Chapter 215: Seizing the City
by Surprise The sun, which had been covered by clouds for a whole day, struggled to reveal its true appearance in the evening. After a brief moment of brilliance, it sank down again in loneliness.
The elite Moyun Cavalry soldiers who had rested at the exit of the valley until night fell, got up and mounted their horses after receiving the order to march. They came to the wide and flat official road in the night and galloped towards Shuozhou City.
After being jolted on horseback for half the night, Luo Li felt that her body was about to freeze. The human heater of the King of Qin on her back did not have much heat. In this era without cars with heating, the fastest way to march was to ride a horse. In the case of the bumpy ride that made her stomach and lungs hurt, she could only grit her teeth and persevere.
Siyu was also held in front of Yun Yi and rode on a horse. She was no longer as shy as she was at the beginning. She actually enjoyed the feeling of being protected in the arms of her lover. Anyway, with the young lady and His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin setting an example in front, her companions around her would not just laugh at her secretly.
Pang Ying and Mulan'er rode their horses at full speed. The biting cold wind was biting, scraping their skin exposed outside the masks like a knife. Their hands and feet were frozen stiff in cotton gloves and woolen boots, but their hearts were full of heat and pride.
Of course they had to be proud. The results of their hard training were now tested. Being able to ride on horses at night with the world-famous Mo Yun elite soldiers and not fall behind was something that every female soldier in the Big Foot Women's Corps was proud of.
In the second half of the night, the marching troops, led by Meng Liang, turned from the flat and wide road into another rugged and difficult path in the valley, and the marching speed also slowed down.
After walking on the narrow and rugged mountain road for more than an hour, an order came from the front: "Slow down, stop, dismount and rest."
The concise military order was whispered one by one, and the Mo Yun cavalry soldiers dismounted and rested on the spot.
The soldiers moved their frozen hands and feet, fed the fine feed brought by the war horses, and sat on the ground, silently gnawing on the cold dry food and jerky.
They were very satisfied with the meal. The fried instant noodles produced in the princess's workshop were fragrant and crispy even though they were frozen cold. They were a hundred times more delicious than the hard noodles they had eaten during the march. The spicy, sweet and salty meat jerky made them so easy to swallow.
Luo Li had eaten too many instant noodles in her previous life because she was too hardworking. She felt sick every time she smelled them. She didn't want to taste the delicious instant noodles in the eyes of these soldiers. She chewed the hard noodles and meat jerky, chewed them finely in her mouth, swallowed them hard, and drank a sip of the water that had become cold even when warmed in her arms. One more bite would ensure that her body would gain one more calorie.
The King of Qin took the water bag from Luo Li's hand and handed her the other water bag that he had kept warm in his arms, "The water is not so cold now, drink a few more sips."
Luo Li smiled, her eyes sparkling in the night, and took a few more sips. The water, which was no longer cold after being warmed by his body temperature, did not shrink in her stomach, and a warm current flowed through her heart.
More than half an hour later, it was bright. Yun Yi, with eighteen disguised shadow guards, drove dozens of horses carrying goods and walked out of the valley.
About a quarter of an hour later, "Get on the horses! Form a team and prepare to charge!" King of Qin Zhao Defang gave an order. Hearing the battle order, the elite soldiers of Mo Yun cavalry quickly jumped on their horses, arranged the charge formation, and were ready to fight.
Xiao Bao, the defender of Shuozhou City, received a military order from the secret envoy Yelu Xizhen a few days ago, telling him that the Song army's western army had arrived in Daizhou, and asked him to be vigilant. If Shuozhou City could not be defended, he could seize the opportunity and abandon the city to escape and preserve his strength.
Xiao Bao was also a capable general. After receiving the military order from the commander-in-chief Yelu Xizhen, he stood in front of the map and thought for half the night, and realized the true meaning of the Grand Marshal's strategy and tactics.
The Song army assembled two armies of 200,000 men, and the momentum was fierce, but in this icy season, it was difficult to keep up with the logistics support as they went deep into Liao State to capture cities and plunder land. The Grand Marshal wanted to avoid the enemy's sharp edge, reduce the loss of troops, lure the enemy deep into the city, and when the battle line was stretched out and the Song army's forces were weak, the front and rear could not take care of each other, and then gather all the strength of the Liao army to fight a annihilation battle against the Song army!
Xiao Bao agreed with the Grand Marshal's strategic concept, but as a general, he had his own pride.
Shuozhou City is in my hands, and I have to defend it for at least half a month. In the battle for the city, the defenders have a great advantage, and the ratio of casualties between the defenders and the attackers is very large. Even if I, Xiao Bao, cannot defend Shuozhou City and have to retreat, I will make the Song army pay a huge price.
After Xiao Bao strengthened the city's defenses, he would personally patrol the city three times a day, strictly ordering the soldiers to be alert and ready to meet the enemy at any time. He ordered the gatekeepers to strictly check the people entering and leaving the city to prevent spies from the Song Dynasty from sneaking in.
However, Xiao Bao was also secretly calculating that the Song army had just arrived in Daizhou, and it would take at least a few days to rest before going out to seize the city and plunder the land. It would take seven or eight days to attack Huanzhou, which was closest to Yanmen Pass.
Huanzhou's defender Zhu Fang fought hard to defend the city for a few more days. Even if the Song army broke through the city, it would take half a month for the Song army to arrive at Shuozhou. At that time, the reinforcements from Yunzhou City also arrived in Shuozhou. The defenders and reinforcements attacked from the front and back. Even if the Song army came with great force, why would this general be afraid of them?
Yun Yi and the shadow guards, wearing sheepskin jackets and thick fur hats, drove the loaded horses, followed the civilians who were carrying loads, pushing carts, or carrying goods on their shoulders, and lined up to enter the city.
A team of soldiers in bright armor at the city gate carefully checked the civilians entering the city. From their attire and morale, it can be seen that these soldiers guarding the city gate are elite soldiers from the Liao Army Camp in the city, replacing the auxiliary soldiers who usually guard the city gate.
The inspection is meticulous, and the inspection of the goods is also unreasonable. There are sounds of beatings and scolding, and the civilians begging after the goods were overturned and kicked. There is a chaotic noise at the city gate.
A caravan of nineteen strong men, driving dozens of horses carrying goods, attracted the attention of a captain guarding
the gate. "Stop!" The captain shouted loudly and walked over with four soldiers, "Stop where you are and wait for inspection!"
At this moment, the caravan was only fifty or sixty steps away from the city gate. Yun Yi winked at the two shadow guards beside him and walked quickly to meet the Liao army.
"Military sir, we are merchants selling tea from Daizhou to Xingqing Prefecture. We are passing through Shuozhou. Please give us a favor." Yun Yi said with a smile on his face and took out a piece of white silver from his pocket.
The Liao army captain's eyes widened!
: "Don't give me that! Merchants from Daizhou? Are you the elite of the Song army..." Before he finished speaking, he covered his throat, his eyes widened with fear, and he fell down like a wooden stake.
Yun Yi flipped the short sword in his hand, and his figure was as swift as a ghost. Before the remaining three soldiers could shout out their terrified warnings, their throats were pierced by a cold lightning. A thin red line became increasingly dense on the necks of each soldier, and blood spurted out.
Yun Yi didn't even look at the bodies falling to the ground, he leaped up and rushed towards the city gate!
The eighteen shadow guards also drew their weapons from the cargo on their horses and rushed towards a team of Liao soldiers at the city gate.
Xiao Bao, the general of Shuozhou City, who was patrolling on the city wall, heard the commotion below and looked down. He saw those skilled spies rushing to seize the city gate. He was so frightened that he shouted: "Close the city gate! Quick! Close the city gate!"
The eighteen shadow guards led by Yun Yi were all skilled kung fu masters. The ordinary soldiers of the Liao army were half a beat slower to react to these ghostly killers. Before they could raise their weapons, a team of thirty people guarding the city gate were wiped out.
The people entering and leaving the city were frightened by the sudden bloody massacre and cried and ran in all directions.
The shadow guards, who had a high degree of tacit cooperation, divided into teams of four or five without Commander Yun's orders, and rushed into the city gate separately, then rushed to the walls on both sides of the city gate along the stone steps.
"Shoot! Shoot!..." Xiao Bao, who was on the city wall in the distance, shouted at the top of his lungs, and ran desperately towards the top of the city gate with a dozen personal soldiers around him.
The soldiers standing guard on the city wall finally reacted, raised their bows and arrows, and aimed at the enemies flying towards them. The shadow guards used their Qinggong skills to fly up, and the Zhuge Liannu in their hands fired faster than the enemy. With screams, the bows and arrows in the hands of the Liao soldiers flew diagonally, and dozens of archers either collapsed on the city wall or rolled down the wall.
Yun Yi jumped onto the city wall, killed several panicked Liao soldiers who blocked the way in front of him, and stopped Xiao Bao who was running towards him. He swung the fish intestine sword lent to him by the prince, and sparks flew. The sword that could cut iron like mud cut Xiao Bao's blade into two pieces. He took a step forward and the fish intestine sword slashed Xiao Bao's throat!
If the two armies were fighting on the battlefield, it would not be so easy for Yun Yi to kill Xiao Bao on horseback.
Xiao Bao was also a fierce general of Liao State, with amazing arm strength. With a mace in his hand, he could maneuver freely in the army of thousands of horses and was invincible.
Unfortunately, Xiao Bao came to the city wall to patrol today and did not think about encountering an enemy attack. He only brought a saber, and did not let his personal soldiers carry the mace weighing more than 100 kilograms. He did not have a horse, and his light body skills were not good. He was a fierce general who died in Yun Yi's sword.
As Xiao Bao's sturdy and strong body fell backwards, he seemed to hear the thunderous sound of horse hooves coming from the southeast. The fear, anger, humiliation, unwillingness and other complex emotions in his eyes were instantly stagnant at one focus, and his heavy body fell to the ground with a bang!
At this moment, Xiao Bao's dozen personal soldiers ran up to see the general's corpse with angry eyes, and rushed towards Yun Yi with a sad roar.
Yun Yi flew up and rushed to meet him like a tiger pouncing on a flock of sheep.
The Shadow Guards have already controlled this section of the city wall and the city gate. The two teams resisted the enemy coming from the distant city wall. The two teams picked up the scattered bows and arrows, jumped down the city wall, and guarded the wide-open city gate tightly, shooting at the enemy who came to support the city after hearing the news.
With a three-man sharp blade charge formation, the flying Moyun Cavalry rolled up the dust flying all over the sky, carrying the death and murderous aura that frightened the enemy, and rushed at high speed like a thick black arrow!