Chapter 112: Heavy Troops

"No panic." Pang Yu didn't bother about Yang Erming being present and stepped out of the city tower first.

Inside the city in the night was pitch black, but the surrounding circle of city walls was brilliantly lit, like putting a glowing necklace on Tongcheng.

In the northwest part of the city three fires blazed, very bright in the pitch-black night. Watchmen's clappers sounded everywhere in the city. The community soldiers on the city tower were all looking around, and the people taking turns resting in the Grass Depot also got up one after another.

Pang Yu roared at those community soldiers, "There are people in the city to fight the fires. Guard your battlements. Even if the city burns to ashes, no one is allowed off the city wall."

Having said that, he turned his head to a tall, dark guard beside him and said, "Zhou Er, take a squad and guard the city stairs. No one is allowed down from the wall."

Zhou Er had two javelins slung across his back. He cupped his hands and said, "Orders received!"

Pang Yu looked at him twice more and said, "The Third Squadron lost over ten dead and wounded, and Constable Yao is also injured. But the Third Squadron fought to the death and protected the tens of thousands of commoners in Tongcheng. You are Acting Squad Leader. Preserve this spirit of the Third Squadron."

"Rest assured, sir. Even in death, this humble one will hold Xiangyang Gate."

Pang Yu nodded. When he turned his head back to look into the city, two more fires had sprung up near the base of the West Gate wall.

Yang Erming's voice trembled a little. "It must be the roving bandits' inner responders. No one knows how many are already inside the city. Should Pang Squad Leader transfer some Zhuang Squad men over?"

Pang Yu bowed to Yang Erming and said, "Do not be alarmed, sir. Every ward in the city has one hemp beater per household and one fire water vat per three households. We have long been prepared for arson. The community elders and gentry of each ward were already told to restrain the ward residents. No one is allowed to leave their ward to fight fires, to avoid chaos in the city. With the ward residents fighting fires themselves and the Fast Squad rushing to assist, the fires are not a major problem. That day, sir, with your great foresight, you had every ward implement the mutual responsibility system and conduct strict searches. The spies who could evade the purge are surely few. A few spies are nothing to worry about. All six gates of Tongcheng are already sealed. No matter how much they burn, they cannot burn down the city wall. As long as the city wall is not lost, the roving bandits can do nothing to us."

After Yang Erming heard this, his young, small face still held a trace of worry. He looked up at Pang Yu and said in a low voice, "Then does this official need to go inspect the fire sites to calm the hearts of the people in the city?"

"That would naturally be best." Pang Yu pointed at the city wall and said, "Sir, you can patrol along the northern city wall all the way over. The community soldiers along the way, seeing you personally inspecting the wall, will have their hearts settled. When you reach Yimin Gate, go down the city stairs to inspect the fire situation. In one trip, you can accomplish two things. After finishing, conveniently return to the county yamen to rest. Only then will you have the mental spirit to command the city defense tomorrow."

"That is convenient indeed." Yang Erming smiled rarely, then immediately regained his gravity. "I hope the roving bandits coming are just a diversionary force and that they will withdraw toward Lu'an Prefecture sooner. That would be even more convenient."

Having said that, he took a few yamen runners and walked north along the city wall. Along the way, he occasionally exchanged words with the community soldiers he met. Although the fires in the city still burned, after he passed by, those community soldiers indeed became much more stable.

Pang Yu leaned against a tower pillar, and a wave of drowsiness surged up. He quickly shook his head. This was only the first day of city defense, yet he already felt so exhausted. If the roving bandits' main force came, how could he hold on? He was like this; the people in the city were panicked, and the commoners' state was probably about the same.

"Young master, these roving bandits are terribly fierce. Should we..." Pang Ding's voice came from behind him. He leaned close to Pang Yu's ear and said, in a voice only the two of them could hear, "I prepared a long rope and hid it in the medicine shop. If the roving bandits break through the city, we can lower ourselves from Yimin Gate and escape into the mountains."

"I am the Defense Commander. Would I abandon the city and flee?" Pang Yu slapped Pang Ding on the head. "You cowardly dog who fears death. What has young master taught you? How can you do this?"

Pang Ding covered his head, not daring to argue with Pang Yu.

Pang Yu slapped him twice more, then looked left and right. Seeing no one around, he pulled Pang Yu close and said in a low voice, "This is just for your own use. Don't let anyone see it. Hide the rope well. You also need to prepare some dry rations."

Pang Ding rubbed his scalp. "Young master, do you think the roving bandits really are just a diversionary force, and the main force has all gone toward Shucheng?"

Pang Yu shook his head. "Probably not. If it were a diversionary force, they wouldn't have sent horse soldiers south to cut off the official road. The roving bandits came from Henan. There might really be government troops pursuing them from behind. It's unlikely they'll turn back. However... I do hope County Magistrate Yang is right."

Before noon on the twenty-seventh day of the first month of the Chongzhen Eighth Year, Pang Yu and Yang Erming stood on the Dongzuo Gate city tower, their throats dry as they looked at the scene before them.

Outside Tongcheng, hoofbeats thundered. Horse heads surged on the official road. Dense masses of horse soldiers advanced rapidly along the official road, like a raging mountain flood. The roving bandit vanguard that had arrived yesterday linked up outside Zilai Bridge. The horse soldiers split off near the suburban area east of the city. Outside Tongcheng, red-clad horse soldiers covered the land.

For a time, the figures of roving bandits flickered everywhere among the houses near the official road. The horse soldiers rapidly spread across the fields in all directions. The six-li city wall seemed entirely wrapped in red.

Behind the horse soldiers came columns of people and ox and horse carts. They had been arriving continuously all morning, their total number now no less than thirty thousand, and the flow of people on the official road still showed no end. Two li away from Tongcheng, they began leaving the official road one after another, searching for places to set up camp outside the city. The motley tide of people covered the hills and plains.

Mr. Sun stood beside Yang Erming, his breathing rapid the whole time. Only now did he open his mouth and say, "May I ask Pang Squad Leader, is this the main force of the roving bandits arriving?"

"It should be." Pang Yu licked his dry tongue. He had watched a football match in a stadium full of a hundred thousand spectators. There were certainly not a hundred thousand people outside the city, but the shock in his heart was far beyond what that stadium could compare to.

"Then... which band of roving bandits is it, to have so many men and horses?"

"It is said there is the Eight Great Kings and All Over the Sky."

Mr. Sun said angrily, "What do you mean 'it is said'? Since you are in overall charge of Tongcheng's defense, how can you be so ambiguous?"

Pang Yu's heart was just turning cold. The arson last night had not spread and was quickly extinguished. Of the two arsonists, one died and one was injured. The injured one's wounds were quite severe. The Fast Squad was trying to interrogate that injured person. The city had stabilized, but the strength of the roving bandits outside the city had far exceeded his estimates. Could this one small city wall of Tongcheng block so many roving bandits? At a moment when he was somewhat lost and bewildered, hearing Mr. Sun's cold words, Pang Yu couldn't help but turn his head and glare at him.

Usually, he was quite deferential to this Mr. Sun. But now, with a great enemy before them and whether they could even save their lives unclear, he suddenly felt a sense of fearing nothing anymore, let alone an advisor.

Mr. Sun saw Pang Yu's unfriendly expression and wanted to rebuke him angrily, but remembering Yang Erming was present, he only glared fiercely back at Pang Yu once and said nothing more.

At this moment, a group of horse soldiers clustered around one yellow banner and two red banners, stopping opposite Zilai Bridge. This group of horse soldiers did not disperse but maintained vigilance, guarding against the city opening its gates for a surprise attack.

Zilai Bridge was directly opposite Dongzuo Gate. Pang Yu and the others could clearly see that group of riders.

The few men under the yellow banner were all quite tall and large, and their horses were also sturdier than the others. A big man wearing a purple arrow robe was in the center position. Beside him, two red-clad riders were pointing toward the city wall and the direction of Xiangyang Gate, seemingly introducing the city defenses to the few men under the yellow banner.

The yellow banner paused only for a brief moment. The purple-robed man at the head waved his hand, and this group of horse soldiers left the Zilai Bridge head, riding north. They leisurely circled the city, casually pointing at the city wall as they went. The purple-robed big man conversed continuously with the other two men under the red banners, treating the defending troops on the wall as if they were nothing.

Somehow, seeing those roving bandits under the yellow banner, Pang Yu knew it must be a major headman observing the nearby terrain and city defenses, discussing how to assault Tongcheng. The tension in his heart intensified. The nearby Zhuang Squad and community soldiers were silent as crows, probably even more tense than Pang Yu.

The number of roving bandits far exceeded Pang Yu's expectations. The only thing that reassured him was that he currently saw no siege equipment whatsoever. Relying solely on horse soldiers, it was absolutely impossible to take the city wall.

"Calm down, calm down."

Pang Yu pinched his own thigh hard. "Stabilize hearts, purge internal traitors, strengthen the city wall. The city wall. As long as we hold the city wall..."

Before he finished calculating in his mind, a group of mounted roving bandits had already crossed Zilai Bridge. They galloped and roared along Zilai Street. Some people shot arrows from a distance toward the city wall. None were very accurate, but they still caused a flurry of panic on the wall.

After galloping for a moment, some of the roving bandits began dismounting, breaking into the shops everywhere on Zilai Street, rummaging for supplies inside. But none of them approached the area directly below the wall, to avoid being killed or wounded from the city wall.

Pang Yu steadied his mind and observed carefully. This group of roving bandit riders who had crossed the bridge had superb riding skills, galloping as if flying yet remaining seated as usual. Among them were men and women, and the women were not few in number. Half of the men were youths, all wearing red clothes, and their hair buns were also different from Tongcheng's. The women were also skilled riders, but some of the women rode mules.

This composition of personnel was completely different from the vanguard seen yesterday. Pang Yu didn't know what it meant and could only note it in his mind for now.

The horse soldiers that had appeared numbered around four thousand. The people covering the wilderness outside the city were the most numerous part, all arriving on foot. He didn't know if they were also combat troops; they were too far away to see clearly. Only now did Pang Yu realize that not all roving bandits rode horses.

As Pang Yu was analyzing in his mind, a commotion stirred around him. The community soldiers were discussing animatedly. Pang Yu pulled back his attention and looked.

He saw a single rider coming alone toward the Dongzuo Gate tower. Looking more closely, it was actually a woman riding a mule.

The other roving bandits were all on Zilai Street, far from the city wall, but she rode her mule toward the city gate. Blankly, she dismounted outside the gate, came before a shop, picked up a stone from the ground, and, under the gaze of countless eyes on the city wall, began banging on the door plank with a thud-thud-thud.

On the empty street outside Dongzuo Gate, this one female bandit was alone, banging on a door. At this distance, even a thrown stone could hit her, and arrows could attack her even more easily. Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what this woman's game was.

The scene was rather bizarre. Pang Yu stared blankly for a moment, then muttered a curse, "Dog-spawned, brain's got a problem."

Just as he was about to order the Zhuang Squad to throw javelins, he heard someone on the city wall to the left curse, "You female bandit, have you come to seek death?"

The female bandit heard this and stopped banging on the door. She raised her head and looked at the city wall for a while, then actually threw away the stone, walked a few steps closer to the gate tower, raised her head, and stared directly at the city wall.

This woman was short and stocky, with a big, round, flat face, a flat nose, a wide mouth, a reddish complexion, and a face full of violent malice.

That person on the city wall to the left cursed again, "If not for seeing you're a woman, I'd shoot you dead with one arrow. Get lost, now."

The woman's narrow, long eyes held no emotion whatsoever. She stared at the city wall for a moment, then suddenly stretched out her hand, pointed at her own thigh, and screamed shrilly, "Can you hit here?"

The city wall fell silent for a moment. Suddenly, with a loud twang, a light arrow left the bowstring and struck the woman squarely in the thigh.

The light arrow was not heavy, but it still shook the female bandit so much she nearly fell. She staggered back two steps, blood streaming from her leg. A wave of cheers and applause erupted on the city wall.

The bandit woman howled twice where she stood, steadied her breathing, then raised her head again.

She glared fiercely at the archer to her left, raised her right hand and pointed at her own face. "Can you hit me here?" (Note 1)

……