Chapter 113
Zheng Wenchang, who was walking in front, staggered visibly, then pushed aside the panicked soldiers on both sides of the steps of the city wall and rushed up to the city wall faster.
Fan Changyu was a step behind him. When she got to the top of the city wall, she saw soldiers kneeling on the ground crying and civilians wiping their tears. She didn't know if it was because they were too sad or tired from just coming back from the battlefield, but for a moment she felt dizzy and felt a sense of loss and hesitation.
Although she had imagined the situation of Lucheng being destroyed on the way here, she was overwhelmed with grief when she saw the old man dying with his sword in front of the battle line, making it difficult for her to breathe.
"grown ups?"
Zheng Wenchang's throat choked, and he opened his mouth with difficulty to call the old man whose body had become stiff. The eight-foot-tall man had bloodshot eyes, and he choked with sobs after he uttered that sentence.
He raised his hands to help the deceased old man close his eyes, which were still glaring with anger until his death. Then he knelt down and kowtowed to the old man so hard that his forehead was broken and tears streamed down his face. He only said one sentence: "The student is late, the student is late..."
The deputy general beside him saw this, his eyes were red, and he couldn't bear it. He supported Zheng Wenchang and said, "Wenchang, don't be like this. Your Excellency has not recovered from his serious injuries and has become ill from overwork. When he learned that the rebels had attacked Lucheng, he rode here at full speed regardless of his illness. He defended Lucheng with his exhausted body until you came to support Lucheng. I think your Excellency must be relieved. Now that the enemy is in front of you, don't waste your body. Killing the rebels is what your Excellency wants to see!"
Zheng Wenchang raised his bloodshot eyes and looked at the huge army of anti-thieves below the tower, muttering, "Yes, anti-thieves, they deserve to die!"
His clenched fists made his joints creak. After he stood up, he gave the order: "All soldiers, listen up! Follow me out of the city to fight, behead Sui Yuanhuai, and avenge the lord!"
The deputy general hurriedly advised: "Wen Chang, don't be reckless! Now there are 20,000 bandits besieging the city. If you provoke them to go out and fight, it will be like hitting a rock with an egg!"
Fan Changyu and her team only brought back three thousand cavalrymen this time. After the fierce battle when they broke into the city, there are only two thousand left.
Two thousand men against twenty thousand. It's still possible to defend the city, but opening the city gates to fight would be courting death.
The veins on the back of Zheng Wenchang's hands popped out. He looked at the chariot with eight horses in the center, which was protected by thousands of soldiers under the city wall. He gritted his teeth and said, "I will go out of the city alone and take Sui Yuanhuai's head!"
After saying this, he picked up his spear and was about to walk down the tower. He was like a mad bull, and the deputy general couldn't hold him back even when he reached out his hand.
When passing by Fan Changyu, the silent Fan Changyu suddenly attacked. She moved as fast as lightning and slashed Zheng Wenchang's neck with a knife. The latter fell down with a blackout.
"Wen Chang!"
The deputy general hurriedly supported Zheng Wenchang. He was a little worried at first, but when he saw that he had fainted, he soon understood Fan Changyu's painstaking efforts. There was only one female general in the army in the entire northwest, and the deputy general easily guessed her identity. He thanked him, "Thank you, Captain Fan, for your help!"
Fan Changyu said, "Help General Zheng down and let him have a good rest."
The deputy general waved his hand and asked a few soldiers to help Zheng Wenchang down, and then called for people to bring a stretcher and carefully placed He Jingyuan's body on it.
After the old man closed his eyes, his face was still stern, but there was a sense of peace between his brows.
When the soldiers carried He Jingyuan's body away, Fan Changyu looked at the deceased old man quietly for a while and called out softly, "Uncle."
Then he promised: "I will defend Lucheng and not let the rebels set foot on an inch of land in Jizhou."
The first sentence is calling this noble old man as the daughter of an old friend, and the second sentence is a promise given as a subordinate.
The deputy general felt very uncomfortable and said, "Captain Fan, please accept my condolences."
He Jingyuan's body had been carried down by the soldiers. Fan Changyu nodded silently. Just as he was about to turn around to look at the situation below the tower, the scout who had been watching the movements of the rebels under the city came to report to the deputy general: "General, the rebels are preparing to attack the city again!"
The deputy general was horrified when he heard this, and hurried to the parapet of the female wall to look down.
The rebels below the city reorganized their formation that had been dispersed by Fan Changyu and her cavalry, and once again used shield formations and archers to clear a path, covering the rebels with the Yunyun Ladder as they approached the city tower.
The deputy general was so anxious that he gave the order: "Archers, hurry up! Fill up all the crenels, two people in a row!"
He turned to Fan Changyu and said, "Captain Fan, how many of your cavalry are good at archery? First, send some people to fill up the battlements on the tower!"
Fan Changyu hurriedly ordered Xie Wu: "Call all the archers who are still able to go to the battlefield to the tower."
Most of those who could become cavalry were already the best among the ordinary soldiers. Archers needed considerable arm strength to draw a longbow, so there were even fewer soldiers in the army who were good at riding and shooting.
Among the 3,000 cavalrymen brought back by Fan Changyu, there were originally 500 archers. Many of them were killed or wounded when they entered the city, and now there are only about 300 people left who can fight. They were all brought up by Xie Wu and filled the battlements of the Lucheng city wall.
Those civilians who were originally on the towers helping to defend the city spontaneously went to the bottom of the inner city towers to help move weapons, stones and rolling logs.
Fan Changyu had fought in several siege battles, but this was his first time defending a city.
Unlike charging forward with courage and determination during a siege, looking down from the city wall at the enemy invaders surging in like a tide gives a greater visual impact. You can see clearly how far away the military formations below are, which adds tremendous pressure to your heart and can easily make you feel timid.
The deputy general was obviously experienced. When the archers' shield array approached the firing range, he shouted at the top of his voice to encourage his soldiers: "During the last round of siege by the archers, we were able to hold the city with less than a thousand men on the wall. Now there are several thousand elite soldiers coming to help us. We must beat the archers back even if we close our eyes!"
As soon as the enemy's bow and shield array came within range, he shouted, "Shoot!"
Suddenly, arrows shot out from the city wall like meteors. At the battlement of a city wall, there were two archers. While one of them was shooting arrows, the other one was drawing the bowstring behind him. When the archer in front retreated, the archer behind him would immediately rush up and shoot arrows, thus ensuring that the arrows shot from the city wall continued.
Fan Changyu followed the deputy general and looked down from the battlement. They found that soldiers in the rebel camp kept falling down. However, the enemy had more people. The people in front died, and the people behind were still charging forward, stepping on the corpses.
Relying on this kind of human wave warfare tactics, they finally put the ladder on the city wall again.
After experiencing the previous battle to defend the city, the defenders on the city wall reacted quickly this time. In addition to the archers shooting arrows, other soldiers and civilians began to throw down stones and rolling logs, lifted up barrels of kerosene and poured them down. Another torch was thrown down, and the ladders and the rebel soldiers climbing the ladders were all engulfed in fire. The soldiers screamed and tried to put the fire off themselves, but their clothes were stained with kerosene, and they were eventually burned into a fire man and fell from the ladder.
When Fan Changyu first went to the battlefield, she felt so disgusted by the sight of the dead bodies that she vomited. Now that she had seen this purgatory-like scene with her own eyes, she still felt disgusted, but she no longer felt nauseous and wanted to vomit.
She could even analyze the battle situation with her deputy general: "General He, I see that we don't have much kerosene. Why don't we save some? Some of the ladders can be destroyed by rocks and rolling logs, so just use rocks and rolling logs."
After the initial siege of Lucheng was lifted, the military supplies in Lucheng were transported to Chongzhou along with the defenders in the city.
After all, no one at that time would have thought that the rebels, who were already trapped, could sneak out and counterattack Lucheng under the siege of tens of thousands of troops.
Deputy General He sighed and said, "I had the same idea as Commandant Fan before. It was Commander He who said that we must not let the rebels know that we don't have enough supplies in the city. If the rebels attack several times and we block them, they will get tired even if we use human wave tactics. If they know that there are not enough supplies in the city, they will only attack the city more eagerly."
After hearing this, Fan Changyu fell silent.
What Deputy General He said made sense. In this battle to defend the city, they were the weaker side and their manpower was already insufficient. Once their supplies ran out, the morale of the rebels would surely be greatly boosted, and it would be easy to capture Lu City.
In this round of siege by the anti-bandits, Lucheng was finally able to hold on again thanks to the help of 2,000 cavalrymen who entered the city and the people in the city.
Seeing the rebels retreating like a bereaved dog, the soldiers on the city wall and the people were all delighted.
After the quartermaster counted the few remaining military supplies on the tower, he looked heavy-hearted and said to Lieutenant General He: "General, we are running out of arrows and only have a few barrels of kerosene left."
Deputy General He glanced at the rebels who seemed to be reorganizing their troops below the tower, and asked Fan Changyu: "Captain Fan, how long will it take for General Tang's troops to arrive?"
Fan Changyu said: "Lucheng and Chongzhou are separated by more than a hundred miles. Even if General Tang brings nothing with him and marches at full speed, we will have to hold out for at least another two hours."
Deputy General He looked back at the chaotic battlefield below the city and said, "Then we will hold on for another two hours."
Xie Wu, who was following behind Fan Changyu, looked surprised but said nothing.
On the entire city wall, only the soldiers at the bottom were cheering for this short-lived victory. The soldiers and generals above seemed to know that arrows, kerosene, stones, and rolling logs were not enough and that Lucheng could not be defended.
Everyone had a heavy look on their face, but no one said much, and they continued to do what they were supposed to do in an orderly manner.
Rather than preparing for the next round of siege, it is more like welcoming a spectacular death.
At this time, even sadness seems to be unnecessary.
Fan Changyu looked at those faces, some heavy and some full of brilliant smiles. After two breaths of silence, he suddenly said to Deputy General He: "I have a way that may allow Lucheng to be defended for a longer time."
Deputy General He asked hurriedly: "What method?"
Fan Changyu said, "I will lead a dozen people out of the city to challenge the generals of the rebels. General He, you will seal the city gates at this time."
When Lieutenant General He heard that she was willing to sacrifice her life in exchange for a few more moments of defense, he hurriedly said, "No!"
Fan Changyu said: "This is the only way I can think of to delay time."
She looked at Deputy General He and said, "The rebels have fled here overnight. They must not have enough military supplies. Once they are allowed to enter the city, the people in the city will suffer. Lord He risked his life to defend Lu City. How can he let it fall in our hands just because we are afraid of losing our lives? The city still needs General He to take charge of the overall situation, so I will fight."
Deputy General He looked embarrassed.
Xie Wu said anxiously, "If the commander insists on going to battle, I am willing to do the work for you."
For the first time, Fan Changyu said something serious to Xie Wu: "You are not qualified."
Deputy General He said in embarrassment: "Captain Fan..."
Fan Changyu pursed his lips, clasped his fists and said, "General He, I am General Meng Changyu, the descendant of General Meng Shuyuan of Changshan. Deceiving the emperor is a serious crime. I cannot find out the truth about what happened in Jinzhou in my lifetime. I will clear the name of my ancestors and do a good thing for the people of the world. This can also be regarded as continuing the good name of the Meng family. I hope General He will help me!"
Deputy General He was shocked. After a struggle, he finally closed his eyes and said, "Okay."
Fan Changyu said gratefully: "Thank you, General."
After saying that, he went down to the tower.
Xie Wu hurriedly followed him and said, "I will go out of the city with the captain to challenge him."
Fan Changyu paused in a quiet place and said unexpectedly calmly: "Xiao Wu, thank you for your help during these days of joining the army. I know that it is his intention for you and Xiao Qi to stay with me. But he is going to marry a princess. If I keep you, I can't even get over it."
Xie Wu had been following Fan Changyu all along, and had not known that the emperor had sent an imperial messenger to arrange a marriage. He was surprised to hear this, and at the same time, he was terrified about what Fan Changyu was going to do next. He asked anxiously, "Captain, there must be some misunderstanding here. Who told you that the master was going to marry the princess?"
Fan Changyu did not answer, but said: "I don't blame him. The tragic case in Jinzhou shocked the world. No one can forgive it. I have always felt that my father and grandfather are innocent, but that is just my own feeling. If I die in Lucheng today, it will be regarded as a redemption for them. There is only one thing I would like to ask Brother Xiaowu for. If I go, Lucheng can be defended, and you can avoid the eyes and ears of the palace and Wei Yan, and find a good family to adopt Ning Niang."
She paused for a while before saying, "She is the only one I can't let go of now."
There is still someone in my heart that I can't let go of, but our fate in this life has already ended.
Xie Wu's eyes turned red: "Captain..."
Fan Changyu clasped his fists towards him and said, "Please."
Before Xie Wu could say anything else, Fan Changyu turned around and walked towards the team that had assembled below the city.
Those dozen people were all from Jizhou, and they all had a solemn look on their faces, as if they were ready to die.
Fan Changyu glanced at their faces one by one and said, "If we can hold out for a little longer until the army arrives, then our brothers and sisters in the city won't have to die. We might be remembered by future generations, and our families can get a pension from the court, so we won't have to worry about food and clothing for the rest of our lives."
"If we fail to defend the city and it falls, we will just be one of the thousands of corpses under the yellow sand. Our wives and children at home may be displaced in the flames of war or die at the hands of the anti-thieves."
After saying this, she jumped on her horse and shouted to the soldiers guarding the city gate: "Open the city gate!"
The heavy city gate slowly opened with a creaking sound like wheels rolling. When Fan Changyu rode out of the city with a sword in hand, the black mass of anti-bandit soldiers in the distance were obviously stunned.
Sixteen elite warriors followed her out of the city and formed a goose formation behind Fan Changyu, like a pair of wings growing behind her.
The setting sun was only a last glimmer of red, and the flag of Jizhou on the city wall was fluttering in the wind. In this deadly silent battlefield, Fan Changyu's voice tore through the wind and reached everyone's ears: "After Meng Shuyuan, Meng Changyu is here. Do the rogue generals dare to come out and fight?"
The author has something to say:
Thank you for your concern, my dears. My cat has been discharged from the hospital, and now I am the only one left. I have been writing intermittently, but I have to receive a lot of fluids during the day, and friends and relatives often come to visit me, as well as a variety of other things. My thoughts are often interrupted, which makes it more difficult to write. I have more private time at night, but I dare not stay up late like before. Today, I slept too much during the day and couldn't sleep, so I put together the bits and pieces I wrote in the past few days and posted them.
Everyone should be able to feel the progress bar of the story. In fact, I have been thinking about updating these days, and I always feel guilty. In addition, it is now in the final stage, so I still want to finish writing this story and then relax and rest.
However, due to my current energy and physical condition, the subsequent updates will probably still be unstable, but I will continue to write intermittently, so everyone should just go with the flow.
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