"Damn it!" Zhang Mancheng stamped his feet fiercely, staring at the city wall.
In front of him, there was just a small town with a wall no more than three and a half meters tall. But just to attack this town, they had been attacking for a whole day but they still hadn't penetrated it.
"It's not surprising that the thieves found themselves being treated as abandoned pawns, so it's surprising that they would still try their best to attack." Sun Xia smiled.
In order to weaken the power of the enemy bandits, Zhang Mancheng initially arranged for them to attack the town, euphemistically calling it "Natou Mingzhuang". At the same time, he promised that if they could attack it, they could give priority to supplying all the materials inside.
In the morning, the bandit leaders from all sides were naturally overjoyed and attacked the town bravely. But in the afternoon, they were completely perfunctory, going here and there, just wasting their time.
"Speaking of which, why is this town's defense so strong?" Zhang Mancheng frowned.
"Normally, for such a small city, it would be good to have twenty or thirty guards including the captain. Normally, there would be no more than two hundred. But now, there are at least more than five hundred soldiers deployed to defend the city, and they are all experienced and experienced soldiers.
It's strange that the old pawn arrived." Sun Xia also found it strange.
"Then what should we do now? It's getting dark!" Han Zhong complained from the side.
"I have an idea!" Sun Xia smiled.
"Speak quickly!" Zhang Mancheng raised his eyebrows.
"Let's stop here and flee far away!" Sun Xia said proudly.
"Then it's better to break up and go back to hug my mother-in-law!" Han Zhong complained.
"General Han, don't complain. It's almost night now and everyone needs a rest, right? It's not just us, they actually do too.
If they are suddenly attacked and then suddenly relaxed, their hearts will naturally relax. When we launch the attack at night, there is a high chance that we can take down this small town in one fell swoop!" Sun Xia said with a smile.
"That's a good idea!" Zhang Mancheng nodded.
All the generals were summoned to explain the situation, and the large army left the town in less than an hour.
"General, the enemy is gone, can we continue with our plan?" A soldier came to the general and asked.
"The closest town is two days' journey from here. According to the spies' report, their military rations only have three days left, not to mention that they wasted a day today.
It is conceivable that it is more cost-effective to continue attacking us than aimlessly looking for the next town. So their retreat this time is either because they are really stupid, or they want them to relax their vigilance.
It will be convenient for them to launch an attack." The young general smiled.
After thinking about it, he immediately ordered: "Tell others that the plan will continue to be implemented!"
"Here!" the soldier received the order and immediately went to report it.
The sky soon became completely dark.
"Hey, it's quiet inside. I'm afraid the officers and soldiers are all asleep?" Zhang Mancheng looked at the quiet town and raised the corners of his mouth slightly.
"Commander Qu, why don't I lead the troops to fight in this time! In this way, we can let those bandits see our strength!" Han Zhong stepped forward and said.
"Okay, just be careful!" Zhang Mancheng thought for a while and agreed.
Han Zhong received the order and immediately made arrangements with a smile. Within a quarter of an hour, his men began to attack the town.
Within a few moments, the town was completely destroyed.
"Haha, those officers and soldiers were so stupid that they actually ran away!" Han Zhong came back from riding and said to Zhang Mancheng with a smile.
"General Han, are you sure there is no officer or soldier ambushing you inside?" Sun Xia asked worriedly.
"No, there's no resistance at all! I looked around a little, and I couldn't see any officers and soldiers anywhere!" Han Zhong replied a little unhappily.
At this time, a soldier rushed forward: "General, there is not a single commoner in the city. What's more important, there is not a single house left!"
"What?!" Zhang Mancheng was shocked and immediately rode away.
After entering the town, I found that it was in a mess. The soldiers under Han Zhong were checking the situation inside each house.
"How is the situation?!" Zhang Mancheng asked anxiously.
"Report to the general, there is no one in the entire town, neither officers, soldiers nor civilians. Moreover, there is no material at all here. Except for things that the residents cannot carry, there is not a grain of rice left." A low-level officer
Report forward.
"How could this happen?! Didn't they defend so fiercely during the day?" Zhang Mancheng couldn't believe his ears.
Just looking at the chaotic scene now, even if he wanted to not believe it, he couldn't help but not believe it.
But in my heart, I couldn't believe why there was nothing inside the town that was so fiercely defended during the day. More importantly, where were the officers and soldiers who guarded the town today?!
"Qu Shuai, what's going on? Our hard work today has been in vain?!" A bandit leader came forward and said excitedly.
"What are you arguing about? You are upset and you think we will be happy? Tnnd, we finally conquered a city, but we didn't get anything. I am so annoyed now!" Han Zhong cursed in displeasure.
"How is the survey going?" Zhang Mancheng asked anxiously, hoping to get good news from Zhao Hong.
"The surrounding generals have checked, and there are no traces of officers and soldiers leaving the city. So unless the officers and soldiers can fly, they should still be in the city!" Zhao Hong reported truthfully.
"Then tell me, where have all those officers and soldiers gone?!" The bandit leader pointed to the empty city and asked Zhao Hong.
"If it's not on the ground, can't it be underground?!" Zhao Hong snorted coldly.
"Authentic?! Hey, why didn't I think of that!" When the thief heard this, he immediately understood.
Tunnel warfare has already appeared these days, but it is not used much. It is mainly used to poach walls when attacking cities. Because of this, the thief really didn't think of this for a while.
"Dig, even if you dig three feet into the ground for me, you have to find all the officers and soldiers!" Zhang Mancheng ordered anxiously.
After receiving Zhang Mancheng's order, the soldiers endured exhaustion and hunger and began to dig aimlessly. They dug for more than an hour, but found nothing except making themselves more exhausted.
"What the hell, where is the entrance to this damn tunnel?!" Han Zhong said depressedly.
Not only in the dry well, but also in the residents' houses, they dug carefully, but they couldn't find the entrance.
"Qu Shuai, what should we do now?!" Zhao Hong asked helplessly.
"It's getting late. Let's all have a good rest and go to the next town another day! But let's continue the report and let the soldiers try to beware of raids by officers and soldiers!" Zhang Mancheng thought for a while and reluctantly gave the order.
"The next city... there will be no food when we get there. If the situation is the same as here, then the army will be afraid..." Sun Xia heard this and murmured in a low voice.
"It's nothing good, but now we are in a dilemma. What else can we do besides continuing to move forward?" Zhang Mancheng shook his head helplessly.
Yes, they have no way out.
If you move forward, there is still a glimmer of hope; if you retreat, you will definitely be doomed.
After a simple dinner, Zhang Mancheng dragged his tired body into the county magistrate's bedroom.
Although the town had been cleared of supplies, the furniture was too big to be moved, so it was left behind. Even in such a small town, the bed in the county magistrate's bedroom was still the most comfortable.
"Damn officers and soldiers, what on earth are you playing!?" With this question, Zhang Mancheng closed his eyes.
An hour later...
"Fire!" shouts came from outside.
"What's wrong?!" Zhang Mancheng suddenly woke up, simply put on his armor and rushed out.
"General, there's a fire in the town!" A soldier stepped forward to report in horror.
"Why did it catch on fire?!" Zhang Mancheng asked anxiously.
"They were officers and soldiers. They didn't know where they came from. When they came out, they didn't fight with us. Instead, they quietly arranged the hay and firewood in each house and poured them with kerosene.
The fire is now completely uncontrollable. Brothers are being burned to death and burned, and the number of casualties is increasing!" the soldier reported in fear.
"Damn it, I just said that those firewood were prepared too much!" Only then did Zhang Mancheng react.
When they first entered the city, there were no residents, but they did not take away any furniture or firewood. Because firewood and other things are necessary for home heating and cooking, so preparing more will not attract attention.
So he didn't notice at all that the fire starter inside was more than five times the daily needs of a family.
But so what? Can't they be allowed to prepare a month or a few months' expenses in advance? This kind of question makes sense no matter how you put it, so there is no point in pursuing it.
However, now that those firewood and hay are used as kindling and set on fire to burn them, this is a big, big problem.
"Commander Qu, the people who have just joined us are now in chaos. They are running around in order to escape for their lives. As a result, our soldiers have no time to escape, and many of them were burned to death in the fire!" Han Zhong rushed over.
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"Commander Qu, those bandits went into a complete riot, killing many soldiers and civilians along the way, and rushed towards the north gate!" Zhao Hong ran over anxiously.
"Why the North Gate!" Zhang Mancheng quickly noticed this problem.
"Why else? The fire at the north gate should be smaller!" Han Zhong was a little crazy.
When are you still concerned about the direction those ** people are taking?
"Then what are you waiting for?! Immediately order everyone to retreat towards the north gate. Also tell the people below that if anyone dares to take the lead, they will be killed. Moreover, we must ensure that our own troops leave the city first!" Zhang Mancheng immediately issued the order.
.
"Here!" The two people understood immediately, and immediately made arrangements for the afternoon after accepting the order.
"Wait!" Zhang Mancheng called to the two of them, "Immediately send someone to follow the bandits to see if they are ambushed outside!"
"Okay!" Han Zhong was not stupid and knew what this meant.
Surrounded by three and one missing, wait for the moment when the army exits from the north gate, and deliver a fatal blow.
This kind of strategy is actually very common, isn't it? After all, even Han Zhong, who was originally a peasant class, can know this kind of strategy.
After the two generals settled in, the situation began to improve. The soldiers began to organize quickly and break out towards the north gate.
"How is the situation?!" Zhang Mancheng asked Han Zhong, feeling the scorching heat.
"Those bandits did not encounter an ambush. It seems that the north gate is safe!" Han Zhong also breathed a sigh of relief.
Under such circumstances, if we still have to compete with the officers and soldiers, the losses will be really huge.
"Don't underestimate the enemy so much. Let some of the soldiers go out first, and then we can go out in the middle!" Zhang Mancheng said cautiously.
"Here!" Han Zhong immediately made arrangements.
Soon, the remaining 5,000 soldiers of the front army left the city smoothly. At this time, the 10,000 Chinese troops led by Zhang Mancheng and others also began to leave the city.
"Is there really no ambush?" Zhang Mancheng couldn't help but muttered as he looked at the silence around him.
"By the way, where were the officers and soldiers who set the fire in the first place?" He suddenly thought of this and turned around to ask.
"We killed dozens of them, but the others ran away. As for where they went, no one could tell under the circumstances." Sun Xia shook his head helplessly.
"So, have their hiding place been found?" Zhang Mancheng continued to ask.
"We found it. It's on the floor under the city gate. It's really ironic. Our troops kept walking over their heads, but we didn't expect that they were right below us." Sun Xia said helplessly.
Shaked his head.
"Forget it, at this point, there is no way to hold anyone responsible." Zhang Mancheng sighed.
"Kill!" A loud roar came from not far away.
Not long after, tens of thousands of cavalry were galloping in the distance, heading towards the center of the Yellow Turban Army.
"Enemy attack!" several soldiers shouted.
"Accept the challenge!" Zhang Mancheng was so angry that he gave in.
"Commander Qu, the opponent has tens of thousands of elite cavalry, and they are just waiting to deal with these tired infantry like us. This victory is not a big deal! It is better to leave one army to hold it back and the others to retreat quickly!" Sun Xia warned anxiously.
.
"Do you think they will let us retreat so smoothly?" Zhang Mancheng gritted his teeth.
Sure enough, as the shouts of killing slowly came from the way, tens of thousands of elite infantry came to kill from the north. And behind them, thousands of archers were firing.
"That yellow turban thief general, why don't you dismount your horse quickly and die!" Huang Zhong roared and rushed out among tens of thousands of fine cavalry.
"It's hard to say who will die!" Zhang Mancheng roared and rode away.
He recognized that the person who came was none other than the general who had commanded the army and killed his father.
Once old and new hatreds arose, he couldn't help but lose control.
As for the last remaining sanity, the idea is: if we kill the officers and generals, our army may still have a glimmer of hope.
"God's envoy Zhang Mancheng came to ask for advice!" Zhang Mancheng is not afraid of Huang Zhong because he is in the foundation building stage.
Although this foundation building stage is actually not orthodox, it is just the innate cultivation of mortal martial arts, but Zhang Jiao said that he had entered the foundation building stage, so he thought that he was really a foundation building monk.
"Look at the knife!" Zhang Mancheng slashed the knife fiercely.
"Slowly, is it because you haven't eaten or something?" Huang Zhong laughed and swung out his knife.
"So fast!" Zhang Mancheng shouted these two words in surprise, and his head split apart.
He did not expect that Huang Zhong, as Xie Xin's good brother, had a large supply of elixirs and had already reached the peak of the innate stage. He was still one step away from entering the golden elixir stage.
Of course, this golden elixir stage in martial arts cannot be compared with the golden elixir stage in the world of cultivation.
As mentioned above, under the law of heaven, people have their own rules, and monks have their own rules. In the realm of monks, the maximum life span may be two or three thousand years. But under human rules, it is estimated that it will not exceed one hundred and fifty years.
The upper limit is ten years.
The golden elixir stage of martial arts still abides by human rules. Therefore, compared with the golden elixir stage of monks, they are two completely different concepts.
"My sons, follow me and kill the thieves!" Huang Zhong laughed and continued to kill Han Zhong and others.
"Retreat, retreat quickly!" Sun Xia was shocked and immediately ordered a retreat.
"If you want to leave, you can leave. We want to avenge Qu Shuai!" Han Zhong snorted coldly and immediately led his headquarters.