At the end of Qin, I became a son of the plane

Chapter 193: The siege of Meng Tian and the rapidly changing world
August 37, the 8th year of the First Emperor's reign, Julu City.

The sound of drums above Julu shook the sky, and the sound of fierce fighting resounded all around Julu. There were broken limbs everywhere under Julu City, including those of the Qin and Han armies. There was a touch of blood in the air, and the moat was covered by soldiers from both sides. Blood dyed into a river of blood, all of which formed a Shura battlefield.

"Archers shoot to suppress the Qin army!" Liu Bang roared.

Tens of thousands of archers fired arrows that filled the sky, and long arrows roared down, piercing the walls of Julu City, suppressing the Qin soldiers and unable to raise their heads. They could only hide behind the city walls and shields to save their lives.

"Brothers, kill!" Fan Kuai shouted and charged towards the giant deer with a shield in one hand and a sword in the other.

Then more than 5,000 siege soldiers followed Fan Kuai and shouted all the way. They used ladders to pave the way, quickly rushed across the moat, and then used hundreds of ladders to climb the Julu City Wall.

Six or seven soldiers below the ladder stabilized the ladder. A dozen shield soldiers formed a circular formation, using shields as high as a person to guard their robes. Several archers and crossbowmen, under the cover of the shield soldiers, stared at them. At the top of the city wall, any enemy troops who dare to show up will be suppressed with crossbows and arrows.

Fan Kuai was the first to climb up the ladder. At this time, he was holding the sword in his hand and holding the shield on his big arm. He used both hands and feet to climb several feet in a few steps. When he was almost on the city wall, Fan Kuai jumped over the blood-stained wall stacks and stepped onto Julu's tower.

"The rebels are coming!" a Qin soldier shouted loudly, but Fan Kuai hacked the Qin soldier to death with one knife.

At this time, three Qin soldiers stabbed Fan Kuai with spears. Fan Kuai blocked the spears with his shield, and the long knife slit the throats of the three soldiers. Blood spurted out from the three Qin soldiers and they fell to the ground.

It was a blessing to be the first to ascend once, but Fan Kuai did it twice in a row. With his bravery and luck, none of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the Northern Expedition were unconvinced. Even Lu Chen sighed: "Fan Kuai is as brave as he is brave." "

Liu Bang said: "Don't fight too hard. Remember what my brother said, you have everything while you are alive."

As the number of Han soldiers increased, the territory slowly expanded in a semi-arc shape, eventually dividing the Qin army into two areas. Moreover, the Han army's occupied area became larger and larger, and the Qin army had no way to stop the Han army. The soldiers climbed onto the city wall.

"The rebels are too fierce, please come and stop them." Fan Kuai killed four people as soon as he climbed onto the city wall. Such brave martial arts completely shocked the surrounding soldiers, and they began to call for help.

At this time, more Qin troops surrounded them, but Fan Kuai roared at these Qin troops, "Kill!"

Zhang Liang shook his head and said nothing. He knew that Qin Jia was unpopular in Sishui County at the beginning, and few people really surrendered to him. His army was just a small coalition of princes. Fan Kuai was not Qin Jia's subordinate at all. When I fought against Xiang Yu, there was no other army to support him. The army collapsed as soon as Qin Jia died. The officers from Surabaya who joined the Han army were the fastest. Without a good military system, even if there are warriors, they will not be willing to contribute.

"I told you not to charge so hard. You still did what you did first. No matter how great your achievements are, people are dead. That credit is useless. I don't want to take your bones home." Liu Bang complained a little. road.

Zhang Liang looked at it carefully and said: "That is the fake captain Fan Kuai. He was a general from Sishui County in the past, so the general did not recognize him."

"Brothers, form a formation!" Fan Kuai shouted. Fan Kuai and a dozen Han soldiers defended this small territory. Fan Kuai was already brave, and with the protection of soldiers, he was even more powerful. There were hundreds of Qin soldiers. They were actually killed by more than a dozen Han soldiers led by Fan Kuai, and they were retreating steadily.

After a brief celebration, the senior officials of the Northern Expeditionary Army began to look at the map to discuss the next move.

And if he is lucky, the fake lieutenant general will become a real lieutenant general. Even if he is demoted one level and becomes a captain, then if he is a high-ranking official with a salary of two thousand dan, how can he still regard himself as a dead soldier now that they are brothers? Come and use.

This time Fan Kuai was not only the first to climb the city wall to establish a stronghold, but also beheaded twenty-three people. He was also the first person in his old city to climb the city wall, beheading fifteen people. Fan Kuai climbed first twice and beheaded forty-three people. level, the Northern Expeditionary Army ranked Fan Kuai first in the statistics of offense.

Lu Chen said: "Liu Bang's fellow countryman, I didn't expect his fellow countryman to be so brave. Qin Jia doesn't know how to employ people. If he had reused Fan Kuai, he wouldn't have been defeated by Xiang Yu in one battle."

There were not many Qin troops in Julu City. Soon Fan Kuai led his soldiers to lower the suspension bridge and open the city gate. Tens of thousands of Han soldiers swarmed in. Julu was officially captured by the Han army.

He rushed towards the Qin army, knocking two people away immediately, and then Fan Kuai slashed wildly with his sword and struck with his shield. The ten-man Qin army was defeated by Fan Kuai. His entire body had turned into a bloody man, and all the Qin soldiers were so frightened that no one dared to approach him.

Lu Chen, who was below the city, saw that Fan Kuai and the others had established a solid stronghold on the city wall and said with great joy: "I thought that Yingbu was already a fierce general who could defeat ten thousand enemies, but I didn't expect that there was someone braver than Yingbu among our army." Man, who is this warrior who ascended first?"

More and more Han troops came up from behind the ladder, and then guarded Fan Kuai.

Fan Kuai said with a smile: "I am not as eloquent as your elder brother, nor can I command an army like Zhou Bo. I can only rely on bravery to fight my way out. Otherwise, elder brother, you have become a general, and I am still a small soldier. How can I be like my elder brother?" 's mansion."

Julu, government office celebration party.

Liu Bang, the first batch of officers to arrive in Julu, were generally promoted one or two levels due to rapid expansion. Fan Kuai was originally a commander, but now he has become a false captain. As long as the war against Meng Tian is won this time, the fake captain will become Become a true captain.

Liu Bang and other generals gathered around Fan Kuai to celebrate.

Although the Northern Expeditionary Army's attack on Julu went very smoothly, Han generals like Lu Chen understood that the Qin army had given way, and the Qin army in Dongwuyang directly abandoned the city and retreated to Julu.

The Northern Expeditionary Army was in Julu County. They really only fought in the Battle of Gucheng and the present Julu County. In both battles, only 10,000 Qin troops were annihilated. The remaining Qin army retreated towards Handan. It can be said that the Northern Expeditionary Army was not annihilated. The Qin army is more or less effective.

Zhang Liang said: "Next, our army should divide into two groups, occupy Xindu along the way, cut off the road for the Qin army in Yan to support Meng Tian, ​​and at the same time surround the road for Meng Tian to go north, and go all the way south to Handan to join General Tian Zang, further reducing the Qin army's strength. strategic space to make final preparations for the complete annihilation of the Qin army."

Liu Bang said: "I am willing to go south. It happens that my subordinate has seen my elder brother Zhang Er for a long time."

Zhang Liang looked at Lu Chen and asked for his opinion. Lu Chen nodded and said, "You will lead an army of 3 to join General Tian Zang."

Lu Chen said: "The remaining generals will follow me north to capture Xindu."

"promise!"

But Zhang Liang still looked at the map and said regretfully: "We didn't know that the Qin army's combat effectiveness declined so quickly. Otherwise, we should have captured Shangdang County, and then Shexian County and Wu'an. In this way, the Qin Army would have been completely suppressed by our army." In the small area of ​​northern Hanoi and southern Handan, Meng Tian would be unable to fly."

At the beginning, Zhang Liang and others thought that it was very difficult to defeat the Qin army, so they naturally did not want to annihilate Meng Tian's army. However, now that the Han army has this ability, it does not have the conditions.

Lu Chen said disapprovingly: "Even if Meng Tian can run, he is still a lost dog. It will be the same next time we kill this evil dog of Ying Zheng."

Xu Chongzhao smiled and said: "The general is right. Meng Tian can escape once, but he cannot escape every time. Next time we go to Guanzhong and see where he goes."

On August 37, the 8th year of the First Emperor's reign, Baimajin, the main tent of the Han army.

Ji Xin kept reporting to Xu Fan on the war situation in various places, and the first one to report was the good news about Yingbu.

Ji Xin said excitedly: "General Yingbu has captured Xingyang and captured Aocang. According to General Yingbu's report, the entire Aocang has 10 million shi and 50 million shi of grain."

Xu Fan said in surprise: "Yingbu is worthy of being the most powerful general of the Han Dynasty. He is the first hero of this Northern Expedition. Please inform the whole army and let everyone know the good news."

Ji Xin said: "No!"

Xu Fan looked at Chen Xiao and said: "Explain this situation to the prime minister, tell him that there is no need to transport the grain, and there will be fewer civilians transporting the grain. From now on, the grain will be transferred from Aocang, and at the same time, let him arrange a capable official to be responsible for transferring the grain to Aocang." Food is sent to all armies to reduce our army’s consumption.”

Chen Xiao said: "No!" Then Xu Fan asked again: "How much food is there in Aocang?"

He still felt a little unreal.

Ji Xin said: "Ten and fifty million stones."

Xu Fan was not used to it and said: "From now on, tens of millions will be called yi, and the grain in Aocang is 150 million shi."

Then he sighed: "Ao Cang is indeed the heart of Great Qin."

At this time, Xu Fan finally understood why, after more than ten years of chaos in the late Qin Dynasty, there was no shortage of food. The food in Aocang was enough to feed the entire world for half a year.

According to historical records, this batch of grain was probably consumed only after Liu Bang officially established his capital in Chang'an, because Xu Fan remembered that the price of grain in Chang'an rose to 5000 yuan, but this was several years after Xiang Yu's death.

Ji Xin continued to report: "Mengtian's army has broken out of camp and marched towards Handan. There is no trace of the Qin army in Hanoi County."

Xu Fan looked at the map and said, "Meng Tian wants to escape with his army."

He continued: "General Tian Zang is still fighting fiercely in Neihuang. General Tian Zang begged the King of Han to support his large stone cannon."

Xu Fan said: "Deploy 100 stone cannons from Sanchuan County and tell Tian Zang not to rush in the attack. Now Handan County is Mengtian's only retreat. He will not give up Handan County easily. As long as he can contain the Qin army. "

Ji Xindao: "General Lu Chen's Northern Expedition Army has surrounded Julu. There will be good news in a few days. However, most of the Qin army in Julu County has retreated to Handan County.
Xu Fan said: "There are now more than 20 Northern Xinjiang troops in Handan. The decisive battle between our Han army and Qin army is about to begin. I just hope Meng Tian has some courage and doesn't run away."

Ji Xindao: "After Qi Di Xiang Yu received the support of our army's equipment, Xiang Yu led his troops to attack Linzi. It seems that Xiang Yu wants to encircle Wei and rescue Zhao, attracting Zhang Han and Feng Jie's armies to return for reinforcements."

Xu Fan said: "Just pay attention to the situation in Qidi. Our focus now is still on Meng Tian's army in Handan."

Xu Fan has already thought about it. If Xiang Yu performs as fiercely as history, the Han army will attack Guanzhong after annihilating Meng Tian's army and dominate the world. If Xiang Yu is defeated, he will attack Qi, annihilate Zhang Han and Feng Jie's tribe, and occupy the Central Plains.
Xu Fan looked at the map and found that as long as Lu Chen and the others captured Julu and further occupied Xindu, plus Zhang Er still occupied Handan, Meng Tian's 20-strong army would be completely surrounded by the Northern Xinjiang Army, but Xu Fan was very regretful. The thing is, there is a huge loophole in this huge encirclement, plus several gaps in the Taihang Eight Classics such as Hukou Pass, through which Meng Tian can return to the pass.

Then Xu Fan suddenly thought of Zhang He and others asking Ji Xindao: "How is the situation of Zhang He and others attacking Shangdang County?"

Ji Xin found the battle report: "Five days ago, Zhang He's vanguard Cao Xing led 5000 soldiers and began to attack Gaodu County in Shangdang County. Specific battle reports will take time."

Xu Fan felt disappointed after hearing this. He had just entered Shangdang County. It would be a month or even longer before they blocked Hukou Pass. Meng Tian ran away early after such a long time.

"Cao Xing? Was he the captain of Xiuwu County?" Xu Fan suddenly thought of something and asked.

"Yes!"

Xu Fan continued to ask: "Han Xin is still in his army?"

Ji Xin said:? ? ?

Ji Xin immediately went to find information on Cao Xing's army again, and then said: "Captain Cao Xing has five army commanders, namely Cheng Zhu, Liu Li, Du Wen, Song Ying and Han Xin. If Han Xin is not injured, he should be there Cao Xing is in the army."

Xu Fan immediately issued an order: "Order Song Liu to lead 2 troops to support Zhang He's army. At the same time, order Zhang He to go to Dang County and try to block Hukou Pass."

Now Han Xin is Xu Fan's only hope. If he is still as magical as in history, he will definitely be able to block Hukou Pass before Meng Tian escapes, and then none of the 30 Northern Xinjiang troops will be able to escape.

August 37, the 8th year of the First Emperor's reign, Changzi County.

Cao Xing and Han Xin led more than 4,000 Han soldiers and rushed all the way to Changzi County. When the entire Shangdang County was not aware of the invasion, Han Xin once again used camouflage to capture the gate of Changzi County. Cao Xing led the main force to support. Captured Changzi County.

After capturing the Shangdang County seat so easily, Cao Xing couldn't help but sigh: "The Qin army's soldiers have indeed reached their limit. An important city like Changzi only has more than a thousand soldiers."

When he surrendered to the King of Han two years ago, he had no confidence in defeating a behemoth like Da Qin. He just wanted to bury those bullies with him before he died, but he never expected that he would look so invincible. The Qin Dynasty would collapse so quickly, and a million troops would not be able to protect the country thousands of miles away.

Han Xin said: "Captain, before we can sigh, we have learned from the prisoners of the Qin army that the Qin army only has 500 soldiers stationed at Hukou Pass. This is an opportunity that God gives us to make contributions. While our Han army is killing The news of entering Shangdang has not reached the ears of the Qin army, so we must occupy Hukou Pass immediately."

Han Xin couldn't believe that the entire Qin State's troops stationed in Shangdang County did not exceed 3000. There were only 500 Qin troops in such an important place as Hukou Pass. God did not accept it, but he took the blame.

Cao Xing immediately agreed. The success of their attack along the way was all thanks to Han Xin. Now he trusted Han Xin extremely, so Cao Xing and the others once again left 500 soldiers to guard Changzi County, and continued to march towards Hukou Pass with the rest of the army. .

August 37, the 8th year of the First Emperor's reign, Hukou Pass

This time Han Xin and others were not as lucky as before. The Qin soldiers in Zhangzi County fled to Hukou Pass, and the news of the Han army's invasion of Shangdang County was obtained by the Qin army.

The guard general of Hukou Pass reported the news of the Han army's invasion of Shangdang County to Sima Xin who was under Handan, and asked him for help. At this time, only Sima Xin's army around Hukou Pass could rescue them.

Then the guards at Hukou Pass will close the city gate and prepare supplies to defend the city in preparation for the upcoming war.

The guard general of Hukou Pass is named Jiang Xing. He is in his fifties and is an old Qin official in Guanzhong. It stands to reason that with his background, he can get a good position, but he offended the powerful in Guanzhong and was demoted to the desolate Hukou. Guan is the guard.

After he took office, he was diligent and conscientious, and his political achievements were not bad. It is a pity that the Xianyang court seemed to have forgotten him, and the peace of the world also made the military attributes of Hukou Pass dispensable. One more of him, one less of him, would be detrimental to the world. No impact at all. He was asked to stay in Hukou Pass for more than ten years. After a long time, he gave up and regarded Hukou Pass as his retirement place.

After he turned fifty, he began to build his own coffin. At the same time, he also selected a cemetery on a sunny uphill slope outside Hukou Pass. For Jiang Xing, the memory of his hometown was already very vague; He regards Hukou Pass as his hometown.

In Jiang Xing's eyes, the Qin Dynasty has not changed much. The First Emperor is still as domineering and unparalleled, and the Qin State is still full of martial virtues.

But starting from the year before last, the world suddenly became chaotic. It was said that there were rebels in Chen County who made a big fuss, and even the county guard was killed. He was lamenting at the time that the bandits these days are so powerful that they dared to kill a high-ranking official with 2000 shi. Back then, It was such a big shot who demoted him here, and such a big shot would be killed by bandits.

But soon things started to go wrong. The bandits from Chen County actually killed Wang Li, who was behind the generals. You know, he also served as a soldier under the old general Wang Jian, but he didn't expect that his grandson and 3 elites would be robbed. The whole army was like a tiger father and a dog son. Li You's 5 elite soldiers were also annihilated by the rebels. It was only then that he learned for the first time that the rebel named Xu Fan.

Soon the entire Central Plains was in chaos. At that time, he thought that the imperial court would soon put down the rebellion. However, when the baggage train entered the Central Plains from Hukou Pass, he brought news that General Meng Tian was actually blocked by the rebels north of the Yellow River. , the Qin Dynasty, which was full of martial virtue, actually became in danger.

It is difficult for Jiang Xing to understand why the world has become like this. The First Emperor is still on the throne, and the Qin army is still full of martial virtue. Everything in the Qin Dynasty is still running as it was before, but the Qin Dynasty, which can annex the six countries, can no longer suppress the rebels in the world. , Xu Fan, these mud-legged people can be more powerful than the nobles of the Six Kingdoms, why can the army that can annex the Six Kingdoms fail to fight the rebellion caused by the mud-legged people?

What happened in the world made Jiang Xing extremely confused. All of this happened in just over two years, and the world had become unfamiliar to him, even to the point of being difficult to understand.

Now the rebels captured the eldest son and led the army to attack Hukou Pass. Faced with this situation, Jiang Xing had no intention of escaping. He did not want to leave Hukou Pass. Even if he died, he would die here.

(End of this chapter)