"We won, we triumphed!" Fatty Zhao at the back of the team clenched his fists tightly and cheered in his heart.
I have also been to the battlefield in full armor and chopped off the heads of Jiannu soldiers. Although they were dead heads, others don't know about it.
When I get back to the capital, I'll have something to brag about! Those idiots were stunned by what I said, then gave me a thumbs-up and praised me, "Brother Zhao, you're a real man."
Well, it wasn’t in vain that I suffered so much and endured so much hardship. I fought in Liaodong and defeated the Jiannu. That’s enough for me to brag about for the rest of my life!
Thinking of his pride, Fatty Zhao grinned and laughed foolishly.
………………
Only a few traces of early spring can be seen in the Northeast, and it will take at least another month for the ice and snow to melt. It will take even longer in Liaodong.
Even with tents and campfires, camping outdoors wasn't easy. Without down jackets or sleeping bags, winter wasn't a comfortable season for the ancients.
The Later Jin army's siege of Guangning City seemed to be proactive, but it must have been very uncomfortable for them to station troops under a fortified city.
The key point is that the defenders of Guangning City are not just hiding, but in the words of the Jiannu, they are very dishonest.
First, they stormed the city at night, not by surprise, but by chopping off people's heads and dragging away the bodies.
The Jiannu reacted and sent elite cavalry to shoot and kill them, but many were killed or wounded by the artillery and arrows placed on the city walls.
The death squads who cut off heads and dragged corpses were all wearing double armor and holding shields. They hid under the city walls and had the protection of the city walls, so there were very few casualties.
When the Jiannu army arrived, the suicide squad escaped back to the city via a specially reinforced large hanging basket that could block arrows.
The Jiannu wanted to collect the bodies, but the arrows and artillery fired from the city walls caused the Jiannu to leave behind more than a dozen bodies.
The next night, the same trick was repeated in the city. The Jiannu, who had been prepared, rode their horses and shot arrows, but found that the target was a dummies in armor. The artillery from the city fired, and the Jiannu lost several more lives.
There was constant turmoil every day, with people lowering dummies or sending out suicide squads. More and more heads were hung on the city walls. Every time someone came out to stop it, the Jiannu would add a few more heads.
Later, the old slave also came to his senses.
Just to stop the Ming army from cutting off heads, they sent a large group to fight with the Ming army outside the city, which only increased casualties. At most, they killed a few guys who were willing to risk their lives for the reward. It was a complete loss-making business.
The Jiannu gave up, but a new trick came up in the city.
First, he sent a letter at night, in the name of Sun Degong, saying that after isolation and inspection, he had gained Wang Huazhen's trust and was now responsible for defending the east gate.
Although he wanted to open the city gates and surrender, the gates were already sealed, and moving without authorization might alert Wang Huazhen. Therefore, he and his close associates decided to control a section of the city wall and allow the Later Jin army to climb in at night.
It sounded so convincing, but the old slave was skeptical. But he was unwilling to let this opportunity go.
Therefore, he first sent two messengers to sneak up on a certain section of the city wall at a certain time at night, as Sun Degong had said.
You wouldn't believe it, but the two messengers climbed into the city smoothly via the hanging basket. But the next day, two new bodies were hung on the city wall, and they were the two messengers' bodies.
Just when the old slave was furious and felt that he had been cheated, another letter was shot by an arrow at night, and it was still from Sun Degong.
In the secret letter, Sun Degong complained that the people of the Lao Nu faction were unreliable. He had already infiltrated the place, but Wang Huazhen happened to be leading an inspection, and these two guys actually tried to assassinate him, causing him to be almost exposed.
So impulsive? He's usually quite steady and alert! This old slave is very suspicious, but he's not entirely sure.
Sun Degong also suggested that they send more people this time and have them set fires everywhere in the city to create chaos.
His people are not suitable for this task, as it will easily be exposed and affect his grand plan of capturing Wang Huazhen alive.
This old slave thought about it again and again, gritted his teeth, and decided that he would rather believe it than not. It was enough to waste time under the city of Guangning.
So, according to the agreed time and place, more than 30 insiders sneaked up to the city wall and successfully climbed up.
And then—nothing happened. The next day, as the sun rose, many heads were seen hanging on the city walls again.
Fortunately, the king was careful, and most of the more than 30 people he sent out were Han people who had surrendered, with only three Jurchens as leaders.
While the old slave felt heartbroken, he was also secretly glad that Sun Degong was finished. He was sure that the secret letters were all fake and had been forged by someone else.
But at night, arrows were shot from the city again, and it was still that damned "Sun Degong".
This time, Sun Degong was very angry, saying that the old slave did not trust him at all and sent so many Han spies, but as soon as they entered the city, some of them rebelled. Fortunately, he saw the opportunity quickly and killed these spies before Wang Huazhen, otherwise -
Am I stupid? Am I really stupid? You tell it as if it were true, and you even want to trick me into giving away your life!
Being deceived is not a big deal, but what is hateful is that the other party deceives you again and again, and acts so seriously and solemnly.
The old slave tore the letter into pieces and was so angry that he couldn't sleep well. He also issued a strict order that whoever presented the letter with arrows shot from the city again would have his head chopped off.
Wang Huazhen, I didn't know he was so malicious and evil before! It's true that you can only know a person's face but not his heart. It's hard to depict the bones of a tiger even if you can only draw its skin!
I feel like my life has not been in vain, I have learned a lot. They say that it takes a lifetime to get to know a person well, and it turns out to be true.
The city stopped playing archery books and cheating people out of heads, and switched to playing "early to bed, insomnia, get up quickly and have fun." Moreover, they were even bolder and actually came out from the city gate.
Twenty or thirty knights, each riding two horses, suddenly rushed out from the west gate in the middle of the night and approached the Jiannu camp, as if they were going to break out of the camp.
When the cavalry approached the Jiannu guard post, they shot a volley of arrows, but seemed to find it difficult to break through, so they changed direction and ran around the city, shouting and screaming in fear as they ran.
The Jiannu camp besieging Guangning was alarmed and sent out elite cavalry to join the pursuit.
The number of pursuers increased, and their momentum grew stronger. The sounds of horse hooves, shouts, gongs, and the cheers of the defenders on the city walls resounded everywhere.
The twenty or thirty Ming cavalrymen moved at different speeds, as if teasing someone, around the city and then entered through the west gate. Perhaps out of panic, the city gate remained open and was not closed for a while.
The Jiannu were chasing with great enthusiasm. The vanguard had already approached them within dozens of meters. Seeing that the city gate was not closed, they shouted excitedly and urged their horses to charge into the city.
Capture the city, capture the city, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
The Jiannu cavalry rushed through the city gate unhindered, one hundred, two hundred, three hundred... they couldn't stop at all!
Just when the Jiannu thought that the city was about to be broken, drums sounded like thunder and shouts from inside and outside the city shook the earth.
The city was crowded with people, and suddenly countless figures appeared. Rolling logs, battering stones, ten thousand enemies, fire pots, etc. rained down, and in an instant the area outside the city gate became a sea of fireworks.
Boom, boom, boom... The Portuguese cannons on the top of the city revealed their ferocious muzzles, and the heavily armored Ming soldiers pointed countless three-barreled guns at the enemy, spewing deadly bullets at the Jiannu people below the city.
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