Urban Sims

Stone City is a pass fortress located on the Tianzhu Mountains on the Southwest Plateau.

This fortress has a circumference of three miles and a height of more than ten feet. It is made entirely of stone and is stuck between two steep mountains. One side faces the thin-air Daliangchuan Plateau; the other side faces the flat Ganquan Corridor... The strategic location is extremely important.

Therefore, if Stone City is in the hands of the Zhou Dynasty, it can ensure the safety of the Silk Road; if it is in the hands of the Tufan Kingdom, the condescending Tufan army can cut off the communication between the Great Zhou Dynasty and the countries in the Western Regions at any time , the Silk Road, will cease to exist.

More than thirty years ago, in order to seize this dangerous pass from Tufan, Zhou Dynasty mobilized 300,000 elite troops and attacked for eight months, paying a heavy price of 100,000 casualties before capturing Stone City.

In the following decades, the unwilling Turpan Kingdom launched dozens of large-scale and large-scale attacks in order to regain the Stone City. The two sides fought many tragic offensive and defensive battles, but the Stone City was firmly in the hands of the Great Zhou Kingdom.

However, because the supply line is too long and the transportation of grain and grass is difficult, the Zhou Kingdom's garrison in Stone City has always had about 3,000 people and occupied a favorable location. It has no problem resisting ten times the enemy's attack.

If the number of enemy troops under siege is more than thirty or forty times greater, and the time goes by, the situation in Stone City will be in danger.

Yumen Pass is about 500 miles away from Stone City, and reinforcements are required to arrive within five days, and they can march hundreds of miles every day. This is not a small challenge for the Ganzhou Army, which is mainly infantry.

Moreover, Stone City is located on a plateau at an altitude of four to five kilometers, and the low-oxygen environment will cause great delays and troubles to the soldiers' physical load and marching speed...

Even so, after the military order was issued, it only took one day for the 50,000 Ganzhou army to be fully assembled, food, grass and supplies, all loaded into the carriage, and all arrangements were well-organized, like a precision-operated war machine, without any chaos .

After the whole army informed the enemy, they learned that they were facing a strong enemy of more than 100,000 people. The generals and soldiers at all levels did not panic and panic, and laughed as usual. .

Timid and cowardly people are almost never found. At most, they only look solemn and take them seriously...

The spirit and appearance of this army completely fit the image of an elite and powerful army.

…

The next day, early in the morning.

Yumenguan, the gate of the city.

Group after group of soldiers wearing armor and holding weapons, holding banners and marching at a uniform pace, like a long snake, came out of the city gate, slowly twisting and advancing towards the tall mountains in the southwest direction, stretching Ten miles long.

Zhou Ming, Li Dazui, Chu Jingling, seven clan soldiers and a group of ten people also appeared in the middle of the expedition team on horseback.

The old general originally disapproved of Zhou Ming and the others going out together. The battlefield is dangerous and swords and arrows have no eyes. In this war, how should I explain myself to the world?

Zhou Ming’s method of persuading the old general was very simple. He directly asked someone to bring a five-stone hard bow, set the arrow and drew the bow. After pulling the bowstring into a full moon shape, he shot ten arrows in a row. The arrow hit the center of the target a hundred steps away, and his face did not turn red. Breathlessly, he received a round of applause.

The old general also looked shocked and couldn't believe it.

As for the bodyguard, Li Dazui, with his strange strength, he can freely move freely among thousands of troops. It is more reassuring to have him personally protecting him than sending an elite centurion to guard him.

The old general did not object to Zhou Ming and his party's follow-up.

…

After marching for three consecutive days, the army, which had traveled nearly three hundred miles, reached the outer edge of Tianzhu Mountain.

The terrain is steep and difficult to walk on. The higher up, the heavier the burden on the bodies of the soldiers, their looks of exhaustion, and the slower their marching speed.

The morale of the army is still high, but it has also dropped significantly. The old general sent many batches of banner soldiers and urged him to speed up the march several times, but the effect was not very obvious...

Reaching the remaining two hundred miles within two days became an almost impossible task.

And Stone City sent out a messenger to ask for help, and there was also an increasingly urgent military situation: "Lun Zanqin's offensive is looming, and Stone City is in danger! If reinforcements don't arrive within two or three days, the city will be lost!"

How to speed up the march has become a top priority.

Inside the coach's tent.

"The current plan is to divide the army into two and send a group of elite soldiers to the rescue first to alleviate the urgent needs of Stone City!" said the deputy general.

"How many people are best to send?"

"Five thousand is enough."

"It's definitely not enough! Lun Zanqin is a famous Tupan general, with five thousand elite soldiers, he will definitely not be able to shake his one hundred thousand army! Even, there is a possibility that he will fall into his plan to encircle him... At least ten thousand elite soldiers are needed to take the risk. ." Another general said.

"Soldiers are precious and fast. If 10,000 elite soldiers are drawn out, the marching speed will not increase much, and the remaining 40,000 soldiers, horses and luggage will most likely be targeted by Lun Zanqin and become his target!"

Another general worried and said, Lun Zanqin is the God of the Tupan army, he is as bold and astute as a fox in using troops, and he is especially good at besieging and attacking reinforcements and cutting off people's food and grass. In order to save Stone City from this man, Zhou Jun, who is not well-suited for activities in plateau areas, will surely be caught by him and cause heavy losses if he does not plan carefully.

There was no argument in the big tent for a while.

"Stop fighting!"

The old general sitting in the commanding position slapped the table in front of him and stood up. His armor was rustling. He looked at the generals and said: "Choose five thousand elite soldiers and I will personally lead this army! Rush to the aid of Stone City on a starry night." ! The follow-up troops must arrive in four days!"

"promise!"

No one among the generals raised any objections, and they all accepted the promise.

That night, the selection of five thousand elite soldiers was completed. They were lightly armed and carried only three days of food and grass. After a short rest, they set off under the stars and moon, walking hard through the mountains and canyons. Walking at the front of the team was the white-haired man who was still in his body. The old general Su Lie has a strong appearance and is constantly cheering for the soldiers.

Seeing this scene, the eyes of the soldiers all turned red, and their extremely tired bodies seemed to have been injected with energy, making their steps more firm and powerful.

A military song suddenly came from the front of the queue:

"The royal winds of the four seas are covered with water, and the water has been pure for thousands of years; the military uniforms are not changed, and we are successful today..."

Hearing the singing, the soldiers in the rear also sang along, and the singing became a chorus:

"Looking back, we can see that the Wei barrier is as low as a horse, and gradually we can see that the Beijiang River flows straight east; the power of heaven rolls directly into the Yumen barrier, and the barbaric territory of thousands of miles away is full of Shang songs!"

"Da Zhen Music" was composed by Zhang Chaoyi, a general of the Wei State, after he conquered the Western Regions a thousand years ago. The music is majestic and dynamic, and has been passed down for thousands of years.

This song was also performed by General Su fifty years ago when he personally led 500 elite soldiers to cross the Dayin Mountains and attack the Turkic Khan's tent at night. Because the road was blocked by ice and snow, he and the 500 soldiers sang "The Music of the Great Formation" 》, the snow-capped mountains collapsed, the road appeared, and only then did they achieve the glorious achievement of capturing the Turkic Khan alive.

Today, the old general sang this song again. The five thousand soldiers naturally understood that this was the old general's encouragement to them, and their morale immediately increased, and their marching speed accelerated.

Zhou Ming, who followed this scene, was filled with emotion and asked Li Dazui to bring a pen and paper and write a poem under the bright moonlight:

"With a cup of wine, a family can live thousands of miles away. The swallows have no plan to return before they can be restrained. The Qiang pipes are covered with frost, making people sleepless. The generals have white hair and their husbands shed tears..."

Looking at this line of writing on the paper, after thinking about it, Zhou Ming shook his head: "No, these soldiers must miss home very much, but most of the soldiers have regarded this place as their home, and they regard this land of the Western Region as their own. As their own destination... What they have in their hearts is more of their love for this land and the sacred duty of guarding the border... What flows in their hearts is the most simple and sincere patriotic feelings. Although they are ordinary, they all Know your mission and be fearless.”

"Or the song "Broken Array? Night March" is more suitable for them."

So, within a moment, a great poem jumped out on the page:

When I was drunk, I read the sword by burning the lamp, and I dreamed of blowing the trumpet company. Eight hundred miles away, the troops under his command are burning, the sound of fifty-stringed strings turning outside the Great Wall, and the troops on the battlefield being ordered in autumn.

The horse is as fast as a white dragon, and the bow is like a thunderbolt. Finish the affairs of the king and the world, win the reputation in life and death, and the general will be born in vain!

…

Two days later, after another two days and nights of rapid march, with the exception of a few people left behind, five thousand elite soldiers finally arrived less than five miles away from Stone City in the middle of the night. In the night, the dilapidated city was still facing the enemy. Hundreds of trebuchets attacked, raining stones.

Fortunately, on top of the city, the big flag with green edges and yellow background, painted with the word "zhou", still stands.

Even this flag is dilapidated and crumbling.

"Soldiers, kill!"

In the early morning, after two hours of rest, the old general gave an order to five thousand reinforcements, and before Lun Zanqin's army could make adjustments, five thousand reinforcements launched a powerful assault with lightning speed, destroying a large number of catapults first. Then three consecutive lines of defense that were hastily organized by the Tufan army were penetrated. With the help of the defenders in Stone City, five thousand reinforcements were injected into Stone City like a source of new life.

There were less than 800 defenders left in the city, their morale was high and they cheered.

The enemy troops outside the city jumped and cursed, and their morale plummeted.

I can only update eight chapters this time. Grandma has passed away. I watched her leave at 23:55 on May 12th. Now I have to be busy with her funeral, mourning, entertaining relatives and friends, and helping the family. In a week, I can’t type anymore. The next update will probably be after May 25th (trying to release a few more chapters at once), but don’t worry, I can definitely finish the third copy this month. Of course, the quality is a bit different. Oops.