Groups of men and horses left quietly under the cover of night. First, the left army escorted the wounded away, then the right army of the Chinese army, which had suffered heavy losses in this battle, and then the men and horses left by Ji Jing, protected Ji Yan and rushed to capture the enemy. Luling.
The city gradually became quiet, but the earthen walls and forest hills were still in full swing, and people were constantly reinforcing the fortifications. Wu Gen sat on the earth wall every day, with Ji Jing and his fang flag beside him.
The wounds on his body were itchy, which made him feel uncomfortable all over, so he had to drink a lot of wine every day to suppress it.
Zhuo Ke and Luo Zhang would take turns to stay by his side every day, reporting on the movements of the coalition forces and their own movements from time to time.
On the fourth day, Shui Congyue left with the rebel falcons and mastiff wolves, and continued to roam the wilderness like a tiger, ready to deliver a vicious blow to the coalition forces at any time.
The only one left behind was Niu Chao. After Niu Ye secretly found Wu Gen and refused to leave with the old man, and all the armies disliked him, Wu Gen had no choice but to keep him by his side.
"Master, everyone has almost left." Zhuo Ke squatted on the ground and changed Wu Gen's wound medicine, and kicked away Niu Chao who came to make trouble. "When should we leave."
"Leave tonight." Wu Gen looked at the coalition's increasingly bold scouts and turned to shout to Niu Chao who was lying on the ground: "Fire two arrows. If you miss, you won't get food."
"Wu, if you don't give me food to eat, believe it or not, I will make it impossible for you all to eat." Niu Chao threatened fiercely and took out two bags from his arms to indicate that they should contain poison.
This move reminded Wu Gen that it was time to give some medicine to the well in Huali City. After kicking Niu Chao away, Wu Gen looked at the coalition forces in the distance with interest.
After the battle a few days ago, the coalition forces retreated ten miles, consolidated their camps, and reorganized their troops. It has been very quiet these days.
Niu Chao muttered a few words, but still obediently walked to a giant crossbow on the wall, struggled to pull the winch, and hit the trigger without even looking.
The arrow flew out crookedly, and the foresight was gone. A gust of wind blew, and it happened to land next to several scouts, hitting the horse of one of them.
The war horse jumped forward in pain, and the man on the horse was immediately knocked to the ground. Several people nearby were shocked, but they quickly got off their horses and helped the people on the ground up.
The man's helmet fell to the ground, revealing his beautiful long hair. He was none other than Murong Yuqiang.
Wu Gen suddenly stood up from the wall and stared at the woman in the distance in shock, wondering why she was here.
Murong Yuqiang stepped back a little further and stared fiercely at Wu Gen in the distance. The arrow just now was very dangerous. If it had been shot more accurately, I might have been stabbed to the core on the spot.
The reason why the coalition forces were stationary in the past few days was actually due to the two attacks on Huili City, which resulted in excessive losses of men and horses. Fifteen thousand people were either killed or injured. As a result, the originally huge military advantage over the Northern Army became much smaller.
Moreover, an informant recently reported that the Southern Army, led by Ji Ye, was slowly advancing towards Huali City. In order to prepare for a possible war, Guyang Si and Lu Lie went around to recruit troops. All the Ba family's remaining troops in Yediyuan were transferred to Yugu City, while the Murong family was transferred over to prepare to guard the captured Huili. city.
At the same time, the Qiulin family also mobilized 5,000 troops to take over from the Cang family, responsible for guarding the right wing of the coalition. Nowadays, the Cang family suffered the most losses. After several attacks, nearly half of them were killed or injured. As for the food route, just protect the main supply points and take some losses.
In the past few days, the coalition forces had been discussing many matters, and Murong Yuqiang had actually avoided them intentionally or unintentionally. She knew that everyone was somewhat suspicious of her. But it doesn't matter to her. If the coalition forces win, the Murong family will not be affected too much. If the coalition forces lose, the Yu Murong family will not suffer any losses.
But when he thought about the cheap sister he had been quarreling with since childhood, he had to sit facing south, and he had to kneel down with everyone, while the other party looked at him with pity. When I think of this scene, I feel as uncomfortable as eating a fly.
Depressed, today she put on all her armor and pretended to be a scout and went out to see what the city of Huili, which had caused great losses to the coalition forces, looked like. Seeing the man sitting dangerously on the wall from a distance, his mood suddenly became complicated.
This annoying human race has actually done this to such an extent.
He single-handedly prevented the coalition forces from moving forward, and I still felt a little admiration for him. But when he thought that the coalition forces were about to attack the city in a large scale, how could his small number of troops be able to stop it.
This fool, why would he sacrifice his life for the Ji family?
While her heart was ups and downs, an arrow from nowhere hit the horse, which made her angry.
After casting a cold glance at Wu Gen on the wall, Murong Yuqiang shook her head proudly and returned to the coalition camp.
Wu Gen touched his bald head and broke into a cold sweat. Yes, offend someone again.
At night, Huali City was still the same as the previous few days, without any lights and completely dark. Wu Gen took Zhuo Ke and Luo Zhang with their horses in their hooves and quietly walked out of the west gate, turned around and headed west.
In the early morning in Huili City, the coalition troops and horses that had completed their reorganization broke out and rumbled forward. Looking at this fortified city where they lost their troops and generals, everyone looked a little solemn.
Flying stone carts were rolled out one after another. They were built day and night in the past few days, almost consuming the forest within a hundred miles. Not only were all the flying stone carts damaged by Wu Gen restored, but they were also increased, reaching a level of More than three hundred units.
This time the army attacked Huali City, and fought twice. The coalition forces reviewed several times in the past few days, and it must be said that the layout of the two sieges was somewhat improper.
The coalition forces concentrated their forces to attack Linqiu and Tuqiang. This area was only ten miles away, and Wu Gen could concentrate his small forces here, forming a local stalemate with the coalition forces.
The city of Haocheng is about forty miles long. How could Wu Gen have so many people to set up defenses at different points? Although the city has a strong wall, if 300 flying stone carts are concentrated here, are they worried that they will not be able to destroy a section of the wall.
Wu Gen is still sitting on the earth wall, and the coalition forces are watching these days. Apart from eating and drinking, he sits here most of the time, accompanied by two big flags behind him.
"This guy can sit still, standing on the wall like a stone turtle. Today I will attack the city with a large army. Let's see if he can move." Lu Lie looked at Wu Gen in the distance, pointed with his horse whip and cursed.
"No, this city is wrong." Gu Gan glanced at the opposite side and suddenly pointed at Huili City and exclaimed.
"What's wrong?" Lu Lie was a little confused.
Gu Yangsi was also stunned, and then his expression changed drastically. For a smart man like him, although he had little experience in military formation, he could see it quickly after being reminded, "Brother Lu, please look, there are crows in the sky above the city."
Lu Lie looked up, and sure enough, in the sky above Huili City, there were groups of crows hovering, seemingly looking for food.
"Crow?" Lu Lie was a little confused, and then he took a breath of cold air, "Is it possible that there is no one in the city, so these beasts are looking for food."
"Not bad." Gu Yangsi also stared at the opposite side.
"Then Wu Gen..." Lu Lie pointed at Wu Gen on the earth wall, and was speechless for a moment.
"Send some people over and take a look and we'll find out." Gu Yangsi looked gloomy and waved his hand, and a dozen soldiers beside him took orders to urge their horses forward.
The army stopped in place, watching with bated breath as the dozen or so people moved forward cautiously, gradually approaching the earthen wall. There were no bows and arrows shot from the wall, and Wu Gen remained motionless. The dozens of soldiers standing beside him also turned a deaf ear to the arrival of these soldiers.
The wind blew along the ground and suddenly became stronger when it reached the earth wall, making the flags on the wall rustle. Suddenly, Wu Gen, who was sitting on the earth wall, fell under the wall for some unknown reason.
Ah... The soldiers of the coalition army screamed in surprise, and they all leaned back, as if Wu Gen had been hit in front of them.
The dozen or so soldiers were also frightened, but when they carefully ran to the earth wall, they were safe and sound. Everyone helped Wu Gen up, and soon some people climbed up the earth wall with flying claws and ran to both sides along the wall.
However, two people turned around and ran back. Panting, they rushed to Gu Yangsi and reported loudly: "Young Master, that is a wooden sculpture. There is no one on the wall, and there is no one in the village behind. The brothers are preparing to enter the city." search."
Gu Yangsi sighed, "What are you still searching for? Wu Gen must have escaped. Let's go, Brother Lu, let's go meet this old rival."
After a while, Lu Lie, Gu Yangsi and others all climbed onto the earth wall, looking at what they saw in front of them in stunned silence.
There is a row of straw figures placed on the earth wall, with sticks inserted deeply into the earth.
. Only the so-called Wu Gen was carved out of wood. There's armor on the outside.
What made a few people even more irritated was that behind Wu Gen, six wooden figures were carved, all kneeling on the ground with their hands tied behind their backs.
The faces of these six people are lifelike, and you can tell who they are at a glance. They are the young masters of the six families. Moreover, the statue deliberately uglified several people. For example, Lu Lie's huge head was placed on the body of a delicate woman, Murong Yuqiang had a fat body, and Gu Yangsi and Cang Yi had their upper bodies uncovered and turned their heads to each other. Their eyes met each other, but their faces were very close to each other, almost touching, as if they were saying goodbye between life and death.
Whoosh, two figures flew up. Lu Lie and Murong Yu Qiang flew forward and chopped their wooden sculptures into pieces.
Murong Yuqiang's face turned pale with anger, and she looked to the west fiercely, "Young disciple, sooner or later you fall into my hands, and I will cut you to pieces."
Gu Yangsi didn't care at all. He stepped forward with great interest, bent down to look at his wood carving, and said with a smile, "Not bad, not bad. The skill of this knife shows the fire, it is delicate and subtle, and it has both form and spirit. Take it."
After a false alarm, the army marched directly into the city. There are ruins everywhere in the city, with almost no wood or stone visible. Even the bluestones on the streets have been pried away, leaving only a few lonely houses.
"Wu Gen is so ruthless, he actually demolished a city into ruins." Gu Yangsi sighed repeatedly.
Ba Yueze got off his horse, walked to a stove, stretched out his hand to twist the ashes. He searched for a few more fire stoves, explored them one by one, and returned to everyone. "The thieves left in batches. The thickness of the stove ashes is uneven. There is still some residual warmth under the thickest part. It seems that the last batch of thieves left." It’s not far away, should we send someone to catch up?”
Lu Lie and Guyang Si discussed it quietly, but still rejected Ba Yueze's proposal, "Just send some scouts. The army will either stay still or the whole army will march. Wu Gen must have gone to look for Ji Ye. The two of them joined forces, and it was useless to send less troops. But what Ba Zhenfu said is true. Soldiers need to be quick. Our army will rest for half a day before setting off, without giving the enemy time to rest and adjust."
Several people walked towards the tallest house in the city, which was originally part of the city lord's palace. There is no way, everything is devastated, this building is the most conspicuous one, if you don't choose it, choose who else.
After stepping on the rubble and entering the house, it was clean inside. It seemed to be the place where Wu Gen held military meetings every day. All the tables and chairs in the house were chopped down to light the fire, leaving only a pile of brocade cushions, on which the Northern Army generals would sit and discuss matters.
The soldiers quickly invited several young masters, governors and generals to sit down according to their seniority, and prepared tea so that these people could have a rest.
Lu Lie sat on it. His body was so heavy that he flattened the thick brocade cushion to the ground. "Everyone, please sit down. Let's discuss the matter of the walking army. Now that Huali City has been conquered, I would like to ask Master Murong to lead 5,000 men, and also ask Brother Ba to send 5,000 men to station here together. This city is approaching. Hanlu City’s location is quite important, so more troops should be stationed there.”
This is the old routine that Lu Lie had already discussed with Guyang Si, just letting the Murong family and the Ba family monitor each other.
"In addition, in the past two days, we have demolished the broken wall outside the city so as not to block our army's advance. Oops, what is this?" Lu Lie was talking when he suddenly felt some pain in his buttocks and turned sideways to look at the mat under him. , a little strange.
Suddenly, a chill spread upward from his buttocks, and half of his body was a little numb. "There are poisonous needles in this pad," Lu Lie yelled.
At the same time, several others screamed and jumped up, and it seemed that they had also been hit.
There was a commotion in the room, and Lu Lie quickly asked someone to take out the elixir and take it, regardless of whether it was right or not, he would take it first.
As soon as it calmed down, there was only the sound of fighting outside the house. After a while, a soldier rushed in and said, "Young masters, the well water in the city is poisonous. Some brothers have become very crazy after drinking it and are committing murders everywhere."
