Chapter 299: Longyan Battle Record (22)

The pursuit squad led by Wei Yuan quickly left the fleeing bandits behind.

The panicked escapees would soon exhaust their strength in the course of flight, only to be killed by the seemingly slow-moving pursuers.

So not long after these scattered bandits fled out of Valley Mouth, the soldiers caught up to them. After some were killed by firearms, the rest had to leave the path and flee into the surrounding mountain forests.

In this way, they were left behind by the pursuers. Wei Yuan, leading one hundred soldiers, had by now restored their marching column and headed straight along the path toward the old nest at Duima Ridge.

At this moment, the bandit fortress on Duima Ridge had only a few dozen old, weak, sick, and disabled left — Lin Shiwan had taken all his elite troops out. So when the Special Operations Team members climbed up from below the Watchtower and used short crossbows and flying daggers to eliminate the sentries, it caused no disturbance.

Not long after, the one-hundred-strong main force charged over along the narrow mountain ridge. Only by this time did the slow-reacting garrison realize that disaster was imminent. Yet the enemy left them too little time — when the troops had charged halfway up the ridge, the calmly prepared Special Operations Team members set off the gunpowder packs in front of the fortress gate, and the gate was blown open.

The smarter ones had already escaped through the karst cave below the fortress; the foolish ones were still scurrying around the fortress like headless flies, and were then shot dead by the soldiers who charged in. In fact, there were a few brainless types: at such a moment when every second counted for escape, they were still snatching silver from the Public Storehouse — the fate of such people goes without saying.

That evening, the one hundred soldiers left behind at Bald Ditch to clean up the battlefield returned to Duima Ridge, escorting a group of captives. The so-called "battlefield cleanup" was really just going down to capture prisoners and deliver finishing shots; as for the corpses and such, naturally the Cleanup Team would handle them.

The Red Spear Camp encamped right there at Duima Ridge. They waited until the evening of the next day, when the "Cleanup Squad," numbering as high as five hundred, finally arrived at Bald Ditch from Longyan County.

Originally, the first batch of manpower would not have needed to be this large. But after Li Qianhu and his subordinate "laborer troops" returned to the Guard Post "covered in glory," overnight they became staunch revolutionary warriors, vowing irreconcilable enmity with the bandit gang that had harmed the people.

So after learning that reinforcements were being organized here again, Li Qianhu, who had worried his heart to pieces for the nation, brought three hundred more beggars dressed in rags and came uninvited.

Considering that the social conditions in Ningyang County were rather complex and the mass base was not as solid as over in Longyan, Ding Liqiu went along with the flow and agreed to Li Qianhu's request — these people were at least nominally their own, and could be of use in future suppression operations.

After these five hundred people arrived at Bald Ditch, it took them only half an hour to finish collecting all the corpses, which they then conveniently tossed off the cliff.

After this, the main force lingered at the bandit fortress for two more days. Once all the belongings were sorted and packed, the Allied Forces descended the mountain in a mighty, surging procession, heading straight for Xiancheng — behind them came the booming sounds of the bandit fortress being blown up.

After the large number of personnel arrived at Xiancheng, the originally desolate county seat suddenly became as bustling as a boiling pot.

Ningyang County was originally just a Guard Post town, a "township-level county" specifically used for defense — within the administrative system of the Great Ming, it was a standard example of wretched backwater, a fine place to exile disgraced officials.

So as soon as Wei Yuan arrived in Ningyang County, he brandished an official document and took over all authority in this palm-sized town — there was no County Magistrate here, only a County Deputy who was just muddling along, so the takeover went very smoothly.

Some of the garrison beggars and Three Squads and Runners in the county seat were also mobilized. At this time, the three hundred "elite troops" brought by Li Qianhu played the role of maintaining discipline and "teaching by personal example as well as verbal instruction."

Once the local armed forces of Ningyang County received "comrade-style" on-the-spot instruction and learned that following the boss would not only improve their lives with meat to eat, but also bring reward silver and chances to scavenge, they all suddenly became eager for action, bowing their heads in obedience.

Then Ding Liqiu arrived.

Bringing two hundred reinforcement soldiers who had rushed over from Xiamen, Ding Liqiu and Wei Yuan joined forces at Xiancheng. It was already the end of October; First Company, after completing this final task, had to return immediately to Dayuan to participate in the Founding Ceremony, so these two hundred soldiers were actually here for a rotation of garrison duty.

What was this final task? The Lin Family Fortress.

Lin Sanmen rested both hands on the stone ledge, his gaze outward filled with terror.

The outer walls of Hakka Tulou are enclosed; to guard against bandits, only narrow porthole windows are opened high up on the wall surface.

The spot where Lin Sanmen now stood was above the main gate of the Tulou. Here there was a pre-built enemy platform, where a large number of clan elites were stationed with crossbows, ash bottles, and long hooks, and beside them was a bubbling oil cauldron.

Although the Lin Family Fortress was a Tulou complex, whenever trouble arose, the clansmen would automatically gather in the Lin Family's largest "Ancestral Building." This ancestral building was not only sturdy and solid, with ample money and grain, but also had a moat and drawbridge — it was the core structure of the Lin Family.

Yet today, standing on the Tulou that had sheltered the Lin Family for many years, Lin Sanmen's eyes were full of despair.

Lin Sanmen had learned the news the very day the Lin Shiwan Bandit Gang was ambushed in Bald Ditch. After those scattered bandits each fled, some Lin Family clansmen naturally, like Lin Shiwan, thought first of returning home.

And upon learning the news, Lin Sanmen was immediately horrified. He then not only ordered the clansmen to gather wealth, goods, money, and grain into the Ancestral Building, but also sent out scouts to gather information everywhere.

As the scouts returned one after another, dire tidings kept pouring in.

Bald Ditch was strewn with corpses; Duima Ridge had already been breached; the Green Jacket Official Troops, along with Guard Post Soldiers, had occupied the county seat; the Official Army was coming to attack the Lin Family Fortress.

The bad news pressed closer step by step, yet Lin Sanmen was utterly helpless. The local bully's greatest reliance — the Bandit Gang — had been completely annihilated. And the so-called deeply entrenched local connections had also vanished like smoke after Wei Yuan took control of the county seat.

By this point, exterminating the Lin Family Fortress had become a matter of political correctness; no one with any sense would dare to stir recklessly anymore: the crime of harboring bandits meant beheading and confiscation of property. The highest official in Ningyang County was nothing more than a chicken-like County Deputy, and the rest of those local thugs were now desperately hauling grain to ingratiate themselves with the troops — there truly was not a single imbecile among them.

Lin Sanmen had in fact also sent an envoy, intending to swallow his pride and first get past this immediate crisis.

However, the conditions set by Wei Yuan's side were ones he could not accept: all three thousand men, women, old, and young of the Lin clan were to come out and surrender, leave with nothing but the clothes on their backs, and await the Official Army's judgment.

What difference was there between this and telling them to die? Everyone knew the cruelty and greed of the Official Army; if they surrendered unconditionally, they truly might as well die — at least in death they would be left clean, without having to watch the Official Army plunder their homes and bully their women and children.

And so, united in common hatred, the Lin Family clansmen resolved to fight the Official Army to the death.

The Lin Family clansmen, who had overnight become a vulnerable group, would certainly not remember at this moment all the innocents who had been slaughtered and robbed by bandits over the years.

After three days of reorganization in the county seat, early this morning, the Allied Forces contingent, their morale high, set out — the Lin Family clansmen had also long been arrayed in strict formation awaiting them.

Yet Lin Sanmen, as Clan Leader, knew that great calamity was about to befall his family.

Lin Sanmen had access to information channels that ordinary clansmen could not reach. He knew that the Official Army coming this time was no ordinary force, not the Official Army in the usual sense; if the Lin Family Fortress relied on holding out, they probably could not withstand it.

If it were up to his own opinion, they might as well offer up gold and silver and take the initiative to surrender — whatever the outcome, it would be better than having the fortress breached and the entire clan becoming prisoners of war.

Yet his opinion was worth less than a fart in the face of the clan elders' internal Lin Family political correctness of "resist to the very last moment."

So as he now stood atop the fortress gate, gazing at the strange yet orderly troops across the moat, his heart was filled with terror.

The composition of the Allied Forces was as follows: four hundred regular troops, five hundred laborer troops brought from Longyan County, plus five hundred local laborer troops and five hundred civilian laborers provided by local prominent households.

The task of the latter two was mainly encirclement and blockade. As for storming strongpoints and breaching the fortress, including handling the spoils of war afterward, these would all be the responsibility of the regular troops from Longyan and Li Qianhu's men — old hands now, they knew the Transmigrators' rules.

After observing the enemy's military bearing for a while, Lin Sanmen had originally intended to leave. He did not understand warfare, and this place was not originally his responsibility.

Yet the next moment, the plump Ningyang County Vice Magistrate, Lord Liu, emerged from the ranks. Lord Liu originally had some personal ties with Lin Sanmen, but today, under the gaze of several thousand pairs of eyes from both sides, no one could afford to care about those ties anymore.

County Vice Magistrate Liu, dressed in full official robes, came trembling and tottering before the moat, drew a war proclamation from his sleeve, and read it aloud.

The proclamation was very short, just a few lines in total, and its content was the same old platitudes: urging the Lin Family clansmen not to compound error upon error by opposing the authorities, to open their gates and surrender early, lest on top of the grave crime of "harboring bandits" they add the rebellious charge of "resisting troops," and so on.

After County Vice Magistrate Liu finished reading the proclamation, the official formalities for both sides were considered complete. Five minutes later, seeing no response from within the Lin Family Tulou, Wei Yuan swung his hand down and issued the order to attack.

The first wave of the attack consisted of five men.

These five were the best marksmen in First Company. Their task after stepping forward was to deal with the drawbridge.

Since there was a moat, there was certain to be a drawbridge. The Lin Family Tulou's drawbridge, like those of all other fortifications, had now been pulled up, slanting upright before the main gate.

After the five soldiers stepped forward, they first checked the wind direction, then took their Type 28 rifles fitted with scopes and moved downwind to begin aiming.

Under the gaze of several thousand people, a crisp gunshot rang out, raising the curtain on the battle.

The five sharpshooters standing diagonally opposite the fortress gate, after the leading Squad Leader fired one shot to confirm the position, then began their volley fire.

The target was the cable that pulled up the drawbridge.

At a distance of one hundred meters, the Type 28 rifles equipped with scopes could be said to hit their mark every time. After the five men aimed at one point and fired several rounds of volley fire, the wrist-thick hemp rope, with a loud "Bang!", snapped.

Only at this moment did the Lin Family men atop the gate react.

Although they immediately returned fire with nn, it was utterly useless: all five gunmen stood a hundred meters away, with shield-bearing guards at their sides ready to block arrows at any moment.

After one rope was severed, the Drawbridge tilted into a half-slanted state. What followed was simple — five men moved upwind and continued firing for several more volleys. The other hemp rope was soon severed as well, and with that, the long Drawbridge came Smashing down at One End, kicking up a towering cloud of dust on the far bank of the Moat.

Aside from the Transmigrators and the army they had trained, everyone else present was completely dumbfounded.

The Onlookers who had been waiting to watch a brutal Moat assault-and-defense battle were witnessing a new method of warfare for the First Time, and they now had Knowledge of what sniper bn meant.