Chapter 463: Gradually Losing Ground

Li He looked up at the sky. It was already past noon. He spat on the ground again and said harshly, "Let me try giving the orders. I still don't believe it—a stockade thrown together by a rabble of bandits, and we have to use battlefield tactics to take it? That's far too costly. Even if I don't earn this silver, I want to give it a try."

After saying this, Li He added viciously, "If this were a battlefield, I'd have brought the cannons up long ago. One shot and this bandit stockade would be blown wide open!"

Li Dajin smiled and shook his head, saying nothing this time.

The able-bodied refugees inside the stockade had steadied somewhat by now. The fight on the stockade wall just now had shown them that the seemingly simple bamboo-spear thrusts were quite effective. Even though the enemy carried iron weapons and looked utterly ferocious, they were not completely helpless. In that skirmish, apart from one man who accidentally fell off the wall and was hacked to death by those outside, no one else was injured, yet they had inflicted considerable casualties. Morale was quite high.

Those in the jianghu who had doubted Zhang Hubin were now convinced. Earlier, everyone had thought it was their turn to go up and fight to the death, but Zhang Hubin had unexpectedly held them back. Aside from the mixed militia companies, who had been obedient all along, the others were growing restless, thinking that if they didn't go up when they should, they'd all be finished once the stockade fell.

No one expected Zhang Hubin to use the refugees to block the attack just like that. This settled everyone's nerves considerably. They had originally thought only their own two or three hundred men in this stronghold could fight. Now, seeing that the refugees also had fighting strength, they suddenly felt their own side's power had grown, and their confidence in holding out increased greatly.

Everyone else relaxed, but Zhang Hubin on the stockade wall was not relaxed in the slightest. He had heard many people talk about attacking and defending stockades and fortified compounds—militia and village braves from powerful houses explaining how to defend, and figures from the armed escort bands explaining how to attack. When the monk soldiers besieged the He Family Compound, and when they followed the company to relieve Xuzhou, Zhang Hubin had been through it all. He had practical experience, yet he still felt no confidence, because his experience was too shallow.

Just as he was at his most tense, he saw the enemy mounting their horses one after another. Once mounted, the cavalry troop did not charge straight at them, but instead turned toward another direction.

"Xiaozhuang, take some men and keep an eye on that cavalry troop. If they attack from somewhere else, you immediately shift men to defend. Don't expose yourselves—let them get close to the stockade wall before you strike!" Zhang Hubin turned and roared. This Xiaozhuang was a squad leader from the main company of Zhao's Camp. Hearing the order, he shouted a loud acknowledgment and called for men to run quickly along the inside of the stockade wall.

"Everyone spread out and take cover! Keep water basins ready—the enemy is about to use fire!" Zhang Hubin suddenly shouted again.

They could see a flurry of activity over on the enemy's side, and then smoke began to rise. Before long, at about one bowshot's distance, someone had set out braziers and fire piles. Then the archers stepped forward from the ranks, making preparations to nock arrows and draw bows.

"Chief Zhang, let's shoot back! We're standing higher—our arrows will definitely go farther than theirs!" one of the jianghu men said urgently.

Zhang Hubin shook his head. Seeing the man was about to argue, he explained, "Even if we can shoot farther, our archers are far inferior to theirs. We can't afford to trade. Even one-for-one, we'd be losing."

The man thought for a moment, then changed the subject and asked, "Chief Zhang, will Master Jin come to rescue us? Why is there still no sign of movement?"

"Of course he'll come to rescue us. Riding a fast horse nonstop from Xuzhou, it still takes over two days to get here. There's no way Master Jin could arrive that quickly." Zhang Hubin spoke the plain truth. The man sullenly slammed his fist against the stockade wall and said bitterly, "Looks like this time we'll have to fight to the death!"

"We'll have to fight. If we don't fight, we'll have nothing left!" Zhang Hubin said in a muffled voice.

Zhang Hubin peered out again through a gap in the stockade wall's cover, then turned and said, "Tell everyone who can shoot a bow: do not stand up to draw. Only shoot back when the enemy gets close. Don't draw your bow unless you're at least eighty percent sure!"

Shooting fire arrows was not that easy. The archers tied strips of cloth around the arrowheads, dipped them in some oil, then formed up in ranks. At the officer's command, they lit them in the braziers and fire piles, then nocked their arrows, drew, and loosed them all at once.

The first volley of arrows came down. A small portion landed on open ground; the rest all struck the shacks and cover near the stockade wall. After all, the enemy archers still had to keep some distance from the wall.

The people inside the stockade wall had long since taken cover, and each had a wooden basin or bucket full of water ready at hand. When the first volley of fire arrows fell, they rushed out to douse the flames. One basin of water and that bit of fire on the arrowhead was immediately extinguished. Once done, they immediately went back into hiding.

Hearing no reaction from inside, the archer formation outside changed tactics. First, they wrapped the arrows with cloth strips dipped in kindling, then lit them and fired, with almost no interval between each volley.

This time, casualties appeared inside the stockade. After the first volley scattered, everyone instinctively came out to fight the fires, but the second volley arrived right on its heels, and then the third. Some people could not dodge in time and were struck by arrows, cries of pain ringing out. However, the fire-starting effect of these arrows was quite mediocre. The weather had already turned slightly warmer, the ground was beginning to thaw, and the dampness of the marshy wasteland was heavy. The thatch on the shacks was not easy to ignite in the first place, and the interval between the three volleys was not that long. The small fires were quickly put out again.

Moreover, since the archers kept their distance from the stockade wall, the area they could reach was limited to the wall itself and a small portion just inside it. The killing power was very limited.

"The bandits are coming from this side! Sixth and Seventh Squads, get ready!" A shout came from the stockade wall on the other side. That cavalry troop that had ridden around was apparently about to dismount and attack.

The refugees were also organized into squads and groups. Ever since Zhao Jin had taken the refugees in, he had begun giving them simple military training. This batch of refugees that had come to the stockade was the best-trained group. They were divided into twenty squads, each of a hundred men, ready to follow orders at any moment.

That area was beyond the reach of the fire arrows. Hearing the call, able-bodied refugees immediately surged out from every shack, each holding a sharpened bamboo pole or bamboo spear, and came to the stockade wall. From outside, that forest of bamboo spears was already visible.

"Get back and stand ready—the bandits are mounting up again!" A loud shout reached Zhang Hubin's ears. He knew the enemy was probing and looking for an opening.

The archer formation over there had stopped firing fire arrows and was merely wrapping cloth strips around arrow shafts, making fire arrows. From the enemy's main force, someone else ran over to deliver an order. The archer formation began advancing, carrying braziers and various implements. It looked like they were going to move closer to shoot.

When they had advanced ten paces, just as the foremost archers halted their steps, the whistle of arrows tearing through the air rang out from the direction of the stockade.

Screams rang out in succession. Three men were struck by arrows and pitched straight to the ground. The archers actually froze for a moment, then immediately turned and ran back. From the very beginning until now, the stockade had used boiling water, used bamboo spears—their bows had only fired one arrow, and that without much notice, so the archers had stopped taking the stockade's archery seriously. Who could have expected a sudden volley now, and from more than one bow at that?

After that moment of shock, they simply abandoned the braziers and everything else and turned to flee. A few more arrows shot out from the direction of the stockade wall. Two men were struck in the back and fell flat on the ground. The rest did not dare approach again, keeping well away.

"Commander, the other sides of the stockade are being watched closely. There's no gap to slip through!" The cavalry troop that had ridden out earlier had circled back again. A big man reported from horseback.

Li He's expression grew even uglier. Just now, when the stockade had suddenly counterattacked with bows and the archers had fled in rout, his face had already looked very bad. This report only made things worse.

"When you dismounted just now, how did they respond inside?" Li Dajin asked in a deep voice.

The big man on horseback was quite respectful toward Li Dajin and quickly answered, "Your subordinate..."

"I've long had no authority over you. Just speak plainly," Li Dajin said with a wave of his hand and a smile.

"... As soon as we dismounted, there was shouting inside the stockade, and then we could see quite a few people coming over with bamboo spears. It was like that everywhere. We never found a place to strike..." the big man answered.

Li Dajin nodded slowly. Li He's face was practically black as he said through gritted teeth, "Let the brothers eat first, get to bed early. We'll move once it's dark. These bandit scum are sure to be night-blind. We'll feel our way in for a raid tonight!"

The big man who had reported acknowledged the order. Li Dajin did not speak further, only looked up at the sky. The sun was already about to set.

As soon as it grew dark, Feng's main force began preparing to camp for the night. Some men gathered firewood, some went hunting, some set up camp and settled in. Apart from these, several dozen men remained mounted, circling the stockade to keep watch and prevent anyone from being sent out to deliver a message.

The stockade wall remained under heavy guard. Inside the stockade, it was also a flurry of activity. The arrows that had been shot in were gathered up. The shacks around the stockade wall were torn down. The stockade's gate had already been blocked up with earth and was now being further reinforced. Every container that could hold water was put to use and filled to the brim.

Zhang Hubin called together the dozen or so men who had come from the main company of Zhao's Camp, leaving just one man to keep order. They huddled together and discussed in low voices.

"Who's decent on horseback?" Zhang Hubin asked this first.

"We can ride, but not well." The answers were all about the same.

The veteran soldiers of Zhao's Camp could all ride horses, but as for their riding skill, it was nothing to speak of. Zhang Hubin naturally understood this. In a muffled voice, he asked, "Who rides the best?"

Everyone looked at each other, then all pointed to one man. Zhang Hubin nodded, turned to glance around, and lowered his voice. "Tomorrow, it'll probably be a major fight. You pick the right moment, get on a horse, and leave first."

The man chosen froze for a moment, then immediately grew agitated. Glaring, he growled under his breath, "Why should I be the one to leave? I'm no coward."

"Who said you're a coward? Right now, we need to send word to the Master. Yesterday, the bandits outside wiped out our sentries and everything. We can't let not a single bit of news get out!" Zhang Hubin said sternly.

The man nodded sullenly. Zhang Hubin looked around at everyone and said, "The bandits outnumber us. They look like men who've fought for years. This time, I'm afraid there's going to be big trouble. Looks like we'll have to fight to the death!"

Everyone's faces looked rather grim, but they also felt Zhang Hubin was telling the truth. Zhang Hubin looked left and right, gave a dry laugh, and said, "When you masters were ambushed over at Gao Family Village, that was when Eighth Master died. Of the old brothers back then, I was the only one left. That time, I was lucky. This time, it doesn't look that way."

After saying this, Zhang Hubin sensed the mood wasn't right. He smiled and asked, "Are you afraid of dying?"