Chapter 301: The City Gate Is About to Open

Wang Zhaojing stood in the stirrups on horseback to look, nodded heavily, then bellowed at the top of his voice: "Zhao Character Battalion, form ranks! The rest of you, throw everything in your hands at them!"

The sixty family soldiers of the Zhao Character Battalion had already formed ranks amid the shouted orders, while the conscripted street toughs cursed and hurled the blades and axes in their hands into the gate tunnel.

The space inside the gate tunnel was cramped—there was nowhere to dodge the incoming objects, and blades and axes could wound on impact. The soldiers and men who had just gained the upper hand were caught completely off guard, smashed until their heads split and bled. Two unlucky souls took an axe to the face and died on the spot.

Seizing this moment of chaos, the now-formed Zhao Character Battalion family soldiers roared in unison and charged forward with leveled spears. The disordered soldiers inside, tangled in a mess, had no time to counterattack and were skewered in a row. The rest were shoved and forced backward. By now, over twenty men had already slipped through the opened inner gate and were sprinting madly toward the outer gate.

At this moment, the archers on the flanking bastions along the slope had exhausted their arrows, their shoulders sore and numb. The mass of refugees on the slope, just suppressed moments ago, quickened their pace once more.

Some refugees, driven nearly mad by the press from front and back, hurled themselves recklessly into the crenels. They paid no heed to the stabs and slashes that struck their bodies, simply grappling the soldiers before them. By throwing away their lives to force open a gap, those behind them could finally gain a foothold on the wall. Though they were stabbed to death by soldiers and militia the moment they stood firm, the ones behind could follow. The refugees now held a dozen or so men on the wall, and the trend was steadily growing!

"Find Old Liang! Get him to come reinforce us, quickly!" Squad Leader Wang's blade and body were already drenched in blood. The soldiers and militia held the front line; whenever a gap appeared, he swung his great blade to fill it.

Beside him, Chen Wu and a few combat-capable bailiffs were also stained with blood. In this situation, everyone who could fight had been thrown in. Every face was grim. Under such a frenzied assault, Xuzhou city was on the verge of collapse. Xuzhou was about to fall!

By now, few had the attention to spare for what was happening below the wall. Everyone who could come to reinforce was rushing this way. No one noticed that outside the western gate, refugees were filling in the moat. Unhindered, unopposed, the moat before the gate was being filled bit by bit. More and more able-bodied men gathered here. Unlike the madmen storming the wall over there, most of these men carried blades and spears. Their clothes were ragged, but they were not gaunt. Every eye was fixed on the Weiyuan Gate, the western gate of Xuzhou, beyond the drawbridge.

"Brothers outside the city, this gate is about to open!" A great shout came from within. The refugees already pressed against the gate heard it clearly and at once erupted in a thunderous cheer.

When Wang Zhaojing was dispatched to the north gate, the force led by Zhao Jin was still roughly half a shichen from Xuzhou.

Defending and assaulting the city were both bloody, desperate struggles. No one noticed the swift passage of time, no one noticed that the slaughter had gone on from the early hours straight into the afternoon. But the force led by Zhao Jin could feel it clearly—they had been marching a long way.

Throughout the march, Zhao Jin had been calculating the time. When the sun had passed its zenith by half a shichen, the entire force halted to rest and eat the midday meal.

From the time they set out from the He Estate until now, people had continuously come along the road to join them. Their total numbers now neared four thousand, with nearly four hundred on horseback. From a distance, they looked an imposing host. The newcomers were all awed by the Zhao Character Battalion's discipline and equipment, and obediently followed orders, which saved a great deal of trouble.

At the midday meal, the Zhao Character Battalion brought out all the dry rations, prepared dishes, and drinking water they carried. But food and drink were ample for everyone, for every village along the way that had not fled sent provisions as tribute, and each contingent had brought their own. There was no shortage.

The last party to come and join them caught Zhao Jin completely by surprise. It was actually You Zhenrong, a minor local magnate from the Incense-Smelling Sect. In Zhao Jin's estimation, this You Zhenrong should have been a core rebel. Zheng Quan's intelligence had never mentioned this man either. Zhao Jin had assumed they would next meet on the battlefield.

"Master Jin, those bastards have lost their minds. I burn incense to make things convenient for my own household—I never planned on ruining my family and losing my head." You Zhenrong spoke plainly. He was a local magnate; his family and estate were all in Xuzhou. Why would he join such a mad upheaval?

You Zhenrong brought over fifty men, all kinsmen of the You family, their weapons fairly complete. However, Zhao Jin did not quite trust him and deliberately placed them at the very rear of the column, with cavalry circling around them. At the first sign of trouble, they could be snuffed out instantly.

After the meal, each contingent formed up. Zhao Jin summoned the leaders from every group. They gathered around a cart. Zhao Jin stood on the cart and used weapons to rig a makeshift frame, over which he draped a large square wrapping cloth about three chi across. On the cloth, three small squares were drawn in charcoal, arranged like the character "pin" (a pyramid shape).

"Gentlemen, for your righteous aid, Zhao is deeply grateful." Zhao Jin began with a polite word, cupping his fists in salute. A rumbling response came from below as everyone rose to return the gesture.

"Everyone has followed Zhao to rescue Xuzhou. You all wish to save Xuzhou and keep your own homes from harm. You all want to return alive. Then you must follow the rules Zhao has set." Zhao Jin spoke quite bluntly. Although his name carried great weight, he was, after all, barely twenty. In these times, seniority was prized. Under normal circumstances, if he took such sweeping charge and dictated terms, there would surely be dissent below.

But they had all marched together. Their own men would cry exhaustion after less than a shichen of walking, their formations sloppy beyond belief. Yet the Zhao Character Battalion squads had reportedly marched from morning until now, their formation always precise. Even the hundred-odd mounted men kept perfect order, to say nothing of their equipment—long spears, great blades, and even full suits of armor visible. With such military bearing, such a foundation, who dared object? They could only obey, fully and willingly convinced.

Seeing the nods of agreement, Zhao Jin continued: "Once we reach the battlefield, my Zhao Character Battalion will take the vanguard. The rest of you will follow behind. Do you all see these three squares? When you lead your men into the fray, you may only fight to the left, right, and rear of these three squares. You must not cross ahead of them. If you block the path in front of these three squares, do not blame the spears for being merciless. Is that understood?"

There was silence below at first, then someone shouted loudly: "Master Jin is righteous! We brought our men here to risk our lives. There is no reason for Master Jin to take the vanguard. Master Jin, we are not afraid to die. Just give us your orders!"

Quite a few voices echoed the sentiment, all deeply stirred. Though fear of death is human nature, those who dared follow Zhao Jin to the city for its relief had, to varying degrees, already steeled themselves. Call it courage, call it recklessness—at this moment, they were not much afraid of death!

Zhao Jin grinned, then waved his hand and said: "It's not that I won't let you risk your lives—only that you must risk them according to my rules. Only then do we have a chance of victory. Remember these rules well, so you won't blame me, Zhao, for being heartless later. Now, please call over those among you who can shoot a bow and ride a horse. I have separate instructions. Let me say this up front: Zhao will not shortchange any of you!"

With the matter put this way, who could have a second word? The Zhao Character Battalion would charge at the very front, letting everyone else follow and reap the advantage. This was a battlefield of life-and-death slaughter. Such an attitude from the other party won their complete and utter respect. All subsequent arrangements were met with full cooperation.

"Do you all see these three squares? These are the three squads of my Zhao Character Battalion. When the time comes, you will shoot your arrows ahead of my three squads. When the enemy approaches, circle around my three squads to evade. My Zhao Character Battalion will block them. You won't need to fight in close combat—just shoot your arrows," Zhao Jin said to the archers who had come forward.

"Everyone, from now on, lead your horses forward on foot. You must conserve your mounts' strength so nothing is delayed later. All of you will follow Dong Bingfeng's commands!"

The host continued to advance. The veteran squads of the Zhao Character Battalion had alternated riding for one shichen and walking for half a shichen along the way, preserving their own stamina and their horses' strength. After the midday meal, Zhao Jin and the others all rode on horseback. They too needed to conserve their own strength now.

When they were still roughly half a shichen's journey from the battlefield, the dust rising to the sky was already visible in the distance. Even the shouts of slaughter and howls could be heard clearly. The host halted once more. The Zhao Character Battalion began distributing armor. Zhao Jin, his companions, and most of the veteran family soldiers began donning their armor.

This sight stunned the onlookers into utter silence. As the Zhao Character Battalion's armor and mail gleamed under the sunlight, someone muttered: "They really are clad head to toe in iron."

Once the armor was on, the armored men remounted their horses—this too was to conserve strength. There would still be time to form ranks once the enemy was sighted.

With the help of his companions, Zhao Jin donned his armor. Just as he was about to put on his helmet, Shi Manqiang asked everyone to wait. He quickly retrieved a specially shaped helmet from one of the carts. The helmet had a three-cun-long sharp horn on top, with tiger-stripe openwork carvings around it. The rest of its design was roughly standard. Shi Manqiang handed the helmet to Zhao Jin and said: "Big Brother, my father made this specially. He said it's called a Tiger Fang Helm, meant for a marshal or great general to wear. It can ward off evil."

"With all the lives on our hands, evil's long been warding itself off from us!" Zhao Jin said with a laugh as he took the helmet.

He had just put on the helmet when someone returned. It was one of the scouts sent toward Xuzhou city. Upon his return, his horse immediately collapsed on the ground, convulsing. Anyone with even a little knowledge of horses could tell the beast had been ridden to utter exhaustion and would not survive.

"Master Jin, the refugee bandits are nearly atop the wall. They're like madmen. I wanted to circle out from the east, but they had too many cavalry watching that side. I was chased all the way out. The other directions were relatively quiet," the rider said, gasping for breath.

The reason the refugee bandits had sealed the eastern road was that Brigade Vice Commander Zhou's main force would be returning from the east, and any messengers would also have to take the eastern route. They paid no attention to the other directions.

Zhao Jin nodded, glanced around, then turned and took down the wrapping cloth from the cart—the same one he had just used to demonstrate the plan to everyone. He carried the cloth over to the dying horse, drew the short blade at his waist, and slit the horse's throat.

"... Just as well. Lets the beast die a quick death..." someone murmured.