Not long after Laihai's group was captured alive, several places in Metasequoia City suddenly burst into flames without warning.
Those fires developed extremely quickly, as if someone had deliberately set them alight with firewood and kerosene, and in a blink of an eye they turned into raging flames.
Panic-stricken shouts and calls for help suddenly occurred one after another throughout the city.
Not long after, the originally silent Metasequoia North Gate suddenly heard a rattling sound. The iron gate was slowly pulled up with a winch chain, and the harsh sound was sent far away.
Thousands of ghost alliance horse bandits who had been hiding in the grove outside the north gate and had been waiting for a long time suddenly became excited and looked at Metasequoia City with wide eyes.
The leader of the horse bandits observed for a moment and shouted: "Brother Hai has succeeded! Brothers, follow me and fight to steal the money and women!"
"Grab money and rob women!" the horse bandits responded frantically. They immediately activated their horses, increased their speed, and rushed towards the open city gate in a swarm.
The terrain in the north of Metasequoia City is open, and most of the defenders on the city are attracted to the east wall, so the horse bandits here can let go and run towards the city gate as much as they want.
In the blink of an eye, a large number of people broke into the narrow doorway.
Although the sneak attack went very smoothly, because the North City Gate was too narrow and the number of horse bandits was large, except for the fastest people who successfully entered the doorway, most of the other horse bandits were crowded. Outside the city gate, people scrambled for positions, hoping to squeeze in as soon as possible.
However, at this moment, the iron gate that had been lifted high suddenly shuddered without warning, and then fell suddenly.
This scene was so horrifying that the iron gate, which weighed over a thousand kilograms, seemed to have broken its chain. It immediately smashed the three or four horse bandits who were passing below into pieces, including both men and horses.
"What's going on?! What's going on up there? Someone was hit!" The horse bandits who were blocked from the city by the iron gate suddenly got into a mess, pointing at the top of the city and shouting curses.
A lazy voice came from above: "You idiot, I'm going to hit you!"
As soon as he finished speaking, countless torches lit up on top of the city, illuminating the area around the city gate extremely brightly. The soldiers of the Shengtang Protectorate appeared one after another, holding strong bows and crossbows and rushing down to shoot wildly. Dozens of jars of kerosene were thrown down at the same time, causing the horse bandits to be covered in oil.
Li Jiangyao jumped onto the battlements, stretched out his hand and drew a big bow, and shot a rocket into the air like a god.
The rocket soared into the sky with its bright light tail, maintaining an almost vertical angle with the ground, and flew straight to the sky, which was particularly eye-catching in the dark night sky.
The horse bandits below the city couldn't help but be very curious. They all looked up and wondered why the rocket was pointing straight into the air and shooting so exaggeratedly.
However, in the next second, they were frightened out of their wits.
I saw the rocket rising straight up, flying slower and slower. When the lift was exhausted, the rocket made a small turn in mid-air, and then turned around along a strange arc and flew straight towards the horse bandits below.
"My grandma!" The horse bandits covered in kerosene reacted and were so frightened that their hair stood on end. They quickly turned their horses' heads and fled for their lives.
In the blink of an eye, the rocket landed.
The flames on the arrow ignited the fuel, and instantly burst into flames. Countless horse bandits turned into pyromen and horses, and fled in all directions using the north gate of Metasequoia as the starting point.
While the horse bandits outside the city were being burned to pieces, those horse bandits who boldly broke into the city were also in dire straits.
On the streets inside the North City Gate, the horse bandits and soldiers were washed away several times with arrow rain by the Pegasus scouts who were ambushing here. At this time, there were not many left who could breathe.
The horse bandits who followed them into the city one after another immediately became confused when faced with the dense formation of swords, guns and shields all around.
Due to the small space at the city gate, they had neither a place to line up nor a distance to charge. They could only huddle together and spin in circles, and there was nothing they could do in a hurry.
What's even worse is that the leader of their team has been shot into a hedgehog by a bow and arrow, leaving the horse bandits leaderless and at a loss.
Some of the horse bandits were aroused by the desperate situation and tried to attack the spear and shield array of the Protectorate. As a result, they were all stabbed to pieces by the spears of the Pegasus scouts.
The corpses lying slumped in front of the shield immediately became the best example, warning the guys behind who were ready to move: if you want to survive, be honest.
Du Jian stood behind the gun and shield formation, raised his sword high, and shouted loudly: "Those who surrender will live, those who resist to the end will die! Move!"
"Haha!" The three shield walls formed by the Pegasus scouts all took a step forward upon hearing the order, roaring at the same time, and the entire air seemed to be compressed suddenly.
The horse bandits felt their hearts tightening, and they were suddenly stunned with fear.
Ma Mu accompanied Du Jian and stood behind the gun and shield formation, and quickly spoke in Chechi dialect again, urging the horse bandits to surrender obediently.
At this time, the rebel soldiers have no way back and are leaderless. With no chance of survival in front and no way of retreat, how can the ragtag group have the courage to fight to the end.
They were suppressed by the Pegasus scouts, and their minds were almost broken. Therefore, without even a moment's hesitation, they turned over and fell off their horses and threw away their weapons.
-
It was daylight, and the mess left by a night of fierce fighting in Metasequoia City had been cleaned up by the soldiers guarding the city.
The injured were sent for medical treatment, the corpses were carried away and disposed of, and the captured horse bandits were returned to prison and taken into custody. Everything was done in an orderly manner. Even the arrows, stones, wood and large oil pots on the city wall were rearranged neatly.
Except for the stains of blood still remaining on the walls and the ground, telling people about the tragedy of the battle last night, it was as if nothing had happened.
Neatness is also a kind of combat effectiveness.
This is what Li Jiangyao often said to his subordinates.
For an army, its daily behavior and behavior can often reflect its level of military discipline. No matter how difficult the environment is, the army can maintain high standards for itself, so that it can break out at critical moments. Far beyond the fighting power of ordinary people.
Therefore, after the horse bandits' attack was thwarted and they completely retreated, Li Jiangyao did not let everyone rest immediately. Instead, he took the time to clean the battlefield, reorganize combat preparations, and restore Metasequoia City's defensive strength as soon as possible.
The soldiers of the Pegasus Scout Battalion have been patrolling the border all year round and have long been accustomed to hard work. After fighting all night, although everyone felt very tired, they still followed the captain's order and acted silently.
However, these elites can withstand it, but the original garrison soldiers of Metasequoia City cannot compare. Faced with Lieutenant Li's harsh orders, everyone endured the soreness and pain in their backs while cleaning hard while secretly cursing Li Jiangyao for his inhumanity.
Li Jiangyao pretended not to hear anything, holding a bowl of steaming mutton soup in his hand and sitting leisurely on the city wall to bask in the sun.
Seeing the people around him busy and orderly, a very unreal feeling instantly arose in his heart.
It is already the fourth year since I came here from the modern world, and it has been almost two years since I graduated from the martial arts hall in the imperial capital and joined the army and guarded the border in the ghost desert of Western Xinjiang. Li Jiangyao has transformed from an ordinary policeman into an out-and-out Shengtang officer. He also leads soldiers and horses in bloody battles with enemies from all walks of life.
All of this is really magical.
For now, there are still no clues about the Tieshi Mountain, and there have been countless battles in the Ghost Desert of Western Xinjiang. Li Jiangyao was transformed from a novice on the battlefield to a veteran of fighting, tempered by the flames of war.
Destiny likes to joke with people, but sometimes it doesn't understand real humor, so it always takes the joke too far.
Outrageous jokes are usually embarrassingly bad.
Facing this strange world, Li Jiangyao possesses many unique features that other contemporaries do not have, such as extraordinary speed and reflexes and rich knowledge reserves. Another point is his intuition and sensitivity to the development of the situation.
In Li Jiangyao's view, a bigger crisis is gradually approaching the vast land of Western Xinjiang.
From the Turks' attack on the Shengtang caravan, to the massive invasion of the Blood Wolf Legion, to now the sudden appearance of the Ghost Alliance horse bandits, this series of events seems to be secretly promoted by an invisible big hand, and they are interlocking and step-by-step. Press forward step by step.
Although Li Jiangyao did not have any evidence to prove his inference, he still firmly believed that the Turkic Empire would never let go of Guimo in Western Xinjiang easily, and the horse bandits in front of him might be their test before another invasion.
If that's the case, the problem is really bad.
The first Western Xinjiang battle that just ended not long ago made the already old and weak Zhenjiang Protectorate even worse. This battle could not help but completely exposed the weaknesses and weaknesses of the Xinjiang Army, and it also caused heavy losses to this border guarding army in a real sense.
Although everyone in the Duhu Mansion worked together to fight the enemy desperately, successive fierce battles have greatly weakened the combat power of the entire army. Now even the Pegasus scouts have been sent by Zhang Sanpi to garrison the city, which shows that the manpower of the Duhu Mansion is extremely tight. To what extent.
Under this situation, if the Turks make a comeback, the Ghost Desert in Western Xinjiang will be completely occupied without waiting for the reinforcements from Shengtang to arrive.
And at that time, what fate will he face?
Li Jiangyao is a person who likes to prepare for rainy days.
Everything is done in advance, otherwise it will be ruined. Instead of waiting until something happens and then rush to prepare for it, it is better to make preparations early, so as to deal with emergencies.
He turned his head and looked at the large peaceful and peaceful city behind him, silently calculating in his mind.
Metasequoia City may be the best option.
First of all, this place is located at the hub of the Western Xinjiang trade route, with an endless stream of business travelers coming and going. Whether it is trading goods or collecting Chinese and foreign news, it is very developed and convenient.
Secondly, Metasequoia City has a permanent population of more than 30,000, of which nearly half are young adults of suitable age to join the army. Therefore, this city has considerable potential for recruiting soldiers.
The third point, and the most important point, is that the city's material reserves are extremely abundant. Food, weapons, war horses, medicines, cloth, fodder, including all kinds of daily necessities and gold and silver treasures are all important foundations for long-term operations. If they can be properly utilized, they can be enough to support a long-term garrison of thousands of troops. .
In addition, Metasequoia City is located in the hinterland of Western Xinjiang, not far from the royal court of Chechi and the borders of Shanshan and Shule. It has a unique strategic location. Even if the situation changes for the worse, troops and horses can quickly move to avoid it, or attack and capture it. Other important towns.
It is precisely because of these key factors that when the ghost alliance horse bandits returned to Western Xinjiang, their first choice was Metasequoia City. The Protectorate decided to hand over such a place with superior conditions to Li Jiangyao for garrison, so he was finally lucky.
Well, since God is blessing me, I will cherish it and use it to fight for the future!
