Chapter 190: Surrendering is not shameful

Luo Feng couldn't help but think this way. The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. After saying goodbye to Jiang Jinshi, he urgently summoned everyone.

Finally, it was decided to attack Baiyan City tomorrow night, and everyone was asked to gather on time.

Last time, it was because the Great Chief wanted everyone to be vigilant, so he deliberately chose to attack during the day.

But Luo Feng was now considering the issue of casualties more, and choosing to attack at night would be more appropriate.

He not only wanted to attack the city but also wanted to attack it with great fanfare to put enough pressure on the other side.

Now that Menghuzhai's reputation had reversed, many commoners in other cities hoped that Menghuzhai would attack the city they were in, so Luo Feng wanted to make use of this reputation.

If he spread the news that he was going to attack Baiyan City, would he get some unexpected surprises?

The result was unknown for the time being, but Luo Feng felt it was worth a try.

At nightfall the next day, three thousand Menghuzhai bandits had arrived outside Baiyan City. Luo Feng didn't rush to attack but was waiting for the night to fully descend.

The autumn night wind blew, carrying a hint of chill. Luo Feng subconsciously straightened his armor; winter was truly not far away now.

This scene naturally couldn't escape the eyes of the garrison, who immediately closed the city gate in a panic.

An old soldier leaned against the parapet, his rough palms rubbing the cold wall bricks. He had guarded Baiyan City for twenty years and had never been so terrified.

"What's the situation now?" The voice of Team Leader Li Ming sounded from behind, with a slight tremor.

The old soldier didn't turn his head: "About three thousand bandits, at least twenty percent are armored. I can see the shadow of a battering ram, but I can't see much more clearly."

Li Ming walked to his side, his face exceptionally heavy in the firelight. There were no more than two hundred soldiers on the city wall who could fight; how could they contend with three thousand bandits?

"They could have launched a surprise attack at night, but they chose to do it with great fanfare." Li Ming whispered.

"They are waiting." The old soldier spat, "Waiting for the city to fall into chaos on its own."

The old soldier wasn't guessing wildly; a few days ago, many people in Baiyan City had been discussing in secret, all saying that Menghuzhai was good, and that if they surrendered to Menghuzhai, they could buy cheap grain and the whole family could eat and dress warmly.

Even the old soldier's son had been discussing it at home, and even had the idea of going to join Menghuzhai.

If the old soldier hadn't stopped him in time, he feared his two sons would have already stood on the other side by now.

That was why the old soldier could instantly understand what kind of tricks the Menghuzhai bandits were playing!

As if to confirm his words, arguments could be vaguely heard from within the city. The two looked at each other and hurriedly descended the city wall.

"Why are you closing the city gate?" A woman said loudly: "My mother's family is in Qing City, and life is quite comfortable now. We finally waited for Menghuzhai to come, why are you closing the city gate?"

The crowd became restless, discussing among themselves.

"Indeed, I heard that the household registration they issue can be used to buy very cheap grain!"

"That's not all! Menghuzhai pays you to work, and if you can join them as a bandit, you won't have to worry about food and drink!"

Li Ming's face was livid. He had naturally heard of these things long ago. This group of bandits was different from the past. After occupying the city, they didn't burn or kill, but instead promoted new policies. Everything was so seductive to the human heart!

Of course, this was exactly what he feared most—city walls could be defended, but human hearts were hard to guard.

"Everyone, go back quickly!" The old soldier stepped forward, his hand on the hilt of his sword, "Anyone who continues to clamor for surrender will be dealt with by military law."

"You old thing, don't forget that your sons are still in the city! If you don't want a good life, you should at least think about your sons?"

Clearly, there were commoners in the crowd who knew the old soldier. Everyone was usually neighbors, but now they had to stand on opposite sides.

The old soldier responded with a livid face: "Is becoming a bandit something to be proud of? I think you are all confused!"

The woman continued to shout loudly: "We are not confused, you are the confused one. You've been a garrison soldier for so many years, aren't your family members starving now?"

This made the old soldier unable to refute for a while. Originally, his family's life was quite good. He had a stable salary as a garrison soldier, and his two sons had learned some skills, so life was getting better day by day.

But in the last two years, grain prices had risen day by day, taxes had begun to increase, and his salary hadn't been paid for a while, so life was no longer as carefree as before.

But how could the stubborn old soldier be easily shaken? Even if what the woman said was true, he still chose to stick to his inner heart.

Having been a garrison soldier for so many years and having received quite a bit of silver from the Da Qian Dynasty, if they opened the city gate to surrender as soon as bandits invaded, wouldn't they become ungrateful people?

At this time, there was movement outside the city, and the garrison on the city wall shouted: "They are coming!"

The old soldier shouted to the commoners: "The bandits are coming, no one will be able to take care of you if a fight breaks out, go home quickly!"

Hearing this, everyone dared not linger. After all, the moment the bandits attacked the city, they wouldn't care if you were a commoner or not; the probability of being killed by mistake was too high.

The old soldier and Li Ming ran back to the city wall, just in time to see the Menghuzhai bandits lighting torches and walking toward the city gate.

"Archers, get ready! Shoot when they get closer!" Li Ming ordered, pretending to be calm, but there was no way to break the situation at the moment, and the words of everyone just now were still lingering in his ears!

Luo Feng took the lead at the very front and didn't rush to attack, calmly ordering: "Raise shields and move forward! Archers follow behind!"

Hundreds of archers advanced to within arrow range under the cover of shields. Luo Feng saw the timing and shouted: "Fire arrows!"

A rain of arrows poured down, and the garrison was forced to hide.

Li Ming walked between the battlements: "Crouch down and hide!"

Several new soldiers were panicked and didn't have time to react, and were immediately shot into hedgehogs. The morale of the garrison was even lower.

Seeing this, Luo Feng continued to order: "Battering ram forward, smash open the city gate for me!"

"Thump!"

A dull thud came from the city gate. Li Ming hurriedly mobilized a team of soldiers to descend the city wall to defend.

"Pour oil! Prepare to set fire to the battering ram!" He ordered.

Before the garrison could pour oil, as long as anyone dared to show their head on the city wall, dense arrows would fly over!

Li Ming quietly raised his head to look down the city. The bandit formation didn't have the slightest disorder!

"Could such discipline be something bandits have?" Li Ming's face was ugly.

The garrison, forced to take a beating, hid behind the city wall and didn't dare to show their heads, causing the first scaling ladder to successfully hook onto the city wall.

At such a critical moment, Li Ming kept thinking about a way to survive. As the head of the Baiyan City garrison, the first thing the other side would do after climbing the city wall would be to behead him.

Rather than dying so inexplicably, it would be better to surrender and eat and drink well after joining Menghuzhai.

Li Ming kept building his own psychological construction. The other side had so many people, it wouldn't be shameful for him to surrender. ===== CHAPTER 191 =====