Chapter Fifty-One: Another Wave of Attacks

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  When Yang Jue heard this, Gao Shi also looked gloomy and sighed deeply before leaving.

  Yang Kai's words are quite reasonable. In the end, abandoning Hantangguan City and retreating to Suiguan City, which is ten times more secure than Hantangguan City, is indeed something that must be done with the current military strength. Under the rebel army's offensive, Hantangguan City will inevitably fall, and it's only a matter of time before it does. Even if all the troops in Tongguan City were sent to Hantangguan City, it would still be the same. The more than 10,000 soldiers who experienced the defeat at Lingbao can't withstand the rebel army's attack with just Hantangguan City.

  For months, the Hantangguan City has experienced countless battles. Whether it is the city gate or other defensive facilities, they have all been severely damaged and cannot be repaired in time. The defense capabilities have been greatly reduced. Whoever leads the army will not be able to use it as a last stronghold for defense.

  If Hantangguan City had been effectively repaired, there would still be a theoretical possibility.

  To defend Tongguan, the only way is to rely on the strategic location of Hangu Pass, with twelve connected cities guarding it, and the terrain of Su Tongguan City being more dangerous than that of Han Tongguan City. As long as there are enough troops and weapons inside Su Tongguan City, even if tens of thousands of rebel soldiers attack in shifts, they will not be able to capture Su Tongguan City.

  Su Tongguan City is the last defense of the remaining tens of thousands of defeated soldiers and generals, and it is also the most reliable defensive position. They can only hold out and wait for reinforcements to make a final desperate fight, unless subsequent reinforcements arrive continuously, so that more troops can be used to block the rebel army's attack, even causing large-scale casualties to the rebel army.

  Gao Shi had expressed his opposition when Ge Shuhan was making arrangements for the defense of the city. He opposed withdrawing the troops from Hantangguan and the twelve connected cities, but his opinion was not adopted. However, he eventually agreed with Ge Shuhan's decision to abandon Hantangguan and concentrate on defending Suideguan, although he still disagreed with the decision to abandon the twelve connected cities.

  At present, on the twelve super-large beacon towers of the Twelve Linked Cities, there are about 120 soldiers stationed to defend against the rebels who must cross the Forbidden Trench to attack Tongguan City. The soldiers will work together with those on the city wall to inflict maximum casualties on the rebels. The natural danger of the Forbidden Trench is a defense that Tongguan City does not possess, and its defensive capabilities are comparable to tens of thousands of soldiers. Unfortunately, there are still many charred corpses in the trench that have not been burned away, which has reduced its defensive capabilities somewhat.

  Gao Shi wishes that heaven will look after them!

  Watching Gao Shi leave in the distance, Yang Hui also let out a deep sigh, and at this moment, he truly understood the taste of being unable to have both fish and bear's paw.

  He really didn't dare to divide his troops, fearing that if he divided them and they were defeated by the rebels, he wouldn't be able to retreat back to Tongguan. If he sent more troops to Hantong Pass and it was also occupied by the rebels, the blow to the morale of the remaining soldiers would be indescribable. Many soldiers might again become fugitives, fleeing in all directions, and some generals might not have the will to persist, possibly following the example of Huo Junren. He couldn't afford to gamble on when the next reinforcements would arrive!

  Yang Jie now fully understands why Geshu Han abandoned the city of Hanzhong after his defeat and concentrated his forces to defend the city of Suizhou.

  Now even if he wants to send troops out to ask for help from the city of Tongguan, whether it is Geshu Han or other generals, they will all rise up in opposition.

  In the minds of Geshu Han and other generals, if Pang Zhong and Li Fu's troops could not retreat back, they would have to be abandoned.

  When will the reinforcements arrive? Yang Hui sighed again!

  Detestable Geshu Han, when he went out of Tongguan to fight a battle, withdrew all the troops near Tongguan. If some were left behind, that would be much better.

  If it weren't for the few small-scale ambushes he had hastily arranged, and letting Li Fude and Pang Zhong use Hantangguan City as a blocking point to slow down the rebel army's attack speed, the rebel army would have already been attacking Hantangguan City desperately. He didn't know if the rebel army was really attacking Hantangguan City where he was standing now, how long these defeated soldiers could hold on, and whether they could hold on until the arrival of reinforcements!

  Just as Yang Jue was lamenting, the rebel army launched another attack, and this time it was on a much larger scale than before.

  The rebel army's every attack was carefully observed by Yang Kai, who discovered that the number of rebels attacking the city was slowly increasing, from a few hundred at first to over a thousand now, with continuous reinforcements arriving one after another, making it seem like an unrelenting and waveless assault. Judging from the situation, the rebel army seemed determined to capture Hantang Pass before nightfall.

  Everyone knows that before and after dark are two completely different concepts. The attacking side will definitely not want to attack the city in the dark. If they can't take down Hantanguan City before dark, they can only wait until dawn the next day to attack again. Of course, it's still possible to attack at night, but nighttime battles are more unfavorable for the attacking side. After all, the terrain around Tongguan is treacherous and difficult to navigate, making it hard to see clearly even during the day. If they were to launch a forced attack, their casualties would be even greater. Both sides know this point, and in the past few months, the rebels only attacked at night once or twice at the beginning, and then gave up. The city walls of Tongguan are extremely difficult to climb, making it impossible to sneak elite troops into the city for a surprise attack under the cover of darkness.

  Looking at the sun that had already fallen halfway down the mountain, Yang Hui understood that this should be the rebel army's final wave of attack today. If they could hold on, then they would succeed, and at least gain another night's time.

  That night, the rescue team could have traveled at least tens of miles, or even hundreds of miles.

  Yang Kai immediately ordered the transmission, asking Li Fude and Pang Zhong to hold back the rebel army's attack at all costs. As long as they held back the rebel army's attack, the rebel army's offensive would stop after dark. Once the rebel army's offensive stopped, it was their chance to retreat.

  Just as Yang Jue's messenger rushed towards the direction of Hantangguan City, the rebel army launched a suicidal attack on the city.

  In the direction of the south gate and east gate, at least two thousand soldiers rushed towards the city wall like a tide, holding shields and supporting each other. The rebels tried to set up ladders on the city wall. As the rebels rushed towards the city wall, arrows flew again from the top of the city wall, accompanied by countless cries of pain. Many rebel soldiers were hit by arrows falling from above, injured or killed.

  But the rebel attack did not slow down, and the soldiers rushed to the city wall under the command of their respective officers, some soldiers even took advantage of the terrain to shoot arrows at the defenders on the city wall.

  Fierce battles are being conducted inhumanely under the bloody sunset!