~~~~~~~

On the top of the city, the offensive of this group of heavy armored soldiers of the Hou Jin Army became more and more intense. Li Yuanqing and Chen Zhong were almost willing to sacrifice their lives to hold on, and they always controlled the advance range of this group of heavy armored soldiers.

On the line of the city wall, you cannot advance even half a step.

The battle has lasted for more than half an hour, and both sides are somewhat exhausted, but neither can eat the other.

At this time, a harsh golden sound came from the direction of Houjin Camp.

These Houjin heavy-armored soldiers showed no inclination to fight, and quickly retreated like a tide.

Li Yuanqing and Chen Zhong did not have long-range strike weapons. It was impossible to pursue them. They could only watch the heavy armored troops retreat in an orderly manner. They even took away many rearguards who died in the battle near the city head.

The body of the golden soldier.

"Sir, the Tatars have retreated. We have won, we have won." Shunzi's face was covered with blood, and his armor had a few holes in it. He quickly ran to Li Yuanqing and shouted as if he was relieved.

At this time, Li Yuanqing no longer looked like a human being. He was covered in blood, and there were countless wounds on his body. He didn't know where his armor was discarded, his hair was spread out, and his eyes were full of murderous intent, which never dissipated.

"Retreating?" Li Yuanqing murmured, glancing at the retreating figure of the Jin army not far away.

"Retreat, retreat. We are holding on." Shunzi shouted with joy.

Next to him, officers such as Shang Laoliu, Xu Heizi, and Guan Canghai quickly gathered around Li Yuanqing, "Sir, are you okay?"

"Sir, are you okay?"

Looking at the pairs of concerned eyes, Li Yuanqing suddenly smiled and said, "I'm fine. How can it be so easy for a dog Tatar to kill me?"

Everyone couldn't help but be overjoyed, and some young soldiers couldn't help but cheer.

But now was far from the time to celebrate. Li Yuanqing hurriedly ordered these officers to clean the battlefield, and also ordered the civilians behind him to quickly clean up the sandbag steps.

Some soldiers brought hot water from the bottom of the city. Li Yuanqing drank some and washed his face. The murderous intent in his eyes gradually disappeared and his mind gradually became clearer.

At this time, although the casualties have not yet been calculated, according to Li Yuanqing's visual inspection, at least seventy or eighty people of this team of Houjin heavy armor soldiers were killed, and probably two to three hundred people were injured. It can be said that almost everyone took care of them.

hurt.

As for Li Yuanqing's headquarters, although they repelled the first wave of offensives by the Later Jin Army, the number of casualties was probably twice as high as that of the Later Jin Army.

There is absolutely no way around this.

Although the Ming army was geographically advantageous, they were all new recruits with a serious lack of training, and even less weapons and equipment. They were almost just a group of lightly trained militiamen, going against the elites of the Jin army who had fought many battles.

At this time, even at the cost of five to six hundred casualties, it was already a huge miracle that the city could be defended.

Fortunately, Zhenjiang is a pure new army, and the officers are all brave men. Otherwise, if it were the main force of the Ming army, it would have collapsed long ago under such circumstances.

At this time, Chen Zhong, accompanied by several soldiers, came here and said, "Yuan Qing, how are you? Are you okay?"

Chen Zhong's condition was no better than Li Yuanqing's. He was covered in blood, there was an obvious crack on the armor on his chest, there was faint blood seeping out of it, and his face was a little pale.

"Brother, I'm fine. How are you?" Li Yuanqing asked with concern.

The situation on the battlefield was too chaotic. Facing the fierce offensive of this team of Houjin heavy armored soldiers, Chen Zhong and Li Yuanqing were quickly separated, with no chance of cooperating. Li Yuanqing also didn't know the situation on Chen Zhong's side.

.

Chen Zhong chuckled and said, "The Tatars are really fierce, but I can't die yet. Yuan Qing, we can hold on."

Li Yuanqing also smiled and shook Chen Zhong's big hand, "Brother, if there is one, there are two. If we can defend the first wave, we can defend the second and third waves. However, I think the Tatars are there again.

Mobilize troops, their next wave of offensive may come soon, we must be prepared."

Chen Zhong nodded, "We must take advantage of this time to clear their earthen wall first. In the afternoon, it will not be so easy for them to come up."

Li Yuanqing nodded, and the two of them ordered their subordinates to go about their business.

During lunch time, Mao Wenlong personally came to inspect the North Gate defense line. Seeing such a tragic battle situation, he frowned and warmly encouraged Chen Zhong and Li Yuanqing.

Li Yuanqing also obtained the battle status of Ximen and South Gate from Mao Wenlong.

Although the Jin army attacked the west gate and south gate, their momentum and numbers were much smaller than those at the north gate. Although there were some casualties on our side, they were not as tragic as those on Li Yuanqing and Chen Zhong's side.

Knowing that the overall situation was fine, Li Yuanqing felt a little more relaxed.

Mao Wenlong completed his inspection and left quickly.

Looking at his somewhat old back, Li Yuanqing suddenly felt something in his heart.

With a hero like Mao Wenlong, he could not fail to see that the Ming army in Zhenjiang City was at the end of its war effort. Even if they could survive today, what about tomorrow and the day after tomorrow?

Historically, Mao Wenlong left Zhenjiang City early before the Zhenjiang Defense War ended.

He was in such a hurry during this inspection. Did he already have the intention to leave?

Frankly speaking, if Li Yuanqing were in Mao Wenlong's shoes, he would have chosen to escape quickly at this time, leaving the mountains behind and not worrying about running out of firewood.

Otherwise, if your life is gone and turned into loess, what qualifications do you have to talk about anything else?

However, it was Mao Wenlong's decision to stick to Zhenjiang after all. It was a decision he made after comprehensive consideration under pressure from all aspects.

If Mao Wenlong had been more decisive when he got the news of Houjin's offensive, these countless good men would not have wasted their fresh lives in Zhenjiang City. When the Dongjiang Army was established later

, there will be more fire.

Unfortunately, nothing happens.

At this moment, Li Yuanqing suddenly felt restless and restless in his heart.

What Mao Wenlong did was not wrong, but~~~ he lost the responsibility that a man should have. He regarded the nearly 10,000 soldiers in Zhenjiang City as a stepping stone for him to be loyal to the court.

But will the imperial court really remember these people?

Who will support their children?

Who will support their parents?

Li Yuanqing clenched his fists tightly, his nails dug deeply into his flesh, and his joints creaked.

But for a moment, Li Yuanqing suddenly felt relieved.

Mao Wenlong did nothing wrong.

He knew that defending Zhenjiang was an extremely wrong decision. Now, he wanted to correct this mistake, even if he had to pay the price of countless blood.

After exhaling a long breath, Li Yuanqing's eyes became clearer and clearer.

One general's success will destroy ten thousand bones.

For the overall situation, for the general trend, and for the future, Zhenjiang City must make such sacrifices.

And Li Yuanqing is the same. For his own future and his own ideals, at this time, he has to do something against his will...

Time flies by.

In the afternoon, the second wave of offensive from the Hou Jin Army came soon.

Different from the heavily armored offensive in the morning, the Jin army was obviously much weaker in this afternoon's offensive.

Under the cover of three to four hundred archers, a group of about a hundred sword and shield soldiers tentatively attacked the city wall several times. Facing the fierce resistance of the Ming army, they did not attack rashly again, but maintained their rhythm.

It seems that they want to use this method to consume the physical strength of the defending Ming army.

Li Yuanqing quickly saw their intentions. Unfortunately, the initiative in the war was always firmly in Hou Jin's hands. Even if he knew their intentions, Li Yuanqing didn't have much to do.

We can only let the soldiers take turns to defend the city, with two total troops guarding for an hour at a time, switching back and forth.

Chen Zhong also followed Li Yuanqing's example and temporarily stabilized the situation.

After the Jin army saw this, they were no longer rash. However, some archers fired cold arrows from a distance and maintained a confrontation with the Ming army.

In the evening, as night fell, the Jin army quickly retreated, and the whole world seemed to suddenly become quiet.

Li Yuanqing was always thinking about Mao Wenlong's affairs, and he could not fully concentrate on defending the city all afternoon.

There is nothing wrong with what Mao Wenlong did, but Li Yuanqing had actually prepared his escape plan early, but it was all half-measures. Who can say who?

However, if Mao Wenlong wanted to evacuate, Li Yuanqing had already completed almost all the deductions for possible routes before digging tunnels in advance.

At this time, the only way to escape from Zhenjiang City was through the east wall.

Definitely not possible during the day. Only at night, taking advantage of the darkness, we can reach the riverside from the east wall, cross the Yalu River, and then go to Longchuan.

At this moment, Li Yuanqing wanted to reveal the news about the tunnel he had dug to Mao Wenlong, but after careful consideration, Li Yuanqing gave up the idea.

The common man is not guilty, but he is guilty of carrying the jade.

At this time, it is safest to keep this kind of thing for yourself.

However, if Mao Wenlong leaves like this, Li Yuanqing himself will not benefit at all.

After thinking for a moment, Li Yuanqing had already made a decision and ordered Shang Laoliu to coordinate the defense line. He was about to rush to Mao Wenlong's official office, but at this time, Mao Wenlong's personal soldiers came over to summon Chen Zhong and Li Yuanqing to the official office to discuss matters.

Li Yuanqing had a vague feeling, an indescribable feeling, and hurriedly called Chen Zhong and rushed to the official hall.

In the official hall, Mao Wenlong was only wearing a cloth robe, and the grooves on his already old face seemed to be getting deeper.

Around him, several important officers such as You Jinghe, Wang Fu, Chen Zhong, and Zhang Yuanzhi were present, but Chen Liangce and Zhang Pan were nowhere to be seen.

Mao Wenlong glanced at everyone and sighed: "Tonight, I am preparing to leave Zhenjiang City, but you guys have to stay here."

Everyone was stunned for a moment, but they all reacted in a moment.
To be continued...