The old things I repaired have become fine

Chapter 506: Hit! Kill the Tatar Khan!
Time flies.

The days of a young couple pass by like flowing water.

This military stronghold is strategically located, commanding the three rivers, and has been a key point in Bashu since ancient times. That is why it has been a battleground all year round:
There was a small fight every three days, a big fight every five days, and every ten days or half a month, there would always be Tartar scouts coming to harass.

Even though the support from the rear has been continuous, with all kinds of supplies, military supplies, and personnel replenished, they are not always delivered in time and in sufficient quantities:

The young general also made many achievements in the process of patrolling, responding, and fighting back:

"Hush." He stopped and raised his hand. All of a sudden, all the soldiers following him stopped and lay quietly in the jungle.

The young general reached out and pressed the breastplate, pushing the small box inside the breastplate and the small clay doll inside the box closer to his heart.

Feeling the coldness throbbing violently on his skin, he bent his knees slightly, pressed the tip of the knife with his left pinky finger, and blood gushed out:

A gust of cold wind rushed out of the clay doll and swirled around the little finger of his left hand. The chill surrounding them disappeared immediately, and the entire jungle was so quiet that not even the sound of birds could be heard.

(Wow... he's carrying a demon with him to help him patrol...)
Shen Le was amazed and praised softly. To be honest, the advantage of demons in patrolling is much stronger than that of humans. They are much better in terms of passability and concealment.

It is equivalent to carrying a drone with you. The only disadvantage is that it sucks blood... Look at the amount of blood on the young general's fingers just now. 5 ml of blood is consumed per kilometers?

It’s still very cost-effective!
Miss Li's dowry couldn't be more useful to the soldiers!

While scouting ahead, the young general also worked hard behind. He skillfully cleared a small area of flat ground, drew out his short knife, and drew the lines of mountains and rivers on it.

Then, crush all kinds of green leaves and dead leaves, sprinkle them on the ground, and wait with bated breath;

After a while, the whirlwind gently flew back and landed on the one-foot-square open space. It whirred and swirled back and forth. In a moment, green leaves and dead leaves left dotted traces around the line:
"The enemy is just ahead." A group of people gathered around to watch. The young general knelt down and counted the broken leaves on the ground one by one:
"One, two, three... five people. We can eat them. Let's find a place to cross the river and get behind them!"

This time they won a great victory. However, when they returned, they were all worried:

"The big battle is coming..."

It is said that this time it was the Khan of Tartar who personally led the main force southward, hoping to complete the victory in one battle. Even if there was assistance from the rear, when the army surrounded the military camp, they would have to carry it on their own!
"My lady, I will send you back to your hometown while you can still get away." The young general could not hide his worry when he returned home.

Beside him, Miss Li, who was already married, stroked her slightly bulging belly and said softly:
“Was it difficult this time?”

"It's very difficult. ... It is said that the Tartars are advancing by land and sea, and at least 300,000 troops have been mobilized. Our city, our city..."

The military and civilians, the river defense fortresses, the inner and outer mountain cities, and the farmers who settled outside, all together, only amounted to 20,000 people.

Even if all these 20,000 people were withdrawn and concentrated in the military camp, how long could they hold out against the fierce attack of the Tartars?

"Then I can't leave." The young woman lowered her head and touched the unborn child in her belly, shaking her head gently. Before her husband could get anxious, she raised her finger and made a "hush" gesture:

"First, my father is the commander of the military camp. All the soldiers and civilians in the military camp are looking at him and our family. If I am sent away, the people in the army will definitely be uneasy.
Besides, if I leave, will the civilians and women in the military camp leave? If they leave, will there be replacements? At this time, if you lose a little manpower, you will have a harder time..."

"But……"

The young general stepped forward quickly and held his wife in his arms. The man's big hand overlapped with the woman's slender hand and fell on the woman's lower abdomen together:
"This is your first child...our first child..."

"I don't want to stay far away in my hometown, only to hear news about you, to hear whether you won, lost, returned safely, or got sick or injured." The young woman shook her head slowly:
"Besides, I am here to give you a better chance of success. Ah Jie, here is my dowry," she suddenly smiled, raised her head and looked at her husband, her smile bright and cunning:

"You can't command?"

"...I really can't command them." The young general smiled bitterly. He could take a clay doll with him, and offer blood and energy on the way, so that the demons could help explore the surroundings;
However, those large number of demons, those large number of clay sculptures in the pen holder, and those large number of gods and generals, only when his wife personally burns incense and prays for them, will they be willing to move out in large numbers...

Although when the battle was at its most intense, the blood on the battlefield was boiling and the soldiers were full of energy, the power of demons and ghosts could not be used at all.

But there will always be a time when they are useful, there will always be a time when they are useful...

"So, don't chase me away." The young woman stretched out her arms, hugged her husband's neck, pulled him down, and pulled him towards her:
"We are a couple. We live together and we die together. Ah Jie, no matter what, you will always stand in front of me, right?"

"Okay! Live together! Die together!"

Ah Jie hugged his wife tightly. As for what to do if the city was captured, what to do if the child could not be born——

In this chaotic world with raging wars, if the city really was breached, if he really couldn't protect his wife - then, maybe it was a good thing that the child couldn't be born?

The couple stayed in the military camp with one heart and one mind. In February, the Tartar army had surrounded the military camp and attacked it day and night. Ajie stayed on the city wall almost every day.

The fighting lasted until April, when torrential rains fell all around, and the fighting slowed down slightly. When he returned home to recuperate, he had lost 20 pounds and was a little shaky when he walked:
"Let me rest for a while, rest for a while, and have a good sleep. Ah... I hope the rain will keep falling and won't stop..."

"Can you just not stop?" The young woman came over and helped him take off his armor, untied his hair, and rubbed it gently in a basin of hot water.

After months of siege, the city was short of all supplies, not to mention the continuous heavy rains, it was not easy to get enough dry firewood.

That is to say, Ajie is the son of the commander in chief of the city, and he is called the young general, so he can have a basin of hot water. Even so, he has to use the water to wash his hair and feet:
"Will the Tartars be unable to attack if the heavy rain continues?"

"Humph, since ancient times, we can't send troops on rainy days. The Tartars are mostly cavalry, and they are not used to the humidity and heat in the south. It's even more difficult to attack on rainy days. It would be best if it rained for ten days or half a month, until the hot summer comes--"

Shen Le nodded vigorously. This was the problem with ancient wars. They were greatly affected by the climate. When the weather was bad, it was impossible to send troops to fight.

Those who can send troops on a snowy night are basically gods, such as Li Su's attack on Caizhou on a snowy night. And those who can withstand the continuous heavy rain...

Well, this is more difficult to bear than heavy snow, mainly because if it rains heavily all the time, the sanitary conditions in the military camp will become very bad.

Not to mention an epidemic, even if a large number of soldiers were infected with athlete's foot, its combat effectiveness would be greatly weakened!
Not to mention that the ancient soldiers couldn't bear it, even the grey animals and the Somme River filler babies couldn't bear it!
"Then I have to prepare more herbs." The young woman obviously knew this, and a slight worry was shrouded in her brows. She immediately stood up:

"Although we have a house to live in, it is easy for plague to occur when the weather is bad. Moreover, the hot summer after the heavy rain is also a time when problems may arise..."

She hurried out to sort out the herb reserves in the military camp. After sorting them out, it was still not enough, so she had to return to her room and light three herb incense sticks:
"My uncles and aunts..."

The smoke from the cigarette went up and into the pen holder. Soon, the pen holder lit up slightly, and a small clay sculpture the size of a finger jumped out and landed on the table:
"You need some herbs, right? No problem, just make a list and I'll have them go get them!"

Even if the area within 10 miles is controlled by the Tartar military camp, the surrounding mountain spirits and water monsters can be collected by running a little further! This kind of thing is most convenient to let them do it!
"That's not necessary... As long as we can send a message to the outside world, we can still buy herbs in the rear... But, I'll have to ask you to transport them back..."

"No problem! Leave it to us!"

Shen Le watched helplessly as a group of clay sculptures jumped out of the pen holder on a dark, windy and rainy night, forming a small wedding procession.

Then, the team sank into the ground and disappeared. Shen Le wanted to go and take a look, but the memory playback did not provide such a function, so he could only wait there helplessly.

In traditional magic, there is a technique called "Five Ghosts Moving". There must be more than a few hundred clay sculptures for the wedding, right? What should it be renamed? One Hundred Ghosts Moving? Five Hundred Ghosts Moving?

He thought about it, but couldn't come up with a name. Fortunately, the team traveled along the earth veins, and in just one night, they emerged and lined up in a neat queue in the warehouse.

As soon as the dowry was lifted, it was filled with various boxes and bags, and the aroma of medicine filled the air. "We can only transport it this once... The Tartars surrounded us tightly, and we were almost discovered when we came back..."

The leading god will report to his lady:

"The military spirit is too strong. We can't bear it. We need to take a good rest... Don't call us within three months..."

They jumped back into the pen holders one after another, rested quietly, and enjoyed the three sticks of incense from the hostess in the morning and evening. With this batch of medicinal materials, the military camp safely passed the heavy rain season and the two months of hot summer season that followed.

However, the victory that the young general Ah Jie longed for still did not come:

"The Tartars haven't retreated yet!"

"It is said that Lord Lu is going to go up the river with more than a thousand warships to reinforce our army..."

"Lord Lu was defeated and retreated..."

"Lord Lu was defeated again..."

"Lord Lu has been defeated again..."

After three defeats in three battles, the expected reinforcements and supplies did not arrive. In July, even worse news came:
"The Tartar army is attacking with all their might! The Tartar Khan is here to supervise the battle in person!"

"If we can kill that Khan, the siege will be lifted." On the top of the city wall, Ajie put his hands on the awning and looked at the blazing flags below the city:
"How about it, can I have a go?"

"Too difficult..." More than ten warriors stood around him, all with a look of difficulty on their faces. In a close combat, they needed two people to hold off one Tartar.
In terms of terrain, the military camp is located on a high ground, so it is not difficult to resist the Tartars, but once you rush out, it is almost impossible to come back.

Rushing to the enemy camp seems to be only one mile away, but even five hundred warriors cannot break through this mile!
In the military camp, how many five hundred core warriors can take on the task of charging into battle?

"Let's try the trebuchet." After thinking about it, Ah Jie frowned. The range of the trebuchet was enough, but the accuracy was not good enough:

If you are lucky, you can miss the target by 10 feet. If you are unlucky, you can miss the target by 50 to 100 feet. If you want to calibrate and adjust the target, the Khan of Tartars would have retreated back to the camp and you would not be able to hit him.

"There's no other way. I can only try my luck." After ten days of continuous fighting, he was stabbed twice on the shoulder and back, and had a cut on his thigh. He came back limping.

This is still considered good luck. There are countless casualties in the city. In these days, thousands of veterans, recruits, and civilians have died!
Even though Ajie couldn't lift one of his arms and couldn't walk smoothly, he had to fight hard to go to the battlefield again after two days of recuperation. Before leaving the house, he was finally stopped by his wife:

"Ajie...I have an idea!"

"any solution?"

"A catapult! It can throw stones within ten feet, and it can hit that Tartar Khan!"

She held the pen holder high. The three-foot-high pen holder rested on her belly, which was already bulging to the limit and could give birth at any time. It was terrifying to see:
"The uncles said... they said they could help us one last time!"

That day, the sky was overcast and drizzling. She was surrounded by soldiers, standing on the top of the city wall, looking down at the city. Under the blazing military flag, someone raised his head, his eyes as sharp as an eagle's, and swept towards the top of the city wall:
"So... is that the Great Khan of Tartar?"

"That's right! It's him! Just beat him to death!"

The pen holder vibrated slightly. Small gusts of cold wind came out from the mouth of the pen holder, swirling around her and her face.

"Miss…we can't take care of you anymore."

"From now on, be careful and take good care of yourself..."

"We are also veterans, and warriors of the Song Dynasty... The Tatar Khan is ahead of us. If we can kill him in this wave, we can even have a separate page in our family tree!"

"Haha... go rest!"

The wind was howling. These veterans, these military spirits, had already sacrificed their lives, and they were going to fight one last time for their country.

Above and below the city, specks of phosphorescent light rose up and were swept away by the gloomy wind.

In a trance, Shen Le seemed to see soldiers with broken heads and legs, ruptured stomachs and intestines, laughing and shouting, rushing into the wind without hesitation:

"Count me in!"

"Count me in too!"

"And I!"

"Mother Lian... I have avenged you!"

They gathered in the gloomy wind, circled three times, and rushed down to attach themselves to the carefully carved stone ball. The stone ball was lifted onto the catapult, and the soldiers shouted, adjusted the direction, and turned the capstan -

"put!"

"put--"

The stone ball flew high up, drawing a thrilling arc. Shen Le held his breath and watched it fly out of the city and fly towards the enemy's army:

"Off!"

"Off!"

"I come--"

The wind was raging. He left the stone ball and pushed it sideways, a little bit at a time.

Under the light of day and the boiling morale of the soldiers, the gloomy wind melted away with just a little effort. However, before it could scream, another gust of gloomy wind quickly emerged from the stone ball:
"I come!"

"I come!"

"It's my turn!"

"One more push!"

"Close!"

"Close!"

"I hit the Tatar Khan - hahahaha, my life is worth it! It's worth it!!!"

　"Lord Lu" is Lu Wende, the deputy governor of Sichuan in the Southern Song Dynasty... Anyone who has watched "The Return of the Condor Heroes" must know him...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)