Chapter 395 Dingzhou City Cannot Be Defended
The soldier who brought the news reminded us: "Transport Commissioner, what about Dingzhou? What should we do about Dingzhou? Those bandits seem to have been instructed by the enemy to rob our grain supplies."
The soldiers and civilians in the city are still waiting for rescue.
Li Ye gathered 180 people.
Lu Xiao was training his troops not far away when he saw them gathering their forces.
He quickly grabbed one of the men and ordered him to the main tent to tell Marshal Xiao. The man rushed over to stop him, shouting, "Fifth Young Master, Fifth Young Master, what are you doing?"
"Brother Lu, please don't stop me. I'm in a hurry to rescue people and I must get the grain back."
Lu Tingzhi is the person his fourth sister likes, and he might become his future brother-in-law.
Lu Xiao had been training over there, his ears filled with the shouts of the soldiers, and hadn't heard what was being said here. He was completely confused. "Save people? Save what people?"
"The grain supplies sent to Dingzhou have been intercepted, Lord Lu has been captured, and Dingzhou is also falling. Brother Lu, hurry and lead the troops to rescue them!" Xiao Xuanwu said urgently.
"I have already sent someone to inform the marshal that the decision to send troops is not up to me. Let's go and retrieve the grain first. How many enemy troops are there?"
Lu Xiao felt that there were over 100,000 troops in Dingzhou, and they had not received any news. The enemy would not be able to take the city in a short time. The people were cowardly and fled, spreading rumors that the city had fallen. He had seen this kind of thing many times. Supplies were the most important thing.
Dingzhou is also short of food. If we run out of supplies, we'll be in big trouble.
The soldier replied, "Yes, yes... about two or three hundred men."
Xiao Xuanwu felt that the other party was a group of mountain bandits and not to be feared. More than a hundred people would be more than enough to deal with them.
Lu Xiao was worried about him going alone with his men, so he sent someone to fetch his horse so he could go with him.
They have just repelled a group of enemy troops, and the enemy will not attack the city immediately; they should go and return quickly.
The two mounted their horses, turned them around, and galloped towards the gate.
Upon hearing the news, Xiao Xuance immediately came out, leaped to their midst, and grabbed a rein with one hand.
What are you going there for?
"Third Brother, the grain supplies have been robbed. We must go and retrieve them. The enemy has two or three hundred men, but they are not a threat. I am confident..." Xiao Xuanwu was blocked twice, and he was anxious, wishing he could spread his wings and fly over immediately.
Xiao Xuance: "Get down! Acting without orders will be punished according to military law!"
"If he is a bait that the enemy deliberately released to lure you in, have you considered the consequences?"
Xiao Xuanwu was taken aback; he really hadn't thought of that.
Xiao Xuance asked, "Who came back to deliver the message?"
The soldier stepped forward, head bowed, not daring to look at him, his voice stammering, "Reporting to the general, no, marshal, I am a soldier who accompanied Lu Hanlin to escort grain to Dingzhou."
Xiao Xuance grabbed his shoulder and twisted his arm behind his back.
The soldier cried out in pain, "Ah! Ouch... Marshal, what are you doing? I really am just a soldier responsible for escorting supplies. Young Master Xiao recognizes me..."
"Your skills are average. Your supplies were seized, and others should have been killed in battle or captured. How did you manage to escape alive?"
The soldier said, "I escaped this ordeal by using the restroom in the woods."
Xiao Xuance shook him off.
"Third Brother, if what he said is true, what will happen to the food supplies?"
"Whether it's true or not, we'll have to send someone to investigate. If we act rashly, we'll fall into their trap. You're still young and inexperienced, so we can let you off easily this time."
But Lu Xiao, you've served in the military for over ten years, and you still make such a basic mistake. Ten strokes of the cane are a punishment for you. Do you accept that?
"Your subordinate submits!"
Xiao Xuanwu said, "Third Brother, the matter hasn't been investigated yet."
If it's true, it would be too hasty to punish them now.
"You want to get beaten too? Fine! You'll get ten strokes of the military rod!"
Lu Xiao felt that he was tough and could take ten lashes without any problem, but Xiao Xuanwu was small and weak. A few lashes would probably make him feel pain for ten days or half a month.
"Marshal, the Fifth Young Master is not one of our soldiers, so let's not punish him according to military law. It's all my fault. I didn't persuade the Fifth Young Master, and he almost made a big mistake."
"No one needs to plead for him; he'll only learn his lesson when he's hurt."
Xiao Xuanwu nodded vigorously, "Marshal, if this person is bait, I am willing to accept punishment."
The soldier clutched his injured arm, his eyes darting around rapidly; he couldn't withstand scrutiny.
He was a spy planted by the Great Jing in the Great Zhou Dynasty. This time, he was chosen to escort grain supplies. He leaked information to the mountain bandits, allowing them to ambush them in the Taihang Mountains.
They thought Lu Tingzhi, a scholar who couldn't even kill a chicken, was nothing to fear.
The bandits didn't take him seriously, but they didn't expect him to be able to shoot arrows and also had various sleeping potions on hand, which poisoned many of them.
Then, Dingzhou sent troops out of the city to welcome them, forcing them to retreat.
They almost succeeded.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Xuance still saw through his plan.
No wonder they are the opponent that the Fourth Prince fears the most.
Unable to escape alone under the watchful eyes of everyone, he glanced at Xiao Xuanwu, who was standing with his back to him, intending to take him hostage and escape, but before he could make a move...
Xiao Xuance had already seen through his thoughts. He pulled Xiao Xuanwu away and kicked him away with a "bang!"
Knowing he couldn't escape, the soldier steeled himself and prepared to bite open the poison sac hidden in his teeth.
Before he could even bite through, a large hand clamped his jaw, and with a 'crack' sound, it broke his jaw.
"Ugh..." [Kill me...]
"Men, arrest him, torture him severely, and extract some useful information from him."
Xiao Xuanwu knew he had almost caused a major disaster and lowered his head.
A hand landed on his shoulder, and he said in a muffled voice, "Third Brother, you don't need to comfort me, I was wrong..."
A merciless voice rang out, "Go and get a beating."
"……knew."
Third Brother has changed; he's already been punished with military beatings. Why not offer him a word of comfort?
He was going to go back and complain to his third sister-in-law.
No, no, tattling is something only children do. He's an adult now; he can't tattle. He has to take responsibility for his own mistakes.
Xiao Xuance then ordered, "General Gu is in charge of supervising the executions."
"yes!"
Gu Huai waved his hand, "Someone, take him away."
The two were taken away and forced onto a bench.
Two soldiers were holding sticks.
Gu Huai gave the order, "Attack!"
It was still a bit cold at this time. After the blow, Xiao Xuanwu felt pain, numbness, and stiffness in his lower limbs, as if he had lost all feeling.
But he bit his lower lip tightly, not daring to make a sound. The army camp was full of men; if he made a sound, he wouldn't be a man.
But Lu Xiao, who was beside him, called out.
"ah!"
As the second blow landed, Lu Xiao screamed even louder, "Ah!"
"Fifth Young Master, if it hurts, just cry out. Everyone is busy with their own things, and no one will laugh at you."
After the next few blows, Xiao Xuanwu felt less pain and seemed to be able to hold back, but the people around him were shouting louder and louder.
He cried out, "Ouch, it hurts! Third Brother, Marshal, I underestimated the enemy and almost fell into their trap. I know I was wrong, I'll never do it again..."
Lu Xiao, "..."
Good brother, you're so quick to understand, even better than him.
He also shouted loudly, "Marshal, Marshal, I was wrong too! I will definitely study military strategy carefully from now on and never be fooled again..."
After the ten strokes were finished, Gu Huai said, "The Marshal is only punishing you with ten strokes because this is your first offense. This is a small punishment to serve as a warning. If there is a next time, it will be thirty strokes. Do you understand?"
The two turned to look at the wounds on their backs. They felt as if their bones were about to break if they moved even slightly. They replied weakly, "We'll remember."
"Speak louder."
The two shouted in unison, "Remember!"
Lu Xiao reached out to Gu Huai, "Old Gu, I can't get up, come and help me."
The two were carried back.
Xiao Xuanwu brought spiritual spring water and top-quality wound medicine, which he also shared with Lu Xiao.
Lu Xiao exclaimed repeatedly, "What kind of miracle medicine is this? Just pour a little on it and it doesn't hurt at all."
Xiao Xuanwu boasted, "This is holy water, given to me by my third sister-in-law. This is medicinal wine. Rub it vigorously until it's warm, and the pain will subside quickly."
Xiao Xuance stood at the door for a while before leaving.
Gu Huai went in and told them that the interrogation results were in: that person was just bait to lure them out, and then Da Jing sent a large army to attack Zhen Ding Prefecture.
However, something did happen in Dingzhou. Marshal Ye was injured, supplies were running low, and the army was owed several months' worth of pay. Some people were inciting the army to surrender or desert.
The Da Jing army assembled more than 200,000 troops to attack Dingzhou.
In Dingzhou, Marshal Ye was wounded by an arrow a few months ago. Although his condition has improved due to his advanced age, the military doctor said that he could not engage in combat for more than half a year. However, the survival of Dingzhou was in grave danger.
He could no longer lie there; he got up and personally led the troops to supervise the battle, for dying in battle was better than waiting to die.
Ye Chuanzhong was shot in the arm, and his personal guards forcibly took him down from the wall so that his army doctor could bandage and treat him.
After bandaging himself up, he hurried back towards the city wall.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!!"
"What was that sound? What's going on?"
A soldier reported: "Marshal, Marshal, something terrible has happened! Da Jing is attacking the city wall with fireballs. The fireballs will explode and injure the soldiers. Also, the crenellation that was just repaired not long ago has collapsed."
Ye Chuanzhong said in a deep voice, "Fireball? Those barbarians don't even know how to cook, so how could they make fireballs?"
Zhang Jun said, "Marshal, I suspect that these fireballs were not developed by them, but were made by the craftsmen they kidnapped when the capital was looted."
"Boom boom boom!!! Bang bang bang!!!"
The rumbling grew more and more intense, and flames shot skyward from the city walls.
Ye Chuanzhong quickly rode his horse over and climbed the city wall, where he heard the cries of soldiers being blown away.
He rushed to the rows of ballistae. "Quick, aim at the positions where they're firing fireballs."
"Yes, Marshal."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a fireball flew toward him.
"Marshal, watch out!"
Ye Chuanzhong snatched a soldier's shield and threw it forcefully.
The fireball was struck and exploded in mid-air with a "bang!"
Ye Chuanzhong's face was blackened by the smoke.
Seeing what their marshal did, the soldiers followed suit. If fireballs came flying by, they would use shields, spears, or arrows to knock them off the city walls.
Some fireballs landed and exploded among the enemy troops of Dajing attacking the city below the city walls.
Wailing cries rose and fell, "Ahhh!"
Wanyan Zonglie ordered the attacking soldiers to retreat first and to use catapults to pelt the city with stones.
Both sides used every trick in the book, one desperately attacking the city, the other struggling to defend.
Jingbing's siege ladders were placed on the city wall.
The battering ram pounded again, "Thump, thump, thump!!!"
The sound of wood breaking echoed beneath the city wall—the city gate had fallen!
Enemy troops clad in black armor surged in from the Black Tide.
Then the enemy cavalry charged into the city, their scimitars whipping up waves of blood.
The soldiers of the Great Zhou retreated into the barbican.
A barbican is generally a crescent-shaped or square small city built inside the main city.
The defenders inside the barbican could shoot arrows or throw stones at the enemy from the city walls.
With a large number of enemy troops pouring into the city, and only a small exit at the city gate, the entire army was unable to retreat at once and became trapped like turtles in a jar.
This time, Dajing has a geographical advantage.
The rain of arrows, like a swarm of locusts, obscured the sky as they hurtled towards the enemy.
"Whoosh whoosh!!!"
The enemy infantry below screamed in agony, "Aaaaaah!!!"
The enemy cavalry retreated quickly.
Wanyan Zonglie ordered the team responsible for throwing fireballs to step forward and throw them.
The Great Zhou's arrows are almost used up; they need to be used sparingly.
Marshal Ye ordered his soldiers, "Stop shooting arrows, throw stones!"
Suddenly, someone approached from behind, holding a sharp, slender armor-piercing spike. With a clang, it pierced through the iron armor and disappeared into the back.
His tall figure suddenly stiffened, and a sharp pain instantly spread throughout his body.
He slowly turned his head and saw a familiar face. The other person's hand, holding the armor-piercing spike, forcefully plunged it completely into his body once more.
He opened his mouth, and blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, staining his white beard red.
"It was you? Why did you do this?"
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