Chinese New Year

Chapter 514 Extreme Pressure
The north wind is blowing fiercely and the war drums are beating loudly.

The city of Anyang stands on the land, having experienced erosion from wind and rain.

This city is very old, and can be traced back to the capital of King Zhou of Shang.

In the Qing Dynasty, Sima Yue attacked Ye and was defeated in Dangyin. A small vanguard unit reached Anyang. But the funny thing is that as the vanguard, they did not encounter Sima Ying's army and did not know how to move.

After the Guo Dynasty, the city of Anyang has never left the stage of history. Shi Zun, Fu Jian, Murong Chui, Li Mi and others have left their footprints here.

Located at a strategic point and a hub of land and water transport, this city was destined to be born for war.

On the tenth day of July in the eighth year of the Yongjia reign of the Jin Dynasty (314), after several days of preparations, an army of more than troops were stationed on the north, south, and east sides, leaving only a vacant position on the west side.

Shao Xun was stationed on the banks of the Huan River in the east of the city. After failing to persuade the enemy to surrender, he ordered a strong attack.

After the first war drum sounded, everyone sat on the ground and ate and drank water in silence.

Everyone looked ugly.

Some people were trembling all over and started vomiting while eating.

Some people kept wiping their tears, but the more they wiped, the more tears they had.

Some people bowed their heads and remained silent, with dull eyes.

Some people closed their eyes and muttered to themselves.

Some people greedily look at the green grass and blue sky, and greedily breathe the fresh air...

The second war drum sounded.

The officer came over and announced the reward.

Useless.

No one is a fool. How many people can survive the first wave of attacking the city?

The Silver Spear soldiers who acted as the supervisory team, wearing armor and holding swords, slowly came behind them.

No matter how reluctant you are, you have to get up now.

If you are killed by the supervision team, not only will your death be meaningless, but your family will also be implicated.

One thousand strong men from the fort stood up one after another and roughly formed a square formation.

Look on the bright side, at least Anyang has experienced many wars and the moat has long been gone, which can greatly reduce their casualties and successfully rush to the Yangma Wall.

The third war drum sounded.

The ladder truck slowly moved forward.

The auxiliary soldiers held large shields and pushed from the outside, while the Silver Spear Army soldiers hid in the cart and pushed forward from the inside.

The huge vehicle body swayed towards the Anyang city wall.

There were several smoke trucks among the ladder trucks, which were used to make smoke. The southeast wind was blowing today, which was just right for use.

The wall of women was also pushed forward, and archers stood on it, drawing their bows and arrows.

It took five days to make all these instruments.

The sound of rustling footsteps was heard.

The strong men in the fort held up wooden shields and even door panels and walked slowly forward, while the others followed slowly with a variety of weapons.

"Boom boom boom..." The rhythm of the drums suddenly accelerated.

The men in the fort also quickened their pace, running past the siege equipment and shouting, "Run in small steps!"

The drum beats became more frequent.

Their speed was getting faster and faster, and the first arrow fell from the top of the city.

"Woo——" the horn sounded.

"Kill!" Whether willing or not, everyone quickened their pace and attacked towards the Sheep and Horse Wall in the east of the city.

Arrows fell from the sky, occasionally shot from powerful crossbows, causing horrific casualties among the charging crowd.

Arrows were also shot from behind the sheep and horse wall.

The shieldmen in the first row had already fallen apart, exposing the unarmored light infantry in the rear. The men in the fort fell down in droves, without any suspense.

"Kill!" After all, there were more people. After suffering heavy casualties, the young men in the fort rushed to the sheep and horse wall and fought fiercely with the enemy soldiers guarding there.

The ladder truck slowly stopped.

The archers of the Silver Spear Army came out from the belly of the chariot, drew their bows and arrows, some of them shot at the top of the city wall, and some of them shot at the enemy troops behind the sheep and horse wall.

The battlefield was filled with thick smoke, and it was difficult to see the archers on both sides clearly. The only sounds left were the fierce fighting and screams.

******
The second group of one thousand garrison soldiers, five hundred Henan warlords, and five hundred government soldiers stepped forward silently and sat on the ground.

Shao Xun dismounted and, surrounded by his personal soldiers, inspected the battle formation.

"Have you never fought in a war?" Shao Xun couldn't help but stop and asked when he saw the young man with a body as thin as a bean sprout.

"Reply...Reply to Lord Chen, my elder brother married...married a new wife and had...a child, so he can't go to the war." Douyacai stood up with the help of his spear, obviously very scared, his upper and lower teeth kept chattering, and he stuttered: "I...I was driven out of the house by my sister-in-law."

After saying that, the spear shaft fell to the ground with a snap, and Bean Sprout's face turned even paler.

"Go back." Shao Xun picked up the spear, put it in Douyacai's hand, and said, "From now on, you will focus on collecting firewood and don't have to fight anymore."

There was a flash of surprise in Douyacai's eyes, but it soon dimmed. He lowered his head, leaned on his spear, and remained silent, but his body was no longer shaking.

Shao Xun looked at him in surprise.

People who have fought many wars and seen many tragic events tend to have harder hearts.

In fact, he didn't mind bean sprouts going to die.

You can save him, but you can't save the ten, a hundred or even more people who are in the same situation as him.

Aren’t they pitiful?

Aren't they helpless?

Don't they want to live?
This is the way the world is. He has been trying his best to change it, but the process of change is destined to take up a large number of lives.

"Are you not leaving yet?" Shao Xun urged patiently.

Bean sprouts stood there stubbornly, silent.

"Want to become rich?" Shao Xun asked.

"Yes."

Shao Xun smiled.

Cai Cheng glanced at Douyacai with a blank expression.

Liu Ling was a little sarcastic. He looked to be only twelve or thirteen years old, skinny and weak. He could knock someone out with one punch, yet he wanted to become rich.

Damn it, I haven’t gotten it yet!

"Your courage is commendable." Shao Xun sighed with an ambiguous tone and asked, "What's your name?"

"Zhao Bao."

"Wealth and honor require one's life." Shao Xun said, "Since you have such a will, I will not force you. If you survive this attack on the city, you can be my personal soldier."

After saying that, he looked at Cai Cheng.

Cai Cheng bowed and responded. Shao Xun continued to move forward.

"So calm, this isn't your first time on the battlefield, right?" he asked, looking at someone.

This man is about forty years old, but his temples are already gray and his forehead is full of wrinkles.

Under the harsh beating of the world, he has aged rapidly.

"It's the second time." The middle-aged man stood up and replied.

"What are you thinking about?" Shao Xun asked.

"It looks good." The middle-aged man seemed a little slow, speaking incoherently and with poor logical thinking ability.

But in fact, many lower-class people are like this, he is not an isolated case.

"What's beautiful?"

"Last time I fought at Zhamadi, I was rewarded with a piece of silk. I went back and scraped together some money and bought a calf. It's really pretty."

"There will be a reward this time." Shao Xun said with a smile: "Aren't you afraid of death?"

"I have grandchildren now, so I'll just live one day at a time." The middle-aged man sighed, "I've seen all kinds of tragedies while fleeing."

Shao Xun patted him on the shoulder and continued forward.

"Are you scared?" he asked, looking at the third person.

This is a young man in his twenties, who looks strong but has a pale face.

“Afraid…afraid…”

"What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid the bride will remarry." The young man blurted out.

There were sounds of laughter all around, which actually alleviated the sadness a little.

Shao Xun also smiled and asked, "Do you have any children?"

"There is one."

"Shunling, write down his name and hometown." Shao Xun gave the order and then looked at the young man and said, "If you die in battle, I guarantee that your son will not change his surname and will still be able to enjoy incense and sacrifices in the future."

"Thank you, Mr. Chen!" The man's eyes lit up and he said loudly.

After a round of inspection, the first line of troops had collapsed, and the remaining soldiers went around from both sides and gathered in the rear for reorganization.

The drums started beating again.

Everyone stood up in silence.

The first man took a half step forward and picked up the large shield.

The second man bent down and picked up the spear.

The third person...

One by one, everyone hid their feelings, desires, and thoughts deep in their hearts and took up their weapons mechanically.

Give an order.

The team rushed out accompanied by the sound of drums.

The tide of the times sweeps everyone forward, no matter whether they are eager to try or unable to do so.

His hopes, his love, his hatred, his desperate cries are destined to be buried in the blood and tears of the times.

In this world, they have no choice, not even an ounce of free choice.

Only by killing or being killed, until one stands on the pile of bones and looks down at all living beings, can one leave an insignificant trace in the long river of history.

As the saying goes, one general's success is the result of the sacrifice of hundreds of soldiers, and this has been true throughout history.

The second formation has approached the Sheep and Horse Wall.

During the charge, the middle-aged man was hit by an arrow. After stumbling a few steps, he fell down regretfully.

The young man rushed into the wall through the gap created by the first wave of attacks, thrust his spear straight forward, and killed one man.

A stone fell from the top of the city wall and hit him on the head.

The spear in Zhao Bao's hand was weak and was directly caught under the armpit by the enemy in front of him. The man's eyes were wide open, and he wielded a machete in his other hand and chopped at his head.

Zhao Bao seemed to be frightened silly. He did not even try to dodge, but just tried to pull back his spear in vain.

There was a sound of wind behind him, and a spear stabbed out, hitting the enemy in the throat.

With a clang, the machete fell weakly to the ground.

The enemy covered his throat and his body fell to the ground, pinning Zhao Bao under him.

Zhao Bao tried to get up, but he heard the sound of fighting all around him, and people kept falling to the ground.

The weight on my body has increased again.

His face flushed red, and he wasn't sure if it was because he was exhausted or something, but he couldn't get up.

He gave up and lay helplessly among the corpses, looking up at the sky and gasping for breath.

******
Shao Xun climbed onto the high platform and had a panoramic view of the entire battlefield.

The enemy troops behind the Yangma Wall have been completely wiped out and the wall has been completely demolished.

The second wave of 2,000 people who attacked the city even rushed to the top of the city wall with the help of the Silver Spear Army archers using ladders, but they were quickly driven down.

Feint attacks were launched almost simultaneously from the south and north of the city to divert the attention of the defenders.

The battle for Anyang entered a white-hot stage on the first day.

It was impossible for Shao Xun to besiege the enemy here for a month and wait for them to run out of food.

The night is long and dreams are many. He must head north as soon as possible and reach Yecheng.

The enemy army withdrew all the outer guards, and there were about 4,000 soldiers left. These were the soldiers Shi Le had assigned to Ji Bao. They were the ones guarding Anyang Bridge and fighting in the east of the city.

There were more than 3,000 other powerful tribes and people from the fortresses in the city, who were fighting with the Jin army in the south and north of the city, but the intensity of the battle was not very high.

On the 11th, they continued their fierce attack but to no avail. That night, they launched a night attack from the west of the city and almost succeeded.

The attack continued for two more days on the 12th and 13th, with heavy casualties on both sides.

On the 14th, Li Chong's vanguard of 10,000 troops arrived.

When the reinforcements lined up in the wilderness of the south and shouted in unison, the defenders turned pale.

The Jin people had reinforcements and sufficient food and grass.

They had no reinforcements and were running low on food and fodder.

Shi Le's own troops were certainly grateful to him for the distribution of land and houses, and were quite eager to fight, but the others did not enjoy these good things. It would have been fine if it were normal times, but now the Jin army was attacking the city so fiercely, their own casualties were so heavy, and they did not even have enough food and fodder. What reason was there to persist?
This is exactly the effect Shao Xun wanted.

There may be a turning point under extreme pressure.

On the 15th, after a whole day of fierce fighting, the troops south of Anyang City were clamoring over the reduction of rations.

Ji Bao was horrified and immediately sent troops to suppress the rebellion.

(End of this chapter)