Chapter 301: Flying Capture of Hengshan County

Hengshan County.

Ye Renrong yawned, blew out the oil lamp, and went to sleep in his clothes.

Lying on the bed, he felt uneasy in his heart.

After withdrawing from the camp, he had moved his army into Hengshan County.

In his view, this county seat, being the closest to Feihu Pass, would surely become the first city Yan Wang sought to conquer.

Therefore, after arriving here, he had dug trenches along the city walls.

He had prepared Fire Oil, falling stones, and other such items on the city walls.

He had even rounded up the Great Song commoners within the city, preparing to send them onto the city walls as human shields on the day of battle.

Yet, after waiting for half a month, there had been no movement at all from Feihu Pass.

Every time the Cavalry sent out to scout returned, they reported the same result: there was no result.

"What exactly is this Yan Wang thinking?" Ye Renrong muttered before falling asleep.

He had contacted Tuoba Wuji in Jincheng.

The order Tuoba Wuji gave him remained to hold the city in Hengshan County and fight a battle against Yan Wang's troops.

Once the battle began, he would dispatch Light Cavalry to cut off the supply lines of Yan Wang's soldiers.

Then, he would send the Iron Harrier and Infantry to reinforce, waiting for an opportunity to strike Yan Wang's soldiers head-on.

Thinking this, he fell into a deep sleep, deciding to send out Cavalry again tomorrow to continue scouting.

"Your Highness, we have crossed the mountain path," Chang Wei, who was following beside Zhao Xu, said suddenly after half an hour.

Soldiers in front had come through the darkness to find him and report the situation of the road ahead.

They had discovered wheat fields ahead, and such wheat fields would not appear on the mountains.

Without a doubt, they had arrived on the plains of Jinzhou.

Zhao Xu nodded. "Continue the march. Reach Hengshan County before daybreak and launch an attack on Hengshan County before dawn to catch them off guard."

"Yes,

Your Highness," Chang Wei said.

After walking for another hour, it was estimated to be midnight.

Zhao Xu ordered the soldiers to eat.

Upon receiving the order, the soldiers took Roasted Flour from the bags on their bodies, pressed it into their mouths, and picked up water bags to wash it down.

Afterward, they tied the bags back up.

However, they did not stop their march, but ate while walking.

Two more hours passed, and soldiers scouting in front came to report that Hengshan City was less than five miles away from them.

At this time, the sky was still pitch black.

But there was not much time left before dawn.

Chang Wei immediately had the soldiers slow their marching speed, tread lightly, and notified the generals to surround Hengshan County on three sides.

They would lay an ambush on the side left open.

The scouting Cavalry had explored the terrain here very clearly.

He knew how to make the deployment.

The order was passed down, and the Wangfu Army quietly approached Hengshan County, but to avoid being discovered,

they kept a distance of about five hundred meters from Hengshan City while marching.

When they launched the attack, they would quickly cross this five-hundred-meter distance to reach the foot of Hengshan City.

At this moment, Xiliang soldiers holding torches walked along the top of Hengshan City from time to time.

This could be seen clearly through the Telescope.

However, these Xiliang soldiers were also sluggish at this time.

After all, it had been calm for half a month; anyone would lower their guard, especially when it was still dark.

Time passed bit by bit.

When a faint bit of brightness appeared in the eastern sky,

Chang Wei immediately ordered the soldiers to advance.

The Artillerymen also pushed the Artillery toward Hengshan County.

The night was still dark, but with the naked eye, one could see Hengshan County lying on the earth like a giant black beast.

And just as the Wangfu Army was marching, the faint light grew brighter, like the dimness of four or five o'clock in winter.

Finally, at this moment, the Xiliang soldiers on the top of Hengshan City discovered the Wangfu Army.

A sharp ox-horn bugle sounded on the city wall.

But it was already too late; the roar of the Artillery resounded through the sky.

Borrowing the light, the Artillerymen could see where the city gate was.

Their first target was to bombard the city gate.

Under the bombardment of dozens of Cannonballs, the east gate of Hengshan County was instantly shattered and collapsed with a boom.

"Kill!"

Seeing the city gate collapse, Chang Wei gave the order to attack.

The Xiliang soldiers were still in deep sleep; the opportunity must not be missed.

If they waited for them to be fully prepared, the time to take the city would be greatly extended.

The surprise effect of the night march would also be wasted.

This would be his dereliction of duty.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

While the East Gate was being bombarded, the sounds of artillery from the Nanmen and the West Gate rang out simultaneously; only the North Gate remained quiet.

This was the trap Zhao Xu had left for the Xiliang Cavalry.

"Kill!"

The sounds of killing erupted at the East Gate, and the same sounds of killing rose up at the Nanmen and the West Gate.

The soldiers rushed toward the city gates, occupied the gate entrances, and immediately charged toward the city walls.

Because the number of Xiliang Cavalry guarding at night was not large.

Numerous Wangfu Army soldiers surged onto the city walls; the Xiliang Cavalry were no match at all and were slaughtered completely within a very short time.

The sky was growing brighter.

Although there was still a hazy veil of darkness in Zhao Xu's field of vision.

He could clearly see the Wangfu Army soldiers fighting on the city walls.

The Artillerymen were not idle either.

The Field Artillery in the Yan King Army came in three calibers, firing Twelve-pounders, Eight-Jin Shells, and Six-pounders respectively.

The weight of the Artillery varied by caliber.

Among them, the Six-pound Field Gun weighed only two hundred jin and was very agile.

The Artillerymen harnessed the Six-pound Field Guns to horses and flew toward the city walls, establishing artillery positions at the city gate entrances.

At the same time, some Artillerymen followed, carrying ammunition.

Upon reaching the city gate entrances, they loaded the Artillery with Grape Shot.

The smaller the caliber of the Artillery, the smaller the pellets of the Grape Shot.

The Grape Shot for the Six-pounder was only the size of a Flintlock Lead Bullet.

However, if fired, it still possessed immense lethality.

At the same time.

The moment the artillery fire began, Ye Renrong almost jumped out of bed.

He did not even have time to put on his clothes before running out of the courtyard.

A Xiliang Cavalryman rode over from the direction of the city gate, his expression panicked.

"Deputy Commander, the Yan King Army has arrived at the foot of the city; the East, West, and South gates and the city walls have all been occupied by them," the cavalryman said urgently.

Upon hearing this, Ye Renrong almost fainted.

Aside from terror, his mind was filled with infinite bewilderment.

How did they sneak to the foot of Hengshan City?

"Night march!" The three words jumped out from his mind.

"Impossible, it is impossible for them to reach Hengshan County in one night."

But the situation left him no time to think too much; he immediately ordered the cavalryman to notify the Xiliang generals in the county camp to lead their troops to retake the city walls.

But just as the cavalryman left, he saw Wangfu Army soldiers wearing Silver Armor charging over like fierce demons, only three or four hundred meters away.

Seeing the Yan King Army soldiers surging over like a tide.

Ye Renrong climbed onto his Warhorse and headed toward the north of the city.

He knew that Hengshan County could no longer be held.

If he was like this, the Xiliang soldiers and generals in the camp would only be more chaotic.

Such chaos made it impossible for them to effectively resist the Yan King Army.

Just as he thought, the Xiliang soldiers in the camp were completely plunged into chaos at this moment.

They were startled from their dreams and hurriedly put on their clothes.

Some soldiers put on others' clothes and picked up others' swords.

And the Xiliang soldiers who could not find their clothes spun around in anxiety.

They rushed out of the barracks, only to see the barracks in a complete mess.

The soldiers were crowded together, and they could not see their generals at all.

Or the generals were not their superiors.

Just as they were caught in a state where soldiers could not find their generals and generals could not find their soldiers.

The Yan King Army soldiers arrived to kill!