My Sims of the Eastern Jin Dynasty

Inside the city.

Han Yong and more than a hundred people had just hidden in an alley.

One of Chen Jiao's subordinates suddenly stepped forward and reported in a low voice.

"The saltworks are on fire!"

Han Yong's expression changed drastically upon hearing this.

"It seems Young Master Xu discovered something ahead of schedule!"

After hearing this, Chen Jiao came closer.

"Brother Han, what should we do?"

Han Yong looked at the house in front of him with some hesitation. According to the agreement, the mission would be canceled if the enemy outside the city made a move first, but he was only one street away from his target.

Before Han Yong could make a decision, Deng Jing made the decision for him.

The gates of the mansion ahead suddenly burst open!

The torchlight suddenly burst forth, illuminating rows of Xianbei archers who had already drawn their bows and nocked their arrows.

Almost simultaneously, dense and heavy footsteps came from the previously silent darkness behind them, rapidly closing in!

"We've fallen for their trap!"

Han Yong felt a chill run down his spine. Years of battlefield experience had honed his instincts, allowing his body to react before his thoughts could catch up, and he roared like thunder.

"Raise your shield—!"

"Whoosh!"

More than a hundred veterans reacted quickly, and the large shields were lifted instantly, barely forming a shield wall in the narrow alley.

Almost the instant the shield formation closed, the sound of bowstrings vibrating came from the courtyard in front and the walls on both sides!

"Roar! Ro ...

Arrows rained down on the shield like a storm, the close range causing the veteran shield-wielding soldier's arm muscles to bulge and veins to stand out.

Even more stray arrows pierced through the gaps, bringing with them a spray of blood.

Soon, more torches were lit, illuminating the streets as bright as day and completely eliminating the possibility of stealth in the dark.

But at that moment, the arrows stopped.

Deng Jing walked slowly out of the house, his black armor standing out prominently in the firelight.

And following behind him was none other than Zhou Laosi, whose expression was complicated!

"Zhou Laosi! I'll curse your ancestors!!"

Upon seeing this person, Chen Jiao instantly realized that only a few of his leaders knew his men. At this moment, he couldn't care less about anything else and started cursing through the shield formation.

Deng Jing's gaze, however, bypassed the enraged Chen Jiao and landed on the shield formation in front of him, quickly making out Han Yong.

"Not a bandit or salt smuggler..."

Deng Jing muttered to himself, then raised his voice.

"Is the newcomer Commander Han of the Northern Army? It's been a long time since we parted ways in Lanling. I never expected to meet him here again. It's truly...fate."

The shield formation shifted slightly, and Han Yong peered out through the gap between the two shields, meeting Deng Jing's probing gaze.

He personally captured this man alive in Lanling City, but now the situation has reversed, and he is now trapped like a turtle in a jar.

Han Yong's face remained expressionless, but he gripped the knife tighter and remained silent.

Deng Jing didn't seem to expect an answer from him, but instead asked a question that surprised everyone.

"Is Commander Xiao... here? Or is he still in Tan County?"

The question was asked casually, but it made Zhou Laosi's face turn pale instantly. He looked at Deng Jing in horror and then at the alley.

Chen Jiao's mind raced, and he immediately seized this fleeting opportunity, shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Commander Xiao has already led his army to the city gates! Tonight is your death night! Zhou Laosi! If you don't act now, when will you?! Don't you want the credit the Commander Xiao promised you?!"

That shout was earth-shattering!

"What?!"

Zhou Laosi was terrified and just opened his mouth to defend himself.

"General, I..."

Before he could finish speaking, Deng Jing's personal guards' expressions changed drastically, and they shouted angrily.

"Take it down!"

Several guards quickly pinned Zhou Laosi to the ground.

This brief chaos had just begun!

Chen Jiao suddenly tugged at Han Yong's armor sash, his voice urgent and breathy.

"Brother Han! Behind you on the right, the third gap in the pile of miscellaneous items leads to an abandoned dye house, which connects to the small river to the north!"

Han Yong's eyes flashed with a sharp light. Without the slightest hesitation, he used all his strength to rhythmically strike the shield in front of him with his long sword several times.

"Turn! Right rear! Break through!"

The veterans in the shield formation understood perfectly. Although they didn't know the specific route, they had absolute trust in Han Yong's orders.

The outermost shield bearer thrust outward with all his might, deflecting several incoming arrows. The entire shield formation moved with astonishing coordination and speed toward the gap in the alleyway on the right, as Chen Jiao had pointed out!

"Trying to leave?!"

Deng Jing quickly recovered from Zhou Laosi's sudden change of mood. Seeing the unusual movement of the shield formation, he immediately realized that the other side wanted to take advantage of the chaos to break through. His face darkened, and he waved his hand to give the order.

"Fire arrows! Block them! Infantry, advance!"

A denser rain of arrows descended, while Qin infantrymen from the rooftops on both sides and the rear charged forward, shouting as they tried to completely crush the isolated army trapped in the encirclement.

The most brutal and bloody breakouts and ambushes of street fighting erupted suddenly in the flames-lit streets of Qu County.

Outside the town of Qu County, to the north lies a barren wasteland.

Xu Xianzhi and his team, who had been evacuating from the salt fields, were heading towards the sea along the planned route.

Just as the column reached a slightly higher earthen slope halfway through the journey, the sentry at the rear of the column suddenly let out a short, low shout.

"Master Xu! Look inside the city!"

Xu Xianzhi turned around abruptly and looked towards the direction of Qu County, where he saw flames rising all around the north side of the city.

"It's General Han and his men!"

Xu Xianzhi's heart sank to the bottom. He had attacked the salt field ahead of time, intending to lure the garrison out of the city.

It now appears that there was indeed a problem within the city.

"All personnel turn around! Heading for the North Gate!"

Without the slightest hesitation, the team immediately turned around and raced towards the north of Qu County, where flames were raging.

The closer they got to the city, the more obvious the signs of chaos became.

The north gate, which should have been tightly closed, was now unguarded! People were fleeing from inside the gate.

"There's no time to investigate further!"

He spoke urgently to the deputy Han Yong had left behind beside him.

"Take all the veterans into the city immediately! Search along the main street in the direction the signal fire started! Find Commander Han no matter what, and bring him out!"

The deputy didn't say a word, but clasped his hands in a deep fist salute, then turned and led all the veterans into the city gate.

The rest of Chen Jiao's men also rushed in.

Xu Xianzhi felt it wasn't entirely safe, so he quickly stopped the dozen or so men at the back of the group and gave them orders in rapid succession.

"You lot, once you enter the city, spread out and just run along the streets and alleys, shouting as loud as you can, 'The Northern Army has breached the city!' 'The Jin Army is charging in! Kill the barbarian dogs!' Understand?"

"clear!"

The dozen or so people nodded vigorously and surged into the city gate.

Immediately afterwards, shouts suddenly rang out throughout the previously silent town of Qu County, especially in the northern part of the town.

"The Jin army has arrived!"

"The Northern Army has entered the city! Quickly kill the barbarian dogs!"

"The city has fallen! Run for your lives—!"

More closed doors were opened, and more oppressed people, driven by the illusion that "reinforcements have arrived" and the instinct for survival, picked up anything that could be called a weapon and poured into the streets, attacking any lone Qin soldier they saw, or blindly joining the commotion...

Meanwhile, at this time, by the narrow river in the south of the city, at the base of the back wall of an abandoned dye house.

Han Yong leaned against the stone wall, breathing heavily. There were fewer than sixty veterans left who could still stand around him, all of them wounded, with cracked armor and worn-out blades.

Chen Jiao was hit by two arrows, bleeding profusely, and he had already lost consciousness.

The shield formation was compressed to its limit, and Deng Jing stood on the stone bridge a little further away, his face ashen.

"General Han, surrender! I will grant you the position of personal guard!"

Han Yong spat out a mouthful of blood and grinned.

"General Deng...do you know what kind of life the Beggars' Army under the walls of Luoyang were begging for?"

Deng Jing was stumped by this question, even though he hadn't experienced it himself, he had heard of it.

Before Deng Jing could reply, Han Yong roared with all his might.

"We would rather fight to the death than bow down to the barbarians!"

After saying this, Han Yong tightened the hemp cloth binding the knife handle with his teeth, preparing for a final desperate counterattack.

Deng Jing's eyes turned cold. Just as Han Yong and his men were about to fight to the death, he was about to order the final all-out attack.

Just then! A strange sound faintly drifted over from the direction of the north city.

At first, there were only a few scattered shouts, but they quickly coalesced into a clear chorus of shouts.

"Kill the Hu! Kill the Hu!"

"The Northern Army has entered the city! Kill the barbarian dogs!"

"Kill the Hu! Kill the Hu!"

The sound was so real, as if a vast army were pouring in from the north gate.

The words "Kill the Hu" in particular caused a noticeable pause in the movements of some of the Xianbei soldiers besieging Han Yong's troops. They looked back at the north with surprise and uncertainty, where the sky was already ablaze with fire, and the shouts of battle seemed to be getting closer and closer!

Han Yong's troops, facing a desperate situation, were first stunned, and then a surge of excitement, as if they had found a way out, rushed to their heads!

"Reinforcements! It's our reinforcements! The governor has sent men!!"

A veteran with a missing arm roared out.

"Northern Prefecture! Northern Prefecture!"

More voices joined in, filled with the excitement of a fight to the death.

The morale, which had been low due to heavy casualties and being trapped in a desperate situation, suddenly soared!

Even the heavily wounded soldier leaning against the wall struggled to grip the broken blade in his hand.

Han Yong's eyes gleamed. Although he was unsure whether they were real reinforcements, this was undoubtedly a golden opportunity to break through!

Without further hesitation, he slammed his longsword against the shield in front of him, producing a resounding clang.

"Brothers! Reinforcements have arrived! Follow me and fight your way out!"

"kill--!!"

The shield formation, which had been huddled in a defensive posture, instantly transformed into a simple wedge formation!

With Han Yong at the forefront, they launched a near-suicidal counterattack!

Driven by the instinct for survival, the rage for revenge, and the unwavering belief in the arrival of reinforcements, this remnant force unleashed a fighting power far exceeding their usual strength, even causing the encirclement to shake for a moment!

The shouts of "Kill the Hu!" had a strange psychological impact on the Xianbei soldiers who participated in the siege.

Hearing the whole city shouting like this, he couldn't help but be distracted and even had a slight thought of retreating.

Deng Jing's face turned extremely ugly on the stone bridge.

Xiao Heng should have been kept in Tan County by Murong Yan, but this judgment now seems to have made a fatal mistake.

Seeing that Han Yong's troops were actually launching a counterattack, Deng Jing knew that if he continued to fight, even if he eventually won, he would inevitably suffer heavy losses.

"This Qi County is out of control."

Deng Jing made a decisive decision and sternly addressed his personal guards.

"Order to retreat!"

With the commander-in-chief's order, the pressure on the Qin army besieging Han Yong was greatly reduced.

Han Yong keenly sensed the changes in the enemy.

"The thief is trying to escape! Chase after him!"

Han Yong roared and led the remaining men in a desperate charge forward.

However, their casualties were too great and their strength was nearly exhausted, so they could only watch helplessly as Deng Jing quickly disappeared into the winding streets and alleys.

......