Yuan Sikong held his breath and stared at the army pressing down on the city. He felt a little dizzy and his chest tightened. He tightly grasped the dagger at his waist, thinking of the young but stubborn face of the man who gave him the dagger. An eight-year-old child had the courage to drive away the barbarians and pacify the world. He would never be afraid of gold thieves!

Under the banner, a general with thick hair sat steadily on his horse. It must be the Jurchen prince Zhuoletai. He suddenly kicked the horse's belly and rushed out from the center of the army. The army immediately opened up to both sides, making way for a straight passage.

Zhuoletai restrained his horse at the foot of the city wall, raised his head, and shouted: "Who is on the city wall? Tell me your name!"

Yuan Mao said in a stern voice: "I am Guangning garrison commander Yuan Mao. Zhuoletai, you dared to kill the sons and ministers of the Emperor of Dasheng, you must be punished!"

Zhuoletai laughed wildly and said, "This old man dares to tease me, he deserves to be killed! You bunch of stubborn Han people deserve to be killed!"

"If I can stop you once or twice, I can stop you three or four times." Yuan Mao's momentum grew stronger. "As long as I am here, you will be ruined for the rest of your life. Don't even think about setting foot in Guangning! Soldiers, avenge Lord Li!"

The soldiers defending the city shouted in unison: "Avenge Lord Li!" The sound was like thunder, reaching the sky.

Zhuoletai's horse also retreated a few steps at the deafening roar. He steadied his mount, drew out his sword, held it horizontally in front of his chest, and then chopped down with force.

The drums of attack sounded for the third time under the city of Guangning. The Jin soldiers came like a black wave, sweeping in with great momentum. Everywhere they looked, they were filled with murderous intent.

Yuan Mao shouted: "Archers, ready, shoot--"

Yuan Sikong hid under cover, as the rain of arrows flying in the sky like locusts covered the sky. He looked at the Jin soldiers with bloodshot eyes and ferocious expressions, as if he saw a group of fierce ghosts. However, when they were hit by arrows and shells, the blood and flesh that burst out told him clearly that these were living people.

He had read about countless battles in military books, where famous generals seemed to be able to summon soldiers with the power of a bean, and their brilliant plans could turn masts and oars into ashes while they talked and laughed. However, the bloody scene before him was a real war. It was the first time he was so close to a war, and he couldn't help but tremble.

Yuan Nanyu was beside him, holding his hand tightly: "Second brother, don't be afraid, don't be afraid." His own voice was trembling.

Yuan Sikong stared at Yuan Nanyu, and suddenly bit his lips hard. The stinging pain made his brain clear a lot. He took a deep breath and said, "Yu'er, I'm not afraid."

Yuan Nanyu nodded, feeling his mouth dry. The shouts and screams that rushed into his ears were enough to make his heart beat wildly. He asked, "Second brother, Lord Hu, can we succeed?"

Yuan Sikong shook his head: "I don't know."

Four days ago, it was Deputy Captain Hu Baicheng who led 300 warriors to leave Guangning during a snowstorm and rush to the rear of the Jin army camp.

When Yuan Mao proposed this plan, Hu Baicheng, who had known Yuan Mao for many years and had a rough temper but was very loyal, was the first to volunteer.

They have lost contact since Hu Baicheng left. At present, it seems that at least they have not been caught by the Jin people, which is half the success. However, regardless of success or failure, everyone knows that they can't come back.

Today is the battle that will decide Guangning's life or death, and Hu Baicheng is their only hope.

As the Fengshen cannon had few shells left and its firepower was difficult to sustain, the Jin soldiers took only half the time to reach the city and began to climb the walls and break down the doors.

Yuan Sikong rushed out of the shelter and blew the horn in his hand loudly. The militiamen he organized began to rush to the city in groups. They ran to the edge of the city wall with buckets of kerosene in their hands and poured the whole bucket down. The archers lit their arrows and shot them out neatly.

A sea of ​​fire immediately broke out under the city wall, and miserable howlings could be heard incessantly, but the Jin soldiers continued to climb up with ladders.

"Sir, the west gate is in danger!"

"Sir, there is an emergency at the South City Gate!"

Yuan Mao shouted, "Shao Xu, Kong'er, go and support the city gate!"

"yes!"

In his first two attacks, Zhuoletai focused on attacking the East Gate, hoping to concentrate his forces to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop. The East Gate was the most important defensive point and the focus of Shengjun’s firepower, so it was the most difficult to attack and the cost was the highest. This time, he changed his strategy. The East Gate was still the main attack point, but he also sent more troops to the West and South Gates. Although dividing the troops meant dividing the forces, he knew that Guangning had fewer troops and could not afford to divide them now.

Zhuoletai's judgment was correct. There were only 700 to 800 soldiers guarding the city, and one man was equivalent to ten men. Although there were thousands of militiamen, how could they compare with the fierce Jurchen soldiers? However, he also overlooked one point. As long as they were used properly, even weak women could exert their strength.

Yuan Shaoxu went to the west gate, Yuan Sikong and Yuan Nanyu went to the south gate.

The two men ran to the south gate and looked down. The Jin soldiers were wearing shields and armor like a cover, one piece after another across their heads, protecting the battering ram as they charged upwards, with archers providing cover from behind.

Yuan Sikong ran to Chen Yulong and said, "Master Chen, quickly put on the 'fire suits' for them!"

Yuan Sikong gave this fire suit a name. He read in history books that when the defenders ran out of ammunition and food, they lit up the quilt and threw it off the city wall, which was very powerful. The consumption of kerosene was too great and it was no longer enough, so it all depended on how effective this fire suit could be.

Led by Yuan Weiling, a team of "daughter soldiers" rushed up the city wall with quilts in their arms, sprinkled oil, set them on fire, and worked in pairs to throw the burning quilts down.

The quilt was quite heavy and fell steadily on the Jin soldier's shield.

The barbarians' iron casting technology was completely learned from the Central Plains, and there has been no progress for many years, so they still use wooden shields. Wooden shields have their own advantages, such as cheap, light, rust-proof and freeze-proof, but in order to prevent water and cracking, they usually have to be painted several times, so they have a biggest disadvantage - they are afraid of fire.

A small spark like a rocket will go out in a moment and usually cannot burn. However, once it encounters a big fire, it will be ignited in large areas and spread ragingly. The entire siege team will be immediately engulfed in a sea of ​​fire. Those who abandoned their armor and fled were immediately shot to death by random arrows.

Yuan Sikong roared: "Continue down..."

Before he could finish his words, he was suddenly thrown to the ground by Yuan Nanyu. An arrow flew past where he had just stood, and Yuan Sikong was frightened and broke out in a cold sweat.

"Second brother, are you okay?" Yuan Nanyu touched Yuan Sikong's face nervously.

"No, I'm fine..." Yuan Sikong straightened his helmet. The armor he was wearing was found temporarily. It was too big for him and it was inconvenient for him to move, but Yuan Mao ordered him to wear it.

Chen Yulong commanded his soldiers and militiamen to fight together. The "fire suits" flew down the city wall like pieces of paper. If they fell under the shield, they would immediately catch fire. If they fell on the ladder, they would blow everyone down. After dozens of fire suits were dropped, the crisis at the South Gate was immediately resolved. The offensive of the Jin soldiers was obviously slowed down a lot, giving them a chance to catch their breath.

Yuan Sikong said, "Yu'er, you stay here and keep an eye on her. Make sure you protect my elder sister. I'll go see my father."

Yuan Nanyu said worriedly: "Then you have to be careful. Arrows don't have eyes, but you have to have eyes."

"Don't worry, you should be careful too." Yuan Sikong climbed up and ran towards the east gate.

Yuan Mao was still commanding with a hoarse voice. The situation at the East Gate was indeed much more serious than the other two gates. The battering ram had already hit the gate. Soldiers climbing the city wall were densely packed on the ladders like ants, beating down one group after another. The piles of dead bodies under the city walls were simply shocking.

Yuan Sikong ran to Yuan Mao and said in a trembling voice, "Dad, I'm afraid we can't defend the East Gate. Why don't we send musketeers to the gate to meet the gold thieves?"

They tried their best, but it still didn't work?

Yuan Mao dragged Yuan Sikong behind him and said loudly: "I believe in Hu Baicheng, he will not let me down!"

Suddenly, a strange horn sounded from the Jin army, a signal they had never heard of before.

Zhuoletai turned his horse around and circled on the spot.

Yuan Sikong was overjoyed: "Dad, it must be the news that Lord Hu attacked the camp!"

Yuan Mao's lips trembled slightly, and his red eyes stared at Zhuoletai.

How will Zhuoletai choose?

Yuan Sikong thought, if he were Zhuoletai, he would not care about the main camp, as long as he focused his firepower to capture Guangning, would he still worry about food and drink? But Zhuoletai, as the commander of the three armies, made any decision that had nothing to do with courage or not. He had too many thoughts and was bound to be in a dilemma. He knew Guangning was in danger, but he didn't know that Guangning was in a desperate situation, especially since Guangning had sent troops to attack his main camp, which made it even more difficult for him to judge. He had already been defeated twice in this city. If he abandoned the main camp and Guangning still couldn't be captured, he would lose all his food and grass and be attacked from all sides, which would be a real defeat.

Yuan Si's gamble was that he would definitely return to rescue the camp.

Soon, Zhuoletai made a sound decision - to withdraw his troops.

Yuan Sikong grabbed Yuan Mao's arm, and was so excited that his heart and lungs were about to explode.

Zhuoletai withdrew his troops! He had fallen into the chess game he had set!

Zhuoletai was worthy of being a famous general of the Jin Dynasty. He was strict in discipline and obeyed orders. It was a hasty move to withdraw troops from the battlefield, but he did it in an orderly manner. As Yuan Sikong expected, he sent the cavalry on the left and right wings to rush to the main camp for rescue, and he personally led a cavalry unit to cover the rear.

Yuan Mao was ecstatic: "Zhuoletai has retreated!"

"Zhuoletai has retreated!" The defenders on the city wall shouted one after another. The news spread from one to ten, and from ten to a hundred, and soon it spread throughout the entire Guangning City, and the city was filled with cheers.

Yuan Mao turned around and glanced at the soldiers behind him: "According to the plan, I need a brave general to lead 500 cavalrymen and charge Zhuoletai's central army with muskets. Who dares to go?"

In order to prevent leaks, their plan was not revealed until the last minute.

"I am willing to go!" A clear voice sounded, and a young man in his early twenties stood up with no fear on his face.

This person was none other than Liang Huiyong, a young general from Guangning. He was also one of the few soldiers who clearly stated that they were determined to defend the city to the death that day.

"Okay, there is no shortage of brave men in Liaodong!" Yuan Mao looked at him with admiration, "I order you to be the vanguard and disrupt the Zhuoletai army. There is no need to fight to the death. The purpose of this battle is to break their morale."

"I obey your orders!"

Yuan Sikong stepped forward and walked to Liang Huiyong's side: "General, when you fight, you must tell the soldiers to shout a sentence in unison."

"What?"

There was a hint of viciousness in Yuan Sikong's eyes: "'Reinforcements have arrived, the main camp has been attacked, and Zhuoletai has been defeated'!"

——

The 500 cavalrymen Liang Huiyong took away were Guangning's last remaining strength. At this time, Guangning was as fragile as an egg shell and would collapse at the slightest touch. This was their only and last chance of survival. If they failed, they would die.

Although Liang Huiyong is young, he is extremely brave and not as reckless as Hu Baicheng. He is a talented general. If he can escape this disaster, he will become a great man in the future. However, just like the assassins Hu Baicheng brought away, they are also very dangerous.

Everyone watched as Guangning's cavalry charged forward, making a semicircle, avoiding Zhuoletai's elite troops in the rear, and heading straight for the central army. Although the army was far away, one could still see that the five hundred cavalrymen looked so small in comparison to the tens of thousands of troops.

However, the imagined scene of disappearing without a trace did not appear. Instead, the 500 warriors were like wolves among a flock of sheep, killing people in all directions. They soon put Zhuoletai's central army into chaos and were about to be cut off.

Yuan Sikong's breathing became more rapid because of excitement.

As he expected, although there were only 500 cavalrymen, they exerted the power of 5,000.

The reason Liang Huiyong was able to break through Zhuoletai's central army was not because those 500 men were divine soldiers or their muskets were so powerful. There were three reasons. First, the central army was composed of infantry and mechanized soldiers. Cavalry has an advantage over infantry. Horses whizzed past and collected heads like cutting wheat. Second, Liang Huiyong came suddenly and the central army was completely unprepared. The barbarians had never seen a single-soldier musket and were quite frightened. Third, and most importantly, the Jin soldiers' morale was on the decline and their fighting spirit was gone.

When the siege was halfway through, the commander suddenly withdrew his troops without any reason. The soldiers were already suspicious. They had failed to take the city three times and so many people had died, which made them lose confidence. At this time, five hundred cavalrymen suddenly attacked the central army, shouting "reinforcements have arrived, the main camp has been attacked, Zhuoletai has been defeated". They could not help but believe it, and in an instant, their morale plummeted.

So the central army did not think of resisting, but fled in all directions. Once the central army ran away, the entire army began to disperse from the center to the surroundings. The news that "reinforcements have arrived, the main camp has been attacked, and Zhuoletai has been defeated" spread like poisonous gas. Even if Zhuoletai, who was at the rear of the army, discovered that the central army had changed, it was too late to stop it. He watched his tens of thousands of troops become scattered sand in an instant, like lambs to be slaughtered in front of the five hundred cavalrymen.

The Guangning soldiers stood on the city wall and watched Zhuoletai's army collapse with their own eyes. They were so excited that they shed tears.

Yuan Mao hugged Yuan Sikong tightly and choked up, "Kong'er, you saved Guangning."

Yuan Sikong's eyes became hot and tears fell. He wiped away the tears vigorously: "Dad, this is the result of the common hatred of the soldiers and civilians in Guangning. Kong'er dare not take credit for this. Moreover, it is too early to talk about victory now. It depends on whether Zhuoletai will completely withdraw his troops."

"He won't come again." Yuan Mao shook his head, "Dad is sure he won't dare to come again."

Yuan Sikong thought so in his heart. This battle definitely hurt Zhuoletai badly. Maybe the number of casualties was not as high as in the previous two sieges, but it was an unprecedented blow to his morale. Even if he still had the will to come again, he would have to regroup for a long time, and by then their reinforcements would surely have arrived.

Guangning was really defended.