Xuzhou's soldiers were numerous and powerful, and their arrows were like locusts. They suppressed the prince's soldiers on the mountainside for a while. Su Lun also shouted loudly and ordered the soldiers to use the wooden cedar fence as a cover to counterattack with arrows.
Arrows from both sides were whizzing in the air. Compared to the Xuzhou soldiers, the archers under the prince were obviously much better at individual combat. There were hundreds of people on the other side shooting arrows, but the prince's side only had more than a hundred archers. The force is completely inferior to the Xuzhou soldiers, but the accuracy is much better than the opponent's.
The Xuzhou soldiers suppressed the mountainside with bows and arrows, while the pikemen rushed in front. Although some people fell down from time to time after being hit by arrows, they had already approached the hillside and began to rush towards the hillside. When Su Lun saw that the enemy soldiers had come to kill them, he roared fiercely. With a sound, he rushed down from the only gap leading to the hillside first, followed by a group of swordsmen around him. The prince had already asked someone to blow the horn. The two sides met in close combat and crowded at the entrance. The sound of killing was loud for a while.
The Xuzhou soldiers were strong. In addition to the heavy troops breaking through the entrance, there were also soldiers rushing up from other places. However, there were deep trenches to resist them. On the opposite side of the trench, there were deer antlers and fir fences. It was impossible to jump over, otherwise they would have waited for the deer antler piles. They bumped into each other and stabbed each other with spears.
Su Lun was worthy of being the prince's warrior. He held a big sword and slashed left and right. In the blink of an eye, he had killed five or six people in succession. He was also stabbed in the shoulder by a gun. Su Lun cut off the spear with one knife and pulled out the tip of the spear. With his backhand, he thrust the tip of the spear into the throat of a soldier who was attacking from the side.
Qi Ning saw Xuzhou soldiers coming like a torrent, and he was secretly glad. He thought that it seemed reasonable for the prince to camp on this hillside. If he camped at the foot of the mountain, and the Xuzhou soldiers came to kill him, the whole river would be flat, even the prince's own soldiers would be fine. Elite, but they can't bear the opponent's overwhelming numbers.
Moreover, they were stationed at Niuwang Slope, dug trenches around them, erected fences, and used deer antler stakes. These were now put to great use. Otherwise, Xuzhou's soldiers would have been outnumbered and would have easily killed them on the hillside.
He originally thought that the prince would negotiate with King Taishan first and let him, the envoy of the Chu State, go first to avoid harming Chi Yu. But now it seems that this is just his wishful thinking. King Taishan is obviously eager to deal with the prince, so he simply Don't waste any time and launch an attack immediately.
After all, the mountain road is not as good as the plains, so it is difficult to charge, and the prince's side is condescending. Su Lun led his troops to resist the opponent's attack, while the archers under the prince's command used bows and arrows to support the rear. The two sides fought fiercely, and before long, there were corpses everywhere. , the hillside has been stained red with blood.
This kind of brutal fighting seems too ordinary in this era. Human lives are like grass. If power wants to gain a foothold, it never cares about life. Those who don't want to die can only become stronger and more decisive than others.
The attack launched by Xuzhou soldiers caused heavy losses. In less than half an hour of fighting, hundreds of people were killed and injured. The prince's own soldiers also lost dozens of people, but the casualties were much lighter than those of the other side.
The Xuzhou soldiers took advantage of their large numbers and wanted to rush up the hillside. Who knew that the prince's soldiers were extremely tenacious and refused to give in. They suffered heavy casualties. Seeing their companions fall one by one, many Xuzhou soldiers felt timid and unexpectedly He couldn't help but retreated back. Seeing this situation, Su Lun became even more excited. He became more and more courageous as he fought, his shirt stained with blood.
Soon, Xuzhou soldiers saw that it was difficult to break through the strong attack, and began to retreat down the hillside. They had rushed up quickly before, but now they retreated quickly.
King Taishan held a big sword in his hand and kept looking with wide eyes. At this moment, when he saw the Xuzhou soldiers retreating, he roared a few times. Nearly a hundred Gongjianshan stood up from behind and lined up. King Taishan roared: "Capture Duan Shao alive." Or whoever takes his head will be rewarded with a reward of ten thousand taels, and those who are timid in battle will be killed without mercy." Without hesitation, he waved his saber forward, and the archer did not hesitate, and fired arrows at the Xuzhou soldiers who retreated down the hillside.
There were screams for a while, and in the blink of an eye, dozens of Xuzhou soldiers who had withdrawn were killed by their own bows and arrows, but they saw King Taishan say sternly: "Qiu Long, lead your army to kill them. If you can't attack the Niu King, Po, take Duan Shao's head and come to see him, so you don't have to come back alive."
A general shouted, drew his sword, and led a group of soldiers to support him. The soldiers who retreated from the hillside were in a panic. Seeing Qiu Long leading his troops up, they knew that if they retreated at this time, they could only die. Under the bows and arrows of one's own people, they would kill towards the hillside. If they succeeded, they would still be rewarded. If they retreated and died, they would not even receive any compensation. They could only turn around and rush towards the hillside again.
Qi Ning saw this and thought that although there were trenches and antlers on the hillside for resistance, and the prince's men were indeed brave, they could not help but the Xuzhou soldiers charging and killing like this. If this continued, as long as they attacked back and forth, even if reinforcements came to rescue them a day later, I'm afraid the prince won't be able to wait.
The prince looked solemn, turned his head and saw Qi Ning thoughtfully, and sighed: "Jin Yihou, I didn't expect this situation to be like this, but this time it will affect you."
Qin Ning thought that it was useless to say this at this time, and said: "Your Highness, with the current situation, it is not easy to hold on for a day."
The prince smiled bitterly and said: "Don't say one day, even half a day, it may not be able to stop it."
"Prince, does he have any countermeasures?"
The prince shook his head and said: "I know that King Taishan has always been unwilling, but I thought that these are brothers after all, so they would not kill each other. I never thought that he...!" He clenched his fists and sighed: "For the sake of power, he even fought for power. I don’t care about the feelings of flesh and blood at all.”
Qi Ning looked at the prince and hesitated to speak.
The prince saw the clue and said, "What do you have to say?"
"No." Qi Ning shook his head and just said: "The king of Eastern Qi did not make Taishan Wang his crown prince. It seems that there was nothing wrong. This man has a cruel heart. If he gains power, you, the people of Eastern Qi, will not have an easy life."
"King Taishan has a warlike temperament." The prince said slowly: "Jin Yihou, I am not afraid to tell you that I may not have much ability, but there is one thing that my father values the most, and that is my understanding of Da Qi. The problem is very deep. King Taishan is ambitious and always wants to expand the territory, but he forgets that Daqi is in a corner, and it is not easy to maintain the current situation, let alone continue to expand and start wars. "
Qi Ning frowned and said, "King Taishan wants to start a war?"
"Back then, tens of thousands of troops from the Northern Han Dynasty invaded Daqi, but ended up being defeated." The prince said calmly: "That battle helped Daqi turn the corner from danger, but it was precisely because of that battle that many people in Daqi lost their lives. I feel that our Qi army is brave and good at fighting, and even the Northern Han Dynasty and you, the Southern Chu Dynasty, are no match."
Qi Ning smiled lightly and said nothing.
At this time, the fighting between the two sides became even more fierce. The prince's soldiers knew that there was no danger to defend behind, and the only defense was the deep trench, so they refused to retreat. The Xuzhou soldiers had bows and arrows on standby behind them. If they retreated without permission, they would be attacked. They were shot by their own men, so both sides could only grit their teeth and bleed like rivers.
The prince also saw that the situation was critical and ordered the guards around him: "You don't have to be by my side, go up and help."
Situ Mingyue said anxiously: "Your Highness, these guards are your personal guards. If you even have them...!"
"Situ, if they come and kill them, how can a dozen or so guards be able to protect me?" The prince waved his hand and said, "If you can't withstand it, I will kill myself."
The guards looked at each other, and the prince said coldly: "Don't go yet!"
The guards no longer hesitated, and rushed forward like a dozen hungry wolves. Qining had already seen that these dozen guards were skilled in martial arts. Judging from their nimbleness and agility, they rushed forward in the blink of an eye.
Among thousands of troops, no matter how high a person's martial arts is, it will be completely useless to change the situation of the battle. At most, it can only protect his own life. However, if a person with strong martial arts enters the formation, he will naturally have to fight against the enemy camp locally. With a huge advantage, the dozens of guards killed them. It really felt like a tiger rushing into a flock of sheep. The swords were flying and the swords were fierce. However, the Xuzhou soldiers were shocked. The prince's soldiers saw this situation, and their morale was even more shocked. , roaring in unison, quite impressive.
The prince then continued to Qining: "King Taishan told his father back then that he could form an alliance with the Northern Han Dynasty and jointly conquer Southern Chu. The land obtained would be shared equally with the Northern Han Dynasty. At that time, my father realized that King Taishan I am restless and worried that if Da Qi is handed over to him, the country will be destroyed sooner or later, so I have made me the crown prince."
Qining thought that it might not be true that King Taishan wanted to unite the Northern Han Dynasty to attack the Southern Chu, but it was true that this man was ambitious.
"What's even more shocking is that there are not a few people in the court who have such thoughts as King Taishan." The prince sighed: "Many people are saying that if we are content with the status quo, no matter who wins in the end between Northern Han and Southern Chu, We, Qi, will all face disaster. In this case, we should work hard to expand our borders and expand our territory, so as not to become a meal for other countries."
What Qi Ningxiang said was true. If one of the Southern Chu and the Northern Han really wanted to win in the end, it would be impossible for the Eastern Qi to survive any longer.
"But they don't want to be content with the status quo. At least they can ensure that the Qi people are safe and free from the pain of war." The prince said: "But if you use weapons without permission at this time, you can only bring about your own destruction." Staring at Qin Ning , said: "So I have always advocated peace with other countries, and we must not start war lightly."
Qi Ning nodded slightly, but the prince smiled bitterly and said: "King Taishan rebelled today because he wanted to kill me. The third child has been killed. If I die here this time, my father will definitely send troops to annihilate him in anger. King Taishan, when that time comes, I will have no successor in the Qi Dynasty...!" He looked up at the sky with emotion on his face.
Qi Ning pondered for a moment before asking: "Your Highness, King Taishan has raised an army to rebel today. He must have known that he will become a national thief of Qi State. The Qi State court will never let him go. With his strength, there is absolutely no way he can compete with Qi State." The imperial court is confronting him, but why would he take such a desperate risk? It would be fine if he was acting on impulse, otherwise... it’s really hard to tell where he gets the confidence? "
The prince smiled and said: "You haven't figured it out yet? I have figured it out. You are right. Although King Taishan is impulsive, it is impossible for him not to understand such a major matter, which is a matter of life and death. Although he is irritable, he is not Stupid, if you dare to do this, there must be someone behind you."
"Is there anyone to back you up?"
Although the prince was smiling, his eyes were cold: "The Northern Han Dynasty was defeated, but it didn't give up. Over the years, I dare not do anything to Da Qi openly, but I have done a lot secretly. If I haven't guessed, Wrong, King Taishan dares to rebel this time, it must be related to the Northern Han people!"