Chapter 24: Deploying Troops (Part 1)

  Thousands of Korean civilians, under the threat of Qin army's swords and spears, carried their elderly and children, crying and wailing as they came to Yeongwol Castle. Their faces were filled with horror, and their footsteps were staggering.

  Behind them, tens of thousands of Qin troops mixed with the Korean civilians, occasionally beating up the slow-moving civilians. For those who were hesitant and whispering to each other, the Qin army directly hacked them to the ground. The scene was horrific.

  Looking at the increasingly approaching Qin army, each Korean military archer angrily gripped his bow and arrow, with arrows constantly aiming at the enemy under the city. Although they wanted to kill the enemy, they were also afraid of accidentally injuring civilians, and the contradiction reached its peak.

  Looking at the archers on the city wall, the Qin army threatened the people of Korea and shouted.

  "Don't kill me! I'm Tian Lao Han from Wang Guan Village in the north of the city! Just a few days ago, I was still delivering military rations to you!"

  "Second Dog Egg! I'm your dad! Tell your brothers not to shoot arrows!"

  "We are ordinary Koreans, don't mistakenly harm good people!"

  The commander of the Wild King's Castle, School Lieutenant, felt a chill on his scalp and immediately ordered the archers to retreat and replace them with crossbowmen. Although the crossbow was not as convenient to load as the bow and arrow, its accuracy was much higher.

  But the Qin army was hiding among the civilians, and occasionally a few Qin soldiers were killed by arrows, but it had nothing to do with the overall situation. Under the negligence of the Han army, the Qin army finally arrived under the city wall.

  A Qin army of five hundred men was overjoyed and hastily drove the civilians to attack the city. As a result, the unarmed civilians were driven onto the cloud ladder, and from time to time, some tense or weak civilians fell off the cloud ladder and were smashed into flesh. With great difficulty, some civilians managed to climb up to the top of the wall, but often sat down on their buttocks at the top of the wall, without the strength to stand up again.

  "Old man, hurry up! The city gate is in danger."

  A Korean soldier saw an old man climbing up the city wall, panting heavily and not moving, and hurriedly persuaded the old man to go down.

  "This group of damned Qin dogs! I'm really exhausted. No way, old man can't get up anymore."

  What was unbearable to him, he hastily ordered his men to carry the old man down to the city.

  From time to time, Korean civilians climbed onto the city wall, and without exception, they fell to the ground to rest. Faced with the two trembling civilians, the Korean army was also in a state of panic. In order to rescue the surviving civilians who had narrowly escaped death, there were not enough personnel on the city wall for a while.

  "Come on, kid. Don't be out of breath like an old man. Show some Korean spirit."

  A Korean army sergeant kindly went to support a young man who had just climbed up the city wall, panting.

  Who would have thought, a sudden change occurred. This young man pulled out a dagger from his waist and stabbed it straight into the heart of Captain Han's army. The unsuspecting Captain Han died instantly, never understanding why this harmless-looking "Korean" youth would assassinate him.

  "Su Ge!"

  A young Korean soldier's eyes turned red in an instant, and he charged at the "ungrateful" "civilian" with his long gun. The "civilian", however, remained calm and picked up the bronze sword of a fallen Korean army sergeant at his feet, engaging in a fierce battle with the Korean soldiers.

  Recalling Old Su's care for himself, especially after deciding to join the army, he deliberately arranged for himself to be in his youngest son's squad. Although it was only a few days of interaction, Wei Yazi had developed a deep bond with this squad leader who was like an older brother to him. Following him, Wei Yazi learned many practical combat skills. But today, this older brother died under the despicable sneak attack.

  Recalling the bits and pieces since leaving Xinzheng, Weiyazi's heart only thought of avenging his "big brother", either killing the other party or being killed by the other party.

  The same scene often occurs on the city wall.

  The elite of the Qin army was mixed among the people who were climbing the city, taking advantage of the Han army's busy rescue efforts to launch a surprise attack. For a time, the Han army was caught off guard. The Qin army commander's grasp of the people's hearts was really terrifying to the extreme.

  The killing on the city wall became more and more intense, the Korean army had a numerical advantage, but had to divert attention to the civilians; The Qin army was small in number, but each one was elite, especially when they were powerless and hid behind the Korean civilians. Both sides burst into the most tragic battle in history on the narrow city wall.

  The previously weak Korean army was perhaps stimulated by the Qin army's behavior of driving away civilians, and they fought bravely, using their lives to solve the problem of being inferior to the Qin army in combat.

  On such a battlefield, there is no guarantee that the strong will survive. A Qin soldier who had just cut down five enemies was suddenly pierced by three long halberds, and a Han soldier who had just fought off three Qin soldiers was instantly turned into a beehive by crossbow arrows.

  The Korean civilians are still climbing the city wall, but unlike before, this time some of the Qin soldiers are openly and fully armed as they climb the city wall.

  "Kill!"

  "Get out!"

  The Korean army vowed not to retreat, and the Qin army would not give up the corner of the battlefield it had already occupied. The consequence of not retreating was to fill this line with lives.

  "Get down! Get down!" The Korean military commander occasionally ordered the people who had just climbed up the city wall to take cover.

  Knives and guns have no eyes, with hundreds of people rushing to the battlefield like crazy, and some standing still in surprise. Such a result is undoubtedly becoming a living target, being ruthlessly torn apart by both Qin and Han sides. Only those who are smartest and most rational can survive.

  As the battle for the city head was intense, the Korean army inside the city moved.

  About five thousand light cavalry rushed out from the north gate and charged straight at the flank of the Qin army. The Qin army's lookout, who had been paying close attention to the movements of the Han army inside the city, hastily waved flags to report this urgent military situation to the main general of the Qin army.

  Hu Yang smiled triumphantly and said, "The Korean army has finally lost patience and made a move."

  "Simashi!"

  "The end is near!"

  "Immediately lead the cavalry regiment to intercept this enemy force."

  "Ah!"

  The next moment, a black cavalry of about 5,000 men broke out from the Qin army and rushed towards the Han army that was leaving the city.

  As soon as the Qin army set out, there was a new movement in the Western Gate of the Han army. Five thousand Han infantrymen formed a square array, threatening the flank of the besieging Qin army.

  Hu Yang laughed even more triumphantly, "The Korean army is really fearless! Then I'll fulfill their wish. Order the remaining cavalry of the Xiu Riding Camp to break through the enemy's formation."

  "Ah!"

  The orderly took his orders and left.

  The northern gate, the black and green armies clashed together like two raging torrents, intersecting and passing through each other. As soon as the two armies parted ways, it was clear that the green cavalry phalanx had been shaved off by a layer, while the black phalanx hadn't fared well either, but its losses were much smaller.

  "Come again!" The Korean army lieutenant colonel roared, directing the troops behind him to turn around and face the Qin army once more.

  "Wind! Wind! Great wind!" The Qin army also roared in anger, the leading Qin army captain led the troops to turn a elegant arc, and rushed straight towards the Han army.

  It was another round of charging, and both Qin and Han sides lost some soldiers. After two rounds of charging, the Han army lost at least 1,500 men, which was twice as many as the Qin army, but the fierce collision seemed to have not weakened the Han army's morale. The Han cavalry was still preparing for a charge.

  Huang Sheng was panting heavily, the last charge almost took his own life. But he did manage to kill a Qin army lieutenant, even if he fell during this charge, it was worth it. Two charges took the lives of three Qin soldiers, including one lieutenant. His family should be proud of him!

  "Everyone charge! Kill the Qin dog! Charge!"

  "Kill!"

  Looking at the Korean army that was charging forward with all its might, Sima Xin smiled calmly, but his legs were tightly clamped on the horse's belly, commanding the Qin army to fiercely counterattack.

  The result of the confrontation is self-evident, and the Korean army lost more than 800 people. The Qin army, although having a numerical advantage, was unlucky and still lost more than 400 people.

  At this time, the Korean army originally had 5,000 cavalrymen, but only half of them were left. The Qin army still had more than 3,700 people.

  Looking at the Korean army that had lost half of its strength but still hadn't collapsed, Sima Xin also put away his disdainful heart. In any case, the opposing army had earned its respect.

  Just as Qin and Han were about to charge again, there was a new movement at the north gate of Ye Wang. Three thousand Korean heavy cavalry came pouring in from the north gate. Tian Hu had been holding back for a long time, watching as his brother was bullied by the Qin army but unable to go out. The crown prince, however, said that the timing was not yet right.

  At this time, the Han army that had come out of the city was over 10,000 men. Adding to yesterday's losses, the Qin army must have thought that their own garrison was less than 7,000. The Qin army, which had just charged forward, clearly had a hint of concern and did not dare to get too close to the North Gate. Now that the Qin army has let its guard down, it is the perfect opportunity.

  Thus, the 3,000 Tiger Riders who had been suppressed for a long time finally got the opportunity to go into battle. At this moment, the Qin army's elite cavalry unit turned its back on the Han army, and the decisive moment of the war had arrived. The outcome would depend entirely on this battle.