Chapter 96: Scheming Minds

After two days of preparation, Zhang Xianzhong, under repeated urgings from Gao Yingxiang, finally led ten thousand soldiers to appear beneath the walls of Shouzhou.

During this time, Gao Yingxiang did not go back on his word—he quickly sent over a batch of swords, spears, and arrows. The quantity was considerable, but the quality left much to be desired. Many spearheads were already rusted, and it was doubtful they could even pierce a person's body. Picking up a long blade and giving it a slight swing, the handle separated directly from the blade. The arrows were also ordinary long arrows with flat heads—such arrows had poor stability, short range, and far less killing power than three-edged arrows.

Sun Kewang and the others all burst into curses, while Zhang Xianzhong wore an expression of having expected this all along. Though he had over fifty thousand men under his command, many of them were wielding farming tools like clubs and hoes as weapons. Now that they had proper arms, wasn't that better than clubs?

So he ordered that the usable swords and spears be picked out and distributed, replacing those farming tools. Holding farming implements as weapons always gave one a strange feeling.

But in his heart, Zhang Xianzhong held even more contempt for Gao Yingxiang's ways: with such petty-mindedness, you, Gao Yingxiang, will never amount to anything!

Thereupon, Zhang Xianzhong used the pretext of building siege equipment and drilling the soldiers in how to attack the city to delay yet another day, until Gao Yingxiang sent his younger brother Gao Ying'en to personally urge him on, and only then did he reluctantly muster his troops and march out of camp to begin preparations for the assault.

So why was Zhang Xianzhong delaying the attack on the city? Could it be that he had a sudden burst of kindness and couldn't bear to see the people suffer?

Absolutely not! When had he, Zhang Xianzhong, ever treated people as human beings? In his eyes, aside from his own adopted sons, everyone else was no different from livestock—all could be killed! Whether male or female, young or old!

The government cavalry had been trailing behind them for over half a month. Aside from occasionally charging up to harass and intimidate them, they made no other moves. Gao Yingxiang had sent five thousand cavalry to bring up the rear, both to drive them along and to find an opportunity to deal a heavy blow to this force of government troops. But the government cavalry were cunning—whenever there were signs of Gao Yingxiang's main cavalry force massing, they turned and fled, only to stick to them again once they sensed safety. They did not launch desperate, life-risking charges, but simply kept hanging far behind them. What did this indicate? It indicated that the government cavalry were waiting for someone! Waiting for whom? Naturally, for a large force of elite government infantry! Once the infantry arrived, that would be when the government forces launched their attack!

Barring the unexpected, the one leading the government infantry in pursuit would be Gao Yingxiang's old acquaintance—Lu Xiangsheng!

Though he had never personally led his troops against Lu Xiangsheng, Zhang Xianzhong had observed from afar the battles between the Tianxiong Army and Gao Yingxiang.

This government force was utterly different from the government troops in Zhang Xianzhong's memory. They had clear orders, were brave and skilled in battle, advanced and retreated with discipline—they were absolutely an elite division.

Zhang Xianzhong had secretly compared them: he claimed fifty thousand men, but those who could truly fight numbered only a few thousand. Against this well-equipped, valiant, and resolute government army, the outcome would be quite miserable.

Zhang Xianzhong was waiting for Lu Xiangsheng's arrival!

Only Lu Xiangsheng's Tianxiong Army could finish off Gao Yingxiang—even if they couldn't destroy him, they would severely wound him! Thinking of Gao Yingxiang fleeing for his life like a stray dog, Zhang Xianzhong felt as delighted as if he had drunk fine wine. And as for whether Lu Xiangsheng could defeat Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong had not the slightest doubt—Gao Yingxiang had no other recourse than relying on his cavalry to run away.

Lu Xiangsheng would either come from the south or from the southeast—never from the west or north. And by now, Zhang Xianzhong had already seized the position for attacking the city, which meant Gao Yingxiang was shielding his back.

As long as Lu Xiangsheng arrived and launched his attack, Gao Yingxiang would have no choice but to lead his troops to meet him. Zhang Xianzhong would then immediately send his elite forces to assault the city. The guard station troops defending it could not possibly hold them off, and Shouzhou would soon fall. Seizing the window while Lu Xiangsheng and Gao Yingxiang were locked in an indecisive struggle, the Xi'an camp would swiftly pillage the city, amass a large quantity of money and grain in a short time, then exit through Shouzhou's east gate and dispatch a detachment straight for Fengyang. Whether Gao Yingxiang liked it or not, he could only help hold off Lu Xiangsheng's attack.

But Zhang Xianzhong himself would not go to Fengyang. After Lu Xiangsheng defeated Gao Yingxiang, he would immediately head to Fengyang—protecting the safety of the imperial mausoleum was the most important thing. Zhang Xianzhong was deeply convinced of this, for he knew what the civil and military officials of the Great Ming valued most.

Zhang Xianzhong would instead lead the bulk of his forces around from the north of Shouzhou, then slaughter his way southwest, heading straight for Huguang. The towering mountains and deep valleys there were the most suitable place to recuperate and drill troops. Moreover, the mountainous terrain directly hampered cavalry mobility—his greatest fear was the government's mounted forces, and his ragtag rabble could not withstand a charge by a large body of cavalry.

Once he reached the Huguang region, he would be far away from nearly all the government troops that could actually fight. As long as he developed in peace, relying on his own abilities and those of his adopted sons, within a few years he would forge an elite force capable of contending with the government army. By then, with money, grain, and soldiers, where could he not go?

What he was doing now was simply buying time—he absolutely could not break Shouzhou immediately. Once the city fell, Gao Yingxiang would turn hostile.

At Zhang Xianzhong's command, over a thousand soldiers—who were more like refugees than bandits—gradually approached the city wall under the shouts of some minor leaders.

The moat had long since run dry due to drought, saving the bandits the trouble of filling it in. Soon, the thousand-plus reached a spot several dozen paces from the city wall.

"Ladder carriers, to the front! Set the ladders against the wall!"

A minor leader bringing up the rear shouted loudly.

There were five ladders in total, each carried by seven or eight men. Dozens of bandits, seeing no movement at all on the city wall, plucked up their courage and jogged forward to lean the ladders against the wall. Though these were not the proper scaling ladders with iron hooks on the front that could catch on the crenellations, their length was sufficient—once a climber reached the top, a single step would carry him onto the wall.

The bandits who had set up the ladders swarmed back like a hive of bees. A minor leader, furious, drew his blade and cursed: "Leave men to hold the ladders! Get back there! Whoever comes back first, I'll chop him down!"

The dozens of bandits looked at the gleaming blade in his hand, exchanged glances, and could only slink back to the ladders. Using both hands and feet, they steadied the ladders so that the bandits climbing up would not have them topple over.

"First squad, go!"

Another shout rang out. Over two hundred bandits armed with swords and spears split into several groups, looking up at the city wall as they approached the ladders.

Still there was no movement atop the wall, as if the government troops defending the city had all fled, letting the bandits climb the ladders unchallenged.

The bandits who mounted the ladders began to climb with pounding hearts. Those at the front were chosen for their height and build—one hand gripping a blade, the other arm bound with a round shield, so they could use their hand to hold the ladder and maintain balance.

After climbing a few rungs, the leading bandits saw there was still no movement on the wall and secretly wondered—could the government troops have all run away? Their courage swelled, and they began climbing faster with both hands and feet, the bandits behind them ascending one after another up the ladders.

Just as the first bandit on each of the five ladders had climbed past the halfway point, a sudden gong rang out from the city wall. Several government soldier figures appeared at the crenellations, and immediately after, basin-sized rolling stones came crashing down.

Because the bandits had no archers providing cover, the government soldiers hurling the stones could aim directly at the men on the ladders and drop them down—their accuracy rate was a perfect one hundred percent.

Several cries of agony rang out. Every stone struck precisely the bandit at the front of each ladder. Some hit the bandits in the head—their skulls split open and their bodies tumbled down out of control. Others struck the bandits in the body; the tremendous impact snapped bones and tore sinews, sending the stricken men rolling down and knocking over the string of bandits behind them, carrying them all down together.

"Lime pots!"

Another shout came from the wall, and lime pots rained down from above, landing among the crowd of men who had been stunned senseless by the sudden assault.

The coarse earthenware pots were filled with quicklime. As they hit the ground and shattered, the lime powder instantly scattered everywhere. Many bandits had no time to close their eyes, and the powder went straight into them—their tender eyeballs were seared with searing pain. The bandits threw down their weapons and screamed, rubbing their eyes with their hands, which only increased the contact between the lime and the inside of their eyes. The piercing pain and the terror of suddenly losing their sight sent the bandits running wildly about in panic. The lime powder, carried by their rapid breathing into their windpipes and lungs, also caused tremendous damage to those two organs.

"Rolling stones!"

At the command, stone after stone came crashing down from above. Many bandits who were rolling on the ground, wailing and screaming, were instantly smashed into a bloody pulp and stopped breathing—which could also be said to have granted them release.

In a matter of moments, of the two hundred-plus bandits, aside from the few quick-witted ones who turned and fled, nearly all were crushed to death by the stones. This was because the bandits were far too concentrated—the vast majority had clustered around the ladders. The government troops on the wall didn't even need to aim; a single stone coming down could knock over one or two bandits. Combined with the lime pots preventing the bandits from retreating quickly, this led to the massive casualties. Of the force of over two hundred, only a few dozen managed to escape back.