Water Margin begins as a captain in Yanggu County

Chapter 163 I’m going to die…

When Zhao Yi raised his head to look again, all he could see were the backs of the armored cavalry of the government army. Fortunately, not a single one of them trampled him.

Hearing the whistling sound behind him again, Taibai Divine General Zhao Yi hurriedly ducked to hide, and a spear coming from behind grazed his scalp and passed by.

The owner of the spear was very surprised. He obviously didn't expect that the man who fell from his horse could actually dodge the spear he was shooting at from behind.

It can also be seen that Zhao Yi, who was caught from his horse, was very agile and his martial arts skills were quite good.

Just look at Zhao Yi rolling and crawling on the ground among the many armored cavalry. Although his movements are ugly, he is very agile. After several dangerous situations, he actually managed to save his life safely among the 500 armored cavalry.

As soon as the five hundred armored cavalrymen had all passed, Zhao Yi stood still. Looking forward, he saw the government army camp. Looking back, he saw...

All of them were ownerless horses. There were two or three hundred horses. White steam was coming out of their mouths and noses, and they were not running. There was no one on their backs.

Zhao Yi regretted that he should not have chased after him, let alone chased him until he had already left and then turned around to meet the enemy.

Zhao Yi then realized that this iron-clad government army was very different and completely different from the government army he had encountered in the past two or three months.

I saw those armored cavalry slowly stop not far away, rein in their horses, turn around, and rush back.

Zhao Yi didn't have time to think, he just ran subconsciously. Where to run? He could only run sideways, with the dull thump of horse hooves behind him...

Looking back, the snow that had fallen all night had been trampled into black. The snow was not flying, but mud and water were flying. The cold winter in the south of the Yangtze River could not freeze the earth thoroughly...

Zhao Yi ran very fast, as if he had never run so fast in his life. He was very anxious in his heart. He thought that attacking Huzhou this time might not be a good choice.

But no matter how fast Zhao Yi ran, the footsteps of the horses behind him were getting closer and closer.

Zhao Yi looked back and saw that huge man, still the first one in the lead, holding a huge machete at his side, getting closer and closer, coming...

After taking another look, Zhao Yi felt a chill in his heart. The horse was so tall, strong and powerful, and the man was so big that he didn't look like a human. What a terrifying creature!
The armored cavalry arrived as soon as they said it. Zhao Yi looked back frequently. For a moment, Zhao Yi really had the urge to kneel down and beg for mercy.

But Zhao Yi's expression suddenly changed, and he shouted: "The raging fire, burn my body!"

Zhao Yi turned around and jumped up. He had no weapon in his hand, but opened his hands and pounced towards the huge armored cavalry, intending to knock the terrifying creature off its horse.

The terrifying creature Lu Da was ready to swing his knife to chop, but he never expected that he could burst out such bravery before dying. It was too late for him to swing his knife, so he just stretched out his long arm to hit.

Zhao Yi's rushing body collided with Lu Da's outstretched hand instantly. Lu Da's body shook, but he punched Zhao Yi, who was flying in the air, and sent him flying.

Zhao Yi fell to the ground, unable to keep his balance any longer. Behind Lu Da, countless spears stabbed at him, and his iron hooves made a creaking sound.

Lu Da looked back and saw that Zhao Yi was obviously not going to survive, but Lu Da was somewhat confused about what Zhao Yi had just shouted?
The raging fire is burning my body?
This is……

It was just a small battle. The riders had already finished chasing and killing the enemy and were heading back to the camp.

Inside the camp, there was no huge cheering for this small victory, and auxiliary soldiers were sent out to clean up the battlefield.

Lu Da rode up to Su Wu and asked him directly, "Brother, the raging fire is burning my body. What does this mean?"

Su Wu frowned. He didn't really understand, but he felt like he had heard something similar before, so he asked, "What's going on?"

Lu Da immediately said, "It was the thief general just now. He was running away in panic, with no courage at all, like a stray dog. But after shouting a few words, he turned around and fought with me for his life..."

Su Wu's heart tightened, and he had a bad feeling. He knew what was going on, so he just replied, "This is the Manicheans' way of devotion, a cry, perhaps with some kind of meaning of ascending to heaven."

Luda nodded, indicating that he understood, and didn't hesitate any more.

Lu Da was not troubled, but Su Wu started to feel troubled. Manichaeism had changed a lot since it came to the Central Plains during the Wu Zhou period. Its current teachings are actually very good. They include the eight principles of "purity, light, power, and wisdom," which are nothing more than teaching people to be kind and wise.

In the Northern Song Dynasty, an era that highly respected religious beliefs, the Manichean sect developed even better. Fang La rose to power with the help of Manichean sect, and among him there were a number of loyal believers.

Just as Lu Da said just now, with true faith, dying is not a difficult thing.

I'm afraid this battle won't be that simple...

Su Wu frowned and turned back to look at the large formation of tens of thousands of people. When he tried it just now, he felt that they were just a mob. Now that he thought about it more carefully, he was afraid that it was not the case...

Fang La's army cannot be judged by common sense.

The previous ideas may be wrong. The invincible power of Fang La's army today does not seem to be entirely blamed on the weakness of the Jiangnan government army. It is not uncommon for generals of the Jiangnan government army to be killed in battle. There are generals who died in battle in Jiangnan.

For example, when Fang La first rose up in rebellion, he had only a thousand men, not to mention armor and weapons. The military commander of Liangzhe and the two general managers, Li Zun and Yan Tan, also led 5,000 trusted men to fight to the death.

The more than one thousand Manichaeans fought desperately with wooden sticks and actually killed two generals, Li Zun and Yan Tan, in the battle.

One can imagine the scene at that time, with those believers fighting to the death one after another.

Su Wu frowned when he thought of this, and shouted, "Reinforce the camp gates, prepare more crossbows, and keep everyone on high alert!"

There are soldiers who rush to deliver the order.

Su Wu slowly returned to the central army tent. Many generals were there. Su Wu said, "In this battle, you must not underestimate the enemy. I have a plan in mind to defeat the enemy. We should defend first and then attack. We should defend for a while to make the enemy lose their morale, and then we can line up and attack to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop."

Everyone just follows orders.

Su Wu said again: "Everyone, there are elite and brave people in the enemy army. This battle to defend the stronghold is not easy. You must be extremely cautious. There must be people in the enemy army who are willing to fight to the death. The infantry of each unit must withstand the bravery of the enemy to fight to the death!"

Wu Song had already stood up: "Don't worry, brother. I will also follow the infantry to defend the camp and will definitely keep it safe!"

Su Wu nodded: "Okay, put Erlang Xianzhen in front."

Looking at Xu Guanzhong again, Su Wu said: "Bring the camp defense map, everyone follow the markings on the defense map and defend your own position. Whoever breaks the formation will be executed!"

This was the first time Su Wu issued such an order because he was well aware of the power of sects to deceive people.

When everyone heard this, their faces turned serious. The general actually said such harsh words, which must be a very serious matter.

Everyone had a frown on their face. Su Wu pointed and gave orders on the camp defense map, and everyone bowed their hands in solemn agreement.

As soon as the meeting was over, Su Wu came out of the big tent and looked first at the Huzhou city. There were countless people moving about. Although no sound could be heard, the excited movements showed that Su Wu's two small battles had brought great confidence to the people of Huzhou.

Looking at the enemy army again, Su Wu frowned again. Logically speaking, at this moment, when the enemy army had just arrived, they should have set up camp, gathered the main force first, and then went out to fight.

However, the bandit army did not even set up camp, but started cooking right on the spot, and a lot of smoke could be seen rising.

On second thought, could it be that the enemy army doesn’t really know how to fight a war?
Secondly, maybe there are too many bandits, and the things needed for the camp are too many, so there are not enough tents?
After thinking it over, Su Wu concluded that there might be other reasons. These bandits won too much, too quickly, and too much, which led them to gradually omit the necessary steps in fighting, such as setting up camp. Wherever they arrived at a place, either the city had already lost its defenses, or they would be defeated in a battle after a meal.

So there was no need to set up camp at all, they just went into the city to live, burn, kill and loot.

In addition, there were too many bandit troops, so building a camp became a huge project. However, the bandit troops' logistical engineering capabilities and organization were not perfect. In addition, the bandit troops carried more money and valuables, and did not prepare tents and other things too seriously.

No matter how he analyzed it, Su Wu was certain that the enemy army would attack the stronghold as soon as this meal came.

Xu Guanzhong asked, "General, since the enemy troops are so lazy, why don't we take advantage of the time when they are cooking and attack them?"

Su Wu thought about it seriously, but shook his head: "Don't fight, just wait for them to come!"

"Why?" Xu Guanzhong felt that Su Wu's decision was completely unreasonable.

In this battle, all we have to do is to disrupt and scatter the enemy and make them flee in defeat. Isn't that a great victory?
Su Wu said, "This bandit is no different from the others. Most of them are a mob, but there must be some who are extremely brave, a kind of bravery beyond ordinary people. Even if others are defeated, they will not be defeated. At that time, it will be a bloody battle. Instead of that, why not wait for these brave people to climb the village? We have strong bows and crossbows, so we can let them consume their energy outside the village wall, and our brothers can have fewer casualties!"

"There is such an army?" Xu Guanzhong was somewhat incredulous.

Su Wu nodded: "They are not necessarily considered an army. They have won too many battles and think they are blessed by the gods. Therefore, they have won every battle and have become more and more convinced of the way of Namani. Even if they die, they think they can ascend to heaven."

Xu Guanzhong understood and simply replied: "Cults really do harm people!"

Su Wu added: "Perhaps there are still some who think they are invulnerable to swords and spears. There must be some people in the army who use spells and magic to deceive people..."

Su Wu just analyzed it and found that these things have been like this since ancient times, almost the same, and have remained unchanged for thousands of years.

Either you go to heaven or become an immortal after death, or the gods can cure diseases and make you invulnerable to swords and guns.

The same is true for Mani and Fang La today, they cannot escape from these routines.

Xu Guanzhong understood even more and simply replied, "I understand. General, you want to not only use strong bows and crossbows to consume the elite troops of the enemy, but also to make the enemy suffer a great defeat first, so that they can no longer win every battle, and can no longer be invulnerable to swords and guns. Let them know that their gods are not so omnipotent and invincible..."

Su Wu sighed and nodded. If it was really a bloody fight, even if he really won, his soldiers would probably suffer heavy losses.

Su Wu also had to do one more thing, which was to kill all the truly fanatical believers among the 60,000 to 70,000 people in front of him. In this way... he would be able to slightly undermine the foundation of Fang La's faith.

Most of these 60,000 to 70,000 people were forced to join the war, and many were new converts. Their faith was not yet firm. Once they saw the outcome of this war and the tragic plight of those fanatics, their faith would not be so convincing.

Once these 60,000 to 70,000 people flee and disperse, the power of Mani's bewitchment will be greatly reduced.

This is really troublesome!
They just prepared for battle. The whole army put on armor and were ready. The auxiliary soldiers were also cooking and distributing the food one by one. The camp was almost lined up for battle.

Sure enough, soon after the meal, those bandits who had not set up camp began to move, not even caring about any formation. Many people scattered everywhere, and of course they cut wood to build simple ladders...

It seemed that the leader of the bandits didn't care whether the mob he led would be defeated.

The more blatant the action is, the more troublesome the matter will become.

Su Wu was extremely cautious, but he also took action: "Hua Rong, Shi Wengong!"

"I'm here!" Hua Rong stepped forward.

Shi Wengong was shocked when he heard this, and he also stepped forward: "I am here."

"You two will each lead 500 light cavalry, ride and shoot, and don't engage in head-on combat with any enemy. Just go and attack those thieves who are cutting wood in the distance. If you feel any danger, return to the camp immediately." Su Wu also wanted to make it difficult for the thieves to cut wood and build ladders, so the fewer ladders they could build, the better.

Su Wu also knew that the enemy would only have this one fight. As long as he, Su Wu, was defeated, the city of Huzhou would be broken immediately.

But if we fail to capture Su Wu's camp, the bandits will be in great distress tonight, and many will even suffer from hunger and cold. The bandits tomorrow will not be the same as today.

Su Wu also knew that the leader of the bandits was too confident in his elite troops.

Put yourself in Su Wu's shoes. If he were him, and had a group of people who didn't know life and death under his command, he would also be so confident.

Hua Rong and Shi Wengong each led 500 light cavalry, rode out on horseback, and started killing everywhere.

However, the main camp of the enemy army did not react at all. Even the Privy Councilor Lu Shinang knew about it, but he could not do anything about it. Two legs could not catch up with four legs.

As long as we break the government army's camp, everything will be fine.

However, Gao Keli, one of the twelve generals under Lu Shinang, was unhappy and cursed: "Damn it! The government troops are so rampant relying on their horses. Once we break into the camp, we will kill all these filthy people, take out their hearts and lungs, and cook them to eat!"

Lu Shinang nodded and said, "General Gao, don't be impatient. You just need to watch and learn carefully. This government army is quite capable. Once we break into the village and seize the horses, we will also learn the tactics of this government army when we have four legs instead of two!"

Lu Shinang is really not an ordinary person, he is very smart.

Gao Keli really looked up when he heard this and said, "It's nothing special. Just ride the horse back and forth, then draw the bow and shoot, shoot and run, run and shoot again. As long as I can get the horse, I will be able to do it."

Lu Shinang nodded and said, "It's good to see how it works. I'm afraid the government troops will become stronger and stronger in the future. If we fight again in the future, we should follow this method and it will definitely work."

"No matter how strong the government army is, how strong can it be..." Gao Keli, the Tai Sui general, disagreed.

Even though he was worthy of the title of Tai Sui Divine General, Gao Keli was indeed a man of great martial arts skills and bravery.

Lu Shinang also laughed: "I don't know how strong the government army can be. Just look at this government army in front of me. With so many horses and so many armors, it must be one of the strongest among the government armies. This time we will have a head-on battle, so that I can know how strong the government army is..."

Gao Keli nodded: "Privy Councilor, I will go there myself!"

Lu Shinang was very pleased: "God will be the vanguard!"

"Understood sir!" Gao Keli was eager to try.

Even though there were not enough ladders, Lu Shinang still climbed onto a temporary small wooden platform and began a ritual.

Under the wooden platform, there were about three thousand people surrounding it, many of them wearing armor and holding fine weapons.

The ceremony was not long. Lu Shinang just muttered some words, danced the sword in his hand back and forth a few times, dodged and jumped a few times, and then the ceremony was over.

Looking at the three thousand people under the wooden platform, each of them had a serious expression, as if some magical power had really entered their body.

As soon as the drum sounded, these people, led by Tai Sui God General Gao Keli, turned around and left. They did not form a battle array, but carried wooden ladders and walked towards the government army camp.

Then, a large group of people in gray linen followed behind them. Before long, tens of thousands of thieves came out in droves. They didn’t have any nests, they just went there...

On the top of the Huzhou city wall, there were braziers for warming people. Many officials and even some important figures in the city were there, gathering around the braziers to keep warm.

As the conversation became more lively, the atmosphere became somewhat relaxed.

This one said: "General Su is truly mighty and powerful!"

"How can the elite imperial guards be compared with ordinary ones? These two battles are really satisfying!"

"Alas... there are just too many bandits. There are a hundred thousand of them here, and I heard that Fang La has a million bandits under his command!"

Some people also waved their hands and said, "It doesn't matter. General Su is just a vanguard general. The imperial court will surely send hundreds of thousands of troops this time, and they will be able to wipe out the bandits."

The prefect Xing Yue was very pleased to hear this. He stroked his beard and nodded repeatedly. His efforts were worth it. He finally managed to stabilize the people of Huzhou. He also said: "There are many strong soldiers and generals like General Su in the court. You just have to wait and see. The follow-up will come..."

This is an interesting statement. When the time comes, I will have to rely on you all to pay more attention to it. You cannot shirk the matter of money and grain.

Suddenly someone shouted, "The bandits are attacking the village!"

Everyone quickly stood up and looked at the firing hole on the tower. As soon as they saw it, they gasped again. The thief was slowly approaching...

There are too many of them, so densely packed that it makes one's scalp tingle.

Looking at the government army camp, which was originally not small, it looked like a solitary boat compared with this densely packed camp.

As the dense crowds get closer, the lone boat appears even more precarious.

Everyone on the top of the city wall had their hearts in their throats. In fact, they had never seen a war before. This was the first time they had seen a war and they had no idea what a war was like. This was what they saw before their eyes.

It was Xing Yue who spoke up again: "Everyone, you all saw it. With such a big thief in front of him, did General Su show any fear at all? Did you see any panic in the camp?"

It was still Qian Shijiang who answered: "They are really ready to fight and are determined to die for their country!"

Actually, I was moved. The scene before my eyes was inexplicably sad and sorrowful, which moved me deeply.

Xing Yue said again: "How can we not comfort such an army?"

Finally someone spoke up: "Of course, of course, no matter how much you comfort us, it's still right!"

Someone else followed suit and said, "If we can defeat the enemy in this battle, I will give you 10,000 strings of cash!"

"I'll give you eight thousand!"

"I'll also give 8,000..."

As the conversation continued, Xing Yue breathed a sigh of relief, wiped his forehead, and looked at the battlefield again. The bandits were getting closer and closer to the camp. He breathed a sigh of relief again! He thought in his heart, even prayed: General Su, General Su! I must, I must! I must beat back the bandits and protect Huzhou, I must!
Inside the camp, Su Wu was also frowning. The bandit army numbered tens of thousands, but it seemed that they had no formation at all, and no arrangements for deployment.

Even Su Wu knew that these bandits could not form any formation and were difficult to dispatch and deploy.

Su Wu was still nervous. It had been a long time since he felt so nervous facing an enemy.

Inside the camp, drums sounded. Inside the stockade, rows of armored infantrymen were lined up in an orderly manner, and the bed crossbows and eight-ox crossbows were already strung tightly.

There was also an archer, stepping on the crossbow and trying his best to pull the bowstring, put on the arrow, and raise it to his chest. He looked back from time to time, just waiting for the order.

A fast horse galloped behind him and shouted, "Chuangzi crossbow, fire!"

The big wooden hammer hit the crossbow, and the spear-like arrow roared out, cutting through the sky!
The person next to the crossbow did not even look at where the arrow flew, but just turned the capstan, loaded the arrow again, and fired again.

The spear-like crossbow arrow flew seven or eight hundred steps away, stabbed down from mid-air, pierced into the chest of an armored thief, passed through the back, and pierced into the abdomen of another armored thief, piercing both of them together and nailing them into the mud.

The spear-like tail of the arrow was still shaking, making a buzzing sound.

This scene was truly horrifying. This bed crossbow had unimaginable power. However, looking at the people around him, they were all indifferent to such a horrifying scene. They still kept walking. How could they show any fear at all?
The crossbow arrows came one after another, piercing through the dense crowd. When they pierced through the armored thieves in front, they couldn't stop at all. When they pierced through the linen-clad thieves at the back, they shouted and wailed.

As long as the person in front is still walking, the people behind are still following.

In the camp, the military order came again, and the bandits came closer, four hundred steps away. The divine arm crossbows came again, and the arrows were as thick as thumbs. There were more than seven hundred divine arm crossbows, and more than seven hundred powerful arrows were shot at one time.

The nails on the armor made a crackling sound, the armor was pierced, and the arrow pierced into the flesh. The armored thief groaned, but he seemed to be really not hurt or in pain, and was still able to run.

After running for forty or fifty steps, the man fell down with a bang, and twitched on the ground.

The person next to him didn't even look at him, but stepped over him and continued running with the ladder.

It was getting closer and closer. Inside the camp, there were mostly ordinary crossbows. About 200 steps away, in the sky, densely packed black spots were coming like rain.

There was a thief in armor, his body covered with arrows. The arrows pierced his armor and skin and got stuck on his flesh, but did not affect his running steps at all.

In the camp, Wu Song and Wu Erlang were the first to hold a knife in the front. Seeing this scene, they were also shocked and wondered why these people were so fearless of death.

Never seen before!

It was Wu Song who went to see his comrades. There were indeed many soldiers who were watching this scene, swallowing their saliva repeatedly...

Wu Song shouted, "Brothers, just watch me kill the thief!"

People around him all looked at Wu Song unconsciously after hearing what he said!

Wu Song raised his sword and said, "The bandits don't seem to be afraid of death. Are we afraid of death too? Just kill them. If you are not afraid of death, you can kill them one by one!"

Many soldiers seemed to be really excited when they heard this. Even though they had fought so many battles, killing people was never difficult!
Wu Song even shouted: "It's good that you are not afraid of death! This way, there are many kills, and there is no need to chase!"

When the people around heard what he said, they actually felt that Commander Wu had some truth in what he said. In the past, when they killed bandits, they really had to chase them until they were out of breath and exhausted. But today, it seemed that they really didn't need to chase the bandits. They could just stab them one by one with a gun. How could they be invulnerable?
The crossbows were still howling, and the crossbow even had the wooden pads on the front legs removed, so it was placed flat, and then it would be hit with a wooden hammer and an arrow would shoot out, piercing through several thieves before it stopped.

The scene was right in front of him, Wu Song laughed: "Look, brothers, isn't this a simple and easy death..."

The soldiers around him could actually force out a smile. It was indeed because of the various arrows in the army, which were extremely powerful. From eight or nine hundred steps to the front, they had already shot and killed countless brave bandits!

This scene looks really refreshing!
The thief really rushed to the front, and Wu Song suddenly said in a serious tone: "Draw your guns!"

Many soldiers pointed their spears forward and watched the bandits wading through the trench again and again, not caring at all how icy the water in the trench was.

These armored thieves were extremely agile. They waded across the trenches and set up ladders. None of them looked back and they climbed up bravely.

The spear just stabbed and the thief fell to the ground. However, the way he fell to the ground was somewhat weird.

What's weird?

There was no wailing sound. The bandits who climbed the village in front of them were killed and injured one after another. Apart from the muffled gasps, there was really no wailing or shouting. Instead, there were many wailing sounds coming from the bandits behind them...

There was a man who had just climbed to a high place by chance, and he suddenly jumped down. No matter how many spears were in front of his head, he would just raise his spear and stab.

Even though he was already riddled with holes from countless spears, he was still able to pierce his spear into a soldier's neck.

The soldier had a collar armor around his neck, but the spear head slid up along the armor plate, and the spear blade pierced his throat from his chin...

The soldier fell down immediately, holding his neck with his hands, his eyes wide open, and kicked his legs to retreat from the front row.

The soldiers on both sides came to look at him, and the people behind him tried to drag him to the rescue. Someone even shouted, "Assistance soldiers, help soldiers, carry him to the rescue!"

Then several auxiliary soldiers came forward, one of them pressed and covered the blood, two brought a stretcher, and someone else moved the body onto the stretcher, and then ran back quickly. There was a military doctor in the tent behind, so they rescued him quickly to see if he could still survive.

Looking at the stockade again, one by one, armored thieves kept jumping up, showing an indescribable bravery and strangeness.

Even the person who jumped down clearly heard the sound of bones breaking, but he still got up and swung his knife forward to chop.

It was so fierce that it was unbelievable. Wu Song was right in front of him, so he gritted his teeth and said angrily: "Are you the only one who would risk your life?"

He used the huge machete as a blunt weapon and smashed it with all his might. With a clang, the man fell to the ground and could not move. Wu Song smashed it again and again, causing sparks to fly everywhere, and shouted angrily: "Are you still going to fight or not?"

As he was speaking, Wu Song suddenly felt his head go dark. He looked up, then down, and saw a thief jumping directly towards him from the top of the stockade, perhaps intending to use his body to knock Wu Song to the ground.

Wu Song had so much strength in his body that he did not fall down, but the man fell to the side. Wu Song's eyes suddenly turned red, and he roared out from his throat: "You bastard!"

The huge machete in his hand went forward again, and there was another clanging sound of sparks.

Looking left and right, more and more thieves jumped in. They were really coming in succession, and the soldiers just waved their hammers forward and knocked them.

The thief was even more brave and courageous. Even though the iron bone bar had clearly hit him on the head, he did not care and kept chopping forward with the knife in his hand. Even if the blade was bent and sparks flew, he used it as an iron bar to hit him. He even kicked his feet, leaped forward, and threw himself into the arms of the government soldier, hugged him tightly, and rolled and smashed things on the ground.

It was a bloody battle, really bloody.

On the general platform, Su Wu paced back and forth. How could he not see that the brave bandits kept climbing over the wall and entering the stronghold?

Su Wu just kept shouting: "Drum, drum!"

Xu Guanzhong, who was standing by, was even more stunned. He had been in battle before, but this was the first time he had seen such a scene.

Not only Xu Guanzhong, but also Zhu Wu, clenched his teeth inexplicably. And Wen Huanzhang was so stunned that he had no thoughts in his mind.

Wu Yong, on the other hand, spoke up: "General, you can't wait any longer. The supervisory team should move forward."

Upon hearing this, Su Wu immediately descended from the platform, mounted his horse, and shouted, "Follow me to supervise the battle!"

At this moment, Su Wu was clear-headed. He knew that the enemy was only brave for a short while, so he must hold on. If he could hold on, the army under his command would be able to handle any situation in the future. If he couldn't hold on, all Su Wu's efforts for so long would be wasted.

Su Wu was actually also anxious, very anxious, so he rode away with a spear in his hand.

After he stepped forward and ran sideways, he shouted to his left and right: "Anyone who retreats will be killed immediately, anyone who retreats will be killed immediately!"

At this moment, it is a matter of life and death for everyone. There is no room for human feelings or even brotherhood. If we retreat, how many brothers can survive?

Su Wu shouted, and the soldiers who followed him to supervise the battle, including Su Wu's personal guards, also shouted non-stop.

Even if some people in the army really started to turn around to look, their faces were a little pale. This was a bad sign. Anyone who turned around must have been afraid.

Su Wu also knew that his army had always been too successful in fighting!

Having never encountered any setbacks, and relying on their iron armor and strong horses, it was like picking up money for the soldiers to go into battle. Today's situation was really different from the past, and it was normal for some soldiers to feel timid.

But, it cannot be tolerated.

Su Wu raised his gun and pointed it at the soldier who turned around to look at him, and shouted angrily: "Go forward!"

The soldier was startled and immediately turned back to look forward.

In front, under the stockade, there were at least seven or eight hundred armored soldiers jumping in.

Outside the stockade, there were countless corpses of bandits lying there. The bandits behind him continued to climb the stockade wall, stepping over the corpses of their comrades.

Su Wu was even more anxious. He rode his horse sideways and shouted, "Brothers, move forward! Don't let the enemy gain a foothold!"

When he arrived in front of Lu Da's formation, he saw Lu Da, who had broken away from the team and was standing in the front. He was wearing two sets of armor and waving a huge machete with the blade already rolled, attacking left and right!

How could Su Wu not know why Lu Da did this? He wanted to stabilize the army's morale and keep his position steady. Only by doing this could all the soldiers see how brave he was, and this was where the army's morale was.

It seemed that the thieves were not afraid of the monster-like Lu Da, and they just kept attacking Lu Da with swords, spears, and hammers. Every time Lu Da knocked down one person, another would rush over.

Some of the thieves even tried to grab Lu Da's feet, some tried to put their arms around Lu Da's waist, and some even tried to pry Lu Da's hands apart, but they were knocked to the ground by Lu Da's punch.

Su Wu was behind and saw everything clearly. He immediately struck the soldier in front of him on the shoulder with his spear and shouted, "Forward, forward!"

The soldier knew that the person behind him was his own General Su, so he gritted his teeth and moved forward. He moved forward and reached the front, and just pushed his comrade in front of him. The man in front of him also knew that the general was behind him, so he also pushed his comrade in front of him forward.

General Su shouted from behind: "Forward, forward!"

Many soldiers seemed to really understand and hear what was said, and they were marching forward with the general following behind. If the general thought that they were cowardly, how could they continue to serve in the army?

The man who was only looking at this part suddenly took a big step forward. In an instant, all the thieves on Lu Da's left and right were wiped out.

Su Wu knew that such a life-and-death battle depended on momentum.

In the past, Su Wu always felt that his army still had this kind of momentum. Only now did he realize that it was still lacking. After all, they had to go through the test of such a battle to truly be reborn.

Su Wu even thought that the soldiers under his command might be no worse than the elite Western Army, or even better.

Only now did he realize that although the elite Western Army's weapons, equipment and even horses were not as good as Su Wu's, their bravery was definitely better than that of Su Wu's subordinates.

Who did Su Wu fight against in the past? Just the Liangshan bandits.

Although the Western Army has not had any major battles recently, it has been engaged in small battles with the Western Xia and Dangxiang.

The two armies facing different enemies are very different. Putting aside weapons, armor and horses, and only talking about the morale and fighting spirit of the two armies facing different enemies, there is actually still a gap.

These gaps must be filled as soon as possible, today.

Su Wu rode his horse sideways again, still shouting until his throat was hoarse: "Forward, forward!"

Su Wu was fortunate in one thing, that is, although he saw many cowardly expressions and actions along the way, he did not see any real retreat!
Whether it is the previous training or the battle, it is not meaningless!

Armored thieves jumped in one after another, and during the fight, sparks and blood flew everywhere, and a foul smell filled the air above the battlefield.

The generals were all at the front, and they were all the bravest men. Su Wu was very pleased and shouted excitedly.

Fortunately, this army really has a soul. The soul may not be all in Su Wu, but among the generals Su Wu found, there is the loyal one who bows his head to the ground.

Perhaps it was because of them that the soldiers, although clearly cowardly, did not actually turn around and flee.

There were only three thousand fanatical Manichaeans, and seven or eight hundred of them were shot dead on the way, with many more injured. There were also heavy casualties when they were climbing the village wall.

As for the people who could really enter the camp and fight, Su Wu had already counted them as he marched along, and they were no more than about fourteen or five hundred.

However, outside the stockade, there were no more armored Monis, only people in sackcloth clothes. Looking around, it seemed that those people in sackcloth clothes were also climbing the stockade.

"Pull up the auxiliary soldiers, let them hold bows and shoot, quickly!" Su Wu sat on his black horse, galloping back and forth on the snow. The military orders are following. Even now, the auxiliary soldiers are under Su Wu's command and have also been training. At this time, the military orders are also made in advance.

Du Xing was well prepared. As soon as the military order came, teams of auxiliary soldiers came from behind and drew their bows and shot arrows.

There is no need for the crossbow, and it is troublesome to load arrows on the crossbow. The bows are more useful. You can just pull the pull and shoot. Those people in linen clothes have no armor to protect their bodies. If they are shot, they will either die or be injured.

On the top of the Huzhou city wall, there were countless people watching the fight. Each of them had a pale face, trembling legs, their hearts were beating wildly, but they kept watching intently.

Once upon a time, this Jiangnan region had not seen such a brutal battle for two hundred years? Three hundred years? Or four or five hundred years?

The prefect Xing Yue was so distressed that his face turned pale. On that cold winter day, beads of sweat the size of beans were on his forehead. He was tense all over and his fists were clenched.

Until beads of sweat slid into his eye sockets, his eyes were burning, he raised his hand to wipe them, and after wiping them, Xing Yue came back to his senses, and looked around tremblingly. He didn't know how long he had been staring blankly, and only then did he speak: "This... this is... purgatory on earth!"

Qian Shijiang finally reacted, swallowed his saliva, licked his lips, and replied: "The elite of the imperial army are really like divine soldiers from heaven!"

But someone turned around and asked tremblingly: "Sir, this, this, this...will this still win?"

Xing Yue subconsciously exchanged a glance with Qian Shijiang, and for a moment he didn't know how to answer, but he still managed to squeeze out a sentence from between his teeth: "We will win, we will definitely win!"

It's just like this scene, no matter how you look at it, there's no way you can win.

Why?

The thieves had already rushed into the village, and countless more were swarming in. It was so densely packed that they were hard to describe in how many.

If they kept charging into the village like this, no matter how brave the government troops were, they were outnumbered and weak, and would probably suffer heavy casualties and no victory.

Qian Shijiang also had a bleak expression, but he still had to answer: "Yes!"

When he looked at Xing Yue again, he was inexplicably crying. He didn't know whether it was the scene in front of him that made him cry, or the sweat that had entered his eyes that made him cry...

Maybe...Xing Yue felt that he might be dying...

I'm going to die...

I don’t know how the history books will record my death defending the city. Will the historians say that I fought bravely against the bandits and died for my country?

Or will they say that he, Xing Yue, failed to live up to the emperor's grace, was ashamed of the court, and died because of his inability to fight the bandits?

What if I ran away early? What would future generations say about me?

There were so many officials running away. So many that the historians couldn't remember them all, right?

Xing Yue wiped his tears, thinking countless random thoughts. He was in a daze just now, but now that he came to his senses, his head was full of random thoughts.

Looking at the people around him, whether they were officials or prominent figures, they all looked ashen, as if they had lost their parents...

The thieves are probably going to win. After they enter the city... everyone present will be killed, either by skinning them or ripping out their hearts and lungs...

Even family members...

Ugh……

Xing Yue suddenly shouted again: "We will win, we will definitely win, General Su will definitely drive the enemy away!"

Just now, Xing Yue said he would win, but his answer was not very impressive. Now, he tried to shout with all his might, but no matter how much he shouted, the people around him still looked as pale as death...

(Brothers, this is hard to write, and I am writing slower and slower, please forgive me!)

(End of this chapter)