Primordial Era: A God-Level Choice, Possessing Zhao Gongming at the Start.

Chapter 320 Nangong Shi Makes the List and Occupies Sishui Pass

Soon, Han Rong and his men began to move. Tens of thousands of troops, on the left and right, plus the main force in front, charged fiercely towards the Xiqi camp!

Ji Chang, Ji Fa, and Nangong Shi were completely unprepared for the Xiqi camp!

In their minds, the entire Shang Dynasty was all about survival, like cowards hiding in the sand, and they would never come out no matter what.

As for a midnight raid, that's pure fantasy!

But when Ji Chang and his men heard the soldiers' shouts and cries of enemy attack, everything went wrong.

The entire Xiqi camp was in chaos, with torches dancing in the sky like a fire dragon weaving through the camp.

In the central command tent, the burly Nangong Shi frowned, his booming voice filled with rage, "That Han Rong! He actually pulled this stunt! My lord, I'll go and take Han Rong's head!"

"good!"

Ji Chang nodded slowly and ordered Nangong Shi to attack.

Immediately, Nangong Shi left the main tent, summoned his troops, and began a fierce battle with the garrison of Sishui Pass!

At this moment, the huge differences between the two armies became apparent!

The garrison at Sishui Pass were all burly and well-fed, with a constant supply of grain.

I can eat meat every now and then, and I have plenty of energy!

After Grand Tutor Wen Zhong conquered Beihai, the 100,000 troops guarding Sishui Pass were all fully armored!

The weapons were all transported from Chaoge. They were of extremely high quality, and their durability and sturdiness far surpassed those of the weapons before the improvements!

As for the Xiqi army, although Xiqi had a very strong foundation, they could only barely feed themselves.

As for the armor coverage rate, it was only 60%, and many people's weapons had been sitting in the warehouse for years, decades, or even longer.

The gun barrels were somewhat rotten, and after five days of intense daytime attacks, everyone was exhausted by night.

At this moment, they engaged in fierce battle with the elite troops of the Great Shang Dynasty and immediately fell into a disadvantageous position.

Every time their weapons clashed with those of the Shang Dynasty's garrison, their weapons even risked breaking!

In close combat, besides momentum, it all comes down to equipment, physical fitness, and so on!

Suddenly, a thunderous shout rang out from the chaotic battlefield!

"Han Rong, you old scoundrel, do you dare to fight me!"

Nangong Shi led a large number of troops and suddenly charged in from the rear, easing the tension of the battle.

Han Rong and Wang Hu exchanged a glance, a slight smile playing on their lips.

"Archers, prepare!" The two men shouted sharply.

Thousands of crossbowmen appeared from behind the two men, dressed in black with serious expressions, their hands level with the crossbows on their shoulders, their eyes as sharp as hawks!

That's right, it was a crossbow developed by the Shang Dynasty, a very powerful weapon, not a bow and arrow.

This crossbow can be used by any normal person who is familiar with its structure.

It is comparable to hitting a willow leaf from a hundred paces away, and its power is far greater than that of a bow and arrow.

"put!"

Han Rong's hand gesture suddenly fell, and in an instant, thousands of arrows were fired. In the blink of an eye, the crossbow bolts pierced the bodies of the Xiqi army.

Being shot in a non-vital area by an arrow can save your life, but being shot by a crossbow bolt makes it very difficult to survive!

In just the first wave, they took away five thousand elite troops from Xiqi!

Nangong Shi stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

"The second wave!"

Han Rong and the others suddenly raised their hands and then brought them down heavily!

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"

The crossbow bolts ripped through the air with a whooshing sound, taking the lives of thousands more in one fell swoop.

Even Nangong Shi was hit by countless crossbow bolts and turned into a hedgehog!

The battle lasted for three hours. As dawn broke, Han Rong decided to retreat, no longer wanting to continue the fight.

In the central camp of Xiqi, when Ji Chang saw Nangong Shi's corpse, his face turned green with rage, and tears welled up in his eyes. "General Nangong!"

To everyone's surprise, Han Rong, that old scoundrel, was so bold as to change his usual style and launch a sneak attack in the middle of the night!

Judging from the sheer number of casualties in this battle, the number is absolutely staggering!

Two and a half days later, the battlefield was cleaned up, and Jiang Ziya and Shen Gongbao said sadly.

"My lord, in this battle, we suffered a total loss of over 183,900 men, with countless wounded."

Upon hearing this, Ji Chang felt a surge of energy rushing upwards, almost causing him to faint.

He had expected the losses to be severe, but he never imagined they would be this severe!

Ji Chang, barely holding on, asked, "Just how many troops has Han Rong sent?"

"The Shang dynasty sent a maximum of 60,000 troops, and the greatest threat to us, the one that killed General Nangong, was the crossbow bolt."

"Crossbows? What are those? Have you captured any?"

Ji Chang inquired.

Jiang Ziya shook his head. "Reporting to the Marquis, those crossbowmen withdrew swiftly after firing, and we captured nothing!"

The Xiqi army rested in place for two or three days before sending scouts to Sishui Pass to check the situation!

Since that old scoundrel Han Rong dared to launch such a blatant sneak attack, it means he's planning something big next. Knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory. Let's send someone to scout ahead first.

But when the scouts arrived at Sishui Pass, they were puzzled to find the gates tightly closed and the pass unusually deserted.

This is different from usual. That old scoundrel Han Rong didn't even order anyone to set up guards on the city wall. Such carelessness and underestimation of the enemy is definitely not the style of the veteran general Han Rong.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the scout dared not explore any further and hurriedly returned to report.

At the Xiqi camp, a scout honestly reported, "Your Excellency, Marshal, and the two Prime Ministers, the gates of Sishui Pass are tightly shut, and there is no sign of life. The city walls are completely deserted. I suspect that Sishui Pass has become a ghost town!"

"A ghost town? How is that possible?!"

Ji Fa suddenly stood up, his face filled with shock.

This night raid was a resounding success for Sishui Pass. With such an advantage, how could they possibly withdraw their troops?

Ji Fa's first thought was that this was another scheme devised by the old scoundrel Han Rong.

Ji Chang's gaze was solemn as he slowly said, "Gather more manpower and go scout again to ensure that nothing goes wrong."

"Yes, my lord."

The scouts ran out of the camp and went to Sishui Pass to investigate again.

But when the scouts mustered their courage and climbed up the gate of Sishui Pass to get a clear view of the situation inside, they finally confirmed that the old scoundrel Han Rong had abandoned the pass and fled!

In the Xiqi camp, after Ji Chang listened to the scout's second report, he suddenly stood up.

"Are you telling the truth?" she asked in surprise.

The scout lowered his head. "How dare I deceive the Marquis!"

Ji Chang's expression immediately changed from anger to joy. "Haha, it must be that Han Rong and the others knew that our Xiqi had a strong foundation and could not stop us at all, so they left in advance to avoid casualties."

"Ji Fa, lead a troop of soldiers into the city to see what's going on. Remember, be very careful of Han Rong's ambush."

"Yes."

Ji Fa immediately selected a troop of soldiers and entered Sishui Pass.

After a thorough investigation, it was discovered that the entire Sishui Pass was indeed empty!

Not only the common people, but also livestock, property, food, and almost everything useful disappeared!

(End of this chapter)