Chapter 46: Swallowing Tigers and Wolves

  The night was uneventful, and early the next morning, King Wang's generals came to receive orders. However, after a long time in the great tent, there was still no sign of King Wang. These people did not dare to leave, so they could only whisper among themselves in the tent.

  Wang didn't come to discuss matters because he was lazy or seriously injured yesterday, but because he really didn't want to come and discuss.

  There are only two options in making decisions: attacking or retreating, but Wang is fundamentally unable to make a choice.

  At the time of Si, Wang Da couldn't pretend to be a turtle anymore, and he stepped into the big account, saying in a low voice: "The commander was injured by a cold arrow yesterday, so I came a little late. Does anyone have anything to say?"

  These generals exchanged a glance, thinking to themselves: "Boss, we're attacking the city now! Don't you know what's going on?" But no one dared to speak out, and they could only respond in disarray: "Nothing's wrong today."

  Wang Daogan coughed twice and said in a deep voice: "Since there's nothing, let's each return to our tents. The big camp must strengthen its vigilance and beware of surprise attacks."

  It turned out that Tai Shi Ci soon made up his mind for Wang Da.

  That night at midnight, Taishi Ci led 200 elite cavalrymen, holding torches and charging into the main camp. This was not a sneak attack, as Taishi Ci had no intention of sneaking up on anyone; he charged forward alone, cutting a bloody path through the enemy lines, with his cavalrymen following close behind him into the camp, setting fires everywhere.

  Before Wang could restore order in the chaotic camp, Taishi Ci took advantage of the chaos and killed his way back along the original road, disappearing into the night.

  The next morning, Wang Duang took stock of the losses. The loss of soldiers was not great, only a few dozen were killed in battle, but the grain and fodder they carried had been burned by Taishi Ci, leaving only enough for five days.

  Wang Dang is now at a dead end, and there is no food to be found in the nearby countryside, so he naturally set his sights on Shenchi County.

  Shenchi County is only half a day's journey from Guangwu, and taking it down will solve Wang Dang's urgent need. Wang Dang immediately ordered the whole army to break camp and set out, rushing straight to Shenchi.

  On this road, Wang's army was harassed by Taishi Ci to the point of being exhausted. The half-day journey was interrupted repeatedly until sunset when they finally saw the city wall of Shenchi County.

  "Attack..." King Wang didn't even have time to consider the fatigue of his soldiers, he turned his head and took a glance at Taishi Ci's cavalry, then immediately gave the order.

  Taishi Ci led his elite cavalry in trailing behind Wang Da's troops and stationed them just out of bowshot, watching with a cold eye.

  Just then, Li Chong and Guan Yu led dozens of cavalrymen to meet with Taishi Ci. As soon as they met, they smiled at each other.

  Taishi Ci on horseback clasped his fists and said: "Taishi Ci has seen the lord."

  Li Zhong waved his hand and said, "There's no need for so many rules, next we'll see Zi Yi's divine shot."

  "Please instruct me, milord." Taishi Ci replied with a smile.

  Li Chong pointed to Shenchi County and said: "Now Wang is like a dog jumping over the wall, he will definitely launch a fierce attack on Shenchi. Zi Yi and Bo Wen will hold back their troops for the time being, and when Shenchi County is in a critical situation, they will lead their men to charge and kill in a burst, but don't let Shenchi fall too early. Also, Zi Yi will take the opportunity to shoot and kill the county magistrate of Shenchi."

  "Why?" Tai Shi Zi blurted out.

  Li Chong took a deep breath and said slowly, "As the saying goes, 'a cunning rabbit has three burrows.' Now we only have Guangwu as a place to stay, and our relationship with Zhang Yan is extremely bad. One day, Zhang Yan will definitely lead a large army to attack, and if something unexpected happens in Guangwu, where can everyone hide? So, we must capture Shenchi to be prepared for any situation."

  Tai Shi Zi nodded and said in a low voice: "Don't worry, Your Excellency. I will definitely live up to your expectations."

  Guan Hai listened to Ta Shi Ci's extremely confident words, and sighed in his heart. He wasn't unwilling to compete with Ta Shi Ci, but he really didn't have the ability to take the enemy's head among thousands of soldiers, and could only secretly smile bitterly, acknowledging that he was inferior and had nothing to say.

  "Kill...... kill......"

  At this time, Wang Da had already started attacking the city. The vanguard soldiers rushed towards the city wall like ants. Wang Da personally led 500 elite soldiers to guard behind the attacking army, preventing Taishi Ci from taking advantage of the attack to launch a surprise attack.

  The garrison of Shenchi County and Li Chong's army were vastly different in quality, and the city's defenses were also insufficient. After a brief skirmish, signs of collapse began to appear.

  The king's march took a day, and the defenders of Shenchi had already received news, waiting in formation on the city wall. Under the cover of flames, on the city wall of Shenchi, a man dressed as a civil official could be seen holding a precious sword, shouting desperately, directing the defending troops to fight back.

  After dozens of deaths and injuries, the defending soldiers finally calmed down, relying on the terrain to barely hold onto the city wall.

  "Hmph..." King Wang snorted coldly and shouted: "The whole army attacks the city, I want to see how many defenders are in Shenchi."

  The garrison of Shenchi County was not large, with only about 500 soldiers. After Wang Dang led out the 500 soldiers from behind the temple, he could dispatch more than 2,000 soldiers to attack the city. This is also why Wang Dang's troops were exhausted; otherwise, relying solely on the garrison of Shenchi County, it would be a problem whether they could withstand an hour or not.

  Seeing the precarious situation of Shen Chi, Taishi Ci clenched his fist and said: "My lord, the defending army at Shen Chi is on the verge of collapse. Shall we lend them a hand?"

  Li Chong sank into thought for a moment before saying, "Alright then, let's give the defenders of Shenchi some hope. Yes, giving them some hope is all we can do."

  Tai Shi Zi nodded and said: "I understand."

  Li Chong turned to Guan Hai and asked: "Bo Wen, aren't you going to join Zi Yi in the fun?"

  "Haha......" Guan Yu burst out laughing and said: "Just what I needed, my hands are itching. General Taishi, lend me a hundred elite cavalry, how about it?"

  Tai Shi Zi smiled slightly and replied: "Since Bo Wen is so enthusiastic, Tai Shi Zi will naturally follow his orders."

  "Kill..." Taishi Ci let out a loud shout, leading one hundred elite cavalry in a direct charge at Wang Yun's rear troops. Guan Yu was not to be outdone, also commanding one hundred elite cavalry as he followed close behind.

  Wang had long been prepared and when he saw Taishi Ci and Guan Yu leading their troops forward, he immediately shouted loudly: "Form the array!"

  The simplest way for infantry to deal with cavalry is to defend densely. Wang Dang's 500 elite soldiers all held long spears, the spearheads pointing towards the sky, and the butts inserted into the ground, trampled firmly by their feet. At a glance, Wang Dang's 500-strong army formation looked like a giant porcupine, leaving no room for attack.

  Taishi Ci, of course, would not have rushed to the tip of the gun. When he charged to within fifty paces of Wang's army formation, he suddenly dodged to one side, and a hundred elite cavalrymen followed Taishi Ci in drawing out a huge arc, bypassing the army formation and charging straight at the siege troops.

  Guan Yu also made a move similar to Taishi Ci's, circling around Wang Zan's army in the opposite direction.

  Wang had no choice but to move his troops and block both sides.

  Actually, even if Wang Da did not intercept, Taishi Ci and Guan Yu had no intention of sacrificing themselves for the Shencheng army. The two men led their troops in a big circle, pretending to be making an effort, and Taishi Ci took the opportunity to shoot and kill several enemy soldiers before each leading their own troops back.

  Tai Shi Zi also shouted a few sentences: "Brothers of Shenchi, hold on! We Guangwu are coming to support you..." and other nonsense.

  Although the two sides did not really fight, Wang Dang's army inevitably caused chaos. Any army would have no way to attack the city wholeheartedly with someone stabbing them in the back.

  On the contrary, the defenders of Shengchi were greatly shocked. Being besieged in a lonely city and having external reinforcements are two different concepts.

  Besides, Shenchi County is not far from Guangwu County. The defenders knew that Guangwu County had at least 500 infantrymen, and they naturally thought that these infantrymen were still on their way to reinforce them.