Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 560 554. Hao Zhao
"Quickly shoot, shoot! Shoot back the Han army, don't let them get close!"

At Yique Pass, General Zhu, who had made such bold statements in Xiahou Mao's tent, was sweating profusely on the city wall as he commanded his soldiers to try to resist the attack of the Han army.

This General Zhu's surname is Zhu Shu, and his father is Zhu Ling, the Marquis of Gaotang and the rear general. Now that Zhu Ling has passed away, Zhu Shu, as his son, has inherited the title of Marquis of Gaotang. Now that Luoyang is in danger, Zhu Shu, as a second-generation general, will naturally not sit idly by and resolutely become a general under Xiahou Mao, determined to defend Luoyang.

Zhu Shu was assigned to guard Yique Pass this time, which was an important task entrusted to him by Xiahou Mao. However, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The Han army really chose Yique Pass as a breakthrough point and began to attack Yique Pass fiercely.

Now, there are only more than 7,000 people at Yique Pass plus the 5,000 people Zhu Shu brought before. Logically speaking, they should not have to worry about facing the 10,000-strong Han army.

However, the Longmen Mountains on both sides of Yique Pass are not only natural barriers, but also a help to the Han army at this moment.

Since it was not suitable for the army to deploy in front of the Yique Gate, Ma Su simply ordered some Han army archers to go to the Longmen Mountain beside the road. They did not need to go up too far, just level with the city wall, or even a little lower.

The range of the Han army's bows and crossbows was much longer than that of the Wei army. It was fine for the Wei army because they were in a dominant position, but now that the two sides were shooting at each other in a straight line, the Han army's Shenbi crossbow was merciless. The crossbow's straight shooting was powerful, and the Wei army on the city wall was extremely uncomfortable being shot by the Han army's scattered crossbow arrows.

The Han infantry on the ground also covered two ladders and a battering ram as they attacked Yique Pass. Needless to say, the battering ram was not a big threat to it, as ordinary objects such as boiling water, falling rocks, and pounding wood were not a big threat to it. In addition, there were two ladders to share the pressure, allowing it to successfully reach the gate of Yique Pass.

"Boom!"

Inside the battering ram, several Han soldiers pushed the sharpened log hard, causing it to hit the city gate heavily, making a loud noise.

"Hold on! Hold on to the city gate!"

In addition to tying the city gate with several thick woods, there were more than a hundred Wei soldiers who crowded around and held the city gate tightly. The collision just now caused the city gate to be hit hard, but it was not enough to shake the Wei soldiers.

"Sure enough, it will take some time to break open the gate of such a pass. But fortunately, my Han army no longer needs such stupid methods."

Ma Su looked at the swordplay on the battlefield through a telescope and smiled slightly.

Finding that the battering ram was not very effective, a Han soldier got off the battering ram, holding a small jar in his hand, and poured it directly towards the city gate.

"Pah, pah, pah, pah, what the hell is that that the Han army is splashing? I heard that Feng Xi is good at using gold juice, and his nickname is the Governor of Gold Juice. Could it be gold juice?"

A Wei soldier at the door who was splashed in the face wiped his face and smelled his hands. Fortunately, there was no bad smell.

"What the hell is this? It's so sticky..."

Before they could react, they heard a "swish" sound from outside, followed by a high temperature coming from the city gate in front of them.

"Kerosene! It's kerosene! Retreat! Retreat!"

The Wei soldiers at the front realized that the Han army wanted to set fire to the city gate, and they were probably pouring kerosene. If they were to attack with fire, they, the unlucky ones at the front, would be the first to bear the brunt. They didn't want to die, so they tried their best to retreat.

However, anyone with a little common sense knows that when there are hundreds of people, the pushing and shoving of the crowd is not something that can be decided by an individual. The people in the front knew that they were going to be burned, but the people behind heard the people in front shouting and didn't understand why. They thought that the Han army was attacking the city again, so they hurriedly pushed forward.

"Gan! Stop pushing! Let me go!"

The people in the first three rows were the most desperate. They saw the flames coming in through the cracks in the door, and the people in the first row had been set on fire and were wailing in pain. Normally, they could roll on the ground and try to put out the fire. However, just like the subways of later generations, it was impossible to change positions except standing under the crowded crowd. So they could only desperately feel their skin and flesh being carbonized by the flames, and their vitality dissipated.

The Wei army soldiers in the first two rows were like raw meat thrown onto an iron plate, making a sizzling sound on the city gate, followed by the aroma of barbecue.

People who were slightly closer to the front were also burned or even killed. Although the city gate was covered with a layer of copper, it was deformed under the high temperature, and the thick wood inside was also carbonized, and the material became much more brittle.

"Hold it! Hold it!"

Zhu Shu was so anxious that he could only repeat these two words over and over on the city wall. However, he currently had no way to break the impasse. Ordinary falling rocks and rolling logs had no effect on the strange battering ram below the city. They only made a dull sound and shook it.

Moreover, the city walls were now shot all over by the Han army's archers, making it impossible to organize an effective counterattack.

"Damn it! Are the Han troops really that powerful? I can't defend such a dangerous pass for even a day?"

Zhu Shu gritted his teeth. Now he could only live and die together with Yique Pass to live up to the kindness of the Emperor of Wei.

"Ahem... General, please take a break... Ahem, I will take care of the defense of the city..."

He heard a cough next to his ear, turned his head and found that it was a general he didn't recognize. If he hadn't been wearing Wei army uniform, Zhu Shu would have thought that it was the Han army attacking.

"Your Excellency, is...?"

Zhu Shu asked out of caution.

"Ahem... I am General Hao Zhao, the Dingqiang general under the command of the general... ahem... I came to Luoyang first to assist."

Hao Zhao should have been promoted to General Zhenxi at this time, but the emperor at this time was Cao Li instead of Cao Rui, so Hao Zhao was not promoted like in the original timeline, and was still a general of miscellaneous title.

The reason why Hao Zhao appeared here was just as he said. Cao Zhen felt that Luoyang might be lost, so he asked Hao Zhao, Wang Shuang and Wei Ping to go ahead and rush to Luoyang with light luggage.

However, Hao Zhao seemed to be a little bit ill due to the unfamiliar climate or the long journey, but he didn't care and rushed to Yique Pass without stopping. Because he thought the situation at Yique Pass was the most dangerous, he didn't expect to find that the Han army was attacking the city and the defenders had no rules.

"Ahem... Sword and shield soldiers, go forward and guard the ladders. Light a fire and boil water under the city. When it's done, use ropes to pull it up."

With a slight command from Hao Zhao, the Wei army, which had been fleeing in all directions, immediately became well organized, and no longer acted like headless flies when encountering the scattered attack of the Han army.

"Oh no, there is a master from the Wei army coming."

Ma Su frowned when he saw Hao Zhao coughing and giving orders on the city wall. The Han army had been winning victory after victory, and Ma Su thought it would be easy to break the city today. But the sudden appearance of this sickly-looking Wei general made him instinctively feel something was wrong.

Now the Wei army on the wall of Yique Pass was like a magic trick, from being in disarray to having a clear division of labor, which made Ma Su realize that the other side was by no means mediocre.

(End of this chapter)