Chapter 64: Bloody Battle on the City Walls

  Liaodong Chengtou, the two armies fought hard to part ways, although the Sui army suffered heavy casualties, but behind them were still rows of neat phalanxes, all of which were well-trained and elite infantry.

  The infantry attacking the city below, in groups, rushed up, and when casualties were too heavy, they retreated to rest and reorganize, replacing them with a brand new group. The wounded soldiers who retreated were reassigned according to their physical condition, the seriously injured were sent to the infirmary, the lightly injured were bandaged and reorganized into a team, responsible for external line patrols and other tasks.

  Those who were not wounded would reorganize and form new squares, rest for a while, and then redeploy in formation under the city to prepare for another assault. For the Sui army, with their current scale of attack, they could continue uninterrupted.

  Chen Kefu's Broken Army Camp was still arrayed on the west side, but by now everyone had rested for a while and were all fully armed and mounted on their warhorses watching the battle. Although the battlefield was intense with both sides fighting to the death, the one million cavalrymen of the Broken Army Camp had already been watching this play for almost a day.

  In the past, when Chen Kefu was fighting wars, he was always in the midst of it, and apart from desperately trying to survive, he could be said to have been in a state of complete focus. However, as for today's battle, this is his first time participating in one like this, where he sits on horseback leisurely watching both sides slaughter each other.

  There is no more tension, no more sense of oppression. After the initial period of adaptation, Chen Kefu now completely regards this war as a 3D epic war movie, which is even more exciting than watching Hollywood blockbusters before he crossed over. While watching, he can also discuss with Li Benlei and others beside him about the tactical characteristics and gains and losses of both sides in the siege warfare.

  For the soldiers of this era, they didn't have military schools or teachers to instruct them. The battlefield was their best school and the enemy was their best teacher. Under Chen Kefu's deliberate guidance, this war had become a case study class for the officers in the broken army camp.

  Each of the generals spoke in turn, expressing their opinions and summarizing the pros and cons. Watching the enthusiastic debate among the officers, Chen Kefu couldn't help but smile to himself. He had always planned to start a military training class, but he hadn't figured out the specific methods and models yet. In this era, with most generals who could barely recognize a few characters, it was estimated that talking about military theory would have no effect at all. However, today's situation reinforced an idea in his mind: while they might not understand theory, if some classic battle examples were presented for analysis and discussion like today, it would undoubtedly be very effective.

  These officers, for a different opinion, can argue with red faces and ears, in order to prove their point of view, they even rack their brains to find all sorts of reasons. For Chen Kefu, as long as they are willing to use their brains, that is good students. As long as you guide this behavior of theirs and make it a habit for them, then these people will be able to take a big step towards becoming a qualified general.

  When Qin Qiong and others jumped onto the city head, and when he finally beheaded that person with a long roar, all the officers in the broken army camp also stopped discussing and focused on this brave warrior whose face could not be seen clearly.

  "Wow, who is this guy? He's really got guts! I like people like that. It's not just about talking, you have to back it up with action!" Lu Shide said loudly, glancing at Shen Guang with a hint of competitiveness in his eyes. Although the two had made amends, they still enjoyed teasing each other from time to time. Earlier, during their discussion, Shen Guang and Lu Shide were complete opposites, with one trying to outdo the other in coming up with reasons to support their argument. However, despite Lu Shide's impressive drinking abilities, he was no match for Shen Guang when it came to verbal sparring, having spent many years honing his skills in Chang'an City. After arguing for half a day, Lu Shide hadn't managed to win even once.

  Li Benlei and others also hurriedly said, "This man is indeed brave and fierce. Taking the enemy's head in a million troops is really a great boost to our military morale! It's just that it's too far away, can't see who it is."

  Shen Guang smiled and looked at the city wall, "I think those people are from that batch of chariots, this time it's our Left Guard Mansion who is in charge of the chariots and the Eight-Wheeled Flying Tower. These are all brave warriors, last time I, Old Shen, also followed the chariots to attack the city, and finally used this trick, these people are clearly learning from me. However, they are indeed heroic, the one million brave warriors by the Emperor's side are all selected from the bravest soldiers of each army, it's not surprising that they can perform like this." After finishing speaking, he also turned his head to look at Lu Shi Deeply.

  Chen Kefu sat on his horse for half a day, but still couldn't get a clear look at the other person's appearance. When he heard that it was Xiangguo, he hurriedly smiled and said to Shen Guang, "This Xiangguo is also one of our people from the Left Guard Mansion. Why don't you go find this brave warrior tomorrow and see if we can transfer him to our Broken Army Camp? If he's willing to come, I'll ask His Majesty to give him a sixth-rank position. With his bravery, his horse-riding skills must be excellent too."

  For Chen Kefu, he has already started preparing for future events. Regardless of whether this person is a talented general or just a hardworking one, he wants to recruit him. Even if he's only a hardworking general, it would be suitable to have him stay in the Broken Army Camp for now and help lead infantry when opportunities arise later. The current leaders of the Broken Army Camp are all cavalry generals, and Chen Kefu also hopes to attract more talented individuals. Although the Sui Dynasty has already begun to fall into chaos, when it comes to the strongest military leaders of the Great Sui, one must still consider the Sui army. These are all regular army personnel, not like those half-baked rebels who rose up from nowhere.

  Shen Guang nodded, "I'll try tomorrow, but he performed so well today, I'm afraid Your Majesty has also seen it. If Your Majesty takes a liking to him, we wouldn't dare compete with you for his services."

  Chen Kefu shook his head and said, "What's wrong with your brain? What does it matter if His Majesty has taken a liking to him? We are the Imperial Guard. Even if we bring him back to our Broken Army Camp, we will still be protecting His Majesty. Of course, unless His Majesty really likes him and grants him a high-ranking official position of second or third rank, then this small temple in our Broken Army Camp would indeed not be able to accommodate him."

  Everyone burst out laughing. Although the man on the city wall showed great bravery, it was impossible for the Emperor to grant him a high-ranking official position of the second or third rank. Granting him a sixth or fifth rank was still possible, after all, the Emperor's personal reward couldn't be judged by ordinary logic.

  "Alright, I'll go try tomorrow then. As for Xi Guo's side, I'm still more familiar with the mix there." Shen Guang said.

  Qin Qiong on the city wall did not know that his previous actions had already been seen by everyone, although he killed a Liao general and greatly boosted the morale of the soldiers. However, what followed was a large army of Goguryeo people, and Gao Jianwu also saw the situation here, seeing that his brave and fierce Ke Shaogong had been beheaded, he immediately saw the ferocity of this group of Sui people.

  Gao Jianwu gave the order, and urgently mobilized a team of 200 elite soldiers who were resting below. Two hundred people weren't many, but Gao Jianwu couldn't muster more than that either. The Sui army's offensive was too fierce, and everywhere they were barely holding on. Although he still had 3,000 reserve troops in his hands, this was already his last resort, apart from the 3,000 elite troops assigned to Gao Ming. However, those couldn't be moved; they were the vanguard for tonight's sortie out of the city. Without a single elite cavalry unit, they wouldn't be able to break through the Sui army's encirclement.

  There are still several hours before the agreed-upon breakout time, and this reserve team of three thousand people is his last guarantee to hold on for these few hours. Unless absolutely necessary, he would not be sent out.

  They attacked the city for half a day in the morning, and after Qin Qiong and others climbed to the top of the city wall in the afternoon, they had not rested. The continuous high-intensity close combat was quickly consuming their physical strength, fortunately they held this position on the city wall, and many soldiers had already climbed up to the city wall through cloud ladders and flying buildings. As long as they could hold on for a while, more and more Sui army would be able to climb onto the city wall, and at that time, even if the Goguryeo people wanted to stop them, they wouldn't be able to.

  Just thinking that he might be one of the first soldiers to break into Liaodong City, he was excited. The first batch of soldiers who broke into the city had always been able to gain great merit and heavy rewards. Especially in such a big battle, and with the emperor himself commanding the army on the front line. Usually, making achievements in war might lead to one level promotion, but now with this emperor, it was possible to double that, hadn't they seen the examples of Chen Kefu and Shen Guang?

  "Liao dog's archer, raise your shield!"

  Qin Qiong was fantasizing about how many rewards he would receive for his military achievements this time, while holding a long spear and charging forward. Suddenly, the loud voice of Wang Da Niu came from behind, and Qin Qiong instinctively rolled on the ground, grabbing a corpse to shield himself in front. Although he didn't see the Liao people's archers, after two years in the army, Qin Qiong knew that sometimes if you reacted a little slower, you would pay with your life.

  Qin Qiong's reaction saved his life, as the two hundred Liaoren who rushed up each held a bow and shot arrows at the Sui army defending that section of the city wall. At this time, there were still many Liaoren fighting with the Sui soldiers. However, the new Liaoren did not hesitate, coming up to draw their bows and shoot arrows, which not only caught the Liaoren off guard but also surprised many Sui soldiers, who did not expect the Liaoren to launch such a simultaneous attack, even though they saw them, thinking that the Liaoren in the melee would not shoot like this.

  In an instant, a dozen or so Wei soldiers were pierced by arrows and fell to the ground with a look of unwillingness. The body of the Liao soldier that Qin Qiong used as a shield was also full of arrows. After the rain of arrows from the Liao people passed, Qin Qiong picked up a long spear from the ground and threw it at the group of Liao soldiers. Carrying Qin Qiong's anger, the long spear pierced through two Goguryeo soldiers in an instant.

  Qin Qiong threw out the first long spear, and those Sui soldiers who had escaped the hail of arrows also began to pick up their weapons and throw them over. Whether it was a long spear, a long halberd, even a horizontal sword, a curved knife, or an axe, they all became the Sui army's long-range weapons, especially the axes, which were incredibly powerful. The Sui army's counterattack immediately caused more casualties than the Liao people's arrow rain.

  Chaos erupts again, soldiers on both sides pick up their weapons and rush together in a frenzy of killing!