Since the two sides had come to an agreement, Xiangyu was no longer worried. The next day, he led 400,000 soldiers to Hangu Pass.
However, this time, Hangu Pass was completely different from when the city gates were wide open. The entire gate was tightly shut, and not only that, the soldiers on the city walls did not see any archers or crossbows that they were familiar with. Instead, there were strange, thick black pipes extending out from the battlements, pointing straight towards the ground. Behind these pipes, there was something that looked like a large shield erected. It looked extremely strange.
Apart from that, there were also flags fluttering in the wind on the city walls.
"It's the 'Wu' flag. Looks like the other side is really going to defend this place."
Fan Zeng reached out to stroke his beard and murmured. Xiangyu frowned at Fan Zeng's words, but he remained silent.
The 'Wu' flag was the flag of Fangzheng's Rebel Army. In this era, most countries' flags had their own surnames or names, such as Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li, and so on. However, Fangzheng's Rebel Army's flag was unique. It had a red flag at the bottom, but there was not a single word on it. There was only a giant five-pointed star in the center, with a sickle and a hammer crossed.
Because of this, Fangzheng's flag was known as the 'Wu' flag, and Fangzheng's army was also known as the 'Wu' army. On one hand, this was the truth, but on the other hand, it was also a way to belittle the other side. After all, only those of low status did not know how to play with words. This also hinted that Fangzheng's side was made up of uncultured, low-class people.
At this moment, the entire Hangu Pass was dead silent. No one could be seen, and no sound could be heard. However, through the gaps between the giant shields, they could see many figures.
"Attack the city!"
Xiangyu looked at the silent Hangu Pass and felt a little diffident. Although Fangzheng had said that he would not use his musical divine powers, Xiangyu did not think that Fangzheng was putting on a show for him. He was using 40,000 people to fight 400,000 people, and he appeared so confident.
"Dong, dong, dong, dong, dong!"
Soon, the war drums sounded, and the soldiers immediately pushed the siege equipment forward. By now, the other side should have fired their arrows to stop them. However, Hangu Pass only watched silently, not reacting at all. It was as if there was no one inside.
Something was wrong, but why was it wrong?
After all, Xiangyu was a general who had been through hundreds of battles. He had his own grasp and judgment of the situation. Now that he saw the soldiers advancing smoothly, he could not stop the uneasiness in his heart. Could there be an ambush all around? Or was there some kind of trap?
But if it was an ambush, with the terrain of Hangu Pass, there was nowhere for them to hide. As for traps, it was a flat stretch of land, and it was impossible to send cavalry to attack the city first. Even if there were traps like tripping ropes and gullies, what use would it be?
Just as Xiangyu was deep in thought, a strange phenomenon suddenly appeared.
"Boom!!"
The soldiers pushing the siege equipment had not even covered half of the battlefield when they suddenly heard a thunderous boom. The next moment, everyone saw a flash of fire in the midst of the advancing soldiers pushing the siege equipment. Then, the ground exploded, directly blasting the sturdy siege equipment and the soldiers into pieces.
The bloody remains of the soldiers fell from the sky, landing on the ground with a pitter patter. The soldiers at the back felt a chill in their hearts. Before they could recover, they heard a few more thunderous booms. Then, the siege troops at the front were once again engulfed by the flames that appeared on the ground. In just a few moments, a large number of them were either dead or injured.
"What's going on?"
"Could it be lightning and thunder?"
Seeing this unbelievable scene, the crowd began to discuss among themselves. Xiangyu subconsciously looked up at the sky, but the sky was blue and there was not even a shadow of a dark cloud to be seen. The sun was so bright that it seemed like a beautiful day. But even so, where did the thunder come from?
At this thought, Xiangyu couldn't help but recall what Fangzheng said before he left yesterday. He was also uneasy, but he still hardened his heart and gave the order.
"Continue to attack!"
"Dong, dong, dong, dong!"
The war drums continued to beat, and soon, the first batch of siege troops completely fell. However, the second batch immediately pushed the siege equipment forward. However, their fates were not much better. The second batch of siege troops advanced less than 300 meters before completely collapsing. The third batch of siege troops refused to advance no matter what, even when the Army Supervisor lashed at them angrily.
They couldn't be blamed. The scene before them was just too strange. Not only were the people who were killed in the explosion, but many of them had their arms and legs blown off. They screamed in agony, and some of them were even swept up by the explosion and fell into the formation. Just looking at the miserable corpses, the morale of the soldiers plummeted.
"There must be something wrong with the ground."
By now, Xiangyu had also figured it out. Although he didn't know what Fangzheng had done, he was sure that he must have done something to the ground. That was why those people exploded when they passed by.
"Attack the city!"
The siege weapons of this era were very complete. In addition to the siege vehicles that were commonly seen in movies and games, there were also siege weapons and a special weapon called a spear. It looked like an enlarged crossbow. Just the arrows alone were three meters long, and it would take dozens of soldiers to fully load the bowstring on the winch. Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Once the giant arrows were released, almost nothing could stop them. This time, Xiangyu knew that he was going to attack Hangu Pass, so he naturally didn't forget about these long-range siege weapons.
Previously, Xiangyu didn't use them to attack Hangu Pass, mainly because he was afraid that it would be difficult to repair Hangu Pass. It would be best if he could just charge in and take it. But now, it seemed that it was impossible to take Hangu Pass directly, so Xiangyu had no choice but to go with the second plan.
Soon, with Xiangyu's order, the soldiers at the back immediately got to work. But at that moment, Xiangyu suddenly saw a flash of light on the walls of Hangu Pass in the distance, and then …
Boom!!
In an instant, the siege weapons at the back were engulfed in flames, and a few of the siege weapons were blasted into pieces.
"What's going on? What's going on? "
Xiangyu wasn't the only one who was dumbfounded. The other soldiers were also in an uproar. But before they could figure out what was going on, a series of explosions erupted, engulfing the soldiers who were in formation.
In the blink of an eye, the 400,000-strong army was in a mess. No one had expected to be ambushed like this. Moreover, the explosions and flames that accompanied the impact stirred up the most primal fear in the human heart. Even well-trained elite soldiers were panicking in this situation, let alone the soldiers of the vassal army.
"Retreat immediately, retreat!"
Xiangyu was no fool. He knew that the situation was unclear, and that continuing would only lead to complete collapse. So, he pulled his horse and hurriedly gave the order. Soon, the horn for retreat sounded, and the 400,000-strong army immediately retreated, far away from Hangu Pass.
And so, the first day of the siege ended hastily.
"Hahaha."
Looking at the retreating army, Fangzheng chuckled from atop the walls. For a transmigrator, manufacturing firearms was a necessity, not to mention for Fangzheng. After all, with the current technology and production, gunpowder wasn't something difficult to control. It was just that they had to make do with it.
For example, the landmines that Fangzheng had set up outside Hangu Pass were actually based on the products of the Ming Dynasty. They had a stone shell, then gunpowder was poured in, and a mechanism was installed for impact. It was the same for these cannons. Even with the current technology, they still couldn't forge the long-range cannons of the future, but they still far exceeded the range of the catapults of this era. They were more than enough to deal with most of the armies of this era.
After all, times had changed, Sir.
However, for Fangzheng, what he had brought to Xiangyu wasn't as simple as just cannons and landmines.
"What's wrong with that Fangzheng?!"
Xiang Zhuang stormed back to his tent in a fit of rage and started complaining to Xiang Yu.
"Didn't he promise Big Brother not to use any magic? This is simply a scam! "
"No, he's not lying. This really isn't some magic."
After hearing Xiang Zhuang's complaints, Xiangyu shook his head and put down the metal plate in his hand.
"Do you know what this is?"
"What is this? A metal piece? A shield? "
Xiang Zhuang took the metal piece from Xiangyu and examined it carefully. It was a circular metal piece that looked like the corner of a shield, but after a closer look, Xiang Zhuang felt that it didn't look like it …
"I don't know what it is, but I saw it clearly just now. When the strange cylinder on the city wall flashed, a black iron ball flew out from it, fell to the ground and exploded …. Hmm, it's really strange."
Xiangyu had also received Xiang Shaolong's teachings, so he had also practiced the internal energy cultivation methods. Therefore, not only was Xiangyu's senses sharp, he was also far superior to mortals in this aspect. When they were first attacked, Xiangyu had already activated his internal energy and easily saw the strange scene on the wall of Hangu Pass in the distance.
"Isn't that sorcery?"
"Young Master Fang never goes back on his words. I think this is definitely not sorcery, but something we don't recognize."
At this thought, Xiangyu couldn't help but recall the story Fangzheng had told him yesterday about his ancestors who ate raw meat and drank blood, wore animal skins, and used stone axes … That was probably what he meant.
He just didn't know what method Young Master Fang had used.
"Hmph!"
Xiang Zhuang was so angry that she stomped her foot and ran out when she saw Xiang Yu staring at the metal plate. She was very displeased with the bad start today, especially when she heard the rumors from the surrounding soldiers. Xiang Zhuang was even angrier than before.
That's right!
At this thought, Xiang Zhuang's eyes lit up.
Why don't I sneak into Hangu Pass and kill that guy? I can't beat him in a normal fight, but I don't believe I can't kill him with a sneak attack!
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