Qiu Jianhan was elated. "Marquis Yun has traveled thousands of miles to aid us. He has been a great help to us! This old man is grateful. "
Qiu Jianhan knew Marquis Yun's real identity well. Marquis Yun's arrival here was almost equivalent to His Majesty's arrival!
No matter what decision Qiu Jianhan made, as long as Marquis Yun was here, Marquis Yun would shoulder the responsibility even if there were any mistakes afterward.
The Royal Family would never have any suspicions.
It was not that the old marshal was overthinking, but it was a method of self-preservation when the need arose.
After all, the saying that a general would not obey the emperor's orders when he was away, that his merits would overshadow his master, and that the emperor and his subjects would be suspicious of him was the chief concern of a marshal.
Although Old Marshal Qiu was very sure that His Majesty would never suspect him, he still had to be wary of scoundrels in the imperial court!
If the war was lost, everything would be over; if the war was won, there would always be people who wanted to reap the fruits of their labor.
Regarding this, no matter how wise the ruler was or how prosperous the world was, there would never be a lack of such people!
It was at this time that the war drums on the opposite side suddenly thundered as a shrill horn tore through the sky at the same time.
The sudden sound was deafening, and the ground shook because of it!
"Dongxuan is attacking!"
Fu Baoguo was rather taken aback when he heard the news that was both reasonable and unexpected.
Facing such an impregnable fort, what right did the renowned marshal, Han Sanhe, have to launch an attack in broad daylight?
Was he out of his mind?
Or perhaps he had taken the wrong medicine?
No matter how confused he was, Han Sanhe's attack was already right before his eyes.
Fu Baoguo charged up to the top of the fort in a single breath and could not help sucking in a cold breath at what he saw.
Dongxuan's army was densely packed, carrying long ladders that were as dense as a forest as they charged over.
What made Fu Baoguo even more fearful was that he saw Dongxuan's Shadow Cavalry moving out in full force. They were like a black dragon that swam at high speed, shaking their heads and wagging their tails, ready to bite the enemy.
What puzzled Fu Baoguo, or rather, was that …
There were also quite a number of people carrying long logs and large boulders.
Were those not weapons used to defend the fort?
Also, what were those people running with half of the ladder doing?
Do we need these things to attack a city?
Han Sanhe's attack was not a joke, was it?
Han Sanhe's frontline troops pressed forward at the same time, pressing into the center of the battlefield. The two hundred thousand Shadow Cavalry that came this time were divided into two squads, their left and right flanks glaring at the battlefield like pincers.
"Follow the arrangement from the day before yesterday. All the archers in the army are to serve!"
Qiu Jianhan's voice came from behind.
The old marshal's voice was unusually somber. "We only need the archers to move for now. Han Sanhe's purpose this time isn't to attack the city!"
"Not here to attack the city?"
Fu Baoguo was even more bewildered when he heard this.
But in the next moment, he understood.
Reality told him the answer!
The Dongxuan soldiers who were gradually approaching the Fortress of Resilience, the first troop to enter the fort marched in a uniform manner. Each of them held a huge shield in one hand, covering their entire body from head to toe while the other carried a long ladder held by a few people as they sprinted over.
When this troop arrived at the edge of the Fortress of Resilience, their next step was to erect the ladder on the wall and turn to leave without a moment's hesitation.
Fu Baoguo was still bewildered by the reality before his eyes. What was going on? The ladder had been erected and they were already at the edge of the fort. Why were they not attacking?
Was this another form of cold feet?!
"Release the arrows!" As Qiu Jianhan ordered, tens of thousands of arrows were fired from the top of the fort.
The arrows were obviously aimed at the soldiers who were erecting the ladders, but the Dongxuan troops were already prepared for this. The shields in each of their hands were a few sizes bigger than usual, but the rain of arrows did not cause much damage. There were only a few unlucky fellows who were shot when they lowered the ladders and died under the fort.
As the number of rolling logs, boulders, and ladders increased, piling up high, the situation became more and more bizarre.
Observing from a close distance, Fu Baoguo realized that the ladders used by Dongxuan to attack the fort this time were not ladders, but long ladders. They were placed at the highest point, about ten feet and a half from the top of the fort. The people on the fort could not do anything to these ladders.
Although some of the smarter soldiers had already pulled out the flagpoles and guided them to the bottom of the city wall to pull down some of the long ladders, most of the long ladders were only a few feet long and stopped at the height of the middle of the city wall. Even the flagpoles could not reach them.
As the cycle continued, the items that Dongxuan's troops had piled up under the fort wall gradually grew thicker and thicker. At a glance, it looked like a gentle slope!
With another order from Qiu Jianhan, five thousand Yutang's Steel Cavalry charged out of the fort.
"No matter what, we can't let these things take root under the fort wall. Destroy them all!"
Seeing that Yutang's Steel Cavalry had moved out, the Shadow Cavalry on the other side had sent a troop out almost at the same time to intercept them.
When the enemies met again, both sides would naturally engage in a massacre.
Most of Dongxuan's troops were indifferent to the situation, as if they did not see it. They only cared about transporting the supplies to the bottom of the fort wall. Later on, even the straw and dried branches were left here.
"Are they … attacking with fire?" Fu Baoguo was dumbfounded. Would this work?
"Of course it's a fire attack … and this is only the first step of Han Sanhe's strategy …" Qiu Jianhan sighed deeply as he watched the brutal battle between the Shadow Cavalry and the Steel Cavalry below the fort worriedly.
"Han Sanhe is indeed a veteran of the battlefield. He has indeed thought of this."
"The most extreme situation is about to begin. I wonder if the Fortress of Resilience can really hold on for a month?"
…
A few moments later, Dongxuan's soldiers who had left all their belongings behind hurriedly retreated. While the battle between the Steel Cavalry and the Shadow Cavalry was still going on, a loud horn rang from Dongxuan's camp.
A shrill voice hollered, "Light the fire! Fire the arrows! "
With a loud boom, Dongxuan's archers were already prepared, lighting up the arrows that had been soaked in kerosene on the bowstring.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Countless fire arrows instantly covered the entire sky as they flew towards them.
Boom!
The base of the fort was ablaze with a towering fire.
The sudden heat wave burned Fu Baoguo's face, making him feel like he was at the edge of a sea of fire.
In spite of this, Fu Baoguo was still puzzled by Dongxuan's move and Han Sanhe's strategy. "What's the use of attacking with fire? We only need to retreat from the top of the fort to avoid such a huge fire, but Dongxuan can't possibly cross the wall of fire to attack! If they force it, they'll only burn themselves to death with the current fire! "
Qiu Jianhan sighed, "Baoguo, as a general, not only do you need to know your soldiers, the weather, the geography, and so on … there are many other things that you need to know as well."
Fu Baoguo's uneasiness grew exponentially. Had he really missed something important? "What? What don't I know? "
"Actually, setting fire is only Han Sanhe's first move. Dongxuan's army will continue to throw burning things under the fort's walls …"
Qiu Jianhan sighed, "The Fortress of Resilience is known as an impregnable fortress. Other than being impregnable, the weather and geography here are also the key to this fortress's invincibility. Whether it's a flood or fire attack, no attack will be effective! Now that there's a loophole, we can only use ice to solidify the fort. We have to do this. "
"When the water is poured down, it looks like the entire city has been melted into one, making it even more indestructible. However, at the same time, it has also created a considerable amount of hidden dangers. The water has frozen into ice, forming a thick layer of ice. At the same time, it has also filled up the gaps between the stones of the city walls … making these gaps even larger."
"When the ice melts in spring, the water will leave and return to the ground, but the fort's sturdiness will slowly fade as well. It might even be on the verge of collapse … "
"What Han Sanhe is doing is speeding up this process. If the fire can't be stopped, the moment the ice melts completely, it'll be the Fortress of Resilience's doomsday! By then, a single attack will be enough to collapse the flawed areas. Perhaps, more than one area will collapse as well! "
"Therefore, this strategy of freezing the fort is only a countermeasure to quench one's thirst with poison. Han Sanhe is still trying his best to hasten the poison's effect, accelerating it as much as he can …"
Qiu Jianhan said, "Do you understand now?"
Fu Baoguo was pale, no longer as calm and collected as he usually was. "This …"
"Extinguish the fire!"
Qiu Jianhan sighed.
The large amount of water that had been prepared beforehand and countless streams of white water gushed down the top of the wall and into the burning fire. Tens of thousands of people splashed water at the same time, and there were a few inexhaustible wells in the Fortress of Resilience. However, after a period of stalemate, the monstrous fire was quickly suppressed, leaving only black smoke billowing into the air.
At the top of the fort, the steam that rose from the clash of heat and cold almost shrouded the entire top of the fort.
As the temperature plummeted, the ice that had been melted by the fire began to solidify again.
Fu Baoguo looked over and said, scratching his head, "Yes, as long as we extinguish the fire, everything will return to normal."
Qiu Jianhan said faintly, "How can it return to normal? Look down there! You have me by your side now, how can you lose your usual composure? As a marshal, the most important thing is to remain unfazed even if the mountain collapses in front of you. "
Fu Baoguo looked down and saw the long ladders that had yet to be completely burnt, especially the rolling logs and rocks that were piled up under the fort. As far as his eyes could see, they had already risen to a certain height.
As the fire was extinguished, cold water was splashed down continuously. Other than the rising white smoke, some of the edges had already begun to freeze.
What a huge lump!
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
