Forced to Zhongnan Chapter 3 The Phantom of Guanshan
Xu Shi.
The cold wind blows through the yellow sand in the wilderness, and the whining sound is like the howling of ghosts and wolves.
Under the cold moon, corpses and broken baggage were piled up like hills on the outside of the Longtouguan city wall.
The blood condensed on the city wall walkway turned into ice, and when viewed through the ice, the moonlight was stained with the color of blood.
The yellow sand has worn golden armor through hundreds of battles, and at each crenel stood a sergeant in full vigilance, with ragged clothes and shabby armor.
They were unshaven, covered in blood, and looked tired. Some of them were elderly soldiers with white beards and hair.
They were silent and dull, but their bloodshot eyes revealed a fierceness and determination.
The direction their eyes were pointing was a rolling enemy camp under the hazy moonlight.
Perhaps, only the bright moon in Guanshan knows that during the three months since the Qiang invaded, a bloody and bloody battle continued to be staged at the Dragon Head Pass.
In addition to the sergeants on guard, more people were busy, trying their best to block the city wall that was damaged by the catapult during the day.
There was a scene of solemn killing in the city!
In the Wengcheng, there were about five hundred soldiers. They were lying on the ground, ready to attack. Once the enemy attacked, they would be the first group to support them.
Here, arrows are piled up into three hills, which looks like a lot. In fact, these supplies are no longer enough to resist the enemy's repeated attacks for a long time. They will all be consumed in one day at most.
There is only one trebuchet left, and some sergeants are repairing it. However, most of the stones are used to repair the city wall, and only a hundred and ten stones can be used to destroy the enemy. As for fireballs, rolling logs, iron caltrops, etc., which are more capable of destroying the enemy,
It had long been lost in the previous battle.
In the main city, there are houses everywhere that have been destroyed by the enemy's catapults. The buildings are in ruins and the walls are in ruins.
There are only 1,800 people left in the garrison, and pro-soldiers and ordinary soldiers live together. This is the last force reserved in the city.
In the quiet night, snoring was rising and falling, some people were tossing and turning, and some were sharpening their knives.
At the easternmost end of the city is a closed city gate. Behind the city gate is the vast fertile land of Dayu.
Because it was the farthest away from the battlefield and the safest place, a medical station was set up and all the wounded soldiers were gathered here.
Even if someone was missing an arm or a leg and was sweating profusely in pain under the hasty treatment given by military doctors, no one would moan unbearably.
They gritted their teeth, roared, and endured...
At the end of the Xu period.
Several cooks carried a large iron pot out of the kitchen, and under the leadership of the team leader, they crossed the barracks and trotted towards the gathering place for the wounded soldiers.
The rule set by coach Yan Chang is that the wounded soldier must taste the first bite of food.
Although the meal time is late today, the rules cannot be changed.
Wherever they passed along the way, whether they were soldiers sharpening their swords or soldiers in their sleep, they were all awakened by the smell of meat. They watched silently. When their tongues filled with saliva, their Adam's apple moved slightly.
Swallow a mouthful of saliva.
There was a shortage of food in the city five days ago. The supply has been reduced in the past few days. Yesterday, there was no food supply. The soldiers were all hungry and fighting fiercely with the enemy. Where could they get the meat?
A general came to his senses and shouted: "How dare you kill the horse?"
"Commander's order!" the corporal commander replied, leading the food delivery team without stopping for a moment.
"We have reached the point where we have to kill horses to satisfy our hunger..." The general felt like he was struck by lightning, "Have the reinforcements not arrived yet..."
Even the lowest level of soldiers knew what killing a horse meant, and there was a slight restlessness in the barracks.
The general calmed down his mind, pressed his sword on his waist, and glanced across the barracks, and it suddenly became quiet.
"It's time to eat, it's time to eat, fresh horse meat, brothers, let's eat with open stomachs!" the corps leader shouted before anyone arrived.
Soon, several soldiers carrying iron pots appeared in front of the wounded soldiers. The smell of hot meat dispelled the cold night.
"Commander, all we burdens can do is have a mouthful of rice soup," said an injured veteran at the front of the line.
"Brother is right, let the uninjured brothers eat enough so that they can have the strength to fight. We can just keep calm." The other wounded soldiers agreed.
The corps commander did not respond to everyone, but added: "The commander-in-chief ordered us to serve wine, one cup for each person."
A soldier came forward, took off the wine bag from his waist, took off the lid, and used it as a wine vessel.
There is only one cup of wine, the capacity is five qian, and it conveys only one message - to be strong.
Whether it’s life or death!
The wounded soldiers looked at each other and were silent for a moment, then burst into laughter and filled the air with pride.
"Thank you, Marshal!" the veteran in the platoon laughed, "Brothers, drink wine and eat meat, haha..."
At the beginning of the Xu period.
The captain appeared in front of a quiet wooden house with several soldiers. The iron pot for stewing meat was replaced by four dinner plates. On the plate were a piece of horse meat, wine for five cents, and a pair of clothes.
A picture of a white-fronted tiger hangs under the eaves, and candlelight comes from inside the room.
The corps commander took the lead to step forward, cupped his hands outside the door and said, "Commander, three generals, please have a meal."
"Bring it in."
The space in the house is not very large, and there are not too many furnishings. There are a few long tables, a few rolls of straw mats, a hanging map and a copper pot for keeping time. There is a handsome desk in the middle.
On the straw mat beside the long table in the hall, General Yan Long and Second General Yan Hu, who had taken off their armor, were wrapped like rice dumplings, with blood stains on the white cloth.
Yanhu had fallen asleep, and Yanlong was reading a scroll of bamboo slips.
"Shh-" Yan Long made a silencing gesture with his hand.
The corporal commander and others immediately understood. They gently put the plates on the table and bowed to go out. Only then did they intentionally or unintentionally glance at the steps below the commander's seat.
Yan Chang and his third son Yan Yun were sitting on the steps playing chess.
Someone came in. Yan Chang didn't even raise his head. He held a chess piece in his hand, which had not been found for a long time. He was obviously thinking.
Among the three brothers, only Yanyun is qualified to play chess with his father.
Yan Long and Yan Hu tried it in their early years, but their father killed them every time. They were also scolded bloody for losing the chess game too quickly.
After Yanyun was born, Yanlong and Yanhu felt that this younger brother was sent by God to save them. He could play chess with his father at the age of three. Although he lost more than he won, Yanchang's victory was not easy.
When Yan Yun was five years old, his chess skills greatly improved and he was already as good as Yan Chang.
Later, the two brothers even felt that Yan Yun was deliberately giving in to his father. They had seen with their own eyes the way Yan Yun played against the old chess players in the royal city.
For this reason, the two brothers secretly cursed their father as "shameless" more than once, and their years of depression were finally wiped away.
At this time, the wind blowing from nowhere broke open the window, carrying sand dust and a hint of coldness and rushing through the house.
The weather, which had been bright and bright just now, has actually changed. Looking through the window, thick clouds are rolling in, and sparse hailstones are falling on the tiles.
Yan Chang frowned, but before he could look away from the window, he suddenly heard Yan Yun's voice.
"Commander Father, the Qiang people will attack the city again tomorrow, and we will not be spared. Now God is good, and I have a plan that may be able to break the siege!"
"What?"
"Surprise attack!"
At the second quarter of Hai hour.
Dark clouds are pressing down on the city, threatening to destroy it.
Under the power of heaven, the huge Longtuguan city that is entrenched at the mountain pass seems extraordinarily small.
The wind is like a knife, the snow is like frost, and the world is covered with darkness.
In a short period of time, the direction of the enemy camp that was originally vaguely visible was no longer discernible, and the sight was only ten feet away.
Weather like this should be a good time to warm up and sleep.
Three ropes as thick as an arm slid down from the top of Longtuguan City. Immediately afterwards, some people climbed down along the long ropes.
The city gate was too bulky and damaged, making it difficult to open and close smoothly and the sound when opening was too loud, so it was abandoned.
These people had no armor, were lightly armed, and were agile. They only had a dagger stuck in their waists, and they numbered about fifty.
As soon as they landed, they had only one goal, which was to find the bodies of dead Qiang soldiers.
Most of the Qiang corpses were found under the city wall. Every time they found one, they took off the clothes of the corpse.
After a while, they collected hundreds of sets of clothes and trousers and scimitars that the Qiang people were good at, and hung them up from other ropes lowered on the city wall.
"Hey, what are these barbarians from Dayu doing?"
Suddenly a woman's voice came from the wilderness.
"It's not surprising what these barbarians do."
There was actually another woman traveling with him.
From behind the rugged rocks, two graceful figures turned out and advanced two feet with just one leap, erratic and like ghosts.
[New work released, I hope all readers will like it and support it! 】
