frightfiction Chapter 567 Youzhou Besieged
Chapter 567 Youzhou Besieged
After cleaning up the mess at the inn, Qi Shiliu and the others followed the clues left by Qi Ershiwu and went after Chen Xuanyu and his two companions.
On New Year's Eve, about fifty miles outside Youzhou City, countless Liao warriors, shrouded in snow and ice, marched through the darkness.
Sitting in his carriage, Yelü Qiqi watched as his tribesmen approached from afar. One tribe after another surrounded him, their numbers gradually increasing from tens of thousands to tens of thousands. A sense of conquering the grasslands welled up within him, and he exuded the air of a great chieftain. He laughed triumphantly, "Wang Shizhong, you did a great job this time."
"Thank you for your praise, Your Highness. It is my duty. Chief Lu Mi of the northern tribe has arrived with 5,000 troops. Together with the dozen or so chiefs who came earlier, we have nearly 100,000 troops in total. I am confident that we can take Youzhou City." Wang Shizhong narrowed his long eyes, looking confident.
"Hahaha, if this succeeds, I will surely appoint you as the number one strategist of my grasslands." Yelü Qiqi laughed heartily, gazing at Youzhou City in the darkness, as if it were his prey.
The Liao warriors around them were also talking about Youzhou City, which was not far away, sharing the joy of victory. They even talked about how to divide up the city's territory and manage it, as well as other people's wives and daughters. They discussed it enthusiastically and rushed to Youzhou City.
Finally, under the cover of night, they arrived outside Youzhou City. Nearly 100,000 people surrounded the city. Yelü Qiqi looked at Wang Shizhong and said, "It's ready. Send the signal."
Wang Shizhong nodded, took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and released it into the air. Blue smoke rose from the ground and shot straight into the sky, blooming into a dangerous signal flower in the air.
After a long while, just as Yelü Qiqi and the others were getting a little impatient, a secluded little door on the west side of the main gate slowly opened. It was a small door that was usually used by passersby or people involved in shady dealings. The small door was open, gleaming with some unknown danger.
Without a word, Wang Shizhong said, "Let's go, send some capable warriors in."
Yelü Qiqi couldn't help but ask doubtfully, "Are you sure? This matter seems a bit inappropriate."
Wang Shizhong smiled gently and said, "Your Highness, you may not know this, but because we are inside agents, we cannot open the city gates open in a grand manner. Therefore, we will lead the warriors in first, and after we have controlled the gatekeepers inside, we will open the city gates wide and let the army in."
Yelü Qiqi nodded. "That makes sense. Chief Lu Mi, lead three hundred warriors inside."
Chief Lu Mi nodded and, guided by Wang Shizhong's men, led his people inside.
Soon after, the sounds of fighting could be heard from inside, followed by a voice in Liao language saying, "It's under control. Wait for the city gates to open."
A moment later, hundreds of Liao warriors appeared on the city wall. "Your Highness, please wait a moment, I will open the city gate immediately."
Yelü Qiqi listened with delight, looking up at the people above. Success was within reach, and everyone felt an excitement that made them want to fly in.
The thick city gates slowly opened, their creaking sound echoing in the empty night. Inside the city, it was pitch black, without a single ray of light.
Yelü Qiqi sensed something was amiss and was about to say something when he saw Chief Lu Mi, carrying a torch and leading his men, running out of the city gate. He excitedly exclaimed, "Your Highness, please!"
Yelü Qiqi laughed in surprise, "Let's go, brothers, charge in and slaughter them all! Youzhou City will be ours!"
Yelü Qiqi gave the order, and the army filed in. Wang Shizhong looked at the city, which was like a dark fog, and a sense of foreboding rose in his heart.
Seeing Yelü Qiqi about to enter the city gate, he couldn't help but call out to stop him, "Your Highness, please wait!"
Yelü Qiqi turned around and asked, "What is it?"
Wang Shizhong said somewhat embarrassedly, "I still feel it's a bit inappropriate. How about Your Highness stays outside and I go in?"
A flicker of suspicion crossed Yelü Qiqi's eyes. "Fine, you can stay outside with me and we'll work together from the inside to break through Youzhou City."
Wang Shizhong felt more at ease with this arrangement and was about to move closer to him when he suddenly heard a loud booming sound, "Bang bang bang!" The bombing started everywhere, and it was as if the sky was splitting open. The city shook, and there was a lot of wailing and howling inside the city, and the fire was raging.
"My God! It's a thunderbolt!" someone recognized it and exclaimed in surprise!
"Run! We've been ambushed!" Countless cries of alarm rang out. The Liao warriors who had just poured into the city began to push their way out again. Those who went in and those who came out collided and trampled each other, creating a chaotic and scrambled mass of people. Countless people perished on the ground, their bodies crushed beneath horses and carts.
"How could this be?" Wang Shizhong looked bewildered. Could he have been deceived? Impossible! Zhang Yuntai, how could he dare? His entire family is in Zhang Yuntai's hands!
"Wang Shizhong, how dare you deceive me!" Yelü Qiqi roared angrily, swinging his knife to stab him.
Wang Shizhong immediately dodged, "Your Highness, this is impossible! I would never lie to you. If I were lying, why would I have come along? This is not the time to explain. Let me stop them!"
"Clang!" Wang Shizhong beheaded a fleeing, routed warrior with a single stroke of his sword.
"No retreating! Those who retreat will die! Charge forward! Once you enter the city, countless gold, silver, beautiful women, and grain will be yours."
Yelü Qiqi also stood up and shouted, "The warriors of my Liao Kingdom never retreat! Fight alongside me!"
"Go!" He mounted his horse and charged forward with Wang Shizhong. Encouraged by the prince, the Liao people mustered their courage and charged into the city, even showing signs of breaking through the gates. At this time, the thunderbolts inside the city had stopped being dropped, presumably because they had been exhausted.
Yelü Qiqi was overjoyed, "Soldiers, follow me to kill the enemy!"
As the Liao army grew larger and larger, crowding into the city, Zhang Biao and his men, hiding on the second floor of a restaurant on the city wall, asked, "Mr. Lin, what do we do now? Fight?"
Lin Er sighed, "There are too many people. We're afraid we can't defeat them. We can only let them in for now to temporarily wear them down. Make sure the other city gates are held!"
"Yes!" Zhang Biao hurriedly left.
"Notify everyone to shoot arrows or throw grenades down from upstairs to weaken them. No one is allowed to go out to avoid a direct confrontation." Lin Er gripped his longsword tightly, looking at the increasing number of Liao people, his eyes filled with a death-defying expression.
General, if you don't come back soon, I, Lin Er, will risk my life to defend this city for you today, as a way of repaying your kindness.
More and more Liao people began to flood into the city, causing chaos everywhere, killing, burning, raping, and looting, leaving the city in mourning. Meanwhile, the Wang family army began to break up into smaller groups and began to wipe out the Liao army, but the fighting was extremely difficult and their situation was precarious.
Inside the general's mansion, Gu Ming, Li Changbai, and others, along with a room full of wounded and disabled veterans, guarded the main gate.
Lulu and the others, each holding a double knife, stood quietly at the doorway, listening to the cries of countless women and refugees outside, their hearts breaking.