Hsu Fengnian's existence was like a reef in a river. Although it stirred up huge waves, it couldn't stop the surging torrent.
On the battlefield north of Hutou City, the cavalry on both sides of the infantry phalanx had already suppressed the enemy with several rounds of projectile shots. The shield-wielding infantrymen at the head of the tide raised their shields outside the city. The archers at the back braved the rain of arrows from the city and launched the first wave of projectile shots. While the shield-wielding infantrymen and archers were attacking and defending, the scaling ladders and towers suddenly sped up in the gaps between the phalanx. While the latter attracted the attention of the Beiliang's crossbows, the archers under the cover of the shield-wielding infantrymen didn't stop shooting. More Beimang soldiers, who acted as men of sacrifice, began to run wildly. They didn't wear heavy iron armor, only lighter leather armor. They held a shield in one hand and a saber in the other. These men of sacrifice, who had been conserving their energy during the advance of the phalanx, began to charge forward when they were 150 steps away from the city. They would play the most bloody role in the history of war.
Almost at the same time, nearly 100 scaling ladders raised high by the Beimang soldiers were placed in the gaps between the battlements. As the name suggested, the ten or so towers, which were almost as tall as the city, formed a pattern of confrontation with the city after they stopped. At this time, they seemed to show their ferocious faces. The thick cowhide, which was called a mask by the remnants of the Southern Dynasties of Beimang, was suddenly torn off. The archers hiding in the towers were all great archers of the grassland. Compared to the archers who created the rain of arrows behind the shield-wielding infantrymen, their accuracy was far better. They wanted to kill as many soldiers of Hutou City who could hide in their blind spots as possible.
Between the towers, the scaling ladders with iron hooks at the top were like maggots in tarsal bones, biting the body of the giant of the northwest border, Hutou City. At the same time, the ordinary soldiers who pushed the scaling ladders first began to climb the ladders with their shields. The shields in their hands were smaller than those of the shield-wielding infantrymen, but they were sturdier than the men of sacrifice who had followed them to the city. These soldiers' duty was to open a path for the men of sacrifice behind them. They didn't expect them to be able to reach the top of the city, so they simply didn't hold any weapons. They were purely using their flesh and blood and even their lives in exchange for that little bit of height.
In the distance, a group of elite cavalry appeared beside Dong Zhuo. their iron armor was particularly bright, but it wasn't flashy. Each of them had a big bow, a light crossbow, and a saber. There was an iron spear hanging on the side of the saddle. They were the elite guards of the Beimang royal court, Yelu and Murong. They were the Iron guards, the Iron guards of Qie Xue, the Iron Guards of Xue, the elite guards of Beimmortal's royal family's... The only heavy cavalry of Beimang that had never appeared in the world was selected from the Qie Xue Guards. From this, it could be seen that Beimang relied heavily on this army.
Two hundred Qie Xue Guards surrounded a young man and woman. The man was wearing a light yellow boa suit. He was born with a rough appearance, but he seemed to be ill. His face was pale, and he sat on the back of a Ferghana horse. He was slightly bent and seemed to be restrained. On the other hand, the graceful and generous woman beside him seemed to be more adapted to the atmosphere of the battlefield than her man. She squinted her eyes and looked in the direction of the city wall. Occasionally, she would retract her gaze and look at the figure that was constantly breaking the formation and getting closer and closer. She exuded a deep and gloomy aura. In her Chess and Sword Music School, except for Taiping Ling, who was still the Emperor's tutor, and Hong Jingyan, who was fighting at the mouth of the gourd, there were a few other famous poets. The Ancestor of Bronze Men was missing, the Great Music School had died in battle, and Huang Qing, who was close to the Sword Qi, had also died. Therefore, as the famous poet of the Chess and Sword Music School, "Han Gu", she, who had always been regarded as the graceful Crown Princess of Beimang, had almost forced her man to come here. She wanted to see with her own eyes the culprit that could cause the collapse of half of her sect.
The Crown Prince of Beimang, Yelu Hongcai, whispered, "King of the South Courtyard, that guy is still breaking the formation and coming here. Should we retreat a little later?"
Dong Zhuo chuckled and didn't say anything. Fatty Dong's wife, the Fifth Fox, frowned. In the past, she had heard from the woman who always competed with her for the title of First Wife that Yelu Hongcai seemed to have been scared out of his wits when he was young. Now, he looked seventy to eighty percent similar to the late Emperor, but his boldness was lacking. He even fainted at the sight of blood. Every time he went on a hunting trip with the Empress, he could only rely on the prey that his personal guard, Qie Xue, caught to get by. The Fifth Fox quickly felt relieved. If Yelu Hongcai was as talented and astute as his father, he would have died a long time ago, just like many other Yelu descendants.
Yelu Hongcai probably realized that his proposal was somewhat inappropriate, so he quickly found a way out for himself. He pretended to be calm and said, "King of the South Courtyard, aren't we waiting for the military god? The deeper the King of Beimang breaks through the formation, the more energy he will need. If our position is too close to the front, won't that Xu guy immediately run into a wall and retreat? When the time comes, the one surnamed Xu will suffer and hide in Tiger Head City without coming out. Wouldn't that ruin the South Courtyard King's plan? "
Dong Zhuo finally turned his head slowly and looked at the burly man with the most distinguished status in Beimang. He smiled and said, "Your Highness is right. Luring the enemy deep into the enemy's territory with a deep understanding of the art of war is also good. Let's do as Your Highness says. How about we retreat five hundred steps? "
Yelu Hongcai whispered, "Will eight hundred steps be safer?"
Dong Zhuo laughed and said, "Whatever Your Highness says."
Dong Family's personal army and the crown prince's Cowardly Xue Iron Guards began to withdraw. Those hidden experts and arcuballista formations also began to move. Yelu Hongcai immediately smiled widely, even his waist subconsciously straightening a bit. It was unknown if this crown prince who was like a puppet in Beimang's Imperial Court was rejoicing that he escaped danger, or if he was enjoying the great sense of accomplishment brought by Fatty Dong's respect. Yelu Hongcai reined in his horse and turned around. When he was about to raise his whip in high spirits, he suddenly heard Dong Zhuo cough a few times from beside him. The crown prince stared at this King of the South Courtyard in confusion, his face full of confusion. Fatty Dong secretly moved his chin. Only now did Yelu Hongcai notice that his wife was still standing in place, having no intention of retreating with him at all. This Beimang crown prince who didn't have any news of accomplishments in Liyang's royal court released a light sigh, indicating for the Cowardly Xue Iron Guards to continue forward. He turned his horse around alone and arrived at her side, gently asking, "What's wrong?"
She raised her horsewhip, pointing it in Tiger Head City's direction, coldly saying, "On that battlefield, my tens of thousands of Great Mang men are all heading to their deaths."
Yelu Hongcai reached out his hand to rub his chin, nodding and saying, "Indeed, Beiliang indeed dares to fight, but when have my grassland's warriors ever feared death?"
She slowly turned around, looking at this man who had slept on the same bed as her for many years, her eyes full of anger and sorrow for his misfortune. At the same time, her limpid eyes seemed to be asking this man who was the future lord of the grassland: The grassland's men didn't fear death, to the extent where even the King of Beiliang dared to personally charge into battle, then what about you, Yelu Hongcai?
Yelu Hongcai didn't seem to dare look the crown prince's wife in the eye, lowering his head and saying, "Let's go."
She lowered her horsewhip, saying with a sneer, "How can retreating eight hundred steps be enough? It's better if we directly return to Xijing."
After turning around, she took the lead to head north, leaving behind a cloud of dust. Yelu Hongcai looked at her rear figure, his lips moving slightly, but in the end, he still didn't release any sound.
Behind this couple, further south of that lone figure, a great battle was raging in Hutou City.
Hutou City's unparalleled and sturdy defense line was a line that separated the living and the dead.
On the northern defense line, the city wall was fifteen feet tall. The top part of the wall was filled with mortar mixed with tung oil, glutinous rice, and lime. Just this part alone could be more than ten feet tall, and seven layers of bricks were added to it. On the city wall, other than the main arrow tower above the main gate, there were twelve piers, eight large crossbows, and two turrets built on the east and west sections. The Beiliang Frontier Army had battlements and parapets on both sides of the city wall, which was known as the horse path. There were more than two thousand arrow stacks in Hutou City that could be used for archery and observation. Every brick in this city located in the extreme northwest of the Liyang Dynasty had a seal on it, clearly indicating the era, the kiln, and the name of the craftsman to prevent the craftsmen from dereliction of duty. In the northern direction of Hutou City, there were three gates: the main gate, the arrow tower, and the gatehouse. Liu Jinu, the commanding general of Hutou City, stood on the top of the tallest arrow tower, overlooking the entire city from above.
This was because Hong Jia, who had brought many scholars and craftsmen to Beimang, had rushed north. In the history of warfare, there had never been a time when a nomadic tribe had attacked a city in such a high level, overshadowing many local dynasties in the Central Plains in history. More importantly, Beimang had never been so determined to abandon their horses, and they were still so fearless even after dismounting to fight. Hutou City claimed to have the richest and most complete stockpile in the Liyang Dynasty, and it was also Beiliang's largest stockpile of weapons. However, in less than two months of defense, more than four thousand crossbows had been damaged. Half of the crossbow platforms had been destroyed, and more than twenty winches used to store and store battle equipment had been destroyed. As a result, Hutou City had to replace the greatly reduced power of the brick and clay battle equipment.
More than half of Northern Mang's thousand or so deathsworn soldiers who made it up the city walls were either injured or killed. Even though there were more than ten deathsworn soldiers who made it up the city walls, in the end, they still couldn't gain a firm footing. Below the city walls, there were layers upon layers of corpses and wounded soldiers who couldn't be dragged out of the battlefield in time. The former were silent, while the latter howled in grief. Their casualties, apart from the arrows that poured down from above, could also be caused by a country's pot of boiling oil, rolling batons, or even batons similar to those used by navy ships. A single strike from these batons could instantly shatter an entire cloud ladder. Meanwhile, the Northern Mang strong soldiers who climbed up the cloud ladders were as weak as mosquitoes, killed on the city walls with a single strike.
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