Chapter 87: Heavenly Sand (II)
After the siege failed, Shi Manu immediately retreated to the camp, and the felt tent fell down to block the wind and sand. As a deputy general beside Shi Manu, Nieringu followed him into the tent and said, "General, the city gate of the Qi people is not like the felt tents on our grasslands, nor is it like our fortresses. With such a strong attack, I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to capture it in !"
Shi Monu is considered an extremely outstanding warrior in the Nanyan tribe. He is only in his thirties now. Before the truce between Da Qi and Danqiu, he was still young and participated in only a few national wars at that time. During the more than ten years of the truce between the two countries, he made great achievements on the grassland. He followed the main general of the Nanyan tribe and conquered twenty-eight tribes for the Danqiu royal court.
Juhan Pass was also a city built by the people of Qi. However, in the battle between Xu Hexue and the Danqiu general Mengtuo at Mushen Mountain, both Qi and Danqiu were defeated, and Mengtuo died of his injuries. Later, when Danqiu broke through the defense line of Juhan Pass, he burned down the city wall of Juhan Pass with a fire.
The Hu people did not like the high cities of the Qi people. They only wanted a flat plateau, lush pastures, and herds of cattle and sheep. They were used to felt tents that could be moved at any time, and did not want to settle down like the Qi people.
Therefore, Shi Monu was very unfamiliar with siege. If Qin Jixun had not hid in the city, he would have let go and killed the Qi people like cattle and sheep, just like he did in the poplar forest. Wherever the Danqiu cavalry went, the Qi people were almost powerless to resist.
But they hid in the city, which was like tying up Shi Manu's hands and feet, making him feel suffocated for the first time.
"First there were the caltrops in the poplar forest, and now there's the chariot formation. The Qi people can only resort to such cunning tricks." Shi Manu had a gloomy face. He untied his belt and threw it on the felt-covered ground.
"General, that chariot formation is obviously designed to target our cavalry. I didn't expect that Wei Dechang has some skills!" said the deputy general Nielingu angrily.
"Wei Dechang?"
Shi Manu narrowed his hawk-like eyes slightly, and after a while, he sneered, "No, although he knows how to use this chariot formation, he is not flexible enough, otherwise, I would not have the chance to hurt him."
Wei Dechang's mind was almost entirely focused on the formation. Shi Manu was an excellent archer. If it weren't for the mysterious man with a long scarf on the city wall who shot an arrow that accurately deflected his arrow, Wei Dechang would have been injured, even if he hadn't died.
Thinking of the man on the city wall, Shi Manu's expression became cold and stern. "If this plan is not Qin Jixun, then there must be a master behind these two sworn brothers."
Lieutenant General Nieringu was about to speak when he heard voices coming from outside the tent. He immediately went out and heard the scout whispering. His face turned ugly. He turned around, opened the tent curtain and walked quickly to Shi Monu, "General! The scout reported that before we attacked the city last night, Yang Tianzhe brought a crossbow to Tianju Mountain! Our warriors guarding the foot of Tianju Mountain faced him, but were repelled by the defenders on the bird path of Tianju Mountain with arrows!"
“No wonder.”
Shi Manu uttered two words from between his teeth and slammed his fist on the table, "No wonder they dared to go out of the city to fight last night, it turned out to be to protect Yang Tianzhe!"
Tianju Mountain is in a unique terrain and is easy to defend but difficult to attack. There is a bird path hanging high above it, and the Qi defenders are in a dominant position. Now with the addition of crossbows, it is naturally even more difficult to capture.
Nie Lingu showed a worried look, "If the Qi people's bird path is still there, Yongzhou City cannot be completely controlled by us. If they drag it down until the Qi people's reinforcements arrive, General, can we still take Yongzhou City?"
"Who said I must take Yongzhou City?"
Shi Manu's dark stubble almost covered half of his face. "They are waiting for reinforcements. I am waiting for reinforcements too. But Nieringu, no matter what method you use, you must cut off the mountain road between Yongzhou City and Tianju Mountain. If the food and grass they are waiting for cannot be delivered to the city, they will naturally come out to fight me."
The bird path was narrow and naturally could not accommodate a large army. Its function at most was to transport food and messages. The Yongzhou army was stationed on it, and there was an iron chain connecting the mountain behind Yongzhou City and Tianju Mountain. The soldiers who delivered messages could use it to slide to the rear of Yongzhou City. Shi Monu could not stop the transmission of messages between them if he could not capture the bird path, but he could cut off their food supply.
"yes!"
Nielingu put one hand on his chest and lowered his head in response.
Even though Shi Monu was not good at attacking cities, he did not stop harassing Yongzhou City. He quickly destroyed the Yongzhou military forts outside the city that the Qi army used for surveillance or to investigate military intelligence, and built a high tower outside the city to gain insight into the situation in the city.
However, Shi Manu did not expect that the catapults of the Yongzhou army would repeatedly and accurately throw huge stones to destroy the high towers they built. This was really incredible.
Almost every time the catapult threw a huge stone, the Danqiu Hu soldiers could see a young man in frosty white clothes and a long scarf covering his face standing next to the catapult on the city wall.
This man's skills were so miraculous that the Hu people were confused for a moment.
"I didn't expect that Mr. Ni's mathematics is so good." Most of the Danqiu Hu people did not understand the mathematics of the Great Qi, so naturally they didn't know the ins and outs of it. However, Shen Tongchuan was the prefect of Yongzhou, and he dabbled in it on a daily basis. Naturally, he knew that Xu Hexue's accuracy in commanding the soldiers to throw stones was not a matter of luck.
"I dabbled in it when I was young," Xu Hexue held onto the brick wall with one hand and walked slowly to the bottom of the tower. "I asked the abbot of Qingyuan Temple in the city. They also have monks who are quite good at mathematics. In order to prevent Shi Manu from continuing to build a high tower or doing other tricks, it would be better for Shen Zhizhou to ask them to come and help. This way, we can take care of both sides."
Shen Tongchuan nodded, "Young Master, what you said makes sense."
The Yongzhou army had catapults, and the Danqiu Hu people also had such vehicles. They had been throwing stones at the city walls for days, attacking the weak points of the walls and injuring many Yongzhou army soldiers.
Before Xu Hexue walked down the stairs, he saw Ni Su, Madam Zhong and several other women helping the military camp's medical workers treat the soldiers' wounds. She was near the city wall, and her sleeves and hands were covered in blood.
"If Shi Monu is determined to take over Yongzhou City, I don't think he has tried his best." More than ten days have passed since Wei Dechang fought Shi Monu outside the city with a chariot formation. Shi Monu often came to harass, challenge, and try to attack the city, but the more Shen Tongchuan watched, the more he felt that his method of siege was not fierce enough.
"Although Shi Manu is a fierce general, he has no experience in attacking cities. He does not necessarily want to break through Yongzhou Pass. He is just testing Yongzhou's defenses and depleting Yongzhou's military strength."
"We are waiting for reinforcements, and they are also waiting for reinforcements from the rear?" Shen Tongchuan thought for a moment and suddenly realized, "He is waiting for the army of the Nanyan tribe sent by the royal court!"
These tens of thousands of cavalrymen of Shi Manu were just Danqiu's advance troops.
"Thanks to General Qin's foresight, we can still delay it in time." Shen Tongchuan frowned and sighed.
When Suchile launched an attack on Yongzhou due to the death of Aduorong, Qin Jixun sold all his private property and raised military rations from the nearby county government. Together with the food donated voluntarily by the two big families, Qin and Wei, even if Shi Manu cut off the mountain road leading to Tianju Mountain, they should be able to hold out until the arrival of reinforcements from Jianchi Prefecture.
Even if Shi Monu had to wait for reinforcements from the Nanyan tribe, they might not arrive faster than the reinforcements from Da Qi.
Ni Su changed the medicine on a soldier's arm, and then washed the blood off her hands with the hot water brought by Madam Zhong. She heard light footsteps approaching, and she saw the snow-white sleeves fluttering slightly, so she raised her head.
In the sunlight, his thick eyelashes cast a light shadow on his eyelids.
"Are you tired?"
Xu Hexue handed over a bowl of water.
“Not tired.”
Ni Su smiled, wiped her hands, and took the porcelain bowl.
Xu Hexue watched her lower her head to drink water. Perhaps because she had been standing under the sun for too long, she was a little thirsty and quickly drank up the water. Beads of sweat glistened on the tip of her fair and delicate nose.
Ni Su saw him turn around and was about to call him, but he saw him talking to a soldier. The soldier nodded, ran away quickly , went into a felt tent, and found a clean long towel.
Xu Hexue took it and walked to her. Her forehead was almost covered with sweat. She forgot to cover her face with a scarf, and her cheeks were a little red from the sun. He wrapped her hair and cheeks with a long scarf and said, "Be careful not to get sunburned. Your cheeks will hurt at night and you won't be able to sleep."
Ni Su said, "I'm down there, will it hurt for you up there on the tower?"
Fearing that the ban might cause harm to him, Ni Su only treated the soldiers at the foot of the city wall. Medical workers from the army or the city also came to treat the wounded in more distant places.
Xu Hexue shook her head, "No."
"Miss Ni! Come quickly!" Madam Zhong suddenly ran out from the felt tent not far away with a look of fear on her face.
That was the felt tent where Qingqiong was. Ni Su immediately put down the porcelain bowl and pulled Xu Hexue closer. She found that Mrs. Zhong was still trembling. Her face was pale. "He... why is there frost all over his body?"
frost?
Ni Su immediately opened the felt curtain and went in, only to see Qingqiong lying on the felt carpet, wrapped in a quilt. The long scarf on his head was much looser, revealing his bald head. His sparse eyelashes were drooping, his face was extremely pale, and his exposed skin was covered with a layer of light white and crystal frost.
"Qingqiong!"
Ni Su ran over, squatted down, and brushed away the frost particles. His hands were bone-chillingly cold, almost the same temperature as Xu Hexue's body.
"Madam Zhong! Please help me boil a basin of hot water!" Ni Su shouted outside the felt tent.
"good……"
Madam Zhong responded tremblingly from outside.
There was someone boiling water not far away. Madam Zhong scooped a basin of hot water, but she was still scared and didn't dare to go in. As she was hesitating, she saw a hand lifting the felt curtain. She looked up and saw it was Mr. Ni.
Xu Hexue brought the hot water to Ni Su, and she immediately soaked a handkerchief in the water and wrung it dry, then kept wiping Qingqiong's hands and face to melt the light frost.
The frost on Qingqiong's eyelashes disappeared, and he slowly opened his eyes. After a long while of reaction, he called out slowly: "Miss Ni, General ..."
"Qingqiong, where do you feel uncomfortable?"
Ni Su covered his hands with the hot handkerchief again.
In fact, there was no place on Qingqiong's body that didn't feel uncomfortable. He felt cold and painful, but he didn't answer Ni Su's words. He just moved his pale lips and said, "Where's my father?"
"He's in the weapons battalion."
Xu Hexue said.
Qing Qiong blinked his eyes, and the dark pupils seemed to occupy more of the whites of his eyes: "Oh, yes, he is making a bed crossbow."
After a while, he said again: "Don't tell him."
He felt drowsy and soon closed his eyes again.
The noise outside made the felt tent extremely quiet. Ni Su placed a charcoal basin next to Qingqiong and sat on the felt carpet, hugging his knees and not saying a word.
Xu Hexue added some charcoal and sat down beside her.
There was a rustling sound of fabric rubbing against each other, and Ni Su raised her head and looked at him.
"When autumn and winter come, the methods I used on Qingqiong are no longer effective."
Xu Hexue turned around and looked at Qingqiong who couldn't stop shivering in his sleep. "It's the bleak autumn and winter in the human world, and it's the time when the cold air rises in the Nether City. Ordinary people don't feel anything, but he is a ghost fetus, so he will suffer a lot because of it."
If he were a ghost, he would get used to the coldness of the underworld, but since he was a ghost fetus, he was destined to endure the torture of the cold with his broken blood and soul.
Ni Su lowered her eyes and said nothing.
Xu Hexue looked at her profile. She rarely felt frustrated, except when she was faced with someone she wanted to save but was helpless.
This is her kindness as a doctor, and also the source of her sadness.
"You must do your best to treat any disease that can be cured by medicine," Xu Hexue put one hand on her knee, "The women and children brought by Yang Tianzhe are all showing signs of improvement under your treatment. Madam Zhong and the others were willing to follow you to treat women and children before, and now they are following you to treat the wounded. In their hearts, you are a good doctor."
Whether it was him or Qingqiong, they were not incurable diseases after all. She could not relieve their pain because they were separated by yin and yang.
It is beyond human power.
As a person, she stayed in Yongzhou, treating women's hidden diseases and soldiers' external injuries. With her courage and insight, she did her best.
Ni Su raised her head and looked at him.
After a while, she said sullenly, "You are really good at comforting me."
Ni Su hadn't had a good night's sleep for a long time. She had been busy treating the wounded for most of the day, and her eyes were blue. She listened to Xu Hexue's words, lay down on the felt blanket, and planned to rest for a while.
"Just half an hour, you have to wake me up."
Ni Su grabbed his sleeve and gave him serious instructions.
"good."
Xu Hexue covered her with the quilt.
Ni Su was extremely tired and soon fell into a deep sleep. The felt tent was silent. Xu Hexue turned around when he heard Qingqiong's occasional gasp.
The frost particles on Qingqiong's body had disappeared, but his complexion was still very bad. He curled up in the quilt, enduring the pain of his bones and flesh being pulled.
He grew faster than normal people of his age, but this speed was a bone-crushing torture.
Xu Hexue looked at him for a while, then he came to his senses and lowered his eyelashes.
Occasionally the felt tent was blown open a little by the wind, and the sunlight sometimes spread in, illuminating his frosty white sleeves like condensed ice and snow, inch by inch white and cold.
The long silence was broken by the sound of a horn. The noise of running and shouting continued up and down the tower. The felt curtain was suddenly opened. "Master Ni, Shi Manu is leading his troops to Tianju Mountain!"
Xu Hexue opened his eyes: "Something happened at Tianju Mountain?"
"Yes, the scouts reported that the craftsmen in Shi Manu's army made iron chains, which the Hu people used to launch a surprise attack and cut off the left and right sections of the plank road. I'm afraid the Hu people will take this opportunity to occupy Tianju Mountain!"
Duan Rong said, panting.
The broken bird path would trap the Qi defenders on the cliff of Tianju Mountain. If they ran out of arrows and had no time to replenish them, they would become fish on the chopping board.
If there was any news from Jianchi Prefecture, it would have to go through the bird path of Tianju Mountain to save some distance. In previous years, all official communications had taken this route. If the dangerous Tianju Mountain fell into the hands of Shi Monu, the news of Jianchi Prefecture's reinforcements would not be delivered to Yongzhou City, but it would be convenient for Shi Monu to be on guard and even set an ambush.
The iron chain connecting Tianju Mountain and the mountain behind Yongzhou City made it easier for the Hu people to sneak into Yongzhou City.
"Commander Wei has already cut the iron chain. Master Ni, the general believes that we must fight Shi Monu again!" Duan Rong said in a deep voice.
When Xu Hexue heard that the iron chain leading to the rear of Yongzhou from Tianju Mountain was cut, he frowned slightly, but he said nothing, only asking: "How does General Qin want to fight?"
"The general is already organizing his troops and intends to go to Tianju Mountain, but he also asked me to come and ask Master Ni for advice!"
Xu Hexue supported himself on the felt blanket with one hand and slowly stood up. He turned around and saw that the girl who had been sleeping had opened her eyes. She didn't say anything, but lifted the quilt and quickly stood up.
She wanted to go out of town with him.
The light golden sunlight spread in Xu Hexue's eyes. He looked at Duan Rong and said, "Shi Manu has given us a good opportunity."
"Good opportunity? What good opportunity?"
Duan Rong was stunned. Shi Manu was about to occupy Tianju Mountain. How could this be a good opportunity for them?
Xu Hexue twitched her pale lips:
"A good opportunity to beat him to death."
