Chapter 172
The cold did not crack the iron armor, but it made them appear heavier. Even through the thick cotton coat, Chai Yue could feel the hardness of the iron and the cold attached to it, making it harder to walk than usual, as if carrying a heavy coat. Chunks of pig iron.
Soon after nightfall, Chai Yue personally led a thousand soldiers to detour from the bottom of the ridge to Quicksand City. The horses were all taken back the same way. The man held a crossbow, but after waiting for nearly two hours, there was still no sign of the Huns crossing the river.
There was a little snow just now, but it has stopped now. Chai Yue is standing above the city wall, looking at the big river with the help of the faint moonlight.
The river was frozen. During the day, Chai Yue saw several Huns throwing stones at the river bed, so she guessed that they would cross the river tonight, but now she was not so confident, so she could only pace back and forth, reminding the soldiers in a low voice. Keep an eye on it.
If the strength of the Huns cannot be defeated in the first battle, the Iron Broken City will soon fall. Chai Yue's heavy responsibility is much heavier than the iron armor on her body. Not only the Iron Broken City, but also the lives of nearly 30,000 Chu soldiers. , the trust of General Zhenbei and the safety of his mother and brother in Beijing.
Chai Yue needed a big victory, and he believed that his judgment would never be wrong. The cold winter had come, and the Huns were eager to go to war. They would cross the river whenever they had the chance, but only facts could prove that he was right. For the Chu army outside the Great Wall, Chai Yue's commander-in-chief status was a bit out of place, and one or two mistakes in judgment were enough to make the soldiers lose their trust.
A thousand people under the wall are still doing their jobs faithfully, no one makes a sound, and no one complains, but Chai Yue understands that if the Huns hadn't appeared at dawn, his prestige would have disappeared. net.
Chai Yue came to the bottom of the city wall, walked slowly among the soldiers, and whispered: "The early morning is the most dangerous time, and the Huns will choose to cross the river just before dawn."
The soldiers remained silent, and Chai Yue could guess the question in their hearts: Why should 100,000 Huns attack the small town guarded by 30,000 Chu troops? Since the early hours are the most dangerous, why do you have to stay here all night?
Chai Yue explained: Although the Huns had a large number of soldiers, they also hoped to capture the Iron Broken City at the least price; the most dangerous in the early morning did not mean that it was safe at other times. In order to cope with various possibilities, he had to wait in the quicksand city night. But there is no need to say these explanations. What everyone wants to see is the Huns who sneaked across the river.
Behind Chai Yue, someone said in a very low voice, "Just freeze to death, the Huns will save trouble."
It was a son of honor who was forcibly sent by the King of the East Sea. Chai Yue pretended not to hear it. Facts and achievements can conquer ordinary soldiers. Probably only status can suppress these honors.
Someone on the city wall tapped twice with a stone, and Chai Yue's whole body was shaken, and a burst of blood rose from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, which instantly expelled the chill.
The entire Chu army was also shaken by the light knocking sound, and they swung their arms to hold the crossbow more accurately, ready to draw the strings.
Chai Yue pretended to be calm, controlled her walking speed, and slowly walked up the steps. When she reached the last few steps, she couldn't help but quicken her pace.
A group of Xiongnu cavalry really crossed the river, but the number was too small, roughly one to three hundred people, and they did not go straight to Broken Iron City, but rushed to the top of the mountain, the target was Quicksand City.
Chai Yue and others hurriedly hid behind the wall.
The Xiongnu cavalry was far more numerous than the Chu army, but they were still very cautious and sent people to investigate the situation first.
The ambush soldier led by Chai Yue was in a dilemma all of a sudden. It was easy to fire the crossbow to kill the frontrunners of the Huns, but this would expose the ambush soldiers.
The Huns at the bottom of the city were chatting in a low voice. The north gate was already closed, so they couldn’t get in, so they walked around the city, obviously looking for another entrance.
Chai Yue immediately walked down the city wall and quietly ordered everyone to hide in a nearby house. Most of the houses in the city were dilapidated, without even a roof. The Huns could find the Chu army with a little search, but Chai Yue had no other choice. Have waited all night, can't give up at the last moment.
When the Huns really appeared, the trust of the officers and men in Chai Yue increased a bit, and they immediately took orders to hide. Those noble children were still in trouble. When Chai Yue passed by them, someone grabbed his arm. Threatened in a low voice: "You have already offended the Chai family, do you still want to offend everyone? If I have three strengths and two weaknesses..."
Chai Yue shook off the man's grasp and said coldly, "Lou Ji, you are a soldier here, not the son of the Marquis of Shengjun."
Lou Ji snorted and walked into the surviving house with the others, worried that the Huns would be crushed to death by the collapse of the wall without the need for an attack by the Huns.
Not all the sons and daughters of the nobles were disgusted by this action. Zhang Yanghao, the grandson of Marquis Piyuan, whispered as Chai Yue passed by: "The Huns are eager to attack and will not investigate too carefully."
Chai Yue smiled and hid in a dilapidated house.
The city of quicksand was not very big, and the Huns quickly circled to the hidden west gate, smashed open the city gate, galloped into the city, and galloped back and forth on the road.
When the Chu army entered the city, they left some footprints on the road. Fortunately, they arrived early, and the footprints were covered with frost and snow. The Chu soldiers stood in the middle of the night, but the footprints under the city wall were still clear. Humans can spot exceptions.
Chai Yue was completely gambling at this time.
The Huns became more courageous and began to shout loudly. Recently, they were only separated from some Chu soldiers by a wall, but they did not stop, and the shouting quickly disappeared.
Chai Yue walked out of the hiding place and really wanted to look up to the sky and cheer a few times.
Several generals and schools also came out and said in surprise, "They didn't stay to defend the city."
"The Huns don't like the city." Chai Yue said flatly. In fact, he was not sure about it. At least some of the Huns were used to living in the city and were no strangers to the city, but this team of scouts obviously didn't want to stay in the city.
In the eyes of the soldiers, General Chai had the image of a clever plan. When they passed by Chai Yue and climbed the city wall, their eyes were obviously a little more awe-inspiring, even Lou Ji's noble children were also low Head, walked up the steps honestly, not daring to ask to stay below.
A thousand Chu soldiers stood in three rows on the city wall, bent down as much as possible, stepped on crossbows, drew strings with both hands, and lightly mounted arrows.
The crossbow could reach the river, leaving the Huns with nowhere to hide.
Chai Yue looked out from the middle of the wall, everything was as he expected, a large number of Xiongnu cavalry were crossing the river one after another, gathering at the foot of the ridge, some people carrying long ladders, obviously to attack the Iron Broken City before dawn. .
The hesitation and nervousness in Chai Yue's heart disappeared, and a confidence that he had never had before emerged spontaneously. No matter how nervous the soldiers around him or behind him were, he was not in a hurry at all, silently observing, waiting for the best time. .
After the Huns had assembled at the foot of the ridge, the first group of forwards began to advance. Chai Yue turned around and walked to the messenger, nodding at him. The officer would understand, raise the horns that had been prepared, move the cheeks, and blow the horns of luck. , Chu troops usually use gongs and drums to send orders, but as an ambush, the horn is more practical.
The first row of Chu soldiers marched forward, shooting crossbow arrows in the middle of the wall stacks. After finishing, they immediately retreated, and the second and third rows advanced.
Chai Yue didn't watch the battle at the foot of the mountain, but it was enough to hear the people outside call Ma Nei. Victory is already in his hands, what he has to do is not to rush to check the results, but to make the victory as perfect as possible.
He did it. Under the supervision of the general, the three platoons of Chu soldiers kept pounding, pulling strings, setting arrows, and shooting, repeating the cycle, without a trace of chaos. Even if Chai Yue was far away, the soldiers felt that his Eyes staring at himself.
Noticing Chai Yue's approach, Lou Ji, the son of Marquis Shengjun, became a little flustered and failed to pull the crossbow string into place twice in a row.
Chai Yue motioned Lou Ji to take a few steps forward, maintain the formation and not take the position of those who retreated.
Lou Ji's face was red and his ears were red. This round, he had nowhere to shoot, and when he stepped back again, he exerted his strength and succeeded in pulling the strings once.
Chai Yue continued to move forward, feeling more and more that these thousand soldiers had been condensed into one person, all his arms, ears and eyes, obeying his will and following his command.
There were constant screams at the bottom of the mountain, and several generals and schools watching the battle rushed over, "General Chai, the Huns have retreated."
It was only then that Chai Yue walked to the middle of the wall and looked out. There were many corpses left on the ground shrouded in darkness, and more Huns fled to the opposite bank, running too fast, turning their horses on the ice.
"Do you want to hunt down?" The general asked, and the victory made him more courageous.
"Retreat, the whole army retreats." Chai Yue knew very well that the Huns were the best at launching counterattacks during the chase. Even if all the Chu troops in Iron Broken City were here, they would lose more and win less if they chased across the river.
He just wanted to frustrate the spirit of the Xiongnu army, and then wait for the arrival of reinforcements in Guannei.
Without horses, the Chu army left the Liusha River and ran all the way back to Broken Iron City. At this time, it was already bright, and the army in the city heard the sound of battle. Army", and their commander, Chai Yue.
The King of the East Sea went to the gate of the city in person, brought a large amount of wine and meat, and asked the military officials to take credit for everyone on the spot, especially the general Chai Yue.
All day long, the Huns on the other side were very honest, and it was only in the evening that they crossed the river again, picked up the bodies, and sent troops to occupy the city of quicksand.
Chai Yue sent a messenger to Shenxiongguan early in the morning, and the generals came to congratulate him, but he did not completely relax. The frustrated Huns would only suspend their attack. , This is the tough battle that will really test Iron Shattered City.
At night, Chai Yue slept soundly, was woken up early the next morning, and hurried to the west city wall. Almost all the generals in the city were on the city wall, even the East Sea King was there. When he saw Chai Yue, he breathed a sigh of relief. , "General Chai, come and see, what are the Huns doing?"
Chai Yue looked west. The city of quicksand that had brought victory to the Chu army the night before had disappeared and had been torn down by the Huns overnight.
"The Huns are so angry, are they demolishing the city to vent their anger?" asked the King of the East Sea, and most of the generals had the same idea.
Chai Yue looked at it for a while, and was suddenly shocked, "The Huns are going to pile up dirt to attack the city!"
A large amount of dirt was piled under the city to form a slope, and the enemy could attack the wall directly. Chai Yue had expected that the Iron Broken City would last for at least ten days. Hope to see Shenxiongguan reinforcements soon.