Zhong Tan pointed at Crouching Bow City with his horsewhip. "Of course, this city can't become Xiangfan City, which sat on the fishing platform of the Central Plains for more than a decade. But even if Luan He and Xiaguang can't become Xiangfan City, what about Youzhou? Is our Beimang really not going to accept a single soldier? Even if Xiangfan City doesn't appear in Youzhou, what about Liangzhou, which has the most stable defensive line? Are we really going to wipe out Beiliang's two million households before we stop? "
Yang Yuanzan laughed coldly. "Haven't you noticed what kind of people are in charge of the stronghold to the north of Crouching Bow City? How old are the commanders and deputies of Crouching Bow City? "
After pondering for a bit, Zhong Tan was somewhat enlightened. He said with a smile, "They are all old soldiers who went to Northern Mang's Hexi Province in their early years. Crouching Bow City's Zhu Mu and Gao Shiqing are even almost sixty years old. From this, it seems that from the mouth of the Calabash to Crouching Bow City, although the number of soldiers is small, the troops stationed here are all people who truly dare to die. It's no wonder that Crouching Bow City's thousand-odd valiant refugees from Liuzhou were all brought back to the south of Luan He City. "
Yang Yuanzan sighed emotionally. "Yan Wenluan's move is to retreat in order to advance. Those refugees from Liuzhou all held a skeptical and wait-and-see attitude at the start. Once they're the first to die at the Calabash defensive line in Youzhou, we won't even need Beimang to summon them to surrender. They'll start a rebellion on their own and even implicate all the refugees who left Liuzhou, as well as the situation in Liuzhou. However, they'll first die at Crouching Bow City and Luan He City, and when the time comes, they'll retreat again and again until they reach Xiaguang City. Put yourself in their shoes, what would you think if you were a refugee? Would you dare to fight? The answer is obvious. So many Youzhou soldiers have died before it's their turn to walk onto the battlefield. Since they've come all the way to Youzhou, why should they fear death?
Zhong Tan, this is precisely where Yan Wenluan uses her troops. "
Zhong Tan grunted in acknowledgment.
Zhong Tan suddenly laughed and said, "The Qiang and Rong tribes were especially valiant in their attacks on the city. It was unexpected."
Yang Yuanzan said calmly, "The order of peace announced that after Beiliang is pacified, the people of Beimang, who were originally divided into four classes, will have a fifth class, Liangren. Then, the Qiang tribes, who are currently at the bottom of the hierarchy, will finally be 'one class higher'."
Although Zhong Tan knew about this, he still had a look of disbelief on his face. He asked, "Is this really possible? Is this enough to make people face death with equanimity? "
Yang Yuanzan said in a soft voice, "The Central Plains has many outstanding strategists. They don't fight against the strategists whom they assist wholeheartedly, so they have a graceful bearing that we can't imagine. Not to mention the Emperor's Preceptor whose surname was Yuan in Liyang's capital, not to mention Nalan Youci who was far away in Nanjiang, and not to mention the Tide-listening Pavilion's Li Yishan, who had already died, how did these hundred thousand refugees appear? How did they willingly submit to Beiliang? How did the Wu Castle of the Gourd Mouth come to be? How did they fight to the death against our army? How did Beiliang's pastures, rations, and soldiers move around to help Beiliang fight one country on one land? "
Zhong Tan nodded. "Fortunately, we also have the order of peace!"
Yang Yuanzan suddenly lowered his voice and said, "When you feel that we can break into the city, bring the elites and personally enter the city."
Zhong Tan, who had never thought about this, was just about to refuse when Yang Yuanzan said in a tone that brooked no refusal, "Beimang needs heroes!"
Ever since that loud horn sounded at noon, the walls of Crouching Bow City had become the gates of hell.
People were dying at every moment, and the rate at which they were dying was increasing.
The Beimang besiegers, who had already been replenished to twenty thousand men, were switching out one thousand men at a faster and faster rate. Even though Zhong Tan had already raised the limit to two hundred men, he still couldn't slow down this astonishing rate. The only good news was that after these siege soldiers experienced the first two or even the third siege, they became more and more clear on how to avoid the mud bricks, more and more aware of how to be a bit more vigilant, pay attention to the arrows that shot out from the corner towers. Many Northern Mang soldiers who couldn't help but feel their legs go weak during their first siege, now completely forgot themselves as they carried their shields and rushed forward. They could already completely ignore the corpses below the city walls, ignore the howls and groans of those who were about to die.
Most importantly, they could clearly feel the decline of the city's offensive under their own continuous assault.
There was a constant stream of soldiers rushing to the front lines of Crouching Bow City. At the very beginning, there were only five hundred soldiers, but now, there were only three hundred who were still in good condition. Then, there were less than a hundred who were injured, and finally, there were thirty-four soldiers who had to run up the stairs at the sound of a single command.
By the time Buried Bow City Lord Zhu Mu, who was overseeing the tall city gate tower, arrived at the city walls, Deputy General Gao Shiqing had already led two hundred personal guards to fight on the city walls for more than two hours. If it wasn't for the iron spear of this white-haired yet vigorous old general being incomparably powerful, if it wasn't for the fact that there were many outstanding experts among this deputy general's personal guards, the city walls should be filled with Northern Mang barbarians right now. Below the inner city walls, the corpses of their fellow soldiers who didn't have time to clean up the mess piled up. In the end, the Crouching Bow City guards could only hold back their tears and throw the corpses down.
The corpses piled up like a mountain.
Zhu Mu personally led three hundred elite soldiers to support Gao Shiqing, slaughtering the hundred or so barbarians who had already jumped onto the city walls to engage in close combat. Zhu Mu wielded a cold blade in both hands, and the momentum of his blade was like a rainbow. Seven or eight barbarians from the north were chopped in half by his blade alone. However, even if his soldiers managed to push back the ladders that had more than a dozen enemy soldiers to the ground, they still couldn't stop the bloodthirsty Beimang barbarians from climbing up the city walls one after another. Zhu Mu watched as Gao Shiqing, who was known as the Duke of Beautiful Beard, beheaded a Beimang barbarian who looked like a centurion, kicked the headless corpse, and sent another barbarian who had just climbed up the city walls with his blade flying down. Zhu Mu sneered loudly, "Old man Gao, why are you so useless? Didn't you want me to come back and retrieve that spear for you when it's almost dark? There's still more than two hours to go before it gets dark! "
Covered in blood, Gao Shiqing didn't make a sound. He stabbed a barbarian to death with his spear, then swept his spear across and swept away another barbarian who had jumped down from the top of the city walls.
Half an hour later, the only cavalry in the city was the first class cavalry of Youzhou Province, which consisted of two riders per person. These four hundred barbarians who didn't have a chance to charge out of the city also began to climb the city walls.
Before they climbed the city walls, their warhorses, which had been dependent on them for many years, were all killed by them.
They didn't want to kill their own mounts with their own hands, so they could only switch horses and silently draw their blades and spears.
In the dusk, the setting sun was as red as blood.
The main general, Zhu Mu, and the deputy general, Gao Shiqing, stood back to back. Zhu Mu, whose armor was in tatters, gasped for breath. His chest had been heavily injured by a blade, and his vision blurred. He shook his head fiercely and asked with difficulty, "Old man Gao, I, Zhu Mu, am only willing to die in Crouching Bow City because of the group of disappointing wastrels in my family. They all fled Youzhou and went to Jiangnan. These past few months, I've been looked down upon by a bunch of old fellows. They almost look at me like I'm a Beimang barbarian. That's why I'm willing to die in Crouching Bow City. So what are you after? Didn't you scold me back then? Why did you take the initiative to switch places with Li Qianfu's nephew? Are you tired of living? "
Gao Shiqing reached out and pulled out an arrow from his waist. It had broken through his armor but didn't penetrate his bones. He spat out a mouthful of blood. "My entire family stayed in Youzhou. I'm not as greedy as your son and grandson. I live with a clear conscience. Even if I die in the future, I die with a clear conscience. Gao Shiqing doesn't owe anyone anything in this life. In the second year of Yonghui, you saved my life in Beimang's Tangerine Province. This time, I'm here to accompany you. Let's call it even! When we're underground, don't call me brother. I, Gao Shiqing, can't afford to lose face when I see the great general! "
The top of Crouching Bow City's walls were filled with shouts of "kill all the Beiliang bastards".
When a group of soldiers far more valiant than the Beimang soldiers who had attacked the city climbed up the walls, Zhu Mu's hands were first chopped off, then his head.
Gao Shiqing's back was against the city wall. Five or six iron spears pierced through his body. The old general died while holding a spear.
In the night.
One of the vanguard general's personal guards stood on top of the city wall and blew the last horn on the battlefield.
Regardless of whether it was friend or foe, the nearly twenty thousand dead people inside and outside Crouching Bow City were destined not to hear this sound.
Zhong Tan, who had contributed greatly to Beimang's Youzhou front, slowly closed his eyes.
He seemed to hear it. The wind blew through Crouching Bow City.
It was as if he was weeping and complaining.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
