Chapter 153 Chapter 21 Soldiers Out of Huguan

Chapter 21: Soldiers Out of Huguan Pass, Part Five Huguan is the grand pass that guarded Taihang Baixing in the Northern Han Dynasty. It passes through Baixing from Zhenzhou and enters the border of the Northern Han Dynasty. It is surrounded by mountains, and Huguan is the throat fortress. There are Baigu Mountain in the north and Shuanglong Mountain in the south. The two mountains are facing each other, and it is named after Hukou as the pass. By breaking the Huguan, the Yong army can drive straight in. This time, the Yong army is divided into two groups, and it is Jing Chi who is in charge of attacking the Huguan. This time he brought 30,000 cavalry. , plus the 40,000 Zhenzhou Army, stormed Huguan from March 14th, and the defender Liu Wanli was also a well-known general. Break through the Huguan.

On March 21st, Jing Chi rode his horse and stood under the general flag, looking coldly at the city that was almost stained red with blood, his chapped lips showed his inner anxiety, this time the military order was very clear, He had to break through the Huguan pass, pass through Shangdang to Qinyuan, join forces with His Royal Highness King Qi, and attack the main force of the Northern Han army. The Northern Han army was short of troops and could only guard a few fortresses. Once Huguan was broken, there would be an undefended vast area ahead territory.But it has been a full eight days, Huguan is still standing under the attack of the Yong army, Jing Chi's heart is like a fire, and he can't wait to go to the battlefield in person, but if the cavalry is used to attack the city, it would be too wasteful, what King Qi meant It is very clear that the Zhenzhou army is attacking the city, and his cavalry will have to run for thousands of miles. They must not lose too much in Huguan. Looking up at the sky, the setting sun has already set behind Huguan city, reflecting the city tower a blood red, he He said fiercely: "Retract the troops." Then he rode his horse back to the camp, he must find a way, within two days at the most, if he couldn't break through the city, even if he charged himself, he would have to step on the tower of Huguan.

On March 22, Lin Ya, the general of the Zhenzhou Army who commanded the siege, stood on the three-foot-high platform commanding the battle, his expression full of worry. No matter how many times we went, the city of Huguan was in a mess, the moat had already been filled up, even the city gate was burnt to pieces by the Yong army with tung oil, but the inside was blocked by the Northern Han army with stones, bricks and wood. If the city can no longer be broken, I'm afraid it will delay the military plane.It's a pity that Liu Wanli was cruel and ruthless. As soon as he learned that the Yong army was about to attack Huguan, he organized all the young and strong men in Huguan into a team to help them attack the city. Although there are some secret spies who have been lurking in Huguan for a long time, they have never had the opportunity to attack Huguan with internal and external cooperation. If it were not for a few of them who were able to take advantage of the opportunity of throwing the rolling wood and stone forest to drop the wooden slips with military information, I am afraid that they would not know what happened in the city. True and false.Even so, the city wall of Huguan was strong, and there were mountains on both sides to protect each other. Liu Wanli set up camps on the two mountains, and the three places supported each other. The Yong army suffered heavy losses, but they could not succeed.Today, Lin Ya made up his mind and sent all the best soldiers and generals under his command. Seeing a ladder topple in the flames, the blood of the brave soldiers in the army was all over the outer wall of Huguan. Lin Ya also had veins twitching on his temples, bursting with anger.

Lin Ya was directing the battle, when he suddenly felt the wooden platform under his feet tremble, he couldn't help but look down, and saw Jing Chi's battle robe on the left, with a shawl hanging out, walking up with a drum as tall as a man in his hands, and walked up to the platform On the way, Jing Chi set up the war drum and shouted loudly: "Bring the drumsticks." A personal guard who came up behind Jing Chi quickly handed Jing Chi two drumsticks wrapped in red silk.Jing Chi yelled loudly, waved the drumsticks, and slammed the war drum vigorously. The sound of the drum resounded through the sky, roaring and whirling across the entire battlefield like continuous thunder in the sky.After the Zezhou battle, Jing Chi heard that Jiang Zhe played drums to help the Yong army win a big victory, so he pestered Jiang Zhe to learn how to play drums. Jiang Zhe had nothing to do, so he taught him for a few days. He has experienced many battles and was born as a general. Although the drums he beats are not so varied, they are more powerful and inspiring.When the Zhenzhou army heard the exciting sound of drums and learned that it was Jing Chi who was beating the drums, they were both excited and ashamed, and they all shouted: "I am ordered to attack Huguan so that General Jing Going to attack the Northern Han Dynasty, but now we are fighting hard, let General Jing wait here, and now General Jing is personally beating the drums for us to help us, if we can't break the city, I'm afraid we will never be able to lift our heads in front of General Jing for the rest of our lives , the face of the Zhenzhou Army will be completely lost by us." The soldiers of the Zhenzhou Army encouraged each other, this round of siege was in full swing, Huguan was almost trembling with the sound of drums, and the sky was cloudy, as if it was hard to bear to see the ground. bloody battles.

Standing on the top of the city tower, Liu Wanli's face was covered with ashes, his eyes were full of ice cold, and there was no reinforcements, because the main force of the Northern Han army was fighting hard with the Zezhou camp of the Yong army, and the rest of the troops were either in Jinyang or Daizhou. It is easy to transfer troops, but in Daizhou, Liu Wanli groaned. When Lin Yuanting surrendered, he had an agreement with the Lord of the Northern Han Dynasty that the Daizhou Army would never leave the country. This may be because the former Lord did not want the powerful Daizhou Army It affected the political situation in the Northern Han Dynasty, but Lin Yuanting happily agreed. He claimed that the Daizhou Army was there to defend the homeland, not to fight against each other. Therefore, in these years, the Daizhou Army never took a step beyond Daizhou. Of course, it went out of Yanmen Attacking barbarians is not counted.Therefore, he had to rely on this army to defend Huguan, but after eight days, Liu Wanli knew very well that Huguan was almost collapsed, but the Yong army was still boundless.

Liu Wanli's lieutenant general came over, his lips were full of blisters, and he said hoarsely: "General, the enemy army is coming up again. This time they pushed four cloud carts up, I'm afraid it is inevitable." Liu Wanli sighed lightly. The terrain of Huguan is narrow. Generally speaking, it is just right to use three cloud carts. If you use four, it will inevitably be too concentrated and the loss will be more serious. But relatively, the pressure on your own side will also be greater. Some, in the past few days, the Yong army has been attacking the city in a leisurely manner, even using only two cloud chariots at a time.He took a deep breath and said, "Attack with fire."

The lieutenant general was ordered to pass the order. In order to be able to defend for a few more days, Liu Wanli had already ordered to wait until the enemy approached before attacking. The northern Han army bundled the collected firewood into bundles, sprinkled oil on them, threw them on the cloud cart with a trebuchet, and then shot it with a rocket. Archery in the city.At this time, the Yong army under the city was different from usual. They did not try their best to climb up the cloud chariot and shoot arrows, but pushed down the cloud chariot forcefully. The four cloud chariots dumped on the city wall and built a slope. At this time, the horns under the city blew together , The Zhenzhou Army separated from the left and right, and a Yongjun cavalry of about 500 people galloped up. Dust billowed under the iron hooves, fireworks splashed, and they rushed towards the city wall on the overturned cloud cart.Liu Wanli shouted loudly: "Shoot arrows, shoot arrows." At this time, the Northern Han army didn't care about saving arrows, and shot at the iron cavalry of the Yong army recklessly. On the tower, two Northern Han soldiers were trampled under their feet by the horseshoes with big bowl mouths. The horse lance in the general's hand waved, blood burst out, and then more and more Yong troops climbed the tower, and the Huguan was about to be broken. Four characters appeared in Liu Wanli's mind. He was almost desperate, but the strong blood of the Northern Han people almost set him on fire. After passing the military order secretly, he commanded the defenders on the city to resist desperately for a moment, and then shouted He shouted: "Back, back, let them come up." At this moment, his face was stained with blood, like an evil spirit. Although the defenders at the top of the city were confused, they all dodged subconsciously after being shocked by him, and there were still more than four hundred Almost all the cavalry of the Yong army had boarded the Huguan tower, but when they were jumping for joy, Liu Wanli shouted loudly: "Let the crossbow go."

The sound of machine springs sounded one after another, and fifty or sixty black crossbow arrows were shot into the Yong army. Almost every crossbow arrow penetrated a group of war horses or the body of a Yong army knight. The narrow city wall prevented the cavalry from dispersing. Behind the retreating Northern Han army, more than thirty god-armed crossbows were exposed. This kind of crossbow is used to defend the city. Each crossbow is four feet long and can shoot two crossbows at a time, but it requires the coordination of three soldiers. Use, because this kind of crossbow is so powerful that it can penetrate iron armor within a hundred feet, so it is the most powerful treasure of Zhenguan. Because it is easy to be damaged, Liu Wanli has been refraining from using it, hoping to occupy it by surprise at the most dangerous time. The upper hand, now is the time of life and death, that's why Liu Wanli let the Yong army's cavalry ascend the city, and then secretly dispatched the crossbowmen.Now that the crossbow is showing its power, after three rounds of shooting, the Yong army has already suffered heavy casualties. At this time, the Northern Han army took the opportunity to encircle, pouring hot boiling oil from the cloud chariot, and forced the Zhenzhou army who followed it back.The cloud chariot finally burned out in the fire, so the tens of thousands of Yong troops under the city could only watch helplessly as the iron cavalry who boarded Huguan were calmly surrounded and wiped out by the Northern Han army. Suddenly a hoarse and high-pitched voice sang loudly at the top of the city: "Fuck me, put on rhinoceros armor, pick up the wrong car, and meet with short soldiers. The sun is covered by the sun, the enemy is like a cloud, and the arrows are falling, and the earth is fighting for the first. Ling Yu is in a row. Yu Xing, the left horse dies and the right blade hurts. Two rounds of haze, four horses, and Yu Yu, beating the drums. The weather and time——" Just as he sang here, the singing suddenly stopped, and the Yong army in the city was in great mourning.

Jing Chi threw down the drumsticks, strode down the stage, took his horse, and without armor, rode the horse to the foot of Huguan city, watching the gate with tears rolling down his face, at this time the Zhenzhou army who was besieging the city were dejected and slowed down. After being defeated, Jing Chi suddenly looked up to the sky and sang loudly: "The weather is fierce and powerful, and the spirit is angry. Strictly kill and abandon the field. You can't go in and out, and you can't go back. The plain is suddenly and the road is too far away. Bring a long sword and hold a Qin bow, head and body leave The heart is not punished. Sincerity is both brave and martial, and finally strong and invincible. The body is dead and the spirit is the spirit, and the soul is resolute and the ghost is the hero." Yong Jun looked at each other in amazement, and then some soldiers sang along. Passing ten, ten, hundreds, the singing is getting louder and louder, resounding through the sky, a solemn and generous atmosphere is rising in the Yong army, the singing is getting louder and louder, singing over and over again, the Yong army no longer has the discouragement and pessimism of defeat , Flame-like confidence and murderous aura condensed into an invincible spirit.

This song "National Memorial" is a battle song that everyone knows. Both the Yong army and the Northern Han army are familiar with it. Even those who are illiterate can memorize it. Qi Yan suddenly looked ashamed. Seeing that the Yong army was so strong, he was terrified when he thought of the result after the defeat.Standing at the gate, Liu Wanli slapped his palm on the city wall, thinking, what a Jing Chi, who actually used this method to boost morale after failure, a cold light flashed in his eyes, and he whispered, "Bring me a bow and arrow." The personal guard hurriedly handed Liu Wanli's bronze fetal bow. Liu Wanli is a master of riding and archery. He can open a five-stone strong bow. Taking a life within 500 steps is like picking something out of a bag. So it has been a long time since he could go into battle in person, now that he saw Jing Chi going into battle with bare arms, he felt murderous, especially fearing that other people's arrow skills would not be as good, so he drew the bow himself.

Jing Chi sang a song, and he pointed at the top of the city and yelled loudly. His anger for the past few days made him want to eat the Huguan guard alive. Shooting at Jing Chi, Jing Chi is one of the most brave generals in the Yong army, and there are few opponents in the art of riding and shooting. Although he didn't hear the sound of the bowstring, and didn't see the shadow of the arrow clearly, but almost instantly, he felt the feeling of being attacked by others. Staring at the horror, he turned around almost subconsciously. His hands were empty, and the horse lance couldn't be removed in time.Jing Chi turned his back to the sky, let out a roar, his body like a hill fell off his horse, the left and right Yong troops shouted loudly, snatched Jing Chi and retreated, the sound of gold ringing was immediately heard from the Yong army, tens of thousands of Yong troops retreated like a tide . Looking at the Yong army going away, Liu Wanli couldn't believe his eyes. The generals and guards around him shouted loudly, their voices were extremely excited, but Liu Wanli suddenly felt a pain in his waist, and couldn't help but smile bitterly. The brave generals of the Northern Han Army can only command the defense of the city, and cannot charge forward. The deputy general limped over with a long knife, and said ecstatically, "General, Jing Chi is a general of the Yong army. Shooting him in front of the formation will not only make the Yong army weak, but also lose the strength of the Yong army." Without the commander in chief, it will be of no use even if they break through Huguan, maybe they will retreat tomorrow." Liu Wanli smiled wryly and said: "It would be the best if this is the case, but if I am an enemy general, if I fail to attack the city and the main general is shot, even if the court will not punish me for this, I will also be humiliated. I will definitely break through the barrier regardless of the loss. If we can atone for our crimes, I'm afraid that when Jing Chi's life and death are certain, the Yong army will attack again, and now that our hole cards have been known, I'm afraid it will only be a day and a day." He spoke in a low voice. After all, he didn't want to hit the excited soldiers under his command, the lieutenant general's complexion changed drastically when he heard that. After propping up his body and setting up the guards, Liu Wanli returned to the mansion. His wife had already prepared soup, medicine and hot water, helped him to lie on the couch, and applied medicine and massage for him. After a long time, the old injury brought him The pain gradually subsided before Liu Wanli fell asleep.At some point, Liu Wanli suddenly felt itchy sinuses, and sneezed involuntarily, and came to his senses. When he opened his eyes, he saw his five-year-old son, Liu Huai, holding a piece of dead grass and inserting it into his nostril.Liu Wanli couldn't help laughing heartily, stretched out his hand to hug Aizi, and said, "Little naughty, why did you come here to disturb Daddy's sleep?" Liu Huai suddenly blinked his big eyes, and said naively, "Daddy hasn't been here for a few days. Li Huai'er." A look of dissatisfaction on his face. Liu Wanli felt sore and felt a little guilty. He secretly regretted that he should not have softened his heart a year ago and let his wife bring the child here from Jinyang. Breaking through is only a matter of time, but I am the chief general, if I secretly send my wife and only son away, I am afraid that the soldiers and civilians in the city will lose the courage to resist, but if I don't send them away, once the city is broken, everything will be destroyed, and the Yong army will suffer heavy losses in the past few days , I am afraid that I will massacre the city for revenge, I am afraid that my wife and beloved son will die tragically here.Thinking of this, Liu Wanli couldn't help but tremble slightly, and hugged his son tightly but couldn't say a word. At this time, Mrs. Liu came in with soup and medicine in her hand. Seeing Liu Wanli's attitude, how could the husband and wife not understand his thoughts for many years, she put down the medicine bowl, went to the bed and knelt down and said, "Mr. He said, but now that the situation is like this, the husband must be prepared. The concubine and the husband have been married for twelve years. They live and die together, and they are closely related. They are willing to accompany the husband to die. If there is any damage, the concubine is under the nine springs, and I will have no face to see my ancestors. I beg my husband to send Huai'er back to the countryside and let my elder brother take care of him. The elder brother of the concubine is a commoner. In case, in case the situation changes suddenly, Huai'er will not be affected." Liu Wanli felt a great pain in his heart, how could he not feel pity for his beloved son, thinking that he joined the army as a young man, and he went to the battlefield with his newlywed wife after only three days of company. His parents were all taken care of by his wife. It wasn't until six years ago that he was seriously injured and went home to recuperate that Huai'er was born, and his parents didn't leave any regrets before they died.Then he was sent to Huguan to guard. At that time, when the battle between Dayong and Northern Han was tense, Huguan was shocked overnight, so he naturally didn't dare to bring his family back.Unexpectedly, the family reunion is now being attacked by the enemy, and the situation in Huguan is precarious.However, if the beloved son is sent away, it may affect the gate guard, Liu Wanli finally avoided Madam's pleading gaze, and said in a low voice: "Madam, don't worry, General Yong was shot by me today, we will definitely wait for reinforcements. "Speaking of this, I sighed in my heart, where are there any reinforcements now?Madam Liu also burst into tears, she is not an ordinary country girl, she has also read poetry and books, has a little knowledge of classics and history, and has supported the family all the year round, how could she not understand her husband's insincere words. When Liu Wanli and his wife were heartbroken, the maid rushed in to report: "General, the deputy general is asking to see you." Liu Wanli woke up immediately, handed his beloved son to his wife, and said, "You go in first, I will consider this matter." Madam Liu was overjoyed, nodded repeatedly, and hurried into the back hall with Liu Huai in her arms. Before he left, he still forgot to ask: "My husband, don't forget to take the medicine." After sending his wife away, he ordered the deputy general to come in. Liu Wanli picked up the bowl of soup that was already somewhat lukewarm, and drank it slowly, thinking about what would happen if the deputy general came here.Looking outside through the window, it's not even dusk yet, the First World War has ended at noon today, and now everything about defending the city should be changed and taken care of. He is already familiar with the matter of defending the city. Asking for instructions, he also knows that his old injury has relapsed, so why would he bother him at this time? The young lieutenant hurried into the room, and when he saw Liu Wanli, he said excitedly, "General, the general has a plan that can solve the crisis in Huguan." Liu Wanli's heart moved, but he didn't show any emotion, even the hand holding the medicine bowl didn't tremble at all, and said calmly: "Let's talk, the situation is so dangerous now, even if there is only a little hope, we can't give up easily. " The lieutenant said excitedly: "When the general was rectifying his defense, he sent the most powerful scouts in Guanzhong to investigate the situation of the enemy camp. Although the enemy concealed Jing Chi's injury, the troops in the camp were restless and all the military doctors were worried. Standing by in the central army tent, all the generals are also waiting in the central army. It can be seen that Jing Chi's injuries are extremely serious, even if he does not die, he will shed a layer of skin. The general thought, now that the morale of the Yong army has been greatly weakened, and they are not very prepared for us. They underestimated us because we never went out to meet the enemy these days. The general thought that if we select more than 2,000 elite soldiers tonight and go deep into the enemy's camp in the dark, set fire to the camp, and burn down the enemy's luggage, Killing them by surprise, if there is another chance to kill several important generals, then the general of the Yong army will not be able to manage, and the food road will pass through Baixing, and it will be difficult to supply. We will definitely retreat, or if we don’t retreat, we must postpone the research. We can also Take the opportunity to fly to the counties and ask them to recruit Ding Yong to help defend Huguan, and Huguan will definitely be able to hold it." After all, Liu Wanli has been fighting for many years, and he was happy at first, but then a little worried. Although the leader of the Yong army, Jing Chi, was injured, the leader of the Zhenzhou army was thoughtful, and he might not have thought of the possibility of robbing the camp. It may not really be able to achieve the goal.But with a flash of his eyes, he had already seen the piece of dry grass left by his son on the bed, and suddenly felt a pain in his heart. If this continues, when Yong Jun stabilizes his position, the Huguan will undoubtedly be broken. If he agrees to this plan, If it is possible to force the Yong army back, then it is worth taking some risks.And according to Liu Wanli's many years of experience in the battlefield, this strategy has a five-point chance, and now it has only one or two chances, so he has to fight.Putting down the medicine bowl, Liu Wanli said in a deep voice, "Go to the army and recruit 1,500 warriors who dare to die. No more will be enough. I will personally lead the army to attack tonight." The deputy general hurriedly said: "Master, your old injury has relapsed, how can you lead the army to attack the camp, let the last general lead the army." Liu Wanli was about to object when the familiar pain came from his waist. He couldn't help but frowned, and said, "Then I'll leave it to you. Our army's life and death will be fought tonight." The young deputy general bowed down and said: "Don't worry, general, if there is anything wrong, the final general is willing to die with his body, and he will never steal his life." An ominous premonition surged in Liu Wanli's heart, and he wanted to speak out to stop it, but thinking of the current situation, he thought to himself, even if it doesn't work, it will just die a few days early, and now he can no longer hesitate.He reached out to help the lieutenant general, looking at this young man who had been fighting with him for many years, his eyes flashed with grief, even if he succeeded in stealing the camp, this kind of choice of hitting a stone with a pebble might also hurt both sides, but he had no choice but to watch this When this incident happened, I have never hated the sky so much for being so unkind. I would rather be a dog of peace than a person in a troubled world. Liu Wanli suddenly had a rebellious thought. If the world can be unified, the Northern Han Dynasty will perish. What's the matter?As soon as this idea came up, Liu Wanli subconsciously avoided the lieutenant general's gaze, and thought to himself, no matter what, he received the king's kindness, even if he died with his own body, it was only natural. Blood sacrifice under the iron hoof. That night, the moonlight was dim, and Lieutenant General Huguan, with his carefully selected daredevil warriors, watched from afar the Yong army camp under the moonlight. Behind him were five hundred cavalrymen and one thousand infantrymen. Lekou, cotton-wrapped hooves, although there are many people and horses, there is no sound, the lieutenant waved his hand, more than a hundred people bowed to him, and disappeared into the night.These more than a hundred people were all wearing black night clothes and carrying single knives. They were all carrying fire starters, ready to set fire to the Yong army camp, and as soon as the fire started, the deputy general would rush into the Yong army camp with all the troops. Kill him alone. The camp of the Yong army in the distance was completely silent, except for the soldiers in charge of guarding at night, there were almost no people in sight. It seemed that all the Yong army was asleep. It must be that the great changes during the day made them exhausted.The lieutenant general was also uneasy. After all, he had invested in the elite soldiers of Huguan in this battle. Once he failed to steal the camp, it would be a disaster. Not long after, flames erupted in Yong's camp, and chaotic and noisy voices sounded. When the flames were extinguished, people running around could be seen. The lieutenant general was overjoyed. He raised his horse in his hand and shouted: "Kill!" Then he took the lead and charged Yong army camp, along the road destroyed by the scouts who sneaked into the camp and set fire to it, he first rushed into the back camp of Yong army, with flames on both sides, he swung his horse from left to right, flipped the tents that were already on fire, and by the way Throwing it on the tent that hadn't caught fire yet, five hundred cavalry followed him all the way and charged into the central army of the Yong army, while the other infantry murdered and set fire everywhere. I don't want to delay, if I want to rush into the Chinese army, I hope to kill a few generals of the Yong army.From the corner of his eyes, he saw Dayong's barracks turned into a sea of ​​flames. He laughed and stabbed a Yong army who was desperately coming to intercept him, and said loudly: "Kill, kill a river of blood!" They all yelled to kill, and rushed into the big tent of the central army of the Yong army, which hung the general flag with the word "Jing".