The difference in the circumstances of the two armies convinced Zhang Lang that he would eventually be able to defeat those Tang troops and take the city wall in one go.

However, what he couldn't understand was that the Tang troops on the city wall had obviously suffered nearly thirty percent of the casualties, and they had no respite in the nearly half-hour-long battle, but these people were still highly motivated, standing firmly at the head of the city, and did not retreat a single step.

In this case, the only thing Zhang Lang could do was to continue to put pressure on the city wall and the Tang army above.

He immediately instructed one of the heralds, "Tell Jin Chong that our army needs cover!"

"Yes!"

The herald clenched his fists and left.

A moment later, behind Zhang Lang's footmen, a stone's throw away from the city wall, Jin Chong, the general of the Youjun Army, once again ordered his crossbowmen to fire a volley at the eastern city wall of Zhuolu County.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Zhang Lang asked his soldiers to withdraw slightly, and while letting his soldiers take this opportunity to rest, he observed the reaction on the city wall.

In the battle just now, there will be crossbowmen in Zhuolu County who will shoot back, there are a lot of them, and the accuracy is not bad, which brings great psychological pressure to their army. But at this moment, there was no crossbowman to fight back.

Zhang Lang thought about it for a while, and knew that the crossbowmen in Zhuolu County might have been transferred to the northern city wall to resist Niu Ba.

It can be seen from this that the forces defending the city in Zhuolu County are actually overstretched, so as long as he works harder, maybe the defenders on the east city wall will collapse in the next moment.

But the question is, when is this next moment?

After the agreed four rounds of volleys, Zhang Lang immediately issued an order to attack the city again, hoping that the soldiers under his command could reorganize the formation and take down the city wall in one go.

However, the reality made Zhang Lang frown deeply, and the soldiers under his command were blocked again, blocked on the few remaining flying ladders, and they couldn't even touch the edge of the city wall.

Looking at the defenders on the wall of Zhuolu County from a distance, Zhang Lang was in awe, and said secretly: The Tang army is really powerful.

He never thought that a Zhuolu County would hide such a brave elite. But what he didn't know was that on the city wall at this time, there were only 5,000 real Tang troops, and the remaining 10,000 people were county soldiers and strong men. The reason why there was no crossbow counterattack was because out of 16,000 people, there were only 2,000 crossbowmen, neither in number nor ability, they could not fight back against the crossbowmen outside the city.

Zhang Lang turned his head to look at the sun that was about to set in the west, his heart was already beginning to be anxious, he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

So far, he has no other plan but to urge his soldiers to continue to attack the city, and those Tang troops who pinned their hopes on the city wall cannot resist the offensive.

As Zhang Lang judged, the defenders on the east wall of Zhuolu County were exhausted at this time, whether it was the Tang army, the county army or the strong men, they were all forcibly supported by a will, even Duan Yu thought that they had done a very good job, even better than ordinary soldiers, comparable to the elite in the army.

But excellence is excellence, but it can't cover up casualties. Among the 16,000 people, the Tang army of 5,000 people was better, 1,000 people were killed, and the casualties of 10,000 county soldiers had reached more than 3,000 people, not to mention the strong men, all 1,000 people died in the city. The people who survived were also all wounded.

Duan Yu looked at the city wall of Dongcheng, which had been turned into a meat grinder, and was anxious, the army at the head of the city had done its best, this was a fact. At this time, they must get reinforcements, otherwise these people on the city wall will be completely annihilated.

Thinking of this, Duan Yu instructed a county official beside him, "Go to the military commander in my name and tell the military commander that the brothers must be reinforced......

Before he finished his words, he saw a group of armored Tang troops rushing up on the steps on the inner side of the city wall not far away.

Duan Yu was slightly stunned when he saw them: Hmm? Tang Jun? Just as he was wondering, among the group, a Tang Army general walked over to him and said loudly: "I am Guo Ping, the commander of the Third Division of the Eighth Army! Lead the 3rd Division to take over!"

Seeing this, Duan Yu suddenly realized: this army is the third division of the Tang Army, and they have been transferred from the southern and western city walls.

After Guo Ping finished talking to Duan Yu, he commanded his soldiers to take over the defense, and then walked quickly into the Dongcheng Gatehouse, took three steps and two steps to Meng Song, made a military salute, and said, "Military commander! The last general has been ordered to come and take over!"

Meng Song nodded and said, "How is it? Guo Ping, are you itching and want to fight?"

Guo Ping scratched his head and said, "Marshal, you know me, this is so lively on the south city wall looking at the east city wall, I can't hold it anymore. Of course, I also understand the commander, if it weren't for the fact that our third division has the most recruits, you would have sent us a long time ago."

Meng Song nodded and said, "Take the brothers of the third division to defend well, and you can't relax!"

"Whoa!"

Guo gave a military salute, turned around and left.

Li Xian walked up at this time, holding a piece of paper in his hand.

Meng Song saw that his face was very ugly, so he asked, "What's wrong?"

Li Xian said depressedly: "Marshal, is this ghost army crazy, it's only the first day, it's only a few hours, and we have suffered tens of thousands of casualties, and the casualties are still increasing......

Meng Song comforted, "We have suffered heavy casualties, and the casualties of the Youjun army are even greater. You see, the sun is about to set, and the offensive of the ghost army is about to end. In the next few days, the Ghost Army will not be as fierce as it is today."

Li Xian said with a worried face: "But the question is, can we hold on until dark, such a big casualty will have too much impact on morale, and the soldiers must have ideas in their hearts if they don't say it."

When Meng Song heard this, his face turned grim, and he said, "Li Sima, you have to believe in the soldiers, and you must also believe that we can hold out until dark."

The morale of the Tang soldiers of the third division was high, and they had long been waiting anxiously at the southern city wall. However, it was only after they took over the walls that they realized that the reality was much more brutal than they thought.

In just a quarter of an hour, the Third Division suffered thousands of casualties, and its morale plummeted. If it weren't for Guo Ping, the elite veterans who were born in generals, would have been suppressed and inspired, and the gap would have been opened by the Youjun army in the city.

On the other hand, the casualties of the Youjun army outside the city at this time were minimal. There is no way, this is the gap, most of the soldiers of the Third Division are rookies who have not experienced the war, and the training is enough, but the combat power is not as good as the county soldiers who survived the battlefield and survived the catastrophe.

However, although the strength of the 3rd Division was weak, they were fully equipped and well-armed, which made up for their shortcomings to a certain extent. Under their blockade regardless of casualties, even if it was a ghost army outside the city, it would be difficult to attack the city wall for a while.