The weather is getting a bit cold. In the past few days, the wind blowing from the north has brought more and more dust. The dust covered the sky and blocked the sun a lot. It was not until around noon that the dull sky near Wusha Castle gradually turned bright.
The people on duty on the city wall looked around and saw a flat land with a radius of several miles to the north of Wusha Castle. The original grass on the flat ground was covered by sand, and only a few bushes were left exposed.
This flat land was a place where cattle and sheep were grazed in the past years when there was a garrison here. Several streams flowed between the meadows, and they did not dry up completely even in winter. Because there is water, after the sand is covered, the entire area will slowly turn black until the next spring warms up. Hence the name Usha Castle.
"Cheer up! Don't let anyone take the opportunity to get closer!"
The man who had led the fight earlier and had four fingers of his left hand chopped off by the Mongols was patrolling the city with his knife, wiping the sand between his eyebrows on his face from time to time.
This man's name is Yang Woyan, a native of Shuozhou. He was originally a subject of the Kuodila tribe of the Jurchen Tang Dynasty, and he once worked as a field official in the north of the border trench. When the Mongolian army invaded, the Kuodila tribe of Tang Dynasty fled south to Kaifeng. Yang Woyan led his tribe to flee into Chaqigou in Nanshan, Shuozhou to protect themselves. At most, there were thousands of them.
As the Mongolian army pursued them, Yang Woyan's troops immediately dispersed. He himself fled and fled, but was finally caught. They were going to be beheaded, but fortunately the Mongolian army was eager to penetrate deep into the Central Plains. A certain centurion turned all the strong men into slaves accompanying the army with a wave of his hand.
The life of a shepherd slave is not something that normal people can live.
Yang Woyan soon witnessed countless unbelievable experiences of being killed or tortured. Under such torture, people's lives were like ants, and they would die casually.
When the Mongolian army broke through Feihukou in Yuzhou, there were hundreds of herder slaves like him who had been assigned to a certain thousand households. The Mongolian army continued to burn and kill, and captured Dingkou's followers. However, when they returned to the grassland, there were everywhere on the road along the way. They were all the corpses of ordinary people who had died after being unable to withstand the suffering. In the end, no more than a hundred herder slaves arrived on the grassland alive. After that, many died of disease, cold and hunger.
Yang Woyan's tenacity has allowed him to survive to this day, and his methods in gathering companions in the valley in his early years have helped him win a little prestige among Han'er slaves. When Lu Shu, Lu Wusi and others arrived, he had shown himself to be a capable person among the slaves. He had recently received the title of inspector to assist in military affairs.
After assisting with military affairs for a few days, Yang Woyan was actually a little confused.
He heard from Lu Shu that this group of people had no choice but to flee here. In this case, shouldn't we try our best to escape back to the Central Plains?
To say that the Han'er slaves were in the way, in fact, the Han'er slaves in the grassland were not afraid of death at all. When Lu Shu and others wanted to leave, everyone immediately gathered around them. Even if one tenth of them could return to their hometown, it would still be a profit.
It doesn't seem like they want to do something big in Wusha Castle. After all, the number of slaves is small, and it is impossible to compare with the thousands of Mongolian households in the eastern part of the grassland. After robbing the pasture, it was the Mongols who occupied the outside three levels...
What happens next?
Yang Woyan didn't understand at all.
He was secretly calculating in his mind, how many days had he been trapped in Usha Castle? Five days? Seven days? Ten days? The last time I went out to fight was three days ago. After that time, there were too many Mongolians outside, and we were forced back to Usha Castle and could no longer move freely.
Fortunately, these men, who had been disciplined by the Mongols for a long time, even if they broke off with their slave owners, the effects of being disciplined for several years were still there, and they were all obedient and obedient, and did not dare to disobey their new masters. Even if everyone is desperate, they still wait honestly.
"It's coming! It's coming again! Everyone is on alert!" Yang Woyan suddenly shouted.
The Mongols have been attacking every now and then, almost all of them just pretending. Yesterday, there were about 2,000 people attacking from the front, and a few centurions climbed over the slope from behind. Everyone thought they would not be able to survive, but a few people used makeshift cyclone cannons to throw some stones, and those people retreated angrily.
This kind of appearance with no fighting spirit does not look like the ferocious Mongolians, but more like the Bianpu army men who everyone remembers on the Daikin border who spent their days eating and waiting to die. After many times, everyone became a little tired, and their posture when climbing the city to defend was not so cautious.
They thought it was ridiculous to think that they were just working for this kind of thing. Some people also suspected that the Mongols were deliberately showing off their power and had some special conspiracy.
But this time, the Mongols seem to be serious!
Groups of cavalry galloped in from a distance.
They are still the tribe of thousands of households in the eastern part of the grassland that besieged Wusha Castle. The weapons they are equipped with are very ordinary. Almost no one wears armor. Most of the horn bows they hold are the traditional Mongolian type, and there are few fine ones made by Han craftsmen. But the momentum of their charge this time was obviously more murderous. Many Nak'er wearing leather armor no longer followed behind as they did a few days ago, but charged forward. The defenders with good eyesight could see the ferocious expressions on their faces!
Han'er slaves have lived in the eastern part of the grassland for several years and have some knowledge. Some people have already noticed that the Mongols are using several tribes that often fight with the Jurchens and Huli Gai people in the Northeast. The warriors of these tribes are much stronger than the ordinary grassland herdsmen who just hang around.
"Where's the cyclone cannon? Drag the cyclone cannon up quickly!"
Yang Woyan shouted loudly and kicked a kid who was running past him, staggering him: "What are you doing here? Go down to the city and inform our young master!"
The boy climbed up and down the wooden escalator and climbed down the city wall. Several men on the inside of the city wall ran towards the escalator, trying to climb the city to help in the battle, but Yang Woyan slapped them in the face and yelled: "Shield! Where is the shield! If you don't bring a shield, are you coming here to seek death?"
Yang Woyan was not a soldier, but he had guarded the ravine with his tribe a few years ago and knew the basic principles of fighting on the battlefield. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been promoted.
Following his roar, the men each raised wooden shields and wooden rafts. Some of them were stronger and brought a few extra pieces for replacement.
Yang Woyan looked back at the outside of Wubao, and saw that the sky was gradually revealing blue. Under the sky, there were green grasslands, newly laid yellow-brown sand and dust, and black and gray Mongolia that was constantly surging forward. people.
"At least five thousand families...and five more behind them, ***, all these Mongolians have left the camp! Why are they crazy?"
Yang Woyan's curses were quickly silenced by the surging hooves of the Mongolian cavalry.
The Mongols were approaching, the horses were galloping, the knights were roaring, and a large number of cavalry began to run in circles in front of Usha Castle. If you look down from a high altitude, it will be as if a huge whirlpool suddenly appeared on the grassland, and the center of the whirlpool is Usha Castle and the surrounding hills and slopes.
The power of the galloping horses caused the ground to tremble slightly. Even the herds under the cover of the hilly slopes began to become nervous. The cattle and sheep neighed uneasily, and the particularly irritable rams even began to lower their heads and hit the fence. .z
After a few moments, the Mongols began shooting.
The sound of the bowstring being drawn and flicked rang out, and then was overshadowed by the shrill sound of arrows streaking through the air. The Mongolian cavalry were in no hurry to attack. They passed dozens of steps outside the stronghold wall and kept firing arrows.
Iron arrow clusters, polished bone and stone arrow clusters swept over the wall like a storm. Hitting the stone wall base, it made a clanking sound, bursting out little bits of fire and gravel. Hitting the wooden fence built these days, it immediately made a clanking sound, as if a dense fire suddenly appeared on the wooden fence. of dead grass.
There were few defenders on the city wall with rich combat experience. After all, they were just craftsmen and slaves. They were suddenly hit by the rain of arrows and couldn't even lift their heads.
There was a young man who was a little careless. He carefully hid his head behind the wooden sign, but accidentally exposed his back. Immediately, an arrow pierced his back, instantly penetrating the flesh and bones and reaching his organs.
The young man who was hit by the arrow screamed, his hands and feet immediately lost strength, and he fell to the ground twitching. Before he even twitched a few times, multiple arrows fell from the sky and hit his body, causing blood to gush out wildly.
When this young man went to Usha Castle, he took his younger brother with him. The young man was also on the city wall at this time, hiding in a recessed corner. Seeing his brother being shot to death, he roared angrily and struggled to drag the body to a place away from the arrows. Every time he stood up, he was pulled back forcefully by his companions.
"Don't panic! Shut up! Stop screaming!" Yang Woyan shouted twice, and suddenly he heard the creak of the ladder behind him, and someone came up with a rain of arrows.
"Has the cyclone cannon arrived? Move to the pier to the east quickly!"
While giving the order, he turned back, only to find that his companions carrying the cyclone cannon were still below. At this moment, it was Lu Shu who came up the ladder to the city under the cover of several people raising shields.
When arrows are flying, wouldn't a nobleman like Lu Shu suddenly arrive here to cause chaos? If Lu Wusi or Ado were here, they could still take over the command. What could Lu Shu do if he came? He is the brother-in-law of the Emperor of Zhou Dynasty. Even if a hundred people are sent to protect him, it is not too much!
Yang Woyan laughed twice and asked, "Young Master, what are you doing here?"
Under the sound of crackling arrows falling to the ground, Lu Shu bent down, holding the shield on his head, and walked towards the wall of the village in small steps. He smiled and said to Yang Woyan: "It's time, let me take a look."
"Ah, young master, what are you here to see?"
Lu Shu patted the rammed earth of the village wall at his feet: "I often came to this place when I was a child, and my father, mother, and brother-in-law's parents also came here. The view here is the best, and today I have to let them all have a look."
Yang Woyan was completely confused: "Little Master, what are you talking about? We are at war! The Mongols are shooting arrows!"
Lu Shu didn't pay much attention to him. Instead, he took out several jars from his arms and placed them one by one beside the wooden fence.
Each jar was well wrapped in silk and satin, like the jars used in the army to bury the bones of soldiers.
