Chapter 1201: Meat Shield

The Mongol soldiers rushed forward one after another, but the Longyan defenders' "Firearm Array" was well-ordered, and their ammunition was plentiful; with the narrow city gate, the Mongol Army simply could not charge up.

After sacrificing the lives of hundreds of men, the Mongolian Army finally abandoned this overly reckless assault.

Therefore.

At the beginning, it was the Longyan side that was nervous.

But now, it was Tie Mucheng's turn to be anxious.

Jinghua, although it could not be considered the heartland of Longyan, had the two major military groups of Youzhou and Liaodong in the Northeast of Longyan.

Although Liaodong could not send troops to support due to the plague, the Youzhou Army, which was closer to Jinghua, could provide support at any time.

Even if the Youzhou Army had once rebelled against Longyan, that rebellion had long been quelled; once these two hundred thousand Youzhou troops marched south to rescue the throne, they would fall into the awkward position of being attacked from both front and rear.

Therefore, they had to end the battle as quickly as possible.

His surprise attack on Jinghua this time was meant to be a lightning operation.

If successful, the entire Longyan would fall into chaos.

After all, this was Jinghua, the political center of Longyan...

That was exactly what Tie Mucheng thought.

Once Longyan lost its emperor, given the situation of Longyan with its many Feudatory Kings, it would certainly fall into chaos, and he could take advantage of the disorder to achieve his goals.

But the premise of all this...

Was that the lightning war succeeded!

If the window of opportunity was missed, then everything would be uncertain!

He would very likely be surrounded and wiped out by those armies coming to rescue the throne!

And at this moment, the Tanma Military Division had already sent news.

The Youzhou Army had moved!

One hundred thousand Youzhou Infantry were already rapidly rushing toward Jinghua; it was estimated that in another three hours, the vanguard of the Youzhou Army would arrive here.

That is to say, Tie Mucheng had three more hours; if his army had not broken through the gates of Jinghua City within three hours, this invasion operation would be declared a failure, and they would have to leave this place.

Tie Mucheng had a headache; they had prepared for a long time for this invasion, using lamp oil on the city walls and then using a Battering Ram to strike the gate, thinking that with this surprise move, they could quickly break into Jinghua City, but he did not expect that they would actually hold out.

Although there was still lamp oil, after such a long time, the Longyan Army should also have come up with countermeasures.

"Military Advisor, is there any other good Method? Our army is not good at sieges; if we drag this out, once the Youzhou Army arrives, we will be in danger!"

Tie Mucheng sighed and asked.

Was it really that he was too reckless?

To have made the decision to attack Longyan this time?

"The Longyan Army is not that powerful; it is just that their firearms are very formidable, and the city gate is narrow, making it difficult for our soldiers to break in, but as long as we can defend against their firearms, breaking the city will be a matter of an instant."

Zhongxing Yue chuckled.

"Military Advisor, you make it sound simple; the firearms are so powerful, what can we use to defend against them?"

Tie Mucheng asked with a frown.

"It is very simple: use people." Zhongxing Yue said with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

"People? Does the Military Advisor mean to let my soldiers use their lives to block the bullets?"

Tie Mucheng was about to get angry.

The population on the Grassland was not large to begin with.

This was a matter that had always troubled him.

And he was to let his own brothers die?

He only had this many troops in his hands!

"Of course not; there are ready-made human shields, no need to use our Mongol Warriors."

Zhongxing Yue said indifferently.

"Human shields? Where?"

After Tie Mucheng asked, Zhongxing Yue clapped his hands, and then, dozens of Mongol soldiers escorted over a hundred Longyan people over.

Looking over, among these Longyan people, most were dressed in gorgeous clothing; it looked like these were wealthy families from Jinghua!

"Let us go!"

"You bunch of barbarians!"

"Tie Mucheng, you traitor, how did we Longyan treat you! You..."

As soon as these people appeared, they all began to curse loudly.

"Where did you capture them from?"

Tie Mucheng's eyes lit up.

"Hahahaha Khan, in a siege, one must leave a gap; these rich people would naturally look for opportunities to escape, but they would never have thought that it was a trap I left for them. Great Khan, these are all prominent figures of Longyan, and among them are even several imperial relatives; using them to lead the way, the Longyan people will definitely not dare to fire." Zhongxing Yue laughed.

Originally, Tie Mucheng was somewhat desperate, but upon hearing these words from Zhongxing Yue, hope suddenly arose.

"It is still the Longyan people who understand the Longyan people; Military Advisor, if the city is broken, I, the Khan, will credit you with the first merit!"

Zhongxing Yue nodded with a smile; he did not care about the first merit, as long as he could take revenge on Longyan, that would be enough!

Many years ago, the Longyan people took something from him, so he would take it back from the Longyan people twofold!

As long as he could achieve his goal, he would stop at nothing!

Hatred is just that terrifying.

The Mongols were repelled, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief; at this moment, they also realized that this gaunt scholar in front of them was not a simple character.

At first, they were very unconvinced by Yu Qian, but now, Zhao Yan admired him to the point of prostration.

Setting aside whether he was the one who came up with the idea to repel the Mongol Army, the mere fact that while all the scholars were fleeing, he alone went against the current, was enough to earn their admiration.

At this moment, the soldiers were resting, but Yu Qian was not; he was still on the city wall inspecting the city's defenses.

The fire on the city wall had already been extinguished, but the smell of lamp oil still lingered in the air.

The pungent odor made Yu Qian frown.

Using a great fire to seal off the city wall defenses, followed by siege engines heading straight for the city gate—it seems there are experts among the Mongol Army as well.

Fire attacks are not terrifying; what Yu Qian worried about was that they would come up with even more vicious plans.

"Lord Yu! There is a situation! You must look over there!"

Hearing the Scout's shout, Yu Qian hurriedly looked toward the Mongolian Army camp.

When he saw the Longyan people being driven forward, Yu Qian's heart turned cold; the thing he feared most had happened after all.

Now that the city gate was wide open, he had intended to rely on the Firearm to hold the line, but with the Longyan people in front, they could not easily open fire. Setting aside the identities of these people, even if they were just commoners, if they were to fire indiscriminately, the city would likely fall into chaos.

The public morale he had just stabilized would certainly collapse once again.

At this time, the two brothers Zhao Yan and Zhao Hui also climbed onto the city tower.

"Lord Yu, what is the situation?"

The two asked nervously.

Yu Qian said nothing, merely tilting his head to signal them.

Seeing those hundreds of Longyan people in the distance, the hearts of both generals sank, especially Zhao Hui's.

He recognized that those Longyan people were the very ones who had gone out through the South Gate.

"This... it was my negligence. If I hadn't let them out, we wouldn't be facing this situation," Zhao Hui said, blaming himself.

"Enough, General Zhao. Now is not the time for self-reproach. We must quickly think of a Method, otherwise, if the Mongolian Army enters the city, Jinghua will surely be plunged into misery and suffering."

Yu Qian sighed.

He also knew that this situation was unavoidable.

"What Method could there possibly be? We can't fire upon the commoners, can we?"

Zhao Yan said with some helplessness.

As the three were speaking, the Mongol Army had already advanced to within five hundred meters of the city gate.

"Actually, there is nothing to think about now; it is merely a question of whether to open fire or not. If we don't open fire, the Mongol will enter the city and slaughter our commoners.

If we open fire, then we will bear the charge of killing our own compatriots while they are being held captive. Furthermore, there are not only commoners inside, but also members of the royal family and Noble. If we lose this battle, we will all die, and if we win, afterward, most of us may still have to die."

Yu Qian said slowly.

Hearing Yu Qian's words, everyone lowered their heads; they all understood this logic.

"Killing one to save ten thousand—this requires no consideration. Rest assured, both generals, the order to open fire is given by me, Yu Qian. If anyone seeks to hold someone accountable in the future, I alone shall bear the responsibility!"

"Lord Yu..."

Looking at the resolute expression on Yu Qian's face, the two brothers Zhao Yan and Zhao Hui both fell silent.

At this moment, they actually felt a trace of having survived a disaster; they had not expected that when it came to dying for a righteous cause, they, two military generals, were actually not as decisive as a scholar. Recently, pop-ups have been severe; you may click to download to avoid pop-ups.