Chu and Han contend for the throne

Chapter 124 Iron Blood Baptism
After Tang Cheng arranged the military affairs, he came to the enemy building again.

"General, you'd better take a rest." Tang Cheng bowed to Gu Feng and said, "The rebels didn't carry siege equipment, and if they wanted to attack the city, they had to cut down wood and build ladders, so before dawn they were It is impossible to launch an attack, and there is still half an hour before dawn, general, you should go back to Xingyuan."

Gu Feng waved his hand and said, "I won't go back."

After saying this, Gu Feng said again: "Tang Cheng, what do you think?"

After pondering for a moment, Tang Cheng replied: "General, the rebels outside the pass are ragged and have disorganized armor. It is absolutely impossible for them to be the remnants of the Chu army in Xiangzhuang. Moreover, the Chu army in Xiangzhuang does not have so many people."

Gu Feng nodded and said: "Don't you find it strange? How did such a rebel army enter Sanchuan County?"

Tang Cheng shook his head and said: "The last general is also puzzled. Sanchuan County has Hulao Pass as its gateway. With such a rebel army, if they want to break through Hulao Pass, how can they enter Sanchuan County?" After a pause, Tang Cheng said again, "Could it be that this rebel army bypassed Hulao Pass by water and entered Sanchuan County?"

Gu Feng nodded and said: "It's also possible."

Tang Cheng smiled wryly and said: "It's a pity that the news in the direction of the Guandong has been strictly blocked by the rebel scouts. Otherwise, you only need to ask the passing merchants and traffickers and pawns to know the truth. However, no matter where the rebels come from , and where are we going, we just need to guard the Hangu Pass well."

Gu Feng was silent, just nodded.

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Outside Hangu Pass.

Amid the hurried footsteps, Xiao Kai and Tian Heng strode to Xiang Zhuang's horse.

"General." The two bowed to Xiang Zhuang to salute, then Xiao Kai asked, "Why did the baggage train stop?"

Now the Chu army is already burdened with baggage, not only heavy ladders, well rails, and siege vehicles, but also thousands of ox carts, mule carts, and horse-drawn carts. The plundered food, meat, and various utensils such as tents, iron kettles, and anvils.

What Xiao Kai asked was about the ladder, the well rail and the siege engine.

Xiang Zhuang said: "Tomorrow, you cannot use ladders, well rails or siege vehicles to attack the city."

"Ah? Then how to attack the city?" Xiao Kai was stunned upon hearing this, and Tian Heng's expression changed slightly.

Xiang Zhuang said to Xiao Kai and Tian Heng: "You guys are sending troops to the mountains to cut wood and build simple long ladders overnight. To capture the city tomorrow, use these simple long ladders."

Xiao Kai and Tian Heng lost their voices: "General, this..."

Xiang Zhuang waved his hand, stopped the two of them and said, "Follow the military order."

"No!" Although Xiao Kai and Tian Heng were puzzled, they still accepted the order.

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Hangu Pass, enemy tower.

Tang Cheng suddenly pointed his fingers outside and said to Gu Feng: "Look, general, the rebels have gone up the mountain to log."

Tang Cheng didn't say that Gu Feng had already seen it. Teams of torches and long dragons had already driven up the high mountains on both sides of the road. Obviously, the rebels were preparing to go up the mountain to log, and Gu Feng's thick eyebrows immediately frowned. Is the army really planning to attack Hangu Pass with the improvised and simple long ladder?
Tang Cheng said coldly: "These rebels really don't know how to live or die."

Gu Feng frowned more and more, he always felt that something was wrong.

Is the general of the rebel army outside the pass an idiot?Did he really think he could break Hangu Pass with [-] to [-] ragged and disheveled mobs?What is especially unbelievable is that the rebels didn't even have a ladder, so how could they climb the six-foot-high wall with a simple long ladder built by temporary logging?
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But after dawn, Gu Feng knew that the rebels were definitely not bluffing, they really planned to attack Hangu Pass!

When the eastern sky showed a faint gray belly, the rebel army had already built dozens of long ladders more than six feet long, and immediately outside the pass, the horn of attack sounded. With the continuous sound of the horn, hundreds of rebels Carrying dozens of simple long ladders, the army swarmed towards the majestic and towering wall of Hangu Pass.

When the rebels entered within a hundred steps, arrows as dense as locusts suddenly poured down from the gate.

The rebels who charged forward screamed and fell down one by one. After more than a hundred casualties, the remaining rebels finally lost their courage and fled back down the long ladder.

However, before shutting down the Han army to take a breath, another group of rebels swarmed up.

When the rebels rushed within a hundred steps again, the dense rain of arrows poured down from the gate again. The second team of rebels performed slightly better than the first team of rebels, and they rushed forward dozens of steps distance, but still failed to get close to the city wall, let alone erect the long ladder to prepare to snatch the city.

For the next whole day, the rebels launched more than 20 attacks on Hangu Pass.

Unfortunately, except for two rebels who approached the city wall, the other 20 or so rebels who attacked the rebels were defeated by the Han army with arrow rain on the way. The corpses of the rebels are already lying all over the ground, at least there are more than 2000 people.

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On the enemy building, Gu Feng leaned on the fence and fell into deep thought.

Is the general of the rebel army outside the pass really an idiot?Knowing that such a style of play is simply death, but the rebels still charge up again and again?

Tang Chengdao: "General, the rebels must be desperate, right?"

Gu Feng said: "You mean, someone is chasing after the rebels?"

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Ten miles outside the pass, there is a large tent in Xiangzhuang.

Xiao Kai walked quickly into the big tent, bowed to Xiang Zhuang and Wei Liao respectively, and then said with a miserable expression: "General, it's impossible to go on like this, the last general's rear army is almost wiped out!"

In today's battle, Xiao Kai's rear army lost less than 2000 people.

In addition, in order to clean up the military discipline, Xiao Kai beheaded hundreds of deserters before the formation. When it was dark and Xiang Zhuang ordered to withdraw the troops, the entire rear army had less than 500 people left!What is especially frustrating is that so many people have died, and the battlements of Hangu Pass have not been touched. How can this battle be fought?
Xiang Zhuang said calmly: "How much did the rear army lose?"

Xiao Kai said sadly: "A total of less than 2000 people were killed!"

"Support you 2000 people!" Xiang Zhuang said without hesitation, "Go to the Chinese army camp to pick people yourself."

"This..." Xiao Kai was stunned, seeing that Xiang Zhuang didn't look like he was joking, he quickly turned around and left.

Watching Xiao Kai's figure leave, Xiang Zhuang fell into a long silence, and his eyes became colder than ever.

Ordering Xiao Kai's rear army and Tian Heng's right army to attack Hangu Pass at all costs, the main reason is to paralyze the defenders and create opportunities for Xiangzhuang's pro-army to attack. Another important consideration is that Xiangzhuang Trying to pass the offensive and defensive battle of Hangu Pass, and give the [-] strong men under his command a baptism of iron and blood!

A strong man is a strong man, no matter how he trains, he will still be a strong man.

If you want to turn a group of strong men into a group of soldiers, you must let them undergo the baptism of iron and blood.

It is cruel and cruel to drive a group of strong men with long ladders to attack the towering Hangu Pass. To use the words of later generations of civilization, Xiang Zhuang's actions are anti-human!
However, this is the most effective quick training method that Xiang Zhuang can think of.

In the face of cruel and tragic siege battles, the strong men will quickly become polarized. The weak who are not suitable for war, or those who are not firm-willed, will soon be eliminated and will die in battle soon, but those who are strong, A strong-willed man, born to be a soldier, thrives quickly!

The Chu army has no foundation, no rear, and no logistical supplies.

If Xiang Zhuang had to choose between [-] strong men and [-] elite soldiers, he would definitely choose the latter without hesitation!
Therefore, Xiang Zhuang turned the Battle of Hangu Pass into a bloody assessment against the strong men of the Chu army in extremely cold blood. If they pass the assessment, these strong men will become tough veterans of the Chu army. If they fail, there will only be one result. , Become one of the countless corpses lying in front of Hangu Pass!
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The next day, the attack of the rebels outside the pass continued.

Teams of rebels swarmed towards Hangu Pass carrying long ladders, launched desperate and tragic attacks again and again, and then were defeated by the arrow rain of the Han army at the pass, There were several teams of rebels bravely climbing up the long ladder, only to be burned to ashes by the fierce fire oil.

By the time it got dark the next day, there were more than 2000 corpses outside Hangu Pass.

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On the third day, the attack of the rebels outside the pass continued.

Compared with the previous two days, the attack of the rebel army on the third day was much stronger. It may be because those who died in the previous battle were old, sick and weak, while the rest were young and strong soldiers. It is because the remaining fierce soldiers have adapted to the cruel war both physically and psychologically, and they appear more calm on the battlefield.

In addition, the rebels also had some impromptu wooden shields in their hands. Shutting down the Han army's rain of arrows was not enough to stop the rebels from advancing, and rolling wood and beating stones was not enough to stop the rebels from climbing the city. , The dead soldiers of the rebels had even rushed to Hangu Pass, and the defenders poured a lot of fire oil to collapse the offensive of the rebels.

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The sun finally set, and the rebels outside the pass finally retreated like a tide.

Under the majestic and majestic wall of Hangu Pass, thousands of corpses have been added again.

However, the Han army that closed the pass finally suffered casualties. What is especially bad is that the arrows, rolling logs, stones, and fierce fire oil were consumed. The fire oil is about to run out, and if it lasts for five days, the rolling logs, stones and arrows will also be used up.

Gu Feng has already clearly felt that the rebels' siege is increasing.

It wasn't until this moment that Gu Feng suddenly understood that the leader of the rebel army outside the pass was definitely not an idiot, on the contrary, the leader of the rebel army was definitely a ruthless character, this guy clearly wanted to use the Battle of Hangu Pass to train his troops, trying to pass this battle Violent battles, turned his tens of thousands of mobs into an elite army with a small number of people but a multiplied combat power!
Gu Feng breathed a long sigh of relief, and told his lieutenant general Tang Chengdao: "Except for the night guards and patrols, the rest of the battalion soldiers take the time to eat, then sleep, get enough energy, and prepare for tomorrow's fierce battle!" It is completely conceivable , Wait until tomorrow morning, the rebels will attack the city with greater intensity.

(End of this chapter)