Chapter 600: Bloody Battle of Hongya
Although no news has come from Hongya yet, once the war breaks out, they will face tens of thousands of coalition forces from the Western Mountain tribes. Hongya is a small city with weak defenses, and the troops of Ma Shang and Sun Ze may not be able to withstand the siege of several times their number.
Previously, military forces were tight in various places, but now they are finally a little more abundant, so it is natural to send troops to support them.
Outside Hongya City!
Now, all the defense lines outside the city have been captured by the coalition forces, and the two sides have been fighting to the death for nearly ten days.
Most of the 8,000 soldiers under the command of Sun Ze and Ma Shang had been killed. Fortunately, Sun Ze treated the people well after entering the city, so he recruited able-bodied men in the city to supplement some of the soldiers. Otherwise, it would be difficult for them to withstand the repeated attacks from the other side.
The enemy suffered equally enormous damage. Even if it was a small city, they still attacked it, especially at the beginning, when they lacked siege equipment. In addition, Sun Ze and Ma Shang fought to the death, resulting in 10,000 casualties and thousands of seriously injured on the enemy side. The original 50,000 soldiers and horses had probably suffered a combat loss of around 20,000.
The coalition forces from the Western Mountains came with overwhelming force, but were blocked by a small city called Hongya. All the forces in the coalition were also blood-thirsty.
However, as Hongya became embroiled in a bitter battle, significant divisions emerged within the coalition. As previously mentioned, the various tribes of Xishan and Yechuan were a coalition of multiple tribes, so if they had the upper hand, they would have been a threat. However, now that they had suffered heavy losses, some tribes naturally sought to capture Hongya to avenge their fallen. Meanwhile, others believed that continuing the battle was unnecessary and simply abandoned Hongya, retreating to Diaomen Village and watching the Southern Xinjiang tribes clash with Daqian.
Fortunately, several of the more prestigious tribal leaders temporarily reached a consensus and continued to attack the city.
They naturally had their own reasons for doing so! Firstly, the damage to these large tribes was relatively minor. Even if all of them suffered the same number of casualties, the impact on the large tribes and the small tribes would be different. Secondly, after this period of rush work, a large amount of siege equipment had been rushed out, so the next siege would not be as difficult as before.
And the most important thing is that if the coalition forces retreat now, they will probably no longer be qualified to compete for supremacy in Shuzhong.
Therefore, they took Hongya despite some losses, and then entered Jiading to join forces with the various tribes in southern Xinjiang. This not only represented face for the coalition forces, but also represented that the coalition forces had the strength to compete with the various tribes in southern Xinjiang.
On the top of Hongya City, Sun Ze and Ma Shang stood side by side!
The armors on both of them were soaked with blood. They didn't know how many injuries they had suffered in these days. Fortunately, their personal guards fought bravely and they were able to rescue the wounds several times. Otherwise, they would have died countless times.
"How many soldiers do we have left?" Sun Ze's voice was a little dry and hoarse.
Ma Shang swallowed, "We still have over 3,000 of our original brothers. All those who can move are here. We have recruited about 1,300 able-bodied men from the city."
"The number of their catapults and ladders has doubled today." Sun Ze said slowly.
For a moment, the two were silent. The enemy, relying on their superior numbers, attacked the city day and night, while their own troops rarely rested. Now, most of them were injured, and their mental and physical strength were exhausted to the limit. Although they still held on with willpower, their combat effectiveness had declined significantly.
Not only the soldiers under his command, but also the two of them were the same.
After a long while, Ma Shang said quietly, "Perhaps, we can no longer defend Hongya."
Sun Ze did not refute. This was the current situation. Although the enemy suffered heavy losses, they still had more than 30,000 soldiers who could fight. Compared with these remnants, there was a world of difference.
"Sun Ze has failed the Marshal's trust, and he has no choice but to fight to the death!"
Ma Shang patted Sun Ze 's shoulder and said, "Let's take a break now. I'm afraid these bastards won't stop until midnight."
As expected, Ma Shang and others had not rested for long before the soldiers outside the city began to attack the city again.
Another bloody battle lasted another day and two nights. Sun Ze and his companions were left with only soreness all over their bodies, and had no time to care for their injuries. Moreover, the enemy's increased siege equipment had greatly increased their own losses. In just one day and two nights, nearly two thousand soldiers were killed or wounded.
Especially the recruited young men, who were not as good as the soldiers under their command. Once the war started, they would sometimes become chaotic first.
Among the 1,300 able-bodied men, more than 800 were killed or wounded!
The early morning dawn was still a little cold, and perhaps the enemy was also tired. An hour had passed since the last siege, and they still had not launched an attack.
The battlefield, which had been noisy all the time, was unusually quiet, and the soldiers on both sides seemed to be enjoying this final peace.
Finally, it was noon. The weather was a bit gloomy today. Even at noon, the sun was still hidden behind the clouds!
“Boom!”
With a series of dull roars, a force of over ten thousand soldiers pressed forward towards the city wall. Within the ranks, there were at least a hundred towering ladders, and behind them were countless catapults.
Ma Shang and Sun Ze looked at each other!
" Take care, brother!" they both said at the same time.
Given the current situation, it was clear the enemy was determined to fight to the death. This was likely to be Hongya's final battle! As for the outcome, all the key routes around Hongya were now blocked by enemy troops. Furthermore, neither Ma Shang nor Sun Ze had any intention of abandoning the city.
To die in battle is a man's honor and a soldier's responsibility!
The two of them said nothing more, but silently woke up all the soldiers who were still sleeping on the city wall, gathered all the remaining equipment, and waited for the arrival of the enemy troops.
The enemy's troops slowly approached, and the huge ladders looked like giants with bared fangs and claws.
Until the enemy's vanguard was only about two hundred paces away from the city wall, their approach suddenly accelerated. On the top of the city wall, Sun Ze and Ma Shang were not in a hurry. They waited until the enemy was within a hundred paces before they gave simultaneous orders. Then, a rain of arrows madly enveloped the enemy troops.
However, at this time, the opponent's counterattack from the ladder also came.
The height of the ladder was not low, it was even higher than the city wall, so the soldiers of Daqian did not have much advantage at all.
Moreover, immediately afterwards, the sound of wind breaking through the air was heard from behind the enemy troops. The catapults that had been set up began to throw stones towards the city wall, and stones with huge force fell from the sky like meteorites.
Although the casualties caused by the catapults were not many, the psychological pressure they brought to the soldiers on the city walls was enormous.
The enemy's soldiers and horses continued to charge forward under the rain of arrows! Finally, a series of ladders arrived at the foot of the city wall. The top ladders slammed against the wall, and the huge hooks locked the ladders along the parapet. The soldiers and horses on the ladders also rushed up the wall.
