The cries and chaotic footsteps outside the city disturbed this desolate but peaceful morning. The sound of the city gates being hit by wood was like an invisible hammer hitting people's hearts, and everyone perked up.
On the road facing the city gate, multiple obstacles had been built for tactical preparations, and a total of four man-high earthen walls had been built in the middle of the road. After Guo Shao entered the city, he ran behind the first wall, then sat on a wooden stool and watched the situation at the city gate.
At this moment, an old woman was seen leaning on a dry wooden stick, trembling and slowly walking to the empty space in front. Wasn't she the blind old woman next door? How did she get here? Guo Shao suddenly felt very strange.
Because the open space in front is now basically closed on three sides. The front is the widest road in the town, but it is blocked by a wall array; several walls rely on the houses on both sides to form a maze-like folding pattern, with only a gap on the left. The gaps between the houses on both sides are also blocked with earth walls, wood and stones. The streets and alleys outside the road are even more winding and complicated. Wuqi Town is like this to prevent large groups of people from deploying and facilitate street fighting.
How could a blind old woman get around such a complicated road? Could it be that she had been guarding the city gate for a long time
The old woman suddenly opened her mouth and called out twice, her voice was hoarse, and her toothless mouth looked very flat. She was dressed in rags, her body was dirty and torn, and her gray hair was as messy as straw.
Kill the Khitans, kill the Khitans! The old woman shouted a few more unclear words.
An old soldier following Guo Shao stretched his neck and shouted: The city gate is about to be broken, the Khitan soldiers will rush in soon, hurry up and get out of here. At this time Guo Shao said: Death is also a kind of relief for her.
The gate finally collapsed. First, a group of chaotic civilians rushed in, but they were soon driven away by the cavalry and fled everywhere. Amid the hurried and chaotic sound of horse hooves, a group of cavalry rushed into the city. When the first rider passed by the blind old woman with a hunched back, he swung his iron bone flower and hit her with a hammer.
But the Khitan cavalry quickly reined in their horses and stopped the attack, because they were facing not a road they had imagined they could charge on, but a series of walls. These earthen walls were not high and could be climbed with bare hands, but the cavalry could not charge straight ahead.
Guo Shao drew his head back, leaned against the earth wall, listened to the sound of horse hooves, and waited for the other party's decision. In just a short moment, he felt as if he had been waiting for a very long time.
How would the Khitans react? It is said that nomadic peoples are very alert and run very fast when they are suspicious. When they sense a possible ambush, they may immediately turn around and leave the dangerous place. If the Khitans retreat, Wuqi Town will be equivalent to singing an empty city plan, which may not be a bad thing. Because Guo Shao is not sure that he can defeat this Khitan army, it is better not to fight a battle that cannot be won.
But the Khitans would not necessarily flee when they saw trouble. They were powerful and might not be easily frightened; moreover, the appearance of Wuqi Town did not look like a place where elite troops were stationed.
The worst-case scenario is that the Khitans would retreat first and then try to find a breakthrough from somewhere else. If the battle spreads from other directions, street fighting can also be carried out, but the terrain is not as favorable to Guo Shao as the main gate.
He leaned against the wall and pondered for a moment, then took a long breath and suddenly jumped onto the wooden bench. When he opened his sight, he saw the cavalryman with the hammer who had killed the blind woman looking ahead. Guo Shao immediately pulled the bowstring, and the sound of the string snapped without hesitation. At a distance of only 20 to 30 steps, an arrow accurately shot into the guy's face.
The guy didn't even have time to yell, and fell off his horse. When the other Khitan soldiers reacted and hastily took out their arrows, there was another sound of the bowstring, and another person was shot dead.
Suddenly and without warning, Guo Shao killed two people in a row and jumped down from the wooden bench. He quickly picked up the wooden shield and held it above his head. The dozen people behind the wall also hurriedly learned to lift the wooden board. Sure enough, after a while, there was a crackling sound of strings, and dozens of arrows whizzed past their heads, and some were directly nailed into the wall.
There were shouts and cries outside the wall, but Guo Shao did not show his head. Only the sound of horse hooves could be heard. It seemed that the Khitan soldiers did not attack, and then there was another rain of arrows.
After a while, several torches were thrown onto the roof of a thatched house, which immediately caught fire.
Guo Shao moved the round stool to another place, climbed up and carefully looked out. He saw that the Khitan infantry had caught up and reached the city gate. A general on horseback was pointing and shouting. Without saying a word, Guo Shao drew an arrow and put it on the bowstring. Suddenly he stood up, drew the bow, and released the arrow without stopping. The guy who was gesticulating vigorously fell off his horse. Guo Shao immediately retracted his arrow after shooting.
There was an immediate uproar outside, with all kinds of incomprehensible shouting and yelling, and then many footsteps were heard. The infantry should be coming up.
When Guo Shao heard the noise, he waved his hand and shouted in a deep voice: Let's go. Then he and the people around him ran away.
Without stopping, they skillfully followed the wall around for a while, pushed open a door and went in. The others closed the door and stood guard at the door, while Guo Shao climbed up the wooden stairs. He gently pushed open a small window in a messy room. The view from this position was excellent, and a long section of the main road in the middle was within a hundred steps. The bow in his hand was not strong enough, but he was confident that he could hit the target within fifty steps.
Looking down from the window, a large group of Khitan infantrymen poured into the earthen wall alley, and some were already impatiently climbing over the wall. Climbing over the wall was the best, as once they climbed up the wall, their entire bodies were exposed to the range of fire.
The sound of the bowstring hitting the air was very rhythmic and the arrows hit the target without missing a single target. Armor was useless. At such a close distance, Guo Shao specifically shot at the face and neck, not to mention that many of the infantrymen were not fully armored.
But after a few shots, the target was exposed. The Khitan archers immediately fought back. Their archery skills were also quite accurate. Arrows kept flying in through the small window. But this could not kill Guo Shao. He first showed his head to take a look, then immediately dodged, and then shot arrows at the window, staying there for a very short time. Bows and arrows are not firearms. It is difficult to hit a fast-moving target with only a small window.
After a while, a rocket wrapped in oilcloth came up and the roof caught fire.
Guo Shao fired another arrow and saw several Khitan soldiers running towards the door below. He quickly ran down the stairs and shouted to the old soldier holding the gong and drum: "Beat the gong, beat it hard!"
The unpleasant sound of gongs, clang clang clang, was as loud as the noise of the night.
Guo Shao tied the bow to his back, drew his sword and shouted: "Kill!" and led his men out the door.
A thin wall across from them suddenly collapsed. The lower half of the wall was deliberately built very thin, so it could be knocked down with a kick. Suddenly, Yang Biao took the lead, holding a long iron knife and rushing out with a group of people like a tiger descending from the mountain, and immediately blocked the hole in the wall.
Right next to where Guo Shao came out, a wall collapsed. Luo Mengzi, holding a wooden shield in one hand and an iron rod in the other, rushed forward with the wooden shield, swinging the iron rod to attack. Guo Shao, holding a knife, also rushed forward with the people in the house.
For a moment, most of the Khitan infantry were trapped in the wall formation on both sides, and the two sides started fighting frantically. Such a group fight had no mobility and could not be carried out, just like a fight in the streets. The Khitan soldiers in the middle tried to climb over the wall, and the wall formation was in chaos.
Luo Mengzi used to be good at using a copper hammer, but he seemed to have lost his weapon, so he made do with a solid iron rod, and for a while he was also very fierce. The rod was not as sharp as the copper hammer when hitting armored people, but it could still make people cry for their parents. Guo Shao liked to cooperate with such a fearless general, letting him rush to the front and fight hard, while he helped to make up for the gaps and make up for the losses. As the saying goes, you go first to die.
Cao Luo Mengzi cursed and hit a Khitan soldier on the head with a stick. With a clang, he hit the helmet of a Khitan soldier, making the black-faced and big-mouthed Khitan man look ugly and faint.
At this moment, a Khitan soldier suddenly stabbed Luo Mengzi in the abdomen with a spear. Luo Mengzi was unaware. Even if he was wearing a layer of armor, if he was stabbed by close combat, the spear would pierce directly into his intestines.
When his companions needed him the most, Guo Shao was quick-witted and stepped forward to grab the spear. The spear had a great force due to the inertia of the opponent's body, and Guo Shao could not keep his balance. The spear head pierced his chest at once, and with a ding, he felt the dent in the plate armor on his chest.
The Khitan soldier grabbed the spear with both hands and thrust it out, leaving a large gap in front of him. Guo Shao didn't say a word and swung his sword at his face. The metal collision between the blade and the helmet and the sound of flesh tearing sprayed blood all over Guo Shao's face and chest. The screams seemed to ring in his ears, and they were so loud that they split his lungs.
The two sides of the army rushed forward, unstoppable, and the Khitan army suffered a major setback in this small corner. The dirt alley was a bloody road, and people were literally stepping on corpses to advance gradually. The walls were stained with blood, and the air was filled with a fishy smell and a nauseating wind.
In the outermost earth-walled alley, some Khitan soldiers saw that the situation was not good and climbed over the wall to escape, but most of the people who were trapped inside were killed or injured.
The remaining Khitan troops retreated to the city gate, like frightened birds. Sporadic screams came from the alleys, which were the wounded Khitan soldiers inside being stabbed on the spot. In such a war, there was obviously no such thing as taking prisoners, and everyone was stabbed.
The fierce and frantic fight seemed to have stopped in an instant. The Khitans could be heard talking in the distance. In the alley, there were constant gasps and coughs. People were tired. Guo Shao sat against the wall for a while, feeling his arms sore and his right hand trembling. He shook them gently a few times and reached out to wipe the sticky blood off his palms.
Outside, the sounds of horse hooves and footsteps could be heard receding. It was obvious that the soldiers in the town were unable to pursue the victory.
After a long time, the soldiers finally came out from the wall formation and looked around. There was no enemy soldiers in the direction of the city gate. The houses on both sides were on fire and smoke was billowing. The few houses that were on fire were almost burned to ashes. The crowd was talking in a flurry. Some were discussing, some were asking for help, and some were calling on their companions to save people.
At this moment, Guo Shao, covered in blood, suddenly came out. The surroundings suddenly became much quieter, and the people who had been huddled together in a mess made way for Guo Shao to pass through.
People's faces were suddenly filled with awe, and their eyes unconsciously focused on him. General Guo, General Guo
Guo Shao didn't say anything, but just nodded tiredly in response.