Chapter 366: I don’t believe that I can’t shoot you to death!
An army of 50,000 was about to cross the river, right under the noses of 20,000 to 30,000 ferocious Hun enemy troops.
Ying saw it all and kept it in mind.
He couldn't wait any longer, not caring that speaking out now would undermine the commander's prestige!
If he waited any longer, all his 50,000 cavalry would be lost here, and he would have to go back to drinking in a daze.
"General Meng, we can't cross the river now! The enemy has already deployed their troops on the shore. Once our army has crossed half of the river and the enemy blocks us halfway, our army will surely be defeated. It is better to wait until nightfall, when the Huns retreat, and then we can cross the river at night. It can be three o'clock in the morning, five o'clock in the morning, but we can't cross the river now. Please give the order!"
Meng Tian was a little surprised. He thought this little glutton only knew how to eat, but it turned out that he had some knowledge.
"The Third Young Master has studied the art of war?"
Tap tap tap
The sound of horse hooves was scattered and the earth was shaking.
The 50,000 cavalrymen were still marching without stopping because their commander Meng Tian did not give the order.
Ying Jianglu became anxious, and a cruel look flashed in his eyes. He did not have the kind heart of his elder brother Ying Fusu.
He rode forward and grabbed the arm of a messenger who was following Meng Tian and was ready to convey the general's orders to the entire army at any time.
"Give the order immediately! Stop the entire army!"
The messenger turned his head and looked at the commander-in-chief Meng Tian. Seeing that Meng Tian did not respond, he smiled apologetically to Ying Jianglu and bowed.
"I'm sorry that I can't obey your order."
Once on the battlefield, if the main general was still alive, he would only obey the orders of the main general.
The vanguard of the army was about to enter the water. General Ying was extremely anxious. He didn't want to waste time talking to a messenger. He held the Qin sword at his waist and was ready to draw the sword to kill someone to establish his authority.
Meng Tian was quick-witted and quick-handed. As soon as he saw the stern look on Ying Jianglu's face, he knew that the third son of the First Emperor was determined to kill him.
He felt inwardly that the eldest son lacked the decisiveness to kill, and quickly reached out to grab Ying Jianglu's wrist that was holding the sword.
"Left and right, let me take it down."
The guards gathered around shouted in unison.
"only!"
Ying Jianglu was considered to be quite skilled among his peers, but compared with the Qin soldiers who had fought on the battlefield and mastered the art of killing, he was still a child.
"I am the Third Young Master of the Qin Empire! Who dares to touch me?"
Before he could even shout a word, he was pressed down on horseback by four of Meng Tian's personal soldiers, and his arms were pulled behind his back and tied tightly with ropes.
The Qin army obeyed orders.
Once on the battlefield, the soldiers only have their eyes on the commander, not the young master.
"Third Young Master, I am sorry. After this battle, I will accept the punishment."
Meng Tian lowered his head and apologized sincerely.
Although he grew up with the First Emperor, he always had a good grasp of the balance between the monarch and his subjects. He never took advantage of the emperor's favor to become arrogant, nor did he overstep his authority.
"Li You, you look after the Third Young Master. Chat with him and relieve his boredom."
"only!"
A somewhat shrill young voice responded.
A rider stepped out from the ranks of the imperial guards. The face under the helmet looked unexpectedly young, and he stood out among the imperial guards composed of veterans.
He rode his horse to the side of Ying Jianglu, grabbed the ropes on Ying Jianglu's hands and pulled him up, making Ying Jianglu sit from lying down.
Ying Jianglu's mouth was not blocked, but he, who had just been struggling with anger and making threats, now looked disheartened and stared blankly at the cavalry crossing the river.
"It's gone. All gone..."
From Meng Tian's action of tying him up, he knew that no matter what he did, he would not be able to take back the command from Meng Tian until the war was over.
Li You, who had followed Meng Tian and transformed from a battlefield novice into a qualified soldier in just a few months, hesitated for a moment, then asked:
"What did the Third Young Master say?"
Li You didn't talk too much and didn't want to talk.
But the military order from Meng Tian was to chat with Ying Jianglu to relieve boredom, so he had no choice but to speak up, because the military order was as heavy as a mountain!
"Unless the Xiongnu general is Duke Xiang of Song, we will surely lose this battle. My 50,000-man army, my weapons and armor, my king..."
Ying Jianglu ignored Li You and talked to himself with a sad face.
Li You looked at Meng Tian.
[He has no reason, so why not chat with him? ]
Meng Tian noticed Li You's gaze and did not give any instructions. Li You sighed, knowing that he had to continue the conversation.
"Third Young Master, are you talking about the Battle of Hongshui?"
"You, a little soldier, also know about the Battle of Hongshui? Where did you hear it from?"
Battle of Hongshui.
When the State of Chu attacked the State of Song, the Chu army was stationed on the north bank of the Hong River, and the decisive battle was set on the south bank of the Hong River.
Gongsun Gu, a minister of Song Dynasty, suggested to strike the Chu army head-on when the Chu army was halfway across the river.
"Our armor is not as strong as the Chu army's, our weapons are not as sharp as the Chu army's, and our men and horses are not as strong as the Chu army's. The Song people are as afraid of the Chu people as snakes and scorpions. If we don't attack the Chu army when they cross the river, relying on the advantage of the terrain, we will definitely lose this battle."
Duke Xiang of Song refused to do it.
"The Chu State has more weapons and armor but less benevolence and righteousness. We have less weapons and armor but more benevolence and righteousness. Back then, King Wu of Zhou defeated our ancestors' millions of troops with only 3,000 Tiger Guards. What did he rely on? Benevolence and righteousness! We are a benevolent and righteous army. How can we use our whole strength to attack a part of the enemy and take advantage of their misfortune?"
Gongsun Gu tried to persuade him but to no avail.
After Duke Xiang of Song and his army of Chu crossed the Hongshui River and reorganized their troops, they set up their battle formations and engaged the Chu army head-on, and the Song army was defeated.
Ying Jianglu had read the record of the Battle of Hongshui in military books and commented that if the Song army had attacked the Chu army while it was crossing the river, the outcome of the battle might have been reversed.
The war in front of us is highly similar to the Battle of Hongshui.
Now it is the Qin army crossing the river, and the Xiongnu are waiting by the river. But will the Xiongnu wait for the Qin army to cross the river before fighting like Duke Xiang of Song?
Ying Jianglu, who was angry and ignored Li You, finally responded when he heard the soldier hear Duke Xiang of Song see the scene before him and reveal what he was thinking in one sentence.
"From a book."
Ying Jianglu finally took a serious look at Li You.
Knowledge was monopolized by the aristocracy, and people at that time generally had little knowledge. Those who could read and write were considered aristocrats, and their ancestors had been aristocrats.
"May I have your name?"
"Li You."
"What is your relationship with General Li Xin?"
This is not the first time Li You has heard this question.
Whenever people heard his surname was Li, almost everyone thought that the "Li" in his name was the "Li" in Li Xin, and no one would have thought that the left prime minister of this dynasty, Li Si, also had the surname Li.
"My father, Li Si."
When Ying Jianglu heard this, he immediately looked Li You up and down, his eyes full of approval.
The leader of the Legalists, the son of the left prime minister Li Si, abandoned the easily obtainable official position and went to the battlefield. This was very similar to him, the third son of the First Emperor, who refused to enjoy the luxurious clothes and food and went to the land of the Xiongnu.
They are people who do not indulge in enjoyment but dare to fight.
Crash~
The war horses entered the water and 50,000 cavalrymen crossed the river.
The river was neither deep nor shallow, about two feet deep. After the horses entered the water, their legs were almost invisible. In such a deep river, the horses could not run at all, and they were sitting ducks for the Huns.
The sound of waves woke Ying Jianglu up. He turned back with despair and saw the Huns on the other side of the river with ferocious faces, bows drawn and arrows drawn, shouting incoherently.
The Huns shot arrows, and the Qin soldiers fell one by one and fell into the water.
Because they were wearing armor, they sank one after another.
"Meng Tian!"
Ying Jianglu was hysterical and roared loudly.
"This is what you did! This is the battle you fought! Arrogant and insolent, order a retreat immediately, quickly!"
Meng Tian remained indifferent. He watched the cavalrymen fall off their horses one by one and heard the screams of the soldiers. His expression did not change at all, as if he was deliberately sending these cavalrymen to their deaths.
Meng Tian could sit still, but Ying Jianglu couldn’t. These were the basis for his becoming king!
"Meng Tian!"
"Noisy!"
Meng Tian interrupted with a sharp voice, and looking back, the murderous intent in the blood-red eyes made Ying Jianglu feel like he was falling into an ice cellar! Ying Jianglu had never seen such a deep and thick murderous intent, as if it was about to flow out.
Even though he knew that he was the third prince of the Qin Dynasty, Meng Tian did not dare to kill him. He was still so frightened that he forgot to speak.
Ying Jianglu had killed people, but they were all eunuchs and palace maids.
After seeing through his elder brother that he was the Second Emperor of Qin, Ying Jianglu always wanted to be a general, but he had never been to the battlefield and had never experienced its cruelty.
Crash~
The 50,000-strong army was still crossing the river, the Huns were still shooting arrows, and cavalrymen were still being shot and falling off their horses.
But the line of 50,000 cavalrymen continued to advance and had already crossed half of the river.
"You Hun dogs, you can't run away."
There was blood on Meng Tian's face from the beheaded Hun, but this blood was not enough to satisfy his bloodthirstiness!
"Pass the order! Shoot all the arrows for Naigong!"
"only!"
The messenger rode his horse quickly from the middle of the team, rushing to the front line, shouting as he ran.
"The general has given the order! Shoot!"
Ying Jianglu's body was shocked, as if he had been enlightened.
He was so worried that he didn't realize until now that the Qin army hadn't fired a single arrow! Facing the Huns' arrows, they had been passively taking the beating and hadn't fought back!
"Enough shooting! Taste your father's arrows!"
"I'm dying of suffocation. Shoot these bastards to death!"
"Finally, I'm allowed to shoot! I'm going to kill eight of them today!"
“…”
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh~
The arrows that blocked out the sun and sky fell in a parabolic trajectory when the Huns were caught off guard.
The Xiongnu cavalrymen who were shooting arrows happily looked at the Qin army in the river in disbelief as they brought the reins to the horses. They freed their hands and still sat firmly on the horses! They sat more firmly than the Xiongnu, as if they were nailed to the horses!
Draw the bow, put the arrow on, and shoot!
The Qin army crossed the river on war horses, showing the Xiongnu incredible horsemanship. Archery on the march was a skill exclusive to the elite Hu cavalry who grew up with war horses!
The Qin army lit up.
There was wailing and blood splattering on the shore, and the sound of people falling into the water continued. The clear river water was dyed red by the blood of the Huns!
The Xiongnu had never thought that the Qin people from the Central Plains could shoot arrows while crossing the river. Caught off guard, at least a thousand people died in the first wave of arrow rain.
"When reading military books, you can't read about death."
Meng Tian cut the ropes on Ying Jianglu's hands with a sword and raised the Qin sword high.
"kill!"
No messenger was needed this time.
The generals surrounding Meng Tian raised their swords and spoke eloquently, imitating their leader.
"kill!"
The sound spread quickly like a virus, and quickly expanded with Meng Tian as the center!
"kill!"
"kill!"
"kill!"
Fifty thousand cavalrymen shouted, with excited and bloodthirsty faces, wearing armor and riding horses, charging towards the Huns who were blinded by the rain of arrows and were already in a state of defeat!
In the river, one after another, the "dead" Qin soldiers who were shot by arrows fell into the water, and stood up beside their original horses like ghosts.
Water was still dripping from their armor, and they climbed onto their horseless horses, soaking wet.
"Ghost, ghost!"
"These Qin soldiers cannot be killed! They are ghosts!"
“Run!”
“…”
The Hun cavalry were filled with fear as they looked at the Qin army that had come back to life and was getting closer and closer to them. They shouted wildly in the Hun language, and their formation, which had already been disrupted by the rain of arrows, became even more chaotic.
The rain of arrows from the sky kills people, and the Qin army in the water destroys their hearts.
The Huns fled.
The Qin soldiers they shot to death would turn into evil spirits and come back, but they would die instantly if they were hit by arrows, so this battle could not be fought at all.
But it was too late to run away now.
Without any harassment from the Huns, those of the 50,000 cavalrymen who fell into the water first quickly reached shore.
They rode on their war horses and pursued the fleeing Huns, shooting arrows as they went.
The saddle under their hips can stabilize their bodies, and the stirrups on both sides of the horse's belly allow them to push their feet to gain leverage and prevent them from falling off the horse.
Horseback archery, which used to be extremely difficult, is now extremely easy. Arrows, carrying their murderous intent, cut through the sky and made holes on the backs of the Huns!
At that time, an elite cavalryman of the Xiongnu, with his feet in the air, slightly retracted his legs to clamp the horse's belly, turned around and shot an arrow with an unusually sharp tip, heading towards a Qin cavalryman.
When
The arrow hit the Qin cavalry's chest. The sharp arrow, which could penetrate half of the flesh, hit the iron armor.
The huge impact of the arrow caused Qin Qi's body to sway slightly backwards, but he straightened up in an instant.
The arrow left a small hole in the armor, and fell to the ground without even seeing the inner collar.
"Son, you're quite strong! Father will return an arrow to you!"
The Qin cavalry grinned and shot an arrow at the Xiongnu cavalry who were able to turn around and shoot, but missed.
He is neither an elite nor a sharpshooter, but just an ordinary cavalryman.
What he was good at was charging and killing with one hand holding the reins and the other holding the Qin sword, rather than shooting arrows randomly with one hand holding a bow and the other.
But it doesn’t matter. If you miss the first arrow, just shoot again!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh~
The Qin cavalry fired five arrows in a row before they knocked the Xiongnu cavalry off their horses.
He doesn't shoot accurately, but he shoots a lot!
"I just don't believe I can't shoot you to death!"
With a cruel smile on his face, the Qin cavalry pulled the reins, leading his horse to step over the fallen Xiongnu cavalry and land on their belly.
"ah!"
The Hun cavalry who were still alive opened their eyes as wide as possible, puffing them up like toads. The moment the war horses stepped past, their upper bodies bounced up forty-five degrees, as if they were doing sit-ups.
The Qin cavalry ducked when they crossed each other and made eye contact with the Huns who were screaming in pain.
He drew his sword, slashed the neck, and the warhorse rushed forward quickly.
The blood spurting from the neck poured into the air and did not catch up with the horse.
"Father will give you a ride!"
This was a massacre, a massive massacre in which no one could fight back. Fifty thousand Qin cavalry chased after the Xiongnu cavalry, shooting arrows with bows and killing the Xiongnu with swords.
The green grass turned into red grass, and the sun set in the west, revealing a bright red light in the sky.
The sky and the earth changed color.
