Chapter 62 People in the City
In the front line of the Chu army's phalanx, flags covered the sky and spears and swords looked like a forest.
The Chu army general, Zuo Sima Shen Yinshu, looked at the long-defeatable city of Zhenzi and sighed, "Miscalculated, miscalculated!"
"I thought that the new king of Wu was in power and the people were restless, so they could not stand up to a war. I never thought that the 80,000-strong army of Chu would be defeated by this small city of Zhenzi!"
This was something the Chu people never expected.
For Shen Yinshu, it was something beyond reason but expected!
Long before Ji Zha went to Chu, Helu had already sent an envoy to Yingdu to lobby the King of Chu.
According to the prior agreement, Chu and Wu signed a non-aggression pact to temporarily stabilize the Wu people, and then secretly dispatched troops to cross the river and raid Wu's Zhenzi line.
Only by taking this bridgehead can the Chu army gain a firm foothold on Wu’s land!
However, no one expected that the State of Wu had not relaxed its vigilance, and that it deployed its troops at an extremely fast speed and its resistance was so tenacious.
The feud between Wu and Chu is irreconcilable!
Long before Chu attacked Wu, Shen Yinshu had repeatedly advised that the people of Wu were hot-blooded and hostile to Chu, and that now might not be a good time to attack Wu.
This is because Shen Yinshu had been a minister of the State of Wu in his early years and he understood the character of the people of Wu very well.
The people of Wu would never easily surrender to a powerful enemy!
Especially the Chu State, which had a blood feud with the Wu State, the Wu people would rather die than surrender.
However, Shen Yinshu's words were obviously not enough to convince the officials of the Chu State headed by Ling Yin Nang Wa!
Because almost all the powerful people in Chu believed that Qingji had just expelled Helu and performed the crowning ceremony, and the internal turmoil in Wu was turbulent. Now was a good opportunity for Chu to march east and avenge its previous humiliation.
Shen Yinshu had no choice but to be appointed as the general, commanding 80,000 soldiers and naval forces to march eastward to attack the State of Wu.
At this time, the right Sima Mi Ji on the side said in a deep voice: "General, I think that the Wu army in Zhenzi City is already at the end of its strength!"
"Our Chu army has been besieging the city of Zhenzi for seven days, fighting day and night. The enemy's arrows, stones, and rolling logs in the city are running out, and the casualties are huge."
"I have observed in the past two days that the Wu army has demolished the adobe houses in the city and used all the available stones as defense equipment!"
"Moreover, there are still many people from the Wu Kingdom on the top of the city. I think the defenders of Zhenzi are almost collapsed. They can't hold out for much longer under the fierce attack of my Chu army."
Shen Yinshu nodded slightly to show his agreement.
After seven days of fierce fighting, he also found that the Wu defenders in the city were gradually weakening!
Relying on their large numbers, the Chu army besieged the city of Zhenzi day and night, suffering heavy casualties themselves, and at the same time inflicting severe damage to the Wu army defending the city.
Apart from anything else, once the Wu army does not even have weapons like arrows, stones, and rolling logs, they will be unable to defend the city.
After all, without weapons that can carry out long-range attacks, the Wu army in the city will need to engage in close combat with the enemy and start a brutal hand-to-hand combat!
By then, how could the Wu army, with its gates wide open, defeat the ferocious and wolf-like Chu army?
However, Shen Yinshu had never expected the desperate resistance of the soldiers and civilians in Zhenzi, and the severity of the resistance was beyond their imagination.
In order to resist the powerful attack of the Chu army, the people of Zhenzi Lishu even demolished their own houses and used stones, beams, pillars and other things as weapons, causing a certain degree of damage to the Chu army.
Not only that, the people of Wu also took to the battlefield themselves!
They started out as laborers carrying baggage, then became soldiers who took up arms to resist. What's more, some strong women even joined the battle.
One can imagine how much the people of Wu hated the people of Chu!
The actions of the Zhenzi people really made many Chu army soldiers doubt their lives.
"Right Sima, we can't be careless."
Shen Yinshu stood on the chariot, looking at the fierce battle between the Wu and Chu armies in the distance, and said: "In a few days, the main force of Wu will arrive at Zhenzi!"
"We must capture the city of Zhenzi before the Wu army arrives, otherwise all the efforts made by the Chu State will be in vain."
"What the General said is very true."
Mi Ji nodded slightly.
"If the main force of the Wu army wants to reinforce Zhenzi, they must go by water. Right Sima, I would like to trouble you to lead the fleet to block the Wu army's route first and wait for the opportunity to move!"
"promise!"
Mi Ji immediately took the order and left.
At this time, on the top of the city wall of Zhenzi, the defending general Heifu was sitting there, urging his soldiers to fight the enemy!
“Swish!”
Hei Fu brandished the blood-stained bronze sword in his hand and struck a Chu soldier who had climbed up the ladder to the top of the city wall with one strike, killing him in the throat.
Then, several Chu army soldiers who had already climbed onto the top of the city wall nearby saw Heifu, who was wearing Taotie armor and looked different from the others, and they knew that this was a "big fish"!
"kill!"
The Chu soldiers, who were blood-thirsty, immediately thrust their spears towards Heifu.
Hei Fu was not afraid at all. He threw the bronze sword with his backhand. With a "puff", the broadsword pierced through the chest, and an enchanting blood flower bloomed on the chest of a Chu soldier opposite.
Three Chu soldiers had already arrived in front of him. Heifu immediately held up a long spear and exerted force suddenly, knocking away the bronze spear that was thrusting at him. Then he swung the spear like a dragon, stabbing, picking, or chopping, and immediately eliminated all the enemies!
“Whoosh!”
"puff!"
Suddenly an arrow shot towards Heifu, catching him off guard, and a bloody hole was shot in his arm!
"General!"
The Wu soldiers around were horrified upon seeing this, and rushed to Heifu's side, holding up their shields to protect him from the Chu army's cold arrows.
Heifu just gritted his teeth, covered his bleeding arm, collapsed on the ground, and gasped for breath.
Several soldiers nearby wanted to help Hei Fu up and send him to the rear for treatment, but Hei Fu just waved his hand and said, "I'm fine."
Afterwards, Heifu, a ruthless and taciturn man, gritted his teeth, grasped the arrow stuck in his arm, and then broke it with a "click"!
More blood flowed out, but Heifu just groaned, beads of sweat the size of beans appeared on his face, and his expression was quite ferocious.
"Is there any news from the capital?"
Hei Fu then asked the general on the side.
"General, even if there is a royal decree, I'm afraid the messenger won't be able to enter the city of Zhenzi."
The general gnashed his teeth in hatred and said, "The Chu barbarians have surrounded the city and are attacking like crazy. If this continues, I'm afraid..."
"Why should I be afraid?"
Hei Fu smiled proudly and said, "It's nothing but death! Er Sanzi, don't feel sorry for yourself. Behind us are the beautiful mountains and rivers of Wu, thousands of elders and fellow countrymen, and Er Sanzi's king!"
"Even if I die in battle, I still have my second and third sons. Even if my second and third sons die in battle, we still have the people of Zhenzi City!"
"As long as there are people in the city, it will survive. If people die, the city will perish! Gentlemen, if the Chu barbarians want to capture the city of Zhenzi, they must first step over the corpses of Ersanzi!"
"promise!"
"The city survives as long as people are alive. If people die, the city dies!"
On the top of the city wall, the Wu army soldiers who were in desperate situation could not help but shout loudly, their anger reaching the sky, and a tragic and heroic momentum spread.
It was like the broken flags of the Wu army planted on the top of the city walls, but still fluttering in the wind!
