Defense Battle (1)

For the next few days, the Qin Army was quiet. All of Wang Hong's minor injuries healed, and Zhang Tiemao, after using Wang Hong's medicine, also managed to cling to life.

On the second day after the battle, his superior Feng Li found him. The original centurion had been severely wounded and his condition was still unknown. Given his performance in the recent battle, Wang Hong was appointed the centurion of the Sixth Brigade of the Qingyang Camp.

After accepting the appointment, Wang Hong felt a little proud. After all, a soldier who doesn't want to be a general is not a good soldier. When he and his younger brother first entered Qingyang Academy, they had dreamed of becoming great generals.

However, the current state of the Sixth Brigade poured cold water on his enthusiasm. Including Wang Hong, there were only seventy-three people. After the fierce battle, almost every one of these seventy-three people was injured, with varying degrees of severity. Wang Hong found Feng Li, hoping to ask for some healing medicine, but Feng Li's answer was as crisp and straightforward as ever: two words, "None!"

There was no other way. They were his soldiers, after all, and they had fought side-by-side. He couldn't just watch them die. If they didn't receive timely treatment, those severely wounded would be discharged, and those critically injured would die, reducing the Sixth Brigade's numbers by at least another ten to twenty men.

Wang Hong went into the Mysterious Space and pulled out a large handful of five-year-old White Jade Ganoderma, then prepared some White Jade Powder. Anyway, he had a large patch of five or six-year-old White Jade Ganoderma growing in his space, and it could be cultivated in just two to three months.

As for the White Jade Life-Extending Pill, he didn't dare to reveal it casually now. Wang Hong secretly put a few pills into the water of those who were critically wounded and near death, and fed it to them. Something like this, which could directly save a person's life, would be impossible for him to protect if revealed at his current strength. Even if he could protect it, it would bring endless trouble. He wasn't a saint who wanted to save the world.

Wang Hong then used a few bottles of White Jade Powder to exchange Li Xiaoya, Lu Jingou, and Zhang Tiemao from their original brigades. As for Hua Wenjue, he was now a ten-man squad leader, making it difficult to transfer him. He could only wait for a later opportunity. Having a few more confidants around would make things much more convenient in all aspects of his work.

After the Qin Army was quiet for five days, they resumed their siege. This time, the Qin Army was very well-prepared for the assault and did not advance rashly.

Wang Hong's brigade was assigned to defend a small section of the city wall along with an archery unit. Wang Hong's brigade consisted mainly of spearmen and shield-bearers, with no archers, only ten javelin throwers. Their numbers were too small, and they hadn't played a significant role in the previous battle.

When the battle began, the Qin Army did not launch a fierce attack. Instead, they pushed out teams of unicycles, each carrying sacks filled with earth and stones, with a tall wooden board erected on top.

Seeing this, the Chu Army on the city wall immediately unleashed arrows. However, after a volley of arrows, the wooden board in front of the unicycles was covered in arrows, while the unicycle drivers were all huddled behind the wooden boards, with few casualties.

"Prepare the catapults."

Soon, stones the size of a human head whistled through the air, smashing into the unicycle teams opposite, sending earth and stones flying.

Wang Hong saw a stone hit the wooden board of a unicycle, sending wood chips flying. It continued its trajectory, smashing the head of the driver hiding behind the board, killing him instantly before he could even let out a scream. Several others were hit and had their bones broken, lying there screaming in pain while clutching their wounds.

However, the killing efficiency of the catapults was not very high. Firstly, the number of catapults was not large, and they could not form a dense, covering strike like arrows. It was also difficult for the catapults to aim at individual small targets for precise strikes. Therefore, the hit rate against the sparse formation of unicycle teams was extremely low.

After this round of bombardment, a large number of unicycles still successfully dumped their sacks filled with earth and stones into the moat below the city wall. If this continued, the moat would eventually be filled, and the cost would only be the casualties of some drivers, who were merely captured from conquered cities and could be replaced at will.

Once the moat was filled, the enemy's siege equipment could easily be pushed forward, and they could even build a ramp directly to the city wall with earth and stones. At that time, the difficulty of defense would double.

The catapults continued to hurl stones, but the moat was already half-filled.

Seeing this, Wang Hong became a little anxious. He grabbed a few short spears and hurled one at a unicycle. With his strength of over a thousand catties, the short spear whistled through the air as it was thrown.

With a "boom," the short spear directly blew apart the wooden board. Its momentum undiminished, it pierced through the driver's chest and embedded itself in the ground behind.

Wang Hong then ordered his entire unit to switch to throwing short spears. Sixty to seventy short spears flew towards the ground simultaneously.

"Bang bang bang!"

Indeed, the effect was much better than arrows and catapults. Although the javelins had a shorter range, their penetration power was stronger. Even though they were not professional javelin throwers, this round resulted in more than a dozen casualties. After several more rounds of throwing, dozens of drivers were killed.

The remaining drivers' legs trembled, and they no longer dared to advance half a step. They threw down their unicycles and fled back, howling. Before they could reach their formation, a volley of arrows flew from the Qin Army's ranks, shooting down all the fleeing drivers in front of their formation. At the same time, another group of drivers was brought forward. Several who were unwilling to advance had their heads cut off.

Seeing that the short spears were effective, the other brigades followed suit, and the casualties among the drivers below the city increased dramatically. From time to time, drivers were so terrified that they suffered mental breakdowns and fled back. All of them were shot down in front of their formation without exception.

The Qin Army executed some of them on the spot and promised numerous benefits, coaxing these drivers to continue risking their lives to transport earth and stones, and incidentally, their heads.

At the same time, the main Qin Army formation moved, slowly advancing a few hundred paces, entering the range of the arrows. Large shields were erected in front, and archers behind were divided into several rows, continuously shooting dense volleys of arrows towards the top of the city wall.

Protective boards were erected on the city wall, blocking most of the arrows. Wang Hong stood on the city wall as arrows rained down like a storm. "Thud! Thud! Thud!" they hit the protective boards overhead, which soon became densely covered with arrows. Wang Hong occasionally reached out to pull away incoming arrows.

As a result, the javelin throwers were suppressed by the arrows, and people were hit by arrows from time to time. Wang Hong took out a few bottles of ordinary White Jade Powder and gave them to Li Xiaoya, ordering him to treat the injured promptly. There would be many more battles in the future, so it was important to preserve their combat strength as much as possible.

In the continuous exchange of fire, when they ran out of arrows, they picked up the arrows shot by the enemy and shot them back. The exchange continued until dusk, when the troops withdrew. Both sides suffered casualties, but overall, the Chu Army, with its advantageous position, had fewer casualties.

The moat below the city was also nearly filled. It was estimated that the Qin Army would launch an all-out assault the next day.

Late at night, in the general's mansion's council hall, the Chu Army's commander Xiang Cheng was gathered around a map with several trusted generals.

"Our mission this time is to dispatch an elite force to burn the Qin Army's grain. Additionally, Bailing City will cooperate by sending troops to cut off this Qin Army's passage to their rear. At that time, this Qin Army will be at our mercy," said Commander Xiang Cheng, a cold smile appearing on his lips and a murderous glint in his eyes.

"However, to infiltrate the Qin Army's rear, do you all have any ingenious methods?" Xiang Cheng asked.

"Your subordinate Mi Yan is willing to lead a contingent of troops through Xiaoping Peak and Tengshe Cliff to infiltrate the enemy's rear and attack their grain supply," said a general in white robes, pointing to a location on the map.

"General Mi, Tengshe Cliff is dozens of feet high and extremely precipitous. How will you get across?" asked a general in red robes.

"I plan to use ropes to descend directly from the cliff top," Mi Yan replied.

"Descending from dozens of feet, even a slight mistake would result in a shattered body. This will inevitably lead to significant casualties."

"The Qin Army invades our land, enslaves our Chu people, and no less than a hundred thousand have died by their swords. Hundreds or thousands die on the walls of Huju City every day. As soldiers, why should we cherish our lives?" Mi Yan said with a resolute expression.

"Good! Mi Yan, you have my command!" Xiang Cheng said, clapping his hands.

"I order you to lead five thousand elite troops..."

In another direction of Huju City, a contingent of five thousand elite troops quietly left the city under the cover of night. This group moved with orderly steps and a stern demeanor, making no sound as they walked. After leaving the city, they disappeared into the mountains without a trace.