Chapter 76: Julu Attack and Defense (2) [Two in One]
"Swish——"
"Swish——"
Above and below Julu City, countless Wei army crossbowmen and Han army crossbowmen started shooting at each other. The dense rain of arrows was like a downpour, covering the area.
In such a dangerous battlefield, the unarmored soldiers of the Chu State might not be able to survive even a stick of incense, because even the Wei army wearing thick armor suffered casualties at this moment.
"Protect Your Highness!"
On the Julu City Tower, "Cen Chang", the chief of the Suwang Guards - now should be called the "East Palace Guards", shouted at the top of his lungs, urging his guards to hold strong shields one by one and attack Zhao Hongrun and Zong Zong.
The guard chief Zongwei, his concubine Zhao Que and several others surrounded the area with water and provided almost all protection, leaving not even a single gap for Zhao Hongrun to observe the Korean army outside the city.
And in this case, Zhao Hongrun would not be stupid enough to push away the surrounding guards and say that I should continue to observe the Korean army. After all, it is indeed too dangerous on the tower at the moment. God knows when a stray arrow will fly.
, took away his life.
Zhao Hongrun still cherishes his life. Furthermore, a gentleman does not sit down in court. As the prince and crown prince of the Wei State, if he is not responsible for his own life, he is also irresponsible for the entire Wei State and all Wei people. After all, he
If anything unexpected happens, Wei will definitely be in turmoil.
In this way, Zhao Hongrun had no choice but to stay quietly under the space 'erected' by the East Palace guards with large shields, and judge the war situation between the enemy and ourselves through the sounds from the outside.
I don’t know how long it took, but the roar of Shang Shui’s soldiers rang out from the city tower: “The enemy soldiers are attacking the city wall. Everyone, please fight. Don’t let the enemy soldiers attack the city wall!”
Although Zhao Hongrun and others were heavily protected, generals such as Wu Ji, Zhai Huang, and Nanmen Chi in the Shang Shui army still stood on the tower, observing the entire battlefield without fear.
Especially Wu Ji, this guy stood behind the wall with his arms folded, his eyes sharply scanning the Korean military formation outside the city, as if he was looking for his prey, turning a blind eye to the arrows in the sky, but ignoring the few people around him.
The soldiers holding large shields turned the ground to a color of earth, fearing that their brave and unstoppable general would die on the battlefield due to a mere stray arrow.
"Ascend the city!"
At the foot of Julu City, the roars of the Korean generals rang out, and immediately, groups of Korean infantry put long ladders on their shoulders on the city wall and scrambled to climb up.
The first team of Han soldiers who took the lead in attacking the city chose the area that "Thousand-man General Li Hui" was responsible for defending.
"Don't panic, we are the invincible Shang Shui army. There is no enemy in this world who can defeat our army... The old soldiers will take care of the newcomers."
Li Hui, a thousand-man general who was wearing armor and had two short beards, walked back and forth on the city wall, clapping his hands to encourage some nervous recruits under his command.
Although Li Hui is young, he is still only twenty-seven years old this year, but he is indeed an old pawn who has been in the Shang Shui Army for ten years, and in these ten years, he has grown from an ignorant to an ignorant soldier.
An introverted soldier gradually became a trustworthy general.
Not far away, Yang Wu, a 500-man general, smiled and looked at his young companion Li Hui, who was encouraging the new recruits in a decent manner, and was having fun with the veterans beside him in a low voice, probably making fun of him.
When Li Hui went to the battlefield for the first time, he was so frightened that his face turned pale and he was in embarrassment when he couldn't even eat.
This Yang Wu is a top-notch soldier in the Shang Shui Army. In terms of qualifications, he joined the army half a year earlier than Li Hui, and he has killed more than hundreds of enemies in the past ten years. In terms of military merit and qualifications,
In fact, even being promoted to a general of 2,000 men was not an exaggeration, but because he didn't like to stay behind and command, he still stayed in the position of a general of 500 men.
After all, the five-hundred-man general (junhou, quhou) is the backbone of the battlefield. It can be understood as the sergeant chief. He leads by example and serves as the main force in the charge. If he is promoted to a higher level and becomes a thousand-man general, he will be more often
The need to stay in the rear and command the soldiers under his command was not in line with Yang Wu's character - he admired General Wu Ji very much.
"Be serious!"
A young Qianren general came over and saw Yang Wu laughing and joking with several old soldiers, so he kicked the latter's butt lightly.
This young Thousand-Man General is called Le Bao, and he is the partner of Li Hui and Yang Wu. After ten years of hard work, he has become a Thousand-Man General.
Yang Wu glanced back at Le Bao, curled his lips and was about to speak, when he suddenly heard Tong Ze shouting from near the wall: "The enemy is coming up!"
After hearing this, Yang Wu did not bother to quarrel with Le Bao, stood up and shouted with an air of dignity: "Please cheer me up! ...Tianwu, beautiful maids, Hu Nu, noble honors, as long as you kill the enemy
With enough merit, all this is within reach!"
"Listen to what we, the rich man of Yangwu, say!" An old soldier nearby who was not doing anything right said in support, causing the other veterans nearby to laugh or boo.
Only the new recruits who had just joined the army were quite envious of what Yang Wu said.
In the past ten years, it is obvious to all that Wei's soldiers have been well treated. In short, as long as the soldiers dare to use their lives, the imperial court will properly arrange the soldiers' homes and prevent them from becoming a worry.
Of course, this is only for new recruits. For veterans who already have enough food and clothing at home, what they need is social status and the Hu Nu who is said to be available to them as long as they have enough meritorious service in the army.
Although Hu people are generally not welcomed in Wei State, Hu women are still very popular.
Perhaps they were distracted by these veterans. Even the recruits who were facing such a large battle for the first time relaxed their nervousness at this moment, especially the young recruits who had not yet married. If it were not for the current war, I am afraid that
My mind is filled with those rumored beauties.
In this tense and somewhat relaxed atmosphere, the Shang Shui Army easily blocked the first wave of the Korean army's offensive.
Although it was said that they mainly relied on the old soldiers, it could not be denied that the new soldiers gradually let go of their hands and feet, and cooperated with the old soldiers in a decent manner, killing Korean soldiers one after another.
As for the brave veterans like Yang Wu, they would only take action when the situation is tight. Under normal circumstances, they would just stand aside and watch, giving some advice to the new recruits and telling them what to do when.
Looking at these merchant navy troops defending the city, it can be described in one word: stable!
No matter how ferocious the Korean army's offensive outside the city was, the soldiers of the Shangshui Army were always able to securely defend the city wall and prevent any enemy soldiers from attacking the city wall. Even though several recruits missed and were killed during this period.
Several Korean soldiers climbed onto the city wall first, and these enemy soldiers were quickly killed by the veteran soldiers on the wall. Even though this siege seemed dangerous, in fact, the Korean army posed almost no threat to the Wei army.
.
Han Yuyang, who was guarding Qin Kai, was watching the battle from a distance outside the city and frowned at this time.
Who dares to say that the Yuyang soldiers under his command are weak? Furthermore, Qin Kai himself never thought so. You must know that before Donghu was defeated, his Yuyang army was one of the main armies to resist Donghu, even though Donghu was arrogant
He was fierce, but if he saw the banner of the Yuyang Army, he would not dare to make a mistake easily.
However, the Yuyang army, which was capable of defeating Donghu, fell into a disadvantage in front of the Wei army.
Although the attacking side is naturally at a disadvantage, this battle has been going on for nearly half an hour, and not even a single Yuyang soldier has been able to gain a foothold in Julu City. If he hadn't witnessed it with his own eyes, Qin Kai would have simply
Unimaginable.
"How could the Wei army be so brave?"
Han General Qin Kai frowned and muttered secretly.
He once witnessed with his own eyes that the Wei soldiers of the Shang Shui Army in Julu City did not avoid arrows and bravely blocked behind the walls, making it difficult for the soldiers of Yuyang who were attacking the city to advance.
Perhaps once, Qin Kai thought that the Donghu soldiers were stronger, but after watching the Wei army's battles, he had to admit that in this era, the Central Plains soldiers were more brave. No wonder the Wei army was able to defeat Linhu and capture the Hetao area in one fell swoop.
"Well..."
Taking a long breath, Qin Kai crossed his arms and pondered, thinking about whether he should continue to put pressure on Julu under this deadlock or give up. Anyway, his purpose of testing has been achieved: after this battle,
Afterwards, not only did he have a general understanding of the Shang Shui Army in Julu City, he believed that the Yuyang soldiers under his command would not take this Wei soldier lightly.
However, after thinking about it carefully, Qin Kai believed that this battle could continue. After all, although the Shang Shui Army's defense was stable, it did not show overwhelming strength.
"Where is Zhai Li?" Qin Kai called.
As soon as he finished speaking, a Han general who was estimated to be about thirty-five years old came to Qin Kai. He was more than nine feet tall, with a strong back and a strong waist. He looked particularly tall, and the beard on his face made him see even more.
It looks so brave and fierce that people dare not look at it.
"The end is here!"
Arriving in front of Qin Kai, Zhai Li clasped his fists and responded in a humming voice.
Qin Kai raised his hand and pointed at a section of Julu City, and said in a deep voice: "Take three thousand people and attack this section of the city wall."
"The general will obey your orders!"
Zhai Li responded with cupped fists.
A moment later, Zhai Li, the brave general of the Yuyang Army, led 3,000 men to rush to the aid of the soldiers in front.
When he came to the bottom of the city, he saw that his own soldiers on the long ladder could not attack at all. He actually lifted a soldier in front of him who was about to climb the long ladder down with one hand. Then, he grabbed a piece of stone from a soldier beside him with his right hand.
Holding the shield against the crossbow bolt on the tower, he climbed up the long ladder.
"Get out of the way! Get out of the way! Get out of my way!"
At this time, he didn't care about hurting friendly troops. Like a wild bull, Zhai Li rushed up the long ladder. During this period, the Yuyang sergeant on the long ladder was actually squeezed out by him with his huge body.
People screamed and fell down the city.
At this time, the Wei soldiers on the city wall also noticed this tall and rough soldier. When Zhai Li showed up, he slashed at him with the sword in his hand.
"Dang Dang Dang——"
In the blink of an eye, three or four blades struck Zhai Li on the shield he held on his head. What shocked people was that Zhai Li resisted the strength of these three or four people and used his shield to flick the blades in their hands.
He opened it, then turned over and jumped onto the city wall.
After a moment of shock, the few Wei soldiers who were forced to retreat stepped forward again. However, at this time, Zhai Li had already taken another shield from the friendly soldiers behind him. He was seen waving two shields in both hands and forcefully
Shengsheng used brute force to push the Wei soldiers back several times.
One of them, a relatively thin Shang Shui soldier, was hit hard in the chest by Zhai Li with his shield. He actually took three steps back and spat out a mouthful of blood.
This scene made the recruits of the Shang Shui Army look on with horror.
Only the old soldiers saw this and became more ferocious. They slashed at Zhai Li with their weapons. However, Zhai Li held two shields and was unable to stop him with his brute strength. Instead, he forced the old soldiers to retreat.
Taking advantage of this gap, the Korean soldiers led by Zhai Li quickly swarmed up the city wall.
"Come on, little bastard of Wei!"
Licking his lips, Zhai Li chuckled strangely.
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard someone say: "Hey, let me, a little brat, come and meet you."
Hearing the sound of wind in his ears, Zhai Li subconsciously stretched out his left arm, trying to repeat the same trick, using the shield in his hand to slap the reckless guy away, but what he never expected was that the shield in his hand hit with a bang.
After hitting something hard, the other side didn't move at all.
"Huh?"
Zhai Li was slightly surprised. He turned around and saw a Wei soldier who was far shorter than him in height. He was also holding a shield with one arm in his left hand and blocked his attack.
"It's the five hundred generals of Yangwu!"
The surrounding Wei soldiers cheered happily.
I saw Yang Wu licking his lips, staring intently at Zhai Li in front of him, he chuckled and said: "Leave this guy to me, you deal with the rest. General Wu Ji patted his chest and promised in front of His Highness that there will be no enemy soldiers."
If you can climb the city wall alive, don't embarrass General Wu Ji."
"Yes!" The surrounding Wei soldiers responded, leaving Zhai Li behind and turning to attack the Han soldiers behind Zhai Li.
"Five hundred generals?"
Zhai Li glanced at Yang Wu with disdain, curled his lips and said: "Five hundred generals, how dare you stop me?"
However, even though he said this, there was no slightest bit of contempt in his eyes. After all, the guy opposite him, who seemed to be a general of 500 people in the Wei army, blocked his blow with one arm - Zhai Li was once called a natural
A monster with divine power, what is the opponent?
Hearing Zhai Li's words, Yang Wu grinned and asked with a smile: "Enemy general, do you have a high rank? Let me tell you."
"Yuyang guards the three thousand generals under General Qin Kai's command, Zhai Li!"
Zhai Li answered Yang Wu with a bit of arrogance.
Hearing this, a flash of light flashed in Yang Wu's eyes, and he chuckled strangely: "Three thousand generals... your head is enough to replace a Hu girl!"
"What?"
Zhai Li was stunned for a moment. Before he could understand, Yang Wu picked up the sword in his right hand and struck Zhai Li hard.
Seeing this, Zhai Li subconsciously raised his shield to resist. He heard a clang and the sword struck the shield hard. The strong force made Zhai Li's right hand numb slightly.
"Well blocked!"
The Yangwu monster laughed, then swung the sword in his hand again and slashed hard at the shield in Zhai Li's hand. The force was stronger every time. The last time, Zhai Li bent his left leg and almost fell to his knees on one knee.
"This guy..."
Zhai Li was shocked and angry.
What was shocking was that the five-hundred-man general opposite him was not inferior to him in terms of strength; what made him angry was that the boy opposite was really too happy.
In anger, he picked up the shield in his hand and hit Yang Wu again. He heard a bang, and Yang Wu also used the shield to face him head-on. After a hard fight, both bodies were numbed by the shock.
.
"strong enough!"
After moving his somewhat numb left arm, Yang Wu took a deep breath to gather strength.
At this time, Zhai Li also realized that he was at a disadvantage because he did not have a weapon. After looking around for a few times, he threw away his shield and picked up an ownerless weapon from the ground.
Immediately, the two people fought together again.
There were no fancy tricks. The two men simply fought with brute strength. When they waved their blades and shields, the whistling sound of the wind made the surrounding Wei and Han soldiers want to step forward to help but were wary.
, after all, this kind of fighting between brave generals is not something that ordinary soldiers can participate in.
After fighting for about an hour, both Yang Wu and Zhai Li were out of breath.
Compared with Yang Wu, who looked tired but had bright eyes, Zhai Li seemed a little impatient. After all, in the latter's view, being on the same level as a general of 500 men in the Wei army was not something to be proud of.
He didn't know that in fact, Yangwu, who was opposite him, had enough military merit to be promoted to a general of 2,000 men, not just a general of 500 men.
After another dozen or so moves, Zhai Li became a little anxious.
You must know that Qin Kai asked him to come to open up the situation, not to fight with the 500-man general on the opposite side. During the fight between the two of them, the Wei soldiers had gradually regained control of the situation and would follow him Zhai Li.
The incoming Korean soldiers were repulsed.
If he continues to stay here at this time, Zhai Li will definitely end up in a tight siege.
Thinking of this, Zhai Li took a deep breath, used all his strength, raised his shield and smashed it at Yang Wu, trying to force the opponent back and retreat at the same time.
But what he never expected was that the swing he exerted with all his strength was in vain. He was caught off guard and stumbled forward involuntarily.
"Where are the people?"
At the moment when he leaned forward, Zhai Li was still a little confused.
However, at this moment, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a bright sword being handed out from under him. He was so frightened that his face turned pale, and he secretly thought: It's over!
"puff--"
There was a sound of a sharp blade penetrating the body, and a sharp blade pierced Zhai Li's throat from bottom to top.
Now look at the man holding the knife. If it's not Yang Wu, who is it?
It turned out that when Yang Wu saw the increasingly anxious look on Zhai Li's face, he expected that this person probably wanted to force him back and then retreat. Therefore, he suddenly squatted down and narrowly avoided Zhai Li's shield swing.
, then, taking advantage of the fact that the latter's old strength was exhausted and his new strength was no longer sustainable, he held out the blade, aimed at Zhai Li's throat, and pierced the weakest unit in one fell swoop.
"Fuck...account!"
After swearing the last word with difficulty, Zhai Li fell to the ground and used his remaining strength to slash at Yang Wu with his sword, trying to pull the boy opposite him back.
But it is a pity that even though Yang Wu was out of breath at this time, he still had enough strength to block his attack.
"Bang--"
A huge body fell heavily to the ground.
At this time, Yangwu, who was panting like an ox, took a few deep breaths, chopped off Zhai Li's head with a knife, held it in his hand, and shouted loudly: "The enemy general Zhai Li was killed by Yangwu with three thousand men.
!”
"Whoa whoa--!"
Seeing this scene, the morale of the Wei soldiers on the city wall was greatly boosted, especially the soldiers who had witnessed how brave the Han general Zhai Li was before. They were even more excited at this time, as if they had endless strength in their chests.
On the other hand, the few remaining Korean soldiers on the city wall, as well as those who were still trying to attack the city along the long ladder, all turned pale.
It has to be said that although it is more efficient to use war weapons such as sniper crossbows to snipe enemy generals, it cannot be denied that it is more effective to kill enemy generals in a fair situation like Yang Wu killed Zhai Li.
The morale of the soldiers is dealt a blow.
No, once Zhai Li died, the Han soldiers' offensive seemed to have dropped by several levels. Not to mention the threat to the old soldiers of the Wei army, even the new recruits of the Shang Shui army could repel them.
The morale of the Korean soldiers here has been exhausted.
At this time, Qin Kai, the guard of Yuyang, heard the cheers of the Wei soldiers on the city outside the city, and his heart skipped a beat.
Because the direction where the cheers came from was exactly where he sent his general Zhai Li.
"Could it be that Zhai Li... can't do it? Zhai Li is a powerful general of our Yuyang Army. How can he be easily killed by Wei soldiers?"
Qin Kaixin prayed secretly.
However, a moment later, the messenger who retreated from the front ruthlessly conveyed the bad news to Qin Kai: "General, General Zhai Li was beheaded by the Wei army, and the person who killed him was General Yangwu, a 500-member Shang Shui army!
"
"..."
Qin Kai opened his mouth, but he didn't know what to say. He couldn't imagine that Zhai Li, who could not resist even the Donghu soldiers, would die in the hands of the Wei army, and he died in the hands of a mere 500-man general.
After hearing the bad news, many generals around Qin Kai enthusiastically asked for help.
"General, let me go!"
"General, please let me avenge Zhai Li!"
"General..."
However, Qin Kai turned a deaf ear to these requests for help, and just frowned and stared at the giant deer city in the distance.
After a long while, he took a long breath, waved his hand and said: "That's it for today. Send the order and withdraw the troops."
The generals on the left and right looked at each other, each with a look of unwillingness, but they did not dare to disobey Qin Kai's order and could only withdraw their troops by default.
"Ding ding - ding ding -"
After a while, the Korean army's main formation sounded the sound of gold ringing indicating retreat. Immediately, the Korean soldiers who were blocked under Julu City evacuated like a tide.
Seeing this, the Wei army's cheers rang out in Julu City.
When the Yuyang army retreated, the cavalry under Ma She, the Shanggu guard, galloped into the battlefield and provided support to the retreating Yuyang army. The purpose was of course to prevent the Wei army from pursuing the victory.
As for Shanggu Shou Mashe himself, he took a few people to the Yuyang Army's main formation and exchanged their views on this battle with Qin Kai.
In this regard, Qin Kai sincerely lamented: "The Shang Shui Army is a tough nut to crack. Not only did our army not pose a threat to the city wall in this battle, but we also lost a brave general Zhai Li..."
Having said this, he let out a long sigh.
Hearing this, Ma She, the guardian of Shanggu, nodded and said: "When I was dealing with Wei Gongzi Run, the Wei army was on the offensive, so I had no way of knowing that this Wei army was also so impeccable in defense.
.Perhaps as Marquis Li said, if you want to defeat Wei Gongzi Run, you can only rely on the heavy cavalry of General Sima Shang..."
At this point, he saw Qin Kai's face was dark, so he persuaded him: "Although it is a pity to lose the brave general Zhai Licheng, if this victory can make Wei Gongzi Run change his attitude and take the initiative, this may not be an unexpected gain."
.”
Qin Kai shook his head noncommittally and let out a laugh.
Ma She's words were just comfort and not enough to be accepted, but it was undeniable that Qin Kai believed that what he said was correct.
Apart from Sima Shang's 50,000 heavy cavalry, Qin Kai really couldn't think of any other way for them to severely damage the Shang Shui army commanded by Wei Gongzi Run.
The question is, how to lead the Wei army out of Julu City?
At least Qin Kai did not think that Wei Gongzi Run would change his mind and adopt proactive tactics because of the poor siege battle of his Yuyang army, although Wei Gongzi Run was indeed a commander who was good at catching the enemy's weaknesses.