On the fort of the city wall, the gunners shrank behind the battlements, and the howling north wind blew through the city, and the people were blown through and frozen.

Luo Huan, the commander of the Guangnan artillery team, had a pale face and a red nose, and he looked down at the four-inch gun on the gun position. Plugs and barrels of gunpowder were piled up around the gun body, and the five-inch and four-inch guns had to be blown up in advance because they were too heavy to take away. Luo Huan reluctantly stroked their swarthy cannon bodies one by one. "It's a pity that the best iron cannon is made by Chunyu." The gun commander whispered. The enormity and power of the artillery, the Song people's affection, made people have a certain attachment and reluctance to it, especially when they were forced to destroy the cannon. However, compared with the scene of casualties on the battlefield outside the city, compared with the tens of thousands of fallen soldiers, this sentiment is not only out of place, but also weak. On the battlefield, victory, or survival, has become the overriding presence. Luo Huan took a deep breath of cold air and withdrew his gaze from the artillery.

Luo Huan sighed, turned around and was about to leave, when suddenly, the herald came over with an officer with a 'colored' turmeric face.

"General Zuo ordered me to come and receive your heavy artillery." The officer handed over a warrant and said with a blank face.

"What?" Luo Huan's voice instinctively became rough. However, the other party was indifferent, and just extended the military order in front of him.

This dissatisfied voice caused the officers of several artillery battalions around to surround and look at the comer with hostility. Five-inch guns and four-inch guns are called heavy artillery, and after the boom of firearms, this is the most valuable weapon, and it is impossible to give it up to anyone in normal times. However, under the unkind gaze of everyone, the officer seemed to be unaware, his eyes were 'gloomy', and he looked at Luo Huan coldly. At this time, a group of wounded soldiers with heavy steps went up to the city wall, some with broken hands, some with amputated feet, some wrapped in thick wounded cloths, their faces were 'pale', some supported each other, and some were carried up. These people seemed to turn a blind eye to the officers and men of the artillery battalion on the city wall, and quietly gathered behind the officers who were receiving the heavy artillery. At this time, Luo Huan noticed that the sleeve under the officer's right elbow was empty, and it fluttered slightly when the wind blew.

"You guys are," Luo Huan couldn't help but have an ominous premonition in his heart, "What the hell is going on?" ”

"Please 'hand' over the heavy artillery to us." The turmeric-faced officer repeated coldly.

"And then?" Luo Huan asked in a lost voice.

"And then," said the officer, with a hint of pride on his lips, "we will stick to it." ”

His 'gloomy' eyes flashed with a hint of brightness, and Luo Huan clearly felt that several subordinates behind the officer almost 'straightened' their 'chests' at the same time, with some kind of special pride. "Okay." He said in a deep voice and waved his hand, and the officers and gunners of the Guangzhou artillery team also retreated to the sides, silently 'handing' the heavy artillery into the hands of the wounded soldiers who were desperately defending Xiongzhou. Everyone's hearts were heavy, and they didn't even dare to look directly into the eyes of these people who stayed behind to die. It is still a great man, and after witnessing countless injuries and deaths on the battlefield, it would be self-deception to say that he is not afraid. And the group of people in front of them, although it is difficult to survive the slow journey of breaking through because of their injuries, the choice between a glimmer of life and defending honor with death is enough to embarrass anyone who claims to be a hero. The transfer of 35 'guns' of 5-inch guns and 10 'guns' of 4-inch guns was completed in a suppressed silence, and several wounded soldiers whose legs had been amputated were sat directly by the gun emplacement, resting against the wooden basket containing the earth-shattering thunder with their eyes closed. Luo Huan wanted to point out the placement of the gun emplacements and the 'crossing' and 'shooting' attacks, but found that the turmeric-faced officer was more familiar with this than himself, so he stopped the squad 'door' and 'getting' the axe.

The Quang Nam artillery team left in silence, and at this time, any words were superfluous.

Before the Great War, everyone's most precious rest and quiet.

Among the officers and men of the left army, about 3,000 wounded soldiers volunteered to stay and defend the city of Xiongzhou. After the withdrawal of the army, the artillery on the four walls will bombard the invading enemy, and finally ignite the fire 'powder', and the enemy who ascends the city will die. In addition to these 3,000 dead soldiers, the battalions of the left army completed the assembly at the ugly time, discarded all the heavy artillery and most of the ammunition 'medicine', and only carried the artillery team with light three-inch guns with the main force of the left army from the west 'gate' out of the city, 2,000 cavalry and 3,000 horsemen and infantry musketeers each held two torches and galloped out from the four 'gates', shouting loudly to cover the whereabouts of the army, and finally gathered together to march to the southwest, and attacked the artillery forts on the west flank of the Song army's large array that had been besieged by the Liao army, and fought a bloody way back to the south.

The armies preparing to break out were concentrated on the road leading to the west 'gate', and the black pressure was oppressed, and only one road was made in the middle. There was no 'talking', no coughing, no groaning, and at this moment, although there was no roar of horses' hooves and the whistling of arrows on the battlefield, this kind of silence was even more terrifying. The officers were all in the non-commissioned soldiers' pile, and the robes and armor of the officers of the left army were originally similar to those of the non-commissioned officers, but they were even more indistinguishable at the moment. Zuo Nianyuan and Luo Huan were also crowded in the crowd of people in the Guangnan camp, feeling that he was a little depressed, and couldn't help but half-joke: "What's the matter, I can't bear Xiongzhou?" Luo Huan snorted and asked rhetorically, "Brother Zuo, are you afraid of death?" Zuo Nianyuan was stunned, shook his head, and did not answer.

"I am afraid of death." He said in his heart. It's just that at this time, there are soldiers all around, and I am afraid that it will 'mess up' the morale of the army by saying it.

"Me too," Luo Huan glanced at the top of the city tower and said in a low voice, "However, now I feel that death is more painful than life." ”

Zuo Nianyuan followed his gaze, nodded with sympathy, and said, "Pestle and mortar go to righteousness, and take care of Gu Cheng Ying, it is indeed more painful to die." However, everyone has his own responsibility, but there is still one breath left, and there is no slackening in the slightest. ”

Luo Huan knew that he was 'exciting' himself, and was about to nod, when the city 'gate' in front of him made a "creaking" sound and opened a crack, at the same time, with a dense sound of horses' hooves, hundreds of riders rushed past them with double torches, and the firelight briefly dazzling 'flowers' and 'chaos', "Brother Jia? Zuo Nianyuan shouted in a low voice, suddenly recognized Jia Yuanzhen who was galloping by, and immediately closed his voice. Half an hour later, each of the hundreds of cavalrymen who rushed out with torches in the darkness did their best to attract the attention of the Liao army.

They will face the pursuit of ten times their own Liao cavalry, and after half an hour, it is unknown how many people will return to the army.

"Each has its own responsibility," Zuo Nianyuan muttered and repeated as he saw the figures of the cavalry disappear outside the city gate: "As long as there is still a breath, there must be no relaxation." "His blood seemed to freeze, and it looked like it was about to burn.

Soon after the cavalry rushed out of the city 'gate', the heavy artillery in the south and east of the city began to bombard, and the battalions that had been waiting in the city began to rush out in turn, unlike the cavalry with great fanfare, the battalions out of the city did not shoot torches, but took advantage of the faint fire light on the artillery on the west wing of the army to guide the way, and the rear team followed the front team all the way to the southwest. Lu Mingyu, Zuo Nianyuan, Luo Huan and other commanders all walked away like soldiers. Because they were marching at night and had to conceal their whereabouts, all the battalion leaders did not prepare to release their guns, but put their spears on them in advance, used them as spears, and smeared their spears with black mud. Along the way, the sound of hooves on all sides of the large contingent of the left army could not stop, the Quang Nam battalion stumbled, stopped and stopped, and sometimes the shouts on the periphery were loud, as if the outside was 'handed' with the attacking cavalry.

"Everyone is in the queue, don't 'mess' around!" "The Liao thieves have no cannons, and they move forward in formation!" Zuo Nianyuan heard someone whispering an order.

The noise subsided for a while, and then quickly subsided and continued on his way.

"We may be defeated, everyone is ......" In the dark, Luo Huan stared at the heavy black shadows in the distance, and secretly thought that the black shadows on the horizon seemed to be boundless, and the ground would occasionally trip over frozen corpses, as if marching in hell, "But," he gasped and clenched his grip on the pole, "If the husband dies, he will die, and the Liao thief is just Xuan He for a while, even if we lose, the Great Song Dynasty will definitely win!" Under the autumn of a thousand years, there are people who come to pay tribute to me, the lonely souls and wild ghosts. Thinking about it, the steps under my feet are much lighter.

"If you die, you will die, even if you die, we are 100,000 male ghosts, even if we have eighteen layers of hell, we are not afraid."

This situation is different from when he went out of the city to rescue the Chinese army during the day. During the day, the victory was not scored, and the Liao army was eager to win, so they desperately blocked the Song army sent by Xiongzhou to help. The Song army had another way to retreat, and whenever they encountered setbacks, they retreated into the city. At this moment, tens of thousands of horses and horses of the left army were determined to fight against the water, and the Liao army did not know whether it was because of a hard day's fighting, or unwilling to fight with the Song army at night, or the main force was divided into several ways to surround the Song army, and was 'confused' and 'confused' by the Song cavalry wandering in all directions, and could not draw enough troops to intercept it, or sent troops and horses to intercept it but went in the wrong direction. All in all, before the main force of the left army reached the artillery base of the west flank of the Song army outside the city, there was never a Liao army of sufficient size to stop them, and several cavalry troops that came one after another were also repulsed.

Luo Huan didn't know how long he walked, and when the sky was about to break, the army arrived in front of the artillery on the west wing of the camp besieged by the Liao army.

Fortunately, although the news was not clear, the thousands of Song troops who were guarding the fort on the west flank saw the reinforcement of the army in the city from a high place, and they couldn't help but be overjoyed, and immediately opened artillery to bombard the Liao army outside the fort. The forward of the Song army under the fort heard the sound of the cannon in front of him, and launched an attack almost without hesitation. The fort on the west flank was surrounded by the 'Jurgy' army, which had already suffered heavy losses in the daytime battle. Under the desperate attack of the Song army inside and outside, the 'female' real army retreated after only a little resistance. The left army captured a way out, and the besieged Song army on the artillery fortress was desperate, and both sides were demoralized and thunderous.

Yao Xian, the commander of the fort, immediately expressed his willingness to be restrained by Lu Mingyu. The two Song armies converged, and after a little rectification, they retreated south. At this time, the sky is only slightly brighter. The Liao army judged the intention of the Song army in Xiongzhou to break through and escape, and hurriedly reported to Yelu Tiege.