Chapter 514: Extreme Pressure
The wind is fierce and the war drums are fierce.
Anyang City stands on the ground and has been eroded by wind and rain.
This city is so ancient that it can be traced back to the capital of Yin and Zhou.
In the Guo Dynasty, Sima Yue attacked Ye and was defeated miserably in Dangyin. A small vanguard force once reached Anyang. But the funny thing is that as the vanguard, they didn't encounter Sima Ying's army, and they didn't know how to move in a coquettish way.
After the Chinese dynasty, the city of Anyang has never left the stage of history. Shi Zun, Fu Jian, Murong Chui, Li Mi and others all left their footprints here.
Located at a strategic point, a water and land hub, this city was destined for war.
On the tenth day of the seventh month in the eighth year of Yongjia in the Jin Dynasty (314), after a few days of making equipment, more than 30,000 troops were stationed in the north, south and east, leaving only a gap on the west side.
Shao Xun was stationed on the bank of Huan River in the east of the city. After failing to persuade him to surrender, he ordered a strong attack.
After the first drum beat, everyone sat on the ground and ate water in silence.
Everyone looked ugly.
Someone was shaking all over and started vomiting while eating.
Some people kept wiping their tears, but they wiped more and more tears.
Some people lowered their heads and said nothing, their eyes dull.
Some people closed their eyes and muttered something.
There are still people looking greedily at the green grass and blue sky, greedily breathing the fresh air...
The second war drum is beating.
The officer came over and announced the reward.
No use.
No one is a fool. How many of the first wave of people who stormed the city could survive?
The silver gun sergeant who acted as the supervisor of the battle team, wearing armor and holding a sword, slowly came behind them.
No matter how reluctant you are, you have to get up now.
If you are killed by the supervising team, not only will you die worthless, but your family will also be affected.
Ding Zhuang of Qianwubao stood up one after another and formed a rough square formation.
Think on the bright side, at least Anyang has been through repeated wars and the moat has long been gone. This allows them to reduce a lot of casualties and successfully rush to the sheep and horse wall.
The drums of the third pass are beating.
The ladder truck moves forward slowly.
The auxiliary soldiers held up large shields and pushed forward from the outside, while the silver spear soldiers hid in the cars and pushed forward from the inside.
The huge car body swayed towards Anyang City Wall.
Amongst the ladder trucks are several smoke-generating trucks, which are used to create smoke. The southeast wind is blowing today, so it is suitable for use.
The female wall was also pushed to the front, and the archers stood on it, picking up their bows and arrows.
It took five days to build all these equipment.
"Rustling" footsteps sounded.
The strong men of Wubao held up wooden shields and even door panels and walked forward slowly. Others held a variety of weapons and followed slowly.
"Dong dong dong..." The rhythm of the drum suddenly accelerated.
The strong men of Wubao also speeded up, leaping over the siege equipment, shouting and running quickly.
The drumbeats became more intensive.
Their speed was getting faster and faster, and the first arrow fell from the city.
"Woo——" the horn sounded.
“Kill!” Regardless of whether they were willing or not, everyone quickened their pace and attacked the sheep and horse wall in the east of the city.
Arrows fell from the sky, occasionally mixed with crossbow shots, causing horrific killings among the charging crowd.
Arrows were also shot from behind the sheep and horse wall.
The shield bearers in the first row had long been in disarray, exposing the unarmored light infantry at the rear. The men of Wubao fell in droves without any suspense.
"Kill!" After all, there were still too many people. After experiencing heavy casualties, the men of Wubao rushed to the sheep and horse wall and fought fiercely with the enemy soldiers guarding here.
The ladder truck slowly stopped.
The archers of the Silver Spear Army came out from the inside of the car, picked up their bows and set arrows. Some of them shot towards the city head, and some of them shot at the enemy behind the sheep and horse wall.
The battlefield was filled with thick smoke, and the archers on both sides could not see clearly. The only sounds left were the sounds of fierce fighting and screams.
******
The second formation of one thousand field soldiers, five hundred Henan Haoqiang tribe, and five hundred government troops silently stepped forward and sat on the ground.
Shao Xun dismounted and, surrounded by his own soldiers, patrolled in front of the formation.
"Have you never fought in a war?" Shao Xun couldn't help but stop and asked when he saw the young man with the build of a bean sprout.
"Go back...back to Mr. Chen. The eldest brother has married...a bride and has...children. He cannot go to war." Bean Sprouts stood up with the spear pole, obviously very frightened, and his upper and lower teeth kept clashing. He also stammered when he spoke: "I...I was kicked out of the house by my sister-in-law."
After saying that, the spear shaft fell to the ground with a clatter, and Bean Sprout's face became even whiter.
"Go back." Shao Xun picked up the spear, stuffed it into Dou Sprout's hand, and said, "From now on, you will be specializing in woodcutter, and there will be no need to fight."
A flash of surprise flashed in Bean Sprout's eyes, and soon dimmed again. He lowered his head, leaning on his spear, and remained silent, but his body was no longer trembling.
Shao Xun looked at him in surprise.
People who have fought too many battles and are used to seeing tragic things have a harder heart.
Actually, he didn't mind that Bean Sprout was going to die.
We can save him alone, but we cannot save ten, a hundred or even more people in the same situation as him.
Aren’t they pitiful?
Aren't they helpless?
Don’t they want to live?
The world is like this. He is already trying his best to change it, but this process of change is destined to fill a lot of life.
“Still not leaving?” Shao Xun urged patiently.
Bean sprouts stood there stubbornly, silent.
“Want to fight for wealth?” Shao Xun asked.
“Yes.”
Shao Xun smiled.
Cai Cheng glanced at Bean Sprouts, his face expressionless.
Liu Ling was a little sarcastic. He looked like he was only twelve or thirteen years old. He was very skinny. He could fly away with one punch. He actually wanted to fight for wealth.
Damn it, I haven’t succeeded yet!
“Courage is commendable.” Shao Xun sighed with unknown meaning and said: “What’s your name?”
“Zhao Bao.”
“Wealth can cost your life. Come and fight." Shao Xun said: "Since you have this ambition, I won't force you. If you don't die in this attack on the city, you can come and be my soldier."
After that, He looked at Cai Cheng.
Cai Cheng bowed and obeyed. Shao Xun continued to walk forward.
"So calm, isn't this your first time in battle?" He looked at one person and asked.
This man is about forty years old, but his temples are gray and his forehead is full of wrinkles.
Under the cruel punishment of the world, he has accelerated his aging.
"This is the second time." The middle-aged man stood up and replied.
"What are you thinking about?" Shao Xun asked.
“It’s beautiful.” The middle-aged man seems to be a little slow, speaking incoherently and having poor logical thinking ability.
But in fact, many people at the bottom are like this, and he is not alone.
“What is good-looking?”
“The last time I covered the dam, I got a piece of silk as a reward. I went back to collect some money and bought a calf. It looked like It’s so beautiful.”
“There will be a reward this time.” Shao Xun said with a smile, “Aren’t you afraid of death?” He sighed: "On the way to escape, I haven't seen anything tragic."
Shao Xun patted him on the shoulder and continued to move forward.
“Are you scared?” He looked at the third person and asked.
This is a young man in his twenties. He looks relatively strong, but his face is pale.
"Afraid...afraid..."
"Afraid of what?"
"Afraid of the bride remarrying." The young man suppressed a sentence.
There was laughter all around, which diluted a bit of the sadness.
Shao Xun also smiled and asked: "Do you have any heirs?"
"There is one."
"Shun Ling, write down his name and hometown. After Shao Xun finished his instructions, he looked at the young man and said, "If you die in the battle, I guarantee that your son will not change his surname and can still enjoy incense sacrifices in the future."
"Thank you, Mr. Chen!" His eyes lit up and he said loudly.
After completing a round of inspection, the first formation had collapsed, and the remaining soldiers passed around from both sides and went to the rear to contain and reorganize.
The drums sounded again.
Everyone stood up in silence.
The first person stepped forward and picked up the large shield.
The second man bent down and picked up the spear.
The third person...
One after another, everyone hid their feelings, desires, and thoughts in their hearts, and picked up weapons mechanically.
An order was given.
The team rushed out with the sound of drums.
The tide of the times carries everyone forward, whether he is eager to try or involuntarily.
His hopes, his loves and hatreds, and his desperate cries are destined to be buried in the blood and tears of the times.
In this world, they have no choice, no free choice at all.
Only by killing or being killed, until you stand on top of the white bones and look down at all living things, can you leave an insignificant trace in the long river of history.
As the saying goes, one general can make thousands of bones dry up, and this has always been true throughout the ages.
The second formation has approached the sheep and horse wall.
During the charge, the middle-aged man was hit by an arrow. After stumbling a few steps, he unfortunately fell down.
The young man rushed into the wall through the breach made by the first wave, thrust his spear straight, and killed one person.
A stone fell from the top of the city and hit him in the head.
The spear in Zhao Bao's hand was weak and was directly caught under his arm by the enemy in front of him. The man's eyes widened with anger, and he wielded a machete with his other hand and struck at the head.
Zhao Bao seemed to be so frightened that he didn’t even try to hide, but just tried to pull back his spear in vain.
The wind sounded behind him, and a spear thrust out, hitting the enemy opposite in the throat.
With a "clang" sound, the machete fell to the ground.
The enemy held his throat, and his body fell to the ground with a crash, pressing Zhao Bao underneath him.
Zhao Bao tried to get up, but he felt the sound of fighting coming from behind, left and behind, and people kept falling to the ground.
The weight on my body has increased again.
His face turned red. He didn't know whether he was out of strength or something, but he still couldn't get up.
He gave up and lay helplessly among the corpses, looking at the sky and breathing heavily.
******
Shao Xun climbed onto the high platform and had a panoramic view of the entire battlefield.
The enemy troops behind the Yangma Wall have been completely wiped out and the wall has been completely demolished.
The two thousand people who rushed to the city in the second line even rushed to the top of the city on ladder trucks with the help of the Silver Spear Army archers, but were quickly driven down.
The south and north of the city launched feint attacks almost simultaneously to divert the attention of the defenders.
The Anyang offensive and defensive battle entered a fierce stage on the first day.
Shao Xun cannot besiege the enemy here for a month and wait for them to run out of food.
The nights are long and the dreams are many. He must go north as soon as possible and reach Yecheng.
On the tenth day of the lunar month, we attacked for a whole day and reached the top of the city twice. The enemy troops withdrew all the outer garrison, and there were probably more than 4,000 men left. These were the soldiers and horses assigned to Jibao by Shi Le. They were the ones who guarded Anyang Bridge and fought fiercely in the east of the city.
There are also more than 3,000 wealthy tribes and Wubao people in the city. They are fighting with the Jin army in the south and north of the city. The intensity is not very high.
The fierce attack continued on the 11th, but to no avail. That night, they launched a night attack from the west of the city and almost succeeded.
We attacked for two more days on the 12th and 13th, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides.
On the 14th, tens of thousands of Li Chong’s former troops arrived.
When the reinforcements lined up in the wilderness in the south and shouted in unison, the defenders' faces turned ashen.
The Jin people have reinforcements and sufficient food and grass.
They have no reinforcements and insufficient food and grass.
The soldiers and horses of Shile's headquarters were grateful to him and had a strong fighting spirit because of the land and housing allocation, but other people did not enjoy these good things. The army attacked the city so fiercely, our own side suffered so many casualties, and there was not enough food and grass. What reason was there to persist?
This is what Shao Xun wants.
Under extreme pressure, there may be a turning point.
On the 15th, after a whole day of fierce fighting, the troops in the south of Anyang City were making a lot of noise because of the reduced rations.
Jibao was shocked and immediately mobilized his troops to suppress it.
(End of this chapter)