Chapter 113: Geli Yan

On the wall, you could hear a pin drop. Tongcheng had known a hundred years of peace — it had never seen such a ferocious bandit, and a woman at that. If the female roving bandits were like this, how terrifying must the men be? Pang Yu could feel the morale of the Community Soldiers and Guards on the wall sinking fast.

Pang Yu shouted, "Whoever shoots this female bandit gets ten taels of reward silver!"

"I'll do it!" The voice came from the same spot as before, about ten paces from Pang Yu. Pang Yu turned his head to look — a middle-aged man in his thirties, wearing a runner's uniform, but Pang Yu had never seen him at the yamen.

The men at the battlements quickly backed away. Afraid of a stray arrow from outside, Pang Yu also retreated to the rear. Everyone nearby cleared out, giving the bowman room.

Under everyone's gaze, the man straightened his left arm, shifted his upper body slightly at the hip, and tilted the bow to the right to clear his line of sight — quite different from the wide stance Pang Yu usually saw when people drew bows.

He took an arrow with his right hand, nocking it in the thumb crotch, and slowly drew the bowstring back with his thumb. This matched what Pang Yu knew: slow draw, quick release. The bow bent further and further; the three bamboo-fetus laminations of the composite bow creaked softly as they flexed. The man's right hand stopped moving, the soft creaking ceased, and after a moment of stillness came a sharp twang — as he released, his right hand swept backward.

The arrow tore through the air and struck the female bandit square in the face. The arrowhead smashed through her front teeth like dry twigs, then burst out through her cheek from inside her mouth. The shaft scraped forward through the flesh of her face until its energy was spent, finally hanging from her face, the fletching at the tail caught right on her lips.

"Wah!" Blood gushed from the woman's mouth and nose, smearing her entire face. She grabbed the arrow shaft, tugging it slightly back and forth, screaming in agony. Unable to pull the arrow from her face, she pointed at the wall, trying to say something, but only unintelligible sobs came out, along with a mouthful of teeth and bloody froth.

After a moment, the female bandit could no longer bear the pain. Wailing, she limped away toward the outside, leaving a bright red trail of blood across the bluestone slabs.

Pang Yu shouted, "Shoot her dead and it's another thirty taels!"

This woman was useless to the city assault, but her ferocity had truly intimidated the Community Soldiers defending the city. If they could shoot her dead, morale would surely soar at once.

At the sound of thirty taels, voices all around called for people to clear the way. The Fengyi Lane Community Soldiers had five bows, and the Zhuang Squad had three more men with bows. Though none were as skilled as that man at hitting the head, at this close range they were confident they could at least hit the torso.

Bowstrings twanged in succession atop the wall, a stream of arrows flying at the woman. With no other roving bandits threatening them, the archers could draw full and aim slowly. The female bandit was walking slowly — a perfect target. In the blink of an eye, four arrows were lodged in her back.

Every hit drew loud cheers from the wall. Pang Yu shouted encouragement, and the atmosphere on the wall grew heated.

He turned back to look at the woman, and what he saw nearly made Pang Yu's jaw drop. These arrows had absolutely no effect on the woman's movement. Howling the whole way, she kept walking outward, her pace almost unchanged.

Though the arrows looked fast in flight, most lacked force. Even when they hit, they barely penetrated the flesh. The four arrows stuck in her were clearly shallow; one had already drooped tail-down, now just hanging from the woman's back.

Pang Yu looked again at the man from before. He had already drawn his bow, this time using an arrow with a shaft as thick as a grown man's thumb, tipped with a heavy spade-shaped arrowhead. When the heavy arrow was loosed, it visibly dropped in flight, striking the female bandit in the center of the back like a small javelin. The woman pitched forward onto the ground, her howls turning to moans.

The archers on the wall, not caring whether she was dead or not, kept shooting at the female bandit. Because she was lying down, the arrows came in at a shallow angle and still lacked sufficient force. This kind of damage couldn't finish her off quickly. With each arrow that struck, the woman's body gave a faint shudder. By the time over ten arrows were stuck in her, the woman gradually fell silent, a great pool of blood spreading from beneath her head and body.

The crowd roared in triumph. Pang Yu, sheltering behind the Hanging Curtain, surveyed the scene. Around the female bandit's corpse lay dozens of scattered arrows. Without that expert, who knew how many arrows it would have taken to kill one person? The power of a bow was far less formidable than Pang Yu had once imagined — though of course, it might just be that these amateur archers were not formidable.

The commotion on the wall drew the roving bandits' attention. Several Red Turbans stood in the street, cursing toward the wall, but did not approach.

The Community Soldiers were now inexplicably excited. Two archers loosed at an angle into the sky, sending arrows arcing toward the bandits from a distance. The soldiers crowded at the battlements, clamoring and watching. When they saw the bandits dodge, another cheer erupted.

Pang Yu did not stop them. As long as morale on the wall recovered, wasting a few arrows was a small matter.

Pang Yu beckoned He Xianya over. "That runner who shot the arrow — why have I never seen him at the yamen?"

He Xianya glanced that way. "This subordinate knows him. He used to be a postal runner at Lüting Post. After the cuts, he became an archer at the Mata Stone Inspection Office."

Pang Yu gave an "oh." An Inspection Office was roughly like a modern-day police substation. Tongcheng had three in total: Mata Stone, Six Hundred Zhang, and North Gorge Pass. The "archers" inside weren't actually soldiers who shot arrows — it was just a title, essentially a Runner for the townships. He never expected to find one who actually used a bow. He wondered how the man had trained.

"Have him come over and speak with me."

Suddenly, a scream. Pang Yu instinctively ducked down. A Community Soldier had toppled backward, a feathered arrow lodged in his face. The other soldiers instantly panicked, scrambling away from the arrow crenels and back behind the Hanging Curtains.

Archers on the wall returned fire. Pang Yu peered through the gap beneath the Hanging Curtain and saw a Red Turban bandit who had somehow crept close to the city wall using the houses below. The man was slowly putting away his bow, unhurriedly retreating behind the eaves.

The bandits on Zilai Street were still looting. The killings at Dongzuo Gate seemed to have no effect on them at all.

Just then, hoofbeats sounded from the north. That yellow banner had turned back. The big man beneath it, surrounded by a cluster of cavalry, halted at Zilai Bridge Head.

Beneath the city tower across the bridge lay a red-clad corpse. Zhang Xianzhong ignored it, his eyes only scanning the walls of Tongcheng.

The unbroken line of Hanging Curtains atop the wall — through the gaps, dense clusters of figures could be seen.

"Fuck your mother's hair, another tough nut to crack." Zhang Xianzhong pointed at Dongzuo Gate and spoke to a youth behind him to the side. "You said there was a tower outside the city from which you could see the whole place. Where is this tower?"

Xiao Wazi pointed toward a spot outside Xiangyang Gate. "It was there when I left. The runners must have torn it down."

Zhang Xianzhong paused in strategic patience, then turned to a man on his right. "Is the gate tunnel blocked?"

Beside him was a pale-faced Red Turban headman — the very leader of the six who had posed as Ministry of War Scout Cavalry the day before. He said quietly, "They should all be blocked. When this small one came yesterday, Dongzuo Gate was already shut. We had to go to Xiangyang Gate. If Dongzuo Gate had been open, the main force could have crossed the bridge and seized the gate directly."

A big man beside them narrowed his eyes at the headman. His eyes were already very small; squinting like this, they became little more than slits. He looked at the headman and said, "Six team leaders couldn't hold a city gate for even a moment? There must be government troops in this city."

The headman turned to the big man. "Replying to Old Camp Chief He: we saw no government troops. But there are a few dog runners here who dare to fight and kill, and they're numerous. There are also plenty of people on the wall — a rough look shows at least a thousand."

The big man listened, eyes still narrowed. "Dog runners who dare fight are few at most. But that many people on the wall is no lie — it shows they're prepared. Doesn't look any easier to crack than Luzhou, and with no inner responders, we'd just be throwing lives away for nothing."

Zhang Xianzhong spoke. "Are there still inner responders?"

The headman lowered his head even further. "Last night there were watchman's clappers in the city, and firelight to the east. There should have been inner responders setting fires, but last night we had no equipment to assault the city. After a commotion, the fires in the city went out. I fear there are no inner responders left."

He Yilong looked at Zhang Xianzhong. "Once a city's prepared, setting fires is fucking useless. This city has plenty of people — just like Luzhou and Shouzhou, it won't be easy to crack."

Zhang Xianzhong pointed at the city wall. "Chao County and Lujiang also had plenty of people, and one assault took them. I say we attack. Old He, what do you say?"

Old He kept his eyes narrowed and said nothing. Zhang Xianzhong grew impatient. "Cao Cao curses you, Geli Yan, saying you can only see what's right under your nose. Can't you be bold for once? The scouts said it plain: Tongcheng is rich land. Today we combine camps with Sweeping King — three of us together, with this many men, we can definitely take it."

This big man was none other than He Yilong, Geli Yan of the Thirty-Six Camps. He took no offense at Zhang Xianzhong's words; instead, he let out a dark chuckle, then picked at the side of his nose with a finger and said, "Every time, it ends up being you, Eight Great Kings, who has the final say. Throwing some lives at it is fine by me."

Zhang Xianzhong laughed heartily at this, flicked his riding crop casually, and it cracked sharply in the air, coming to rest pointed straight at Xiangyang Gate. "Camp Chief He's combined camp with me — you're a guest here, so rest first. Sweeping King hasn't arrived yet. I've long been ready. The Upper Fourth Sentry, Lower Fourth Sentry, and Upper Seventh Sentry will send men to attack — this wall right here."

As Zhang Xianzhong finished, the three personal attendants behind him raised bugles. Three great red banners rose. A blast of bugles sounded, and tens of thousands outside the city roared as one. Heaven and earth changed color at the sound.