Chapter 499 Big Brother is Here! (Second Update)
The vanguard of the Chen army rapidly approached the moat via a flying bridge.
Tang Yueshan stood atop the high city tower: "Archers, prepare!"
The Tang family archers launched the first counterattack against the Chen army.
Their arrows struck the armor and shields of the vanguard with a clang.
As soon as one vanguard soldier fell to the ground after being hit by an arrow, another vanguard soldier would immediately take his place. They were extremely fast. After almost all the vanguard soldiers under the flying bridges had been replaced in one round, the three flying bridges were laid across the moat!
More than a hundred soldiers from the Chen Kingdom were killed or wounded!
However, these hundred men were exchanged for the opportunity to attack the city with the remaining nearly 20,000 troops!
"Move up the ladders!" Rong Fu gave the order, and hundreds of Chen soldiers carried more than twenty ladders up the flying bridge.
The Tang family's archers did their best to intercept, but the enemy's numbers were simply too great. As soon as one soldier fell, another would immediately grab the ladder.
Meanwhile, the Chen army's catapults launched a terrifying long-range attack on the archers on the city walls.
The stones, doused with kerosene, slammed against the city wall, knocking the archers to the ground in their wake.
"Oh no! The logs are on fire!" a soldier shouted.
The logs were meant to be used against Chen Guo's siege ladders. Now that they're burning, how are they going to handle them by hand?
With the help of catapults, siege ladders were erected one after another on the city walls.
Tang Yueshan ordered: "Crash the car!"
The chariots crashed out of formation, their logs aimed at the Chen army's siege ladders and smashed into them!
boom--
A loud bang came from below the city gate.
Deputy General Cen, who was attacking the siege ladders, was shocked: "Oh no! It's Chen's battering rams! They're attacking the city gate!"
Behind the city gate, Gu Chengfeng and Vice General Li led two thousand troops in a state of high alert.
The cavalrymen rode on horseback, with infantrymen lined up behind and on both sides, each with a solemn expression.
"Have all the wounded soldiers been transferred?" Gu Chengfeng asked.
"They've been moved," said Lieutenant General Li. "Dr. Gu led them in the move."
"What about the local people?" Gu Chengfeng asked again.
"They've been moved as well," Lieutenant General Li continued.
The flybridge has been modified, with reinforced iron chains and plates, making it several times stronger than ordinary flybridges.
However, Chen's battering rams were also very sturdy; with each impact, the entire city wall seemed to shake three times.
Everyone's throat bobbed involuntarily, and they all gripped their longswords tightly.
At the point where the cavalry charged in through the city gate, soldiers had set up ropes to trip them up, and spear carts with sharp spears lined up in rows, pointing towards the city gate.
Even so, everyone understood that these things could not completely stop the Chen army's attack.
A bloody battle is inevitable!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The massive battering rams made the flying bridge tremble, and dust began to slide off the city walls.
With a deafening roar, the flying bridge was smashed through by Chen Guo's battering ram!
Chen Guo's battering rams were about to launch a further attack on the city gates of Yuegu City, but at that moment, an unexpected situation occurred!
Suddenly, several barrels of oil were dropped into the city gate. The ropes holding the oil were tied to the flying bridge. As long as the flying bridge remained intact, the ropes would not break.
Unfortunately, the flying bridge broke.
The oil was poured onto the soldiers and battering rams of the Chen Kingdom. When the oil was finished, the tinder and hat hanging on the oil drum were pulled apart by the thin strings at both ends and fell down with a thud.
"Oh no! Run!"
A soldier from the Chen Kingdom shouted.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
The kerosene was ignited in an instant, and flames shot up three feet high!
The battering ram quickly burst into flames, and the Chen soldiers fled in panic, their heads covered by the fire!
Gu Chengfeng and Li Fujiang, who were inside the city gate, heard the wails coming from inside the gate and realized that the plan involving the oil had worked.
Lieutenant Li looked at Gu Chengfeng excitedly: "Lord Gu is truly a brilliant strategist!"
It wasn't his brilliant strategy, it was Gu Jiao's.
The modification of the flying bridge and the setting of the mechanisms were all Gu Jiao's ideas; he simply carried them out.
Actually, he felt that if Gu Xiaoshun were here, he might be able to do even better.
The city gate was temporarily held, and on the city tower, Tang Yueshan led his men to overturn all the siege ladders, thus repelling the first wave of attacks.
After midnight, the Chen army sounded the retreat.
The Chen army suffered a defeat in its first battle, losing two thousand soldiers. The Zhao army also suffered heavy losses, with a steady stream of wounded soldiers being sent to their rear camps.
Gu Jiao and the doctors of Yuegu City immediately got to work. Gu Jiao first gave the wounded soldiers an initial examination and applied different colored strips of cloth according to their injuries. Then the soldiers sent them to their respective tents.
Despite the large number of wounded soldiers, no one was flustered or at a loss; everything proceeded smoothly under Gu Jiao's arrangement.
It's not that I'm not worried.
But whenever the doctors turned their heads, they could see Gu Jiao calmly doing what she was doing, with the flames of war behind her, she remained unmoved in the face of danger.
In that instant, their hearts seemed to calm down as well.
The Chen army did not launch an attack during the day on the second day.
It's unclear whether they're scared of being beaten or are seriously plotting something. If it's the latter, the situation in Yuegu City will be extremely unfavorable.
Chen Guo's first defeat was mainly due to underestimating the enemy. They didn't take the thousands of defenders of Yuegu City seriously, thinking they could break through the city gates even with their eyes closed.
If they really start to focus all their efforts on dealing with it, then Tsukiko Castle will be in danger.
"Grand Marshal Tang!" Deputy General Cen entered a tent below the city gate. Seeing that Gu Chengfeng was also there, he paused and greeted him, "Lord Gu."
Tang Yueshan was conducting a sand table simulation, trying to predict where the Chen army would attack from next.
"What is it?" he asked.
Deputy General Cen stammered, "We're running out of food..."
"Have you... finished eating?" Gu Chengfeng asked in surprise.
Deputy General Cen nodded with difficulty.
The prefect's mansion already had very little food supplies. They had even borrowed some from Lingguan City during the battle. Although Gu Chengfeng bought out all the shops in the city yesterday and received some donations from the people, it was still not enough for the 7,000-strong army to eat two meals.
Tonight, they will start running out of food.
"Give it to the wounded first," Gu Chengfeng said.
Tang Yueshan's throat bobbed, he clenched his fist, and made a very difficult decision: "Give it to soldiers who can go to the battlefield."
Gu Chengfeng remained silent.
His conscience told him he should help the wounded and weak, but reason reminded him that the wounded and weak could no longer fight. Only by ensuring that the able-bodied soldiers were well-fed could they kill more enemies and defend the city.
Wounded soldiers' lives matter too.
But more important than life itself is the mission to protect our homeland and defend our country.
Lieutenant General Cen felt a lump in his throat. What he didn't say was that even if only the soldiers who could go to the battlefield were given enough to eat, it wouldn't be enough...
Deputy General Cen left the camp.
Gu Chengfeng was immersed in a strange sense of regret.
Tang Yueshan frowned: "What are you thinking about?"
Gu Chengfeng said sullenly, "I'm wondering why I wasted so much food before."
He had never known that the soldiers on the border suffered so much, let alone that fighting was so brutal.
After a while, Deputy General Cen brought in a few steamed buns and two bowls of rice soup, and said to Tang Yueshan and Gu Chengfeng, "Marshal Tang, Lord Gu, please have some too."
Tang Yueshan said, "I don't need it."
He knows his own situation; he can handle it.
Gu Chengfeng said, "I won't eat either! Take it and distribute it to the soldiers! I've eaten plenty of oily food along the way, so going hungry for a few days won't hurt."
Just as Deputy General Cen was about to say a few words of advice to the two men, a commotion suddenly arose outside the tent. Deputy General Cen went out to see what was going on and was immediately stunned.
The people of Shiyue Ancient City have come to deliver food again.
Last time, they gave away their own stored food; this time, they simply forwent their own dinner.
The soldiers certainly wouldn't accept it!
Deputy General Cen also stepped forward, intending to persuade the people to leave.
Tang Yueshan, however, remained tense, suppressing his immense emotions as he stepped forward. He raised his arms, cupped his hands, and bowed deeply to the people of the entire city.
He then turned around, a dignified seven-foot-tall man with sharp yet moist eyes, and said to all his soldiers: "Eat!"
The soldiers picked up the steaming bowls, their throats aching, choked back tears, and began to eat heartily!
Over the next three days, the Chen army launched three small attacks and one large attack on Chaoyue Ancient City.
Although the Chen soldiers suffered heavy casualties, the soldiers of Yuegu City also suffered severe losses. By the time of the final major attack, Yuegu City had less than two thousand soldiers capable of fighting.
The Chen army's siege ladders were firmly erected on the city walls, and countless Chen soldiers stormed up the walls, while the city gates below the towers were breached by battering rams.
This time, instead of using people to deal with the oil, they used strong oxen.
The moment the city gates were breached, countless Chen cavalrymen surged into the city like a tide.
Gu Chengfeng was blinded by rage!
On the city wall, Tang Yueshan was struck in the right arm by a sword, but he did not hesitate at all, as if he had already forgotten the pain, and continued to fight in the sea of blood!
On the city tower in the very center of the city wall, Rong Can, the deputy general of Chen, wounded two soldiers of Zhao with a single slash. He then flew into the air and onto the roof, gripped his long sword with both hands, and cut down the Zhao flag!
He threw the Zhao Kingdom banner into the sea of fire with great gusto, which greatly boosted the morale of the Chen Kingdom soldiers, who let out triumphant shouts!
Rong Can picked up the banner of the Chen Kingdom and forcefully planted it atop the city wall of Yuegu City; "Yuegu City belongs to us..."
Before he could finish speaking, a red-tasseled spear hurtled towards him with a sharp whooshing sound. The surrounding fighting was so intense that it masked the spear's movement, and by the time Rong Can felt a chill run down his spine, it was too late to stop it.
The red-tasseled spear pierced through Rong Can's shoulder, slamming him against the flagpole of the Chen Kingdom.
How could the flagpole withstand such a violent blow? It broke on the spot!
Rong Can also tumbled down from the roof of the city tower.
"General!"
A soldier from the Chen Kingdom cried out in alarm.
He rushed towards Rong Can, but before he could even get close, a slender hand grabbed him by the collar and threw him away violently!
Gu Jiao pulled the red-tasseled spear from Rong Can's shoulder and kicked him off the city wall!
Gu Jiao lightly touched the ground with her toes, stepping on the inner wall of the city and using the momentum to leap onto the city tower.
With one hand gripping the red-tasseled spear, she swiftly raised the Zhao Kingdom banner in her other hand and planted it firmly on the city wall!
The fighting lasted all night, and flames raged across the walls of Moon City.
Beneath the vast sky, this city burned!
At a camp a hundred miles away, a scout swiftly descended from the mountains and reported to the man inside: "General Gu! The city ahead appears to be on fire!"
"On fire?" Gu Changqing glanced at the hourglass at his feet. "At this hour? Which city?"
"Moon City!" the scout exclaimed.
Gu Changqing had already memorized the border map along the way, and he certainly understood the strategic importance of Yuegu City. If the Chen army and the remnants of the previous dynasty wanted to continue to invade Zhao's territory, Yuegu City would be their next target.
Gu Changqing stood up: "Take me to see."
The scout led Gu Changqing to the highest point of the mountain. From there, one could only see a burning line of fire because of the distance. However, in reality, the entire city wall was ablaze.
"It's war!" Gu Changqing frowned, firelight flickering in his pupils, and a powerful aura suddenly erupted from his body. "Wake up the soldiers and prepare to depart!"
It's about a hundred li from here to Yuegu City, which isn't a straight distance, but includes the winding official road and the meandering mountain road.
Generally speaking, infantrymen can march 30 to 50 li per day during a normal march, 60 to 90 li per day during a forced march, and up to 150 li during a forced march.
To preserve their fighting strength, the Gu family army marched at a rapid pace on the way here.
Forced marches consume too much of the fighting force and should not be done unless absolutely necessary.
But now we've reached a point where we have no other choice.
When Gu Changqing walked down the mountain, all the tents and supplies had been packed up, and the soldiers were all ready to go, showing no signs of having just been woken up.
This is the most well-trained, powerful, and swift army in the Zhao Kingdom, and everyone entered a state of combat readiness almost instantly!
Gu Changqing mounted his horse, his cloak fluttering in the cold wind.
He gripped the reins tightly, gazed in the direction of Moon City, and proclaimed, "All soldiers, listen to my command! March at full speed!"
(End of this chapter)
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