Chapter 1351: 1352 Zhao Jie’s determination
Chapter 1351 1352 Zhao Jie’s determination
Zhao Jie felt the devastating power of the Tang army's artillery in the underground bunker in Shu. The earth was shaking all the time, and the falling dust hit the map on the table. The sound made people feel heart-stopping.
Zhao Jie, who had become somewhat accustomed to this, looked a bit ugly. The defense of the fortress in Shu that he had placed high hopes on had now been completely destroyed.
His troops were surrounded on almost all sides, weapons and ammunition were being consumed extremely quickly, and the strength of the core troops was visibly reduced.
Originally, what he wanted was to have a fight with the Tang State, which would give an explanation to the Qin State and prove his worth to the Tang State. When the time comes, place your bets on both sides and fight for a bright future for yourself.
But the reality was too cruel. In just two days, before Zhao Jie could react, his home base in Shu was surrounded by the Tang army.
The 8th Army of the Tang Dynasty quickly entered the battlefield, demonstrating the strength advantage of the infantry group army. The Tang army, which had always been attacking more with less, quickly overwhelmed the Qin army and cut off the connection from entering Shu to Caili and other areas.
Now, if the Qin army wants to support the invasion of Shu, it can only make a large circle and mobilize troops from Shu in the south. But the dispatch and command over there were not smooth, so the order to support Zhao Jie was issued, but the number of reinforcements in place was pitiful.
"General... we have lost contact with the textile factory outside the city. Do you want to send troops for reinforcements?" An officer lowered his voice and nervously asked Zhao Jie, who was distracted.
Zhao Jie waved his hand. He had been teased by Luo Xiao several times and now he had no idea of counterattack. Now his tactic is to imitate the tortoise and defend every place. If he can hold it, he will hold it; if he cannot hold it, he will lose it.
In fact, Zhao Jie had wanted to surrender for a long time, but he still had some hope for a decent surrender: he hoped that he could hold the line of defense, and when the Tang army's offensive was blocked, he would surrender to Shu and go to the Tang Dynasty to become an idle nobleman.
It's a pity that the Tang army was so powerful that they didn't give him any chance at all. The sound of thunder and lightning attack aircraft echoed in the sky, artillery fire continued on the ground, and the entire Shu was trembling under the attack of the Tang army.
"Your Majesty, General Chen Li sent someone to deliver a letter..." A Qin officer came in from outside, looked at Zhao Jie warily, and handed the other party an envelope.
Now, the Qin army stationed in the city of Shu and the Dahua army that surrendered to Qin actually belong to different command systems, and they do not trust each other.
The Qin army was afraid that the Dahua troops commanded by Zhao Jie would sell themselves out. The Dahua troops believed that the Qin army came to supervise the battle and sent them to death.
The relationship between the two parties is not very good, and now it is even more tense. Under normal circumstances, senior officers of the Qin State will not appear in Zhao Jie's headquarters if they have nothing to do.
However, in order to allow Zhao Jie to defend Shu honestly, Zhao Jie's headquarters was forced to be placed in the Qin garrison. If Zhao Jie wants to surrender, it will not be as easy as imagined.
The Qin officer who sent the letter emphasized Zhao Jie's title, which meant to remind Zhao Jie that Qin treated him well and hoped that he could make the right choice at the critical moment.
Zhao Jie got the letter, opened it and read it. The content inside is very simple, which is to ask him not to surrender, but to find a way to hold on to Shu and wait for Qin's reinforcements.
"Tell General Chen Li that I, Zhao Jie, will definitely defend Shu and fight to the last soldier." Zhao Jie didn't care about anything else and first gave a promise that didn't sound very reliable. In fact, if he had been determined to die in battle, he would not have fled in the battle of the old capital. Everyone knows that he is just a wallflower, but this wallflower is indeed very useful now.
"I will convey your guarantee to General Chen Li." The Qin officer stood at attention and saluted, then turned and left Zhao Jie's headquarters.
"Bah! What the hell! What a dog!" Seeing the officer leaving, the officer following Zhao Jie spat, cursed before turning back to Zhao Jie and said: "Sir! Let's continue to persevere. The troops are all gone.”
The 100,000 elites of the Chinese army in their hands are their biggest capital. Now these capitals have shrunk a lot. If they continue to persist, they will become a "shattered settlement" with nothing.
"I know even if you don't tell me! But what can I do about the current situation? Huh?" Zhao Jie snorted irritably, and the other party quickly lowered his head in fear.
“Boom!” Another artillery shell landed nearby, and the huge shock made Zhao Jie and the confidants around him shrink their necks involuntarily. Outside the office, there were exclamations from the female secretary and scoldings from several officers.
The sound of crying made the whole headquarters look even more apocalyptic. Zhao Jie no longer knew how long he could hold on.
“Where did the Tang Army’s troops advance?” He walked to the map. He pushed aside the dust on it with his hands and looked at the city defense map and asked.
"This morning, the school on Mason Street was lost... We re-arranged the defense line across a road, and it is still stable there. And here... The Tang army occupied the water plant, and six blocks nearby were cut off from water, but the soldiers could still hold on. "The officer pointed at the map and reported the latest battle situation.
Looking at those places so close, Zhao Jie's face became even more grim. Tang Jun's street fighting ability was better than he imagined. The opponent was more organized and had better communication methods, so it was more flexible.
In this case, Zhao Jie, who hoped to consume the Tang army through street fighting, could no longer tell who was consuming whose troops.
Outside the city, the loss of field fortifications meant that Shu had no room to move. The Qin army's reinforcements can only take a few fixed paths, and will lose almost all their heavy weapons and about half of their troops before entering the city to fight.
This kind of reinforcements will definitely be unsustainable. When the Qin army finds itself being deliberately consumed by Tang troops, these reinforcements may stop.
Then, it is already obvious what Zhao Jie's ending will be. He will be abandoned by the Qin State and regarded as the object of liquidation by the Tang State.
"You! Go to Tang State in person tonight... don't let anyone know! What to say, what to do... you don't need me to explain, right?" Finally, Zhao Jie made up his mind and decided to stand on the side of the winner. .
"Yes! Sir! I will definitely get things done." When the officer heard that Zhao Jie had finally made up his mind, his face showed excitement and he grinned.
"If you are caught, I will not admit what I just said... go ahead." With a final reminder, Zhao Jie waved his hand and sent the henchman away.
(End of this chapter)