Chapter 562: Fighting at the Gap

Chapter 562: Fighting at the Gap
September 11, the 20th year of Yongqing.

The battle to defend the city ended yesterday, and the battlefield was not completely cleaned up until dawn. The large hole dug by the Kaishan Camp could not be repaired in time, and could only be temporarily supported by pouring molten iron.

As the head of the Pei family, Pei Yuyou is undoubtedly one of the main decision-makers in Dongyang City at the moment.

Given the need to keep a way out for surrender for his family, this guy did not hold any position, but since early morning, he mobilized his servants and Censorate staff to do three things.

First, against all odds, he decided to demolish all the uninhabited houses in the city, regardless of whether they had owners or not, and use them all as consumable weapons when defending the city.

Secondly, the military pay and pensions were piled up into a mountain under the city wall. Under the watchful eyes of most of the defenders, the "silver mountain" was distributed in full, and it was promised that adult men willing to climb to the top of the city to transport supplies could get 100 coins a day, on the premise that the settlement would be made after the war. If Dongyang fell, then it would be as if nothing had happened.

Regarding the remuneration, it is not that Pei Yuyou cannot give more, but he has to take the soldiers' feelings into consideration. Otherwise, if the soldiers fight and risk their lives, but the reward they get is not as good as what the civilians get from transporting things, mutiny and retreat are almost inevitable.

It is worth mentioning that when piling up the "silver mountain", Pei Yu found the ceremonial guard Zheng Laohei and asked him to send someone to maintain order. In addition to trying to win him over with words, the main reason was that he was actually very wary of the soldiers.

And at the end, it is condolences.

Pei Yuyou organized the families of Dongyang Guard to come to the city wall. As a reward, these guys could receive one stone of grain for free, but the grain was not in his hands, but in the hands of a wealthy family in Ronghuafang, so they had to go together to get it.

Because their families were present, even though it was a high-pressure period for defending the city, the soldiers showed amazing restraint when facing the wealthy families. Similarly, because there were so many people, the grain delivery process did not seem difficult. There was a step for condolences, and some powerful families who were concerned about their reputation were quite kind.

However, there are still some diehards who refuse to see anyone. After all, no one knows how long the siege will last, and food is their lifeline. Fortunately, Pei Yuxian planned from the beginning to use these guys as a vent and to make an example of them.

……

In the afternoon.

When Pei Yufen, who had been busy for half a day, arrived at the top of the city wall, he found King Yong lying on a recliner woven with thorns, reading an ancient book. The contents of the book were like ghost paintings, and somewhat resembled the alchemy of the Daode Sect.

"Your Highness, the military pay and grain collection are almost done." Pei Yuwu said, "When we collected grain for the second time at noon, Ronghuafang was quite cooperative. At least it won't change in the short term."

Jiang He raised his hand and pointed outside the city, his meaning was very clear.

Pei Yu came to the city wall and looked out, his pupils shrinking slightly.

He was originally wondering why the Northern Wei army did not continue to attack the city, but now he had the answer.

On the plain outside the city, tens of thousands of soldiers were digging canals and collecting earth and rocks, and not far to the west was the Xiabian River. The Northern Wei army was obviously planning to cut off the river and attack the Dongyang city wall.

Jiang He flipped a page of the Fushi Ancient Book and said, "The Kaishan Camp destroyed the city wall yesterday. I guess they got intelligence about the wall. The city wall is likely not to be safe and sound. Let's prepare in advance."

Pei Yuwu remained silent, then asked, "Why doesn't the prince lead the Skeleton Dragon Cavalry to harass people?"

"First, of course, we are worried about traps."

Jiang He shook his head and said indifferently: "Second, I hope this battle will be as brutal as possible."

Pei Yu turned his head stiffly, his eyes full of disbelief. If he had not been prepared to die here, he felt that he might not be able to suppress the anger in his heart.

After a while, he forced a smile.

"Your Majesty is truly an extraordinary person."

Jiang He said calmly: "Good fortune and bad fortune are brought upon oneself. No matter what, it was your own choice. Just give up the supreme command, that's it."

"Is it too late to regret?"

"Maybe in the next life."

……

At the same time, on the edge of Donglai County.

A team of thirty people arrived on horseback, led by a white-faced and beardless man. When they arrived in front of the city, they requested the local garrison to send troops to escort them to Dongyang City to deliver the imperial edict.

"Here is the cabinet document."

"We want to go to Dongyang City to summon Prince Yong to the capital to receive the reward."

"Commander, send the troops quickly."

Unfortunately, the cavalry shouted under the city wall for half an hour, but still no one in charge showed up.

The commander of Donglai leaned against the battlements and yawned lazily. Let alone an angel, even if the emperor himself came, unless Xiao Qingzhi, the second most powerful eunuch in the world, put a sword on his neck, the Pei family would still have the final say in Qingzhou.

A long while.

The leading eunuch snorted coldly, whipped his horsewhip and led the crowd away.

From Donglai to Dongyang, in the four cities along the way, there was not a single commander, not even a garrison, who came out to respond.

"Arrogant, extremely arrogant!"

"Isn't this world your Majesty's?"

"A bunch of people who forget their principles when they see profit!"

The Junior Eunuch of the Imperial Household Department could not help but fly into a rage, as he was a favorite of the eunuch who held the seal. All the high-ranking officials in the capital, even those who went in and out of the six ministries' offices, had never been treated so disrespectfully.

"Sir, please calm down."

A third-level expert sent by Xuanjin Mountain Villa clasped his fists and said, "The fact that the five Qingzhou guards are staying indoors shows that the battle situation is critical."

"Critical?" The young eunuch raised his eyebrows, "Critical, so what?"

"The gains and losses of a city or a place are not as important as the foundation of a country."

"If the Holy Emperor ascends the throne in the future, with all the righteous people in the court, he will surely be able to eliminate the treacherous ministers, sweep across the world, and recover the territory of the previous dynasty in one fell swoop."

"For this, even if I have to sacrifice the entire Qingzhou, what does it matter?"

As for the so-called Holy Emperor, each faction believes that with their support, the prince they choose will be extremely wise and sage. After all, even if he is occasionally confused in the future, there will always be wise ministers to advise him.

The Xuanjin master was speechless. He always felt that the fighting between these inner and outer court officials had become a bit insane.

The thirty riders continued to move eastward. Shao Jian was angry that he had been rejected several times, so he led his team directly to Dongyang City.

When they arrived at the bank of Xiabian River, they looked around but found no one there. The outbreak of war on the front line forced the fishermen to flee downstream, and the young eunuch's face became increasingly ugly.

"Where is the person who agreed to pick me up?"

Whoosh!
A heavy arrow made of first-grade Yang steel came like a cannonball, hitting the young supervisor in the abdomen and shattering him into pieces.

The sudden change came suddenly.

The Xuanjin master roared, "Enemy attack!"

At this moment, there were two hundred cavalrymen charging at him from the front, back, and rear. Gui Man, wearing captured heavy armor and holding a huge axe in each hand, led the charge with a ferocious look on his face.

"This is a Tian Ge spy, kill them all!"

The Xuanjin master hurriedly looked around, thinking about how to break out, but he saw the palace guards beside him directly collapsed and ran in panic, but were blocked by the enemy cavalry and killed on the ground.

The palace guards were usually chosen from among the clan members; martial arts skills were secondary; loyalty was the most important. However, with the death of Shao Jian, a warrior from Xuanjin Villa was naturally not worth risking one's life to protect.

"How stupid! My life is over!" The Xuanjin master shouted in sorrow.

Thirty riders were reduced to dust in the blink of an eye. Gui Man led his men to surround the enemy. Pei's most elite Hanhai Camp now sent out twenty people, all of whom were elite fighters of the second realm and equipped with extremely rare Grade A Yang steel armor.

"Lieutenant General Gui, just leave this man to us. My second master wants his head to report to the head of the family." said the general flag of the Pei family.

"Thank you, brothers." Gui Man responded by clasping his fists, looking at the first-class armor with envy. A set cost three thousand taels of silver, and the twenty Hanhai warriors in front of him cost a total of sixty thousand.

As far as he knew, although it was impossible to equip a large army, the elite soldiers of the Hanhai Camp that the Pei family used to protect their direct members still numbered 800. With the accumulation of generations of the big family, they could completely resist the imperial power in the local area.

Twenty Hanhai warriors dismounted, formed a formation and surrounded and killed the enemy.

Four shieldmen were in the front, blocking the surroundings, changing their steps, and methodically squeezing the enemy's living space.

The Xuanjin master couldn't hold back and jumped up immediately, but the next moment four heavy arrows attacked him.

Dangdang Dangdang!
The sharp gold secret technique endowed the long sword with excellent sharpness and durability. He blocked three arrows, but the last one suddenly accelerated in mid-air. The archer who shot the arrow also had martial arts skills.

The dark green arrow pierced through his shoulder, and a trace of dizziness appeared in the mind of the Xuanjin master. After he landed, he quickly drew his sword and slashed at the approaching shieldman, but the blade was ineffective in front of the first-grade yang steel, and only left a half-finger-deep crack with difficulty, and sparks flew everywhere.

Grade A Yang Steel is something that even a sub-hero would have to struggle to destroy, as it is filled with the masculine fire essence bestowed by the core of the sun.

There was no point in fighting, so the Xuan Jin master rushed towards the river, but unfortunately the military strategists were all focused at the moment, and a strong sense of military evil attacked him, so the Hanhai warriors easily caught up with him and pinned him to the ground.

"Nanliang, the sky is falling!" The Xuanjin master cried out sadly. The country was rotten inside and out, and there were still people in the local area who dared to rob and kill the angel. Death was imminent, and he had lost all hope in Nanliang.

Pei's general banner stepped forward to cut off the head, but suddenly, everyone was stunned.

——The huge Xiabian River dried up right under everyone’s noses.

"Oh no, Dongyang City is in danger!" Gui Man's face changed drastically and he looked above the river. As a native of Dongyang, he was very clear about the materials used in the construction of the city wall.

……

call!
The river that had been accumulating for a while suddenly surged forward.

The turbid river water was like a wild beast that had broken free from its reins, carrying rotten wood and gravel and crashing wildly against the base of the city wall. Amid the dull and continuous roar, mud seeped in through the cracks between bricks and stones, softening the rammed earth foundation. The blue bricks on the surface of the city wall fell down under the tearing of the undercurrent, gradually revealing the rammed earth layer inside that had been soaked into thin mud.

boom!
Suddenly, there was a loud thunder, and the arrow tower in the middle of the Dongyang city wall suddenly tilted. The flood took the opportunity to pour into the gap, like thousands of steel knives chiseling the remnants of the city wall. With the continuous sound of collapse, a huge V-shaped gap was revealed in the middle of the originally towering city wall.

On the city wall, the locals in Yongwangwei’s guards looked pale.

Outside the city, the soldiers cheered wildly, and the sound filled the sky.

General Hou finally showed a hint of joy on his face, and ordered: "Chi Le Army, the two guards of Chongshan Chongyue, advance immediately!"

Deng Deng Deng!
Chongshanwei and Chongyuewei, two heavy infantry units of 5600 people, began to advance. More than soldiers of the Northern Wei Dynasty on the battlefield all turned their eyes to the huge gap.

This is the dawn of victory.

The cloud tower moves forward, the cavalry moves forward, and the army moves forward.

The Northern Wei army was like a mountain range, advancing madly, and even the general's platform was approaching the city wall.

Just at the huge gap, a red-robed figure walked out of the city, and the nine black swords that he had refined at night were stabbed into the ground one by one.

General Hou smiled proudly and said, "King Yong, what good is it to die here? It is better to surrender to Wei. I will ensure that you will be ranked among the pillars of the state, and His Majesty will not hesitate to reward you generously!"

There was no answer, Jiang He's expression remained normal.

"What a pity." General Hou's joy suddenly turned into anger and he shouted, "Kill!"

The army was full of people, shouting and killing like the sound of mountains and seas. Boom, boom, boom!
Countless flints rose into the air and then fell far away. The decisive battle was imminent. The Northern Wei catapults fired flints at all costs, and two of them were destroyed simply due to wear and tear.

A huge fire broke out in Dongyang City, and the people fled frantically. A gap was left in the city wall, which almost meant that the city was broken.

As the army attacked, Jiang He reached out and picked up a black knife.

Cuckoo!
In the field of vision, two chariots with wheels wrapped in exotic animal skins were charging rapidly on the mud. Twenty-four people had clear division of labor, and they were stabbing straight forward with poisoned hooks and spears.

Whoosh!
Jiang He slashed with his sword in an ordinary manner, and arcs of black light spread out in front of him like ripples.

The two chariots exploded with a loud bang, and the sword energy engulfed the soldiers like a storm. The splattered debris rushed out with a power like a cannonball.

As the chariots were destroyed too quickly, the spearmen formation following behind them had not yet formed. Jiang He turned around and slashed horizontally. A flash of sword light flashed out, and sixteen streams of blood shot up into the sky. The second-grade Yang steel armor was as brittle as thin paper. The bodies of these spearmen with broken necks maintained a charging posture, and finally fell forward and knelt on the ground.

Whoosh whoosh!
Heavy arrows of grade A specially designed to target martial arts masters fell like rain.

In an instant, energy full body armor emerged on Jiang He's body, and its defense power far exceeded that of Grade A Yang Steel Armor.

Like a demon shadow born from the darkness, the Overlord's Armor is dominated by cold dark black as the main color. Each piece of armor is angular like a blade. The shoulder armor is high, and the sharp protrusions are like the horns of a devil. The lines of the breastplate are hard and sharp, and the criss-crossed patterns are like the flowing final flame.

Dangdang Dangdang!
One by one, the expensive and heavy arrows shattered.

The Chongshan Guards rushed towards the gap like a surging tide. Just as the melee spearmen in the front row thrust out their spears, Jiang He's figure flashed and shuttled among them like a ghost.

Swish swish!
Wherever the black knife passed, blood spurted out. Before the spear tip even touched the ground, the spear-holding arms of these fierce soldiers had been chopped off. The broken arms fell to the ground like broken branches, and bright red blood splattered, instantly filling the gaps between the bricks and stones on both sides.

The moment Jiang He returned to his original position.

The strong force was detonated by the essence of Yun Jianfeng's moves, and the three hundred elite infantrymen exploded and turned into powder.

Deng Deng Deng!
The shield bearers held heavy round shields to form a tortoise shell formation and suddenly advanced. Jiang He held up the black knife, and countless wisps of thunder-like energy fell, like meteors smashing into the shield formation.

——Dragon Spear Technique·Wanlaoyin.

The sword energy poured down like a flood, breaking the heavy shield into pieces. For a moment, screams were heard from the gap, broken limbs and arms flew all over the sky, and blood mixed with soil turned into sticky mud.

Six hundred heavily-armored shield soldiers were destroyed.

"Jiang Hu Camp, move forward!" General Hou ordered angrily.

In the vast and endless army, a Jianghu Camp of two thousand people composed of Jianghu people from the Northern Wei Dynasty launched an attack. Most of them were second-level elites, but there were also a considerable number of third-level peak elites.

The four best men, the purple-robed old man, the foxy woman, the skinny middle-aged man, and the sinister young man, took the lead in attacking. The Jianghu Camp had no fixed equipment or formation, and all kinds of secret techniques and tricks came like raindrops.

But in someone's opinion, these martial arts masters are no different from ordinary soldiers.

boom!
Jiang He stomped his feet forward fearlessly at an unbelievable speed, not giving the enemy any room to react. The tip of the knife accurately pierced the purple-robed old man's heart. He used the force of pulling back to throw the corpse to his side. The violent power of the four dragons and four elephants wrapped around the remaining body and killed more than a dozen masters, leaving minced meat all over the ground along the way.

The skinny middle-aged man clenched the wheel axe in both hands and chopped it down with a strong wind. Jiang He slid sideways, and the black blade rubbed the axe handle and cut into the opponent's heart. A dark red fountain of blood rushed into the sky as he drew the sword. He took advantage of the momentum to sweep the back of the sword, smashing the vixen who approached quietly along with half of her cheek.

Brain matter mixed with broken bones splattered on the ground and broken armor, condensing into a strange amber color in the sunlight.

"Kill the king and make him a marquis!" someone shouted angrily.

"Kill the king and make him a marquis!" More and more people shouted angrily.

The titles of nobility in the Northern Wei Dynasty were honorable, and a marquis could have his own tribe. Because the current Northern Wei royal family came from the grassland, the titles were always hereditary.

Nearly two thousand masters surrounded and killed him together, and their swords, spears, halberds and strange weapons were dazzling.

Jiang He swung the blade calmly, and the condensed blood beads dripped along the edge of the blade, blooming into strange blood flowers on the ground.

boom!
He took the initiative to step forward, and the pure skills he had amassed through tens of millions of kills so far were revealed.

The blade stretched out and directly cut the throat through the gap in the armor. The blade energy splashed and accurately cut the tendons of more than a dozen people. Heads flew up one after another. Every time the blade was swung, more than a dozen lives died. Every movement was as precise as a machine.

Under the city wall.

The knife light was like a silver snake dancing wildly.

The broken limbs and arms were like dead leaves blown down by a hurricane, drawing arcs in the air with rain of blood. The still warm internal organs were stuck to the rammed earth of the city wall again and again. The crisp sound of cutting cervical vertebrae mixed with screams came one after another. Every swing of the sword brought up a blood mist like ink, which eventually almost covered the entire gap.

Just a quarter of an hour.

More than half of the Jianghu Camp was killed or wounded and collapsed.

The Chongshan Guards stepped forward and held out for three quarters of an hour. After killing two thousand three hundred of them, the rest fled.

The Zhongyue Guards also held out for three quarters of an hour, with two thousand killed. The centurion turned around and killed the captain in charge of supervising the battle, then led his men to flee.

Although the two elite troops were defeated, endless soldiers continued to pour in. The Northern Wei Dynasty was in its early stages and had no shortage of elite soldiers and generals. Since Emperor Xiaowen of Wei promoted the integration of various ethnic groups, the population had exploded and the culture flourished.

The battle lasted for two hours.

Eight black knives with blunt marks were stuck in the ground.

At the gap in the city wall, dark red blood plasma flowed along the cracks in the bricks and stones, dyeing the ground dark brown. Corpses piled up into a steep mountain of blood, and broken spines protruded outside like twisted dead trees.

Jiang He sat on the pile of corpses, a thorn rolled up the ninth black knife. Not far from his feet, only half of the body of the Northern Wei infantry commander was left, still sobbing unconsciously.

He carelessly cut off its head.

"I'm a little exhausted."

An unprecedented fatigue swept over my whole body.

Jiang He couldn't help but ponder inwardly that his energy was running out and his physical strength was exhausted. The evil spirits controlled by the enemy's military strategists gathered around him, restricting his speed and recovery ability to the maximum extent.

Because of the legendary status of the Sun Core, even he could hardly be immune to this debuff. He had to admit that if he didn't have the Time Ring, he might really die here today. Of course, without the Time Ring, it would definitely be a different way of playing.

A full quarter of an hour.

The siege around Dongyang City was still going on, but facing the gap in the city wall that was theoretically the easiest to break through, the fierce offensive that had been like a wave inexplicably stopped.

The Northern Wei soldiers stood not far away and refused to move forward.

On the city wall, Pei Yufen was already dumbfounded. He finally understood why the other party allowed the flood to hit the city.

On the general's platform, the atmosphere was unprecedentedly depressing. All the commanders bowed their heads and remained silent, while General Hou had a cold look in his eyes.

"Seven thousand six hundred armored soldiers were killed." Mr. Jian couldn't help but sigh: "Most of them are elite soldiers like Zhongshan Zhongyue, as well as masters of the Great Wei martial arts world. I am definitely not a match for him in his prime."

"But now we can win by doing it unfairly."

General Hou said coldly: "Wait a little longer, we must kill him with one strike, the personal soldiers move forward!"

The only real enemies in the world are the immortals on land.

Accomplish great deeds, master divine transformation, and your strength will undergo a qualitative change.

And Prince Yong was obviously very close to that level.

Deng Deng Deng!
Eight hundred guards wearing first-grade Yang steel armor were dispatched. Each of them was an elite of the second realm. The personal guard battalion passed the hesitant army and once again chiseled towards the gap in the city wall.

The sword flashed again, but this time it was much dimmer. Anyone could see that Prince Yong was at the end of his strength.

"Chi-Le Army headquarters, attack the north city wall!" General Hou shouted. His instinct as an excellent general told him that the outcome of the war depended on just one final blow.

Half an hour passed.

On the north wall of Dongyang City, only 400 people were left from the two thousand-household teams of Prince Yong's Guard. All the city defense equipment had been used up, and several gaps appeared in the heavy city gate. Sheng Gui, the commander of the Dongyang Guard who was in charge of directing the battle, was hit by four arrows and had a broken grappling hook on his shoulder.

"I can't stand it anymore!"

"Hurry up and ask the prince to mobilize the troops!"

Sheng Gui's mouth was bleeding and he looked like a devil. He knew that the other three city walls would not be easy either, but the palace should have a reserve force of a thousand households hidden in the arrow tower behind the wall.

A local man ran madly to the foot of the city, and saw the red-robed figure at the gap still hacking and killing, but the calmness that had seen him behead countless people with one sword at the beginning of the battle had disappeared, and instead, there was a visibly slowness.

"Your Majesty, we can't hold on to the city anymore!" the man shouted, "Commander Sheng requests support from the reserve troops."

Jiang He slashed the enemy general's personal soldiers with a single blow and said calmly, "Reserve troops, don't move."

The man's face was full of disbelief. After making sure that he heard the word "don't move", he gritted his teeth, turned around and ran towards the city.

Whoosh!
Unfortunately, Jiang He swung out the black knife and pierced him to death, then turned around and punched out, hitting two of his bodyguards, breaking their armor.

……

On the top of the city wall, Sheng Gui saw that the man had not returned yet, so he sent out two more people. After finally getting the prince's answer, he lowered his head and remained silent.

But at this moment, a vicious soldier saw that the enemies on the ladder were about to climb to the top of the city wall. He glanced left and right, and found that there was not a single piece of wood left, so he simply jumped forward, causing more than a dozen enemy soldiers to roll down from the ladder.

"Glory to the Maharaja!"

More than twenty evil soldiers followed suit and jumped down, repelling another wave of enemy attacks.

"Glory to the Maharaja!"

"You bastard, Prince Yong is your biological father!?"

Sheng Gui was stunned. Prince Yong’s guard was incredibly fierce.

The attacks continued, and there were fewer and fewer people on the city walls.

Two more evil soldiers jumped out.

Sheng Gui was confused at first, then he laughed heartily.

"If even a soldier is like this, how can I, a general, survive?"

"People of Dongyang, just build a small temple for us!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Sheng Gui vomited blood several times, and using his hands and feet, he followed a vicious soldier and rushed out of the city wall.

The evil soldier caught a glimpse of Sheng Gui from the corner of his eye and couldn't help but blink in surprise. A hint of recognition appeared in his eyes and he raised his thumb.

"Glory to the Maharaja!"

Sheng Gui yelled meaningless slogans, hugged a Northern Wei soldier and rolled down the ladder, eventually falling to the ground and dying.

(End of this chapter)