12dz Chapter 505: Battle at Huai County South Gate
Chapter 505: Battle at Huai County South Gate
In Huai County, Luo Haiqing was stationed in the central army, ready to fight head-on, resisting the overwhelming attack from the army led by Chen Songtao.
In a village in the southwest of the county, an extremely fierce battle had lasted for an entire morning.
The two sides deployed a total of 30,000 troops, and various types of artillery were also used, making a deafening roar.
The battlefield was filled with smoke, like a thick gray curtain, covering the entire world.
Shells continued to explode in the village, houses were instantly reduced to ruins, and broken walls were crumbling in the smoke.
The soldiers were marching through the hail of bullets, their screams and shouts mixed together, making people's hair stand on end.
Unfortunately, many soldiers were hit by artillery shells, their limbs were blown everywhere, and the land was dyed red with blood. The scene was horrific, like hell on earth.
At the same time, Ren Chaohui led another 30,000 troops and quietly moved around the mountain road from the left side of Huai County, trying to find a breakthrough here and take the enemy by surprise.
However, their actions, which they thought were covert, were soon discovered by Jiao Zan.
Jiao Zan frowned, his expression serious. He immediately rode his horse to Gulizar's tent, knelt on one knee, and said anxiously:
"Captain, a force from Pingyang has been discovered at the South Gate, numbering over 30,000! I'm willing to meet them head-on, but the disparity in numbers is significant. I hope you can allocate 10,000 men to me to help me repel them!"
In the Battle of Pingyang, Jiao Zan's original army of 30,000 people was reduced to only 20,000 people. Faced with the enemy troops swarming in from the mountain roads, he was really unwilling to adopt a brutal fighting method of exchanging life for life, so he asked Gulizar for support.
After hearing this, Gulizar thought for a while and realized that the defense of the South Gate was of vital importance. If it was lost, the consequences would be disastrous.
He looked at Jiao Zan and said firmly, "Okay! I will transfer the last 10,000 or so people from Gaddafi's army to you. You must guard the South Gate!"
After receiving support, Jiao Zan rushed to the south gate of Huai County without stopping.
At this time, Ren Chaohui was standing in front of the formation, carefully observing the county's defense situation.
From a distance, Huai County looks normal. It was once a place where prisoners were imprisoned. The so-called city wall is just a low earthen wall. The situation inside the city is clearly visible from the mountain.
When he found that there were no cannons pointing outside, he couldn't help but feel secretly happy.
After all, they did not carry any heavy weapons such as cannons in this surprise attack on Huai County, so they could only choose to attack the city walls by force. At this moment, this situation was undoubtedly extremely favorable for them.
Ren Chaohui acted decisively. With a wave of his hand, he shouted, "The timing is perfect. The vanguard troops, take 10,000 men and head straight to Huai County to capture the South Gate!"
When Jiao Zan arrived, he wanted to go out of the city and confront the enemy head-on, but when he saw the earthen wall that was so low that it was really disappointing, he secretly groaned in his heart.
The enemy could easily climb up such an earthen wall, and facing the fierce and ferocious attacking army, it was extremely difficult to defend the city wall.
Moreover, the Xiongnu soldiers had very few arrows left. Although they occupied a high ground, they were unable to withstand the tidal attack of Ren Chaohui's team.
Ren Chaohui's vanguard troops rushed towards the South Gate like hungry wolves, shouting and with high morale.
Jiao Zan's soldiers fought desperately on the city wall, drawing their bows and arrows and shooting at the enemy.
Arrows fell like raindrops, and many enemy soldiers were shot and fell to the ground, but the people behind were not afraid and continued to move forward bravely.
"Kill!" Ren Chaohui's soldiers shouted thunderous slogans, raised their shields high, and quickly approached the earth wall.
They set up the ladder and climbed up like nimble monkeys.
Seeing this, Jiao Zan's soldiers hurriedly threw stones and rolling logs at the climbing enemy troops. For a while, screams rang out one after another.
However, Ren Chaohui's troops attacked too fiercely, and the Hun soldiers on the city wall gradually ran out of arrows. They could only pick up their swords and engage in close combat with the enemy troops climbing up the city wall.
Soldiers from both sides wrestled with each other, and blood splattered all over the earthen wall.
Jiao Zan brandished the long sword in his hand, led the charge, and chopped down several enemy soldiers in a row, but the enemy soldiers kept coming up, and he gradually felt powerless.
"Brothers, hold on! Reinforcements will be here soon!" Jiao Zan shouted loudly, trying to boost morale.
But as time went on, Ren Chaohui's follow-up troops continued to join the battle, and the Hun soldiers gradually could not resist.
"The South Gate can't be defended. What should we do?" A Xiongnu soldier ran to Jiao Zan anxiously, his face full of fear.
Jiao Zan gritted his teeth and roared, "Let's fight! Otherwise we will die here!" But although they fought desperately, the enemy had no choice but to outnumber them and gradually gained the upper hand.
In the end, Ren Chaohui's Pingyang Army successfully captured the South Gate, and Jiao Zan had to flee into the city with the remaining soldiers.
On the surface, Jiao Zan's team also seemed to have 30,000 people, but Gaddafi's team was not working hard simply because their leader was not there.
Those fighting on the city wall are basically Jiao Zan's clansmen.
Faced with such a situation, Jiao Zan knew that this was not acceptable. If he continued like this, all his people would die here.
He rushed towards Gaddafi's team in a panic. At that time, a strong wind swept across the battlefield, and the raised dust spread around like fog, blurring people's vision.
Gaddafi's troops seemed a little loose at the moment. The soldiers gathered in groups of three or four, with hesitation and wait-and-see expressions in their eyes, and their figures seemed a little shrunken in the wind and sand.
Jiao Zan knew very well that if he did not quickly arouse their fighting spirit, the South Gate would be lost and everyone would be in desperate situation.
He stood in front of the team, his clothes rustling in the strong wind, his voice hoarse with anxiety, and shouted:
"Brothers! You are all the brave warriors of the grassland! How can you just watch us passively take a beating here because our leader is away? Have you forgotten the courage and glory that the grassland has bestowed upon us?"
Jiao Zan's gaze swept over everyone, his eyes full of expectation and eagerness. The wind and sand kept pouring into his eyes, but it never wavered for a moment.
These words were like a heavy hammer, striking everyone's heart hard.
They knew in their hearts that if the South Gate was lost, the enemy would march straight in and they would all be killed without a burial place.
At this moment, in the gloomy sky, dark clouds rolled and surged like ink, as if they were also suppressed by this brutal battle.
At this moment, someone in the crowd shouted at the top of his voice: "Let's follow Jiao Zan and beat those Zhou people back! Let them know how powerful our grassland warriors are!"
This shout pierced through the howling wind, like throwing a huge rock into a calm lake, instantly stirring up a thousand waves.
The soldiers' blood was instantly ignited and their fighting spirit was rekindled in their eyes.
They shouted slogans and rushed towards the city wall in a swarm. Their momentum was like a raging torrent, unstoppable.
The strong wind was still raging, but it could not stop their firm steps. The dust was trampled into the air under their feet, as if it was also marveling at their courage.
The originally low city wall once again became the focus of fierce competition between the two sides.
Jiao Zan led this group of re-energized soldiers and pounced on the enemy on the city wall like a tiger.
On the city wall, the shouts and cries of killing were deafening, interweaving with the howling of the wind, forming a terrifying sound.
Soldiers from both sides engaged in a desperate fight, and blood continued to splatter on the city wall, dyeing the already mottled wall even more crimson.