On April 16, Shen and Huan Hu made an appointment to attack the east and west ends of Pingyu County at the same time. However, on the day of the siege, they were supposed to assist Huan Hu in attacking the east wall of Pingyu County. Chen Shou arrived at Shen's army, which was mainly attacking the west. This made Shen, who had seen through Chen Shou's intentions, feel helpless.

"You just can't trust me?"

Shen smiled bitterly and said to Chen Shou.

Chen Shou was silent after hearing this. After a long time, he explained: "Huan Hu's side is just a feint attack. I came to the west of the city just to see if there is anywhere I can help..."

In fact, even Chen Shou himself didn't believe this explanation.

In fact, it was not that Chen Shouxin did not trust Shen, but that he knew that Shen, or the generals of the Shangshui line, had a good relationship with Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu in the past, and was afraid that Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu would be protected by Shen after his surrender.

In this way, Chen Shou lost the opportunity to take revenge on Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu.

That's why he came to Shen's army, in the name of assisting Shen, but in fact it was to complete his revenge plan and prevent Shen from ruining his good deeds.

After all, facing Shen, Chen Shou was still a little short of breath. After all, he still owed the former his life. If Shen insisted on protecting Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu, Chen Shou could only agree even if he was dissatisfied.

However, the facts proved that Shen had misjudged Shen and Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

After three bugles representing the attack sounded, the soldiers of the Shangshui Army launched an offensive against Pingyu County.

At this time, the Shang Shui Army under Shen's command was actually an incomplete Shang Shui Army. After all, senior generals such as Wu Ji, Chen Xie, Xu Jiong, etc., as well as several elite troops led by Xiang Li, Ran Teng, Zhang Ming, etc. The brave generals of the human army are currently in Dangyang area of ​​​​Xiying County, Chu State. In order to ambush Chu Shuijun that day, the Shang Shui Army dispatched its most elite soldiers.

But even so, Shen still has many good generals under his command.

For example, Gu Tao, who is good at commanding catapults, Lu Zhan, who once stationed troops at Tianmen Pass, and the newly promoted general Cen Bao, etc., are not short of generals.

However, in view of the fact that Xiang Li, Ran Teng, Zhang Ming and other three Xiao generals, known as the sharp spears of the Shang Shui Army, followed Wu Ji to conquer Xiying County, and the offensive power of Shen's Shang Shui Army was slightly insufficient, this was It is an indisputable fact.

Under this situation, Shen could only hope that Lu Zhan, who was transferred back to the Shangshui Army, and the newly promoted general Cen Bao would achieve excellent results.

"Bang"

"Bang bang"

The ballista unit commanded by Wei general Gu Tao has launched a bombardment on the city wall of Pingyu County.

I saw dozens of ballistas firing together, and the momentum was so shocking that even Chen Shou couldn't help but take a second look and asked curiously: "What is that?"

"Ballista." Shen explained with a chuckle: "This is a new siege weapon developed by the Metallurgical Manufacturing Bureau a few years ago. It is said that King Yan (Zhao Jiang) conquered Qi thanks to this weapon... Of course, this is a ballista weapon." An argument for creating a situation.”

Chen Shou nodded. Although he did not believe that this kind of dead thing would be the main contributor to the defeat of Qi, he must admit that this kind of siege weapon was indeed very powerful. No, even from a long distance, he could You can clearly feel the panic and fear of the Chu army generals on the Pingyu City Wall when they were hit by such weapons.

"boom!"

Another stone bullet hit the city wall heavily, making the soldiers on the wall of Pingyu County feel as if the earth was shaking.

"Don't panic!"

On the city gate tower, Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu shouted loudly, trying his best to comfort his soldiers.

As the Chu general who knew Wei best, Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu certainly knew that Wei had a new type of siege weapon called a ballista. Even though he had a lot of connections in Wei, he couldn't get his hands on this weapon.

But this does not mean that Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu has no countermeasures.

He immediately ordered: "Ask the trebuchets in the city to counterattack the Wei army's crossbows immediately."

Under the order of Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu, the Chu army generals in the city quickly controlled the trebuchets to launch a counterattack. Even the machine-operated crossbows placed on the city wall tried to destroy the Wei army's crossbows. .

But unfortunately, the hit rate of the trebuchet is really pitiful. As for the mechanism crossbow, because the mechanism crossbow placed on the wall of Pingyu County is only a second-generation or third-generation creation, it is not the best fourth-generation mechanism. The crossbow was continuously fired, so that it could not reach the ballista in terms of range, which made Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu very upset.

I don’t know if even God took pity on Pingyu County. A moment later, the trebuchets in the city accidentally hit the Shen Army’s ballistae three times in a row, causing four or five ballistae to be destroyed on the spot. Gu Tao, the general of Wei who commanded these ballistae, was jumping up and down.

"It seems that even if it is a ballista, it will be difficult to achieve results in a short period of time."

After watching for a while, Shen murmured, and immediately ordered the infantry to be put in, and ordered the infantry to push the siege vehicle forward, adopting a two-pronged strategy.

Cen Bao, a brave general of the Shang Shui Army, received the order and immediately led the infantry and pushed the siege vehicle forward.

Seeing this, the Chu army on Pingyu City immediately launched a counterattack with several arrows. However, given that the Shang Shui Army was well-equipped and had a good defense against flying arrow weapons, the casualties on the Shang Shui Army were minimal. However, as a result, the soldiers under Wei General Cen Bao's advance were greatly reduced. It took a lot of effort to push two siege vehicles and a dozen ladder chariots to the bottom of the city.

Siege vehicles, as the name suggests, are chariots that hit city gates. Once upon a time, they relied entirely on manpower. However, after improvements by the Smelting Bureau, the new siege vehicles adopted a noose design, which not only enhanced the power, but also greatly reduced the cost. The requirements for soldiers only require a few soldiers to turn the noose, and the mechanism design will allow the siege engines to hit the city gate again and again.

As for the ladder chariot, in fact, the key lies in a foldable long ladder. The so-called chariot is just its base. After improvements by the Smelting Bureau, this object can almost prevent enemy soldiers from overturning the ladder on the city wall. possibility, and the base and the body of the long ladder are all wrapped in iron sheets, so even if the fire strategy is adopted, it will be difficult to achieve any effect.

No, Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu, who originally planned to use fire attacks to counterattack, quickly learned this fact. It seemed that the ladder chariots were engulfed in flames, but they were still unable to completely destroy them. They could only temporarily stop Wei The soldiers climbed up the long ladder and attacked the city wall.

On the other hand, on the other side of the city gate, because Lord Pingyu Xiong Hu had already ordered people to dig up soil and block the city gate, the two new siege vehicles of the Wei army made no progress. Although they bombarded the city gate again and again, the momentum even reached the city wall. The Chu soldiers and generals above all felt it clearly, but there was no possibility of breaking through the city gate.

After a melee, the Wei army that took the first offensive retreated, and the Wei general Cen Bao who was in charge of the command also sent people to report to the commander Shen one by one what he learned. For example, the city gate of Pingyu County had already been occupied. It is sealed, so it cannot be broken through with siege vehicles, etc.

After receiving the message sent by Cen Bao, he remained silent.

He was not surprised that his Shang Shui Army had not achieved any results for the time being. After all, Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu had already made sufficient preparations in order to defend Pingyu.

But Chen Shou, who was standing by, snorted coldly and said: "Struggle to the death."

But having said that, Chen Shou was happy in his heart. After all, the more Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu struggled to his death, the more chance he had to justifiably kill him on the battlefield and fulfill his vow to avenge his father Chen Bing.

In this way, under the "death struggle" of Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu, Shen's Shangshui Army and Huan Hu's Suiyang Army failed to achieve any results on the first day.

The next day, Shen and Huan Hu stormed Pingyu County again. Unfortunately, the results were similar to the first day, and it was difficult to make any progress.

Then after the third day, the fourth day, and until the seventh day, even Shen did not expect that under the fierce attack of him and Huan Hu, Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu could actually defend for seven days, and even even Even after seven full days, there were no signs of damage in Pingyu City.

"This is really..."

Shen was too surprised.

After all, in his impression, Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu's ability is more reflected in the aspects of interpersonal communication and governance of the city. As for this person's military talent, it is actually very average. In addition, Xiong Hu is greedy for life and cherishes his life. To be honest, it is not Not suitable as a general commanding troops.

Unexpectedly, these guys could hold off the Shang Shui Army and the Suiyang Army, two elite units of the Wei State, for seven days.

It is worth mentioning that during these seven days, even though Chen Shou, who was eager for revenge, went into battle in person, he was forced back several times by the Chu army in Pingyu City with arrows. This made Chen Shou slightly change his view of Xiong Hu. All along, Chen Shou thought that Lord Pingyu Xiong Hu was just a straw bag. He never expected that once he got serious, he would be so difficult to deal with.

However, Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu's luck seemed to have ended on the eighth day.

On the eighth day of the attack on Pingyu County, the ballista unit commanded by Wei general Gu Tao finally destroyed one side of the city wall at the northwest end of Pingyu County one hour before dusk, causing a burst of cheers from the Wei soldiers.

Even Chen Shou had a smile on his face.

In his opinion, as long as there is a gap like the collapsed city wall, he will go into battle in person tomorrow and he will be able to break into the city and behead Lord Pingyu Xiong Hu.

Not only Chen Shou thought so, but even Shen also felt that Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu could defend the city for seven days under the siege of Shangshui and Suiyang armies. This is already a very remarkable thing. Even if the Wei army was in the eighth The city was captured in Japan, and Xiong Hu was worthy of his status as the king of the state of Chu.

However, just when Shen and Chen Shou were preparing to storm Pingyu County the next day and capture the city in one go, in the evening of that day, Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu sent a letter of surrender.

In this letter, Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu stated that he had defended the city for seven days and had exhausted all his strategies. He was worthy of the Chu State and Chu King Xiong Tuo. Next, he had to consider his own family. Therefore, he hoped that Shen Give him a few days so that he can appease the soldiers and people in the city and surrender the city.

Seeing this letter, Shen Duan burst out laughing.

A few days ago, he saw Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu clinging to Pingyu County. He thought that Xiong Hu had the consciousness to sacrifice his life for Chu State, but he did not expect that Xiong Hu was still the same Xiong Hu.

However, Shen was a little embarrassed about Xiong Hu's surrender. After thinking for a moment, he sent someone to summon Chen Shou and handed Xiong Hu's letter of surrender to Chen Shou.

After reading Xiong Hu's letter, Chen Shou flushed angrily and cursed angrily: "Shameless!"

There are two reasons for his anger: first, once Xiong Hu surrenders to the Wei army, he will not be able to kill Xiong Hu to avenge his father.

If he were in other people's army, Chen Shou might insist on killing Xiong Hu regardless of the obstruction, but in front of Shen, he couldn't do it. After all, he still owed Shen a life.

As for the second reason, it seems that Xiong Hu's words in the letter begging for surrender made Chen Shou feel "shameless".

"Crack!"

He slapped the letter on the table and walked away.

Seeing Chen Shou walk away, Shen Yi felt a little embarrassed.

Publicly and privately, Shen was inclined to accept the surrender of Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu. After all, once Xiong Hu surrendered, his Wei army would be able to capture Pingyu without any effort, and at the same time, Xiong Hu's life could be saved.

He knew that Mi Jiang, the queen of the Wei Kingdom, was temporarily living in the Shangjun's mansion in Shangshui County, which was the Prince Su's mansion built for Zhao Run by the Chu clan in Shangshui County. Although the queen did not send anyone Let Shen spare Xiong Hu's life, but she will temporarily live in Shangshui County. This is already a very obvious hint.

Coupled with Shen's own friendship with Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu, it is undeniable that he also desperately hopes that Xiong Hu surrenders.

But it was hard for him to tell Chen Shou Ming these things, after all, his friendship with Chen Shou was not shallow.

After much deliberation, he could only persuade Chen Shou to save Xiong Hu's life as much as possible. As for how Chen Shou would target Xiong Hu in the future, as they were both ministers of the Wei Kingdom, Shen could not take care of it. In short, his purpose was to protect Xiong Hu. A small life.

In view of Shen's repeated persuasion, although Chen Shou was unwilling to accept it, he could only accept it.

After all, he finally dared to admit that he was the son of Chen Bing, the heroic county magistrate of Zhaoling. He did not want to be labeled as a traitor by the Wei State again and his father would be humiliated under Jiuquan.

However, whether it was Shen, Chen Shou, or Huan Hu, they never imagined that Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu was more 'shameless' than they imagined, and his so-called surrender was just a pretext. It took a few days to appease the soldiers and civilians in the city, but in fact, Xiong Hu took advantage of these days to repair the collapsed city wall.

He had no intention of surrendering to the Wei army!

On April 27, seeing that Xiong Hu, Lord of Pingyu, had not surrendered for a long time, Shen sent a scout to Pingyu County to investigate.

After the scout came back, he told Shen that Xiong Hu had demolished the houses in the city, piled mud and rocks, and repaired the collapsed city wall.

"What?"

After hearing this, Shen was shocked and immediately took Chen Shou, Lu Zhan and other generals with thousands of soldiers to Pingyu County to observe the city up close.

Sure enough, as the scouts said, the gap in the city wall that was destroyed by the Wei army's ballistae a few days ago had already been blocked.

I was actually deceived by that fellow Xiong Hu?

Shen simply couldn't accept it, so he personally stepped forward and shouted to the city gate tower, asking Xiong Hu to come forward and explain in person.

Knowing that Shen asked him to come forward to explain, Xiong Hu came to the city gate and laughed loudly: "Surrender? Haha! I, Xiong Hu, will never surrender to Wei in my life!"
To be continued...