Chapter 176
The night was dark and the darkness swallowed up all light. Only a few stars in the sky flashed from time to time. A few bird calls came from outside the city, which seemed a little scary in the silent night.
The soldiers on the east gate wall of Qingquan County were patrolling the surroundings. It was already late autumn, and the night was getting darker and the dew was heavier. The soldier held his ring-handled sword in his arms and rubbed his hands vigorously. "Do you think the Huns will come in such a cold weather?"
Another soldier stood holding a gun, yawned and said, "My lord, please be careful, we never know."
"Come on, let them have another taste of gunpowder. Today I heard from the brothers guarding the South Gate that the artillery directly blew those Huns into ashes. The brothers who witnessed it with their own eyes were so shocked. When can I use this thing?" said the soldier, touching his chin.
"Just you? Haven't you heard that the cannons are very precious? They were originally built for General Wei to fight the main force of the Xiongnu. Lord Lin kept two just in case, but he didn't expect that they would actually be used. There are only two in the whole city. The people at the South Gate and the North Gate are watching them like eyeballs, and they won't let anyone touch them."
"But it's also because our County Lieutenant Yang is so powerful that he managed to hold on today."
The two chatted for a few minutes and then went to guard their own places.
Yang Yan was leading a team on a patrol in the county. Suddenly, a soldier was attracted by a rustling sound and stopped. "What's that sound?" Yang Yan came over with a torch and asked.
"Sir, it must be the sound of the wind. There has been no movement all night." The soldier replied.
Unexpectedly, the soldier on the high observation tower shouted: "Sir, there is a situation."
Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves could be heard in the darkness. Yang Yan shouted, "Go and inform Lord Lin immediately. The rest of you, follow me."
When the horn sounded, the servants in the city heard it and immediately beat drums and gongs to spread the news of the enemy attack.
Lin Shuge and Lu Yuechuan were checking on the wounded when they heard a noisy noise. They immediately came out to check the situation. It happened that the soldiers sent by Yang Yan found them and said, "Sir, the Huns attacked at night."
When the people in the city heard the news, they immediately became a mess. Lin Shuge hurriedly shouted, "Su Cheng, Su Cheng."
"Hey, sir, I'm here." Su Cheng trotted over.
"You and Yan Zhubu resettle the people and take good care of the wounded." Lin Shuge said, and then he and Lu Yuechuan hurried to the west gate.
The sound of gunpowder exploding was heard, and for a moment, screams of pain and the sound of explosions broke the silent night sky.
"How many Huns have come?" Lin Shuge asked. In the distance, flames were rising to the sky and the number of people could not be seen clearly at night. Looking at this scene, Lin Shuge's heart sank. The number of people was probably no less than that in the daytime.
Crossbows were fired from the city walls, and catapults threw out projectiles. The Hun soldiers were killed by waves of gunpowder, but they still rushed towards this side in batches.
"Sir, it's too dangerous here. You should go into the city first." Lu Yuechuan said loudly.
Many Hun soldiers had gathered under the city, and some had already set up ladders to climb up the city wall. The Yan soldiers poured barrels of kerosene down, and the fire burned fiercely, and the Hun soldiers fell down one by one.
"If we can't stop them, it doesn't matter where we are." Lin Shuge was quick-eyed and quick-handed. He held a musket in his hand and with a "bang", he shot down the Qiang soldiers who were about to climb onto the city wall.
The soldier of Dayan was shot by an arrow and fell down. The soldiers beside him looked at him in grief, then took his place. Gunpowder was fired and the burning kerosene engulfed the Hun soldiers. After several waves of attacks, the Hun's offensive finally weakened.
Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, a soldier covered in blood reported: "Sir, the north gate, the north gate, we can't hold on any longer."
Lin Shuge gritted his teeth and said, "Achuan, I will take people to support the north gate. I'll leave this to you."
Lu Yuechuan smiled easily, but the worry in his eyes could not be dispelled. "Be careful, sir. Leave this to me."
"Ramp it." The Huns' leader sat on his horse and commanded his soldiers to ram the city gate with battering rams.
The huge city gate made a creaking sound under the fierce impact. Chen Yuanrong inside the gate desperately said, "Everyone, work harder. Don't let them break through the door."
Her men acted swiftly and efficiently, killing a Hun soldier who showed up. The soldier blocking the door had veins bulging on his neck, his eyes were bloodshot, and he used all his strength to block the city gate.
With a "click", the city gate made a sound of being unable to bear the weight. A Hun soldier was about to rush in from the place where the gate was opened. Chen Yuanrong swung his whip and took his life in an instant.
A scimitar stabbed in, and the soldier standing in the front was stabbed, but he still blocked it with his body. He used all his strength with the ring-handled sword in his hand to kill the Hun in front of him, and then fell down.
There were a few more "bang bang" sounds, and a soldier said, "Master Chen, we can't hold on any longer."
"Defend it, we must defend it even if we die. There are civilians everywhere in the city." Chen Yuanrong's face was covered in blood. She covered her bleeding arm and said in a firm voice.
A few words in the Xiongnu language were heard. The soldiers of Dayan were very close to them. In the firelight, they could see the fierce eyes and ferocious looks of the Xiongnu soldiers. The soldiers of Dayan could only feel that all their strength was exhausted. The Xiongnu soldiers were getting closer and closer to them.
"Oh no! The city gate is about to be breached." a soldier shouted.
Several sharp arrows shot in, and the soldiers in the front fell to the ground with a thud. The Hun soldiers were about to come in, stepping on the corpses of several people. At this moment, several Hun soldiers who were about to break through the city gate were shot in the chest by arrows flying from a distance and fell to the ground.
The soldiers of Dayan had no time to look and worked together to block the gate that had been knocked open. Chen Yuanrong killed the Xiongnu soldier who was rushing in with a single blow. He turned around and saw that it was Lin Shuge, "Sir, you are finally here."
Lin Shuge brought not only soldiers and runners, but behind him were a large crowd of civilians. All of them stepped forward and worked together to push back the city gate that was about to be broken open.
Chen Jin and several women helped Chen Yuanrong and the injured soldiers to one side. Chen Kuan looked at Chen Yuanrong, who was covered in wounds, and said, "Arong, you have suffered." His tone was filled with both heartache and pride.
Chen Yuanrong wiped his face and said, "That's nothing. At least I'm still alive."
"Arong." An anxious male voice came. Mu Yuanzhou, still holding a long sword in his hand, hurried down from the tower. "The Xiongnu offensive has weakened. Are you all right?"
Chen Yuanrong shook his head, "It's okay."
There were bursts of artillery fire from the city wall, and the shouting and screaming outside the city gradually weakened. Lin Shuge saw that the city gate had been guarded and walked over.
"It's all thanks to you tonight. Otherwise, if the Huns had broken into the city, the consequences would have been disastrous."
The wound on Chen Yuanrong's arm had been bandaged. "Since the Lord has entrusted the North Gate to me and Azhou, he trusts us. We should defend it with our lives. Fortunately, the Lord came to rescue us, otherwise..." She thought of the soldiers who had just died in the battle, and looked up at the soldiers and civilians who were still guarding, without saying a word.
The Huns gradually retreated, and the city was brightly lit. Yang Yan led his soldiers to clean up the battlefield and patrol the surroundings to prevent the enemy from making a surprise attack. Others were defending the city, or recuperating, and everything was in order.
Lin Shuge came to the place where the wounded were. The county had temporarily vacated several rooms to accommodate the wounded. After two battles, the rooms were already overcrowded.
When he arrived, Meng Siming was taking Wen Yuan and others to treat the wounded soldiers. The room smelled strongly of blood and there were cries of pain from the wounded.
"Why don't you go and have a rest, sir?" Wen Yuan looked up and saw that it was Lin Shuge who asked. Her hands were covered in blood, and she hurriedly tried to find something to wipe them off. The soldiers in the room also shouted, "Sir."
"Lord Lin." He also heard a hissing sound due to the pain in the wound.
Lin Shuge said, "Don't worry about me, just do your own things." He saw a soldier lying on the side, his legs bleeding and his forehead covered in cold sweat. An apprentice who looked very young was helping him apply medicine, but the soldier moved around due to the pain and spilled all the medicine.
Lin Shuge stepped forward and took the medicine and bandage from his hand, "Let me do it."
The apprentice said in a panic: "No... How can I let you do this?"
Lin Shuge smiled lightly, and his men quickly applied medicine and bandaged the soldiers.
Wen Yuan smiled and said, "Your Excellency's technique doesn't look like that of an amateur."
He is indeed not a novice. When he first met Xie Chen, he was seriously injured and Lin Shuge was the one who treated his wounds. It seems that he has mastered the bandaging technique, he thought with a smile on his face.
"I've bandaged people before," he said casually.
At this time, an officer came in and said, "Sir, I finally found you. County Magistrate Lu said he has something urgent to discuss with you."
Lin Shuge nodded, gave Wen Yuan and Meng Siming a few instructions, and then followed the soldiers back.
"Achuan, what do you want from me?" Lin Shuge followed the officer back and asked after seeing Lu Yuechuan.
"Sir, the spies reported that although the Hun soldiers have retreated, they are stationed outside the city, as if they are going to fight a protracted war. If this continues, the county may not have enough food." Lu Yuechuan said.
"There are granaries in the city. I will have people transport the food and grass here immediately. However, the Huns have always been good at cavalry raids. Even if they are stationed here, they will not besiege us for a long time. The food and grass should be enough." Lin Shuge thought about the grain reserves in the county and replied.
Lu Yuechuan sighed, "Fortunately, you have prepared for a rainy day. In addition, the harvests have been good in the past two years, and the people have food at home. The county has also stored a lot of food. Otherwise, if the Huns attacked this time, I would starve to death, not to mention whether I could defend myself."
The two talked a little more about the county's city defense, and then went back to rest.
At daybreak, Xie Chen was leading his men on a rapid march when a scout came to report, "General, we have not seen any trace of General An Hu and his men yet."
"General, we have been out for such a long time, how come the food and grass transported by Envoy Wei are nowhere to be seen? Could something have happened?" He Xinchou said.
When marching and fighting, if the supply of food and fodder is insufficient, the entire army will not have food to eat, which can be fatal.
Xie Chen frowned and said nothing. Lao Zhang said, "Could it be that they encountered the Xiongnu? But it has been so long, how come there is no news at all?"
"General, General, news has come from Dingyuan County that the Right Wise King of the Xiongnu defeated the army of General An Hu with an unstoppable force. He took a detour and attacked Dingyuan County directly, and Qingquan County was attacked." A scout got off his horse and shouted.
Qingquan County was attacked.
"What did you say?" Lao Zhang asked anxiously.
"General, Qingquan was attacked, Lord Lin and the others..." He Xin was confused and blurted out.
Xie Chen couldn't believe his ears. Qingquan County was attacked, that wouldn't happen to his brother. He unconsciously gripped the reins tightly in his hands, and the slight pain brought him back to his senses.
No, he believed that his brother would be fine and would definitely wait for him to rescue him.
"Let's go." Xie Chen's gaze swept across the vast Gobi Desert and looked towards the direction of Qingquan County.
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