Sui and Tang Dynasty Generals

Chapter 49 Under the Fog
Chilling wind.

On the city wall of Qinghe County, the torches seemed to be blown out by the cold wind in the middle of the night.

There were countless corpses lying in the city roads, but no one was in the mood to move them at the moment, because compared to the corpses in clothes and armor, judging by the faint moonlight, there were not many soldiers still alive on the top of the city.

"Prime Minister Yang, I'm afraid that when the day breaks, the enemy will lead their army to attack the city. We won't be able to hold out for long. Please hide in the city. I am willing to defend the city walls till my death!"

Deputy General Qiu Ziqian looked at the soldiers leaning against the city wall exhausted, so he brought Cui Duxing of the Cui family and the county magistrate Fan Yichuan to the county magistrate Yang Shanhui, bowed and said to Yang Shanhui.

Cui Duxing and Fan Yichuan also looked at Yang Shanhui, who was in his fifties.

"I am the prefect of Qinghe County. How can I be afraid of a thief?"

Yang Shanhui sat cross-legged on the top of the city wall, holding a bloody sword in his hand and closing his eyes to rest. When he heard what the deputy general Qiu Ziqian said, he spoke in a stern voice.

"But if the county magistrate goes to die, who in the counties of Hebei will be able to stop Zhang Jincheng in the future?"

Qiu Ziqian looked at Yang Shanhui and asked with red eyes.

At that time, the thief Zhang Jincheng stationed troops at the borders of counties and prefectures, massacred civilians, and plundered cities. No one in many counties and prefectures could resist. Even Duan Da, who was sent by the court to lead troops, was defeated by Zhang Jincheng.

Only in Qinghe County, he was stopped by the troops led by County Magistrate Yang. After hundreds of battles, Zhang Jincheng was finally unable to harm Qinghe County. If Yang Shanhui was really killed by Zhang Jincheng tomorrow, I am afraid that no one in Hebei would be able to stop Zhang Jincheng in the future.

"I also ask the county magistrate to avoid the thieves, hide in the city, and plan for the future!"

"Please think twice, County Magistrate! Duxing has discussed with the clansmen and will definitely try every possible way to let the County Magistrate take refuge!"

Fan Yichuan and Cui Duxing also raised their hands and asked Yang Shanhui for help.

Under the cold wind.

Yang Shanhui had a stern face. He stood up and frowned at the three people. He walked past the three people without saying a word, picked up a torch, and looked at the Sui Dynasty soldiers in front and behind, who were covered in blood, leaning against the city wall, with desperate looks on their faces.

"Soldiers!"

Yang Shanhui shouted.

Under the night sky, in the quiet and cold atmosphere, all the soldiers raised their tired eyes and looked at Yang Shanhui.

"The bandits are cruel and have no humanity. If the city is breached, they will certainly massacre the civilians in the city tomorrow. The rebels will certainly burn, kill, rob, rape and pillage in the city. I, Yang Shanhui, will fight the bandits to death. As long as I have a breath left, the city gates will not be breached, and as long as I have a strength left, I will kill the bandits. If the city is destroyed..."

When Yang Shanhui said this, he glanced at the soldiers.

"Yang Shanhui will live and die with all the soldiers!"

The cold wind was howling, and the soldiers leaning against the wall on the city wall were vaguely moved when they heard Yang Shanhui's words.

As soldiers defending Qinghe County, how could they not know that County Magistrate Yang was from the Yang family of Hongnong, and that he and the Cui family in the city were both famous families.

And now, seeing that Yang Shanhui, the magistrate of Qinghe County, was willing to die with them, what else did they have to regret?

No one wants those thieves outside the city to break into the city and wreak havoc on Qinghe County.

On the city road.

When Qiu Ziqian and the other two saw this scene, they all knew that Yang Shanhui had made up his mind, so they stopped trying to persuade him and just stared at the dark night outside the city.

The three of them were also ready to die together at dawn tomorrow.

Time passes.

Two hours later, outside Qinghe County, the sky in the distance slowly became brighter, and cold fog was everywhere, covering the entire city, making it impossible to see far away.

In the dim light, if it were any other day, they would probably still be fast asleep, but at this moment, the Sui soldiers, clerks, and recruits on the city wall all picked up their weapons and longbows, looking outside the city vigilantly.

Soon, under the cold fog, faint messages were heard.

Seeing this scene, everyone on the city wall became nervous, with their Adam's apples moving slightly, but no one was surprised, as if they were used to it.

"Fire arrows!"

Following Qiu Ziqian's order, the soldiers shot arrows directly at the fog outside the city. As the arrows were shot, they soon heard the faint sound of wooden boards hitting each other in the fog outside the city, as well as a few screams.

Before long, suddenly, dense groups of rebels swarmed out from the cold fog like ghosts and beasts, and attacked the top of the city wall. Wooden ladders were also set up on the city wall at this time.

Immediately afterwards, one rebel after another came climbing up while holding wooden shields.

"kill!!!"

"kill!"

As the rebels attacked the city wall of Qinghexian, loud roars of killing spread throughout the sky.

Inside the city, soldiers defending the city kept shooting arrows with bows and crossbows to kill the rebels, but soon many soldiers were shot and fell to the ground by the rebels' arrows.

Faced with a huge disadvantage, there were countless corpses in the city roads. In addition to the Sui army soldiers, from time to time, one or two rebels would climb up to the top of the city walls and fight with the Sui army with knives.

The soldiers of the Sui army also tried their best, even at the cost of their lives, to kill the rebels who climbed up the city walls.

More and more bodies fell on the city road, and blood kept splattering on the city walls, leaving cold corpses.

in the city.

The once bustling streets are now empty, shops are closed, vendors are nowhere to be seen. Occasionally, ordinary people can be seen under the messy stalls, carrying packages and hurrying on their way with fearful looks on their faces. Listening to the sounds of fighting from the direction of the city, their steps become faster and faster, and they soon disappear into the alleys.

At first glance, the streets were dead silent.

........................

Beside the Yongji Canal.

Fu Zihou stretched his body, took the last bite of the cold millet cake, looked at the mist on the river, turned around and looked at the nearly a thousand soldiers in armor behind him.

"Remember, those who dare to fight will die! Those who do not advance to meet the enemy will die!"

Fu Zihou said sternly, looking at Cao Yong's military commanders, and then glanced at everyone else.

"In today's battle, only if we defeat the bandits can we survive! Only if we lift the siege of Qinghe, all the rewards for those who die in battle can be given to their families!"

After Fu Zihou finished speaking, he looked carefully at each person's eyes and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Zhang Jin said that all the rebel soldiers under his command could escape.

But now, these nearly a thousand soldiers have only one choice. "Cross the river!"

Fu Zihou said softly, turned around and walked towards the river first.

Xiong Ruixiang, Kong Yan, Du Lang and all the soldiers behind them followed Fu Zihou and walked towards the river together.

Cao Yongze led a group of people to guard on both sides, looking at the soldiers passing by densely in front of him. Cao Yong looked at those who were supervising the battle, his eyes full of viciousness. Whoever dared to retreat in this battle would be killed by them, without any hesitation.

Outside Qinghe County.

Zhang Jincheng led his army on horseback. Although he could not see the top of Qinghe City due to the morning fog, he was very calm and composed when he heard the roars of killing.

The distance between Qinghe County and Yongji Canal is several times closer than that between Qinghe County and Yongji Canal. This is why Qinghe County has been the county seat since ancient times, regardless of the dynasty.

But this is precisely the weakness of Qinghe County. Whether it is early morning or dusk, fog is easily generated by water, especially in cold winter.

If it weren't for the fog that prevented the Sui Dynasty soldiers defending the city from accurately shooting their own troops, making it easier for their troops to get close to the city walls and climb and attack the city, Zhang Jincheng knew that he would not have been able to capture Qinghe County so quickly.

What makes Zhang Jin even happier is that today's fog is worse than ever before, as if the weather is helping him.

"Yang Shanhui, I want to see who can save you this time!"

Zhang Jin said that whenever he thought of Yang Shanhui, his eyes were filled with viciousness. When he caught Yang Shanhui, he would cut him into pieces and put them into the pot.

People have been sent to guard the roads leading to the rescue from other cities in Qinghe County, and Wucheng has its own people. The only threat is Gao Jibo. But at the moment, not to mention that those people in Gao Jibo are hoping that Yang Shan will die, even Gao Shida has reached a cooperation with him.

Just as Zhang Jincheng was riding a horse in front of the rebel army, thinking about how to use Yang Shanhui to vent his anger, and how to plunder the money in the city after entering the city.

Behind Zhang Jincheng's army, in the thick fog near the river, figures were moving through the fog like ghosts.

Behind the rebels, several rebel soldiers who were originally responsible for keeping watch for the army in the bushes were now looking in the direction of Qinghe River, complaining together that when they entered the city later, they were afraid that it would be difficult for them to get ahead of others because they were at the back.

When he heard a faint noise behind him, a rebel instinctively turned his head to look, and his eyes widened in an instant.

Seeing this, several people nearby were a little confused. Looking at the wind in the fog was just like looking at the mountains in the dark. Could they see a naked woman?

When several people were about to turn around, they suddenly saw an arrow hit the man's head directly, and the man fell to the ground instantly.

Seeing this, the others were horrified and looked back. They immediately saw that several soldiers had unknowingly come up to them.

They had no time to draw their swords to resist. The next moment, several rebels were chopped to the ground by the swords of the armored soldiers and then killed by the swords.

After a few breaths.

Next to the corpses of several rebels, dense footsteps were trampling over them, and in the thick fog, countless soldiers in armor kept pouring out and walking towards the back of the rebel army.

Soon.

Under the leadership of Fu Zihou, nearly a thousand soldiers were getting closer and closer to the rebel army, and they could clearly hear the roar of killing coming from the top of Qinghe City.

The sky was getting brighter and brighter. They had not walked far when the fog gradually rose and became thinner. Finally, when they were more than a hundred steps away, not only Fu Zihou and nearly a thousand soldiers had seen the rebel army in the distance, but even the soldiers at the back of the rebel army had noticed Fu Zihou and his men.

Seeing this, Fu Zihou, who was walking in front, raised his longbow without any hesitation and aimed at the panicked rebels.

"Fire arrows!"

Following Fu Zihou's order, the soldiers behind him also picked up their longbows and, like Fu Zihou, shot arrows at the rebel army.

"what!!"

"Ah~!"

Amid the dense barrage of arrows, the rebel army from Qinghe County was completely unprepared for the sneak attack from behind. No less than a hundred rebels were injured or shot dead, and screams continued to be heard.

Looking at the rebel soldiers who were unprepared and in chaos, Fu Zihou walked forward while continuously taking out arrows from his back and shooting them.

Only when they got closer and closer to the rebel army and saw that they were in turmoil, and they were about to take up their shields to defend themselves, did Fu Zihou throw away his longbow and draw the sword from his waist. He must not give the rebel army a chance to defend themselves.

"kill!"

Fu Zihou took the lead, holding a sword and rushing towards the rebel army.

"kill!!!"

Xiong Ruixiang, Kong Yan and Du Lang also drew their swords and followed Fu Zihou.

Under the leadership of Fu Zihou and others, the soldiers selected by Fu Zihou all drew their weapons and followed Fu Zihou and others to charge towards the rebel army.

All the soldiers knew that the only way to survive was to kill the rebels, so every soldier had a ferocious look on his face, and their eyes were full of murderous intent when they looked at the rebels.

On the battlefield.

When the two armies were fighting, Fu Zihou was the first person to engage in combat with the rebels. Seeing a rebel stabbing at him with a long spear, he quickly dodged to the side and quickly moved forward.

Looking at the panicked rebel soldiers, the sword in Fu Zihou's hand was not only fast at this moment, but also did not stop at all.

He chopped the rebel soldier on the head with his sword, turned around, stepped forward, and swept his sword at another rebel who was rushing towards him.

With a young body and a talent that even Old Liu had admired countless times, he practiced those killing moves that were familiar to him day after day, year after year. Fu Zihou fought with the rebels with a sword in his hand, and the sword in his hand hardly paused for a moment.

At the Li residence, Fu Zihou never paid much attention to the competition between Li Qiong and Cui Wenjin. In the words of Old Liu, when sword masters teach sword to women, they usually consider how to make it look good for their future sword dance performances.

However, the better the swordsmanship is, the more concise it is, without a trace of splendor, and everything is only aimed at killing the opponent in the fastest way.

On the battlefield.

After Fu Zihou hacked a rebel to death, a trace of blood splashed on his face. Fu Zihou raised his hand and gently wiped it off, then looked ahead with cold eyes at those cowardly rebels.

When they saw the rebels mustering up their courage and rushing over with ferocious looks on their faces, they all rushed over.

Fu Zihou stepped forward step by step, then suddenly quickened his pace and charged forward with a sword.

The fear of killing people at home in the past has faded away because of his family's persistence. Now, facing the battlefield of life and death, Fu Zihou's chest is filled with the passion of a man who loves war.

The trembling hands and feet, the burning body under the armor, and the nerves that began to ignore the pain were all telling Fu Zihou.

Looking at the countless enemies ahead.

My body is ready for killing!

(End of this chapter)