Under the setting sun, Huili City is full of remnants of soldiers, mourning horses, and jackdaws. From time to time, long wisps of smoke float, gently locking this lonely city.
There is red everywhere, red armor, red city, red sky, and red blood. Tons of corpses and discarded weapons and armor were scattered on the battlefield. In the distance, the sun is setting, the grass is luxuriant, and the distant mountains are desolate and speechless.
Wu Gen sat on the earth wall, his helmet casually thrown to his side. The armor on his body was scarred, and he looked at the battlefield to the east with a broken knife in his hand.
The setting sun fell on his back, making his figure look a bit stooped, like a statue in the desert mausoleum of Xingluo Yuan, looking at the dead robe melancholy.
A few wisps of evening wind blew through the tattered earthen wall, whimpering, as if someone was blowing a heartbreaking pottery xun.
There were soft footsteps behind me, and before the person arrived, the scent of rouge had already arrived.
Wu Gen didn't even raise his head, still looking towards the east.
Ji Yan slowly sat next to him, leaning her chin and looking into the distance, looking at the ugly battlefield.
"Wu Gen, how long are we going to fight here?" After a moment, Ji Yan finally spoke softly.
"It's not about how long the fight lasts, but how many people are killed." Wu Gen sighed and reached for his waist, only to find that he didn't have a wine bottle with him.
"Here." Ji Yan handed over an exquisite silver pot, "We have few people, so we need to consume the other party's troops here."
"Exactly." Wu Gen turned his head and glanced at this smart woman, reached out to take the wine bottle, took a sip, and coughed heavily. There was a faint trace of blood in the spitted drink.
"Thank you, Wu Gen." Ji Yan looked into the distance, as if talking to herself.
Wu Gen was startled for a moment, then smiled self-deprecatingly, "No need to thank you, I just hope that after this battle, the Fearless Army and I will have a good ending. By the way, after the battle, we will leave."
Ji Yan turned her head and pursed her lips, "Can't you just leave? My brother and I will try our best to protect you."
"You can't protect me, and neither can Ji Ye. It's too cold at high places. When you get to the high positions, you won't be able to protect you even if you want to, and the people behind you will push you to destroy the fearless army." Wu Gen laughed at himself. Laughing, "Emotional feelings always belong to the emperor. When the time comes, people's hearts will change and become hard, cold, and ruthless."
Ji Yan felt sad for a moment. She had also read a lot of human history books, in which brothers attacked and killed, father and son turned against each other, and fratricide was common. Is it possible that her own family could be spared.
After a long time, Ji Yanfang said, "Is he leaving too?"
"We are brothers. If I leave, how can he stay? Ji Yan." Wu Gen turned his head, "If you can't, let him go. You can't hold his heart."
Ji Yan looked painful and clutched the clothes on her chest, "I...I can't let go. Every day, he is in the dressing mirror, in the clear tea cup, in the bright moon in the sky, in my dreams." The world has him, you ask, how can I break this bond.
I knew clearly that he had a cold temperament, knew that he was just perfunctory with me, and knew that humans and animals are different. I also thought about forgetting it, but I couldn't forget it in the end. "
Wu Gen was speechless for a moment, Shui Congyue Duan would not stay. He was not good at comforting women, and he didn't know how to speak for a moment.
After thinking for a while, Wu Gen solemnly said: "Ji Yan, let me send you away. Although we defeated the thieves today, you have also seen that if we continue like this, we will not be able to defend it. It is really unsafe here. You He is the third young master of the Ji family, if he falls into the hands of thieves, it will be quite detrimental to the overall situation."
Ji Yan raised her head and said firmly: "I won't leave. You are all fighting for the Ji family. How can I leave? Don't worry, I won't let the thieves catch me. Even if things are not harmonious, I will blow myself up." Yes, they can only get my body." As he spoke, he revealed a strange magic weapon hanging around his neck.
Wu Gen knew that if this magic weapon was activated, it would definitely have great power. It seemed that Ji Yan had already made the final preparations.
With a slight movement in his heart, Wu Gen said out of nowhere, "Don't do this. Even if he and I leave at the end, you can follow."
"Really?" Ji Yan's eyes widened, joy flowing out of them.
Wu Gen suddenly reacted and wished he could slap himself in the mouth. If Shui Congyue knew that it was him who made the suggestion, he might swallow him alive.
"It should be okay." Wu Gen said with a guilty conscience, and suddenly changed the subject, "We will have a military meeting tonight to repair the fortifications and adjust the defense. Let's go back first."
With that said, Ji Yan hurriedly stood up and limped towards Huali City without waiting for an answer.
At night, in the watchtower at the south gate of Huali City, the main generals of the Northern Army gathered here and were discussing the next day's war.
When the military meeting began, Hu Jia naturally led everyone to review today's gains and losses. In the end, Hu Jia solemnly concluded: "In today's battle, our army suffered more than 3,700 casualties and killed nearly 8,000 enemies. Because most of the dead bodies in the trenches outside the city have been burned, it is difficult to count them.”
There was a sudden noise in the house. Today's battle was brutal, but in the final analysis, the Northern Army won. Not only did they defend the city, but they also killed more opponents than they lost.
When Wu Gen heard the result, he frowned and remained silent.
The noise gradually faded away, and seeing Wu Gen like this, many people slowly felt enlightened. Yes, although it seems that more enemies were killed and wounded, when you consider that the Northern Army has a small number of people and nearly 4,000 people died, it is already a situation where the muscles and bones are broken, but the opponent is not seriously injured.
"Master, due to the collapse of the trench, the foundation of the first earth wall has been loosened. Should we retreat to the second earth wall?" After a moment of silence in the room, Zhang Wuyang finally plucked up the courage to speak.
"Repair, the first wall still needs to be repaired, and it needs to be repaired overnight." Wu Gen said a little tiredly. He actually suffered a lot of injuries in today's battle, "Anything that can stop the thieves, we must use it now. The thieves will definitely be more careful after this battle, and the next battle will not be even more brutal."
Zhang Wuyang agreed and went outside the house to issue military orders to build the wall before returning to the house. This matter could not be delayed.
"Zhen Fu, please tell me how long we have to defend. Should we ask the Confederate troops to move here? Otherwise, I'm afraid it will be difficult to defend the back. Once the city defense is lost, we will be surrounded and it will be difficult to leave. In addition, today, it will be difficult to leave. My troops have suffered heavy losses, and I don’t know what the governor’s plans are.” It was Ji Dai who spoke out this time.
Until now, Ai Kai, Ji Dai and Chi Huahe rarely took the initiative to speak out. Today, they were the first to speak, but everyone's attention was focused on Ji Dai.
Wu Gen sighed slightly in his heart and glanced at Ji Yan. The reason Jidai jumped out so impatiently was because his men suffered the most losses today. He accounted for nearly half of the casualties.
Moreover, today the coalition forces are mainly attacking the earth wall and the military stronghold, and most of the guards guarding these two places are Ai Kai's three men. This will inevitably make the other side dissatisfied, thinking that Wu Gen has given them the most dangerous task, while his direct descendants have It was thrown on a high hill in the fortified city, and it seemed unfair, so Ji Dai couldn't wait to stand up. If Ji Yan hadn't been sitting here, she would have said some unpleasant things.
Seeing that Hu Jia wanted to speak, Wu Gen raised his hand to stop him. There were some things that were only suitable to be spoken by oneself. If Hu Jia opens his mouth, he may provoke cross-examination from the other party. If the dispute becomes tense, it will not end well.
"Everyone happens to be here, so I'll tell you the truth." As soon as Wu Gen spoke, the room suddenly became quiet, and everyone looked at Zhen Fu, who was covered in injuries. The person on the front line today is the nominal supreme commander in this room.
"The purpose of this battle is not to see how long we can defend the city, but to see how many thieves we consume." Wu Gen sat upright and glanced at the hall. His voice was not loud, but everyone could hear it clearly. "Our army is stationed in Huili City. It is not fighting to defend the city. Everyone has seen this city. It is small and hangs in the wilderness. It is really difficult to defend. It is really difficult to defend. m.
The reason why we still defend is to take advantage of the city to kill and injure the enemy as much as possible and reduce the numerical gap between the enemy and ourselves. According to my discussion with the Second Young Master, at least 20,000 enemy troops must be reduced here, so that our northern and southern armies can have a decisive battle with them. "
There was a discussion in the room, and Wu Gen smiled slightly. He didn't want to defend the city in the first place. It can't be said that your eldest young master forced me to defend. I wasted the men and horses I finally saved here, while the men and horses of the Confederate army were watching from a distance. This made the stingy Wu Gen heartbroken. But at this point, I really can’t care too much.
To be honest, if the coalition forces were too hasty and careless in sending troops today, without any preparation for attacking the city, and relied entirely on human lives, more people would have died. Even so, they narrowly broke through their own defense line.
"Everyone, our army will still have to fight hard here to create opportunities for the Southern Army's final decisive battle. As for whether the decisive battle here should be moved to Zhuolu Ridge, we will have to wait for the results of the battle in the future." Wu Gen pressed down with both hands. Press, stop everyone from continuing the discussion.
Seeing that Ji Dai still wanted to speak, Wu Gen waved his hand slightly, "As for what Ji Qianhu said about the excessive damage in the battle, this is a fact. The thieves did not put too much pressure on Huili City today. I want Xue Xin to say something Thousands of men and horses will go out of the city to guard the military stronghold. Ji Qianhu can lead his men into the city to rest and be responsible for the defense of the city."
Having said this, Wu Gen stood up and walked slowly in the room with his hands behind his hands, "I know what a few of you are thinking. We are all lickers of blood, so there is no need to hide it. Now everyone has seen it. , the thieves are powerful, whether it is the Fearless Army or other units of the Northern Army, they may die under the opponent's sword.
In the face of such a powerful enemy, all departments of our Northern Army are like one family. If we care about you and me, it is simply a way to die. In setting up the position today, I didn't make any distinction between the close ones and the distant ones. I just arranged the defensive positions according to the strengths of each department.
Although the earth wall is the focus of the enemy's attack during the day, there is no telling that the thieves will find it difficult to get down from the earth wall and will attack Linqiu and Huali City with all their strength next time. It will only be a matter of time before each unit is attacked by the enemy. and. "
Wu Gen suddenly stopped and his voice suddenly rose, "I predict that next time the thieves attack the city, one city and one hill will be the focus. Today they also looked at it. The earthen wall looked easy to attack, but it was in a situation where it was flanked by two sides. In fact, There will be more casualties.
Linqiu and Huali City are located at both ends of the defense line. They can only defend, but it is difficult to get support. Therefore, we all have to work harder today, not only to repair the fortifications, but also to prepare for the enemy to change the focus of his attack. "
After hearing this, everyone was talking a lot. Ai Kai, Ji Dai and Chi Huahe also looked a little embarrassed. They opened their mouths several times but swallowed them.
Ji Yan stood up, walked to Ai Kai, Ji Dai and Chi Huahe, and suddenly bowed her hands. The three of them were so frightened that they stood up quickly. They even said they didn't dare to help them, but they didn't dare to help them. Face flushed.
"Three thousand households, you are all loyal and brave members of our Ji family. In this difficult time, the three of you worked hard without caring about your own life and looked forward to death. This really makes Ji Yan burst into tears of gratitude.
The purpose of this gift today is nothing more than to implore the three of them to try their best to help the Ji family. If the Ji family wins the battle in the future, the Ji family will definitely not forget the merits of the three.
Please rest assured, the three Qianhus, that from tomorrow Ji Yan will be in the outermost military camp. If she dies, Ji Yan will die first. As for the three people, they can decide whether to go or fight. They have tried their best, so how can the Ji family force them to keep three people? "
Ji Dai's face was red and his expression was excited. He knelt on one knee in front of Ji Yan and said, "Young Master, it was my fault. I should not be resentful towards Zhen Fu. Please rest assured, Young Master, I, Ji Dai, will die if I don't enter the city." We must be firmly entrenched in the military stronghold. As long as I have one breath, I will not let the enemy touch a single hair on the young master."
Upon seeing this, Ai Kai and Chi Huahe quickly knelt down and vowed loudly that they would fight to the end. When Ji Yan saw this, she quickly helped the three of them up.
When Wu Gen saw this scene, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Ji Yan's move killed the most unstable link in the Northern Army.
Looking at the stars in the sky outside the house, I suddenly thought of what the coalition forces were doing after all the hard work and hard work I had been doing.
Some people died, but not completely...
