Chapter 399 The Final Stubbornness

Flying rocks and clods of soil were flying everywhere, and the entire west gate was riddled with holes.

When Zhang He protected Tian Feng and retreated into the city, the city gate was already damaged and crumbling, and it seemed that it might fall down at any time.

"Come here!" Zhang He summoned a group of personal guards, looked at Tian Feng and said: "Sir, there may be ambushes outside the city, but staying here is unreasonable! I ask you, sir, to go ahead and report to my lord the situation of the battle here. It’s because the last general is at a disadvantage in fighting, it’s really…”

At the end, Zhang He didn't know what to say. This battle can no longer be described as aggrieved. He thought that with the Lian Nu, he would no longer be as embarrassed as before against the Guanzhong Army. Who knew that the opponent's new weapon would be even more terrifying? In a frontal battle, there is no way to fight back. How can this be evenly matched?

Tian Feng shook his head, shook off the dirt on his head, and looked around. Not only was the city wall crumbling, many houses in the city were also destroyed by the opponent's stone bullets. Countless people were running around in panic, and the troops in the city were also in chaos. Channel.

"Jun Yi, come back with me. Without you, I can't even assemble the soldiers. This white horse is broken. There is no need to stay here and die!" Tian Feng looked at Zhang He and said.

Zhang He smiled bitterly: "If there is no general to stop me, it may be more difficult for you, sir, to escape. Please escape back to Yecheng as soon as possible. My lord can do without Zhang He, but I cannot do without you!"

What's the use of going back?

Tian Feng sighed after hearing this. The strength shown by the Guanzhong Army this time made people feel weak. It was different from ten years ago. Although Lu Bu defeated Yuan Shao ten years ago, he had no intention of conquering Jizhou. Tian Feng guessed that at the beginning Lu Bu did not have enough management talents under his command, and even if he captured Jizhou, there would be no one to govern it. Now Lu Bu is taking the initiative to provoke, and it seems that he not only wants to defeat Yuan Shao, but also wants to capture Jizhou!

That kind of thunderous crossbow has never figured out a way to break it. Now faced with this kind of stone-throwing machine with foul range, Tian Feng can't think of any way to defeat the enemy for a while.

"Let's go." Zhang He asked people to escort Tian Feng out of the east gate. In order to avoid being harassed by the enemy's cavalry, Zhang He sent all the cavalry out to attract the enemy's attention. Tian Feng was escorted by a team of elite cavalry and mingled with the cavalry. He left the city and went straight to Yecheng.

"Boom~"

Just when Zhang He had just sent Tian Feng away, the city gate and the city wall near the city gate collapsed. In the smoke and dust, countless sharp arrows shot through the air, followed by a series of explosions. The opponent obviously used that kind of... Thunderous crossbow bolts.

Zhang He could only try his best to restrain his troops and retreat into street fighting.

Hua Xiong marched in with his troops. When he saw the enemy troops retreating into the streets, his face darkened. Lu Bu had strictly ordered not to kill the people after breaking the city, so he immediately ordered: "Put away the Thunder God crossbow and shoot with the repeating crossbow!"

Immediately, groups of Guanzhong soldiers put on their rifles and quickly occupied various highlands while encircling and killing the remaining Jizhou troops in the city.

In fact, the number of the Jizhou Army at this moment is quite large, far exceeding that of the Guanzhong Army entering the city. However, their morale has been shattered, and many of them are in a state of chaos.

Normally, after the city is broken, the garrison basically collapses, but today Zhang He has already concluded that the city gate cannot be defended, so he withdraws into the city first to make preparations. In addition, there are too many Jizhou troops in the city, so he still has enough ability to resist, but that is not the case at the moment. Morale is low, and most of them are in a state of disorder or retreat.

After all, under the mighty Vulcan cannons and thunder crossbows, Zhang He and Tian Feng were not the only ones to feel that sense of despair. Ordinary soldiers felt it even more deeply. The defeated army had already appeared, and Zhang He could no longer care about it at this time. He led his troops to occupy the area. Go to the high ground in the streets and alleys to deal with the Guanzhong Army.

Hua Xiong sent out his troops several times to wipe out this last resistance force, but was driven back by Zhang He and his army.

For a moment, Hua Xiong wanted to have someone bring the Vulcan Cannon in and blast the opponent.

"Don't worry about these things for now. Surrender those who can be surrendered!" After Xu Shu entered the city, he observed the enemy's formation. It was not appropriate to attack by force now, so he immediately ordered people to shout for surrender.

The Jizhou Army in the city had already been frightened by the Vulcan Cannon and Thunder God Crossbow. In addition, Xu Shu had people use detonating thunder to threaten them. A large number of Jizhou Army who failed to escape chose to lay down their weapons and surrender.

"Don't worry, everyone, we are the imperial army. We will not kill or harm the people if we don't surrender. As long as we are willing to put down our weapons, we can be safe!" A famous general shouted from all around, further weakening the Jizhou army's fighting spirit and asking for surrender. .

Xu Shu then arranged for men and horses to take the surrendered soldiers out of the city first. By evening, all the Jizhou surrender troops in the city had been taken out of the city. Only Zhang He led more than a thousand people to guard a street and alley, using houses and crossbows. Hua Xiong failed to attack several times, but lost many people.

"Yuan Zhi, I see there aren't many people left, why not just blast him with thunder!?" Seeing that the sky was almost completely dark, it would be difficult to fight again after dark.

Xu Shu shook his head. It was inevitable that there would be casualties when breaking the city, but now that the situation was determined, there was no need to continue like this.

"Go and call for surrender first!" Xu Shu said in a deep voice, looking at the street opposite.

"It's useless. This man is very good at using soldiers. I have called him several times and he refuses to surrender." Hua Xiong shook his head. If it weren't for the magic weapons such as the Vulcan Cannon and the Thunder God Crossbow, he would have defeated this He Huan. It's not easy, let alone defeating more with less.

"The general just orders people to shout." Xu Shu said.

Alas~

Hua Xiong sighed and immediately ordered two surrender generals to go and shout for surrender.

"General Zhang, the situation is over, why bother to hold on? Now all the soldiers in the city have surrendered. If the general has any request, please inform the general, and the general is willing to convey it on his behalf!"

On a rooftop, Zhang He listened to the fluent Weijun accent, his expression was slightly cold, he drew his bow and nocked an arrow, and shot in the direction of the sound.

"Bang~"

The sharp arrow shot through the air and sank into a wooden pillar, startling the Jizhou surrender general who shouted for surrender. This was obviously Zhang He's answer. The two of them did not dare to say anything and quickly withdrew.

"I told him he wouldn't surrender!" Hua Xiong looked at Xu Shu and said.

"In that case..." Xu Shu looked at the two Jizhou surrendered generals and said with a smile, "Can I trouble you two generals to go there again?"

"Sir, it's not because we don't want to, but General Zhang seems to be determined to fight to the end. Even if the two of us go there ten or a hundred times, it will probably be useless." The two surrendered generals felt a little uncomfortable, but the military advisor would not Are you trying to kill both of us? Didn't you offend him?

"The two generals have misunderstood. This time they go, but they are not trying to persuade them to surrender." Xu Shu said with a smile.

"It's not about persuading surrender, that's..." The two looked at Xu Shu in confusion.

"In a war, damage is inevitable, but the overall situation has been decided now. Our Lord is based on benevolence and cannot bear the people to be killed. If General Zhang insists on fighting, there is nothing wrong with it. I just hope that General Zhang can think of the people in these troubled times. Survival is not easy, let the people come over first, and then it won’t be too late for us to fight to the death.” Xu Shu said solemnly at the end.

"Sir, benevolence and righteousness!" The two generals heard this and saluted quickly. This request should not be difficult. They said goodbye to Xu Shu and Hua Xiong and returned to the city tremblingly again.

"General Zhang, I'm not here to persuade you to surrender! It's just that the military advisor has said that if General Zhang is determined to fight to the death, we are willing to fulfill it. But once we do this, what will happen to the people? General Zhang, please let these people leave this place. When the time comes, It’s not too late for both sides to fight again!”

The rough voice echoed in the evening sky. Zhang He, who was about to shoot the two men, hesitated, and the soldiers around him were also silent. Although they were all Zhang He's confidants, their mentality was inevitably shaken in the desperate situation. In addition, Guanzhong The military's request somewhat touched people.

As Jizhou soldiers, it should be their duty to protect the people of Jizhou, but now they have to ask others to bring it up, which is a bit shameful.

When the people hiding in various houses heard this, they gradually felt more relieved, and instantly felt a lot more favorable towards the Guanzhong soldiers who had broken through Baima City.

"Bring them here!" After a long time, Zhang He ordered someone to bring them here.

The two of them were a little embarrassed to see Zhang He again. After all, just a few hours ago, they were Zhang He's generals, but now they have become enemies. Facing Zhang He's indifferent gaze, the two felt uncomfortable. They saw Zhang He's absence for a long time. Speaking, one person finally couldn't help it: "The general knows that the general looks down on the two of us, and the general does not have any high-sounding reasons. The old mother in the general's family is almost sixty, and she has given birth to a son and a daughter. If the general is today If you die in battle, your mother will have no one to support you, your children will probably be bullied, and your mother-in-law will most likely be given to someone else, and she will never want to live. "

This may sound selfish, but who doesn’t?

The general's words caused many soldiers around him to break their defenses, and some began to sob softly.

"How dare you disturb the morale of our army at this moment!" Zhang He's expression changed, and he drew his sword and pointed at the man.

"General, it's not that the last general has disturbed the morale of the army, but what is there to fight at this point in the battle? Besides, the Guanzhong Army is a soldier of the imperial court, and this time the captain is also going out on behalf of the emperor, so what do we think? What's more? Why fight to the death?" Having said this, the general also risked his life and said with a pinch of his neck: "General, you know that after the imperial army gathered the surrendered troops, the first thing was to appease the people, and our army did not do any harm to the people. How many lieutenant generals can do this? With such a benevolent and righteous teacher, the late general feels that the captain is much stronger than the general."

The soldiers of Jizhou are different from the soldiers of Guandong. The generals are okay, but most of the soldiers are recruited and have not been trained for a long time. Even if they are trained, the military discipline is not as strict as that of the Guanzhong army, and the robbery of the people is not unheard of. , in terms of military discipline, the Guanzhong Army is much stronger than the Jizhou Army.

"Get out!" Zhang He snorted angrily, but did not kill him.

The two surrendered generals saluted Zhang He, turned around, and strode away.

"General!" A personal guard looked at Zhang He.

"Do as they say and let the people here go first..."

Halfway through, Zhang He looked at everyone, sighed and said, "You guys should go too."

"General, why don't you go with me?"

Just this sentence has already explained their thoughts. It is obvious that no one is willing to fight to the death.

"Alas..." Zhang He smiled bitterly and did not answer. He just waved his hand and said, "Go ahead."