Chapter 105: Storming the Wall

"Huh? Why are they leaving?" On the courtyard wall, Lü Zhou gaped.

Lin Qian watched the group retreat more than twenty paces, then slowly head south.

Could they be planning to storm the main gate?

Lin Qian's gaze sharpened, and he ordered those around him: "Crossbowmen, follow me." He then led his men along the courtyard wall, quickly reaching the wall above the main gate.

Zheng Zhilong was there facing off against the local militia. Seeing Lin Qian approach, he asked, "Shipmaster, why have you come?"

Lin Qian explained that the Constable of Huangyan County had brought over two hundred men to storm the main gate.

Zheng Zhilong's expression also turned grave. He sighed, "The Lin family truly is a great clan, to make the county's men fight so desperately to save them."

After about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, a column of torches could be seen approaching from the east—it was the Constable's men.

They reached the front of the Lin estate and merged with the local militia. Both sides' morale swelled, and they shook their torches, shouting and cursing without pause.

Three hundred men standing together made quite a crowd, the torchlight illuminating everything around them down to the finest detail.

"Shipmaster, look." Zheng Zhilong pointed into the distance.

Lin Qian followed his finger and saw a faint fiery glow on the horizon—another group of men must have arrived.

At this moment, on the wall above the main gate, there were only Zheng Zhilong's fifteen men from the west route and the twelve crossbowmen Lin Qian had brought.

Together, they numbered less than thirty.

The three hundred men outside were ten times their number, and with reinforcements arriving endlessly, even holding the high wall would be impossible to withstand.

"Shipmaster, what do we do?" Zheng Zhilong asked Lin Qian with a grave expression.

Lin Qian's face was cold and stern as he instructed Lü Zhou: "Go find Bailangzai and bring all the remaining thermite. Have everyone with armor and shields come to the front gate wall, and tell Lei Sanxiang to hurry up moving the silver."

There were no outsiders on the wall, so there was no fear of names being overheard.

Lü Zhou withdrew, and everyone on the wall waited with focused tension.

But they waited a long while, and still the militia and the Constable's men did not advance.

The firelight in the distance grew brighter and brighter, like a fiery serpent under the pitch-black sky. Judging by the numbers, there were at least two to three hundred people.

On the wall, sweat seeped from everyone's palms.

Lü Zhou's footsteps approached from far to near. He carried a cloth sack over his shoulder, followed by five or six crewmen wearing armor and carrying shields.

"Shipmaster, all the thermite is here."

Lin Qian took the sack—inside were seven or eight gourds.

There was also solid thermite, which Lin Qian had made by adding syrup and then letting it dry—a contingency prepared for melting the iron gate.

"The boatswain said it will take another two hours to finish moving everything. He asks that we hold the gate as long as we can."

"Understood."

Lin Qian set the sack aside and looked out over the wall again. The fiery serpent had now reached the front of the estate, merging with the other two groups.

The three forces gathered together numbered a full five to six hundred. The torchlight seemed as if it might burn a hole through the sky.

That the surrounding militia and county soldiers could gather so quickly exceeded Lin Qian's expectations.

For now, they could hold their ground behind the courtyard wall—the militia and county soldiers couldn't break in immediately.

But if the standoff dragged on, they were certain to lose ground. He had to think of a way to both buy time and make a clean escape.

Lin Qian furrowed his brow in deep thought. A moment later, a flash of inspiration struck him. He pulled Lü Zhou close and whispered instructions: "Pass the order to those in the women's hall…"

Below the wall, the Constable saw the newcomer and stepped forward to bow: "Inspector."

The newcomer was indeed the Inspector of the Huangyan County Patrol Office.

The Patrol Office's responsibilities in public security ranked above the county yamen but below the guard station, specializing in dealing with gangs and roving bandits.

Now that the Inspector had arrived, the burden on the Constable's shoulders grew lighter.

The Inspector returned the Constable's bow, then asked, "Do you know the situation inside?"

"The number of bandits is unknown, and they have powerful crossbows."

"Crossbows?" The Inspector was taken aback. "How many?"

"Around twenty."

A calculating look appeared on the Inspector's face: "Since the bandits have crossbows, this no longer falls under the Patrol Office's jurisdiction. We should have the guard station send troops."

The Constable: "His Honor has already sent someone to summon them."

"Oh? Where is His Honor now?" The Inspector's eyes lit up—if the County Magistrate were present, he could share the burden on his shoulders.

The Constable: "His Honor is holding the county yamen tonight, guarding against the bandits harassing the county seat."

"That sly monkey knows how to dodge trouble!" the Inspector cursed inwardly.

The militia squad leader, seeing the two men chatting endlessly, grew anxious and stepped forward: "Gentlemen, when do we take the gate and scale the wall? When do we enter the estate to rescue people? Please give the order!"

The Constable said, "Ah! That's not right to say. Since the Inspector is here, it's not my place to give orders."

The Inspector cursed inwardly. He had thought the ones harassing the Lin estate were just petty thieves, so he had rushed over to claim some credit. Now he deeply regretted it.

Now he was stuck. If he didn't accomplish something, he couldn't escape the crime of letting bandits slip away through negligence.

After pondering for a long while, the Inspector made up his mind: "Bring the ladders! Shields up, scale the wall!"

The militia had long since prepared ladders and quickly carried them over beside the Patrol Office's men.

After all, the militia had no shields—no one dared scale the wall under crossbow fire.

The Inspector looked at the Constable: "I'll attack the west wall; you attack the east wall."

The Constable made excuses: "My men are all county constables and civilian braves—they don't know the art of wall assault. Oh, but I do have a dozen or so shields I can lend to you, Inspector."

With that said, without even a gesture from him, his constables immediately presented the shields, piling them together with the ladders.

The Inspector was so angry his chest felt tight, but he was helpless. Though the Inspector was a ninth-rank official, outranking the Constable, the Patrol Office and the county yamen were two separate systems with no power to check each other.

The Constable didn't want his men to risk their lives, and the Inspector could do nothing about it.

"Shields up! Scale the wall!" the Inspector said through gritted teeth.

The patrol post soldiers reluctantly picked up their shields.

Under the patrol inspector's arrangement, they were divided into ten groups of five, each group carrying a ladder with five men following behind—fifty men in total.

At the command, the patrol post soldiers carried ladders on their right shoulders, raised shields in their left hands, and advanced slowly with long sabers at their waists.

After advancing a dozen or so steps, a burst of crossbow string sounds rang out from atop the wall.

"Thud, thud, thud..."

The sound of bolts striking shields rang out.

"Ah—" Someone fell, struck by a bolt. The crossbow bolt had pierced through his calf, blood pooling on the ground as he wailed incessantly.

Seeing this, the five men behind immediately closed in with shields raised. Then five of them lifted the wounded man by his limbs while one dragged his torso, forcibly carrying him back.

The patrol inspector was furious, smoke nearly pouring from his seven orifices. With a clang, he drew his saber and roared: "All of you, get back up there! Anyone else who uses the excuse of carrying back the wounded to retreat will be severely punished without mercy!"

The five men had no choice. They set the wounded man down and advanced again in small steps with shields raised.

Meanwhile, the vanguard carrying ladders had already reached the base of the wall. After setting up their ladders, they discovered that some were too short—they couldn't even reach the top of the wall.

With no other option, they could only raise their shields and retreat once more.

The remaining waves of men were climbing up.

Suddenly, the sound of crossbows being drawn reached their ears. The crossbowmen atop the wall leaned out and fired at the shielded soldiers climbing the ladders.

In an instant, a rain of blood scattered through the air.

Five or six shielded soldiers were struck by bolts, screaming as they tumbled from the ladders. Blood flowed down the rungs, splattering across the ground, and the base of the wall was steeped in gore.

A few bold soldiers of the patrol post stepped on the slippery ladders and climbed upward, finally reaching the top of the courtyard wall.

In the moonlight, cold glints flashed along the wall top, wisps of blood mist drifted, and several bone-chilling screams rang out.

In just a few breaths, the screams gradually faded.

Dozens of blood-soaked patrol post soldiers scrambled back in a panic, casting their shields aside on the ground to run faster.

"Sir, there are too many bandits on the wall—we can't take it!"

"How many are there?" the patrol inspector asked hurriedly.

The soldiers exchanged glances. After a moment, one said: "About eighty!"

The rest of the soldiers nodded in agreement.

(End of Chapter)

Yahei

Fenyuan

Pen