Chapter 3: The East Gate (3 Lower)

The day is harder than the night. Although last night's battle was terrifying, everyone couldn't see how many rogues had come, and at least they still had the hope of winning by luck. And now, hope has become as thin as dew on the tip of grass. The rising sun illuminates everything, including the fear that every villager tries to hide in his heart.

The number of enemy troops is not twenty times as many as theirs, but a hundred times as much! If the old men and children wielding wooden sticks and machetes could also be counted as soldiers, the disparity may have been even greater. Seeing the thin bodies of the old and weak minions, you can't even bear to shoot your bow and arrow at them. However, when they run near the wooden fence, they do not hesitate to pass machetes and sharpened sticks down the cracks in the fence.

No matter how weak the rogue is in his hands, the weapon will kill people when it comes to him. The villagers paid a heavy price for their momentary hesitation, and more than a dozen fell in an instant. "Stab them to death, either they die or we die!" Several teams rushed to the front line again with hoarse shouts, and the blood-stained tassels took the lead in stabbing the old man and the child to death by the fence.

There is no mercy on the battlefield, either you die or I die. Fierce fighting once again took place on both sides of the wooden fence, brutal and messy. Standing in the position of the commander, Cheng Xiaojiu couldn't even believe that there were generals behind the rogue to make unified arrangements. There was no obvious rhythm to the flood of attacks, and there was no formation in formation, and the old, small, strong, and weak all surged upwards like a swarm. Short knives, spears, feathered arrows, throwing spears, and all kinds of weapons with uneven power and function have not been coordinated and organized, but just blindly chopping and chopping. In many cases, the feathered arrows shot by the backrow rogues did not fly over the fence at all, and they hit the backs of the front-row rogues directly. The minions who were injured by mistake and did not die cursed, turned around and rushed back with their weapons, and beat their robes to the ground.

In contrast to the rogues' haphazard attacks, the defenders' tactics are neat and effective. At a distance of about eighty paces from the ruined city, they began to intercept them with feathered arrows. The lethality of bamboo light arrows is very limited, and it is not uncommon for minions to run on the battlefield with four or five carved feathers on their bodies. But the greatest lethality of this feathered arrow covering tactic is the destruction of morale, and most minions do not have the courage to fight with wounds. Often, after the first arrow, the charge speed is halved. After receiving a second arrow, he will stop and examine the wound worriedly. Few people rushed forward without caring after taking three arrows in a row, but by this time, their bodies were no longer as flexible as they were before they were injured. Through the wooden fence, the villagers can fulfill their bravery very smoothly.

The hastily erected wooden fence became a ghost gate, keeping the living minions out of the gate. The ash pole tassel works well with the narrow gap in the fence. If it weren't for the sudden stupidity of the villagers, it would be difficult for the Liukou, who mainly used short weapons, to hand the Pu knife and axe to them. And the villagers only need to look at Ge Yi behind the gap in the fence, and stab the tassel spear in their hands fiercely, and they will be killed immediately.

From the first dawn of the morning sun and the fight to the sunrise, except for the moment when he saw the opponent's situation clearly, he suffered a big loss because of pity, and the local advantage of the battlefield was firmly in the hands of the villagers at other times. The proportion of battle losses between the two sides is very large, and in several rounds of fighting, the villagers who are becoming more and more skilled in cooperating with each other actually won a huge victory of killing more than 50 enemies and causing zero self-damage. However, Cheng Xiaojiu's mood was not happy because of the short-term victory, especially when a puff of smoke and dust rose over the opponent's camp, the corners of his eyes twitched uncontrollably a few times, but fortunately, the battle was fierce at that time, so the brothers did not notice his panic.

The smoke and dust were brought up by the running of the war horses. That means that Zhang Jin said that there are cavalry under his command! Although the number of cavalry may not exceed 1,000 in terms of the scale of smoke and dust, in the flat wilderness around Guantao, 1,000 cavalry is enough to break through the defense line composed of 5,000 to 8,000 villagers. Even more frightening was the cavalry's ability to run long distances. The horses trotted on the plain for an hour, enough for ordinary people to walk for most of the day. At the same time, it also meant that the officials and people of Guantao County had no chance to abandon the city at all, and once they lost the protection of the city walls, the minions on their horses would unceremoniously catch up from behind and slash them one by one with horizontal knives.

"Zhang Jin called this madman!" The pale face of Dong Zhushu scolded. The smoke and dust brought up by the cavalry were approaching the ruined southern city wall, and the cavalry was attacking the city, a tactic that had never been done before, and there may not be anyone in the future. However, it is difficult to say whether the height of the wooden fence can prevent the horses from jumping. Dong clearly remembers that in order to get oil and water from it, he secretly reduced the height of the fence from 9 feet 3 inches to 8 feet 5 inches. The money saved for timber and nails is still in the cellar of the family, and I haven't had time to spend it.

"War horses are not easy to come by, and he may not be willing to give them up!" Cheng Xiaojiu frowned and made such a judgment on Zhang Jincheng's purpose. "I guess he sent out the cavalry just to embolden his own people, and by the way, to demoralize our army. The remnant wall of the southern city is still half a zhang high, and without laying a fish beam road in advance, the war horse cannot approach the fence! ”

As if to confirm his judgment, the earthy yellow smoke and dust slowly decreased after being involved in the battlefield. About 700 horses of different heights formed a five-column long line, galloping back and forth about 200 paces from the city wall. Seeing their own cavalry, the minions gathered near the city wall like ants were greatly boosted, and the cheers were endless. But their offensive weakened little by little, and finally evacuated all the living people from the walls.

The minions on their horses wore simple leather armor, and the weapons in their hands were unified into horizontal swords. They first showed off their might and circled around the city wall a few times, and then slowly formed a team, and slowly turned into a neat phalanx. Immediately followed by another drum sound, under the banner of the exhibition, a strong man with a tiger's back rushed out on horseback, galloping like the wind to the front of the wooden fence.

At a distance of about fifty paces, this man took his mount and shouted at the villagers who were on guard: "Who is the principal here, come out, my king has something to say to you!" ”

"Come out, come out! If you don't dare to come out, you will be raised by a big girl! The minions who had suffered were full of anger and made a noise outside the city.

"You are all raised by big girls, and you don't have a father to teach!"

"Those who don't have a father don't take the right path, and good people don't do it, but they become thieves!" Most of the Xiangyong were born in the market, and their kung fu is no worse than the kung fu in their hands. scolded back along the other party's topic, and the minions were so angry that they were angry.

The strong man on the war horse saw that his side could not get any advantage verbally, so he quickly waved his hand and suppressed the noise of the minions. "Please come out and see the lord of the city! King Zhang has something to say! Tearing his throat open, he continued to shout at the villagers behind the wooden fence, and his voice overpowered all the noise from both sides.

As a temporary marching commander, Cheng Xiaojiu certainly can't let the other party look down on him. Xiang Yong, who was protecting himself separately, took a few steps forward, and saluted the strong man outside the city, "Cheng is ordered by the county lord to guard the southern city. If the strong man has anything to say, just tell Cheng. If Cheng thinks it makes sense, he will definitely transfer your words to the county lord! ”

A mature and old scene came out of the mouth of a young man who had not yet reached the crown, which made everyone who heard it feel stunned. The strong man on the horse smiled crookedly, and taught in a childlike tone: "You kid is so ignorant. Zhang Dawang's words to your county order are related to the life and death of the people in the county. What are you strong when you come out with a hairy child? Go back quickly, and call the leaders of the city to come out to me, for if you are late, you will delay the lives of the whole city!" ”

"You don't know how to do it!" Cheng Xiaojiu waved his sleeves angrily, and replied in the tone of a senior elder, "The ancients said that ambition is not in old age. If he is old and has a great ability to stool, wouldn't Sun Bofu have no chance to show his face in front of the battle until he dies? Go back quickly, and call a knowledgeable person to come out and talk to me. lest you delay the major event of your family King Zhang and cause the innocent lives of the whole battalion minions! ”

"Hahahaha!" The people in the city and the city were all amused by Xiao Jiu's unashamed words, and the hostility between them instantly eased a lot.

Since the strong man had practiced martial arts, he naturally knew what kind of character Sun Ce and Sun Bofu were. In the year of the weak crown, this person led the troops to recruit the Quartet, was invincible, and was once called a tiger chick by the people of the time. The martial arts practitioners after the Wei and Jin dynasties all took it as an example. The boy behind the fence may seem younger than Sun Ce when he first came into battle, but in terms of demeanor, he is not inferior to any adult villager around him.

Thinking of this, the strong man couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly, put away the contemptuous anger on his body, hugged his fists at Cheng Xiaojiu, and said loudly: "Since the little general can be the master, Hao will tell you the words of my king directly." I hope you can hold on to it after listening to it. What my king means is that the city wall of Guantao County has already collapsed, and even if you can stop our army for a while, you will inevitably be defeated and die in the end. It's better to recognize the situation and dedicate the museum pottery earlier. For the sake of you and others, King Zhang will not be difficult to wait for you. After raising enough food and grass here, turn around and leave, and never easily harm a single grass and tree in your county. ”

This person's voice is broad and loud, and there is a pride in his appearance and dress, and the words of persuasion come out of his mouth, which adds a bit of credibility. The villagers had already been exhausted, and after hearing these words, they couldn't help but feel a little moved. They all turned their eyes to Cheng Xiaojiu, waiting for him to respond.

"So, is it because I don't understand the good intentions of your king, and I made trouble out of thin air?" Cheng Xiaojiu said badly in his heart, and hurriedly retorted. "What happened to Ping'en County in the end? Who destroyed Liujiabao again? Don't tell me it wasn't your king who did it, those good people wiped their necks by themselves! ”

The words were said with resentment and rebuke, and in an instant, they woke up the sweet dream of surrender of all the villagers under his command. Ping'en County is only a hundred miles away from Guantao County, and in the spring the county was broken by Zhang Jincheng, and there were more than 8,000 people in the city, and less than 800 were lucky to survive in the end. The families of the villagers all live in Guantao City, and once the city is broken, no one can guarantee that their wives and children will survive here.

"Those people don't know what to do, and they actually offended my family's king Huwei. Of course, my king wants to teach him a lesson! The strong man on horseback could not justify his past atrocities, so he had to speak in strong words.

"Then I have been killing from last night to now, can I be regarded as offending your king Huwei?" Cheng Xiaojiu grabbed his handle and questioned unceremoniously. "By the way, where did your king's food and military salaries come from, can you not take them from us? Could it be that there are copper coins buried in the ground of Guantao County, and after your king enters the city, he will dig them out casually? ! ”

When the bandits raised food in the city, they naturally had no choice but to loot. The more the villagers listened, the more desperate they became, pointing to the strong man on horseback and scolding, "Don't pretend to be a good person, and kill if you have the ability." Let's fight to the death! ”

"I want to enter the city, grandma, unless I wait and die!"

Seeing the same hatred in the city, the strong man on horseback also knew that his wishful thinking of persuading him to surrender had failed. This outcome was also expected by him, and therefore, he was scolded, neither angry nor annoyed. smiled and took off a big bow from behind the saddle, then put a feather arrow wrapped with white Ge on the bowstring, shook it at Cheng Xiaojiu, and said loudly: "This is a handwritten letter from the king of my family, and the little general is tired to hand it over to the county commander." From now on, within three hours, ask the prefectural magistrate to make a decision. If you continue to resist after three hours, once the city is broken, Guantao County will definitely not be left with buds! ”

With that, he pulled the bowstring suddenly, only to hear a crisp sound of "collapse". The long arrow was like lightning, and it went straight to the small nine-sided door. Cheng Xiaojiu had long been on guard against the other party's move, quickly squatted down, avoided the arrow, and then used the tassel gun to pick and press, and instantly shot down the long arrow tied to Bai Ge to the ground.

The accuracy of this shot was so accurate that the people who saw it in the city couldn't help but cheer. Cheng Xiaojiu was so excited by the cheers that his blood was stirring that he reached out and took a bamboo bow and two long arrows from the brothers. shouted outside the city, "Come and don't be rude." I advise you to withdraw your troops as soon as possible, lest you die here in vain! ”

The words fell, and the two bamboo arrows left the string one by one. The strong man was willing to show weakness to a hairy child in full view, took the war horse, and waved his bow and arrows. The first bamboo arrow shot at the door was shot down to the ground. The second arrow swept through the wind and went straight to his crotch.

"Despicable thief!" At this time, the unlucky strong man realized that Cheng Xiaojiu's real purpose was to harm his mount, and he hurriedly scolded. If you want to pull up the horse's head to avoid the feather arrows, where is it too late. The second arrow was impartially stuck in the horse's neck. Although he didn't take the animal's life on the spot, he roared in pain.

"Sigh!" With a long neigh, the horse's front hooves were raised high. Zhang Jin said that the strong man under his command was too late to respond, and was thrown to the ground solidly, stirring up a cloud of dust.

"Hahahaha!" The villagers laughed loudly. In the laughter, he temporarily forgot the fear in his heart, and in the laughter, he raised the long tassel in his hand high!

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