Chapter 209 Defeat

When Huan Xi's doubts gradually turned into panic, the boats on the Zhang River revealed their true appearance.

The ship was an ordinary ship, used only to transport cargo, but there were crossbows displayed on the bow.

Things like bed crossbows have not been special military weapons since they were invented. It was only because they were inconvenient to carry that they were mostly used in defending cities. But now these bed crossbows are placed on the bow of the ship.

Before Huan Xi could see the crossbow on the bow clearly, he heard screams from the rear of the Qin army amid the sounds of arrows breaking through the air. Although the Qin army was not afraid of death, they were still flesh and blood. Under the attack of the bows and crossbows, they were killed or wounded in an instant.

"It's over." The sudden change in the battle formation made Huan Xi feel a chill in his heart. The doubts and uneasiness in his heart had now become a reality. The suddenly appearing fleet would directly break through the rear formation of the Qin army. If the rear formation was in chaos, it would surely shake the entire army. And at the last moment of the decisive battle, whoever wavered first would be doomed to failure.

I actually fell into a trap? Huan Xi suddenly realized that the defeat of the Jibei Army in the past few days was not fake. If the Jibei Army was just feigning defeat, he, who had been in battle for a long time, would not be able to fail to see it, but the direction of the retreat was arranged by the Jibei Army itself.

It can even be said that he had been plotted from the very beginning, and fell step by step into the current trap, a trap that could lead to the annihilation of his entire army if he was not careful.

"We must retreat as quickly as possible, and evacuate as many as possible. If we continue like this, our entire army will be wiped out." Huan Xi's mind raced, trying to find a solution, but he sadly discovered that he now had only one way, which was to escape. But how many people could escape?
The Qin army, which had just been in a head-on confrontation with the enemy, was suddenly caught in a situation where it was attacked from both sides. Amid the wavering military formation, Huan He was hesitant to make up his mind.

"No, if we retreat now, we will die. Only a frontal breakthrough will give us a chance of survival." After a moment of hesitation, Huan Xi immediately cut off this inappropriate idea. He knew very well that retreating now would only bring chaos, and a chaotic army would have no fighting power.

The only thing to do now is to attack, attack, and attack again, and fight for a chance of survival in the attack.

Although Huan Xi was frightened at the critical moment, he did not tremble in fear. He actually came up with a crazy decision, hoping to survive.

"The Qin army is making its final counterattack." After noticing the Qin army's movements, Yang Chong immediately understood Huan Xi's decision. However, Huan Xi had been within his calculations from the beginning to the end, and the same was true for this final counterattack.

Yang Chong had already made preparations for this. Since the Qin army was going to attack, he had to defend.

Defense is always better than offense. Moreover, under attack from both sides, the Qin army is already at the end of its rope. Although the trapped beast fights ferociously, it can only launch an ineffective counterattack when facing the hunter's trap. What else can it do except screaming at the top of its lungs?

In the counterattack of the Qin army, the Jibei army held out tenaciously. The fighting in the past few days had truly tempered this army, and the final advantage boosted the army's confidence in victory. With absolute advantage, even when facing the Qin army which was at the end of its rope and had extraordinary combat power, it still held out. With the cooperation of friendly forces on the Zhang River, it resisted the Qin army's attack and pushed back step by step.

As time passed, when the blood had dyed the ground red, the Qin army finally collapsed.

Although the Qin army is strong, they are still human beings. Although the Qin army has been invincible over the years, they have also failed and surrendered.

Faced with the desperate situation, when the Qin army's final counterattack was defeated in blood, the fighting spirit of the Qin soldiers finally collapsed. When the first one dropped his weapon, countless others dropped their weapons.

With the sound of weapons falling, Huan Xi closed his eyes in despair. He knew that he had no chance of winning. Now, he had no choice but to escape, to abandon his army and flee, so that he could save his life.

As for leaving his life here, Huan Xi was unwilling to do so. It was not because he was greedy for life, but because he did not want to die here in such a cowardly way. He still wanted revenge. He wanted to escape, regroup, and then avenge today's shame.

As the Qin soldiers laid down their weapons and Huan Xi fled, the Qin army was completely defeated.

The Qin army on the eastern front responsible for attacking the nine cities in Ye numbered no more than 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers. In addition to the Qin troops stationed in the seven cities that had already been captured, Huan He could mobilize nearly 50,000 troops.

Among these 50,000 people, more than 10,000 were besieging Anyang, and the remaining 30,000 were directly under the command of Huan Xi. In addition to the Qin army that continued to besiege Yecheng, Huan Xi used more than 20,000 Qin troops to fight a decisive battle with the Jibei Army, which were also the 20,000 most elite troops.

However, these 20,000 men were completely wiped out in this battle. Except for the soldiers who died in the battle, the rest all surrendered.

When Huan Xi fled alone back to the Qin army camp outside Yecheng, he couldn't help feeling like he had survived a calamity.

"I am confident that I can bring back the head of the Qin army commander. Why did you let him go, sir?" In the blood-red setting sun, Mo Ya stood on the blood-stained battlefield, looking at Yang Chong standing by the water, and couldn't help feeling awe in his heart.

Until today, Mo Ya finally understood why Yang Chong dared to step into the chess game of Tianxia.

Mo Ya had gotten to know the people of Jibei County very well over the past year or so. They were definitely not brave warriors, but these people, who had only gone through one year and only a few months of real training, were able to annihilate an equal number of Qin troops in a decisive battle under the leadership of Yang Chong. It was simply horrifying.

Who in the world can do this?
In time, he might really be able to have an army of not 20,000 but hundreds of thousands that could compete with the Qin State for hegemony over the world.

"If Huan Xi is killed, there are still 30,000 to 40,000 Qin troops in the nine cities of Ye. With so few people, we can only attack one city at a time. Can we make it?" Yang Chong said, but there was no smugness in his expression, only seriousness.

He won the battle, but it was not an easy win. After all, his troops were too small, and his strategic planning only allowed him to annihilate 20,000 Qin troops under Huan Xi. However, such a victory is almost impossible to replicate. If Yang Chong wanted to annihilate 20,000 Qin troops again, it would be almost impossible. Even if it was possible, Yang Chong would not do it because the casualties would be too great.

After all, the Qin army was one of the few powerful armies in the world. Although Yang Chong relied on his calculations and knowledge beyond this time and space to lure Huan Xi into the trap step by step, the Jibei army also paid a heavy price in this battle, with thousands of casualties.

He was reluctant to use the remaining troops to fight to the death with the Qin army. That would not benefit Yang Chong and would only benefit the State of Zhao. Yang Chong would not do such a thankless task.

What he wanted were the nine cities in Ye, not the heads of the Qin army or the military merits of Zhao.

"Now that Huan Xi has fled back to the military camp, can we not attack?" Mo Ya asked puzzledly. What Yang Chong said seemed to make sense, but it was like letting a tiger return to the mountain.

"A Qin army without a commander may fight to the death, but a Qin army with a commander will not. Huan Xi is a smart man. When he knows that he can no longer capture Yecheng, he will take the initiative to retreat. Pure beasts are difficult to deal with, but people with brains are different. People are smarter than beasts. They will make choices, so Huan Xi will make the most appropriate choice." Yang Chong said.

"It seems that Huan Xi is more important alive than dead." Mo Ya suddenly realized, and had a better understanding of Yang Chong's calmness. "Of course, we can go to Yecheng next. This city is very important to us. I will leave it to you in the future." Yang Chong said.

Although Mo Ya is not the best choice, there are not many people Yang Chong can use at the moment. Mo Ya is the most suitable one among them. At least Mo Ya will not betray him. As for recruiting talents, the number of talents a county magistrate can recruit is really limited. No matter how anxious Yang Chong is, he can't change anything.

Fortunately, his current territory is still small, so he is not overwhelmed.

But this problem will soon become a problem that must be faced.

The defeat forced Huan Xi to withdraw his troops and even withdrew the siege of Yecheng. The Qin army besieging Anyang also slowly retreated. Now he was really worried that the Qin army would be defeated by the Jibei army and the Zhao army.

As the Qin army retreated, the Jibei army also entered Yecheng, a city that had fallen into despair under the siege of the Qin army.

"Congratulations to County Magistrate Yang for defeating the Qin army. You will be famous from now on." On the city wall of Yecheng, Zhao Cong, a general of the Zhao army and a member of the Zhao royal family who survived the disaster, did not hesitate to praise Yang Chong after seeing him.

God took pity on him. After repeated attacks by the Qin army, he had even thought of abandoning the city and fleeing. It was at this time that reinforcements from Jibei County led by Yang Chong arrived.

At first, Zhao Cong did not take Yang Chong's reinforcements seriously. In his opinion, there was no strong army in a place like Jibei County, and the population was not large. Even if there were reinforcements, how many could they be?
Moreover, the reinforcements from Jibei County would have to face the Qin army directly. They couldn't even hold on by relying on the city to defend it. How would a reinforcement force of only 20,000 people, which had only been formed a year ago, do when facing the Qin army in the wild?

Then you don't even have to think about it to know the answer.

But the reality was completely beyond Zhao Cong's expectations. The Jibei Army actually won, and it was a great victory. In one battle, 20,000 Qin troops were annihilated. Moreover, these 20,000 Qin troops were elite troops led by Huan Xi himself.

Such things completely refreshed Zhao Cong's cognition. If he had not almost escaped during the siege of the Qin army, he would even suspect that the Qin army fighting against the Jibei army was fake.

It was precisely because Zhao Cong was so badly beaten by the Qin army that he realized how terrifying the Qin army was. However, even such a terrifying Qin army was defeated by the Jibei army when the strength of the troops was almost the same.

What was the reason? It could only be Yang Chong.

Although Zhao Cong still didn't know how the Jibei Army won, this did not prevent him from being in awe of Yang Chong.

"Being too famous is not necessarily a good thing. We are all working for the king. Although the Qin army is defeated now, Huan Xi is still alive and there are tens of thousands of Qin soldiers. It may not be easy for us to defeat the Qin army again." Yang Chong bowed.

Zhao Cong in front of him is also a very interesting person. Regardless of his abilities, his status in Zhao State is not low. He is considered one of the few Zhao royal family members who can still fight. This identity makes his position in the Zhao army very special. Although he cannot reach the top, no one can ignore his existence.

"With Governor Yang here, I don't think Huan Xi will be able to cause any trouble." Yang Chong's caution looked something different in Zhao Cong's eyes. In his opinion, Yang Chong's caution was a manifestation of his calmness. With such a person stationed in Yecheng, he felt safe and didn't have to worry anymore.

But what Yang Chong wanted was to completely control Yecheng, so how could he allow Zhao Cong to continue to stay in Yecheng? So he could only find a way to make Zhao Cong leave here. Of course, this method had to be sophisticated. Killing was not an option, so he could only deceive him.

Fortunately, Huan Xi was still alive. With Huan Xi around, it was not difficult for Zhao Cong to leave Yecheng.

"The Jibei Army suffered heavy casualties in its fight to win and can no longer withstand a major battle, but the Qin Army still has its fighting strength left. Even though Ye City has high walls and deep moats, it cannot be defended for long. We need more reinforcements." Yang Chong said with a bitter face.

Yang Chong’s reaction made Zhao Cong’s heart sink. He finally saw the light, could it be all fake?

Is it true that Yecheng can no longer be defended?

Yecheng really couldn't be defended, at least Zhao Cong knew that he couldn't defend it. As for the Jibei Army? He also knew that with equal forces, the Jibei Army's victory over the Qin Army would not be possible without paying a heavy price.

In this way...

"Reinforcements are hard to come by. We can only send one person to Handan, and maybe we can get some reinforcements." Zhao Cong said worriedly, his good mood just now was gone forever.

"Handan is a wealthy family. If an ordinary person goes there, he probably won't even be able to get in, let alone ask for reinforcements." Yang Chong said helplessly.

"this……"

Zhao Cong's heart was moved despite his gloomy face. A look of surprise appeared on his face for a moment, but then it disappeared and turned into a look of hesitation. Zhao Cong said hesitantly: "How about I go to Handan? County Magistrate Yang should know that I am from the royal family and have some connections in Handan. Maybe I can ask for reinforcements."

"It would be great if General Zhao could come forward. After all, if even General Zhao can't get reinforcements, it would be even more impossible for anyone else to go." Yang Chong showed a look of surprise.

Yang Chong's surprise was instantly transmitted to Zhao Cong. This was what he wanted to hear the most. Abandoning the city and fleeing was a serious crime. Otherwise, he would have escaped long ago. Now that Yang Chong had taken the initiative to enter Yecheng and talked about asking for help, it gave him hope of escaping Yecheng. How could he let it go?
"But..." Yang Chong's hesitation made Zhao Cong's surprise freeze. He hated this damn change.

"Just what?" Zhao Cong asked quickly.

"But General Zhao is responsible for the safety of Yecheng. How can he leave easily?" Yang Chong said with a sad face, as if facing a dilemma.

Only Zhao Cong could ask for reinforcements from Handan, but Yecheng could not do without Zhao Cong.

This is such a hard choice!
(End of this chapter)