Not long after the group of people who came to the sea were captured alive, several places in Metasequoia City suddenly burst into flames without warning.

Those fires developed so quickly that it was as if someone had deliberately ignited them with firewood, grass and oil, and in the blink of an eye, they turned into flames that soared into the sky.

Panicked shouts and cries for help suddenly rose and fell one after another in the city.

After a short time, the north gate of Metasequoia, which was originally silent, suddenly came to the rattling movement, and the iron gate was slowly pulled up with a winch chain, and the harsh sound was sent far away.

Hiding in the grove outside the north gate, the thousands of ghost alliance horse bandits who had been waiting for a long time were all excited, and they all stared at Metasequoia City with wide eyes.

The leader of the horse bandits observed for a moment and shouted: "Brother Hai has succeeded!" Brothers, kill me and rob you of money and women! ”

"Grab money and rob women!" The horse bandits frantically responded, immediately urged the horses, raised their speed, and rushed to the open city gate.

The terrain to the north of Metasequoia City is open, and most of the defenders at the head of the city are attracted to the eastern city wall, so the horse bandits on this side can completely free their hands and feet and run towards the city gate as much as they want.

In the blink of an eye, a large number of people broke into the narrow doorway.

Although the sneak attack went smoothly, because the north city gate was too narrow and the number of horse bandits was large, except for the fastest part of the people who entered the doorway, most of the rest of the horse bandit team were crowded outside the city gate, and they rushed to seize the position for a while, hoping to squeeze in as soon as possible.

However, at this moment, the iron gate, which had been pulled up high, suddenly shook violently without warning, and immediately fell with a bang.

This scene happened too terrifying, and the iron gate, which weighed thousands of pounds, seemed to have broken the chain, and immediately smashed the three or four horse bandits who were passing below, including people and horses, into minced meat.

"What's going on?! What's going on above? Hit someone! The horse bandits, who were blocked out of the city by the iron gates, suddenly made a mess and pointed at the city and shouted and cursed.

A lazy voice came down from above: "Fool, it's you who are smashed!" ”

As soon as the words fell, countless torches instantly lit up on the city, illuminating the area of the city gate very brightly. The soldiers of the Saint Tang Protectorate appeared one after another, holding strong bows and crossbows, and shot wildly below. Dozens of jars of oil were thrown down at the same time, drenching the bandits with oil.

Li Jiangyao jumped onto the battlements, stretched out his hand and pulled out a big bow, shooting a rocket into the air like a god.

The rocket soared into the sky with a bright light tail, maintaining a nearly vertical angle to the ground, and flew straight into the sky, which stood out in the dark night sky.

The horse bandits under the city couldn't help but be curious, and they all looked up, wondering why the rocket was pointed straight into the air and shot so exaggeratedly.

However, in the next second, they were stunned.

I saw that the rocket rose straight, flying slower and slower, and when the lift was exhausted, the rocket made a small turn in mid-air, and then along a strange arc, it turned around and flew straight to the horse bandit below.

"My grandma!" The horse bandits, who were covered in fire oil, reacted, and were so frightened that their hairs stood on end on the spot, and they hurriedly turned their horses' heads and fled for their lives.

In the blink of an eye, the rocket landed.

The flames on the arrows led to the fuel, and in an instant, the flames were raging, and countless horse bandits turned into burning men and fire horses, taking the north gate of Metasequoia as the origin, and scattered and fled.

Just as the horse bandits outside the city were burned to the ground, the horse bandits who recklessly broke into the city were also in a desperate situation.

On the streets inside the north gate, the horse bandits and thieves were washed by the Pegasus scouts who were ambushed here with a rain of arrows several times, and there were few left to breathe at this time.

And the horse bandits who followed them into the city one after another, faced with the dense array of swords, guns and shields around them, and immediately made a mess.

Due to the small space at the city gate, they had neither a place to line up nor the distance to charge, so they could only huddle together and circle in place, and there was no way to do anything in a hurry.

What's even worse is that the leader of the team they led has already been shot into a hedgehog with a bow and arrow, leaving the horse bandits leaderless and at a loss.

Some of the bandits, provoked by their desperate situation, tried to storm the guns and shields of the Togofu, only to be stabbed into a sieve by the spears of the Pegasus scouts.

A corpse that fell sideways in front of the shield immediately became the best example, warning the guy behind who was about to move: If you want to live, then be honest.

Du Jian stood behind the gun and shield array, raised his long knife, and shouted loudly: "Those who surrender will live, and those who resist to the end will die!" Move! ”

"Drink!" The three shield walls formed by the Pegasus scouts made Qi Qi take a step forward when he heard this, and at the same time, his mouth roared, and the entire air seemed to be violently compressed.

The horse bandits felt their hearts clench, and they were suddenly frightened.

Ma Mu accompanied Du Jian to stand behind the gun shield array, and hurriedly spoke it again in Che Chi Tu dialect, ordering the horse bandits to surrender obediently.

At this time, the thieves are already cut off from the back road, the dragons are leaderless, and when there is no life in front and no way to retreat, where can the rabble have the courage to resist to the end.

They were so suppressed by the Pegasus scouts that their minds were almost broken, so they didn't even hesitate for a moment, and turned over and fell off their horses and threw away their weapons.

-

The sky was bright, and the mess left by the fierce battle in Metasequoia City had been cleaned up by the soldiers defending the city.

The wounded were sent to the doctor, the bodies were taken away for disposal, the horse bandits were taken back into custody, and everything was in order, even the arrows, stones, and large oil pots on the city walls were restacked in order.

Except for the blood stains on the walls and the ground, telling people about the horror of last night's battle, it was as if nothing had happened.

Negativity is also a kind of combat effectiveness.

This is a sentence that Li Jiangyao often says to his subordinates.

No matter how difficult the environment is, the army can maintain high standards for itself, so that it can burst out at a critical moment with combat effectiveness far beyond ordinary people.

Therefore, after the horse bandits' attack was frustrated and they retreated completely, Li Jiangyao did not let everyone rest immediately, but seized the time to clean up the battlefield, reorganize the combat preparations, and restore the defensive combat strength of Metasequoia City as soon as possible.

The soldiers of the Pegasus Scout Battalion have been patrolling the frontier all year round, and they have long been accustomed to hard fighting, and after fighting all night, although everyone felt very tired, they still acted silently according to the orders of the captain.

However, these elites can withstand it, but the original garrison warriors of Metasequoia City can't be compared. In the face of Captain Li's harsh orders, everyone endured the backache and cleaned hard, while secretly scolding Li Jiangyao for being inhumane.

Li Jiangyao pretended not to hear anything, served a bowl of steaming mutton soup in his hand, and sat leisurely on the city wall basking in the sun.

Looking at the tense and orderly appearance of the people around him, a very unreal feeling instantly rose in his heart.

It has been the fourth year since I came here from the modern world, and it has been almost two years since I graduated from the Imperial Capital Yanwutang to the military in the Western Xinjiang Ghost Desert. Li Jiangyao has changed from an ordinary small policeman to an out-and-out Shengtang officer, and he also led soldiers and horses to fight bloody battles with enemies from all walks of life.

All of this is so magical.

For now, the clues of Tieshi Mountain are still clueless, but I don't know how many battles have been fought in the ghost desert of Western Xinjiang. Li Jiangyao was a free-spirited battlefield novice, and was tempered by the fire of war into a veteran of fighting.

Fate likes to joke with people, but sometimes it doesn't understand real humor, so it always makes jokes too far.

Outrageous jokes, often embarrassing jokes.

In the face of this strange world, Li Jiangyao has many peculiarities that other contemporaries do not have, such as extraordinary speed and reflexes and rich knowledge reserves. Another thing is his instinct and sensitivity to the development of the situation.

In Li Jiangyao's view, an even greater crisis is gradually approaching the vast land of western Xinjiang.

From the Turkic attack on the Shengtang caravan, to the large-scale invasion of the Blood Wolf Legion, and now to the sudden emergence of the Ghost Alliance horse bandits, this series of things seems to be secretly pushed by an invisible big hand behind it, interlocking and pressing step by step.

Although Li Jiangyao did not have any evidence to prove his inference, he still firmly believed that the Turkic Empire was unwilling to let go of the ghosts in the western frontier easily, and the horse bandits in front of him may be their temptation before another invasion.

If that's the case, the problem is really bad.

The First Battle of Western Xinjiang, which had just ended, made the already old and weak Zhenjiang Protectorate even worse. This battle could not help but completely expose the weakness and weakness of the Zhenjiang Army, and it also dealt heavy losses to this border army in a real sense.

Although the whole of the Metropolitan Protectorate worked together and fought desperately against the enemy, the repeated fierce battles also greatly weakened the combat power of the whole army, and now even the Pegasus Scouts were sent by Zhang Sanpi to garrison the city, which is enough to show how tight the manpower of the Metropolitan Protectorate is.

In this case, if the Turks make a comeback, there is no need to wait for the reinforcements of the Holy Tang to arrive, and the ghost desert in Western Xinjiang will have to fall completely.

And at that time, what kind of fate will you face?

Li Jiangyao is a person who likes to plan ahead.

Rather than waiting until the end of the day and then rushing to hold Buddha's feet, it is better to make some preparations as soon as possible, so as to be in danger.

He turned his head to look at the large area of quiet and peaceful city behind him, and silently calculated in his heart.

Metasequoia City may be the best choice.

First of all, this place is located at the key point of the Western Xinjiang trade route, and there is an endless stream of business travel. Whether it is the trade circulation of goods, or the collection of Chinese and foreign news, it is very developed and convenient.

Secondly, Metasequoia City has a resident population of more than 30,000, of which nearly half are young and middle-aged people who are of appropriate age to join the army, so the city has considerable potential for replenishing soldiers.

Thirdly, and most importantly, the city was extremely well stocked. Food, weapons, horses, medicines, cloth, and forage, as well as all kinds of daily necessities, as well as gold and silver treasures, are all important foundations for long-term warfare, and if they can be used properly, they can be enough to support a long-term garrison of several thousand troops.

In addition, Metasequoia City is located in the hinterland of Western Xinjiang, not far from the Chechi royal court and the borders of Shanshan and Shule countries, and its strategic location is unique, even if the situation changes slightly, it can also allow soldiers and horses to quickly move and dodge, or rush to capture other important towns.

It is precisely because of these key factors that the ghost alliance horse bandits returned to the western frontier, and the preferred target was Metasequoia City. And the Duhufu decided to hand over such a place with superior conditions to Li Jiangyao to garrison, and he was finally lucky.

Well, since God favors me, then I will cherish it and use it to fight for the future!