vstars Chapter 1837 Hongdu City Falls
Chapter 1837 Hongdu City Falls
When Liu Xiu was marching quickly.
The attack and defense of Hongdu City lasted from day to night and had entered the most brutal and bloody stage.
Corpses piled up like mountains on the city walls, and blood dyed the bricks and stones a strange dark red, gleaming with a heart-pounding luster under the light of torches.
The defenders had used up all their arrows, rolling logs, stones and even kerosene. The soldiers were exhausted to the extreme and were struggling to hold on with only the will to defend their homeland and the last hope for reinforcements.
The south and west of the city were the main attack directions of the Chu army and were under the greatest pressure.
The defending general Geng Hui ran back and forth on the south city wall like a firefighter. His voice had become hoarse, but he was still shouting frantically, organizing the increasingly weak defense.
Every climb to repel the Chu army seemed to exhaust the defenders' last bit of strength.
However, no one expected that the fatal threat did not come from the south of the city, which had been difficult to capture from the front, but from the relatively peaceful east of the city!
Midnight, in the east area of the city.
The intensity of the battle here is far less than that in the main attack direction, and it even seems a little calm.
Suddenly, the East City Gate, which had been tightly closed and reinforced several times, was slowly opened from the inside with a teeth-grinding mechanical sound!
Immediately afterwards, three specially made rockets shot from the top of the city into the dark night sky with a shrill scream, exploding into three eye-catching red lights, which looked particularly strange in the night!
This sudden change stunned the Chu soldiers who were responsible for accompanying the attack and surveillance outside the city.
A sharp-eyed Chu army captain reacted immediately, scrambling towards the center of the army and reporting to Ran Ming, who was supervising the battle: "General! General! Great news! The east... east city gate has opened! Three rocket signals have been fired from inside!"
Ran Ming, who was getting a little anxious because of the long siege, was stunned when he heard this.
Then, those copper-bell-like eyes suddenly burst into ecstasy. He touched his bald head and let out a deafening laugh: "Hahahaha! God help me! So this is your Majesty's back-up plan!"
"Your Majesty is truly a mastermind, planting such a crucial chess piece within the city! Men! Our insider has succeeded!"
He suddenly raised the blood-stained mace and roared with all his strength, his voice echoing throughout the entire eastern outer position of the city: "Order! All troops attack! Target the east city gate! Charge in! Defeat Hongdu, tonight!"
"The first person to enter the city will be rewarded with 100 gold and promoted three levels! Charge!"
"kill!!!"
The Chu army troops, who were originally just accompanying the attack, suddenly rushed towards the open city gate like a flood that broke through the dam!
Ran Ming was the first to take the lead, wielding a mace, like a mad giant bear, personally leading the most elite personal guards and rushing to the front!
The Han army defenders on the east city wall were obviously stunned by this sudden change!
They never expected that the city gate would be opened from the inside!
"Stop them! Stop them quickly!"
"Close the gate! Close the city gate quickly!"
The officers on the city wall roared at the top of their lungs, and the remaining defenders desperately shot arrows and threw stones downwards. Some even tried to rush down the city wall to seize control of the city gate.
However, it was all too late!
Once the city gate is opened, it will be extremely difficult to close it again!
The Chu army poured in from the open city gate like a tide, and instantly engaged in combat with the small number of Han soldiers who tried to block their way.
Although the defenders on the city wall fought desperately to attack downwards, they lacked heavy city defense equipment and were unable to effectively stop the influx of the Chu army.
Ran Ming was even more unstoppable. When he swung his mace, any Han soldier who dared to stand in front of him was either killed or injured!
The news spread like wildfire and soon reached Geng Hui, who was fighting hard in the south of the city.
A soldier, covered in blood and with his armor and helmet discarded, tumbled and crawled before Geng Hui. His face was filled with fear and despair, and his voice was filled with tears: "General! Something terrible has happened! There are traitors in the east of the city... in the east of the city! They opened the city gates and launched signal rockets!"
"The Chu Army... General Ran Ming has personally led a large force into the city!"
"what?"
Geng Hui was struck by lightning when he heard this! His body swayed violently, his vision went dark, and he almost fainted!
The thing he was most worried about finally happened in the most deadly way!
An indescribable rage and bone-chilling coldness instantly swept through his body!
"Traitor! Damn traitor!!"
Geng Hui's eyes were red as he roared like a wild beast: "Who is it?! Who dares to do this?!"
But he knew very well that it was meaningless to find out who the traitor was at this moment. The most urgent task was to plug the gap!
"quick!"
He suddenly grabbed a captain of the personal guards beside him, his voice distorted by extreme anger and anxiety.
"Immediately gather all the active guards! Also, recruit from the south of the city... No! Forcefully conscript all the men who can still hold a sword, and follow me to the east of the city! We must stop the Chu dogs from coming back! Recapture the city gate!"
"General! Here in the south of the city..." The adjutant wanted to remind the south of the city that the pressure was also extremely great.
"I can't care about that anymore!" Geng Hui interrupted him sharply: "If the city is broken, where can we defend it?! Go!"
Under Geng Hui's strong order, a team of about two to three thousand people consisting of his personal soldiers, part of the reserve troops and temporarily assembled soldiers was quickly assembled.
Geng Hui led the team personally, holding a sword, and rushed madly towards the east of the city along the city wall and the horse path.
Along the way, the city had fallen into great chaos.
The Chu army that poured into the city was charging everywhere, engaging in street fighting with scattered Han soldiers and spontaneously organized militiamen.
Flames were everywhere, and the sounds of crying and fighting were endless.
The panic of the city's fall spread quickly like a plague.
When Geng Hui led his troops to the east of the city, the scene before him terrified him.
The main street leading to the city gate was already crowded with the ferocious Chu army, and more were still pouring in.
Ran Ming's tall figure was as eye-catching as a devil, rushing left and right in the crowd, unstoppable.
Near the city gate tower, soldiers from both sides were engaged in an extremely brutal battle, with people falling down every moment.
"Stop them! Take back the city gate!" Geng Hui was furious and rushed forward with his sword in hand.
The addition of the fresh troops he led temporarily stabilized part of the front line, and a fierce tug-of-war broke out in the streets near the city gate with the influx of Chu troops.
Knowing that they had no way to retreat, the Han soldiers burst out with amazing fighting power and temporarily curbed the Chu army's offensive for a moment.
Ran Ming was even more excited when he saw Geng Hui's general flag: "Old Geng Hui! You're finally here! Come and die!"
He brandished a mace and charged directly towards Geng Hui.
However, Geng Hui knew that this was only temporary.
The city gate has been lost, and more and more Chu troops are pouring into the city. The defenders in the west and south of the city cannot be withdrawn at all. With such a small number of troops, it is only a matter of time before the city falls.
Hongdu City, the eastern barrier of the Han Dynasty that had been defended for a long time, was finally torn open a fatal wound in this bloody night.
The balance of fate is tilting rapidly towards the State of Chu.
Street fighting became more brutal and desperate.