NFBE Chapter 215: Surprise Attack and Seize the City
Chapter 215: Surprise Attack and Seize the City
The sun, which had been obscured by clouds for a whole day, struggled to reveal its true appearance in the evening. After shining brightly for a moment like a flash in the pan, it sank down again in loneliness.
The elite Mo Yun cavalrymen who had rested at the exit of the valley until nightfall, got up and mounted their horses after receiving the order to march. They came to the wide and flat official road in the night, galloped on their horses, and headed straight for Shuozhou City.
After being jolted on horseback for half the night, Luo Li felt that her body was about to freeze. The human-shaped heater of the King of Qin on her back was no longer able to provide much warmth. In this era without cars with heated air, the fastest way to march was to ride a horse. Even though the jolting made her stomach and lungs ache, she could only grit her teeth and persevere.
Siyu was also hugged by Yun Yi and rode on a horse. She was no longer shy at the beginning. She enjoyed the feeling of being protected by her lover. Anyway, with the young lady and His Royal Highness the King of Qin in front as role models, her companions would not just laugh at her secretly.
Pang Ying and Mulan'er rode their horses at full speed. The biting cold wind was biting, scraping their skin outside the masks like a knife. Their hands and feet, wearing cotton gloves and woolen boots, were frozen stiff, but their hearts were filled with warmth and pride.
Of course they are proud. The results of their hard training have been tested at this moment. Being able to ride on horseback at night with the world-famous Mo Yun cavalry and not fall behind is a matter of pride for every female soldier in the Big Foot Women's Corps.
In the second half of the night, the marching team, led by Meng Liang, turned from the flat and wide road into a rugged and difficult path in a valley, and the marching speed slowed down.
After walking for more than an hour on the narrow and rugged mountain road, an order came from the front: "Slow down, stop, dismount and rest."
The concise military order was whispered one by one, and the Mo Yun cavalry soldiers dismounted and rested on the spot.
The soldiers moved their frozen hands and feet, fed their horses the fine feed they had carried, and then sat on the ground, silently gnawing on the cold dry food and jerky.
They were very satisfied with the meal. The fried instant noodles produced in the princess's workshop were fragrant and crispy even though they were frozen. They were a hundred times more delicious than the hard noodles they had eaten during the march. When combined with the spicy, sweet and salty meat jerky, they were so easy to swallow.
Luo Li had eaten too much instant noodles in her previous life because she was too diligent. She felt sick every time she smelled them. She didn't want to taste the delicious instant noodles in the eyes of the soldiers. She chewed the hard noodles and meat, chewed them in her mouth, swallowed them hard, and drank a sip of the water that had become cold even though it was warm in her arms. One more bite would ensure that her body would gain one more calorie.
King Qin took the water bag from Luo Li and handed her the other water bag that he had kept warm in his arms. "The water is not so cold now. Have a few more sips."
Luo Li smiled, her eyes sparkling in the night. She took it and drank a few sips in succession. The water, warmed by his body and no longer cold, did not contract in her stomach due to the cold, and a warm current flowed through her heart.
More than half an hour later, the sky was bright. Yun Yi, along with eighteen disguised shadow guards, drove dozens of horses loaded with goods and walked out of the valley.
About a quarter of an hour later, "Mount your horses! Form your troops and prepare to charge!" Qin Wang Zhao Defang gave the order. Upon hearing the order, the elite Moyun cavalry quickly mounted their horses, formed their charge formation, and prepared to fight.
Xiao Bao, the defender of Shuozhou City, received a military order from the Privy Councilor Yelu Xizhen a few days ago, saying that the Song Army's Western Route Army of the Northern Expedition had arrived in Daizhou, asking him to be on high alert. If Shuozhou City could not be defended, he could seize the opportunity, abandon the city and flee to preserve his strength.
Xiao Bao was also a capable general. After receiving the military order from the commander-in-chief Yelu Xizhen, he stood in front of the map and thought for half the night, and finally realized the true meaning of the grand marshal's strategy and tactics.
The Song army assembled two armies of 200,000 men and marched fiercely, but in this icy and snowy season, it was difficult for logistics to keep up with the Liao army's attack and plunder. The Grand Marshal wanted to avoid the enemy's sharp edge, reduce the loss of troops, lure the enemy deep into the country, and when the battle line was stretched out and the Song army's forces were weak, the head and tail could not take care of each other, and then gather all the strength of the Liao army to fight a war of annihilation against the Song army!
Xiao Bao strongly agreed with the Grand Marshal's strategic ideas, but as a general, he had his own pride.
Shuozhou City is in my hands, and I have to defend it for at least half a month. The defenders have a great advantage in the battle for the city, and the casualties between the defenders and the attackers are very high. Even if I, Xiao Bao, cannot defend Shuozhou City and have to retreat, I will make the Song army pay a huge price.
After Xiao Bao strengthened the city's defenses, he would personally patrol the city three times a day, ordering the soldiers to stay alert and be ready to fight the enemy at any time. He also ordered the gatekeepers to strictly check the people entering and leaving the city to prevent spies from the Song Dynasty from sneaking in.
However, Xiao Bao was also secretly calculating that the Song army had just arrived in Daizhou, and would need to rest for a few days before going out to seize cities and plunder land. It would take another seven or eight days to attack Huanzhou, which was the closest to Yanmen Pass.
Zhu Fang, the defender of Huanzhou, fought hard to defend the city for a few more days. Even if the Song army broke through the city, it would take half a month for the Song army to reach Shuozhou. At that time, the reinforcements from Yunzhou City also arrived in Shuozhou. The defenders and reinforcements attacked from both sides. Even if the Song army came aggressively, why would I be afraid of them?
Yun Yi and his shadow guards, wearing sheepskin coats and thick fur hats, drove pack horses loaded with goods and followed the common people who were carrying loads on their shoulders, pushing carts, or carrying goods on their shoulders, waiting in line to enter the city.
Standing at the city gate was a team of soldiers in distinctive armor, carefully checking the civilians entering the city. From their attire and morale, it could be seen that these soldiers guarding the city gate were elite soldiers from the Liao army camp in the city, replacing the auxiliary soldiers who usually guarded the city gate.
The inspection was thorough and the examination of goods was unreasonably thorough. There were sounds of beating and scolding, and the people begging for mercy after the goods were overturned and kicked, and there was a chaotic noise at the city gate.
A caravan of nineteen strong men driving dozens of horses loaded with goods attracted the attention of a gatekeeper.
"Stop!" The captain shouted loudly and walked over with four soldiers, "Stop where you are and wait for inspection!"
At this moment, the caravan was only fifty or sixty steps away from the city gate. Yun Yi winked at the two shadow guards beside him and walked quickly towards the Liao army.
"General, we are merchants selling tea from Daizhou to Xingqing Prefecture. We are passing through Shuozhou. Please give us some convenience." Yun Yi said with a smile on his face and took out a piece of silver from his arms.
The Liao army squad leader's eyes widened!
: "Don't give me that! Merchants from Daizhou? You are the spies of the Song army..." Before he could finish his words, he covered his throat, his eyes widened with fear, and fell down like a wooden stake.
Yun Yi flipped the dagger in his hand, and his figure was as swift as a ghost. Before the remaining three soldiers could shout out their terrified warnings, a cold lightning streaked across their throats. A thin red line became increasingly thicker on each soldier's neck, and blood spurted out.
Yun Yi didn't even look at the bodies falling to the ground, he leaped up and rushed towards the city gate!
The eighteen shadow guards also drew their weapons from the cargo on their horses and leapt towards a group of Liao soldiers at the city gate.
Xiao Bao, the defender of Shuozhou City, who was patrolling on the city wall, heard the commotion below. He looked down and saw that those skilled spies were rushing to seize the city gate. He was so frightened that he shouted loudly: "Close the city gate! Quick! Close the city gate!"
The eighteen shadow guards headed by Yun Yi were all highly skilled kung fu masters. When the ordinary soldiers of the Liao army encountered these killers who were as swift as ghosts, they were half a beat slow to even react to resistance. Before they could even raise their weapons, a team of thirty people guarding the city gate were wiped out.
The people entering and leaving the city were frightened by the sudden bloody massacre and they cried and screamed and fled in all directions.
The shadow guards, who cooperated with each other very well, divided into teams of four or five without Commander Yun's orders. They rushed into the city gate separately, followed the stone steps to the city walls on both sides of the gate.
"Shoot! Shoot!..." Xiao Bao on the distant city wall shouted at the top of his lungs, and ran desperately towards the top of the city gate with a dozen soldiers around him.
The soldiers standing guard on the wall finally reacted, raised their bows and arrows, and aimed at the enemies flying towards them. The shadow guards used their Qinggong to fly up, and fired the Zhuge Crossbows in their hands faster than the enemy. With screams, the bows and arrows in the hands of the Liao soldiers flew diagonally, and dozens of archers either collapsed on the wall or rolled down the wall.
Yun Yi jumped onto the city wall, killed several panicked Liao soldiers who were blocking his way to resist, and stopped Xiao Bao who was rushing towards him. He swung the Yuchang sword lent to him by the prince, and sparks flew. The sword that could cut through iron like mud cut Xiao Bao's blade into two pieces. He took another step forward, and the Yuchang sword slashed across Xiao Bao's throat!
If it was on a battlefield where two armies were fighting, it would not be so easy for Yun Yi to kill Xiao Bao on horseback.
Xiao Bao was also a fierce general of the Liao Kingdom. He had amazing arm strength and wielded a mace in his hand. He was able to maneuver freely among the thousands of horses in the army and was invincible.
It was a pity that Xiao Bao had come to the city wall for inspection today and had never thought of encountering an enemy surprise attack. He only had a saber with him, and he didn't let his personal soldiers carry the mace weighing over 100 jin. He also had no horse to ride. He was a fierce general with poor light body skills and weak close combat skills. He died in such a frustrated way under Yun Yi's sword.
As Xiao Bao's sturdy and strong body fell backwards, he seemed to hear the sound of horse hooves like thunder coming from the southeast. The complex emotions of fear, anger, humiliation, unwillingness, etc. in his eyes instantly condensed into one focus, and his heavy body fell to the ground with a bang!
Xiao Bao's dozen or so personal soldiers just ran up at this moment, and seeing the general's corpse with his eyes wide open, they rushed towards Yun Yi with roars of grief and anger.
Yun Yi leaped up and rushed forward like a tiger pouncing on a flock of sheep.
The shadow guards have taken control of this section of the city wall and the city gate. The two teams resisted the enemy troops coming from the distant city wall. The two teams picked up the bows and arrows scattered on the ground, jumped off the city wall, guarded the wide-open city gate tightly, and shot at the enemy troops who came to support them after hearing the news.
With three men in a row charging in sharp blades, the elite Mo Yun cavalrymen rushed over, stirring up a cloud of flying dust. With a murderous aura that frightened the enemy to death, they came at high speed like a thick black arrow!