Chapter 609: Yue Chang went to Mei County

In the fourth year of Tiantong, on April 15, the Deng army deliberately withdrew from Chencang City and lured the Qin army into Chencang City. Finally, the Deng army secretly lit the fire-burning object in the city. A big fire burned in the important Guanzhong town of Chencang City. More than 10,000 Qin troops were trapped in the fire. In the end, only a few hundred Qin troops were able to fight out of Chencang City with the chief general of the Qin army Geng Ming.

In Guanzhong, on the bank of the Shui River, Geng Ming fled here with hundreds of defeated generals in a daze. This place was far from Chencang City. In a short time, it was impossible for Deng's army to catch up. The Qin army soldiers had almost exhausted their physical strength after one night. Geng Ming had to stop and rest, but was worried that the Deng army would pursue him relentlessly, so Geng Ming sent out all the few scouts among the generals.

"General, what should we do now? We can't go back to Sanguan, and Mei County is surrounded by Deng's army, so we can't go either. There are only a few hundred people left, so we can't compete with Deng's army at all!" Deputy General Geng Li briefly cleaned up the fatigue on his body in the river and said to Geng Ming.

Geng Ming looked at the hundreds of people around him, all of whom had lost their fighting spirit and looked like they were reborn after the disaster. Seeing this scene, Geng Ming felt infinitely guilty. Chen Cang's defeat was because he was eager for quick success and instant benefits. If he hadn't been to the support of Mei County and rashly entered Chen Cang City, the Qin army would not have suffered such a crushing defeat. However, at this time, no one could blame Geng Ming. Indeed, Geng Ming was indeed a little anxious, but in the face of the empty Chen Cang City and the crisis of Mei County, Geng Ming did this. It was a bit understandable that Deng's army was too cunning and vicious, and actually burned Chen Cang City, together with 15,000 Qin troops.

"It is impossible to go to Mei County. With our current strength, we may be defeated by Deng's army before we arrived in Mei County. Moreover, our army lost all the food and grass in Chencang. Now the soldiers have no food at all. How could we go to Mei County? This is the Lishui River. After passing the Lishui River, Yong County is the north. There is a place where my Great Qin Emperor's Mausoleum is located. There are also some soldiers and horses. Let's retreat to Yong County for the time being and plan for the future." Geng Ming thought for a while and said.

There are many imperial tombs in Qin State. The Qin royal family originated from the pre-Qin period. They once dominated the western border and finally unified the six kings. They also experienced many capital migrations. Many imperial tombs were left behind in each capital. Guzang in Xiliang, Yongxian in Guanzhong, Liyang and Xianyang, all of which were left with the tombs of the former kings of Qin State. The largest imperial tomb of Qin State is located in Mount Li, which is the tomb of Qin Shihuang, the first emperor in China.

After the fall of the Qin Dynasty, the descendants of Qin went to Xiliang, and the imperial tombs in Guanzhong gradually became deserted. Later, after Qin returned to Guanzhong, the first thing he did was to renovate these ancestral tombs and station troops to guard them.

Geng Li nodded when he heard this. As for the current situation, going to Yong County is the best choice. So he said, "Since the general has decided to go to Yong County, we should set off earlier. Although this place is a bit far from Chen Cang, if Deng Jun wants to catch up, it will not take long. It is probably inappropriate to stay here."

Geng Ming said: "Then let's take another hour. After one hour, cross the Lishui River and head north to Yong County. Chen Cang was devastated by the fire. Will Deng Jun catch up with him for a while, so we still have some time."

An hour later, Geng Ming led hundreds of defeated generals to cross the Lishui River and headed north to Yong County.

At the same time, the fire in Chencang City was still burning. The fire was so big that Yue Lei and Chang Mao did not dare to send it to extinguish it. After all, only they knew how many fire-induced objects were hidden in Chencang City. These things were enough to burn Chencang City for three days and three nights. Now is the time for the fire to be extinguished. If it is forced to extinguish it, it will probably increase a lot of casualties. Since that is the case, just let it burn.

The fire in Chencang City caused the temperature nearby to rise rapidly. In order to avoid the high temperature, Deng Jun came to camp five miles away from Chencang City.

In the central army's tent, Yue Lei and Chang Mao were discussing the next plan.

Yue Lei said: "This battle was a complete victory, and our army's losses were almost negligible. We have completed the military orders assigned by the general. But should we wipe out the escaped Qin army first or go directly to Mei County?"

Li Siye's military order was to let them defeat the Qin army as soon as possible, and to join forces before the main army advanced eastward to Chang'an. Yue Lei and Chang Mao used a fire to complete the task perfectly, and it didn't take much time. I believe that at this time, Li Siye was still attacking Mei County. They had time to wipe out the escaped Qin army's scattered soldiers and brave men before going to Mei County.

"Then what do you mean?" Chang Mao asked back.

Yue Lei thought for a while and said, "The Qin army was unprepared for this fire. I think most of them died in Chencang City. There were no traces of most Qin troops found within a radius of dozens of miles. So even if some Qin troops escaped, they must be a minority and could not pose any threat to our army at all. So what I mean is that regardless of these remnants of Qin army, go directly to Mei County. If time goes on, maybe you and me will be able to destroy Mei County."

"I have always supported your opinion, but..." Chang Mao said with a silence, "This time, we burned Chen Cang and burned Chen Cang City and more than 10,000 Qin troops. The general knew, and I wonder if we would blame us. You must know that when my father attacked Xiang Kingdom, he slaughtered thousands of Hunan army prisoners and was criticized. If others were tortured, we would probably not be able to take it."

"Haha!" Yue Lei smiled and said, "So you are worried about this."

"That's right? After all, more than 10,000 Qin troops were killed by a fire. No one has done this for decades. I am still terrified." Chang Mao said with a pout.

"Don't worry!" Yue Lei waved his hand and said, "Whether General Chang Yuchun massacred the Hunan Army's prisoners back then, or we burned the Qin army today, it was all for the sake of the great Deng, not for the sake of our own selfishness. Although it hurts the heavens, it prevented too much casualties from our army. Not to mention the great general, even if the emperor knows, he will not blame us. Besides, General Chang Yuchun massacred thousands of unarmed prisoners back then, His Majesty was gently taken, let alone the more than 10,000 well-equipped Qin army we burned to death? Just keep your heart in my stomach, there will be no problem."

Guya

Deng Sheng cherishes the lives of soldiers. If that person leads the army to lose too much, even if he wins, he will probably be punished. However, that is only limited to Deng’s army itself. Deng Sheng has no sympathy for the enemy. As long as he can win, Deng Sheng doesn’t care how many people he kills. Of course, if the nature is too bad, Deng Sheng will not ignore it. Obviously, Yue Lei and Chang Mao’s behavior this time is not bad enough. Even if someone criticizes it, they are just the old scholars in the court, which is not harmful at all.

"That's what you said. I believe you very much. Don't cheat me." Chang Mao nodded and said, he was very sensitive to these things. After all, his father Chang Yuchun was killed by the prisoners. Today, people say that Chang Yuchun is cruel.

"Don't worry, believe me, it's okay. Since that's the case, then we will take a day to go to Mei County!" Yue Lei nodded and said.

The next day, Yue Lei and Chang Yuchun led a large army to leave Chencang and head for Mei County.

On April 20, in the fourth year of Tiantong, Yue Lei and Chang Mao led 20,000 elite troops to Mei County. At this time, Mei County was still under the control of the Qin army. Deng's army attacked for ten days and was unable to break the city. Instead, nearly 20,000 casualties were injured and killed. However, there was no progress. Although the Qin army's resistance was very tenacious and the Deng army suffered a lot of casualties, the strength of the Qin army was also declining rapidly. Before the war, there were less than 5,000 Qin troops who could stand up and fight. Moreover, how much combat effectiveness these 5,000 people could have was still a problem, let alone the Deng army has 20,000 new forces.

The generals of the Deng army were also very surprised at the arrival of Yue Lei and Chang Mao. How long has it been passed? From the military order to Yue Lei, Chang Mao and his two led their troops to arrive. It took only ten days to complete the entire battle. Indeed, there is no doubt that Yue Lei and Chang Mao and his two can defeat the Qin army, but this is too fast.

"Yue Lei, Chang Mao, have you defeated the Qin army outside Chen Cang City?" Li Siye asked Yue Lei and the other two with suspicious eyes in the central army's tent.

Yue Lei nodded and said, "Go back to the general, we have successfully defeated the Qin army and wiped out the main force of the Qin army. The chief general Geng Ming fled to Yong County in a hurry with only a few hundred people."

"So fast? Then tell me how do you fight?" Deng Zhong, the general of Wudangwei, asked quickly. You must know that the Qin army has more than 10,000 people, and the strength of the Deng army is not very different. How long did Yue Lei and Chang Mao take? Apart from the time Chen Cang took to Mei County, Yue Lei and Chang Mao took at most less than five days, and maybe not even three days, which is too fast.

Yue Lei and Chang Mao told the whole process of defeating the Qin army. When everyone heard this, they took a breath and shocked Yue Lei and Chang Mao's ruthless methods. It was a long life-long battle to burn the Qin army.

"Yue Lei, Chang Mao, are you going to avoid being ruthless?" Wudangwei military advisor Su Yun couldn't help but say. Although he had been in the military for many years, Su Yun was essentially a literati, and he still couldn't agree with the ruthless methods of Yue Lei and Chang Mao.

"Military advisor, it's wrong for you to say this!" Chang Mao retorted: "You must know that the strength gap between us and the Qin army is not big, and the chief general of the Qin army Geng Ming is also quite a general. If we want to defeat the Qin army, our army will definitely suffer a lot. After a big fire, we not only defeated the Qin army, but also preserved our strength. Our army's casualties are almost ignored. So what if it's a little more ruthless? On the battlefield, I don't say mercy to you."

"This..." Su Yun had no idea that Chang Mao, who had always been unrighteous in speaking, dared to refute.

"Okay!" Li Siye said, "It's not the time to talk about this. I'll not be able to comment on your slightest matters. However, when you return to Wancheng in the future, there will naturally be someone who will argue with you. Let's talk about how to break through this Mei County."

Li Siye stopped the debate between Chang Mao and Su Yun and returned the topic of the matter to attack Mei County.

"General, we have been attacking fiercely for ten days. Although we have not yet been able to break through Ji County, the Qin army is obviously at the end of our strength. If it were not for Yue Lei, we might have taken some time to arrive. After all, the soldiers are also very tired after ten days of hard fighting. Now Yue Lei and Chang Mao are leading 20,000 new forces, which can make them the main force. I believe that in three days, Ji County will be destroyed!" Li Jing thought for a while and said.

The Deng army fought hard for ten days. Although it consumed most of the Qin army's strength, it was also very tired. If Yue Lei and the other two arrived, the Deng army would have to rest for a few days if they wanted to continue the attack. However, the new force brought by Yue Lei and Chang Mao now was the new force. Chen Cang did not consume much in the battle, so it would be best for them to take the main force to attack Mei County.

Li Siye thought about it and said to Yue Lei and Chang Mao: "Since General Li said that, Yue Lei and Chang Mao, do you dare to take the lead and attack Mei County?"

Yue Lei and Chang Mao were overjoyed when they heard this. They came so anxiously, thinking that they could get a share of the pie in the battle of Mei County. Now they didn't expect that they could still take the lead, so why wouldn't they be unwilling to do so?

Yue Lei and Chang Mao nodded and said, "I am willing to do my best! Please don't worry, General. We will do our best to take down Mei County!"

"Okay, since that's the case, tomorrow you and the two of you will lead their troops to launch a strong attack on Mei County, break through Mei County as quickly as possible, and capture Geng Yue alive!" Li Siye nodded and said.
Chapter completed!