There was a narrow ramp in front of the Sword Garret with mountain streams on both sides. After going down the ramp, the road leading to the southwest was not wide. After a while, there was even a narrow plank road cut into the mountain wall.
When the Jin soldiers retreated, they had destroyed the plank road. But on the afternoon of the 16th of April, the flag with the lone star on the black bottom passed through the destroyed road and appeared at the bottom of the slope in front of the sword garret. The Huaxia military team, who were good at civil engineering, had a set of accurate and efficient standard equipment. It took them less than half a day to repair the mountain plank road that was not completely destroyed.
The Huaxia troops assembled outside the range of the cannons. Because the road was not wide, there were not many troops that appeared in their field of vision. The slopes and mountain roads in front of the Sword Garret Pass were piled with heavy supplies that the Jin soldiers could not take away. Smashed chariots, wooden frames, felled trees, broken sabers and spears, and even iron spikes and wooden spikes that were used as traps. The road ahead was blocked like a small hill.
The Jin soldiers were looking over from the city wall in front of them. Hot air balloons were tied to ropes and floated in the sky on both sides of the Sword Garret, monitoring the movements of the Huaxia troops. The weather was clear and sunny, but everyone could feel a pale, anxious aura gathering in the air.
"Heaven is on our side." Qu Zhengyan arrived at the frontline at the first moment and then gave the order, "Burn these things for me."
The arrows were lit on fire and shot towards the large number of supplies piled up in the mountains and on the road. A moment later, the flames were ignited. After a while, there was another shocking explosion. The barrels of explosives buried under the supplies were ignited.
The fire burned and black smoke rose into the sky. Some of it even floated towards the Sword Garret. Thousands of Huaxia troops lined up in the mountains, more than two miles long, occupying almost every place that could accommodate people. The engineering team made wooden planks according to the order. The boxes containing the rockets and launchers were carried to the frontline and chosen. Qu Zhengyan summoned the scouts to search and patrol the surrounding rugged mountains.
"If you find any Jin soldiers lying in ambush, try not to alert them."
The gates of the Sword Garret had been sealed and the mountain path ahead was blocked. Even the plank road had been destroyed. The Jin soldiers who remained in the southwest mountains would never be able to return if they could not defeat the Hua Xia army. But according to his observation and judgment of Ba Lisu in the past, this Jurchen general was very good at sudden ambushes in the midst of long and monotonous fierce attacks. Last year, Huangming County's defenses had fallen because of this.
The boring two-month-long attack had put the Second Division under a lot of pressure, and it had also created a fixed mindset. Only then did they lay enough bait to break through the defense of Huang Ming County and cover up the victory of the Huaxia army at Yu Yu River. At this moment, thousands of people were blocking the mountain path outside the Sword Garret. Qu Zhengyan was not willing to give this "impossible" a chance to be realized.
Qiu Yunsheng, the commander of the First Regiment of the Second Brigade of the Fourth Division, was assigned the task of preventing small groups of elite enemies from ambushing them from the side of the mountain, while Mao Yishan was assigned the task of attacking the Sword Pavilion in the first round.
In front of them was a raging fire. Using ropes, everyone climbed up the nearby mountain wall. Qu Zhengyan led Mao Yishan to look at the fire in front of them.
"The Sword Gate is a dangerous place. Its outer layer is this city tower. If we want to break through the city tower, we have to fight all the way to the main peak. In ancient times, it would be difficult to gain an advantage even with ten times the number of soldiers — no one has ever gained an advantage. Today, the number of soldiers on both sides is about the same, but we have rocket launchers. Previously, we took out all our belongings and took a few from the other troops that we didn't have time to use. Currently, we have seventy-one rockets. After we use up these seventy-one rockets, we have to kill Ba Lisu … "
While everyone was looking at the Sword Garret from the top of the mountain, the Jurchen general wearing armor and a white scarf was also looking over. The two sides were looking at each other through the fire and smoke. On one side was the Jurchen general who had dominated the world for decades. After the death of his elder brother, he had been burning his bridges, and his soldiers were greatly encouraged by this. On the other side was the Black Flag Iron Army, which was full of vigor and determination. Qu Zhengyan and Mao Yishan fixed their eyes on the general on the other side of the fire. More than ten years ago, this Jurchen general was a legend in the world. Now, everyone was standing in the same position and thinking about how to defeat the other side.
"The city tower of the Sword Garret is not too troublesome. Now the fire in front of us is not over yet. When it is almost over, we will start to blow up the city tower. The top of the tower is made of wood and can be set on fire. The fire will be very big. You take the opportunity to move forward. I will arrange people to blow up the city gate. However, I guess the inside has been blocked … But in general, the problem of charging to the foot of the city can be solved. When the fire on the top of the city tower dies down a little, you can go up the city. Whether you can stand firm in front of Ba Lisu or not is the key to this battle."
Mao Yishan looked over there and said, "If you want to take the initiative, you have to go up the city in the fire."
Part of the explosive of the rocket was picric acid. It could ignite a raging fire on the top of the city tower and make it impossible for people to set foot on the city tower for a period of time. However, as the fire died down, whoever could enter the fire first would gain the upper hand. Qu Zhengyan nodded. "It is not easy. I have already sent people to fetch water. Before we attack, let's wet our clothes first."
"It is good enough that we can go up to the top of the city tower directly."
Mao Yishan stood there and grinned. It had been more than ten years since he left the Xia Village. His smile was still simple and honest, but at this moment, there was a great power in it. This power was enough to face Ba Lisu head-on.
After discussing the details for a while, Mao Yishan went down to draw lots to decide the members of the first team. He also participated in the drawing. After that, people were mobilized. The wooden planks prepared by the engineering team were moved forward and the rocket launcher was set up.
Inside Swords Gate Pass, Ba Lisu was also mobilizing his men, waiting for the arrival of the first round of attack.
It was close to dusk. The scouts who went to the nearby mountains still did not find any traces of enemy activity. However, it was not easy to confirm this matter because of the rugged terrain. Qu Zhengyan did not let his guard down. He still asked Qiu Yunsheng to prepare the defense as much as possible.
The sunset was burning in the sky, and then darkness swallowed the horizon. The fire in front of Swords Gate Pass was still burning. Swords Gate Pass was silent. The soldiers of the Hua Xia Army sat against the mountain walls to rest. Occasionally, there was the sound of whetstones sharpening blades. Some people whispered, talking about their children and trivial feelings.
"After the war, they should grow up …"
"My dog, five years old this year …"
"I've seen him before. He looks like a tiger, not like you …"
"I'm disfigured, and I starved a few years ago …"
"I want to eat the pie from He Deng Chen's shop …"
"I want to chop off Ba Lisu's head and kick it like a ball …"
"Haha …"
The fire burned along with the night wind, making a whimpering sound. In the early hours of the morning, dozens of figures in the depths of the mountains began to move. They silently moved toward the valley with the faint fire. They were the attackers chosen by Ba Lisu to stay in the Impasse. Most of them were Jurchen Cultivators. The prosperity and decline of their families had been tied to the whole of Dajin. Even if they were desperate, they had to fight to the death against the Hua Xia Army in this place where they could not go back.
The fire gradually died out, but the embers were still burning in the mountains. In the early hours of the 17th of April, when it was almost midnight, Qu Zhengyan stood at the mountain pass and gave orders to the technicians in charge of the launch.
Two rockets pierced through the night sky. Everyone saw the trail of the fire. In the rugged mountains a few miles away from Swords Gate, the Jurchens who were climbing over the treacherous mountain peaks saw the blazing flame far away in the darkness of the night.
The whole pass was illuminated by the two flames for a moment.
Soon, there were two bright trails of flames, and then two more … On the gate tower of Swords Gate Pass, the flames spread and turned into a dancing torch in the night.
"Put out the fire."
Behind the gate tower, Ba Lisu, who was already prepared, calmly ordered people to push the prepared water wheel to the gate tower. In such flames, the wooden gate tower was doomed to fall. But as long as they could waste a few more of the enemy's firearms, they would gain an advantage.
As the soldiers pushed the water wheel and carried water buckets over, two firearms whistled over the top of the gate tower. One landed in an empty corner, and the other exploded on the road, sending two or three soldiers flying. Ba Lisu calmly ordered people to treat them. "The Black Flag Army doesn't have many firearms left. Don't worry! We will win! "
The huge torch continued to burn in the night. There were no more Jin soldiers in front of the gate tower. As dawn approached, the fire gradually showed signs of weakening. The soldiers in Mao Yishan's group had already gotten up. The thirty people in charge of the first charge drank rice wine to warm their bodies, put on their soaked clothes, and walked past Mao Yishan.
"Your task is to reach the wall safely and lay planks on the difficult places to walk. Make sure there are no traps. The main attack will follow immediately."
"Commander, I was the first to reach the wall this time. Don't be too envious."
Someone said this. Everyone laughed. Qu Zhengyan also walked over and patted everyone's shoulder.
"Are you all ready?"
— —
"— Let's go."
The mountain wind passed through the sea of trees and howled in the ravaged mountains. In the night, the soldiers carrying the planks stepped over the ashes and rushed towards the still burning gate tower. There was still a dim fire on the mountain path, but their figures spread along the mountain path.
At quarter past seven, in the defensive area set up by Qiu Yunsheng at the back, the sound of mines exploding could be heard. The Jurchen elites who were preparing to launch a sneak attack from the side fell into the encirclement. At a quarter to seven in the morning, when the first rays of dawn appeared on the horizon, Mao Yishan led more soldiers and extended toward the city wall. Scaling ladders had already been placed on the top of the city wall, which was still covered in flames and smoke. The leading soldiers quickly climbed up along the scaling ladders. Hysterical shouts also came from the top of the city wall. Some Jurchen soldiers who were also driven up carried rolling logs and threw them down from the scorching city wall.
The Huaxia soldiers at the front were hit by the rolling logs and fell down. Someone shouted in the darkness, "Charge — —" The soldiers on the scaling ladders on the other side faced the flames and sped up!
Mao Yishan waved his hand, and the bugler blew the horn to charge. More people carried the scaling ladders and crossed the hillside. Qu Zhengyan ordered the rocket launcher, "Fire — —" The rocket flew across the sky, passed the gate tower, and landed behind it with a shocking explosion. Ba Lisu waved his spear, "Follow me — —"
Mao Yishan passed through the long hillside filled with flying ashes and ran all the way up the scaling ladders. Soon, they would meet Ba Lisu in the flames.
This was the collision of steel against steel, the collision of an iron felt and a heavy hammer. The flames were still burning. The people who rushed out in panic and shouting, the soldiers who were forged in the abyss of fire, all wanted to fight for a chance of survival for their future — —
On the 17th of April, in this most intense and ferocious conflict, dawn was about to break in the eastern horizon …
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