As the Southern Barbarian siege troops approached, the Southern Barbarian Chinese military formation began to beat drums and cheers. The shamans made final prayers and blessings to the soldiers. The barbarian military command flags were waving and the barbarian warriors shouted incomprehensible slogans. , waving their shields, pushing the siege ladder, and rushed towards the tall walls of Qucheng like a tide.
In the first battle of the siege, the Nanman soldiers held up shields to cover tens of thousands of auxiliary soldiers who filled the moat of Qucheng. Seeing this, the defenders of Qucheng also began to use their crossbows to suppress the siege operations below the city. The Jin army's arrows were shot down like locusts. After receiving numerous Nanman auxiliary troops, the Xi tribe was not willing to be outdone and sent out archers and crossbowmen to shoot arrows at the city to suppress the firepower of the Jin army.
Mu Sheng carefully nestled behind the crenellations of the city wall. He only felt the city wall shake. The enemy's trebuchets hit the horse path directly on the rammed earth wall. The broken stones knocked down the surrounding defenders. Suddenly, there were wailing sounds everywhere.
The soldiers in the front row of the barbarians set up a shield wall, and the southern barbarian soldiers in the back kept bringing sand and soil from the rear to fill the moat. There were more than a dozen wooden archery towers of the southern barbarians filled with crossbowmen and they fired at the Jin troops on the wall.
The height of the archery tower is similar to that of the Qucheng city wall. There are six wheels under the archery tower. The Nanman soldiers laboriously push the archery tower forward. It is equivalent to a mobile wooden fortress. This offsets the geographical advantage of the defenders to a certain extent. The attack from the Nanman archery towers immediately resulted in numerous casualties. The defenders could only carefully hide behind the battlements and fire back at the siege towers with rockets in an attempt to burn them down.
Mu Sheng was hiding behind the wall, not daring to show his face. Just now, a sergeant next to him was shot through the head by an arrow from a barbarian soldier. He wiped the blood spattered on his face. At this moment, he really Feel the cruelty of war in this era.
Mu Sheng thought about what he had experienced in the past, which was just a group fight at best. Even if he now has the cultivation level of a high-level monk and a heavenly master, he is just a super soldier in front of thousands of troops. Once he is surrounded, he will be difficult to defeat with both fists. With four hands, if the spiritual power is exhausted, there will be death but no life.
An hour later, the barbarians finally filled the moat despite the locust-like arrows from the Jin army on top of the city and heavy casualties.
The Nanman army blew the attack horn and pushed dozens of ladder siege vehicles slowly towards the city wall. All the defenders could do was to keep shooting at the soldiers pushing the carts below to slow down the Nanman attack.
Finally, the Nanman army's siege ladders were put up on the city wall one after another, and the bloodiest and cruelest hand-to-hand combat on the city began. Although the opponent's Nanman soldiers were generally short in stature and looked like skinny monkeys from a distance, they were also extremely brave. Each of them had mysterious patterns painted on their faces, wore heavy armor, and held long knives in their mouths. They jumped on the city wall, their eyes were red, and they rushed up and fought with the defenders while wielding weapons.
Seeing this, Mu Sheng rushed forward with his shield and sword, and chopped down one after another the barbarian warriors who jumped onto the city top...
Next to Mu Sheng, Hua Zilan also tied up her hair and dressed in military uniform, wielding two swords to kill the southern barbarian warriors who attacked the city. Although her IQ was only six years old, her fighting instinct was still extremely strong. After all, she was also a Celestial Master-level monk, with natural combat power. Needless to say.
Seeing Hua Zilan's amazing fighting power, Mu Sheng nodded secretly in his heart. Finally, his efforts were not in vain. He had already completed the initial brainwashing of Hua Zilan. Now, with her six-year-old IQ, she was so controllable that she almost controlled him. Obey the orders.
The battle lasted from morning to afternoon. Corpses were everywhere at the top of the city. The Nanman attacked Qucheng so forcefully that they suffered a lot of casualties throughout the day. The Nanman were eventually driven off the city wall by the Jin army.
During this battle, Fu Bao divided the garrison into two teams, with 3,000 men guarding the city and 3,000 men resting. They went to the city in shifts to defend. After mobilizing the people in the city to participate in the defense, the people helped carry the bodies and threw stones at the city. , building city walls, etc. Generally speaking, the defenders still have an advantage.
In the era without firearms, it was extremely difficult to siege a city. The attacker's casualties were usually several times that of the defenders. The longer they defended, the more casualties the attackers would suffer. The wisest choice for the attackers was to besiege the city and wait until the defenders inside the city. The food and grass are exhausted and the natural city is destroyed.
Mu Sheng finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the barbarians withdrawing their troops. He took advantage of the fact that he was a monk and never went down to the city wall to take a rest. Until now, he suddenly felt that the world was spinning. His legs went weak and he finally sat down on the horse road. A hint of strength.
Hua Zilan was holding two swords. When she saw her master fell, she hurried forward and squatted beside Mu Sheng, and asked with concern, "Master, what's wrong with you?"
Mu Sheng waved his hand and said, "It's okay, I'm just too tired. Just take it easy."
When Mu Sheng saw that the female devil Hua Zilan was still in high spirits and showed no sign of fatigue, he secretly sighed that it was a great deal to transform this woman into his senior bodyguard.
In the governor's house, Fu Bao stood in front of the sand table with a sad face and preached to the generals, "We suffered more than five hundred casualties in the first battle. The army of the Xi tribe came too fast, and our preparations were still insufficient. The biggest problem is that the food and grass in the city can only be After a month of support, the enemy army will number 80,000. Even if Zhuojun's reinforcements arrive here, they may not be able to relieve the siege!"
Feng Zhu walked to the sand table and pointed to several locations and preached to the generals, "Now the scouts have scouted out several places where the enemy may have stored grain and fodder for transfer. Now that we are outnumbered and the enemy is outnumbered, we need someone to lead the suicide squad to burn the enemy's grain and fodder." , who among you is willing to go?"
After Feng prayed, the sound of needle drops could be heard in the lobby. Feng prayed and stared at the several chief historians and generals under him who bowed their heads in silence. Everyone knew that this mission was basically a narrow escape, and there was a high probability that he would not be able to come back. There may still be a chance of survival for this defensive city until Zhuojun's reinforcements rescue the siege.
Mu Sheng stared at the several places marked on the sand table and fell into deep thought. The current situation was urgent. The enemy had obviously planned for a long time and was very well prepared from combat methods to pre-battle preparations. He had to take a gamble this time, and he didn't want to Been stuck here forever.
Mu Sheng suddenly stood up and asked for his orders, "I would like to inform Mr. Fu and Mr. Feng that I would like to go."
Inspired by Mu Sheng, Yao Ji also stepped forward and asked for help.
County Lieutenant Feng Chu saw the two of them saying several good words in succession.
Fu Bao also stepped forward and patted Mu Sheng on the shoulder and said, "Very good. He is worthy of being brought out by Lao Guo. He has the bravery of our Jin people. I will give you five hundred sergeants. Liu Zhang will be the chief general and Yao Ji will be the deputy general." , if you can succeed, I will commend you for your first contribution to this effort."
"No!" The two of them gave Fu Bao a military salute.
In the evening, the Qucheng campus was brightly lit. Mu Sheng and Yao Ji lined up in front of the general stage, followed by five hundred soldiers who dared to die.
Fu Bao and Feng Yu stood in front of the soldiers and gave a final mobilization speech to boost morale.
The county guard Fu Bao was holding the wine bowl with an excited tone and sincere eyes: "My fellow soldiers, it is a pity that Fu cannot accompany everyone in the charge in this battle. I am responsible for guarding the land and the people, and guarding the land and water here. Everyone in your family also has Fathers, brothers and sisters are in this city. The Southern Barbarians have always been cruel and murderous. If the enemy army breaks the city, I am afraid that all the elders in your family will become slaves of the Southern Barbarians..."
"Fu Mou also knows that this battle is dangerous, but something has to be done by someone. Fu Mou would like to thank the soldiers on behalf of the people in the city. This battle is guaranteed by my officer. Anyone who died in the battle will be rewarded with five hundred gold coins, and those who are disabled will be rewarded with a hundred gold coins." , I personally go to the court to ask for merits and honors for all the warriors, I will drink this wine first to support the bravery of all warriors."
After saying this, Fu Bao drank the wine in one gulp and threw the wine bowl to the ground.
County Lieutenant Feng Chu also drank the wine from the bowl in one gulp, and shouted at the soldiers in front of him: "Everyone, have you heard the Lord Governor's promise? When a man is alive, he should report to the country. , the opportunity to perform meritorious deeds has come. You are all soldiers trained by me, Feng Cun. No one of you is a coward. Since you have become a soldier, you should wrap up your horse and hide your body and die on the battlefield. This battle is of great importance. Fathers and brothers are behind you. Anyone who is afraid of death can stand up and go home now to serve his mother at home, and I, Feng, will never be embarrassed."
The sergeants also drank the bowl of wine, and their morale was like a rainbow. They roared in unison, "Protect the home and the country...Protect the home and the country..."
The crowd shouted and the sound reached our ears.
Mu Sheng and Yao Ji were also infected by the atmosphere and were very excited after hearing the news. After drinking the Zhuangxing wine, they rushed to the south of the city with 500 sergeants, preparing to lower the city and leave. The enemy troops were surrounded by three and one was missing, but they still managed to escape. Can run out.
Halfway through the journey, Guo Huan rode up to the two of them and greeted them. He looked at his two close friends, Mu Sheng and Yao Ji, and said after a while, "You must take care and come back alive."
Mu Sheng and Yao Ji bowed to him and then led the team towards the south of the city.
Five hundred warriors, dressed in black clothes and armor, quietly left the city, bypassed the enemy camp, and sneaked all the way to ten miles outside the city.
Yao Ji suddenly patted Mu Sheng on the shoulder and asked something incomprehensible: "Brother Liu? Is this Lintan?"
Mu Sheng nodded silently: "It seems that Brother Yao and I have the same idea, otherwise I would not dare to ask for orders to do this near-death business, but I still dare not be 100% sure about the letter left by Fei Chong. Whether those last two words really mean this, we can only take one step at a time to see."
Yao Ji frowned and said in a deep voice, "I would make a bold guess. After all, Fei Chong has been with Fu Bao for so many years. Fu Bao usually treats him with all his heart. Fei Chong should have known that Nanman would organize this military operation, so he This leaves a mark for Master Fu. If Fu Bao can repel the invasion of tens of thousands of Southern Barbarians with less than 8,000 troops in the city, this can be regarded as a miracle, enough to balance the merits and demerits, and it will not lead to the end of the family being destroyed. "
Mu Sheng asked Yao Jidao, "Didn't Fei Chong buy one of his own people? This Nanman invasion should be inseparable from the strong support of the Fuxing Association. Even if Fei Chong and Fu Bao have personal feelings in it, I really want to I don’t understand that because of such personal feelings, he would abandon his official duties for personal reasons?"
Yao Jidao said, "Brother Liu, you may not know something. In fact, the Renaissance Association is not monolithic. The old and young of the seven countries each have their own plans. In fact, what everyone wants to restore most is their own country. As for whether other countries can restore the country." , they will also have internal differences and dissent.”
"Sometimes they even use the imperial court's help to eradicate or attack dissidents. This is why the Renaissance has always been in such a half-dead state. The various internal mountains use each other, undermine each other, and rely on each other. It is also because of this that Guo Guo The eldest brother was so disappointed that he quit the Fuxing Society and went to the East Palace. Having said that, isn’t the current situation of the Fuxing Society what the imperial court wants to see?”
Mu Sheng was speechless for a while after hearing this. Before the revival meeting could be accomplished, the people within him started to fight against each other. No wonder a great man once said a famous saying, there is no party outside the party, imperial ideas, no factions within the party, all kinds of strange things , the summary is too accurate. If this comes to pass, shouldn't the internal pinch be even more severe?
At dawn, more than 500 people sneaked all the way to a woods a hundred miles away and hid. They had to clean up the traces of their passing along the way, and the sergeants were very tired.
Mu Sheng ordered the entire army to rest for a day. They did not dare to light a fire to cook. They could only eat the dry food they brought to restore their strength. Looking at the current situation, they could only wait until night before taking action.
In the evening, the scouts that Mu Sheng secretly sent out also returned. According to the reports from the scouts, several places where food and grass were presumed to be stored were heavily guarded, and there were Nanman food transport teams running back and forth. They could only investigate from a distance. Withdrew.
Mu Sheng looked at several suspicious locations on the map and said to Yao Ji, "It seems that the other party is still very sophisticated in doing things. He has built several fake granaries so that we can't tell where the real grain and grass are. Brother Yao, just to be on the safe side, you and I should do our best." Lead dozens of experts to secretly investigate the truth and determine the next step."
Yao Ji also nodded in agreement. After all, the two of them were not very good at fighting, so they still had to carry out sneak attacks and investigations.
That night, the two of them took an elite scout team to two granaries in the dark.
In one of them, Mu Sheng watched from a distance as the patrol post on the opposite side was patrolling back and forth. After a patrol team passed by, he and his men sneaked under the post.
Mu Sheng listened for a long time, then he jumped up and climbed up the watchtower in a few breaths, killing the dozing guard.
He put on the enemy's military uniform and sneaked into the grain storage area to conduct secret reconnaissance. When he actually saw the grain warehouse, he called out "Good guy!" This is tight on the outside and loose on the inside. On the inside, it looks brightly lit and full of people, but in fact it is just a dozen Nanman soldiers lazily patrolling back and forth, pretending to be patrolling. The grain trucks stacked in the middle are all empty, fake, Mu Sheng I felt certain that what Fei Chong said was true.
Mu Sheng sneaked back to the camp after investigation. The situation at Yao Ji's side was similar, and it was also a fake camp.
Yao Ji said to Mu Sheng, "It seems that there is still some conscience in charging this fee. This time the Southern Barbarians invade, the place where the grain and grass will be transferred is Linzhang. We have few soldiers. The Xi tribe will definitely not guess that we will risk going out of the city to burn their grain and grass." , should we raid Lintan now?"
Mu Sheng waved his hand and said, "No, not now. We will go in the middle of the night. People are most sleepy at that time. Now we still have three hours, so hurry up and rest. When the time is up, we will go in and burn him to death." .”
Mu Sheng decided to go there at four o'clock in the morning. This is the time when patrols and soldiers on duty are the sleepiest, most fatigued, and slowest to react. This is the time when there is the least resistance to a sneak attack.
