in2ebook Chapter 291 is in the way.
Chapter 291 is in the way.
When attacking Hanzhong, Ye Kun prepared sufficient gunpowder.
In the end, only a small half was used, and the rest was brought by Ye Kun and Qin Erwu. In addition to the gunpowder produced by overtime during this period, Ye Kun still had sufficient firepower.
A thousand grenade throwers came forward and took turns throwing grenades, cooperating with the crossbowmen to cover the artillery's retreat.
As Ye Kun retreated step by step, Xiahou Chang's cavalry was completely useless and he could only send out heavy armored infantry to attack.
However, Ye Kun's powerful crossbow is the nemesis of heavy armored infantry. Taking advantage of the terrain, he can hit every target accurately!
Moreover, Ye Kun also has cannons halfway up the mountain, which can be used to attack the enemy's rear from a distance, forcing the enemy to not dare to gather together and can only keep their distance, with cannons everywhere in the mountain.
The two sides fought for nearly an hour, and Xiahou Chang suffered several thousand casualties. He finally came to his senses and shouted:
"Ye Kun is treacherous. He led our troops into the mountainous area and used the terrain and weapons to deplete our forces. Retreat quickly and return to reorganize!"
How could Ye Kun let go of this opportunity?
Seeing the enemy retreat, he immediately ordered Wang Meng: "Lead the light cavalry to charge out, but don't be too aggressive, limit yourself to ten miles!"
"Brothers, kill them and avenge Lord Shangguan!"
Wang Meng raised his gun and shouted, then took the lead and rushed down the mountain.
Riding a horse in the mountains is actually very dangerous.
Fortunately, all of Ye Kun's cavalry had horseshoes and sturdy saddles and stirrups, which greatly improved their safety.
Ye Kun's central army also launched an attack with all its might, and the shouts shook the sky.
As the saying goes, a defeat is like a mountain collapsing. Once the troops are defeated, it is difficult to reverse the situation.
The 30,000-strong army in the front of Xiahou Chang was killed and fled in panic, leaving their weapons and armor behind. They were able to stand their ground only after reinforcements arrived from behind.
Ye Kunming called back his troops and cleaned up the battlefield.
Just as they were worried about the lack of military rations, Xiahou Chang sent thousands of war horses for this battle.
Zhou Xuanwu led everyone to lead the injured horses to the rear and take care of them first; they skinned the dead horses and boiled their meat, then pickled them and ate them slowly.
There were thousands of prisoners and wounded soldiers at the scene, and Ye Kun asked Wang Meng to deal with them.
Wang Meng was cruel and ruthless. He ordered his subordinates to cut off the prisoners' thumbs, rub some quicklime into each prisoner's eyes, and then release them.
This move is too vicious.
After the captives returned, they were all blind and had lost their ability to work and take care of themselves, and would inevitably become a burden to Xiahou Chang.
It is also a burden to the family and the society.
Xiahou Chang needed a lot of money to accommodate these wounded soldiers.
If you ignore it, your subordinates will be disheartened.
It was too late for Ye Kun to learn about Wang Meng's operation. He sighed:
"General Wang, this move of yours is too cruel and not what a benevolent person would do."
Wang Meng said, "Lord Ye, I just want to irritate Xiahou Chang and make him fight again. In this battle, we will destroy tens of thousands of enemy troops. If we fight again, Xiahou Chang's army will surely collapse!"
This battle was indeed fought beautifully.
With only more than 500 casualties, Ye Kun wiped out more than 10,000 soldiers of Xiahou Chang, which greatly boosted the morale of the army!
Ye Kun also knew that this great victory was due to the fact that his side had the advantage of terrain and weapons, and Xiahou Chang was arrogant and underestimated the enemy.
It won’t be easy to have another one.
Xiahou Chang is no fool.
Zhuge Feng counted the weapons inventory and said to Ye Kun:
"We only have 900 shells and gunpowder left. We still have more than 1,000 thunder bombs and less than 2,000 grenades. We still have 150 chariot pulley crossbows and 750 matching arrows. We still have more than 1,000 pulley crossbows, but only 4,000 arrows... In other words, we consumed too many weapons in this battle and are now seriously insufficient."
Ye Kun frowned: "How many old-style bows and arrows are left?"
"Ten thousand bows and fifty thousand arrows, basically all of them. Including the captured bows and arrows, there are still many." Zhuge Feng fanned himself and sighed:
"But Xiahou Chang's cavalry is equipped with 50 arrows per person. He has at least 20,000 cavalry here, with over a million arrows, far more than us."
In terms of traditional bows and arrows, Ye Kun has no advantage over Xiahou Chang at all!
Ye Kun asked: "In your opinion, how should we deal with it?"
Zhuge Feng said: "Once Xiahou Chang wakes up, he will know that our weapons are seriously depleted and will attack again, so we must prepare early."
Gongsun Erniang said: "Brother, the main force of the army can continue to retreat to the Fairy Rock area. Only a small number of strong crossbowmen will be left at the front line, and they can fight and retreat at the same time."
Ye Kun looked at the map and agreed with Gongsun Erniang's opinion.
Wang Meng clasped his fists and said, "Master Ye, we have won the battle, why are we retreating?"
"Our battle with Xiahou Chang won't be completed in one or two years, so we have to take it slow."
Ye Kun pointed at the map and said, "We just won a great victory, and our army's morale has been greatly boosted. We can give an explanation to the people of Tianmen County. If Xiahou Chang calls a truce, we will retreat calmly, go back to develop our military preparations, and make a comeback. If we fight now, Xiahou Chang has more soldiers and will wear us out."
Wang Meng sighed and obeyed the order.
Just one day later, Xiahou Chang reorganized his army again, divided it into three groups, and launched a strong attack on Ye Kun.
This time, Xiahou Chang did not use heavily armored soldiers, but instead used lightly armored soldiers, all of whom were good at climbing mountains.
Ye Kun was at the front line, commanding the infantry to fight.
The fighting in the mountains was difficult for both sides.
In one day, Ye Kun had used up all his heavy arrows and artillery shells. He could only use thunder bombs and grenades, combined with traditional bows and arrows, fighting and retreating.
Gongsun Erniang said, "Brother, there is a valley not far behind us. The mountains and rivers are pressing in, and the road is narrow. We can prepare dry firewood and hay, pretend to be defeated and retreat, lure the enemy into the valley, and then use fire to attack."
Ye Kun nodded: "Very good, go and get ready, we will hold on here for a while longer."
Gongsun Erniang and Ding Ding immediately took a thousand soldiers to prepare dry firewood and oil and set up an ambush.
Ye Kun continued to block the enemy at the front line, but when it was getting dark, he ordered a retreat.
Xiahou Chang also noticed Ye Kun's fatigue and ordered three thousand strong soldiers to pursue him closely.
An hour later, the enemy was led into the valley.
With a cannon shot, fireballs kept rolling down from the peaks on both sides of the valley.
In the valley, flames suddenly shot up into the sky.
Ye Kun knew that the enemy had fallen into the trap, and ordered Wang Meng: "Go back the same way and destroy the pursuers!"
"Kill--!"
Wang Meng abandoned his horse and led his troops to charge on foot.
The enemy troops were thrown into chaos by the fire attack, and they trampled on each other and fled in panic.
Gongsun Erniang used kerosene, incendiary bombs, and a large amount of dry firewood to block the enemy's retreat route, and cooperated with Wang Meng to wipe out Xiahou Chang's 3,000 pursuing troops.
Ye Kun won another great victory, and he was smiling happily as he rewarded his soldiers.
Junior sister Ding Ding was very unhappy, she lowered her head and said nothing.
Ye Kun noticed something was wrong, called Ding Ding and asked:
"Junior sister, you also contributed to this victory, why are you not happy?"
Ding Ding shook his head: "Master said that we Mohists should love all and not attack, but we are killing people, and we are killing many people... Those soldiers who were killed also had parents, wives, families and friends. Their parents and families must be very sad when they die."
Gongsun Erniang also smiled bitterly and shook her head.
It can be seen that Gongsun Erniang is also very conflicted.
In Mohist thought, so-called winning a battle is nothing more than killing people for fun and should be criticized.
Wang Meng looked at Ding Ding and smiled, "Little girl, this is how war works. If you are afraid, retreat to the rear and don't get in the way."