Chapter 164
"Sir, this is the letter from Jiang Weicheng." He Xin stepped forward and said.
Xie Chen put down the topographic map in his hand, took the letter, opened it, and quickly read it. He closed the letter and said to He Xin, "Let's travel tonight. We will be there soon."
"Yes, sir." After He Xin passed on the order, he mounted his horse and lagged slightly behind Xie Chen. "Sir, what did Jiang Weicheng say in the letter?"
Xie Chen stroked the mane of the horse under his crotch, "Lieutenant Jiang will soon escort food and supplies to support us, and he also said that Captain Zhao has been besieged for many days, so let's speed up."
"Escort food and fodder? That's great. I thought the Commander's Mansion really wanted to let us go to rescue them without spending a penny." He Xin finally said what he had been holding in his heart for the past few days.
Xie Chen glanced at him, tightened the reins, and said, "Follow me." After that, he waved the whip and went away like an arrow.
"Hey, sir, wait for me." He Xin wanted to catch up with Xie Chen, but was stopped by Lao Zhang. "Brother, why are you so anxious? Haven't you seen the eagle flying around overhead these days? Our captain is not the kind of person who would let others take advantage of him for nothing."
He Xin narrowed her eyes and looked at Lao Zhang: "You knew it and didn't remind me." Bai Bai got a stab in the face.
Lao Zhang laughed loudly, "Let me remind you how I laugh at a joke." After saying that, he took the whip in his hand and hit the horse that He Xin was riding. The horse was frightened and ran forward wildly. In the distance, besides the sound of horse hooves, the voice of He Xin cursing Lao Zhang could be heard.
The soldiers who had finished resting and were about to mount their horses laughed when they heard this. Lao Zhang immediately put away his smile and said, "Be careful tonight. Let's go."
The moon was faint and there were few clouds. As the night deepened, the crescent moon was completely obscured, and the entire sky was as black as thick ink.
Captain Zhao raised his hand to brush away the military doctor who was about to apply medicine to him, "How many people are left?"
The guard said solemnly, "Less than five thousand."
There are less than 5,000 people, while the Huns have tens of thousands. Although both sides have suffered casualties in the fighting in the past few days, Captain Zhao knows in his heart that without reinforcements, these 5,000 people will not be able to hold on sooner or later.
"Any news about reinforcements?"
"Your Excellency left a transfer order when he sent out the troops. If Lieutenant Jiang knows that the war is not going well, he will definitely take the transfer order to find the Captain of the Guards. However, Qingquan County is still a long way from here. Even if the cavalry rides at full speed, it will take several days. The Captain of the Guards should be on the way." said the personal guard.
"Then let's wait a little longer. When the reinforcements arrive, we..." Captain Zhao's arm was wounded by a sword, and blood oozed out when he raised his hand. He drew out his ring-handled sword and looked at the increasingly dark night with a stern gaze. The soldiers around him stared at him with bated breath.
Suddenly, a few birds flapped their wings and flew into the night. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and cursed the Huns in their hearts. They had been like frightened birds in the past few days. They had not eaten or slept well. The soldiers were tired and exhausted, and their fighting capacity was no longer what it used to be.
"Uncle, can Wei Zhongxuan really make it?" Han Jue came over from the side. During the days of Hun siege, the two armies fought countless times, but the Huns had the advantage in numbers and blocked their way out time and time again. They could only fight and retreat.
They were traveling light this time, and they did not bring much food and supplies. After being out for such a long time, there was not much food left. If Xie Chen had not come, they might not have died at the hands of the Huns, but would have starved to death first.
Captain Zhao glanced at his nephew indifferently. If it weren't for the fact that Han Jue made him misjudge the opportunity in that battle, and if it weren't for the fact that he hadn't made any military achievements for many days and had been so dazzled by a few victories that he underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly, how could they have fallen into such a situation? The war was not over yet, so he would naturally have to apologize when he returned, otherwise how could he quell the resentment in the army.
He closed his eyes and ignored Han Jue's questioning. The guards around him naturally knew what Captain Zhao meant. It was all Han Jue's fault for being crazy about military merit. Not only did he fall into the Huns' trap of showing weakness, but he also caused his army to make a wrong judgment and fall into Mu Xie's ambush. Now he dared to come and ask for reinforcements.
Someone suddenly remembered a story. It seemed that during an autumn shooting contest, Han Jue became jealous and used sinister means to sneak attack and injure the captain of the guards. He was severely punished for this, but because of Captain Zhao and his own military achievements, he was able to rise again.
He actually had the nerve to ask when Captain Wei would arrive. The man spat in his heart, closed his eyes silently and rested.
"Wait, what's that sound?" Captain Zhao stood up suddenly.
"Sir, the Hun cavalry suddenly launched an attack and are heading this way." The scout reported.
"Everyone, mount your horses immediately and meet the enemy. By the way, how much gunpowder is left?" asked Captain Zhao.
"We used most of them to break out earlier. Now we only have two thunder bombs and some kerosene left," the guard replied.
"Bring the kerosene, and the archers follow me first." Captain Zhao touched the musket in his arms and said to his bodyguards.
The flames shot up into the sky, illuminating the dark night as if it were day. Captain Zhao looked from afar at the muscular man riding a tall horse opposite him. It was the new Huns Khan, Muye. Behind Muxie Chanyu was a mass of cavalrymen, with weapons in their hands flashing cold light and fierce eyes, like wild wolves on the grassland, as if they would rush up and bite as long as Muxie Chanyu gave the order.
"Captain Zhao, I'm afraid you can't escape today. We advise you to surrender quickly. Our Chanyu, in recognition of your great military achievements, would like to make you a king and marry our princess to you." A Xiongnu soldier who could speak Chinese shouted.
"This fellow wants you to surrender and commit treason. He humiliates you so much. Let me take his life." The guards were so angry that they gritted their teeth. The captain had never suffered such a great humiliation. The morale of the army was low after the defeat. The soldiers already had complaints, and now they heard the Huns' surrender, which would affect their morale.
"No hurry, go and ask him if he still remembers the former champion marquis."
He turned back to face the soldiers, many of whom still had scars on their faces. Some soldiers in the back even supported each other. "I have been a soldier for half my life. If I really have to die on the battlefield today, it is my fate. But I was born in Dayan and I shall die in Dayan. This is Huposhan, the territory of the Xiongnu. Everyone, follow me and fight our way out. We shall die in Dayan’s territory."
The soldiers were infected by his fearless attitude and were very excited. They gnashed their teeth and said, "Yes, even if they died, they would die in the territory of Dayan."
"We will follow you till death, sir." The guards shouted first.
The others also shouted loudly: "We will follow you until death." The sound echoed throughout the valley. Muye Chanyu seemed to have heard the situation here. He raised his right hand and signaled the Hun soldiers to take action.
Captain Zhao was watching the scene with satisfaction. "The seriously injured ones will stay at the end, the lightly injured ones will be in the front, the archers will shoot arrows in the front, and the cavalry will follow me to charge."
He arranged the battles one by one. All the soldiers had solemn expressions and firm eyes. The seriously injured soldiers who came later listened to Captain Zhao's arrangements with tears in their eyes. They were seriously injured, and if they really had to fight against the Hun soldiers, they would have no chance of survival. Lord Zhao actually arranged them at the end, which gave them a chance to survive.
The soldiers looked at each other, holding their weapons in their hands, gritting their teeth, waiting for Captain Zhao's order.
A flock of birds flew up in the forest, and the two sides faced each other with a murderous atmosphere. At this time, a sharp arrow with a cold light shot straight at the soldiers of Dayan. With a muffled groan, a soldier of Dayan vomited blood and collapsed to the ground.
Almost at the same time, all the crossbow arrows doused in kerosene were fired, flying towards the Huns like meteors falling to the ground. The Hun soldiers picked up their swords to resist. Some of the rockets pierced the soldiers. The soldiers fell off their horses and rolled over to put out the fire, while some ignited the surrounding grass and trees. For a moment, wailing sounds were heard everywhere, and the Hun cavalry's offensive weakened and they retreated a considerable distance.
In the first battle, the Huns suffered heavy casualties. The soldiers of Dayan took advantage of the terrain and convenient weapons to temporarily repel the Huns' first charge.
The fire was getting more and more intense. Because the Huns had seen the power of kerosene, they knew that it could not be extinguished. Mu Xie stabbed the tumbling soldiers to death with a knife, and his eyes were burning with anger. "They don't have many arrows left. Kill them all."
Many soldiers were afraid of the gunpowder in the hands of the Dayan soldiers. They were frightened by the muskets and thunder bombs at the beginning of the battle and suffered a lot. Relying on these things, the Dayan soldiers almost broke out several times. Now when they saw the kerosene that could not be extinguished, they could not help but think of the tragic situation of the soldiers around them being hit by gunpowder, and their legs trembled immediately.
With a "puff" sound, a scimitar flashed, and the soldiers who had just held their weapons and dared not move forward looked at this side in shock and fell to the ground.
"All those who disturb our army's morale are like this man." The bloodstains on the scimitar in Mu Xie Shan Yu's hand were still there, but his voice was chilling, "Brothers, follow me and kill, and military merit will be in sight."
Suddenly, the sound of killing was deafening. Captain Zhao led his cavalry and engaged in close combat with the Xiongnu cavalry. The collision of weapons made a harsh sound. Both sides waved their weapons and stabbed at each other. The battlefield was covered with blood.
The ring-handled swords in the hands of the Dayan soldiers were all broken due to killing people. His body and face were covered in blood. His comrades around him fell one by one. He picked up a ring-handled sword that belonged to an unknown comrade and rushed towards the Huns. Shouts of killing and the sounds of weapons clashing rang out one after another. The entire battlefield was filled with the smell of blood, and both sides had already gone blood-thirsty.
Captain Zhao rode a fine horse in front. Muye Chanyu watched him with a grim smile as he fought his way out of the heavy siege of the Huns with a long spear in his hand, and rushed forward with the scimitar in his hand.
The personal guards were always paying attention to Captain Zhao. When they saw Muxie Chanyu leading his troops over, they quickly waved their swords to protect him. The infantrymen were defending in front with halberds and shields, and the personal guards were holding crossbows in the back. Muxie Chanyu and his Hun soldiers were unable to rush forward for a while.
With his eagle eyes he looked hatefully at Captain Zhao who had knocked a Xiongnu soldier to the ground with a few sword strikes. He took the bow and arrow from his subordinate, and with a whoosh, the arrow, with a cold light, flew towards Captain Zhao.
"Sir, be careful." The guards used their halberds to stab several approaching Xiongnu soldiers to death, and quickly ran towards Captain Zhao.
The arrow grazed the ring-handled sword, sparks flew, and Captain Zhao's arms trembled slightly. "I'm fine," he glanced at his bodyguards, who understood him and looked at the soldiers falling down around them, and threw the lit thunder bombs out with the catapults.
With a "bang", it was as if the ground was shaking. A heart-wrenching roar came from afar. The warhorses were frightened and neighed. Mu Xie Chanyu controlled the horses with one hand, "Hold steady, what's going on? How come they still have gunpowder?"
Gudu Houlanke said: "Great Chanyu, the thing the Yan people made is too powerful. We suffered heavy losses tonight. Let's rest for a while and attack when they relax their vigilance."
As he spoke, there was another loud bang, and a deep pit was blown out of the ground. Mu Xie Chanyu was unsure how much gunpowder the Yan people had left. He had not gained any advantage in this battle tonight. The veins on his hands bulged, "Retreat first."
After the guards led their men to kill all the Xiongnu soldiers in front of them, they saw that the fire in the distance had retreated. "Sir, they have retreated for the time being."
Captain Zhao's nerves, which had been frayed all night, finally relaxed. He listened to the cheers of the remaining soldiers and looked at the corpses scattered all over the ground, feeling both regretful and sad.
On the high ground in the distance, Lao Zhang said to Xie Chen: "Sir, the Huns have retreated. Should we…"
Xie Chen thought for a moment, "There are many Xiongnu people. We won't be able to gain any advantage if we rush up. You guys come over here, we'll do this."
"Okay, that's it. This is called giving someone a taste of their own medicine." Old Zhang said with a smile.
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