Chapter 8 Broken Dreams
The whole city was filled with an air of despair.
The defenders finally saw reinforcements.
A part of the reinforcement - a part of the body.
To be precise, the head.
In this battle, the reinforcement cavalry lost more than 300 people, including two generals and two guerrillas.
Fortunately, Zhao Sanxi of the Chinese Army had rich experience in facing the enemy. He saw—or rather, felt—that the momentum was not right, and desperately blocked the charge of the troops behind him. Otherwise, the entire army will be annihilated.
A considerable number of survivors who narrowly escaped death also lost their lives. The red-eyed Sima Changxi was unwilling to give in, and proposed to wait for the thieves to withdraw before pursuing them. At that time, the speed advantage of the cavalry could be brought into play, and there would always be loopholes to exploit. Vice General Zhao discussed with several shocked officers: the city was still surrounded like an iron barrel, the command system of the cavalry had collapsed, the defeated troops had lost their organization, and half of them were still wounded. It was God's blessing that they could be gathered together, and there was no mention of low morale. What a fighting force. The enemy has at least two to three hundred cavalry, which must be used to break up the rear. As long as they turn back and bite them, and the two sides get entangled, the enemy's infantry will surround them... Therefore, continuing to move forward will definitely be a dead end, so it is better to go back... So he led the remaining troops and returned in a hurry.
Fortunately among the misfortunes, Gao Tengzu's cavalry was deployed behind the formation. After intercepting and killing the remaining soldiers who escaped from the formation, they hurriedly followed the main force back to the defense without launching a pursuit - otherwise, I don't know how many lives would have been lost. here.
The enemy soldiers outside the city put hundreds of heads on the tips of their spears and lined up in a circle around the city wall. After showing off, these heads and flags and staffs were thrown together in front of the west gate, forming a large or small Beijing.
No prisoners were taken in this battle: those captured alive were slaughtered.
Guan Shengyun gave three reasons:
First, it is difficult to move quickly with a prisoner. The army must immediately return to the defense city. If the defenders see through the situation and break out of the siege, all previous efforts will be in vain.
Second, the horsemen and soldiers are all elites of the enemy. This kind of soldiers are not trained well enough, and when they are organized into the auxiliary army, they must have someone to keep an eye on them at all times - as a horse soldier, they eat well and do hard work like cattle and horses. If they are not forced to death under the whip, they will sooner or later become cannon fodder. This principle is based on toes Anyone can figure it out. Also, they are all strong and strong. If there is any trouble, these guys will definitely be the ones to lead the trouble.
Third, completely shock the defending enemy. When the dog officers and soldiers in the city saw that all the reinforcements were wiped out, their morale would probably collapse in an instant, and the next battle would be easy to fight - after the city is broken, there will be as many men as there are men and women!
Guan Shengyun didn't say the fourth reason, but everyone knew it: after losing two battles in a row, the men needed such stimulation to boost their morale, and the commander also needed to use it to restore his prestige in the army.
Therefore, no one mentioned the words "killing prisoners is ominous" at all, not even Military Advisor Luo Yonghao who was on the sick bed said a word.
You can’t hide news, especially bad news.
The enemy's show of force was seen by thousands of defenders.
Soon, all the men, women, and children in the city learned the bad news that the reinforcements had been wiped out. People's morale plummeted, and the two victories they finally achieved seemed so insignificant at this time. The hope that was ignited in their hearts was shattered by the Jingguan outside the west gate.
Everyone's hearts were shrouded in two terrifying words: massacre!
Take no prisoners.
There was no persuasion to surrender.
Only the first level!
A dead end with no chance of survival!
This is the result of resistance!
Sun Jie held his hand on the battlement and stared at the pile of heads with splitting eyes.
Just now, in that pile of heads, he seemed to see himself.
Sun Jie guessed: the Governor will definitely send reinforcements.
However, he did not expect that reinforcements would come so quickly.
He was defeated so quickly and completely...
Gradually, the view of Beijing became blurry, and childhood scenes vaguely flashed through my mind: My father rarely wore casual clothes or court clothes at home, he always wore leather armor and military uniforms, and had a very dignified face. Especially on the day of the expedition, my father, riding on a tall horse, nodded to himself who had just celebrated his twelfth birthday and set off. The sunlight reflected on the copper nails of the leather armor, and his back looked like a god, as if no one or anything in the world could defeat him...
Until one day three months later, my father was carried home...
My father suddenly became much more haggard. The King Kong Deity, who was in his forties and in his prime, was gone. Instead, he looked like a little old man, huddled on the cave.
When he was dying, his father said to himself: As a warrior, dying in battle is a matter of course, and it will happen sooner or later. Since the founding of the country, this family has sacrificed more than a hundred lives for the country, and in exchange, all the saints of the past generations have sacrificed their lives. Incomparable trust and reward! Whenever a boy is born in the family, the Holy One will definitely send someone to give him a reward. This is true for every generation! In all the dynasties, no family has ever had such honor, not to mention civil servants, not even the elders! Therefore, it is the fate of this family to die for the country in order to repay the emperor's favor.
A few days after the funeral, Yin's decree came down to direct his affairs.
From that day on, the teenager became a major general.
From that day on, he knew that it was his fate to die on the battlefield and be shrouded in horse leather.
Guerrilla, join generals, open associations, open towns...
One military achievement after another was accompanied by rewards from the court, and none failed. Not only have I become more and more confident, but I also subconsciously believe that death is not scary, but also very far away.
until today.
Hundreds of heads reveal the ruthless reality: help!
The glorious record of victory in every battle has long driven the shadow of death to a corner of the heart - but, although it is gradually forgotten, the shadow is always there - the view of the capital in front of you suddenly unsealed the suppression intentionally or unintentionally, and all of a sudden It comes out and fills the heart.
Objectively speaking, Sun Jie is not afraid of death. However, I suddenly felt that there were still many things that I couldn't let go of at this moment - at least, I wanted to take another look at my two sons and my toddler daughter.
The eldest is already ten years old, and he vaguely looks like himself back then. The second child is smarter than his brother and gets into more troubles, but he always manages to coax himself into not wanting to beat him. Although no one cared about girls in this era, Sun Jie knew that what he really loved most was this little thing. He wanted to hold her in his arms and watch her giggle while pulling his beard.
I just don’t know if I can be carried back like my father this time, and then touch their brother’s head, and then prick the girl’s face with his beard...
He didn't remember how Shuai Zhang came back, and Sun Jie's mind went blank.
…
There is not much food left in the city.
Counting the days, when the support army set off, Lord Manager should not have seen the messenger asking for help. After the defeated troops return to the city, understand the battle situation, and calm people's hearts, even if they send out reinforcements, collect food, grass and baggage, and reorganize the army... it will still take a month.
For such a long time, the morale of the people in the city, especially the troops and food supplies, were seriously insufficient. I thought that after winning two battles in a row, as long as the strategist sent reinforcements to cooperate inside and outside, they would be able to break the siege in one fell swoop, so I didn't ask for food at all. Of course, it is unrealistic to ask for food: surrounded from all sides, transporting food cannot have any other result except to support the enemy. But right now, outside the city, strong enemies are surrounding them, and their morale is like a rainbow. It is impossible to hold on until then... Moreover, since the thieves dared to blatantly surround the city for so long, Anqing Mansion will definitely not be easy, maybe. It is very likely that no more reinforcements will be sent...
It is destined that this place will become his final destination.
It was getting dark, but I was still confused and thoughtless, so I just went to patrol the city.
Seeing Sun Jie walking out of the commander's tent, several guards followed him silently, and no one spoke.
The cold wind at night did not dispel the depression in my heart, but it also refreshed me. I don't know why, but I felt lonely for no reason.
He shook his head, drove away the distracting thoughts, and quickly climbed up the city wall.
As soon as I climbed the wall, I saw several people eating and drinking around the fire in the distance, and there was a strong smell of alcohol in the wind!
Out of anger!
When did you actually ignore military discipline and drink in front of the enemy? He must be beheaded to enforce military law!
After a short step, the left hand holding the sword slid down, put the scabbard on and held it firmly, and then walked quickly towards the fire.
"The commander wants to kill someone"!
Several guards were already familiar with Sun Jie's habitual movements. They looked at each other, drew out their swords with a sharp sound, and followed closely behind.
Walking closer to the fire, Sun Jie was stunned: the leader was actually his own guard captain Shi Erlei!
Although this guy's injured arm didn't have an arm armor, it seemed to be nothing serious. Originally, no bones were injured. As long as the fever went away, the skin and flesh injuries were nothing.
At that moment, Shi Erlei also saw Sun Jie. He stood up and handed over the wine bowl with a smile: "Commander, look at this battle, we won't survive for a few days. Don't worry, your soldiers, No coward! Just now I told my brothers that I will follow you in my next life! This gang of thieves relies on their numbers. Last time I attacked, I killed five of them. If you hadn’t ordered the troops to withdraw, I could have killed two more. !”
Sun Jie stared at the wine bowl stretched out in front of him in silence for a moment. He was surprised to find that he actually took it and drank it in several gulps!
Shi Erlei kicked the person next to him and quickly moved out of the way. Sun Jie sat down in the space and waved his hands, indicating that everyone should continue. Everyone sat down again, and no one spoke for a while. Sun Jie silently looked at the fire in trance, reached out and grabbed a handful of fried beans, threw them into his mouth one by one and chewed them slowly.
Several guards put away their sabers and stood around.
Sun Jie raised his eyes and looked at them and said: "What do you think? If you leave the city, you should have at least a 50% chance of getting away with your skills, right? Let's all go! There is no need for everyone to die here, one can escape Is a."
"What did the commander say?"
"I am willing to die for the commander-in-chief!"
"Who does the commander think I am?!"
…
Several guards were stunned for a moment, and when they realized what was going on, they all turned red in the face and started shouting while holding their necks.
One of the guards knelt down, looked directly into Sun Jie's eyes, opened his mouth, and didn't say anything for a long time. He made a heavy fist gesture with his hands, then he picked up a bowl of wine and drank it without caring.
His face was blocked by the wine bowl. Sun Jie looked at his veiny neck and drank the wine. He felt a sudden pain in his eye sockets and said softly: "Okay! It's all good." Man! Sit down, everyone."
