Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 329: Don’t Hurt My Lord

Chapter 329: Don’t Hurt My Lord
Wu Mingche looked at the warrior in front of him.

Xiao Mo Ke.

He stood among a group of southerners, his sturdy and strong figure particularly eye-catching.

Wu Mingche knew him. When Emperor Wu was fighting against Hou Jing, this brave warrior was on the enemy side. He went into battle alone and defeated all the generals under Emperor Wu, causing them to flee in fear. No one could defeat him.

Later, when the enemy was defeated, Xiao Moke surrendered to Chen and became a fierce vanguard under Hou Andu. He was always the first to rush out in every battle. He relied on nothing else but his monstrous physique to charge directly into the battle line and kill the enemy. He was a fierce general among fierce generals. There was no operation, just numbers!
Wu Mingche looked at him, then looked at the city in the distance.

He was also a little conflicted.

Xiao Moke is the most useful vanguard under his command. If he comes to attack the city, he might really be able to rush to the top of the city, but he is also worried that this man will be too reckless and end up trapped in the city.

The Northern Hu have always been known for their ferocity and strength. He really needs such brave warriors to command the front army in case of emergency.

He analyzed the pros and cons in his mind, and then slowly said: "Okay, you will lead your subordinates to rest today, and tomorrow, you will be the main attacker."

Xiao Moke saluted again, "Thank you, General!!"

The generals dispersed and began to rest.

The sky gradually darkened.

A cold wind blew, and flags everywhere swayed in the wind.

Chen Bing’s camp occupied an area of several miles, with bonfires everywhere.

After these bonfires were lit, it was like stars rising above the ground, as dazzling as the stars.

On the city wall, the soldiers huddled up, eating baked bread and drinking water carefully. In the distance, people were constantly walking around, carrying stones from the city wall down, and craftsmen were reinforcing it overnight.

People come and go, there is no time to calm down.

There were two seats on the top of the tower, with food on one side and candlesticks on the other.

Qian Zhubu took off his armor, sat on the mat, and looked at the "stars" outside the city. The city seemed to be surrounded by countless stars. Looking around, countless flames were flickering in the night. Qian Zhubu felt his hands were a little numb, and he clenched them several times before he felt relieved.

He looked across.

Sitting opposite him was Lu Yao. Lu Yao's face was filled with fatigue and his eyes were dull. He stared at the fire outside the city without saying a word.

In the night, his figure looked a little miserable.

Qian Zhubu was silent for a moment, "Don't worry, my lord. General Liu has many fast horses under his command, and they will be able to come to support us soon."

Lu Yao laughed, "We two are really unlucky."

“You can encounter this kind of thing anywhere.”

"Since I met Liu Taozi, nothing has gone smoothly for me."

"On the contrary, he has become very successful. Tell me, could it be that he has sucked away my luck?"

Qian Zhubu's eyes widened. "Really?"

Lu Yao looked at Qian Zhubu with disdain, "Sometimes I really don't understand why I chose you when my father asked me to choose a study partner. If I had chosen someone with more wisdom and strategy, maybe he could have given me some advice!"

Qian Zhubu laughed and said, "My lord is smart enough, so he doesn't need anyone to give him advice."

"Zi Shou, if the city falls, you will surrender. The southerners came here to occupy the states and counties, and they will not kill prisoners."

Qian Zhubu shook his head and said, "If the lord is not here, I will not live in humiliation."

Lu Yao raised his head with a bitter expression, "I don't know how many people will be killed or injured in this battle. I spent a lot of effort to make this place better. The people have just started to live a stable life."

“This is an endless war.”

“When will this end?”

Qian Zhubu still believed in his own judgment, "When General Liu arrives, this place will surely be peaceful again!"

Lu Yao didn't respond. He picked up the food from the side and started eating.

The sky brightened again.

Lu Yao put on armor and stood on the city wall.

He had never loved the night so much, nor hated the dawn so much.

The sun gradually rose and cast its light on the earth.

The golden halo shone on the soldiers outside the city.

The gentle light shone on the cold armor, and it instantly became colder.

The city was already surrounded by fully armed soldiers.

Xiao Moke stood there, wearing heavy armor, with only his face exposed.

He held a large shield in his right hand, which was half a man's height, and a steel knife in his left hand. He looked coldly at the tall city wall in front of him.

"boom!!!"

The catapult started shooting again, and countless stones flew over Xiao Moke's head and hit the city in the distance.

"boom!!"

The city wall was covered in dust, groaned, and began to shake violently. Following a few screams, blood and flesh flew from the wall.

Xiao Moke did not rush to charge, but waited for the best opportunity.

The two sides started with projectiles and then shot at each other with bows and crossbows, resulting in casualties on both sides.

Xiao Moke waited for a long time, and finally, he suddenly raised the steel knife, "Charge!!!"

The next moment, Xiao Moke took the lead in the charge, and thousands of people under his command followed closely behind him. They did not dodge and directly launched an attack from the south tower where the enemy general was.

Xiao Moke held up his shield, and arrows kept coming at him. After a moment, the shield was full of arrows, and he was completely covered in arrows.

The armor he was wearing was thick enough and did not cause him any harm.

Not everyone could charge on foot wearing armor like his. The elite soldiers around him followed behind him and charged together. Some were hit by arrows, while others fell to the ground due to exhaustion.

Xiao Moke rushed all the way to the outside of the city wall. Several ladders were connected to the city tower. The soldiers kept charging. The entire ladder was blocked. Xiao Moke mixed in with the soldiers and kept running forward.

The number of soldiers in front of Xiao Moke was getting fewer and fewer.

Suddenly, there were no more of their own soldiers in front, only Qi people holding spears, stabbing frantically. The ladder was full of corpses. Xiao Moke roared and rushed towards the Qi people in front of him like a beast.

"Bang~~~"

Xiao Moke rushed directly into the enemy's formation. In just a moment, several Qi people were knocked over by him and could not stop him at all. Xiao Moke put the big shield aside and rushed forward with the shield. The Qi people were constantly knocked away and fell. The soldiers around him began to follow suit. The shields they erected were like walls, pushing the Qi people back continuously.

The offensive, which had previously made no progress, suddenly became different under the leadership of Xiao Moke.

Xiao Moke's repeated charges quickly pushed the battle line to the top of the city wall.

When he jumped into the city wall, the people of Qi realized that something was wrong.

Lu Yao widened his eyes, holding a sharp sword, and looked at the reinforcements around him.

"Kill with me!!!"

Lu Yao took the lead in the charge, and these fresh troops followed him to provide support.

Qian Zhubu also raised his sword and shouted loudly, as if to encourage himself.

With the sudden joining of these fresh troops, Xiao Moke had already discarded his shield and started killing people in all directions. The people of Qi began to be frightened, but when they saw Lu Yao coming with reinforcements, they quickly regained their original courage and rushed forward with roars.

Lu Yao was surrounded by his own people and he couldn't kill anyone.

But he was at the forefront, and that was enough.

The soldiers were like being injected with chicken blood, charging forward madly. Xiao Moke had no choice but to pick up the big shield again. All the soldiers charged at him again and again. No matter how brave Xiao Moke was, he could not withstand so many enemies, and was pushed back to the ladder little by little.

The ladder couldn't bear such weight and suddenly collapsed.

Xiao Moke fell to the ground but stood up quickly, holding a large shield, and was about to charge again when the sound of a horn rang out from behind.

Xiao Moke retreated reluctantly.

Wu Mingche sat in the main tent, staring at the city in the distance with a solemn expression on his face.

The next moment, Xiao Mohe rushed in angrily, looking at Wu Mingche with a somewhat rude look, "General! I was about to attack, why did you sound the horn?!"

"presumptuous!!"

Several generals around shouted loudly.

Xiao Moke then calmed down a bit and said, "General, the enemy can't withstand a few more attacks. I will definitely take the city today."

Wu Mingche was not angry. He said calmly, "It's not that I don't trust you."

"Such a fierce attack would cause too much loss."

He pointed in the distance, and Xiao Moke looked in the direction he pointed, only to see the many soldiers who were being carried down, their armor and flesh mixed together, almost indistinguishable.

Armored soldiers are different from ordinary soldiers. Not everyone can wear armor. The soldiers who can wear armor are basically the most elite part of the army. Xiao Moke's offensive is indeed very effective. So far, he is the first to attack the city wall. But the problem is that the loss of armored soldiers is too serious. The Southern Kingdom not only lacks horses, they also lack iron.

This is not to say that there is no iron in the South. The South also has smelting technology and iron ore, but compared with the North, it is really not enough.

The main iron mines are still distributed in the territory of Qi State. There are not too many iron mines in Zhou State, let alone the South State.

Therefore, their soldiers are more valuable than those of Qi and Zhou.

Wu Mingche didn't want to use up all his elite troops just to capture the first city.

Xiao Moke frowned and said nothing. In his opinion, Commander Wu Mingche was sometimes too indecisive.

Wu Mingche looked at the city in the distance and said softly, "The enemy's morale is high and they are united. If we attack them forcefully, the cost will be too high."

"We should use our strengths to counter their weaknesses."

"Although Lu Yao is popular among the people, he does not understand warfare and lacks excellent officers under his command."

"From today on, we will focus on harassment, feinting on two sides, attacking on one side, and resting on the other." "Lu Yao can't hold out for too long. As long as we can destroy him, we can take the city."

"This is my hometown, and I don't want to cause too much bloodshed."

When Xiao Moke was pushed back by the enemy, Wu Mingche realized that he could no longer take the city by brutal means. He had to keep a calm mind and use appropriate strategies.

Xiao Moke had no choice but to say that Wu Mingche had promised Xiao Moke that when the time was right, he would still let him be the main attacker.

In the following days, Wu Mingche was no longer in a hurry to attack.

He began to make full use of various tactics.

These include night raids, feint attacks followed by real attacks, tunnels, and building high buildings.

He used a variety of tactics and divided his army into several groups, with each group taking turns to attack.

Wu Mingche held the advantage and was not in a hurry at all. He attacked bit by bit. After attacking for six or seven days in a row, the whole city was filled with a deep atmosphere of despair.

On the city wall, the soldiers leaned against it tiredly. Even though the sound of war drums outside was still going on, they could no longer hear it and were fast asleep.

Lu Yao's eyes were red, and he had to hold up the spear with both hands to get up. He was exhausted.

Just as Wu Mingche said, Lu Yao did not understand war, and he had no officers under his command who could do the job for him. Lu Yao could only rely on his limited experience to deal with Wu Mingche's many offensive methods.

This really made him anxious and exhausted. The endless attacks made Lu Yao, who was not very healthy to begin with, shaky.

Many parts of the city wall had been destroyed and the city was filled with corpses. Cries of grief continued to rise from the city and reached his ears.

The crying sound was like an lingering nightmare that Lu Yao could not get rid of no matter how hard he tried.

Lu Yao staggered forward a few steps, and the enemy's ladder truck came up again.

The soldiers woke up and started fighting again.

There was a sudden roar in Lu Yao's ears, and he found that he could not hear any sound. Only the violent buzzing sound continued in his ears. Then, he heard his own heavy breathing.

The soldiers in the distance roared and rushed towards the enemy.

The enemy carried large shields and kept advancing, and the soldiers kept falling.

The enemy rushed up the city wall again.

Colorful lights and shadows flashed in Lu Yao's eyes, and he couldn't tell what was real or fake.

"Lord!!"

"Lord!!!"

Lu Yao felt himself being shaken and suddenly woke up.

The roar in his ears was replaced by shouts of killing, and the battlefield became real again. Qian Zhubu pulled his hand and pointed forward in fear, "My lord! The enemy is attacking!!"

Lu Yao looked in that direction.

"Follow me and kill!!!"

His voice was hoarse, yet extremely powerful.

He led his men to charge again.

Xiao Moke knocked over the soldiers in front of him again. Although these soldiers were still so brave, they were finally defeated by their own bodies. The rotation arranged by Lu Yao was quite bad, and it was difficult for him to distinguish between the main attack and the feint attack. The soldiers in the whole city could not get effective rest.

They had been fighting for several days.

Xiao Moke realized this immediately, and their resistance became weak.

Xiao Moke became ruthless again, the steel knife in his hand kept flashing, and soldiers fell one after another. When they collided with Xiao Moke, several of them could not knock him down, and instead fell themselves.

Lu Yao led his troops to provide support again.

Xiao Moke learned his lesson this time.

He quickly locked onto Lu Yao who was in the crowd.

He rushed towards Lu Yao, and the soldiers along the way were killed by him one after another, and the distance between them became shorter and shorter.

Lu Yao saw the enemy general.

He was a burly fellow, with a hideous grin on his face, running towards him.

Lu Yao picked up the spear, took advantage of the opportunity when the opponent approached, and stabbed him fiercely.

Xiao Moke easily grabbed the spear that was stabbing at him and pulled Lu Yao towards him. Lu Yao staggered in front of Xiao Moke, and Xiao Moke's wooden shield hit the opponent directly.

Lu Yao fell heavily to the ground.

"Don't hurt my Lord!!!"

There was a scream, and a thin guy rushed over and chopped Xiao Moke on the shoulder with the sword in his hand.

Flames flashed everywhere.

The sword didn't even make it through, but instead fell to the side. It was none other than Qian Zhubu.

Several bodyguards around him rushed over with roars, some of them helped Lu Yao up, while the others hacked at Xiao Moke.

Xiao Moke didn't care at all and raised his knife to attack Lu Yao.

Qian Zhubu suddenly jumped up and hung on Xiao Moke's body like a monkey. He leaned back and bumped his head into Xiao Moke's face.

Xiao Moke groaned, and a fishy smell came out of his mouth.

The other soldiers all protected him and pushed him back.

Xiao Moke swung his left hand violently, throwing the soldier beside him away, and thrust the steel knife in his hand forward.

Qian Zhubu's abdomen was pierced directly by the steel knife.

Blood immediately flowed out of Qian Zhubu's mouth. His eyes were cold, staring straight at Xiao Moke. He tilted his head back and said, "Bang."

It hit Xiao Moke's face again.

Xiao Moke was furious. He dropped the shield and grabbed his shoulder with his right hand. The powerful force almost broke his bones.

Tears fell from Qian Zhubu's eyes. He then opened his mouth and bit it directly.

Xiao Moke screamed in pain. Qian Zhubu bit his face tightly. Xiao Moke knocked away the soldiers around him and pushed the guy in front of him away with force.

More soldiers rushed up again and bumped into Xiao Moke hard.

Xiao Moke was knocked to the ground for the first time, and countless spears stabbed at him. Xiao Moke dodged in a hurry, and the soldiers with shields rushed over again and hit him hard.

Xiao Moke roared and flew out from the city wall.

Qian Zhubu was still clinging to him tightly, and his mouth was still biting Xiao Moke's face.

The two flew up together.

Then, they fell to the ground together.

Xiao Moke tried desperately to change his posture.

"Boom~~"

The two men fell down at the foot of the city. Xiao Moke staggered to his feet from Qian Zhubu's body, his face covered in blood, and then collapsed with a bang.

The soldiers around him roared, picked him up quickly, and ran towards the main camp.

There was commotion on the city wall.

The people of Qi repelled the enemy again.

Several officers surrounded Lu Yao. Lu Yao was breathing softly and couldn't open his eyes. A military doctor squatted beside him and fed him water with his trembling bloody hands.

Lu Yao opened his eyes weakly, "Enemy?"

"enemy?"

"Governor! The enemy has been repelled!"

"but."

"Qian Qian, the chief clerk, died in the battle."

Lu Yao's pupils trembled violently, and he suddenly became dazed as if he was struck by lightning.

After a long while, he asked, "Where is the body?"

“He fell down.”

"I see."

"Continue to prepare to defend the city."

Lu Yao struggled to sit up and continued to instruct the officers around him.

The sky turned dark again.