Chapter 3 East Gate (2b)

The duty of the marching commander is to help the commander plan military affairs, and has the power to mobilize any of the three regiments of the village warriors with the commander's permission. This temporary official position is much more practical and safer than the two positions that Cheng Xiaojiu previously held, the chief instructor of military training and the brigade leader of the Tianshu Brigade. In other words, he could now command anyone except the prefectural commander to go to the city wall to fight the rogues, and he only had to sit in the back and gently shake the feather fan and strategize. If the war is unfavorable, he can even evacuate in advance with Lin Xianling, instead of blocking in front of the wooden fence to break the back of his colleagues and robes.

But Cheng Xiaojiu didn't dare to stand behind and point fingers. He clearly knew that all this in front of him was the reward for his bloody battle against Zhang Liang and his advice for the proprietor. And in order to repay this kindness, he had to put in more effort. Only by making an effort and proving that he is worthy of this grace can he continue to occupy a place in the yamen. Only by occupying a place in the yamen can the treatment of five buckets of rice and three hangings per month continue. Only by keeping these five buckets of rice and three hanging money can all dreams have a hope of coming true!

Resisting the uneasiness in his heart and the burning pain of his wounds, he climbed the wreckage of the southern wall to learn about the enemy. The moment his eyes fell on the outside of the city, his heart immediately sudden, and all his miscellaneous thoughts disappeared in an instant.

He finally understood why Jiang Bailing was so scared that he was urinating. Only by standing in the same position can he feel the same fear. In the dark wilderness, I don't know how many rogues came. A steady stream of light balls and torches have turned into a bright lake in the city. And countless teams with torches are still coming, expanding the "lake" bigger and more noisy.

"Master Cheng, what should we do next, you just command!" Jiang Bailing, who was nervous, stepped forward with a smiling face and asked Lord Changshi for advice in a low voice.

"Can you see how many rogues there are out there?" Cheng Xiaojiu frowned and asked without any hope.

"This, this ......" Jiang Bailing was dumbfounded, hunched and kept retreating. The enemy army began to assemble outside the city more than an hour ago, and it has not yet been assembled. How many people came, how can you count them clearly? But he didn't dare to answer Lord Changshi's inquiry truthfully, this young man turned purple in Lin Xianzun's eyes. In case I offend him, it is estimated that the next time I will be hit will no longer be heartwarming.

Fortunately, Cheng Xiaojiu didn't really want to embarrass him. After asking, he began to look at the lights outside the city again**. No one can count how many robbers have come from outside the city. Ten thousand? Twenty thousand? Maybe more. Anyway, it was far more than ten times the number of defenders. In the next moment, Cheng Xiaojiu suddenly began to admire Jiang Bailing's ability to restrain his subordinates. Most of the hundred villagers under this person's command were still squatting behind the fence, although their faces were paler than the other, they were holding the tassel gun in their hands tightly.

"You're good!" After a while, Cheng Xiaojiu glanced at Jiang Bailing again and praised in a low voice.

Jiang Lushu didn't expect to be praised by Cheng Xiaojiu, and was so shocked that he retreated again and again. "Lord Changshi, I have done my best!" He explained aloud, his eyes full of supplication and unease.

That was Cheng Xiaojiu's very familiar gaze. In many cases, he knew that his mood was exactly the same as Jiang Bailing. Sighing softly, the young Changshi smiled and comforted, "You did a really good job. If it weren't for you, I guess the rogues would have entered the city. You know what the consequences will be. ”

"Lord Changshi! Thank you, Lord Changshi! Jiang Bailing's eyes were slightly red, and she responded in a dumb voice.

"Don't let the mother-in-law and mother-in-law relax, let the brothers relax! The enemy ......" Cheng Xiaojiu continued to say kind words of comfort, but his voice was interrupted by a burst of laughter. A few groups of rogues with torches swaggered past the wooden fence, so close that the villagers could even clearly see their faces illuminated by the torches.

It was a couple of young men about their age, and their laughter was full of excitement and anticipation. Indeed, they are laughing, laughing unbridledly. As if the defenders behind the fence were not taken into account at all. Even the impending killing and destruction can be seen as part of the joke. The night is too gloomy, isn't it? The color of the flame is warm, isn't it? Watching the blood of the enemy flow out in front of you, watching your own blood stain the sky red like a flame, it's all very satisfying, isn't it? There's so much injustice in this world that it's not worth regretting ruining it, is it?

Cheng Xiaojiu was furious by the laughter, turned around for half a circle, snatched a bow from a villager who came in a hurry next to him, put on a feather arrow, and shot fiercely at the place where the laughter was most lively. "Bang!" The lightweight shaft of the bamboo arrow grazed the torch, bringing up a series of dazzling sparks. "Ahh The unsuspecting rogues were taken aback, dropped their torches, and fled into the distance.

"Shoot, greet them with feathered arrows!" Dong Zhushu, who had just arrived at the head of the city, was eager to show himself in front of the county commander, and quickly transformed Cheng Xiaojiu's tentative behavior into a large-scale counterattack. He was followed by about a hundred archers, who released their bowstrings and instantly covered the dozen or so torches closest to the city wall in a rain of arrows. "Ahh Billowing black smoke billowed from the torches that fell to the ground, sending a pungent burnt smell into the nostrils of every villager.

"Shoot again!" The raid was successful, and the head of Dong was overjoyed. Another batch of bows and arrows flew into the night sky, and with the sound of the wind fell on the torches outside the city. Caught off guard, the rogues were shot in a daze, and the sparks scattered like sparks, quickly fleeing into the darkness. At the same time, a torrent surged from the bright "Lake of Fire", roaring towards the ruined southern wall of Guantao County.

The battle broke out at a time that neither the attacker nor the defender expected, but in a way that neither the attacker nor the defender expected. Of course, neither side can talk about the rules. The roars and shouts of killing resounded through the sky, making people fully feel their own vulnerability and insignificance. Standing behind the wooden fence, Cheng Xiaojiu regretted that he only wanted to slap his mouth. If he had known that the arrow would trigger such a consequence, he would definitely not be so impulsive. But it was too late, and soon, sporadic white feathers landed beside him, and a few bits of blood splattered out, staining his eyes red.

The injured Xiang Yong was quickly dragged down, and another Xiang Yong took his place. The newly arrived Xiangyong instinctively picked up the bamboo bow left by the wounded from the ground, and desperately fired stray arrows at the city. Feathered arrows flew up and down the city, but the losses caused to both sides were not large. Zhang Jin said that the subordinates were rarely equipped with feather arrows, and the archers lacked effective coordination and organization among themselves. The archers on the head of the city had a local numerical advantage, but the eagle feathers shot out of ten fell into the air. Occasionally hitting one or two can only hurt the opponent, and it is impossible to be immediately fatal.

The feather arrow shoot lasted only half a column of incense. The offensive and defensive sides quickly entered the stage of hand-to-hand combat. The wreckage of the southern city wall had been repaired with shovels by Dong Zhushu and his men, but the height difference from the ground was no longer enough to stop the besiegers. Dozens of brazen men in tattered clothes braced themselves on the edge of the mound with one hand, their legs straining violently. The whole person instantly emerged from under the dark and dreary remains of the city wall, and rushed straight to the rudimentary wooden fence.

The villagers, who had never killed anyone head-on, immediately hurried, and the bow-wielding shooter hurriedly shot the last feather arrow, and the queen retreated. Xiang Yong, who was holding a tasseled spear, was so frightened that his arms trembled, but he didn't dare to hand the tip of the spear forward. Zhang Jin said that the rogues under his command didn't care about this, seized the opportunity, and stabbed their knives through the gaps in the wooden fence. "Poof!" Blood splashed, and more than two dozen villagers who couldn't dodge immediately fell behind the fence with their stomachs covered.

"Lao Tzu fought with you!" Seeing that his brothers under his command were stabbed to death by the enemy, Jiang Bailing, the brigade leader, immediately turned red-eyed. Picking up the tassel gun, he stabbed out of the fence without a head. There was a dull softness from the tip of the spear, and he saw the rogue who was facing him bent down, his hands on his stomach, his eyes full of wonder and despair.

"It's you, it's you who did it first!" Jiang Bailing cried and explained. With all his strength, he pulled out his spear, and his whole body was sprayed red with blood. With blood-red eyes, he stabbed at the other rogue. The same heaviness and softness were felt in his arms again, and the rogue who had just rushed up spurted out a stream of red blood and fell on his back.

The third rogues were slashing the wooden fence with a knife, and Jiang Bailing stabbed it with a gun, but the fourth rogues cut off the head of the gun with a knife. He withdrew half of his gun, helpless. In a panic, he suddenly heard a familiar shout: "Rush forward!" With the habit of more than ten days of intensive training, he stood up and broke the gun and stabbed it outward. The sharpened ash pole quickly completed an arc, and the rogue outside the fence screamed twice and was pushed alive under the remnant wall.

"End gun, forward stab!" Another familiar order came. Jiang Bailing once again leveled half of the ash pole and stabbed at the nearest enemy. The hapless rogue was stabbed to the ground by him, clutching his stomach and howling loudly. The companion next to him quickly made up for the shot, and the howl came to an abrupt end.

"End gun, forward stab!"

"Put away the gun, back off!"

"Half a step forward, stab!"

"Flat gun, pick up!" The sound of orders continued to be heard, with some trembling, but there was no doubt about it. The villagers mechanically carried out the order, and the pink spear tassels gradually turned red, and gradually turned black and dark. Then it was dyed with a new round of crimson.

The rogues, who were attacked head-on, were quickly defeated, and their weapons were thrown all over the wall. The order behind him suddenly stopped, and the villagers who had come back to their senses woke up like a dream, picked up their spears, and stabbed the corpses by the fence endlessly. "I'm going to fuck you!" "You straight thief!" While stabbing, they cried and cried, as if only by doing so could they free themselves from the guilt of killing, and only in this way could they get rid of the fear in their hearts.

"All guns are collected!" The familiar voice soon rang out behind the group, stifling all the cries. The villagers shuddered violently, instinctively straightened the tassel gun in their hands, and stood upright. "Three steps back! Walk! "The villagers broke away from the wooden fence and quickly retreated into the shadows of the remnant wall according to the rhythm of their usual training.

"Each team is right, rectify the brothers in the team, and count the casualties!" Cheng Xiaojiu wiped the sweat on his face fiercely and added loudly.

It was once a young and slightly confused face, but in an instant, it was covered in blood, and it became cruel and strong.

Alcoholic's note: I worked overtime today and couldn't write a book. Corrected these typos. Ten years of inventory, please vote for the homeland, and thank you.