Zhu Xiang deliberately waited until the fighting on the front line subsided before allowing the Chu scholars on the wall of Guangling to sing Chu songs.
When the soldiers first start fighting, they are numb and only follow orders and charge into battle blindly without thinking.
People are afraid of death, so when people encounter danger, their bodies will block their emotions and make themselves more fearless.
But when the battle becomes stalemate, people around them fall down, and their own wounds begin to hurt, their self-deception will disappear and fear will creep into their hearts.
At this time they will regret it and keep asking themselves why they came to the battlefield.
They are no longer numb and can think.
The core of the Chu State had moved to the banks of the Huai River, and the accent also became closer to that of the Central Plains.
Guangling was once the land of Wu and Yue, and now there are many Yue people, as well as many scholars who escaped from Yingdu. Their accents are somewhat different from those of the Chu people in the north.
From the walls of Guangling there were bursts of Chu songs, with the unique accent of the Chu people living on the banks of the Yangtze River, which made some of the Chu people's hands holding their weapons tremble slightly.
As they listened to the Chu songs, they remembered that the people in Guangling City were also Chu people.
They also remembered that their hometown had been burned down and they had been forced into exile. They took weapons to attack the last city on the north bank of the Yangtze River, forcing the Chu people in the last city to move north.
What happens after moving north
They remembered what Duke Xiang of Zhu had asked the Lord of Southern Chu and General Xiang Yan in the Chu dialect, which also had the accent of their hometown.
Can we not massacre the city? Can we give them land and houses
Can the people of Guangling be saved? !
Lord Nan Chu and General Xiang Yan did not answer, no answer!
Swords and knives have no eyes on the battlefield. If you lose focus, the enemy's weapon will pass through your body.
As he fell on his back, he saw the other person's eyes filled with anger and tears, and heard the other person's angry curses in an accent almost the same as his own.
The other party cursed, "You damn Chu State!" and burned his house and fields.
When he closed his eyes, he thought to himself, it turned out that the man was a Chu person who fled from the west, maybe he was really a fellow villager.
Then he felt severe pain in his body and lost consciousness.
When the charging soldiers fell, their bodies were immediately crushed by the horses' hooves, chariots and the feet of other soldiers into a pool of mud in which it was impossible to distinguish between blood, bones and flesh.
Xiang Yan also heard the sound of Chu songs from the top of the Guangling city wall.
I don’t know how many people were singing, but the sound of it could actually reach his ears across the battlefield.
Xiang Yan looked at the tense battle line gradually retreating, and clenched the reins of the chariot.
If two armies were facing each other, he would definitely lead the troops to charge and boost morale with his personal bravery.
But siege is different.
The defenders had already used the city walls to pile up all the defense equipment in the area in front of the city gate, and the attackers could only use human lives to pile it up.
That's why he captured many young and strong men who had nowhere to go after the city was broken, and used them as consumption for charging into the battle.
None of the elite troops he brought would be lost in the first charge.
Only after all the homeless Chu people on the north bank of the Yangtze River have died and the defenders have been almost exhausted will the elite troops move forward to reap the rewards.
He used generous rewards and the sword of supervision to force the Chu people on the north bank of the Yangtze River to fight continuously.
However, Zhu Xiang used Chu songs on the wall to instantly defeat his troops.
Did this man really have no experience in leading troops? Or was there a Qin general who was not very prominent behind Duke Zhu Xiang who was giving him advice? Was Li Mu even in the city, waiting for him to lead the Qin troops out after he was exhausted
Although the current battle situation is unfavorable, Xiang Yan is not at all panicked and analyzes the current situation very calmly.
The siege will certainly be disadvantageous at first.
Sun Tzu said: "So the best military operation is to attack the enemy's plans, the next best is to attack their alliances, the next best is to attack their troops, and the worst is to attack their cities. Attacking cities is the last resort."
Now that it had come to the point where he had no choice but to attack the city, Xiang Yan had already prepared himself mentally.
Although the battle line was being pushed back and the casualties looked heavy, the dead were all those he had already decided would die.
He could also capture people from the rear to charge into the battle formation later, but Guangling City had a limited number of people and could not afford to waste time.
The only thing that bothered him now was where was Li Mu and where was the Qin army
Xiang Yan knew that Qin Prince Zheng was in Wujun. Changping Jun was Prince Zheng's uncle and the most powerful supporter of Prince Zheng's succession. If Changping Jun got into trouble, Prince Zheng would lose an arm. Therefore, Prince Zheng would never allow Changping Jun to get into trouble.
Changping Jun was also the core of Li Mu, Lian Po, Lin Zhi and other Zhao ministers who were holding high positions in the Qin court.
Although Changping Jun did not seem to hold a high position in the court, he was a relative of the King of Qin and was highly respected. The current power of the Zhao ministers was almost entirely due to him. Some people even entered Qin just for Changping Jun.
Li Mu, who was leading the army alone in farming, would never let Zhu Xiang get into trouble. If Zhu Xiang and the Crown Prince of Qin had not been supervising the army in Wujun, how could the King of Qin have allowed Li Mu, a Zhao general, to lead the army alone
Xiang Yan thought again that if something happened to Lord Changping, the power of the Zhao ministers would be greatly weakened, and it might be that the original Chu relatives would be able to occupy a seat in the Qin court again.
He stroked the sword at his waist.
If Lord Changping were killed in Guangling, the State of Qin would be in chaos.
When Xiang Yan had this thought, he immediately broke out in a sweat and suppressed this terrible thought.
He knew that if he killed Lord Changping, it would definitely be good for the State of Chu, but he and the Xiang family would probably all be buried with Lord Changping.
"General, General!" The deputy general shouted several times before Xiang Yan came back to his senses. "The supervisory team killed more than a dozen people but couldn't stop their defeat. Should we withdraw our troops and let us take over?"
Xiang Yan glanced at the deputy general and said, "Withdraw the troops, set up camp and rest first, and then launch a night attack after dark."
He looked towards Guangling City where the Chu songs had not yet stopped: "They are few in number and cannot withstand harassment."
The deputy general said: "Yes!"
He ordered the troops to retreat.
The Chu songs on the city wall stopped only when they heard the Chu army sound the gong.
Chen Qi shook his sore arms and put his clothes back on with the help of the servants.
He asked excitedly: "The Chu army retreated?"
Zhu Xiang said: "Send people to clean up the battlefield and replace the wounded."
Chen Qi said: "Yes!"
Regardless of his sore arms, he ran downstairs to go and inform them in person.
A young scholar stopped Chen Qi and took the initiative to pass the message on behalf of Chen Qi.
"Have a good rest and sleep as much as you can. They will definitely attack at night." Zhu Xiang said to the soldiers on the city wall.
Meng Tian said: "Uncle, you should go and rest."
Since he found that calling him "Uncle" worked well, Meng Tian changed his way of speaking.
I'll change it back when the prince is around, Meng Tian thought.
Zhu Xiang said: "I know."
He went down the city wall and waited for the wounded to come back.
A group of residential houses behind the city gate had been demolished and turned into a camp for wounded soldiers.
Zhu Xiang set a deadline of one month. He harvested immature rice ears and old grains, ground them into flour and steamed them into cakes. He also killed chickens, ducks, pigs and sheep every day to make soup, so that the soldiers had enough food.
Zhu Xiang told the residents in the city that if the city was captured, everyone would die, regardless of whether they had stored any grain; if the city was defended, he would transport grain from Wu County to help the people of Guangling survive until the next harvest.
The people of Guangling firmly believed what Duke Zhu Xiang said.
The incident in Guangling City had nothing to do with Duke Zhu Xiang. He just couldn't bear to see the Chu State slaughter the city in front of him, so he was willing to defend the city with the people of Guangling. If they didn't even trust Duke Zhu Xiang, who else could they trust
Moreover, they had seen Duke Zhu Xiang's farming skills. The people of Guangling were about to have an astonishing and unprecedented harvest.
It was called a camp for wounded soldiers, but there wasn't even any disinfectant.
Food in the city was rationed, with limited supplies to soldiers, while everyone else, including the rich in the city, could barely fill their stomachs.
Zhu Xiang lived in the temporary command post behind the city gate. He ate the same food as the soldiers, and everyone could see it.
Therefore, it is impossible to brew wine in Guangling City, let alone concentrate it into high-proof alcohol.
Zhu Xiang collected some herbs, which were better than nothing, and hired some old women to sew up the wounds of the wounded.
Apart from ensuring that the cloth bands and suture tools used on the wounded were scalded with boiling water, Zhu Xiang had no instructions for this simple camp for the wounded, and he could not give any instructions.
He also hired some old, weak, sick and disabled people who were unable to go to the front line to build a blast furnace to burn the soldiers who died in battle.
The weather is hot now, and corpses are prone to rotting. Once the plague spreads in the city, Guangling City will fall without a fight.
When the bodies are burned, the flames can also be used by blacksmiths to repair weapons, or to make fires for cooking and boiling water.
When Zhu Xiang made this decision, he felt like he had the potential to go to the eighteenth level of hell, but he still did it.
The wounded and dead soldiers were transported back one after another, and the soldiers in the city stepped forward to replace them.
The substitutes this time were all old men with their faces covered and their appearances could not be seen.
The Chu army would not attack for the time being, they held the defense line and prevented sporadic harassment. If the Chu army launched a surprise attack, they would do their best to hold on, so that the young and strong soldiers resting on the first front would have enough time to respond.
They didn't have many weapons, only thick wooden shields, and they came here to die.
When Zhu Xiang selected soldiers, the young ones were not allowed to go to the front line. Those who had only one son or one daughter in the family were the last to go to the front line. The rest of the men, women, old and weak would all go to fight.
Among the first group of people who resisted the attack, there were many young and strong women.
Although they were not as strong as men, they could still kill a few people by stabbing with spears from behind the bamboo fence, which was a good match for the male soldiers holding shields and bows and crossbows.
Zhu Xiang registered the names and family members of all the soldiers who went to war. During the rest period every day, he counted the number of soldiers who were still alive and recorded the rest as those who had died in battle.
It is not easy to record the merit of beheading for defending the city, and there will definitely be chaos when fighting for heads. Zhu Xiang recorded the collective merit of "holding the defense line", and the remaining contributions or beheading merits were managed by Meng Tian.
Leave professional matters to professionals, and he is only responsible for increasing the "bottom line" credit.
All the soldiers who died in battle were rewarded with food, cloth and Qin money, which were given to their family members or friends who had registered in advance, not necessarily their family members. Zhu Xiang guaranteed their wishes on the distribution of their assets after death to the greatest extent possible.
If the Qin people died in battle, Zhu Xiang would pay out of his own pocket to give them the land and bounty that they would have received for the lowest rank.
He could not directly grant titles to people like the King of Qin, but he had money and land.
Although Zhu Xiang returned all the tributes from the Changping County fief to the Qin State, he had a lot of money and seldom spent it.
Changping Jun, the most trusted person of the three generations of Qin kings, would not lack wealth even if he did not love it.
Although the Qin soldiers were just following orders and had military merits, they were eager to try and actively participated in the Guangling defense battle. However, Zhu Xiang felt uncomfortable.
None of the Qin soldiers could have been killed, but he decided to defend the city, so these Qin soldiers stayed.
He was just trying to gain a false sense of security.
Watching Duke Zhu Xiang personally compiling the military register for them, he mobilized them before the battle not with words they could not understand, but told them tirelessly what they would gain by fighting bravely, and after the battle he personally boiled medicine and delivered water to the wounded camp, and shed tears for their injuries and death.
Just like Wu Qi sucked out the pus for the soldiers back then, the soldiers were willing to die for such a general.
What's more, Duke Zhu Xiang was not performing an exaggerated performance like a soldier sucking pus out of a sore.
Yes, the soldiers all knew it was a performance. But if the general could perform this show for them, they would be willing to die for him.
Zhu Xiang really sympathized with their needs and did what he could for them in a plain and simple manner, as if it was all natural.
The soldiers knew that Duke Zhu Xiang was not acting, he would continue to do so because that was who he was.
What moved the soldiers even more was that they were willing to die for Duke Xiang of Zhu, but Duke Xiang of Zhu did not have to face such danger.
They are the ones who will die, and Duke Zhu Xiang will not die at all. These people have nothing to do with Duke Zhu Xiang, and even had a very cold attitude towards him before.
Duke Zhu Xiang did not do this to make them willingly die on the battlefield. What they wanted to protect now was their hometown and their families.
It was Duke Xiang of Zhu who was willing to die for these common people who had no status and were abandoned by the State of Chu!
"Uncle, you should rest." Meng Tian reminded again, "If you get sick, Guangling will surely fall."
Meng Tian looked at the people around him—not only the people of Guangling, but also the Qin soldiers under his command, and were amazed at the way they looked at Zhu Xiang.
After only less than two hours of fierce fighting, has Duke Zhu Xiang become the backbone of all the soldiers and civilians in this city
What a terrifying talent for leading troops!
No wonder Lord Wucheng dared to let Duke Zhu Xiang defend the city with confidence!
Zhu Xiang said, "I know. I'll arrange things for the night and then go to rest."
It is summer now, and the temperature of the river water is lower than that of the land both day and night, so the breeze is blowing along the river.
This was taken into consideration when Guangling City was built, and the wind at the city gate was always blown away from the city to prevent fire attacks.
However, there is a lot of water near Guangling City, and Xiang Yan is stationed far away, so it is difficult to launch a fire attack across such a wide distance from the city gate.
Zhu Xiang had people make Kongming lanterns, not for fire attack, but to send messages.
He tied a wooden board with pictures and words written on it under the Kongming lantern. There were not many words, just pictures.
After the Kongming lanterns burned out, even if they were burning, it would be difficult to burn the wet wooden boards underneath. The wooden boards would definitely be "captured" by the Chu army.
Zhu Xiang's move was firstly to confuse the enemy.
Xiang Yan must be wondering how Zheng'er and Li Mu dared to let him defend the city. Were the Qin soldiers lying in ambush around? Had Li Mu already returned to Wujun
Seeing the flashes of fire in the sky above Guangling City and drifting towards his barracks, he must have wondered whether this was a secret signal he gave to the Qin soldiers in Wujun to lure them to launch a night attack, causing Xiang Yan to be anxious and unable to sleep.
Furthermore, the pictures all show massacres and migrations.
The civilian laborers in Xiang Yan's army and the "cannon fodder" charging into the battle today must have been captured recently. The civilian laborers brought before may have almost died in several sieges and resistance from the Chu people.
Zhu Xiang wanted to incite these people to civil strife.
Finally, Zhu Xiang thought optimistically that maybe a Kongming lantern would accidentally fall onto Xiang Yan's granary and happen to meet a responsible guard, who would burn down Xiang Yan's granary
Of course, Zhu Xiang knew that this was impossible. Xiang Yan was a famous general in the Warring States Period after all, and it was impossible for him to fail to defend his own granary.
If Xiang Yan saw any suspicious fire, he would definitely order people to shoot it down.
Wasting Xiang Yan's arrows like this seems to be a gain
After Zhu Xiang gave the instructions, he handed over the task of guarding the city at night to Meng Tian, and then replaced Meng Tian at daybreak.
Before leaving, Zhu Xiang warned: "Don't advance rashly! Our goal is only to defend the city and wait for help!"
Meng Tian said helplessly: "Uncle, I know I won't do anything rash."
Although he was angry, he knew that the most important goal now was to protect Duke Zhu Xiang, so he dared not run around.
Zhu Xiang returned to the backyard of the temporary command center and went to sleep.
When I closed my eyes, I saw corpses and blood everywhere and I couldn't fall asleep at all.
But Zhu Xiang didn't say a word, he just closed his eyes and rested quietly. Even if he couldn't sleep, closing his eyes would allow his body to rest.
He told the people of Guangling that it would take at most a month, but he knew it was only ten days. There were still nine days left, so he could hold on.
That night, Jiao Yun held his sword and looked up at the Kongming lantern rising into the sky.
Duke Zhu Xiang said it was a Kongming lantern, created by a craftsman named Kongming. They all called it Changping lantern privately.
The flames rise to the sky, I only wish for peace.
"Jiao Yun, you should also go and have a rest so that you can protect Duke Zhu Xiang tomorrow." Fuqiu's wide-sleeved Confucian robe had been changed into narrow sleeves, and the large bow on his back was very eye-catching.
Jiao Yun said: "You rest, I'll watch."
Fuqiu shook his head: "It's just sporadic attacks at night, I'll guard it. Tomorrow there will be another hard battle during the day, you have to protect Zhu Xianggong."
Jiao Yun no longer refused: "Okay. There are still a hundred lights left."
Fu Qiu said: "Leave it to me."
Behind Fuqiu were dozens of Confucian disciples, all carrying large bows.
Although there are archers in the army, ordinary archers are completely different from strong archers. Strong archers need to be trained from a young age and have adequate nutrition to have such strength. The six arts of a gentleman include archery. Confucian scholars such as Fuqiu can pull strong bows and take turns to guard the city walls.
When Xiang Yan was selecting his troops and arranging a night attack, a scout came to report that a strange fire was floating over the city of Guangling.
The drowsy Nan Chujun woke up immediately and went out of the tent with Xiang Yan to check.
They saw little lights floating on the walls of Guangling, like fireflies at night, flying towards them.
If this wasn't a battlefield, the beautiful scenery would be worthy of their applause.
Nan Chujun was well-informed, and his voice still trembled when he saw this scene: "What is this? Zhu Xianggong's magic?!"
Xiang Yan held out his hand: "Give me my bow."
He showed no fear and shot the fire closest to them with his own hands.
The flames suddenly grew larger, and then slowly faded away.
Xiang Yan ordered someone to pick it up, and they picked up a burnt paper lantern.
"Lantern?" Xiang Yan wondered.
How did the lantern rise into the air? Was it really a magical trick
Xiang Yan carefully looked at the remains of the lantern in his hand and saw the wooden sign tied underneath.
With the light of the torch, Xiang Yan saw the picture on the wooden sign and was horrified. He immediately ordered: "Shoot down the lanterns and destroy all the wooden signs. No one is allowed to keep them privately. Anyone who disobeys this order will be executed!"
Although he didn't know how the lantern could fly into the sky, Xiang Yan knew what Zhu Xiang wanted to do as soon as he saw the words on the wooden sign.
Nan Chujun was no longer able to think about the purpose of the wooden sign. He just kept saying in fear: "Is this a magic trick? Is it really a magic trick? Is Duke Zhu Xiang really a fairy? Then what should we do!"
Xiang Yan interrupted, "If you are an enemy of Chu, even if you are an immortal, I can kill you!"
Hearing Xiang Yan's words, Nan Chujun immediately said: "Okay, go and kill him!"
Xiang Yan: “…”
He really doesn't want to work with this traitor!
If Zhu Xiang was just an "immortal", of course he would dare to kill him.
Xiang Yan changed the subject: "Zhu Xiang's move is not only to undermine our morale, but I am worried that he is sending a signal to the Qin army to guide them to attack at night. Strengthen patrols! To prevent sneak attacks!"
The deputy general asked, "Then shall we attack tonight?"
Xiang Yan hesitated for a while, looked up at the flames that were still coming, and decided to steady himself.
If Li Mu was really in Nanyue, then it would only take one night to capture Guangling City; if the Qin army had been waiting for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack, one or two nights would not matter.
"Shoot down all the lanterns first." Xiang Yan said.
The deputy general also looked up at the fire and couldn't help but feel palpitations: "Only..."
How could the lantern fly into the sky? Was Duke Zhu Xiang really a god
Fuqiu calculated the time and released the lanterns densely at first, and then scattered them around. The Kongming lanterns were lit all night long.
Everyone in the city took out their lamp oil, and the clever little children came early in the morning to make lanterns.
Although they don't go to the battlefield, they still have something to do.
At daybreak, Zhu Xiang got up, washed, and returned to the city wall.
Meng Tian looked at the dark circles under Zhu Xiang's eyes and seemed to be hesitant to speak.
He guessed that Duke Zhu Xiang was not asleep at all.
"Jiao Yun, push the Thunderbolt Chariot behind the first line of defense." Zhu Xiang said, "Throw half of the gunpowder cans today."
Jiao Yun said, "Yes." He counted the number of Mohist disciples who worked as servants in Zhu Xiang's house and left.
It is very difficult to refine gunpowder by traditional methods. Zhu Xiang could not find enough raw materials in a short period of time, and it would be troublesome to purify them after finding them.
Fortunately, Li Mu stored some gunpowder for him for emergency.
The power of black gunpowder is very limited, and its power is even more limited after it is put into a can and thrown out. It basically has the effect of setting fire and hearing the sound.
Although Li Mu had used Thunderbolt Chariots to set fires on the navy, he had never used them on land because gunpowder was hard to find and store. The last time Li Mu used Thunderbolt Chariots was when he conquered Southern Qin, which was several years ago.
Zhu Xiang bet that the Chu army's memory of the Thunderbolt Chariot had faded and they were not sure of its effect, so he used the fire and noise to scare the Chu soldiers.
Yesterday he set fire to the sky, today he threw thunderbolts into the Chu army. The Chu people valued ghosts and gods, especially those in the south. Zhu Xiang hoped to use this trick to undermine the morale of the Chu army and disrupt its formation.
This little trick could not undermine the morale of the elite troops led by Xiang Yan. Zhu Xiang wanted Xiang Yan to give up using civilians to consume his own soldiers defending the city as soon as possible and send elite troops forward as soon as possible.
So Zhu Xiang took a gamble and used up all the gunpowder cans on the first day, leaving the remaining half on the city wall for the final defense.
He wanted to reduce the enemy's military strength and morale as much as possible when both sides were at their strongest.
Coincidentally, Xiang Yan was also preparing to use fire.
Although it was sheltered from the wind, the fences of Guangling City's first line of defense were made of bamboo, which were easily burned.
When Xiang Yan was slaughtering and burning the city, he captured many cows from the villages. He tied flammable objects to the cows' tails and bodies, preparing to set them on fire and charge directly into the bamboo fence array of Guangling City.
Zhu Xiang lent his precious telescope to Jiao Yun. Jiao Yun saw the fire bull early and frowned.
The range of the catapult is no more than a hundred steps, and it will be too late by the time the fire bulls rush over.
"Follow me." Jiao Yun decided to take the risk.
He and his Mohist disciples pushed the catapult out of the bamboo fence.
(End of this chapter)