On July 15th, the sky was dim.
The thick horse's hooves fell to the ground, motionless.
There was a slight dusty dust on the ground, which swept around for a while and then gradually rose.
The horse blinked, turned its head impatiently, and snorted.
On the back of the horse, a figure stood in the glow.
His face was calm and his eyes were firm.
At the age of thirty-seven, he is no longer young, and he has not been able to accomplish many things.
But these are troubled times, the broken mountains and rivers need people to clean up, and the anxiety almost consumes people's energy.
There was a scholar who was annoyed by the requisition of grain and military service, and always complained that he was fighting wars all day long, either in the middle of a war or on the way to a war. Almost all the resources in the elite land of Yuyan were devoted to the war and could not be used for other things.
But they forgot that if this man did not fight day and night, the people of Henan and Yanzhou would become two-legged sheep, and the battle line would not move all the way north beyond the Great Wall.
If he did not fight the war day and night, the north would become several countries, civilizational progress would be impossible, and significant regression would be very likely.
Each generation has its own mission.
In order to end the troubled times, to eliminate the threat, and to avoid the tragedy of cannibalism, he tried all means, made many compromises, and postponed the reshaping of society.
He now needs prestige, huge prestige to coerce the entire society, to make up for the huge flaws in his origins, and to allow the scholars who control social resources to act according to his will, regardless of whether those people respect him, love him, or despise him.
Look down on him, or hate him or curse him.
Nothing matters.
He doesn't need their love or hate, as long as they can be intimidated by his authority and obey his orders.
The golden sunshine gradually rises.
He clamped his horse's belly and strolled forward.
The soldiers of the Silver Spear Left Camp put their spears at their feet and checked various instruments quickly.
Their expressions are calm, their movements are skillful, and they are full of rhythmic beauty.
The yellow-headed sergeants marched in line to the designated place with neat steps.
After standing still, he stood silently in the wind.
The soldiers of the government had already put on their helmets and whipped their armor, and were looking at the shouting thieves at the top of Pingcheng indifferently, just like looking at animals or objects.
The servants are also in formation.
There were fifteen or six hundred people behind Zhai Shu. King Meng granted him amnesty, and they no longer had to fight in this war. They could just serve as auxiliaries and do chores.
A habitual slip-up actually resulted in such serious consequences that the survivors were all frightened. If they were to be drafted again next time, they would not dare to do this again.
On the high platform at the rear, his son, his generals, his staff, his puppets and his prey were all watching him quietly.
Shao Xun got off his horse and stood in front of Luonan Mansion's military formation.
"What's your name?" He looked at an officer wearing two crotch armor and asked.
"Feng Bachi."
"Oh? But during the attack on Ji County, did you gain a beautiful concubine from me?" Shao Xun thought about it and asked.
"Exactly." Feng Bachi said with his head held high.
"How magnificent!" Shao Xun praised, then pointed his riding whip at Pingcheng and said: "Do you dare to make more money today?"
"Why don't you dare!" Feng Bachi said loudly.
Shao Xun laughed, punched Feng Bachi on the shoulder, then pulled him out, faced everyone, and said, "Do you know this person?"
"I know!" A few people shouted sparsely at first.
Shao Xun asked again: "Do you know this person?"
"I know!" the sergeants of Longxiang Mansion in Pingqiu shouted in unison.
"General Feng got a beautiful wife in Ji County." Shao Xun said.
Everyone was stunned at first, and then burst into laughter.
Feng Bachi looked at everyone with pride. Who in Pingqiu doesn't care about - uh, envies my wife?
"What I like most is a strong man. He first ascends to the city behind me. What's the point of getting an official title and a beautiful wife?" Shao Xun said with a smile: "Pingcheng doesn't have it. There are loads of cars in Liang Palace and Ningshuo Palace. Just ask me for it."
"
When everyone heard this, their eyes lit up.
Feng Bachi’s ready-made examples are there, who wouldn’t envy him?
He got a loving wife and a beautiful family, his family business was well managed, and he became visibly wealthy.
I first became a Sima of another department, and then promoted to a deputy general, which is like the foundation of a local powerful family.
Huang Zheng, the pro-military governor, gently pushed Feng Bachi.
Feng Bachi woke up and yelled: "Everyone brags about how powerful he is on weekdays, but now he is mute? If we capture this Bird City, those who have done meritorious service will have generous rewards. When has the king ever broken his promise?"
After hearing this, an officer from the army spontaneously waved his hands and said, "Destroy Pingcheng!"
"Destroy Pingcheng!" Everyone shouted in unison.
"Destroy Pingcheng!" The shouts became more and more enthusiastic, so much so that soldiers from Luonan Prefecture and Chenliu Prefecture soldiers shouted.
Shao Xun laughed, and after the noise gradually subsided, he came to the front of the Huangtou Army formation.
Everyone looked at him.
During the flood, the King of Liang personally came to Hebei and helped them survive. In the eyes of the Huangtou Army officers and soldiers, this man was a god, unmatched by anyone.
Shao Xun looked at the man who was about thirty years old and asked: "Do you have any heirs?"
"Thanks to the king's favor, I already have a wife and children."
"How were you?"
"My family has more than 30 acres of land, and I can eat enough."
"Maybe carnivorous?"
The man subconsciously licked his lips and said, "I raise sheep, but I still don't want to eat them."
"How can a strong man have no meat to eat?" Shao Xun said: "After conquering Pingcheng, I was given two sheep."
The man's face was full of surprise.
Huang Zheng summoned twenty soldiers and shouted in unison: "Destroy Pingcheng, and I will give you two sheep."
"If you break the city, I will give you two sheep." Upon hearing this, the officers of the Yellow Head Army told the soldiers around them one by one.
The atmosphere immediately became lively.
"Destroy the city!" Thousands of soldiers shouted in unison.
There is nothing more effective than financial incentives. The soldiers worked hard for this purpose. Even the soldiers and silver spear soldiers cheered after hearing this.
Shao Xun got on his horse and said loudly: "We have survived the floods and the epidemic, what difficulties in the world can stop us? Hundreds of miles of conquest, wealth and fame are right in front of us, why not take them? Now - give it to me
Take this city!"
After that, he gave the order to beat drums and march forward.
The morale had just been boosted and the enthusiasm of the yellow-headed sergeant had not yet faded. He took the lead, pushing the siege equipment and launched the first battle.
****
The defenders at the top of the city kept silently watching the city.
Tens of thousands of people chanted in unison, and their morale was getting higher and higher, but their morale was decreasing little by little.
In the past two days, a large number of cattle, sheep, and livestock were captured by the Jin army. They passed outside the city and were sent to the south over the mountains and plains for everyone to see.
Later, the herdsmen from various tribes who were captured in the wild were forced to attack the city and kill their own people. How could this morale be high?
There were even many people in the city who were worried that their relatives would be kidnapped by the Jin army and disappeared, and their morale was even lowered to an extremely low level.
Don’t want to fight, many people don’t want to fight.
Defending the city is extremely wrong. They are not good at it, and they have put their loved ones in danger. I don't know who came up with this idea.
The number of earth platforms outside the city has increased to seven, and arrows are being fired all the time.
The ladder truck advanced little by little, seemingly slowly, but in fact it arrived at the bottom of the city with determination.
"Bah!" The hook in front of the flying ladder firmly hooked the top of the wall.
The defenders seemed to be waking up from a dream.
The chiefs shouted and ordered people to push the cars away.
In an instant, a denser rain of arrows fell from above their heads, causing these exposed Xianbei people to scream in agony.
The big shield was raised, making a constant clanging sound, and the person holding the shield even felt the huge pressure coming from the surface of the shield.
The chieftain personally raised the ax and chopped the hook with all his strength, causing fire to fly everywhere.
"Hoo!" Several crossbow arrows flew in unison, causing horrific damage among the dense crowd.
One of them penetrated directly through the large shield, sending the man holding the shield and the two soldiers behind him flying out.
One shot hit the chest of the chief who was holding his ax high to chop, and the huge impact pushed him back, wedged deeply into the tower.
"Clang!" The big ax flew out of his hand, and the chieftain's mouth and nose were filled with blood. He stretched his hands forward with difficulty, and finally fell down.
"Kill the thief!" The yellow-headed soldiers walked through the belly of the ladder truck and climbed up one after another.
When the first person stuck his head out, he was immediately shot to the ground by an arrow.
The second man stepped forward with a large shield in hand, followed the ladder placed horizontally, and rushed directly to the top of the city with swift steps.
I saw him yelling, with veins on his forehead exposed. He didn't care about anything. He only held his shield in front of him and quickly rushed into the crowd of enemy soldiers, creating a small chaos.
The third person, the fourth person followed closely, then the fifth person, the sixth person...
On the long ladder, the sound of arrows piercing the air continued. Most of the people rushed towards them and fell to the ground without making any sound.
Someone rushed to the top of the city and was met by a spear. In desperation, he grabbed the barrel of the gun. As soon as the enemy soldier let go, the man stumbled and screamed as he fell to the bottom of the city.
Someone was holding a sword and a shield. Before he could stand firm, several spears came at him. He blocked them with left and right blows, and was finally pushed down by the huge brute force.
Someone just wanted to kill the thief, but his feet were unstable and he was caught by a hook that came from nowhere. The screams gradually faded away and disappeared among the dense crowd.
There were also people who were holding shields and were beaten with swords and wooden sticks until they fell to their knees.
"Bang!" The wooden shield fell apart.
He laughed miserably and shouted: "My life is returned to the king."
While shouting, he pushed forward with all his strength. He received countless blows on his head, shoulders, back, and legs, and eventually blood flowed all over the floor.
More people rushed forward.
Both sides were crowded at the top of the city, with almost no place to stay. They could not even swing their weapons. They could only stare angrily, yell, and chop and stab with clumsy and ridiculous movements.
The sound of a sharp knife entering flesh can be heard endlessly.
The screams were almost drowned out by the man's passionate roar.
The blood quickly soaked into the ground, and then flowed down the wall, forming horrific bloody curtains.
People in the city kept moving up for reinforcements, and they were horrified when they saw the mountains of corpses.
People kept getting into the ladder truck below the city, climbing up with all their strength, and then rushing up the ladder to the top of the city.
Viewed from a distance, more than ten people fell down from the south wall of Pingcheng with almost every breath, including both friend and foe.
And with every breath that passes, the number of people on the city is increasing.
Under the crowds, both sides no longer had any rules and were almost using their most primitive instincts to attack their opponents.
There are many scenes of two people rolling down the river holding each other.
In the melee, he didn't know whether he was stabbing the enemy or one of his own.
Everyone is going crazy.
Unless you see it with your own eyes, you will never know how much strength a man can unleash at a critical moment of life and death.
Unless you see it with your own eyes, it is hard to believe that an honest and honest Tian Shefu can bite his enemies with his teeth like a wild beast.
There is no time to regret, no time to fear, and no way out.
"Kill the thief!" Another wave of people rushed up.
These are soldiers with silver helmets and silver armor. They are good at using spears, but they all hold a shield in their left hand and a sword in their right hand. They are as skilled as if they have practiced the sword and shield technique from the beginning.
The addition of new forces caused a sudden change in the situation at the top of the city.
The battle lines gradually moved back.
Those who originally fell onto the city walls now mostly rolled down along the horse paths and steps.
Ji Shou, who was already fifty years old, was leading the way. He couldn't hold back the enemy. He hit the enemy hard with his thick wooden shield. As if there was infinite power in his body, he pushed a large group of people directly onto the horse path.
Someone seemed to have stabbed him in the calf, which made him even more angry. He grabbed a brazier nearby and covered the face of the person who stabbed him.
The stench of burnt flesh spread everywhere, and the screams were earth-shattering. Ji Shou didn't seem to hear it, and he kicked the enemy soldiers down instantly. The hot charcoal floated in the wind, drenching the enemy soldiers who were charging upward.
The rat scurried away with its head in its arms.
"Whoosh!" An arrow came and hit him in the chest.
Ji Shou fell to his knees weakly.
The arrow was blocked by the iron armor and did not penetrate very deeply into his flesh, but he still felt the strength in his body slowly draining away.
The robes jumped past, followed the horse path, and used their momentum to directly rush into the crowd of thieves and soldiers.
Ji Shou leaned on the city wall, breathing heavily.
He remembered that year.
Hu Wufuzhi read the memorial text in the river. He was dividing the meat among the trackers in the temple, and he saw his former little brother Zhao Huai at a glance.
Perhaps, from that moment on, he was destined to take this path.
But he has no regrets, because this is the right way and the only way out for lowly people like them.
"Haha! With my head, I can send King Liang to Luoyang to become the emperor." He didn't know where the strength came from. He stood up with difficulty, picked up a spear from the side, and stumbled down the city.
His body is slow and his steps are slanted, but he moves forward inexorably.
Chapter completed!