"Jiamen Pass?" Qiguan Rang frowned. He seemed to remember something and asked in surprise, "My lord, do you mean to attack with fire?"
Jiang Pengji pointed at the corpses piled up at the foot of the city wall. Some were dead, some were still breathing, but their injuries were too severe. They were probably struggling at death's door. She said, "Although there's no dry wood nearby to help with the burning, it's not easy to put out these corpses when they burn."
That was the only guess Jiang Pengji had left after thinking about it.
She didn't know if she had guessed correctly, but it was better to be prepared. It was better to be more vigilant.
Qiguan Rang didn't dare to delay and immediately gave the order. Although they reacted fast enough, they still couldn't keep up with the changes on the battlefield. Nie Liang didn't retreat immediately. Instead, he chose to retreat while fighting. He wanted to maintain order and reduce casualties as much as possible.
When two armies fought, retreat was also important.
If one side was defeated and fled without a second thought, it was basically over. The enemy could take advantage of the chaos and chase after them. Especially when they met someone like Jiang Pengji who loved to fight. Even if she was the general guarding the pass, she would lead her troops out of the pass to chase after the enemy.
How could they reduce casualties and deter the enemy from chasing after them?
Of course, it was to send people to stall the enemy and fight while retreating. Only by maintaining the army's formation could they reduce losses.
Exposing one's back to the enemy without taking any precautions was tantamount to handing over one's life to the enemy.
Nie Liang naturally wouldn't make such a mistake. While they retreated, the rain of arrows on the city wall didn't stop.
The enemy slowly retreated more than 30 meters, but Jiang Pengji didn't dare to let her guard down. She frowned even more.
"Just a small fire attack."
Nie Liang looked at the city wall. Although he couldn't see who was standing on it, he was sure that Jiang Pengji was paying attention to the situation at the front like him.
Of course, he remembered the humiliation yesterday. Today, he pretended to attack to test the enemy's strength, but he also wanted to get back at her.
Unfortunately, Jiang Pengji was too cautious. She had already cleaned up the forest near Zhanjiang Pass.
If not for this, this great fire might have surrounded the entire Zhanjiang Pass.
It was a southeast wind that day. The wind wasn't strong, but it was just right for Nie Liang.
Thousands of archers shot arrows at the corpses below the city wall. Wave after wave, none of the arrows reached the battlements.
Some soldiers who didn't know what was going on couldn't help but laugh. What was the use of shooting rockets at a dead person?
Jiang Pengji's face turned solemn because she smelled a familiar pungent smell in the wind. It was easy to miss if one did not smell it carefully.
Both sides had used fire arrows during the battle. As a result, the battlefield was filled with thick smoke. Some unlucky corpses were hit, and their clothes and corpses gave off a burnt smell. Under the cover of this smell, the smell of black oil, kerosene, and sulfur was easily ignored.
Jiang Pengji stood on the city wall and looked down. She scanned her surroundings. After a while, she found that the clothes worn by the enemy's corpses were a little strange. Some of the soldiers even had firewood wrapped around their waists. The firewood was bound in linen cloth that had been washed with black oil.
The scene of the battle between the two armies was extremely chaotic. Neither the supervisors nor the frontline soldiers noticed this, so it was easy to overlook it.
"This Nie Liang —"
Jiang Pengji clenched her fists.
On the other side, Sun Wen, who was supervising the battle, also noticed that the speed at which the corpses were burning was abnormal. In the span of a few breaths, the small flame had turned into a towering blaze that quickly spread. If the city wall of Zhanjiang Pass had not been made of huge stones, the fire would have reached it.
Seeing that Zhanjiang Pass in the distance was surrounded by orange flames that soared into the sky, Nie Liang's depressed mood eased a little.
"Zishun, send someone to investigate which general Liu Xi promoted after this battle."
On the battlefield, he could consecutively destroy several catapults in a very short period of time. Such archery skills could be considered valiant anywhere. He might not become the main general to lead the troops to kill the enemy, but he would not be a nobody. It was impossible for Jiang Pengji not to reward him generously for his meritorious service.
Nie Liang only needed to send someone to pay attention to who was promoted and rewarded. He could basically lock onto his target.
Wei Yong agreed in a low voice. He saw that Nie Liang's complexion had improved a little, and his mood also relaxed a lot.
"There's one thing that we need to pay attention to. The catapults under Liu Xi's command are obviously better than ours. Their power is extraordinary."
Nie Liang's feigned attack was not only to regain his dignity, but also to find out the enemy's background and see what cards they had up their sleeves. When the enemy showed off the catapults, he did not pay attention, but he soon discovered that the frequency and distance of the catapults on the enemy's city wall were much higher than his own. If he only discovered this during the final battle, he would definitely be caught off guard by the enemy. He could still make up for it now.
Wei Yong said, "Liu Xi values the Mohists very much. He is very respectful to the scholars who are from the Mohists under his command. It is expected that the catapults are powerful. I'm just worried that other than the catapults, they are still hiding other killing moves that they have yet to reveal … "
Nie Liang asked him, "Did the spies we sent out find out any relevant information?"
"Liu Xi is extremely cautious in his work, and he is very strict in guarding the supplies. No matter who it is, they need to show their token and register their name to enter and exit. Our spies can't find out more. " Wei Yong shook his head regretfully and changed the topic. "However, a few years ago, before Liu Xi grew up, I did leave a trick up my sleeve and ordered a few men of sacrifice to sneak into Dongqing. They seem to have gained a lot and are currently on their way back secretly … "
Nie Liang said, "Zishun is still more thoughtful."
Wei Yong shook his head and sighed. "No, it's only because of my third brother."
"That one called Wei Ci?"
Nie Liang still remembered Wei Ci. After all, there were not many men with such charm in the world. He was a person who left a deep impression.
Speaking of which, Wei Ci could be considered as Nie Liang's savior.
If Wei Ci had not taken his pulse, Nie Liang might have only realized that he had been tampered with before he died.
"Even if the lord chosen by Zixiao doesn't show it on the outside, there must be something extraordinary about her. We have to guard against her."
If Jiang Pengji knew about this news, she might be angry for a while?
In fact, Jiang Pengji was very angry now.
The fire spread very quickly. Even though Qiguan Rang had sent people to fetch water, Nie Liang used black oil and other substances to ignite the fire. There were thousands of corpses burning underneath. It was impossible to extinguish the fire by relying on manpower. There was something that was even more annoying. When the enemy soldiers climbed the ladder for the last time, they secretly pierced the sack containing the black oil and let the black oil flow down the city wall. When the corpses below formed a big fire, the flames ignited the black oil on the city wall. The flames climbed up from below and spread to the towers and watchtowers on the city wall. For a moment, everyone was in a sorry state.
Even so, Jiang Pengji could only suppress her anger and order people to move the injured soldiers and catapults on the city wall.
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