Chapter 102: Climbing Again

Though the bandit casualties were not heavy, panic spread through their ranks. The bandits on the ladders found their weapons cumbersome and tossed them aside one after another, then scrambled down the ladders hand over foot. Some bandits leaped from several meters above the ground, crashing onto those holding the ladders below, and ignoring the curses of the men they landed on, scrambled to their feet and fled.

Because these bandits knew full well that without the cover of archers, the traditional fare was about to be served—the time of rolling stones and lime pots.

Sure enough, just as the bandits on the ladders began to retreat and those who had not yet mounted prepared to turn and run, at a single command, a dense rain of lime pots and rolling stones descended from above like a storm, quickly blanketing the entire area where the roving bandits were attempting to scale the walls.

The sixty or seventy bandits on the dozen-odd ladders, plus the near hundred holding the ladders, and those waiting around the ladders to climb—under this unavoidable onslaught, none escaped death or maiming. Beneath this stretch of wall lay severed limbs and broken arms everywhere, brains and shredded flesh, blood quickly staining the ground red. The wounded who had not yet died wailed for someone to rescue them, but the several hundred bandits scrambling to flee had no thought for their pleas.

Liu Wenxiu, several hundred paces away, carefully observed the city wall, unmoved by the casualties among his men. Mercy does not command troops—his adoptive father had admonished them with these words countless times. If soldiers were lost, recruit more; with money and grain in hand, you could have as many soldiers as you wanted.

Though the number of people hurling rolling stones and lime pots from the wall was large, they were all civilian militiamen and guard station soldiers in red mandarin-duck combat tunics—not a single regular officer in armor and iron helmet was to be seen.

Liu Wenxiu breathed a sigh of relief. The dense gunfire moments ago had startled him, making him think the court's reinforcements had arrived. If regular troops were defending the city, his thousand-odd veterans would be throwing their lives away—and he didn't even know how many regulars there were. If a large force of government troops had come, then Shouzhou could be left for the Dashing King's camp to attack; finding an excuse to flee with Ai Nengqi was the real path.

He turned sideways to Ai Nengqi and said, "Old Fourth, this time do you go up or do I? This time we send in the veterans—those mud-footed peasants are useless, only good for following behind and fighting when the wind is at our backs! If we lose again, I fear morale will break, and those thieving bastards in the Dashing King's camp will laugh at us!"

Ai Nengqi, short and stocky, was usually a man of few words, but he fought fiercely and loved charging into formations, earning him considerable favor from Zhang Xianzhong.

Ai Nengqi was quite displeased at Liu Wenxiu calling him Old Fourth: Clearly I'm the same age as you, so why do you get to call me Old Fourth? Just because you've got a few more tricks up your sleeve than me?

"I'll go up! You lead the troops and be ready to enter the city! I saw men from the Dashing King's camp shifting their position—they're probably waiting to race us into the city! You're clever, so find a way to hold them back!" Ai Nengqi replied without even looking at him.

Liu Wenxiu was accustomed to this attitude of his: When our adoptive father praises your bravery, he means you're lacking in brains. You can't fight with brute strength alone—you have to use your head. The strongest often die first, you know that?

He smiled and said, "Old Fourth, there are fire lances on the wall—from the sound, no more than a hundred. When you scale the wall, don't lead the charge. Wait until the regulars have fired two volleys, then you go up. Fire lances take time to reload—after two volleys they're scrap iron. But be careful—I never expected guard station troops to know fire lances. There might be other surprises, so keep your wits about you!"

Ai Nengqi grunted in acknowledgment. While grateful for Liu Wenxiu's concern, he was inwardly unconvinced: I'm not stupid. I heard the regulars fire two volleys, but there might well be a third. I'll wait for three volleys before charging. When I see our adoptive father, the credit for taking this city will be mine—you can't steal that from me!

In the arrow tower of Shouzhou city, Liu Zhiyuan and the other chief officials of Shouzhou were chatting and laughing. Ever since Huang Degong had led his troops into the city, the knot in their hearts had completely loosened, and their words and manner had regained their former ease and composure.

Huang Degong and several chiliarchs including Wu Qun were carefully observing the roving bandits' formation below the city through the arrow tower's viewing ports and windows. Taking in their numbers, siege weapons and equipment, whether the soldiers were elite, and so on, they would adjust and redeploy their defensive methods based on their conclusions.

Huang Degong had taken full command of the city's defense. Under his arrangements, the civilian militiamen had worked through the night to build thatched shelters to block arrows—and the tactic had indeed worked. The bandits' thousand-odd arrows had posed no threat whatsoever to the defenders. The volley of projectiles after the gunners' two rounds of fire was also a continuous-strike strategy he had calculated and rehearsed.

Not long after the first wave of attack was beaten back, after a bustle of activity in the roving bandits' camp, another squad of bandits began forming up in preparation.

After seeing the roving bandits' deployment through the viewing port, Huang Degong immediately ordered: "Pour water on the thatched shelters! Fill wooden buckets with sand and earth! The bandits may use fire arrows this time!"

A chiliarch acknowledged the order and went to carry it out. Wang Wei volunteered to go summon the civilian militiamen to help, and followed him out of the arrow tower.

Huang Degong continued issuing orders: "Transfer another hundred gunners and two hundred archers here! Place a hundred archers on each side of the wall! Once the bandit archers have loosed their arrows and withdrawn, immediately shoot at the bandits below the wall!"

Another chiliarch received the order and departed.

"Two hundred spearmen, stand ready! After the gunners fire, they fall back! Spearmen advance in a line!"

Wu Qun received the order and left. This was his first time leading troops in a major battle against the roving bandits, and he was eager for the chance to fight in the open field outside the city, to array his formation and face the bandits in direct combat—that would be the true joy of life.

After issuing the string of military orders, Huang Degong walked to a small table, grabbed a teacup, tilted his head back and poured the tea into his mouth. Finding it unsatisfying, he snatched up the teapot beside it and gulped it down noisily.

Liu Zhiyuan and Xu You beside him both secretly sneered: A soldier is a soldier, so crude in his ways! Fine Xinyang Maojian tea drunk like plain water—not a trace of elegance about it!

Huang Degong drained the teapot in one breath, wiped the moisture from his lips with his broad hand, and let out a long, satisfied sigh. "First time I've found tea good to drink! Though it would be even better if it were wine! Haha! You two gentlemen must forgive my manners!"

Liu Zhiyuan smiled and waved his hand: "General Huang is a man of true temperament! I have always been fond of straightforward people—dealing with them is easy and relaxed! Not like certain hypocrites who claim to be steeped in the classics but are actually two-faced! Hehehehe~"

Xu You felt somewhat awkward, sensing that Liu Zhiyuan's words carried a hidden barb. Could it be about last night, when Huang Degong's personal guard had asked to see the prefect and he had curtly sent someone to show the way? Who was so loose-tongued! If I find out who, hmph, I'll make sure you regret it!

His face beaming, he said, "Men of arms should indeed be so bold! Like Lord Liu, I too admire the General's forthrightness and spontaneity! As Lord Liu said, some may hold jinshi degrees, yet within they harbor the pettiness of an old woman—truly contemptible!"

Liu Zhiyuan had earned his jinshi in the fifth year of Tianqi, while he himself was only a juren, having spent money to curry favor with Grand Secretary Zhang Zhifa to obtain the post of Assistant Prefect of a prefecture.

Huang Degong was rough and boisterous, but that didn't mean he was a fool—he could hear the verbal sparring between the two men. He sighed inwardly: With the enemy at the gates, instead of thinking about how to defend the city and repel the foe, they're trading insults. These scholar-officials are all worthless!

He hurriedly changed the subject: "I have already sent my personal guards to greet Governor Chen. Barring any mishap, Governor Chen should arrive with his troops today. The men I sent will brief him thoroughly on the current situation between enemy and ourselves at Shouzhou. Governor Chen is a man of deep foresight—I suspect he may not lead his troops into the city!"

Liu Zhiyuan hastily asked: "General Huang, why do you say that? Why wouldn't Governor Chen enter the city? I have already informed the local officials and gentry to prepare a welcome banquet for Governor Chen!"

Xu You cursed inwardly: Bootlicker! He treats his superiors better than his own father!

Huang Degong was about to answer when one of the guards watching exclaimed loudly: "The bandits are attacking the city!"

Ai Nengqi wore cotton armor inside and a mountain-pattern armor over it, with an eight-plate iron helmet on his head. Holding a wolf-tooth club weighing over ten jin in one hand, he stood beside a ladder, with a dozen-odd personal guards bearing shields and swords protecting him in their midst.

The two hundred archers spread out at slight intervals, with a brazier placed between every two men, the charcoal inside burning fiercely. The arrowheads were wrapped in cotton cloth soaked in grease. At the command, the archers thrust their long arrows into the braziers to ignite them, and two hundred longbows angled toward the city wall.

At a whistle, a rain of arrows trailing black smoke arced toward the wall, while the veteran bandits of the Xi'an camp swiftly mounted the ladders and began to climb. After three volleys of fire arrows, the archers switched to ordinary arrows and continued to blanket the wall—one purpose to kill, the other to suppress.

Those attacking this time were all veterans of the Xi'an camp who had fought dozens of battles large and small, rich in battlefield experience. Many had taken part in numerous assaults that destroyed prefectures and counties. They climbed steadily and swiftly—by the time the archers had loosed three volleys of fire arrows, many had already reached the top, and with a push of waist and legs, they stood upon the crenellations.

The veterans already knew there were fire lances on the wall. Standing at the crenellations, they swept a quick glance over the situation on the ramparts, then immediately leaped down from the battlements to make room for the soldiers behind them to land.

They knew the power of the regulars' fire lances, but they also knew their weakness: accuracy was pure luck, and reloading after firing was extremely slow.

The first rank of veterans scaling the wall all carried wooden shields covered in oxhide, hoping to block the incoming shot. Though they didn't know how effective it would be, having something to hide behind was more reassuring than holding only a weapon.

A short blast of the trumpet sounded, and the bandits instinctively raised their shields before their chests. Amid a deafening roar, muzzle flashes burst forth, and white gunsmoke shrouded this stretch of the wall.

The bandits shielding themselves from the shot felt a tremendous force slam into their arms. The bullets, after smashing through the shields, slowed only slightly before continuing to tumble into the bandits' bodies.

The shot from these fire lances was not the conical bullet of modern times. Modern conical bullets fly great distances, and after penetrating a body they create small wound channels with little blood loss.

These bullets were relatively soft lead balls. After entering the body they did not pass through, but tumbled irregularly inside, churning the victim's internal organs into pulp.

Screams of agony rang across the wall. Some bandits took shots to the head and fell stiffly backward without even a grunt, knocked over by the immense impact. Their heads split like smashed watermelons, red blood mixed with white brains spilling across the ground.

The first batch of veterans lay dead or wounded on the ground. Taking advantage of the gunsmoke obscuring vision, the second batch of veterans leaped onto the wall, then charged forward with weapons in hand. They knew there were many fire lances on the wall and wanted to close to melee range during the gap while the gunners repositioned, while the smoke hindered the gunners' sight. Once it came to close combat, a fire lance was worth less than an iron rod—the gunners would face nothing but slaughter.

Another trumpet blast sounded, and the second volley of fire lances thundered out. As expected, the second batch of bandits fell amid screams. The Platoon Officer commanding the volley stood not far away, level with the crenellations, watching the scaling bandits with perfect clarity.

The smoke on the wall was so thick that figures were invisible a few paces away. The third batch of bandits leaped up one after another. Facing the wall shrouded in dense gunsmoke, the bandits were secretly delighted—after landing, they quickly dispersed to both sides, preparing to avoid any further fire lance volleys.

Ai Nengqi was in the fifth wave of attackers, waiting for the regulars' third volley.

Sure enough, the third volley of fire lances rang out. Before the screams on the wall had even finished, Ai Nengqi shoved hard, pushing the personal guard in front of him up onto the crenellations, and the fourth wave of bandits surged onto the wall.

There was even a fourth volley!

When the gunfire sounded again, Ai Nengqi couldn't help feeling secretly fortunate. Thank goodness I kept my wits about me, worried the regulars might have fire lances they hadn't revealed. If I'd gone up in the fourth wave, my own rough voice would surely have been among those screams.

What if there's a fifth volley?!

A thought flashed through his mind like lightning.

Instinct told him: don't go up! This instinct came from dozens of battlefield clashes and had saved his life several times! He swiftly withdrew his left leg that was about to step onto the wall, crouched lower, and stopped at the top of the ladder.

The fifth volley!

As the fifth volley of gunfire rang out, Ai Nengqi suddenly understood. Regular troops! These must be elite regular troops! What nonsense—guard station soldiers couldn't possibly have this many fire lances! Run! Run now!

When Liu Wenxiu heard the fourth volley of gunfire, his face changed drastically! The defenders were definitely government troops! Shouzhou couldn't be taken! Fourth Brother was in danger!

He roared at the top of his lungs: "Sound the horn! Sound the horn! Withdraw! Withdraw!"

The long-drawn horn call and the fifth volley of gunfire sounded at the same time. Liu Wenxiu stared at the city wall in despair—Fourth Brother was dead! That simple-minded Fourth Brother whom he was always lecturing was gone!

The veteran bandits preparing to scale the walls were already terrified to the bone. This was no longer an assault on the city—this was walking to their own deaths! Volley after volley of gunfire accompanied by the screams of their dying comrades made every man's heart sink into an icy abyss.

The moment the horn sounded, the bandits on the ladders desperately turned and scrambled back down, many jumping off without a second thought. Those who had not yet mounted the ladders turned and fled at a dead run—the rolling stones were far too deadly. Fortunately, once they got more than a dozen paces from the base of the wall, they were out of range of the rolling stones.

But this time there were no rolling stones—what brought them down were three-edged long arrows. The government troops loosed three volleys of two hundred arrows each, killing nearly two hundred bandits before stopping. By then most of the bandits had already fled beyond bow range, and further shooting would only be a matter of luck.

Liu Wenxiu sat on his horse, staring blankly at the city wall. His most beloved brother—he probably wouldn't even be able to see the body.

"Wenxiu! Let's go! Shouzhou can't be taken!"

A familiar gruff voice suddenly rang out. Liu Wenxiu was startled for a moment, then quickly snapped back to his senses. Before him was a plain, honest-looking face—who else could it be but Ai Nengqi?

Liu Wenxiu leaped down from his horse in one bound, threw his arms around Ai Nengqi, and shouted with joy.