Chapter 46

Late at night, several bonfires on the walls of Pingling City had burned out; although it was a summer night, in the overcast rain there still lingered a chill that seeped into the bones.

Entities: Pingling City. Also maybe "summer night" not a name. So include Pingling City.

Several squads of patrol soldiers changing guard walked back and forth holding torches, while some soldiers behind the battlements were secretly squinting and taking a brief rest.

No new named entities.

"Du" (sound effect). No.

"Du" (sound effect). Same.

Suddenly, several mournful horn blasts came from high above, and immediately the soldiers on the watchtower shouted.

No.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Quickly go report to the general..."

Before his words even finished, that soldier was struck down by an arrow; the soldiers on the walls sprang up to look, and in an instant flames rose all around the city.

No.

Only then was seen below the city, Yan Liang holding a steel bow, personally shooting down that soldier at a distance of a hundred meters; he solemnly lowered his bow, and the nearby bodyguards and deputy general all cheered.

Entities: Yan Liang. Also "personal troops" generic, "deputy general" generic. So Yan Liang.

Yan Liang then said.

Yan Liang again.

Still discovered, men, prepare to attack the city; after taking Pingling City, the whole Jinan commandery will have no defensible positions. Jizhou lads, kill!!!

Two days ago, to increase Jinan commandery's defensive strength, Liu Bei specially ordered Zhang Liao to lead the Molin army's heavy cavalry into garrison in Jinan commandery; although Zhang Tou's martial value is high, in commanding troops he cannot compare to Zhang Liao, so Zhang Liao is currently the main commander in Pingling City.

At this moment Zhang Liao reacted swiftly, immediately ordering the Molin army's heavy cavalry to stand by inside the city gate, and then he directed the city-defense soldiers to act.

The Jizhou army's two thousand-man detachments lifted Cloud Ladders and pushed battering rams slowly approaching the city base, while Zhang Liao had already ascended the city tower at this moment; firelight reflected his resolute gaze, and Zhang Tou, wielding an iron spear and clad in black armor, appeared behind him at some point.

Zhang Liao drew his side sword and loudly ordered:

Archers, form two rows, take turns shooting arrows for me!

Rolling stones and logs ready! When the enemy troops draw near, smash them down hard for me!

Hundreds of archers behind the battlements formed two rows; the first squad had their bows fully drawn, awaiting Zhang Liao's command, while the Jizhou army below had already advanced within a hundred paces. Seeing this, Zhang Liao fiercely swung his sword and said:

Release arrows; after one squad finishes shooting, they retreat, the second squad steps up, taking turns to shoot.

The Xuzhou troops with bows fully drawn could no longer hold back, loosing sharp arrows at the enemy below; a torrent of arrows rained down, causing the Jizhou army to lose over a hundred men in an instant, the frontline Jizhou soldiers collapsing one after another, and even dozens showed signs of hesitation and retreat.

In the Jizhou army, a detachment leader officer loudly rebuked:

Shield bearers, raise your shields and charge; whoever dares to retreat, I'll cut him down with one blow!

In the Jizhou army formation, hundreds of sword-and-shield troops rushed forward, placing their shields on the sides of the battering ram and Cloud Ladder cart; the remaining shield bearers charged to the front line, forming a shield wall to protect this force as it advanced.

The Xuzhou army's second volley of arrows immediately poured down like a deluge; despite shield protection, many soldiers in the formation kept falling, but under the officer's whip and command, these troops suddenly launched a small charge, rushing swiftly toward the gate.

Zhang Liao said to Zhang Tou beside him:

I originally thought Yan Liang was just a brute, but now I see his troops are orderly and disciplined, daring to advance in crisis; it appears the Ye army is quite strict as well!

Zhang Tou nodded, then requested permission from Zhang Liao:

General Wenyuan, why don't I lead the cavalry out to cut them down first, then we can talk!

Zhang Liao waved his hand, gazing deeply at Yan Liang under the commander's banner in the distance.

General, don't be anxious; although Yan Liang's forces outnumber ours, at this moment they have no advantage in besieging the city; our city has ample grain and fodder, so it is actually Yan Liang who would rather we come out to fight; we promised the lord to hold for one month, and now sallying out to battle is still premature.

Zhang Tou could only suppress his urge, after all Liu Bei had indeed instructed that the defense of Jinan commandery now has Zhang Liao as the chief commander.

Men, use the tiger‑crouching cannon to smash them hard. General Zhang Tou, take men up onto the city wall to personally prepare the fire pits and molten metal; you will direct the stone cannons at Wengcheng. (Note: According to the Wujing Zongyao: all cannons (the character meaning 'cannon' interchangeable with 'pao', i. e., stone‑throwing machines that hurl stone missiles at the enemy, so in ancient times the radical of the character was 'stone' rather than 'fire'. The tiger‑crouching cannon, in the form of a triangular frame, uses stone shot weighing twelve Song jin and can also use fireballs, etc.; its range is fifty paces, about seventy‑five meters, and there are distinctions between siege and field use. Although its name resembles the tiger‑crouching cannon used by the Yin dynasty's Qi family army, one is the 'cannon' of a stone‑throwing machine, the other is a true firearm; because troops for convenience of aiming fix it in a set posture like a crouching tiger, hence the name 'tiger‑crouching', the two are not closely related.)

Liu Bei, in order to seize the initiative in this attack and defense, spent over twenty thousand merit points on the eve of the Qingzhou battle, rather reluctantly acquiring three kinds of defensive equipment: the tiger-crouching cannon, the Xiangyang cannon, and the schematics of the triple-bow bed crossbow.

After the efforts of the veteran craftsmen in the weapons workshop, Liu Bei soon had the tiger-crouching cannon and the triple-bow bed crossbow installed on the walls of the Jinan garrison as these two defensive assets.

Moreover, the huge Xiangyang cannon is better suited for field battles, so Liu Bei did not bring it to Qingzhou; this already far exceeds Cao Cao's thunder carts of the era, and I believe that when the two clash in the future, Cao Cao will surely be greatly startled.

Zhang Tou had been anxious all half a day; hearing Zhang Liao order him to prepare defenses on the outer city wall, Zhang Tou set off with an excited expression.

Afterward, dozens of tiger-crouching cannons were deployed inside Wengcheng; each stone cannon had dozens of soldiers pulling the breech to operate it; after the soldiers on the wall observing had marked the position of the Jizhou army outside, they silently waited for the Jizhou troops to step by step walk into the deadly trap.

Zhang Tou, seeing the Jizhou army already about fifty paces from the outer gate, could no longer restrain himself and began ordering the gunners to hurl stones.

Nearly a hundred large stones fell like meteors into the Jizhou ranks; many shield-bearing infantry spat blood from the impact, instantly life or death unknown, while those without protection suffered even more horribly, almost being pulverized into minced flesh.

The huge stones split the air with a thunderous roar; the Jizhou army's two-thousand-strong detachment commander was about to shout something when a large stone smashed him and his horse into minced flesh; under the successive arrow barrage and the sudden arrival of stones, soon only a few dozen at the rear of these two thousand managed to flee back.

Yan Liang's expression was cold; he waved his hand, and several dozen cavalry rode forward to slaughter all the returning soldiers.

The Jizhou troops, after witnessing this, were more shocked by the power of the sky-filling stones, while beheading deserters had already become commonplace in Yan Liang's units.

Zhang Liao and Zhang Tou were also astonished by the tremendous power of the tiger-crouching cannon; looking at the miserable state of the Jizhou army outside the city, Zhang Liao even muttered to himself.

Is this the power of science that our lord often speaks of?

But as the chief commander, Zhang Liao naturally had to appear before his troops as if he knew everything inside out.