My father, King Chu, was besieged at Gaixia

Chapter 126 Too Troublesome
On the wide western wall of Jiangling City, Hei Shi led two thousand soldiers like a long dragon, running back and forth on the top of the city wall, shouting slogans as they ran.

He roared loudly in a rough voice, and the combined roars of two thousand soldiers formed a deafening wave that rose into the sky, responding in unison.

Xiang Chang divided the 11,000 troops into five parts. He assigned 2,000 soldiers to guard each of the four walls in the southeast, northwest, northeast and southwest. He appointed Hei Shi, Tian Jian, Xiang Xi and Han Hu as generals respectively. The remaining 3,000 troops were used as mobile forces and were led by Qu Fu.

It was not an easy task to defend the city under the fierce attack of the Northern Army. First of all, the soldiers had to be able to fight. However, these soldiers, who were originally the city gate guards and palace guards, were much inferior to the Northern Army rebels in terms of physical fitness, combat effectiveness, and fighting will.

How to improve their overall combat effectiveness and turn it into an invincible army that obeys orders and is invincible in the shortest time possible is undoubtedly a test for the five generals including Hei Shi and Qu Fu.

After the night training from Gaixia to Linjiang Kingdom, the 1,000 elite cavalrymen including Hei Shi all became qualified, no, excellent generals and officers, and it was easy for them to control a mere 2,000 troops. However, Hei Shi still did not dare to relax, as if he was facing a great enemy, and he racked his brains to think about how to do better.

He remembered the words that Xiang Chang had said to them when he appointed them: "As long as you can make the soldiers do two things, we will win this battle! The first is to enforce strict military discipline and obey orders; the second is to inspire morale and fight fiercely and daringly."

Therefore, after Heishi became the chief general of the defense of the west wall, he has been working towards these two goals. For example, the current drills and shouting orders are to make the soldiers obey orders and boost morale.

After running ten times back and forth on the top of the west city wall, except Hei Shi and the hundred or so former elite cavalrymen of the Great Chu who served as officers, the rest of the officers and soldiers in Jiangling City, including the private soldiers sent by the major aristocratic families, were all panting, exhausted, and soaked with sweat.

Hei Shi did not stop, turned around and led a group of soldiers to perform frog jumps again.

"It's too tiring. Are you making fun of us? Whoever wants to jump can jump. We would never jump even if you kill us." All the soldiers and officers looked embarrassed. However, they dared not disobey the military order and jumped anyway. Seven or eight soldiers gathered together and murmured for a while. Suddenly, they stood up angrily and shouted loudly.

Upon hearing this, all the soldiers and officers of Frog Leap's eyes lit up with surprise and joy. They all turned around to see who dared to show up and make such a loud noise.

Heishi raised his eyebrows and said in a deep voice: "What did you say? You are soldiers now. Soldiers are responsible for obeying military orders. If you are told not to jump, then don't jump. Do you know the consequences of disobeying military orders?"

"Who are the soldiers? We are not. We are the private soldiers of Master Deye. Humph, we are already giving you enough face by coming here to help you defend the city. I didn't expect you to be so troublesome and treat us like monkeys. Your soldiers can jump, but we definitely won't." Led by a burly man with a thumb-sized black mole on his cheek and a tuft of black hair on the mole, the seven or eight soldiers stood proudly among a group of frog-hopping soldiers with their necks stiff, and fought with Hei Shi Yanci, with a nonchalant look on their faces, and showed no weakness.

All the soldiers, exhausted from running and jumping, cheered in their hearts, but some of them also complained, and some took the opportunity to sit on the ground and rest.

The reason why these seven or eight private soldiers were so arrogant was that they were addicted to being the vicious dogs that bit people in the De family. When they saw their master sending them out, they were full of anger and unwillingness, so they found an excuse to come and vent their anger on their master.

Of course, they didn't use their pitiful brains to think about it. If their master could beat them, as for the suffocation and depression, he would still send them out obediently in the end? Could it be that their master was a bastard, born with a masochistic addiction and liked to hold his breath?

"Okay! Okay! Okay! You've blocked me! Since you are servants of the De family, I have to give face to Master Deye. I dare not apply military laws to you and kill you easily." Hei Shi said coldly.

Hearing this, seven or eight private soldiers of the De family showed smug expressions. The private soldiers of the other noble families also immediately became restless and eager to try. Some soldiers who were originally guarding the palace gates also wanted to show up, but were glared back by the officers with stern eyes.

Hei Shi's next words made all the soldiers who were ready to take action, including the seven or eight private soldiers of the De family, all look terrified.

"They say that when you beat a dog, you have to look at its owner. I am different. I don't beat dogs, I only beat its owner. Kong Bo, you lead dozens of brothers and escort them back to the De family, to the head wife of the honorable Master Deye. You use a whip to severely whip the head wife of Master Deye ten times, and ask her for the crime of not governing her subordinates strictly."

As soon as Hei Shi finished speaking, the general from Kong Bo had a ferocious look on his face. Without saying a word, he rushed up with a dozen soldiers like wolves and tigers, tied the arms of the seven or eight soldiers, and dragged them away.

Seeing that all the soldiers squatting on the top of the city looked confused and doubtful, and seemed to have doubts about what Heishi said, Kong Bo immediately offered a divine assist and deliberately asked: "Sir, what if the head wife of the De family does not want to be whipped, does not admit her guilt, and lets the evil slaves of the family drive us away?"

"It's easy! Then you come back immediately and don't argue with that noble lady. Come back and tell me, I will take the brothers to take a look. In the square in front of the palace, there is an empty seat next to the lady of the Song family. I think the lady in charge of the De family will be suitable to kneel there." Hei Shi bared his big white teeth and laughed, "Hehehehe", his smile was like that of an evil ghost coming out of hell, making people tense and shudder.

"But Master Deye is one of the Nine Ministers after all, holding a high position and great power. We broke into his mansion, killed all the male members of his family, and gave all his concubines, wives and daughters as rewards to the meritorious soldiers. What if he gets furious and punishes us, and orders us to be torn into pieces? What should we do?" Kong Bo looked at the soldiers around him who were looking suspicious, and continued to ask deliberately.

"It's easy! The Shaofu Songchan Master is also one of the Nine Ministers, and we have already killed all of his family members. Add another Master Deye, isn't that too many? Just go ahead and do it. Don't you know how many brothers are coveting these masters' delicate concubines?"

It has to be said that following a good person one learns to be a good person, and following a bad person one learns to be a gangster. After following Xiang Chang for a long time, Hei Shi has also learned all of his tricks.

"Okay, I understand, sir, just be happy." Kong Bo also smiled happily, waved his hand, and ordered the soldiers to drag the seven or eight private soldiers away.

The seven or eight private soldiers realized at this time that Heishi was not threatening them, but was actually going to take them to the head wife to be whipped. The head wife was so humiliated by them, why didn't she fly into a rage? If she didn't dare to retaliate against these wolf-like soldiers, she would only punish them in return.

As for the cruel methods used by the head of the family to treat the servants, these former loyal dogs knew too well that as the instigators, they had absolutely no chance of surviving. And not only that, their wives and children in the family would also be implicated and punished, which was unbearable.

The faces of these private soldiers turned pale, including the one with a black mole on his cheek and a look of arrogance. They all trembled all over and refused to leave. They cried, struggled, and even knelt down and kowtowed, begging for mercy from Hei Shi, asking Hei Shi to give them a way to live.

Hei Shi, who was born into a commoner family, had seen many such evil slaves who became arrogant when they were proud and begged for mercy when they were beaten. How could he let them go?

"Oh, this is unexpected. Why are you begging again? I am doing your best to send you back so that you can show your loyalty to your master. If your master is happy, he will reward you in some way! You have asked for kindness and you have received it. Why are you howling here?"

Kong Bo did not delay any longer. He dragged these private soldiers to the foot of the city with great brutality, then jumped on his horse and dragged them towards the De family with ropes.

Kong Bo was originally a civilian, but with his outstanding military achievements, he quickly transformed his status and was promoted to a mid-level officer, Langzhongqi, and became Hei Shi's capable subordinate. Therefore, he executed Hei Shi's military orders without hesitation or compromise, just like Hei Shi executed Xiang Chang's military orders.

They watched helplessly as the seven or eight private soldiers were dragged away. The shrill howling sounds could still be heard from a long distance away. All the soldiers had solemn expressions. Those who were sitting on the ground got up at some point, with their butts sticking out. This time, they did not need to be urged and continued to frog jump with great effort.

The private soldiers of other families were also trembling with fear, secretly thanking their lucky stars that they did not step forward rashly, otherwise they would have been able to take part in such a glorious scene.

Of course, there were still some soldiers who would not cry until they saw the coffin, and they still held on to hope, thinking that Heishi was just bluffing. The head of the De family was a small general like him, so how could he whip her if he wanted to?

"Everyone, dance hard. Let's dance while waiting for the exciting performance to come." Heishi saw what the soldiers were thinking and shattered their hopes with one sentence. "What if the head of the De family is really hot-tempered and expels Kong Bo and the others? Then I will have to go there in person. If anyone of you has any doubts, go with me and have a look."

For a moment, all the soldiers felt as if their hearts were filled with anxiety.

Kong Bo led a group of elite Chu soldiers on horseback at a very fast speed. Not long after, the sound of horse hooves was heard as dense as raindrops hitting tiles, and they had already returned on horseback.

To the surprise of all the soldiers and officers, not only did Kong Bo and a dozen elite cavalrymen return safely, but they were also followed by eight strong private soldiers from the family, and each of them was holding a bloody human head in his hands.

All the soldiers looked closely and their bodies tensed up. Their scalps felt cold - those were the heads of the eight private soldiers of the De family.

Upon seeing Kong Bo's expression, Heishi immediately understood the result, but deliberately asked, "How did the head wife of the De family react?"

"The mistress of the house reacted very appropriately. After I whipped her ten times, she went crazy on the spot and asked the family servants to chop off the heads of those bastards. Then I sent these eight private soldiers to replace them. The mistress of the house asked me to bring you a message saying that she was not strict with her subordinates and violated military discipline. She was willing to take the ten whips." Kong Bo glanced coldly at the soldiers and officers and said in a cold tone.

This time, no soldier or officer dared to look him in the eye. Wherever his eyes went, they all bowed their heads obediently, like autumn wind sweeping away strong grass.

"Haha, it's rare that the lady of the house is so reasonable." Heishi stretched out his tone, and his words were filled with something that made all the soldiers' hearts skip a beat - regret?
"Now, who still doesn't accept it? Stand up. I, Heishike, love to clean up troublemakers the most." Heishike said sinisterly.

All the soldiers were silent, their eyes fixed straight ahead, their heads down and their bodies working hard without making a sound, truly looking like a strong army that obeys orders.

Hei Shi waved his hand, and Kong Bo used a wooden stick to lift eight heads high onto the top of the city wall.

"In the days ahead, the heads of these idiots will be here with you. Anyone who doesn't want to abide by military law should take a good look. Last night, your superiors have clearly communicated the military law to each of you. If the military law is not clear and not communicated beforehand, it is the fault of the superiors. If the military law is clearly communicated and all the soldiers know about it, if you dare to disobey it again, you will be killed without mercy!"

Hei Shi put his hands behind his back, his back straight, and the way he walked was similar to Xiang Chang. He spoke calmly with a stern expression:

"Our army of Great Chu is not an undisciplined, cruel, bloodthirsty, and wanton army. We come from the millions of people of Great Chu, and we are the soldiers of the millions of people of Great Chu, and we are their protectors. Today, they disobeyed military orders and were executed. I hope they can use their death to warn you. Everyone should memorize the military law. From now on, anyone who violates it will be killed!"

Xiang Chang reluctantly killed Zhuang Zhuer, and the timing was undoubtedly perfect. He wanted to take this opportunity to inform not only the 1,000 elite cavalry, but also all the soldiers, officers, and generals of the Great Chu that the Great Chu Army was now a brand-new, reborn army, a completely different army from before, and atrocities would never be allowed to occur again!

At this time, the Chu army suffered a crushing blow from the Han camp and fell to the bottom. The ambitious people in the army had deep doubts about their past actions and kept reflecting on whether their previous actions were wrong. Therefore, it was undoubtedly the best time to implement new military laws and restrain this ferocious beast.

If Xiang Chang had not been resolute enough at that time and had not made up his mind to kill Zhuang Zhuer with his own hands, then when the beast revived and grew stronger, he would have to pay at least several times, or even dozens of times the price to control it later.

Because of his determination and his personal actions, not only did the thousand elite cavalrymen who followed him feel shocked, but when the news was passed back to Gaixia, the entire Chu camp was also in awe. Everyone knew that this was Xiang Chang expressing his attitude to the people of Chu.

At present, in the eyes of the senior generals of the Great Chu camp, Xiang Chang is almost as important as the Overlord, and no one dares to ignore what he is determined to promote.

Therefore, although he was not at Gaixia, the military laws at Gaixia were implemented smoothly under Xiang Zhuang's supervision without any compromise.

As for the one thousand elite cavalrymen who followed him, over this period of time, they had long since become his loyal confidants. They were extremely loyal to him and they strictly followed and believed in the military laws he enforced and the goals of the future Great Chu proposed by Xiang Chang.

Because they believed it without a doubt, the virus started to spread from person to person, and they actively and eagerly spread the word to everyone they met, bit by bit changing the original impression that their Great Chu Army gave people.

Now, hearing Hei Shi's cold and stern words, all the soldiers and officers were shocked. Last night, they just listened casually with a playful attitude, but now that eight heads were hanging there, they suddenly woke up and decided to concentrate on listening tonight.

Seeing that the soldiers finally developed a fear of military orders and laws and had memorized them in their hearts, Hei Shi finally nodded in satisfaction.

He looked up at the other three city walls and the military camp in the city - Qu Fu, Tian Jian and the others must be doing the same thing.

Hei Shi knew very well that Tian Jian and others were always trying to surpass him, but he didn't care at all.

"I'll just pull it down a little bit, which will be enough for you to chase for a while. I'll make you understand what it means to be powerless to catch up, what it means to look up to a mountain, and what it means to be convinced." Hei Shi thought secretly with complacency.

After this little episode, the subsequent training went extremely smoothly. No matter what orders Heishi gave, all the soldiers and officers obeyed them strictly and no one dared to get angry again.

All officers, including Heishi, also followed the orders given, which alleviated many of the soldiers' complaints.

——Officers can actually do all of this, so there is no reason why these soldiers can't do it.

The training continued until after noon. Seeing that the soldiers were really tired, Hei Shi waved his hand and announced that they should take a temporary rest.

He had just brutally killed eight soldiers, with their heads still hanging there, and suddenly he became so kind as to let them rest. All the soldiers and officers were confused by Hei Shi, and even when they wanted to rest, they just sat where they were, not daring to walk around or talk.

And then they all understood why Heishi let them rest - a rich aroma of steaming millet and beans wafted over from the city.

The soldiers were all surprised and sniffed their noses. Some even couldn't help but shout in a low voice: "What a delicious millet and bean rice! I really want to have a big bowl to fill my stomach."

"What the hell are you thinking? This is obviously for those noble lords to eat. Besides, it's still early for dinner." A soldier next to him immediately mocked.

These soldiers had two meals a day, breakfast and dinner. For example, for breakfast today, everyone was given a handful of fried beans. After being tormented by Heishi for so long, they had already digested it.

And then, as the soldiers' eyes widened in disbelief, a group of young and strong maids carried baskets of steamed millet and beans on their shoulders and hands and transported them to the city wall.

"What are you all still standing there for? Go get your meals according to your assigned teams. According to the military order of Master Xiang Chang, from now on, the army will have three meals a day, and the meals will be enough to satisfy your hunger."

As soon as Hei Shi finished speaking, an earth-shaking cheer suddenly erupted from the top of the city.

This cheer was heartfelt and filled with endless excitement. It was much more sincere and heartfelt than the slogans just now. However, it scared the maids who were delivering the food, and they almost abandoned their baskets and ran away.

With eight heads as a base, even though the soldiers' eyes almost turned red when they saw the yellow millet rice and golden bean rice emitting an enticing aroma, they still did not dare to act rashly and grab them.

The hundred generals were divided into dozens of teams, each with ten soldiers. They lined up according to the assignment and waited patiently until their team's share was taken back. Then, under the command of each general, the food was distributed to each soldier in turn. At the command, all the soldiers started to eat at the same time.

Hei Shi had his hands behind his back the whole time, with more than 500 officers and generals supervising coldly beside him. Seeing that everything was going on in an orderly manner, he nodded slowly.

Only after all the soldiers had started eating did Hei Shi signal to the officers and generals, and finally they started eating together.

That’s right, soldiers eat first and officers eat later, which is also one of the new military rules and regulations implemented by the Great Chu.

The maids were delivering food to the soldiers, and they were trembling with fear. After all, the army was known as the beast army, and they thought they were bound to be humiliated. But they found that except for eating, the soldiers were as ferocious as wild boars, and their eyes were full of bright beasts when they looked at them. However, none of them dared to make any extra movements, but they were all well-behaved. They even seemed to avoid suspicion and kept a distance from them.

The maids' tense nerves gradually relaxed.

Heishi took a large earthenware bowl, scooped a large bowl of millet rice, and squatted on the ground like the soldiers, eating heartily. The millet rice was mixed with salted fish cubes and steamed together. It tasted thick, fragrant and delicious in the mouth, and he, who was originally a commoner, also enjoyed the meal.

The soldiers ate until they were about 10% full in one go, put down their earthenware bowls, and sat lazily with their stomachs bulging to digest the food.

Some soldiers who were full gathered around Heishi and formed a big circle. After hesitating for a while, they asked cautiously, "General, we soldiers have three meals a day and are allowed to eat as much as we want. I didn't expect it to be true. Then what you said just now, that killing the enemy can give us gold and silver, a wife, and even make us an officer or a noble, is that true too?"

Hearing the soldier's question, all the soldiers around, including the officers, pricked up their ears, and the eating sounds like wild boars suddenly disappeared.

Hei Shi turned around and looked at them, and he knew clearly in his heart: I studied hard last night, and yelled all morning today, but you still don't believe it. If you don't believe it, then I will make you believe it!

Hei Shi smiled, reached out and patted the shoulder of Kong Bo, who was already full, and said, "You go and tell them."

Kong Bo put down the pottery bowl, stood up, straightened his chest, carefully took out a piece of cloth with a few lines of black words on it and a bright red seal from his arms, and said loudly with a red face: "Originally, I was just a soldier like you. I made meritorious service in the battle with the Han camp at Gaixia City and killed more than a dozen enemy soldiers. The Overlord personally awarded me the reward. Not only did he give me a bounty, but also 500 acres of land. Here, this is the certificate."

"Besides, I got my current military position based on my military merits. So brothers, as long as you dare to fight and kill the enemy, my today may be your tomorrow. We are poor and untouchable people, we have nothing but this worthless life. And this worthless life, when did it belong to us? I don't know how many brothers and sisters, like insects, died under the punishment of noble masters, died from heavy labor, and disappeared quietly from this world."

"Now, Master Xiang Chang thinks highly of our lives and is willing to pay a price that we would never have dared to dream of before. What else can we say? Why not give it a try? Even if we die, we die. At least we can leave a piece of land and some money for our family."

When the soldiers and officers heard Kong Bo's words that the Overlord personally awarded him the reward, they no longer had any doubts. Kong Bo's heartfelt words felt like they were spoken to their hearts. Their eyes lit up, they clenched their fists, and their emotions surged. They felt that their brute force suddenly had a direction to display.

Some soldiers murmured, "Even if we don't give them land or money, just three meals a day is enough to keep us alive."

"Look at your achievements." Heishi glanced at the soldier, put down the bowl, bowed to thank the maids, asked them to collect the empty baskets and pottery bowls and take them away, then turned to Kong Bo and asked with a smile, "What do you want now? What reward do you want for this battle?"

"I have everything I need now, except a wife. If I can make another contribution in this battle, I will go to the square in front of the palace to get one. The ladies and concubines from aristocratic families are so beautiful, they are perfect to be my wives." Kong Bo smiled naively and rubbed his hands.

The soldiers laughed softly. Some of them asked impatiently, "So, the gold and silver piled in front of the palace are not just for show to deceive us, but are they really going to be distributed to the next meritorious soldiers?"

"That's the current situation! Can the words of Young Master Xiang Chang deceive people? He is the eldest son of the Overlord, would he deceive little ants like you?" Hei Shi said decisively with a look of contempt.

"Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Huang Jizhong, kill these rebel troops!" All the soldiers' eyes turned red, they breathed heavily, waved their fists, and roared towards the military camp in the north of the city.

Hei Shi grinned. What Xiang Chang said about "motivating morale and fighting fiercely" was also achieved!

This battle must be won!
Three days later, in the early morning, with the solemn sound of trumpets, the Northern Army camp opened up, and rows of soldiers, wearing helmets and armor, with weapons in hand, rushed out and formed their battle formations.

It seemed as if the huge sun could not bear to witness the brutal fight that was about to happen, so it crouched behind the thick clouds and did not show up for a long time. Only the cold autumn wind blew past, suppressing the wild grasses all over the wasteland, making them bend over and shiver.

All the generals accompanied Huang Jizhong out of the camp on horseback. When they arrived in front of the army, they were all shocked at the first sight. How could this be 20,000 troops? There were 5,000 more.

Huang Jizhong, who had controlled the Northern Army for many years, had secretly expanded the army by 5,000 without causing any disturbance. What did this guy want to do?
And this was not what shocked the generals the most.

In front of the array of 25,000 troops, there were nest carts, chariots, ladders, battering rams and other siege weapons that exuded powerful deterrence.

These siege weapons were huge in size, and the most important thing was that there were too many of them. For example, there were more than 40 siege chariots and nest chariots, more than a dozen siege hammers, and countless ladders.

(End of this chapter)