From the beginning of the chen dynasty, the Han army camp moved, flying rocks, fire bombs, strong bows and crossbows, and then the soldiers rushed to the city. It lasted nearly four hours. It was not until the sound of gold from behind that the Han army retreated, leaving behind the entire The devastated scene of Shouchun South Urn.
"Your Majesty, the Han army has retreated!" At the top of the city, General Ya said with excitement on his face, supporting He Jingzhu.
As long as the Han army attacked, He Jingzhu had been guarding the city for as long as he was in his sixties. This was a big burden for him, who was over sixty years old, and it took a lot of energy. At this time, seeing that the Han army's offensive had been repelled, it was no longer possible to hold on, and a feeling of dizziness came over him.
After waiting for a long time, he opened his eyes again, and what he saw was a tragic scene. Above the city gate, corpses were piled on the ground, with broken limbs and arms. It was shocking, the blood was filled with blood, and it was pungent and frightening. Although the fires in various parts of the city tower and inside the city walls have been contained, the remaining flames are still devouring the houses.
The beams were burning and crackling, and there was a strong burning smell in the air, mixed with a strange cold smell. Under the impact of the Han army's pyrotechnics bombs, the number may not be accurate, but there were probably nearly four hundred. The soldiers were burned alive, and countless others were burned and scalded.
After the attack and defense, the screams of the soldiers who were stained with kerosene still lingered in the ears, each sound was clearer than the last... A little sadness could not help but appear on He Jingzhu's ugly face. , unexpectedly burst into tears. He had experienced a lot of wars, and this was the first time for him to be so cruel. The most important thing is that it is clearly felt that the Han army has not tried its best.
The soldiers of the Tang army who were still at the top of the city did not have much rejoicing and joy after the disaster. Instead, they were desperate. The sharp fighting methods of the Han army, the terrifying weapons, and the ferocity of the soldiers all made the defenders at a loss what to do. That is to say, He Jingzhu led by example, followed the military law, and added a bit of courage to fight for the last time. In addition, the Han army had not fought for a long time, and it was only then that it withstood its edge.
The sound of sobbing came from nowhere and gradually spread...
Seeing this, He Jingzhu came back to his senses, and with the help of General Ya, he forced himself to stand on a high place. Although his voice was a little hoarse, it was still quite powerful: "Why are you crying! As a soldier of the Tang Dynasty, if you fight for the country against the enemy, you will die. You're dead, why do you act like a woman, just to make people laugh!"
After hearing what He Jingzhu said, an officer immediately came to He Jingzhu with a cry and said excitedly: "Commander Jie, the Han army has been besieging the city for two months. We are suffering from lack of food and clothing and are starving. Where are the reinforcements from the court? Shouchun, the general of the Han army I am surrounded like an iron barrel, water is blocked, and news is cut off. I am just holding on here. Does the court know?"
It can be said that the spirit of the Tang army was completely shattered by the battle against the city. He Jingzhu also clearly felt the morale of the army was shattered. Faced with the officer's questioning, He Jingzhu did not criticize harshly, but looked around and said emotionally: "The Han army is violent, ruthless and unjust, and invades our territory. As soldiers, we should not be afraid of hardships and defend our country. Front. After three winters, everything has been slow, and now spring has begun, so the Han army launched an attack. He predicted that the imperial court has prepared a new reinforcement army. Your Majesty and the imperial court will never give up any inch of land in the north of the Yangtze River!"
"Although the Han army is ferocious, He has learned all about its tactics. We have a strong city to rely on, and the grain in the city can still support the soldiers and civilians for half a year. As long as we can survive the attack of their thunderbolt cannons and fight with swords, we, Jianghuai, will really be helpless. A bloody man?"
"Although He is old and aged after a long winter, he still wants to use all his courage to fight with the Han army!" As he said that, he pulled out the long sword from his waist, made a cut on the palm of his hand in front of everyone, and made a blood oath: " We live and die together and share adversity!”
He Jingzhu's statement has a certain effect in boosting morale. No matter what, this veteran with a short body and a hateful face still has a certain personality charm.
Seeing that the defenders had been appeased, He Jingzhu began to make arrangements: "Calculate casualties as soon as possible, treat the wounded, clear corpses and obstacles, replenish soldiers and equipment, strengthen city defenses, and strictly defend the enemy!"
Under the command of He Jingzhu, Shouchun Nancheng began to tidy up, just like He Jingzhu tidied up the scattered military morale, reluctantly.
After getting on the right track, the city defense was handed over to Xu Xiang, the commander of Zuo Shenwei, and after explaining it to him, he planned to go to the city to rest. After this day of tossing, he was exhausted, and the cut on his hand needed to be bandaged again.
"He Gong, the Han army's offensive will only become more and more fierce. Can we hold it?" Xu Xiang asked in a low voice before sending He Jingzhu off to the city.
Xu Xiang was in his prime, a relatively common general in the Tang army. He was of average talent and had no reputation. He had been in the army for twenty years and was gradually promoted to the command of the Southern Tang Forbidden Army. When the Han army first came, Xu Xiang still had some ambition and wanted to compete with the Han army. Although he fought several times and failed to get any benefits, he still didn't feel afraid.
But since Emperor Liu Chengyou of the Han Dynasty led his army to the south, the feeling has been completely different, not only the number of soldiers and horses has increased. Compared with the sharpness of Wang Jun's troops, which was difficult to control, Liu Chengyou's troops brought a kind of complete suppression, like a rope strangling the throat, pressing forward step by step, forcing people to breathe.
Now, after two months of being trapped in the city, Xu Xiang has become much more honest. He believed that, as Jingzhu said, the imperial court would not abandon Huainan, but even if reinforcements came, could they be a match for the Han army? The outcome of Liu Yanzhen's army was alarming enough, especially for soldiers like them who were fighting on the front line with the Han army. flying
He tilted his head, glanced at Xu Xiang, and seemed to see through the fear and hesitation in his heart. He Jingzhu said calmly: "Eat the country's salary, shoulder the responsibility of guarding the land, and be loyal to the king! As a soldier, even if you are wrapped in horse leather, you will not be responsible. In this life, the most you can do is die!"
"Defend the city well!" He Jingzhu patted Xu Xiang's shoulder, and his voice was already very hoarse: "We are young and we are all in Jinling..."
"General, judging by He Gong's behavior, he wants to live and die with Shouchun!" A military academy member heard the conversation between the two and couldn't help but said.
Xu Xiang nodded.
"Then what should we do? Are we really going to die together?" The military academy looked outside the city and asked: "The Han army rushed to the city and was defeated at the top of the city. The casualties were not small, but when they retreated, they were still calm and orderly and well prepared. , such a strong army can only be found in the Central Plains!"
"Are you afraid after hearing what you said?" Xu Xiang stared coldly at the military academy under his command.
The military academy was silent. Seeing this, Xu Xiang sighed quietly: "To be honest, we, the Divine Guards, are the Jinling Forbidden Army. Our families are all in the south of the Yangtze River. Unlike those Huainan soldiers, we have to have some scruples... ...Have a good time defending the city, even if you die here, you must earn a fortune for future generations!"
"yes!"
Although Xu Xiang said this, he looked at the Han troops outside the city who were on guard and returning to camp. There was a thick layer of gloom between his brows, and his tone seemed a little insincere. In his panic, he suddenly heard a few chaotic "boom" sounds, accompanied by the screams of the soldiers, but it turned out that the burned towers on the top of the city completely collapsed, hitting many soldiers...
Outside the city, the Han army returned to camp. Sun Li found Gao Huaide and said with red eyes: "We have already attacked the city. If you give me another half an hour, we will break the city! Why are you calling for gold? Isn't it a delay to the military plan?"
Sun Li was commanding from the front line, so he had to take part in the killing in person with his sword in hand. He was also covered with arrow wounds. His face was red and his neck was thick. It was obvious that he had gone to the head and was obsessed with the killing.
Gao Huaide didn't say anything else and said directly: "It is getting late and the Tang army's momentum has not dissipated. Your Majesty sends an order to retreat and stop fighting!"
"Your Majesty, you know that the soldiers have boarded the city. As long as we add more troops to continue the attack, the Tang army will be no match!" Sun Li's voice was filled with anger.
"Everyone is in command. Your Majesty has been watching the battle from behind. How could he not know the situation of the siege? Your Majesty's military order was originally a test. Now that we know that the Tang army is weak and weak, we should withdraw immediately!" Gao Huaide said solemnly.
Hearing this, Sun Li came back to his senses. He just muttered a few words, and the troops on both sides withdrew. Looking back at the Shouchun city surrounded by blood and fire, Sun Li spat: "It's a pity that I have so many dead and injured brothers. If we launch another attack, we will definitely destroy the city in one fell swoop!"
As the Han army retreated, the chaos in Shouchun South City gradually disappeared. From the city walls down to the entire wilderness south of the city, traces of war were everywhere. A little later, in the northwest of Shouchun City, the Han army also made feints in the north city. After a day, the soldiers were all exhausted.
Suddenly there was a sound breaking through the air, with the sound of a thunderbolt, and a crossbow arrow stained with oil and fire was thrown out of the city and shot far away. Quickly attracting the attention of the defenders, he headed towards the launch site and shouted: "Who is this!"
In the dark night, black shadows flashed by. Upon seeing this, Tang soldiers immediately held up torches and rounded up. The chaos quickly dissipated. After a scream, Shouchun North City returned to calm again.
In the Han camp, Gao Huaide returned the troops to the camp, reorganized the ministries, and appeased the soldiers. After inspecting the wounded soldiers, he took the siege summary from his generals and went to the imperial camp with Sun Li, preparing to report to the emperor.
In the imperial tent of the camp, Liu Chengyou also summoned the military commanders again to prepare for another imperial meeting regarding today's attack and defense.
Sun Li stepped into the imperial tent with wind in his step. Although he bowed politely, it was obvious that he was sulking. Liu Chengyou could tolerate this. No matter what, he saw Sun Li's performance in his eyes, and it was enough to show his loyalty and bravery because he already held a high position and still dared to command the front line of the city with military might.
