Chapter 166

Old Zhang looked at the Xiongnu soldiers resting in the distance. He spat out the straw in his mouth and said to the soldiers behind him, "Charge forward as hard as you can, and then throw the thunder bomb in your hand with all your strength. I don't believe I can't tear a hole in it."

"Yes, sir."

He stroked the musket in his hand and looked into the distance. The Huns would retreat now, and would surely charge again after resting. Captain Zhao and his men were short of food and clothing, and they might not be able to hold out for long.

Old Zhang waved his hand, and the soldiers behind him mounted their horses one after another. The soldiers were wearing heavy armor and holding muskets. Most of the soldiers in this team were musketeers specially trained in the Pingxiang military camp. They all had excellent accuracy, so they were sent here by Xie Chen.

"Follow me." Lao Zhang was the first to charge out on horseback. A thousand horsemen kicked up a cloud of dust. The Huns soon heard the noise and they reacted quickly. Someone immediately went to inform Mu Xie, and the rest mounted their horses to meet the enemy.

"Great Chanyu, a cavalry suddenly appeared and charged towards us. They look like soldiers from the Yan Dynasty." A Xiongnu soldier rode over and said to Mu Xie.

"What? Where did the cavalry come from?" Mu Xie Chanyu was puzzled, how did this team get here quietly? If the army was to move, not only the cavalry, but also food and supplies must follow. How did such a big movement escape his spies?

Here, Lao Zhang has led his troops to approach the Xiongnu cavalry step by step, "Stop, throw them all away."

Countless improved versions of thunder bombs were thrown at the Xiongnu army, and many arrows with gunpowder were shot out at the same time. The arrows with sparks looked like countless fireballs falling to the ground from a distance. The Xiongnu cavalry naturally knew what these were. A leader shouted loudly: "Retreat, this is gunpowder."

In an instant, a thunder-like vibration resounded throughout the earth, the ground shook and the mountains trembled, dust filled the sky, and obscured the eyes of the Hun soldiers. When they opened their eyes, they saw corpses all around them, blood and flesh flying everywhere, and their ears were filled with sounds of pain and wailing.

"If you want to retreat, it's not that easy." Lao Zhang picked up the musket in his hand, aimed at the leader, and the arrow with the gunpowder that was about to explode flew away like a meteor. The leader was retreating with the remaining Hun soldiers, and the sound of breaking air came to his ears like a death warrant. The moment he turned around, the gunpowder exploded immediately. He blocked it with his sword, but how could cold weapons resist hot weapons.

There was a loud bang, and the people and horses were thrown to the ground. The leader was thrown to the ground, covering his wound and screaming, "Quick, go call for help."

The place where Lao Zhang attacked belonged to the flank of the Xiongnu, and the main force was still in another place. He laughed loudly, "Good boy, they have been training for so long, let them have another taste of gunpowder."

"Everyone continue to follow me." Lao Zhang shouted loudly.

"Yes, sir." The soldier of Dayan responded.

"Great Chanyu, the team that is coming here is carrying a large amount of gunpowder. The soldiers of Wu Haidai can't hold on at all. Please send troops to rescue them immediately." The soldier fell off his horse, and he still had an arrow with burnt gunpowder in his hand.

Rank took the arrow and asked, "Great Chanyu, do you want to send troops to support us?"

With a "crack", Mu Xie broke the arrow and said, "Send the troops to support. Since Yan Chao has come to rescue them, we will make sure they never return. Everyone, continue the siege."

At this time, another soldier came on horseback to report, "Great Chanyu, another cavalry is attacking the right wing. The attack is very swift and fierce. We can't resist it."

Everyone was shocked. How many people came? Could it be that Yandu sent several armies over?

Mu Xie Chanyu had a fire in his eyes. He was not sure whether the Yan army had many people or it was just a trick. "Rank, take people to find out what is going on. I always feel that it is not that simple. Others, follow me to attack. We must capture the Yan army commander alive today."

On the other side, He Xin was leading another team to attack the right wing. He wiped the blood off his face, looked at the Huns soldiers who were constantly coming to reinforce, and sneered in his heart, thinking that the lord's guess was really good. If they attacked both wings, the main force of the Huns would surely come to rescue, and they could defend this place and continuously annihilate the Huns soldiers who came to support.

"Swish, swish, swish," arrows kept shooting to one side, followed by explosions one after another, which repeatedly suppressed the Huns' offensive.

"Be frugal. We are traveling light this time and don't have much gunpowder. What if the Huns come in a few more waves after we defeat them?" He Xin looked at the soldier beside him who threw out several thunder bombs at once and slapped him in anger.

"Hehe," the soldier scratched his head and laughed, "He Weishi, the thunder bomb is so useful. Just throw this one out, and with a bang, it can kill so many Huns. We don't even have to fight them hand to hand. But He Weishi, why are they rushing towards us in such a rush? We kill them one by one."

"This is called attacking while the enemy must come to rescue. If the Xiongnu see that their two wings are being attacked and send troops to rescue, we will defend here and annihilate each group that comes. Then their central army will be unstable. But if they don't come, once the two wings are in chaos, the captain and his men can move." He Xin replied, "Quick, don't talk about this for now. Another group of Xiongnu is coming, and this time they seem to be stronger than before."

The Xiongnu cavalry that were annihilated by them before would be frightened by the muskets and thunder bombs and would be disrupted in formation, and would be defeated one by one. Although their formation was disrupted this time, they would immediately reorganize and charge towards the Yan army.

It seems that this is the main force, and it comes just in time.

"Come here, inform the captain that they have moved." He Xin whispered, "Brothers, let's try to see how powerful the main force of the Xiongnu is this time."

Shouts of killing were heard from several places. The soldiers on Captain Zhao's side were bandaging their wounds, eating, and taking the time to replenish their strength.

"What's that sound?" Captain Zhao stood up and asked, "I seem to hear shouts of killing."

"Could it be that the Huns are coming to attack us again?" Han Jue asked anxiously. If the Huns were coming so quickly, how could the remaining soldiers in front of him be a match for the Huns' cavalry? Would he die here today?

"No, I heard the sound of gunpowder exploding. My lord, has the captain of the guard arrived?" The guard's face was filled with joy, and his voice was trembling a little.

The sound became louder and louder, as if the two armies had already faced off, and more and more sounds of thunder bombs were heard.

"Reinforcements are coming."

"We are saved."

The soldiers were all overjoyed. Captain Zhao also said happily: "Since the reinforcements have arrived, we can't just sit there and wait for death. My men, follow me and fight our way out to meet the reinforcements."

"Yes, sir." The soldier shouted loudly.

For a moment, morale was high and the soldiers had hope of surviving, which was naturally much better than when they were besieged by the Huns and fighting like trapped beasts.

The night sky, as dark as ink, gradually dissipated. Mu Xie Shan Yu listened to the battle reports from both sides. He was so angry that his eyes seemed to be spitting fire. Who was coming? Is there no end to gunpowder? Or did the Emperor of Yan Dynasty really send a large army here?

"Great Chanyu, the offensive from the left and right wings is too fierce, and we are short of Yan's gunpowder... If this continues, the two wings will probably be defeated." said a porter.

"Where is Rank? He brought the warriors with him but couldn't stop us?" Mu Xie said hatefully.

"There has been no news from Marquis Gudu." Danghu replied.

Mu Xie looked at the flames rising into the sky in the distance and made a decision, "Captain Zhao's men won't hold out for long. We must capture them first."

As they were speaking, they heard the sound of arrows being shot, followed by the sound of gunpowder exploding, which made the Huns hate it to death.

"Great Khan, be careful." Danghu immediately knocked Mu Xie to the ground. Mu Xie spat out the sand in his mouth, looked at the direction where the arrow came from, a hideous smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, he touched the scimitar in his hand, his expression was like a wolf.

"Captain Zhao, I advise you to surrender. You have lost the battle, and even if you go back you will inevitably be punished by the Emperor of Yan Dynasty. The credit may even go to someone else. It is better for you to surrender to us. The conditions I originally stated remain unchanged. I will make you a king." Mu Xie shouted loudly, and the soldiers next to him shouted it again in Chinese.

"Don't listen to them. The defeat was my fault. If there is a punishment, I will accept it. But none of us can afford the crime of treason and collaboration with the enemy. Besides, the reinforcements have arrived. If we charge out, it will be a great achievement." Captain Zhao said, raising his sword.

"We listen to the adults."

"Master, lead us to fight our way out."

"Even if we die, we are still Dayan people."

"They are all good men of Dayan." With tears in his eyes, Captain Zhao looked back at the soldiers who had followed him through life and death, then turned around and rushed forward.

Along with the sound of bows and arrows, Captain Zhao took the lead and chopped the Hun soldiers who were rushing up to him off their horses with one sword. The sound of swords colliding mixed with the sound of bones breaking. Captain Zhao was hit hard on the shoulder and his armor broke. The moment the armor cracked, he stabbed with his backhand. The blade was bloody and the light was as bright as snow. On it was the face of Muxie Chanyu, but he dodged it. A Xiongnu soldier next to him fell from his horse to the ground and was stabbed to death by the Dayan soldier.

Captain Zhao took a deep breath and smiled sarcastically, "Muxie Chanyu, nothing special."

Although Muxie Chanyu did not understand what he said, he knew from the expression on his bloodstained face that it was not a good thing, so he immediately drove his horse forward again.

Captain Zhao had killed dozens of people in a row. He was nervous, tired and sleepy these days and had insufficient energy. He also had a fierce battle with Muye Chanyu and was almost exhausted. He tried his best to kill a Hun soldier in front of him with a knife, but unexpectedly a sharp arrow came towards him.

"My lord, be careful."

Captain Zhao was unable to dodge and the sharp arrow hit him straight in the left chest. He took a few steps back and immediately spat out a mouthful of blood. His personal guards hurried forward to help him up.

"Sir, sir, are you okay?" When the remaining soldiers saw that Captain Zhao was injured, they hurried over to protect their commander and retreat.

Mu Xie Chan Yu looked at them coldly and said, "Captain Zhao, leave some alive and kill the rest."

"Yes, Great Chanyu."

Suddenly, there was a rapid sound of horse hooves, like thunder hitting the ground. "What's that sound?"

Muxie Chanyu turned around and saw a sharp arrow coming towards his face. The arrowhead seemed to cut through the air and came as fast as a meteor. Muye Chanyu drove his horse away almost instantly. The roar of gunpowder explosion in his ears made his ears tinnitus, and he slowly looked at the person who came.

The man who came was holding the crossbow that he had just used for archery in his hand. He was wearing armor, and a handsome face was visible under the silver armor. His eyes were as cold as the spear in his hand. Behind him were the soldiers of Dayan who were surging like a tide.

It was Xie Chen.