Qiu Yizhi turned around and saw the childish look on this soldier's face. It seemed that he had just joined the army and had experienced battle for the first time. Although he was standing on the top of the extremely safe city wall, he was still a little timid. He stretched out his fingers towards the bottom of the city. The place trembled slightly.
Qiu Yizhi looked in the direction of the man's finger, and sure enough he saw a large number of Japanese pirates gathering in an open space from the alleys extending in all directions. However, they did not immediately concentrate their strength to launch an attack. Instead, they divided into more than twenty small groups, each of which was only Thirty or forty people spread out and attacked the reinforcements outside the city from all directions.
When the two armies fight, the emphasis is on concentrating their forces and defeating them one by one. The use of troops by the Japanese pirates is obviously a taboo among military strategists. Even Liu Qing, who was watching the battle at the top of the city, smiled contemptuously and said to Qiu Yizhi: "Sir, look These Japanese pirates don't know the art of war. They have to divide their troops even though they are small in number. However, they are divided into so many scattered teams and they don't know whether to live or die. It's strange that they won't die. "
Qiu Yizhi knew the fighting power of the Japanese pirates, and unlike Liu Qingduo, he lay on the edge of the city wall and watched the battle unfold with all his concentration.
However, they saw that although the Japanese pirates had strange tactics, their actions were extremely upright. Without any cover, and with only a Japanese sword in their hands, they dared to attack the Han army, which was nearly ten times the number of them. This courage and determination, Even Qiu Yizhi had to admire him deeply.
On the other hand, the Han army was in chaos when they heard the Japanese pirates were attacking.
These troops came from all over the country to support them. There was no clear ownership, and I don’t know who unified the control. The two Zhonglang generals with the highest nominal titles were both brought into the city by Qiu Yizhi. Now they could only form their own formations. , choosing opponents nearby to fight, without any coordination with each other, looking messy.
In addition, these troops had been struggling under Jinling City for several days without getting any rest or supplies. Both their physical condition and psychological morale had dropped to the lowest point. The group of Japanese pirates opposite had also not plundered property for a long time and had no replenishment. They all expected to make a big harvest under Jinling City, and their morale was very high.
In this way, although the Han army was outnumbered, it was no match for the Japanese pirates, who had only one-tenth of its own number. They could not withstand the slightest contact and immediately collapsed. However, the Han officers and soldiers were more or less wearing armor, and their foot strength was not as good as that of their opponents who only wore single clothes and single robes. Even when they escaped, they couldn't run as fast as the Japanese pirates, so they had to be slaughtered.
In this way, in the blink of an eye, the tens of thousands of officers and soldiers under the city were completely defeated. They were like tens of thousands of flies with their heads screwed off, running around in no order along the strong and tall walls of Jinling City, being pointed at by the Japanese pirates. Behead and kill.
Seeing this scene, Qiu Yizhi was extremely anxious and hurriedly said to Liu Qing: "The reinforcements under the city have been defeated, and we cannot let them be wiped out. Why don't you quickly organize your team, open the city gate, and let the defeated soldiers enter the city first!" "
Liu Qing did not expect the Japanese pirates to be so powerful, nor did he expect the reinforcements to be defeated so easily. He was already stunned.
This Jiedushi Liu Qing is the current emperor. He was once a guard around King Youyan. When he was later released to lead the army in battle, he led the elite soldiers of the old Youyan Road. He always only pursued the victory and never defeated the enemy. Even if Even if there are small setbacks occasionally, you can retreat calmly. Therefore, Liu Qing had never seen such a sudden dispersion, and he didn't know how to deal with it.
Seeing that Liu Qing was at a loss, Qiu Yizhi quickly shouted in his ear: "Don't be stunned, quickly do as I say, organize the troops in the city to prepare for the response, and then open the city gate. Let the defeated troops outside the city enter the city. As for the Japanese pirates outside the city, leave them alone."
Liu Qing thought for a moment, then said with a troubled expression: "Sir, that's true. I'm afraid that if the Japanese pirates are powerful and take advantage of the situation to attack the city, it will be out of control."
"So I ask you to organize the troops in the city first and line up inside the city gate to respond. Even if there are sporadic Japanese pirates sneaking in, you can kill them casually. If you have the opportunity, you can take advantage of the chaos and counterattack to catch the Japanese pirates off guard." Qiu Yi replied.
"This... this..." Liu Qing said hesitantly, "the generals in the city have ordered the organization of the officers and soldiers in the city, and are now rushing to the bottom of the city. Is... is this the matter of opening the city gate..."
"What's wrong? Don't wait any longer. Didn't you see that all the soldiers below were almost killed by the Japanese pirates? Why don't you open the door quickly!" Qiu Yizhi became more and more anxious as he spoke.
Liu Qing, however, still had a very embarrassed look and tone: "Didn't Sir Cai just discuss the outcome with Governor Qian, He Jiugong and the others? When there was no war, they were still unwilling to open the door and let people go. Now that the war has begun, When they were defeated again, they were even more reluctant to open the door.”
When Qiu Yizhi heard that Liu Qing was actually causing such a delay in the military situation, he asked sharply: "Liu Qing, let me ask you, whose family's general are you and whose salary are you eating? Why do you follow those businessmen in everything?" , but you don’t have any ideas of your own?”
Liu Qing, the governor of Jiangnan Province, was also a high-ranking general. Hearing Qiu Yizhi call him by his name without hesitation, his heart was already filled with anger. If he hadn't seen that Qiu Yizhi was the adopted son of the current emperor, and several The prince's brother had already been angry, but now he could only suppress his anger and said: "Well, it is the general's responsibility to defend the territory. Aren't these reinforcements coming here to prevent Japanese pirates from entering Jinling City? Aren't they also here? Are you fighting Japanese pirates below the city? Your Excellency, you have fought with the emperor. You know that in any battle, there will be casualties. The number of casualties will naturally be reported to the Ministry of War after the battle. As for rewards and punishments, the Ministry of War will naturally have their own ideas. "Master Qiu is the magistrate of Shanyin County, so he doesn't have to worry about the general."
Qiu Yizhi's tone became more and more firm as he listened to Liu Qing's words - he refused to open the city gate, and saw that the reinforcements below the city were being slaughtered by the Japanese pirates. Thinking that his own soldiers, Xiang Yong, and Wen Lingjiao were all below the city, he felt in his heart He was extremely anxious and couldn't help but take a step forward to argue with Liu Qing.
But Qiu Yizhi took this step very quickly, and something heavy jumped in his arms, which made Qiu Yizhi remember that he was carrying something extraordinary with him.
This object is the gold-medal command arrow given to him by the emperor. As long as he openly takes out this object and shows the four golden seal characters "I am here in person" on it, he can mobilize the army in the name of the emperor, not to mention ordering Liu Qing to open the city gate. Yes, it is justifiable for Yue Zu to take over the command of the Jiangnan army on behalf of Liu Qing.
Thinking of this, Qiu Yizhi quietly put his hand into his arms and touched the command arrow that still had his own body temperature. Just as he was about to take his hand out, he heard an unknown soldier on the city wall exclaim: "Look, below the city, The army is in chaos, but this group of people is motionless! Are they scared? "
After Qiu Yizhi heard this, he quickly lay down on the city wall again, stuck his head out and looked down at the city.
Sure enough, he saw that on the chaotic battlefield, there was only one team, with more than two hundred people. Facing the attacks of Japanese pirates and friendly forces, they formed their formations in an orderly and calm manner. The flags were in order. Not only did they not break up, but they faintly There is an intention to take advantage of the chaos and fight back.
Qiu Yi saw that the uniforms and flags of this army were none other than the eighteen soldiers and two hundred village warriors he had brought from Shanyin County.
Although most of them were heading into battle with unconcealable nervous expressions on their faces, under the command of the leader Zhao Chengxiao, each armed with sharp blades and shields, they lined up in a neat and tight formation to wait for the opportunity to fight. , at first glance, it looks like a strictly trained army. Compared with the friendly troops who are panicking everywhere, there is a huge difference.
On both sides of the queue, there were Qiu Yizhi's original eighteen soldiers, each riding a horse, patrolling back and forth for protection. On the one hand, they killed sporadic Japanese pirates when they encountered them, and on the other hand, they also prevented the defeated friendly troops from being dispersed. formation.
Qiu Yizhi felt relieved when he saw that his subordinate Xiangyong was so orderly and orderly. He then heard Lin Shuhan beside him say, "I didn't expect that General Zhao is also well versed in military strategy. He seems to be someone he can rely on."
Qiu Yizhi did not answer, but kept searching the queue below the city. Sure enough, he saw three people dressed as women standing in the center of the queue in the distance. They expected them to be Yuchi Jiming, Wen Lingjiao and He'er. In this way, Wen Lingjiao had the personal protection of the outer cavalry, intermediate infantry and Yuchi Jiming, so her safety was considered safe.
Seeing this scene, Qiu Yizhi's heart that had been hanging for a long time finally returned to his stomach. He answered Lin Shuhan with a slight smile: "Brother Zhao leads the army in a calm and cautious way, and he is much more reliable than me. But speaking of it, this is the first time he is leading a battle alone, so we can see how capable he is."
Sure enough, as Qiu Yi said, Zhao Chengxiao was not aggressive in leading the army. Facing the Japanese pirates who were several times his own and with high fighting spirit, he did not choose to take the initiative, but ordered his soldiers to slowly retreat to Jinling City.
Although the Japanese pirates are brave and fearless, they also know how to bully the weak and avoid the strong. Some of the tens of thousands of rebels are easy targets to kill. They are only a small team of twenty or thirty people. There is no reason to rashly attack the two hundred people who are well organized and difficult to find any flaws. .
Therefore, Qiu Yi's soldiers Xiang Yong, under the command of Zhao Chengxiao, retreated to the gate of Jinling City Wall calmly and confidently without any major obstacles.
When Qiu Yi saw that there were no Japanese pursuers around the city gate, he thought that if he asked Jiedushi Liu Qing to open the entire gate, he might not agree. However, it would not be difficult to open the gate a little to let his soldiers enter the city, so he turned around and asked Liu Qing to open the entire gate. Talk to Liu Qing.
Unexpectedly, Liu Qing took advantage of Qiu Yi's full attention to observe the situation on the battlefield and ran away without knowing where he was. Qiu Yizhi was anxious and hurriedly asked a guard on the city wall: "Where is your military commander General Liu now?"
The guard was a fool. After listening to the question, he thought about it for a long time, then shook his head and said "I don't know." Then he extended a finger with his left hand and said, "It seems that he has gone over there."
Qiu Yizhi looked in the direction of the guard's finger, but he only saw a city wall that was so long that he couldn't see the edge, and there was no trace of Liu Qing at all, which made him curse secretly in his heart.
He suddenly felt happy: since the Jiedushi of Jiangnan Province had disappeared, he was the highest-ranking official on the wall, so he could force the guards on the city to open the city gate and let his people into the city.
But Qiu Yizhi then thought again, if these soldiers really listened to his order and opened the city to release people, they would undoubtedly offend Jiedushi Liu Qing and governor Qian Feng. It was easy for Liu Qing to talk, but Qian Feng, a scholar with a small belly, would definitely not spare these guards. Then wouldn't he just bring trouble for them
After all, Qiu Yizhi came from a bitter background, and his experience of fighting in the north and south in the past ten years had not hardened his soft-heartedness. He had no choice but to sigh, stick his head out on the city wall, and shout in the direction of Zhao Chengxiao below the city: "Brother Zhao! The Japanese pirates are at the end of their war effort. Just hold on a little longer. Once the Japanese pirates retreat, you can enter the city!" (To be continued)