noffsinger Chapter 145: Defend our homeland and never surrender!
Chapter 145: Defend our homeland and never surrender!
Yandong area.
Eagles were soaring high in the sky, making sharp cries. They were flying so high only because they were disturbed by the smoke of war and the sounds of fighting on the ground.
Although swords and knives cannot hurt them, the arrows shooting in the air are just as sharp and can kill you on the spot if you are not careful!
On the Yandong Plain, two groups of people were fighting. One group of people was wearing simple protective gear and weapons, and some were even wearing cloth clothes.
Moreover, the ages of this group of people are also very mixed, including young people in their prime, middle-aged people who are slightly older, and even young teenagers.
But no matter how big the age difference between these people is, the only thing that remains unchanged is their determined eyes.
Those are eyes that are ready to die. Even if they know they will die at any time in the next second, they will still move forward bravely and never retreat!
These are the local people of Yandong and some garrisons who are unwilling to join the Dynasty. Their homes are behind them. If they give up their land easily without doing anything, how can they have the face to see their ancestors?
When they arrived at the battlefield today, they didn't think about going back alive. Even if they died, they wanted to take a piece of meat from the Chao Kingdom!
Their opponents were all wearing silver armor, holding iron spears, and some even held iron shields.
These are the troops from Chao State, and there is also a unique force in the army.
They are huge in size, holding a huge axe and a square shield. The shield is extremely wide and can block almost all attacks.
However, the Chao army did not send too many troops, only a small number of infantry to fight against it, and the remaining troops were actually Yandong people.
Yes, these people were loyal to the Chao Kingdom. After the Chao Kingdom’s army entered the Yandong area, they immediately surrendered and supported the Chao Kingdom.
Chaoguo immediately gained a group of puppet soldiers who were willing to fight for him. After distributing weapons and protective gear to these puppet soldiers, he asked them to eliminate the resistance forces in the Yandong area.
Although the Yandong armies on both sides were weak in terms of military strength, they could not resist the better weapons provided by Chao.
The puppet soldiers were wearing iron armor and carrying iron spears, and the resistance army could not inflict any fatal injuries on them, while the puppet soldiers' iron spears could kill them with one strike.
This was destined to be a battle of almost total crushing. The small group of infantry sent by North Korea didn't even have to put in much effort, and the puppet army alone was able to keep pushing forward.
As they moved forward, large numbers of rebels fell in pools of blood, and the entire battlefield was filled with a strong smell of blood.
The first wave of resistance troops that entered the battlefield were completely wiped out, and the resistance troops that had not yet joined the battlefield stopped advancing. A moment later, a horn sounded in the military camp.
This is the signal to retreat.
......
In the rebel camp, a handsome man sat on a wooden chair, one hand on his thigh and the other holding a sword inserted into the ground.
His face was full of fatigue. The continuous defeats in the war had caused him to suffer from sleepless nights. Due to lack of sleep and the brutal fighting conditions, his eyeballs were full of bloodshot.
This man is the leader of the resistance army, Zhang Ye. Ye means wilderness. He always uses this phrase when introducing himself to others.
At this time, a young man in cloth clothes came running over in a hurry. He clasped his fists and said, "Chief! The front line... the front line suffered a great defeat. None of the 10,000 brothers sent out came back alive."
The young man paused, his face full of pain. He tried hard to hold back his tears and continued, "Brothers, we can't hold on any longer. Those puppet troops have taken North Korea's equipment. We are no match for them at all!"
Zhang Ye raised his hand and put the young man's hand down. He sighed and said, "I understand. Please step back first. Let me think about it for a while."
The young man also knew that it was not easy to be a leader. Without him, they would not even have a chance to resist and would be killed by the Korean people.
It was the leader who organized and led them to resist. Although the effect was minimal, it did stop the advance of the Korean army and the puppet army.
They joined the rebels not because they thought they could survive, they just wanted their families to be able to evacuate the Yandong area in time.
But the attack from the North was getting more and more fierce, and many of their relatives had not been able to retreat, and they were about to give up...
"Chief, before you leave, I have something to ask you."
"Just ask."
"Hasn't the imperial court sent reinforcements yet? The news of the fall of Yandong should have been sent out almost seven or eight days ago, right?"
"We can't receive any news from the outside world. Chief, do you think the imperial court has given up on us? But hasn't Yandong been the territory of Daying since ancient times?"
"It was other people who had the intention of rebellion. We are innocent! I...I..." At the end of his speech, the young man's voice began to choke.
"My family hasn't completely left here yet. I'm afraid that after I die, they won't be able to escape the clutches of the North Koreans."
“Chief, what should we do next? What should we do…” The young man’s voice gradually became weaker, and finally he even cried softly.
Zhang Ye looked at him with a complicated expression. After all, he was just an older child.
"Don't worry, we just can't receive any news from outside, but someone sent a letter yesterday saying that the imperial court's reinforcements are on the way."
Zhang Ye comforted the young man and continued, "Brothers, please hold on a little longer. Behind us are our relatives who are fleeing. We must buy time for them!"
Hearing what the leader said, hope returned to the young man's eyes. He wiped the tears from his face and forced a smile.
"Yes, leader!" After saying that, the young man turned and left.
Zhang Ye watched the young man disappear from his sight. He sat back in his chair and held his forehead with his hand until he could no longer see his figure.
After a moment's silence, he suddenly clenched his fists, a strong feeling of powerlessness surged from his heart, and his body became more and more tired.
In fact, when the war reached this point, he had already realized that the resistance army could not stop the advance of the Korean army and the puppet army.
All they could do at this time was to delay the enemy's advance as much as possible to ensure that their families could evacuate safely.
But the people were retreating too slowly. If they could not delay long enough, the Koreans would soon catch up with the fleeing people, and what would undoubtedly be waiting for them would be a ruthless massacre.
Although he is still trying to recruit men to join the resistance, not all of them are willing to sacrifice their lives selflessly.
It was not easy for him to gather tens of thousands of people, but the gap in equipment and combat skills was too big, and it was really difficult to deal with this group of enemies who were like tigers, leopards, jackals and wolves.
The strength of their rebel forces was still too weak, and their only hope lay in the imperial army.
But the irony is that their hopes have yet to materialize, as if the Yandong region had been completely abandoned by Daying.
Is this still the Daying he knew? When he was still a young man, there was a general in Daying who led his army to defeat the army of the State of Chao again and again.
He still remembered that the army had a black flag with a tiger embroidered on it.
Everyone calls them the "Tiger Army"!
His dream at that time was to go to the capital and join the Tiger Guards! But later he heard that the general was dismissed from his post and the Tiger Guards were disbanded.
It was also after that that rebellions in the Yandong region became more and more frequent, and those with ulterior motives began to create all kinds of chaos in an attempt to make the Yandong region a part of the Chao state.
It was also from that time that Zhang Ye and a group of like-minded friends formed an alliance army specifically to fight against some lackeys assigned by the Chao Kingdom in Yandongli.
At first, they were able to suppress a lot of civil unrest with the help of their allied forces, but a while ago, the Chaoguo army suddenly entered the Yandong area in large numbers.
Their appearance instantly broke the balance, the Allied Forces were defeated all the way, and those lackeys took advantage of this to develop into the current puppet army.
Zhang Ye's allied forces thus became rebel forces. He originally wanted to delay the advance of the Chao Kingdom, but after the fight he realized that the Chao Kingdom's current strength was terrifyingly powerful.
Just as Zhang Ye was sighing repeatedly, two more strong men came running over.
Zhang Ye's eyes lit up when he saw the two people coming. He was the one who sent them out to get information from the outside world. He immediately asked, "How is it? Did the court send out a large army?"
The two men's faces immediately became depressed. When Zhang Ye saw this scene, he immediately understood. He rubbed his messy hair and lowered his head weakly.
"Chief, not only did the imperial court not send out troops, it even said it would temporarily abandon us." At this point, the man who spoke became furious.
"This queen mother said that our Yandong region has always been in turmoil. Anyway, the country is loyal to Chaoguo. After Chaoguo took over Yandong, it also fulfilled the wishes of the people of Yandong."
"Is this woman talking like a human being? Aren't there any people from Yandong who are interested in Daying?"
"Yes! This woman not only wants to abandon the Yandong area, but also plans to have the army cut off Yandong's escape route to the Central Plains. This woman wants to cut off our retreat!"
"We men can die here, but what about our families? We fight so hard just for our families!"
Zhang Ye also became emotional after hearing these words. He clenched his fist and said angrily: "The court is going too far! They don't treat us as human beings!"
"Since we can't count on the imperial court, let's fight the people of Chao! Send some of our brothers to help the people evacuate Yandong before the imperial court seals the pass!"
"Other brothers, follow me and disperse to stop the puppet army! Even if every drop of blood in your body is drained, you must delay them!"
"Yes, leader!" The two men's eyes revealed an extremely firm will.
Zhang Ye immediately stood up and went to the place where the soldiers were resting. When he looked at the group of people in front of him, his heart twitched again.
He suppressed the pain in his nose and said loudly: "Brothers! As you can see from the current situation, we can't stop the North Koreans."
"But we can delay them and allow our family members to escape as much as possible! With you here, I, Zhang Ye, will never take a step back!"
"At worst, I can still be a brave man in 18 years, and fight those running dogs and the Koreans!"
Zhang Ye drew his knife and raised it above his head. He roared, "For this land, for the loved ones behind me, kill!"
"Kill one and you'll win. Kill two and you'll win! Kill three and you'll be a hero!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!" The rebels also raised their weapons and shouted.
"Chief! Chief!" At this time, a man ran in hurriedly.
"The puppet army is advancing again!" the man shouted while panting and pointing in the direction outside the camp.
After hearing what he said, the others looked serious. In other words, everyone had an expression of being ready to die.
"Go! Kill!" Zhang Ye shouted, and led the remaining members of the resistance army to the final battlefield...
At the same time, on the Dongku Plain, a large army was galloping forward, leaving behind a cloud of dust.
In order to travel as quickly as possible, these cavalrymen were all equipped lightly. Now they were only fifty miles away from the Yandong area.
Among the people running in the front were all familiar faces, namely Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Huo Qubing.
And behind the three of them was Ying Xuanze. This time, Ying Xuanze chose to take the Qin cavalry away.
The remaining Wei Wuzu, Yue Family Army and Zhao Cavalry guarded Xiliang Pass together with Yue Fei and Zhang Liang.
Although it was urgent to reinforce the Yandong area, Ying Xuanze did not dare to take all the troops away.
First, the target is too large and there are too many people, which may easily delay time on the road; second, Xiliang cannot be without a large army to guard it.
Today, Xiliang is his base camp. Not to mention that his prestige and reputation rely on the people here, his family is also still in Longxi City.
Of course, the most important point is that he now has a huge amount of points!
In the days since he returned to Xiliang Pass from the grassland, his points have accumulated to an astonishing 70 million!
With 70 million points in hand, he doesn't need to worry about the military strength at all. When he arrives in the Yandong area, he can create an army of more than 100,000 people!
"Gee! Hurry up! Hurry up!" Ying Xuanze shouted while calling out to the Qin cavalrymen behind him.
The afterglow of the setting sun was projected on the horizon. Under the crimson light and shadow, tens of thousands of horses were galloping on a road. The horses were running very fast and were panting with exhaustion.
The same went for the people on horseback. After running continuously without stopping, the somewhat tired Ying Xuanze finally saw the outline of the pass ahead.
This is Guling Pass, which controls the only passage between the Yandong area and the Central Plains area. It is also one of the few major passes in Daying.
Because of its important strategic position, Guling Pass has always been heavily guarded by troops. Emperors of all dynasties in Daying would deploy 50,000 troops here.
Due to this sturdy pass, Guling Pass is also known as "Xuanwu Pass", which means indestructible, just like Xuanwu.
Ying Xuanze led his army to the foot of the pass. A guard on the top of the city wall shouted, "Whose general is coming from the front? Please state your name."
The defending general took a look at the army and saw that they were all cavalrymen. He thought they were the vanguard troops sent by the court to reinforce. He did not think that they were sent by the court to recover the Yandong area.
Although they are all cavalry, these few people will become sitting ducks once they go on the battlefield and will be shot to death by the archers of the Chao Dynasty one arrow after another.
Ying Xuanze raised his head and looked at the guard. He said solemnly, "I am the Marquis of Zhenxi, and I have been ordered to come here to wipe out the Chao army! Please open the city gate and let us pass!"
"Marquis of Zhenxi?" The garrison commander was shocked. The Marquis of Zhenxi who had annihilated hundreds of thousands of Hu people? He was the one who came to recapture the Yandong region?
The defending general realized that a powerful man had arrived, so he ordered his soldiers to open the city gates.