One hundred and eighty and round the city, the people of the North Rivers and Lakes are supreme
Thirty miles north of Binyuan City was the battlefield between the two sides at the beginning of spring. The abandoned trenches, horse pits and damaged wooden city towers formed a weak defense line, barely protecting the more than 4,000 people inside.
The young and strong among the people were armed with the heavy weapons that had not yet been destroyed. Water and food were extremely scarce. They had enough arrows for people to burn firewood for heating. They also had a considerable number of strong bows and crossbows. This is why they could use thousands of
Facing the prairie people, a full team of ten thousand people is part of the reason why they have been able to support themselves until now.
Ji Tingxian, who had a tall figure and a heavy face, stood on the wooden tower built by everyone and looked out. Less than two miles away, the barbarians started to set up camp. Rough tents were erected one after another.
There were actually people who took off their leather armor and roasted mutton on the bonfire. The smell of the meat wafted far away, and everyone in the camp secretly swallowed their saliva.
"General! Be careful of barbarian bows and arrows!" The soldiers below the wooden tower shouted loudly, "Yesterday when we were setting up the tower, more than ten brothers were hit by arrows, all of which were lodged in their throats. General, it is better to be careful!"
The barbarians' archery skills were appalling to Yao's generals. Arrows made from wild wormwood could not penetrate the armor of soldiers. However, horse archers with outstanding archery skills could even seal a throat with an arrow from a hundred paces away.
Yao didn't know that barbarian children on the grassland had to carry small bows and arrows to shoot wild rats since they were five years old. If they couldn't shoot enough, they couldn't go home to eat. When they were older and could ride horses, they would shoot marmots and hares on horseback. The outstanding people
They can even shoot down slippery foxes and powerful yellow sheep, and the best archers can even shoot down goshawks from the sky.
Even though he was wearing three layers of heavy armor, as the leader of more than 4,000 people, Ji Tingxian, the captain of Fangmaguan School, did not dare to use his own throat to test the barbarian bows and arrows. After seeing clearly the distribution of the tents and the men and horses,
After climbing down from the wooden tower, two soldiers supported him.
"How many times have I told you, I am a captain! A captain!" He shouted to the two soldiers beside him, preparing to fight. When he saw the soldier next to him had his face cut open by a flying arrow, he started to speak.
They all bared their teeth and grinned, so they couldn't make a move, just a feint.
It was a helpless move to retreat from Fangma Pass with the remaining troops. All the nearby passes fell one after another. When the last attempt to set fire to safety failed to get a response, Ji Tingxian took the remaining 1,200 people in Fangma Pass with him.
The soldiers tried to take advantage of the darkness to retreat south. They encountered barbarian rovers twice on the way and managed to fight them off. However, there were hundreds more wounded. Those who were slightly injured and could still walk were taken with them. Those who were seriously injured had no way to receive medical treatment.
, so he could only stay far away and give him a knife and three days of food.
"Our food can last for three days at most, and the water is okay. The people have dug a well these days and can still save money." The clerk in charge of military supplies and Ji Tingxian who came to inspect complained, "Those who have been stealing food in recent days
There were more than a dozen people, but they were barely put on the table to grab. They were all hungry and anxious people, grabbing the food and stuffing it into their mouths regardless of whether it was raw or cooked."
If the person who steals food is a sergeant, he can be punished by military law. He should be beheaded or whipped. There will be no tolerance. But they are ordinary people, including old, young, women and children. The petty officials have nothing to do, so they have to hand over the food and return to the army.
warehouse.
"Take out all the food and let people cook decent meals at night." Ji Tingxian sighed when he saw the granary that was about to reach its bottom.
"Master Captain...are we finally going to break through?"
After being silent for a while, Ji Tingxian still didn't answer the little official in charge of the warehouse. With more than a thousand soldiers, mostly young and strong civilians, and dragging thousands of civilians with him, even if he was lucky enough to open a hole, he wouldn't wait for several people to run away.
Miles away, the barbarian cavalry casually took out a thousand men to catch up and kill them all. How many of the thousands of people could survive? They took out all the food, just to let these people be able to eat before they died.
Just a full meal.
"The reinforcements are coming soon. When they arrive, they will all be full of strength. They will work together inside and outside to kill the barbarians without leaving a single piece of armor behind. Then they will march back to the round city in a big way."
Even Ji Tingxian himself found these words to be outrageous. This kind of comfort can comfort a child who has never seen the world. Reinforcements? The round city is only thirty miles away. Standing at the top of the city, there is no telling.
If you can see this camp, someone who wants to come to rescue you has already arrived!
However, the little official who was responsible for managing the warehouse seemed to be relieved, "Since the captain has said so, my subordinates will move out all the grain. The oats have been eaten long ago, and the horse grass is left."
The number of horses is limited, and the remaining dozens of military horses are too skinny to carry people, so why not slaughter them all and share some with the people..."
"Make it into soup, and you can probably share a bowl with each person." Ji Tingxian responded to the clerk's suggestion with a wry smile, but did not object, "First separate the wounded, then the sergeants, old and young, who are fine and healthy.
There is no distinction between men who are willing to go into battle."
The clerk had no objection and walked a few steps quickly to greet his servants to bring out the grain.
"Why are they all these things?" Ji Tingxian looked at the grain poured out of the sack, his expression was extremely poor. This was not food for people. He grabbed a handful. The bran fed to the pigs was also mixed with sawdust and probably some other ingredients.
A little stick noodles, is this the military ration of Jinzhou?!
The clerk in charge of military supplies directed the civilians to carry the grain. Seeing Ji Tingxian's face, he explained, "The grain in the warehouse has become like this a few months ago. Fortunately, there is enough grain in the border areas, so we can eat the old grain first."
, but they are all serious food, Mr. Xiaowei, this has been the case as early as when we were in Fangma Pass."
Ji Tingxian was about to have a fit, but was choked back by the junior official's words. This was the case a few months ago when he was in Fangma Pass, and he didn't realize it. He was too incompetent to be the captain of Fangma Pass.
.
"Let's bake them all into pancakes. Take these thick pancakes with horse broth and it will be a good meal."
Freshly baked pancakes and horse meat soup were delivered to Ji Tingxian's desk. The clerk did not know what tricks he used to conjure up a pile of fragrant white flour pancakes, and the horse meat soup was also full of good meat.
There was also a jug of wine on his desk. Ji Tingxian put the spout of the jug under his nose and smelled it. It was not a good old wine, but if he could drink such a jug of wine before the decisive battle, his time on earth would not be in vain.
Breaking up the pancakes and dipping them in the broth, he found that the horse meat stewed in the big pot was also delicious. After drinking all the wine in one gulp, Ji Tingxian straightened his armor and pulled out the short sword from his waist, and then the reflection of the blade blew up.
Messy beard.
After serving as a soldier for several years, he managed to reach the position of commander of the first pass. Before he could wait for a few years of peace, the barbarians came. It was a pity that he had acquired the properties in Fangmaguan.
He left his military tent, and the soldiers guarding the tent put down the bowls they were devouring and followed him with knives in their hands.
Inside the camp is where the common people stay. Most of them are military personnel stationed at the border, but there are also a few people from nearby villages and towns. They are too eager to leave for their homes. By the time they see the prairie people riding on horseback, it is already too late.
However, they were not driven out to death, but were gradually driven to one place.
Men, women, and children all held bowls and lined up in front of several large pots. The sergeants with swords stood guard by the pots. If any young men with both arms and legs wanted to sneak in,
The sergeants would go forward and pick out those who had slipped into the ranks with their bowls. If there were those who were dissatisfied and wanted to argue, they would withdraw their knives and retreat to the side in dejection, staring at the pot with greedy eyes.
Seeing that the people who had received the meal were holding bowls and chopsticks and not talking, they just stuffed the pancakes into their mouths without chewing much. After chewing two mouthfuls and drinking horse meat soup, it was enough.
Everyone is trying their best to stuff something into their mouths. After all, in these days when you don’t know where your next meal will be, it’s a great thing to have something to eat, and you don’t care about the taste.
"General! General!" Although Ji Tingxian had never seen the person coming, he knew with his toes that it was his own soldier. Before he could tell him that he was not a general, he was interrupted by the happy-looking soldier.
"General! Reinforcements have arrived!"
"Where are the reinforcements coming from..." His words exposed Ji Tingxian's true thoughts, but he came back to his senses after a moment, "Why don't you take this captain to see it!"
On the wooden tower, he climbed to the highest point and brought a copper shield to block arrows. He saw that the white tents of the southern barbarian cavalry were already ablaze, and people in different clothes were fighting with the cavalry who were hurriedly mounted.
Many incredible methods are used, and the weapons are also different. One person can fight against three to five barbarians or even more. There are even more brave people who can kill a bloody path with one person. The barbarians swarming up are still unstoppable.
"So many... martial arts warriors?" Ji Tingxian was shocked by this scene. Hundreds of martial arts warriors appeared on the battlefield and killed the enemy together. For the first time in the battle with the barbarians, the battle situation was one-sided.
The old saying about "the enemy" cannot be fulfilled by warriors who cannot use common sense. Seeing that there is no hope of holding the camp, hundreds of cavalry avoid the sharp edges of these warriors and slowly retreat to the northwest.
Immediately afterwards, he saw the organized cavalry, which was very rare in Jinzhou, clearing a passage. Ji Tingxian yelled at the common people to drop their stupid luggage and travel south lightly.
The people who had been waiting for a bowl of food just now heard that the siege was relieved, and they all rushed southward after scrambling for space.
"We are delegating Captain Ma Guan, Ji Tingxian." Seeing that most of the people rushed out, Ji Tingxian went forward and saluted the tall and thin officer who led the cavalry, "Thank you very much for leading the army to come to the rescue."
"General Jinzhou's staff officer, Zhang Ziwen." The officer on the horse returned the salute, "Captain Ji, please urge these people to walk faster. If most of the barbarian cavalry understands the depth of us people, the whole group will
Once there, no one can escape."
"And you shouldn't thank me. My order is to save people, but the main force of this cavalry must be preserved. The ones who really make the most of it are the Jianghu people."
Ji Tingxian looked in the direction pointed by his riding whip, and saw that the people in the rivers and lakes, covered in blood, were also retreating southward. The injured were supporting each other, and the living members of the same family were carrying the dead on their backs.
There was a young man who was the last to leave. He rummaged through the pile of corpses and seemed to recognize someone from the same family. Then he silently returned south carrying the outrageous corpse that had been trampled by horse hooves.