Chapter 10: Weizhou (5) Since the start of the war, Commander-in-Chief Luo ShaoWei of the Weibo Military had been staying within the yamen of the military headquarters and refused to come out.

  Although the commander's flag remained high on the city gate tower, he had never shown his face.

  On the city wall, commanding the army to defend the city was Wei Bo Jun's internal commander, Huangfu Jiong. At this moment, he stood on the east city gate tower, staring at the Lulong Army approaching the earthen city, while loudly issuing order after order.

  Whether Da Shuai Luo Shaowei personally climbed the city wall to direct the battle, Huangfu Jun didn't care at all. This battle was not Luo Shaowei's, but that of all the Weibo army soldiers.

  Since the An Shi Rebellion, Weibo Town has been in the hands of Weibo military generals for over a hundred years. The prestige of Weibo's elite soldiers shook the world, achieving unparalleled fame. The phrase "The Son of Heaven in Chang'an, the Elite Soldiers of Wei Prefecture" has always been a proud motto passed down through generations of Weibo military generals.

  Innumerable Wei Bo warriors thrived on this land, passing down their military exploits from generation to generation. Everyone protected and defended this homeland, also deeply rooted here at the same time.

  Since the news of Lu Longjun's massacre in Bei State arrived, the Weibo soldiers immediately threw away their disdain and contempt for the new commander Luo Shaowei, stopped the disputes and contradictions between various families, and resolutely returned to Wei State this city with countless brothers' families and relatives, vowing to live or die together.

  Do you want to take advantage of the chaos in Weibo? You Lu Long army miscalculated! The six states of Weibo are not under the command of old general Luo Hongxin, nor are they under the command of young and inexperienced Luo Shaowei. Weibo belongs to the people of Weibo, it belongs to the soldiers of Weibo! On the city wall of Dongcheng, thousands of elite soldiers have been assembled, including 300 silver spearmen who have already climbed up, and another thousand soldiers and 500 silver spearmen are waiting below, ready to fight at any moment.

  This was already the last force in Weizhou City that could be mobilized to participate in the defense of the East City.

  After several months of hard fighting, while inflicting heavy casualties on the Lu Long army, the Weibo army also suffered heavy losses. Of the original 8,000 soldiers, fewer than 5,000 were now able to stand.

  Ludragon's strategy of the earthen city was indeed formidable. Once the enemy climbed onto the city wall, the two armies would face each other and engage in a fierce battle, which would be a great test for the thin forces of the Weibo army.

  It can be said that now is the critical moment of life and death for Weizhou City.

  Huangfu Jun watched as the earthen city walls gradually approached the city gate, watching as the Lu Long army soldiers put down their wooden boards and then shouted as they charged into the city wall, watching the sudden outbreak of chaos on the city gate, suddenly remembering his eldest son who had just turned one year old yesterday.

  His home was in the city, but since the outbreak of the Wei State war, he had been staying on the city wall and had no time to go home.

  Even the naming of the child after his first birthday was done by him yesterday evening, while observing the progress of the construction of the earth city by the Lu Long army on the city wall, and hastily writing it down.

  On a messy sheet of paper, he hastily wrote a single character "Hui", which was what came to him after seeing the sun set.

  Thinking of his own children, Huangfu Jiong's heart warmed up, and he suddenly shouted loudly: "One step back is a family member! Absolutely cannot retreat half a step! I am the Weibo army——" The thousands of Weibo soldiers on the city wall raised their arms and shouted: "——Majestic!" While shouting, they rushed towards the place where the Lulong army was climbing the city.

  Watching Wei Bo's army and Lu Long's soldiers fighting fiercely on the city wall, Ge Congzhou, a general of Xuanwu Army, asked He Delun beside him: "How is it?" "Brave, indeed, but lacking in tactics. If it were a field battle, neither would be a match for our Xuanwu Army!" He Delun shook his head and said.

  Ge Congzhou sighed: "Yes... but these soldiers are indeed good soldiers... Hebei produces brave warriors, and its reputation is not in vain!" He Delun nodded: "I heard that the soldiers who attacked the city with the Lulong Army were newly recruited strong men. Just talking about their bravery, they are no worse than the old soldiers who have been in the Central Plains for many years. Now that I've seen the style of the elite soldiers of both armies, I know what real brave warriors are like."

  "If I had such brave warriors in the Xuanwu Army, with a bit of training, wouldn't they be like adding wings to a tiger?" Ge Congzhou stared intently at the intense battle on the city wall and didn't respond to this.

  The king's intention in risking multiple battles to reinforce Wei Bo in the north was still to win over and subdue Hebei. According to the king's instructions, not only should they defend Weizhou, but also strive to deepen the emotional bond between the Weibo army and the Xuanwu army. After experiencing these days of siege warfare, the two men understood even more clearly what the king wanted most.

  The fierce battle has been going on for half a watch, and the Lu Long army and the Wei Bo army are both determined to fight to the death, neither side giving an inch. The two sides are locked in a fierce struggle, shouting and fighting with abandon, forgetting their lives. The city walls and towers are already piled high with corpses, and the battle is extremely intense.

  If both sides continue to fight like this, the thinly manned Weibo army will surely not be able to hold on.

  Ge Congzhou and He Delun could no longer sit still, rushing to the front of Wei Bojun's commander-in-chief Huangfu Jiong to request battle.

  After receiving an urgent letter from Zhu Quanzhong, the king of Dongping Prefecture, Ge Congzhou did not dare to slack off. Without waiting for all his troops in Xiangzhou to assemble, he hastily led half of them to reinforce Wei Prefecture. On the way, he met He Delun who was also rushing there.

  The two armies joined forces and finally entered Wei State before the Lu Long army besieged the city.

  After a month of bitter fighting, the 3,000 Xiangzhou soldiers and 2,000 Huazhou soldiers now have only 3,000 people left, all gathered at the North Gate, ready to leave the city at any time according to yesterday's military meeting arrangements.

  Huangfu Jiong had always been skeptical of the reinforcements from the Bian army's two great generals, and he was extremely worried that while they were keeping the wolf out of the front gate, a tiger would enter through the back gate.

  But over the past few days, Ge Congzhou and He Delun's disregard for casualties during the defense of the city and their diligent completion of tasks had gradually alleviated his worries. Now, seeing them volunteer to go out of the city to fight and not shirk responsibility, he was even more grateful in his heart.

  Before leaving, Ge Congzhou ordered Huangfu Jun to lock the city gate after he left the city, and Huangfu Jun was taken aback.

  Ge Congzhou smiled on Monday and said, "This time we go to war, if we don't win, we'll die. If we can't destroy the earthen city and drive back the enemy army, we will all die in battle outside the city."

  Also, please let Mingde brother collect the bodies for two people!" Mingde is the courtesy name of Huangfu Jiong. Ge Congzhou addressed Huangfu Jiong by his courtesy name, indicating that from now on he would treat Huangfu Jiong as a close friend.

  This expedition was proposed by Ge from the military council yesterday, and he also took on this almost suicidal suggestion without hesitation. He De Lun also followed generously, and the two of them rode to the North Gate together.

  Ge Zhongzhou led out more than 500 elite cavalrymen who were willing to die, ordering the soldiers guarding the city gate to move away the large stones blocking the north gate, and then they charged out.

  As the battle was crucial at the east gate, there were only a small number of Lulong army scouts on guard outside the north gate. Therefore, after leaving the gate, there was no obstruction, and the 500 cavalrymen went around the city to the east gate.

  He led the remaining 2,000 infantry out of the city in an orderly manner and followed Ge Congzhou's horse hoof prints to reinforce.

  The Bianjun left the city and the gate was closed again with a giant stone seal.

  Lu Longjun saw the situation and immediately reported to Liu Ren'gong, who was commanding the battle outside the east city. However, it was too late, and before Liu Ren'gong could even react, a large group of Bian army cavalry had already charged over.

  Li Chengzhong's vanguard was stationed outside the east city, waiting for orders. The soldiers sat on the ground according to their unit formations, watching the battle on the city wall and preparing to charge at any moment.

  Just as everyone was watching with bated breath, suddenly the sound of countless horseshoes echoed from the northwest, and the ground shook continuously.

  As I looked back, dust and smoke rose, a group of cavalrymen came over like they were descending from the sky.

  Qian's camp was at the forefront of the battle, and he was immediately swept up in it.

  Many people hadn't even had time to get up before they were trampled into pulp by cavalry on horseback.

  Li Chengzhong rolled to the side in a flurry, dodging a warhorse charging towards him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of blue light approaching and hastily raised his knife to block it. He felt a massive shockwave run through the hilt of his knife, causing it to fly out of his hand, and was sent flying far away by the enormous impact force.

  He didn't even think about it and just shrunk his neck, feeling a strong gust of wind blowing from behind his head.

  Before he had time to think, he made use of the skill of crawling forward through barbed wire in his unit and quickly climbed out from under the horse's hooves.

  As these cavalry rushed over, he was still in a state of shock, and white foam immediately covered the tip of his nose.

  At this moment, the military formation had already collapsed in disarray, with dozens of corpses lying on the ground where they had just been sitting. The rest of the people were crying and shouting as they fled in all directions, completely unable to distinguish east from west, like headless flies crashing about wildly.

  Moreover, several hundred more were chased by cavalry and rushed into the central army formation.

  In the midst of chaos, Li Chengzhong caught a glimpse of Jiang Miao's figure running past him, and with one swift motion, he tackled Jiang Miao to the ground, grabbing his collar and shaking him vigorously. Only then did Jiang Miao calm down, but his face was deathly pale as he stuttered, unable to speak.

  Li Chengzhong shouted loudly and pulled up Jiang Miao, telling him to follow himself, searching for the long gun in all directions.

  He vaguely remembered an American blockbuster he had seen before, in which the Scottish militia used long spears to hold off the English cavalry's attack.

  Although the situation is different, at least using a long-handled weapon can keep the cavalry's sabers farther away from oneself.

  Among the knives, shields, swords and bows on the ground, there were several wooden spears lying horizontally. Li Chengzhong pulled Jiang Miao over to pick them up and handed one of them to Jiang Miao.

  At this moment, Li Chengzhong saw Wang Dalang rushing past him from his side, heading towards the city wall. He hastily pulled Wang Dalang back.

  Wang Dalang's mouth was agape, his eyes filled with terror, and he had become so flustered that he couldn't tell which direction to go. After being stopped by Li Chengzhong, he exclaimed in a tearful voice: "It's all over! The commander is dead, beheaded!" When cavalry charges at defenseless infantry, the shock and fear brought about by their overwhelming momentum is extremely terrifying. The Jianzuoying camp collapsed instantly under such an impact, and what collapsed was not only the military formation but also the morale and courage of the soldiers.

  If it weren't for Li Chengzhong's three years of regular military training in the army and watching countless ancient war movies, he might not be calmer than Jiang Miao and Wang Dalang at this moment.

  In the chaos, Zhao Dahu saw Li Chengzhong and his three men gathering together, and he rushed over to them, rolling and crawling. He took the wooden spear handed over by Li Chengzhong, and the four of them shouldered each other in the chaotic army, rushing outwards.

  At this time, the Central Army's formation was also dispersed, and countless Lulong soldiers were rushing around under the city, then being chased back and forth by the Bianjun cavalry.

  As they saw the cavalry regiment turn around and charge again, Zhao Da turned to run, but was stopped by Li Chengzhong. The four of them squeezed into a row, letting the cavalry regiment pass in front of them, holding their guns at the hundreds of cavalrymen rushing past their faces.

  Turning back to face the pursuing cavalry with one's back is extremely foolish, how could Li Chengzhong not understand this simple truth? The countless eyes of the cavalry turned towards the four people standing aside, and the four people looked at each other in one place, but did not stop, continuing forward.

  At this moment, Li Chengzhong felt that time was passing particularly slowly. He and the eyes of a pair of Bian army cavalrymen met, seeing wooden, cold, astonished, puzzled and other emotions. Then this scene suddenly accelerated, he saw the last horse hoof of the cavalry battalion touching the body of a Lu Longjun soldier, stopping for a moment... Li Chengzhong shouted loudly: "Kill!" With his spear thrusting towards the waist of that cavalryman, Jiang Miao, Wang Daling and Zhao Dasan beside him heard Li Chengzhong's shout and also sent out their wooden spears.

  The cavalryman was instantly stabbed down from his horseback by four wooden spears, but one leg still hung on the stirrup and was dragged away by the running horse, with the wooden spear that Jiang Miao had no time to retrieve still stuck in his body.

  Just a moment ago, the cavalry was still so mighty and powerful, but now they're all dead? The huge contrast made Jiang Miao and the other two unable to accept it, and they stared foolishly at Li Chengzhong.

  Li Chengzhong didn't have time to explain the tactical theories about attacking the enemy's weak points from the side, or how cavalry had no advantage against infantry formations, and so on. He himself only knew and understood them at a superficial level, without having delved deeper into research. It would be tedious to talk about, and it was basically impossible for someone to understand in a short amount of time.

  At least this time, the successful experience of killing a lone cavalryman restored some confidence to Jiang Miao and the other two people. They closely followed Li Chengzhong's side and ran towards the Ludang Army's large camp outside the battlefield.

  An organized withdrawal is called a retreat, an unorganized escape is called a rout. The difference between the two is that the former may preserve life, while the latter may cost lives.

  So Li Chengzhong and three others successfully left the battlefield when the infantry of Bianjun arrived under the city, and safely returned to the main camp of Lulong Army.

  Along the way, he also rounded up more than a dozen familiar brothers from Yudu.

  Some were surrounded by Bianjun cavalry and killed, but were rescued after Li Chengzhong led his men in a gun-wielding charge.