***
"Report! Commander-in-Chief, Norbu's 20,000 troops are heading southwest towards Dongshengwei..."
"What?" Ma Yongzhen was surprised when he heard the report from the scout outside the tent. He said quickly, "Search again. No matter what, we cannot lose track of Norbu."
“Yes!”
The scout turned and rushed out of the tent, and Ma Yongzhen suddenly fell into deep thought. What was Norbu's intention
He left 5,000 soldiers in Guihua City and another 5,000 outside the city, and it seemed that he had no intention of abandoning Guihua City. So did he think that the 10,000 soldiers he left behind could stop the attack of his 40,000-strong army
To be honest, if Norbu used cavalry to fight in a mobile manner, it would be difficult to do anything to him for a while.
But if it is a city defense war, with the weapons such as rockets that the Qin army is currently equipped with, it may not be difficult to capture a city.
Norbu withdrew his main force from Guihua City, obviously realizing that fighting a city defense battle would be disadvantageous to him.
That's a contradiction. Since he knew that fighting a city defense battle was disadvantageous, and yet he didn't withdraw all his troops, did he plan to leave a few thousand troops behind to comfort himself
Ma Yongzhen eliminated all the possibilities one by one, and finally felt that it was unlikely that Norbu would leave 10,000 soldiers in and around Guihua City and go to Hetao by himself. He decided to take a gamble and bet that Norbu was not really going to Hetao.
However, if Norbu really attacks Hetao, the consequences will be very serious. Now the Qitate in Hetao already has 20,000 to 30,000 troops. If Norbu's 20,000 are added, it is a big question whether Su Jin can stop them.
The entire Guanzhong region was now very short of troops. If Su Jin could not stop these tens of thousands of Mongolian troops, Xijing would probably fall.
Ma Yongzhen could not afford such consequences.
To be on the safe side. Ma Yongzhen then summoned Guo Yunlong and dismissed his attendants. He then said to him softly, "General Guo, I order you to lead 10,000 troops to accompany Norbu. You must not rush ahead rashly. If Norbu really wants to cross the river and enter the Hetao, you must do your best to stop him. If he is just making a feint to the east and attacking in the west, this is an opportunity to weaken the tribes in the south of the desert. It would be best to force him to the side of the Mongolian governor. Do you understand?"
Guo Yunlong still didn't understand what it meant. He didn't need to mess around anymore, so he quickly clasped his fists and replied, "Don't worry, Grand Commander, I know what to do."
"Okay, you can leave immediately."
“Yes!”
After sending out Guo Yunlong's 10,000-strong army, Ma Yongzhen immediately ordered the camp to be broken up and the 30,000-strong army quickly advanced towards Guihua City in an effort to capture the city as soon as possible.
***
Na Risong of Lintao also wanted to break the city as soon as possible. He was really angry and attacked Didao City with 17,000 soldiers and horses. As a result, he suffered nearly 3,000 casualties. The shaky Didao City actually held on again and again.
Even when Deputy General Su He personally led his troops to attack the city, he was repelled again and again.
Gushih Khan, who was in Lanzhou, was also furious. He issued an order that if Didao City was not taken within five days, he would be executed!
On the top of the city wall, Wu Qingfeng licked his cracked lips and looked at the enemy troops outside the city who were preparing to attack again. The battle formation was like a cloud, stretching for ten miles. Swords and spears were like a forest.
Deputy General Song Baitao had died heroically, and Li Bocun, the co-magistrate of Lintao Prefecture, was seriously injured. The loss of soldiers and civilians in the city, including the wounded, was nearly 5,000. All the gunpowder, shells, and thunder bombs were used up. Wu Changting and his men asked again and again when the reinforcements would arrive.
Wu Qingfeng could only comfort her again and again, it’s almost there, it’s almost there!
Almost all the remaining soldiers and civilians on the city wall were injured and sat slumped under the battlements, with their morale declining day by day.
Wu Qingfeng himself didn't know how long Didao City could hold out, or whether it could survive the next wave of enemy attacks. But seeing the young and strong people in the city desperately helping to defend the city, he couldn't bear to abandon the city and flee.
"General, the enemy has started attacking again." Wu Changting has said this countless times, and perhaps he has become numb to the enemy's attacks.
"Everyone, get up quickly and prepare for battle!" Wu Qingfeng shouted.
The soldiers and civilians on the city wall looked at the enemy outside the city with heaviness, hatred and determination.
Everyone knew in their hearts that if things continued like this, Didao City would not be able to hold out for much longer. However, their parents, wives and children were in the city, so they had to defend it even if they couldn't.
Grit your teeth, every moment you hold on gives you a better chance of survival.
At the shouting of Wu Qingfeng and Qin army generals at all levels, all the Qin army soldiers and the young and strong men who participated in defending the city stood up, gripped their swords and guns tightly, and looked silently at the enemy outside the city. This silence gave people a sense of tragic heroism of facing death with indifference.
Just when the enemy army outside the city had completed its formation and was about to launch an attack, there was suddenly a loud noise in the city. The old, the weak, women and children, as well as three-foot-tall boys and sixty-year-old men in the city, all held simple weapons, some carrying iron pots, some holding kitchen knives, some carrying hoes, and some picking up bricks, and they all rushed to the edge of the city.
When Wu Qingfeng saw this scene, his heart, which had been calm to begin with, suddenly became filled with waves. He hurried to the women's wall and shouted to the people below the city: "Fellow villagers, what are you doing?"
An old man answered loudly: "General Wu, we can't just sit there and wait for death. Let's help defend the city."
Wu Qingfeng was very anxious: "Fellow villagers, we are responsible for defending the city. I, Wu Qingfeng, promise you that unless the enemy steps on my body, they will never step into Didao City! Fellow villagers, the enemy is about to launch a new round of attacks. Everyone, hurry back to the city to avoid being accidentally injured..."
At this time, a woman in her thirties, still charming and graceful, came out holding a sword and said to Wu Qingfeng, "General Wu, you don't have to say anything. The soldiers have fought for a long time and made great sacrifices. Besides, if the enemy breaks into the city, where can we hide? When the city is in danger, there is no distinction between the military and the civilians. We should all work together to overcome the difficulties."
Wu Qingfeng saw who it was but the wife of Li Bocun, the Tongzhi of Lintao. He turned his head and looked outside the city, and said hastily, "Madam Li, Tongzhi Li is loyal to the emperor and patriotic. He is seriously injured and bedridden. He needs Madam Li's care..."
Just as Wu Qingfeng said this, the horn outside the city sounded more and more urgent, and the personal soldier Wu Changting shouted urgently: "General, the enemy has begun to attack!"
Wu Qingfeng was no longer able to care about many things. Madam Li under the city was commanding a group of old, weak, women and children. She was busy but not chaotic, and everything was in good order. It was said that her maiden name was Lin, and her father was a lieutenant general in the early years of Chongzhen.
Perhaps she inherited her father's style, she had already divided the people into groups. She had a clear plan on who would be responsible for carrying arrows and stones, who would be responsible for carrying stretchers, and who would go up to the city to help defend it, and they acted quickly.
At this time, a new round of enemy attack began. Dark clouds covered the city, shouts rang out, and waves hit the top of the city.
First, a sea of arrows came up in a row, whistling and hitting the top of the city like raindrops. The soldiers and civilians in the city either hid under the battlements or held up shields, iron pots, and wooden boards to welcome the enemy's rain of arrows.
This time, Na Risong personally went to the city to supervise the battle, and organized his personal soldiers as a supervision team. Anyone who retreated would be executed immediately.
More than 10,000 enemies launched a fierce attack from the three sides of the city wall. Ladders were quickly placed on the top of the city wall. The enemies stared with bloodthirsty eyes, showing their sharp white teeth, biting their swords, and using their hands and feet to desperately climb up the ladders.
Bricks and stones on the top of the city wall fell down one after another, smashing the enemies on the ladders and making them bleed. They fell to the ground below the city wall with a plop. Shouts, screams, the sound of bows and crossbows, and the sound of falling rocks intertwined like waves and the sound was like a river.
Madam Li held a precious sword in her hand, and she scolded and killed several enemies in succession. She was a woman who was as brave as any man. When the soldiers and civilians on the city wall saw this, they all cheered loudly, and their morale was greatly boosted.
However, the enemy's offensive was even more fierce. The Mongolian men were as strong as bulls and seemed endless to be killed. One fell down and another climbed onto the top of the city wall. The young and strong men on the top of the city wall fought with swords, and the women and children smashed with bricks, fighting to the death without retreating.
A fifty-year-old woman had one arm chopped off by the enemy, but she used the remaining arm to tightly hold the enemy's leg and bite it with her teeth.
A child of twelve or thirteen years old stabbed the enemy from behind with a sharp bamboo spear. The injured enemy turned around and swung his knife. Another woman rushed over to block the knife, and blood splashed on the child's face. The child cried loudly and pushed hard with both hands with all his strength, and actually pushed the bamboo spear out of the enemy's abdomen... ...
Wu Qingfeng and his men roared like wild beasts, hacking and killing without regard for their own lives. Their bodies were covered with the blood of the enemies and themselves, like bloody men.
Just when the battle was becoming increasingly intense, bursts of thunder-like sounds suddenly came from the south of Didao City. Standing on the top of the city wall and looking into the distance, one could see black flags appearing on the ridge of a slope about six or seven miles away.
"Reinforcements are coming!"
"Daqin's reinforcements are here!"
"Here they come, the reinforcements are finally here!"
“… ... ... .”
The soldiers and civilians on the city wall, while resisting, could not help but burst into tears, just like a child who had suffered countless grievances and saw his relatives and could not help but burst into tears.
This scene was shocking. The people who had escaped death had blood and tears on their faces, their hearts were surging, and their shouts merged into a wave, resounding like the clouds.
The enemies attacking the city were greatly terrified. A horn sounded below the city, and the surging enemy army immediately retreated like a tide.
The soldiers and civilians on the city wall took the opportunity to beat the enemy who was down in the water. They threw stones and bricks at the people below the city wall. The stones fell like rain. The enemy fled for their lives. The unfortunate ones were hit on the head and bleeding, and fell to the ground screaming.
Looking at the retreating enemy and then looking back at the yellow dust rolling in from the south, even a strong man like Wu Qingfeng couldn't help but have tears in his eyes. Thank God, he finally managed to hold on until the reinforcements arrived.
Sun Risong hastily withdrew his troops under the city and sent troops south to meet the enemy. He had received a report that the number of Qin troops coming to support was not large, only three thousand at most. If he could repel the reinforcements in one fell swoop, there would still be a chance to capture the city.
The 3,000 cavalrymen led by Gao Yigong were ordered to come to support Lintao Prefecture. They traveled day and night, exhausted. Ten miles away from the city, they could already hear fierce shouts and cries of killing.
Gao Yigong led 3,000 cavalrymen without hesitation and charged towards the city without stopping, with flags fluttering and yellow dust rolling.
That day, Song's 5,000 cavalrymen had just arrived two or three miles south of the city when the two sides collided with each other, and a bloody battle began... ... ... ..
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ps: It's raining again, it's cold in the middle of the night, listening to Night Riding in the Caucasus, I'm typing in the wilderness... ... ... .Please vote for recommendation! (To be continued...)
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