Daqin Engineering Corps

Xiang Yan is worthy of being a battle-tested veteran. He remained calm under the sudden change that the rear area fell into the enemy's hands and formulated a feasible remedy:

One: He led the main force of the Chu army to "resist" the Qin army in front.

Although the Chu army had been demoralized by the Qin army, the Chu army eventually had 30 troops on the front line, which was [-] more troops than the Qin army.

On the other hand, the Black Armored Cavalry Army that the Chu Army has always been afraid of is already in Ruyin, so the Chu Cavalry Army and chariots will be useful again.

So 30 is against 20, and it's just delays and delays, such as breaking roads, demolishing bridges, setting up ambushes, and occasionally using the walled city to fight a battle... This is much less intense than a showdown.

In this way, it may not be difficult to delay the Qin army for more than ten days.

The reason for using "maybe" is because there were so many things that surprised Xiang Yan during this period that he didn't dare to make a judgment.

But no matter what, even if it is only ten days, it will buy time for the rear.

Xiang Yan hopes that Ruyin can be taken back during this period of time, then everything will be fine.

Two: Send Xiang Bo to attack Ruyin head-on.

Of course, it is hopeless to attack Ruyin head-on. The problem is that the Qin army does not have many troops in Ruyin, only 3000 people.

Xiang Bo's frontal attack was just to disperse the strength of the Qin army, even if it was only a little bit.

If Xiang Bo knew that he was sent by his father to attack the city for this purpose, he might be so angry that he would grab the ground with his head.

But of course Xiang Yan couldn't care about these at this time, and the focus of his attack must be on the east side.

Three: That is to send troops from the direction of Shouchun to attack Ruyin.

The reason why Xiang Yan pointed out the [-] cavalry army was because this was the capital guard army that the king of Chu was responsible for guarding Shouchun.

The total strength of this guard army is about 5, and they are the private soldiers of the king of Chu. Among them, there are [-] cavalry, [-] chariot soldiers, and [-] infantry.

These troops were led by Zhang Qi, the nephew of the king of Chu, Zhang Qi, who was the general of the Zhu state.

The so-called general Zhuguo means the pillar of the country, that is, this army cannot be used until the battle to break the country.

Although Xiang Yan didn't specify it in the letter, anyone with a discerning eye would know that the [-] cavalry troops were referring to the capital guards.

This immediately aroused a wave of grievances and discussions among the ministers of Shouchun:

"Where did Xiang Yan have the guts to mean that the capital guards go to attack the city? This is a treasonous act!"

"If the guards are sent to attack the city at this time, when the Qin army comes to Shouchun city, who will guard it?"

"It's fine for Xiang Yan to be defeated, but he still has to recruit the guards..."

……

Zhao, Qu, Jing and other aristocrats, you and I, are all criticizing Xiang Yan.

Only the king of Chu had a gloomy face and said nothing.

The king of Chu understood that the great situation that Chu had just created had been wiped out with the occupation of Ruyin.

Prior to this, the nobles of the Chu State thought that Xiang Yan could win the battle, so they sent troops, food and labor one after another.

But now, Ruyin's loss almost means that Xiang Yan is about to lose, so he began to think about how to protect himself.

From their point of view, of course they don't want the guards to fight.

Because Qin Jun's first goal is undoubtedly Shouchun.

One day of Shouchun, one day less danger for them.

Chapter 234 Attacking Instead of Defending

At this time, the nobles of the Chu State had the mentality of using Shouchun as a shield, and they all hoped that Shouchun would have as many defenders as possible and would not entrust them to the Ruyin defense line.

Some nobles even hope that after the Qin army wins Shouchun, they will be unable to attack or have no interest in attacking the nobles of Chu. This is a good thing for the nobles, and they can become kings in their fiefdoms.

King Chu of Chu naturally understood their thoughts after learning from the previous lessons. He thought about it and said:

"Ruyin is only two hundred miles away from Shouchun, and if Ruyin loses Shouchun, it will not be guaranteed."

"If this is not protecting the country, what is protecting the country?"

"What's more, the cavalry is used for support, so what's the use of the cavalry to keep the city defending?"

So without any hesitation, he immediately ordered Zhang Qi to set off in full gear, taking not only [-] cavalry troops but also [-] chariot soldiers.

After General Zhu Guo got the order, he sent [-] troops first, followed by [-] cavalry, [-] chariots at the end, and [-] troops marched to Ruyin.

It makes sense for Zhang Qi to arrange this way.

He knew in his heart that the battle of Ruyin was not due to insufficient troops but insufficient time. If the main force of the Qin army hit the Ruyin city before breaking through the city, all previous efforts would be wasted.

So the first batch of [-] riders only brought three days of dry food and went straight to Ruyin to participate in the battle, and the next [-] riders brought food and grass.

Chariots are different from cavalry.

Most of the cavalry in this era were infantry on horseback except for the Black Armored Army, and it was their duties to siege cities.

Chariot soldiers, on the other hand, are worthy of the name, and their biggest feature is heavy armor... Anyway, they rely on horse-drawn carriages to maneuver on the chariot, and it doesn't take much effort to have heavier armor. Why not add some protection if it can be added?

So the armour, thick armor, leggings, etc. are all available, and even the general armor is not as complete as the chariot soldiers... The general must also consider the issue of maneuvering and riding on horseback, otherwise the battlefield will be regarded as a target and you will not be able to move if you want to move. Sad reminder.

The chariot soldiers, like modern tanks, pile up armor within the range that the horsepower can bear, thus obtaining better protection and impact.

However, this makes it too clumsy in siege warfare.

And each chariot has a driver, a halberd soldier, and a bow soldier.

Drivers are good at driving chariots, halberd soldiers are good at using long soldiers, and archers are good at long-distance shooting, but they are not suitable for close combat.

When the time comes, let them mix together to attack the city?

Or was it reprogrammed?

Or let them all be replaced with bronze swords as sword and shield soldiers?

And so on a series of problems appeared.

Therefore, Xiang Yan didn't ask for chariot soldiers who could rush to Ruyin in time and go into battle, but only cavalry.

Xiang Yan had this foresight, but the king of Chu, who didn't know how to use soldiers, didn't understand this, so he sent chariot soldiers who were not suitable for siege with a wave of his big hand.

In fact, the king of Chu did this, it would be better to use the chariot as a means of transportation and drive [-] infantry to Ruyin.

Although Zhang Qi also understood this, but thinking from his point of view, it is better to have [-] chariot soldiers than none, so he didn't say much.

From Zhang Qi's distribution of marches in this way, it can also be seen that he understands the art of war and knows how to arrange marches.

In fact, Zhang Qi has been in the Chu army for more than ten years, from the leader of the five hundred cavalry army to the general of Zhuguo...

Although he was able to be the general of the Zhu Kingdom because he was deeply trusted by the King of Chu, and he followed suit after the King of Chu came to power, but he can be regarded as an experienced veteran.

However, Zhang Qiqi didn't think about it. His opponent was Shen Bing, the Shen Bing who defeated Xiang Yan, the No.1 general of Chu State, repeatedly.

Zhang Qi and his personal guards were among the first 5000 people.

According to Zhang Qi's thinking, this trip is to attack the city and the Qin army has only 3000 people, so they must be concentrated in Ruyin and wait for the Chu army to attack.

Therefore, most of these 5000 people are sword and shield hands, and they carry hatchets, hand saws and other tools, so that they can immediately start making siege equipment when they arrive in Ruyin.

Zhang Qi urged the troops to speed up the journey all the way.

Because he learned from Xiang Yan that the main force of the Qin army might arrive at Ruyin in ten days.

However, Shouchun is two hundred miles away from Ruyin, and it takes a day and a half for the cavalry to arrive at full speed, and it takes at least one day to make siege equipment.

It will take two and a half days to launch the offensive in this way, and the remaining time is only seven and a half days.

It was not a problem to use [-] troops against [-] Qin troops, not to mention that Zhang Qi led the city guards... The source of soldiers, food and equipment can be called the best elite private soldiers.

The problem is that the 3000 people of the Qin army occupy Ruyin.

Rushui flows westward from the north gate of the city, bypasses the west gate and returns to the south gate.

That is to say, the north, west, and south gates of the city are all blocked by Rushui. Usually, entering and leaving the city gates depends on a pontoon bridge and a moat. It is even more difficult to attack the city from these three gates.

Only the east gate is connected to the land.

The reason why the east gate is connected to the land instead of building a moat is not because of the lack of Chu's military and people's strength.

Instead, facing east toward Shouchun, there is usually no enemy to attack... If the enemy attacks from this side, it almost means that Shouchun is no longer guaranteed.

Therefore, it is extremely difficult for Ruyin City to attack the enemy from the west, but it is very easy to reinforce the eastward side.

At the same time, it became possible for Zhang Qi to attack the city from the east.

The issue is……

In this way, the 3000 people of the Qin army can concentrate their forces in the east and hardly pay attention to the offensives in the north, west, and south.

In other words, it only needs to deploy a small amount of troops in other directions to ensure its safety.

So this battle will not be as easy as imagined.

Just as Zhang Qi was advancing and thinking about how to attack Ruyin, suddenly there was an unusual movement of birds in the dense forest on both sides.

Zhang Qi was startled, was there an ambush?

But on second thought, it seemed impossible.

The total number of Qin troops is only 3000. If there is an ambush here, who will guard Ruyin?

Thinking of Zhang Qi, he didn't pay much attention to it, thinking that it was the passing of the troops that alarmed Asuka.

However, in the next second, he realized that he was wrong, because thick smoke was rising in the dense forest, long thick smoke, on both sides, and occasionally the crackling sound of burning branches and leaves could be heard.

Zhang Qi said badly to himself, and then yelled:

"There is an ambush! Get out!"

The reason why Zhang Qi ordered "rush out" instead of "retreat" was because he knew that the enemy must have blocked the retreat route.

Of course, the enemy must have also blocked the front road, but often more troops are deployed on the retreat road than the front road.

Zhang Qi guessed right on this point.

It was the Black Armor Army who set up an ambush here.

Shen Bing would not just stand guard in Ruyin in a daze.

Just kidding, they are the cavalry army. The advantage of the cavalry army is that they can move around quickly and attack everywhere. It is the best strategy to stay in the city and defend. Using offense instead of defense can not only surprise the enemy but also damage the morale of the enemy.

So Shen Bing only left 1000 people in Ruyin to prepare for defense, while the other [-] cavalry continued to "do evil" everywhere in the appearance of Chu cavalry.

Chapter 235 Ambush

The "evil" of the Black Armor Army is not just as simple as an ambush.

In fact, the Black Armor Army had been "doing evil" for a while before ambushing Zhang Qi's army.

Shouchun's reaction speed was not fast. After receiving the news, they needed to discuss and organize their troops, and then marched two hundred miles to reach Ruyin. For the Heijia army, it took about two days to prepare.

The Black Armors need trebuchets.

But of course, they don't need to make their own.

All they had to do was to go up the Ru River and shout to the Chu army:

"Your Majesty has an order. The front line is in urgent need of supplies. Catapults and arrows are now in urgent need!"

"All ministries will hand over what they need as soon as possible, without any mistakes!"

The military discipline of the Chu army was not strict at first, and there were troops directly related to the king of Chu, noble troops from Zhao, Qu, and Jing in the army, and the Jiangdong descendants of the Xiang family, so the management was very chaotic.

Moreover, the news of Ruyin's fall hadn't spread quickly, so these Chu soldiers didn't have any doubts when they saw that these black-armored soldiers in Chu armor were issuing orders in the name of the king, and handed over their trebuchets and arrows batch by batch. , and even sent horses for delivery.

How could the Black Armored Army be polite to them, and drove all these supplies to Ruyin.

There are also a large number of stone bombs, and the lack of manpower also conscripts local people to do labor.

What's more, the soldiers and laborers who transported supplies became captives as soon as they arrived in Ruyin.

As a result, needless to say, they were all exiled to the west of Rushui as before.

This is also one of the reasons why news of Ruyin's occupation did not spread far...