"Yes." Tie Niu reluctantly led a few people to the entrance of the city wall to kill the remaining soldiers.
Liu Yuhe clasped his fists and bowed. "County Magistrate Jiang, Tie Niu was rude. I apologize on Tie Niu's behalf."
"You are too polite, Commander Liu. I am only a small county magistrate and cannot bear your great courtesy." Xu Jing returned the greeting and said, "Have you decided on your confidant?"
After looking at each other, everyone pushed out a young general in a white robe under Yang Zhiming's command.
The young general in white robes reluctantly accepted the order and was about to set off. Xu Jing said, "Stop! I'm not asking you to go and die. There's a secluded path five miles east of the county government office. Zang Yun, take the young general to Baiji County to get reinforcements. Do you know quickly?"
The young general in white robe breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that he could finally save his life. He happily accepted the order and followed Zang Yun.
The war continues. The enemy won't give you a break, only seeks to take advantage of your weakness and kill you, no matter where you are. There's no right or wrong in war, only a struggle for interests.
The Jiannu were born nomads, subsisting on beef and mutton and skilled in horseback riding and archery. Few could rival them on the steppes. Born eagles, they lived freely on the prairie, having lived their lives herding for generations.
However, the Jiannu also had drawbacks: when winter came, the temperature plummeted, causing plants to die and cattle and sheep production to decrease. Due to food shortages and cold temperatures, they had no choice but to migrate in order to survive.
As the population grows, expansion is inevitable.
Take Muhe County, just across the border, for example. While the surrounding temperatures are similar, the residents of Muhe County have cotton-padded jackets, meat to eat, and shelter to live in during the cold winter. Meanwhile, they can only endure hunger and rely on brute force to endure the harsh winter. It's unfair no matter how you look at it.
The ancestors of the Jiannu people were taught from a young age that they must fight and plunder. The word "benevolence" of the Central Plains people was not in their vocabulary, only plunder. Only by plundering others could they survive.
Only by surviving can they have descendants and allow their people to live on more fertile land.
No one is born to endure hardship for the rest of their life; everyone chooses what is beneficial to them. The same is true for a country.
The Jiannu had spent more than ten years gathering their strength just to be able to break through the city gate of Muhe County today.
Yelu Qi, a Jiannu general, was a master of pyramid schemes. Standing outside Muhe County, he delivered an impassioned speech to his troops. The gist of it was that the lambs of Yan State were unworthy of the fertile land; only the eagles of the grasslands were fit to rule Hua State and become the overlord of this territory.
Yelu Qi shouted at the top of his voice, "Charge, my men! Once you capture Muhe County, you will have the most delicious cattle and sheep in the world, endless clothes to wear, and endless women to sleep with. There's nothing you can't get if you want it. Follow me, the girls, the money, the food are all yours. We will trample the little lambs of Yan State under our feet until we die!"
“Go, go, go!”
There was a glimmer of hope in the eyes of the Jiannu people. As long as they rushed in, the money and the girls would be theirs.
With endless enthusiasm, the Jiannu soldiers below were more ferocious than each other, and they climbed up the city wall like a pile of people.
"Brothers, kill!" Tie Niu's two axes were eager to kill. He chopped down any Jiannu soldier who showed his face. Blood splattered everywhere, and the soldier became a dead soul under the sword without even a scream.
Tie Niu's men were all skilled fighters, having seen blood in battle for years. Tie Niu had set a precedent, and they didn't even blink when they attacked.
More and more Jiannu soldiers climbed up, only to be hacked to the ground by the infantry led by Tie Niu. Broken arms and legs were common, and heads were discarded in a row on the city walls. The air was filled with the indelible smell of blood, and even the strongest wind could hardly dispel it.
"Master Jiang, please stand further away." Liu Yuhe was a kind-hearted man. He knew that Jiang Xuqing was a scholar who could only offer advice behind the scenes and would be useless on the battlefield. It was reasonable for him to protect Jiang Xuqing and not let him get close to the most dangerous areas.
Liu Yuhe winked at the two guards behind him. "You escort Lord Jiang down. Old Yang, leave the rest to us."
"Wait a minute." Xu Jing said, "The beacon fire has been lit."
Thick smoke billowed, and a cluster of fire on the beacon tower was like the sun of hope, extinguishing the fear in people's hearts.
After seeing the beacon fire, the Yan soldiers instantly became energized and were no longer frightened when they killed people. With a backbone, they felt more at ease and attacked more quickly.
The Jiannu, on the other hand, were not in a good mood. Yelu Qi, having dealt with the Yan State for many years, knew that Yan's beacon towers were a secret weapon. Once the beacon towers were lit, border troops over ten miles away would be able to see them and quickly come to the rescue.
At the same time, Luo Ying, who was marrying a young girl in the city, would also see it. He would rush over immediately to kill the 5,000 elite soldiers he brought with him.
"General, do you want to retreat?" Not to mention Yelu Qi, even the people under him began to retreat.
The Jiannu were good at guerrilla warfare. If they could not win, they would choose to run away immediately to reduce losses.
Yelu Qi thought it over again and again, then gritted his teeth and said, "No, we must advance with all our strength. We must capture Muhe before the border troops arrive."
Time was running out for him, and if he failed this time he would face the fate of being executed. Yelu Qi did not want to die yet, as he wanted to win the first prize and return to marry his beloved girl.
Capturing Muhe was an important step for Yelu Qi to lead the Jiannu to occupy the Central Plains. He had to do it within a limited time and would never allow failure.
"Archers, get ready."
I'd forget to mention that he also brought with him a group of skilled archers. With a single command, thousands of arrows were unleashed upon the walls of Muhe County. Screams and cries of pain filled the air. The defenders, who had previously held the upper hand, experienced the hail of arrows, but the situation was reversed in an instant. The already small number of men was ripped open, a wound they could hardly recover from.
Taking advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Yelu Qi waved his hand, and a large number of Jiannu warriors climbed up by stepping on the skulls of his own soldiers.
As more and more Jiannu soldiers appeared within the city walls, Liu Shoubei's expression grew increasingly grim. Tie Niu and his men, valiant and skilled in battle, had sustained significant injuries from the hail of arrows. With reinforcements yet to arrive and the Jiannu advancing aggressively, he, a forage garrison commander, was forced to march to the front lines to fight the enemy.
Without a second thought, Liu Shoubei, sword in hand, joined the Jiannu dog-killing scheme. Seeing this, Yang Zhiming sighed and immediately chose to fight alongside Liu Shoubei. Killing one more was a win, killing two was a win. They didn't know how long they could hold out, but facing the aggressive enemy, all they could do was stop them and prevent them from destroying Muhe City, which they were protecting.
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