Dian Wei's counterattack was a great victory, which dealt a heavy blow to the enemy's morale. The heavy losses made Que Xuan spend three full days just to gather the remaining troops and reorganize the army. During this period, he dared not attack Pingyi again.

By the time Que Xuan realized that something was wrong and wanted to launch another fierce attack on Pingyi, it was too late - Cheng Yu's main force arrived at the battlefield, and Que Xuan no longer had any chance of winning.

"Jun Ming, this battle was really hard for you."

Cheng Yu, who was going to Rencheng to take up the post of prefect, had a good personal relationship with Dian Wei. Seeing that Dian Wei had suffered dozens of wounds, he immediately showed concern for his injuries: "Mr. Hua has personally brought a team of medical soldiers here. Do you want to treat your injuries first?"

"It's just a flesh wound, it's nothing serious."

Dian Wei looked composed. He had great martial arts skills and a strong physique. He was born with a stronger foundation than others, so a minor injury would not be a problem.

However, Hua Tuo still personally brought people over to help him treat his wounds so that he could recover as soon as possible.

Hua Tuo is indeed a master of surgery. With Wang Jing's advice, he knows how to clean the wound with alcohol, suture it with thread, and apply special wound medicine.

He and his medical staff managed to save more than 200 of the more than 300 injured Qingzhou soldiers, and pulled back the injured who were half on the verge of death.

There is no doubt that this move greatly boosted the morale of the army, and Hua Tuo's reputation as a miracle doctor spread like wildfire. Not only did the soldiers in the army discuss it hotly, but even the people of Yanzhou began to talk about it with relish.

After treating the wounded soldiers, Hua Tuo took his medical soldiers to treat ordinary people in Pingyi City in his spare time. He prescribed some prescriptions for treating headaches and fevers for them, helping many people get rid of the torture of illness.

This action greatly increased the reputation of the Medical Battalion among the people and helped Wang Jing win the hearts of the people.

After all, the Medical Battalion was funded and established by Wang Jing. Who wouldn’t be grateful to Wang Jing for the fact that the soldiers who were injured on the battlefield did not die from inflammation of the wounds due to various complications?

After Dian Wei's injury recovered, Cheng Yu found him and asked about the battle situation: "Jun Ming, what is the current situation? Do you know how many soldiers and horses Que Xuan still has?"

"The enemy was repelled by my army, but our army was already exhausted and unable to continue pursuing and expanding the victory. The casualties of Que Xuan's main force should be limited, and at most their morale is a little low."

Dian Wei was also helpless, mainly because he had too few soldiers at hand, and the Qingzhou warriors under his command were all infantry. They were good at fighting siege and defense battles, but not good at annihilation battles. He couldn't just chase the enemy's fleeing soldiers all over the mountains, right?

If he had hundreds of cavalry at that time, he might have been able to attack the enemy directly. If he was luckier, it would not be impossible to capture Que Xuan alive on the spot.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Junming, you've done well enough."

Cheng Yu calmed Dian Wei down and then said, "The main force of our army has arrived at the battlefield. It is not difficult to win. The real difficulty lies in how to annihilate these rebels."

Although Que Xuan claimed to be the Son of Heaven, he was still a bandit in essence.

The most troublesome thing about the bandits is that they have the destructive power comparable to that of locusts and the mobility similar to that of cockroaches. If they are not killed in one attack, they will wander around and plunder, and then lead the refugees to attack again.

There are only thieves in this world who can steal for a thousand days, but how can you guard against thieves for a thousand days?

It was impossible for Wang Jing to divide his troops to defend everywhere, so when dealing with bandits like Que Xuan, he would have to not fight them, but if he had to fight them, he had to kill them all at once.

Cheng Yu pointed at the map and thought carefully about countermeasures: "It is not appropriate for our army to take the initiative to attack at this time. We just need to guard the various mountain passes to prevent the enemy from escaping."

The Mengshan Mountain Range stretches for hundreds of miles, with complex terrain and deep mountains and old forests everywhere.

On the way here, Cheng Yu had already thought about how to set up checkpoints layer by layer, block the main roads, and lay a dragnet to trap Que Xuan's main force in these mountains.

He was not greedy for merit and did not act rashly. His combat objectives were very clear from the very beginning. Therefore, after leading his troops into Pingyi City, he immediately began to deploy troops and set up a siege and killing strategy step by step.

Except for leaving a thousand soldiers to garrison Pingyi, the rest of the troops were dispersed to occupy strategic locations, just like playing Go, constantly placing pieces on the chessboard of Mount Meng, occupying the river valleys and blocking the roads, completely blocking Que Xuan's advance route. His military strategy was quite similar to that of Bai Qi, the god of killing in the Warring States Period, both of which adopted the idea of ​​surrounding the majority of enemy troops with a small number of troops.

The six thousand strong troops, each occupying their own geographical advantage, were divided but not dispersed, responding to each other from a distance and connected into one like a spider web.

Once attacked, reinforcements would come from all directions to rescue them. However, Que Xuan did not know the skills of troop deployment. Although he had the advantage in numbers, he was defeated and did not know what to do.

The offensive failed repeatedly, and the already low morale fell to the bottom.

The refugees who were brought with them also fled in large numbers due to lack of food and fodder.

Even some refugees who followed from Xuzhou began to flee.

Que Xuan, who was trapped in Fei County, realized that the situation was not good and had begun to think about his retreat. But before he made up his mind to retreat, Guo Jia led Chang Xi, Wu Dun and Yin Li, along with the Taishan bandits, to capture Hua County and cut off his retreat.

Surrounded by enemies on all sides, Que Xuan realized that he was in a desperate situation with no way to escape.

Outside Fei County, the army surrounded the city, and the only gap left was towards the southeast, which was a trap.

If Que Xuan really escaped from this route, he would surely be hunted down by Guo Jia's army.

At the north gate of Fei County, Que Xuan stood on the city wall, staring intently at the army that stretched for ten miles outside the city. He suddenly laughed desperately and crazily: "I am the Son of Heaven, how can I die here!"

Around him, the founding generals who were once arrogant and domineering lowered their heads and said nothing.

As arrogant as they were in the past, they are as desperate now. There are enemies on all sides and they are surrounded by ambushes. Even the former overlord Xiang Yu had to suffer in adversity, let alone them.

The soldiers who followed the bandits might still have a chance to survive, but Que Xuan, who proclaimed himself emperor, would undoubtedly die, and all of them, the so-called founding generals, were on the list of people to be killed by the government army.

It's too late to surrender now.

Outside Fei County, to the northwest, were the Qingzhou soldiers led by Cheng Yu.

To the northeast were the Taishan bandits led by Guo Jia.

Compared with the Qingzhou soldiers who were in uniform and had high morale, the Taishan bandits behind Chang Xi were a group of mismatched people who were not worthy of being in a respectable gathering. They didn't know how to stand or sit properly, and the queue was as chaotic as a market. There was no organization or discipline at all. It was obvious that they were a mob.

However, Guo Jia did not place his hopes of annihilating the rebels on them. He just needed their help temporarily to block Que Xuan's escape route.

Chang Xi glanced at the city wall of Fei County with lingering fear, then turned back to look at Guo Jia: "Do you want to persuade them to surrender?"

Although the city wall of Fei County is not high, there will inevitably be heavy casualties if the city is attacked.

Now, the Taishan bandits have lost many of their brothers one after another and can't stand such a torment anymore.

Guo Jia yawned and said, "Persuade me. It's useless, but at least you can give me some advice to prevent others from saying something unpleasant."

This nonchalant tone and attitude made Chang Xi's eyelids twitch.

But in order to survive, he had no choice but to endure it and sent a few good horsemen to persuade them to surrender.

As expected, he was shot back by the rebels on the city wall with a bow and arrow.

Que Xuan and his group of rebel leaders knew they were going to die, so how could they be willing to surrender?
Guo Jia didn't care when he saw this, but his eyes were filled with cold murderous intent: "Fighting stubbornly? That's great. After we take over the city, no one will be left alive."

The Yellow Turbans rebelled because the government and the powerful families oppressed the people too much and left them no way to survive, so the people naturally rose up in rebellion. Therefore, when Wang Jing pacified the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou, he did not kill them indiscriminately.

But Que Xuan was different. He started his career in Xia Pi, proclaimed himself the emperor, and then came to Yanzhou to stir up trouble. It is unknown how many murders he committed.

Such people do not deserve to be killed, and there is absolutely no reason to forgive them.

Chang Xi felt a little weak, so he asked Guo Jia tentatively, "Master Guo, none of the men under my command are good at attacking cities, what should I do?"

Guo Jia glanced at Chang Xi coldly, which made him feel numb all over. Then he said contemptuously: "If you are afraid of death, then so be it. But it doesn't matter. Anyway, I don't expect you bunch of rubbish to participate in the siege."

"I've tolerated you for a long time, you bastard, please be more careful with your words!"

Wu Dun was also ridiculed and was in a very unhappy mood, glaring at Guo Jia.

Guo Jia turned his head and looked at him: "Why, you want to volunteer to participate in the siege?" "I don't!"

"Then be quiet. Why don't you just continue with your nonsense? Why do you have to come out and ask for a scolding?"

"you!"

Wu Dun was so angry that he was speechless. He didn't dare to say anything else, for fear that Guo Jia would arrange for him to attack the city.

In Fei County, the army outside the city was endless, with flags like clouds, swords and spears like forests, red clothes like fire, and black armor like tides. Such a grand military appearance was intimidating.

Que Xuan was afraid that the government troops would launch an attack, so he gathered his main forces on various sections of the city wall and sealed all the city gates and exits. It was obvious that he was determined to fight to the death.

On the top of the wall, Que Xuan was wearing armor and holding a long sword, trying his best to boost morale: "As long as our army can defend this city, Envoy Tao will surely send troops to rescue us. By then, with the help of both inside and outside forces, we won't have to worry about not being able to destroy these ten thousand or so soldiers in front of us."

At the critical moment of life and death, Que Xuan was no longer stingy with rewards. He ordered his men to carry out all the looted goods, then kicked over a box of gold, silver and jewelry and shouted angrily: "Did you see that? As long as you fight hard, all this money will be yours! After we defeat the government troops in front of us and attack Yanzhou, we will be able to rob more!"

"Are you willing to live a mediocre life like a puddle of mud?"

Que Xuan also gave it his all and used every means to boost the morale of the troops.

Now that the city gates were sealed, the defenders in the city could not escape. Besides, they were a group of people on the road, and people died for money and birds died for food. Seeing so many treasures scattered on the ground and the dazzling jewels, many rebel soldiers had never seen so many treasures in their lives. How could they not be tempted?

They all expressed their willingness to fight to the death with the government troops in front of them.

"Very good, fight them!"

"Let's fight! If a man dies, the birds will fly to the sky. If he doesn't die, he will live forever!"

The rebels in the city began to shout loudly, as if it was the last madness before the end of the world.

Outside the city, people also heard the abnormal noises coming from the city.

However, neither Cheng Yu nor Guo Jia were moved by this.

The struggle of an ant cannot shake the overall situation. In the face of absolute strength, these little tricks are meaningless.

Chang Xi looked at Guo Jia and couldn't help asking, "The enemy's morale is high. If we attack the city now, the casualties will be staggering. It is better to lay siege for a long time."

As a veteran bandit, Chang Xi knew how difficult it was to attack a prepared city. Without sufficient technical strength, the casualties of the troops in attacking such a walled city would be quite tragic.

However, he didn't know that a brand new weapon of war had appeared, and the old siege tactics had been completely revolutionized.

In other words, Chang Xi's combat experience is outdated.

Guo Jia looked at the densely packed rebel soldiers standing on the wall of Fei County and smiled contemptuously: "It's just a county town. It will be easy to break it."

Just as Chang Xi, Wu Dun and Yin Li were puzzled by this, wooden carts were pushed out in front of the two armies. Then a group of Mohists dressed in linen clothes began to untie the ropes, dismantle the parts of the carts one by one, and reassemble them on the spot.

These Mohists were very skilled in their movements, completing their tasks in an orderly manner, erecting one complex mechanical device after another.

Guo Jia took a quick look and said calmly, "Fifteen giant stone cannons should be enough."

Because they were first transported by water and then had to be unloaded from the ship, and Pingyi's terrain was rugged and even the official road was not easy to travel on, it took a lot of time to transport these giant stone cannons to the front line.

However, after rushing, I still caught up with today's battle.

"What is this?"

Even Wu Dun, who had been bold and arrogant before, became uneasy after seeing the huge stone cannon in front of him.

As a war machine, the huge size of the stone cannon is itself oppressive, and the cold wood exudes a kind of hideousness and terror that makes people's scalps tingle.

Due to the lack of information, these Taishan bandits had no idea of ​​the existence of the giant stone cannon.

When Wang Jing fought against the Taishan bandits, he did not use tactical weapons such as the stone cannon. Therefore, whether it was Chang Xi, Wu Dun or Yin Li, they all felt very unfamiliar with this new thing before them.

"This thing is called the Giant Stone Cannon. As for its power, given your intelligence, it would be hard for you to understand it by just talking to it, so you should go and see it with your own eyes."

As soon as Guo Jia finished speaking, the giant stone cannon began to move. The friction sound of the gears kept coming out, and the various components were linked to each other, converting the powerful gravitational potential energy into mechanical energy.

As the force was transmitted, the counterweight device rose high and then fell suddenly. Finally, the huge mechanical energy was converted into huge kinetic energy through the principle of leverage, successfully throwing out the stone bullet weighing hundreds of pounds.

The stone bullets whizzed through the air, and in the blink of an eye, Fei County, four hundred steps away, seemed to have encountered a falling meteor from the sky, and the city wall compacted with loess exploded with a loud bang.

How could the fragile earth wall withstand such destruction?
Amid the continuous rumbling sound, only one-third of the twenty stone bullets hit the target.

But even with only one-third, the huge kinetic energy of the stone bullet still caused the city wall to cave in. The soldiers on the city wall were like being struck by lightning, and their internal organs were injured by the shock wave. Those with weaker cultivation even vomited blood and fell to the ground.

The stone bullets that flew into the city also knocked down a large number of houses with a devastating force.

Those who were unlucky were smashed into a bloody mess on the spot, turning into a pool of horrible meat paste.

The rebels who had just been clamoring for a fight to the death were instantly speechless at this moment. They were new to the battlefield and their previous opponents were only local militiamen and poorly trained county and state soldiers. How could they have ever seen such a tragic death?
Under the continuous bombardment of stone bullets, their morale collapsed on the spot, and they fled madly amid the whistling sound of breaking through the air, crying as they fled: "Magic, the officers and soldiers know magic!"

"Run for your life!"

"I don't want the money anymore, let me out of the city! Let me out of the city!"

The stone bullets were so powerful that they shook the earth, but in fact they mainly destroyed the city walls, and only dozens of rebels were killed. However, panic was spreading, and no one was willing to face this terrible weapon of war. Even if they were just hit by it, they would either die or be disabled.

Que Xuan was unable to prevent the collapse of morale, because he was helpless in the face of the attack of the stone cannon and had no countermeasures or means at all.

It would be a miracle if the morale didn't collapse if they were to passively take the beating like this.

You have to know that most of the rebel soldiers were incited and coerced to come here. If they were asked to rob and loot, they could still fight bravely. But if they were asked to fight to the death, they would be difficult to command.

The rebel soldiers were determined not to fight to the death. After all, how could they make money if they fought to the death?

In front of the two armies, fifteen giant stone cannons were operated by the Mohists and were running at full capacity.

For a moment, stones and bullets rained down over Fei County, and this time it was a deadly rain of bullets.

Rumble~
The stone bullet weighing more than 140 kilograms fell heavily, and even the city wall built with rammed earth and stones would shake, let alone the wooden buildings in the city?

The rebel army was smashed to pieces before they even fought the government troops. The fighting spirit that had been finally boosted fell back to the bottom again.

Que Xuan stood blankly in front of the city wall, his eyes filled with bloodshot and despair all over his face. At this moment, the only thing he could do was to wait quietly for the final moment to come.

Click~
Wow~
After being hit multiple times by the stone cannon, a section of the city wall finally collapsed, revealing a two-meter-wide gap.

After a short silence, the rebels in the city suddenly exploded like boiling water: "The city... the city is broken!"

"The city wall has been breached. Follow me into the city and crush the rebels!"

Dian Wei, who was wearing the five-colored divine bull armor, had a flash of tiger eyes. He immediately raised his double halberds and started charging towards the gap with his men. He rushed forward all the way, knocking down the rebel soldiers who dared to block his way, and sending them flying all over the sky, breaking their tendons and bones.

Que Xuan personally led the team to block the attack, but it was still difficult to resist. In less than three rounds, the defensive formation was broken and countless officers and soldiers filed in. (End of this chapter)