In the next few days, Xu suffered heavy casualties. The Zhao army's offensive against Lingju was slightly slower. However, Rao was like this, and there were still two to three waves of Zhao troops with a size of 1,000 people attacking the city every day. Since Lingju was attacked, Li Yanzhi has not had a good night's sleep. Even these soldiers under his command can only be divided into two groups, taking turns to defend the city.

Compared with the initial 3,000 or so troops in the city, now the casualties have been more than half, and the reason why the soldiers have not collapsed in the face of such heavy casualties is mostly because the generals led by Li Yanzhi are stationed at the head of the city. Although basically everyone is injured, there is only about one team left in the past. But under the leadership of the generals, the soldiers also struggled to support it.

Yongdeng County, which is located in the northwest direction of Lingju, is about fifty or sixty miles away from Lingju. At this time, he was also fighting a fierce battle alone. Su Xuan and Sima Wang Mao of Yongdeng County also landed in the city to defend it. However, compared to Lingju, after all, the preparation is insufficient. After a day and a night, Yongdeng had fallen.

At dusk, a rider returned from the north to Lingju Castle. According to the auxiliaries guarding the north gate, they saw the man lying on horseback, scarred. Hurriedly open the gates and let them in. As soon as the sentry rode into the city, the horses fell to the side of the road from overwork, foaming at the mouth. Seeing this, the gatekeeper guarding the city gate hurriedly sent several auxiliaries forward, and the men were helped down from their horses, and then went straight to the southern city.

When Li Yanzhi saw the scarred sentry on the castle tower, he could barely utter a complete sentence. Li Yanzhi only listened to him intermittently and said: "Yongdeng...... By...... By...... Captive ......"

"Yeongdeng has fallen?" Li Yanzhi chuckled in his heart when he heard this, and probably guessed the worst outcome.

The Sentinel closed his mouth and nodded laboriously. Li Yanzhi was like a thunderbolt for a moment, and stood on the spot, and the figure of Fuqin singing suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Yongdeng has fallen, and its county commander Zuo Ke has led his troops to break through?" Li Yanzhi's heart became more and more anxious, stepped forward and grabbed the arm of the sentry rider, and asked eagerly.

When the sentry heard this, he gasped and shook his head. Li Yanzhi's heart was like falling into an ice cave. Raising his head and staring blankly in the direction of Yongdeng, he was silent.

"Sima, he...... He's out of breath......" The auxiliary soldiers beside him had some panicked words that pulled Li Yanzhi back to reality. He turned his head to look at the sentry mounted by several auxiliaries. I saw that his head was tilted to the side, leaning on the shoulder of an auxiliary soldier on the side, and his body was also tilted, and there was no sound.

Li Yanzhi stepped forward in two steps, stretched out his hand to probe the sentry horseman's snort, and felt nothing. Then he grabbed the sentry rider's hand and caught his pulse. I felt it for a moment, but I didn't feel any pulsation.

Li Yanzhi took off his helmet and bowed deeply to the sentry rider leaning on the auxiliary soldier with a sad expression. I watched the auxiliaries take the sentry horses down to the city. Then he turned his head to look at the soldiers around him who looked confused.

News of the fall of Yeongdeng soon spread among the soldiers. The soldiers around looked at each other and kept whispering. At this critical juncture, any unfavorable news will have unpredictable ripple effects. However, what made Li Yanzhi feel the most distressed was the Soviet-style family in Yongdeng City.

remembered the previous meetings with Su Wanyun. This woman who sang on the harp had long been deeply imprinted in his mind. Now that he heard such bad news, Li Yanzhi sat on the steps of the city tower on the side, looking at the Zhao army camp that gradually appeared outside the city and was stunned.

Qin Dayong had a white cloth wrapped around his left arm, and he was also silent, sitting on the other side of Li Yanzhi, looking at his expression, he also knew that he was in pain and entanglement now. Qin Dayong also sighed secretly.

"Sima, we have been here for eight days, and now we have suffered heavy casualties, and Yongdeng has also fallen. The situation is unfavorable, it is really difficult to support, Wan Wang Sima has made a plan early, don't stay here anymore......"

Li Yanzhi raised his head dejectedly and looked at Qin Dayong: "If I don't obey the order, where can I go?" ”

"We can break through at night, or go to the county town, or return north to Guzang, and ask Sima Mingcha." Qin Dayong clenched his fists and arched his hand.

"There are still thousands of thieves in their possession. We are all foot soldiers in the city. Even if you break through. When the thieves found out that we had abandoned the Lingju, they immediately sent elite cavalry to pursue them. Li Yanzhi looked at Qin Dayong and said angrily.

"After leaving the city, we can climb the mountains and enter the forest, and we must throw off the thieves and pursuers......" Qin Dayong looked at Li Yanzhi, who was expressionless, and replied in a low voice.

Li Yanzhi shook his head: "There are thousands of thieves and thieves, and the soldiers in the city plus the wounded soldiers are not as many as half of the thieves and thieves." If half of the thieves abandon their horses and pursue them on foot, the rest will move to the front to intercept them. Even if I wait for the breakthrough to succeed, where will I survive? ”

Li Yanzhi saw that Qin Dayong was silent, and said: "Besides, there are five or six hundred wounded soldiers in the city today. If we wait for a breakthrough, should I take them with us, or should I abandon them? ”

Seeing that Qin Dayong was silent, Li Yanzhi said to himself: "Take them, then I will wait for a day's march of only twenty or thirty miles, and the destruction will be sooner or later." If we don't take them with us, we still have a chance to escape. Li Yanzhi looked at Qin Dayong, and his painting style changed: "However, how will the soldiers think about acting like this?" What will they think of me and these officials? ”

Seeing Qin Dayong hanging his head and falling into silence, Li Yanzhi picked up the long knife leaning on the gatehouse, and said with a decisive word: "Now we have no way to retreat, we can only live and die with Lingju!" ”

"Qin Dayong, if you are afraid, you can immediately lead your troops to open the north gate and go out. I don't blame you......" Li Yanzhi sighed: "I think that at the beginning, there were only seven of the dozen or so siblings who were in the stable together. Niu Erzhuang died on the north bank of Jincheng when he was eleven years old. Zhang Xing and Han Wencan were also seriously injured and died a few days ago. I have summoned Liao Rulong to return to the county with the relics of Zhang Xing and Han Wencan. I want to attract everyone to stay in a corner, and Li Mou didn't notice it......

"These old brethren must not all die here. Then you led your troops out of the northern city. Go, those people in the stables shouldn't all fight here with me, but they should leave a few seeds......"

Qin Dayong was shocked when he heard this, and hurriedly knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Li Yanzhi and said, "Sima Mingcha, it's really not that Dayong is greedy for life and afraid of death. Since Sima has decided to fight to the death, Dayong will live and die...... If there is no Sima, how can Dayong be ...... today"

Li Yanzhi sighed, got up and looked at the brightly lit Zhao Jun camp, and there was already a bit of sadness in his tone: "The old brothers who knew each other in the stable at the beginning, everyone's parents, wives and children know each other. I don't know how I can ......be so calm with their relatives if I can face their relatives one day."

As the wind blew in the sky, Li Yanzhi began to feel a little rain and stars blowing in front of him with the wind. When he got up, he felt that the drizzle in the sky was coming more violently.

"It's raining." Li Yanzhi turned his head to look at Qin Dayong: "Send down the hats and robes in the arsenal, don't let the soldiers get wet in the rain for a long time." ”

Qin Dayong clenched his fists with tears in his eyes and took the order. And Li Yanzhi looked at the camp of thieves outside the city, and a trace of bitterness appeared in his heart. According to the eight days of defending the city, the casualties caused to the thieves were roughly estimated to be about 3,000. And although Liu Yin's troops were tired repeatedly, they still attacked every day and never stopped.

At present, the casualty ratio of oneself to the enemy is still one to two. However, Li Yanzhi knew very well in his heart that with the passage of time and the increase in his own casualties, this casualty ratio would only get higher and higher. And once the equilibrium point of strength between the two sides is broken, the situation on your side will take a sharp turn for the worse.

It rained all night. But as Li Yanzhi has been guarding the city tower, the soldiers in the city did not dare to complain a little, so they had to wear a hat and wear a hat to support themselves in the city. In the middle of the night, the Huotou army boiled several pots of ginger soup according to Li Yanzhi's instructions, and carried it up to the city tower for the soldiers to use to ward off the cold. The soldiers who were still holding out in the rain took bowls of ginger soup and drank it.

After drinking the ginger soup, the city soldiers felt that the chill in the rain had gone a lot. In this way, the guards on duty until the second half of the night, the city soldiers changed guards, and Li Yanzhi, who was already extremely distressed, had to find a secluded place at the head of the city and take a nap against the female wall.

At dawn, the faint sound of a horn came into Li Yanjiong's ears. He sat up on his feet, then rushed to the edge of the battlements and looked out of the city. Between the thieves' camp, the fire has been extinguished. The infantry of the Zhao army lined up in a neat formation, and slowly drove towards the edge of the city under the urging of the sound of horns behind them. As usual, the soldiers each carried a siege ladder. In front of many Zhao soldiers, there is also a siege tower that is as high as the city wall!

"Quick, gather the alternate soldiers and go to the city to defend it!" Seeing this, Li Yanzhi was in a hurry, and hurriedly called a soldier and commanded.

The soldier clenched his fists and left, and before he could take a few steps, Li Yanzhi had already heard a whistling sound in the sky. He instinctively ducked, and the whistling sound came straight towards the city tower, and with a loud bang, Li Yanzhi could already see that the roof of the city tower had been smashed into a corner, and many mud and tiles fell down one after another, tapping on the iron armor on his body.

"Drummer!" Li Yanzhi shouted loudly towards the city tower: "Sound the trumpets and drums, gather the soldiers to go to the city, and prepare to defend against the enemy!" ”

When the drummer on the side of the tower heard this, he immediately took up his drumsticks, galloped to the drum on the tower, and began to rumble the drum. Hearing the sound of drums, the alternate soldiers who were hiding from the rain near the houses under the city took up their weapons one after another, and hurriedly lined up and rushed towards the city. The alternate ironclad foot soldiers resting in the barracks, hearing the rapid sound of drums, also took their swords in armor, and rushed to the city under the leadership of their respective generals.

Outside the city, the Zhao army had advanced to less than two arrows in a blink of an eye. Four or five huge trebuchets were erected behind the battle, and they were constantly sending mud bombs at the city. From time to time, the whistling mud bombs hit the battlements, the female walls, or the roofs and corners of the towers. Cracked mud bombs and clods of soil on the city walls, roof corner tiles, and even broken wooden beams collapsed to the city walls. One of the auxiliaries crouched on the ground with his head in his hands, and unexpectedly, a sharp wooden spike flew from the broken beam, piercing through the soldier's leather armor and piercing him in the back. He immediately let out a terrible howl and fell to the ground.

Seeing that the robe next to him fell to the ground, two auxiliary soldiers immediately rushed up, held the wounded soldier and dragged him to the city. After the offensive of several mud bombs was completed, Li Yanzhi looked at the situation outside the city from the battlement, and paid special attention to observing the trebuchet movements behind the Zhao army's formation.

The trebuchets of this era were very powerful, but it took a long time to wind them after the first launch. Seeing that Zhao Jun had entered the city at this scene, Li Yanzhi waved his hand and shouted: "Release the arrow!" ”

Drums beat and a sparse rain of arrows shot from the southeast corner of the city wall. The defenders suffered heavy casualties, and the number of crossbowmen was decimated. These sporadic arrows flew towards the Zhao army's foot soldiers, but did not achieve much damage.

These crossbow arrows slowed down the formation of the Zhao army's advance. At this juncture, the defenders, who had been slightly scattered by the trebuchet blows, had reorganized their formation, and the auxiliaries had put their shields on the battlements, and everyone was in good order. As the Zhao army marched under the city and erected siege ladders, the soldiers at the battlements began to assemble in makeshift patchwork units to prepare for the attack of the Zhao army on the city.

The auxiliary soldiers of the rear team quickly carried the rolling wood and stones piled up near the women's wall, passed through the small formations composed of Shiwu, and reached the back of the battlement wall. Some people watched from the probe of the battlement, while others crouched under the battlement wall and waited for help.

Below, Sergeant Zhao had already begun to climb the ladder. The auxiliary soldier who was in charge of observing at the battlement mouth waved his hand, and the soldiers behind him immediately raised the rolling wood and stone in their hands and set it on the battlement.

"Put!" Following the command of the soldiers, dozens of rolling logs and stones aimed at the siege ladder were thrown from the top of the city in an instant. The auxiliaries behind the battlement wall listened to the miserable howl of the Zhao army's foot soldiers from under the wall, and continued to carry the rolling wood and stone to the battlement wall with expressionless faces.

Today, all the trees in the city have been cut down. Most of the timber obtained was also used to make these rolling stones. After the auxiliaries behind the battlement wall had thrown away the utensils they had prepared in the city, they quickly ran back to the rear team where they had just stayed, picked up their weapons and equipment, and prepared to meet them.

After only half a moment, the soldiers of Zhao Jun had climbed up to the top of the city, standing on the battlement wall, looking at the Lingju county soldiers guarding the city with hideous faces. Li Yanzhi raised his eyes and saw the enemy foot soldiers standing on the head of the city, all of whom had the same faces as the sons of the Han family.

A Zhao soldier who landed in the city, looking at the tip of the spear pointed at him in the hand of the commander of the city, hesitated slightly, and then jumped down. However, the feet have not yet touched the ground, and the spears in the hands of the Lingju soldiers on the opposite side have already stabbed together! The Zhao Jun's foot soldiers couldn't dodge, and they were nailed to the battlement wall in an instant!

Later, the infantry of Zhao Jun, who climbed to the city, saw the scene of Tongze's blood splashed on the spot, and they were frightened, but there was no way to retreat, so they had to jump down like this. Before he could stand firm, the nearby county soldiers had already slashed with knives. Soon, the endless stream of Zhao soldiers had jumped down from the head of the city and fought with the defenders of the city.

"Battle Battalion, follow me!" Li Yanzhi held the long knife in his right hand, and with a wave of his left hand, Qin Dayong had already led his iron-armored infantry to follow closely behind, heading towards the Zhao army's infantry who had already killed the city!