The setting sun was like blood, and countless war horses were neighing with their heads high and murderous. There were more than 2,000 people. He didn't know the situation inside the pass, so he shouted to open the door.
Shi Azheng pretended to be a guard general and used the words they used to deal with Ma Le before, but the enemy general was obviously impatient and shouted loudly with his command arrow.
Xu Shu sighed: "The reinforcements are coming so quickly. It seems that Han Sui also expected that we have to cross the Tao River and the pursuers will continue to come."
Ma Chao found that the door was blocked by corpses and debris, so he went up to the city tower, clutched his spear and said solemnly: "Why don't you clear the city gate, I will lead the troops to rush out and kill this group of people."
"Don't be impatient!" Xu Shu said to everyone: "You are all good generals in this world. Even if you die together with the thieves, it is worthless. A man can bend and stretch, so he should keep a useful body to avenge his shame and make achievements in the future."
Ma Chao gritted his teeth and said: "The pursuers are numerous and powerful. If we don't take the initiative to attack, once the city is breached, wouldn't we just sit back and wait to be killed in this small place?"
Xu Shu said again: "We are waiting to guard the pass. When the pursuers see that we are few, they will be greedy for rewards and attack with all their heart. If we rush out, even if a few generals can defeat them, the deserters will report the news all night. Once the news is learned on the other side, If the ship doesn’t come, the situation is critical!”
Ma Dai nodded and said: "Sir, what you said makes sense. Although the pursuers are coming quickly, they are all cavalry and cannot attack the city. As long as we hold on to the city wall, we will be safe."
Xu Shu raised his head and looked at the setting sun, which was halfway up: "With the help of the favorable location, we only need to watch for two hours!"
Pang De clenched his fist and said, "We can defend a place like Wuquan Mountain for two months. The wall is two feet high. Two hours is not a problem."
At this time, the enemy generals outside the city were already furious. Shi A saw that he could not deal with it, so he had to do the same thing, put down the bamboo basket and let them put the official documents of the command arrow inside, and then they could open the door after checking.
Ma Dai and Pang De immediately split up and moved all the bow and arrow supplies from the treasury. Others went to the kitchen to find iron pots, oil and water, etc., in preparation for defense.
Shi A picked up the token, saw Xu Shu secretly nodding, and said loudly: "Your token is fake!"
"You bastard, your dog's eyes are blinded!" The man was furious and urged his horse closer: "If you don't open the city, be careful...ah——"
Before he finished speaking, there was a sudden scream, his body fell backwards, and he fell from the horse.
The pursuers were in an uproar. When they came up to take a look, they saw an arrow stuck in the man's forehead, his eyes wide open, looking ferocious and terrifying.
In panic, Ma Chao stood at the top of the city with a gun and shouted: "Ma Chao is here, come up if you are not afraid of death!"
Buzz——
The whole city seemed to explode in an instant, and everyone looked at the majestic and unruly figure under the last ray of sunset, and there was a commotion.
Ma Chao was famous in Xiliang, and he was even more arrogant when he went out. Many soldiers saw him and were all shocked.
The setting sun seemed to fall instantly, the sky and the earth became dim, and there was silence in Madi Pass. No one expected Ma Chao to be in Madi Pass.
"Kill, capture Ma Chao alive, reward him with tens of thousands of gold, and make him a marquis of thousands of households!"
"Ma Chao's head is worth a thousand gold!"
Someone among the crowd shouted loudly, causing the birds in the forest nearby to fly up and scream in panic.
After a brief period of astonishment, the pursuers became excited again, as if they had been given blood, and the whole team headed towards the city.
Under the heavy reward, there must be a brave man, not to mention Ma Chao's head is more valuable. Seeing that there are only a few sparse figures on the city, everyone's confidence is greatly increased.
Ma Chao shouted: "This is mounted shooting, be careful of arrows!"
Everyone is hiding at the foot of the wall, picking up their bows and arrows and preparing to fight back. There will be another brutal fight tonight.
The cavalry outside the city was divided into five teams and galloped back and forth along the wall. The soldiers on horseback kept firing arrows at the wall. The arrows flew up to the top of the city like a rainstorm.
There was a buzzing above the head, and the sound of breaking wind was overwhelming. Everyone hid under the wall. No one could be injured at this time, especially not seriously. Once unable to move, they could only give up.
Bang bang bang——
There were muffled sounds outside the wall. After cavalry fire suppressed the defenders, the pursuers used their horses' hooves to attack the barrier. The horses' hooves struck the door like a heavy hammer. This was also a common siege method used by cavalry.
The wooden door usually cannot withstand the impact of the cavalry and will soon break into pieces, but this time they miscalculated. The door cracked and blood oozed from inside.
I saw countless corpses piled up layer by layer, blocked behind the closed door. The entire passage had already been blocked. The pursuers were stunned and shouted loudly.
Ma Chao shouted loudly, everyone stood up, bows and arrows were drawn, and arrows were fired at the city. Suddenly, screams were heard.
Ma Chao and Ma Dai had precise arrow skills, specifically aiming at the cavalry generals. Even if they were wearing armor, they could accurately hit their faces, causing them to fall to the ground.
The enemy troops panicked and retreated a stone's throw away. They gathered together to discuss countermeasures. They looked at the sparse figures standing on the city with unwillingness.
Now, people like Ma Chao, in their eyes, it is a golden bounty. As long as they can get it, even if it is divided among two thousand people, they will not have to worry about food and drink for the rest of their lives.
It happened that several generals were killed. They shared the credit equally and everyone could be promoted. This was a rare opportunity. If they waited for reinforcements to arrive, they would not even be able to drink soup.
The sky has completely darkened, the bright moon rises over the east mountain, the sky and the earth are hazy, torches are lit on the city, and those figures become more and more attractive.
After a brief discussion, the enemy troops formed their formation again, lit several bonfires in the open space outside the pass, lit up as bright as day, and launched another attack.
The cavalry rushed over, and they fired another round of arrows. The arrows were like locusts, suppressing the people behind the gate and preventing the defenders from showing their heads.
At the same time, a row of cavalry urged their horses to the foot of the city wall. Then they stood on their horses and tried to insert their swords into the cracks in the stone and climb up the wall.
This wall was repaired with a mixture of rocks and sand from the river. There was a huge gap in the middle. As long as you could find a place to stay, you could climb up.
Ma Chao heard the sound and turned around to see what was going on. Suddenly an arrow flew towards him. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and hurriedly dodged it, grazing his ear and then flew out.
Xu Shu said: "The bandits should be climbing the city, and they should use the hammer first."
Everyone squatted under the chopped wall, picked up the stacked hammers at the same time, and threw them along the battlements. They immediately heard bursts of screams.
After Xu Shu was sure, he ordered again: "Light the fire!"
The firewood and wooden sticks wrapped in tattered clothes had been dipped in vegetable oil. They were taken out and used a torch to light a fire immediately and threw them down the city wall.
The defenders outside the city were all on horseback, bows and arrows set, suppressing the city head. Rows of neat human walls were struggling to climb, as dark as ants.
Seeing that the people at the top were about to reach the top of the city, when everyone held their breath, suddenly flames fell from the sky, and countless people were burned and screamed and fell.
This is not the most important thing. The horses standing under the city wall were frightened and ran away. The soldiers standing on the horses fell one after another.
In an instant, all the soldiers who climbed onto the city were like mud on the wall on a rainy day, falling down with a loud splash. Some fell to death on the spot, and some were burned by fire, screaming in agony.
The frightened mounts ran wildly outward and collided with the cavalry in the distance. The entire formation was thrown into chaos. People screamed and horses neighed, drowning out the sound of the waves.
Ma Chao stood up, bent his bow and nocked an arrow, and roared: "Shoot for me!"
