The sudden hand-to-hand combat caught Wei Shiwen off guard. The first enemy almost grabbed the tail of a giant crossbow and jumped onto the city wall. Then more and more enemy soldiers jumped onto the city wall with hook axes raised high.
The hook ax is a single-sided ax with a crescent hook. It is a siege weapon commonly used by infantry. The crescent hook can hook into the city wall. The single-sided ax can also be used as a heavy hammer when it breaks the blade. The tail can be extended and used as a two-handed ax.
Almost every infantryman can use a hook ax, but the hook ax is a siege equipment and is usually used when attacking a city. It is not a standard conventional weapon.
The first soldier who rushed up to the city wall rolled on the spot and slashed with his hook and ax. The surrounding defenders who had no time to jump away were hit one after another. Some had their legs cut off on the spot, and some had their muscles and bones broken. The luckiest one was
The good ones also had a piece of skin removed.
The defenders who had just surrounded him immediately fell to the ground. Before the soldiers could roll to their feet, their upper body suddenly lifted up, and the two spear heads grazed his back and stabbed to the ground. He leaned back hard, holding down the two spears and the hook axe.
Swing it to the top of the head, then transfer your right hand to your left hand, and use the other hand to continue swinging and chopping.
This man was powerful, fast, extremely agile, and his combat power was much higher than that of the surrounding defenders. Surrounded by dozens of people, he rushed left and right, and for a while no one could do anything to him.
There must be experts in the death squads. Those who are not strong enough are not allowed to join the death squads, because those people can't even climb the city wall. Ding Kun was born in the death squads back then, and his skills are more powerful than many division commanders.
The suicide squads who came up later were not that powerful. Under the siege of the defenders, they either died in battle, were knocked off the wall, or were injured and fell to the ground trying to hold on.
The first warrior who came up was still fighting, choosing to infiltrate in crowded places. The cold light from the hook ax was like a ribbon waving by a dancing girl. All the long wooden weapons that were close to him were cut off, and heavy iron rods and other heavy weapons were cut off.
The weapon was deflected.
Swish, two spears with aura pierced the defensive circle of the hook ax. The soldier hurriedly took a big step forward, approaching the enemy between the spears, and struck the enemy with the hook ax in the face.
Whoosh, whoosh, several bows and arrows shot past the place where he stood just now. The sneak attack was not successful, but instead it inadvertently helped him block the enemies that were outflanking him.
The advantage of melee fighting in the crowd is that it can reduce the enemy's attack surface. After getting close to the enemy, there are only about four people who can directly attack him. Any more will cause interference.
Ding Kun's ability to survive in the death squads and then be promoted to a swordsman is related to his habit of using a pair of fleshy palms to fight against enemies. Using fists and feet naturally requires close combat. It is a piece of cake for him to fight one against four, often forming hundreds of enemies.
He was surrounded by people but unable to stop him.
"Be careful, Captain!" Another suicide squad member jumped onto the city wall. As soon as he shouted this sentence, a wooden stake like a beam hit him. In desperation, he could only use the shield in his hand to block it. With a "pop", his body
In response, it flew off the wall.
The warrior turned around, roared angrily, and the hooked ax rolled up in a circle of cold light, jingling, blocking Wei Shiwen's sneak attack.
"Surrender to the captain? Give up your weapons, and I will spare your life." Wei Shiwen ran down the tower and personally stopped this fierce soldier.
Judging from the names of the suicide squad members, that soldier is the captain of the suicide squad, whose surname is Xiang.
"Surrender? Bah, you asked my hook axe." Captain Xiang was not afraid at all when facing Wei Shiwen.
"Hmph! I don't know how to lift." Wei Shiwen raised his gun and wanted to stab him again, but he retreated sharply towards the captain's feet, then turned back and charged into the defenders at the rear.
Anyone can see that Wei Shiwen is a senior officer and his combat power must be much higher than that of ordinary defenders.
"Who are the enemy generals?" Qiao Meng also saw what happened on the wall.
"The one wearing the red tassel should be Wei Shiwen, the captain of the Nanzhao Prefecture Guards Corps." A staff officer recognized Wei Shiwen.
"Blow the gong and tell the death squads to withdraw." Qiao Meng knew that the commander of the Nanjing City defenders was Wei Shiwen, and expected that the assault would not succeed, and was unwilling to sacrifice the death squads in vain.
The gong rang, and the commander of the frontline troops also blew his whistle hastily to let the order to retreat reach the city.
Captain Xiang suddenly stretched out his hook ax, hooked a shield with the crescent hook, pulled hard, and pulled the shield hand in front of him, then squatted down and twisted his waist, turned behind the shield hand, and grabbed the back of his neck with one hand.
He used the shield hand as a shield, turned around in a circle, then opened a path with his ax and rushed to the city wall.
"Fire the arrow!" Commander Jinglan ordered.
After the death squads climbed onto the wall, Jinglan stopped shooting at that section of the wall. When the gong sounded, Commander Jinglan knew how to cover the retreat of friendly forces.
Another row of spear-like crossbow arrows arrived, and the defender climbed down subconsciously. The defender who was caught by Captain Xiang suddenly felt his neck loosened, and hurriedly struggled hard. Just as he took a big step forward, he was suddenly hit hard in the back.
Hit, and the giant crossbow arrow penetrated the chest.
Crouching down, he looked at the captain for an opening, kicked off a backflip on the spot, and climbed down the wall close to the crenel.
Jumping from a city wall more than 40 meters high, even a beheaded warrior would have difficulty escaping. However, he fell halfway towards the captain, and a shield flew up from underneath. He tiptoed and rushed forward, about ten meters above the ground.
, another shield flew up, and with one tip of his toes, he swept forward like a roc, and after landing, he rolled over, leaving a row of bows and arrows behind him.
The third captain has been staying in the "death zone", waiting for all the suicide squad members to retreat, and it was he who threw up the two shields.
"Xiang Ji, lead the troops to withdraw." He picked up two more shields and looked up at the situation on the city.
The suicide squad was organized by the third brigade. The captain naturally knew all the members, and Xiang Ji was the kamikaze captain who had just jumped down.
At this time, both the offensive and defensive sides seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and the offensive and defensive counterattacks began to slow down as if agreed upon.
"Sir, I can still hold on to my humble position." Xiang Ji handed back the death squad token.
"I saw it. No matter what, the credit for getting there first is yours." Ding Kui actually stepped onto the general stage and answered on Qiao Meng's behalf.
"For your humble position, please see the coach." All the people on the stage were greeted together.
Ding Kui came when the death squads launched an attack. He rode across the archer position and wandered around the dark battlefield. His mental power locked onto the death squads who had climbed onto the city wall. Perhaps only the magicians from both armies noticed him.
"You are very brave and smart, but you are not very lucky when you meet the general who defends the city. The morale of the defenders is still there, and the defense force is sufficient. Even if you open a gap, you will encounter desperate resistance. General Qiao's order to retreat was very timely.
This assault is considered a success." Ding Kui commented on the spot.
"This is Xiang Ji, the captain of the first squadron of the third brigade, and the death squad leader just now." Qiao Meng introduced to Ding Kui.
"Ding Shuai was very complimentary. I am willing to organize a suicide squad to attack again." Xiang Ji felt that he could conquer the wall.
"Now is not the time." Ding Kui glanced at the city of Nanjing under the night, "The isolated city without reinforcements can be captured at any time."
"You guys go down and rest first. I will discuss the matter of attacking the city with Ding Shuai." Qiao Meng cleared the people on the general stage, leaving only the division staff.
Ding Kui asked: "How sure were we that we could capture it just now?"
"If the defenders adopt the tactic of mutual destruction, even the 79th and 8th divisions will not be able to do it." Qiao Meng answered very honestly.
Don't look at Xiang Ji's happy fight on the city wall just now. Once a few people try their best to hug him, and the outer defenders launch an indiscriminate attack, ten more Xiang Ji will die, but the situation is not critical to the point of life and death.
This is also the difference between the local army and the regular army. They lack the courage to fear sacrifice.
The soldiers recruited by Shaodianguo to join the regular army are basically mentally prepared to die on the battlefield. As long as the battle reaches that point, almost all of them dare to fight with their lives. Regardless of whether they win or lose in the end, the treatment of the fallen soldiers is the same.
.
Most people who join the local army do so for military pay. Although there are certain risks, the mortality rate is not high. It is not their turn to die for the country.
Therefore, the fighting will of the local army is far inferior to that of the regular army. Even if some local troops with good skills encounter or risk their lives against the regular army, they cannot win.
Combat effectiveness, training level, team combat capability, fighting will, etc. are all important factors that restrict the combat effectiveness of local armies.
Then again, the local army would show unexpected fighting power when forced into a corner, so Qiao Meng did not push too hard.
"Yes." This is in line with Ding Kui's expectations. "The foreign troubles have not been eliminated, so you should take it easy and reduce losses as much as possible. By the way, I think Xiang Ji is quite good, why is he just a squadron leader?"
"He originally had a chance to be promoted to captain, but," Qiao Meng hesitated, "the assassin who assassinated the late king, Xiang Lan, is said to be from his family."
The great archer Xiang Lan is a killer trained by the Tang family, but he is not from the Tang family. His original surname is Xiang. The Xiang family is a vassal of the Tang family. In a small family, any particularly outstanding young people will be sent to the master's family for training. Xiang Lan is
One of them, Xiangji is not.
After the assassination of Shao Diandan, the Tang family was purged, and even the vassal families were not spared. The Xiang family was almost wiped out because of Xiang Lan, and only a few members of the clan were lucky enough to escape.
Xiang Ji joined the army at the age of 18 and has served for nearly 30 years. He joined the Eighth Army Corps 20 years ago and continues to this day.
The Eighth Legion has its own rules, and the imperial court's purge of the Xiang family did not affect Xiang Ji.
The royal family once sent someone to interrogate Xiang Ji, but Qiao Meng blocked him with just one sentence, "Xiang Ji has been in our army for almost twenty years. He has never violated military discipline and made countless achievements. Before he left the Eighth Army, I was the only one."
You can move him."
The attitude is very clear: if you want to capture Xiang Ji, you can transfer him away from the Eighth Army in advance if you have the means.
At that time, Xiang Ji was already the squadron leader. If you want to move a squadron leader, you must first go through the division commander. Only the commander of the legion can put pressure on the division commander. The clan government could not reach out to the eighth legion, so in the end they had to give up.
After hearing Xiang Ji's story, Ding Kui couldn't help but sigh: "What an unreasonable disaster! The Tang family's murder of the late king happened after the queen was pregnant. At that time, Xiang Ji had already made great achievements in the army. How could he be related to Xiang Lan and the Tang family?"
"The lower-level people also know this truth, but promotion to captain requires approval from the commander-in-chief. Later, later, because of the supervision of the country." Qiao Meng did not dare to continue.