Chapter 114: Bamboo Ladders

The mountain-roaring, sea-howling noise ended. One cavalry unit left the great formation on the east side, heading north past Dice Mountain. Another cavalry unit, led by a red banner, went south. Each was followed by a unit of roving bandit infantry on foot.

Then came a horn blast. Several hundred red-clad roving bandits dismounted and surged onto Zilai Bridge, immediately splitting into groups of three to five. Like quicksilver spilling across the ground, they entered the alleys of Zilai Street, using the buildings as cover to close in on the city wall.

"Squad Leader, the roving bandits are heading for North City and South City." Beside him, He Xianya, seeing Pang Yu completely unresponsive, couldn't help but whisper a reminder. "Should we send the men waiting at the two locations in the city to reinforce the north and south walls?"

Pang Yu shook his head. Watching below the city from beneath the Hanging Curtain, red figures flickered everywhere in the lanes of Zilai Street. These small squads entered the courtyards of houses below the wall or lay hidden behind buildings; they did not charge directly to the base of the wall.

"The men in the city stay put. Those two units went empty-handed, without any siege equipment. They're just a feint to confuse us, a trick to scatter our focus. I use this tactic often." Pang Yu tilted his head to look at He Xianya. "Send two Runners to observe from the northeast and southeast corners. If any siege equipment moves toward the north or south, report back immediately. I don't believe they can jump onto the city wall."

At that moment, a force of roughly a thousand roving bandit infantry was massing outside Zilai Bridge. A dense forest of blades and spear points swayed above their heads. There were also twenty or thirty bamboo ladders, a vivid, glossy green, looking as if they had just been cut down.

This group of infantry was rather disorderly. Some among them wore red, while the rest were dressed in a motley assortment of colors. Though gathered in one place, they held no formation. There were only two or three small red banners. To Pang Yu, they felt less like an army and more like peasants from the countryside preparing for a clan feud.

Turning his head to look at the top of the wall, it looked even less like an army. The Community Soldiers went without saying. The most conspicuous thing on the wall was the arrow-proof Hanging Curtains. These Hanging Curtains were simply a wooden frame draped with a cotton quilt or several layers of cloth, using the quilt's weight and fibers to block arrows. When an arrow struck the quilt, the suspended quilt would begin to swing, absorbing most of the arrow's energy and making it difficult to penetrate.

The city wall was already high to begin with, guarding against most direct fire. With the Hanging Curtains, plunging fire was basically no threat either.

Because cloth was very expensive, they were almost all draped with cotton quilts. The wealthy households of Tongcheng donated the most, and their quality was generally quite good — some even had satin quilt covers. But relying on the wealthy alone wasn't enough to gather the required number. Ordinary commoners also donated some old quilts, which naturally came in every quality and color. Thus, the top of Tongcheng's wall was ringed with a riot of brightly colored quilts. The feeling it gave Pang Yu wasn't of fighting a battle, but of the whole city airing out its bedding.

Another horn blast sounded beneath the Yellow Banner. A red-clad Headman left the main banner and rode up before that infantry unit, shouting something loudly. The infantry below raised their swords and spears with a battle cry, a picture of soaring morale.

He Xianya watched from the side. "What kind of talk is that? Going to their deaths so happily."

"Must be about the same as what I say — thirty taels of reward silver for storming the top of the wall, something like that." Pang Yu thought for a moment, then added, "Probably not dividing up silver. Roving bandits just loot whatever they want. Supplies are more important than silver. Maybe it's a share of a pig's leg or something. I see the ladders. Have all the braziers been lit?"

He Xianya replied, "They're lit all along the east wall."

"Send one Runner to the West Gate. Have Wang Zenglu transfer one Squad to Scarlet Blossom Gate, and dispatch another Squad to the southeast corner to stand by. Send another Runner to North Arch Gate. If no ladders are sighted at the north gate, send two Squads to reinforce Dongzuo Gate. The First Squadron from Bean Family Bridge is to stand by on Scarlet Blossom Gate Street."

He Xianya hurriedly called over three Runners to give the orders. His Fast Squad Team Three had practically become Pang Yu's heralds.

"Beat the drums! The city wall prepares for battle!"

Hearing this, two bailiffs from the Runner Squad behind him immediately began pounding the Big Drum with a thumping roar. The heavy drumbeats spread throughout the city. The drum set up at Dongzuo Gate was the county office's Shengtanggu; it sounded far deeper and richer than the one from Ruan Dacheng's theater troupe.

The Community Soldiers all sprang into action, moving supplies stored in the Grass Depot to the base of the Battlements. Short Spears were leaned against the Arrow Crenels. Every ten crenels had a brazier, and these were now all moved to the crenel side.

A battle cry rose from outside the city. That infantry unit, carrying the bamboo ladders, began crossing the bridge, spreading out their formation along Zilai Street.

Pang Yu shouted, "Watch the bamboo ladders! Wherever there's a bamboo ladder, deploy the Zhuang Squad there!"

The entire east wall had two Squadrons. The Third Squadron was at Scarlet Blossom Gate, but because the Third Squadron had suffered casualties yesterday, one Squad had been drawn from the Fourth Squadron on the west wall to replenish it.

The Zhuang Squad at Dongzuo Gate was the Fifth Squadron. Its captain constantly tracked the movement of the bamboo ladders. Because of the buildings obstructing the base of the east wall, ladders couldn't be set up everywhere. Some courtyards pressed right against the wall, but getting a bamboo ladder in was inconvenient. The key areas requiring defense had all been marked. The Zhuang Squad had drilled the most on this section of the wall and was very familiar with the terrain.

The positions where the roving bandit infantry halted were all at the alley entrances of Zilai Street. Entry was convenient here, and they could lean the bamboo ladders against the city wall. The buildings on the left and right could block some of the attacks from the wall top, giving them a measure of security.

Although this infantry had no drums or horns, their movements still showed some method. Roughly a dozen or so men carried one ladder, with the others following behind.

The disadvantage for the attacking side was that all troop movements and deployments were under the observation of the wall top. The defenders could allocate their forces accordingly. If it were up to Pang Yu, he would have burned Zilai Street to the ground. That way, the roving bandits would have no cover at all, and the resulting ruins might even prevent them from approaching the city wall. However, this suggestion was unanimously vetoed by Yang Erming and Zhou County Deputy — out of political considerations, of course.

The red-clad Headman leading the troops also crossed the bridge, positioning himself between Dongzuo Gate and Scarlet Blossom Gate. Just as Pang Yu had predicted, the focal point of their first chosen assault was Zilai Street.

The Headman gave no order. The last group of infantry was still extending toward Scarlet Blossom Gate. They needed to stretch the battle line as much as possible to force the defenders to disperse their forces.

The final bamboo ladder was in place, already south of Scarlet Blossom Gate. The battle line now occupied more than half the length of the east city wall.

Pang Yu turned back toward the interior of the city. A Yellow Banner had been raised in the direction of North Arch Gate, but it was not waving, indicating roving bandit activity to the north but no city assault. There were no flag signals whatsoever from Nanxun Gate or the West Gate.

Confirming once more that the roving bandits' main effort was the east wall, Pang Yu turned back toward the Arrow Crenels. By now, the roving bandits had finished deploying, and the Zhuang Squad had also adjusted according to the bandits' deployment positions. Each Squad of Five concentrated on one spot, responsible for a key section of the wall, tasked with counterattacking any enemy who climbed onto the wall top.

Community Soldiers were densely packed at each key section. The east wall's Community Soldiers came from over ten locations, including Fengyi Ward, Qingfeng Market, Bean Family Bridge, and Pan Family Bend. Pang Yu had also established a basic command structure for the Community Soldiers. Each ward had a squad leader, a ward resident of some prestige recommended by the ward's Village Elder. Below them were Team Leaders and Squad of Five Leaders, also elected by the ward residents themselves. The ward residents were also very familiar with one another, giving them a certain degree of cohesion.

Outside the city, the roving bandits had set aside their camp-building work. Tens of thousands of them concentrated in the eastern outskirts, densely packed and standing all over Guanxiang, watching the imminent city assault. There were many houses along the Official Road outside the city moat, but they certainly couldn't house tens of thousands of roving bandits. If they managed to break through Tongcheng, they could sleep inside the city tonight and wouldn't need to continue setting up camp.

Both sides were basically fully deployed. The roving bandits at each alley entrance waited, holding the bamboo ladders. A hush fell over both the wall top and the area below. Outside the city, at the bandit chieftain's position, several red and yellow banners flapped fiercely in the wind. Pang Yu felt he could almost hear the sound of the flags vibrating in the wind.

A horn blast. The tens of thousands of roving bandits outside the city roared in unison. The roving bandits carrying the bamboo ladders let out a shout and charged toward the city wall.

Countless red figures appeared on the rooftops, in the courtyards, and in the lanes of Zilai Street. From below the wall erupted the dense, explosive thrum of bowstrings, and a swarm of arrows, like a plague of locusts, flew toward the wall top.

On the wall top, the cotton quilts of the Hanging Curtains thudded repeatedly, bulging out one after another before swinging back and forth. Arrows that flew too high cleared the Hanging Curtains and rained down into the city, striking the roof tiles with a clattering din.

The Community Soldiers all ducked behind the Arrow Crenels. The Hanging Curtains were soon bristling with arrows. They blocked nearly all the attacks. A dozen or so Guards and Community Soldiers who were archers began to return fire. They drew their bows from behind the Hanging Curtains and Arrow Crenels, most of their bodies shielded. The roving bandits standing on the rooftops, however, were almost entirely exposed.

That Archer from the Mata Stone Inspection Office shifted his position among three Arrow Crenels. His stance was the same as before, with a motion of opening his hips and shifting his upper body to the right. Each time he peeked out was very brief. He shot unhurriedly, specifically targeting the roving bandits on the rooftops. Soon, several were hit and toppled off the roofs.

The roving bandits nearby scrambled off the rooftops, greatly reducing the threat of direct fire against the wall top.

Pang Yu crouched behind an Arrow Crenel, observed for a moment, then stood up. He had tested the Hanging Curtains before, and now he saw their real effect. Even a volley of arrows from the roving bandits could do nothing against the simple Hanging Curtains.

There were virtually no casualties on the wall top. With archers even counterattacking the roving bandits, the Community Soldiers' courage swelled, and they kept poking their heads out to look. The bolder among the Guards hurled Javelins out from between the Hanging Curtains.

Pang Yu chose a Hanging Curtain to hide behind and peered out obliquely. He saw that the roving bandits carrying the ladders had already neared the base of the wall and were stopping one after another. A group of men shouted a work chant, straining forward and back. The bamboo ladders were raised upright one by one. Each had a wooden hook at the top, some even made of iron, nailed directly to the tip of the bamboo ladder.

The tops of the raised bamboo ladders pressed toward the city wall. The roving bandits intended to hook them onto the wall. That way, once a bandit stepped onto the ladder, his weight would press down on the top, making it difficult for the defenders to overturn the ladder.

"Push poles!" Commands rang out from all along the wall top.

Preparations had long been made everywhere on the wall top. The stronger Community Soldiers used push poles, shaped like wooden forks, to brace against the tops of the bamboo ladders, preventing them from leaning against the city wall.

A bamboo ladder's center of gravity is in the middle. Once raised high, the effort the roving bandits exerted at the base yielded half the result for twice the effort, while pushing from the wall top was more efficient — though still not easy to topple the ladder. Unable to get the ladders to lean, more bandits came to steady them. Shouting together, they took two steps back and then pressed forward again. Both above and below the wall howled, struggling fiercely around the tops of the bamboo ladders.

Nearby Community Soldiers hurled stones down from the wall. Though they couldn't see the roving bandits below, they could see the position of the bamboo ladders and threw wildly in that general direction. Curses and shouts rose from below.

Diagonally ahead of Pang Yu was one such bamboo ladder. It was braced by three push poles and, after three charges, still hadn't managed to hook onto the city wall. Pang Yu hid behind the Hanging Curtain. It thudded repeatedly, the suspended part of the cotton quilt constantly slapping against Pang Yu's arm, yet no arrow could pierce through.

In front of him, a Community Soldier kept hurling stones. Pang Yu quickly peeked out to check the position. The soldier's aim was a bit off, too close to the city wall; the roving bandits were positioned further out. Seeing the ground covered with stones and Lime Pots, he couldn't resist picking up a palm-sized cobblestone and hurling it in the general direction. A miserable howl rose from below.

A strange excitement surged in Pang Yu's mind, like the feeling of shooting a slingshot at cabbages when he was a child. He had loved the way cabbage leaves burst apart when they broke, and the thrill of destruction. And it had been perfectly safe, because cabbages didn't fight back. Hiding behind the Hanging Curtain now felt similar.

He immediately began grabbing stones of suitable size from the ground nearby and pelting them down. The Community Soldiers were concentrated here, and stones fell like rain. A chorus of agonized screams rose from below. When all the smaller stones nearby were used up, Pang Yu grabbed a Grey Jar that no one else had touched and smashed it down. A cloud of white smoke billowed up from below. Then other Community Soldiers smashed down their Grey Jars. The roving bandit infantry screamed continuously.

After a moment, the bamboo ladder tilted to the left, then leaned more and more severely, until finally, with a crash, it toppled over. When he peeked out to look, five or six men lay sprawled below. Some were still writhing, while the other infantry were fleeing, clutching their heads.

Pang Yu was overcome with excitement. The wall top barely needed commanding. Community Soldiers everywhere howled, and stones and Grey Jars rained down. Not a single roving bandit could gain the top of the wall.

Pang Yu licked his lips. "Roving bandits aren't such a big deal after all."

With that, he picked up a Lime Pot and headed toward another bamboo ladder.