Chapter 97 Jiang Chengzi (VI)
The corpses piled up like a hill, how dare they confront the city?
The Hu people stepped on the mountain of corpses of the Qi people from the thirteen states. Carrying sandbags, they piled the corpses higher and higher under the cover of dense rain of arrows, and then climbed up with eagle claws.
The rope made of twisted iron wire was difficult to cut in half, and the Hu people's ladders had sharp hooks embedded in the city wall. The Yongzhou army on the city wall was in chaos and was caught off guard.
The battering rams rammed the city gate again and again, and the Yongzhou infantry in the city wall struggled to resist.
The sound of military drums and trumpets could be heard from far ahead, along with earth-shaking shouts. The people in the city were all placed at the back of the city, with medicine boiling in the stove.
Qin Jixun left a team as the last line of defense to protect the people in the city and prevent them from causing unrest due to panic.
"Miss Ni, these are all the lanterns in my shop." The owner of the lantern shop wiped the sweat from his forehead and pointed at the cart behind him .
Next to him, there were shopkeepers selling incense, candles, and funeral supplies. They also used carts to pull all the stock in their shops.
"Thank you very much."
Ni Su walked forward, bowed to them, and then took out a stack of Jiaozi money.
"It's already this late, we don't even know if we're still alive, what's the point of taking this money..." The owner of the incense shop shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Miss Ni, it's not necessary."
"it works."
Ni Su stuffed the money into their hands and said, "We must trust the soldiers who defend the city for us. If they don't admit defeat, we won't admit defeat either."
The sound of fighting in front made the dead silence of the street even more prominent. The clan leaders of the Qin and Wei families were both sitting quietly under the eaves with crutches. After hearing these words, they both raised their eyes almost at the same time and looked at the woman not far away.
No one knows what she wants these things for at this time.
I saw her and the young man who always followed her, one carrying the lantern and the other carrying the incense and candles, and then they sat on the ground and lit the candles with fire.
Most of the lanterns that Ni Su wanted were Kongming lanterns. She and Qingqiong lit one each and stood up holding the lantern. The cold wind blew her veil and her light hair tangled around her ears. She and Qingqiong let go at the same time, and a Kongming lantern followed the wind and slowly rose up.
"Miss Ni."
Qingqiong watched the lanterns fly forward with the wind, which was the direction of Yongzhou City Gate. "At least the wind is helping us today."
"yes."
Ni Su looked up at the lamp.
She couldn't follow Xu Hexue to the front, as this meant he was destined to suffer from the restrictions again.
But even so,
She also didn't want to allow herself to become his punishment.
"Miss Ni, are you lighting a Kongming lantern to pray for blessings?" Mrs. Zhong's husband was helping the soldiers move objects blocking the road ahead, and she was very worried. "Can I go with you?"
Ni Su nodded, "But I'll light the candles."
Almost all the young men in the city were not there. They were all called by the clan leaders of the Qin and Wei families to defend the city with the Yongzhou army. For a moment, the people, who were worried about their relatives and panicked, all came forward to release Kongming lanterns.
They had nothing to hope for, and could only put their hope in a lamp that would allow the gods to see them and have mercy on them.
Above the city walls, the sky was covered with sky lanterns.
The city gate was breached by the Hu people's battering rams, and the Danqiu cavalry rushed into the city wall. The Yongzhou soldiers guarding the tunnel in the city wall quickly appeared, and the two sides worked together to pull up the chevaux de frise buried in the dust. The Hu cavalry who were in the front were thrown to the ground. The soldiers on the city wall took the opportunity to fire their crossbows. The iron arrows flew out with a sound like a jackdaw, piercing the chests of the Hu people.
The 1,500-step crossbows of the Yongzhou army were a great deterrent to the Hu people, but after defending the city for twenty days, the Yongzhou army had few iron arrows left. The soldiers in the city gate could not hold out for long before the Hu people broke through the city gate.
"My Danqiu warriors! Charge in and kill all the Qi people!" Tuoda shouted, holding a golden knife, and took the lead in leading the troops to rush into the city. He saw that the wide streets were blocked by complicated columns, rockery, stone lions, and even heavy objects made of wood and stone such as tables and chairs, piled up like mountains.
The road ahead was blocked. Tuoda cursed angrily and looked at the long alleys on both sides of the road. He immediately ordered the soldiers: "Quick, disperse and take a detour!"
The Hu people were unable to move those heavy objects at once, so they had to ride into the alley on horseback. Tuoda led a group of cavalrymen into the alley, but they were caught off guard and encountered a group of Yongzhou soldiers head-on.
Tuoda examined them, there were only dozens of them, the Qi soldiers in the front were holding armor-piercing spears, and behind him were two teams on the left and right. The Qi soldiers in the front on both sides were holding shields, and the people behind them were holding armor-piercing spears or crossbows. At the end of the team, there were people holding hammers.
Tuoda sneered. These few people want to stop them?
"kill!"
He commanded his cavalry to charge forward.
"spread!"
Duan Rong shouted, and the soldiers on the left and right wings immediately approached the brick walls on both sides of the alley, leaving no gaps.
The Hu people fired their crossbows and arrows at the same time. The Yongzhou soldiers in the front immediately used their long shields for cover and crouched a few steps forward. The soldiers holding the crossbows behind them immediately collected the Hu people's arrows. When the rain of arrows from the Hu people fell, the long shields of the soldiers in the front were quickly moved away, and they raised the crossbows and shot at the Hu people's horses.
They just focused on the horses' legs and bellies and kept shooting with crossbows.
Most of the Hu people's war horses were injured, neighing, kneeling down, or falling to one side. Tuoda had no choice but to order the cavalry to retreat and send the infantry forward.
As soon as the infantry approached, the crossbowmen of the Yongzhou army immediately stopped shooting, stepped back a few steps, and replaced them with soldiers holding armor-piercing spears, who stepped forward and cooperated with the shieldmen to thrust their spears forward through the gaps.
At the same time, the soldiers holding spears and halberds in the rear seized the opportunity, stretched out their spears and halberds, and blocked the weapons in the hands of the Hu people.
Seeing that his infantrymen were unable to make any progress and some of their weapons were even hooked away by the Qi people's hammers and their bodies were pierced by armor-piercing spears, Tuoda ordered the crossbowmen to shoot arrows, but Duan Rong reacted in time and ordered all the soldiers to squat and press their long shields heavily against the ground, fitting tightly to block the incoming arrows.
When the Hu infantry saw them half-crouching and moving forward step by step, they hesitated for a moment and took a step back, then another step back.
"Don't retreat!"
Tuoda roared angrily, swung his golden sword, and chopped off the head of a soldier who was retreating a few steps. The Hu soldiers immediately dared not retreat anymore and rushed forward to kill.
But it was difficult to move in the alley. The Yongzhou army had only a few dozen people, and they formed such a formation to block the road tightly. The Hu people tried to break through several times, but they could never get a chance to get close, and instead suffered heavy losses.
Just a few dozen people actually consumed hundreds of Tuoda's men.
Duan Rong led the soldiers to maintain the formation and drove Tuoda and others out of the alley, but they did not take advantage of the situation to fight forward, but retreated back to the alley and continued to hold their ground.
All the usable rafters, boulders, and even household items in the city, as well as any heavy objects, were used to block the streets tightly.
If the Hu soldiers who rushed into the city wanted to move forward, they could only take the alleys that extended in all directions. Yelu Zhen did not expect that after he broke through the Yongzhou city gate, he would be passively involved in street fighting.
"The Qi people are so skilled that we can't make any progress, General!"
Some of the Hu soldiers lost their composure.
Yelu Zhen frowned, and with a glance he saw that almost all the alleys were filled with Qi people arranged in such strange formations. They hid from time to time, and when the Danqiu warriors rushed forward, they suddenly ran out from the end of the alley, catching people off guard.
"General, what should we do? Please give us the orders!" Tuoda no longer had the pride he had when he first entered the city. He was beaten back several times by Duan Rong and now he returned to Yelu Zhen's side.
"It's just a last-ditch struggle!" Yelu Zhen snorted coldly and shouted loudly, "Leave one group of warriors to clear the roadblocks. Just clear a street! Everyone else, follow me and continue to charge!"
Shen Tongchuan, holding his sword and protected by his personal soldiers, stood on a high building, overlooking the movement in front of him from afar. Only now did he finally understand why Master Ni said that even if the city was broken, every street and alley would become a battlefield.
This street fighting with a small number of people actually had the miraculous effect of consuming the majority of the enemy.
The Yongzhou defenders fought a bloody battle with the Danqiu Hu people in street fighting for a whole day, consuming nearly 10,000 Hu troops. However, as the Hu people cleared the roadblocks on a street, they were finally forced to fight head-on.
"Soldiers of the Yongzhou Army!"
Qin Jixun held a pine-patterned sword in his hand and lined up in front. "We can no longer retreat! Behind us are our people! Among them are your parents, wives and children. If we are afraid of fighting, no one will protect the old, weak, women and children! In battle, we must not fear the enemy or death! My men, follow me and kill!"
“Kill!”
Wei Dechang brandished his knife and roared.
The Yongzhou army let out earth-shaking shouts and fought with the oncoming Danqiu Hu people.
Yang Tianzhe clenched the knife in his hand and chopped it down, blood splattering on his armor. He was almost bloodthirsty. Qin Jixun met Yelu Zhen who was riding on horseback in the chaos of the army. Their spears confronted each other and the two fought .
Countless Hu people pounced on them. Xu Hexue rode on Shuang Ge's back and killed several Hu soldiers with his sword. He pulled the reins and Shuang Ge raised his hooves and ran forward.
Tuoda, a deputy general of Yelu Zhen, seized the crossbow of a horse archer, aimed at Sun Yanli who was fighting hard in the formation, and shot an arrow that pierced Sun Yanli's back.
"Yanli!"
Yang Tianzhe watched Sun Yanli fall heavily to the ground with his eyes wide open, motionless. Yang Tianzhe's eyes were bloodshot. He roared, swung his sword and chopped off the head of the Hu soldier in front of him, then ran towards Tuoda.
Tuoda aimed his crossbow at Yang Tianzhe, but the first arrow missed. When he was about to shoot again, he felt a flash of cold light and the sound of horse hooves approaching. The young man in white clothes and a long scarf covering his face swung his sword. Tuoda leaned back in a hurry, but was stabbed in the waist by the sword and fell off his horse.
Yang Tianzhe was running towards him, raising his long sword, and Tuoda hurriedly drew his sword to block it.
The Yongzhou army was still in formation in the front, and the soldiers who were ambushing on the towers in the city poured down kerosene and threw out torches, which created a cloud of thick smoke and fire, burning the Hu people so hard that they screamed in pain and retreated in fear.
"No retreat! Those who are afraid of fighting will be punished by military law! They are already at the end of their strength. Today, we must take this city!" While responding to Qin Jixun's offensive, Yelu Zhen issued military orders.
His voice was powerful and calm, which made the panicked Hu soldiers calm down and launch a fierce attack on the Yongzhou army again.
This battle lasted for a long time. Both sides were exhausted. The Yongzhou army ran out of arrows and gradually lost. They retreated step by step. Wei Dechang was covered in blood and his arms were injured by the Hu people's golden swords. However, he still used all his strength to hold the sword in his hand tightly, refusing to relax for a moment. "Brother, what should we do? We..."
The men of Wei's army died one after another in front of him, but he could not shed tears. He still had to cheer up and fight with gritted teeth.
"As long as we are still alive, Dechang, we cannot retreat."
Qin Jixun's hand holding the knife was already shaking. He and Yelu Zhen were in a stalemate. He was almost exhausted at this moment, and his face was almost covered in blood.
After defending the city for twenty days, they have exhausted all means, but now they are finally in a desperate situation.
This is really despairing.
All the people could hear the sound of fighting getting closer and closer. They supported each other to stand up and hugged their families. They were filled with fear and sadness, and many of them couldn't help crying.
No one was in the mood to light lanterns anymore, except Ni Su and Qing Qiong. The two of them looked at the dark sky. The round moon was just at the edge of the sky, emitting a silvery light.
The soldiers who were protecting the people tensed their backs and stood ready for battle.
On the street not far away, there was a trench dug by the laborers. There was water in it, blocking the large flames that were spreading along the houses in front.
"Miss Ni, are you afraid of death?"
The firelight reflected in Qingqiong’s dark pupils.
"Are you afraid?"
Ni Su asked him back.
"I know where people go after they die. I know my father and mother are there, so I'm not afraid of anything." The cold wind blew Qingqiong's headscarf off, revealing his bald head that he feared being watched the most. He didn't rush to put on his headscarf as usual. "In fact, being alive also has many good things for me. I have seen the underworld, so I still like the alternating day and night, hot food, and the changing seasons in the human world. My father taught me that if I can live, I must cherish my life. No matter what the reason is, I must treasure my life. But if I have to die, I will actually be happy, because death is a rare reunion for me."
Thick smoke billowed in the air. Although Tuoda was wounded, he was still as ferocious as a beast. Seeing the Yongzhou army retreating in a hurry, Tuoda laughed triumphantly and led the vanguard to charge.
……"Bang".
A continuous and undulating roar suddenly sounded, catching the Hu cavalry off guard and exploding among the group.
"It's a thunder bomb!"
Some Hu soldiers shouted in panic.
They originally thought that the Yongzhou army had no weapons available, but they didn't know that they still had firearms such as thunder bombs. One by one, the Hu soldiers caught fire and screamed in pain.
Tuoda's body was also on fire and the fire could not be put out for a while. Yang Tianzhe took this opportunity to lead his troops back and tear open a hole in Tuoda's vanguard army from the side and disperse them.
Yang Tianzhe chopped Tuoda off his horse with one strike of his sword, and then slashed him again to cut his neck.
Yelu Zhen lost his deputy general, but was a little dazed. Looking at the various formations of the Yongzhou army today, he suddenly felt a horror in his heart, and he felt that this way of fighting was very similar to one person.
The name he had fought only once, but he kept hearing from other royal court generals.
Amid the fire and smoke, Yelu Zhen saw the young man riding a white horse and holding a long sword. Their eyes met, and Yelu Zhen made a gesture to kick the horse's belly to meet him.
Does the Yongzhou army have any other tricks up its sleeve?
Yelu Zhen was not sure, but he could not retreat. He wanted to lead his warriors to capture the city, kill all the Yongzhou troops, and kill all the Qi people in this city.
He would never do what happened sixteen years ago, where he entered the city only to be driven out by Miao Tianning.
He wants to avenge his previous humiliation.
"General! The reinforcements from Qi are approaching Yongzhou City!" A Hu scout came galloping on horseback, shouting as he ran, "The reinforcements from Qi are approaching Yongzhou City!"
Yelu Zhen's mind buzzed.
He almost thought he had heard wrongly, and suddenly turned around and shouted angrily, "What did you say?!"
"The Qi reinforcements are approaching Yongzhou City! We saw the Qi army's flags! They are continuous and stretch like a mountain range, General!" The scout was almost pale.
"Where are the reinforcements from the Nanyan tribe!" Yelu Zhen grabbed him by the collar.
"I don't know, we only saw the Qi army!"
For a moment, the Hu soldiers who heard these words nearby began to panic, and their momentum suddenly weakened.
Yelu Zhen tightly grasped the reins with one hand and looked back. In the firelight, the Yongzhou army was in disarray and had become ineffective. He felt unwilling and angry, but he had to grit his teeth and order: "Withdraw!"
Yelu really didn't want to give up Yongzhou City. This was his first battle after being used again after many years. This place was also his place of shame. He urgently wanted to hold Yongzhou City firmly in his hands. After siege for twenty days, he finally broke through the city gate, but now he had to let go.
How could he not hate it in his heart?
But there was no way, he lost.
Yongzhou had waited for their reinforcements, but Yelu Zhen had not waited for the reinforcements from the Nanyan tribe. However, he was not afraid of failure. At the moment, he had to retain his strength to break out in order to fight again in the future.
When Yelu Zhen's military order reached the front, the Hu army suddenly stopped their offensive, changed direction, and quickly retreated towards the city gate. This made Qin Jixun come to his senses. The reinforcements they had been waiting for for twenty days finally arrived!
"Reinforcements have arrived! Reinforcements have arrived!" Wei Dechang shouted at the top of his lungs.
The soldiers of the Yongzhou army were cheered up and put aside their dejection. Under the leadership of Wei Dechang, they pursued the Danqiu Hu people.
Outside, Tan Guangwen had arrived with reinforcements and was fighting with the Hu people who had rushed out of the city gate. Xu Hexue rode out of the city on horseback and saw Yelu Zhen, under the protection of the Hu soldiers, leading a group of people to tear open the right side of Tan Guangwen's army and was about to break out.
Beneath the city wall was a pile of corpses.
Those were the people of the Thirteen States. Xu Hexue saw Yelu Zhen using the remaining Qi slaves as a threat to force back a group of Qi soldiers.
He kicked the horse's belly and ran away with his sword in hand.
Duan Rong led a group of troops and followed closely behind.
The pitch-black night is dotted with sky lanterns like wandering stars, while beneath the sky, horses’ hooves trample the plains, sending dust flying in the wind.
Xu Hexue took the crossbow from the saddle, raised his hooves and galloped forward like a warrior. Xu Hexue slightly turned sideways on the horse's back and shot an arrow that pierced the chest of a Hu soldier.
Yelu Zhen turned around immediately.
The cold wind of the night blew the long scarf on the face of the young man in white robe. He heard such a cold voice: "You barbarians, give me back my people."
Duan Rong and the soldiers following him heard it. They looked at the Qi slaves being dragged by the Hu people with ropes, leaving long lines of blood on the ground. They chased them with all their might, shouting angrily: "You barbarians, give us back our people!"
"Give me back my people!"
"Give me back my people!"
