Hou Bing didn't sleep well all night. Although the sound of killing outside Dongcheng could not reach the county governor's house, he was worried that bad news would come after he was awakened by the first military news.
At dawn, he drank a night of refreshing soup to force away the physical and mental fatigue and cheer up. The county governor's wife personally helped him dress and dress.
"Your Excellency, the Sheriff, all members of the Public Security Bureau have assembled and are waiting for your order."
There was still no news that the city had been destroyed. Hou Bing calmed down and said: "I ordered Zhi An to divide into ten teams. First, go to the streets of the West City to recruit young men and women as auxiliary soldiers, and then gather at the military camp to obey General Zhang's orders."
Although the officials from Nanjing had not experienced war, they knew their responsibilities well and were not affected by fear in their hearts about what they should do, which reflected the governor's ability to govern.
Zhang Jie stood on the east tower. He had never stepped down from the tower since the first wave of enemy attacks.
Another wave of enemy troops retreated, and no new enemy troops were seen coming up. A new team came up under the east city wall to replace the original defenders.
"Sir, Zuo Jun is leading the Eighth Brigade to report." Zuo Jun came to the tower.
"Okay, thank you for your hard work. Don't worry about me, just command your men." Zhang Jie has already arranged the order of defending the city, and the specific command is the responsibility of the captain.
"Yes." Zuo Jun then looked at the enemy formation, "Sir, the enemy doesn't seem to have many siege equipment."
Banners were scattered outside the east city. The enemy's chariots and horses were attacking, and they were standing with spears. Dozens of battle formations, large and small, were fully formed. The ten archery towers built at night were crowded with shield bearers, and there must be archers behind them.
Hundreds of ladders were placed on the ground perpendicular to the city wall, and the enemy camp continued to send out new ladders.
"They," Zhang Jie hesitated, "don't need to. If the information from the Commander-in-Chief's Office is correct, then there is a forbidden magician in our country's Northern Third Army."
The commander-in-chief has the task of spying on elite legions of other countries and constantly collects and updates information on elite legions of various countries. Ordinary legions are not that concerned.
Gulu, Zuo Jun could hear himself swallowing saliva, "If the enemy forces a strong attack, the casualties will be huge."
"At the appropriate time, release some enemy troops onto the city."
"Well, our troops are not strong enough to trade with the enemy." Zuo Jun understood what the division commander meant.
Zhang Jie turned his head, looked at Zuo Jun, and said, "You can delay this as long as you can. If I can get reinforcements, it's worth it. If I can't get them, I'll just think I'm sorry for my brothers."
This is exchanging human lives for time. Letting the enemy troops go up to the city to engage in hand-to-hand combat can make the opponent's advanced magicians cast rat traps, making it inconvenient to use taboo magic to attack large areas, but it will inevitably increase the casualties of our own troops.
The number of combatable troops in the county city is just over 10,000. It is said that there are nearly 200,000 enemy troops outside the city, with a ratio of about 20 to 1. The result of such a fight can only be the annihilation of the entire army.
"Your Majesty, your words are serious! My subordinates are fighting for the kingdom and the people, so there is no reason for you to feel sorry for us! It is better to exchange the enemy's life for the enemy than to be killed without being killed. The subordinates will fight to the death to hold on to the city wall." Zuo Jun.
Saluted Zhang Jie solemnly.
"You can do it! Let the enemy see the combat effectiveness of the 201st Division. The elite regiment will be like that in front of us."
A new round of attack began. About five thousand people armed with long bows stepped into the attack range of the city wall; the shield bearer on the archery tower suddenly squatted down, revealing the archers behind, and a hail of arrows hit the wall; the ladder on the ground was lifted up by the infantry.
, running towards the city wall quickly like a giant centipede; more than twenty magicians lined up and flew to the top of the arrow tower.
"Fire the trebuchet and launch it. The archers will attack freely. Others should pay attention to the position of the ladder!" Zuo Jun shouted at the top of his lungs as he came down from the tower.
The city walls immediately became busy.
The trebuchet is operated by auxiliary soldiers, who loads the stone bullets, pulls the lever of the throwing rod, and calibrates it. Everyone knows what to do.
The Eighth Brigade had three hundred archers scattered on the city wall. Some shot back at the archery tower, some aimed at the archers on the ground, and some shot at the infantrymen carrying the ladders.
The infantry squadron leader hid behind the city wall and popped up from time to time to check the position of the ladder and call on his men to adjust their position.
More than a dozen magicians flew out of the city, facing each other's magicians from a distance. One-third of the magicians from the 201st Division were here.
"Your Excellency, the Sheriff and President Qu are here." The soldiers came to report.
The presidents of the Nanqiu County Magic Guild changed several times. Huo Hu Mingtang returned to the capital not long after reorganizing the Magic Guild after the war. The subsequent presidents no longer have level six combat capabilities.
The current president, Qu Heng, has been in Nanqiu County the longest, having dealt with Zhang Jie for nearly two years.
Zhang Jie came to the stairs and waited to greet Hou Bing and Qu Heng.
"What's going on?" Hou Bing asked when he saw Zhang Jie on the stairs.
Two personal soldiers held shields to protect the two dignitaries as they walked up the tower, blocking stray arrows flying in from time to time. Before Zhang Jie could answer, Qu Heng said, "It doesn't look good."
"The enemy attacked in the middle of the night and kept up the pressure. This time they doubled the offensive force. They probably wanted to test the maximum endurance of the city defense." Zhang Jie swung his sword to block stray arrows and led Hou Bing and Qu Heng away.
Near the guardrail.
"Oh, two tower-openers and twenty wand-wielding magicians, are you going to attack one division at a time?" Qu Heng, wearing a white robe, first observed the magicians on the opposite side.
"I want to tell you two some bad news. According to the latest information from the Commander-in-Chief's Office, there is a forbidden magician named Bandu in the Northern Third Army of our country, who is good at water magic." Zhang Jie told the truth.
Hou Bing's face turned pale in a flash, and Qu Heng's pretending to be relaxed expression turned serious. Both of them knew what the Forbidden Magician represented, and it was a force they could not compete with.
"Ding Kui! Come to Count Ding! He has level six warriors there." Hou Bing seemed to be grabbing a straw in the water.
Zhang Jie had to remind: "Juyang City has fallen. Prince Consort Ding and the princess have retreated to Hengfu City. There are also level 6 combatants in Lejia's private army threatening them. I'm afraid it will be difficult to help us."
"I just exchanged news with President Huan yesterday. They are stuck in the swamp and can't get out. They can only protect themselves and cannot help the county. Earl Ding wanted to come to help, but he doesn't know where he is now. Given the current situation, I'm afraid he can't help.
I’m not busy anymore.” Qu Heng contacted Huan Qiao before dismantling the communication array.
"Are we just going to sit back and wait for death?" Hou Bing lost his composure.
Zhang Jie said solemnly: "The 201st Division will fight to the last soldier and will never give up the county."
Qu Heng glanced at Zhang Jie, shook his head, and said, "I can't let the people in the guild die. I will tell them the truth. Those who are willing will stay, and those who are unwilling will let them break out."
The siege troops in the west and south do not have enough magicians to intercept them. It is relatively easy for the magicians in the city to break out and they should be able to escape.
"This, this is what it should be." Hou Bing was a little discouraged because the magician was not under his command.
"President Qu, I can understand. I will find a way to hold back the enemy's magical power and create an opportunity for you to break through."
Ten thousand soldiers are easy to train, but it is difficult to train a magician. Therefore, if the magicians can run away one by one, there is no point in being buried with the county.
You can't blame Qu Heng and the others for being cowardly. Band Tu's deterrence is too strong. An unbeatable person on the battlefield can decide the outcome of the battle, especially on the side with more troops. Ding Kui dared to use a small number of troops to sneak attack Lejia's private army, mainly high-end warfare.
He has an advantage in strength and can compete with the opponent's sixth-level combatants.
"Master Ban, would you like to contact Yushuai and ask Master Lang and Master Zhan to come and help?" Tang Qi and Ban Tu walked up to the stage together.
"I heard that Ding Kui has two great warriors, Lang Chun and Zhan Jie, who will stay at the base camp to protect His Highness Yu Shuai and Ji Man. You should be more cautious at this time. I won't have six-level warriors in the city.
They will only share the credit of the Third Army of the North when they come, but they can't actually help much."
"Well, let's attack for another morning and consume their strength so that they don't even have the energy to escape." Tang Qi was not in a hurry to use the trump card in his hand.
The Chinese army seemed to have concentrated all its siege forces on the east, north, west, and south sides of the city. There was no movement. This made Zhang Jie feel more at ease. If the 201st Division's troops were allocated to the four walls, it would definitely not be enough.
There are about 6,000 archers in formation and on the archery towers, which is six times the number of defenders on the city wall. Including the infantry charging with ladders, the number is ten times the number of defenders. The siege troops on the east side are unable to defend the city.
The military is under great pressure.
Zuo Jun personally went into battle when the enemy troops attacked the city in the second wave. He cut down more than a dozen enemy troops in a row before blocking a gap. By the time the seventh wave of siege troops were repelled, he had very little fighting spirit left.
, the armor on the chest was hit by a fireball, leaving a black mark despite being protected by fighting spirit.
"General Zhang, hasn't he replaced the defending troops? With less than half of the troops left in this brigade, can they defend the next wave of siege?" Qu Heng and the ten magicians chose to stay, and he returned to the tower.
"President Qu, it seems that the enemy's magicians did not use all their strength, otherwise not even half of the Eighth Brigade would be left." Zhang Jie changed the subject.
"Yes, they didn't use all their strength, or even half of their strength, so your regiment's magic is also preserving its strength."
"Then can I get rid of you and wait for the magician who will command the division to help the Eighth Brigade hold on for another wave?"
Qu Heng frowned and said: "I can promise you, but they will also increase their attack intensity. The Eighth Brigade may lose another half of its people, and this brigade will be destroyed." He also has war experience, a
It is very difficult to rebuild a brigade after it has been destroyed, and it may not even be as good as a new recruit brigade.
"If the city is broken, does it matter whether it is destroyed or not? If we don't consume the enemy's magicians, we may not have a chance to hold on until dark." Zhang Jie said directly when he saw that Hou Bing was not in the tower.
Hou Bing went to the Knights Guild. The people from the Knights Guild could bring a group of auxiliary soldiers to build fortifications on the street. They had to prepare for the worst situation. After the city wall was breached, they would turn to street fighting.
"Okay." Qu Heng took out a magic wand, "I want to ask you one last question, can we keep it dark?"