The fighting continued until the early morning of the next day. The city walls and gates were already covered with corpses, and the entire Tiger City was filled with a strong smell of blood.
The Western Navy and the Jinzhou Army attacked again, but were repulsed again and again, with considerable casualties on both sides.
Li Ping'an looked at the corpse on the ground, and the hand holding the knife trembled slightly. Beside him, a military doctor was helping him bandage the wound on his arm.
"What are the casualties?" Li Ping'an looked at the deputy general and asked.
"The casualties are huge. According to preliminary statistics, 18,000 people were killed and more than 9,000 people were seriously injured. Counting minor injuries, there are less than 35,000 people left who can fight." The lieutenant said truthfully.
At this time, the deputy general was covered in blood, and there was a broken arrow stuck in his shoulder, but he never had time to deal with it.
"Damn! I'm so frustrated!"
Li Ping'an spat hard.
The Jinzhou Army and the Western Navy are like crazy. From yesterday evening to now, the attack has not stopped.
Li Ping'an had just occupied Hucheng and had no time to prepare anything, so he suffered such a big loss.
"Quickly, while they are not attacking now, take the people to repair the city gate and transport all the bricks, stones, rolls and logs up the city wall!"
"People have been sent," the deputy general said quickly.
Li Ping'an nodded, sat on a step, and looked at the soldiers around him who were taking the time to eat dry food.
They had been guarding the city gate for several hours. Almost everyone was injured and looked miserable.
"Brothers, are you afraid?" Li Ping'an suddenly asked.
"Don't be afraid!" Everyone responded in unison. There was no fear in their eyes, only determination.
"We are not afraid. Even if we die, the King of Zhenbei can take good care of our families, so there is no need to be afraid of death!" A sixteen or seventeen-year-old soldier patted his chest, looking like he was ready to die.
"That's right! I have a big scar on my head. As long as the pension can be sent to my wife and children, I have nothing to fear!" A veteran with a beard also shouted loudly.
In the past, when they died in the army, their pension was only three taels of silver, and they had to go through layers of exploitation. It was good to get only one tael in the hands of their families.
Some people whose families have no labor force have no choice but to wait for death after spending their pensions.
But things are different now. Since Yang Xun came to power, their families will not only receive a pension of ten taels of silver and ten acres of land after they die in battle, but the government will also help their families build houses and distribute a certain amount of food every year.
In this way, even if the family has no labor force, they can rent out the land. Coupled with the grain distributed by the government every year, their families will not starve to death, and they can even live better.
So what is there to be afraid of?
At this moment, the sixteen or seventeen-year-old soldier said again: "It's a pity. I have never tasted what a woman feels like in my life! I heard from people in the same village that women are soft in my arms. I don’t know if it’s true or not.”
As soon as these words came out, everyone immediately burst into laughter. The bearded veteran slapped him on the head and said angrily: "Damn, when you say that, I miss my mother-in-law! I've been out for seven or eight years. , I have long forgotten what it’s like to be a mother-in-law.”
The crowd burst into laughter again, and many people looked a little lonely. Most of them did not have a wife.
After all, being a soldier is not only money-saving, but also dangerous. If you follow them, you will become a widow if you are not careful. How can any serious person look down on poor soldiers like them?
The young soldier touched his head, then looked at Li Ping'an: "General, you must have tasted what a pussy feels like, right?"
Speaking of this, Li Ping'an immediately became energetic, sat up straight and said, "Boy, your fellow countryman is right. Women are indeed soft in your arms, but women are not just for hugging."
"Ah, if you don't want to hug me, what else can you do?" the young soldier asked doubtfully.
Other soldiers also came over, looking curious.
Li Pingan smiled mysteriously and suddenly said: "You guessed it right!"
The young soldier was stunned and even more confused. How could he guess it right? He didn't guess anything?
Several veterans with families present reacted and suddenly showed meaningful smiles.
"Okay, I won't bullshit you anymore. You'll understand after you get your wife." Li Ping'an said with a smile.
"I...do I still have a chance?" the young soldier asked.
"Of course. Once we defend the city, I will report to the prince and give each of you a beautiful Ni Country girl to be your mother-in-law!"
"Really?" Everyone was suddenly excited and their breathing became rapid.
They are all poor people who cannot afford a wife. It would be nice to have a wife, and they don't care at all which country they are from.
Li Pingan lay flat on the steps and said with a smile: "Of course it's true. I, Li Pingan, do what I say!"
"General, don't worry, I will definitely defend the city! Can you give me a big butt when the time comes?" the young soldier said quickly.
"You think it's a vegetable market, and why are you choosing?"
The veteran pulled the young soldier aside, then looked at Li Ping'an with a smile: "General, I also want a Ni country wife."
"Old Yu, don't you have a wife, you idiot? Can you support me if I give you another one?" Someone next to him joked.
"Why, I'm happy, but I don't want to eat at your house!" the veteran said angrily.
"Hahaha!" Everyone laughed again.
"Don't worry, we have everything!" Li Ping'an just sat upright when he heard the sound of horns coming from the city wall!
"The enemy is attacking!"
Li Ping'an's eyes narrowed, he picked up the sword next to him, and shouted: "Brothers, if you want a mother-in-law, just hold these bitches back and form an array!"
…
At this time, news of the emergency in Hucheng also spread back to the Ministry of War.
Since the war started, Yu Qian had been eating and sleeping at the Ministry of War, so he summoned all the officials from the Ministry of War as soon as he got the news.
Everyone gathered around the map with serious expressions on their faces.
"The enemy has mobilized more than 200,000 troops to attack Hucheng. It is obvious that they want to use Hucheng as a breakthrough point to attack Chunzhou and even Qianjing City!" the right minister of the Ministry of War said.
"There are not enough defenders in Chunzhou, and there are only 60,000 Yulin guards in Qianjing City. Should Zhao Yun and the others abandon White Jade City and return to defense first?" Zuo Shilang looked at Yu Qian tentatively.
Yu Qian was sitting on the main seat and suddenly opened his eyes and said, "You can't go back to defense. Once you go back to defense, you will fall into the enemy's trap!"
With that said, Yu Qian came to the map, pointed at Baiyu City and said, "Baiyu City is three thousand miles away from Qianjing City. It's too late to return to defense now!"
"And once we return to defense and the enemies in Bai Jade City escape, we will be in even more trouble!"
"What should we do? What if the enemy army breaks through Tucheng... You must know that Li Ping'an's tens of thousands of troops were put together temporarily. They don't have many weapons and Tucheng is not strong. I'm afraid it will be difficult to hold on!" Zuo! The waiter frowned.
Yu Qian stared at the location of Tiger City on the map with bright eyes: "But what if... Li Ping'an defends it?"
