Chapter 332: Eight-Pounder Cannon

During the night, sporadic fighting broke out on the outer perimeter. The Jianzhou bandits mimicked the howls of wild beasts for much of the night, attempting to harass Dengzhou Town. With Fuzhou City as their support, they could rest well themselves. But Dengzhou Town's night defense system had been tested repeatedly, and each Company Commander's unit sent out relief forces in succession, preventing the Jianzhou bandits from breaking through the outer perimeter.

Early the next morning, the main army ate breakfast and advanced toward Fuzhou. The journey of over ten li was quickly covered, and more than five thousand troops followed the west bank of the Pearl River to arrive beneath Fuzhou City, spreading across the wilderness outside the city like a carpet of red and black. The resounding bugle calls and drumbeats shook heaven and earth.

Chen Xin's great banner halted on the Tudi Ridge southeast of the city. On the hill stood a Yongfeng Pagoda, said to have been built in the thirteenth year of the Chongxi era of the Liao Dynasty. One of Fuzhou's eight scenic spots, "Yongfeng at Dusk," was located here. The Yongfeng Pagoda stood seven zhang tall. Its first story was octagonal with eight sides, each side containing a Buddhist niche. The second tier had over ten stories of tower chambers, and wind chimes hung beneath the eaves at the pagoda's peak. The overall design was quite exquisite. When Chen Xin saw it, the outer walls were somewhat weathered, appearing mottled and full of the patina of age.

It seemed that pagodas were only pleasing to look at during dusk, and Chen Xin had no mind at present to gaze at any evening glow. He was more concerned with the city before him, which lacked any aesthetic appeal. Fuzhou had been established as a guard in the tenth year of the Hongwu era, initially as an earthen city. In the fourth year of the Yongle era, a brick city was built, with a perimeter of four li and three hundred paces. The city walls were two zhang and five chi high and one zhang and five chi wide, with no barbican. In terms of grandeur, it fell far short of Jinzhou — the wall height alone was a full zhang lower, which reduced the difficulty of assault by an entire grade.

During the Ming Dynasty, Fuzhou was also a region with access to the sea, and its commerce had once been very prosperous. But after being baptized by the old chieftain's Ten Great Achievements, it was now a desolate wasteland. Only a small portion of the courtyard houses outside the city remained; the rest had become broken walls and ruins. Commerce had been reduced to smuggling with Dengzhou and Guanning. No local shops or trade could be seen, and even the surrounding fertile land was overgrown with weeds. Only along the banks of the Pearl River and the Fuzhou River were there a few military farmsteads. Most of these had been burned by Dengzhou's scout cavalry this year, and the small remainder had yet to ripen. Chen Xin planned to harvest them for horse fodder — not a single grain would be left for these butchers.

The central army's scout cavalry had already bypassed Fuzhou and headed north to burn the wheat fields of the military forts along the route. Though they numbered only a few dozen men, they were equipped with two horses per man this time. If the Jianzhou bandits wanted to stop them, they would have to commit several times the force, which they clearly did not have at present. The more wheat fields the scout cavalry burned, the greater the logistical pressure on the Fuzhou line would be this winter.

On the south gate were written the three characters "Ying'en Men" — Gate of Receiving Grace. Chen Xin could not remember how many times he had encountered a Gate of Receiving Grace; at the very least, Dengzhou's west gate was also called Ying'en Men. Moreover, Fuzhou's north gate was also called Zhenhai Men — Gate of Quelling the Sea. Chen Xin could only conclude that the issue of copyright infringement for Ming city gate names was severe. Fuzhou had no west gate; only its east gate differed from Dengzhou's, being called Mingtong Men — Gate of Bright Passage.

This intelligence had long since been thoroughly scouted by the patrol cavalry. This time, Fuzhou City was small, but that did not mean it would be easier to take than Jinzhou, because the defending troops within the city were numerous. After Fuzhou became the front line, the Later Jin troops had made many preparations, and their defensive equipment was far more abundant than it had been at Jinzhou. What Chen Xin could see included wall-leaning logs, night-fork slings, ramming poles, and the like. It could be assumed that the usual ash pots and fire pots were also present.

On the south and east faces of the city wall, there was one red-barbarian cannon each. The Later Jin had cast three to five red-barbarian cannons in the fourth year of the Chongzhen era, and two more in early fifth year, though their performance was far inferior to those from Guangdong and Fujian, and even worse than the products of the Ministry of Works.

In the first year of the Chongzhen era, the Ministry of Works had produced a six-pounder cannon with an iron body and a copper core — a unique casting technique that led the world. Fujian and Guangdong, benefiting from the spread of technology from the Macau foundry, were stronger than the north in the craftsmanship of bronze and iron cannons. But the overall rot of the Ming army could not be reversed by these cannons alone; instead, they continually played the role of transport captain. In the battles of Dalinghe and Changshan alone, the Later Jin had captured at least seven red-barbarian cannons of various sizes. The ones now on the walls of Fuzhou were captured from Dalinghe, firing seven-jin and nine-jin shot respectively, manned by the gun crews from Dalinghe. It was clear that Huang Taiji had put thought into Fuzhou.

The Later Jin troops still had nearly two thousand true Jurchen warriors in the city, along with two thousand Han-collaborator infantry. There were likely also some bondservants within Fuzhou City. Given the organizational rigor of the Jianzhou bandits, all of them could participate in defending the city. Dengzhou held no real numerical advantage. Only in morale did they surpass the Jianzhou bandits. Yesterday, the Plain White Banner had been terrified out of their wits. Although the number of men who had fled back before and after totaled over a thousand, they no longer had the stomach to leave the city for field battle. Mang Gūltai's Plain Blue Banner had suffered minimal losses yesterday and remained structurally intact; they were currently the most combat-effective unit in Fuzhou.

The staff officers of the Military Orders Department conducted a simulation and concluded that dividing forces to attack three sides would make them vulnerable to harassment by enemy cavalry. The main force was concentrated at the south gate, with only the Guards Second Company Commander's unit placed at the east gate. This would disperse the Jianzhou defenders while using the Pearl River to block enemy cavalry from harassing the east and north gates.

At the south gate, three Company Commander units and the cavalry battalion were concentrated. The unit assigned as the main assault force was the Guards First Company Commander's unit. They were organized in the Mandarin Duck formation, and the assault teams' close-combat ability far exceeded that of pikemen, with greater flexibility in mountain and urban warfare.

The objective of the attack remained the capture of the city gate. Ying'en Men had no barbican, nor did it have the thousand-jin gates found only in cities like Jingshi or Nanjing. Coupled with the low city walls, the difficulty of the assault was not high.

The Ming army's main formation halted at a distance of two li. The Fourth Battalion's square-formation Company Commander unit deployed on the west side to guard against cavalry sent from the north gate circling around the west city to harass. The Dragoon Company Commander unit mounted up on the southwest side of the south gate, coordinating with the cavalry on the left and right.

Over forty shielded carts, pushed by more than four hundred bondservants, advanced toward Ying'en Men. The shielded carts were arranged in two rows, front and rear, with some trench-crossing carts interspersed among them, but there were none of the simple scaling ladders used at Jinzhou.

Chen Xin did not intend to swarm the walls and scale them this time. Last time at Jinzhou, it was because the Jianzhou defenders were weak. This time, the Jianzhou bandits had ample manpower on the walls, and soldiers who climbed up would have difficulty gaining a foothold.

This time, he would use the sapping tactic that the Jianzhou bandits themselves excelled at — and even the labor would be provided by the Jianzhou bandits' own people. Although many of these bondservants were also wretched souls, Chen Xin could now only treat them as enemies. Not beheading them on the spot for their heads was already generous. Last night, because the capture had come late and felling trees was inconvenient, only these forty shielded carts and some trench-crossing carts had been built. Behind the formation, several hundred more bondservants were urgently constructing more.

The shielded carts creaked and groaned as they advanced directly toward the city gate. Scout cavalry from various units roamed at a distance of two hundred paces from the city walls. The shielded carts remained in two layers, front and rear. The Guards First Battalion dispatched a Si of over four hundred men, advancing under the cover of the shielded carts. Between the two layers of shielded carts were two eight-pounder cannons from the Guards Battalion artillery unit, two four-pounder cannons belonging to the Si, and the Guards Battalion's heavy weapons banner unit.

Shortly after entering the two-li range, the red-barbarian cannon on the south gate roared. A nine-jin iron ball flew out, arcing high over the heads of the shielded cart line, and slammed into the ground behind them with a thud. The bondservants pushing the carts cried out in alarm. Two bondservants whose spirits had collapsed turned and fled backward, but after running only a few steps, they were cut down by the Provost soldiers escorting the carts.

The Dengzhou soldiers escorting the carts brandished their blades and shouted furious curses, forcing them to continue advancing. The red-barbarian cannon on the gate tower fired again, this time landing a little closer. The Provost soldiers loudly reminded the bondservants that once they drew near the city wall, the red-barbarian cannon would lose its effectiveness.

In their panic, the bondservants summoned all their strength, and the shielded carts moved faster and faster. At a distance of one li, they were finally struck by the red-barbarian cannon. A shielded cart on the left side of the rear row burst apart like a toy being knocked over. The ferocious kinetic energy of the nine-jin iron ball blasted the bowl-thick tree trunks into countless splinters. The bondservants pushing the cart were torn apart, flesh and blood flying, and hurled several zhang away. Behind them, a small assault team also collapsed in a heap, more than half of them down, their agonized screams rising to the heavens.

The bondservants within the shielded cart formation fell into utter chaos. The Dengzhou soldiers cut down over ten of them in succession before forcing the bondservants to continue advancing. Fortunately, that red-barbarian cannon appeared to be an iron piece; after three shots, it ceased firing. The Later Jin walls then erupted with a succession of cannon blasts, as over ten plumes of thick smoke spewed from the battlements. In total, more than ten Grand General and Second General cannons fired in volley — these cannons likewise came from successive captures.

The Grand General cannons had begun production during the Wanli era, weighing over three hundred jin, and had rendered great service in the war to resist the Japanese and aid Korea. But by the late Ming, they were hopelessly outdated. These cannons, weighing two to three hundred jin, had abysmal accuracy and severely insufficient range and power, managing to overturn only two shielded carts. In terms of firepower, however, Fuzhou this time was a world apart from Jinzhou. Although Chen Xin had received prior intelligence, seeing the incessant flashes of fire on the city walls now still caused him a slight degree of worry.

The remaining shielded carts safely advanced to within one hundred fifty paces. The red-barbarian cannon was a naval cannon with a flat trajectory; once placed atop a city wall, it had a large dead zone. Bows and arrows posed virtually no threat to the shielded carts. Once they closed in beneath the walls and exchanged fire, the Dengzhou firearms would hold the advantage.

After entering the hundred-pace range, loud shouts rang out repeatedly from the Later Jin battlements, and the bird guns of the Ujen Cooha roared in a cacophony. The firearms unit behind the second row of shielded carts immediately began returning fire. The Jianzhou archers on the walls also joined the exchange. Outside the south gate, shot and arrows crisscrossed the air, and white smoke blinded the eyes. Men on both sides were shot down and toppled to the ground, but the front row of Dengzhou shielded carts still pushed forward to the edge of the moat.

Fuzhou's moat was over two zhang wide. Under pressure from the Ming army at Jinzhou, the Jianzhou bandits had organized a dredging this year, and its condition was better than Jinzhou's had been at the time. Water diverted from the Pearl River filled half the trench. The stone bridge over the trench had already been destroyed by the Jianzhou bandits. Crossing directly was impossible, and filling the trench would take at least half a day's work.

The trench-crossing carts from the rear were quickly pushed forward. These hastily constructed devices were also crude, improvised versions, fitted with two wheels and long, thick wooden planks, with earth and stone sacks piled on top. This type of cart could be laid directly across the trench, allowing the shielded carts and soldiers to pass. The earth and stone sacks piled on top were for throwing at archers and filling the trench, so that the soldiers setting up the carts inside the trench would have footing.

Under the threats of the Dengzhou soldiers, the bondservants pushing the carts frantically hurled the earth and stone sacks into the trench. Here, they were only twenty-some paces from the city wall, and the clash between the ranged troops on both sides grew even fiercer. Bondservants filling the trench were constantly struck by arrows and fell to the ground, wailing loudly.

The Later Jin's direct-fire muskets riddled the shielded carts, sending wood splinters flying. Every cart body was bristling with arrows. Dengzhou soldiers kept falling, but the Ming army's covering fire from their flintlocks was also extremely intense. They fired in volleys by squad, quickly surpassing the bird guns in rate of fire. Apart from a decent first volley, the Ujen Cooha's subsequent fire was highly scattered, and the intervals between shots grew longer and longer.

The two four-pounder cannons left in the rear row by the First Battalion fired round after round of canister at both sides of the battlements. The Later Jin soldiers' archery involved a relatively long process of drawing the bow and aiming; often, they would only begin to draw as they reached the crenellations, only to be shot down by the firearms below. The Ming soldiers, on the other hand, could fire quickly and then duck behind the shielded carts. Bows and arrows posed no threat whatsoever to the shielded carts, and the Later Jin archers were at a severe disadvantage in this kind of covered exchange.

The Ming army's two eight-pounder cannons, however, had yet to fire. They halted by the moat directly facing the main gate, sandwiched between three sturdy shielded carts. The gunners all hid behind the shielded carts, their dark muzzles aimed squarely at the gate of Ying'en Men.

The Guards Battalion's artillery unit was authorized four eight-pounder cannons, but the workshops, which had only just begun mass production, could not yet supply each battalion in full. They had to first equip the Guards Battalion and the Fourth Battalion with two each; the First and Second Battalions each had one; and Zheng Sanhu had none at all. Leading the Guards Battalion artillery unit was Gao Yangyi, the thick-nerved gun captain from Shenmi Island. He was currently sitting behind a shielded cart, the two gun crews operating on their own. Gao Yangyi leisurely took out a cigarette, then grabbed the No. 2 gunner's torch and lit it.

The eight-pounder on the left boomed. A six-jin iron ball, by Ming measure, howled forth. The iron-sheathed wooden main gate was pierced as if it were made of paper. The left door leaf shuddered violently, emitting an ugly screeching and groaning sound, and a massive hole was blasted through the gate.

"No. 2 gun, hold your canister — don't fire in a hurry." Gao Yangyi poked his head out for a look, then pulled back and said to the gun crew on the right, "There's no earth and stone fill behind that gate. The Tatars might just rush out. No. 1 gun, keep firing. Smash that gate to pieces for me."

The No. 1 gun on the left fired two more rounds in succession. The gate bar behind was torn into several segments by the second shot. The left door leaf collapsed with a crash, and the right door leaf hung askew, leaning crookedly, revealing the dark gate tunnel. Several corpses lay on the ground, and the backs of over a dozen Later Jin soldiers could be seen fleeing desperately inward. After exiting the gate tunnel, they dodged left and right behind the city wall. Immediately after, many men who looked like bondservants began frantically piling stones in the street.

By this time, the bondservants had thrown all the earth and stone sacks down, and then pushed the trench-crossing carts down. The front ends of the trench-crossing carts all plunged into the trench, splashing up great sheets of water.

The Dengzhou soldiers then forced the bondservants to jump into the trench. Stepping on the earth and stone sacks below, they removed the wheels from the trench-crossing carts, then lifted the wooden planks to set them onto the opposite edge of the trench.

Sheltered by the trench, they were beyond the reach of the bows and bird guns on the city walls. But the Dengzhou Provost soldiers shouted furious curses, urging them to set up the planks as quickly as possible. The terrified bondservants strained to lift the planks, setting them one by one onto the trench edge.

Gao Yangyi had already smoked several cigarettes. Amid the surrounding gunfire, which crackled like firecrackers, he softly hummed a tune, his head leaning against the front shield plate of the cart, which transmitted a constant series of vibrations.

"Shielded carts on both flanks, prepare to cross the trench!" The voice of an infantry officer rang out. Then the Squad Commander of the First Si strode over and said to Gao Yangyi, "Captain Gao, fire a few rounds from your cannon at the base of the walls on both flanks. Loosen it up so those bondservants can dig easier."

Gao Yangyi narrowed his eyes and stood up. "You're not entering through the city gate?"

The Squad Commander shook his head. "The staff officer came by earlier and said not to rush in. Who knows how many Tatars are inside the city gate. From that single gate tunnel, they can attack us from all around, and there are bird guns overhead. We'll sap both sides of the gate first. Once it collapses, we'll have a clear view."

As the Squad Commander spoke, he continued forward. The No. 1 gun immediately swiveled its muzzle and fired a series of direct shots at the base of the nearby wall, blasting the brick and stone there into flying fragments. The walls of Fuzhou were ancient, and in places where maintenance had been poor, the brick and stone had already collapsed on its own, which was highly advantageous for digging.

Moments later, a bugle sounded. The shielded carts on both flanks began crossing the river one by one, each cart followed by a squad of the assault team. The fire from the rear row of firearms grew even more intense. The Ujen Cooha on the battlements screamed in continuous agony, and their return fire gradually weakened.

The shielded carts halted a few paces from the city wall. Several assault carts with triangular roofs pressed directly against the wall. Beneath them, the bondservants, under the watchful guard of the accompanying Provost soldiers, began sapping the base of the wall. A burst of angry shouts came from the battlements. At the positions of a few of the assault carts, there were no rope-controlled weapons like night-fork slings. The Later Jin soldiers quickly hurled down stones in succession, which crashed against the assault carts with loud thuds. The roofs of the assault carts were triangular, which helped deflect the force of stones and wall-leaning logs. The pointed wooden donkeys and hook-ram carts of similar design all shared this configuration.

The bondservants inside the assault carts were extremely tense; they could hear every sound from the roof above. These assault carts had been built hastily under the guidance of the Wendeng army-following craftsmen, and the bondservants had no confidence in them whatsoever. Burying their heads, they dug frantically with iron spades and shovels. After extracting the brick and stone loosened by the cannon fire, they began digging into the rammed earth within. This rammed earth was ancient. The outer portions, eroded by rainwater seeping through the brick seams, were easier to dig, but the inner core had long been compressed to an incredible density. A single shovel strike could only dislodge a small chunk.

On Tudi Ridge, Chen Xin watched the base of the city wall through his telescope. Only after a long while did a basketful of earth come flying out. He could not help but say to Liu Pojun, "During the simulation, didn't they say the digging would be fast?"

"The earth they've hit seems to be the wrong kind. This soil is probably harder. And those bondservants must be terrified right now; they certainly wouldn't be dragging their feet."

"When we get back, have Zhu Daichun draft a training outline for gunpowder demolition. Using bondservants every time is not a long-term solution." Chen Xin raised his telescope again.

Liu Pojun suddenly said, "My lord, when your subordinate was clearing out the Linglong Gold Mine last time, before leaving, I heard Mr. Liu arranging for those miners to use gunpowder for mining, saying it was to expand production. Thinking back on it now, wouldn't using those miners to dig tunnels and blow up city walls be the best approach?"

"Huh." Chen Xin turned his head to look at him, thought for a moment, and smiled. "Exactly right. Miners are old hands at digging tunnels. I heard those miners are pretty good in a brawl too?"

"They fought a big one at Wang'er Mountain. Those captured Personal Battalion soldiers even used three-eyed guns, but over twenty of them were still beaten to death. Those miners really have a ruthless streak. Train them for a few months, and they'd be a formidable force."

Chen Xin nodded. "Mm, good. When we get back, have Zhu Daichun set up an experimental company at the Pingdu base. Transfer some veterans to fill it out, then recruit miners from the gold mine for training. They'll specialize in experimenting with siege techniques and urban warfare tactics. Call it the Combat Engineer Company."

Liu Pojun was long accustomed to the ideas that often popped into Chen Xin's head out of nowhere. He found his own notebook and recorded it. Wang Mafu also noted it down simultaneously, to facilitate follow-up supervision later.

"Also, the captured warhorses can be used to expand the cavalry battalion. Don't send any more newly purchased warhorses from outside to Liaonan. The cavalry section at the Military Academy only has a few dozen horses — it needs to expand. Select those who performed well this time to serve as instructors. And among these bondservants, those who performed well can also be picked out. If an investigation shows they haven't harmed anyone, they can be recruited into the army. Organize some grievance-telling meetings in each unit..."

Before Chen Xin could finish, a burst of battle cries came from the south gate. Liu Pojun and the others stopped writing and hurriedly looked toward the south gate.

From the battlements, heaps of firewood and straw were thrown down, crashing onto the triangular spines of two assault carts, then sliding down to pile up on either side. Someone then risked leaning out and poured down a substance resembling tung oil. Next, several torches were thrown down, and the firewood and straw instantly burst into raging flames. From beneath one assault cart, several human torches rushed out, rolling on the ground and shrieking in agony.

Gao Yangyi paid no heed to the howls beside him, his eyes fixed on the gate tunnel. He reached out and patted the cannon barrel, reminding the two gun captains, "Keep a sharp eye on that gate tunnel. Check your torches."

The two gun captains had just reported back when a horn sounded from the battlements. At the crenellations, many bird-gunners appeared simultaneously and fired a fierce volley at the shielded carts below. Several unprepared Dengzhou musketeers were struck and fell. Some of the stronger Jianzhou bandits hurled ash pots far out, smashing them onto the shielded carts that had crossed the trench. Lime powder splattered everywhere, and several bondservants whose eyes were blinded clutched their faces and rolled on the ground.

Then, from within the gate tunnel, battle cries suddenly rang out, and dense crowds surged forth from both sides, charging toward the outside of the city.

"Number One cannon." Gao Yangyi waited until the tunnel was packed with men, then stepped back and patted the left cannon barrel. "Fire!"

With a thunderous boom, the six-catty iron ball burst from the cannon's mouth amid white smoke, hurtling with terrifying speed into the gate tunnel, tearing everything in its path to shreds. Limbs flew everywhere inside the tunnel; even soldiers not struck by the iron ball were sent sprawling by the flying body parts and clashing blades.

"Damn sight fiercer than a four-pounder." Gao Yangyi muttered under his breath, a hint of excitement on his face. This single shot had smashed the Later Jin troops' spirited sortie into utter disarray. The gate tunnel was littered with dead and wounded, and the screams, amplified by the tunnel's echo, carried far and wide.

Curses in Chinese erupted from inside the gate tunnel, and men began hacking at the soldiers who had halted. The remaining soldiers howled as they charged out of the tunnel. The firearms along the trench fired a volley, felling several more Later Jin soldiers, but those behind still swarmed out.

Gao Yangyi raised his right hand but did not lower it for a long moment. The captain of the Number Two cannon was growing anxious.

"Captain, should we fire or not?"

"Let them rush out a bit more. Once we block the ones behind, the ones in front will have no reinforcements. The killer teams can clean them up easily."

Only after that Later Jin force had charged out more than forty men, and Number One cannon had finished loading canister shot, did Gao Yangyi suddenly slash his hand down. Number Two cannon sprayed one hundred and forty canister balls toward the gate. Stone chips flew everywhere from the gate tunnel and the city wall. The dozen or so men who had just rushed out tumbled to the ground, blood spraying from their bodies.

Then Number One cannon fired a round as well. The ground before the gate tunnel was strewn with dead and wounded Later Jin soldiers. The earth-shattering continuous fire from twenty zhang away shattered the fighting spirit of the Later Jin troops behind them—a terror far greater than the overseer squads. Ignoring their officers' hacking blades, they fled back into the city in another chaotic swarm.

The killer teams burst out from behind the shield carts and engaged the forty-odd Later Jin soldiers ahead. Dengzhou Garrison's seasoned Mandarin Duck Formation tactics grew fiercer the longer they fought. Those Later Jin Han-auxiliary soldiers, lacking any formation, suffered grievous losses. The moment battle was joined, they fell back in continuous defeat, until finally they could endure no more, turned tail, and fled. The Squad Commander let out a great shout, and a banner company that had already crossed the river chased the fleeing enemy's tail straight toward the gate tunnel.

"Aren't we not supposed to enter the city?" Gao Yangyi murmured. The captain of Number Two cannon, who had once served as infantry, looked up and said, "Maybe that force was guarding the gate. If they've routed, charging in after them could breach the city."

Even as they spoke, that banner company had already stepped onto the layers of corpses piled outside the gate tunnel, pursuing the dozen-odd fleeing soldiers into the tunnel. Just as they reached the inner exit, a volley of cannons and firearms fired in unison from both sides of the street. Cannonballs slammed diagonally into the crowd of the killer team, likewise kicking up a bloody gale. The front ranks of Ming soldiers collapsed in swathes. The tremendous roar from behind stunned and disoriented them. A unit of Later Jin archers appeared on the street, firing volley after volley into the gate tunnel.

In an instant, over half the Ming troops were killed or wounded. The survivors fled back in panic.

"That's the sound of Grand General Cannons. The Tatars have dragged them over to block the gate." Gao Yangyi cursed.

He turned his head to look at the base of the wall. Two of the assault carts were ablaze. The remaining two were still digging at the earth when more firewood and oil were poured down from above. The men inside those two carts screamed in terror and fled out. Torches were then thrown down from above, setting them alight as well.

Gao Yangyi sat back down behind the shield cart and said to the two cannon captains, "We're in for a long fight. We'll just keep that city gate sealed. Wonder if they have any more siege equipment."

"They do. Here it comes." The Number Two captain pointed.

Gao Yangyi turned to look. Several more assault carts were advancing, pressing against the base of the wall and beginning to dig holes elsewhere.

(To be continued)