Chapter 3 Chapter 19 Surprise Attack on a Snowy Night

Fires were lit in those temporary camps, and there were two big buckets, one with snow-white steamed buns and the other with boiled beef. The soldiers of the Vanguard Battalion enjoyed themselves while warming the fire while eating steamed buns with meat.When I returned to the tent, Cao Wendao had already greeted him, and said, "Tong Zhi, when are you leaving?" I said: "I have to go after the rain stops. Eat enough, you may not be able to eat tomorrow." Cao Wendao took a bite of the steamed bun and said with a smile, "I lost a big scar on my head. I didn't die yesterday, and I don't necessarily die today. Commander, you can have one too. This beef tastes really good." He said, I took a steamed bun and cut it in half with a waist knife, then took a thick piece of meat and handed it to me.I took it and took a bite. The beef inside was delicious and tender, and it was really delicious.I swallowed the meat and steamed buns, and said, "Not bad."

After eating two mouthfuls around the stove, the soldiers at the door suddenly "squeaked" and stood up together.The soldiers of the Qianfeng Battalion have strict military discipline and are the champions of the whole army. It seems that a certain high-ranking general has come.I quickly swallowed the mouthful of steamed buns and stood up.As soon as he stood up, a soldier hurried over and whispered, "General Chu, General Deng Canglan is here." Deng Canglan is here?It must be time for us to go.Although I was prepared, my heart couldn't help sinking.I stood up and shouted, "All stand!"

With a "pop", everyone in the tent stood up.There were hundreds of soldiers in this tent, but when they heard the sound, they stood up neatly, and there was only one sound. They were sitting and eating in a mess, but they stood neatly again in the blink of an eye. They just stood up when Deng Canglan walked in with two guards.Seeing this situation, he was also taken aback, saluted, and said: "Everyone, please sit down and have a good rest, we are about to leave soon." I went up to meet him and said, "General Deng, are you going to set off now?" Deng Canglan walked up to me, but before he finished speaking, he suddenly stood at attention and gave me a military salute.I didn't expect him to do this, so I quickly stood up straight and returned the gift.The two of us saluted together, and after Cao Wendao surrendered, all the soldiers of the Vanguard Battalion in the tent also knocked on their leather boots together with a "snap".This sound made Deng Canglan a little moved again, and he saluted again unconsciously.

If it goes on like this, I'm afraid it will never end.I returned a salute and said, "Everyone sit down, General Deng, what orders do you have?" Only now did Deng Canglan sit down and said, "General Chu, you can eat first, I brought someone to bring fish leather boots." "Fishkin boots?" I couldn't help being a little surprised.I have never heard of this thing. Now the combat boots of the forward battalion are all cowhide boots, which are very strong and do not need to be replaced at all.I said, "What's the use of this?" "I went to see it just now. The pontoon bridge has reached the center of the river. The waves are a bit big. When the bridge surface is wet, cowhide boots are easy to slip. Fish-skin boots are combat boots used by the navy, and they will not slip after wearing them. Take the responsibility of the first attack, if the worker wants to do a good job, he must first sharpen his weapon, and let the army replace it later."

It turns out that water warfare still has so much to pay attention to.I nodded and said, "Thank you, General Deng, I never thought about this." I was somewhat dissatisfied with Deng Canglan at first, thinking that he let my vanguard battalion take the lead, and made us act like dead ghosts, stepping on us to climb up I mean, now that I think about it, I can't help but feel a little stingy. He is single-minded in his pursuit of victory, and the Qianfeng Battalion has indeed become the most elite and most powerful force in the entire army. For Deng Canglan, using fine steel On the blade, it is his position as a general, even if he feels sorry for me, he can only do so.

I nodded and said again: "General Deng, there is one more thing. The strength of the Snakeman is amazing. I always feel that a strong attack is not the best way. The way to use troops is to be in harmony with each other. place of defeat." Deng Canglan's eyes lit up, and he said, "General Chu, what do you think is a surprise soldier?" I thought for a while, and said, "Huo Gong." I just said it in passing, because when I read the battle report sent by Deng Canglan, it said that Li Yao Tianshui fought against the reinforcements of the Japanese island, five thousand against twenty thousand, and attacked the crowd with a few. .When we attack from the water, most of the snake people will not expect us to attack with fire.It's just such a rainy and snowy weather, I can't think of how to launch a fire attack.

As soon as the words came out, Deng Canglan's complexion changed and he stood up abruptly.I just said that I made a mistake and annoyed him, so I was startled and stood up too, saying: "General Deng, I..." He interrupted me and said in a low voice: "Did General Shao tell you?" After he finished speaking, he frowned and said, "No, he doesn't know either." My heart moved, and I said: "I just said this casually. Could it be that we really want to attack with fire?" Deng Canglan's expression softened, and he sat down on the chair and said, "What did you think? I was shocked, and I thought the news had leaked out."

I was both surprised and happy, and said, "How can we launch a fire attack in this kind of weather?" Deng Canglan said: "You will know when the time comes." He pulled out his small waist knife, reached out and inserted a small piece of meat into the beef bucket, put it into his mouth, chewed it, and said: "General Chu, don't worry, you are not Go fight recklessly with the snake man. But, it's not without danger." Knowing that Deng Canglan didn't send Qianfengying to death, my mood improved a lot. I picked up the half-eaten steamed bun and took another bite. I said with a smile, "Even lying on the bed is dangerous. If you are greedy for life, you are afraid of death." , I won’t be a soldier long ago.”

Deng Canglan clapped his hands on his thighs, and said: "General Chu is right, and Deng has nothing else to say. First, I wish General Chu a triumphant return." He suddenly smiled slyly, and said in a low voice: " The master of the land army must be General Chu. There is no wine right now, and when you come back, I will invite General Chu to have a drink." My heart heats up.The current leader of the local army is Tu Fang, but Tu Fang is already very old, and he will definitely not stay for long. Most of the future leaders will appear among the current four famous generals.And among these four people, only I am the confidant of Marquis Wen, so sooner or later the leader of the Land Legion will be mine.I smiled and said, "Okay, then I must drink three cups."

Then there was a low blowing of a horn from outside.Deng Canglan took out a silk scarf, wiped the small waist knife that was stained with beef juice, put the knife back into his waist, stood up, cupped his fists at me, and said, "General Chu, the weather is about to stop rain and turn to snow soon." , all the troops have arrived, I will go to dispatch first, and ask General Chu to be on call at any time." The attack is imminent.I stood up, saluted and said: "The last general obeys." I am already full.After Deng Canglan left, I walked to the door of the tent.The cold wind was like a knife, mixed with thin raindrops, and it blew on the face with bursts of stinging pain.Deng Canglan said that the rain will stop when it gets dark, and now it is dark.The rain was really very light, with some snowdrops in the rain.All the troops had already arrived, and the river bank was already crowded with crows, occasionally there were a few clashes of weapons.

"Control, change your shoes." Cao Wendao's voice sounded behind him.I turned my head and saw him standing behind me with a pair of fishskin boots, which he had already changed.I took it, walked to the tent and sat down, while untying the straps of my leather boots, I said, "Brother Cao, please be careful." Cao Wendao grinned and said with a smile: "Tong Zhi, you are really a bit of a mother-in-law sometimes. When is the time, anyway, you will have to work hard to survive. Everyone knows." Desperate forward?I changed into fishskin boots.Fishskin boots are impermeable and thinner than cowhide boots. They are a bit cold to wear, but they do not slip.I tried it on the ground and said, "Brother Cao, let me ask you a question, what is the purpose of life?" This question stopped him.Cao Wendao scratched his scalp and said, "I can't think of that either. However, when I was in the imperial capital, I left a sum of money to my parents. I think that in my life, I only need to give them their elders to die. If I can't , and at least keep them from going hungry in the future." I was stunned.Cao Wendao like this, is it his ambition?But those soldiers with the most soldiers must have just such an ambition.Letting the one you love live well, and not hesitate to sacrifice your own life, is definitely not what those dignitaries said, it is for the sake of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism.I patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry. Even if we die, the living will live well." Yes, the living will live, and the dead will die, forever.When it was completely dark, the rain had stopped, and now it was full of snow.Looking at the snow, it will fall more and more. Such weather is indeed a good time for a surprise attack.Snake people can't see far in the first place, and they can't see clearly in the snowy sky.And when they are cold, their combat effectiveness will be greatly reduced. After receiving the token from the messenger, I waved my hand and said, "Assemble." The Qianfeng Battalion, which is now the Yokoye Army, has a full strength of 5,000 and is now divided into three divisions. Cao Wendao and Qian Wenyi each receive 1,500, while I, assisted by Lian Baice, command 2,000 troops, and Chen Zhong leads a huge force of 50 people. The ax team, as my personal warriors, followed me. At the pontoon dock, senior generals have gathered under Luo Gai.In this surprise attack, even though Bi Wei and Deng Canglan are the main generals, they still have to lead the army, and only Tu Fang can sit in the rear.When I arrived, several people were there, with Tu Fang in the middle, Bi Wei and Deng Canglan on both sides, and behind them stood Shao Fengguan, General Zhechong Qi Yahui, General Zhenwei Zong Min, and General Yangwei Chen Peng.I strode up to Tu Fang, knelt down on one leg and said, "General Tu, the last General Yokono, General Chu Xiuhong, is here to stand by." Tu Fang was wearing a scarlet shirt and sitting on a chair.He stood up, took a small cup from the soldier on the side, poured a glass of wine, and said: "General Chu, I use this cup as a sign of the general's strength, I wish you victory." I said loudly: "Thank you, General." I took the cup and drank it down, turned around and glanced at the five thousand soldiers of the vanguard battalion standing upright in the snow, and said loudly: "Brothers, the big battle is imminent. In this battle There will be many brothers who will lose their lives, I only have one thing to say, even if you die, you must die worth it. Let's go!" The pontoon bridge is only about ten feet wide, and it would be crowded if four people stood side by side.Five thousand people have to stand in more than 1,200 rows. Including gaps, this team will always be about two miles long.When I first thought about attacking with a pontoon, I never thought it would be that long.Think about it, once an attack is launched, more than half of them will die at the top of the wall if they rush forward in a group of four like this. The more I think about it, the colder I feel.Although Deng Canglan said that as long as he can reach the city, he has prepared the water ladder, and the soldiers of the vanguard battalion will not huddle together, but I still don't know what the water ladder is.At this time, as Cao Wendao said, the only way to survive is to move forward desperately. Almost two thirds of the floating bridge has been built, and the front end is still more than a mile away from Dongping City.Looking through the snow, there is only a faint shadow left in Dongping City. The snake man must have never imagined that we have already arrived under their noses.Since the total length of the pontoon bridge reached five miles, it was unrealistic to transport all the bamboo and wood boards by boat, and too many people could not walk on the pontoon bridge, because the last section would be built by the Yokono Army themselves.Everyone hugged a bundle of bamboo and planks and trotted forward. The pontoon bridge creaked and was almost level with the water.Such a load-bearing capacity, I'm afraid it can't bear the weight of the Shenlong Cannon, I can't help but feel a little disappointed.If you can pull the Shenlong Cannon to the north gate of Dongping City and fire several cannons in a row, then the gate will definitely be blasted through, and it will be much easier to attack again.Perhaps, Wen Hou ordered Li Yaotian to supervise the construction of such a huge warship, just to install the Shenlong Cannon?But now the Shenlong Cannon can also be installed on the large warships in Deng Canglan's navy.The weather is so cold, I'm afraid it can fire more than three shots in a row.With the help of Shenlong Cannon, we must be more confident. The flow of people was endless, and each of the five thousand soldiers brought a part of bamboo and wood planks. The ones who went to the end first put down their things, and the waiting water corps built a pontoon bridge, and the rest began to pass them on. At the end, Qian Wenyi One is responsible for shipping.After about two hours, the pontoon bridge has been extended to only twenty feet away from Dongping City.Twenty feet, this distance can be accomplished overnight on flat ground, but it still seems very far away on the river.I was in the middle of the team, and this place was more than a hundred feet away from Dongping City.I greeted Chen Zhong and told him to take a rest before preparing to launch an attack. The pontoon is too narrow, so scheduling is very important.Cao Wendao was in charge of the first wave, I was in charge of the second wave, and Qian Wenyi was in charge of the third wave.I delegated the power of scheduling to Lian Baice. Although he is not as specialized in scheduling as Wu Wanling, he is still very organized. Just watching, Chen Zhong murmured beside me: "General Chu, the city is about to attack." I smiled and said softly: "Chen Zhong, how are you?" Chen Zhong had already lifted the big ax in his hand, and lowered his voice, saying: "General Chu, don't worry, my strength is almost full." The north gate of Dongping City is not too high because it is a water gate, only about three feet high.Compared with the terrifying height of twenty feet in the imperial capital, the height of three feet is really not worth mentioning, but it is still an insurmountable height. The place where the pontoon bridge arrives is facing the city gate.As long as we can break through this water gate, we can drive straight in.Originally, there was a wooden pier outside the north gate, but now the pier has been demolished by the snake people.I looked at Dongping City in the darkness and said, "It seems that the snake man didn't notice us." Until now, there is still no change in the top of the city.Although 5,000 people had already crossed the river to the city, but due to the strict military discipline of the Yokoye Army, no one spoke, and the sound of walking was mixed with the waves of the river. Every eye would suspect that I was the only one. According to the plan for this attack, the water army launched a feint attack on the west side of the city gate more than 20 feet away. After attracting the attraction of the snake man, the Yokoye army took the opportunity to seize the city.Dongping City is also one of the Twelve Famous Cities. The city walls are extremely strong and the city gates are also thick. Therefore, we must open the city gate within half an hour, so that the follow-up troops can drive straight in. Otherwise, the front army cannot enter, but the rear army rushes up. Self-defeating, but a big defeat. Only half an hour.I silently looked at the sky.Now that everything is ready, in the last twenty feet there will be dozens of small boats that have already been boarded up quickly, and a temporary dock will be built at an extremely fast speed, and then we will start to attack.Now, just wait for the water army's feint attack to start. While waiting, I was very anxious, especially in today's weather, it was pitch black, the snow was getting heavier and heavier, I stood still, my hands and feet were a little stiff from the cold.The entire Yokoye army remained motionless. If this continues, the combat effectiveness of the snake people will decrease due to the cold weather. I'm afraid we will decrease even more.When I was in a hurry, suddenly, a little light rose from the upstream and went straight into the sky. This is a gunpowder arrow, and it was also newly invented by Zhang Longyou's Ministry of Industry and Tufu.At that time, I suggested that he change the formula of gunpowder. He later tried many kinds, trying to find a formula that was more powerful than seven nitrates, one sulfur and two charcoals, and added many other things.Although the power of the gunpowder itself has not increased much, it has produced some other things for him. One is that after adding some powder, the color of the flame changes.Although this kind of thing can't increase the power, Wenhou thinks it can be used as a signal.Matching several colors can convey several meanings. I also carry two on my body, allowing me to open the city gate and ignite to launch.The red light emitted now means that the attack has begun. it has started!There was a burst of excitement in my heart, and the team began to move forward. It seemed that Cao Wendao's vanguard had already begun to attack.I turned my head and said to Chen Zhong: "Come on!"Deng Canglan launched an attack upstream to make it difficult for the sound of our attack downstream to reach the Snakeman brigade.Although this can only grab a short moment of opportunity, but the battlefield is changing rapidly, and even a little opportunity may be a matter of victory or defeat.Although Cao Wendao was a little reckless, his speed of action far surpassed Qian Wenyi, so I let him rush to the front. When I rushed to the end of the pontoon bridge, I was surprised to find that along the city gate, there were already more than 20 feet long boats lined up.Three or four of these small boats are nailed together with big nails, and each group is equipped with a ladder.Some of the soldiers who went up to the city in the early stage are bending over the top of the city to pull people into the city. It seems that we have gained the upper hand. Is this the water ladder that Deng Canglan was talking about?I couldn't help but think about it, Chen Zhong shouted: "General Chu, let's go up!" I shouted: "Keep your distance, only four people can stay on the ladder at the same time!" The fifty giant ax warriors he brought were all burly men with huge bodies. If they climbed the ladder at the same time, they might even sink the three or four small boats below.There are more than 30 of these water ladders. Deng Canglan said that two or three hundred people can climb the city at the same time, so eight or nine people can stand on one ladder at the same time.The giant ax warrior is too big and holds a big axe, so he can't stand up so many. I'm afraid he can only climb four at a time.Although Cao Wendao was a bit reckless, after all, his mind was still very careful, but Chen Zhong was indeed a little reckless, I'm afraid he wouldn't think of it. Sure enough, Chen Zhong was stunned, as if he didn't understand why I had to issue such an order, but he was a natural soldier, and shouted: "Four at the same time, don't mess up!" He climbed up first by himself.After he went up a few levels, I followed him and shouted: "Two more, and when General Chen goes to the city, your third one will come up again. Don't mess up." The snake man at the top of the city seemed to have fallen into Deng Canglan's trap, and the sound of fighting from above was not very intense.Following behind Chen Zhong, I became more courageous.It's just that this must be temporary, and the snake people will understand our intentions immediately. Now I only hope that Cao Wendao's vanguard can gain a firm foothold at the top of the city, and we can reduce some of the burden. Seeing that Chen Zhong was about to climb to the top of the city, suddenly I heard him let out a muffled yell, stopped in his steps, grabbed the ladder with his left hand, raised the big ax in his right hand, and swung it violently. With a sound of "cha", a rain of blood poured down, and a snake man's body fell down "suddenly" with the sound of wind. He must have attacked Chen Zhong at the top of the city and was hacked to death by Chen Zhong.It's just that as soon as he exerted such force, the water ladder also sank. Chen Zhong hacked the snake man to death without looking back, and shouted: "General Chu, be careful, the snake man is back!" finally come.It's just that I was prepared, and I wasn't surprised.The sound of killing at the top of the city suddenly became anxious, and those soldiers who had spare time to pull people disappeared from the top of the city at once.Now they have to withstand the attack of the snake man, so naturally they can no longer help those who are climbing the city.With just this one push, three ladders to the west were pushed away one after another.There is a barb at one end of the ladder, which can be hooked to the battlements. If it is pushed away, the snake man must have regained his position.I was so anxious that I shouted: "Chen Zhong, hurry up!" Before the words fell, there was a sound like a burst of rain in his ears. It was Chen Zhong fighting with a mess of guns stretching down from the top of the city.His strength is greater than that of the snake man, but there is obviously more than one snake man in the city facing the ladder.I was standing behind Chen Zhong, I couldn't see clearly, when I heard Chen Zhong snort suddenly, some heat splashed on my face. is blood!Chen Zhong is injured! My heart trembled, and I shouted: "Chen Zhong, be careful, I want to walk over your shoulder!" Chen Zhong has fought with me many times, his strength and my marksmanship just complement each other, if he is killed, then I will be helpless, and I really dare not challenge the Snake Man alone.Now his injuries are not serious, but the snake man is condescending and firing several guns. No matter how strong he is, he can't stand it alone, so we must quickly help him share some burdens. Chen Zhong said in a muffled voice: "General Chu, go up!" He grabbed the ladder with his left hand, and swung the big ax with his right hand to protect the door. I gritted my teeth, put my hand on his shoulder, and shouted: "Be careful!" With a strong hand, the man jumped up, passed Chen Zhong's back, and jumped onto his shoulder. Chen Zhong is not very tall, but his shoulders are very broad.As soon as I stood on his shoulder, two long spears were stabbing at Chen Zhong.Chen Zhong held a huge ax in his hand. Although it was powerful, it was inconvenient. I jumped up just in time. extrapolate. With a sound of "cha", the tip of the long spear was pushed down the city wall by me, sparks were scattered on the stone wall, and a deep groove was drawn.I knew that I only had one shot at most, if the snakeman shot two more shots, I would not be able to stop it, and shouted: "Chen Zhong, give me a hand!" Chen Zhong grabbed my ankle, didn't speak, just pushed it hard.I just felt light on the soles of my feet, took advantage of the momentum and jumped up, and jumped onto the battlements.The snake man whose spear I had pinned was retracting the spear, but it didn't expect that I would jump up suddenly, the gun hadn't been retracted yet, and it was startled when it saw me suddenly appear in front of it.I couldn't help it from being dazed, as soon as the spear was delivered, the point of the spear sank into its face, blood spattered everywhere.As soon as I stabbed the snake man to death, a strong wind suddenly came from the left, and it was the snake man on the left who drew his gun and attacked me.Chen Zhong could fight head-to-head with the snake-man, but I knew I didn't have the strength, so I rolled into the middle of the snake-man's spear with one side of my body, drew out the Baipi knife with my left hand, and shouted: "Die!" This saber was sure to hit, but the snake man suddenly cut the butt of the gun, with a sound of "Dang", the Baipi Dao was slashing on the barrel of the gun.The barrel of this long spear is very good wood, with the sharpness of a hundred swords, it can cut continuously, and only scored two or three points.I felt a chill in my heart, and was about to slash again, when Chen Zhong's roar sounded behind me: "Take my life!" The two snake men were entangled by me, and Chen Zhong finally climbed to the top of the wall.His big ax struck down like a thunderbolt, and the snake man raised his spear, but he couldn't hold back such force. With a "crack", the spear was split into two by Chen Zhong's giant axe. Even the snake man's head was split open, and blood splashed on my face. I put the Baipi Knife back into its sheath, and shouted: "Chen Zhong, are your injuries okay?" With Chen Zhong by my side, my confidence was instantly boosted.Don't dare to say big words, with Chen Zhong's help, I can at least get the Giant Ax Battalion to come to the city. Chen Zhongdao: "It doesn't matter, be careful!" He shouted very anxiously, but the snake man on one side saw that the top of the wall was broken by us, and came to reinforce it.Seeing this scene, I couldn't help but think of the days when I was in Gaojiu City.When the snake men came to attack the city, we were also panicked, but now the offensive and defensive positions have changed, and the panic is also caused by the snake men. Chen Zhong and I stood guard at the exit of the ladder, hacking with spears and axes, but those snake men couldn't get out for a while, and half of the fifty members of the giant ax team went to the city soon.There are more than 30 ladders. According to this speed, more than 20 people are on one ladder, so there will be more than 600 people in total, but I only feel that there are more and more snake people in front of me, and the progress is not as fast as expected. Well, screams were heard from time to time amidst the killing sounds, and it wasn't just from the snake man.At this time, a little red light appeared in the sky again. I frowned and called out, "Cao Wendao! Cao Wendao! Where are you?" Cao Wendao's army moved the fastest, so many people should have come up, but I couldn't see him.This red light is the second signal. Deng Canglan told me that I must open the city gate before the third signal.But up to now, the Yokoye army that has reached the top of the city is only three or four hundred people.As soon as I yelled, I heard him yelling not far away: "Controller, I'm here, I can't get through for a while!" Although the Yokoye Army is strong, the other troops are not as strong as the Giant Axe Battalion. It must be very difficult to climb up the ladder.My heart sank, and I shouted: "Brothers who are coming up, hurry up and protect the ladder, and let the ones behind step up!" There is a saying that "riding a tiger is hard to get off". I did ride a rat and tiger before, and I understand the meaning of this saying.Now we are in a similar situation. It is too difficult to move forward, and it is absolutely impossible to retreat. There are more and more snakes at the top of the city. We have no way out, so we have to bite the bullet and rush forward.But there are tens of thousands of snake men in the city, there are probably 20,000 to 30,000 who can go to the city, and the whole Hengye army has no more than 5,000 people.Deng Canglan said that there will be a fire attack to help out, but now I don't even see the shadow of the fire.In this kind of snowy weather, fire, thunder and bombs are useless. Could it be that Deng Canglan's fire attack has failed? If the fire attack fails, those of us who are already at the top of the city will be dead.I couldn't help shivering, not daring to think about it anymore, and shouted: "Hurry up, come up quickly!" Now most of the snake people at the top of the city are restrained upstream by Deng Canglan, but once they find that the city gate is under attack, they will definitely come for reinforcements.Open the city gate before their reinforcements, I think it is difficult but not impossible before departure.Once I really handed it in, I realized that I was still too optimistic.Although the combat strength of the Snakemen has been greatly reduced in the snowstorm, the current Snakemen still need two or three soldiers to resist one, and they are replenishing continuously. If this continues, our strength will be exhausted until the entire army is wiped out. It may not be possible to seize the top of the city. Chen Zhong suddenly said from the side: "General Chu, why didn't the follow-up troops come up?" He is extremely powerful and has always been fearless, but there is a hint of fear in his words at this time.I couldn't help shivering, and said: "It will come soon!" Chen Zhong already felt scared, so others could imagine it.The three armies can win the commander, but the common man cannot lose the will, this is the saying in the military book.If the morale of an army is completely gone, it is a mob that will collapse at the first touch, and no matter how well equipped it is, it is useless.Even if my face is swollen to look fat, I still have to hold on.It's just that it's easy to say, but I really don't know whether it can be believed.As soon as I finished speaking, my eyes suddenly lit up, and it was as bright as day on the top of the city.I was startled, turned my head to look, and when I saw it, I couldn't help being stunned. At some point, several ships approached the city wall.In a dense cloud of ladders, the Snakeman was fighting with the Yokono Army, and they probably didn't notice these ships at all.On the bows of these ships, a pillar of fire shot up into the sky and rushed towards the top of the city, hanging like a long rainbow.It's just that as soon as the pillar of fire reached the top of the city, it immediately spread like a stream of water, forming a wall of fire. Deng Canglan's fire attack turned out to be like this!I suddenly realized, and my heart was very excited, and I shouted: "The Fire Legion is here for reinforcements, brothers, go!" Deng Canglan gave me half an hour at most.More than halfway through now, we have to hurry up.Seeing that there was a wall of fire blocking the snake man, the soldiers' morale was lifted. With a shout, they charged forward and pushed the snake man back a few feet. More than a thousand people have already gone to the city, and Lian Baice's arrow battalion has also gone to the city.The snake man also knew that at the last moment, he fought to the death at the gate of the city without retreating.At this time, we were separated from the Snakeman by a wall of fire. The Snakeman had to go down the city first, and then go around to the city gate, so the pressure on the Yokoye army was greatly reduced, but they still couldn't enter the city gate for a while.Cao Wendao's troops had rushed to the bottom of the city, and set up eight formations at the gate of the city to block the reinforcements from the Snakemen, but they were still unable to open the gate with great difficulty.I looked around, my heart was on fire, and I shouted: "Chen Zhong, bring the giant axe team and follow me!" There are only more than one hundred snake people at the gate of the city.But these more than a hundred snake men are like a wall of iron and steel. Although the Yokoye army's offensive is strong, they have not been able to capture the city gate.Cao Wendao's army suffered heavy losses in the battle. If I can't break the city gate in time, then his sacrifice will be meaningless. Lian Baice said suddenly: "General Chu, I'm going to reinforce General Cao!" Lian Baice led an arrow battalion of fifty people.The people in the archery camp are naturally the best at archery, and they are not good at stabbing with swords and guns.I said, "No need, you can reduce the pressure on Cao Wendao at the top of the city, and ask Qian Wenyi's people to come up quickly and help Cao Wendao!" I rushed down to the city with my spear in tow.At the top of the city, because the fire is very strong, I can see clearly, but when I go to the city, I feel a haze in front of my eyes, and I am not used to this kind of darkness for a while.Cao Wendao's eight formations had already separated the gate of the city from the Snakeman's reinforcements, but the consequence of his doing so was that he was attacked from the front and back, and there were already many corpses of Hengye Army soldiers lying on the ground.When I went down to the city, I defended the rear of his army with the Giant Axes, and their pressure immediately eased a lot.In the formation, Cao Wendao suddenly turned around and shouted: "Controlling, these monsters are really strong, a hundred or so still can't take them down." His shirt was almost soaked with blood.Not only him, but also Chen Zhong and I, almost as if we had just been picked up from the blood.I didn't have the time to talk to him too much, so I shouted: "Cao Wendao, give me a little more time, and I will bring the Giant Axe to open the city gate!" The hundred or so snake men had retreated into the city gate, relying on the terrain to resist.Because they hide in the city gate, the sharp arrows of the arrow battalion can't reach them, and there is no need to worry about the city gate behind them, but Cao Wendao has to use most of his strength to resist the Snakeman reinforcements coming over, so it is even more difficult to solve.Chen Zhong was beside me and said, "General Chu, should we charge with the three-fold team?" I nodded and said, "Okay, everyone be careful." Chen Zhong smashed the long ax in his hand to the ground, and raised his voice: "Stand at attention! Line up in three folds!" This trifold team is actually a square team of fifty people lined up in three rows.The Ax Battalion was trained extremely proficiently by Chen Zhong. Although it was in chaos now, they were still lined up neatly.The snake man in the city gate can't shrink back, time is very urgent now, we can only attack hard, the attack power of the tri-fold team is extremely strong, and we can only rely on the impact of the tri-fold team.Chen Zhong shouted: "The first row is in front of me, and the back row is three steps away." Their fishskin boots hit the ground with an extremely neat sound.In terms of military appearance, the Ax Battalion are all burly men, the most powerful. At this time, amidst the flames and blood, such an extremely neat team appeared at the gate of the city, and these snake men who have always been undisciplined must have eaten them too. Surprised. Only the Ax Battalion can be used by the Triassic.The Ax Battalion used giant axes, which were no different from swords and guns in melee, but once there was iron discipline, this heavy weapon could exert incredible power.The first row of the Triassic team has rushed forward, more than a dozen axes were raised together, like a big switch knife, without a half gap.Some snakemen are still waiting to be blocked, but the soldiers of the Axe Camp are stronger than ordinary soldiers, and now the strength of the snakemen has weakened due to the severe cold. In fact, they are not far from the Axe Camp. Even the snake man couldn't stop it, with a sound of "cha", the sharp ax slashed down, and the several snake men who stepped forward to block were chopped into several pieces immediately. Chen Zhongben was standing in the first row, he took half a step back, and shouted: "Second row, come forward!" The first row made a wrong step, just crossed with the second row, and Chen Zhong stood in the middle of the second row.This position change was practiced extremely well, and before those snake men came back to their senses, the second row had been smashed down again, as if destroyed.But this time it didn't go well with the first row. They had just struck down the axe, and before they could retreat, the snake man suddenly rushed out of the city gate with a loud noise. They also found that if they continued like this, they would be chopped down by the Trifold team.I was startled, but Chen Zhong was still shouting, "On the third row..." He still has to go forward!My heart sank, and I jumped ahead of him and shouted: "Quickly go back to the eight formations!" Although the tri-fold team is powerful, it has a fatal weakness, that is, it is too rigid, and its offense is far superior to its defense.At the beginning, I, Chen Zhong, formed the triple formation with the intention of letting the Ax Battalion stand in the middle of the eight formations, so that the Ax Battalion could exert its greatest power with the protection of the eight formations.But now Chen Zhong and the others have no one to protect them. We are just worried that the snake people will not fight and will stick to the city gate. Now that they rush out, they will fall into our arms. If you want to fight with snake people, you really lack the ability to adapt.Thanks to my yelling in time, the third row was about to move forward, but when they heard my yell, they suddenly backed away.Even so, the second row couldn't retreat in time, and three soldiers were overtaken by the snake man and fell to the ground. I rushed forward, stood beside Chen Zhong, and said, "Retreat first, and fight them with the eight formation diagrams!" Although Chen Zhong wasn't flexible enough, he reacted quickly and nodded.At this time, there were still forty-seven ax soldiers, and they all retreated. Chen Zhong and I stood at the end, when Cao Wendao's eight formations suddenly opened, enclosing the ax battalion.The trifold team's defense is weak, but with the protection of the eight formations, they are like a tiger with wings added. Once those snake men rushed out of the city gate, although they killed more than a dozen soldiers, they only had a hundred or so, and Cao Wendao's men already had one. There are more than a thousand people, even if they are attacked from the front and back, they can still stop them for a while.The snake man charged twice in a row, but still couldn't break through the eight formations, the offensive failed again and again, and retreated again. They are about to retreat into the city gate hole again.This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We managed to lure them out, so there is no room for them to retreat.I shouted: "Chen Zhong, hurry up!" and rushed out first.Chen Zhong followed me out and shouted loudly: "Brothers, hurry up!" Cao Wendao also found that there was an opportunity to take advantage of. He gave an order in the formation, and the eight formations were opened again, and the ax battalion rushed out with me and Chen Zhong.The vigor of the snake man's attack had broken down, and he was about to retreat. At this time, the ax battalion was full of vigor, and Cao Wendao was behind him to protect him, so he had no worries. This time the attack was stronger than last time. It's all over the place.Chen Zhong and I took the ax battalion to break through the snake man's line of defense and entered the city gate. 一到城门洞里，陈忠已抢步上前，砍死了一个还在坚守的蛇人，大斧余势未竭，顺手一劈，重重砍在门闩上。门闩已被蛇人钉死，陈忠力量虽大，这一斧也劈不断。我从边上一个士兵手里接过一柄斧头，等陈忠刚拔出斧来，我也一斧劈下，不偏不倚，正劈在陈忠劈中的地方。 门闩有手臂一般粗，共有三道，是用铁木制成，极为坚硬，但终究不是铁铸的，我和陈忠交替劈下，只不过四五次，门闩登时被砍断，城门也开始晃动。这时斧营已有不少人也在同时砍着，他们一个个都是神力之士，只不过短短一瞬，三根门闩都已被劈断。我见门闩已开，叫道：“快，拉门！” 东平城北门外本来有个码头，城池失陷后，这码头已被蛇人拆毁。我和几个士兵拉着一边的门，陈忠拉着另一边，门刚一拉开，外面的江风奔涌而入，吹得我一个踉跄。一个士兵扶住我，道：“将军，你没事吧？” 我定了定神，一时还不敢相信会如此顺利。虽然天冷，但额头已满是大汗。我伸手抹了把汗水，从怀里摸出一个竹筒，道：“快发信号，快发信号！” 三次信号后，地军团就要发动总攻了。如果到时我仍然打不开城门，那地军团甫成军就要损失惨重，我这个横野将军只怕也难逃死罪。现在总算抢在时限以前打开城门，我心里却没半点兴奋，只有种大难得脱的欣慰。这竹筒便是邓沧澜发信号的那种火药箭。 那士兵接过来，摸出火绒点着了引线，火药箭带着一抹火光直冲上天，在空中炸开一道火光。刚放完信号，远远的忽地传来一阵惊天动地的欢呼，随江风滚滚而来，便如惊涛骇浪。 开始总攻了。我把长枪拄在地上，道：“大家闪到两边，守住城门！” 蛇人知道城门已失，已在全力攻击此处。现在城门已开，钱文义一部的人络绎不绝地冲进来，曹闻道一军不时有生力军补充，虽然被迫得步步后退，但阵形丝毫不乱。我又抹了把汗，对陈忠道：“陈忠，老曹真了不起，我们也不要干看着了。” 陈忠点了点头。他这人一向板着个脸，此时也露出一丝笑意，道：“将军，我们赢了。” 现在当然还没有赢，但事先的计划正在一步步成为现实，蛇人的战力已近强弩之末，而我们的攻势才正要开始，的确已是心胜之势了。这一次进攻，如果不是邓沧澜的水军在上游牵制住蛇人主力，毕炜的火军团在最紧急关头助阵，也不会如此胜利。加上邵风观的风军团，地、火、水、风，这四相军团第一次合力出击，配合恰到好处，对蛇人的战事，胜利的天平终于开始偏向我们一方了吧。 江风呼啸，城头火势正在漫延开来。蛇人已被分隔得支离破碎，胜利，终于就要来了。城里的杀声此起彼伏。虽然知道我们已经取得胜利，但蛇人的守势之强还是超出我们的意外，直到天色发亮时，它们才终于崩溃，四散逃去。 这一战，横野军损失极重，虽然还没有检点伤亡，但我想伤亡人数总在一千上下。五分之一伤亡，这场恶战恐怕会在我余生的噩梦中不断出现吧。我已累得几乎无法站立，便是陈忠也已累得直喘。我在台阶上坐下，道：“陈忠，过来坐吧。” 陈忠也坐了下来。这一战虽然惨烈，他身上除了登云梯时肩头受了一处小伤，另外却毫发无伤，我也不过是臂上被划开一条口子而已，伤势极轻。我刚坐下来，曹闻道也气喘吁吁地撑着长枪走了过来。他简直是从血池里捞上来一般，走到我跟前，一屁股坐下，咧开嘴笑道：“统制，我们赢了！” 赢了么？陈忠也这么说。这一场战役，我们是赢了，但战争还长得很。只是现在不好去打消他的兴头，我也笑了笑，道：“医营呢？还没来么？” 曹闻道道：“快来了吧。” 横野军伤亡很重，天气又冷，如果不及时救治，许多原本可以救活的伤员只怕会不治。我勉强站起身，高声道：“快，把受伤的弟兄扶到背风的地方，阵亡的弟兄们都抬到一边。” 这时廉百策从城头走下来，道：“楚将军，屠将军来了，是不是集合……”他没有和蛇人面对面交战，虽然发箭助攻也累得脱力，但总不象我们那样筋疲力竭。 我道：“我去接他吧，弟兄们先歇着要紧。”现在这时候，不是列队形，让主将看看样子的时候了。我提起长枪，对曹闻道和钱文义道：“曹闻道，钱文义，走吧。” 刚走到城门口，便听得有个人喝道：“你们是哪一部的？屠将军前来，还有军人的样子么？” 我有些恼怒。虽然当初甄以宁也说过，将有斗将，有策将，而一军主将，运筹帷幄比冲锋陷阵更重要，可是屠方在后方督阵，现在过来，也不该如此不顾实际地乱骂。正想着，却听得屠方道：“蒋参军，将士奋勇杀敌，让他们多歇歇吧。医官，快过来，加紧救护！” 听得屠方这般说，我心头才有些宽慰。屠方是个宿将，还知道体恤士兵，那个蒋参军多半是个从军的世家子弟，只会乱骂人了。我提了口气，一瘸一拐地走上前，刚走出城门，只见屠方带着一些人正站在那临时的码头上。我跪倒在地，道：“末将楚休红见过屠将军。”哪知人已太累，跪得也急了些，跪下来时，人晃了晃，险些要趴在地上，我用长枪一支，总算跪得稳了。 屠方抢上前来，一把扶住我，道：“是楚将军啊，快快请起。”他年纪不轻，力量倒也不少，一下便将我扶了起来。我站了站直，道：“屠将军，末将治军不严，怠慢了蒋参军，还请屠将军原谅。” 话刚一出口，边上一个面白如玉的中年军官一下涨红了脸，想必便是那蒋参军了。他是个参军，论军衔，比我这个偏将军要低得多。我恼他出言不逊，故意说怠慢的是他，讥刺了他一下，他反应倒也算灵敏，一下听出我言外之意来了。 屠方正色道：“楚将军，横野军忠勇无双，为国之干城，此役首功便是横野军立下的。来人，将功劳簿拿上来，我亲自记下楚将军和横野军的大功。” 边上一个幕僚躬身道：“尊命。”就在城门口展开记功的帛书，正要研墨，屠方道：“来人，拖一个没死透的妖兽过来。” 城门口躺着好几具蛇人的死尸，只是都已死得透了。两个侍从拖了一具尸体过来，屠方拔出腰刀，在那蛇人身上割了个口子。蛇人的血还没干，一割开，血登时涌出。屠方拿笔蘸了蘸，道：“楚将军，奇功当以血书。功劳簿上，克复东平第一功，便是楚将军与横野军的大名。” 照他这样子做作，我实在应该跪下来感激涕零一番，可是我却觉得一阵茫然。虽然也有几分感动，却只是一躬身，道：“多谢将军。” 名诗人闵维丘当年有“封侯将军事，战士半死生。头颅轻一掷，空有国殇名”这几句诗，现在想来，更是别有一番滋味。空有国殇名么？也许也仅仅如此。只是对于我来说，国殇之名也是空的。 屠方在城门口呆也没多久，便带着亲兵入城了。克复东平，这是地军团成军以来的第一件大功，他对横野军倒也不薄，命医营优先救治横野军，北门外划出了一大片房子作为横野军临时营房，让军中上下歇息，还抬来了不少馒头牛肉之类。别的还罢了，这馒头牛肉倒是雪中送炭，我们连番恶战，一个个都又饿又累，这般热气腾腾的牛肉馒头抬上来，伤势也似乎好了一半。我拿了个馒头，夹了一块肉大口吃着。临出阵时，也是这般吃过一顿，但那时还带着几分忐忑不安，现在放下了心，吃的东西仿佛也香了许多，碗口大的馒头，我连吃了两大个，牛肉更是吃了不下一斤。 钱文义和曹闻道两人坐在我身侧也大口大口吃着。曹闻道饭量原本就很大，钱文义以前吃得不多，此时吃的却也不在我之下。我们也不说话，只剩下了咀嚼吞咽这一个动作。从鬼门关打个转回来，能吃得下饭也是一种无尚的享受了。 屋子里升着火，只要受伤不是太重的，所有人都在吃东西。曹闻道咽下了一口馒头，忽然笑骂道：“别光吃不说话，别人要听到，还以为养了一屋子的猪呢。” 吞咽的声音的确不好听，颇似猪吃食的声音，可若不是曹闻道说，谁也不会想到。他这般一说，一屋子的人怔了怔，登时哄堂大笑，有人叫道：“曹将军，能做太平猪，也是福气啊。” 曹闻道把馒头在肉汤里蘸了蘸，道：“当了兵，福气就是能活着回来。来，吼两声吧，有统制带兵，也是福气。” 我笑道：“老曹，你本事没长多少，马屁功夫倒长了不少。”曹闻道咧嘴一笑，扬声唱道：“身既死矣……” 这首《国之殇》向来悲壮，此时从曹闻道嘴里却多了几分油腔滑调。若是平时，我定不准他这般糟蹋军圣那庭天的手笔，现在却不想多管了。 曹闻道起了个头，别人登时也连唱带笑地跟上。唱了半段，歌声整齐了许多，先前的油滑却越来越少，倒添了许多肃穆。第一段唱完，曹闻道忽地闭口不唱，转过头，轻声道：“统制，我若死了，你千万把我葬到灵官胡同的一棵大槐树下吧。就算烧成灰，也要洒在那儿。” 我奇道：“别说丧气话。再说，为什么去那儿？” 他怔了怔，叹了口气，道：“是啊，都快二十年了，小娟也不知早嫁到哪儿去了。”他转过头，用手背擦了擦眼睛，又用嘶哑的声音吼着。 我呆呆地，连馒头也忘了吃了。曹闻道这人是个天生的军人，我有时几乎忘了他也是个人，差不多把他和我的飞羽、百辟刀、流星锤和手弩看成是一类。可是，他也有自己的记忆，即使这记忆已经很淡了。 如果我死的话，我要葬到哪儿？难道，葬到东宫？我不由得苦笑了一下。 不可能了。永远也不可能了，还是忘了吧。我想着，可是心头却仍然隐隐作痛。