eurekapd Chapter 1126 Fierce Defensive Battle (Part 2)
Chapter 1126 Fierce Defensive Battle (Part 2)
The heavy iron-clad wooden door was deformed and cracked from repeated impacts during the day, and could no longer be closed, thus losing its function as a city gate.
At this moment, the doorway was completely blocked by several gate-blocking vehicles.
These chariots, all made of wood with sharp blades embedded in the front, were originally intended to temporarily block gaps in the city gates, but now they have become the last barrier for Chuima City.
Between and behind the chariots, a large number of stones and enemy corpses dismantled from the city were piled up, completely blocking the entrance.
A broken Tibetan spear was still embedded in the gap between the blades of a knife cart, and the bloodstains on the spear shaft had congealed into a dark brown color.
The soldiers defending the city leaned against the wall, taking a quick rest or stuffing food into their mouths.
Almost everyone was injured; those with minor injuries had bandages that were soaked with blood, while the seriously injured lay on stretchers, barely breathing.
The accompanying medical officers moved among the wounded, but all the available wound medicines had been exhausted, so they could only use boiled strips of cloth for simple cleaning and bandaging.
The only good news was that food was still plentiful, at least enough to allow the soldiers to recover their strength after each battle.
Li Che stopped in front of a severely damaged crenellation, his fingers brushing over the jagged edges of the broken wall, causing the rammed earth to fall in a soft rustling sound.
He looked up.
Inside and outside the city walls, most of the corpses left by both sides had not yet been cleared away, appearing particularly desolate against the backdrop of the night and the snow.
There are not many soldiers left in the city who can fight. A rough estimate suggests that at least 30% have lost their fighting ability due to casualties.
The rest were mostly exhausted and fighting with injuries.
Even Li Che himself felt that he was exhausted.
He is not a god; he also feels pain, gets tired, and is heartbroken by the heavy casualties suffered by his loyal soldiers.
In the end, the battle to defend a city often comes down to the exhaustion of willpower and physical strength.
But he was the emperor, the last backbone of this army.
He cannot collapse, nor dare he collapse.
Li Che took a deep breath of the icy air, forcefully suppressing the dejection in his heart.
He turned around and faced the soldiers nearby who were looking at him.
A resolute expression returned to his face, and he said loudly:
"The city wall is broken, but it can be repaired."
"Even if the door is blocked, it can still be dug open."
"As long as we are here, Chuimacheng will always be Chuimacheng of Daqing!"
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the faces stained with blood and dust.
"Look at your fallen brothers. What they gave their lives for shouldn't be despair, but time!"
"The Tibetans shed more blood than we did! Their cries of agony were louder than ours!"
"They've been attacking for four days, but have they managed to take a single step onto this city wall?"
"No!" a hoarse voice responded from the crowd.
It was Yu Daliang; his arm was in a sling, but his face was filled with a fierce expression.
“No, no!” Li Che’s voice suddenly rose. “Because they’re afraid!”
"They don't know that they only destroyed the walls of Chuimacheng, while the walls of Daqing were forged with the loyal bones and blood of our soldiers!"
"As long as you stand here, as long as I stand here, this city will not fall!"
There were no fancy words, but in the eyes of the weary soldiers, the almost extinguished flame was rekindled by these words.
Yes, His Majesty is still here! We are still here!
Your Majesty personally slaughtered so many Tibetan dogs today...
How could my Qing army possibly lose? How could we possibly lose?
"Take a break, repair weapons, and take care of the wounded," Li Che's tone returned to calm.
"The Tibetans won't give up, but as long as we hold on, reinforcements..." He looked up at the dark night sky, his tone absolutely certain, "Reinforcements will definitely arrive!"
"Until this, I will stand with you through thick and thin!"
"I will follow your majesty till death!"
The responses rose one after another from all parts of the city wall, eventually merging into a single sound that echoed across the snow-covered plains.
The sound was so loud that even the Tibetan camp in the distance could hear it. The Tibetan soldiers all turned to the side, and even Dorje in the tent couldn't help but frown.
The night grew deeper, and the cold wind grew stronger.
Both commanders, one on the city wall and one below, spent a sleepless night.
They were all under immense pressure and stretched to their very limit.
. . . . . .
Before dawn, the bugle calls from the Tibetan camp pierced the lingering chill.
This time was different from the past; the bugle call was extremely shrill, carrying a hint of almost desperate madness.
The whistling of arrows piercing the air is no longer heard atop the city walls.
All the defenders could rely on were their weapons and the stubborn resentment in their chests.
The battle skipped all the build-up from the very beginning and went straight into the most brutal strangulation phase.
The Tibetans no longer valued their military strength, nor did they pay attention to formations and tactics.
Wave after wave of soldiers were driven like livestock, carrying crude ladders and long ladders, surging madly toward the city wall.
Without any arrows to stop them, they quickly brought the ladders up, their dense array resembling poisonous vines growing on the city wall.
The rolling logs and boulders were almost used up, and the last few pots of broth and leftover oil were poured down, only to elicit a few scattered screams.
"Get on the wall! Die on the city wall, even if it means death!" The voices of the Qing Army officers at all levels were already hoarse from shouting, as if sandpaper was being rubbed together.
The city wall instantly turned into a boiling volcano. The first wave of Tibetan soldiers who emerged were pierced down by the defenders' spears.
But the second and third followed closely behind, leaping onto the rampart and wielding their knives to strike.
In an instant, the two sides were locked in a fierce melee, beginning a bloody close-quarters battle.
The silver spear of Yueyun remained sharp, sweeping away the enemy soldiers who climbed up.
The section of the western city wall he was stationed on piled up the fastest, almost level with the crenellations, and the two sides fought repeatedly on this slope of blood and flesh.
To the east, Luo Yueniang's iron spear tip had broken off, so she simply used the spear as a club, swinging it around and smashing it.
Yu Daliang was covered in blood, indistinguishable between his own and the enemy's. His broadsword was chipped and nicked, yet he still roared and stood at the forefront.
This Shu general lived up to the reputation of Shu. Although he had his own selfish thoughts, he never showed any intention of retreating in the face of foreign enemies.
At the north gate, the gate-blocking carts were gradually loosened and dragged away by the Tibetans.
Ma Zhong and Dorje Tsering had no choice but to lead the soldiers to use their bodies to hold the inside of the door shut against the enormous impact coming from outside.
The violent tremors caused internal organs to shift, and some of the wounded even bled from their mouths and noses.
The south city wall, Li Che's main position.
The pressure came crashing down like a landslide.
After days of siege, Dorje had figured out the strength of each city wall and knew that the morale of the defenders on the south wall was the highest.
Dorjee knew that it was very likely because the emperor of the Qing people was stationed in the south!
Thus, the south city wall suffered the strongest attack in this final offensive.
Dorjee deployed most of his troops here as the main attack direction.
Previously, other city walls could have come to provide support.
However, under the current circumstances, each city wall is struggling to protect itself, so it is naturally difficult to provide support.
One of the battlements collapsed under the relentless assault of the Tibetan soldiers, causing a small section of the parapet to tilt inwards.
In an instant, a gap several meters wide was exposed.
"Block the breach!" Li Che's eyes were bloodshot as he personally drew his sword and charged towards the breach.
But this was the opportunity the Tibetans had been waiting for.
A tidal wave of enemy soldiers surged in through the breach, instantly colliding with the Qing army that had come to block them.
The two sides engaged in a fierce battle in the narrowest of areas.
There was almost no room to wield swords and knives; people could only use the most savage thrusts and slashes, and some even put down their weapons to bite.
People kept falling, and the bodies piled up rapidly, further blocking the passage and making it difficult for reinforcements to pass.
The breach changed hands repeatedly. The Qing army had just driven back the Tibetans and hadn't even had time to close it when the next wave of enemy soldiers surged up, stepping over the corpses of their comrades.
Li Che's wild goose feather saber had slain countless enemies; the blade was chipped and small nicks had appeared, and his arm was so sore and numb that he could barely lift it.
Several new, deep scratches were added to the black armor, and a wound on the shoulder burst open, with blood soaking through the lining.
Qiu Bai and Hu Qiang protected him fiercely, their injuries being more severe than Li Che's.
Meanwhile, the guards around him were all wounded, and their numbers were dwindling.
Other sections of the city wall are also in grave danger.
With many fortifications breached, the Tibetan soldiers spread across the city walls like a malignant tumor, engaging in fierce battles with the defending troops.
The battle lines were torn to pieces; often, just as one side repelled a group of enemies, another was breached from the flank and rear.
The defending forces were stretched thin, exhausted, and their casualties increased sharply.
Fewer and fewer soldiers were able to stand and wield their swords. Many soldiers were seriously wounded and huddled in corners. When they saw the enemy approaching, they would rush up and grab him, rolling down the city wall together.
Exhausted.
These four words are etched on the faces, eyes, and trembling arms of every living person.
The Qing army was like this, and so was the Tibetan army.
The shouts of both sides became hoarse and weak, and their movements became slow and stiff. Often, when they swung their swords, they would stagger.
The walls were covered with layers of corpses, and the frozen blood made the ground slippery, so that every step could lead to a fall, which often meant death.
The sun had risen high in the sky, its pale light coldly illuminating this hellish scene.
Black smoke billowed from several places on the city wall, as torches thrown up by the Tibetans ignited the remaining defensive materials.
Like a giant covered in wounds and bleeding to the point of exhaustion, Chuimacheng was still using its last shred of instinct to wield its broken limbs and fend off the jackals' bites.
Li Che leaned against a remnant of the wall, breathing heavily. He felt that his breath was filled with the smell of blood and rust.
My vision was a little blurry, and my arms felt so heavy that they didn't feel like they belonged to me.
He looked around and realized that he had fewer than thirty guards left to fight alongside him.
In the distance, more Tibetan soldiers were pressing in from the left and right sides along the city wall, like a giant clamping pincer.
Just as his consciousness was beginning to fade due to exhaustion, a familiar voice suddenly rang in his ears.
"Ugh——"
A long and deep horn sound came from the distant horizon!
This horn sound was not the sharp, frenzied tune of the Tibetans.
It is desolate and heavy, carrying the chill of wind and snow, and has a sense of overwhelming power.
Then came the more familiar bugle call:
"Beep beep beep, beep beep beep, beep beep beep, beep beep beep beep!"
As the bugle call sounded, on the southeastern horizon, at the edge of the field of vision obscured by smoke and dust.
A moving wave, reflecting a cold light, suddenly appeared!