The north wind was howling, the snow was falling heavily, dusk was covering the vast frontier, and the sky was dark and gloomy.
In the remote countryside, the mountains are deserted and rarely visited. The snow is so thick in the woods that a strong cavalryman can step down and it's thigh-deep. Every horse's mouth is blocked, unable to neigh. They are unwilling to climb the snowy mountains, shaking their heads and snorting.
Guo Honglei, knife in hand, led the way, his left hand holding the horse. Without turning back, he said, "It's not far. Just around the corner we'll be there. It's sheltered from the wind and snow, easy to defend and difficult to attack. We can spend the night there in peace."
"Yes!" The men responded in a whisper, lowering their voices.
Having known each other for a long time, Guo Honglei's men respected him and were willing to respect him as their leader, following his orders. Because of his status as a fugitive, Guo Honglei held no official position, but through his merit and talent, he established a firm foothold in the Heqin Guard.
More than eight hundred people, leading their horses, walked with one foot deep and one foot shallow, staggering from side to side.
Suddenly, a strong man stumbled and fell sideways into the soft snow, half submerged. He struggled in frustration, just as he sat up, but lay down again, frowning and pinching his throat, and cried out in a delicate voice: "Oh, help, help!"
His companions were immediately amused, folding their arms as they watched, sneering and mocking, "At first, I thought it was Miss Xiaohong from Qimeng Tower in town who had fallen from the sky. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be you!"
"Tsk, at least shave your beard before you dress up as a beauty."
"There's no girl as big and strong as you in Qimeng Tower."
"You old bitch, stop yelling and get up!" His comrade scolded him with a smile and reached out to pull him up.
The strong man used the force to stand up, patted the snow on his butt, and continued to pinch his throat, saying shyly: "Thank you very much, sir. I have no way to repay you for saving my life, but I will repay you with my body." After that, he rushed towards his friend.
"Oh my god—you are such a hateful person, you actually repay evil with kindness!"
His companions dodged swiftly, took the horse and fled, saying generously: "I am not worthy of this, brothers, this 'slave' is given to you!"
"Stop scaring me. We don't dare to ask for it. You have to bear it yourself."
"Hahaha, it's your own fault."
"We'll enter the bridal chamber soon, right?"
"Yes, every moment is worth a thousand gold!" The soldiers laughed and talked at once.
The military rules were strict, and they could only see women when they were on leave, which made them feel uncomfortable. Therefore, whenever the topic of women came up, everyone would become excited and talk endlessly.
Guo Honglei stood at the forefront, occasionally chopping at branches blocking his path, letting his companions chat and laugh quietly behind him. In fact, on the eve of a decisive battle, he longed for everyone to be cheerful. If morale was low, the leader would have to find ways to boost it.
Unexpectedly, after a short chat, the dozen or so strong men surrounding the leader started to make faces and ask, "Hey, Honglei, have you ever been to the Qimeng Tower in town?"
"Who do you think is the most beautiful girl in the building? I think Xiaohong is the most beautiful."
"What kind of vision do you have? Lian'er is obviously the most beautiful!"
"I think Miss Afu has the most charming smile and she's also good at work."
In the heated debate, they kept asking, "Honglei, what do you think?"
…
Guo Honglei swung his knife and pushed aside a dead branch that was blocking his way. He was entangled helplessly and could only say, "I haven't been there, so I don't know what the girls in that building look like."
"real?"
"No way?"
"Don't like drinking flower wine? Or don't you dare?"
"Are you afraid of your wife?"
"You've been in Heqin for so long, and you've never gone out to play once?"
"If you don't know the way, just follow us next time!" Some people really weren't familiar with the way, but most people were asking knowingly and deliberately trying to be funny.
Guo Honglei calmly replied, "How many days off do we get in a year? Whenever we have free time, we visit our families."
"Hehehe, Honglei is a handsome man. Even if they don't pay, the girls are happy to accompany the handsome boy."
"Come on, do you think Honglei is like you? He bargained for the price when visiting a brothel, making the madam jump with rage."
"Who, who bargained? Stop talking nonsense."
…
When he first joined the army, Guo Honglei was quite uncomfortable with what he heard, but it was common practice in the military camp, and after hearing it often, it became less strange. He raised his voice slightly and encouraged, "Everyone, once we successfully recapture Yongzhou and receive our reward, we can discuss this in detail!" He stopped and pointed up the hill, "Look, we'll be staying in that dilapidated temple tonight."
"Hey, we're finally here."
"No matter if it's broken or not, at least it can keep out the wind and snow."
"How do you know there's a dilapidated temple there?"
Guo Honglei led the group forward and briefly explained, "Last October, I followed Captain Pan and his men to infiltrate Yongzhou to investigate the enemy situation. During that time, we unexpectedly encountered enemy soldiers. During our retreat, we hid here and there, wandering through the mountains, and stumbled upon this dilapidated temple."
Not long after, a group of people stepped into the mountain gate, tied up their horses, and looked around with knives in hand.
After Guo Honglei arranged the guards, he asked his companions to pick up firewood and build a bonfire in the main hall. They took turns to keep warm, ate some dry food, and leaned on each other, sleeping on the ground and snoring loudly.
The soldiers in charge of guarding were divided into teams of five, scattered everywhere. They were on alert for an hour and then replaced by the next team.
Guo Honglei leaned against a pillar, carefully reapplying medicine and bandaging his wounds. His face was pale from working day and night and losing blood. But his expression was calm, his eyes sparkling.
After finishing his work, he stood up, glanced at the big men lying around the campfire to rest, then took his confidants, pressed the hilt of his sword, stepped out of the hall, and inspected the guard posts.
Before getting close, I saw two young men holding knives, staring down the slope and whispering about "who is the most beautiful" among the women in the brothel.
Guo Honglei sighed, walked closer and asked, "Are you still talking about this?"
The two turned their heads upon hearing the voice, hurriedly greeted each other, and replied awkwardly, "This is a very interesting conversation."
"We haven't gotten married yet, so if we don't go to a brothel, we won't be able to touch women."
Guo Honglei was speechless, his eyes fixed on the slope below. He suggested, "Since you like beautiful women, why don't you give your salary to your elders to save? If you save more, you can ask your elders to help you marry a beautiful wife. Wouldn't that be great?"
"That's right. We're from the same hometown. Most of the salary and reward money was handed over to my parents and saved to marry a wife."
"Hey, it's fun to visit a brothel. Brothers are traveling together, and we all want to broaden our horizons. After this battle, if I'm still alive to claim the reward, I'll definitely order some of the most beautiful girls."
"Yes, it would be wonderful if I could have an Oiran accompany me for a night!"
Everyone has their own way of surviving. Guo Honglei didn't criticize them, but instead encouraged them: "Tomorrow will be the decisive battle. When attacking the city, the three guards of Heqin, Xinyang, and Silu will attack together. Our chances of victory are very high! In addition, we have two guards of reinforcements guarding the rear, always on standby. With sufficient food and fodder, there is no need to worry about the battlefield. Just focus on attacking the city and killing the enemy."
The two guards laughed happily, "I think we will win. Otherwise, how can we fight our way to the outskirts of Yongzhou?"
"Please, God, have mercy on us and help us defeat the Northern Ape so we can return victoriously and receive our reward!"
Guo Honglei nodded and patted their shoulders, "Cheer up and keep a close eye on them."
"yes!"
Guo Honglei continued to move forward and led his men to conduct a careful inspection before returning to the main hall to rest.
"Oh, get some sleep. I'm dying of exhaustion."
"I was on a forced march last night and was so tired I nearly fell off my horse."
"Go to sleep." Guo Honglei walked lightly, picked a place to lie down, and used his sword as a pillow. He took out a snow-blue silk handkerchief from his arms, played with it silently, and stroked the elegant orchid pattern embroidered on the handkerchief.
This veil was obtained during exile.
At that time, he was washing his face with stream water. Jiang Yushu saw that his face was dripping with water, so she casually gave him a handkerchief to wipe his face, and then forgot about it.
Guo Honglei had been secretly collecting it and cherishing it very much. When he hurriedly entered Heqinwei, he did not forget to take the silk handkerchief given by his wife with him, treating it as a keepsake and enjoying it in his spare time.
In fact, Jiang Yushu later embroidered several handkerchiefs in men's style, which were elegant and generous.
But Guo Honglei only keeps this one piece close to him, takes it out from time to time, and lets his friends joke about him such as "He misses his wife again" or "He's lost in thought" and so on.
The next day, before dawn, the main force of Dagan's soldiers had arrived at their respective battlefields on time and surrounded Yongzhou City.
Yongzhou is a border town. Since ancient times, it has frequently fought wars with the Northern Qi. In order to resist the enemy, the city walls were built to be exceptionally high and thick.
Things are unpredictable. The Northern Tribe invaded the city and used it to defend it; the Dagan border army was forced to attack the city gate built by their own people in order to attack it.
From a distance, the city walls that can be seen are as smooth as a mirror. This is because the enemy soldiers poured water on the walls, and the cold weather froze them, forming a natural barrier to prevent the enemy from climbing.
Throughout the year, spring, summer, autumn and winter, the two countries fought countless times and were familiar with each other's strengths and weaknesses.
Beiqi racked his brains to defend, while Dagan racked his brains to attack.
On the battlefield, no matter how wise the commander is, the soldiers will eventually have to fight desperately.
Guo Honglei reined in his horse and stopped three miles before the east gate. He looked at the city wall from afar and examined the enemy soldiers defending the city. He had a firm expression and sharp eyes, waiting for orders.
Thousands of troops, cavalry, archers, infantry, a large black mass of people, stopped in front of different city gates, ready for battle, in complete silence.
Dou Yong was carrying the military order and had no way to retreat. Before personally supervising the battle, he temporarily handed over the command to Prince Li - if he won, he would return triumphantly to take back the command; if he lost, his life would not be a pity, and earning a reputation of "dying for the country" would be better than being executed by the court.
Dou Yong narrowed his eyes, looked up at the sky, slowly raised his hand, and with a sudden stroke, ordered in a weak voice: "Attack the city." His deputy immediately shouted:
“Attack the city!”
At the general's command, several war drums were beaten at the same time. The sound of the drums was powerful and loud, inspiring people.
“Go!”
The infantrymen holding shields roared loudly, took the lead and rushed forward in dense rows; the strong men following closely behind, pushing battering rams to break down the door on the left wing and ladders to climb the city wall on the right wing, bravely fighting in the front line.
Next are the archers.
The cavalrymen of the Cavalry Battalion would guard the rear during sieges because the ground was covered with caltrops, horse traps, and chevaux de frise laid by the enemy soldiers. The vanguard had to clear the way before the cavalry could charge in order to preserve the elite troops.
Immediately, the enemy soldiers defending the city began to counterattack, starting with the archers, whose sharp arrows rained down like raindrops.
"Shield! Shield protection!"
"Brothers, hold on!" The infantry leader, shield raised, advanced under a hail of arrows, not caring about casualties. He shouted, "Follow me closely! Send the battering rams and ladders to the city wall!"
On the way, some infantrymen were shot to death, some fell into horse traps, and some were pricked by thorns. They used their flesh and blood to explore and clear the way.
Guo Honglei gripped the reins, his eyes fixed on the battlefield.
In a short while, two battering rams and five ladders were transported to the city wall with great difficulty, and the war drums were beaten again.
Guo Honglei's spirits trembled. Following the pre-order, he and several other small leaders rode their horses and charged forward, shouting, "Charge!"
Commander Dou Yong, who was in charge of supervising the battle from the rear, shouted encouragement to his men: "Whoever reaches the city wall first will be awarded the first merit, will be promoted to captain, and will be rewarded with 6,000 taels of silver!"
"Whoever reaches the city wall first will be appointed a lieutenant and rewarded with six thousand taels of silver!"
"Appoint him as a lieutenant! Six thousand taels!"
There are rewards in front and military supervisors behind. If they retreat, they will be considered deserters and will be executed on the spot, so the soldiers can only charge.
"Brothers!" Guo Honglei spurred his horse forward. Under the cover of the archers, his horse galloped forward and rushed to a ladder. He leaped from his horse's back and swiftly climbed up the ladder. "Follow me up the city!"
“Go!”
"Break through the city gate and kill him without leaving a single piece of armor!" The elite soldiers, who had been through hundreds of battles, put their lives at risk. They jumped off their horses and climbed up the ladders.
A huge reward always attracts brave men. All five ladders were surrounded by soldiers, and thousands of people struggled to climb the city.
The enemy soldiers defending the city could not just sit there and wait for death, so they fought back in time, throwing arrows, stones, boiling oil and other weapons continuously from the wall.
"ah--"
The warriors who climbed the city walls were either shot by arrows, hit by stones, or doused with boiling oil. Their wails were continuous, and many of them fell off the ladders. They were at least seriously injured, and most of them were killed.
Guo Honglei pressed against the ladder, the sound of arrows piercing the air like a rain of sharp arrows piercing his ears. His whole body tensed, veins bulging in his arms. Amidst the chaos, he determined the wind direction, called out to his companions, and nimbly climbed to the other side of the ladder, upwind of the strong north wind, avoiding the spilled boiling oil as much as possible. He climbed swiftly.
Dou Yong narrowed his eyes, frowning, and gave an order. His deputy then shouted, "Archers! Get on the battering ram and suppress the enemy archers!"
At the command of the general, the archers bravely climbed onto the top of the tall battering ram and exchanged fire with the Beiqi archers, covering their own people in breaking through the gates and climbing the city walls.
Guo Honglei noticed that the rain of arrows on the wall had become sparse, and he immediately climbed the ladder with all his strength. In a flash, his blood boiled, and the courage in his bones burst out. He had no time to think deeply. He gritted his teeth, kicked hard, and flipped into the corridor of the city wall.
The wind was biting cold at the height, and before he could stand firmly and draw his sword, he was besieged by the enemy soldiers guarding the city, and several scimitars were chopped at him at the same time.
With his life at stake, Guo Honglei quickly dodged the danger. With a few clangs, his scimitar chopped off without a trace. He seized the opportunity to draw his sword, turned his back to the ladder, and bravely engaged the enemy, shouting, "Brothers! Come up!"
"good!"
"Hahaha, our people are going up!"
Below the city, the border troops witnessed their own people successfully climbing the city wall. They cheered and applauded, excited and thrilled. Their morale was greatly boosted. They roared at the top of their lungs and scrambled to climb the ladders.
Guo Honglei was alone, struggling to hold on while waiting for reinforcements. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw four enemy soldiers coming towards him on his left carrying a large pot of boiling oil. Without hesitation, he grabbed one of the enemy soldiers with his long sword, twisted his arm and kicked him!
"Ah—" Five people collided, boiling oil splashed, and the surrounding area was in turmoil. More than ten enemy soldiers were unable to dodge, screaming and piercing. Some fell or fled, blocking the aisle.
Immediately, Guo Honglei had just turned halfway when he heard a "whoosh" sound breaking through the air. He immediately thought something was wrong and subconsciously raised his knife to block it, but it was too late.
With a "puff", a sharp arrow came and hit his left shoulder, piercing through his armor and body, and the arrowhead came out from the back of his shoulder.
Guo Honglei's vision went dark, and he cried out in pain. He stumbled back under the force of the arrow, and before he could catch his breath, the enemy soldiers surrounded him again. He struggled to hold on, roaring fiercely and raising his sword to block.
Fortunately, at the critical moment, reinforcements climbed onto the city wall one after another, drew their swords and rushed to help, "Kill!"
"Honglei, is your injury serious?"
Guo Honglei had been fighting for days, with several wounds, both new and old, bleeding profusely. He shouted, "Don't worry about me, stop the enemy quickly, and urge the brothers to come up!"
"Know!"
"Be careful!"
With people on the city wall providing cover and support, the siege ladders became real ladders. Elite soldiers continued to climb up the city wall swiftly, killing the enemies side by side and gradually occupying a section of the passage.
Guo Honglei was shot in the left shoulder, in excruciating pain. He was covered in blood, his left arm powerless. He held the knife in his right hand and managed to kill a few more enemy soldiers. His vision went black, and he gasped for breath.
The author has something to say:
In ancient sieges, whoever climbed the city wall first would achieve great success. The first one to reach the city wall is our second son.
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