PNB Chapter 162: Xia Qin's psychological warfare (3)
Chapter 162: Xia Qin's psychological warfare (3)
After a while, the tinnitus in everyone's ears gradually disappeared, and everything around them seemed to have returned to calm.
At this time, the Jingzhou army had also arrived and heard the thunder in the distance. When they got here, they found that the entire Sangzi Bridge had been completely destroyed. The ground within a hundred meters was covered with rubble and it was a mess. Many soldiers were injured by the flying stones.
"General Zhao, what happened here?" Deputy General Jiang Guang, who came with a large army, asked softly. He found that Zhao Nande's face, which was originally pale and somewhat blue, was now covered with cold sweat, and his whole body was trembling slightly.
"Is it a drought thunder?" Jiang Guang, who had just arrived here, didn't know what happened. "General Zhao, there is a bridge fifteen miles away from here. Should we chase after it?"
Zhao Nande shook his head and did not answer. He just started breathing heavily, as if someone had blocked his mouth and nose and prevented him from breathing. If he had not reacted quickly enough, he and several of his bodyguards would have died here.
No, if the other party wanted to kill me, he could have done it secretly. There is no way I would still be standing here alive!
Looking at Zhao Nande standing there in a daze, and then glancing at Wang Chenggu who was still curled up on the side and didn't dare to stand up, he stopped asking questions.
He just sniffed the strong smell of sulfur in the air and said, "What a strong smell of sulfur, General Zhao, we..."
However, when the words came to his lips, Jiang Guang suddenly stopped.
The reason was simple, simply because he saw Xia Qin and others slowly walking out from the middle of the broken bridge.
At this moment, Jiang Guang finally realized why Zhao Nande and Wang Chenggu were like this.
Obviously, the loud noise just now was caused by these people in front of them. They actually relied on human power to build a stone bridge! No matter what means they used, this was undoubtedly a shocking thing.
"General Zhao, Governor Wang, are you satisfied with this gift?"
At this time, there was deathly silence all around, and even though they were thirty meters away, Xia Qin's voice was still clearly heard by everyone. To Zhao Nande, who had just recovered his hearing, the voice even seemed a little sharp and harsh.
Zhao Nande did not reply, because he did not know how to answer, and he did not even know whether he should stay here, but he did not dare to leave. At the moment, he seemed to be afraid to do anything, for fear that the slightest movement would cause some other trouble.
Wang Chenggu, who was standing by, saw Xia Qin standing in front and thought it should be safe, so he walked carefully and tremblingly from behind the palace soldiers to Zhao Nande's side. However, his legs were still weak and he almost fell. He grabbed Zhao Nande's arm to stand firm.
Zhao Nande pushed Wang Chenggu away with a look of disgust.
Seeing that Zhao Nande didn't say anything, Wang Chenggu asked in a trembling voice: "Mu Shijun, you led us here so late at night and made such a big noise, what exactly do you want to do?"
“Let me tell you, if you want to attack our Yangzhou, you will only die!” Mu Jinyu’s threat with great pressure echoed in the night sky, and tens of thousands of Jingzhou soldiers heard it, “and you will die without a complete body, and your bones will be crushed to ashes!”
Under normal circumstances, if someone threatened them like this, Wang Chenggu and Zhao Nande would just laugh and say nothing. However, after witnessing the tremendous power of black gunpowder just now, they could not laugh at all now. After hearing what Mu Jinyu said, they recalled the horrific explosion scene just now.
They were just being shocked by Mu Jinyu's words when suddenly several flashes of fire streaked across the sky.
Wang Chenggu, still frightened, was worried and shouted at the top of his old voice, "Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"
The cavalry who had just experienced that scene immediately rode their horses to get out of the way, but the main force that had just arrived was still confused.
After several explosions, dozens of soldiers were killed or injured. The pain of the iron pieces in the bamboo mines embedding into their flesh and bones made them howl in pain.
Seeing that the effect had been achieved, Xia Qin reminded loudly: "Over the years, you have turned a blind eye to the Japanese pirates occupying most of Yangzhou. This is a small lesson. When we meet on the battlefield from now on, you will face a terror a thousand times greater than today!"
After she finished speaking, Mo Ye directly released a crimson flare into the air.
It was just a simple flare, but it still left a lingering fear in the hearts of Wang Chenggu and others who were like frightened birds. He subconsciously hid behind his soldiers again, trembling all over.
"What are they doing again?" Jiang Guang, the deputy general beside Zhao Nande, murmured softly, feeling a little uneasy.
But a moment later, the flames rising into the sky in the distance gave them the answer.
"Mr. Shi, there is a fire in the direction of the provincial government and the main camp!" A government soldier turned around and reminded Wang Chenggu who was hunched over.
"What?!" Wang Chenggu was shocked, and took the opportunity to leave this dangerous place where he didn't want to stay at all, "Quick! Come with me back to put out the fire!"
Zhao Nande looked back at Wang Chenggu who was riding away in a hurry, then turned to look at Xia Qin and the other two.
"Okay, General Zhao, I've said what I need to say. You can handle the rest on your own," Xia Qin said, suddenly raising her voice, "Soldiers of the Jingzhou Army, the Qin family has disrupted the government over the years, and now they are rebelling again. You will be buried with them, so think carefully!"
After saying that, she waved her hand, took Mo Ye and Mu Jinyu and turned away gracefully, leaving Zhao Nande standing opposite the broken bridge, wondering what he was thinking.
"General, should we continue chasing?" Jiang Guang asked again.
Zhao Nande's expression was extremely solemn. He walked forward a few steps, looked at the broken bridge again, and turned to look at the Jingzhou army behind him. He had only been here for half a month, and now it was not a matter of whether to pursue or not. But after what had just happened, even if he ordered a pursuit, he was afraid that the order could not be carried out.
"Retreat! Go back and put out the fire!" He gave the order loudly, turned around, mounted his horse, and rushed towards the military camp.
For Jingzhou Governor Wang Chenggu and Jingzhou Army Commander Zhao Nande, it was a difficult night. Zhao Nande did not sleep all night and early the next morning he called all the generals of the Jingzhou Army to discuss countermeasures in a makeshift tent. Wang Chenggu naturally also brought the state's military officials to participate.
Wang Chenggu looked at the generals' livid faces and whispered, "General Zhao, do you remember when General Mu was fighting the Xiongnu in the north, they all said that it was because of your majesty's wisdom and bravery that our Great Xia had the help of thunder from heaven. In just one battle, we defeated the enemy with fewer troops and severely damaged 100,000 Xiongnu cavalry. Now it seems that the so-called help from thunder from heaven was probably the inexplicable fire last night!"
Zhao Nande looked at the silent generals and nodded, "Now that I think about it, I'm afraid that's the case."
"General Zhao," a Jingzhou general said, "In your opinion, should we continue to fight for Yangzhou?"
Without waiting for Zhao Nande to respond, Wang Chenggu quickly said, "Last night, whether it was the thing that destroyed the stone bridge or how they could easily sneak into the state and start a fire, it's hard to believe. If they hadn't just come to communicate, we would have been killed."
Seeing Zhao Nande's unhappy face, Jiang Guang quickly said, "Mr. Wang Shi, it's just that the attack on Yangzhou is the order of His Majesty and the intention of Duke Qin. We can't disobey the order, right?"
Wang Chenggu recalled his experience last night and felt a little scared. He said awkwardly, "I have no other intentions. I am just speaking from the bottom of my heart. Although the post of governor is in charge of the military and general affairs of a state, General Zhao is the commander of the army. Naturally, General Zhao has the final say on military affairs."
Zhao Nande's eyes kept flashing and he didn't say anything.
The Yangzhou governor, Xia Qin and others were in a good mood. Although Hong Shengxiang and others who went to Xuzhou were not as smooth as they were in Jingzhou, they also obtained some food and fodder and burned the remaining baggage of the Xuzhou army, so the front line was safe for a short time.
"What should we do next?" Mu Jinyu asked Xia Qin for her opinion.
Xia Qin thought about the reactions of Zhao Nande and Wang Chenggu last night, and after a moment of deep thought, she said, "The best strategy is to attack the enemy's plans, the next best is to attack their alliances, the next best is to attack their troops, and the worst is to attack their cities. We could have attacked their troops last night but didn't, so it must have been for a greater purpose. Let's go and ask Dad and Uncle Su some questions."