Chapter 90 Fire
Yang Cong climbed up the mountainside in the dark to a flat area, came in front of Xiao Zhuo, and saluted with his hands clasped together.
Xiao Zhuo nodded and said, "Miss Yang, you did a good job. Are the villagers safe?"
Yang Cong was overjoyed to receive Xiao Zhuo's approval. He rolled up his sleeves excitedly and said, "No, we fled as Military Advisor Song ordered. Everyone is fine. Now that the Western Rong people have entered, shall we start fighting?"
The dense torches on the hillside poured into the narrow pass like water. The Xirong people had fallen into Pei Gongzi's ambush. She knew that the Xirong people would suffer a great loss this time.
Xiao Zhuo's eyes were solemn, and he looked calm and composed, as if everything was under his control. He said in a calm voice, "No hurry, wait a little longer."
Yang Cong had already grasped his long sword, ready to engage the Western Rong people in battle. When he heard Xiao Zhuo say this, he was puzzled.
She didn't dare to ask Master Pei directly, so she cast a questioning look at Song Zhen standing next to her. Song Zhen waved his feather fan, also calmly, indicating that she should not act rashly for the time being.
Seeing that both of them were calm, Yang Cong couldn't figure it out, so he set his sights on the pass between the two mountains.
The entire passage was about a mile long, and two or three hundred Western Rong soldiers had already poured in, with torches already halfway through. Standing on the hillside and looking down, the enemy's movements were under control, and even the faces of the Western Rong soldiers could be seen clearly.
Seeing Xiao Zhuo remain silent, she was so anxious she almost jumped up. With so many Western Rong people coming in, why hasn't the young master given the order to fight yet?
"My lord, please look." Song Zhen pointed at the entrance below with his feather fan.
Yang Cong looked in the direction Song Zhen pointed and saw a Western Rong man riding a horse into the pass.
She had often interacted with the Xirong people, and immediately recognized this Xirong man as someone special. The pass was narrow, but the Xirong soldiers made way for him, clearly indicating he was a leader.
Xiao Zhuo nodded slowly: "It's the captain. It's almost done. Wait a little longer and let him go a little deeper."
After the Xirong captain advanced a little further, Xiao Zhuo said to the soldiers beside him, "Send an order to General Meng to seal the entrance."
Yang Cong was even more puzzled and asked, "Sir, shouldn't we wait for all those Xirong people to come in?"
There are still more than half of the Xirong people outside who have not entered the pass. If we block the entrance, won’t we let more than half of the enemies go?
Xiao Zhuo's eyes were cold and his voice was stern: "An army without a general will be in chaos. Now that their captain has arrived, if we kill that general, the enemy will naturally collapse."
Meng Yue, who was lying in ambush near the pass, received the order and immediately stood up, shouting, "Release!"
The two hundred soldiers waiting on the hillside used sharp weapons to cut the ropes tied to the rolling logs. Hundreds of rolling logs rolled down the hillside one after another and hit the Western Rong soldiers below.
The Xirong soldiers, crowded at the pass, heard only a rumbling sound overhead. Before they could comprehend what was happening, they were struck on the head by falling logs, leaving them bleeding profusely. Chaos ensued, with screams and the neighing of horses mingling in unison.
Xiu Muye, who was still outside the pass, saw rolling logs rushing down the hillsides on both sides, knocking the Xirong soldiers near the pass to the ground. Dust flew everywhere, and a large amount of wood gradually blocked the entrance. He cried out in surprise:
"We've fallen into a trap, and the captain is still inside."
The Xirong soldiers near him were at a loss. Xiu Muye shouted, "Quick, move the wood. We have to rescue the captain."
Although they had a thousand men, they were now cut in two, and the enemy only had to deal with the 300 or so men in the pass. Moreover, in this kind of terrain, the Xirong cavalry could not play their advantage at all.
It must be that man. He set up the ambush.
Dan Muji is a rare and powerful general among the Western Rong. If he dies here, it will be difficult for him to explain to the general when he returns.
There was a panic outside, and Danmu Ji in the narrow pass was also terrified, riding his horse in circles.
"Captain, the entrance is blocked by a large amount of wood!" a sergeant ran to his horse and shouted, "Our team has been cut in two."
"This isn't something the villagers can do. This is an ambush set by the Great Yan army." Danmuji understood, jumped off his horse, and drew his sword. "They are lying in ambush on the hillsides on both sides. Warriors, quickly draw your swords and follow me up the mountain!"
To climb up the hillside, they first had to overcome the upright stone wall in front of them. The Xirong army had no ladders, so two people had to cross their hands under the stone wall and let the other person step on their hands to climb up.
A dozen or so Xirong soldiers were the first to climb up the hillside. As soon as they took their swords in their hands, they were hit by flying stones and rolling logs and fell down.
Qiu Liming led two hundred soldiers who used stones and oil-soaked logs to deal with the Western Rong people who tried to climb the hillside in the narrow passage. When he saw the Western Rong soldiers began to attack the hillside, he ordered his soldiers to fight.
Under the cover of night, only the Xirong people were holding torches, and the people on the slope could see everything clearly, and the stones they threw were extremely accurate.
Suddenly, rocks and logs fell from the hillsides on both sides like rain. Whether it was the Western Rong soldiers who climbed up the hillside or those who stayed in the passage, they were all smashed to tears.
Song Zhen, standing halfway up the mountain, slowly waved his feather fan, ignoring the chaos below, and explained to Yang Cong:
"Our soldiers are unarmed and outnumbered. If we let them all in, not only will we be overwhelmed, but their front lines have already left the pass. Secondly, we must fight quickly and decisively. We don't yet know the situation of the enemy's center. We should seize this opportunity to inflict heavy damage on their vanguard, deterring them from advancing and buying us time to prepare."
Yang Cong's eyes sparkled as he excitedly said to Song Zhen, "Sergeant, I understand. Before, I was thinking about going down and killing all those Xirong people. Now that I think about it, I was really reckless."
If a thousand men were allowed in, it wouldn't be impossible for the enemy to charge up the mountain. At that point, their advantage would turn into a disadvantage. It's not advisable to engage the enemy head-on when you're outnumbered.
She still felt a little regretful.
It seemed that she would never be able to lead troops in battle again. It turned out that fighting a war also required brains. For someone like her who was just full of brute force, it would be better for her to just be a private.
Xiu Muye, who was outside the pass, heard the howling of ghosts and wolves in the passage and knew that the situation was not good, so he ordered the soldiers to move the wood quickly.
A sergeant ran up to him and said, "Centurion, there's a lot of wood that's sticky and sticky on my hands. I smell it, and it seems to be oil."
Is there oil?
Xiu Muye felt his hair stand on end and shouted, "Quickly take the torches away! Don't go near those logs!"
The opponent was really cruel. Not only did he block the entrance with wood, but he also used wood that was covered in oil.
The soldiers also understood what was happening and immediately retreated with their torches in hand, leaving only those without torches to move the wood.
Xiao Zhuo, who was halfway up the mountain, saw the torches outside the pass disappearing one after another and whispered, "The other side reacted quickly, but if this fire can't be lit, this battle will be troublesome."
Song Zhen also became a little nervous: "My Lord, this fire must be lit, otherwise all our efforts will be wasted."
They blocked the entrance with wood in order to split the enemy into two groups and then annihilate the enemy inside the passage with all their strength. They must not let them remove the wood and let the two groups meet.
Xiao Zhuo said nothing more, but stretched out his hand to the side, and a soldier handed him a bow and an arrow. The arrowhead was wrapped in a cloth soaked in fuel oil.
Xiao Zhuo held the bow in his left hand, placed an arrow on the string with his right hand, and lit the arrowhead in the brazier beside him. Then he drew the bow to its full length and let out an arrow, which left a long streak of fire and landed on the pile of wood at the entrance.
There was a flash of fire in the woodpile, and then a ball of flames exploded.
Almost in an instant, a raging fire shot up into the sky, igniting the wood in the passage as well.
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