Chapter 849: Arrival
Chapter 849: Arrival
The sound of drums came from all directions, making it difficult to tell the front, back, left and right.
There are actually many soldiers still in the city, but the bravest, most loyal and most tenacious ones have already died on the top of the city walls or are on the other three walls. They cannot react for a while, so most of the troops that can be brought in to block the city are rotation troops with lower combat effectiveness.
They lined up in a noisy manner, looking dizzy and panic-stricken.
The clan leaders were angry and anxious, and they cursed loudly, but their curses were empty and did not help the current situation at all. The reason was that even they did not understand infantry combat very well.
How to deploy troops? How to coordinate with each other? Who attacks? Who covers? How to organize groups? And so on.
They only understand the general idea, and the lower the level, the less they understand.
War requires more than just the commander-in-chief's knowledge; a strong execution team is also needed. This is the importance of veterans and grassroots officers.
As soon as the two sides met each other, the Xianbei people fell into chaos.
Some were forming a battle array, some were charging forward with sheer courage, and some were planning to charge straight ahead but heard the noble's scolding, and for a moment they were caught in a dilemma and stood there at a loss.
On the other hand, the Silver Spear Army was actually in chaos when they rushed down, but after seeing the enemy from afar, an officer with a recognition flag on his back immediately rushed to the front and shouted loudly.
More than twenty sword and shield warriors stood out from the crowd and gathered behind him.
As they rushed forward, others dodged quickly, trying not to hinder their movement.
Because they were in a siege state, most people were holding bows and short weapons. At this time, an officer decisively ordered to abandon swords and shields, picked up some long spears left by the Xianbei people, and gathered behind the sword and shield soldiers.
Those who picked up the spears might not all be the soldiers led by this person, but it doesn't matter now. Just recognize the flag and follow him with the spear in hand, and then return to the army after the battle.
The archers were originally rushing downwards, but now they were retreating instead of advancing. Without any orders from the officers, they each looked for a place with higher terrain and a wide view and fired freely.
There were also dozens of people following a team leader, drawing their bows and arrows on the sloping horse trail, ready to shoot in unison.
In just a brief encounter, the qualities of a veteran soldier were revealed.
Grassroots officers have a strong ability to read the battlefield and can respond quickly.
The veterans are very experienced. They know how to cooperate with just a gesture from their superiors and a look from their comrades.
Most importantly, they were full-time warriors, and their training was very strict and rigorous, and many scenarios were rehearsed in advance. For example, Shao Xun had given the Silver Spear Army a topic in Yiyang, "The bandit cavalry came from behind," and asked them to practice how to deal with it.
The team, which had been painstakingly built up over twenty years and had been through three battles, had high morale and had already opened up a clear gap between itself and the infantry of other forces of this era, although the level of the enemy's infantry was also constantly improving.
"Shoot!" The team leader, who was carrying the beast flag on his back, blew the bone whistle he had prepared.
The sound of bowstrings vibrating came one after another.
A volley of arrows flew through the air and landed among the crowd of enemy soldiers thirty or forty steps away.
The team leader didn't even look behind him and blew the whistle again.
Sure enough, his soldiers quickly prepared the second arrow, and without any pause, fired another volley.
The team owner continued to blow.
In fact, the archers no longer need to obey orders. They have already established a rhythm and will even spontaneously adjust the direction of their shooting to cover crowded areas as much as possible.
Individual archers standing or crouching on high places aimed at valuable targets, held their breath, and shot repeatedly.
Looking down from a high place, the enemy troops seemed to be like grass and trees ravaged by a strong wind. They fell down in unison, row after row, and could not stand at all.
"Kill!" The sword and shield soldiers shouted in unison and advanced in a wall formation.
"Kill!" the spearman shouted, and the sharp spear tip extended from the side of the sword and shield man.
"Kill!" A group of Xianbei people who still had some courage rushed up.
"Bang! Bang!" sounds rang out continuously, which was the sound of weapons and shields colliding.
The spear thrust out like lightning, and the muscular skills honed by thousands of times sent the sharp spear tip to the neck, lower abdomen, face, thighs and other parts, although most of these Xianbei people were not wearing armor.
The sword and shield soldiers took advantage of the situation and stepped forward, slashing down diagonally with their ring-handled swords.
Screams continued to ring out, and the air was filled with a strong smell of blood.
The shadows in the corners where the sun could not reach had almost become a dark red hell of flesh and blood.
The rustling sound of footsteps moving forward.
The military boots stepped into the blood, making a "clacking" sound.
When the armor plates and instruments collided, a series of "ding-dong-dong" sounds were heard.
As he breathed heavily, the sounds of knives and guns stabbing into flesh were endless.
The sky was filled with blood and the ground was littered with corpses.
The Silver Spear Army's line of troops was still advancing steadily forward.
On the south city wall, more and more soldiers poured in. Some of them had already rushed towards the city gate and began to clear out the debris that was blocking the gate.
The drums beat incessantly and the horns blew continuously.
The soldiers of the Silver Spear Left Camp had already rushed to the center of Pingcheng. They encountered several enemy forces on the way, and all of them were defeated at the first blow.
******
In a house in the north of Pingcheng City, Tuoba Heli sat in front of the bed, sighing.
Mother Qi is already terminally ill and is barely breathing.
Especially the day before yesterday, people outside the city shouted in unison: "The Shihai clan has raised 17 tribes, big and small, and offered Dongmugen Mountain as a surrender."
After hearing the news, He Li still couldn't believe it, but his mother looked gloomy and actually believed it - maybe, this is true?
From then on, my mother's condition took a turn for the worse. In just two days, she became comatose and was close to death.
Tuoba Heli was extremely anxious and came to visit his mother in her room every day, hoping that her condition would improve and giving her advice.
There were nobles in the city who advised him to flee early and go to Dongmugen Mountain to gather the remaining people so that he could still fight. Tuoba Heli thought it made sense, but without his mother's permission, he remained vague and did not dare to make a decision, so that many nobles were so angry that they left at night and did not play with him anymore.
He Li felt some regret and reflection, but after so many years, many habits had been ingrained in his bones. When he was a child, if he did something wrong, he would face severe reprimands and even punishments from his mother.
Even if his father did something inappropriate, his mother would point it out mercilessly. But his father had conquered the northern desert and pacified Hexi, what a prestigious reputation he had. He would not take his mother's words to heart, nor would he really get angry, because he had enough confidence.
But He Li was not like that. He had no merit, no prestige, no fame, and a cowardly character. He was used to following his mother's orders and did not even dare to make decisions on trivial matters. As a result, he was despised by foreign officials and could not gain their true support. He was even worse than his younger brother He Na.
Hena seemed to have left, and he ran out of the north gate, running for his life...
He Li was trapped in the city, taking care of his seriously ill mother, and he didn't know where to go.
From time to time, confidants and dignitaries would peek in from outside the door, seeming to want to say something but stopping themselves from speaking.
Tuoba Heli wanted to say something but stopped himself, but his mother had already fallen into a coma. He wanted to abandon her, but he couldn't bear it. In the end, he just lowered his head and remained silent.
He had been a coward all his life, had been scolded by his mother all his life, and in the end he had to accompany her to death.
Tuoba Heli just felt that his life seemed incomplete.
But it doesn’t matter. We are all going to die, so why talk about this?
He was surprisingly calm for a moment.
The attendants and guards in the courtyard looked at each other and lowered their heads.
It's too late to take He Li out now.
The streets were chaotic and noisy, and the noise was getting closer and closer to where they were. There seemed to be people everywhere. Even if they could get rid of the pursuit for a while, they would not be able to escape from the city.
If they escape from this city, there will surely be a large number of cavalry patrolling outside, waiting to catch them.
At this point, the only thing left is death. Nothing in the world is obtained for free. The day you start enjoying it, you must be prepared to repay it with death.
The noise outside grew louder.
Some guards had already climbed up the ladder and were drawing their bows and arrows.
Others used miscellaneous items to prop up the gate and guard it tightly.
More people put on armor and held swords, silently preparing for the final battle.
"Boom!" There was a loud crash outside the door.
The archer leaned out from the ladder and fired continuously. Shouts, curses, and screams suddenly rang out.
After a while, a more violent rain of arrows came in retaliation. Several archers were accidentally hit by arrows and fell down the ladder.
Another group of people climbed up and fearlessly exchanged fire with the Silver Spear Army outside the courtyard. Both sides suffered casualties and the scene was extremely tragic.
"Boom!" A large amount of dust fell on the gate tower, and the door bolt seemed to be unable to bear the weight.
A group of servants rushed forward and held on with gritted teeth.
"Boom! Boom!" The sound of collision continued.
Commands, shouts, and footsteps continued to be heard, as if countless soldiers were rushing towards this side, surrounding the entire yard.
Soon, a puff of smoke came from the crack in the door.
"The Jin people set fire!" someone shouted.
The fire was very fierce and burned very quickly. Under the strong wind, flames came in through the cracks in the door or the damaged door panels.
There were continuous "swish" sounds. It was someone outside the door using an iron spear to pierce the door panel that was engulfed by fire.
"Puff!" A spear pierced through and pierced the lower abdomen of a slave.
The servants were a little panicked, but under the pressure of the guards, no one dared to flee. It was not until the entire gate and even the gatehouse were engulfed in flames that they shouted and fled in all directions.
No one stopped them because the Jin army had already climbed to the top of the wall at some point.
Arrows were fired continuously in the yard, and the five or six silver spearmen who showed up first were all shot in the face, and fell down with screams.
The second group of people came up with large shields, and two or three more were shot to death by extremely accurate and tricky arrows.
But they did not retreat. Some of them began to place ladders into the yard, preparing to go in and fight, despite suffering casualties.
"Someone broke into the backyard!" Someone rushed over, panting.
No one paid any attention to him.
We are all going to die anyway, so why bother? Before dying, it would be more appropriate to drag a few more of Shao Bing's elite soldiers to take the blame.
"Boom!" The door finally couldn't bear the weight and fell down.
The person behind the door was unable to dodge and flames broke out on his body. He screamed and ran wildly in the yard.
"Puff!" The sergeant of the Silver Spear Army who landed first, holding a long axe in his hand, chopped a fire man to the ground, and then rushed towards the guards without hesitation.
Outside the gate, countless soldiers shouted and rushed forward through the fire.
The last Tuoba guards bravely went forward and fought with the Silver Spear Army. But they were too few in number, and soon they melted away bit by bit like ice and snow under the scorching sun.
The Jin soldiers stepped over the corpses and rushed forward.
They searched every room one by one, making sure not to let any enemy go.
The room of Tuoba Heli and his mother was soon found.
As soon as He Li stood up, several ring-handled swords were placed on his shoulders.
Qi on the sickbed seemed to raise his eyelids slightly, but after a moment, his breathing gradually stopped and he was already dead.
The southern capital of Dai State thus fell into the hands of the Jin army on July 15th of the eighth year of Shengui.
(End of this chapter)