stonecrandall Chapter 888 Reinforcements arrived and the Chu army attacked Xianyang!
Chapter 888 Reinforcements arrived and the Chu army attacked Xianyang!
Li Zhao's gaze swept across the young face of the deputy general, gazing toward the distant horizon. A few clumps of withered grass rustled in the dusky fields, their movements silent. He shook his head slowly, his voice heavy as if weighed down by lead. "Order all gates to be strictly guarded. Anyone who dares to speak of going to war will be punished by military law."
The deputy general was about to argue, but the bloodshot in Li Zhao's eyes frightened him. They wouldn't know that this commander, renowned for his valor, was now suppressing his urge to march with all his might. He could almost see the Chu cavalry pouring in from all directions—soldiers pretending to dig suddenly dropping their shovels and drawing swords from the mud; from behind the distant hills emerged a dark mass of heavily armored cavalry, their horses' hooves crushing the setting sun.
"War is never about the gains and losses of a city or a pond." Gao Yao's voice suddenly echoed in his ears. It was three months ago in the general's tent, the candlelight flickering a cold light in the man's eyes. "Xiang Yu is adept at using surprise attacks. Your goal isn't to defeat him briefly, but to make sure he never figures out Xianyang's plans."
Li Zhao took a deep breath, the sweet, fishy smell of gunpowder mixed with the scent of earth filling his lungs. He saw the Chu army's digging troops suddenly shift their formation, the front row of shield soldiers deliberately leaving gaps, as if luring the enemy deeper. What a trick! He almost sneered. Half an hour ago, he might have fallen for it.
Inside the Chu army's tent, Xiang Yu stroked his tiger-head military token, his gaze never leaving the sand table. The red flag representing an ambush lay hidden behind the model hills, like a dormant beast.
"Still digging?" he suddenly said.
Xiang Zhuang clasped his fists and said, "Seven locations of black powder have been discovered, and the soldiers are digging."
"Are there any movements from the garrison?"
"The arrows are less frequent than before, but the city gates remain closed."
Xiang Yu suddenly struck the edge of the sand table with his fist, and a corner of the rice-stacked Xianyang wall collapsed. The generals in the tent lowered their heads in horror, and only Xiang Yu's sneer echoed through the tent: "What a cowardly Li Zhao! I underestimated him."
He remembered the prediction made by Yi Xiaochuan when he visited him three days ago: "If the defending general is a reckless man, he will rush out of the city to fight when he sees the digging; if he is a wise man, he will hold on and wait for help." At that time, he just thought it was Yi Xiaochuan's usual tactic of blocking both sides, but now his words have come true.
A gasp echoed from within the tent. The lieutenant general couldn't help but exclaim, "This is clearly a method of burying the enemy in preparation for a tunnel attack! Could it be that Xianyang knew our army was planning to dig the city?"
Xiang Yu raised his hand to silence the discussion, his fingertips drawing a deep mark on the sand table. "Keep digging. Even if we have to turn the outside of Xianyang upside down, we must dig up all the gunpowder."
Li Zhao, perched atop the city walls, shuddered. He saw the Chu army's digging shift subtly, initially aimlessly, then gradually converging into specific areas. These areas coincided with the stress points of the city wall—if detonated, while they wouldn't collapse the wall, they would be enough to destroy defensive structures like the battlements and enemy towers.
"What a poisonous vision." He muttered to himself. This is definitely not a tactic that an ordinary general would think of. It seems to be the work of that person... Yi Xiaochuan. It is said that this person has been under Xiang Yu's command in recent years, and his mind and vision are far beyond ordinary people.
As dusk deepened, the soldiers lit torches and placed them on the battlements.
Suddenly, a horn blasted from behind the Chu army. The soldiers digging the ground retreated like a tide, leaving behind a tangled mess of holes. Xiang Zhuang counted the casualties and walked into the tent with a grim expression. "General, we've lost 537 men today, with over 200 seriously injured."
Xiang Yu was polishing his sword, his face dimly reflected on the blade. "How many casualties did the defenders suffer?"
"We should have used up more than half our arrows, but..." Xiang Zhuang paused, "According to spies, the defenders suffered almost no casualties."
He suddenly remembered that during the Battle of Kuaiji, Gao Yao had also used a rain of arrows to wear down the Chu army's spirit. At that time, he had laughed at the enemy for wasting military resources, but he didn't expect that they would be destroyed by black powder three days later.
"Send the order to the whole army." Xiang Yu sheathed his sword, the sound of metal friction was harsh and unpleasant, "Begin the attack on Xianyang at dawn tomorrow.
Xiang Zhuang was stunned: "But the black powder hasn't been completely burned yet..."
"We must attack them while they think we're about to continue digging." Xiang Yu's lips curled up in a cold arc. "Since we can't lure out the defenders, let Gao know that Xianyang is in imminent danger!"
After the generals took their orders and left, Xiang Yu left the tent alone. The cold moon, like a crescent, illuminated the newly minted graves outside the city. Five hundred and thirty-seven souls, in exchange for a chance to see his opponent's hidden hand—the price was heavier than he had anticipated, but perhaps not unworthy.
It's not that Xiang Yu didn't want to continue digging, but apart from the initial gains, the subsequent losses far exceeded the gains. Although he said that he would destroy or confiscate all the black gunpowder, the possibility of such a thing itself was very low, and the probability of it being done was too low. As long as it was reduced to a certain level so as not to affect the army's siege, or even to help the army's siege, it would be enough.
Xiang Yu was also very clear about the importance of time at this time. Once the battle in Nanjun was completely over, Gao Yao would be able to bring too many reinforcements, at least 150,000 troops. If that happened, it would be difficult to retreat to the north smoothly, not to mention an ambush.
At this moment, Li Zhao, standing on the top of Xianyang City, was also looking up at the same moon. He clutched the pigeon message he had just received. The string was stained with congealed blood—evidence that the pigeon had been bruised by an arrow. Unfolding the silk, he saw Gao Yao's elegant handwriting:
"Hold on and wait for help, reinforcements are here!"
Li Zhao held the silk cloth close to the torch, watching the ink curl and char in the flames. He suddenly realized that all his patience today was to buy time on the northern battlefield. War is never about the gains and losses of a city or a pond, but about who ultimately controls the overall situation.
The night wind carried the faint neighing of horses from the Chu army camp. Li Zhao knew that tomorrow would bring even more brutal fighting. But at this moment, his heart was at peace. With Gao Yao as his backup, it was just a matter of defending the city. Even without black powder, Li Zhao was confident that he could hold Xianyang. Before dawn, Yangping Pass was shrouded in an oppressive silence, only the torches on the wall swayed in the breeze, casting dancing shadows. Gao Yao stood atop the gate tower, his eyes fixed on the distance, his brow stained with unconcealable fatigue from days of fighting. Beneath the wall, the scattered bonfires in the Chu army camp flickered like will-o'-the-wisp, foreshadowing the beginning of a new day of fighting.
"Your Majesty, you have been on guard all night. Why don't you go and rest for a while?" The deputy general advised cautiously.
Gao Yao waved his hand, his voice hoarse but firm: "It's okay, the reinforcements will arrive today, it won't be too late to rest then."
His gaze never left the distant horizon, as if he wanted to see through the hazy dawn. As the newly appointed King of Qin, Gao Yao understood the importance of Yangping Pass better than anyone else. If this pass, which held the strategic point between Hanzhong and Guanzhong, fell, the Chu army could march straight into Xianyang.