Chapter 214

Before Li Feng could react, he was seized by two soldiers, and he immediately understood that the 'lowly commoner' the County Magistrate spoke of was himself.

From the other man's tone, it was not hard for Li Feng to imagine what he would experience next, so he hurriedly begged for mercy.

"County Magistrate, County Magistrate! This matter has nothing to do with me, sir! Who knew that Jiang Jinshi would be so cold-blooded and heartless? I was wholeheartedly trying to help you, sir!"

The rage on Liu Xuecheng's face did not dissipate in the slightest. He had hit wall after wall, and the fire in his heart had long needed an outlet; Li Feng was the most suitable candidate.

"And those relatives of the thieves, drag them down together and wait for further orders." The Vice General hurriedly signaled to have the people dragged away; staying in front of the lines any longer would be too embarrassing.

Colonel Li had not expressed his own opinion from beginning to end, only his furrowed brows had never relaxed.

After dinner, Liu Xuecheng and Colonel Li gathered in the main camp again. This time, Liu Xuecheng did not concede at all, his tone extremely firm.

"We cannot drag this out with them any longer. Take advantage of the night to launch a surprise attack and assault them immediately!"

Colonel Li wanted to persuade him further: "A full-scale assault will result in heavy casualties, and the soldiers..."

Liu Xuecheng had no patience left to listen to the other man, waving his hand to interrupt, "Enough! If the casualties are high, so be it. I will explain it to General Yan!"

These words clearly showed he did not care for the lives of the soldiers. Colonel Li very much wanted to firmly refuse, but the struggle in his eyes flickered constantly, eventually turning into a sigh of compromise.

"This subordinate... obeys!"

"All troops, assemble!" Following Colonel Li's order, the soldiers gathered with dim expressions.

Everyone's morale was very low now. Aside from the initial setback in the siege, the most important factor was that the words of those mountain bandits had deeply taken root in everyone's hearts.

Colonel Li had led troops for many years and had no other way to deal with such a situation. A clever woman cannot cook without rice; the fact that the higher-ups wouldn't allocate military pay was a concrete problem. What could he do?

Of the ten thousand soldiers brought at the start, many were lost in the first siege, and with the consumption of the last few days, eight thousand soldiers remained.

Colonel Li immediately thought of a siege strategy, saying to the Vice Colonel, "You take three thousand troops to the South Gate. The North and West Gates will each take one thousand. I will take the remaining three thousand to attack the East Gate."

"Understood!" The Vice Colonel nodded, though the look of worry in his eyes could not be wiped away.

"The South Gate will start the same as the North and West Gates, with only one thousand soldiers, to make them relax! When I lead the troops in a fierce assault, making them mistakenly believe that the East Gate is our main target, that is when you will press in with everything!"

"This... this subordinate obeys!"

The Vice Colonel wanted to say something, opening his mouth several times, but said nothing.

With such a comprehensive, all-out attack, there would be no talk of retreat; they would not return without breaking the city.

This also meant that in a few hours, of the eight thousand soldiers standing here now, very few would remain.

"All units! Advance!"

Colonel Li gave the order immediately, not daring to hesitate for even a moment, fearing that the longer he delayed, the softer his heart would become.

The Vice Colonel led three thousand soldiers, taking advantage of the night to creep toward the South Gate, while Colonel Li flipped onto his horse, drew his sword, and shouted, "Charge!"

The horn signaling the charge sounded. The soldiers marched forward in an orderly fashion with torches, while the soldiers behind carried scaling ladders and pushed battering rams, launching another attack on Panjiang City.

At this moment, torches flickered on the walls of Panjiang City, and everyone from Yangguangzhai was waiting for this fierce assault.

During the day, Jiang Jinshi had ordered them to be on guard, so everyone naturally did not have the slightest slack, and thus they immediately discovered the enemy's abnormality.

"Go quickly and report to the Big Boss!" Luo Feng stood on the city wall, a hint of excitement in his eyes; he could feel that the outcome would be decided today.

Soon, Jiang Jinshi arrived on the city wall with the others, put down the long halberd in his hand, and took out a telescope to observe the enemy army.

This telescope was, of course, something Li Xinyue had purchased from the system, and she had thoughtfully equipped each of the squad leaders with one as well.

It was just a pity there were no night-vision goggles; otherwise, it would truly have been a dimensional strike.

"The enemy army is coming in four directions. The firelight outside the East Gate is the brightest; I estimate no fewer than three thousand!" Jiang Jinshi analyzed calmly, waiting for reports from the other gates.

"Report! The other three gates each have about a thousand!"

Jiang Jinshi pursed his lips, "The numbers don't add up!"

"The enemy is making such a big show, as if they are afraid we wouldn't know." Luo Feng also sensed the abnormality.

"So the East Gate is very likely just a feint!" Xiexiezi also expressed his view.

"Correct! But we still don't know which side they are primarily attacking! Guard your respective gates first, and report if there is any situation!"

"Yes!"

The squad leaders all cupped their fists. They had been looking forward to this battle for a long time, but for now, guarding their respective gates was what they had to do.

Then Jiang Jinshi turned abruptly, his speech fast and clear, issuing a series of orders:

"Jiang Ze!"

"Here!"

"Fifteen hundred men at the East Gate; rolling logs, boulders, and hot oil are to be prioritized for you. Your mission is to hold to the death, not retreating a single step. Although the enemy's momentum is great, as long as the city wall is not lost, they are just throwing their lives away. Remember, save your arrows, let them get close before firing; rolling logs and boulders are more useful than arrows."

"Understood! As long as I live, the city stands!" Jiang Ze cupped his fists, immediately turning to muster his troops and leave.

"Luo Feng!"

"Here!"

"Take fifteen hundred men and wait in the city; once you discover the enemy's main attack direction, provide support immediately!"

"Received!"

"Except for the East Gate, the other three gates will each have five hundred men. Guard them strictly and report in a timely manner!"

"What about the remaining eight hundred?" Luo Feng calculated silently; this arrangement of numbers clearly had a gap!

"The remaining eight hundred will all stay with me at the city gate!" A sharp glint flashed in Jiang Jinshi's eyes, "I don't do things like letting a tiger return to the mountains!"

"Yes!"

Everyone responded excitedly. They were finally going to take the initiative to counterattack. They only hoped that the side they were guarding could resolve the battle as quickly as possible, so they could open the city gates and pursue the enemy.

Jiang Jinshi's arrangement was very simple. After all, he was the defending side and occupied the geographical advantage. It was not difficult to hold the city with half the number of troops the enemy had for the siege, and even if the enemy's main force appeared, Luo Feng could provide timely support.

And once the losses were too great, the enemy would realize how difficult these bandits were to deal with and would surely order a retreat. At that time, he would lead his troops out of the city to pursue them and must slaughter County Magistrate Liu.

Outside the East Gate, the shouts of battle shook the sky! Three thousand Da Qian soldiers surged forward like a tide, shield-bearers in front and archers behind, pouring down a rain of arrows to cover the infantry carrying scaling ladders and pushing battering rams.

On the city wall, Jiang Ze watched calmly as the enemy entered within a hundred paces.

"Archers, aim at the enemy archers and officers, fire at will!"

Powerful arrows flew out with a whistling sound, and screams came from below the city from time to time, but the enemy formation did not fall into chaos and continued to close in.