At this moment, there was a different scene in front of Zijin Pass.
Since the morning, the Turkic trebuchet division has launched shooting operations like crazy. However, what they fired were not heavy stone bullets, but bundles of sticks and firewood that were tightly tied and soaked with kerosene.
At first, the defenders were a little puzzled and didn't understand what the Turks were doing. Could it be that the power of this broken branch is greater than a stone weighing more than ten kilograms? Many soldiers even laughed and cursed loudly, mocking the Turks for having no stone bullets to use, so they used wood to make up for it.
However, when more and more branches piled up under the city, General Xiong Yunjie of the Fifth Army suddenly reacted: The enemy was going to set fire!
"Quick! Inform the 18th, 19th, and 20th battalions and ask them to transfer clear water up. The more the better, and prepare to put out the fire!"
However, before the soldiers of the Fifth Army could carry water to the city and make preparations, the Turkic trebuchets had already changed their ammunition. Countless fireballs suddenly flew through the air and hit the firewood piled under the city one after another.
In the blink of an eye, fire burst into the sky.
Along the base of the city wall of Zijin Pass, a wall of fire stretching for several miles appeared in front of people. Flames, thick smoke, and terrifying heat suddenly hit the defenders.
God seemed to be deliberately causing trouble with the Zhenjiang Army. The strong southeast wind was whistling at this time, driving the fire even more violently.
At the same time, bursts of thick black smoke quickly floated over from the direction of the Turkic position with the help of the wind, and in a short time it filled the entire Zijin Pass city.
The garrison officers were choked by the black smoke and coughed repeatedly, and their eyes stung. Some even foamed at the mouth and fainted on the spot.
Suddenly, Zijin Pass was attacked by flames and poisonous smoke from both sides, and fell into chaos.
When Li Jiangyao rushed to the top of the city, the men of the Fifth Army were saving themselves and trying to extinguish the fire. At the same time, they were operating giant crossbows and arrows to fight back against the enemy.
Xu Youchang, who was on the scene commanding the enemy, suddenly saw Da Duhu appearing here. He quickly ran forward and shouted: "Ahem, why are you here? Is your injury better?"
"It's okay," Li Jiangyao frowned: "How is the situation?"
Xu Youchang pointed to the outside of the city: "The fire has been burning for a while, and the enemy is still throwing fire starters. However, we have a good location. As long as we pour enough water, the fire under the city can finally be controlled. It's just... ahem , the poisonous smoke is a bit troublesome, the wind keeps blowing this way, ahem, it can’t be stopped!"
Li Jiangyao took the wet tissue handkerchief handed to him and quickly covered his mouth and nose: "This smoke is poisonous. Are we seriously injured?"
"I just asked Xiong Yunjie," Xu Youchang kept coughing: "More than a thousand people have been carried down so far. The remaining soldiers who stayed in the position also generally feel dizzy and nauseated, and their hands and feet are weak."
Li Jiangyao said in a deep voice: "Notify the field medical center immediately and ask them to find a way to prepare some antidote and give it to the soldiers. In addition, mix some in water and use a wet cloth to isolate the smoke."
Xu Youchang nodded repeatedly: "Don't worry, I have already made arrangements."
Seeing the poisonous smoke filling the city getting thicker and thicker, Li Jiangyao worried: "Can the Fifth Army still be able to withstand it?"
"Protector, we can withstand it!" Xiong Yunjie's voice suddenly came from the side.
The young general strode forward, suppressed a cough, and said loudly: "Daduhu, Xu Shuai, the Fifth Army has not really exerted its strength yet. This little trick of the Turkic ghost cannot scare us!"
Li Jiangyao glanced at him: "The human body cannot survive being exposed to poisonous smoke for a long time. Your Fifth Army..."
Before he could finish his words, Xiong Yunjie hurriedly said: "Dadu protector, if the fifth army can't hold it, how can other armies hold it? I have divided the troops into several groups before and took turns to defend the city, so the poisonous smoke affects us. It’s not too big.”
Seeing his eagerness to fight, Li Jiangyao smiled helplessly and turned to look at Xu Youchang: "What do you mean?"
"Let the Fifth Army hold on." Xu Youchang said solemnly: "According to the original plan, these four armies, One, Three, Six and Nine, will serve as counterattack forces and will not be moved for the time being."
Li Jiangyao nodded: "Okay. Yunjie, the enemy will emit poisonous smoke for a while and will soon take advantage of the situation to attack. You must be prepared to withstand it!"
"Please rest assured, Commander-in-Chief! Please rest assured, Commander Xu!" Xiong Yunjie said excitedly: "Our Fifth Army will never take a step back!"
In the previous three days, the Turkic Polar Legion's 50,000 soldiers and horses used all their strength to attack the northern section of Zijin Pass. Xiong Yunjie and his Fifth Army resisted desperately and repelled fifteen large-scale offensives commanded by Duke Druhan.
In addition to the Polar Legion, the Changsheng tribe's army also launched an attack on the city gate and the southern section of the city wall at the same time. The officers and soldiers of the Fifth Army still attacked head-on, without allowing the Turks to take any advantage.
At this moment, the enemy troops were playing tricks again. They not only burned the city gates with fire, but also released poisonous smoke in an attempt to destroy the fighting spirit of the Fifth Army.
Sure enough, as Li Jiangyao expected, when the sky turned dark, the wind gradually stopped. Ronya issued an order to stop the poisonous smoke attack. Taking advantage of the fire in front of the pass to gradually extinguish, the fifth legion, the veteran main force of the Turkic Golden Clan, was sent into battle and launched a charge towards Zijin Pass.
Suddenly, giant crossbows, stone bombs, kerosene bombs and dense arrows came from the sky, hitting the Zijin Pass city like rain and hail. In just half an hour, the Fifth Army suffered casualties. There were two to three thousand people.
However, the situation of the Golden Fifth Army, as the attacker, was even worse.
Xiong Yunjie was calm and composed, commanding the trebuchets, giant crossbows and archers to fight back fiercely, killing the Turkish soldiers who were getting closer and closer. In the same time, the Turks' losses were nearly three times that of the defenders.
However, the intensive long-range attacks did not stop the Golden Tribe. The soldiers of the Fifth Legion rushed to the bottom of the city carrying ladders and climbed up one after another.
The direction they chose to attack was still focused on the northern section of the city wall.
At this time, the city wall here had been damaged by bombardment, and there were as many as sixteen collapsed gaps. The Turks didn't have to climb too high to break into Zijin Pass directly through the gap. The officers and soldiers of the Fifth Army had no time to repair those city walls, so they could only rely on their flesh and blood to seal the loopholes.
People on both sides met in close combat and immediately fell into a brutal melee. The soldiers of the Fifth Army endured the damage caused by the poisonous smoke while fighting bravely with the enemy. Countless people jumped into the gap regardless of their own safety, and used their bodies to withstand the opponent's repeated attacks.
The fierce offensive and defensive battle lasted from dusk to dawn. Ronya ordered the Fifth Army not to rest, and continued to increase the pressure, striving to destroy the Zijin Pass defenders. Xiong Yunjie also got motivated and went into battle with his sword in person, directly standing on the front line and commanding.
The Golden Fifth Army replaced its new force, and the Zhenjiang Fifth Army also sent in its reserves. The two sides continued to fight to the death, fighting from dawn to sunset.
At this time, the southeast wind blew again. Tanley suggested relighting the poisonous smoke, allowing the Fifth Army to use the poisonous smoke to interfere and seize the city in one fell swoop.
Ronia took his advice. The new batch of siege troops prepared quickly. On the one hand, they took the antidote in advance, and on the other hand, they put on wet cloths to isolate the smoke, and gradually approached the starting position.
Under the command of Geshu Beichuan, the Ghost Dou clan lit hundreds of fires and threw poison powder into the fires in batches. Thick smoke suddenly erupted and drifted with the wind to Zijin Pass in the distance.
When the Zijin Pass city was once again shrouded in smoke, the soldiers of the Golden Tribe shouted in unison, held their swords and guns high and began to charge.
Due to the blocked line of sight, the enemy could not be seen clearly from the top of the city. I only knew that the Turkic ghosts were coming again, and there were more of them than before!
Xiong Yunjie raised his knife and shouted: "Brothers, block your mouth and nose with wet cloth! Follow me to kill the thief!"
The soldiers of the Fifth Army who had been fighting for a day and a night were already exhausted. But when they heard the general's cry, they immediately ignited their fighting spirit and rushed towards the city wall.
The giant crossbow and bow could not lock the target at this time, so they simply stopped aiming and shot directly into the smoke based on the footsteps and shouts. The spear and shield soldiers and swordsmen and axemen who broke the camp automatically formed several rows and were stuck in the gaps in the city wall, waiting for the enemy's arrival.
Boom!
A loud noise was first heard from the direction of the city gate. Xiong Yunjie couldn't help but feel nervous: The enemy is charging at the door!
Under the cover of night and smoke, the other party actually pushed the giant city ramming truck to the bottom of the city and began to slam into the city gate. Seeing this, the defenders on the top of the city quickly used bows and arrows to kill them. At the same time, they also threw down the altar of kerosene, intending to ignite the city-rushing vehicles.
Unfortunately, the Turks moved too fast.
They had deliberately stormed the northern section of the city wall before, and even almost succeeded, which greatly interfered with the defenders' judgment. Unexpectedly, at this time, they suddenly made a surprise attack and launched a sneak attack on the city gate.
Although the bows, arrows and flames severely damaged the city ramming vehicle troops, due to their clear goals and sufficient preparations, the Turks still gritted their teeth and withstood the attack on the city head, and quickly opened the gate of Zijin Pass.
After receiving the signal that the gate was successfully breached, the 10th Legion of the Golden Tribe, which had been waiting at the rear, immediately took action. Twenty thousand cavalry rushed forward and swept towards Zijin Pass.
"What is Xiong Yunjie doing?!" Xu Youchang, who was watching the battle on the observation deck, couldn't help but said anxiously: "If the enemy's cavalry is allowed to rush in, the city gate will be lost! Come here, urgently mobilize the Eighth Army to join the battle, give me the The city gate is blocked and not a single Turkic ghost can be let in!"
The messenger responded, turned around and rushed into the night.
Almost at the same time, Xiong Yunjie also realized the seriousness of the problem. Without thinking too much, he directly ordered the five battalions that had just left the city to rest and quickly went to the city gate for reinforcements, insisting on retaking the position no matter what.
The troops of the Golden Fifth Army attacking the city, the cavalry of the Golden Tenth Army launching an attack, the soldiers of the Zhenjiang Fifth Army preparing to rest and the Eighth Army's strategic reserve team responsible for reinforcements, all four troops are aiming at the open Zijin Pass. The city gates rushed away from different directions.
Their goals are exactly the same:
No matter what the cost, fight to the death to seize control of the city gate!
