Chapter 327: Picking Wei

"Dad, the enemy has over 100,000 troops. We don't have 100,000, we only have 10,000! Chang'an is practically an empty city now. Everyone else has fled. We can't hold it!"

"Dad, staying here is tantamount to seeking death."

"Troops from Huainan, Jiannan, Qianzhong, and the eastern and western Jiangnan regions are all gathering and heading north. Dad, why don't we wait for reinforcements to arrive and then fight back together?"

On the walls of Chang'an, Yuan Chi's two sons took turns persuading their father to lead his troops away.

Why fight a losing battle?

Yuan Chi's face turned ashen, like a piece of stone, and he just said:

"No. I am the general of the Left Guard. How can I desert the battlefield and abandon the people of the city?"

Yuan Chi is still the same stubborn and straightforward person.

It is difficult to change what he has decided.

When he learned about Murong Yu's actions, he was filled with righteous indignation and refused to help the evildoer. He was willing to help Hao Ren overthrow Murong Yu.

He can deny the tyrant ruler, but he cannot deny the people.

Right now, they are facing foreign barbarians, and behind them are the people of Dayu. How could he lead his troops to escape?

If he led his army to escape, how would he face his conscience in the future?

Others are right, he is stupid, he is stubborn, he has never been a smart person.

But fools also have their own beliefs.

He had been in the army for several years and understood that victory and defeat were common in war.

It is not shameful to lose a war, but it is shameful to lose without fighting.

Yuan Chi would rather be defeated or die in battle than flee without fighting.

"I have made up my mind, you don't need to persuade me anymore!"

"You can leave if you want, but I won't leave!"

Yuan Chi stood on the city wall, the cloak over his armor fluttering.

He said to the remaining soldiers under his command:

"Everyone has parents, wives, and children. If you stay today, I'm afraid you'll only see me in the afterlife. Those of you who want to leave now may do so."

After he finished speaking, some people put down their weapons and left the city gate.

Not everyone wants to die, they want to live.

Yuan Chi really didn't stop them and let them leave.

But half of the soldiers refused to leave and were determined to fight to the death.

The hometowns of the soldiers who stayed behind were almost all in the interior of the country, and their family members had died at the hands of the Hu people's cavalry.

They left this place and from then on were just a solitary leaf in the world.

So what if I die in battle?

My country was destroyed, my family was ruined, and my hometown was reduced to scorched earth. My life and death were uncertain in the outside world, so I might as well kill a few more barbarians before I die to avenge myself.

If they die, they will take the Hu people with them.

The remaining soldiers rearranged their formation.

Yuan Chi stared into the distance.

The scouts had already explored and came back to report that Tiele Khan's army was thirty miles away.

He knew that Tiele Khan's army would arrive tonight.

Maybe they will attack tomorrow, maybe the day after tomorrow, or maybe tonight.

The sky gradually darkened.

Night swallowed up the wilderness.

Yuan Chi stayed on the city wall all night.

The sea was calm all night until dawn.

Woo-woo-woo

The heavy sound of horns beat against the dawn, and a black "ant swarm" surged on the horizon.

The soldiers defending the city heard the sound of the horn and felt the ground shaking.

They saw the "ant colony" getting closer and closer, and shouted:

"The Hu people are coming! The Hu people are coming——"

Yuan Chi immediately ordered:

"Crossbowmen, prepare!"

The war horses neighed like thunder, and Tiele Khan's troops rushed forward, shouting and killing, shaking the earth.

On the city wall, Dayu soldiers armed with bows, crossbows, and winch crossbows fired a continuous stream of sharp arrows, densely packed with arrow feathers flying towards the enemy.

Many Hu soldiers were shot and fell, but the troops behind them rushed closer and closer to the city gate in the gaps between the arrows.

Under the cover of shield bearers, the enemy brought ladders and iron-clad battering rams to the gate. The gate caught fire, and the flames burned the red lacquer gate black.

The battering ram rammed the city gate, causing it to groan in its death throes.

On the city wall, enemy heavily armored infantry climbed the ladders.

Dayu's soldiers poured oil and fire down, burning the enemy soldiers who were trying to climb up with flames all over their bodies, causing them to fall from a great height.

But, some people still climb up.

There were too many enemy soldiers. After repelling one group, another group came up the next moment.

The Hu people used ladders to climb up the city wall and fought with Dayu soldiers.

Helian Shuchi watched from the city gate and sneered:

"So there are still people in Dayu who refuse to surrender and are not afraid of death. There are also people in Dayu who have backbone."

He Tingfang listened beside him with a calm expression.

Beside He Tingfang were two generals who had surrendered before, Jiang Gan and Jia Kun.

They led the troops from Hedong Road and Shannan East Road respectively to surrender to Tiele Khan.

Jiang Gan and Jia Kun looked unhappy.

Yuan Chi, who was furious with killing on the city wall, saw the figures below the wall and cursed loudly:

"He Tingfang, you bastard! You still have the nerve to go back to Dayu?! Everyone in Dayu has the right to kill such a despicable villain!"

"Jiang Gan, Jia Kun, you are generals, yet you actually betrayed your country for personal gain! Do you have the face to face your ancestors in the afterlife?!"

Yuan Chi shouted until his voice was hoarse and waved the spear in his hand vigorously.

Scorched and smelly flesh, the thunderous sound of war drums, and endless enemy troops.

Yuan Chi killed for an unknown period of time, and gradually his movements slowed down.

He felt a little regretful at this moment.

He regretted that in order not to marry his junior sister, he only learned 70% of the Wu family's Seven Wonders Spear from his master.

If he had learned all of it, perhaps he could have killed a few more barbarians and beheaded a few more traitors today.

Under the city wall, He Tingfang ordered his men to shout:

"General Yuan, why would you risk your life defending a city without a king? You'd be better off surrendering quickly, saving your life and enjoying wealth and luxury for the rest of your life."

"General Yuan has served Dayu diligently for many years, yet he's constantly being guarded against and his military power has been taken away. What's the point of fighting on the battlefield all his life?"

He Tingfang was right.

Yuan Chi once commanded tens of thousands of troops in Hebei Province, but was later transferred to the capital. He was promoted in name only and demoted in reality, and the number of troops under his command was pitifully small.

Jiang Gan and Jia Kun also said:

"We have spent half our lives in the military, risking our lives on the front lines, yet Murong wants to take away our military power with just one word."

"We fought for the Murong family, but we didn't even earn a title. Why should we risk our lives for him?"

"Now that Murong Yu is dead, Chang'an has no ruler. What's the point of you defending it?"

Swish——!

Yuan Chi thrust out his spear and stabbed down another Hu man.

"I'm going to defend! I'm going to kill you, you bastards!"

"Even if I die, I'll guard it till I die happily, hahahaha..."

Yuan Chi stopped laughing halfway through.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his eldest son being surrounded by the Hu people, and there was a surprise attack from the rear by the Hu people.

"An'er!" Yuan Chi rushed over and deflected the Hu man's sword.

He was busy protecting others when he was suddenly hit by an arrow in the arm.

The arrow had penetrated deep into the flesh and pierced the bone.

Yuan Chi turned his head and met the eyes of Helian Shuchi who was holding a bow and arrow.

It is rare to see an arrow shot with such accuracy and power from such a distance.

Helian Shuchi had already drawn his bow and arrow again, ready to shoot towards this side.

Yuan Chi and his son hacked and killed while dodging arrows.

boom!

Below, the battered city gate was finally knocked open by the battering ram, and the few soldiers defending the city fell in blood and fire.

"kill--"

The Hu people poured into the city gate.

There were many corpses of Dayu soldiers on the ground, and even more corpses of Hu people.

The difference is that when Dayu’s soldiers died, there was no one left, but there were still tens of millions of Hu people.

Yuan Chi and others on the city wall were surrounded by more and more Hu soldiers.

When they were about to reach their limit, a loud shout rang out:

"Who dares to kill my father and brother!"

When everyone looked up, they saw dozens of people falling from the sky.

Among them were two people with great martial arts skills, and they were holding two little girls in their hands.

Two little girls, one holding a long whip and the other holding a big knife.

The little girl holding the big knife had her eyes wide open and when she landed, she chopped down from above with the knife raised.

With one blow, he chopped off a Hu man's head, and blood splattered everywhere!

When Yuan Chi and his two sons saw the girl, their faces immediately turned pale:

"Caiwei! It's dangerous here, what are you doing here?"

"Go! Go!"

Yuan Caiwei swung her sword and blocked the way to the Hu people, shouting with great vigor:

"If you want to kill my father and brother, you must first step over my sword!"

"Don't underestimate me, Yuan Caiwei!"

The flags, blackened by fire, were still flying.

The girl's hair on her forehead fluttered in the wind like wild vegetables.

Picking vetch, picking vetch.

The vines have just stopped growing.