The most arrogant in history

Chapter 210 General Gao Di is as timid as a chicken!

The eight lords were all a bit slack.

The morale of his soldiers was greatly reduced.

Because many of the coalition forces were temporarily recruited and did not have a strong sense of combat.

The more Ye Kun looked at it, the angrier he became.

Some of these so-called princes are sons of nobles, who are weak in limbs and simple-minded; some are honest elders, who are like clay Buddhas and do not speak for a long time; some are people who are good at talking and making lofty remarks, who can make the dead come alive, but they do not understand the art of war and give orders blindly.

Most of the generals under the princes were relatives of the emperor, lacked practical experience, and were as timid as mice.

There is a folk song that says: "The scholar who was selected does not know how to read. The filial and honest person whose father lives separately. The poor and honest person is muddy as mud, and the high-ranking general is timid as a chicken!"

Moreover, the relationship between the superiors and the subordinates is chaotic, and there is no order of hierarchy. Everyone wants to preserve their strength and wait and see the success or failure, so it is difficult for them to unite as one.

Let’s look at Niu Yeliang’s soldiers and generals. They were originally warriors from Bingzhou and Liangzhou. They were experienced in the battlefields, and they had Qiang and Hu volunteers as their followers. They were all tragic and generous men, and their fighting power was far superior to that of the coalition forces of the princes.

In the evening, Wei Dingshan hosted a banquet for Ye Kun, and Wei Caiqin accompanied him.

Wei Kang was not there and was sent to the food and supplies camp.

Ye Kun also felt much more at ease, and could occasionally exchange glances with Wei Caiqin.

After three cups of wine, Wei Dingshan talked about the current situation and asked Ye Kun for his opinion.

Ye Kun smiled bitterly: "Lord Wei, if we don't withdraw our troops and continue to march north from Dagu Pass, we might have already reached the city of Luoyang."

Withdrawing troops from Dagu Pass was an outrageous move that Ye Kun couldn't understand no matter how hard he tried!

If we don't withdraw our troops, the enemy will surely be at the gates of our city.

Wei Dingshan also sighed: "I think there are villains behind this matter who are stirring up trouble and don't want you to achieve merit. After all, you and Shangguan Jifu are both young, and you are both small county governors. The governors have not yet achieved merit, but you have snatched the great merit. The princes feel embarrassed."

"So there is still such a saying?"

Ye Kun was stunned.

Wei Caiqin said: "Father, in this case, let's return to Dagu Pass and continue our march from there."

Wei Dingshan shook his head: "Military affairs are not to be trifled with. Let's just listen to the leader's orders."

Ye Kun felt bored and shook his head, saying, "Lord Wei, I want to withdraw my troops. My troops cannot withstand the consumption."

Wei Dingshan smiled and said, "You can retreat, but I cannot. I can only advance and retreat together with the princes."

Ye Kun nodded: "Let me discuss it with Shangguan Jifu and then make a decision."

After the banquet, Ye Kun returned to his military camp to discuss matters with Shangguan Jifu.

Shangguan Jifu still had some patriotic sentiments, and sighed, "If we withdraw our troops like this, won't it be a waste of effort?"

"We killed Cai Feilong, captured Dagu Pass, and killed tens of thousands of enemies. How can we say we returned empty-handed?"

Ye Kun looked at Shangguan Jifu's face:

"How about we fight tomorrow, using only our own troops and without the help of other princes. Seeing how cowardly they fight makes me angry! We'll see how things turn out after the battle tomorrow."

Shangguan Jifu smiled and said, "Brother Dalang, can we win?"

"I won't lose anyway!"

"Well, I will ask for orders from the leader tomorrow!" Shangguan Jifu became excited.

The next morning, Ye Kun and Shangguan Jifu asked Xuanyuan De for permission to lead their troops to fight again at Sishui Pass.

Xuanyuan De had also suffered heavy casualties in the past two days, and was overjoyed when he heard this. He clasped his fists and said, "I will personally lead the charge for the two generals!"

Ye Kun gave the order, asking all archers, heavy infantry and heavy cavalry to follow him into battle.

Shangguan Jifu also mobilized all his troops and, together with Ye Kun, set up a battle array in front of the pass.

Ye Kun ordered the heavy infantry to form a spear team and line up in front of the formation to prevent the enemy from charging. The heavy cavalry was on the two wings, and the light cavalry was in the rear.

Archers were on both wings, setting up bows and crossbows, ready for battle.

Xuanyuan De and others were amazed when they saw Ye Kun's pulley crossbow and said they had never seen it before.

Shangguan Jifu rode forward, raised his gun and challenged the enemy to a fight.

Tang Xionghu of Guanshang was defeated by Shangguan Jifu the day before yesterday. He was furious and led his troops to fight again.

The two sides continued to fight, and the battle was fierce.

Ye Kun ordered the archers to step forward and shouted, "Crossbowmen, step forward and prepare to shoot!"

The crossbowman stepped forward with his bow and crossbow, trying to get as close to the target as possible.

Tang Xionghu's soldiers did not know the range of the pulley crossbow and did not take it seriously, thinking that Ye Kun was just changing his formation.

Seeing the distance between the two sides getting closer, Ye Kun suddenly waved his hand: "Attack!"

Whoosh whoosh!

Arrows rained down into the enemy camp.

The pulley crossbow has the ability to penetrate armor within 200 steps. It cannot guarantee that every arrow can penetrate armor, but it can guarantee half of it.

The enemy panicked and hurriedly shot arrows at the target, but they were too far away to reach him.

Ye Kun's archers continued to advance, firing in an orderly manner.

Tang Xionghu was fighting with Shangguan Jifu when he suddenly saw his own army in chaos. He became panicked and rode away.

Ye Kun seized the opportunity, waved his flag and shouted: "Shoot all the arrows, kill Tang Xionghu!"

There were already dozens of powerful crossbows waiting for Tang Xionghu, and they immediately shot arrows at him.

Tang Xionghu's warhorse was hit by an arrow and fell headfirst, falling off the horse.

Shangguan Jifu stopped his horse, took out his bow and arrow, and shot an arrow.

Tang Xionghu had just gotten up when an arrow hit him right in the throat!

Ye Kun was delighted and waved his flag: "Heavy cavalry attack, chase and kill the enemy!"

After the enemy's general was killed, the remaining soldiers lost their will to fight and retreated in panic.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the enemy's deputy general had already pulled up the drawbridge, closed the gate of the stronghold, and then fired arrows to stop the pursuers.

As a result, the more than 1,000 soldiers and horses led by Tang Xionghu were directly abandoned and the entire army was wiped out.

Ye Kun urged the archers to move forward and shoot at the archers on the pass from a safe distance.

Guan Shang's bow and arrow had insufficient range, and he was suppressed by Ye Kun. He was helpless and dared not show his head.

Ye Kun turned around and said, "Push the catapults over here and attack the pass!"

More than a dozen catapults were deployed in front of the pass, dropping kerosene and incendiary bombs onto the pass.

The archers aimed at the pass and attacked as soon as they saw the enemy troops show up.

However, the enemy troops guarding the pass were really strong. They fought to the death and continued to advance.

Ye Kun fought until the afternoon. He was exhausted and had shot and killed countless enemy soldiers, but he still could not take the pass.

Fortunately, Ye Kun's attack was from a long distance, so there were no casualties.

Xuanyuan De called back his troops, clasped his fists and said with a smile:

"General Ye, General Shangguan, we shot and killed Tang Xionghu in this battle, killed more than a thousand enemy soldiers, and shot and killed hundreds of enemy soldiers in Guanshang. This is already a great victory. Let's withdraw our troops and rest, and fight again tomorrow."

Ye Kun sympathized with the soldiers' hard work and ordered them to withdraw.

Lords from all over the country came to congratulate and visit Ye Kun's pulley crossbow. They were all envious and asked about the production method and materials.

Ye Kun smiled and said, "This was made by Old Man He, a skilled craftsman in our army. I don't know the specific method. I'll go back and ask Old Man He, find the drawings, and send a copy to everyone."

Xuanyuan De smiled flatteringly:

"General Ye, can you give me two of your crossbows so I can have the craftsmen's camp make copies? With these crossbows, we will be even more powerful in defeating the bandits!"

The other princes also looked at Ye Kun eagerly, wishing they could grab two pulley crossbows.