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

Chapter 428: Banners Cover the Sun, Enemies Like Clouds

Da Hongshan is not the only smart man in the Wusheng army.

In fact, after the Qidian army launched an attack on Chao County, everyone with a discerning eye in the Wusheng army could see that something was wrong with the Chao County defenders.

To be precise, the Jingnan Army was much more powerful than expected.

This is not nonsense.

The city wall of Chao County is only more than ten feet high and is somewhat uneven. Several sections have collapsed, and it is obvious that it was temporarily renovated with earth and wood as the base.

At this distance, facing the attacking army that was like a tide, the psychological pressure on the defending soldiers was enormous.

A height of more than ten feet would not give the soldiers defending the city much sense of security.

Da Huaizhen did not expect the Jingnan army to scatter in a hurry, but the defenders on the city wall did not make any commotion in the face of so many signed troops, and they fought calmly and coolly, which was beyond Da Huaizhen's expectations.

Huang Hengsan rode his horse at the foot of the city, leading more than 300 armored cavalrymen to shoot arrows at the top of the city to suppress the Jingnan army and create conditions for climbing the city, while carefully observing the shortcomings of the city defense.

After circling the city walls several times, General Huang Hengsan handed over the command of his three Mouke cavalry to Yelu Tula and returned to Da Huaizhen alone. "General, there must be elite soldiers on the city walls. This Song dog wants to fight against our army today to boost morale."

Da Huaizhen nodded. "I know. Third Brother, didn't you say that a long time ago? And you also said that if the Jingnan Army really lets their morale rise, our army will definitely not be able to take Chao County."

Huang Hengsan also nodded: "That's right."

"Then according to Lao San, how should we do it?"

Huang Hengsan pointed to a section of the wall beside the city gate and said, "This section of the wall is quite low and must have been recently repaired. I will personally lead the troops up the city wall from here, and let my servant Sanshou support me from behind."

Huang Hengsan pointed to the city gate and said, "However, the main attack direction is not the city wall, but the city gate. The general manager must personally lead Da Hongshan to form a battle array here, and send the soldiers to attack the city gate. Once I open the city gate, we will charge in together and destroy the Song dogs in Chao County."

"Most of the light cavalry and armored cavalry will be handed over to Yelu Tula. Have him be on guard against Song dogs that may come out from other city gates, and use his cavalry bows to suppress the city walls and assist me in ascending the city walls."

The hastily drawn up plan was not perfect, but it was just reasonable.

But does a military plan need to be so perfect?

Not required.

When the time comes, it will depend on whose armor is stronger, whose sword is sharper, and whose soldiers are braver.

Huang Hengsan was still somewhat confident about this.

But Da Huaizheng was still a little hesitant.

When a marching soldier climbs onto the city wall and enters the battle line, it is equivalent to a last-ditch effort.

If they win, it will be fine. If they lose, Huang Hengsan will be trapped and killed. Let's not talk about the military law of team execution. There are four marching Meng'an in total. If one dies first, what should we do next?
However, Da Huaizheng watched the battle situation and saw wave after wave of soldiers rushing to the city wall, but were knocked to the ground by gold juice, rolling logs, stones, and arrows. The surviving soldiers retreated, but were pressed forward by the Jin army with swords and spears.

He listened to the cheers from the top of the city wall growing louder and louder. When some ladders were finally put up on the top of the city wall, the fearless soldiers were easily killed on the spot by the soldiers on the top of the city wall as soon as they climbed up the city wall.

There is absolutely no way to open a gap in the city wall without sending out the regular army.

"Third Brother, you are the commander of the army, so you have the right to make decisions on the spot." Da Huaizhen took a deep breath and said, "The rest is up to you, but you must also give me a promise that if there is no opportunity, you will not easily climb the city and send us off."

Huang Hengsan smiled and said, "Of course."

After the two generals of the Wusheng Army had discussed the matter, they quickly commanded their troops to take action.

Yelu Tula led more than a thousand cavalrymen to surround the county seat of Chao County. While guarding against the armored cavalry of the Jingnan Army that might come to fight, he also shot arrows at the top of the city walls in groups of ten to suppress the actions on the top of the city walls.

At the same time, Pu Sanshou also selected a group of strong soldiers, gave them some promises, and continued to drive them to charge towards the top of the city.

This time, these signed soldiers were not fighting alone. About three hundred regular soldiers wearing tattered robes mixed in with them, using the signed soldiers as human shields. After arriving at the foot of the city, the leading marching officer gave a shout, and the three hundred people all drew their bows and arrows, and launched a rain of arrows at the top of the city.

The Jingnan army was caught off guard. Most of the dozen or so archers who had leaned out to fire at the city walls were instantly killed or wounded. The heavy arrows hurled up from the walls also posed a significant threat to the lightly armored soldiers. For a moment, the wall's defenses were temporarily compromised. Taking advantage of this hard-earned opportunity, dozens of sturdy soldiers, shouting slogans they couldn't even hear, scaled the city walls using ladders.

However, when the Qian army climbed to the top of the city wall with various simple weapons, what was waiting for them were the soldiers of the Jingnan army who were broad-shouldered and sturdy, wearing heavy armor and holding long axes and hammers.

The soldiers who were the first to reach the top of the city wall had not yet felt the joy of being the first to reach the top when they saw three or four large axes coming at them horizontally, and they were almost cut into pieces on the spot.

The following soldiers had no idea what was happening and continued to charge forward, only to be slaughtered on the ground. For a moment, the city wall, more than ten feet wide, was like a Shura killing field, with soldiers wailing and weeping everywhere.

Huang Hengsan watched from the foot of the city as the Qian army and the Jingnan army had already started fighting. Although he did not open a gap on the top of the city wall, he knew that this was an opportunity. He immediately blew the horn and ordered the regular army to launch an attack.

The Jin soldiers accelerated their approach, pushed away the hesitant soldiers, stepped over the dead and wounded falling from the top of the city wall, held up their shields in one hand and climbed the ladders with the other.

Although the Jingnan Army on the city wall responded promptly and quickly launched a counterattack under the command of the officers, several sections of the city wall were still climbed by the Jin army soldiers, and the two sides then started a fierce hand-to-hand fight.

Liu Huai was still standing on the watchtower. The Jin army also launched a fierce attack on the section of the city wall under his feet. However, this was the command post of the commander-in-chief after all. It was surrounded by elite troops and they easily killed all the Jin soldiers who climbed up the city.

The Jin army was not fools. The purpose of their attack was to open a gap in the city wall. Seeing that this place was a tough nut to crack, they relaxed their offensive and moved their main force to other parts of the city wall.

"Captain He." Liu Huai first glanced at the corpses of the dozen or so Jurchen soldiers on the city wall below, then looked at the restless Jin army on all fronts. He couldn't help but scratch his head and asked He Boqiu beside him, "Have the Jin thieves gone crazy? Even though I told you before that they might fight to the death, to fight like this on the first day? Isn't that too arrogant?"

He Boqiu was also a little surprised. He could only laugh dryly and didn't know how to respond.

Fortunately, Liu Huai didn't want a definite answer. He pointed to a place and ordered the military envoy: "There are too many Jin thieves climbing the city wall at Bing Field. Let Lei Ben send troops to clean up."

The Bingye City Wall that Liu Huai pointed out was exactly the lower section of the city wall that Huang Hengsan had just set his eyes on.

The battle had been going on for an hour at this point, and both sides were already somewhat exhausted. Huang Hengsan, worthy of being the toughest bone of the Fenwu Army, saw that the regular army had begun an all-out attack and had achieved some results, so he also drove his horse to a ladder and climbed up to the top of the city with more than ten personal guards.

Huang Hengsan's personal guards did not dare to stop him. They could only find ladders and place them on Huang Hengsan's sides, trying to use their bodies to block the flying arrows.

Huang Hengsan's flag-bearing officer was also very fierce. He simply tied the Meng'an flag to his back, held a shield in one hand, and climbed the ladder with the other.

When the Jin army below the city saw Xingjun Meng'an leading the way, their morale was greatly boosted and they rushed towards the city wall one after another.

The Jingnan army showed no sign of weakness, and all kinds of long-range weapons were poured down from the top of the city walls like water to block the offensive of the Jin army.

An Eight-Oxen Crossbow arrow, as long as a spear, let out a strange roar and flew towards Huang Hengsan. After piercing through one person, it nailed the personal guard beside him to the city wall. The iron tail fluttered violently, and the blood mist on it covered Huang Hengsan's head and face.

But Huang Hengsan didn't care and continued to climb the city wall.

War is always mortal. Being the first to ascend the city wall is not easy. If you are cowardly and hold back, being blocked at the gates will inevitably result in even greater casualties.

The city wall, more than ten feet high, looked like flat ground in Huang Hengsan's eyes. He dodged a spear and jumped onto the top of the city wall.

Although all he saw were armored soldiers, Huang Hengsan had anticipated this. He took two steps forward, used his shield to block the two axes, then drew a steel whip from his waist and swung it at the Jingnan Army soldiers in front of him.

With a muffled thud, the leading soldier's helmet was dented, and he fell backward with a muffled groan. Huang Hengsan advanced again, pushing the two soldiers back uncontrollably. One soldier threw away his long axe, which was inconvenient to use in close combat, and just as he drew his short knife from his waist, he was knocked to the ground by a whip.

The remaining person was carried away by Huang Hengsan and thrown out of the city.

The next second, this brave marching Meng'an threw down his shield and steel whip, picked up a big axe from the ground, swung it left and right, forced the besieging Jingnan Army back several steps, and cleared a bridgehead for the Jin Army.

The defensive gap in the city wall was opened. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the flag-bearing officer behind him, who was also equally brave, followed his own Meng'an to the top of the city wall. While the defenders had not yet surrounded them, he planted the Meng'an flag behind him on the top of the wall.

"Go first!" Although the flag-bearing officer was hit in the head by an axe just after he shouted, the Meng'an flag flying on the top of the city still inspired the morale of the Jin army.

The two Moukes were the first to climb up the city wall along the gap opened by Huang Hengsan, and then the gap was torn bigger and bigger.

"Go first!"

(End of this chapter)