Chapter 601: The mighty battle song forges the military spirit
Dragging his stiff arms, Sun Ze mechanically hacked away at the two charging enemies. His armor had long since been torn, and his body was covered in countless wounds. However, he had no time to feel the pain. Brothers and comrades fell beside him, and enemies rushed towards him one after another. This was more painful than the wounds on his body.
He gritted his teeth and slashed forward, killing all the enemies in front of him. The enemy obviously recognized that he was a general, so soon another wave of enemies came directly towards him.
Under the siege of the enemy, Sun Ze was beaten back step by step. Seeing this, a soldier beside him rushed forward without hesitation to block the sword and spear. He blocked the sword and spear, but he also died under the sword and spear of the enemy.
Sun Ze took the opportunity to rush forward and killed several enemies. He turned around, looked at his brother lying on the ground, and only paused for a moment before rushing forward again to kill the enemy.
He wasn't cold-blooded, nor was he heartless. It was just that this situation had occurred countless times during these days of fighting. All he could do was kill as many enemies as possible to minimize the pressure on his fellow comrades. If he stopped to grieve for this brother, he would be betraying his comrades.
The bond of life and death is most vividly demonstrated on the battlefield. Perhaps, off the battlefield, they are not on good terms with one another, perhaps even enemies. But on the battlefield, they are comrades who can trust their backs to their brothers and rely on each other for life and death!
If I also die in battle, then all our grudges in this life will be forgiven! If there is an afterlife, we will be comrades again, and then I will return this life to you!
Ma Shangchu's situation was also bad. As more and more enemy troops attacked, he could no longer tell the direction.
"General, there are too many enemies attacking, and we can't defend the city wall!" A lieutenant rushed over and shouted at Ma Shang.
Ma Shang wiped the blood off his face and asked, "How is the situation with General Sun Ze?"
The lieutenant cried, "General, General Sun killed dozens of enemies and died in battle!"
Ma Shang's expression froze for a moment, and it took him a while to come back to his senses. He briefly surveyed the situation on the battlefield, then gave an order, "Brothers, retreat to the sidewalk between the city wall and the bridleway, and use the terrain to block the attack! Gather the surrounding brothers together, and follow me to repel them and buy time for the other brothers!"
Soon, about two to three hundred people gathered around Ma Shang. A group of them intercepted the enemy troops and fought, while the other soldiers took the opportunity to retreat.
With Ma Shang and his men fighting tooth and nail, the enemy was forced to retreat. Ma Shang also took the opportunity to lead his brothers to retreat to the alley below the city wall.
He looked at the thousand or so remaining soldiers under his command, hesitated for a moment, and then said in a hoarse voice, "If we open the East City Gate and charge out now, I think some of our brothers will survive. However, if no one stops them, they will attack us in no time. Therefore, we need someone to stay here to buy time for the other brothers."
"I'll stay with the general!" A lame old soldier came out leaning on a spear with a somewhat ferocious smile on his face.
"I am old and lame. If I go back, I will only add burden to the family. Let the kids go!"
"I'll stay too!" shouted a soldier with a broken arm.
"I stayed!"
"I stayed!"
One by one, they roared and stood in front of Ma Shang without hesitation. At this moment, death was not worth mentioning. Although everyone knew that staying would definitely lead to death, no one hesitated!
Until... there was no one left there, and everyone stood in front of Ma Shang with their backs straight.
"Bastard!" There was a tear of blood in the corner of Ma Shang's eyes, but his heart was full of pride. These were the men of Daqian, these were the soldiers under his command!
"What do you bastards want to do? If you want to die, just come up here and I will give you a quick death!" Ma Shang cursed.
"General, we won't leave. We will fight to the death with you!" A child soldier who was obviously just a teenager shouted loudly.
"Get out!" Ma Shang kicked him to the ground, then gritted his teeth, "Everyone, listen up! Those who have parents and only children, step out! Those who have wives and young children, step out! Those who haven't tied their hair yet, step out!"
As Ma Shang roared, one person after another stood up, and finally there were about three to five hundred people gathered.
"You Wenjiang, take these people and open the East Gate to leave the city immediately!"
"General, I will stay here, you take your men away!" a strong man shouted.
"How dare you! I am the commander-in-chief here. How can I abandon the city? Follow the military order. Remember, get your brothers out! Leave immediately, or I will die before your eyes!"
At this point, Ma Shang's voice slowed down and he smiled, "My sons have all been knighted, so dying here won't sever my family line. It's just that I lost Hongya, and I can't personally go before the Marshal to apologize. If you can see the Marshal, kowtow to him for me and say that I, Old Ma, am content and have no regrets! In my next life, I, Old Ma, will continue to lead and saddle the Marshal's horse!"
Everyone was in tears. You Wenjiang and others knelt on one knee and cried out, "General!"
"Go! Don't let my death be in vain!"
You Wenjiang kowtowed, then gritted his teeth and shouted, "Everyone, listen up! Say goodbye to the general and all your comrades!"
Afterwards, a group of soldiers raised their spears at an angle and struck their shields with their swords! Ma Shang and the others were equally solemn and returned the greeting.
"Take care, General!" You Wenjiang bowed again, then turned his head and rushed in another direction with hundreds of remaining soldiers.
As he watched his brothers walk further and further away, Ma Shang's smile grew wider. Even though leaving the city might not guarantee their survival, this was the only thing he could do for his brothers. Turning around, he could already see the shadows of the enemy army. He slowly tightened his grip on the long sword in his hand.
"Brothers, follow me and kill, buy time for the other brothers..."
“Kill! Kill! Kill!”
"That year, a hundred thousand soldiers marched out of Yumen, their banners waving..."
"The whole army is full of high spirits, the smoke of war billows and confuses the world, the heavy snow falls and covers the bows and swords..."
"The Qiang flute doesn't make the willows lament, the war drums urge the men and horses to howl. Under the moon, weapons flow like water, the setting sun stains the battle robes with its lingering red..."
Today we are comrades in life and death. We should have no regrets if we die on the battlefield and are wrapped in our horsehide!
…
In the Daqian military camp beside Qingshen Mountain, Jia Cong sat upright, quietly watching the battle report that had just been sent from Hongya.
"On March 18th, the various tribes of Xishan gathered nearly 20,000 troops to attack the city. Generals Sun Ze and Ma Shang led the remaining troops in a desperate battle! After a day of bloody fighting, both Generals Sun Ze and Ma Shang were killed. Hundreds of soldiers took advantage of the chaos to escape the city, and their fate remains unknown. The remaining 7,600 soldiers were killed! That day, the Xishan coalition forces conquered Hongya..."
"General!" The door of the tent opened, and all the generals who heard the news gathered together.
