The first to arrive near the city gate was a brigade of the Golden Fifth Army that was attacking the city. But just as they rushed into the dark doorway, they met the battalions of the Fifth Army that had withdrawn to rest.
Without saying a word, the two sides immediately started fighting to the death.
On the one hand, they want to rush into Zijin Pass and create conditions for the follow-up troops; on the other hand, they must drive the enemy out and regain control of the city gate. Victory or defeat is already on the line, and there is no room for failure or retreat.
Thousands of soldiers crowded inside and outside the city gate, coming and going and attacking repeatedly. At this time, there are no formations or tactics to speak of. The only thing left is to see which side is more brave and tenacious, and more regardless of their own life and death.
Not long after the melee reached a stalemate, the heavy armored infantry of the Zhenjiang Eighth Army and the cavalry of the Golden Tribe's Tenth Army also arrived one after another, and a large-scale impact broke out in an instant!
Before dawn, Zijin Pass was filled with poisonous smoke and fire, and the shouts of killing were earth-shattering and deafening. Xu Youchang looked down from the top of the city, and saw countless black shadows rushing left and right in front of the city gates and passes, killing them inextricably.
He turned around and asked, "Where is Xiong Yunjie? Where is he now?"
"General Xiong is over there in the northern section!" his subordinates reported: "The enemy continues to storm the northern section of the city wall and has broken into the city many times. Xiong Yunjie is directing the commando team to counterattack to ensure that the city wall is not lost."
Xu You frowned and murmured: "The pressure here at the city gate is too great!"
Li Jiangyao had been sitting steadily in the back, occasionally looking at the eastern sky. At this time, he saw that Xu Youchang was a little anxious, and said calmly: "Since the heavy armored infantry of the Eighth Army has already pushed up, the Turkic cavalry will definitely not be able to rush in. It is just a back and forth. . It will be daybreak soon. Let the trebuchets be ready. Once the sight conditions are restored, immediately use kerosene bombs to prevent the enemy from further increasing their troops."
Xu Youchang nodded when he heard this, turned around and gave some instructions to his men, and then said to Li Jiangyao: "Ronya is serious this time! At present, the Fifth Army, the Tenth Army and the Polar Army of the Golden Tribe have entered the battle one after another. The soldiers and horses of the Ghost Dou Clan and the Changsheng Clan are also attacking with all their might. The only ones that have not moved yet are the Third Golden Army and the Eleventh Army."
Li Jiangyao smiled lightly: "Tanli's Golden Wolf Army is fine for fighting a long-range war of attrition, but he won't be willing to add his own money to the fire pit. As for the third army, don't wait, they are not here at all. I already found out when I went to kidnap Stanley."
"Oh? Ronya is playing tricks?" Xu Youchang raised his eyebrows: "The third legion went to Shengyuguan?"
"Probably so." Li Jiangyao sneered: "The Turks suddenly strengthened their offensive on Zijin Pass, which probably means that there will be big moves in the direction of Shengyuguan. Du Jian must withstand the enemy's surprise attack and win valuable valuables for us. time to counterattack."
Xu Youchang calculated: "Shengyuguan has Du Jian's Second Army and Seventh Army, with a strength of nearly 100,000. And the Turkic Prince Chili has soldiers and horses from the Second Army of the Golden Tribe, the Tianmu Tribe and the Blood Wolf Tribe. And a trebuchet division, about 120,000 people. If you add the third army of the Golden Tribe and Yun Qianxue's Blood Guard Cavalry Legion, their total strength will increase to 200,000, and their overall combat strength will be higher than that of Ronnia. The side is still strong.”
After saying that, Xu Youchang sighed softly: "The burden on Lao Du's shoulders is very heavy."
"I know him," Li Jiangyao said in a very calm tone: "There should be no problem in guarding Shengyuguan. What I want is not to eliminate the Chili cluster, but to hold them back. As long as I can hold them back to Ronya, Even if Bian is exhausted, our battle goal will be achieved."
Xu Youchang nodded vigorously: "That's right! Shengyuguan will hold back the enemy, Zijin Pass will consume the enemy, and then a full-scale counterattack can begin. Jiang Yao, how many days do you estimate this process will take?"
Li Jiangyao stood up and came to the edge of the city wall, and his ears were filled with the shouts of soldiers from both sides fighting fiercely. He cast his gaze on the slightly white sky in the east and said calmly: "Maybe ten days, maybe twenty days, maybe a month, in short, it won't be too short."
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When the sun turned west again, the Turkic army, which had been attacking for two days and two nights, finally showed its fatigue and began to gradually shrink its offensive.
As a result, the several legions that entered the battle were close to their limits. Not only were the troops injured a lot, but the soldiers were also physically exhausted. They had to rest and recuperate, otherwise they would be in danger of collapse.
Secondly, the weather also changed at this time. Although there is still a southeasterly wind, dark clouds are slowly gathering, and it is foreseeable that a heavy rain is coming.
In this case, the effect of the poisonous smoke is bound to be greatly reduced. If the Zhenjiang Army launches a counterattack again, the situation will not be good.
The Prince of the Temple, who was always cautious in using troops, finally issued an order after careful consideration: the entire army temporarily stopped attacking, leaving only the 10th Legion to hold on to the attack position, constantly harassing and obstructing the defenders from repairing the damaged city walls, and the rest of the troops returned to the camp. , rescue the wounded, eat and sleep, and replenish precious physical strength.
The enemy went back to rest, but Xiong Yunjie's Fifth Army did not rest. While he organized troops to resist the opponent's small groups of harassment, he also urged the civilian workers who cooperated with Ma Mu to repair the fortifications.
At this time, the city wall in the northern section of Zijin Pass has become dilapidated. If it is not repaired as soon as possible, it will be almost as if there is no city wall. At the same time, the condition of the city gate was also lackluster, and it was severely damaged, necessitating the replacement of a new gate.
But unfortunately, although the main Turkic forces temporarily retreated, the Tenth Army Corps that stayed behind continued to send small groups of troops to interfere and sneak attack and kill the construction craftsmen, making it difficult to repair the city wall smoothly.
At Xiong Yunjie's suggestion, Xu Youchang agreed with him to send troops out of the customs to drive away a large number of enemy teams and clear obstacles for the restoration project. Considering that the Fifth Army continued to fight and suffered heavy losses, Xu Youchang specially dispatched two battalions of the Eighth Army to Xiong Yunjie's command to accompany them in the operation.
Within a few hundred steps to the east from the Zijin Pass city wall, an intensive confrontation broke out again between the Zhenjiang Army and the Turks. Dozens of fighting groups from both sides dispersed, fighting each other and refusing to give in to each other.
It didn't take long for the small-scale conflicts to escalate.
In order to prevent their own people from suffering losses, the commanders on both sides gradually sent new troops and horses to supplement the front line. Both sides invested more and more combat power, and soon it developed from a confrontation between scout teams to a confrontation at the battalion level.
Later, even the giant crossbows and trebuchets above and below the city joined in. The crossbows and bullets whizzed over people's heads, and the battle became more and more fierce.
Prince Ronya of the Temple was a little surprised when he heard from his subordinates that a large-scale battle broke out again between the Tenth Legion and the Xinjiang Army. After he learned the details, he made an immediate decision: Don't hesitate for the Tenth Legion to give it a go and overwhelm the opponent in terms of momentum!
Almost at the same time as Ronya, Xu Youchang also gave Xiong Yunjie an order: Don't be afraid of making things bigger, and you must not lose in terms of momentum!
The frontline commanders on both sides received encouragement from their superiors, and immediately had nothing to worry about. They immediately ordered everyone to mobilize and go to death!
The Fifth Army sent six additional battalions out of the city, and the Eighth Army supported two more battalions of heavy armored infantry. More than 15,000 city defenders, armed with iron and steel, advanced 300 steps outward along the line of the city wall. Clear the work surface for craftsmen. The Tenth Turkic Army once again mobilized 7,000 cavalry and attacked Zijin Pass in multiple directions, vowing to cooperate with the soldiers and horses in front to drive the Zhenjiang Army back to the city.
At this time, the sky was already covered with dark clouds, and large raindrops fell from the sky, turning into a dense rain curtain in the blink of an eye, filling the entire world.
The soldiers of the Fifth Army and the Eighth Army braved the pouring rain and fought with the Turkic cavalry in the plain wilderness. Blood, rain, and mud were all over his head, face, and body. The men and horses could not stand firmly, and the cavalry and infantry were all staggering. They could only chop and stab with their weapons, trying desperately to suppress the opponent.
Xiong Yunjie lay on the city wall and tried his best to lean out, but he couldn't clearly see the battlefield situation through the continuous rain. He was so anxious that he couldn't help but curse.
He turned around and shouted: "Maimaiti! You stay here to take command and urge the craftsmen to seize the time and repair the broken city walls as soon as possible."
When Maimaiti, the deputy general of the Fifth Army, heard what he said, he couldn't help but ask: "What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to fight!" Xiong Yunjie puffed his beard and said with a glare: "It's already a mess outside, someone must direct it!"
Maimaiti grabbed him and said, "I'm going to go as well. You stay here! Don't forget, the mission of our Fifth Army is to defend Zijin Pass. If it delays the counterattack plan of the Imperial Guard, what else can be done? Want to meet him face to face? Old Xiong, remember what you told us before, you will be the last person in the entire army to die on the city wall!"
After that, Maimaiti called to his soldiers and rushed down the city in a hurry.
The battle in the rain lasted for two full hours. The Turkic cavalry was completely unable to exert its due combat effectiveness in the muddy environment, coupled with the deadly threat of arrows from the city head. Therefore, after paying the price of more than 2,000 casualties, they finally gave up this senseless battle and resented it. Then withdraw the troops and retreat.
Maimaiti, the deputy general of the Fifth Army, was still uneasy and ordered the teams outside the city not to rush back to rest, but to form a formation on the northern section of the city wall to cover the repair work.
Thanks to the unremitting efforts of the military and civilians, the Zijin Pass City Wall recovered rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye. Even in dangerous areas that had completely collapsed before, strong high walls have been built again.
Looking at this scene, Ronya almost had despairing thoughts in her heart: How many people would have to die to be able to conquer this terrible Zijin Pass?
It was like an endless bloodthirsty abyss, constantly swallowing up the elites of the Turkic Empire. If this continues, the last bit of precious power in his hands may be exhausted.
Right now, the only hope may be Prince Chili in the south.
[Dear heroes, it’s the second half of the month, and the critical moment to look at the data is here. Please like more, comment more, and give more rewards. Together with the data, the traffic of Zhenjiang Army will be better. Please help me! Many thanks. 】
