It's February, the cold inside and outside Guanqiang is gradually gone, and the weather has become warmer.
But after several days of continuous killings, the bloody wind enveloped the battlefield, the flags blocked the sun, and the chill returned again.
As the war drums beat, the boundless military formations of the Dingxi Army kept changing, and finally a square formation at the core of the Chinese Army was neatly formed.
There are not many people in this phalanx, only more than 2,000 people. They are surrounded by many troops, and everyone has the arrogance of an elite army on their faces.
However, whether it is in the Dingxi Army or in Zhou Yuan's view, this army does have the capital to be arrogant.
The battle flag fluttered in the wind, with the huge "Lu" character embroidered in gold thread on it, and the surrounding flags were full of tiger shapes.
This is one of the trump cards that Lu Ding relied on to win the three counties of Dingxi, the Tiger Guards in the Tiger and Leopard Army.
With their armor in hand and soldiers in hand, murderous aura fills the fields, and strong military evil rises into the sky.
Although the sieges were frequent and brutal, there were not many soldiers who could be in the fighting position each time.
This also led to the fact that although the military spirit was considered strong, it was somewhat scattered and no awe-inspiring phenomena were produced.
But now as soon as the Tiger Guards came out, the military spirit of the Dingxi Army seemed to have found its core, quickly condensed and took shape, and finally turned into the evil Tiger Army, overwhelming the guards in Guancheng.
Thanks to Xuanyi Guard's intelligence, Zhou Yuan had a certain understanding of the Tiger and Leopard Army. His most famous battle was when he defeated Daxu's 10,000 county soldiers by one thousand and achieved a complete victory.
Combined with its daily combat performance, it is victorious in every battle, and it is commonplace to win with less and more. Such a strong army is considered the best among the best in the world.
According to gossip, when Zhou Bai was awarded the title of General of the Demon-Subduing Army, he formed the Demon-Subduing Army and made a great success. Later, the Tiger and Leopard Army's target was the Demon-Subduing Army.
Zhou Baili secured the Northern Governor's Mansion and deployed troops throughout the county, and Lu Ding also followed closely behind.
Even though he didn't have the innate skills passed down by Wu Banxian, he had acquired many mortal skills by virtue of his family background.
Finally, after testing and screening, it was decided to be inclusive and learn internal and external skills simultaneously in order to have a solid foundation and catch up with the miraculous effects of innate skills.
Coupled with the support of elixirs and spiritual food provided by the Houtu Sect, the largest sect in Dingzhou, the Dingxi Army has actually trained several martial armies.
Especially the Tiger and Leopard Army, even though it is not as good as the Demon-Suppressing Army as a whole, it still has the ability to crush ordinary strong armies.
The overwhelming burning feeling of Qi and blood, as well as the evil tiger army in the sky, Zhou Yuan, as an innate realm, keenly judged the basic strength of this Tiger Guard.
In this Tiger Guard army of more than 2,000 people, everyone has been physically trained, and most of them have achieved great success in physical training. All the junior officers who bear the flag have true energy in their bodies.
Staring at him, there were five dazzling rays of light staring at him, were they five innate realms?
This kind of strength is enough to compete with the Anbei Forbidden Army in a local area, and may even overwhelm them.
But the number of tiger and leopard soldiers supported by you, Lu Ding, is only two guards and more than 5,000 people at most. Adding the rest of the elite soldiers of the Chinese army, the total will not exceed 10,000 people.
On the other hand, I have 20,000 soldiers from You Yi Army and Ta Bai Army, but they haven't been touched much in the past few days, just waiting for you to lose your patience.
After Huo Feiguang took the order to go down to the city to make preparations, Zhou Yuan immediately gave another order: "Order the Tabai Army to take over the defense of the city in an orderly manner. The garrison will retreat to the second line, and the You Yi Army will be prepared to cooperate with the cavalry to attack at any time."
The war has been so intense since the beginning of the war that it almost turned every gate into a millstone of flesh and blood, just because Zhou Yuan did not fully mobilize the imperial army.
Most of the defensive operations were targeted by the garrison. Even so, the Dingxi Army suffered a bloody blow here, and the camp flags of more than a dozen battalion heads no longer appeared.
"The casualties in the past few days have made your Majesty feel that the pressure on our Western Front is a bit high..." Zhou Yuan licked his dry lips and murmured while looking at the menacing Tiger Guards.
As the Minister of War, he led the army to block the Dingxi Kingdom alone. He was ordered to act expediently, and he wanted more than just holding on.
Painfully hurt Lu Ding, reduce his prestige, and give up his idea of interfering with the Eastern Front battlefield.
A great victory on the Western Front, Zhou Yuan is determined!
Woo~
Under the sound of desolate horns, siege equipment such as ladders, tower carts, catapults, battering rams, etc. were all pushed up.
When the roaring stone bullets began to be thrown, two battalions of ordinary Dingxi soldiers held up their shields and began to advance towards the gate of Menjuguan City.
They did it for no other reason than to attract firepower from the city and minimize the casualties of the Tiger Guards.
When the overwhelming rain of arrows caused huge damage to these ordinary soldiers, the Tiger Guards did not move and just watched silently.
Half an hour later, when the road of just a few hundred meters was covered with the corpses of ordinary soldiers, they still did not move.
It wasn't until the Dingxi Army paid a huge price to put aerial ladders up at Menguguan and push four or five tall tower trucks to the edge of the city so that they could suppress the archers at the top of the city that the Tiger Guards finally moved.
These cold and strong warriors, according to the skirmish formation, stirred up the blood in their bodies and rushed towards the gate of Guancheng at full speed.
Thanks to the sacrifices of countless ordinary soldiers in the front and the extremely fast speed of the Tiger Guards themselves, this few hundred meters of road of death did not kill many soldiers.
They either climbed up using ladders, or had strong men throwing hooks and ropes, and even some innate military generals led people to climb the city directly with bare hands.
After several days of continuous bombardment with crossbow arrows and stone throws, the originally smooth wall became pitted and pitted. It was not a problem for warriors who were good at light skills to climb with bare hands.
This method of warfare first appeared in Dingzhou in the first battle of the Anbei Army's attack on Ruinan. At that time, Jiao Tu led a night attack on Shuiyang City with 500 soldiers. He used hooks and ropes and climbed with bare hands.
This kind of siege method cannot be carried out by non-martial arts soldiers, but it is now being replicated by the Tiger Guards.
In the main camp of the Dingxi Army, a high platform several feet tall stood quietly. On it stood Dingxi Bolu Ding and his accompanying senior officials. The surrounding area was surrounded by heavily guarded imperial guards.
The soldiers of the Tiger Guards in the distance were climbing the city at an extremely fast speed. The endless rolling logs, pounding stones, rain of arrows, and gold juice could not stop them. Not only was the first batch of warriors to climb the wall already, they had already set foot on the wall.
At the moment when the Tiger Guards' flag was raised at the top of the city, nearly 100,000 soldiers cheered and shouted mightily!
"Look, the Miao Army envoy has led his troops to ascend first, and the victory is guaranteed!"
"Congratulations, Your Majesty, it took seven days to finally enter the customs!" A general with excellent eyesight could not restrain his reckless temper and was already congratulating Lu Ding in advance.
The reason why the achievement of being first to climb is called one of the greatest military exploits is because in historical city offensive and defensive battles, if a city can be climbed first, it often means that the defenders are at the end of their rope.
There are few soldiers on the defensive side who can show their courage and reverse the situation.
Moreover, most of the generals on the high platform have practiced martial arts and have a high level of martial arts. They naturally know how much destructive power an innate leader can cause with more than ten acquired warriors.
"In the past few days, we have found out their basic information. It seems that the Anbei monarch does not have any extra soldiers to send to the south to conquer the country." The prudent civilian adviser also said the same.
Lu Ding naturally understood this truth. He was happy in his heart and his face remained calm. He pretended to be calm and threw the telescope in his hand to the civil servant aside.
"The Qianlijing produced in Anbei is a good thing. I will clean up the battlefield later. Remember to collect it. All the counselors in the army will have one."
Seeing Lu Ding being so calm and caring about the temple, the civil and military officials became more and more in awe.
"Catapults should be fired into the city, and don't aim at the top of the city..." The deputy commander in charge of military affairs did not forget to add details at this time.
However, before the flag order of the soldiers on the high platform was finished, there were rapid and violent whistling sounds from the direction of Guancheng.
Is Anbei Army's catapult exerting force?
Bang, bang...
As the stone bombs fell to the ground, the catapult phalanx on the front line of the Dingxi Army suffered a devastating blow, and the opposite catapults that were originally level with the city head were also smashed to the point of collapse.
No, what kind of stone bullet is this? It's so powerful.
"Your Majesty, this is the top secret of Anbei Kingdom. It is a counterweight trebuchet. It has not been used before. I thought I would take them all to Longfeng."
"Don't worry, the Tiger Guards are fully occupying the city wall now. This counterattack is too late." Dingxi really paid attention to the rise of Anbei, and soon a general reported the relevant information.
It's just that his subordinates know themselves and their enemies, which makes Lu Ding more and more uneasy, and a bad premonition emerges in his mind.
Unexpectedly, the Dingxi Army's military strength and luck suddenly plummeted, and it showed an irreversible trend.
"Your Majesty, the battle situation has changed, please prepare quickly!" At this time, a Taoist official with a seal emerged from a secret tent somewhere in the Chinese army and warned quickly.
It's a pity that it was too late. The two armies were fighting in a flesh-and-blood fight. The military auras of the two sides were facing each other head-on. It was difficult for the monks in a suppressed state to detect any changes in the aura in time.
The evil tiger army that was originally superior to Menjuguan suddenly stopped pressing the defenders. After a wailing sound, it stepped back dozens of steps, as if it was attacked by something.
Lu Ding's face turned pale, and he was no longer as calm as before. He saw the Condensed Army Sha appearing inside the wall: "Pixiu?"
"The Anbei Kingdom has a forbidden army here, and judging from its solidity, it is obviously not a small force of one or two thousand."
"Quickly, Ming Jin withdraws his troops and urgently orders the whole army..."
Urgent military orders were still being issued, and the gate that was being hit by the battering ram suddenly opened. In the face of such an offensive, the Anbei Army never blocked it.
A young general in red armor suddenly rushed out astride a dragon horse. A row of soldiers pushing a siege ram was thrown away by a single rider, and the sound of horse hooves that shook the earth followed. This kind of situation requires a group of heavy armored cavalry to charge. .
You didn’t even bring five hundred dragon riders with you? Could it be that Zhou Bai is here?
At this time, the Tiger Guard flag at the top of the city had quietly disappeared. Those Tiger Guard soldiers who bravely climbed up were facing a siege by soldiers that exceeded their number several times.
A brave man died. Even the Innate Realm Tiger Guards envoy, General Miao, was covered in blood with fatal wounds all over his body.
He looked horrified and fought back desperately. The capable personal guards around him fell one by one. The same was true for several other innates not far away. They were powerless to deal with the situation.
Simply because there were more than double-digit innates surrounding them. This was an enemy they had never imagined.
"We have been trained by the Houtu Immortal Sect and have never been short of spiritual rice, demon meat, and medicinal baths. In addition to the recent good fortune, we have reached such a state."
"You Anbei...how early did you start martial arts..."
"Tiger Guards obey orders and withdraw!"
The meridians were cut off, and the innate Qi poured out of the whole body. The Miao army officer made a desperate move.
"General!"
"Walk!"
He did not retreat by himself, but rushed to rescue other subordinates who were besieged. He was already crazy and fighting for his life. Even the geniuses of the Anbei Forbidden Army could only avoid the edge for the time being.
Seeing the two Xiantian captains and some of the Tiger Guard soldiers holding on to the ladder and evacuating, the Tiger Guard general finally raised his head and fell off the city wall.
But at the last moment of his life, he saw an even more desperate scene. The retreating soldiers had been surrounded by countless Anbei Forbidden Army who rushed out.
In addition to the heavily armored dragon cavalry, there are also ten thousand or twenty thousand imperial soldiers?
The Tiger and Leopard Army, the Tiger Army is finally gone...
In the continuous formation of the Dingxi Army, the horn sound sounded again. This time, in addition to being desolate and majestic, it was also a bit more urgent.
A soldier-level messenger passed through the military formations of all parties, conveying urgent military orders.
Several innate generals in the Chinese army, who seemed to be unable to catch up, used their innate energy to shout and shook the sky.
It's just that the military order shouted is not impressive.
"Defensive formation, welcome the impact!"
"Shanziying and Fengziying, the soldiers of the two armies go forward to prevent the Anbei Forbidden Army from invading!"
They had just returned from the foreign recruitment, and with good luck, even if they suffered sudden setbacks, their morale would not plummet to the bottom.
Most of the Dingxi soldiers still had confidence in victory, believing that as long as they obeyed the command, they would definitely win.
The parallel or even offensive formation quickly transformed into a defensive formation. The number of soldiers surrounding the high platform was reduced by half in an instant, and they drove directly towards the front army.
"It's too late. If the soldiers were placed in the front army earlier, even if there were 20,000 Anbei Forbidden Army, they would not be able to break through the front army's defense line. Our troops will always be superior." The deputy commander looked flustered and mobilized the Chinese rear army. Forming a dense defense line, he expressed his judgment to Lu Ding.
Lu Ding was born in a Dingzhou family and was a Qianlong of Tianding. He was regarded as the pinnacle of Dingzhou's talents in all aspects. How could he not see that a disastrous defeat was imminent at this time.
In front of Menjuguan, the place is so big that one hundred thousand Dingxi troops cannot all go up.
Huo Feiguang led five hundred heavily armored dragon riders, like bulldozing beasts, breaking through layers of defenses until their momentum was almost exhausted.
Before the Dingxi cavalry surrounded them and tried to suppress them, they rushed out from the flank without even thinking about killing a few more people.
Now that the defense line has been penetrated, You Yi and Ta Bai's armies will follow.
Lu Ding's heart bleeds as he sees rows of former soldiers being mowed down like grass by the Anbei Forbidden Army.
The people who followed him in the Northern Expedition this time were all elites, not soldiers, but also reserve soldiers, and they were all to be trained in the future.
General Lu Ding summoned the military Taoist officer and asked in a low voice: "The Houtu Sect has not made a breakthrough so far? If the Anbei army's strength could have been known earlier, how could there have been such a disastrous defeat today?!"
The Taoist official did not answer first, but looked up to the west. Over there was the area where the Houtu Sect monks and the Taoist priests of the Anbei Army fought.
A moment later, a flying sword crossed the battlefield. It was very fast at first, but became shaky after being suppressed by the military spirit. Fortunately, there was a military Taoist officer to catch it.
"Back to you, the Houtu Sect responded. The enemy Taoist priest group is powerful and there are three real people blocking the fate."
"In the past few days of fighting, the Houtu Sect has killed thirteen people in the first realm and five in the second realm."
The monks couldn't count on the battlefield, so Lu Ding sighed: "That's it, let's all go to stabilize the overall situation. If the enemy dares to charge too deep, they will be killed at all costs."
It's just that this battle will eventually be a disastrous defeat, and it will be difficult to make progress on the Western Front.
(End of chapter)
