Chapter 26: The Fire Demon (Part II)
"Special Service, please order. All houses within 20 zhang of the east gate must be demolished. Tell the owner of the house that you will compensate them after the war and help them rebuild their homes. Seeing that the defenders had begun to move, Hafez decisively retreated to Yihu's side and commanded in a loud voice.
"Hey, hey!" At this moment, Yihu's heart is as chaotic as numbness, where does he still have any ability to think? Lian Sheng agreed, turned his head to his own soldier, and motioned for him to pass the order.
The pro-soldier gave Yihu a sympathetic look, rode his horse to the side of the house that was being demolished, and told Yihu's orders and promises to the owner of the house over and over again. As for whether Yihu can still be a special agent of Shiguo after the end of this battle, and whether he can come up with money to compensate the owner of the house, he forced himself not to think about it.
"Remove Souled from his position as Burke, and let him put out fires and make meritorious deeds. If he had fought with all his might just now, it would have been impossible for the Tang army to calmly set fire. Glancing at Yihu's reaction, Hafez continued to point.
"I've done my best. The Tang army used poisonous smoke, and there were no people standing in the city! Sured turned purple with grievance, rushed forward, and defended himself in a loud voice.
Without Hafez's order, a great foodist cultist immediately rushed up and pressed Sured to the ground. Hafez, on the other hand, put his eyes on Yihu's eyes, forcing him to make a choice immediately.
Yihu has a request for this person, and he does not dare to disobey his will. At the same time, there were indeed doubts in my heart about whether Sured had tried his best to fight just now. After thinking about it, he nodded slowly.
The fanatics immediately pushed Souled aside and forcibly shoved a bucket of water. Escort him to fetch water and put out the fire. Souled protested loudly, and frequently asked Yihu for help with his eyes? And the latter? But like a clay wood sculpture, to his voice and movements? Ignore it.
"Special service? Please order the reserves to be brought up, and three large arrows will be responsible for the horse-drawn water. Lots of wells in the city? As long as order is maintained, it is enough to extinguish the fire! "See Yihu so obedient? Hafez, the great food wise, is also welcome? Continue to give him advice in a commanding tone. From the words and body movements, there is no half respect, obviously? Deep down? This man has long been regarded as a puppet.
"Hey, hey!" Yihu agreed without hesitation, and then relayed Hafez's instructions to another cronie beside him? Let this person give orders to transfer troops in his own name.
"Special service, after the reserves come up? Divide another 500 people and put the houses and streets close to the separation zone? It's all wet with water. Everyone's yard firewood must also be wet? We must not allow the fire to continue to spread. ”
"Special service? Ordered to remove the timber? Moved to the vicinity of the tax commissioner. Don't stay where you are, lest you add fuel to the fire! ”
"Tie Qin, let people carry the wood, hit the house that just caught fire, and speed up the collapse of the house!"
"Special service, give an order to the brothers on the southern, northern, and western city walls, let them fetch water in advance, splash the city wall and the city gate tower with wetness, and demolish all the grass houses within five zhang of the city gate, so as not to burn the Tang army in a different direction!"
"Special Service ......"
"Hey, hey!" No matter what he said, Yihu continued to nod, and then turned his head like a worm to his subordinates. No compromises.
There is a saying that professional things must be done by professional people. In the past 50 years, the Great Food Army has expanded in both east and west directions at the same time, setting fire to countless times. Therefore, I am also very experienced in how to prevent fire.
Under the manipulation of Hafez, the wise man, the defenders of Talas were all mobilized, and soon, a wide enough barrier was removed to contain the spread of the fire.
"Special service, give the order to go down, rely on the brick wall of the tax superintendent, build a barricade, build from the south wall to the north wall, and build a second spinning thread!" Raising his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, Hafez continued to command in a hoarse voice.
"Is it too late?" Yihu finally stopped looking like a puppet and asked in a hesitant whisper.
"It's too late to build!" Hafez is worthy of being a wise man, and he said the key in one sentence, "It's too late to withdraw now." The Tang army was all cavalry, and there were also Turks to help them. As long as we leave the city, we will definitely be pursued by the Tang army with all our might. ”
"Well, then, can you hold it? Tang Army, Tang Army, this kind of magic fire, even the city wall can be lit. Yihu listened to the bitterness in his heart and continued to ask in a low voice. No matter how you look or how you voice, you look like a toddler who hasn't grown up.
"I could smell the Fierce Fire Oil. The four towns of Anxi do not produce fierce fire oil, and Zhang Qian has only been in the broken leaf for half a year, so he definitely can't buy too much. The Tang army ran out of fierce fire oil at the east city gate, and then there was no more. And in street fighting, his catapult can't be used. Hafez smiled and began to grit his teeth.
Fierce fire oil is an essential material in the Great Food Army, and has repeatedly made miraculous achievements in the conquest of the West. In order to prevent the Tang army from using fierce fire oil in battle, the Great Food Kingdom issued a ban on traders as early as 20 years ago, and anyone who sold fierce fire oil to the East would be killed.
Unexpectedly, the Broken Leaf Army collected so much fierce fire oil in just half a year. And through some mysterious means, the power of fierce fire oil has been increased dozens of times!
If he catches the caravan that secretly sells fierce fire oil to Zhang Qian, he must tie all the merchants of this caravan to the fire and roast them all into jerky. If he caught the craftsman who was making the fire oil for Zhang Qian, he would have sawed this person into two pieces from head to toe with a saw!
"Street fighting, wise man, do you mean that we still have to continue to fight the Tang army in the city?" The pro-soldier Arrow Gri hurried back with a smoky face, and happened to hear Hafez's words, and asked in a low voice with round eyes.
"Street fighting, special service, order all the people to take up arms and prepare to fight with the Tang Army in the streets!" Hafez ignored him, put away his thoughts, stared at Yihu with oily green eyes, and continued to command, "Turn every street and alley in Talas into a battlefield, and fight them to the death." As long as we do whatever it takes, we will definitely be able to make the Tang army retreat. ”
"At any cost, at any cost!" Frightened by Hafez's gaze, his hair stood on end, and he repeated repeatedly. lest he answer slowly, the other party suddenly spit out the core of a poisonous snake from his mouth and bite himself directly!
"Special Service! More than half of our side are recruits, and they don't ...... at all" The pro-soldier Da Arrow wanted to remind Yihu that the combat effectiveness of the Tang Army far exceeded that of the defenders. As long as the east gate is breached, the morale of one's own side will inevitably collapse, and it is impossible to organize effective resistance. However, before he could finish speaking, Hafez's crutch had already stabbed him hard under his left rib.
"It's none of your business! A small hundred people also dare to question the decision-making of the secret service. If it was in the Big Eat, you would have been killed long ago to feed the hounds! Staring fiercely into Gerry's eyes, Haritz, the Great Eater, scolded.
The pain under the ribs was drilling, and the pro-soldier Big Arrow Gri bent down in pain, not daring to make any sound again. Hafez, the Great Eater Wise Man, still refused to let him go, frowned, and commanded in a low voice, "Take him to the city gate to put out the fire." If he dares to be lazy, he will directly kill the sacrificial flag. ”
"Yes!" Several food-eating believers shouted, stepped forward and dragged Gerry away, without asking for the opinion of the special service Yihu from beginning to end.
"You all go and put out the fires and show your devotion to God with your actions." In order to show his determination, Hafez suddenly turned his head to the fanatics around him and commanded in a loud voice.
Without hesitation, the fanatics agreed in unison, and then quickly began to act. Everyone is afraid of being left behind by their peers.
"The Tang army only has more than 5,000 people, and if the losses in Talas are too heavy, they will not be able to continue to deter the Turkish troops!" Knowing that Yihu had been frightened, Hafez slowed his voice a bit, trying to exaggerate his side's strengths. "And that Zhang Qian is another hypocritical guy. Before setting the fire, he had to create a chance for the Tang people to escape, how could he be willing to let a large number of soldiers under his command be killed and injured? ”
Fearing that Yihu would not be confident, he paused, and he continued, "In the last few days, the great cannibals scattered in the vicinity have been trying to rush to Talas. When fighting in the streets, I also put my followers in front. As you can see, they are all devout believers, all of them brave and fearless, who regard death in battle as glory, and ...... in street fighting."
Before he could finish a braggadocio sentence, there was a sudden loud bang in his ears. An invisible wave of heat followed, curling hair, stinging skin, and smoky fire from nostrils to throat.
Yihu and the others instinctively turned their heads, and then, they were all dumbfounded.
I saw that the remains of the city gate and the enemy tower on the east side of Talas had completely collapsed, and it had directly turned from a furnace into a huge fire. On the left and right sides of the fire, there are bright red walls, which are constantly collapsing. Every time a large piece falls, a circle of red waves is thrown on the ground!
Several soldiers who were throwing water on the ground couldn't dodge, and were swept into the red waves, and they all turned into burning men in an instant. They screamed and tried to flee for their lives, but after only three or five steps, they fell to the ground, and then they were swept up in a second circle of red waves, turning into burning "candles".
"The gates are falling, the gates are falling!" A group of Sogdian soldiers, who had just returned from fetching water, dropped the pots and barrels and turned quickly. lest he run slowly, he was also swept up by the red waves, and followed in the footsteps of the water splashers.
Look at the "heroic and fearless" believers in Hafez's mouth, they actually held their heads and fled faster than anyone else. The Sogdian soldiers who were not in a hurry to dodge and the people who were squatting beside their houses and weeping bitterly were staggered!
I don't know if it was burned by the heat wave or ashamed, the face of the great food wise man Hafez suddenly became redder than the pig's liver, raised the cane in his hand, and faced a group of followers who were in a panic, and smashed his head, "Don't escape, don't escape, continue to fight the fire." You have sworn to give your lives to ......."
"Tang Jun, Tang Jun!" Several followers dodged while explaining loudly, resolutely refusing to stop, "The Tang army is at the gate of the city!" It's going to be in there right away! ”
"The city gate is gone, the city wall has collapsed, and the Tang army will come in immediately!"
"What?" Hafez paused, stopped his crutches, and looked up. Looking through the fire and smoke, he saw that there was a large group of Tang troops, looking into the city through the fire made by the city gate. Estimate the distance, at most one or two hundred steps away from yourself, as long as the fire is extinguished, you can immediately step on the embers and rush into the city!
"The city gate collapsed, and the Tang army came in immediately!" Some Sogdian soldiers who were a little far away from the city gate also suddenly discovered that some Tang troops were watching the excitement here through the fire, and their morale suddenly plummeted. Drop the bucket, the pot, and the wooden pillar in your hand, and run away.
"No running, no running. The fire was so big, the Tang army did not dare to rush in! Hafez was so angry that he picked up his cane and slammed it into the head of a Sogdian soldier, intending to make an example of him.
Unexpectedly, the Sogdian soldier, who had seen him like a mouse seeing a cat, did not hesitate to pull out his knife and cut the cane into two with a loud bang. Immediately, he sped up and rushed past him, like a plague.
"If you dare to insult the wise, you will go to Hell when you die!" Hafez froze and pointed his half-cane at the soldier's back and shouted a threat. The latter turned a deaf ear to his threats, and as soon as he moved and turned west, he disappeared into the flow of refugees.
"Stop, all stop!" He was slow on his legs and feet, unable to chase after the fleeers, wielding a half-cut cane to block the other routs. Like a dead tree in a torrent, lonely and stubborn.
"Special service, hurry up." Taking advantage of Hafez's efforts to block the rout, Dagan Shetuo quietly squeezed to the overwhelmed Yihu, pulled the reins of the opponent's warhorse, and staggered towards the west of the city.
"The wise man just said that as long as we do it at any cost, we can ......" Yihu turned his head to look at the figure of Hafez as if he had been poisoned, and refused loudly.
"We're the price, and the whole of Talas!" Dagan Shetuo was also really loyal enough, regardless of his old body, he carried the reins of the horse on his shoulders and pulled hard.
"What do you say? What are we? Yi Hu was stunned, and finally understood the taste, and in an instant, his face turned pale.
"Go to Simon and make sure it's not messed up yet. Fortunately, you had the foresight to leave an exit at the West Gate. Little Berksouled, riding one horse and leading another, hurried after him, whispered, and threw the reins of the horse to Daganshetuo.
"Secret Service, hurry up, hurry up, Hafez is not at ease at all. The reinforcements and money and food he promised have not seen half a shadow so far! "Big Arrow, I don't know how to use it, and I also got rid of the surveillance of fanatics. With burnt hair and yellowed leather armor, he galloped back. While approaching Yihu, he shouted a warning. "He just wants to use us to consume the strength of the Tang Army. He wasn't going to help us at all. ”
"Stop, stop, don't go. If the fire is not extinguished, the Don Army will not come in. Hafez's voice, coming from not far away, sounded angry.
"Hurry up, if you don't leave, the Tang army will enter the city!" Dagan Shetuo let out a loud roar from his mouth, and then, with the agility of his age, he jumped on his mount, and fled to the west of the city with Sured left and right, with Yihu in his arms.
Among the rest of Yihu's cronies, several of them had long been bought by the great food wise man Hafez, and instinctively wanted to step forward to stop them, but they were cut off from their horses by the big arrows of their own soldiers.
The rest of the cronies immediately knew what to do, and together with the big arrow, they rode their horses and followed closely behind Yihu. The group walked through the crowded streets, dispersing all the panicked people along the way. When encountering the rout of the six gods and no masters, they beckoned the other party to follow behind. In the blink of an eye, they came to the gate of the West City, and the number of the entire team also swelled to more than four hundred.
The soldiers guarding the only passage had long since fled, and a few bold and unconcerned ruffians were guarding the entrance of the passage with scimitars and spears, extorting extortion from all the civilians who tried to flee for their lives. When he saw Dagan Shetuo and Yihu and others, they were immediately frightened and threw away their weapons and fled as fast as they could.
The order of the people fleeing for their lives was in chaos in an instant, and you pushed me and squeezed the entrance of the passage. However, they were soon dispersed by Gerry's own soldiers with Yihu. Souled stretched out his bow and arrows, and was on full alert at the entrance of the passage. In case a Tang army suddenly rushed in outside the city, threatening Yihu's safety.
"I'll go out to explore the way first, if there is no Tang Army, Gerry will protect the special service and come out together. Special service, take off your clothes and throw them away, your current dress is too conspicuous. Sured, you are in charge of the broken queen. The old and unbearable Dagan Shetuo seemed to have become the backbone of everyone, gasping for a few words, leading the war horse straight to the specially set aside passage, and in a blink of an eye, he appeared outside the city gate.
Outside the West City Gate, it was empty, and not even one of the Tang Army's turks and servants could be seen. Dagan She Tuo looked left and right, made sure that Tang Jun's attention was still in the east of the city, and immediately lowered his head and whispered to the city, "No one, hurry up and change the clothes of the special service and send him out." Sured, you also changed your armor, your armor is too conspicuous. ”
"Got it!" The pro-soldier Big Arrow agreed, jumped off his mount, pulled the reins of his war horse and Yihu's war horse, and walked quickly to the passage. Only halfway through, behind him, there was a sudden angry reprimand, "Yihu Special Service, where are you going?" I am organizing manpower to sacrifice my life for you to resist the Tang Army. How can you abandon the city and flee on your own? ”
"I, I'm ......" Teqin Yihu immediately ran out of ideas, blushing, and didn't dare to make any response.
"You go to Juzhan Ti, Mo He will only tie you up and hand you over to the Tang Army." Hafez chased after him with a half-cut cane and a head of burnt hair, and continued to shout angrily, "The Tang army has not launched an attack until now, obviously worried about losses. The soldiers under your command are no less than the Tang Army, as long as you are determined to do whatever it takes......"
"The secret service has made up its mind!" Before he could finish his sentence, Souled quickly turned his horned bow and pointed the feathered arrow at his chest. "Don't be your price again! If you want to fight with the Tang Army, why don't you big cannibals go on your own? We don't owe you anything, why do you just say a few nice words and let us bleed?! Get out of the way, or don't blame me for not reminding you, I counted from one to three......"
"Special Service!" Knowing that his influence had plummeted, Hafez fled half a foot away, then waved his arms and shouted at Yihu, "Have you forgotten your oath?" If you forsake the city today, you are betrayal. Even if it's to flee to the edge of the sky......"
"Three!" Souled shouted and let go of the bowstring, and the arrows were lightning fast, piercing Hafez's chest.