son-in-law

Chapter 656 Chapter 609 Beyond the Blade (7)

Chapter 656 Chapter [-] Beyond the Blade ([-])

The sound roared, and around the valley on the bank of the Yellow River, the sound of people ignited the entire night.

It was dusk in the past, but the sky was already dark, and the fire arrows flying back and forth were like fireflies flying in the night sky, illuminating people's vision in the snow one after another.In the foothills on the west side, a large number of soldiers holding shields rushed across the snow, some of them carrying ladders, and arrows fell on their shields, their bodies, and the snow around them.In the woods behind them, the flames ignited, and the archers who lit their arrows rushed out one by one, shot arrows, and retreated back into the snowy forest where the bonfire was burning.At this time, a large number of light spots like migratory locusts will be seen falling on the wall of Xiacun camp.

The covering blows fell on the high points of the wooden camp wall one after another. Too many fire arrows fell on the wood in this severe winter, and some even burned.

On the wall of Xiacun, there was no sound of elm cannons. During the charge of the Changsheng Army all over the mountains and plains, there was always a considerable distance between soldiers. They held their shields and ran outside the wall, only at specific points A sudden onslaught was launched at several points.The ladder was put up, and the crowd swarmed up. Inside Xia Village, the defenders splashed out with scalding boiling water, and spears shot out from the camp wall like a forest, stabbing to death the elite of the ever-victorious army trying to climb in. On the top of the wall, a little spot of light rushed out from the woods in the distance. When trying to shoot at the top of the wall, the archers rushing inside the camp wall also shot their arrows at the group of archers on the other side.

Sometimes the Changsheng army shoots faster, and sometimes it is Xiacun's defenders.When a little fire fell on the top of the wall and the ground inside and outside, and the defending soldiers who couldn't escape in time screamed and rolled on the ground holding their wounds, another attack came from the outside.

The wounded were still rolling on the ground, and the reinforcements were still in the distance. The soldiers behind the camp wall rushed out from behind the bunker, and started a fight with the elite of the ever-victorious army who were trying to storm in.

The general in charge of defending the west side of the camp wall, the second section, was named Xu Lingming. He was short in stature, and his body was as strong as a black iron tower. There were more than [-] men under his command, and he was defending the [-]-foot-wide camp wall.At this time, under the repeated attacks of the ever-victorious army, the originally abundant manpower is rapidly reducing its staff. As far as the eye can see, there are extinguished flames, running figures, shouts of orderlies, and screams of the wounded. , On the ground inside the camp, many arrows were inserted into the soil, and some were still burning.Since Xia Village is a valley, one cannot see the outside from the lower part of the interior. He is standing on a high lookout tower and looking out. Shouting, running like a colony of ants, only occasionally launching an attack on a certain section of the camp wall.

Farther away, countless fire spots in the woods were about to rush out, but they didn't know where they were going to shoot.

"They're going to charge, they're going to charge...Xu Er, let your brother prepare! Rocket, if I say fire it, I will light it, and when I tell you to charge, all of you will hit the wall!"

He suddenly yelled from the watchtower. Below him, Xu Er, who was leading the archery team, was his brother. Then he also yelled. The hundreds of archers around immediately picked up the arrows wrapped in oilcloth and poured more sticky arrows on them. Thick kerosene, rushed to the bonfire and stood by.Xu Lingming quickly rushed down the watchtower, picked up his shield and long knife: "Xiao Zhuo! Brothers in the reserve team, follow me!"

Those who were waiting in the rear bunker were more than [-] of his most elite men. At his command, they picked up their shields and long knives and rushed forward.While running, Xu Lingming was still paying attention to the colors in the sky, but halfway through the run, a soldier in charge of observation suddenly yelled something on the wooden wall in front of him, his voice was drowned in the tide of shouts, the soldier Turning around, shouting and waving.Xu Lingming opened his eyes wide to look at the sky, it was still black, but the hairs on the back of his head stood on end.

"Take cover—watch out—"

Xu Lingming squatted down, raised his shield, and shouted with all his strength, and the soldiers behind him also raised their shields quickly. Afterwards, arrows rained down in the dark, and some people were shot to the ground.Near the wooden wall, someone was already hiding behind the bunker, and some soldiers who were too late to dodge were shot and fell to the ground.

During the previous period, the Changsheng Army had been suppressing the defenders of Xia Village with rockets. On the one hand, scalding would indeed cause huge damage to the soldiers. As the top general of this army and one of the famous generals in the world, Guo Yaoshi did not show excessive awe of this new thing.

When he was in the north, he had also come into contact with the immature firearms of the Wu Dynasty. When he came to Xiacun at this time, he immediately responded to the existence of the elm cannon: using a large number of rockets to focus fire on the original elm cannon. High on the barracks wall for wooden guns.

I originally covered these positions, but with the fire arrows flying randomly, I dare not open the window for firing the elm gun. Once the arrows are actually shot into the muzzle, the consequences of the gunpowder being ignited are unimaginable.In front of the camp wall, when the soldiers were scattered as much as possible, the damage that the elm cannon could cause was not large enough.Therefore, during this period of time, Xiacun's party did not let the elm cannon fire, but sent people to remove the nearby gunpowder and shells as much as possible.

And as the sky was getting darker, bursts of fire arrows flew over, basically causing the soldiers behind the wooden wall to form a conditioned reflex. Once the arrows traced and flew, they immediately made dodging movements, but at this moment, what fell was not Rocket.

Xia Cun immediately suffered a big loss.

"Xu Er—ignite the fire—on the wall—follow me—"

Xu Lingming shook his head and yelled loudly. Next to him, several injured people were screaming. Those who had been shot in the thigh were crawling on the snow in front of them. Farther away, the Jurchens' ladders were on the camp wall.

The soldier who warned earlier grabbed his long knife and turned around to kill the enemy. A resentful soldier rushed in and slashed at his body with a knife, sending his arm flying away. The surrounding defenders stood up and fought on the top of the wall.Xu Lingming roared "Ah—" and rushed to the wall.

In the bloody fight, a soldier of the Ever Victorious Army jumped into the wall, and his long knife slashed down with the leap. Xu Lingming raised his shield and swung it violently, and the shield smashed the steel knife. His tower-like figure was in line with that The burly men from the Northeast bumped into each other, and the two hit the camp wall with a bang, their bodies entangled, and then they bleed out violently.

"Kill the enemy—"

In the shadows, the resentful army man fell down, Xu Lingming drew his knife and yelled wildly, in front, the soldiers of the Changsheng Army entered over the wall, behind, the elite of Xu Lingming's command and the archers who lit the rockets also swarmed towards this side , Everyone rushed to the wall, setting off a bloody wave of fighting on the wooden wall, while the archers rushed to the walls on both sides, and began to shoot arrows into the area where the victorious army was concentrated.

Similar scenes are constantly happening in different places on this camp wall.In front of the main entrance of the camp, several carts with shields were temporarily paralyzed due to the shooting of two bed crossbows and bows and arrows on the wall. To the east, there were heads and corpses in the snow.The large-scale raids on the camp's defenses did not stop for a moment.

Although Zhang Linghui and Liu Shunren were temporarily out of Guo Yaoshi's control during the Battle of Chaobai River, but now that the option of surrender has been wiped out, the commander of the ever-victorious army resumed control as soon as he arrived. Control of an entire army.Under his planning, Zhang Linghui and Liu Shunren have also cheered up and fully assisted the opponent in this attack.

For the elm cannon and the more than 100 heavy cavalry who made great achievements earlier, Guo Yaoshi was more sensitive and determined than Zhang and Liu, which was also because he had more available troops.At this time, outside the valley of Xia Village, the strength of the Ever Victorious Army had reached 6000, all of whom were elite troops following the southward movement, but in the entire Xia Village, the actual strength of the troops was only more than 100. More than [-] heavy cavalry can expand their advantages in a small area, but on the battlefield of a resolute general attack, Guo Yaoshi will firmly eat the opponent once he attacks, even if he pays the price, as long as he knocks out the opponent's trump card, the morale of the opponent will inevitably be destroyed. It will plummet.

As for the firearms, in the past, the firearms of the Wu Dynasty were flashy and almost unusable.Even if it is at a usable level at this time, the things that have just appeared have great momentum and low power. On the skirmish line, they may not be able to kill a person at once. Compared with bows and arrows, what is the difference.He let go of his courage, and then suppressed it with rockets. In the blink of an eye, he restrained the weakness of this new weapon.

"There is nothing worthless under the prestigious name..."

During the attack of the resentful army, the valley of Xiacun was also full of noise.The soldiers on the periphery have already entered the battle, and the reserve team is tense. On the high platform in the center, various messages are received. During the operation, Ning Yi also has to sigh when he sees the fighting on the periphery and the arrows coming and going in the sky. Pharmacist Yu Guo is amazing.

His ability to control the battlefield in real time is actually not strong. In this valley, the ones who are really good at fighting and commanding are Qin Shaoqian and the previous generals of Wu Ruiying, and there are also prototypes of famous generals like Yue Pengju. As for Hong Ti, who came from Luliang Mountain Han Jing, the leader of the team, in such a battle, all kinds of control are not as good as these people with professional background.

Not long after he understood this matter, he put all the responsibility of commanding on Qin Shaoqian's shoulders, and he stopped making redundant speeches.As for the young general Yue Fei, he still lacks training and is still not as good as Qin Shaoqian in terms of overall planning, but he is decisive and sharp in dealing with small and medium-sized situations. Ning Yi entrusted him to command the elite troops to respond to the surrounding battles and make up gap.

At this time, there will not be a big gap near the camp wall, but the pressure has gradually appeared.In particular, the suppression of the elm cannon made Ning Yi understand that this new weapon with a lot of thunder and little rain is impossible to confuse for a long time for a real fighter-although Ning Yi did not expect They dominate the battle situation, but they are still amazed by Guo Yaoshi's quick response and accuracy.

The fact that the opponent is so powerful means that what Xiacun will face next is the most difficult future...

Of course, there is no room for retaliation in this matter.

In the chaotic battle situation, Yuwen Feidu and several other members of Zhuji with high martial arts skills were running in the battle formation.Although the young man's legs were limping, which affected his running somewhat, his own cultivation was still there, and he was sharp enough, and ordinary projectile arrows did not pose much threat to him.Although these elm cannons were brought from Luliang, the person who is best at handling cannons is still among the bamboo records at this time. Yuwen Feidu's youthful heart is one of them. He once threatened Lin Echan with an elm cannon.

The young man ran past the camp wall in the second section, and the fight on the outer wall was still going on. He shot an arrow, and then ran to a nearby wall where elm cannons were placed.Most of these elm guns are protected by outer walls and ceilings. The two Luliang elites who were in charge of operating the guns did not dare to open the muzzles indiscriminately, and they were also killing the enemy with arrows. They hid behind the camp wall and shot at the running teenager Hello.

Xu Lingming was fighting on the wall. As an officer leading 500 men, he was wearing a half-iron and half-skin armor. During the fierce fighting, he was also stabbed in the shoulder and was bleeding.He was using his shield to smash the spear tip of a soldier from the Ever Victorious Army climbing up the stairs. On the side of his field of vision, he saw someone carrying an elm cannon to the ceiling high on the camp wall, and then there was a bang.

The flames shot directly into the crowd gathered outside the camp wall, and exploded with a bang, sparks scattered everywhere, dark red blood splashed, and limbs danced, which was shocking. Cannonballs fell into the crowd one after another, and amidst the boiling sound of killing, those who operated the cannons moved the elm cannons down.After a while, it was covered by rockets again.

On the huge battlefield, there was the sound of fighting, tens of thousands of people rushed together from all directions, occasionally the sound of cannons, flames and snowflakes flying in the sky, people's blood boiled and drained.Looking from the night sky, the shape on the battlefield is constantly changing.Only on the inner side of the valley in the middle of the battlefield, more than a thousand rescued people gathered together, trembling with each burst of fighting and shouting, and a few people clasped their hands together and muttered.Elsewhere in the valley, most people are running forward, or ready to go forward.In the wounded barracks, screams and curses, crying and shouting were mixed together, and some seriously injured people who finally died were carried out from the rear and placed in the emptied snow...

*****************

The fighting in the night gradually stopped, and the smell of blood and scorched smell filled the air.Mao Yishan sat down inside the camp wall. There was sticky blood on the camp wall, but it had basically started to freeze.He didn't care about this, his body only felt severe fatigue and tearing pain, at first he thought he was cut in the back or something, but then he realized that he was out of strength.

The extremely tense nerves began to relax, which still brought severe pain. He grabbed a small piece of snow that had not been stepped on or stained with blood in the corner of the camp wall, and subconsciously put it in his mouth, wanting to eat.

This night, he killed three people. Fortunately, he was not injured, but under the condition of concentrating on it, all the strength in his body was drained.

Far and near, a brother from the rear came over and quickly searched for someone to take care of the wounded. Mao Yishan felt that he should also help, but he didn't have the energy to stand up for a while.Not far from him, a middle-aged man was sitting on the edge of a big rock, tearing off the cloth strips from his clothes, and bandaging the wound on his leg.In that area, there were many corpses and blood around. I don't know if he was seriously injured, but the other party just wrapped his legs like that, and sat there panting.

The man glanced at Mao Yishan, then continued to sit and look around.After a while, he took out a steamed bun from his bosom, broke it in half, and threw it to Mao Yishan.

"Thank you……"

After Mao Yishan said something, the other party waved the steamed bun in his hand self-consciously, and then began to chew on it.

After a while, someone came over, looking for the wounded, and by the way, repaired the resentful soldier in the corpse, and Mao Yishan's superior officer also passed by nearby: "Are you okay?" , the middle-aged man shook his head: "It's okay."

When the defense change came up, the nearby companions retreated, and Mao Yishan stood up forcefully.The man tried to get up, but after all, his thighs and hands waved to Mao Yishan: "Brother, help me."

Mao Yishan went over and helped him up staggeringly, the man's body also swayed, and then he didn't need Mao Yishan's support: "Are you new?" He glanced at Mao Yishan.

"I have been a soldier for six years. The day before yesterday, I killed someone for the first time..."

"No wonder...you are too flustered, you are trying too hard, it is difficult to fight for a long time..."

The middle-aged man staggered and walked a few steps forward, holding things around with his hand, Mao Yishan hurriedly followed, and wanted to help him, but was rejected by the other party.

"Brother...is he a veteran of the battlefield..."

"It's not a veteran. It's just that I participated in the conquest of Fangla. I participated under Tong Wangye. It was not as tragic as before... But I finally saw blood." The middle-aged man sighed, "This... It's hard."

During the period of time during which they fought against the Jurchens, countless armies were defeated, and those gathered in Xia Village were also gathered in various formations. Most of them were dispersed, and some of them had not even recovered their status as officers.This middle-aged man is quite experienced, Mao Yishan said: "Brother, is it difficult? Do you think we can win? I... none of the Shangguans I followed before were as good as this time. When fighting Jurchen , before seeing anyone, the army formation collapsed, and I have never heard that we can fight with the Ever Victorious Army like this, I think, I think this time we can win..."

"It's indeed the first time I've seen such a Shangguan, and it's also the first time I've done it like this. Maybe I can win..." The middle-aged man glanced around and said in his mouth. After a moment, he turned around. Turning around, looking at the place where the battlefield used to be, "However, this is the beginning, look over there..."

They were already at a slightly higher place at this time. Mao Yishan looked back, and inside and outside the camp wall, corpses and blood stretched out, and the arrows stuck in the ground were like autumn grass. The flames continued, and the figures of the Ever Victorious Army overlapped one after another. The huge army array surrounded the entire valley.Mao Yishan took a breath, the smell of blood still lingered in his nose.

Xia Village was suppressed in this valley by the entire army formation of the opponent, and there was nowhere to go except for the Yellow River.Anyone who sees it from here will feel a huge sense of oppression.

He glanced at this, and his eyes were almost attracted by the light of the surrounding military formation, but then, a team walked past him, the voice of the conversation rang in his ears, the middle-aged man patted his shoulder, and let him see In the rear, in the entire valley, there are also stretches of military formations and bonfires. The people walking around, the smell of porridge and vegetables has already wafted.

"This is... two armies confronting each other. It's really life and death. Brother, you are right. In the past, we could only escape, but now we can fight." The middle-aged man walked forward, then stretched out his hand, and finally let Mao Yishan came over to help him, "My surname is Qu, and my name is Qu Qing. What about you?"

"Mao Yishan."

"Good name, easy to remember." Walking through a section of flat ground ahead, the two of them went up a small ramp and stairs, and Qu Qing walked forward vigorously, while sighing in a low voice, "Yes. , who wouldn’t want to win if they can win? Although it’s said...you’ll have to die a lot of people...but if you win, you’ve won...brother, you’re right, I was wrong just now...Resentful Army, Jurchens, we Soldiers... what can I do if I can't win, I will be slaughtered like a pig... Now the capital is about to be destroyed, the court is about to perish... I must win, I must win..."

His words seemed to be speaking to Mao Yishan, but more like he was talking to himself, Mao Yishan couldn't understand it, but after he got up the stairs, the middle-aged man looked back at Chang Shengjun's face When the barracks turned around again, Mao Yishan felt him pat his shoulder: "Brother Mao, what a murderer..." Mao Yishan nodded, and then heard him add in a softer tone: "Alive..." Mao Yishan nodded again.

His brothers all over the mountains and plains...of course they must live...he thought so.

At this moment, the soldier who has been running away has not thought about how difficult these two words are, and at this moment, he is not willing to think about the difficulty behind it.Enemies all over the mountains and plains also have companions all over the mountains and plains, all of them are fighting for the same thing.

After this day's fighting, Mao Yishan handed over a good brother who is one of the few in the army.In the barracks of the Ever Victorious Army outside the camp, Guo Yaoshi, who rushed over with great speed, re-examined the combat strength of the Wu Dynasty army in Xiacun. At this time, in the terrible silence, they are revising their attack plan on the Xiacun camp.

After receiving the news of the firearm, he already understood that it was the Wu Dynasty army in front of him who planned to attack the Yellow River.Because in the letter sent to Zongwang, gunpowder will be used in the plan of the breach.

On the other side, in the command post where the generals gathered above Xia Village, everyone has already realized the power of Guo Yaoshi and Chang Shengjun, and the difficulty of this matter, and the relaxed mood of the victory the day before yesterday was swept away. .Everyone is earnestly revising and supplementing the defense plan.

On a higher platform, Ning Yi stood in the wind and snow, looking at the army camp in the distance, and also at the crowd in the valley below. Juan'er's figure was running among the crowd, commanding and preparing to distribute food , Seeing this, he will also smile.Not long after, someone jumped over the guards, stood by his side, and gently took his hand.

It was a red grape. As a woman, she also looked a little thin in the wind and snow. The two of them stood hand in hand, which looked like a husband and wife.

"What are you thinking?" Hong Ti asked softly.

"I thought it would be difficult." Ning Yi smiled softly, lowered his eyes slightly, and then raised them again, "But when I really saw them pressing over, I was also a little scared."

"...I'm afraid too." After a while, Hong Ti said softly.

Ning Yi turned to look at her plain face, and smiled: "But it's useless to be afraid." Then he said, "I've been afraid many times, but Kan can only pass..."

Hong Ti just smiled. Her fear of the battlefield is naturally not that of ordinary people, but it does not prevent her from having ordinary people's feelings: "The capital city may be even more difficult." She said, after a while, "If we hold on, The capital is broken, will you follow me back to Luliang?"

"It can be considered." Ning Yi looked towards the possible direction of Bianliang City, where the sky was full of wind, snow and darkness, "At least I have to bring these brothers back for you."

"That's right, there are Tan'er girls..." Hongti smiled slightly, "Liheng, you promised me that you would give me a peaceful and prosperous life. You went to Luliang Mountain and built a village for me. Come and help me." That Prime Minister of Qin, I hope to save Bianliang. I am your wife now, I know how much you have done, how hard you have worked, and you have given me everything I want. Now I want you to do it for me Think about it, if the beam is really broken, what will you do next? I... am your woman, no matter what you do, I will follow you for the rest of my life."

Ning Yi looked forward, raised his hands together, and his eyes became serious: "... I haven't thought about it so much, but if I really think about it, Bianliang City is broken, two possibilities. Either the emperor and all the ministers Go to the south, defend according to the Yangtze River, draw the river to govern, or within a few years, the Jurchens will push back and the Wu Dynasty will fall. If it is the latter, I will consider taking Tan'er and the others to Luliang Mountain... But no matter what In any case, life in Luliang Mountain will be more difficult in the future. I am afraid that the current peaceful life will not survive."

He was silent for a moment: "No matter what, you can hold on now, fight with the Jurchens for a while, and think about it later, or... just fight for the rest of your life." Then he waved his hand, "Actually, there is no need to think too much, you Look, we're not going to get out, maybe like I said, there's going to be blood here."

He pointed to the camp of the Changsheng Army, Hongti nodded, and Ning Yi then said: "However, I am also somewhat selfish."

"What selfishness?"

"Look below." Ning Yi motioned to the crowd below. Among the crowd, a familiar figure walked through. He said softly, "I want to send Juan'er away."

In the crowd, Juan'er seemed to have sensed something, and looked up.Hong Ti smiled, not long after, Ning Yi also smiled, he stretched out his hand, pulled Hong Ti over, and hugged him in front of him, in the wind and snow, their bodies cuddled tightly together, after a long time , Ning Yi closed his eyes, opened them, and spit out a breath of white air, his eyes have returned to complete calmness and reason.

It is human nature for anyone to be afraid, but in such a time, there is not much room left for fear.For Ning Yi, even if the red mention did not come, he would quickly recover his mentality, but naturally, having this warmth and not having it are two different concepts.

The wind and snow continued, and the two armies that had just fought to the death faced each other under the night sky. In the distance, the Jurchens had already withdrawn their troops in Bianliang City.On the ground, the entire battle situation is as indifferent as frozen ice.To the north, Taiyuan City, which also looks precarious, is isolated and deprived of any resources throughout the winter. People in the city have long lost contact with the outside world. No one knows when this long battle will end.

On the fourth day of December, the Ever Victorious Army launched a full-scale attack on the defenders of Xia Village. The desperate fighting boiled and spread in the snow in the valley. Blood almost soaked everything inside and outside the camp walls.In such a battle of strength, almost any conceptual tricks are difficult to establish. The firing of elm cannons can only be converted into the power of a few bows and arrows. In front of his eyes, there is only the tragic scarlet in the whole world.

Arrows flew across the sky, shouts shook the earth, countless people, countless swords and guns fought in the past, death and pain ravaged every place where the two sides fought, inside and outside the camp wall, in the field, in the gully, between the foothills, beside the woodland, on the boulder By the side, by the stream... In the afternoon, the wind and snow stopped, and with the constant shouting and charging, blood flowed down from every fighting place...

　Seven thousand five hundred words!

(End of this chapter)