Chapter 6 Chapter 5: Wind and Fire

The snake people have retreated to the camp, I don't know when they will attack again.Although the casualties of our army and the Snakeman's army were roughly equal in this battle, Shen Xiping's death made everyone in the army fearful. I'm afraid no one would dare to fight the Snakeman's in the field for the time being.Marquis Wu also thought of this. When we were fighting outside, he ordered the craftsmen in the supply battalion to speed up the repair work. The Dragon Scale Army was seriously injured this time, only 221 of the 500 people remained.The Qianfeng Battalion also suffered casualties this time, and now there are only more than 1,200 people left, and three of the twenty centurions also died in battle, two of them were newly promoted, and one was still the official secretary of the court I don't know how Marquis Wu should explain it when he goes back.In my fifth battalion, two commanders were killed in the battle, and Shen Tuyi's commander was inhuman, and the entire army was wiped out.Now, there are only fifty-seven people left in the Fifth Battalion, almost half of them.This is not the worst. Pu Anli's battalions that rushed to the forefront each lost more than half of their staff, and now there are only 31 people left in Pu Anli's third battalion.

If it weren't for Lu Gongxing's caution, I'm afraid we would end up like the Dragon Scale Army. I watched the forward battalion lined up.Although it still has a sharp edge, it is like a knife that has been used too much, and the edge is also full of gaps.How many people have been buried in other lands and can never return to their hometowns?However, this war has only just begun, and I don't know how many people will be buried in different places. I was pointing at the fifth battalion of soldiers who had retreated into the city, when someone suddenly shouted: "General Shen!"

I was startled, and thought it was Shen Xiping's ghost that had appeared.Turning his head, he saw a few soldiers from the first battalion pointing at the snake man camp in the distance. As far as the eye could see, it was afternoon, and the snake man camp was still full of dust, so it was hard to see what was inside.But before the battle, a flagpole has been set up, on which is flying the big flag with the pattern of two human heads and a snake body, and a human head is hanging on the flag.Of course it's hard to see his face from such a distance, but anyone can guess that it must be Shen Xiping's head.

If Shen Xiping didn't want to save me, he probably wouldn't have died.Thinking of this, my heart hurts.Immediately afterwards, his waist also seemed to have been cut with a knife, and there was a sudden sharp pain.I gritted my teeth, trying to resist, but the pain still came back and forth, making me break out in a cold sweat. Qi Lie at the side saw my appearance and said, "General, what's wrong?" I stroked my waist with my hands and said, "It's nothing serious." As soon as I said this, I just felt so painful that I couldn't stand upright, and I was about to fall if I tilted it.Qi Lie grabbed me and shouted in fright: "General! General!"

The commanders of the Fifth Battalion ignored the military orders and surrounded them.At this time, Lu Gong, who was doing roll call in the last few battalions, came over and said, "What happened?" Qi Lie said in a little panic: "Lu Tongzhi, General Chu fell down suddenly." I struggled to stand up, but the pain in my waist made me unable to straighten up.I curled up like a shrimp, almost bending to the ground.Lu Gong walked over, lifted my battle armor, looked at it, and exclaimed: "You are injured! Don't move, you send General Chu back to the supply camp and ask the medical officer to treat him."

I wanted to say a few words on the scene, but the pain in my waist prevented me from saying anything.Qi Lie and Tan Qing took off my armor and helped me walk towards the supply camp.I just feel a little ashamed, but it can only be left to them. The medical camp was also in the supply camp.These days, the medical camp is full of people, and this is still a seriously wounded person. If they are slightly injured, at most they will be bandaged before going back.As soon as I entered the medical camp, the twenty or so medical officers were busy running around. Qi Lie helped me lie on a couch, and said loudly: "Quick, medical officer! Show us the general."

A medical officer nearby was bandaging a junior officer with a knife wound on his shoulder.Without raising his head, he said, "Wait a minute." Qi Lie said angrily: "Hurry up, our general..." I suppressed the pain and said: "Xiaolie, don't disturb others." Qi Lie said: "General, you are in such pain, you can't delay." The little officer who was wrapping his shoulders put his battle armor aside. He was seriously injured, but he was calm.At this time, he said coldly: "It's not a serious injury, do you need to scream?" Qi Lie said angrily: "Shut up! What kind of hero are you with such a small knife wound? Do you know who our general is?"

I was a little angry, and said: "Xiao Lie, don't talk nonsense, let others come first, I can bear it." Although I can bear it, the pain in my waist still makes me break out in a cold sweat.After finally waiting for the little officer to pack up, the medical officer came over and said, "Where is the injury?" I couldn't speak, and pointed to my waist with my finger.The medical officer unbuttoned my robe, and the clothes inside had been soaked in blood.Even I was startled by this. I never thought I would be injured on the battlefield, and the injury was so serious.

The medical officer cut open the clothes, looked at it, and said, "It was contusion by a blunt instrument. This injury is only a skin trauma, not serious, but it hurts, and you can really bear it." Qi Lie said proudly: "Our general is the first General Chu Xiuhong to rush into the city." The first to rush into Gaojiu City, that is really something to boast about, Qi Lie is still a source of pride to this day.I couldn't help but blush a little, but suddenly I saw the little officer come up to me, knelt down and saluted, and said, "You are General Chu? The young general is being rude."

I'm a little surprised, it's strange that this little officer is so condescending.I said: "You are..." He said: "Young general Qin Quan, the outpost officer of the Dragon Scale Army, was really ashamed of being rude to General Chu just now." The outpost officers of the Dragon Scale Army are actually no lower than me in terms of official rank, and they are all eleventh ranks among the thirteen ranks of military officers.Although the forward battalion is a bit special, he treats me like a subordinate meeting a superior, which is a bit too humble. I said: "General Qin, please don't be too polite, we are just equals."

Qin Quan said: "I kneel down to you for Master Shen." I couldn't help but blushed.Shen Xiping's death was almost to save me.Although when the four snake men attacked him, even if he concentrated his attention, he might not be able to sustain it, but when he shot a spear to save me, it distracted him. Anyway, I have a feeling of gratitude to Shen Xiping. I choked up a bit and said: "Master Shen is a hero, I feel ashamed for not keeping his whole body, you don't need to be grateful to me." Qin Quan smiled and said: "We are the Dragon Scale Army trained by Mr. Shen. We will never let Mr. Shen be decapitated. General Chu, please rest assured." I was taken aback and supported the couch with my elbows. At this moment, the medical officer said, "Don't move, don't you want to feel better?" Qin Quan said: "General Chu, take care of your injuries." His left shoulder was already covered with a layer of gauze, but at this moment he seemed to be all right, grabbed the battle armor that was off to the side and put it on, while tying the tether of the battle armor, he said: "General Shen's head, we will definitely grab it!" return." The medical officer was cleaning my wound.My injury was not too serious. After all, the snake man stabbed me with a gun without a tip through the battle armor, but it also left a two-point deep wound on my lower abdomen, although it was only a flesh wound. , The snake man's arm strength is really formidable.The medical officer sprinkled some powder on my wound and sewed it up with a needle.This is really scary, but I don't seem to even feel any pain.I was just a little surprised, and said, "You want to attack the snake camp?" Qin Quan just smiled, bowed to me, and walked out of the tent. The medical officer wrapped me up in circles with gauze.After wrapping it up, he said: "General, it's all right, it's nothing serious. In the next few days, you should rest well and eat well. If you recover quickly, you can stop talking tomorrow." I smiled wryly.rest?If the snake man doesn't attack, he can rest for a few days.I touched my waist, it was wrapped in gauze, it seemed to be surrounded by an iron hoop, it was not very comfortable.However, the wound was only a little painful, but it was not very severe.I moved and said: "Medical officer, your skills are really good, I don't feel much pain anymore." The medical officer said: "Don't take your life as a joke, I sprinkled Wangyouguo powder on you, so you don't feel too much pain. When the medicine wears off tomorrow, you will feel pain." I said, "Then it won't hurt today, will it?" At this time, Tan Qing and Qi Lie said at the same time: "General, what do you want to do?" I said, "We'll talk about it later." I looked at them in astonishment, and said, "What's the matter? Did you think I would steal General Shen's head at night?" They didn't speak, but I knew they must be thinking so.I smiled and said, "I don't think my life is that cheap." They all breathed a sigh of relief. They don't know that I did have this idea just now.But I also know that in my current state, I can't even run fast, and going to the snake camp would be death. General Shen, I will definitely let you come back. I silently made this determination. At this time, I heard Leigu riding a horse and shouting outside: "Marquis Wu has an order to seal the swords of the whole army. The surviving residents of the city must come to the People's Square to gather within three days. The lord guarantees your safety. Those who cannot hide will be killed." He yelled all the way, and yelled all the way. Hearing his words, I let out a long breath.The massacre of the city was over ahead of schedule, so Marquis Wu would not dare to make enemies inside and outside at this time.Although that was mostly just a stopgap measure by Marquis Wu, I was relieved for a while. How many people are left in the city?Not counting the captive craftsmen and women, there may be less than 100,000 people.But no matter what, these 100,000 people were finally able to escape from the butcher's knife, leaving only one life. Back at the top of the city, the whole army was still stepping up renovation work, but the snake man hadn't launched an attack yet.But we all know that it is like the calm before a storm, and the snake people may attack at any time.Marquis Wu ordered the troops stationed at the four gates to step up repairs to the city defenses.Although the scale of today's battle was small, even Marquis Wu must have lost confidence. All armies are stepping up renovation work, and the Qianfeng Battalion is no exception.Two thousand soldiers were dispatched from the north gate and the west gate. Because there was no enemy in the east gate and Lu Jingyu was not there, Bu Wu, the deputy commander of the left army, was now in command.Bu Wu is a very cautious person, he is not good at attacking and defending directly, but he is very good at dispatching troops. Marquis Wu temporarily transferred 10,000 troops from the left to defend the south gate.Now, the Chinese army has more than 50,000 soldiers, and it can be said that more than half of the whole army is at the south gate.Since the main attack was on the south gate when the city was broken, although the Republican army in the city was not the largest, they also defended it extremely tenaciously. When we attacked, I broke the city gate with my own hands, and the south gate was the most damaged among the four gates.Now the craftsmen of the supply camp are stepping up to repair the gate. Qi Lie moved a big chair for me and refused to let me go to build the city myself.I sat on the top of the wall and watched them busy. The medical officer's methods were really clever. Now I don't feel any pain at all, but the wound is a little numb.Marquis Wu's tent was set up in the tenth battalion. Marquis Wu is also sitting on a tall armchair, supervising the formation, with his two personal soldiers standing behind him. Suddenly, there was a commotion among the soldiers who were repairing the damaged part of the city wall outside the city.Marquis Wu suddenly stood up and shouted: "What's the matter?" Someone shouted from the side: "It's not good, they are attacking!" The surroundings suddenly became noisy.I looked into the distance, and sure enough, another cloud of dust rose up in the snake man's main formation. Looking from a distance, I don't know how many soldiers came to kill them. Marquis Wu said loudly: "Send down the order and prepare for the battle!" He sat back in the chair without moving.At this time, Lei Gu jumped on his horse on the top of the city, and shouted as he ran: "Soldiers of the army, don't panic, the enemy is coming to attack the city, everyone is ready to fight." The snake man's attack was naturally expected by Marquis Wu, so he shouldn't panic.I looked at the city gate, and the two sides of the gate had been densely nailed with a layer of wooden boards, and the gate was half thick.In fact, this can only give people a sense of security. If the snake man has already rushed under the city gate, then even the iron gate is useless. It didn't take long, almost as soon as the soldiers outside the city retreated into the city, the first batch of snakemen had already approached the moat.Those snake men were all sitting in the car, but when they were dozens of steps away from the moat, they got out of the car one after another.They also swim on the ground like snakes, but not very fast. At this time, Qi Lie said: "General, you go down to the city first, we are here to support you." I stood up and said, "Is there any reason to retreat when a big battle comes?" Qi Lie said: "But your injury..." I moved my arms and said, "It's okay." There are still seven chiefs of the Fifth Battalion, but there are only about 50 people in total, and there is no such thing as "Shi" now.I took a long gun from the weapons rack next to me.This gun has a smaller tip than the one I'm used to, and it's generally easy to handle. Under the city, the vanguard of those snake men had reached the moat, but they stopped moving forward. Qi Lie whispered behind me: "What are they going to do?" I shook my head and said, "Don't worry about what they are going to do, prepare to fight." At this time, a cry suddenly erupted from the snake army. It's really unexpected that the snake people can have such a voice.Then, all the snake men rushed over, looking down from the top of the city, there were everywhere outside the south gate, like a green flood. I grabbed the gun tightly and shouted: "Xiao Lie, bring me my sun-penetrating bow!" Qi Lie handed me the sun-piercing bow, and I took out an arrow from the quiver on my back, and shouted: "Everyone, get ready and release the arrows as soon as they reach the moat!" In fact, I don't need to order, the 20,000 people at the top of the city have all raised their bows and arrows.I looked to the side, Tan Qing's ten people went through the morning battle, and none of them died.All his soldiers are good archers, which also made me feel at ease. At this time, the snake people have already entered the water.Snake people seem to be born with water skills. Before I could finish my words, several snake people swam across the moat very quickly and approached the city gate.I aimed at the snake man in the front and shot with an arrow.At this time, as if an order had been received from the top of the city, arrows rained down like rain.The snake men probably didn't expect our movements to be so uniform. Some of them waved their knives and guns, as if they wanted to block, but how could we stop them?The snakemen who came ashore were suddenly full of arrows, and many snakemen in the river were also hit by arrows.I saw that the snake man in the river had quickly returned to the south bank, retreated dozens of steps, and seemed to be in shock. There were dozens of snake man corpses left in the river. The head of the city cheered.This time, none of us were injured, but dozens of snake people died, which is really a victory. But I'm not that optimistic.When we set off, the supply battalion carried a million arrows.After previous sieges, although there were supplements from time to time, half of them had been lost.Thousands of arrows were fired just now, but those snake men were extremely tenacious, and none of them hit a vital point. After returning to the shore, they pulled out their arrows, but nothing seemed to happen.Based on this calculation, our 500,000 arrows can only hurt them by one or two thousand at most.What's more, the snake man was caught off guard just now, so it may not be so effective in the future. Thinking of this, I couldn't help shivering.Maybe, the snake man's reckless attack just now was just to consume our arrows.Although those snake people looked extremely stupid, they might not have such intentions. I turned around and said, "The next time the snake man attacks, everyone, be careful, aim and shoot." But the snake men didn't attack again, but saw the big flag waved, and the snake men retreated slowly. Although the Snake Army is disorderly, anyone who sees this squirming army will feel terrified.We were all a little puzzled, and I thought that the snake people were just creatures, who only knew how to attack desperately, but they also knew how to advance and retreat, and seemed to be very familiar with the art of war.It's just that this round of attack is mostly tentative. There are not too many snakemen attacking, only about 5,000. Who is it that trains this snake army?Is it in the snake army? Just as I was thinking, there was a burst of cheers from the top of the city. After all, we won the battle. At night, we dare not fall asleep.The vanguard battalion guarded until the moon was in the middle of the sky, and then it was replaced by a soldier from the Chinese army, and the others went down to the city to rest. Qi Lie moved my things from the small house to the camp, and now I don't dare to live outside alone anymore.The woman that Qi Lie captured was still under the care of the baggage camp, and Qi Lie gave him some food. I just took off the heavy armor when suddenly there was a loud noise from the center of the camp. The snake people have already entered the city? I was taken aback and jumped out of bed.The wound was pulled, and there was a dull pain at this moment.I rushed out of the tent, only to see many people from the forward battalion came out, and some people were discussing: "What's going on?" At this time, I heard De Yang shouting: "Generals, there is nothing serious. Someone in my supply camp was burning the stove and it exploded." The soldiers of the vanguard battalion went back to sleep cursing.I looked towards Deyang, but saw him scolding: "Zhang Dai! Why do you keep causing trouble when you don't do good things? Why are you still making trouble? Damn, I can't protect you this time. You guys, kill him !" I walked over and said, "Lord De, what's wrong?" De Yang turned around, saw that it was me, and said, "Lord Chu, you were woken up too, right? It's okay." I saw two soldiers beside him holding down a man with a dark face. The man's clothes were scorched to the point of being ripped, his face was covered with black ashes, but he could still see the horror on his face.I said, "Who is he?" De Yang said: "He is a soldier in the supply camp. His name is Zhang Longyou, and his nickname is idiot. He always tinkers with strange things. I saw that he was quick in his hands and feet before, but I didn't fire him. Today, I have to do something like this. Cut him down." I said, "How did he make such a noise?" De Yang said: "Who knows. He has been burning things all day, but he made such a loud noise just now. If he disturbs the morale of the army, Yu Lv will be executed." Although De Yang is not a person who goes to the battlefield, he is a supply officer. In the supply camp, he also has the right to life and death.I walked up to Zhang Longyou. He was very young and short. He didn't look like someone who could become a general at first glance. God knows how he would join the army.It's just that his eyes are very flexible, but he doesn't stare at him. I said: "Lord Deyang, it is time to use people, let him join the forward camp, don't kill him." De Yang said: "It's good that General Chu has this intention. Zhang Dai, thank you General Chu." As soon as Zhang Longyou was let go, he bowed to me neither humble nor overbearing, and said: "General Chu, thank you." De Yang said angrily: "Idiot, if you're spared, you're still looking so big, don't you really think you'll have a long life?" I said: "Lord De, don't be as knowledgeable as him. Zhang Longyou, please tidy up your things and come to see me in my camp tomorrow." After all, he yawned and went back to sleep. When I woke up, it was daylight.I was taken aback. In all previous battles, there had never been such a peaceful night.When I walked out of the tent, I saw Qi Lie was already practicing boxing outside. When he saw me, he said, "General, are you up? Is the wound feeling better?" I pressed lightly through the gauze.There is still some pain, but it is not too severe. It seems that the medical officer is not right.I said, "Xiao Lie, were you all right last night?" Qi Lie said: "There is no assembly order, so it must be fine." This night, the snake man didn't come to harass him, which is strange.I stretched my body and said, "Xiao Lie, bring me my soft armor." Wearing armor, it is very tiring.Fortunately, even if they fight again, they will still defend the city, and the soft armor is enough.Qi Lie took out the soft armor from inside and put it on for me, I said: "Tell them to assemble, we have to change shifts." When I got to the top of the city, a young man wearing only a battle robe suddenly ran up to me and said, "General Chu, I'm here." I sized him up, but didn't recognize him.I said, "Who are you?" He said: "I'm Zhang Longyou. You asked me to follow you last night." I said, "What are you doing here? Go back first, and I'll talk to you when I come back in the evening." But Zhang Longyou said: "General Chu, I can use weapons too, let me go up." At this time, only a burst of exclamation was heard from above, and someone shouted: "The monster is attacking again!" Attack again?I was taken aback.Now at dawn, the snake man did not attack the city at night when it was dark, but attacked the city during the day. Could it be that they are here to die?But even if we have a good location, it's still not easy to repel the snake man. I can't help but think about it, there are already rumbling noises outside the city.I ran to the city, and said to Zhang Longyou: "Don't be afraid of death, come up. It's good to move some rocks." I ran a few steps, turned my head and said, "Xiao Lie, there are so many armors, give him some armor quickly." pieces." I ran up to the top of the city, and at this time, the group of snake men had reached the moat again.This time, it was already dark, maybe half of the snake people had come to attack the city. Are they going to repeat yesterday's scene? I was thinking about it, but I saw a commotion in the snake army, I don't know what happened in the snake army.At this time, the snake man in the front row suddenly got out of the way, and many wooden round cards rushed out from behind. Those are shields! Although crudely made, it was indeed a shield. The group of snake men raised the round cards over their heads and started to cross the river. As soon as the snake man crossed the river, arrows shot out from the city.This time, those arrows were stuck on the shield, but none of them could hit the snake man. The snake man has a countermeasure so soon? I waved my gun and said, "Use a long gun and put the tomahawk beside you, everyone be careful." At this time, I heard Zhang Longyou say timidly: "General Chu, where should I be?" The first few hundred snake people have crossed the moat.I turned around and looked at him.He wore a soft armor that didn't fit well, and held a long gun in his hand.He really doesn't look like a soldier.I sighed and said, "You are behind, help me carry the stone." This time it was close combat.When we were defending the city, the most frequently used weapon on the top of the city was rocks, and each battalion had to send manpower to move the rocks. Asking Zhang Longyou to do this is also a good show. The snake man had reached the edge of the city, threw the wooden shield across the moat, and began to climb up the city.As soon as he climbed up the city wall, the bricks and stones on the top of the city rained down like raindrops.Those snake people were extremely tenacious, and they would not retreat even if they died.But the stones were too dense, and a snake man climbed half way up, and was finally thrown down.But those snake men one after another, without any intention of retreating, even if they fell down the city, they just turned over and climbed up again. At this time, a snake man had climbed to the top of the city where the Fifth Battalion was stationed.The snake man ignored the stones thrown at it.Seeing that it was approaching the top of the city, I raised the spear on one side, pointed it at it, and shouted: "Go down, you monsters!" As soon as my spear fell, it was very difficult for the snake man to come up from the city wall. When I stabbed, it couldn't dodge at all, it just glanced at me with its bright yellow eyes. That's exactly the same as a human being. I couldn't help feeling a chill in my heart, but my hand didn't loosen, and I stabbed it down with a gun.The tip of the spear had just reached the snake man, when it suddenly stretched out a hand, grabbed it, and snatched it away forcefully. The force was so great that I almost fell off the wall by it.I staggered, almost unable to grasp the gun. At this moment, two guns stabbed at me. The three spears stabbed at the snake man, even the snake man couldn't stop it.It swung the big knife in its right hand, and I let it go. It held my gun in one hand, but its body fell towards the city.When it fell, it made a "crackling" sound, knocking down several snake men crawling behind it. But as soon as these snake men landed, they rushed towards the top of the city again as if nothing happened. In the city, the sound of clashing swords and guns could be heard everywhere.Fortunately, the snake people are very unskilled in climbing walls. They only have two forelimbs and no feet. Although the city is full of pits, it is still difficult for the snake people to climb the top of the city. I grabbed another long spear and tried my best to push back the snake men who came to the city, but the more I fought, the more frightened I was.The snake people are really not good at attacking the city. If they attacked the city as fiercely as in a field battle, the city would have fallen long ago.In yesterday's battle, we never suffered a crushing defeat, and the charge of the Dragon Scale Army really shook the courage of the Snake Man. The spear in my hand could no longer be put down, and those snake men had already formed one after another, almost forming a string.Their offensive has clearly intensified.I forced a few back, but at this moment, there were five or six snake men crawling up the city at the same time.They also learned how to be good, and the first one held the wooden shield, and the others followed it in a long line.The first one didn't have any weapons in their hands, but only held the wooden shield over their heads like an umbrella, letting the top of the city throw stones like rain, they pressed forward step by step.If a snake man is allowed to go up to the top of the city, it will definitely entangle a dozen soldiers.In this way, a gap in the city defense will definitely be torn by them, and the consequences may be unimaginable.I put the gun on the side, lifted the prepared masonry from the side, and smashed it down.The snake man was also persevering, the stone smashed the wooden shield like a drum, but it didn't budge an inch and was still climbing up slowly.The other snake men followed suit, and many snake men also attacked the top of the city. On the other side of the Ninth Battalion, a snake man had already gone up to the top of the city, and was fighting with the soldiers of the Ninth Battalion. Some Chinese troops rushed up for reinforcements. As the stones fell, those snake men's attacks became more and more urgent.Stones have piled up under the city, which is more conducive to the snake man's climbing.I secretly worried.Now the stones below the city are only knee-high, if they continue to pile up, those snake men may reach the top of the city if they grow up under the city.But if we don't throw stones, I'm afraid we won't even be able to defend for a moment. My heart was beating violently, as if it was about to jump out of my mouth.Even though I have experienced many battles, I am still a little flustered by now. At this time, another group of Chinese soldiers rushed up from the city to help.The section of the city wall defended by the Qianfeng Battalion was the tightest, and the Snakemen attacked the most fiercely. Marquis Wu must have seen it too.In my busy schedule, I looked up and saw that on the Qiaolou in the city, Marquis Wu was standing by the railing of the Qiaolou, leaning on the ground with a spear in one hand, and leaning on the railing with the other hand, watching the battle, the messengers were running up and down like ants. . Marquis Wu is directing the battle.I couldn't help but feel certain in my heart, I stretched out my hand to touch it, trying to grab the stone on the side, but it was empty.Originally, Zhang Longyou was helping me carry the stones, but now I don't know where he went.I just let go of my hand, and those snake men climbed up a few feet.Seeing that the situation was critical, some soldiers carrying stones nearby also joined in the defense of the city and smashed down the stones in their hands.But on the top of the city, there are not many stones that can be thrown. If the snake man attacks like this again, it may be difficult to continue.I was a little worried, and shouted: "Zhang Longyou! You idiot! Where are you?" At this moment, Zhang Longyou said: "General, I'm here." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Zhang Longyou walking up to the city with two buckets of water.There is still a distance away, but the smell of alcohol overflowing inside can be smelled.It appears that those are two barrels of wine. My heart was full of rage.It seems that De Yang was right when he called him a "fool".What is he doing with the wine?If it is to celebrate the victory after the war, it is still unknown which side will celebrate the victory after the war.I just wanted to reprimand him severely, but I heard Qi Lie scream: "General!" His voice was terrified, and I felt a gust of wind rushing towards my head, without looking back, the man leaned and took a few steps to the side.But there was a "bang", it turned out that the snake man with the shield had already climbed to the top of the city. Although snake people are not good at climbing, they have one advantage.Their overall length is much longer than that of humans, and they can be coiled up. At first glance, we saw that they were far away from the top of the city, but as soon as we relaxed our defenses, they stretched their bodies and they were already at the top of the city.When I was distracted just now, that snake man rushed to the top of the wall immediately. The lower half of the snake man was still outside the city, and this time he smashed it down with both hands, and the wooden shield was also smashed to pieces.At this time, two snake figures protruded from behind it at the same time. It looked like a three-headed monster crawled up from outside.I felt a chill in my heart, looked around, only the siege ax was right in hand, I picked it up, and shouted: "Go!" I jumped on it.Unexpectedly, a long waist, but a stabbing pain in the waist. The wound didn't flare up sooner or later, but now it started to hurt. The pain was like a rope, it suddenly caught my footsteps, I staggered, and the second snake man with a spear had already coiled his whole body on the battlements. Everyone in the Fifth Battalion rushed forward. The vanguard battalion was all using long spears. At this time, more than ten people formed a semicircle around the snake man, and they let out a roar of anger, and the dozen or so guns pierced out at the same time. With a sound of "Dang", it was stabbing the snake man's breastplate. The more than ten guns were fired at once, and the snake man's breastplate couldn't stop him. I could see clearly that two or three spears had penetrated through the armor, but they didn't go deep. The snake man moved, and the long spear in his hand was gone stab out.This shot was as fast as lightning, but he saw that the man on the left was about to raise the spear to block, before he had time, he was stabbed across the face, and with a scream from his mouth, he was picked up by the snake man.The snake man shook his hand, and the corpse was thrown into the city like a bug on a grass stalk. That man is Shi Chang Wang Dong. The others involuntarily took a step back.In the vanguard battalion, it can be said that there is no weak person. In the past, they were killed in the melee, and they were outnumbered, but now we are outnumbered by the crowd, and Wang Dong was stabbed to death easily.How strong is the snake man? Since joining the Vanguard Battalion, we have known that our lives could end at any moment.But Wang Dong was killed lightly by this snake man, which is really shocking. I knew that things were not going well, and at this moment, several battalions around us also saw that our side was in a tight spot, and came to support us.Just as I was about to rush forward, I saw Zhang Longyou had already rushed up.His barrel of wine had already been placed on the ground, and he held the barrel of wine with both hands, and with a "wow", the whole body of the three snake men was soaked. The air is full of the aroma of wine. Is he crazy? I was wondering, but I saw Zhang Longyou took out the flint and steel from his arms, and hit it desperately.At this time, the leading snake man wiped his face, and the spear in his hand was like a stick, and he threw it at Zhang Longyou. Zhang Longyou was also shocked, his hands were still beating mechanically, but he didn't move away.Seeing that the situation was not good, I rushed up, raised my tomahawk, and raised my hands. With a sound of "bang", I only felt pain in my lower abdomen and numbness deep in my body, and I couldn't help but kneel on the ground. But the shot was still caught. At this moment, Zhang Longyou lit the tinder.He threw the ball of fire at the snake man. I can't help laughing and crying.Does he want to use this fire to burn the snake man to death?This ignition can be extinguished with two fingers. But it was also strange that when the snake man saw the fire, he backed away, a little fear appeared on his face.At this time, the ball of fire had already been thrown on the snake man, and only a "hoo" was heard, and the whole body of the snake man burned up, like a candle, but blue flames came out. I was taken aback, and I didn't know what kind of trick Zhang Longyou performed, but I heard someone beside me say: "General Chu, get out of the way!" I looked down and saw a ball of fire crawling over the ground like a living thing.I took a step away and got out of the way, but the doubts in my heart were getting deeper and deeper. The three snake men were on fire together.Originally, the fire wasn't very big, but they remained motionless as if possessed by an evil spirit. Suddenly, they uttered a strange cry, and the three snake men got entangled and fell down.We rushed to the edge of the city and looked down, only to see that a group of snake men knocked down a few snake men who were climbing the city. The knocked down snake men did not burn, but screamed the same. Climb backwards. I couldn't help being a little stunned, but Zhang Longyou rushed over and poured another barrel of wine into the pile below the city.As soon as the wine was poured into the fire, the fire doubled at once.This time, even the few snake men who got close were burned.They let out a shrill scream, struggling to retreat, one retreated quickly, and had already swam into the moat, and the fire on his body was extinguished in an instant. I grabbed the long gun on the edge of the city and shouted, "Where are you going!" My spear-throwing skills are not as good as Shen Xiping's, but now I am condescending, and the power of this spear is also unusually strong, this spear is piercing a snake man's lower body, nailing it to the ground.The snake man let out a scream, and his whole body stood upright, wrapped around the gun several times, burning like a candle. The scream was so loud that both attackers and defenders turned their heads to look.In the flames, the snake man opened his mouth wide and was still swaying, with fire bursting out from all over his body, just like the fire dragon in the legend. At this time, only the sound of "cracking" was heard, and those snake men who were clinging to the city wall left the city wall at once, and retreated like flying away. A few snake men who had already climbed the city wall seemed to want to escape, but where did the soldiers nearby come from? Allowing it to go, those snake men in the city were all beheaded immediately because of their restlessness. Almost instantly, victory and defeat changed hands. I wiped my face, still a little bit in disbelief.Looking around, everyone was a little shocked.If it weren't for the fleeing figures of those snake men and the burning snake man wrapped around the gun, I would have thought it was just a nightmare. After a while, deafening cheers erupted from the top of the city.Looking from a distance, I saw the snake man fleeing in a panic, carrying smoke and dust all over the place. It stands to reason that we should go out of the city to pursue and expand the results of the battle, but Marquis Wu did not give the order.I looked at Lu Gongxing, he was looking at the receding snake man, with a hint of worry on his face. At this time, I heard Pu Anli rushing over and shouting loudly: "General Lu, why didn't you pursue him?" Lu Gongxing turned his head and said, "Can you be sure of victory?" Pu Anli said: "Those monsters are afraid of fire, we can use fire to attack!" Suddenly, a light flashed in my mind. Snake people are afraid of fire! No wonder they don't attack at night.Because we lit torches everywhere when it was dark.看来，蛇人虽然很象人了，还是不脱兽性，依然是怕火的。刚才，我们不过烧死了一个蛇人，斩杀的也没多少，真正战果几近于零，我们的伤亡比蛇人要大，但蛇人还是见鬼一样，逃个无影无踪了。 我道：“路将军，蒲将军说得很对，让前锋营每人带一个火把，赶快追击。” 蛇人失去了战车，在地上行进得不快，但也已退走了一段距离。再不追击，便失去这个机会了。路恭行的眉头紧皱，似也下不了这个决心。 沈西平的败亡，实在已让每个人都失去信心。 这时，身后有人道：“说得对！点起火把，追击！” 我回过头，是武侯！他身后还站着那两个形影不离的亲兵大鹰小鹰。我们跪倒在地，齐声道：“君侯！” 武侯道：“快去！” 路恭行已似变了个样子，大声道：“前锋营的勇士，每人带一个火把，点着了冲！” 火把本来就在城头有许多。我带着五营的士兵冲下城去，跳上战马。城下，已有几支队伍冲了出去。武侯那如雷鸣般的声音，让人觉得血液也似燃烧起来。 我跳上马，却见一边的张龙友有点神色慌张。他大概没有马。我道：“张龙友，你在边上歇着吧。” 说着，我已带马冲出城去。 第一批冲出城去的是中军的锐步营。那是些步军，虽然比我们先出城，但前锋营人人有马，我冲出去时，蒲安礼已在最前面，大声呼喝着：“让开！让开！”锐步营已经我们让出了一条道。 前锋营还剩一千余人了，但这一千余人，还是一支锐不可挡的强兵。尤其是昨天那一仗，前锋营因有路恭行约束，虽败不乱，几乎可说是没怎么接战，人人心中都憋了一股气。 我们已追上了蛇人。殿后的那些蛇人站定了，似乎准备接战，路恭行带住马，叫道：“将火把抛到蛇人阵中！” 最先冲到的是前锋营中的几个营，有两三百人。这两三百人手中的火把扔出，将蛇人队伍最后的几十人与本阵隔开。那些火把都是浸透了油，落到地上也不会熄，反而把地上的一些去年的枯草点燃了，形成了一道不太高的火墙。 蛇人果然是怕火的。被这道火墙隔开的蛇人一见火，吓得纷纷退后。本来那火并不太大，直如儿戏，但这道儿戏似的火墙也把蛇人困下了几十个，大队蛇人似根本不理那些落后的蛇人，已加紧退却。而后来追到的一些人也学我们的样，纷纷将火把扔出，将那堵火墙添得更高了。 那几十个蛇人见已无退路，都回过身来，它们手里的刀枪也举了起来。尽管我们有不少人手里还拿着火把，它们被那道火墙逼得无路可走，也不那么害怕我们的火把了。路恭行喝道：“它们要孤注一掷了，小心！” 他的话音未落，一骑马如闪电般飞出，一枪刺向一个蛇人。那蛇人似还想挡一挡，这一枪已中它前胸，那人的力量也大得吓人，竟然将那蛇人挑了起来，“呼”一声，扔进了火堆。那人喝道：“混帐的怪物！” That was Bu Anli. 虽然他这一枪是借了马的力量，但这一枪能将蛇人挑出去，本身的力量也大得惊人了。 也似被蒲安礼的这一枪激动，诸军发出一声欢呼，齐齐冲上。我冲在最前面，只见一个蛇人已将枪对准了我。我手中的火把还没扔掉，喝道：“死吧！” 我把火把一下向那蛇人扔去，左手的长枪交到右手。火把向那蛇人飞去，火星四射，尽管还是白天，还是看得那那些血似的火舌。那个蛇人倒似呆了，一动也不动，我一枪向它刺去，枪头才到那蛇人身上，边上已有几枝长枪同时刺入蛇人的身体。 现在单是前锋营，就比蛇人多得多了，还有锐步营的步兵也已冲了上来。此时，已成了一场杀戮。 “今天蛇人不会再发动攻击了，大家回去休息，随时待命。辛苦了。” 集合后，路恭行向我们大声宣布了解散令。这一战，我们的伤亡和蛇人相比，其实并不占便宜，但每个人都回复了点自信，有人也开始谈着击败蛇人后要做些什么事了。我们正要走，却听得路恭行过来道：“楚将军，刚才是谁把那蛇人烧死的？” 我指了指张龙友道：“就是他。” 路恭行看了看张龙友，道：“真看不出。你叫什么？” 张龙友面上有几分得意之色，道：“报告将军，我叫张龙友，是前锋五营成员。” 路恭行笑了笑，道：“你该谢谢楚将军，他给你带来了好运。君侯已听过了你的事，他要招你入幕府。” “什么？”我们几乎和张龙友同时吃了一惊。武侯的幕府，可说是集一时俊彦，为武侯出谋划策，在军中也地位超然。虽然也有军衔，但见到官职比他们高的，幕府成员不必行礼。张龙友一步登天，一下子从一个后勤兵跳到了武侯幕府，那也是没有先例的。 张龙友结结巴巴地道：“我……我没听错吧？” 路恭行道：“当然没错，武侯马上让你去。你不会让武侯等得生气吧？” 张龙友兴奋地一点头，道：“谢路统制。” 他也顾不上和我打招呼，转身向武侯营中跑去。我不禁又是妒忌又是愤愤，道：“这小子，运气也太好了点。” 路恭行看着他，道：“楚将军，他是你营中的人么？我以前好象没见过他。” 我道：“他本是辎重营的人，昨天晚上闯了祸，你听没听到那一声巨响？” 路恭行道：“是他搞出来的？” 我点了点头，道：“德洋大人要杀他，我向德洋大人求情，让他来前锋营。没想到，他真有几分鬼门道，实话说，若不是他弄来那两桶酒，只怕我们也难办了。” 路恭行皱皱眉，道：“酒都烧不起来的。我读过古书，古书上说，有一种酒可以烧起来，可那种酒的制法已经失传了。难道，他又找到了那种方法了？” 我有点恍然大悟，道：“君侯把他收入幕府，是要他造那种能烧起来的酒吧？” 武侯的好美酒，好名马，好宝刀，那是众人皆知，破城后，武侯掳得的工匠有一半是酿酒师。 路恭行道：“武侯不会因为这种小事就把他收入幕府的。说不定，”他顿了顿，看着城头。夕阳在山，一带残霞如同血滴一般红，南疆天晚得迟，现在还只是黄昏。 他转过头，道：“说不定，这一场战争的胜负，将会系于他一身。”