"Make way!"
Seeing Zhang Xiaochun had already charged out of the city, Wang Bing on the city wall immediately, with red eyes, kicked away the soldier beating the drum beside him.
Picking up a pair of drumsticks from the rack again, he personally beat the war drum.
"Dong—"
"Dong—"
"Dong—"
Listening to the increasingly urgent sound of the war drums, the Song soldiers on the city wall, who had been in a stalemate and were about to show signs of defeat, suddenly found a surge of courage from nowhere.
The desperate fighting of countless men instantly pushed back the advantage the Jin army had painstakingly gained to its original point.
And with the joining of Zhang Xiaochun and his men, the remaining Jin soldiers who were attacking the city were thrown into chaos.
Although they only numbered 800, they were still fresh troops and had a death wish, how could they be resisted by those defected Yisheng Army soldiers!
"Bastards! Attack, whoever retreats dies!"
Seeing this, Wanyan Yinshu Ke was furious.
He had bet all his chips and was on the verge of success, but at this critical juncture, the momentum of the attack was abruptly interrupted by Zhang Xiaochun.
If the follow-up soldiers could not keep up quickly, wouldn't the soldiers he had sent to the city wall earlier all be like meat buns thrown to dogs?
If they were ordinary defected soldiers, it would be fine, but these were not only elites from his own command, but also three hundred Tie Futu.
At this time, the Jin dynasty had only armed three thousand Tie Futu with the strength of the entire nation.
If he were to lose these three hundred men here, even if they won the battle, he wouldn't get away with it!
"Who is that leading general? How come I didn't know there was such a fierce general in Taiyuan City?"
Just as Wanyan Yinshu Ke was throwing a tantrum, on the watchtower of the distant camp, even Wanyan Zonghan was shocked by Zhang Xiaochun's ferocity.
Since they marched south, this was the first time they had seen such a reckless person!
"This person looks unfamiliar, but judging by Qi Hao, he should be Zhang Xiaochun, the Commissioner of Hedong, but isn't he a civil official?"
"I heard that Zhang Xiaochun practiced martial arts when he was young..."
Hearing Wanyan Zonghan's question, several Yisheng Army generals who had surrendered to him along the way replied with some trepidation.
"A civil official? If the civil officials of this Song dynasty are all like this, I'll turn around and go back immediately!"
Looking at these useless people, and then at Zhang Xiaochun under the city wall, Wanyan Zonghan couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration. Such talent, who could be both a civil and military official, would be a great help to him in whatever he wanted to do in the future!
"Pass down my order, no one shall harm Zhang Xiaochun's life, I want him alive!"
Seeing Zhang Xiaochun charging left and right among the troops as if no one was there, Wanyan Zonghan waved his hand again.
"Yes!"
With the help of Zhang Xiaochun and his men, the pressure on the city wall was greatly reduced. Wang Bing, concerned about Zhang Xiaochun's safety, threw down his drumsticks and grabbed a war hammer to join the fight himself.
He was already exceptionally skilled in martial arts, and coupled with the fact that the Jin soldiers who had managed to climb the city wall had no sufficient support and were at the end of their tether, his joining the fray immediately threw the Jin soldiers on the wall into a desperate situation.
"Bang—"
After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, with a heavy blow from Wang Bing's war hammer, the last heavily armored Tie Futu was smashed into a pulp, helmet and head together, by his hammer. The battle on the city wall finally ended.
"Consolidate the city defenses, everyone prepare to receive His Excellency back into the city!"
After resolving the trouble on the city wall, Wang Bing quickly gave orders to prepare to receive Zhang Xiaochun.
However, Zhang Xiaochun was already in a desperate struggle. Wanyan Yinshu Ke, who had already killed his way into a frenzy, was now filled with hatred for Zhang Xiaochun and would not let him leave so easily!
Although the soldiers around Zhang Xiaochun had a death wish, human strength was ultimately limited.
The enemy had too many men, and they only had a mere eight hundred. From the moment they left the city until now, only two sticks of incense had passed, and there were less than 300 men left beside Zhang Xiaochun.
"Attack them, chop them all down! I'll let them know what cruelty is!"
Despite the arrows raining down from the city wall, Wanyan Yinshu Ke continued to urge the defected soldiers to attack Zhang Xiaochun at all costs.
Under his constant urging, Zhang Xiaochun felt the pressure greatly increase. Although the soldiers were doing their best to protect him, the enemy's offensive was too fierce.
Even with the assistance of Wang Bing from the city wall, his surrounding soldiers were rapidly dying.
As the chestnut-red horse, snatched from the Western Xia people, was shot by several cold arrows, Zhang Xiaochun's pressure instantly reached its peak.
"Whoever captures Zhang Xiaochun alive will be promoted three ranks and rewarded with a thousand taels of gold and a hundred female slaves!"
As Wanyan Zonghan's order arrived, the defected soldiers surrounding Zhang Xiaochun had their eyes turn red.
"Whoosh—"
As the soldiers beside him died one by one, gaps began to appear in Zhang Xiaochun's defense. A soldier wielding a wolf-tooth mace brought down a fierce blow.
Hearing the sharp whistling sound, Zhang Xiaochun instinctively retreated three steps.
"Your Excellency!"
However, in this dangerous battlefield, even retreating was fraught with peril.
Although he dodged the fatal hammer blow, his left arm was shot by a cold arrow.
"Your Excellency!"
Just as Zhang Xiaochun was about to sever the arrow shaft with his sword, a spear lunged towards his thigh.
In this critical situation, Zhang Ruhui suddenly pushed Zhang Xiaochun aside and, with a counter-stroke, severed the spear.
"It seems we're not going back today. You saved my life today, but I'm afraid I'll have to repay this life-saving kindness in the next life!"
Seeing that fewer than a hundred of his soldiers remained, Zhang Xiaochun suddenly smiled.
"Your Excellency, why do I feel like you're planning to default on your debt? What are you saying? I made it clear when I left the city that no matter what, I wouldn't die here today!"
After taking several deep breaths, Zhang Ruhui threw away the long sword in his hand, which had become like a saw, killed a Jin soldier, and then snatched a dao from his hand.
"Brothers, lift your spirits and escort His Excellency back to the city!"
With a dao in hand, the usually gentle and refined Zhang Ruhui transformed into a vengeful demon from hell. In an instant, he carved out a bloody path through the crowd...