Chapter 569: Death Struggle

The round sun hanging on the willow tips slowly rose to the zenith, then sank westward, finally disappearing into the earth.

When the sky turned completely dark, the atmosphere in Ning City became solemn.

Qin Shan, Guan Tong, and other officers patrolled on horseback, having soldiers place caltrops, sandbags, and other items along the main streets and alleys.

He already had the worst-case scenario in mind; if the Northern Di soldiers breached the city, the Prince's Personal Army would have to engage in a brutal street battle with the Northern Di.

Immediately afterward, they each returned to the sections of the city wall they were guarding, awaiting the night raid the Northern Di might launch.

Time passed, and by the third watch, the sound of bells ringing suddenly erupted, very clear in the silent night.

Qin Shan looked toward the boundless darkness and shouted, "Prepare for battle!"

As soon as his order was given, thousands of burning arrows were shot from within the city, flying toward the outside.

These were the Northern Di bows and arrows he had collected inside Ning City.

Since the sole purpose of the arrows was illumination, accuracy was not required.

Therefore, he had arranged for a thousand soldiers to specialize in shooting arrows outside the city.

"General Mo's method has come in handy after all," Qin Shan broke into a cold sweat.

When Chang Wei joined them in Leting County, he had explained in detail the methods Mo Yu used to deal with Northern Di night raids.

Although they did not want to fight night battles with the Northern Di, the Northern Di clearly understood that night battles could diminish the advantage of their firearms.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

"Bang, bang, bang..."

The burning arrows fell from the sky, illuminating patches of the area.

The artillerymen and musketeers on the city wall immediately poured cannonballs and bullets over.

The screams of Northern Di soldiers rang out continuously in the darkness.

Yet even so, the burning arrows still could not illuminate the entire battlefield.

Some Northern Di soldiers were still hiding in the darkness, approaching the city wall.

"Swish, swish, swish..."

Before long,

a sound of arrows piercing the air rang out.

This time, it was not the arrows of the Prince's Personal Army, but the hidden arrows of the Northern Di.

Soldiers of the Prince's Personal Army were immediately struck and wounded.

Seeing this scene, Qin Shan gritted his teeth.

Yanguan was able to remain calm and steady during Northern Di night raids because Yanguan City had high walls and thick ramparts, and the Northern Di could only attack from one side.

But now, with the Northern Di surrounding the city on all four sides, the situation was much worse than at Yanguan, and the soldiers' sacrifices would be greater.

This was something he had to endure.

However, although a small number of Northern Di soldiers slipped through the net and reached within a hundred meters of the city wall,

these soldiers could only serve to harass and could not pose a massive threat to the soldiers on the wall.

Moreover, the burning arrows kept falling.

They might dodge once or twice, but it was hard to dodge three or four times.

Once they were exposed, they were immediately riddled with holes by the musketeers.

Northern Di soldiers who reached the foot of the wall and attempted to set up Scaling Ladders were also given special attention.

The rifled muskets fired continuously at the base of the Scaling Ladders, and the Northern Di soldiers died at the foot of the wall before they could climb up.

Occasionally, three or five Northern Di soldiers would climb onto the city wall.

The Wangfu Army soldiers would then use their bayonets to stab them off the Scaling Ladders.

As the battle reached a stalemate, in the Northern Di camp, Mule Hongzhen looked toward the top of Ning City, a cold sneer appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Just as he had expected, the dark night provided the best camouflage for the Northern Di soldiers.

Although their attacks still could not breach the city wall,

quite a few soldiers were finally able to get close to the wall.

For him, this was enough.

At this moment, in front of him, twelve squads of soldiers were lined up, each soldier facing a huge Gunpowder Barrel.

As long as they could deliver these Gunpowder Barrels to the foot of the city wall, they could blow the wall to pieces.

"Warriors of the Northern Di, victory is in your hands. Go, destroy the walls of Yanguan." Mule Hongzhen pointed toward Ning City.

"Yes, Khan," the twelve squads of Northern Di soldiers shouted in unison.

Lifting the Gunpowder Barrels, they disappeared into the dark night.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

"Bang, bang, bang..."

The battle continued, and the Explosive Shells fired by the mortars exploded in the air, illuminating the earth like lightning from time to time.

A sharp-eyed soldier immediately spotted the Northern Di soldiers advancing on the battlefield while carrying wooden barrels.

"General, there is a situation!" the soldier pointed toward the northeast.

Qin Shan looked over upon hearing this, but all he saw were the flickering burning arrows on the ground and figures flashing past the firelight.

"What is going on!" Qin Shan asked.

"There is a squad of soldiers carrying wooden barrels; there might be gunpowder inside," the soldier said urgently.

Upon hearing this, a cold sweat broke out on Qin Shan's back.

But the battlefield was like the shadows of trees under moonlight, mottled and patchy.

Some places were bright, while others were very dim.

Just at this moment, the mortars on the east side of the city wall suddenly fired in a dense barrage, and one cannonball after another lit up the night sky.

He looked again and sure enough discovered a squad of Northern Di soldiers carrying wooden barrels.

Just as he was about to order the soldiers to fire, another burst of gunfire rang out; clearly, other soldiers had acted first.

Almost in an instant, with a loud "Boom—", a massive ball of flame erupted on the battlefield.

Amidst the flames, severed limbs seemed to be flying about, and many Northern Di soldiers were sent flying directly by the shockwave of the explosion.

Upon seeing this, Qin Shan did not feel a shred of joy; instead, he was deeply worried.

The worst had happened after all: the Northern Di were preparing to blow up the city wall.

"Ignite the fire trenches below the city," Qin Shan ordered.

This was to create trouble for the Northern Di attacking the city.

Before the Northern Di soldiers arrived, he had ordered his soldiers to dig a circle of trenches around the city.

These trenches could not only slow down the enemy's offensive speed, but they also had a layer of Fire Oil poured into them.

As soon as the Fire Oil was ignited, it would form a wall of flame.

However, he did not want to use this wall of fire unless it was a critical moment.

Because once the Fire Oil burned out, these trenches would just be trenches, and they would no longer be able to provide help for the night battle.

Just as he was thinking this, there were suddenly two more consecutive, massive explosions.

Qin Shan's brow furrowed even deeper; clearly, the Northern Di had prepared more than one Gunpowder Barrel.

"Whoosh..." Just then, a burning Arrow flew toward the trench.

A spark immediately ignited the Fire Oil, and the wall of fire began to spread from the North Gate to both sides, gradually surrounding the entire Ning City.

The Wangfu Army soldiers immediately aimed their gun barrels at the wall of fire.

If the Northern Di soldiers wanted to reach the base of the city wall, they had to pass through the wall of fire.

In doing so, they would be exposed.

"Boom, boom."

There were two more explosions.

However, this time the explosions did not come from the North Gate, but from the West Gate.

In the firelight, he saw bricks and stones tumbling through the air.

Qin Shan's expression changed instantly; this Gunpowder Barrel had exploded under the city wall.

He feared the city wall at the West Gate had suffered heavy damage.

"Anda!"

Sure enough, after the explosion, the roars of Northern Di soldiers rang out from the West Gate.

"Guan Tong, you must hold on for me," Qin Shan said fiercely.

This was only the first day; if Ning City were lost just like this, he, Qin Shan, would have no choice but to commit suicide to atone for his failure.

"Immediately dispatch two thousand soldiers to support the West Gate; no matter the cost, the breach must be plugged," Qin Shan ordered four Colonels.

Acknowledging the order, the Colonels immediately led their troops away.

When they arrived at the West City, they discovered that a section one hundred meters south of the West Gate had collapsed.

Northern Di soldiers were continuously climbing over the city wall and pouring into Ning City.