Chapter 79

The four gates of Jieyou were sealed with earth and stone, making them difficult to open. Therefore, Lu Chang urgently ordered long ropes to be lowered from the city walls so that Ding Miao and others could climb up.

The enemy army, numbering in the tens of thousands, surrounded the city, believing they had woven a net of iron, through which even a bird could not pass. Who would have thought that Ding Miao, with his audacity, would pretend to be a high-ranking official of the Xiongnu, boldly passing through layer upon layer of sentries, and arriving directly under the walls of Jieyou. This move greatly invigorated the soldiers and civilians. When Ding Miao loudly announced that reinforcements would arrive soon, cheers could be heard for miles outside the city.

The cheers of the defenders had not yet subsided when the sound of war drums thundered from outside the city, and another wave of attacking forces pressed in from all sides. This time, the number of troops far exceeded the previous attack, including several fresh armies that had been well-rested. They advanced with tall siege towers, which were as high as mountains.

These siege towers were several zhang tall, with their tops level with the city walls. On top, wooden bridges about two zhang wide were laid out. Once they approached the walls, the troops could directly attack the city head via these bridges. The towers were covered with ox hide, making them impervious to ordinary arrows and stones. Below the towers were ten wooden wheels, and over a hundred men were hidden inside, pushing the towers forward like giant beasts, causing all who saw them to be shocked.

Building these siege towers was extremely time-consuming. The Xiongnu mobilized all their engineers to work day and night, and at this point, only one tower had been completed, with two more under construction. They originally planned to use all of them to break the city in one go. However, perhaps enraged by Ding Miao's actions, the Xiongnu immediately deployed the completed siege tower.

For such massive siege equipment, neither bows and arrows nor rolling logs and stones could cause substantial damage. The defenders urgently gathered dozens of archers to shoot flaming arrows, but the Xiongnu covered the flames with sand and soil. Although a few fires started, the siege tower was too large, and it would take an unknown amount of time to burn it down.

In a moment, the siege tower reached the city. With a loud crash, the city walls trembled. The Xiongnu outside roared in encouragement, appearing mad, and over a hundred particularly fierce Xiongnu soldiers charged up the flying bridge toward the city head.

Although the flying bridge was made as wide as possible, its size was limited, and the soldiers had to stand densely, even restricting their ability to swing their weapons. The first batch to charge was immediately hit by concentrated arrows from the Jin army.

Despite their heavy armor, no matter how fine it was, it could not provide full protection. The exposed parts of their faces, hands, and feet inevitably got hit by arrows. The sound of arrows piercing flesh was continuous, and in an instant, over ten Xiongnu soldiers were severely wounded and fell to the ground. Several of them tumbled off the flying bridge and were crushed into pulp on the ground.

However, the Xiongnu soldiers behind did not hesitate. They pressed forward shoulder to shoulder, stepping over the bodies of their fallen comrades and continuing to charge, even using the dead bodies as shields to attack the city walls.

The Jin army immediately withdrew the archers and replaced them with infantry armed with long spears. They relied on the city walls, using specially extended three-zhang-long spears to thrust. Dozens of spears stabbed back and forth, forming a barrier like a rolling hedgehog in front of the flying bridge. The Xiongnu soldiers, though fearless, were momentarily at a loss.

At this moment, a thunderous roar echoed from the flying bridge, and a general leaped out from the crowd, flying over the city walls and landing directly among the Jin army.

This man had a leopard-like head and ringed eyes, a robust body, and was clad in double-layered heavy armor, wielding a strange large cleaver. The cleaver had a thick back and a narrow blade, weighing at least twenty to thirty catties, with a handle attached to a thick iron chain about a zhang long. It could be used for both close combat and long-range attacks, creating a whirlwind within a few zhang radius when swung. He fought with great ferocity, roaring with each strike. Wherever he went, the Jin soldiers were decapitated, and blood and flesh flew everywhere, with no one able to stand against him.

The Jin army, not expecting such a fierce enemy general, was thrown into chaos. The soldiers near the battlements, facing the enemy general, were particularly disadvantaged, as their long spears were difficult to maneuver. They were quickly routed. The enemy general, in a frenzy, suddenly let out a long howl. The Xiongnu soldiers on the siege tower responded, charging forward like madmen. The Xiongnu army below roared and shouted, creating a deafening din that drowned out all other sounds.

In a very short time, over thirty Jin soldiers fell on this narrow city head. The remaining comrades, their eyes red with rage, fought desperately with the Xiongnu, but the Xiongnu, consisting of elite soldiers selected from tens of thousands, were all formidable warriors. Under the leadership of the fierce enemy general, they pressed forward step by step, causing the Jin army's casualties to soar, and the defense to waver.

However, for the city's general, Lu Chang, such a situation was already numb to him and did not shake his calm demeanor.

Lu Chang, with over a hundred elite subordinates nearby, did not issue any orders for reinforcements.

He observed the changes in the battle with a calm expression, constantly assessing the limits of both sides. Compared to the seemingly endless Xiongnu army below, the Jieyou defenders were too weak. He had to ensure that every deployment of troops would halt the enemy's advance and that every fallen Jin soldier would die meaningfully.

His method of defending the city was not simply to pile up troops where the enemy attacked, but to maintain a powerful reserve force and launch a strong counterattack at the right moment.

Although reports of losses from various fronts came in like snowflakes, his expression did not change. He occasionally moved some small wooden chips scattered in front of him, occasionally removing one... this represented another complete fifty-man squad losing its combat capability. Four days ago, there were twenty-eight such chips, but now only about ten remained.

Ding Miao stood beside Lu Chang, not paying attention to his actions. He held a pair of silver-gleaming short halberds in each hand, occasionally waving them, showing a eager look.

"Xiongnu Wu Ya Da Jiangjun Liu Qin is personally on the field! The brothers can't hold on, let me take over!" In the deafening cries of battle, Ding Miao shouted at Lu Chang.

The fierce Xiongnu warrior was none other than Liu Qin, the Wu Ya Da Jiangjun of the Xiongnu. He was a famous Xiongnu general, not an ordinary commander. He was of the noble Tuoba clan, a relative of the Han King Liu Yuan. He was exceptionally brave and often led the vanguard of the army. Last year, during the decisive battle with the Bingzhou army of the Eastern Jin, he led a separate force to intercept the Jin army, breaking through four layers of camps in ten days, winning ten consecutive victories, and slaying over ten thousand enemies, causing the Jin soldiers to tremble in fear. His reputation was built on the blood and bodies of the Jin army.

"Such a formidable opponent is just right for me, Ding Wen Hao!" Ding Miao shouted loudly, "Brother Shi Ze, your soldiers will only die in vain; let them retreat, don't steal my glory!"

These words were undoubtedly well-intentioned, but coming from Ding Miao, they sounded different. As one of the top generals under Yuanshi Gong, Ding Miao was proud of his bravery and spoke bluntly, often making his colleagues lose face; yet, this personality was very popular among the soldiers, which was quite strange.

Fortunately, Lu Chang was well aware of Ding Miao's quirks and did not take offense. Being much older than Ding Miao and having a good personal relationship, he scolded, "Young man, stop talking nonsense! Wait another half a moment!"

Ding Miao glared at Lu Chang, barely suppressing his almost bursting fighting spirit, and gritted his teeth, "Fine! Fine! Wait another half a moment!"

On the battlefield, half a moment passed in a flash. Liu Qin continued to roar and charge, and with the fierce battle with his subordinates, the space they occupied on the city head slowly but inevitably expanded. At the same time, the pressure they faced also increased.

The Jin soldiers fought to the death, attacking them from three sides, while the archers on both sides of the city walls rained arrows down on the siege tower, even leaning out of the battlements to shoot, trying their best to prevent the Xiongnu reinforcements from climbing the city.

The Xiongnu had only one siege tower, and under the dense barrage of arrows, the top of the tower was already covered with the bodies of Xiongnu warriors. At a certain point, the number of warriors able to climb the city suddenly decreased sharply.

Lu Chang shouted, "Ding Wen Hao, it's your turn!"

Before the words were even finished, Ding Miao had already rushed out. The twin halberds sliced through the air, making a sharp whistling sound, and his momentum was like a stone projectile launched from a catapult.

******

A chapter added with effort, hehe.

Thank you to every reader who has made it this far. Your support and encouragement mean a lot to me. Wishing you a happy Labor Day!

[AD begins on the previous page]

[AD ends on the previous page]