Chapter 74: Ghost Fire and Green Firefly
When the first sunset shone on the earth, Liang Jun walked out of Chigui Valley and faced a flat river. After flowing out of the valley, the river containing toxin turned to the southeast for beauty. The scenery changed from the previous mountains and towering trees to the still dark green grassland. When the grass in Daliang Kingdom, north of Yelong River began to turn yellow, the land of Donghu was still lush with vegetation. This alone was enough to make Daliang covet.
Geng Yan shook open the Donghu map drawn by his predecessors and said, "According to this map, the end of this Baili Plain is the Donghu Capital leaning against the Tongling Mountains."
Gu Hongxuan suggested: "Soldiers are very fast. Our army will immediately attack. A three hundred miles away is used to indicate that the cavalry can reach the capital city in the early morning and catch him off guard!"
Yang Zhong nodded and ordered: "Commander Geng, my Wugong Guard and Tenglong Guard are both cavalrymen, and the Han Dao Guard of Xuanjia is also cavalrymen. I will lead the three guards to attack, and you will be responsible for the guards. On the one hand, the rear guards are cut off, and on the other hand, the battle situation is returned to the general!"
"I will obey the order!"
"Set out!" Yang Zhong took the lead, and the three guards followed closely, and bursts of smoke and dust suddenly rose up to cover the sky and the sun, which made Siheng unable to open his eyes.
"Hoha, these 200,000 cavalry are really amazing. With this momentum, it is not difficult to take down the Donghu Capital in my opinion. I hope to leave some military merit for my brothers. Don't wait for us to arrive. The battle is over, so it will be boring."
Ling Feiyan gave Siheng a blank look, "This is a war between the country and the country. Your mind is full of your own military achievements. It's so superficial!"
"Hey, it's wrong for you to say that. The family, country, mission and personal honor and disgrace are not contradictory. Who has no selfishness these days? Look at what you said!" After being squeezed by Ling Feiyan, Siheng was immediately panicked.
Shi Gong Zhengyuan was really unintentionally listening to the two of them and reminded him: "If you continue to fight like this, the battle over there will be really ending."
"Yes, yes, it's still Zhengyuan's words!" Si Heng held Ling Feiyan with a shy face and rushed to follow the army. Ling Feiyan suddenly felt that her face was a little hot and she shook Si Heng's hand hard, but this man was shameless and repeatedly entangled, causing the soldiers under the two to desperately hold back and laugh out loud.
The day and night raid was not particularly tiring for the best cavalry in Daliang. Tens of thousands of cavalry came rumbling with smoke and dust, and arrived ten miles away from the capital of Donghu at the next day at sunrise. The capital guards were very panicked. Obviously they did not expect that the Liang army would suddenly appear under the capital city. The defense at the top of the city immediately began to become tighter. Donghu soldiers looked nervously at the Daliang cavalry not far away.
Yang Zhong ordered the entire army to repair it on the spot, staring at the city walls of the capital, and living up to his expectations. Soon after, Shi Mingyu appeared at the top of the city. When he saw Liang Jun, no one knew the complexity in his heart. Whether he cared about his son more or worried about Rong Micheng more, Yang Zhong didn't know or did he care about these things. He was concerned about a trench five feet wide and a deer fort with cold light in front of the trench.
Yang Zhong came to the city with his eyes coldly looking at the city wall that was ten people high and the Donghu soldiers bent their bows and arrows on the city wall.
"So it's General Yang!" Shi Mingyu stood at the top of the city and shouted, "I really didn't expect you to pass through the Chigui Valley so quickly. However, my Donghu Capital is not like the Chigui Valley. According to the words of you Liang people, it is 'impure as the golden soup'. If you want to conquer, you have to exchange your life! Oh, by the way, I don't know how old General Yang Jie is, so I'll say hello to him!"
Hearing the words "Old General Yang", Yang Zhong was so angry that he was so angry that he suppressed his teeth and replied: "The Rong Mi City you are proud of has been taken down by our soldiers! My father had instructed me before I went to war that when I met Shi Yiba, he must tell me that my father was waiting for you in the nine springs. Oh, by the way, Lord Shi, your son is also waiting to reunite with you and your father and son!" After that, Yang Zhong returned to the Liang army camp by horse, and Shi Mingyu was so angry that his fingers scratched the stones on the city wall.
Xuan Shaoning stood in the military formation and did not hear clearly the life-and-death meaning contained in the dialogue between the two. He devoted all his energy to looking at the capital: the city wall is extremely high, and the gap between each brick and stone is very small. The arrow tower is very powerful, but it has a distinct style from the beam. It is not as high as the eaves, but is like a fortress, and it is all made of brick and stone. In addition to the doors and windows, the roof is also covered with blue tiles. The city wall is not like the beam, but extends to both sides in an arc shape until it cannot be seen; behind the entire city, there is a towering mountain range that acts as the back of the capital, which allows the Donghu army to defend the enemy from three directions with all its strength; what is the name of the gate where the current army is located? Xuan Shaoning does not recognize the Donghu text, so he can only call it the East Gate according to geographical location.
"The whole army obeys the order: prepare the shield of the martial arts guards! prepare the crossbowman of the Tenglong Guards!"
Yang Zhong led the Han Dao Guard as the Central Army, Gu Hongxuan led the Wugong Guard as the Left Army, and Jiang Xiaoyu led the Tenglong Guard as the Right Army. The Wugong Guard was the first to set up the shield formation and advance quickly. The Tenglong Guard took the lead in setting up a shield formation and took turns shooting arrows towards the city wall, without stopping for a moment; and the Donghu side also blocked the attack of the Liang army. With the protection of the shield formation, the Wugong Guard advanced to the vicinity of the trench without much loss. An Haoran looked down and saw that there were dense barbs under the trench, and blue light flashed on each trench.
The Donghu people were so vicious, they were afraid that they would not kill us, so they still hardened their poison on the thorns! An Haoran gritted his teeth and ordered "Build a bridge!" With the order, Liang soldiers divided into five teams to pull out wooden bridges one by one from the team and began to build them on the top of the trench.
"You can't let them build bridges! Shoot me arrows, don't stop!"
Shi Mingyu shouted at the top of his throat, and soon after rounds of more dense arrow rain than before came to Liang's army. This move worked. Many Liang soldiers who were trying to build the bridge died under the arrow rain. If the wooden bridge could not be built successfully, then the subsequent strategy would not be implemented. Yang Zhong ordered, "Start up the rotation of arrow rain, and archers quickly change positions, and make tooth fuck!" The denser and more intense arrow rain also shot all Donghu soldiers who were trying to poke their heads out of the city wall into sieves. With a brief respite, An Haoran led the way to snatch the wooden bridge and extended to the opposite shore. When the bridge was halfway up, he took the lead and stepped onto the wooden bridge without carrying a shield to protect him, leaving himself exposed to the range.
"Be careful!" Xuan Shaoning recited it silently dozens of times in his heart, hoping to quickly build the bridge to the other side. Perhaps it was the arrow rain offensive that played a role, and perhaps Xuan Shaoning's prayer. After An Haoran jumped onto the other side safely, he built the first bridge without any damage. The soldiers of Daliang immediately crossed the trench along the wooden bridge. With the first bridge, there was soon the second, third and fourth ones.
"Cheep me! You must not let them pass the trench!" The crazy state of Shi Mingyu was seen by Xuan Shaoning. The anger in his heart that longed for battle had been burning for a long time, and he was waiting for the general to give an order.
"Han Dao Guard, be ready to hit the wood!"
"yes!"
Finally, I have waited for this opportunity! Brothers, rush! The soldiers of the Han Dao Guard carried the huge wooden bump under the leadership of Xia Junmao, avoided the squeaking rain of arrows, stepped across the wooden bridge, ignored the barbs flashing with blue light under the trench, and rushed to the east gate with a passion.
"Brothers, use force, hit me!"
Roar hey! Roar hey! Accompanied by the regular rhythm, the bumping wood began to hit the two tall city gates one after another. Dong! Dong! Dong! The sounds inspired the Liang army soldiers, and at the same time made the hearts of the Donghu people sink more and more.
Ah! Ah! Hearing the brothers behind him fall down one by one, Xia Junmao yelled: "Brothers, use force, break open the city gate!"
Hi! Hi! With the encouragement of the commander, everyone exerted their energy. Each impact became more violent. The city gate began to loosen gradually under repeated impacts, and sand and soil continued to fall from the lintel.
"Try harder, you'll be successful!"
Hi! Hi! Xuan Shaoning's sweat flowed into his mouth and tasted the salty and bitter taste. Even though his hands and shoulders were sore and lost consciousness, he still hit the city gate with a breath of unyielding reluctance.
Bang! The sound of the door bolt breaking came into Xuan Shaoning's ears. He immediately shouted, "The door bolt is broken, come again!"
Everyone's last struggle to hit the city gate, and the city gate was forcibly opened! Following the direction of force, Xuan Shaoning's body involuntarily rushed into the city. Before he could see the enemy in the city clearly, a cold light had approached him. Just as he opened his eyes and closed his eyes, the blade cut across the skin. Cang! The sound of the collision between swords and swords shocked Xuan Shaoning's ears.
"Person Xuan, be careful!" Cao Tie immediately blocked his body with a machete in his hand, and all the brothers of the fifth corps who had been following him were surrounded by Xuan Shaoning. In addition to being moved, Xuan Shaoning also pulled out the Junwu.
"Roar in!" An Haoran, as the vanguard, led the Liang army into the city gate and fought a desperate battle with the inner city guards. Some soldiers of the Wugong Guard quickly built a wooden bridge for war horses to pass, and soon the cavalry joined the battle. As more and more cavalry joined the battle, the Donghu army fought and retreated, retreating to the inner city gate. Gu Hongxuan led the cavalry to rush all the way and ran towards the inner city gate. The entire battle went very smoothly, and all the Liang soldiers seemed extremely excited.
There were watchtowers on both sides of the outer city, extending long to the inner city. The number of Donghu soldiers killed in the outer city was not as many as imagined, and Shi Mingyu himself was gone. All of this made Xuan Shaoning alert. This scene seemed familiar. I encountered similar situations in the Battle of Yinzhou. Could it be?
"Guard the city gate!" Just as Xuan Shaoning shouted this sentence, he heard a rumbling sound. The two heavy city gates were closed. Oh no! I was trapped! Before the soldiers of the martial arts guards could react, fully armed Donghu soldiers appeared on the watchtowers on both sides, and without saying a word, they shot arrows at the Liang army under the city. The defenseless Liang army fell down before they could form a shield formation.
When Yang Zhong outside the city saw this scene, he immediately understood the trick of the Donghu people. "The two armies immediately attacked the city when they listened to my order!" Before the soldiers took the first step, a crossbow arrow skewed the three soldiers in front of the formation into meat skewers with a whirlpool.
Bed crossbow?! Yang Zhong was surprised that this bed crossbow is a special military weapon for Daliang. Even though the surrounding countries have always wanted to imitate it, they have always only learned the surface but cannot learn the core, so their power has never been very good. However, the power of this crossbow is almost the same as that of Daliang's bed crossbow.
"Shield Formation!" The front row of military formations immediately set up a protective formation and were ready for battle. There were more than a dozen bed crossbows on the top of the city. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! One powerful crossbow arrow after another roared towards the Liang army, and its strength was too strong. Even with the blocking of the shield, the crossbow arrows still penetrated the soldiers' bodies.
The bed crossbow is very powerful, and its weakness is that it has a long shooting gap and is expensive to make crossbow arrows. Even the number of crossbow arrows on Daliang is not large, let alone the small Donghu Kingdom. The Liang army took advantage of the weakness of the bed crossbow and quickly advanced towards the city gate after sacrificing some of the soldiers. At this moment, the north and south gates of the capital opened at the same time, and two mighty Donghu troops rushed towards the Liang army as one horn. For a moment, Yang Zhong's central army and Jiang Xiaoyu's right army were attacked by the enemy on three sides.
"Retreat to the city gate!" Xuan Shaoning shouted to retreat while slashing the enemy's rushing forward. Since he was trapped by the enemy's army, the Han Dao Guard, where Xuan Shaoning was located and the Wugong Guard led by Gu Hongxuan were separated in two areas. The Han Dao Guard was closer to the East City Gate, while Gu Hongxuan was already in the inner city gate.
"The archer continues! The rain of arrows covers!"
The Donghu people issued a new offensive order. Facing the tens of thousands of living targets below, the Donghu archers were so excited that they shot, one round after another, without any intention of stopping. The Liang army soldiers were in trouble. The shield players gathered into a formation to cooperate with each other, but facing the rain of arrows that could not stop, the shield was quickly covered with a layer of white hair. What's more, the entire shield had no place for feather arrows to penetrate. Under such an offensive, the cavalry were shot and fell to the ground, and Gu Hongxuan also jumped off his horse and hid in the protection circle composed of his personal soldiers.
Shi Mingyu stood on the watchtower in the inner city and looked at the scene of "closing the door and beating the dog". After watching for a while, he felt unsatisfied, so he ordered: "Don't neglect the distinguished guests, serve good food!" Although Liang Jun, who was deeply trapped in the middle of the urn, could not hear what Shi Mingyu said, he briefly felt the slowdown of the offensive. The brave man also poked his head out from behind the shield and peeked. The reality was as he expected. Indeed, the feather arrows stopped shooting. At the stairs, he saw that the archers on the top of the city had replaced the new feather arrows. To be precise, it was not a simple feather arrow, but a feather arrow with the arrow ignited. What was even more surprising was that the burning flames of the arrow were not red but blue, and the green and faint flames were constantly jumping, extremely cunning.
What is this? Before the Liang army soldier could figure it out, a burning feather arrow shot into the shield he held. The green flame immediately spread out and burned the entire shield. The rapid and burning pain brought by the combustion forced the soldiers to throw away the former amulet. Just as he was still shaking his hands desperately, hoping to relieve the pain of being burned just now, the second feather arrow burning with a blue flame shot into his body. He widened his incredible eyes and fell down on his back. At the moment of falling down, his whole body was covered by blue flames.
This is not the experience of this Liang soldier alone, but the reality faced by all the trapped Liang soldiers. The Donghu people shot this strange and lethal feather arrow at the Liang army below. For a moment, the shield hands were shot and burned and died. The physical pain caused by the burning made these once proud Daliang cavalry start to roar and start to slap the flames on their bodies crazily. Unfortunately, everything was futile. The green flame seemed to be a ghost fire from hell. Once it was contaminated, it would be impossible to escape. It slowly fell to the ground under the painful burning, and then burned to the point where only black carbon powder was left.
"What kind of ghost fire is this?" Lei Peng was obviously scared and shouted in a trembling voice. Xuan Shaoning understood that these iron-blooded men did not reveal any timidity in the face of the cruel battlefield. However, facing this strange fire that exceeds ordinary people's comprehension, even the brave man could not help but be afraid. The reason why Xuan Shaoning could understand Lei Peng was because his hand holding the sword began to tremble slightly.
Wow! Another feather arrow burning with ghost fire shot towards Lei Peng. Lei Peng suddenly retreated. Seeing that the blue ghost fire was about to climb onto his body, Xuan Shaoning shouted and took off the feather arrow with a sword. The feather arrow, which was hit hard on the side, failed to fulfill his mission. When he approached the finish line, he fell to the ground in two pieces, but the ghost fire was still burning tenaciously.
"Get your spirits! Once the shield is shot, discard it immediately. Use the sword in your hand to cut off the feather arrow. Never let the ghost fire get involved!" Xuan Shaoning's move had a morale-boosting effect. Xia Junmao ordered the Han Dao Guard to re-form the formation, and each of them took out great concentration to face the ghost fire feather arrow.
"Continue shooting!"
Under the order of Yaba, the Donghu people did not stop attacking with ghost fire. They shot out the hell ghost fire one round after another, sending the enemies in the urn city into the yellow spring. Gu Hongxuan rushed into the urn city with 20,000 people. He originally wanted to directly attack the inner city with his fighting spirit, but unexpectedly, the urn city was not open, and 20,000 people were crowded with each other. This was simply a living target to the door. After continuous shooting of three incense sticks, the Donghu people had already lost nearly half of the Liang army's strength.
"Happy! Master Dumo, the gift you brought is really useful! When the battle is over, I will definitely report that my master Cheya Shanyu will reward the master well!" Shi Mingyu said gratefully to the people behind him in the face of the current results, but the other party seemed unmoved and said coldly: "Mr. Shi, this Qingying is valuable, don't waste it too much here."
Chapter completed!