Zhao Huan abandoned his chariot and rode on horseback, leading his army towards Mingzhou.
There is no emperor in a dragon robe as shown on TV, riding a royal horse and leading soldiers to the battlefield in person.
That's because you think you can't die fast enough, so you march quickly. As an emperor wearing a dragon robe, you are openly offering yourself as a target to enemy assassins.
If the enemy sends their loyal followers to lie in ambush in the valley beside the road, you can strut around in your dragon robe without worrying about being shot by arrows.
Zhao Huan was dressed in ordinary soldier's armor, and was accompanied by a group of personal guards. Judging from his appearance, no one would have known that he was the emperor. The army marched towards Mingzhou in a mighty manner.
The shouts outside the city were deafening. Eighty thousand people attacking a city was a terrifying scene to imagine.
Nangong Wentian's face was heavy. There was no way the 20,000-strong Song army could hold out for three days and three nights.
The shouts of the Jin soldiers outside the city shook the earth.
"Ho! Ho! Ho!"
Every Song army soldier in the city changed color, fearing that Mingzhou could not be defended.
Siege ladders and chariots were set up, and the Jin soldiers rushed towards the city walls like a tide.
"Prepare for battle!" Nangong Wentian drew his sword and beat the war drum.
"Boom, boom, boom..." The war drums sounded in unison.
The Song army on the city wall all knew that if the city was breached, no one would survive, so everyone fought to the death to defend the city.
The battle was unprecedentedly brutal, with the Jin soldiers attacking the city walls more than seven times in one day. Several times, they were on the verge of collapse, but were ultimately repelled by the Song army at the last moment.
The Song army on the city wall was covered in casualties, and the bodies of the Jin soldiers piled up like a mountain below the city.
Both sides were mad, biting each other as soon as they met. Nangong Wentian personally led his men into the battle, and his generals led the way, fighting the enemy on the city wall.
Nangong Lian'er, holding two daggers, rushed into the Jin soldiers who had attacked the city wall. Her bright red robe was stained with blood, and her fair face was covered in blood, giving her a kind of apocalyptic and enchanting beauty.
The fighting lasted from noon to dusk, with blood flowing like a river inside and outside the city of Mingzhou. The horror of the battle is beyond words.
After dusk, the Jin soldiers finally retreated, leaving the Song army on the city wall shaky and exhausted. After the battle, more than half of them were killed.
Nangong Wentian was patrolling the city walls when he saw piles of corpses at his feet. Some were from the Jin army, some from the Song army.
"Daddy." Nangong Lian'er ran over.
Nangong Wentian looked at his daughter lovingly and wiped the blood off her face with his hand.
"Lian'er, ride on Black Rose and run out of the east gate. Black Rose is fast, and those Jin soldiers can't catch up with you."
Nangong Lian'er was secretly shocked. It seemed that Mingzhou was doomed after her father said this. She shook her head stubbornly: "No, I won't leave. Daddy, I want to die with you."
"You are not a soldier, and you don't have military discipline. You can run away. You are my only daughter."
Nangong Lian'er looked at the exhausted soldiers around her: "Dad, look at them. These people also have families, parents, and wives. If they can't leave, how can their daughter leave?"
Nangong Wentian sighed: "Well, Lian'er, you are right, let's fight to the death!" Turning around, he shouted to the soldiers around him: "Soldiers of the Song Dynasty, the city is here as long as we are here! We swear to live and die with Mingzhou!"
"As long as the city survives, our people will survive! We swear to live and die with Mingzhou!" The soldiers were still excited, as they all knew the consequences of defeat.
"Have you heard? Baozhou City was captured. The Jin soldiers burned, killed, looted, and committed all kinds of atrocities."
"I know. I have relatives in Baozhou. It is said that after the city was captured, only one in ten people in Baozhou survived. If Mingzhou can't be defended, I'm afraid it will suffer the same fate."
"What should we do then?"
"What should we do? Fight the Golden Dog. Let's go up to the city wall and defend Mingzhou!"
"Yes, defend Mingzhou!"
The people in the city, together with the refugees who poured in, joined the team voluntarily. These refugees witnessed the brutality of the Jin people with their own eyes, and they also began to learn to resist.
After all, they were ordinary civilians, untrained, yet they spontaneously organized their resistance. They carried stones to the city walls and built fortifications. Some picked up weapons from the corpses on the ground, while those without weapons took up pickaxes and hoes. Some picked up kitchen knives and stones, determined to bite you to death with their teeth.
At daybreak, the Jin soldiers quickly launched a second wave of attacks. They continued fearlessly setting up ladders and chariots, and ramming the city gates with huge logs.
The Song troops on the Mingzhou city wall had no firearms and had used up all their bows and arrows, so they joined the civilians in throwing stones and hacking with swords.
The Jin soldiers attacked the city wall again. Some civilians were stabbed to death by the Jin soldiers. Before they died, they hugged the Jin soldiers and rolled down the city wall together.
Some, having lost their weapons, leaped forward, ignoring the fact that they had been stabbed through, and hugged the Jin soldiers, biting them with their teeth. The Jin soldiers covered their bitten ears and stabbed the other party again and again.
Nangong Wentian led his men to charge forward again. The number of Song soldiers around him continued to decrease, and the civilians on the city wall continued to fall. The two sides fought from early morning to afternoon, and finally the Jin soldiers retreated again.
Wanyan Gao and Wanyan Zonghan stood on a high place and looked out.
Wanyan Gao was shocked: "Crazy! Do the Song army want to die?"
Zong Han watched the fighting on the distant city wall and said: "Desperate dogs will jump over the wall. It's all Wanyan Jiu's fault. He shouldn't have massacred the city. Humph! He thought he was so clever, but ended up in this situation. Wanyan Jiu's death is not a pity!"
Wanyan Gao remained silent. It’s easy for you to say that. If you don’t massacre the city and make the Song people surrender, and let the soldiers get benefits, who will be willing to work for you?
Maji retreated covered in blood. It was he who led the Jin soldiers to attack the city.
Maji's chest was heaving. He had never encountered such a fierce army.
"Song Gou has taken the medicine and is so strong! We can't handle it!"
Wanyan Zonghan gave him a contemptuous look and said, "The soldiers of the Great Jin never admit defeat. If you had held out for another half hour, Mingzhou City would have been yours."
Ma Ji was furious: "If you can do it, then go ahead! It's easy for you to say that, but I don't even have any soldiers left!"
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