eleven 3
The Dzungars knew that the Uighurs were invading, and they looked down the city in panic. They saw a large group of people, and they didn't know whether they were people or ghosts, soldiers or horses. They were terrified, but they had no choice but to order arrows to be shot. For a moment, arrows flew like locusts, with a force as fast as lightning, denser than the raindrops in the torrential rain, and whizzed straight into the red willow formation under the city.
However, there were many red willows and few Uighurs, and they were all well hidden, so how could they shoot? The Junggars felt that their arrows would not return, and that the enemy was not missing a single arrow. They were frightened and went crazy, and shot arrows desperately. The Uighur warriors now understood the Dan Ying's trick, and they were all very happy: they could not only attack without any damage, but also pull a few arrows off the nearby red willow targets if they found that they had run out of arrows. There were many Junggars on the city, and the arrows shot down were really inexhaustible!
Dan Ying watched from the hillside, letting the arrows from both sides fly back and forth for a stick of incense, and then she blew the horn.
How could the Junggars not know that the horn was a siege? They looked down at the city in fear and saw a man as big as an iron tower jumping up from the city with a strange cry, leading a hundred Uyghurs to chop the wooden pillars of the watchtower with knives. They were just wondering when they heard a loud "crack" and the four pillars broke. The man ordered everyone to push the tower together, and with a bang, the tower fell diagonally on the city wall. A hundred Uyghurs climbed up the wooden pillars and attacked the city with shouts and killings.
Junggar did not dare to delay and assigned a group of soldiers to continue dealing with the archers in the red willow formation in the front, while another group moved to the side of the city and threw large and small stones at the attackers.
Dan Ying looked from a distance on the hillside and saw stones rolling down from the city. Cheng Anren was the first to rush in. He jumped and leaped to avoid the stones and flew up to the tower. It was obvious that after he climbed up the city, he would curse "mother-in-law" and "son of a bitch" non-stop, and wield his sword to kill the enemy. With his tossing and turning, the number of falling stones decreased sharply, and several Uyghur warriors climbed up the city wall in an instant. Dan Ying watched, nodded and smiled slightly, and immediately blew the horn twice to order a retreat.
Liu Qingye saw that Cheng Anren on the city wall was still not satisfied, and he swung his sword to chop down a few more enemies before waving his arm to tell everyone to turn back. He thought to himself, "Uncle Cheng really listened to Dan Ying this time, but it's really hard for him!"
Over there, hundreds of Uyghur warriors led by Cheng Anren came down from the city. They immediately picked up two red willow targets and retreated quickly, leaving only Cheng Anren behind. At the same time, the archers who were originally attacking the city from the front, all picked up two targets and rushed to the right to fill the gap. The warriors who were hiding on the left also rushed to the middle with two targets each, crouched down and replaced the others. From the hillside, it looked like a group of people retreated after being defeated, and another group of people took up the vacancy.
Dan Ying waited until everyone had hidden their bodies, and let both sides shoot arrows for a while, then he blew the horn of attack again.
Cheng Anren had been waiting anxiously, and he was already very angry when he was asked to retreat midway! At this moment, he heard the horn, looked up to the sky with a strange howl, jumped up and rushed to the watchtower again. Among the warriors who had recently joined the middle, there were 100 people who charged with him, relying on the cover of arrows and Cheng Anren's bravery, and they quickly climbed up the tower.
At this time, the 100 people who had retreated earlier also returned to the hillside where Dan Ying was. Dan Ying shouted, "Okay, you are all Uyghur warriors!" Then, he asked them to fill the vacant space on the left, but they didn't have to carry targets. Seeing the fierce battle on the top of the city, it was obvious that the Uyghurs had the upper hand, and these people became more confident and their steps became lighter. They ran wildly in the heavy rain and returned to their positions in a moment.
Dan Ying said to Ah Xu: "Shoot one more arrow, and I want you to shoot off the hat of that Junggar general!"
Asu replied "Yes", and the arrow hit the target. Dan Ying praised "Excellent archery skills!" and then blew the horn twice, telling Cheng Anren to retreat.
This retreat was not much different from the last time. Cheng Anren stayed behind to guard the place, and the Uyghur warriors withdrew their targets and changed positions. After everyone had hidden themselves again, the Red Eagle blew the horn again to attack the city.
This went on and on, with constant attacking, retreating, and moving targets. After about five or six rounds, Daheya and Korla in front increased the number of targets removed each time from two to four. It seemed that the Uyghurs had been unable to capture the city for a long time and had suffered heavy casualties. The Dan Ying also shortened the time of each siege and slightly extended the time for concealed shooting. After another five or six rounds, looking from the hillside, the red willow formation in front of the city was in disarray, as if it was about to be defeated.
Dan Ying looked at the sky. It was slightly white in the east, and dawn was coming, but the wind and rain showed no sign of stopping. She said to Liu Qingye, "Liu Qingye, you and I will rush to the front of the battle. Let's lead people to attack the city gate now, otherwise we will be exposed at dawn!" Liu Qingye nodded in agreement. Dan Ying said to A Xu, "Now shoot an arrow and kill the general on the tower with one arrow, so that they will be in chaos for a while!"
Ah Xu said, "Okay!" and shot an arrow immediately. Dan Ying and Liu Qingye took a breath and rushed forward, almost as fast as the arrow, and rushed straight into the broken red willow formation. Dan Ying shouted, "Uncle Daheya! Uncle Korla! Uyghur warriors, let's break through the city gate!"
The crowd had been fighting hard all night, waiting for her words. At that moment, five hundred people picked up the last red willow branches around them, dodged the arrows from the city, and rushed towards the city gate while shouting and killing. Cheng Anren had just come down from the tower, and without holding a target, he shouted loudly, carrying a wooden pillar and ran towards the city gate, saying as he ran: "Damn it, Danying girl, I'll help you open the door!" While shouting, he had already approached, hugged the wooden pillar with both hands and hit the city gate with all his strength.
The gate shook twice, but it was so strong that it could not be knocked open. Cheng Anren cursed, "Damn it, I don't believe it! I have to knock you open!" Then he pushed hard again, this time using his internal strength, with infinite power, and the gate was knocked open with wood chips flying everywhere.
Dan Ying did not stop him, but ordered everyone to pile up the remaining red willow targets at the city gate and set them on fire while shouting and killing. However, the red willows had been soaked in rainwater all night and could not be lit at all. Everyone was getting anxious, but Dan Ying took a leather bag filled with water from his side and poured it out. It turned out to be full of oil. He then lit it with a tinderbox. When the fragrant oil met the fire, a ball of flames jumped out.
Da Heya said, "Dan Ying, why did you think of bringing oil?"
Dan Ying said: "Uncle Meng mentioned 'fire attack' yesterday, I just wanted to bring it to try, and now I really use it!"
The sesame oil burned out in a short time, some of the red willows were on fire, and some were just hissing and smoking. However, one branch lit another, and the thick smoke rolled up in an instant, choking people so that they couldn't even open their eyes. Then they heard the rumbling of horse hooves and footsteps in the city. It must be the Junggars coming to fight.
Dan Ying immediately shouted, "Retreat! Retreat quickly!" But she did not leave, but commanded Daheya and Korla to lead 500 warriors to retreat first. Liu Qingye was protecting her tightly at this time, thinking, "Dan Ying is like a general now. I can't command thousands of troops, I can only protect her safety!"
The five hundred warriors retreated quickly to the hillside behind them. Dan Ying heard a loud rumble at the city gate and knew that the Junggars were about to leave the city, so he shouted, "Uncle Cheng, Liu Qingye, let's retreat too!"
Cheng Anren was stunned and reluctant, but he still threw down the wooden pillar: "Damn it, let them become roasted whole lamb!" After saying that, he turned around and ran away with Dan Ying and Liu Qingye.
The three of them had only gotten halfway when the gate of Naksu City behind them flew open, and the Dzungar cavalry swarmed out, shouting and shooting arrows at them with their bows.
Cheng Anren has been in the martial arts world for many years, so he can dodge hidden weapons like rain. At this time, he listened to the wind to determine the position, and dodged while running, so the Junggars could not hurt him at all. Although Liu Qingye's lightness and body skills were slightly inferior to Cheng Anren, it was not easy for the Junggars to hurt him in such a dark place with arrows randomly shot at him. But he was worried about Dan Ying. He couldn't help but turn around to protect Dan Ying and help her to resolve the deadly feather arrows, which made him fall behind a lot. Cheng Anren turned around and found out, and cursed: "Damn it, look at me!" He then held Dan Ying in one hand and Liu Qingye in the other, took a deep breath, dodged in the rain of arrows, and responded calmly. Not long after, the three of them reached the hillside safely.
As soon as he met the five hundred warriors, Dan Ying immediately ordered the archers to shoot.
It was still dark at this time, and neither side knew where the opponent was. The Uyghurs occupied the advantageous terrain on the top of the mountain, while the Dzungars barely chased to the foot of the mountain. They seemed to have been frightened by the "10,000 soldiers and horses" at night. They saw a hail of arrows, and didn't know how many Uyghurs were hiding behind the mountain, so they did not dare to attack rashly.
After shooting arrows for a while, Dan Ying saw that his arrows were almost gone and the sky was getting bright, so he said, "Everyone get on your horses and go!" Everyone quickly climbed over the hillside, mounted their horses and retreated to the valley.
Seeing that no more arrows were flying from the top of the mountain, the Junggars bravely rushed up the hillside, only to see a group of Uyghurs "fleeing in panic" in the morning light. Looking at the hillside again, they saw red willow targets piled up in all directions. Only then did they realize that they had been fooled at night, and they shouted angrily, "I swear to avenge this," and rode their horses to chase after them.
Dan Ying and his men led 500 warriors to fight and retreat, which made the Junggars furious and chased them all the way. Everyone looked back - the Junggars must have been furious, and this time they actually came with thousands of troops - Daheya and Korla were very happy and said, "This time they will die without a burial place!"
They retreated all the way into the Jamuta Valley. The wind and rain gradually stopped, and the road became more muddy and difficult to walk on. However, the Uyghurs had been on this road once before, and they knew clearly where there were gullies and quagmires. The pursuing Junggars were in a mess, with their horses' hooves entangled by the grass stems everywhere and their legs scratched by thorny bushes. Gradually, the distance between the two sides became farther and farther, and the arrows shot by the Junggars became the last of their strength and were no longer a threat.
When the five hundred warriors reached a place where the terrain changed abruptly, Dan Ying knew that this was the place that the Kyakhta tribe should have attacked according to the original plan. He immediately ordered everyone to move forward at full speed to avoid being mixed with the Dzungars, which would make it inconvenient for the Kyakhta tribe to attack.
Everyone thought victory was in sight, and they didn't feel tired from the night's battle. They rode their horses forward and laughed. Dan Ying shouted, "The enemy is still behind us, don't show any weakness!"
Daheya said: "Danying, we have passed the defense area of Kyakhta. Brother Reiza has always been resourceful and good at fighting. He will definitely wipe out this gang of bandits in one fell swoop. We don't have to be afraid."
Korla also agreed: "Yes, we will definitely win this time!"
Dan Ying frowned, thinking that the plan was foolproof, so he didn't care about it and led everyone forward.
But after walking for a while, they suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves and shouts of killing from behind. It turned out that the Dzungars were catching up. Looking back, there was no sign of fighting in the canyon - the Kyakhta tribe was nowhere to be seen!
Everyone was panicked for a moment: "What's going on?" While they were still talking, several arrows flew from behind and shot several Uyghur warriors off their horses.
Dan Ying didn't have time to think about it and shouted, "Retreat quickly! Keep retreating! Shoot arrows backwards!" Before she finished her words, an arrow had already pierced her shoulder.
Liu Qingye cried out in surprise, jumped off his horse, and with his right hand, he deflected the second arrow that was shot at Dan Ying. "Dan Ying, are you okay?"
Dan Ying gritted his teeth, grabbed the arrow with his backhand and broke it with great force, leaving only the arrowhead in his body. At the same time, he picked up the bow and arrow and fired back.
Cheng Anren yelled and cursed, trying to turn his horse around to go back to fight, but Dan Ying shouted at him, "No one is allowed to go back! Retreat! Retreat immediately!"
Seeing that half of her body was covered in blood, but her expression was extremely resolute, they would not tolerate any disobedience and continued to fight and retreat according to her orders. However, at this time, the sky was bright, they were outnumbered, many Uyghurs were injured, and the speed of retreat was much slower than before. They gradually ran out of arrows and finally reached the second place where the terrain changed abruptly.
Da Heya worriedly asked, "What if the Xiasak tribe doesn't come out to fight?"
Dan Ying gritted his teeth and urged his horse forward: "Keep going - if the people above don't come out, we will have no choice but to fight the Junggars in the end."
When everyone heard her words, they couldn't help but feel pain in their hearts: After fighting so hard last night, are we going to fail now?
Liu Qingye said nothing, but immediately moved over to seal several acupuncture points on Dan Ying's shoulder to stop her bleeding. Dan Ying was stunned and looked at him. Liu Qingye also looked at her: just this one look, we must die together.
Just after passing the defense area of the Xiasak tribe, Dan Ying and his party had already suffered more than half casualties, but the Junggars were chasing them more and more closely, and were about to catch up. Cheng Anren rode forward and said, "Dan Ying girl, fight them!"
Dan Ying looked at him, at Liu Qingye, at the remaining two or three hundred Uyghur warriors, and at the hillsides on both sides. Suddenly, he shouted in surprise: "Look at the people of the Xiasak tribe!"
Everyone looked in the direction she pointed and saw a group of Xiasak archers coming down from the southeast hillside.
Dan Ying immediately shouted: "Everyone, hurry up and leave here!"
Seeing hope now, they no longer needed her orders. They were full of energy and rushed forward. But they heard arrows whizzing through the air behind them, shouts of killing, and the curses and screams of the Junggars. Not far ahead, they saw Uyghurs attacking from the northwest hillside, led by Reiza.
Da Heya was furious and was about to rush forward to question him, but Dan Ying stopped him and said, "Uncle Da Heya, wait until we kill all the Junggars before asking!"
Da Heya said: "He almost killed us! Dan Ying, I think he was dissatisfied with you being the leader and wanted to hurt you on purpose!"
Dan Ying ignored him and said, "I am the leader now. I order everyone to keep moving forward!"
Da Heya was frightened by her tone. He was stunned for a moment, whipped his horse twice, and followed the crowd.
The group headed straight for the narrowest part of the Gamuta Valley. Except for the area guarded by the Kyakhta tribe, which was left unattended, the rest of the tribes held their posts and rushed down the hillside as soon as they saw the Dzungars passing by. When Dan Ying and his group reached the last ambush point, there were no Dzungars chasing them.
The warriors reined in their horses and looked back at the road in the canyon. The bloody battle actually lasted only the time of a meal - when they were desperately retreating, the time seemed very long, but after the Xiasak troops rushed down, they fought a quick victory - those who came to greet them were all their own people, and the corpses of the Dzungars were all trampled under their feet.
Daheya and Korla saw Reiza holding a knife and walking in front. They were immediately furious, jumped off their horses, rolled up their sleeves and rushed forward, cursing: "Reiza, what do you mean? You, the Kyakhta tribe, have deserted your post. What do you want?"
Reiza glanced at the two of them, dodged Daheya's punch, walked up to Danying and said, "Danying, someone has indeed deserted his post. I had no choice but to send all the people of the Kyakhta tribe to attack Naksu."
Dan Ying was surprised and asked, "What do you mean?"
Reiza said, "I was really pissed off. Not long after you set out, several Han Chinese came running over with wounds all over their bodies. I didn't know what they were talking about, but they were probably looking for your master and his friends. It happened that the group of people attacking Naksu was still on the hillside on my side, so I led these people to your master and his friends. Who would have thought that these people would suddenly point at the Han Chinese man named Zhong Rui who came to the Satamon tribe the night before and start yelling and then they started fighting. Zhong Rui hit Miss Li Mingxin with a palm and she is still in a bad condition now."
When Liu Qingye heard this, he suddenly remembered that Meng Hu and Wang Chunshan suspected that Zhong Rui was a spy of the Qing Dynasty. Now that he heard that he had injured Li Mingxin, he hurriedly asked: "What was it about? Is Zhong Rui a spy? Did Uncle Wang say so?"
Reiza said: "Nothing was said. After capturing Zhong Rui, they left in a hurry!"
Dan Ying asked, "What? So they left?"
Reiza said, "Of course I left! Military orders are as firm as a mountain. Menghu told me to leave, but he just left without saying so. I was really mad at him. Tell me, at this point, where can I get people to attack Nakusu City? I had no choice but to send all my Kyakhta people. Menghu was originally the commander of this team - I couldn't leave this hillside, so I had to send Heya to replace him... I was really mad at me!"
Dan Ying was also angry and anxious. After a long while, he shouted, "This is just nonsense!" He raised the golden whip in his hand, jumped past Reiza on his horse, and said, "Go to Naksu City and take a look!"
Liu Qingye saw Dan Ying's face turn pale after he was injured and lost blood, but now his face was flushed with anxiety. Although he knew in his heart that the people of the Lantern Festival left in such a hurry, there must be something important - most likely a plan to resist the Qing Dynasty. But this time, the change of mind at the last minute almost killed Dan Ying, him, and the five hundred warriors... He felt sick in his heart: What kind of chivalrous spirit is this?
