Daqin Engineering Corps

"At this time, due to the flooding of the river, most of them are unguarded."

"If we use the water army to seize this city and the surrounding mountain fort first."

"After the water recedes in the spring of next year, our navy will take advantage of the water net to assist in the defense. It will not be difficult to defend the city."

"As long as the city is not lost, the Qin army will not be able to attack Chu!"

"I'll be able to consume the Qin army's rations in this city."

King Chu couldn't help but nodded repeatedly, and praised:

"It's a good move to replace defense with offense. This is a great plan!"

The strategy that Xiang Yan said is true.

Caozhou only occupies one bank of the Yellow River and has Handan in the north and Daliang in the south. It is difficult to defend because it is in a state of being pinched by the Qin army.

If you want to defend Caozhou, you must take Qiancheng on the west bank of the Yellow River, so that the two sides can help block the river.

Originally pulling the city was also a big problem.

Because the fighting power of the Qin army is obviously stronger than that of the Chu army, this Qiancheng is located between Handan and Daliang, so it will fall into the siege of the Qin army in minutes?

The problem is that Qiancheng was built by the Wei State on the basis of the canal, and with the small forts distributed along the canal, the Chu army will use Caozhou as a base and rely on water troops for reinforcements, and it will indeed be possible to fight the Qin army.

After thinking about it, King Chu Chu asked again:

"It's just that the Qin army also has a navy, take Qiancheng..."

Xiang Yan replied:

"Your Majesty Mingjian."

"It's only been a month since the formation of the Qin Shui Army."

"Its combat strength and military strength are limited, even with that wheeled warship, how can it be my navy's opponent?"

"So if Qin Shui's army doesn't come out, it's done, and if it goes out, the whole army will be wiped out!"

King Chu nodded negatively and said:

"It's so good, let's act according to the general's plan!"

Xiang Yan was actually somewhat selfish in this battle.

The reason why I say "some" is because his general strategic direction is no problem.

It's just that he still wants to lure Qin Shuijun out and destroy him.

Strictly speaking, this cannot be regarded as selfishness.

Because from the perspective of the Chu State, both the original Wei State area and the Chu State area are densely covered with water networks, and the importance of the water army is beyond doubt.

If Qin has a navy and this navy can compete with Chu's navy, it will be a big trouble for the Chu army.

On the other hand, Xiang Yan predicted that the Qin army would attack Chu in the spring of next year, and it would be too late for Chu to take any action by then.

So, why not attack the Qin army first to disrupt the Qin army's strategy when the Qin army is insufficiently prepared?

Why not take advantage of the fledgling Qin Shui Army to lure it out and destroy it?

If the Qin State had no water army, wouldn't the water network in this area be dominated by the Chu army again?

Xiang Yan's selfishness is that he bears a grudge for being flooded by Shen Bing's army of more than [-] troops.

At this time, Shen Bing is the captain of the Qin Shui Army, so Xiang Yan can just avenge himself by doing so.

Chapter 178

It was more than ten days later when Shen Bing heard the information from the Chu army.

At that time, the fifty craftsmen of the engineering barracks had been selected.

Only then did Shen Bing believe that people's potential is unlimited. Before that, who would have thought that craftsmen could also learn to ride a horse, but more than a hundred people learned it in just one month.

And because there were only 50 people in the Black Armored Army, these more than a hundred people also spontaneously held several equestrian competitions, and finally settled on 50 people.

Fatty Tun was one of them, and he happened to be in the forties with his tail hanging in the competition.

But this month, he also lost a lot of fat.

Shen Bing didn't need to worry about these things, and he ordered Wei to lead the craftsmen as the head of the village without much thought.

The reason why he was asked to manage it was because he had managed more than a hundred people as a Zuo Gongshi before, and now it is more than enough to manage 50 people.

But it doesn't seem that easy.

Because although the number of these craftsmen is small, there are all divisions, and there are even blade masters and craftsmen among them.

The reason why Shen Bing didn't let Qiao be an engineer was because Qiao was more like a craftsman than an engineer.

He is more interested in sword-making skills and methods. If it is not because being promoted to the rank of meritorious service can bring a better life to his family, he will not consider other things at all.

This is also one of the reasons why I want to follow Shen Bing.

The ideal he owes is: after he has been promoted to the rank of official and has his own fief and food, he can concentrate on practicing swords.

Of course I don't know, but the Shen Bing he's following can be said to be a "Master Swordsmith".

This is something.

As soon as Shen Bing settled these craftsmen, his personal guards came to report:

"Lieutenant, the general ordered you to go to his tent!"

Shen Bing's heart trembled.

It is not without reason that Shen Bing has been rushing to make the armor. He thinks that the Chu army will not give Qin army so much time, especially the black armor army.

It's actually not hard to guess.

War is sometimes about fighting for the initiative.

At this time, the Chu army was very passive, not even just passive. If this continues, the Chu army will only have a dead end:

Daliang, a heavy upstream city, was occupied by the Qin army, and the whole army was in panic. One day, when the Qin army was ready, they would go down the river to attack the city...

Chu Jun can only sit and wait to die if he continues like this.

Of course Chu Jun would not be reconciled.

Therefore, the Chu army has only one choice: to preemptively disrupt the strategy and rhythm of the Qin army.

Shen Bing's guess was right, when he arrived at Yang Duan and Shuai Zhang, he saw that the other generals were already in place.

More than a dozen school lieutenants lined up on both sides to wait for orders, and several generals were sitting around the desk discussing with Yang Duanhe, and there were also several chiefs who were in charge of recording.

Seeing Shen Bing coming in, Yang Duanhe waved for Shen Bing to come forward.

"You came just in time." Yang Duanhe said: "The Chu army sent troops from Caozhou, and they used the water army."

As soon as Shen Bing heard it, he understood that if the Chu army used the water army, then the Qin army should also use the water army to fight.

Yang Duanhe went on to say:

"The Chu army's goal is to lead the city!"

"At this time, the flood has not receded, and the area around Qiancheng is full of vast ocean, only a few small forts and highlands can still stand, but I don't know what the Chu army used for it!"

It was still winter.

In order to flood the Chu army, the ice on the upper reaches of the Yellow River was melted away, but the ice on the lower reaches, that is, at the mouth of Jin, has not yet melted...

Ying Zheng also imagined that the ice at the mouth of the river would melt and release the flood to alleviate the disaster like Hetao.

Reluctantly, Jinkou is the area of ​​Yan State.

Although the State of Yan had already been defeated by the Qin army, Qin State, whose relationship with Chu State was tense at this time, of course did not want to provoke the State of Yan again.

So I can only let it go and wait for next spring.

As a result, the floods around Qiancheng became more and more serious, and all the people in Qiancheng had moved out, leaving only a half-flooded empty city.

The small forts in the surrounding highlands are also uninhabited... No food is a dead end.

Only a small number of soldiers of the Qin army took wooden rafts to station in the small fort while paying attention to the water regime.

But I didn't want the Chu army to send water troops to capture this area.

Shen Bing only asked:

"How many troops does the Chu army have?"

Yang Duanhe replied:

"There are not many troops, more than a thousand sailors."

Li Yan interjected from the side:

"General, why do I need to discuss here?"

"The Chu army is no more than a thousand sailors, but the Heijia army has three thousand. Isn't it a good time to send them to train troops?"

"If Lieutenant Shen doesn't want to fight, you can just ask me to take them on a wooden raft to fetch them."

In his words, he made no secret of his ridicule towards Shen Bing and Hei Jiajun.

It's no wonder that Li Yan is dissatisfied with Shen Bing.

Most of the generals and schools around Li Yan were the children of nobles. They had to study in the school first, and then they were sent to serve in the army. It would take at least ten years to be promoted to the rank of captain.

And Shen Bing was promoted from an operator to a captain in less than half a year, how can they be reconciled, especially when Shen Bing is still a commoner...

At least in their eyes, they are civilians, and they are still uneducated civilians.

A considerable part of the reason why the nobles despise the common people is that the common people are not educated.

How did they know that Shen Bing received much more education than them...

Shen Bing ignored Li Yan, he looked at the map, and then said to Yang Duanhe:

"General, I'm afraid this matter will not be so simple."

"The Chu army's capture of Qiancheng at this time is obviously not for looting but for garrison."

"If it is for garrison, it is impossible to have more than a thousand people."

Yang Duanhe said doubtfully:

"Stay?"

"The city wall of Qiancheng has been destroyed by floods. There are only a few highlands and a few small forts around where troops can be stationed, and there is no food and water. How can they be stationed? What's the point of stationing?"

Shen Bing replied:

"The subordinates think that the Chu army is not guarding at this time, but after the flood recedes in the spring of next year!"

Speaking of which, Shen Bing pointed to the map and said:

"Please take a look, General."

"As soon as the flood recedes, the canals near the city will reappear."

"At that time, the canal will connect the small fort to become the outer line of defense, and the main force of the Chu army will consolidate the defense by leading the city..."

Li Yan interrupted Shen Bing:

"Captain Shen is probably worrying too much."

"If the flood recedes, this city will be under the attack of the Great Qin Handan and Daliang."

"At that time, the Chu army will have three heads and six arms, and it will be even more difficult to defend this city."

Shen Bing asked back:

"Does Lieutenant General Li know what will happen if the flood water recedes near Qiancheng?"

Li Yan raised his head:

"What else could it be?"

Yang Duanhe was already aware of the problem, so he said "oh", nodded and said:

"rational."