In the heavy snow, the carriage drove through the noisy street.
The sound of running, shouting, and crying could be heard. This street led to the northern city wall. Another group of citizens volunteering to guard the city was led by a small group of soldiers to that side. On the street in the snow, women and children were crying. Their families had died on the city wall two days ago. There weren't many people like this yet. Mixed in the noise, people felt sorry for them, but they couldn't say anything except to comfort them.
Because more and more citizens were mobilized to the city wall, the huge Bianliang City was shrouded in such an atmosphere.
A few days ago, when Li Gang and Qin Siyuan mobilized the people to help defend the city, many people were willing to do so. However, when such a large-scale operation was carried out, they naturally faced all kinds of problems. Some disappeared, some claimed to be sick, and some were unwilling to go. Every time, the person in charge would be hysterical and irritable. When things really came to a head, the wives and children of the families might not really want their men to go to the city wall. As a result, all kinds of situations broke out.
Fortunately, this time, they were facing the vital interests of the citizens of Bianliang. Even if some people couldn't help, the number of citizens who were really mobilized was enough.
This time, the Jurchen people attacked the city on a large scale. There were more than fifty thousand soldiers, and about eighty thousand soldiers in charge of defending the city. When mobilized, the number of people who had gone to the city wall to help or were on standby everywhere had reached one hundred thousand. There were still tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people who could be mobilized at any time.
Such a huge organization made the whole city crazy and excited. Imperceptibly, it also stimulated the people's passion to defend the city. At least in the short few days, the patriotism in Bianliang City was unprecedented. But in terms of political achievements, any official who organized such a situation was worthy of praise for the rest of his life.
The nameless carriage passed through the still snowy city and entered the back door of Prince Tong Guan's mansion. On this side, some carriages and officials were already waiting in the courtyard. The young general alighted from the carriage and walked into the inner courtyard. Tong Guan was receiving a guest. The young general informed him and then went to report the situation at the top of the city wall. In reality, the new battle situation was almost the same. The battle was fierce and the city wall was in danger. "… The Female Enlightened Master has climbed up the city wall twice and was beaten back again. However, the B6 section of the city wall has been greatly damaged. I'm afraid that it will become the Female Enlightened Master's breakthrough point …"
At this moment, the five or six people in the room could all be considered high-ranking officials of the imperial court. They were either military generals or civil officials with military power. Tong Guan looked at the blueprint of the city wall and made some deductions. He frowned and asked about the situation inside the city. One of the officials asked, "… No one in the world is better than Your Highness in military affairs. What does Your Highness think about this war? Can we still defend Bianliang City? "
Another person said, "This time, the Venerable Lady seems to have steeled her heart. She must break through the city no matter what."
"Since they sent troops to attack a city, which time did they not want to destroy it?" Tong Guan looked at the blueprint of the city wall and frowned. He was burly and had a natural imposing manner. "And the attack and defense of a city can change in an instant. The Female Enlightened Master has steeled her heart, but aren't we steeled to defend the city? In this dangerous situation, we can only work together and not have any foolish thoughts. You all go back and quickly send out your family guards. Don't delay any longer! "
The Female Enlightened Master began to get serious. In order to defend the city, in just a few days, Li Gang had even mobilized the military forces defending the Imperial City several times. He had also asked the residents to help, but there were naturally differences. The ordinary people could only help carry bricks, boil water, and deliver supplies. Some martial arts masters of the escort agencies, guards of the rich families, and chivalrous people who wielded swords and spears could really go up to the top of the city wall and fight. Many officials in the city were naturally mobilized, asking them to send their family guards and guards to the top of the city wall. For such matters, some people readily agreed, while others found their own backers and sought their opinions.
However, at least at this time, the high-ranking officials in the city, whether they were on good terms with the Left and Right Prime Ministers or not, did not dare to oppose this matter casually. Tong Guan, Cai Jing, Gao Qiu, and others even sent out their family guards first. Although it was only a part of them, it meant that they also hoped the city wall could be defended.
Of course, in addition to sending out family guards to help defend the city, there were many other things they secretly operated to prevent the city wall from really being destroyed.
After this group of officials was temporarily sent away, Tong Guan frowned and looked at the blueprint again. He pointed at a few points in his hand and asked the trusted family guard next to him, "What do you think of the defense situation?"
The trusted guard was silent for a moment and looked at Tong Guan, "The Female Enlightened Master is determined to fight, and the city … may be broken at any time. But as Your Highness said, the two Prime Ministers are equally determined, so … "
"The attack and defense of a city, in terms of details, is often inconclusive. It is a test of the speed at which both sides make mistakes and make up for them." Tong Guan touched the map and said word by word, "The battle in front of us has been in a dangerous situation since three days ago. The Female Enlightened Master wants to find our mistakes in the attack. Every time they go up the city, they find their mistakes. The afternoon of the twenty-second day was the most dangerous, but Li Gang and Zhong Shidao are extremely determined to make up for the mistakes with human lives before the Female Enlightened Master could make up for the mistakes. After that, they went up the city several times, and it was always the same. If not for our determination to fight, no matter which time, the city may be broken and people die. The Female Enlightened Master captured Shangjing in half a day because of such a mistake. Often, only a few dozen people went up the city wall, and the defending side's willpower was weak. If they were slow to make up, the whole city would be destroyed. "
At present, Tong Guan was the person with the highest status in the military of the Wu dynasty. In the eyes of many people, he was also the person who was the best at fighting. His teaching couldn't be bought with money in the outside world. The trusted guard listened carefully.
Tong Guan paused, "However, to be forced to make such mistakes repeatedly, it also shows that our defense situation is already on the line of being broken at any time. Li Gang and Zhong Shidao can make up for it a hundred times. If they are slow once, Bianliang will no longer be lucky. In such a situation, it is impossible to speculate on the details. Therefore, when they asked if the city could be defended, I also couldn't answer. "
Speaking to this point, he sat on the chair and was silent for a while. "The Right Minister is amazing … If not for the Blackwater Alliance suppressing Qin Siyuan for several years, I'm afraid our dynasty's war situation wouldn't be so embarrassing. In these three days, he continuously sent people up the city wall, so that the northern part of the city has sufficient supplies at all times. This is the real reason why these mistakes can be made up in time. If not for him steering the ship, even if these people were to move, they wouldn't know where to go. People died or were seriously injured, and they couldn't retreat in time. Instead, they took up positions on the city wall. In this way, I'm afraid the city would have been broken long ago. Even if Li Gang and Zhong Shidao want to move, they can't cook without rice … "
"Right Minister …" The confidant said, "His reputation among the people isn't as grand as Li Gang and Zhong Shidao …"
"He is a practical person. He has the reputation of talent, but it is difficult to have a clean reputation." Tong Guan glanced at him, "Moreover, after the Blackwater Alliance, he was vacant for several years, bearing the infamy. After his recovery, he encountered various things in the Northern Expedition. He was tired because of this. If he wanted to do something practical, sometimes he had to take an unconventional approach. The officials see him as a cruel official, and the people are ignorant people, what do they know. Alas, a few years ago, if he concentrated on his official career and didn't touch the mess of the Blackwater Alliance, today in the court, the one who can stand up to Grand Tutor Cai, would be him. "
He waved his hand on the map, and sighed, "If it was really so, my Northern Expedition would be much smoother, and I wouldn't be in such a difficult situation now …"
Such a sigh naturally had the suspicion of hindsight, and it was not within the scope of the confidant to interrupt. After a while, Tong Guan gave some orders, and sent him to the top of the city wall to keep an eye on the situation.
As Tong Guan said, it was impossible to judge the details of the battle on the city wall, but from the overall situation, the Female Zhenren's battle record was well-known in the world. They could defend for a while, but not forever. This was the understanding of most of the officials in the city who knew the inside story. In the imperial city, Zhou Zhe, who was slightly slow to realize, had already moved at this time.
His slow realization was not because he was slow, but purely because of Li Gang, Qin Siyuan, Tang Ke, and even Tong Guan, Cai Jing, and the others. Previously, the Empress ran out of the palace in advance, and he chased after her, but was forced to stay by the officials of the court. After returning, he was not in charge of the affairs anymore, "If you want to take the mess in front of me, then take it. I want to see what you can do!"
With this mentality, he hid in the palace and gave up. Every day, he flirted with at least two concubines, and after doing it, he scolded them away. When the Female Zhenren attacked, he even thought, "Let's see if you can stop them!"
Of course, this was just a fit of pique. He was an adult, and he still hoped to defeat the Female Zhenren. But with this thought, he could ignore the troubles of those ordinary people. However, when the battle went on for two or three days, he could not help but start to pay attention, and then he finally knew the situation.
Zhou Zhe was not a military general, and did not know much about the war. He could not be like Tong Guan, who knew that the war was on a tightened steel rope just from the news from the city wall. But no matter what, with Zhou Zhe's intelligence and the fact that he had a few advisors by his side, he knew after three days that the three old things had done their best. Once the city was breached, he would have to consider touring the south.
So he began to act. He did not care about the city wall, and even if he wanted to, he could not do anything at this time — he still had this much self-awareness. He quietly extended his tentacles and placed his focus on the road out of the city. In the end, he made a small number of deployments and arranged for the road from the Imperial City to the southern city gate to be filled with generals that he could command with ease. During this period of time, many forces in the capital knew what was good for them and helped out. For example, Cai Jing, Tong Guan, Wang Ci, Liang Shicheng, Gao Qiu … and so on. And Li Gang, Qin Siyuan, Qin Hui, Tang Ke, Geng Nanzhong, and other officials who could help, also did their best to give the green light, and prepared a few escape routes — only then did Zhou Zhe feel relieved.
However, as the Emperor, he had actually fallen into such a situation, with all kinds of evil people running amok around him, making him the Emperor feel helpless. Now, he had thrown away so much of his power, and also had to consider his escape route. These people looked obedient, but in fact, they were probably laughing at him, the Emperor. Every time he thought of this, he felt more and more annoyed. Just like this, he casually smashed a few priceless treasures.
Leaving the range of the imperial palace, in the wind and snow, the Right Minister's residence and the subordinate departments in charge of organizing the operation of more than 100,000 people had an astonishingly large workload. From Qin Siyuan, to the subordinate departments of the Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of Works, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of War, they coordinated, operated, and connected with each other. From the first-rank high officials to the lowest level of officials and yamen laborers, they issued orders layer by layer, arranged, and deployed. At every moment, hundreds and thousands of officials rushed to and fro in the city. The low-level officials deployed the personnel, the middle-level officials were responsible for screening, the Ministry of Works and Ministry of Revenue prepared a large number of logistical materials, the Ministry of War reported back every news about the battle on the city wall, and the group of advisors had to calculate based on this information, and then transfer groups of people to suitable places, waiting to be used.
The real war was supported by the operation of these thousands of trivial matters. When there was a gap in the fierce battle on the city wall, and Li Gang, Zhong Shidao, and the others quickly led people to fill it up, what really determined the overall situation, besides the fighting spirit in the city, also included whether there were enough suitable people at hand to fill up the gap.
From the mixed masses, they selected people who could fight, and people who could be craftsmen and transporters, and quickly arranged them to the places where there was a gap. When there was a large number of casualties in each group of troops on the city wall, they reacted sharply, and put in available fresh troops. Then they went back to the city to carry out a large number of propaganda, to encourage everyone, to ensure that everyone had food and drink, and so on and so forth, these were all difficult problems for the logistics center.
Qin Siyuan, who was in charge of the center of the Ministry of War, had not slept for two days and two nights.
In the entire hall, including the courtyard outside the hall, which had been covered by a shed, countless voices rang out. Officials and scouts rushed in and out. Some things could be judged on the spot by the officials below, and many things were quickly transmitted to Qin Siyuan. Then, the high-level advisors used a huge sand table to simulate the situation on the battlefield not far away, and then made the decision of deployment.
Under Qin Siyuan's command, all the organization's operational ability had been exerted to the extreme, and Ning Yi also played a role in this. After staying in the center of the Prime Minister's Manor for so many years, his highly efficient way of handling things and his understanding had been learned by other advisors in the Prime Minister's Manor. They were all the most outstanding people in this era, and imperceptibly, they could be used in many things. In many details, the operation of the Prime Minister's Manor had been modernized and optimized by Ning Yi.
Originally, this outstanding ability had been prepared for the northern expedition, but unexpectedly, at the most critical moment, it was used to defend the capital. While he was busy responding to the messages, Yao Zunian and the others would occasionally come over to persuade him to take a rest, but he waved his hand and refused. It was as if he was burning his life. At this time, the old man did not feel tired.
This was not an ominous sign. Although he had been dealing with a lot of things for a long time, Qin Siyuan also had extremely high attainments in health, cultivation, and other aspects. In a sense, knowledge and the strength of the spirit promoted the integration of the body. In the past few years, the greatest impact on him was probably the reversal of the situation when Zhang Jue was killed. But now that he was mentally prepared, he could still endure this kind of overdraft.
Moreover, he was extremely clear-headed in every order.
In the current situation, both sides seemed to be overdrafting their strength and overdrafting each other's lives. It was just that the Female Zhenren was like a young person with unlimited potential, while the Wu dynasty was already old. Even though Qin Siyuan was doing his best to deal with every matter, what he felt was almost endless pressure. In a situation where one wrong step would lead to disaster, the only choice was to continue moving forward. Moreover, there was not much hope.
Among the endless messages, there was finally one that was of a different nature. It was like a boost of morale, and he did not need to worry about it. This message was extremely confidential. It was brought over by Yao Zunian, and it was a letter written entirely in ciphertext.
Only Qin Siyuan himself had the method and qualifications to decipher this ciphertext, but Yao Zunian knew the source of the message. It came from Ning Yi and the others outside the city.
Qin Siyuan quickly finished deciphering it. After a moment of silence, he informed Yao Zunian of the news.
"… More than four thousand people … taking the initiative to attack?" Yao Zunian inquired with his eyes. Several important messages had already been sent over.
"Seal it." Qin Siyuan tapped on the secret letter, and then began to read the other messages.
Yao Zunian put away the letter. A moment later, he said in a low voice, "Even if the soldiers are fierce and the battle dangerous, this is the same as sending them to their deaths. Should we tell them not to act rashly and gather the rest of the troops to attack again?"
In the more than two months of fighting outside the city, the strength of the Female Zhenren had already been clearly displayed. Right now, they were attacking Bianliang by force, and it was indeed very dangerous. But for more than four thousand people to attack at this time, no matter what, it was like a desperate move. And with the addition of Qin Shaoqian, it was even more like they were sacrificing themselves for the country.
In a sense, although there were more than three hundred thousand people outside the city that had been scattered and fled in all directions, if they could all be gathered together to attack Zong Wang's siege troops, the siege of Bianliang could still be resolved. But, although it was easy to say, it really could not be done.
The new message stopped in Qin Siyuan's hand. The old man tightly pursed his lips, then shook his head. "Burning the boats, soldiers with indignation will definitely win … If they cannot win, this is their own choice, and it is the will of the heavens … Right now, we can only defend Bianliang with our lives, there is no need to think about other things."
His gaze was resolute, and then he put his thoughts on the matters in the city. It was difficult to know the old man's current thoughts from his gaze. However, one could tell that his eldest son was trapped in Taiyuan Gu City at this moment, his life or death unknown. As for his second son, he was somewhere outside the city, braving the wind and snow that filled the sky and stepping onto the path of death …
Leaving the great hall of the Ministry of War, in the white city, the messengers and messengers stretched all the way to the huge wall to the north. Countless people and soldiers were all running towards the wall, and above the wall, the continuous fighting had almost dyed every inch of the wall red with blood.
On the west side of the wall near the war-ravaged New Sour Jujube Gate, on the top of the wall marked B6, a section of the parapet wall had already been smashed by flying boulders. The Jurchen soldiers were charging towards this gap. On the snowy plains below, the arrows of the Jurchen cavalry covered both ends of the gap. On both sides of the wall, a large number of Wu dynasty soldiers armed with sabers, shields, and spears charged towards the gap under the threat of a rain of arrows. The soldiers at the very front pushed a saber cart, shouting hysterically as they advanced. Occasionally, the rain of arrows would shoot people to the ground, and the people behind them would follow. On the other side, the Jurchen soldiers had already formed a forest of spears, the soldiers at the very front pushing two large iron shields as they charged towards this side.
Further behind the wall, the soldiers of the Divine Bow Battalion were doing their best to shoot arrows at the Jurchen cavalry below, trying to suppress the Jurchen cavalry's charge. However, even though soldiers would fall from their horses from time to time, the Jurchen cavalry still did not leave that area, still maintaining a high-intensity arrow barrage on the top of the wall.
Behind the wall, Tang Yao had already been shooting down the wall for a long time. He had already confirmed that he had hit three Jurchen in the cavalry. He was one of the most outstanding archers in the Divine Bow Battalion, but when he shouted and shot another arrow down the wall, an arrow stabbed into his shoulder.
He clenched his teeth and crouched back behind the wall. His forehead was covered in sweat due to weakness and pain, and his hands were trembling like crazy. All of this was not because of the arrow that stabbed into his shoulder — it was because his hands, especially his five fingers, were already lacerated and covered in blood. Four of his fingers were wrapped in cloth, but they were still soaked in blood. The unwrapped middle finger was bleeding profusely, and the bone was almost visible.
"Ah …" He screamed, and then he screamed again. His teeth couldn't help but chatter, and his fingers couldn't stop trembling.
For an archer, the bowstring would injure their fingers. Even though there were many ways to protect themselves, after running on the wall for several days and constantly shooting arrows, each of his fingers was already filled with shocking wounds. However, he couldn't wear thick gloves, because if he did, he wouldn't be able to feel the bowstring.
As a soldier of the Divine Bow Battalion, in this kind of extreme distance shooting, he couldn't just shoot arrows. If that was the case, his value would be no different from that of an ordinary soldier.
Beside him, more soldiers were rushing up the stairs from the inside to provide support. One of them was obviously an ordinary militia. He was a fat man holding a spear, and no one knew why he had mixed into this group. At this moment, his body was bent over, and he was sweating profusely while holding the spear. He looked at Tang Yao with an expression as if he was about to cry — looking at the arrow in Tang Yao's shoulder.
The two of them looked at each other. Tang Yao was in an extremely sorry state. Not only were his hands and shoulders covered in blood, but his body was also covered in spots of blood. His hair was disheveled, and when he opened his mouth, his teeth were filled with blood. What was even more shocking were the corpses that hadn't been cleaned up yet. When the fat man saw this, his expression became even more mournful. Tang Yao took two deep breaths. Suddenly, he let out another "Ah!" shout. He pulled out the arrow from his shoulder, stood up, turned around, and drew the longbow with a "Hua" sound. The arrow whizzed out.
He stood there with his eyes wide open. When he was sure that the arrow had hit someone, he turned around and squatted down. Looking at the fat man, he revealed a terrifying and sinister smile and shook his badly mutilated finger. "One," he said hoarsely.
The fat man still had a mournful expression on his face, but then, holding the spear, he screamed "Ah!" and charged toward the gap in the wall where the soldiers were rushing to provide support.
"Haha …"
The arrow had a barb. When he pulled it out with force, the blood vessels in his shoulder ruptured, and blood gushed out. Tang Yao rubbed his shoulder and laughed as he watched the fat man charge over. Then, he sat down on the parapet wall and watched the fat man charge further and further away. He laughed strangely and couldn't stop. "Hahahaha … Hahahahaha …" When the fat man's figure disappeared into the crowd in front of him, tears flowed out of his eyes amidst his laughter.
The wind and snow howled. On the inside of the wall, countless figures surged up the wall like ants …
Outside the wall, in the Jurchen camp. For Wanyan Zongwang, it was beyond his expectations that the cowardly Wu dynasty could still hold on under such a tragic siege. He had already lost his temper several times. At this time, he was standing on the high platform in the camp, looking at the small gap on the city wall from afar. Watching the fierce battle, he kept giving out orders, and then, he kept giving out more orders …
Over the mountains and over the ridges. The cavalry and infantry walked together in the snow. The wind and snow maintained the intensity of the snow. It wasn't light, but it wasn't very strong either. It wasn't a problem for them to fight.
This army of about 4,000 people had a clear goal. Everyone was even ready for battle. They quickly approached Mou Tuo Mound, but the direction they chose was Bianliang City.
"Where are they from?" Wanyan Zhamu, who was in charge of logistics, and Shu Liesu, the general in charge of guarding the camp at Mou Tuo Mound, were quite surprised to hear that an army had appeared and taken the initiative to attack.
"I'm not sure. They seem a little different from the previous Wu dynasty army. They look … a little scattered, but they're coming fast."
"4,000 people, half on foot and half on cavalry?"
"Yes."
"Looks like it's a volunteer army put together by some rich family … Wishful thinking …"
In the past few months outside Bianliang City, in addition to the regular army of the Wu dynasty, there were also a few volunteer armies that came to fight against the Female Zhenren. Generally speaking, they were smaller in scale, but most of them were hot-blooded youths. When the Female Zhenren attacked, the volunteer armies of the Wu dynasty rose up in various places, saying that they were absolutely irreconcilable with the Female Zhenren. In terms of numbers, there were 600,000 to 700,000 people. In the future, it might give people the illusion that the court was full of loyal martyrs, but in fact, there weren't many who dared to fight without fear of death.
Moreover, if it was the regular army of the Wu dynasty, the 2,000 cavalry would either not be accompanied by infantry, or at least 20,000 people. The 4,000 people charging at this time were neither fish nor fowl. It could only be said that they were a part of these hot-blooded youths.
For Shu Liesu, the logistics line from Mou Tuo Mound to Bianliang City had to be kept intact. He wasn't an arrogant and reckless person, but he didn't think too highly of the 4,000 people in front of him.
"Order Hu Zongxiu to lead 2,000 cavalry to attack. Pu Lu, lead 2,000 infantry to support them. Expand the search area. If it's confirmed that there are only 4,000 people and no reinforcements, do your best to scatter them and seize the horses. In addition, strengthen the defense of the camp. Those patrolling around, keep your eyes peeled. Don't let the Wu dynasty take advantage of us! " Shu Liesu gave the order and then added, "Also, after scattering them, don't leave any survivors. Stick their heads on wood!"
At this time, there were a total of 12,000 people in the Mou Tuo Mound camp. Among them, there were 2,500 cavalry, 6,000 infantry, and the rest were craftsmen in charge of logistics. Of course, there were also thousands of Han people who had been captured and locked up for entertainment. There were women and men who had been used as slaves.
The enemy had come with 4,000 people, and his side had also sent out 4,000 people. This was already like a lion hunting a rabbit. On the one hand, he wanted to scatter these people here with all his might and fiercely intimidate the Wu dynasty army that had other ideas. On the other hand, Zong Wang had sent out all his troops, leaving him with only 2,000 elite cavalry. The rest of his forces were much weaker. If he could seize 2,000 horses, his side would be much more powerful.
The cavalry rode out in the snow. Not long after, they saw the enemy in front of them. The Jurchen general, Hu Zongxiu, was a fierce general. He led the brothers behind him and charged at the same cavalry formation in front of him.
The hooves thundered and the wind and snow swept up! In this era, even the mountains had to give way to the Jurchen's charge. The reason why Hu Zongxiu didn't use the horse archery tactic was because he was afraid that the enemy would collapse and flee. If that happened, the enemy infantry would be completely wiped out, but if the cavalry chased after them on the snowy ground, he probably wouldn't be able to capture the enemy's horses.
He hoped that the enemy was a hothead and wouldn't be frightened by his charge.
Sure enough, the enemy wasn't frightened and charged at him as well.
This made Hu Zongxiu, who was charging, very unhappy.
Damn it, they actually dared to resist!
"Everyone, there's no need to think about running or what will happen if we can't win. If we can't even beat the Jurchen before us, then everything else will be for naught. So this time, either we win, or we all die here! "
The cavalry under his command was led by Qin Shaoqian, while the infantry general was Ning Yi. He stood his ground against the objections of the masses and handed it over to Yue Fei. His declaration of attack wasn't very impassioned. After a simple shot in the snow, he charged out.
In the heavy snow, the accuracy of his shots wasn't very high. Within an arrow's throw of distance, the charge arrived in an instant.
With a loud rumble, the charging cavalrymen clashed together like waves in the sea. There were no more than a hundred cavalrymen at the front, but they had the greatest momentum. Their long weapons clashed together, and sparks flew in the wind and snow.
"Ah —" Hu Zongxiu took the lead and slashed at the cavalry in front of him. Most of them were wearing ragged cloaks and didn't run very fast.
The ferocious light of the saber made a loud "Hua —" sound, and the rebounding force came. Although the cavalry tried to block it, he was still hit by the saber. His cloak opened, and the eyes behind the iron helmet stared at him. He raised the heavy saber in the wind and snow, and slashed out with a "Ah" sound —
In the first round of clashes on the battlefield, vicious chopping sounds rang out crazily. Warhorses fell, figures fell. Under the tremendous momentum, there were also armored warhorses that staggered and fell to the ground. Thick, warm blood surged and flowed unbridledly on the snowy ground.
More people and horses came crashing into them in the wind and snow …
*****
Bianliang, in the wounded barracks.
Shishi felt a little dizzy.
The horrifying sight of the wounded were sent in in waves, and the corpses were pulled out — because there was no place to lie.
She had endured in the shocking smell of blood for a long time. The wounded barracks was not far from the city wall, and she could occasionally see the tragic scene on the city wall. For her, it was an indescribable scene. She felt that she had more or less adapted to the blood, and even to the broken limbs, but she still felt like vomiting, but she couldn't vomit.
She hadn't eaten for a day. There was no time to stop, and even if she stopped, she couldn't eat. At one time, the young general named Hou Jing ran over — one of his ears was chopped off. Li Shishi didn't know how painful it was, but he came to her to bandage it with a smile on his face, as if he was very excited — he was finally injured.
But Shishi knew that he was also forcing himself to smile.
His brother-in-law — He Lei 'er's lover, Xue Changgong, had been promoted, and he was also promoted, which was a good thing. However, not long after the bandage, Hou Jing went to the city wall again. During this period, Su Wenfang of the Su family came to her once. Su Wenfang was running around in the city for the Prime Minister's Mansion, mainly to find the big families that Takeshi was familiar with, and begged them to send servants to help defend the city. When he arrived at Fanlou, Mama Lee dragged him to find her.
Shishi asked about Ning Yi.
She had guessed what happened to Ning Yi countless times before, and this time Su Wenfang brought her good news. Ning Yi was fine, but Su Wenfang refused to say what Ning Yi was doing at the moment, and only revealed some things to her at the end.
"Brother-in-law was fighting the enemy outside the city, and was seriously injured some time ago, but now he has recovered. You don't have to worry about him … Brother-in-law did not do less on the battlefield outside the city than you and I did."
"I knew it …"
At that time, Shishi said this, but when she saw the tragic scene above and below the city wall, it was hard for her to imagine: Did he join such a tragic battle outside the city?
Inside and outside the city wall, the sound of the fierce battle that could almost tear people's hearts had continued for the past few days, and could be heard in the wounded soldiers' camp. However, she did not know when the sound seemed to have become a little softer, but she did not know whether it was an illusion, because in the wounded soldiers' camp, more and more people were being carried in. She was brewing medicine, and when she brought a bowl of medicine to someone, someone called her, "Miss Li, Miss Li." She looked up, and it was Hou Jing. He ran over, "Female Zhenren has temporarily retreated, she was beaten back."
Shishi was still walking forward, and at this time, listening to what the people around her were saying, it seemed to be the same thing. She was about to laugh, but her legs suddenly softened, and she suddenly fell down. The medicine bowl was broken, and the hot medicine fell on her hand. It gradually spread to the wounded soldier next to her, who avoided it, "Be careful!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry …" Shishi said repeatedly, but Hou Jing had already run over, "Miss Li, you …" He wanted to help her, but he did not dare to do it. Shishi struggled for a moment before climbing up, and she was still apologizing. Hou Jing said anxiously, "Miss Li, how long have you not slept? You haven't eaten anything, right? I, I have steamed buns here, but it's cold. You take a rest, I'll get you something hot … "
"I'm not tired, I'm not tired." Shishi shook her head, "You just said that Female Zhenren retreated? Really? I still have things to do … "
"Female Zhenren retreated, really, temporarily retreated, you should rest." Hou Jing saw Shishi turned around to leave, and suddenly reached out to pull her sleeve, then turned back and said loudly, "Everyone! Everyone! The one taking care of you is Miss Shishi from Fanlou! Li Shishi, Miss Li, she has been helping out in the casualty barracks for the past few days. She hasn't rested for a day or two, and she hasn't even eaten! Everyone, say it! Shouldn't she be allowed to rest! "
His voice was quite loud, and everyone was stunned, then someone said, "Li Shishi, Miss Li? Miss Shishi from Fanlou? "
"Yes, yes." Hou Jing said. Shishi, who was beside him, was a little flustered.
"I … I said she looks familiar."
"Yes, yes, I've seen her before, I think she's … Miss Shishi …"
"Miss Shishi actually came to take care of me?"
"I saw her here, and she hasn't rested for a whole day. Is she Miss Shishi?"
All sorts of discussions instantly erupted in the surroundings. In these years, there weren't many people who could see Li Shishi, but most people knew her name. Even though she had been working hard for the past few days, and her body was covered in blood, and her hair was a little messy, but if one looked carefully, that beautiful and delicate face of hers was still very attractive. Even some of the soldiers who had lost their limbs subconsciously looked over at this side and asked questions.
After a while, someone shouted, "Miss Shishi, you should go and rest."
"Miss Shishi, how can you come to this place …"
"Go and rest, we're happy that you came to see us, you don't have to do these things. Look, even Lady Zhenren was beaten back, I think I can still kill a few more — "
Everyone was excited, but some were joking, and some were touched. Shishi looked at these people, some with broken limbs, and some who were so weak that they looked like they were about to die, and her tears were already flowing uncontrollably. She reached out to wipe her tears, and after crying for a while, she nodded, "I, I'll go and eat something first. Thank you, everyone, it's really hard work, I, I don't know how to hold a sword, and I can't go to the battlefield …"
"Holding a sword is our business!"
"… Miss Shishi, just wait and see, when I can get up, I'll immediately go up and kill a few golden dogs for you."
"… Count it on Miss Shishi!"
Hou Jing nodded desperately, and protected Shishi as she left. He said, "I'll help you get a hot bun, there must be some now."
Shishi shook her head, "Cold is fine, give it to me."
So Hou Jing took out a bun wrapped in a silk cloth from his arms. This bun was crudely made, after all, it was cold now, and looked like a stone. Hou Jing was a little embarrassed, but Shishi took it and nibbled on it. They walked out of the camp, the wind and snow had not stopped, and the towering city walls were still tall, but the battle cries had stopped. In the surrounding open space, there were groups of hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of people resting. There were all kinds of resources placed around them. People were injured and covered in blood. Corpses were being carried down and transported out. The people who carried the corpses were lined up in rows.
Before this, Shishi had never felt so peaceful around her, and she had never felt that this peace was so precious.
*****
The lines of blood spread forward, and as the evening approached, the sky began to dim. The tragic traces of the battle extended all the way to Camel Mou Hill, pushing forward.
Behind Camel Mou Hill, across the frozen lake, a team of more than a hundred people passed through the mountains, stopped at the edge of the forest and the lake, and hid themselves.
In the distance, Hai Dongqing flew in the sky in the wind and snow.
These more than a hundred people were all dressed in white, and the close-fitting white clothes looked like fishermen's diving suits. They were as tightly sealed as possible, for one, to keep warm, and two, to be waterproof.
The woman leading them was Lu Liangshan's "Blood Bodhisattva", Lu Hongti.
At this moment, more than a hundred people were just quietly waiting at the edge of the forest.
In the wind and snow, evening was coming, and the thin sky was about to dim …
…
Bianliang.
In a small house near the camp, Shishi fell into a deep sleep.
She was awakened by a frightful uproar.
She pushed open the door and walked out. The last rays of the sky were fading in the wind and snow, and bonfires had been lit in the city. In front of her, countless figures were running.
She was still a little confused. She had seen this kind of running before. However, when the figures fighting spread over, she could vaguely understand what was happening in her stiff emotions.
"Wahhhhhh —"
Two groups of people were fighting not far in front of her. A tall, burly man of a different race with two sabers in his hands roared crazily and led several of his companions to fight the soldiers who were charging over.
Blood splattered.
Several soldiers of the Wu dynasty were killed on the ground. As the flames flickered, the other side saw that there were people here, and they came over …
On the distant city wall, the sound of fighting was boiling, as if the entire city was tumbling.
The Perfected Woman … had broken into the city …
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