Chapter 603: Unyielding

Guo Quan was very scared, Guo Quan was panic-stricken. The messenger sent back by Sun Xiao secretly reported to him that the Donghu cavalry appeared and intercepted the attacking five thousand infantry. It is very likely that they will attack Dayan Lake next, and Sun Xiao cannot send a single soldier back to rescue.

When he heard the news, Guo Quan almost fainted. He used to be just a slave, but then things turned around. In the Zhengdong Mansion system, he rose through the ranks and became one of the senior officials of the Zhengdong Mansion. One of the top executives, but fundamentally speaking, he is just an ordinary person who is good at construction.

But now, the life and death of tens of thousands of people in Dayan Lake actually hung in his hands. He felt like he wanted to die immediately. Seeing the terrifying expression on Guo Quan's face, the messenger couldn't help but remind him, "Sir, you are the Minister of Industry and the highest-ranking official in the Zhengdong Mansion here."

The messenger was born in the army, a figure who crawled out from the mountains of corpses and seas of blood. For him, death is just a big scar on the head. Dragging several enemies on his back before dying, naturally he couldn't understand Guo Quan's cowardice at this time, and there was even a faint contempt and dissatisfaction in his heart.

"I'm not afraid of death!" Guo Quan was certainly not stupid. He understood the meaning of the messenger's words, "I'm quite old and I've almost died several times before. I'm afraid that I won't be able to shoulder this responsibility."

At this moment, they were standing on a section of the city wall that was about a hundred meters long and under construction. Under the city wall, there were densely packed civilians at work. Pointing at these civilians, Guo Quan said with a trembling voice: "But I, I can't bear to put the life and death of these people on my shoulders."

"Sir, at this moment, you are not here to bear the burden. Who else will bear it?" The messenger's eyes were bright, "For the governor, for the Eastern Army. Even if I am cut to pieces, I will still fight hard. The rabbit is anxious but it still kicks the eagle. , The dog is so anxious that he jumps over the wall! There are tens of thousands of people here, how can we be afraid of barbarians!"

After hearing what the messenger said, a fire seemed to be burning in Guo Quan's heart. This fire started from the bottom of his heart and gradually rushed into his head. His face turned red, yes. How could I, a mere slave, be the high-ranking official I am today? If I had not been the governor or the Eastern Expeditionary Army, would I have been where I am today?

"Okay, that's good. Let's risk our lives today. Come on!" Guo Quan shouted loudly. A subordinate officer strode up to him and said, "Go and summon these people. Come to my tent to discuss matters immediately." Guo Quan spit out a string of names in succession. Among these people, there were already officers above the sentinel commander who had been left behind. . There is also Qingzhuang who participated in the battle of Jishi City last year and is now the leader among the civilian husbands.

After a stick of incense was passed, when these people gathered in Guo Quan's big tent, everyone couldn't help but feel awe-inspiring. Dozens of people crowded in the big tent, and there was silence. At this time, Guo Quan was wearing the red robe of his minister of the Ministry of Industry. Take the clothes and sit upright.

Most of these leaders are old men who followed Guo Quan and built Jishi City.

They knew very well that Guo Quan cherished this red robe very much. Except when going to the Governor's Mansion to discuss matters, I never wear it. And once it is worn on the body, it means that something very important has happened.

Sure enough, when Guo Quan opened his mouth, everyone was stunned.

"Everyone, the Donghu people are coming. Their cavalry, which numbered up to five thousand, wanted to sneak attack our Dayan City. They met Commander Sun on the way. Now General Sun is trying his best to stop the enemy, but the enemy is cavalry. It is very likely that our troops will come to attack Dayan City, so we must be prepared for a bloody battle with the enemy!"

Guo Quan glanced at the people in the tent. Some were excited, some were confused, and some were scared. All kinds of life changes were reflected on the faces of dozens of people in an instant.

"There is no place to hide in the lonely grassland of Dayan City. We don't even have a place to run. If you run, you will only die faster." Guo Quan stopped some people's thoughts with one word, "We There are tens of thousands of civilians here, and there are mountains of weapons. Are we going to be lambs to be slaughtered, or are we going to be man-eating beasts?”

He suddenly raised his voice and asked loudly: "Do you want to die facing the enemy, or die with your back to the enemy? Do you have a decision in your mind?"

Guo Quan is a skinny and withered little old man. In the eyes of everyone, he is just an old man next door. Because of his background, he rarely shows off his official authority, but now, he has been arrested for his crimes. , in the eyes of everyone, they felt that he was standing tall and tall at this moment.

"Fight to the death, fight to the death!" Everyone in the tent was suddenly filled with fighting spirit.

"There are tens of thousands of us, and there are only a few thousand of them, and even a drop of spit from one person will drown them all."

"One man and one knife will pierce them into sieves!"

"Okay!" Guo Quan beamed with joy, "Colonel Tang, open the logistics camp you are guarding and distribute all the weapons inside to the civilians."

"General, I obey." A general, Huo Di, stood up. He was the company commander of a company that Sun Xiao left in Dayan Lake. He had more than two hundred soldiers under his command, and his task was to guard the ordnance and food here.

"The leaders of the minions of each tribe will organize the minions of their respective ministries after they return, and they will gather in teams at the foot of the city."

"As you command!"

The dense crowd of people in the big tent dispersed completely in an instant.

After half a day, tens of thousands of civilians got weapons in their hands and began to gather in groups under the 100-meter-long city wall. On top of the city wall, dozens of crossbows had been installed, and Tang Qing was commanding them. The soldiers under his command loaded their crossbows with arrows, and under the city wall, groups of young men had gathered together.

The young and strong civilians who had participated in the battle of Jishi City stood on the outermost periphery, followed by other young and strong men. Those closest to this section of the city wall were women, children and the elderly. Of course, these people could not be idle. They had to be responsible for cocking the crossbows. .

Standing on the city wall, looking at the meandering and almost shapeless ranks of civilians under the city wall, although they were high in fighting spirit, Guo Quan sighed in his heart. Although he had summoned the fighting spirit of the civilians before, he knew that the civilians would not be able to fight. Can the gap between the army and the army be bridged by blood? I don’t know how many people will survive after this battle.

"Guo Shangshu!" Tang Feng came over and saluted Guo Quan, "All the crossbows have been adjusted, and those who can shoot crossbows among the civilians are in place. The general is about to go down."

"Company Commander Tang, you are the only officer here. You should stay in the city and command. I have no hope of commanding operations." Guo Quan looked at the other party and said.

Tang Feng smiled bitterly, "Guo Shangshu, today's battle requires no command and cannot be commanded. Everyone just needs to be determined to die, wave the knife in their hands, stab the gun in their hand, and shoot the arrow in their hand at the enemy in front of them. That's enough. I and the two hundred men under my command are the only regular troops here. It is our duty to protect the people under our rule. Therefore, we will stand at the front until we are all dead before the enemy can rush forward. to your presence.”

"Plus me!" The messenger who came to report took out the knife in his hand and stood next to Tang He: "I am also a soldier!"

Looking at the two decisive men, Guo Quan's eyes suddenly turned sour, "With men like you, our Eastern Expeditionary Army will definitely be able to defeat all powerful enemies. Okay, okay, I'll beat the drum for you."

Tang Feng and the messenger bowed and saluted Guo Quan: "Guo Shangshu, I leave everything to you."

The two turned around and left resolutely. A moment later, two hundred soldiers from the Eastern Conquest Army came out in formation and walked a hundred meters in front of all the civilians. They stood in formation and stood still.

The civilians behind them first made a noise, and then slowly became quiet. The tens of thousands of people did not make a sound, but stared at the backs of the soldiers standing in front of them.

"Kill the enemy, kill the enemy!" Someone unknown raised the sword in his hand and shouted loudly.

"Kill the enemy, kill the enemy!" The shouts gradually rose up, and slowly gathered into a cry of ridicule, which went straight to Yunxiao.

On the city wall, Guo Quan was affected by the ridicule and looked up to the sky with a smile. "I would like to see how these Donghu people would feel when they came here and saw such a scene! Fight to the death and kill the enemy!"

"Guo Shangshu!" A subordinate officer rushed to Guo Quan's side with a knife in hand. "Some civilians did not dare to fight and actually escaped privately."

Guo Quan's expression changed, "How many people are there?"

"About two thousand people!"

"Fleeing without fighting is an unworthy life!" Guo Quan said coldly: "Write down their names, and after this battle, remove them from my Zhengdong Mansion and expel them. I will make these people who dare not and are unwilling to fight for Those who fight in Zhengdong Mansion have no place to stand under the rule of Zhengdong Mansion."

"Yes!" The official said solemnly.

The ground gradually trembled, and a black line suddenly appeared on the horizon. Smoke and dust gradually rose, slowly covering the sky and the sun. The Donghu cavalry appeared in everyone's field of vision.

"Coming, coming!" Panic shouts rang out from the city, and many people began to fight. The enthusiasm of the previous drums was suppressed little by little under the overwhelming pressure of the Donghu cavalry. Go down. Some even started crying.

Boom!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

On the city wall, the sound of heavy war drums sounded. Guo Quan's thin figure stood tall, waving the drumstick in his hand vigorously, and violently beating the big cowhide drum in front of him.

"Fight to the death, fight to the death!" he roared.

The sound of drums and shouts gradually dispersed the fear, and the hunched waists began to straighten up, especially when they saw the two hundred soldiers standing at the front, holding spears and shouting neat chants toward the overwhelming ground. When the enemy cavalry walked resolutely, everyone felt a rush of hot blood rushing to their heads. His eyes began to blur, and the only image left was the navy blue military uniform and the flying bright red Zhengdong Mansion flag.

go ahead! go ahead!

Fight to the death! Fight to the death! (To be continued)