Chapter 153
The main force of the Di Luo tribe did not attack the main gate but the upper gate, which was soon noticed by Xing Changfeng and others.
Meng Yi, who was standing next to Xing Changfeng, immediately laughed and said, "Oh, they think we're just soft persimmons. Guys, let's teach them a lesson later!"
Seeing Meng Yi's excitement, Xing Changfeng said to him, "Don't mess around, execute the defense according to the plan!"
Meng Yi stared at the assembled Northern Di army with excitement and replied heartlessly, "I know, I know."
The Di Luo army's movements were soon discovered by the generals of the Yichun camp. Marshal Zhu was somewhat gloating, "The Di Luo main force has switched to attacking the city gate?"
But he still ordered, "Be ready to support at any time."
Every year, Di Luo boasted of an army of 100,000 marching south, but the actual number was only around 80,000. This year, a group of Di Luo soldiers who had been foraging for food were taken away by the Yichun army, reducing the 100,000-man army to 70,000. These battles had also resulted in considerable casualties.
According to their speculation, the Northern Di Army now has about 60,000 to 70,000 soldiers. It seems that the Di Luo tribe still divides its troops into three groups, and the main force is sent to the upper city gate. As for the main city gate and the lower city gate, they have also sent some troops to contain them.
Woo woo woo——
The clarion call of war sounded.
"Charge! Charge! The king says anyone who reaches the city wall will be rewarded with five sheep!"
At the beginning, the defenders of the Xing family army defended in a very conventional way, shooting arrows, boiling water, rolling logs, and throwing down huge rocks.
There was only one thing that was special. After determining today's wind direction and strength, Gu Bin made a suggestion to the general. The general adopted this suggestion, but it made the enemy army very upset.
The Northern Di general was really jumping up and down. "The enemy general guarding the city gate is so despicable and shameless that he actually ordered people to blow sand in the wind!"
"Yes, my king. The wind is strong today. The enemy is blowing sand upwind. The effect is extraordinary. It is a great disturbance to our warriors attacking the city."
Wei Xizhe said with a cold face, "Shoot that Yangsha down!"
But it wasn't that easy. While the Northern Di had archers, the Xing family army also had archers who could shoot accurately from a hundred paces away, suppressing theirs. The Qi brothers were all excellent archers, and at this moment, they were assigned to the soldiers responsible for raising sand to counterattack and suppress the Di Luo archers.
In this way, the Xing family army blocked the first wave of attack from the Northern Di, and as planned, they seemed to be about to give up. At the end of the opponent's first wave of attack, a Northern Di soldier even rushed onto the city wall. Although the problem was immediately resolved, it gave the Northern Di people hope and they were deeply encouraged.
The Beidi auxiliary army strongly suggested, "Your Majesty, there is hope, let's prepare for the second wave of attack!" The most important thing is that the wind direction has changed at this time, and the opponent's trick of raising sand can no longer be used!
"good!"
On the Xing Family Army side, Meng Yi and the others were also very excited. "Young men, it's time to perform! Big Bear, it's your turn to go on stage."
The assistant officer of the Diluo tribe said excitedly, "Charge forward, charge forward!"
Wei Xizhe couldn't help but stand up and rush forward. Was the upper city gate really the weak point of Yichun's troops? The siege had made progress, and Wei Xizhe was relieved and finally smiled.
"Ah, they're rushing towards me, so scary!" Bang, the big guy called Big Bear just now slapped the Di Luo soldier on the back of his head, and the Di Luo soldier fainted.
There were big guys like Xiong Daming standing at several key positions on the city wall. These big guys took advantage of the fight between the Di Luo soldiers and the defending Xing family soldiers to knock out a Northern Di man with one punch.
Even if these Di Luo soldiers who rushed up the city wall broke through the defense of the soldiers guarding the wall and the big guys, they were not afraid, because there were archers watching them from behind.
Countless Di Luo soldiers rushed up the city wall. At the same time, countless Di Luo soldiers were knocked down and dragged away silently.
The more Wei Xizhe watched, the more he felt something was amiss. What was going on? Hadn't they been attacking? Why were they all going without returning? It was like entering a black hole. If Wei Xizhe knew there was such a word, that's how he would describe it.
After nearly two thousand soldiers attacked but disappeared without a trace, and the enemy's city gate showed no signs of being breached, Wei Xizhe realized that they might have fallen into a trap.
Then he decisively ordered, "Sound the horn to call back the troops and suspend the siege!"
Woo woo woo——
"Withdraw the troops, Di Luo has withdrawn the troops!"
"Are you withdrawing your troops so soon? I've only captured five Di Luo soldiers, and I haven't accumulated enough military merit yet." The soldier smacked his lips and said with regret.
The man next to him replied, "You captured five, so at least you've earned fifty merit points. Be content. The Diluo soldiers who attacked the city wall have been silent for a long time. The Diluo generals are no fools, so they must know something is amiss."
The Di Luo tribe's horn sounded, signaling the retreat of their troops. Marshal Zhu also noticed it and was not too surprised by the result.
The Xing family army had been well fed and well rested these past few days, and compared to the exhausted Northern Di army, they were well-rested. The Northern Di army was indeed fierce, but the Xing family army, having always been fighting against foreign tribes, was no weak force either. Unsurprisingly, this time the Northern Di army's siege ended in failure.
When Marshal Zhu went to find Xing Changfeng, he discovered that he was watching the Xing family soldiers cleaning the battlefield neatly. Although they said they were cleaning the battlefield, they were actually more focused on tying up the prisoners.
"Brother Xing, you fought beautifully."
"It's not bad to eat up the enemy's four or five thousand soldiers and horses."
Marshal Zhu quickly calculated in his mind that the number of casualties among the enemy soldiers who blocked the first wave of attack from the Northern Di was about 3,000. In other words, in the second wave of attack, Xing Changfeng actually captured 2,000 enemy soldiers?
Marshal Zhu sighed, "You really have a soft spot for prisoners."
Xing Changfeng nodded and admitted it.
Marshal Zhu curled his lips, saw that he was busy, snorted, and left with his generals.
Marshal Zhu thought that today's battle was over, but Xing Changfeng actually launched a night attack, which made General Di Luo's camp explode.
Late at night, he was woken by his personal guards and told the news. Marshal Zhu quickly got up and climbed up the city wall to see the Diluo army camp in the distance with flames rising to the sky. In the distance, he could also hear the Diluo people shouting in Diluo language, "Enemy attack, enemy attack!"
The soldiers on night watch told Marshal Zhu that the fire in the Di Luo camp started all of a sudden and seemed impossible to put out, which led to widespread panic.
Wei Xizhe sat in a small tent with a pale face. He thought, he already knew who the army stationed at the upper city gate was. It was the Yichun Army and the Xing Changfeng Xing family army!
The actual extent of the Diluo camp explosion was far more devastating than what the soldiers on guard at the Yichun camp had witnessed. The enemy first targeted the cavalry battalion, with the generals' tents also receiving special attention. Warhorses bolted wildly, charging the camp, causing screams and panic. Furthermore, the fire seemed unextinguishable, terrifying many warriors to their knees, calling out to the gods and shamans. At dawn, a count revealed that the total number of casualties, including casualties, was over 10,000, nearly 20,000! Over half the warhorses had simply run away! But that's another story.
When Wei Xizhe guessed the identity of the army stationed at the upper city gate, Marshal Zhu and his strategist Shi Mei also discovered a major event: the unextinguishable fire, Prefect Lei, and the heavenly fire!
Shi Mei said, "Marshal, General Xing holds the secret of the Heavenly Fire!"
Marshal Zhu looked at the still burning fire in the distance and nodded, "It should be true." Because the Di Luo tribe was stationed very close to the Yichun River, it was to prevent the enemy from launching a fire attack at night.
"Let's go to the city gate!" Marshal Zhu said and left.
Shi Mei and a group of soldiers hurriedly followed.
When Marshal Zhu and his men arrived, Meng Yi also returned with the troops who had gone out to do some minor work. As expected, they captured another group of prisoners.
This time, when the camp was bombed, the Xing family army only captured one or two thousand prisoners, and without exception, all of them had their jaws removed.
In these two battles, Xing Changfeng tore off a large piece of Wei Xizhe's flesh, which was a real big harvest.
Xing Changfeng wasn't surprised by Marshal Zhu's arrival. When he asked about the Skyfire, Gu Bin, standing beside him, replied with a sly smile, "Marshal Zhu, this is a military secret. Although our two armies are allies now, we still can't tell you. If you want to know, join us. We're open and honest with our own people."
Marshal Zhu flicked his sleeves and said, "Hmph, you're still harboring evil intentions!" Then he left.
Shi Mei led everyone out, feeling both amused and helpless.
When the general arranged for people to send this group of 3,000 prisoners back to Xin Yichun, Yao Chunnuan was distributing food to the residents of the Yichun military settlement.
When the villagers heard that grain was going to be distributed, they spread the word:
"The food is being distributed! The food is being distributed!"
"Hurry up and take your household registration and food!"
The grain was distributed immediately. The autumn harvest had been dried and counted, but it hadn't yet been put into storage. This grain definitely needed to be put into storage. Yao Chunnuan had always known that in this world, food was the most important commodity, bar none. Before that, Yao Chunnuan would definitely distribute the portion that belonged to the settlers before putting it into storage.
Each household counted their work points, and after that, they weighed their grain and received it. Some families received more grain, others less, depending on their work points and their daily consumption. After receiving the grain, all the work points they had accumulated over the year were gone.
In addition to the grain they received from their work points, the villagers of Yichun also had a good harvest from their own and the land they rented to the military settlements. After handing over the portion that should have gone to the military settlements, their own granaries were still full.
In addition to the settlers of Yichun, the granaries of the common people of New Yichun were also full, all thanks to the peace-keeping measures of light taxes and levies implemented by the City Lord's Mansion.
Furthermore, because the City Lord's Mansion has been working to stabilize grain prices, compared to the high and chaotic prices in many parts of Daliang, grain prices in Xinyichun are normal. Furthermore, to prevent the existence of profiteers, each household in Xinyichun is limited to a certain amount of affordable grain per month. If the amount exceeds this, the price will be increased by half.
With their lives stable and food plentiful, everyone eagerly hoped they could defeat the Diluo tribe this time. The people of New Yichun were honored and grateful for the general's leadership and support in defending the Yichun camp.
The officer who brought the prisoners back this time was the single-eyed young general He Qing, who handed over the task to General Wu, who happened to be in Yichun military settlement with Yao Chunnuan, overseeing the distribution of grain.
Therefore, when the handover took place, the settlers and other people from Xinyichun who had come to watch the grain distribution all knew that their general had fought several victories in Jiayin City and captured thousands of prisoners and sent them back. Upon hearing this news, the scene erupted in cheers of joy.
Yao Chunnuan was also very happy to see so many prisoners. "The soldiers have worked hard. General He, when you go back later, please bring more supplies with you as a reward for the soldiers."
The common people looked at these dejected Di Luo soldiers, feeling both hateful and relieved. They all knew the usefulness of these Di Luo prisoners. So many prisoners would be assigned to repair canals, remove silt, and build roads.
The common people had gradually come to accept this method of treatment. Killing these Diluo soldiers was certainly a relief, but it really didn't bring as much benefit as taking them as prisoners.
Seeing so many Diluo captives, someone said, "This year's corvée labor is very light, and the heavy work is done by these Diluo captives."
"Very good."
When the corvée labor for this year was announced, it was indeed very light. The men serving the labor looked relaxed, and the women happily packed clothes and thin blankets for their men or sons and sent them off to work for the government.
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