The Myth of Daqin: The Soul of Yi Xiaochuan

In Xianyang City, the streets and alleys were filled with a tense atmosphere, and the faces of the people were filled with fear and anxiety.

In the Zhangtai Palace, Hu Hai sat on the dragon throne with a solemn expression, his eyes revealing a hint of determination.

After some thought, Hu Hai ordered the troops to be dispatched to garrison at Xishui east of Xianyang, Yaoguan in the south, and Wugong City in the west.

Yaoguan is located in the south of Lantian County, Xi'an City. It is named after Yaoshan Mountain. Yaoguan is a transportation fortress leading from the Guanzhong Plain to the Nanyang Basin, equivalent to Tongguan behind Hangu Pass.

"My lords, the armies of Meng Tian and Xiang Liang are now approaching with overwhelming force. I urge all the ministers to work together."

Hu Hai said tiredly, with a hint of helplessness in his voice.

The ministers knelt on the ground and shouted in unison: "Your Majesty is wise! We obey your orders."

After all these arrangements were completed, Hu Hai entrusted the affairs of the court to Zhao Gao, Yao Jia and others.

Zhao Gao quickly bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, rest assured. We will do our utmost to live up to your trust."

Yao Jia also agreed helplessly: "Your Majesty, we will do our best to share your worries."

Hu Hai smiled with satisfaction, then waved his hand, signaling them to leave.

After Zhao Gao, Yao Jia and others left the palace, Hu Hai leaned tiredly on the dragon throne and sighed deeply.

His eyes gradually became confused, as if he had lost his direction.

"Can I really defend the city of Xianyang?" Hu Hai murmured to himself, his voice full of anxiety and fear.

At this time, a palace maid came over and offered Hu Hai a glass of fine wine.

Hu Hai took the wine glass, drank it all, and then threw the glass heavily to the ground.

"I am unwilling to accept this!" There was a hint of unwillingness and anger in Hu Hai's voice.

The palace maid was so frightened that she immediately knelt on the ground, trembling.

She lowered her head, not daring to look at Hu Hai, for fear that her actions would anger him.

Hu Hai glanced at her and waved his hand to let her go.

The palace fell into silence, with only Hu Hai's heavy breathing echoing in the air.

There was struggle and contradiction in his eyes. He knew that his fate was closely linked to Xianyang City.

Now they must make a choice: continue to indulge in a life of drunkenness and debauchery, or rise up to resist and defend their dignity...

In the end, Hu Hai chose to hide in the deep palace, playing and joking with the concubines, drinking and having fun, living a life of drunkenness and dreams.

Every day in the harem, there are singing and dancing.

In the bedroom, Hu Hai was wearing a gorgeous dragon robe and lying lazily on the soft dragon couch, surrounded by beautiful concubines.

They are dressed in colorful clothes, with graceful figures and rosy faces, just like fairies descending to earth.

Hu Hai held a concubine in his left hand, held a wine glass in his right hand, and chatted and laughed with the concubines, as if he had forgotten the war outside.

"Your Majesty, are you really not worried about the situation outside?" a concubine asked in a soft voice, a hint of worry in her eyes.

A hint of sadness flashed across Hu Hai's eyes, but it was quickly covered up by a smile.

He gently stroked the concubine's face and said softly, "There are still hundreds of thousands of troops in Xianyang. I don't need to worry.

I am enjoying myself here, and I don’t think about the affairs of state.”

After saying that, he raised his glass again and drank it all in one gulp, as if he wanted to put all his troubles behind him.

The concubines all echoed Hu Hai's words, and their laughter echoed in the bedroom.

Some concubines danced for Hu Hai, some played musical instruments for him, and others poured wine and served food for him.

The entire bedroom was filled with joy and luxury.

It is said that Zhao Ben personally led 30,000 northern troops and attacked Yaoguan directly. The purpose of this trip was to stop the advance of the army led by Xiang Liang.

At the same time, the doctor Ling Tu You also volunteered to lead 40,000 troops to Wugong City, wanting to compete with the famous Meng Tian in a life-and-death battle to make the final resistance for Hu Hai's Qin.

But who could have expected that the development of this war would far exceed the imagination of Hu Hai and others.

The Xianyang court originally thought that with these troops, they could temporarily block the enemy outside the pass and buy themselves a chance to catch their breath. But reality gave them a heavy blow.

Let’s talk about the 30,000 Northern Army led by Zhao Ben. Zhao Ben himself was not a military general who could command battles. He only became the commander of the Northern Army because of his relationship with Zhao Gao.

Now facing Xiang Liang's army, which was good at fighting and had fought all the way from Chu, Zhao Ben could only hide in Yaoguan City, trying to use the city walls to block some of Xiang Liang's troops, and did not dare to go out to fight.

On Xiang Liang's side, when the army arrived outside Yaoguan City, they saw that the city gates were closed and the city walls were full of defenders.

Just as Xiang Liang was about to order an attack on the city, a hail of arrows suddenly came. Xiang Liang's army remained calm and the shield bearers quickly stepped forward to resist.

At this time, Xiang Liang discovered that there seemed to be some unusual movements on the city wall, as if some large equipment was being deployed.

Fan Zeng shouted, "Brother Xiang, these are heavy crossbows from the Qin army. We cannot attack head-on."

Xiang Liang ordered to retreat three miles and set up camp temporarily.

At night, inside the camp, Xiang Liang racked his brains for a way to defeat the enemy. He paced back and forth in his tent, his brow furrowed in anxiety.

At this time, Fan Zeng walked in slowly, his steps were steady and there was a barely perceptible calmness on his face.

Upon seeing this, Xiang Liang rushed forward and asked anxiously, "Brother Fan, do you have any plan to defeat the enemy?" There was a hint of anxiety in his voice.

Fan Zeng stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "This city is fortified. A sudden attack will only result in heavy losses. I have a plan. We can order our soldiers to gather nearby trees and make catapults."

Xiang Liang immediately became interested, his eyes sparkling with curiosity, and he quickly asked, "Brother Fan, what is a Thunderbolt Catapult?"

Fan Zeng smiled, a hint of pride flashing in his eyes. He explained in detail, "Brother Xiang, you may not know this, but in my spare time at home, I've been studying the mechanical techniques of the Mohist school. The basic structure of this Thunderbolt Chariot is a large wooden frame with a pole mounted on it. The rear end is tied with a rope, and the front end is connected to a leather container for stone bullets. To launch, all you have to do is pull the rope hard, and the stone bullet will be thrown out like an arrow. Furthermore, a base with wheels has been added to the bottom, allowing it to move short distances and be flexible and adaptable."

Fan Zeng continued, "I personally tested it myself and was able to hurl a rock weighing 30 jin (8 kg) about 300 steps (approximately 420 meters). Such power would surely inflict a heavy blow on the Qin army!"

Xiang Liang was delighted after hearing this and said, "Brother Fan is truly a man of great wisdom! This is a brilliant plan!"

Afterwards, Xiang Liang immediately ordered his soldiers to build thunderbolt catapults according to Fan Zeng's instructions.

A few days later, dozens of brand new Thunderbolt catapults were built.

Xiang Liang personally came to the front of the city and inspected the catapults, his eyes full of satisfaction.

When Zhao Ben saw the strange things pushed out by Xiang Liang’s army on the city wall, he couldn’t help but panic.

He stared at the catapults with wide eyes, trying to figure out their purpose.

"What is that?" Zhao Ben asked.

"General, I've never seen it before! It looks very powerful." The deputy general beside him had a hint of fear in his voice.

At Xiang Liang's command, the catapults were launched and huge stones fell on the top of Yaoguan City like raindrops.

Although the Qin army's crossbows were powerful, they were unable to withstand the long-range and powerful stone-throwing attacks.

"Ah!" The Qin soldiers on the city wall screamed, and many of them were hit by stones and fell to the ground.

Gaps were made in many places in the city wall, and many defenders were killed or wounded.

Zhao Ben's face turned pale. He realized that the situation was hopeless and secretly planned an escape.

"General, what should we do?" a general asked anxiously.

Zhao Ben gritted his teeth and said, "Prepare to break out!" He decided to take advantage of the chaos to escape from Yaoguan.

Xiang Liang took the opportunity to lead his army into Yaoguan. Although Zhao Ben's army tried their best, it was still unable to withstand the fierce offensive of Xiang Liang's army.

In the fierce battle, Zhao Ben's army gradually collapsed, and Yaoguan finally fell into the hands of Xiang Liang.

The defenders of Yaoguan were defeated one after another. The originally solid defense line became fragmented and was constantly broken through under the enemy's repeated fierce attacks.

In the end, Xiang Liang's army broke through the Yaoguan defense line and headed straight for Lantian.