It was a few days earlier than the Battle of Yingfengzhai. The battle had already started outside the Great Wall, and the scale was even larger. The battle lines stretched for hundreds of miles, intertwined with each other, and news of victory and defeat came alternately. On the crossed grassland.
Chai Yue, who led more than half of Da Chu's army, was still struggling to face a larger enemy army, but he was full of confidence and often said to his officers: "The enemy's food and grass will soon be exhausted, as long as you persevere, Da Chu will win. Your Majesty led a mere 10,000 people to defend the capital to attract enemy chiefs and create a great opportunity for war outside the Great Wall. You and I can only fight to the death."
After the enemy army broke Shenxiong Pass, they collected some food and grass from the pass. Chai Yue estimated that they would not be able to hold on this winter.
This afternoon, Chai Yue welcomed a special messenger.
The southern army general Liu Heixiong had followed the Marquis of Tien to fight, and then he was transferred back to the southern army. This campaign belonged to a battalion of the Zuo army. A few days ago, he was ordered to go to ambush an enemy army hundreds of miles away. I brought important news myself, and I wanted to meet the Great Sima Chaiyue immediately.
As soon as Liu Heixiong entered the central army tent, he knelt down to Chai Yue and pleaded guilty, "The last general is incompetent, and all the soldiers he brought have fallen."
"How did you get back?" Chai Yue asked. Liu Heixiong was indeed guilty, but he didn't need to be punished immediately, he could talk about it after the war.
"In the end, he will be captured by the enemy army. He was released the day before yesterday and was entrusted to bring back a message."
There were more than a dozen generals in the central army tent, and when they heard these words, their faces sank. Even if they were defeated and captured, it was a serious crime to be entrusted by the enemy.
"What news?" Chai Yue was also somewhat dissatisfied.
"I hope that the Chu army will attack Iron Broken City immediately, and they are willing to sacrifice the city to surrender."
The generals were taken aback, and they asked and questioned at a high pace. Chai Yue patted the table and ordered everyone to silence them, and then asked, "Who is going to offer the city to surrender? Why
Liu Heixiong didn't dare to get up, and knelt on the ground to tell his story.
He led his troops to ambush, but as a result, the enemy army was huge in number and had a reserve army, but instead surrounded the Chu army. After a hard battle, the Chu army was killed and injured, and the remaining soldiers were all captured alive.
Liu Heixiong thought he would die. Unexpectedly, the night before yesterday, an enemy general with an interpreter suddenly visited him, claiming that the gods and ghosts were not able to capture the capital and defeat the Emperor of Chu in the south, but suffered huge losses, even to the point of military morale. Unstable, everyone wants to end the battle quickly and return to their hometowns, so they are willing to sacrifice the city to surrender. As long as the Chu army attacks, someone in Broken Iron City will open the city gate.
Liu Heixiong survived in a desperate situation. He didn't think too much about it, so he immediately accepted it, left the enemy's barracks overnight, and came back on horseback to report the news.
He didn't ask too many questions at the time, but the questions of the generals of the Chu army came one after another.
"Who is the general who spoke to you? What is his status and status in the enemy army?"
"Who wants to dedicate the city, is it himself, or has an accomplice?"
"Why didn't he directly lead the army to revolt, but had to resort to the Chu army?"
"Are you sure it's not a trap?"
…
Liu Heixiong's face was red and his ears were red, and he couldn't answer a single question, "That's an alien with a strange appearance, and he refused to reveal his identity."
The old general Di Kai took a step forward, clasped his fists and said: "Da Sima, Liu Heixiong was obviously deceived by the enemy army, he didn't even know it, and he even came to persuade the Chu army to enter the capital. He beheaded to show the public, to reassure the army."
Liu Heixiong's face turned even redder. He was in a hurry to come back, and he didn't think much about it along the way. At this time, he was pressed by everyone and felt that something was wrong, so he could only plead guilty.
Chai Yue is good at making plans in advance, and the army of hundreds of thousands can be arranged properly without revealing any flaws, but lacking the ability to make a decisive decision. Good thing, even if the enemy sets a trap, it has nothing to do with General Liu. Let’s do this for now, the Chu army will still fight steadily and send scouts to the Iron Broken City to check the situation.”
The generals stopped, and Liu Heixiong pleaded guilty again. After resigning, he was puzzled, how could he be so confused, and even send a letter on behalf of the enemy without asking clearly? When I got to the tent, I thought about it, and I had to admit that I was actually greedy for life and fear of death. I was too scared at that time, and just wanted to leave, and didn't pay attention to what the other party said.
Three military officials came and asked in detail about the process of being defeated, captured and released. Liu Heixiong explained them one by one. During the period, he inevitably had to answer some questions, such as why the enemy generals did not choose him to send letters, and since they wanted to offer the city to surrender, Why won't you reveal your true identity, and so on.
The more Liu Heixiong answered, the more depressed he became. He felt like a prisoner, and at the same time, he felt panic. The war was not over, and he even committed mistakes.
"Like me, what punishment will I receive when I go back?" Liu Heixiong asked carefully.
A military official handed the pen to Liu Heixiong and asked him to sign it. Another military official smiled and said, "We are just doing business as usual, no matter what else. General Liu doesn't need to worry, the Ministry of War will treat everyone fairly."
Liu Heixiong dazedly wrote his name. The harder he tried, the more crooked the words he wrote. As soon as he finished writing the last stroke, the military officer immediately took away the pen and paper, as if he was afraid that he would take another look.
When the three officers left, Liu Heixiong sighed and murmured, "If I had known this, I should have been an honest teacher. Why do I have to lead troops to fight? I'm not that material at all."
Liu Heixiong was dejected. Except for the soldiers who delivered the meals, no one came for a few hours. He didn't care. It is a capital sin, as long as you can live, it is better than anything else.
He was woken up by someone, turned over and sat up, and found that it was already dark, and someone was standing by the bed with a candle.
"So soon?" Liu Heixiong was taken aback, thinking that he would have to deal with him.
"It must be fast, otherwise it will be too late." The man said.
Liu Heixiong shook his head, feeling that the two of them were not talking about the same thing, "Your Excellency is..."
Visitors bring candles in front of them, which show a face like the devil in the picture.
Liu Heixiong was startled again, broke out in a cold sweat, and almost cried out, but immediately recognized the identity of this person, "Ugly King?"
"It's me." Wang Jianhuo put down the candle slightly, "General Liu slept soundly."
"Nothing else... Uh, what's the matter with your Excellency?" Liu Heixiong stood up and bowed his hands in greeting. He had no dealings with the ugly king, but like everyone else, he respected the reputation of this hero very much.
"I heard that you gave a letter to the enemy general, saying that someone wanted to donate the Iron Broken City?"
Liu Heixiong's face flushed, "Everyone thinks this is a trap. Thinking about it carefully, I also think there is a problem, and I shouldn't have accepted it in the first place."
"Well." Wang Jianhuo thought for a moment, "What will General Liu do in the future?"
"after?"
"After the war is over."
Liu Heixiong sighed in disappointment, "What else can a defeated general do except take the blame?"
"General Liu never thought of making up for what he did?"
"How to make up for it? I don't have a soldier or a soldier now, and the big Sima won't give me any more soldiers—" Liu Heixiong suddenly reacted, clasped his fists and said, "The ugly king is famous all over the world for helping the poor, and Liu is now in crisis. , Wan Wang came to the rescue, I don't care about my own life or death, I just feel ashamed of the trust of Your Majesty and the court, and I don't have the face to return to my family."
Wang Jianhuo motioned Liu Heixiong to sit down, dripped some wax oil, and put the candle on the small stool next to him, "I'm just a prisoner in the army, I can't save anyone, but I can give General Liu an idea to let General Liu save himself."
"But please wake up the ugly king."
"The enemy army wants to sacrifice the Iron Broken City, and the generals don't believe it. Why don't General Liu go and collect the city?"
"But that's a trap."
"If it is a trap, General Liu will sacrifice his life for the country and avoid all his past mistakes. What if it is not a trap? Then General Liu will make extraordinary achievements, not only to make up for his faults, but even to overshadow the generals. Fenghou is not a problem."
Liu Heixiong was stunned, thinking for a while, "This is risking his life."
Wang Jianhuo smiled, "If General Liu is willing to take his life, it's all like I didn't say anything."
Wang Jianhuo picked up the candle, turned around and walked outside the tent.
"Wait a minute, King Ugly." Liu Heixiong stood up and said: "I don't care about my life, but the enemy generals said that if the Chu army was to attack the city, someone in the city would open the door. I went alone, and they wouldn't take it seriously. "
"General Liu doesn't love his own body, and there are people who dare to die in the army who are willing to follow. It's just that it's not too late. The war is changing rapidly. In a few days, no one knows whether the enemy will have a change."
"Okay, I'll go, but the matter of finding soldiers..."
"General Liu should go and ask for troops from the Great Sima."
After the Ugly King left, the tent fell into darkness. Liu Heixiong stood alone for a while, then walked out of the tent and said to the soldiers guarding outside, "Let me know, I want to see the Great Sima."
Chai Yue soon summoned Liu Heixiong, listened to his plan, pondered for a long time, and finally said: "The war is tense, I can't assign too many soldiers to you."
"Three thousand is enough."
"If 3,000 Chu soldiers are trapped in Broken Iron City, it will also be a big loss, at most 500 people."
Five hundred people are a bit small, and they can't even set up a decent formation. Liu Heixiong gritted his teeth, "Five hundred is five hundred. I will say that I have brought forwards, and a large number of troops are behind."
"Well, I can order the Chu army to move forward slowly and build momentum for General Liu."
Liu Heixiong thanked him, and did not sleep anymore, requesting to lead his troops out immediately.
Since the victory of Mayi City, the Chu army has advanced westward, and the Chinese army is not too far from the broken iron.
It is not easy to find five hundred soldiers. If Iron Broken City is a trap, there is no chance for these five hundred people to come back. Chai Yue promised to reward them, and finally gathered five hundred people before dawn.
Liu Heixiong led his troops to set off, with only a few horses, and crossed the mountain road to bypass the enemy camp directly opposite, and did not arrive at Broken Iron City until the middle of the night.
After the Iron Broken City was occupied by the enemy, it was re-fortified. There were many outposts outside the city. The Chu army encountered one as soon as they descended the mountain. Liu Heixiong had already put his life and death aside, and shouted: "The Chu army is attacking the city, but don't surrender quickly. ?"
There were not many enemy soldiers in the post, and when they heard the shouts, they turned and ran, not resisting at all.
Liu Heixiong ordered the soldiers to light all the torches, deliberately stretched the formation so that there were obviously more people, and went straight to the foot of the broken iron city, and the enemy troops in several posts along the way all fled.
Finally got to the city gate. There were no arrows on it, but the door was not opened. Liu Heixiong shouted again: "The Chu army is here, quickly open the door."
There was no response from above. After a long time, the city gate opened, and someone said in Chu language, "Is it really the Chu army?"
"I am Liu Heixiong, the forward general of Great Chu, and I have been appointed to lead the city."
The city gates opened a little more, and someone came out, "Finally here, Broken Iron City is yours, the emperor just escaped, do you want to chase?"