Frontier Army Warrior

Chapter 988 Abandoning Xuncheng

When the war reached this point, the situation was very serious.

Xie Zhong of Jingxi Prefecture and Cheng Liang of Jinggao Prefecture each led 10,000 troops and marched quickly from two directions towards Xuncheng.

Cui Ying stood on the city wall of Xuncheng's west gate. In the night sky, the twinkling lights of the enemy camp danced like fireflies before his eyes.

Xuncheng is one of the eight major citadels outside Kyoto. The area inside the city is not very large, and with more than 10,000 troops, defense should not be a problem.

But the key point is that there are large numbers of Taisho Imperial Army camps in front of them, blocking the supply route of Xuncheng. Without supplies, Xuncheng cannot be held for a few days.

Of course, Cui Ying believed that the Zhenxi Army would not abandon him and that reinforcements would definitely be on the way.

Her only worry was that there was no news of Lin Feng's return.

The reason why Emperor Taisho Zhao Zheng dared to launch an attack was because the leader of the Zhenxi Army, Lin Feng, was now missing.

Cui Ying had already determined in his heart that Lin Feng would be fine, even though he saw a bad scene in his dreams every day.

At present, she has not slept for three days in a row. When she feels sleepy, she will take a nap at the garrison on the city wall.

Cui Ying and Gong Sanpao divided the work, one guarding the east gate and north gate, and the other guarding the west gate and south gate.

During the day, the Taisho Imperial Army attacked fiercely and both sides suffered heavy losses.

If the Imperial Guards use this method to consume the Zhenxi Army, Xuncheng will be broken and will not be able to hold on for a few days.

In short, the generals of both the enemy and us will think of this situation.

What we are testing now is patience.

The Zhenxi Army held on until their reinforcements arrived.

However, the imperial guards deployed tens of thousands of troops at the west gate of Xuncheng, intercepting the reinforcements of the Zhenxi Army along the river.

There is no ferry bridge over the Jinjiang River, so you can only cross the river by boat.

The large group of people will be blocked on the river and will not be able to land at all.

Gong Sanpao took advantage of the night truce and ran to the west of the city to find Cui Ying.

"General Cui, we've lost so many crossbows. Even if we recover them, we'll only have less than half of what we used. We're almost empty of them. What are we going to do?"

The Zhenxi Army's chain crossbows were the most powerful weapons to inflict heavy damage on the Imperial Guards attacking the city. However, there were too many Imperial Guards soldiers, and after the crossbow arrows were shot, more than half of them were damaged when they were retrieved, and gradually even the stock was gone.

Cui Ying smiled, like a blooming peony in the night wind, making Gong Sanpao dizzy.

"If I lose my crossbows, I still have swords and spears. If I lose my swords and spears, I still have my hands and feet. If I fight to the end, I will die. What else can I do?"

Gong Sanpao was dumbfounded. He had originally wanted to ask Cui Ying for advice on how to defend against the enemy, but he didn't expect to be put in a bad mood.

"If that doesn't work, I'll lead my army out of the city and kill him. It'll be a quick death."

Cui Ying said sullenly, "We must defend Xuncheng to the death. If we have to die, we must die inside the city. Don't bring shame to our Zhenxi Army."

"Okay, I will live and die with Xuncheng."

The two rarely communicated, but they reached an agreement at this moment.

Xuncheng has an awkward geographical location. The north and west of the city are exactly where the Jinjiang River branches off from its tributaries.

Xie Zhong and Cheng Liang's reinforcements were blocked on one side of the river and faced tens of thousands of imperial troops, unable to cross the river.

Although Xi Niang commanded the Zhenxihao and launched a fierce attack on the Taisho Imperial Army on the Jinjiang side, the Imperial Army was forced to retreat three miles away.

However, there are only a limited number of boats that can cross the river. It would take more than two days for tens of thousands of troops to completely cross the river.

The Taisho Imperial Guards were standing three miles away with a covetous look on their faces. As soon as the shelling stopped, the Imperial Guards would disperse their formation and slowly approach the river.

There was no chance for the Zhenxi Army to cross the river.

The two sides engaged in a tug-of-war in the river.

After three days of fighting, they were still unable to cross the river to support the garrison in Xuncheng.

Finally, out of desperation, Bai Jing asked Zhu Jie to send a hot air balloon to deliver the order jointly signed by her and Wang Qian to Xuncheng.

The order requires Cui Ying and Gong Sanpao to break out from the west gate of the city. Zhenxihao will provide artillery support on the east bank of Jinjiang River. Xie Chong and Cheng Liang's teams will cooperate to complete the breakout mission.

The garrison in Xuncheng has run out of ammunition and food, and perhaps the entire army will collapse and give up defense at the next moment.

It just so happened that Bai Jing's order was delivered to Cui Ying, giving the soldiers a glimmer of hope.

Cui Ying immediately ordered Gong Sanpao to be called to the west gate of the city and showed him the order jointly signed by Bai Jing and Wang Qian.

Gong Sanpao stroked his bald head and laughed.

"General Cui, I don't understand. You tell me and I'll just listen."

"OK, order the Xuncheng defenders to break out of the west gate of Xuncheng at the beginning of the first hour tonight and reach the east bank of the Jinjiang River. After crossing the river, follow the instructions of General Xie Zhong, the reinforcements from the west of the capital."

Gong Sanpao widened his eyes.

"What, you don't want Xuncheng anymore?"

Cui Ying shook his head: "I want it, but I can't keep it."

"Haven't the reinforcements arrived? Let's go into the city and defend it."

Gong Sanpao asked in confusion.

"The Taisho Imperial Army has too many troops. The reinforcements can't cross the river to fight. They can only help us break through the siege by the river."

Cui Ying explained patiently.

"Whatever you say, I'll do it."

Gong Sanpao is a straightforward person. He is fierce in fighting, but he is not good at thinking.

Seeing that he was no longer awkward, Cui Ying began to make arrangements.

"Tonight at the beginning of the first hour, you lead the army out from the west gate. I will cover your rear. Charge all the way to the riverbank, where you will be supported by the army."

As Cui Ying spoke, she looked at the imperial guards camp in the distance. The large lights and military tents made her feel heavy.

"General Gong, I'm afraid it won't work if we attack from the west. The main force of the Imperial Guards is stationed here, and it will be difficult for us to break through their camp."

Gong Sanpao also looked over and nodded repeatedly.

"Yeah, there are too many people."

"Breaking out from the west gate is definitely not an option. I think we should leave the city from the south gate and retreat southward. The number of imperial guards at the south gate is the smallest."

"General Cui, this isn't their trick, is it?"

Cui Ying shook his head firmly.

"No, the west doesn't want our supplies to cross the river, and the east and south are afraid that we will desperately attack Kyoto City. Only through the south gate will they not be afraid of us running south, which is more advantageous for them in the wilderness."

Gong Sanpao scratched his bald head and laughed.

"General Cui is not only good-looking, but I didn't expect he's also smart. I really admire him."

"Stop flattering me, it's useless. Go get ready."

"Alright, General Cui takes the lead, and I'll cover the rear."

Cui Ying thought about it and decided that this was a good idea. It was difficult to leave the rear and if you were not careful you might end up falling into the enemy's trap.

Gong Sanpao is a fierce general, and few people in the army can contain him.

"Okay, that's it. Gather the troops and make porridge out of the remaining food. Let the soldiers have some rice and break out tonight."

As Cui Ying's order was issued, the Zhenxi Army soldiers in the city began to gather towards the south gate of Xuncheng.

Jing Zhaoheng, the general of the Taisho Imperial Army, was also the commander of the siege of Xuncheng.

He divided the 30,000 imperial guards into four groups and surrounded the four gates of Xuncheng.

Of course, the West Gate is a key defense area. In order to prevent the Zhenxi Army’s supplies from entering, it is necessary to block the Jinjiang Wharf outside the West Gate.

Twenty thousand imperial guards engaged in a tug-of-war with the reinforcements of the Zhenxi Army here. Although they were badly beaten by artillery bombardment, they successfully blocked the Zhenxi Army's troops from crossing the river.

It made Xie Chong and Cheng Liang lose their temper.