Chapter 55: Bai Qi's Decisiveness!

  The sky had already darkened, but the large camps of the Qin army and the allied armies of the three Jin states were still brightly lit.

  "Is everyone ready?" A somewhat tired voice came from inside the big tent.

  "The governor of Yiyang, Xiang Shou, has already sent someone over. Tonight at the fourth watch, we will attack the large camp of Han, Zhao and Wei on schedule." A bodyguard replied respectfully.

  "Alright! You can go now!"

  "General!" The Imperial Guard hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself.

  "Hmm? What else is there?" asked Bai Qi displeasedly.

  "Our army has just suffered a great defeat, and there is much resentment in the ranks, with many wanting to avenge their fallen comrades. Are we really going to put aside our grievances and head north to Xin'an?" asked the bodyguard cautiously.

  Bai Qi fell silent for a moment, then coldly said: "When the ruler is humiliated, the minister dies. At present, there is nothing more urgent than rushing to Xianyang. Considering our many years of friendship, I will spare your life this time. Next time, if you dare to disrupt my army's morale again, you will be killed without pardon!"

  "Ah!" The Imperial Guard's face turned pale as he retreated from the tent, only to discover that his clothes were completely soaked through.

  The Allied Army camp, Lian Po and four others were still discussing military affairs. The Crown Prince threw out the topic of Qin's military movement, which led to a heated discussion. Everyone believed that Qin's morale had been lost, and the danger in Xianyang was getting worse day by day. Bai Qi would likely launch a night attack tonight, take advantage of the chaos to break through the siege, and rush to Yiyang to replenish food and soldiers.

  It is suitable for cavalry, with many war horses. Once the Qin army arrives in Yiyang, they can quickly arm a cavalry to contend with the Zhao army. At that time, Bai Qi will not be at a disadvantage in terms of total military strength or number of cavalry, and it is very likely that he will regain the initiative. Therefore, the allied army set up their camp twenty miles southwest of the Qin camp, being careful to guard against the west and north directions.

  At the third watch, the Qin army indeed launched a night raid, and it was from the south side of the allied army's defense, which was the weakest. The Qin army's iron cavalry didn't care about casualties at all, and they used human lives to fill out a road. Then they set fires everywhere and killed people in all directions.

  The performance of the Allied Forces was somewhat disappointing. Firstly, under the circumstances of a great victory, especially after repeated victories, many soldiers had a slack mentality; secondly, the Qin army's performance in these battles created an illusion for the Allied Forces that they cherished their lives and were afraid of casualties; thirdly, the large camp on the south side was adjacent to a small hill, and the Allied Forces never thought that the Qin army would not choose open terrain, but instead chose a narrow place to launch a surprise attack on the large camp.

  The Qin army gained the upper hand, and the Han and Wei armies, who had been suddenly attacked, showed a flustered side. The result of the panic was that it spread everywhere, with flames and wails all around. No one could say for sure how many Qin soldiers were in the night raid on the main camp, but after Lian Po urgently dispatched 50,000 cavalry to support the rear army, the situation began to improve.

  The sky finally brightened, and the overnight battle left both sides exhausted. The coalition army suffered the heaviest losses in the rear army, with over 10,000 soldiers killed! Next was Zhao's army, which lost more than 5,000 elite troops. The Qin army left behind a corpse that was one million more than the coalition army, barely breaking through the siege and leaving.

  The Allied Forces immediately sent someone to scout out Bai Qi's large camp, only to discover that the Qin army had already left and the camp was empty. Last night, the three Jin armies put their main force in the front camp, but unexpectedly it was the rear camp that encountered a surprise attack. Throughout the entire night, the front camp did not have even a single movement. It seems that Bai Qi's large army took advantage of the chaos to slip away last night.

  "What a pity! Bai Qi has escaped again." Jin Ping showed a disappointed expression.

  "It's nothing! Bái Qǐ must have entered Yíyáng City. Last night, the Qin army lost 25,000 cavalrymen, so at this moment, there are probably only around 100,000 soldiers in the entire city of Yíyáng, and almost no cavalry left." Lian Po said nonchalantly.

  "Yes! White Qi's army had only over 10,000 cavalrymen. The defenders of Yiyang were at most 20,000, and even if all the cavalrymen were counted, there were only about 15,000. In that case, even if White Qi wanted to break through the siege, he could take away at most 80,000 people. Think back to when our army of 200,000 surrounded you under Mount Yique, how spirited and proud we were! Now it's like a dog that has lost its master."

  "Haha!" The words of Baoying caused the people around to burst into laughter. The crowd was no longer disheartened, and they regrouped their army, surrounding Yiyang!

  Twenty miles east of the river, a troop stopped its tired footsteps. For three whole hours, the Qin army had been rushing for sixty miles, which was already the limit of the Qin army.

  The night before last, we marched sixty miles in haste, and yesterday was another big battle. In between, there was only a brief rest the previous night. If it weren't for the fact that the Qin army could get on their chariots to rest occasionally, at least half of the Qin army would have died from exhaustion on the road.

  "The whole army will rest for two hours, and then continue on the journey after two hours!" Bai Qi ordered calmly.

  Although the Qin army has shaken off the siege of the three Jin armies, it is not guaranteed that the three Jin armies will come to their senses. Xianyang is in danger every day, time is life, and Bai Qi does not allow any waste of time.

  There are still over 200 miles to the Hangu Pass, and Bai Qi knew that only by entering the Hangu Pass could he truly be safe. With the repeated defeats of the Qin army, the area east of the Hangu Pass was no longer secure. Places like Biyang and Xin'an under his feet, although they were part of Qin territory, had few soldiers and generals, and in the situation where the main force of the Qin army was held back by Yiqu, it was inevitable that the three Jin would send troops to take them.

  Two days later, Qi County.

  150,000 Yiqu cavalry took down the 20,000-strong Qin garrison in Qi County with just one charge. Qi County was too small, with low walls and a population of only 20,000. The county magistrate had thought he could hold out for a while, but he underestimated the determination of the Yiqu to exact revenge. With the help of "Zhang Lu", the Yiqu people also learned how to use cloud ladders and battering rams to attack cities, and Qi County was just their first experiment in attacking a city.

  After occupying Qi County, Xianyang Wang issued a bloody order: slaughter the city! All men taller than a horse whip were killed, all women over childbearing age were executed. The remaining women and children were all taken as slaves. Those who made contributions were rewarded with varying numbers of slaves as rewards.

  Of course, plundering is inevitable in the process of massacring a city. The King of Yiqiu only stipulated that anyone who did not return to their team within an hour would be killed without pardon!

  "Zhang Lu" saw the cruel side of war for the first time and couldn't help but feel unbearable. However, King Yiqu comforted him with kind words, "Mr. Zhang, now we Yiqu and Qin are sworn enemies who will not rest until one of us is dead. Being merciful to our enemy is being cruel to ourselves. If positions were swapped, I bet Qin would be even more ruthless."

  "It's me being foolish, making Your Majesty laugh. I will learn to adapt." Zhang Lu forced a smile.

  "That's right!" King Yi of Qi was very satisfied with Zhang Lu's attitude.

  "I'm not a cruel person either. It's just that the Yiqi people have been away from battle for too long, and only by constantly killing enemies can we re-cultivate our bloodlust! I gave them slaves to make them fight even harder. People! Only when they possess something precious do they think of defending it with their lives. For us Yiqi men, women and money are the most precious things."

  "Great King, I understand. The Qin people are inhumane, killing my Korean citizens. I also hate them so much that I wish to eat their flesh and drink their blood. Now is the time for Qin to pay its debt."

  "Well said! I will make the Qin state tremble with fear! Our Yiqu state is weak, if we don't fight fiercely, there's no way to survive." The king of Yiqu sighed.

  Three hours later, the Yiqi Wolf Riders surrounded Gan County, and Gan County fell immediately.

  Qin County has a slightly larger garrison, with an army of 4,000, and its resistance is also stronger. The casualties of the Yiqiu are over 10,000 for the first time! The king of Yiqiu was extremely angry at the Qin army's stubborn resistance, and this time he ordered the city to be set on fire. All 25,000 men, women, children and elderly in the city were killed, many women were killed alive in front of their families!

  The reason for this situation is that Qin State has been fighting wars in all directions over the years, and many young men have gone to war. The two cities are mostly inhabited by the elderly, weak, women and children. The upper class of Qin State has already given up on these two frontier cities psychologically. They hope to use the wealth and land of the two cities to slow down the pace of the Yiqu cavalry, and even expect internal conflicts within Yiqu due to unequal distribution of spoils.

  Within one day, the righteous army took down two cities: Qīn County and Gān County. Wherever they passed, not a single chicken or dog was left behind. Seven thousand Qin soldiers died in battle, forty thousand unarmed civilians were brutally slaughtered, five thousand women and children were taken as slaves. Two hundred thousand mu of fertile land from Bīn City to Gān County was destroyed overnight. The righteous army's momentum pointed directly at Xianyang, one hundred fifty li away!