Xie Ming

The two Lius cowered like stray dogs, while Huang Degong was cut off from all aid and left helpless.

On the walls of Jinan, General Huang of Chuzhou, who had just missed the enemy's attack, suffered a relapse of his shoulder injury. During the break between medical treatments, his deputy, Tian Xiong, arrived from the west with a mournful face.

"General, General!"

"Ugh"

"The enemy warriors who were attacking the city at Xiguan were chanting incantations."

"Say"

"It is said that Yanzhou and Yishui have both been occupied by the enemy."

"Those two bastards, Liu Liangzuo and Liu Zeqing, have led their troops south."

"Not only do they have no intention of sending reinforcements from the north, but they are also going in the opposite direction, completely disregarding the life or death of our isolated unit!"

"General, we've been held back by these two bastards and are now doomed!"

"Handsome."

Tian Xiong was filled with righteous indignation, lamenting his experience in Jinan. He was dejected and his mind was in turmoil.

Upon hearing the news, Huang Degong was immediately enraged and flew into a rage. However, just as the physician was bandaging his wound, the bandage was pulled open again, causing him excruciating pain.

"fart!"

"This is a method used by enemy soldiers to disrupt the morale of our army."

"You son of a bitch, Tian Xiong, you're my deputy general."

"At this critical juncture, are you trying to sabotage my entire army?!"

"If you dare to spout nonsense again, I'll be the first to chop you up alive!"

Huang Degong endured more than a month of hardship, but he guessed in his heart that he probably already knew there was no hope of turning back.

But upon hearing Tian Xiong say this, he was so worried that the army would be thrown into disarray that he flew into a rage and shouted angrily to stop him.

"General!" Tian Xiong cried, tears streaming down his face.

"General, it is not that I am spreading rumors."

"The war has come to this point, and I..."

"Alas!" With a bitter sigh, Tian Xiong slapped his thigh hard, the cymbals of his armor clanging.

"Without reinforcements arriving, it will take at least two or three days, or at most seven or eight days, for Jinan, the city of Jinan, to fall!"

"General, this humble general believes..."

Tian Xiong was deeply worried that if things continued this way, the Chuzhou region, especially Huang Degong himself, would surely perish along with Jinan. Therefore, he suddenly mustered up his courage and decided to volunteer to make plans for a breakout as soon as possible.

However, the matter was urgent and chaotic, and he was not allowed to finish speaking.

Suddenly, a loud rumbling sound of collapse and crumbling came from the western section of Xiguan.

Huang and Tian both stiffened, their expressions of astonishment, and stood up abruptly.

"what!"

"Oh no, it's Xiguan, there's a breach in the western section."

Let's set aside other matters for now.

"Hurry, let's go."

"Two teams will be dispatched from Beiguan to accompany me."

"If even one enemy soldier slips into the city, I'll hold you responsible!"

Huang Degong, without hesitation, issued an urgent order.

Upon hearing this, Tian Xiong also realized that the immediate priority was to act expediently, and that everything else could be discussed later. He knew that the first priority was to stop the enemy's charge into the city before anything else could be done.

He gritted his teeth, stood up and answered, without hesitation, roaring and shouting as he charged westward.

bang bang bang-

Boom boom——

"Kill! Kill—"

As expected, at the same time, at the western end of the city gate, on one corner of the battlements, the Tatar soldiers' red-coated cannons had been bombarding the area for nearly a month.

Even now, in a corner of the city, a gap has actually been blasted open in the thick city wall.

That gap was wide enough for three horses to run side by side.

For a time, the enemy soldiers attacking the city were extremely arrogant.

The first to reach the summit will be richly rewarded, and the bravest man will have no fear.

Seeing that there was a way to achieve merit, the soldiers and civilians who had surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, who were originally lacking in morale, suddenly became energetic and rushed towards the opening like hungry tigers pouncing on their prey.

On the city wall, through the gaps on both sides, the soldiers defending Chuzhou, taking advantage of the broken walls and ruins, launched a fierce attack with a hail of arrows and flints.

The two sides remained locked in a stalemate for a moment.

Just as the swarming enemy was about to break through the blockade and climb the city walls to reinforce the city.

Tian Xiong and his team arrived from the northern section!
Later, Huang Degong was still worried and personally led a squad of his personal guards to patch up the hole.

In this way, the initial surge of enemy activity was gradually suppressed, and the situation returned to normal. But!
Unexpectedly, Huang had reinforcements, and now, eager to achieve merit, the enemy general was brave, and the artillery was coming in urgent need!

As soon as the situation changed, the enemy's western artillery had already loaded all the gunpowder bullets.

Then suddenly, there was a series of loud bangs.

One volley after another.

At this point in the battle, Shi Tingzhu, the military governor of Xiguan, was also desperate and no longer cared about the lives of his soldiers.

All cannons fired simultaneously, directly striking the target and then attacking the two flanks of the breach.

Suddenly!

The area to the left and right of the breach, and the two flanks of the city wall, was engulfed in a chaotic mess of flying stones and blades.

The scene was chaotic and brutal, as the area was densely populated with soldiers. Both sides fought fiercely, with no place to hide or escape.

Then the artillery bombardment began, and blood and flesh flew everywhere. There were severed limbs and broken arms everywhere, and the dead were numerous. The cries of agony filled the air, making it a living hell.

Huang Degong arrived with his troops to provide support, but was already within range of enemy artillery fire.

As luck would have it, one of the shells struck the wall beside him during the shelling.

How could Huang react to such a sudden attack?

The bullet pierced through the wall, instantly disintegrating large chunks of brick and stone, and rushed straight towards Huang Degong's location, cutting him in half.

Huang couldn't dodge in time, and the large stone struck his side.

With a soft thud, Huang Degong suffered a severe blow, damaging his liver and gallbladder, and spit out a mouthful of blood.

Immediately, the old general lost control of his body and fell sideways to the ground.

Nearby, the guards who were responsible for protecting the area were either dead or wounded.

Twenty paces away, Tian Xiong, through a soldier standing to the side, reported this. Turning around and seeing this, he was immediately horrified.

He yelled loudly and turned to pounce on Huang Degong.

"Commander!"

"General, General..."

As he spoke, Tian Xiong lifted Huang Shuai's upper body up.

After such an ordeal, Huang Degong, who had just fallen into a coma and was groaning and howling in pain, suddenly regained his senses.

The pain was excruciating; blood and foam kept seeping from the corners of his mouth, and he could barely speak.

After struggling for a while, he grabbed Tian Xiong's arm tightly.

Seeing the old general's fixed gaze, Tian Xiong was filled with immense grief.

"General, General!"

"Understood, Your subordinate understands."

"We swear to live and die together in Jinan. We will not retreat."

"The time has come to serve the country loyally and die for it!"

"Don't worry, with me, Tian Xiong, here, Jinan will be safe!"

"Left and right, follow me."

Tian Xiong delivered a passionate speech, his voice brimming with fervor.

However, before the conversation could even end, the seriously injured Huang Degong saw that this simpleton was about to die with the enemy. In a moment of desperation, he used all his strength to quickly pull him back and whisper it in his ear.

"Bullshit, bullshit!"

Old Huang managed to utter the words with difficulty, his teeth chattering, and blood and saliva sprayed all over Tian Xiong's face.

"With no reinforcements arriving, Jinan has fallen and is beyond saving."

"You can see it, but how come I don't understand?"

"The reason we insisted on not letting go before was to protect the morale of the troops."

"Second, Second Liu, you bastard."

"Since we can't wait for it, there's no point in holding on in Jinan."

"Break through, break out of the encirclement."

"Old man, I have worked hard for half my life to lead the troops in this town of Chuzhou. It was not easy, and it is all my hard work."

"No, it can't just disappear like this."

"Tian Xiong, hurry, quickly fill the gap with more rolling stones, hold on."

"Tonight, the entire army will assemble at the South Gate, then suddenly turn east and break through the encirclement, heading towards Qingzhou!"

Huang Degong gave a critical order, and his words awakened Tian Xiongjiang.

Since the old general had such considerations, there was naturally no intention to go against his wishes.

He then ordered Qing Yuming, and Tian Xiong gritted his teeth and continued to organize soldiers to fill the gap, in accordance with the order.

(End of this chapter)