Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 248: Attacking Cities and Strongholds with Unstoppable Efforts

The battle to attack the stronghold has indeed reached a fever pitch.

Shi Qilang threw down his arrow-ridden shield, then picked up a newer wooden shield and shouted to a captain, "Zhangba, are you sure it's hooked?"

A tall, armored man named Huyan Zhangba was awkwardly pulling out the arrows hanging from his body. He nodded when he heard this: "I saw it clearly. The grappling hooks are already on!"

Shi Qilang roared, "What the hell are you waiting for? Waiting for the gold thieves to cut the hook? Come with me, pull!"

But as soon as the words fell, someone shouted, "Raise your shields!"

Shi Qilang reflexively raised his shield. The next moment, he heard a continuous beeping sound from the shield, which was the sound of light arrows hitting the shield.

Because the Jin army's camp was very simple, there were no arrow towers or archery towers, and there was no place for archers to stand on the wooden fences. Moreover, because this was a camp for transferring supplies, the site was relatively flat, without any high ground or hills. This meant that the Jin army's archers could only use light arrows to launch attacks.

Of course, fighting in the mountains is at most light armor, and light arrow throwing cannot be said to be an ineffective means, but its killing effect on sword and shield soldiers is ultimately no better than that of heavy arrows shot directly at close range.

Shi Qilang used his shield to block a hail of arrows. Just as he was about to shout loudly to boost morale, he suddenly felt the shield getting hot. He took a quick look and immediately became furious: "The thieves used rockets!"

Fortunately, the shields were made of hardwood covered with thick cowhide, so they were not ignited immediately, but it did make the sword and shield soldiers panic for a while.

"Shoot! Cover us!" Shi Qilang wanted to let his archers shoot arrows as well, but then he remembered that this battle was hasty, and they didn't even bring any ordinary cloth strips, let alone fuel. He immediately became exasperated and pointed at the Jin army camp, shouting orders.

He then slung his shield over his back, pulled up the rope with one hand, and said to his men, "Pull open these obstructing fences! Charge in and kill all the gold thieves! Haven't you been waiting for this for a long time? Now is your chance! Don't leave a single drop of soup for Wang Wulang!"

"it is good!"

"Brother is right!"

"All the gold thieves in the village have been taken care of!"

Under the cover of their comrades, nearly fifty people used the hook and chain and exerted their strength together to pull the wooden fence in front of them, which was more than ten steps wide, into a state of twisting and turning.

Zhang Jueming in the camp felt his hair stand on end, and quickly ordered Liang Yuaner to lead the troops to restore the wooden fence to its original state.

It has to be said that Liang Yuaner was somewhat talented. Seeing this, he neither sent himself, the Mouke, into the battlefield nor tried to cut the ropes at the risk of being shot. Instead, he found a bunch of hooks and chains, put them on the railings, and then ordered his subordinates to drag them with all their might.

In this way, the Zhongyi Army and the Wuxing Army began to play tug-of-war with each other in a somewhat comical way.

Although the situation was stabilized, Zhang Jueming still did not relax. His mind was filled with fear, and even the hands holding the knife had to be tightly exerted to stop shaking.

Especially when Liang Yuan'er turned around, Zhang Jueming thought of the seal printed on the other's lapel, and then thought of Wen Dunhunyu and the two thousand elite soldiers who had died, and the fear in his heart reached its peak.

As the saying goes, a general is the courage of the army. Under such fearful circumstances, it is almost impossible for Zhang Jueming to issue any active orders to move out.

This also led to the situation where the fourth fiercest security team was passively attacked.

Seeing Liang Yuan'er return, Zhang Jueming, regardless of the fact that he was still surrounded by his personal guards, immediately pulled him aside and whispered, "Tell me... can we still win this battle?"

Liang Yuaner knew that his second brother had lost his courage.

This was not only due to the unfavorable war situation, but also due to the military law of the Wuxing Army.

If the Fourth Meng'an really couldn't hold on and collapsed, causing the entire army to collapse, it was possible that Meng Tian, the guardian of the country, would kill people immediately.

It’s easy for others, but he, Zhang Jueming, will definitely not escape!
Liang Yuaner looked around and responded in a low voice: "It is indeed difficult. But second brother, we must persevere. We can't let the overall situation collapse here."

Zhang Jueming felt completely bewildered and couldn't think straight for a moment: "Ayuan, if you have something to say, just say it."

Liang Yuan'er looked around again and whispered, "If we retreat now, if our Wuxing Army wins, the commander-in-chief will definitely use the defeat of the Fourth Meng'an as an excuse to punish us; if the Wuxing Army loses, then you, second brother, will definitely be the scapegoat!"

"However, if we win a decisive victory in the frontal battle, we will have troops to support us when we retreat. If we suffer a crushing defeat in the frontal battle, it will not be your fault if we fail in the battle in the mountains."

Zhang Jueming nodded in agreement, then moved his lips, "If we do this, won't we offend the loyal thieves... the loyal army?"

Liang Yuaner shook his head: "The conditions haven't been agreed upon yet, how can we offend the Loyal Army? But there is a key point, Second Brother is wrong."

Zhang Jueming perked up: "How do you say it?"

Liang Yuaner's voice became even lower: "Second brother, do you think that even if the Zhongyi Army wins a great victory, they can eat up the Wuxing Army?"

Before Zhang Jueming could reply, Liang Yuaner shook his head. "That's impossible. The Wuxing Army has many warhorses and can move like the wind. Even if they fail head-on, they still have their camps to defend. If their camps are also lost, they can retreat to Yishui County and defend it. There are still two Meng'an there who can support the defeated army no matter what."

At this point, Liang Yuaner took two deep breaths, as if he also felt a little scared. "Second brother is right. In today's battle, our Wuxing Army lost more than they won. But even if we fail, it's not like we've lost everything. We still have the capital to continue fighting. Then you'll have a chance, second brother."

Liang Yuaner didn't say what opportunity it was.

But Zhang Jueming understood instantly. What chance was there?
An opportunity to sell Wuxingjun for a good price!
"In that case..." Zhang Jueming's mind finally became much clearer. He gritted his teeth and said, "Then I'll try my best to hold out for an hour. No matter whether I succeed or fail, I'll have done my duty to the Commander-in-Chief!"

Thinking of this, Zhang Jueming shouted: "Gu Dashou!"

The military commander, who had always been at odds with Zhang Jueming, no longer cared about their disagreements and immediately came forward, bowing and accepting his orders: "General!"

Zhang Jueming nodded. "Our camp isn't particularly secure, and the enemy army could easily breach it. I'll allocate all my warhorses to you. You'll wait here for a moment. If the enemy army breaks into the camp, you'll lead the cavalry directly into battle. If we can defeat them head-on, that's great. If not, we'll at least demoralize them a bit!"

"Yes!" Gu Dashou agreed happily.

The fourth Meng'an did not need war horses to attack the mountain stronghold, so he left almost all of them at the main camp. Only a hundred or so horses were brought to this temporary camp.

To put it bluntly, having more than a hundred war horses makes it easier to escape.

When Zhang Jueming saw Gu Dashou accept the order, he was also certain in his heart.

No matter what, the Fourth Meng'an is still united and can still hold on.

But Zhang Jueming overlooked one point. War is a two-way thing. He was wishful thinking, but he didn't consider whether the Loyal Army was willing.

Just as Gu Dashou was ready, a fence could no longer hold on and was pulled to the ground with a loud bang. Along with several surrounding barricades, it was dragged outside, raising a cloud of dust.

Shouts and cries of killing quickly rang out in the space of dozens of steps.

Gu Dashou jumped on his horse, raised his spear, and shouted to the Jin army behind him: "Follow me! Kill all the bandits!"

After saying that, Gu Dashou took the lead and led more than a hundred armored cavalry to charge forward.

This temporary camp is not big, and there is only a little over a hundred steps of space for the armored cavalry to charge, but this space is enough for the cavalry to speed up.

Soon, Gu Dashou rushed into the smoke and dust, and seemed to have hit something in the middle, but it was not clear in the flying dust. Only a scream was heard.

"Hahaha!" Gu Dashou laughed out loud, his eyes ferocious: "My men, follow me to kill the bandits!"

After saying that, the armored cavalry rushed out of the camp and out of the rolling smoke and dust.

The next moment, Gu Dashou's smile froze.

In front of him were sword and shield soldiers spread out to the sides, and behind them were heavily armored soldiers holding long axes.

"How did the loyal thief let the soldiers take the mountain road?" The thought had just flashed through Gu Dashou's mind when he inevitably crashed into the formation of long-axe soldiers.

The first few axe-wielding warriors placed their axes on the ground, using the front ends of their axes to hold back the galloping horses. Another particularly strong warrior rushed forward, swung his axe, and with a single blow, knocked Gu Dashou off his horse.

Gu Dashou suffered a severe blow to the chest, and blood gushed out of his mouth. As soon as he landed on the ground, he was stepped on the head by the armored cavalry who was unable to dodge in time, and he died instantly.

The warhorse under the armored cavalryman slipped instantly, lost its front hoof, and fell to the ground amid the armored cavalryman's screams. It not only dragged the armored cavalryman in, but also knocked the tall armored soldier with a long axe to the ground.

At the same time, the charging Jin cavalry could not slow down at all. With the idea of dying together, they crashed into the long axe formation of the Loyal Army.

"Come on!" Wang Shilong's eyes were filled with blood, and the long axe in his hand spun like flying, chopping it on the forehead of the warhorse under the crotch of a armored cavalryman who was howling and rushing towards his own general's flag. The warhorse fell to the ground with a bang, and the Jin soldier on its back fell directly into the crowd of armored soldiers. After knocking two people over, it was smashed into meat paste by the axe that followed.

Only more than 20 armored cavalrymen were killed. Due to the obstruction caused by the corpses of humans and horses, the subsequent armored cavalry of the Jin army could not even charge. After losing the speed of their horses, the knights became fat meat on the chopping board of the infantry.

"Forward!" Wang Shilong shouted, pointing his large banner with the Chinese character "王" (King) forward. "Press the Jin thieves and charge forward!"

The sound of war drums urging the attack rang out, and the long-axe soldiers marched forward in neat steps, killing anyone who blocked their way, whether on horseback or on foot.

The sword and shield soldiers who had just dispersed to both wings gathered together again, lined up on both wings of the long axe warriors, and moved forward to the sound of drums.

The first Jin army to collapse were the armored cavalry that had been so aggressive just now. After suffering half of their casualties, they could no longer hold on and fled backwards.

Afterwards, the Jin army soldiers who were lined up in the camp were met with Wang Shilong's swift and ruthless attack.

The Fourth Meng'an was already struggling to hold on, and now the army's morale was even more disorganized.

After being forced back a few steps, the hastily arranged formation was pushed back a few more steps. The Jin army was finally unable to gain a foothold, and the entire army was defeated and fled in all directions.

Zhang Jueming looked at the scene in despair. He was still in a daze, but Liang Yuaner had already reacted. He took his confidant and took his second brother away.

When Zhang Jueming drove his horse out of the camp, he looked back blankly, with only one thought in his mind.

The fourth Meng'an was defeated so quickly, Meng Tian, the country's guardian, will definitely not let him off at this time.

(End of this chapter)