Chapter 535: With such a strong army, victory is certain
"Since ancient times, loyalty and filial piety have been difficult to achieve. When we fight outside, our elderly parents, wives, and children at home watch over us and worry about us. They are our roots, and the home we fight to protect! This third bow should be to our elders at home!"
After three bows, Jia Cong waved his hand and said, "Today is New Year's Eve. I may not have any other skills, but I can still make all the brothers drink a sip of warm wine and eat a bite of fat meat!"
"Let's feast and drink!"
"Today we are brothers in life and death. When we die on the battlefield, wrapped in our horsehide, we will have no regrets!"
"That year, a hundred thousand soldiers marched out of Yumen, their banners waving..."
"The whole army is full of high spirits, the smoke of war rolls and confuses the world, the heavy snow falls and covers the bows and swords..."
"The Qiang flute doesn't make the willows lament, the war drums urge the men and horses to howl. Under the moon, weapons flow like water, the setting sun stains the battle robes with its lingering red..."
"Who can say that the general is worried about his white hair when looking in the mirror? How many times, in my dreams, I still hear the flute from the border..."
The ancient war song suddenly gathered together on the parade ground, and everyone's eyes fell on Jia Cong! Jia Cong was startled at first, and then he felt a ball of heat in his heart, as if it was about to burst out.
This is my soldier!
Battle against heaven and earth, and be invincible!
"With such powerful soldiers, we are sure to win this battle!" Jia Cong was so moved that he couldn't help but talk to himself!
"With such brave soldiers, we are sure to win this battle!" Miaoyu was slightly stunned when she heard the solemn military song coming from the parade ground not far away, and then she talked to herself.
She had traveled across the oceans and seen many soldiers and officers, but this was the first time she had seen an army that was so united!
Young Master Bailong did persuade the various tribes to gather hundreds of thousands of troops, but facing such an opponent, how could they win even if they had twice as many troops?
"Miaoyu toasts to the Marquis!" She took out the two jade bowls and put them away. Miaoyu poured two cups of tea and sipped them slowly...
On the training ground, the chefs brought up countless foods and distributed them one by one.
Since it is Chinese New Year, the dinner is naturally extremely sumptuous. If you calculate carefully, each soldier has three bowls of muddy wine, two pounds of beef, five bowls of white rice, two Bo cakes, two steamed cakes, various seasonings such as green onion, ginger, vinegar, etc., as well as some mutton heads, mutton trotters, pig liver, etc. (You don’t have to think too much about this number. In fact, I also think it is exaggerated, but after checking the information, it is indeed a lot. This is still a reduction, and there is indeed beef...).
For soldiers, even if they celebrate the New Year at home, the food will never be so rich.
Food was also delivered to the patrolling and garrison soldiers, but there was no alcohol.
Jia Cong also took the generals to sit at a big table. The generals stood up first to toast Jia Cong, and then the banquet began.
For a moment, the cold wind in the huge training ground was directly driven away by the bonfire, and a group of rough men gathered around the long table and ate and drank to their heart's content.
Some were playing drinking games, some were telling obscene jokes they had heard from somewhere, and with the sound of firecrackers popping in the camp, these soldiers felt like they were back home.
Many soldiers from the same hometown dressed up as each other and played house like children. Some pretended to be parents, some imitated brothers, some dressed up as children and grandchildren, and some dressed up as wives and daughters. Besides having fun, it also helped to ease homesickness.
There is a small town about 200 miles southwest of Chengdu, and this small town is Hongya County.
As dusk falls, this small town, although not as big as Chengdu, is just as brilliantly lit during the New Year!
About five miles north of the city, there is a barren hill. In a small valley, thousands of soldiers are ready to go, and leading them is a brave general, Sun Ze.
"Brothers, I've already issued a military order to the Marshal. If you can't take Hongya, I'll be beheaded! Tonight, New Year's Eve, we can't offer you a bowl of wine, so we'll give you Hongya City as a New Year's gift!"
"Aside from Lu Min and Ge Hong leading a thousand cavalrymen to block the east-west thoroughfare, we still have four thousand men here, while Hongya only has three thousand defenders. If we can't take Hongya, we brothers will all die."
"Zhu Yun, lead a thousand men and march directly south of the city! When midnight arrives, feint an attack on the south!"
"I have received your order!"
"Chang Juncai, bring five hundred soldiers to the west of the city. After the battle with Zhu Yun begins, make some noise. I don't need to attack the city, but the louder the better!"
"The remaining 2,500 soldiers and horses will follow me to take over the North City."
"We're on a surprise attack this time, so we don't need expensive equipment like ladders, but we do have climbing ladders!"
"If South City and West City move, there will be chaos in the city! Jiang An, your five hundred men must climb up and open a gap for me. I'm right behind you, don't be a wimp!"
"Don't worry, General!" a sturdy man grinned. "We've seen over the past two days that their defenses are extremely lax. Moreover, at night, there are only a few hundred men in the North City. This small city has no moat, and the walls are only two meters high. Once it's completely dark, I'll lead the troops to the base of the city walls!"
"Bai Rongxuan, I'll give you 500 people, and the city gate will be handed over to you!" Sun Ze said finally.
Afterwards, Zhu Yun and Chang Juncai took their troops and left quietly, while the others continued to hide in the valley!
After about an hour, Jiang An looked up at the sky. Clouds covered the moon and the entire earth was shrouded in darkness.
"General, I'll go ahead. Brothers, follow me!"
Hundreds of people carried long ladders and quietly moved towards the city wall.
A formal siege would naturally require the use of ladders and other weapons; otherwise, the high walls would be a natural barrier. However, using ladders would negate the purpose of a surprise attack, turning it into a fierce battle, making it difficult to capture Hongya. If word of this were to spread from within the city, troops from nearby Jiajiang and Yazhou would arrive, and the entire battle would be completely lost.
Therefore, Sun Ze could only use this simple ladder to attack the city. Fortunately, this was a small city, and the guards were not many. In addition, the defense was lax on New Year's Eve. It was not impossible to break into the city even if there were some casualties.
The waiting time seemed particularly long in the dark night. After an unknown amount of time, bursts of shouting and killing sounds suddenly came from the south of the city.
About half an hour later, deafening shouts and cries of killing were heard from the west of the city.
"General, both the south and the west have started to fight!" Deputy General Niu Hong stepped forward and said to Sun Ze.
Sun Ze nodded slightly, "Bai Rongxuan, prepare to attack the city in two quarters of an hour, other brothers, get ready!"
The entire Hongya City was in chaos. This was the border between Jiading Prefecture and Yazhou, and was considered the hinterland controlled by the southern Xinjiang troops. Therefore, the defenders in the city had never expected that the enemy would come to attack, and that they would launch a surprise attack in the dark of night on New Year's Eve?
