Chapter 221: Fighting Fire with Fire

"Viscount, Viscount, that wolf smoke, it is truly unbearable!"

"Viscount, the West Gate is about to break!"

"What can be done about this?"

The Yinzhou Army side was in total chaos.

No one had expected that the army of the Northern Western Regions would actually have such a trick up their sleeve! Fortunately, Tucheng was an earthen city, rather than being mostly wooden structures like most cities in the Longyan Dynasty; otherwise, wouldn't these city towers have been burned through by these people?

"Defend, defend to the death for me!"

For a moment, Liu Zheng had no Method.

At this time.

The Yinzhou Army not only had to endure the scorching of this high temperature, but also these gases carrying poison, causing their combat effectiveness to drop rapidly. In a mere two hours, they were almost breached at the city gate by the Yanqi Army—however, Liu Zheng's ambush location was at Sanlinpo, and having other places breached would be enough to give him a hard time.

Suddenly.

He shuddered all over and roared: "Jiang Xuan! Call Jiang Xuan to me!"

"Viscount, General Jiang is still in the heat of battle!"

Liu Zheng's heart sank.

……

In fact.

At this moment, when Jiang Xuan saw this Quelehuoduo, he was also shocked in his heart.

Black oily substance……

It can be ignited?

He was originally directing the battle when a flash of inspiration struck his mind, and he cursed angrily: "You bastards! Hold the line for me, Little Liu, come with me!"

"Yes!"

He immediately turned back toward the city.

Black oil……

These past few days, Jiao Ming, whom he had been strictly monitoring, had always been carrying some black oil and wandering around the granary in the city. Originally, he hadn't taken it to heart, but now……

This is bad!

The more he thought, the more anxious he became.

If the granary were burned at this time, the Yinzhou Army would truly be in danger!

……

At this time.

The great battle outside had already begun.

Jiao Ming, with his face smeared with dirt and ash, was also following this group of slaves in the city, helping to defend the city, transporting Weaponry and Equipment, transporting things, and delivering food……

Taking advantage of the chaos in the city.

He and his brothers had already moved three barrels of Quelehuoduo to the granary.

"Second Master, the stuff has been moved over!"

"When do we act?"

"Hahahaha, three barrels, blow these Longyan bastards to death!"

His underlings were surrounding him at this time, their eyes revealing a fierce look.

Jiao Ming smiled faintly: "If we still want to live, we can only wait a little longer……"

Everyone nodded.

At this time, the siege had only just begun, and the Longyan Army could still hold them off. They needed to blow up the granary at the most critical moment. At that time, the Longyan Army would surely fall into chaos, and the Yanqi Army would break into the city, giving them a chance to survive.

At this moment, Jiang Xuan had already ridden over.

Seeing the person arrive, Jiao Ming's expression changed instantly: "Ignite it, ignite it for me!"

Unfortunately.

Jiang Xuan had already seen him and shouted: "Capture them for me! Immediately, do not let them get near the granary!"

The soldiers guarding the granary, upon hearing the order, rushed over quickly; who would have thought that Jiao Ming's skills were quite good, and three or five people actually failed to hold him down.

He lit the Fire Tinder and was about to throw it toward the barrel of oil.

"Bang!"

At this moment, Jiang Xuan shot an arrow, hitting the Fire Tinder squarely.

A wave of despair surged in Jiao Ming's heart.

However, he had already been pinned to the ground by seven or eight people.

Jiang Xuan, locking the stable door after the horse had bolted, let out a sigh of relief, jumped off his horse, looked coldly at Jiao Ming, and smiled coldly: "Second Master Jiao, I have been watching you for several days……"

"What? You……"

Jiao Ming shuddered all over, suddenly thought of something, and trembled: "You, you all……"

Jiang Xuan laughed loudly: "That's right, and that dog of yours too!"

It's over!

Jiao Ming wailed in his heart.

……

"Report————"

"Great General, intelligence from Jiao Ming!"

At this time, in the Yanqi Army tent, a fellow with a shifty look rushed in.

"Oh? Speak quickly!"

"When can that Quelehuoduo be ignited?"

The generals looked over one after another.

That person lowered his head and said in the Yanqi language: "The Quelehuoduo has already been placed in the granary. If Sanlinpo is breached, use the war drums as a signal, and Jiao Ming can ignite it immediately!"

"Excellent!"

The crowd looked at each other in great delight.

Jiulong laughed heartily: "Let's see how stubborn your Longyan Army is this time; you're all going to be blown to bits by me!"

"Issue the order: send another twenty thousand as reinforcements, and ensure Sanlinpo is taken!"

The Yanqi army was growing more and more numerous.

Reguli was fighting with great vigor at this moment. She was born a Loulan Noble and had practiced martial arts since childhood; her skills were truly quite good. Although she had lived in luxury after joining the royal family, her foundation remained.

"Hold the line!"

"Everyone, hold the line for me!"

"Brothers, they have already been forced to call for reinforcements by our killing! Hahaha!"

The Loulan soldiers also laughed loudly.

Although this battle was brutal, it was also very satisfying.

In this nearly half-day of defense, Loulan had lost twenty thousand soldiers!

Twenty thousand!

They had almost piled up into a small mountain at Sanlinpo. But the Loulan people did not hold the belief that the dead should be treated with utmost respect; as it happened, these remains could be used to block the Yanqi army and hinder their Cavalry.

The stench of blood began to permeate the air.

Reguli shouted: "Hold for one more wave, hold for one more wave! All of Cheshi is holding, persevere!"

However......

They discovered that the Yanqi troops attacking this Sanlinpo were becoming more and more numerous, and the defense was becoming increasingly strenuous.

The losses......

Were also growing larger.

"Empress Dowager, I fear we cannot hold on much longer......"

Another wave of attacks came.

Reguli also sighed deeply, her delicate brows slightly furrowed: "This is not right; this is the enemy's main force!"

"What?"

"Is it secured?"

Seeing Jiang Xuan arrive, Liu Zheng felt a sense of relief in his heart. At the same time, he still felt a lingering fear.

Heavens......

Fortunately, Jiang Xuan reacted quickly; otherwise, not only would Cheshi be lost, but the one hundred and fifty thousand troops of Yinzhou would likely starve to death here in the Western Regions!

"Young Master, this wolf smoke......"

Qingyang Shuo frowned.

If things continued this way, the situation would be quite dire.

At this moment, the area around Cheshi City was entirely covered in the black smoke from the ignited Quelehuoduo. The black smoke permeated the air, not only limiting visibility but also eroding the combat effectiveness of the Yinzhou army.

Liu Zheng asked: "Sir, do you have any countermeasures?"

Qingyang Shuo said: "Young Master, there are five types of fire attacks: first, burning people; second, burning stores; third, burning baggage; fourth, burning arsenals; fifth, burning lines of supply. Fire attacks must have a cause, and the means to create smoke and fire must be prepared in advance. There is a proper time for setting fires and a proper day for starting them. The 'time' refers to when the weather is dry; the 'day' refers to when the moon is in the constellations of the Winnowing Basket, the Wall, the Wing, or the Crossbar. These four constellations are days when wind rises."

"However, all fire attacks must respond to the changes of the five fires. If fire breaks out inside, respond quickly from the outside. If the fire breaks out but the enemy troops remain calm, wait and do not attack. When the fire reaches its peak, you may follow up if possible; if not, then stop. Fires can be set from the outside without waiting for the inside; set them at the proper time. When setting a fire upwind, do not attack from downwind. If the wind blows during the day, it will stop at night. An army must know the changes of the five fires and keep watch with these calculations."

Wind!

Liu Zheng took a deep breath: "Sir, you mean......"

Qingyang Shuo smiled: "There is no water in the Western Regions, so we can only use fire to fight fire!"