As soon as Xin Xingzong and Liu Guangshi's army arrived, the situation in Xiuzhou instantly reversed, and Fang Qifu no longer dared to attack the city rashly.
"General Xin, I wonder if Tong Xiang has any instructions?"
Han Shizhong asked Xin Xingzong, cupping his fists.
"Tong Xiang ordered us to quickly destroy Fang La and relieve the Holy One's worries!" "
Xin Xingzong looked at Han Shizhong in confusion and said.
"Who is this person?"
Xin Xingzong looked at Wang Yuan beside him and asked. The armor on Han Shizhong did not indicate his official position. He seemed to be just a low-level officer.
"Deputy Lieutenant Jinyi, Han Shizhong!"
Wang Yuan whispered.
"Deputy Lieutenant Jinyi? Ha!"
Xin Xingzong twitched the corner of his mouth and looked at Han Shizhong with disdain in his eyes. Deputy Lieutenant Jinyi didn't even have a rank, he was truly a nobody, a nobody.
"It turns out to be Deputy Lieutenant Han!"
Liu Guangshi smiled and hugged Han Shizhong. Han Shizhong was a subordinate of his father Liu Yanqing. He had also heard his father talk about this man. Although his official position was not high, he was extremely brave and strategic.
"What's the situation outside the city now?"
Xin Xingzong no longer looked at Han Shizhong, but looked at Wang Yuan and asked.
"The leader of the thieves, Qifu, led 60,000 troops to support Suzhou. They have been blocked by our army for five days. Our army killed nearly 20,000 thieves!"
Wang Yuan pointed at the piles of corpses outside the city and said with a smile, taking credit.
"They are just thieves, why not take the initiative and kill them directly?"
Xin Xingzong said nonchalantly.
"After all, the thieves are powerful. Xiuzhou is related to the battle of Suzhou. We dare not go to war rashly!"
Wang Yuan immediately clasped his fists at Xin Xingzong and said, he is only an eighth-rank official, while Xin Xingzong is a fifth-rank official. Now that he comes to Xiuzhou, military power naturally belongs to Xin Xingzong.
"General Wang also thinks about the overall situation!"
When Liu Guangshi saw that Xin Xingzong wanted to reprimand Wang Yuan, he immediately interrupted. Wang Yuan was now also a pioneer under his father's command, and he needed to be protected.
Xin Xingzong looked at Liu Guangshi, and the dissatisfaction in his eyes softened a little. He still wanted to give Liu Yanqing some face.
"Follow me out of the city tomorrow to kill thieves!"
Xin Xingzong looked at Wang Yuan and Han Shizhong and said, seeing the Ming Cult thieves being easy to beat, he would not let them go. This time he came to Jiangnan to gain merit.
"yes!"
Wang Yuan and Han Shizhong had no choice but to clasp their fists and salute.
On the second day, the drums of civil war sounded in Xiuzhou City, and 20,000 troops quickly gathered.
"Follow me and go out of the city to kill the thieves!"
Xin Xingzong didn't waste much time, drew out the sword from his waist and roared.
"Wang Xianfeng, the whole army is leaving the city?"
Han Shizhong's face changed slightly, he looked at Wang Yuan and asked in a low voice, he had no idea about this matter.
"General Xin decided last night!"
Wang Yuan shook his head and said, last night Xin Xingzong suddenly asked him to discuss military affairs. Han Shizhong was not there. He probably felt that Han Shizhong had no rank and was not worthy to discuss military affairs.
"If the entire army leaves the city, what will happen to Xiuzhou?"
Han Shizhong was a little anxious. The city wall of Xiuzhou was low and the defense of the city relied on men. If the army left Xiuzhou, wouldn't it mean that the city was empty?
"General Xin means to directly kill the enemy and then return to the city. The Mingjiao thieves have average combat effectiveness and are no match for our 20,000-strong army."
Wang Yuan said.
Han Shizhong wanted to speak again, but the army in front had already left the city one after another and had reached their camp. It was a serious crime to be afraid of fighting, so he could only follow the army out of the city.
Xiuzhou's army mobilization had long been detected by Fang Qifu. With the gathering of 20,000 troops, there was no other possibility for the decisive battle out of the city.
"You guys will lead an army of five thousand to attack Xiuzhou City!"
Fang Qifu looked at Li Tianyou and the others in front of him and said, "If the whole army attacks, then he will let them know how powerful they are."
Xin Xingzong led the army straight towards the Mingjiao camp. The army had no intention of stopping for a moment and rushed directly towards the enemy camp.
"kill!"
The Mingjiao army, which had been prepared long ago, relied on the camp to block the official army.
"Kill me! Kill all the thieves!"
Xin Xingzong waved his sword and shouted from the rear to supervise the battle.
"How many casualties would there be in such a fight!"
Han Shizhong's face was ashen. He never expected that Xin Xingzong would attack like this. Although their soldiers were protected by armor, facing the strong camp, the advantage of the armor was gone, and there were countless casualties.
"Stop charging and hit with a log!"
Liu Guangshi also frowned when he saw it, and yelled at the soldiers that it was almost impossible to cut down the camp wall with swords, and it would be faster to hit it with logs.
The soldiers rushed towards the Mingjiao camp with logs in their arms. Under the protection of shields and bows and crossbows, they hit the camp wall ten times in a row until the camp wall finally shook.
"kill!"
At the moment when the camp wall collapsed, Fang Qifu waved his lancet and rushed out with his men.
The officers and soldiers were unprepared and were immediately defeated by Fang Qifu. The forward formation was scattered.
"Don't retreat! Kill the thief!"
When Xin Xingzong saw the enemy coming out, he yelled at the soldiers. In his opinion, this was the best time to kill the enemy.
Fang Qifu brought all his own soldiers, and they all used lancets. This is a slightly curved blade with a long and narrow blade, flexible and suitable for cutting. This dexterous weapon can kill the officers and soldiers. He retreated continuously for a while.
"You can't fight like this. If you have armor, let me kill you!"
Seeing that the battle ahead was unfavorable, Han Shizhong thought in his mind that the lancet was very sharp and could not be blocked by paper armor and leather armor. Soldiers with iron armor were needed to step forward. Light weapons like the lancet did not have the ability to break armor.
Han Shizhong carried a pen knife and rushed into the battle group with a group of soldiers wearing iron armor. The lancet slashed on the armor, causing bursts of sparks, but it could only leave a scratch.
"Death to the thieves!"
Han Shizhong swung his sword to kill Xiang Fang Qifu.
Fang Qifu also saw Han Shizhong and immediately swung his sword to kill the officer and general.
The two fought together again. Han Shizhong's sword skills were heavy, and Fang Qifu's martial arts were not bad either. The speed of the lancet made Han Shizhong frown, but the pen knife was heavy, and Fang Qifu was beaten so hard that he could only parry. .
"Oops, Xiuzhou was attacked!"
Just when Han Shizhong was about to use his ultimate move to kill Fang Qifu, a shout suddenly came from behind.
"What?"
Han Shizhong's expression changed. What he was most worried about happened.
"You actually attacked Xiuzhou!"
Han Shizhong's eyes were filled with murderous intent.
"Haha, it's time for you dog officials to die!"
Fang Qifu laughed ferociously, and swung the lancet in his hand to kill Han Shizhong after a series of afterimages.
"General Xin, withdraw your troops and return to defense! Xiuzhou cannot be lost!"
Liu Guangshi looked at Xin Xingzong and said, Xiuzhou has just been recovered. If there is a mistake at this time, not only will they have nowhere to stand, but the war in Suzhou will also be affected.
"Ming Jin! Withdraw!"
Although Xin Xingzong was unwilling to let go of the immediate achievements, he could not bear the responsibility for losing Xiuzhou, and immediately ordered the troops to retreat.
If Fang Qifu was willing to let go of the officers and soldiers at this time, he would rush into the army with his men.
Han Shizhong waved his pen knife to block Fang Qifu.
The officers and soldiers retreated. When Li Tianyou and others in Xiuzhou City saw it, they did not dare to stay for a long time. They burned the officers and soldiers' food, grass and baggage in a fire, and abandoned the city and left.
