers, only ten javelin throwers. Their numbers were too few, and they had not played much of a role in the previous battle.
At the start of the battle, the Qin Army did not launch a fierce assault. Instead, they pushed forward groups of wheelbarrows, each loaded with sacks full of earth and stones, with a tall wooden board erected upon it.
The Chu Army atop the walls immediately loosed arrows. Yet after a rain of arrows, the wooden boards at the front of the wheelbarrows were covered in shafts, while the cart drivers remained huddled behind them. Very few were injured.
"Catapults, prepare."
Soon, stones the size of human heads whistled through the air and crashed into the wheelbarrow formations below, sending earth and stones flying everywhere.
Wang Hong saw one stone smash into a wheelbarrow's wooden board, blasting splinters in all directions. Without losing momentum, it struck the driver hiding behind the board and smashed his head open. The driver did not even have time to let out a scream before he perished. Others had their tendons broken and bones snapped, lying there clutching their wounds and crying out in waves of agony.
However, the catapults were not very efficient at killing the enemy. First, there were not many catapults, so they could not deliver dense, blanket-like strikes as arrows could. Nor was it possible for catapults to accurately target individual small targets. Against a scattered formation like the wheelbarrow teams, their hit rate was extremely low.
After this round of attacks, most of the wheelbarrows still successfully dumped their sacks of earth and stones into the moat beneath the walls. At this rate, the moat would sooner or later be filled. The price paid was merely the casualties among the drivers, and those drivers had simply been captured from conquered cities. There were as many as the Qin Army wanted.
Once the moat was filled, the enemy's siege engines could be pushed over easily. They could even use earth and stones to build a slope leading straight up to the city walls. When that happened, the difficulty of defending would multiply severalfold.
The catapults continued hurling stones without pause, but nearly half the moat had already been filled.
Seeing this, Wang Hong grew somewhat anxious. He fetched several short spears, grabbed one, and hurled it at a wheelbarrow. With the strength of more than a thousand jin in his arm, the short spear gave rise to a piercing howl the instant it left his hand.
Boom! The short spear shattered the wooden board outright. Its force undiminished, it pierced through the driver's chest and nailed itself into the ground behind him.
Wang Hong then ordered the entire unit to switch to short spears. Sixty or seventy short spears whooshed downward at once.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Sure enough, they worked far better than arrows or catapults. Javelins had a shorter range, but their penetrating power was much stronger. Though they were not professional javelin throwers, this volley still caused more than a dozen casualties. Several more rounds followed, taking down dozens of drivers.
The remaining drivers' legs trembled, and none dared take another step forward. They threw down their wheelbarrows and howled as they fled back. Before they could return to their formation, a rain of arrows flew from the Qin Army ranks and shot every fleeing driver dead before the lines. At the same time, another group of drivers was pushed out. Several who refused to step forward had their heads cut off on the spot.
Seeing that javelins were effective, the other battalions followed suit. At once, the casualties among the drivers beneath the walls surged. From time to time, drivers were frightened into mental collapse and fled back in rout, but without exception, they were shot dead before the formation.
The Qin Army executed some people on the spot and promised lavish rewards, only then coaxing these drivers into continuing to risk their lives carrying earth and stones—and conveniently delivering their heads as well.
At the same time, the Qin Army's main formation moved. It slowly advanced several hundred paces, entering bow range. Great shields were raised at the front, while the archers behind them formed several ranks and continuously fired dense showers of arrows toward the top of the walls.
Screens had been erected along the walls, blocking most of the arrows. Wang Hong stood atop the battlements as arrows fell like a torrential downpour, striking the screen above his head with thud! thud! thud! Before long, the screen was densely packed with arrows. Wang Hong occasionally reached out to knock aside incoming shafts.
As a result, the javelin throwers were suppressed by the arrows, with people being hit from time to time. Wang Hong took out several bottles of ordinary White Jade Powder and handed them to Li Xiaoya, ordering her to treat the wounded promptly. There would be many more battles ahead, so they had to preserve their own fighting strength as much as possible.
As both sides continued shooting at each other, whenever they ran short of arrows, they picked up the arrows fired by the other side and shot them back. The exchange lasted until the troops withdrew at dusk. Both sides suffered casualties, but overall, the Chu Army held the advantage of terrain and sustained fewer losses.
Meanwhile, the moat below the city walls was nearly filled. The Qin Army would likely launch a full-scale siege tomorrow.
Late that night, in the council hall of the general's residence, Chu Army commander Xiang Cheng stood with several trusted generals around a map.
"Our mission this time is to send out an elite force and burn the Qin Army's grain supplies. In addition, Baili City will dispatch troops to cooperate, cutting off this Qin Army's route to the rear. Then this Qin Army will be ours to deal with as we please." As commander Xiang Cheng spoke, a cold smile appeared at the corner of his lips, and killing intent flickered in his eyes.
"However, does anyone have a clever method for infiltrating behind the Qin Army?" Xiang Cheng asked.
"This subordinate, Mi Yan, is willing to lead a force over Xiaoping Peak and pass through Tengshe Cliff to infiltrate the enemy's rear and strike their grain supplies." A general in white robes spoke while pointing out locations on the map.
"General Mi, Tengshe Cliff is several dozen zhang high and perilous beyond compare. How will you cross it?" a red-robed general asked.
"I plan to descend directly from the cliff top using ropes," Mi Yan replied.
"To descend several dozen zhang—one slight mistake, and you will be smashed to pieces. The casualties will certainly be considerable."
"The Qin Army has invaded our lands and enslaved the people of Great Chu. No fewer than a hundred thousand have died beneath their blades, while hundreds or thousands fall in battle on Huju City's walls every day. We are soldiers—why should we begrudge these bodies of ours?" Mi Yan said with a face of unwavering resolve.
"Good! Mi Yan, receive this order!" Xiang Cheng said, clapping his hands.
"I order you to lead five thousand elite soldiers..."
On the other side of Huju City, an elite force of five thousand quietly left the city under cover of night. Their movements were orderly and their expressions grim, yet they made not the slightest sound as they marched. After leaving the city, they slipped into the mountains and vanished without a trace.
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