Chapter 460: Filling the Moat and Boiling Water

"It should be no more than a month!"

"In less than a month they actually set up a fortification like this?" Battalion Commander Li He first remarked in surprise, then his expression turned grave. He said in a muffled voice, "I'm afraid we won't be able to swallow this in one bite. We'll have to gnaw at it!"

Li Dajin nodded and said with a smile, "Yesterday we already had them pinned down inside and out. They won't have time to call for reinforcements, and even if reinforcements do come, we'll have already swept this place clean by then. Let the brothers settle in first. We'll take it slow."

Li He nodded. He and Li Dajin turned away from each other and loudly called out orders to settle in. Feng family's large contingent, some orderly and some in chaos, each began to halt. The draft animals were unhitched from the carts, and various supplies were also unloaded.

This spot was not far from the stockade wall. The cover on the wall was very crude, and the people inside watched fearfully. There was even someone foolishly sticking his head out, only to be driven over by a roving rider on the perimeter, who shot him dead from the wall with one arrow. He fell into the deep ditch below.

"... three hundred and twelve..." Zhang Hubin was there counting the number of enemy cavalry. The more he counted, the worse his expression became. There were a full three hundred and fifty-some riders, and the infantry actually exceeded two thousand three hundred. Even counting the refugees, the people in the stockade still didn't number that many, not to mention that many of the refugees had no fighting skills, while those outside all looked like seasoned hands with blades and spears.

"Company Commander, those who can shoot arrows total sixteen men. They've all been called over!" Someone behind Zhang Hubin said quietly.

Zhang Hubin took a deep breath, forcing himself to be as calm as possible, then turned and descended the stockade wall. A dozen men were already gathered there, and none of their faces looked good.

Among those of the jianghu, anyone who could shoot a bow was generally a cut above the common brawlers who just swung blades and spears. They had steady temperaments, needless to say, and were also calm and solid, otherwise they couldn't hit their targets or prey. Though the archers' faces were grim, they were still the calmest group in this stockade.

Zhang Hubin cupped his hands in salute and said crisply, "Everyone, when you shoot soon, don't shoot fast. Just fix your eyes on the enemy leaders and archers. Leave the rest to others."

Everyone exchanged glances. One man said in a muffled voice, "We all understand Leader Zhang's instructions, but looking at the situation outside, can we really hold this place?"

"Will there be reinforcements coming?"

"Master Jin has been in Xuzhou the whole time without moving. Has he abandoned us out here?"

Once one person started, everyone began speaking over each other.

"We can hold it. Reinforcements will come. Master Jin will not abandon us all!" Zhang Hubin replied without the slightest hesitation, crisp and decisive.

The current situation looked grim no matter how you viewed it, and everyone was inevitably restless and agitated. Yet Zhang Hubin was so resolute and confident. When he spoke like this, no one knew how to question further, and for a moment they all just nodded. Zhang Hubin lowered his voice and said, "We Xuzhou people came to Huai'an Prefecture to snatch food. We're like fire and water with the locals. If we're caught, there's no good end. Maybe we won't die, but not dying might be worse than death!"

"Leader Zhang, rest assured. Since we dared to come, we dared to stake our lives on it!" At this, someone's rough-and-tumble spirit flared up, and he answered loudly with a coarse voice.

"They're moving outside, they're moving outside!" Someone on the stockade wall shouted. Zhang Hubin had no more time to speak with the crowd. He just waved his hand and turned to ascend the stockade wall first.

Seeing the enemy force that had just halted now begin advancing, Zhang Hubin's expression grew even worse as he watched their movements. The enemy actually had shields, and so many of them at that.

In bandit strongholds and mounted brigand gangs, everyone fought relying on ferocity, swarming forward in a mob. Shields were both cumbersome and inconvenient to use, so they were basically never seen.

But in militia and village braves with some training, shields were quite numerous in the ranks. Saber-and-shield men even got extra pay, because you couldn't use them without refined martial skill. Government troops used them the most — shielding for cover, dividing to advance and combining to strike, all according to certain military principles.

Seeing so many shields meant the enemy's training wouldn't be too poor, and their organization had order. The coming battle would likely be even harder to fight.

"Boiling water! Prepare to use boiling water!" Zhang Hubin shouted.

Compared to other disaster victims elsewhere, the new refugee stockade was not short of one thing: ironware. Farming tools and iron pots were bulk products of the Xu family. Whatever was needed here could be obtained immediately. Even many normal villages and stockades didn't have such an abundance of ironware. At his shout, the stockade immediately began lighting fires to boil water.

Shields covered the men pushing the carts. Behind the carts, there were even archers following, and the carts were piled with quite a bit of earth.

"Thwip!" Someone couldn't hold back and loosed an arrow. The arrow lodged in a shield, slowing the cart slightly, then it continued forward.

"Don't shoot! Shooting now is useless!" Zhang Hubin roared.

A dozen or so carts approached the moat at the edge of the stockade. The boiling water inside the stockade had also been carried up onto the wall. A refugee, impatient, picked up a wooden basin to splash it down. The moment he stood up, the enemy archers behind the carts found their opening and shot an arrow. The refugee screamed, lost his footing, and, holding the wooden basin, tumbled straight off the stockade wall.

As this refugee was dying, the boiling water in his basin splashed out, scalding several people nearby and making them scream in agony. The top of the stockade wall fell into chaos, while on the enemy side, a roar of approval erupted, as if cheering the marksmanship.

"Obey my orders! Anyone who doesn't obey my orders, I'll cut you down myself first!" Zhang Hubin was also growing frantic. If the main force of the Zhao Battalion were here, or even just those mixed militias, it wouldn't be this chaotic.

Fortunately, the refugees had undergone training before coming to this grassy hollow and knew the rules and how to follow orders. After Zhang Hubin shouted, a group of men below began cursing and enforcing discipline, and finally no one acted recklessly.

The earth on the carts was dumped into the ditch, and then they slowly withdrew. The several archers in this direction all drew their bows and then loosened the strings, because they couldn't hit the enemy — the shields covered them too tightly, without a single gap.

That moat had been dug very wide back then, strictly according to regulations. But across this ditch, and then across the carts, it was very hard to splash boiling water onto anyone.

Those carts retreated, loaded up with earth again over there, and this time the enemy had gained experience. Quite a few more men followed far behind, carrying baskets of earth and tools for loading.

This time they had the carts dump the earth into the ditch again. After retreating a short distance, the men following dumped their earth onto the carts, and they advanced once more.

Zhang Hubin watched, grinding his teeth, his hand ready to raise at any moment, but he never raised it. The archers' initially tense state also relaxed; they simply could not find an opportunity to shoot.

Inside the stockade, someone rode back and forth at a gallop, constantly reporting the situation on all four sides of the wall. Although the enemy on the other three sides had only placed roving riders to watch, Zhang Hubin did not dare relax in the slightest.

"This kid isn't very old, but he handles things so maturely."

"Anyone from the Zhao Battalion won't be bad. Master Jin still has quite a few men like this under his command!"

Some jianghu men saw Zhang Hubin's methods and each found them meticulous and thorough, which in turn bolstered their own morale somewhat.

"Master Jin still has a great future ahead. If we can get through this, we might just benefit from it later!"

"Let's get through this first, and you're already thinking about benefits!"

Over at the Feng family's large force, apart from the main body standing guard, everyone else was digging earth with tools. They were all used to swinging blades and spears, to bloody slaughter, but now they were doing hard labor digging earth. Many were full of resentment, but they could only set to work.

This one had become a bandit precisely because he was lazy and greedy for comfort. He never imagined he'd still have to labor and dig earth today. He worked while grumbling, and the progress was very slow.

The areas that had been swept were still alright, but in the wild grassy flats, many corpses could be seen. These were all the results of yesterday's fighting. The corpses had all been beheaded. In a few places there were pits on the ground, and the people inside had also been beheaded, their bodies just lying askew in the pits.

"You lot are lucky, still getting buried after death." This man joked a few times. He was slacking off from work, yet had the mind to search these corpses to see if there was any leftover valuables.

When he dug to one spot, a person was slumped over at the edge of a pit. The grass cover that had been over the pit was off to the side, but there was no one inside the pit.

"Could it be that the person in the pit ran out back then?" The man pondered for a moment but didn't think deeply on it. He just bent over and began searching and groping to see if there was anything valuable.

Li Dajin and Li He had been standing in front of the formation the whole time. Feng Bao, who had been apart from them earlier, also came over. All three were staring ahead.

"This ditch is really dug wide. The fortifications of this stockade are quite good — they even have bastions. That Zhao Jin really put thought into these refugees," Li He said from there.

Li Dajin nodded and said, "There are many military households over in Xuzhou. Zhao Jin must have such people under him, so naturally they act according to military principles."

Feng Bao was standing a bit apart from Li Dajin and Li He beside him. Hearing this, he interjected, "You two, I think this ditch is about filled enough. Let's send everyone up and take this stockade!"

Li He glanced at him and ignored him. Li Dajin dropped his expression and said, "On this side we're making the main assault, we must fill the moat level with the ground. Otherwise, if we charge over and get obstructed outside the wall, we'll be pounded hard from above, and the casualties will be heavy."

Hearing this, Feng Bao let out a scoff. Swaggeringly, he pointed his whip at the new refugee stockade and said with utter disdain, "Old Li, you're far too timid. From start to finish, only one person in that stockade has shown his head, and only one arrow has been shot. They've already been scared silly by us. When our main force goes over, they might just open the gates and surrender outright."

Li He turned his head and stared at him. Feng Bao sensed something was wrong and quickly added to explain, "Even if some men die, what battle doesn't have deaths? It's not like the Feng family won't pay compensation..."

"One more word of nonsense, and I'll drive you to march at the very front. Your family's compensation will certainly be generous!" Li He said coldly.

In front of Li Dajin, Feng Bao could throw tantrums and put on a sour face, but in front of Li He, Feng Bao was very obedient. He merely shot Li Dajin a vicious glare, then turned his head away.

"A biting dog doesn't bark," Li Dajin said, though it was unclear if it was a lament or something else.

Li He suddenly straightened up on his horse, shaded his eyes with his hand to gaze out, and said doubtfully, "Why is there smoke rising inside? Could they be burning something?"

In this Barren Grass Flat, the only usable fuel was dry wild grass, and this kind of fuel produced a great deal of smoke when burned — and there were that many pots boiling water.