The Zhengbai Banner and the Xiangbai Banner took over Jirigela's attack. This time, the two banners had noticed that the soldiers on the top of the city were tired, and they believed that this was a good time for them to make a contribution.
So Jiya, the commander-in-chief of the white flag, and Menggen, the commander-in-chief of the white flag, discussed it below and decided that this time the battle should be carried out in one go to directly defeat the will of the guards on the city.
So the two men immediately ordered their cavalry to drive away the prisoners they had obtained and attack the city desperately.
Now the two of them were not like when they attacked the city in Jizhigla, they attacked in waves. Now they ordered all the prisoners to swarm forward.
Zhengbai Banner and Xiangbai Banner were attacking the city with all their might, and the defenders on top of the city couldn't stand it anymore.
The defenders managed to hold on to the city wall with great difficulty. They saw the enemy retreating. They originally wanted to take a rest, but now there was another wave, which made the defenders feel even more tired.
This person's psychological boredom has very obvious physical manifestations.
And the prisoners below have now begun to attack the city. The people on the top of the city feel unprecedented despair when they see tens of thousands of people attacking together.
But the captive soldiers below saw hope. As long as they broke through Longcheng Pass, they could save their lives and receive rewards.
So these people were desperate this time. They didn't care about the various rolling logs and stones flying from their heads, and climbed to the top of the city with all their lives.
As soon as one person falls from the ladder, the people behind him immediately catch up, leaving no chance for the defenders on the tower to breathe.
The Eight Banners cavalry not far behind the city tower used their superb cavalry skills to provide constant support from behind.
This made the losses of the defenders on the city even greater. These people had to brave the constant rain of arrows and throw logs and thunder stones down the city. At the same time, they fought bloody battles with the captive soldiers who climbed up the stairs.
As a result, it didn’t take long before I couldn’t hold on anymore.
Ruan Zhengyu had many such situations, and hurriedly ordered his soldiers to go for reinforcements. Although these soldiers were very brave, they were not many in number, and they were only a drop in the bucket when they reached the top of the city.
Seeing that the situation was urgent, Li Guangqing hurriedly came to Ruan Zhengyu's side.
"Your Majesty, the matter is urgent. Your Majesty immediately ordered all the men in the city to go to the city immediately, and ordered the strong women to gather under the city tower to wait for reinforcements at any time."
Ruan Zhengyu shuddered when he heard this. If he really said this to Li Guangqing, then I am afraid that after this war, there will not be many people left in Longcheng Pass.
Li Guangqing saw Ruan Zhengyu's hesitation and stamped his feet angrily. How long has this happened? And these women are so kind.
"Your Majesty, think about the millions of people behind Longcheng Pass, and think about the ancestors of the Ruan family."
Ruan Zhengyu hesitated to give up immediately after hearing this. He also knew that it was time to cut off his tail and survive. Sacrificing the people of Longcheng Pass to protect the safety of millions of people was a good deal.
So Ruan Zhengyu no longer hesitated and immediately ordered a part of his own soldiers to gather all the men in the city and drive them up to the tower.
While Ruan Zhengyu and the others were discussing here, changes also occurred on the top of the city.
Now there are fewer and fewer soldiers on top of the city, and they are gradually unable to withstand the attacks of the captured soldiers.
Seeing the crisis, Ruan Zhengyu immediately pulled out the sword beside him and said to the civil and military ministers behind him: "Once Longcheng Pass is broken, we will die without a burial place. In this case, it is better to fight to the death, maybe we can defeat it."
enemy."
After Ruan Zhengyu finished speaking, he rushed forward with his sword in hand, and the civil and military officials behind him all looked at each other in confusion.
The generals all blushed, so they followed Ruan Zhengyu up with their swords drawn.
But these civil servants didn't take it seriously. What's the use of going up there without any strength? Doesn't it give the Central Plains people a chance to set up an army to attack?
So these civil servants, instead of following their king to charge, instead asked their own guards to escort them back into the city tower.
Prime Minister Li Guangqing was so angry that he stamped his feet when he saw the appearance of these literati. However, there was really nothing he could do to deal with them at this critical moment, so he could only step forward to persuade them: "You are all the pillars of the country. Although you can't step forward now, why not?"
Then I sent my own soldiers to reinforce him."
After listening to Li Guangqing's words, these civil servants' faces turned red, and they all nodded silently at the end. As soon as Li Guangqing saw that they agreed, he immediately ordered these people's soldiers to follow him to the top of the city.
Ruan Zhengyu led his men to fight to the death. In this battle, corpses were strewn all over the city tower. In the end, the rolling wood and thunder stones were no longer enough. The soldiers defending the city directly used the corpses of their comrades as rolling wood and threw them down to attack.
The captured soldiers in the city.
But even so, Ruan Zhengyu and the others could no longer hold on. All the three thousand old and weak soldiers at Longcheng Pass had been lost, and the thousands of strong men they had recruited had also been lost. Ding Hao's thousands of soldiers and horses had also been lost.
In the battle just now, there were so many casualties, and in the end even the personal soldiers of the civil and military ministers gathered by Ruan Zhengyu were very few left.
When Meng Gen saw the resistance on the city getting weaker and weaker at the bottom of the city, he immediately smiled. He knew that the city would be broken at this moment.
So Menggen, regardless of his age, personally took his 10,000 cavalry and rushed to the city wall to reinforce the captive soldiers.
With the addition of Meng Gen and others, captured soldiers gradually appeared on the city tower, and they even occupied a small base.
Ruan Zhengyu is already a little desperate now. He knows that the city will be broken at this moment.
What Ruan Zhengyu was thinking now was whether to live or die with the city, or to remain useful and retreat to Thang Long Palace to fight the enemy decisively.
At this critical moment, suddenly a group of people armed with various weapons rushed up to the tower.
Ruan Zhengyu took a closer look, and tears immediately filled his eyes. It turned out that these people were either children of eleven or twelve years old, or gray-haired old men in their fifties or sixties. They were holding either sickles or hoes in their hands.
These people came to the top of the city and immediately joined the battle group. Although these people were weak in combat, they all attacked the enemy like crazy.
Thanks to the addition of this man, the attack of the captive soldiers was quickly repelled again.
Meng Gen stamped his feet at the sight of the city. He originally thought that the city would be breached this time, but he never expected that another group of people would come up.
Jiya shook his head when he saw this situation. He didn't expect these southern barbarians to be so tenacious.
Besides, now on the city tower, although it was said that the captured soldiers were driven back again, as soon as Ruan Zhengyu counted the number of people, everyone inside and outside was immediately destroyed.
It turns out that there are only five to six thousand people who can still stand and fight on the city tower, and most of these people are teenagers and old people in their fifties and sixties. If the enemy attacks again like this, I am afraid that
It's really going to end.
Li Guangqing also kept frowning. He did not expect that the Central Plains people would dare to let the captured soldiers attack the city.
Little did they know that the Tatars had already developed a set of methods for managing these slaves over a long period of practice.
The promotion of these people almost depends on military merit. If their merit is great enough, they can even break away from their status as slaves and join the Tatar ethnic group. The Tatar population values warriors, and for these former captives who join them,
There is no discrimination, but because they were promoted due to military merit, they are regarded as warriors.
The Manchu Eight Banners were almost all divided from the Tatars, so they perfectly inherited this set of regulations.
Because of this set of regulations, the slave soldiers under his command also saw hope.
Compared with when they were in Annan Kingdom, where military honors were deprived by officers with noble backgrounds, the system of the Eight Banners of Manchuria made them feel more at ease.
Because of this, these captive soldiers moved forward bravely, one because they could get promoted and become superiors by virtue of their military industry.
The second reason is that their family members are still in Annan. If Annan is not defeated and the war subsides, their family members may be implicated.
What's more, now that Longcheng Pass is about to be breached, these captive soldiers also see hope, so they are even more desperate.
Although Li Guangqing didn't know why these captive soldiers attacked desperately, he saw the current situation very clearly.
"Your Majesty, we should drive those strong women below the city to the top of the city."
After hearing this, Ruan Zhengyu nodded silently, and then asked his own soldiers to handle the matter.
Not long after, a group of women were driven to the top of the city. They were holding various weapons in their hands, and they were all trembling with fear.
When they reached the top of the city and saw corpses all over the ground, many women immediately lay down on the wall and vomited.
When Ruan Zhengyu saw this, he knew that this battle could not be fought. These women can't even stand now. Do you still expect them to defend the city and kill the enemy?
Li Guangqing also saw the seriousness of the situation. He pulled Ruan Zhengyu and the two of them arrived at a place where there were no locals.
"Your Majesty, it seems that Longcheng Pass is no longer safe. Please immediately retreat with all the civil and military officials to Shenglong Mansion to concentrate your forces, and then fight the Northern Dynasty bandits."
Ruan Zhengyu has long wanted to do this, but now he still has to be more reserved.
"I am the king of Annan. How could I escape from battle? Prime Minister, don't say this again."
Li Guangqing looked at the confusion on Ruan Zhengyu's face and knew what he was thinking, so he quickly advised him: "Your Majesty, this is not an escape, but an exchange of space for time. Only in the future can we defeat the bandits and regain our country."
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Ruan Zhengyu thought for a while and refused again, because he knew that the next wave of attacks was coming soon, and if he didn't leave now, he might not be able to leave even if he wanted to.
"In that case, I will listen to your arrangements and temporarily retreat to Shenglong Mansion before fighting the enemy decisively."