Chapter 2725: Anshi City I

Manbao checked the wounded soldiers, peeked inside, and saw that they were too busy fighting to lift some of the wounded. She then called two students to carry the medicine box up.

Manbao reached out and dragged a soldier who had been hit by an arrow out. He seemed to have fallen to the ground and passed out from the pain after being hit.

Manbao took out scissors to cut off the arrow feather, then used a needle to jab his tiger’s mouth to wake him up, and supported him outside.

She didn’t immediately pull out the arrow, checking the bleeding speed first, deciding he could wait. She turned back inside to continue pulling out injured soldiers, some pierced with arrows, others chopped and incapacitated.

After all, if they were just chopped, as long as they could still hold a knife, they wouldn’t retreat.

Manbao and two students managed to drag the wounded soldiers down, while the remaining students started the treatment. Manbao glanced inside and thought the fight was too fierce; some Goguryeo soldiers had already jumped over the barriers. Although they were quickly cut down, more people still crossed over…

Manbao retracted her head, swiftly cutting through the wounded soldiers’ clothes, stopping bleeding and pain with needlework, and starting to extract arrowheads…

After dealing with the soldiers in hand, Manbao picked two more students to rush into the city gates and drag out visible wounded soldiers.

General Ashina was at the front, unaware of her actions. Instead, the soldiers behind saw it; they weren’t rushing mindlessly. General Ashina had made arrangements; the city gate was only so big, so they were divided into three batches, with the other two sitting and resting now. Some soldiers simply held their knives and slept in a sheltered spot under the city tower.

Resting soldiers, seeing this, simply stopped sitting and, after asking their superiors, went forward to help carry the wounded.

Besides them, there were over ten soldiers originally allocated to the medical tent. Soon enough, the wounded on the battlefield were all carried off.

Manbao was satisfied now, turning to treat the wounded soldiers.

Those soldiers needed to go back and continue squatting, when they heard General Ashina’s escorts shout: “Switch to the second batch—”

Soldiers: …

Simultaneously, standard bearers signaled with flags; all the company flags and small flags called people. They immediately took their weapons, formed formations, and went forward to replace others.

The first batch of soldiers switched off, upstairs defending, and archers also switched.

General Ashina also felt a bit exhausted, left the deputy general to oversee the battle, and returned below the city tower, looking around but not seeing Zhou Man, not even seeing the wounded soldiers. He looked up to the tower.

“General, Lord Zhou is outside the city.”

This was unexpected for General Ashina.

Passing through the city hole, he saw rows of wounded soldiers outside the city wall. As the space was big enough, Zhou Man placed them at will, with severely injured on one side, lightly injured on the other, arrow wounds here, slash wounds there…

Retreating soldiers also found the medical tent, and anyone injured immediately came to ask for medicine.

Zhou Liru sat in front of the medicine pile; lightly wounded soldiers came forward themselves. After taking a look, if she thought they could handle it, she gave them medicine to apply and bandage themselves. Those who couldn’t handle it, she treated.

The medical tent was instantly bustling.

After half an hour of fighting, the second batch retreated, replaced by the third batch, and the number of wounded surged again.

Luckily, most were lightly wounded, and only seven or eight were seriously injured. Manbao, with two students, treated them while others treated the lightly wounded soldiers.

General Ashina stood on the city tower looking into the distance; the enemy’s casualties were larger than theirs. As defenders, they were more composed, while the enemy was getting impatient.

He smirked slightly, squinting at Anshi City ahead, also looking east, as dawn approached.

Dawn was nearing, yet Yuan Yi had made no progress. The Second Prince Gao, who hadn’t slept for half the night, appeared somewhat haggard and anxious, constantly sending people to ask, “Where have they attacked, how much street have we recaptured?”

The messenger: … Not even one, the first attack already crossed the barriers and checkpoints. But after the enemy switched, they drove them out again, and the barriers and checkpoints were still in place, a hundred zhang away.

However, the messenger did not answer immediately but went to inquire also before reporting to Yuan Yi. The Second Prince was quite terrifying right now; better let General Yuan Yi answer.

Hearing this, Yuan Yi also grew impatient and told the messenger, “Tell the Second Prince, I will try my best to reclaim the lost ground. Please have the prince wait for the good news.”

The messenger replied and ran back to report directly to the Second Prince.

General Ashina had already replaced the second batch, letting the third go up. Yuan Yi wanted to rest briefly, but after the Second Prince sent a messenger to inquire, he gave up on the rest, replacing the foremost batch, and switching in the rear.

General Ashina noticed his blunder and told his deputy general, “Inform them to move the checkpoint forward by twenty zhang, occupying the lanes on both sides and setting up checkpoints.”

“Yes!” The deputy replied and left.

General Ashina’s mouth curled up, the Goguryeo soldiers advancing and retreating were at their best now compared to Jin troops. Having just undergone a long march and two consecutive battles, they were at their best against Jin troops.

They had only fought for a little over an hour, the vigor was reaching its peak; switching now would suppress that vigor. And the soldiers who hadn’t fought for over an hour, seeing their comrades constantly suppressed, might have grown fearful and apprehensive.

Fighting them was easier compared to the experienced forward troops earlier.

General Ashina staggered the replacements every half hour because his troops had been battling since yesterday morning, unable to rest until now. A short rest not only restored their physical and mental strength but also helped them psychologically adapt.

Yuan Yi obviously wanted to emulate him but entirely missed the mark.

Sure enough, the moment the enemy replaced the front line, facing the Jin army who had fought hard for a day and night, reeking of blood and fierce, they were instantly suppressed.

Seeing his front line being pushed back, Yuan Yi’s face changed immediately. He commanded from behind, “Advance, spearmen up front, where are the archers, where are the archers…”

General Ashina commanded smoothly. At this time, the archers on the city tower couldn’t shoot here anymore; the enemy was beyond range. So he organized archers to follow closely, and just as Yuan Yi called for them, Jin troops’ archers moved forward two rows and attacked from left and right.

Goguryeo soldiers, upon retreating, were somewhat chaotic, their shields only raised after the arrows came, by which time it was too late.

Yuan Yi couldn’t stop the defeat, enraged, he drew his sword and killed two retreating soldiers, which finally halted the retreat, but Jin troops still advanced about ten zhang.

Both sides temporarily rested, Jin troops moved the checkpoint over, continuously reinforcing checkpoints and barriers behind, so that even if a large-scale attack came, they could last a bit longer.

Then, the Second Prince, having lost his temper, suddenly remembered something, “If we can’t reclaim the gate from inside, how about from outside?”