According to the arrangement of Temple Prince Ronya, at noon, the third army of the Golden Tribe prepared for battle again.
Thirty thousand elite Turkic cavalry were unified into infantry, wearing light armor and holding large wooden shields. They were divided into fifteen echelons and lined up in front of Zijin Pass.
As a covering force, Stanley's Eleventh Legion moved all the remaining 70,000 long-rod crossbows onto the position, plus ten giant nest cars and thirty trebuchets, forming strong pressure on the city wall defense line.
There are also three hundred poison soldiers, who are used as assault death squads at critical moments, hidden in the array of siege troops, ready to perform miraculous effects at any time.
Correspondingly, the Third Army of Zhenjiang, which was defending Zijin Pass, had their bows strung and their swords unsheathed. More than 40,000 soldiers were divided into seven defense zones from north to south and were ready.
One hundred and twenty long-range trebuchets and forty city-head giant crossbows also marked their shooting points. As long as the enemy dared to approach, they would pay the price with blood.
The horns were whining, and the Turks began to attack.
The first one to appear was the eight-armed divine machine crossbow seized from Shengtang.
Three hundred ballistae that can fire continuously can shoot out four giant arrows at a time. Two rounds of volleys are fired, and the top of Zijinguan City, a thousand steps away, is suddenly shattered with rubble and flesh and blood flying everywhere.
The soldiers of the Third Army of Zhenjiang were unable to resist the ballista attack with their shields. They could only duck down and hide behind the battlements to temporarily avoid the sharp edge of the giant arrows.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the vanguard echelon of the Third Army of the Golden Tribe immediately attacked, carrying fifty ladders and quickly rushed to Zijin Pass.
The bulky nest car and city assault car followed closely behind them, advancing towards the city wall together.
Xu Youchang was standing on the observation tower near the city gate. Two giant arrows hit the wall and guard board of the observation tower in succession, almost injuring him. The surrounding soldiers were shocked when they saw this, and rushed over to block him. Xu Youchang pushed the soldiers away and shouted: "Go and tell Holia to tell her people not to hide, the enemy is approaching!"
Before he finished speaking, the soldiers of the Third Army on the city wall had already stood up and started to fight back. Giant crossbows and bows rained down on the plains outside the city.
There is a price to pay for fighting back.
The dense crowd on top of the city immediately became the best target for the eight-armed divine machine crossbow.
Tanley ordered his operators not to worry about the crossbows, use all their strength, load the arrows, aim, and fire all the time, and shoot wherever there are people, in order to create the maximum killing effect.
Under the cover of the eight-armed divine machine crossbow, the vanguard of the Third Golden Legion rushed to the city wall after leaving behind more than a thousand corpses.
The ladder was once again set up on the top of the city, and countless Turkic warriors began to climb up.
Not far behind, the shooters on the nest car were also frantically suppressing the city guards, trying to kill as many Xinjiang soldiers as possible before the car body was burned by the giant crossbow rocket.
The archers of the three armies of Jing Lei showed no sign of weakness, bent their bows and set arrows, and launched a fierce exchange of fire with Chao Chao.
Princess Holia of Nanhua County was at the forefront of the city defense, commanding her men to resist the enemy. Even though her left arm was shot by an enemy with an arrow and the pain was unbearable, she refused to go down for treatment. Instead, she directly cut the arrow shaft with a sword. Stop and continue fighting.
Inspired by their general, the soldiers became more brave and fearless, and faced the Turkic elites who were gradually approaching the city.
The encounter happened in the blink of an eye.
The sound of the spear tip piercing the body, the sound of the blade chopping bones, and the sound of the ax smashing the shield, accompanied by the thunderous shouts and roars, resounded throughout the Zijin Pass City!
The third legion of the Turkic Golden Clan was completely crazy at this time.
Nerlens desperately urged his soldiers and horses to rush towards Zijin Pass. Wave after wave, countless Turks passed through the death zone composed of crossbow arrows and kerosene bombs, and moved along the ladder towards the city.
Only one-third of the tall nest vehicles were left, and they were still firing desperately. Two of them leaned against the city wall, quickly lowered the bridge plank and set it up on the city head. Hundreds of poison soldiers jumped directly along the bridge plank. When they reached the city wall, they violently attacked the giant crossbow position.
Upon seeing this, Holia quickly ordered two battalions to go for reinforcements and be sure to drive out those terrifying monsters.
But at this moment, a loud noise suddenly came from the direction of the city gate!
The heavy gate finally failed to withstand the impact of the city ramming vehicle and collapsed.
When the Turkic warriors saw this, they all shouted excitedly and rushed toward the doorway. The two thousand-man Turkic cavalry troops located far behind also began to charge under the command of Nerlens. They continued to run faster and faster, getting closer and closer to the city gate of Zijin Pass.
"We can't let them break in!"
Horiya remained calm in the face of danger and immediately sent the reserve team into battle. Five thousand heavy armored infantry moved upon hearing the order and blocked the Turks' way directly at the city gate.
At the same time, Xu Youchang on the observation deck also issued orders to the trebuchet troops in the rear to concentrate firepower to block the cavalry of the Third Golden Army!
The kerosene bombs hit the outside of the city like hailstones, creating a sea of fire on the way of the cavalry. The giant crossbow position at the top of the city also adjusted its direction. While fighting fiercely with the Turkic soldiers who rushed closer, they struggled towards the cavalry outside the city. shooting.
Two thousand cavalry set off from the main formation. When they arrived near the city gate, less than half of them were left. At this time, the Turks who rushed into the city gate were driven out of the door by the heavy armored infantry of the Zhenjiang Army.
When the cavalry saw this, they roared and launched a fierce attack on the heavy armored soldiers.
The heavy armored infantry of the Zhenjiang Army wore two layers of chain armor, and their heads, necks and faces were all protected by iron-covered pointed helmets, which gave them extremely strong defense. The weapons in their hands were all hard tools such as iron spears, mountain axes, and copper-headed hammers.
Therefore, facing the iron cavalry of the third legion of the Golden Tribe, the heavy armored soldiers were not afraid at all. They squeezed their bodies tightly together and resisted the impact of the war horses.
Outside the gate of Zijin Pass, a fierce battle between cavalry and infantry began.
Nearly a thousand Turkic cavalry braved the blows of arrows from the city head and charged and killed several times, but they were unable to shake the heavy armored infantry at all. On the contrary, as more and more heavy armor soldiers ran out of the city, the cavalry were gradually surrounded by the opponent's groups, and the space for them to gallop and perform was rapidly reduced.
Fortunately, reinforcements arrived quickly.
Nerlens, the commander of the Third Army, led the main force to launch a general attack. The Turkic army all over the mountains and plains surged toward Zijin Pass like a tide.
"This won't work!" Xu Youchang looked at the enemy in the distance and said solemnly: "Pass my order. The entire First Cavalry Army will be dispatched and form a formation outside the city to meet the enemy!"
The Chinese officer hesitated: "General, give up the city gate fortifications and start a field battle with the Turks. Do you want to ask the Grand Protector for instructions first?"
Xu Youchang glared at him and shouted: "What a fool! If you delay the military plane, I will kill you!"
Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, a messenger rushed up to the observation tower and shouted loudly: "The Protector of the Capital has ordered that the First Army quickly leave the city to deploy defenses and block the enemy's charge outside the city!"
Upon hearing this, the lieutenant general immediately ran to mobilize the troops without touching the ground, fearing that if he was a little late, he would be executed on the spot by Xu Youchang.
Bugles sounded and war drums shook.
The 20,000 cavalrymen of the First Army rushed out of Zijin Pass like a whirlwind, holding their shining spears high, crossed the trench along the passage, and laid out five huge phalanxes 300 steps in front of the pass.
In the blink of an eye, the main force of the Golden Tribe also arrived.
Both sides are elites who have experienced hundreds of battles, and each has their own reasons for not retreating. There is only one option at the moment: let's see who is more ruthless and who is tougher!
Counting from the day when the Turkic army came to the city, half a month had passed since the Battle of Zijin Pass, and the battle finally entered a fierce stage.
Thousands of infantrymen fought for each other around the city wall, fighting endlessly. At the same time, a large number of cavalry formed a formation outside the city, fighting together wildly.
The arrows in the sky seemed to never stop, shooting back and forth on the heads of the soldiers on both sides, bringing with them a shower of blood.
The battle lasted for two days and one night. Horiyah was seriously injured and was carried off the position. Nerlens was shot in the neck with an arrow and died on the spot. The Third Army of the Golden Tribe was almost crippled, and the Tenth Army took over and continued the attack. The Third Army of Zhenjiang also suffered nearly half of its casualties and was forced to withdraw from the battle, and the Fifth Army of Zhenjiang came on as a substitute.
Xu Youchang dragged his tired body and stayed at the observation tower to take command. At the same time, he was secretly surprised: I didn't expect that the Turks were so tenacious and had no intention of stopping.
At this time, the city wall of Zijin Pass was damaged in many places, and one of the places collapsed, exposing most of the gap, which was temporarily blocked with sandbags. The situation of the city gate is even worse. The left door leaf has been completely knocked down, and the right door leaf is also crumbling, completely losing its defensive capabilities.
Although the Turks suffered greater losses. Not only did their soldiers suffer heavy casualties, but they also almost ran out of stone bullets and giant arrows. However, they recognized the danger of Zijin Pass and refused to give the defenders any chance to breathe.
The sound of horse hooves rolled in from a distance. This was the cavalry of the 10th Legion of the Golden Tribe. The enemy's intention is very clear: first completely defeat the Zhenjiang First Army outside the city, and then organize troops to storm the city gate!
Xu Youchang was worried and shouted: "Inform the Sixth Army to come out of the city to help in the battle!"
The Sixth Army of Zhenjiang, codenamed "Wrath of Waves". This force was formed during the difficult period of the Zhenjiang Army's "darkest moment" in history. The entire army is composed of Shengtang officers as the backbone, and more than 90% of the troops come from Western Xinjiang. Moreover, due to the limited conditions when it was formed, the Sixth Army was a light infantry corps from the beginning, responsible for the long-term non-combat mission of guarding rear cities and supply lines.
Although there is the word "anger" in the name, its combat effectiveness is not very strong. At best, it is better than the army of the Western Xinjiang vassal state.
Xu Youchang now decided to let the Sixth Army go outside the city to assist the First Army. There was no other way.
The Third Army and the Seventh Army have just finished a tough battle and have not yet recovered. The Fifth Army had just arrived at the top of the city and was responsible for defending the line that was riddled with holes. If you don’t send the Sixth Army, who should you send?
