Chapter 317 Encirclement under the thick smoke

Chapter 317 Encirclement under the thick smoke

Before hearing the drums of Jincheng, the Northern Army had already heard the news that the Huns had entered the siege city. The first reaction was that it was impossible. They thought it was a local bandit pretending to be a foreign enemy. Since the emperor was in danger, the Northern Army should March at full speed to rescue the driver.

Feng Shili, the right general of the Northern Army, was the only opponent. "How dare the bandits besiege Your Majesty? It may be the Huns. In that case, Jincheng is a trap, waiting for our Northern Army to jump in."

"Hey, the right general really understands the Huns." Someone sneered.

Feng Shili's face was red and his ears were red. He was once captured by the Huns outside Broken Iron City because of his greed for merit. He was not trusted by the emperor, and his position in the army plummeted. Although he was still a right general, he was ridiculed but did not dare to refute.

The Northern Army was the emperor's trusted army. Outsiders thought so, and the Northern Army themselves felt the same way, so everyone was in a hurry to rescue him.

Liu Kunsheng was especially worried. He was one of the emperor's most staunch supporters. He once conspired with Chai Yue and others at Shenxiongguan to support Marquis Juan and proclaim him emperor. Although he was not promoted immediately, he received a lot of rewards and was just named a marquis. He knew that he His ability is great, and he is very satisfied with the reward.

But he is also a prudent general who has guarded the palace for many years, where prudence is more important than anything else, and it is better to be prudent and wrong than to be right.

So Liu Kunsheng divided the 30,000 Northern Army into two parts. The front part was 15,000 men, all elites, galloping lightly, and went to Jincheng to rescue them. The rear part, 15,000 men, led by Feng Shili, guarded the baggage and marched normally.

This is a wrong plan. The generals will fight, either stick to the ground or attack with all their strength. It is better to throw away the baggage and move the whole army quickly than to divide it into two. However, according to the news obtained by the Northern Army, only a few thousand scattered troops are besieging Jincheng. , claiming to be the Huns, but in fact it is very likely that they are bandits composed of refugees, vulnerable to a single blow.

No one pointed out Liu Kunsheng's mistake. Everyone was in a hurry to save the emperor, even Feng Shili. He has regretted his previous talkativeness. With his status, he should have rushed to Jincheng first and revealed to the emperor. Loyalty, but because of a word, he stayed behind to guard the baggage, and lost a chance to make a contribution in vain.

Fifteen thousand northern troops arrived at the outskirts of Jincheng an hour ahead of schedule.

In the distance, the soldiers saw the thick smoke covering the sky and the sun, and the scout in front came back and reported that it was caused by the burning of the corpse. Everyone was surprised, and then filled with righteous indignation.

Liu Kunsheng ordered the entire army to attack.

He heard the sound of drums coming from Jincheng, but they were far apart, and the sound was intermittent. He mistakenly thought it was an urging sound, and he was even more eager to join the war. There were officers in the army who were specially responsible for identifying the sound of drums, but he was only slightly suspicious. It was unexpected that the emperor was ordering them to retreat.

In a wilderness more than ten miles away from the city, the Northern Army met the Huns.

At the beginning, a group of soldiers from the Fuyu Kingdom fought against the Northern Army. Their armor was uneven and their weapons were messed up. They really looked like bandits. .

Soon, the Xiongnu cavalry entered the war, and their dress, howling, and style of play showed that they were the real Huns, not fake.

Liu Kunsheng still didn't pay much attention to it. The enemy army was more than he expected, nearly 20,000 people, but with the strength and morale of the northern army, it would not be a problem to have fewer enemies and more.

The northern army was like a broken bamboo, broke through the enemy's front line, and rushed to Jincheng quickly.

Jincheng is right in front of you.

Upstairs at the city gate, Han Ruzi ordered to stop playing the drums. Since the Northern Army has already joined, they can no longer be confused by the order to retreat. "Get ready to open the door to welcome the Northern Army."

Fan Zangshan immediately took command. Although he hadn't slept all night, he didn't feel tired at all, but eagerly wanted to participate in the battle outside the city.

Han Ruzi was never so nervous before, not even when he was fighting for the throne. He was worried about gains and losses. For a while, he prayed that the Northern Army would be able to enter Jincheng safely.

But his face remained calm, staring closely at the battlefield, occasionally ordering, requiring everyone to be strictly guarded and not to be careless.

The nervous person was Cui Teng, "Hurry up, hurry up, oh, why do you have to turn a corner? Isn't it bad to charge directly? Can you shoot farther and more accurately? Da Chu's strong bow is no worse than the Huns... …”

King Donghai wanted to be a completely different follower from Cui Teng, so he acted relatively calm, but his face changed and he couldn't control himself.

Han Ruzi also saw that groups of Xiongnu cavalry were swarming out from the nearby mountains, and the ambush really appeared.

The Huns flocked in an endless stream, and the mountains were like a huge beehive.

Cui Teng was even more nervous, "The Huns can't catch up... Can't catch up... No, I can't watch it anymore."

With his back against the city wall, Cui Teng gasped for breath, appearing to work harder than the soldiers on the battlefield.

It's not just him, everyone in the city can't stand it anymore.

The Huns had already planned well, and they used the thick smoke to hide their whereabouts. The people in the city could see clearly, but the Northern Army, which was running on the battlefield, did not immediately perceive the danger, and was still advancing at full speed.

Recently, the Northern Army was only six or seven miles away from Jincheng.

Han Ruzi didn't have to worry about gain or loss, this battle only had to lose without gain.

Fan Zangshan couldn't wait for the order for a long time, so he went upstairs in person and said to the emperor: "Your Majesty, you can..."

Han Ruzi shook his head.

Fan Zangshan glanced out, and his face changed.

The northern army had been surrounded by the Huns who were several times larger than themselves. Under the thick smoke, a tragic battle was launched. The northern army found itself in an ambush, and did not panic or choose to retreat. Go out and shoot at the enemy.

But the northern army was still getting smaller and smaller. The Huns were not in a hurry to swallow their prey in one bite.

"If this continues, the Northern Army's arrows will soon be exhausted." Fan Chongshan said blankly.

Everyone understands this truth. This Northern Army came lightly, without even bringing the vehicles for the formation, and each person carried at most twenty or thirty arrows, which could not last long.

"Your Majesty, let me go out of the city, I won't come back alive if I don't kill a bloody path!" Fan Zangshan asked for his life again.

Han Ruzi still shook his head. There was an army of Huns who had not participated in the war and were waiting outside the city. Anyone who left the city at this time would be sent to death.

"You all go down, no one is allowed to open the door and leave the city." Han Ruzi said.

"Your Majesty..." Everyone knelt down at the same time.

"This northern army is here to save me, and I should give them a ride. You don't have to, go down and rectify the soldiers and prepare to defend the city."

Everyone was shocked, but the emperor said it very seriously. The King of the East Sea took the lead and went downstairs one by one. Fan Zangshan got up last, gritted his teeth, and said, "Your Majesty, this revenge must be avenged!"

"If I don't take revenge for the soldiers of the Northern Army, I will be ashamed of Emperor Chu."

Fan Zangshan also left, leaving the emperor alone on the city gate, watching with his own eyes the death of the army that rescued him.

As the arrow was approaching, the Northern Army launched a charge, breaking through Li Xu for a time, and getting closer to Jincheng. Han Ruzi even wondered if his judgment was wrong. If he had sent Fan Chongshan earlier, maybe...

There is no possibility that the Huns army that had been on the sidelines finally joined the battle, blocking the road ahead of the Northern Army, and arrows flew like locusts.

As the emperor watched, 15,000 northern troops were killed and wounded, and the Huns, who had won a great victory, roared wildly, and even rushed outside the moat to shoot at the city.

Han Ruzi walked to the entrance of the stairs, looked down, saw Meng E and others, they didn't go far, they were all waiting on the stairs.

"Deng Cui, the successor of the country's capital."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Someone replied.

Han Ruzi looked at Meng E, she was the closest, and the two were only a few steps apart.

He was in a desperate situation again. This time he asked for it himself. He was not sure whether he could survive in a desperate situation again, and he didn't even have a clear plan.

Meng E wanted to learn the art of the emperor, but he really had nothing to teach right now.

Meng E looked up at the emperor, and suddenly showed a smile. She seldom smiled. This time, she not only smiled, but also a relaxed smile from her heart, as if she and the emperor had an unaware secret. Invincible.

There are many people watching below, Han Ruzi didn't smile, just blinked his eyes, turned around, and beckoned everyone to come up.

He said to Liu Jie: "Call a few more guards to come up, and the rest will line up on both sides of the tower, bring all the flags, and hold them as high as possible."

"According to the order, Your Majesty." Liu Jie didn't ask much.

The northern army forward general also came. After playing the drum for a long time, his arms were sore, but he still couldn't save his comrades outside the city, which made him very sad and angry.

"Assemble all the soldiers of the northern army in the city to guard the southern city."

"According to the order, Your Majesty." The forward general did not ask much.

"General Fan, your people are also coming to Nancheng."

Fan Zangshan led the mission.

Several generals from the Yiwei Camp were also present, and Han Ruzi ordered them to assemble the soldiers other than the standard-bearers in the camp to stand by under the city.

Cui Teng couldn't help but asked in surprise, "Your Majesty only guards the South City, what about other directions?"

"Let the soldiers of the country guard you."

"Can they... hold on?"

Han Ruzi looked at the flamboyant Huns outside the city, but did not speak.

The King of the East Sea said: "Your Majesty will use himself to attract the Huns to concentrate on attacking Nancheng."

"Ah?" Cui Teng was shocked.

"The Huns must be proud of their new victories and will accept my challenge." Han Ruzi said that he had no other way. There were only more than 4,000 defenders in the city. Probably stick with it.

Noon has long passed, and the Huns outside the city are cleaning the battlefield and throwing the corpses of the Chu army into the fire. Next, they plan to formally attack the city.

"Deng Cui, the Captain of the State, greets His Majesty."

Han Ruzi turned around and looked at the general who was kneeling at the entrance of the stairs. Cui Teng's eyes were fierce, and he did not dare to attack in front of the emperor.

"You only have less than a thousand soldiers of the country. I guard the southern city. Can you guard the other three sides?"

Deng Cui raised his head, it was a young face, about twenty years old, very handsome, but a bit rebellious, stared at the emperor for a while, and replied, "Yes."

"I order you to guard the city with a body of crime, if you can hold it, you will be pardoned. If you can't hold it, you will be executed immediately."

"Thank you Your Majesty for your grace." Deng Cui got up and stepped back.

"This guy can't be trusted." Cui Teng whispered, his face flushed with anxiety.

"As long as he is willing to defend the Great Chu, it doesn't matter whether he is credible or not." Han Ruzi no longer judged good or bad by the loyalty of others to the emperor.

"Let General Fan beat the drum and tell the Huns that I am ready to fight."