Songjiang cotton cloth is of high quality and is known worldwide as "Songjiang's finest cloth." Its three-shuttle cotton cloth, over three feet wide and as fine as rhino, is more than double the price of ordinary white cotton cloth, making it a local specialty.

In the 48th year of the Wanli reign, it was stipulated that a bolt of white cotton cloth was worth three cents of silver, and a bolt of three-shuttle cloth was worth six cents and a fen of silver. There was also a type of high-quality cotton cloth called "twill," the finest of which was worth one ounce of silver per bolt. It looked like velvet, smooth, fine, and clean.

Hearing that this was a high-end product, worth at least six or seven cents, everyone's eyes were filled with envy, and they talked about it in a flurry.

"Mengzi was lucky. He only suffered minor injuries and was able to exchange them for six or seven cents of silver."

"I don't know how happy my aunt will be when I take home these three shuttles of cotton cloth!"

Zhao Mengzi grinned and smiled naively, letting his friends pat him on the shoulders and back to congratulate him.

Bang, bang, bang! A gong rang out from a distance. Two yamen runners walked along, banging it and shouting, "The wounded militiamen and volunteers who went up to the city will be compensated and rewarded. If they accumulate five days, they will be rewarded with a bolt of ordinary cotton cloth. If they accumulate ten days, they will be rewarded with a bolt of Songjiang three-shuttle cotton cloth..."

"Ha, we can get a reward too!" someone exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, yes, there's no need to get hurt or bleed. You can get a piece of cloth in just five days!"

"Hey, my mother's clothes are all patched up. If I get the reward, I will make her a new dress no matter what."

…………

Everyone's spirits were lifted by this new reward, and they walked home chatting and laughing.

I'll come back tomorrow. I don't need to eat free meals at home with my flesh wounds. I can get cotton cloth and food by working in the city! Zhao Mengzi's innocent face showed a little cunning.

The setting sun continued to sink westward, and half of it had fallen into the horizon.

Below the city walls, broken towers, watchtowers, and shield carts could be seen everywhere, some of which were still burning with flames.

What was even more shocking was the corpses lying all over the place, some with arrows stuck in them; some were smashed into a bloody mess by rolling logs and stones; some were killed by artillery, with limbs missing; some were burned to death in fire pots, still emitting the smell of burnt barbecue.

Xiong Tingbi, protected by his personal guards, inspected the city. His expression was calm; the fierce battle that had just ended seemed insignificant to him.

If it is a small fort, the towers, ladders, watchtowers and other equipment built by the Later Jin army will indeed pose a great threat.

But in front of the tall and solid Guangning City, such equipment seemed crude and lacked power.

The Later Jin army must have been aware of this. The reason they launched a fierce attack was simply to tie down the defenders and create opportunities for the traitors in the city.

Unfortunately, the plan of breaking the city by cooperating from both inside and outside, which the old slave had high hopes for and which the big traitor Li Yongfang was quite confident of, did not happen at all.

This is also the reason why Xiong Tingbi deliberately concealed his own banner and had Wang Huazhen's governor's banner fly on the city wall.

Let the enemy despise you, give them hope, and they will come to die, ramming their heads against the strong city. Only when the casualties make the old slaves feel heartbroken will they stop attacking the city.

The artillery, bows and crossbows, tens of thousands of enemies, and even rolling logs, battering stones, fire pots, boiling water and oil on the top of Guangning City gave the Jiannu an unforgettable bloody lesson.

"Greetings, Lord Governor." Ma Chengfeng, a captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, bowed and saluted.

Xiong Tingbi saluted and praised: "Captain Ma's sharpshooting is admirable. It boosts our army's morale and strikes fear into the enemy's heart."

Ma Chengfeng grinned, pointed at the city walls, and said, "Sir, why don't you send people to collect the heads? If we hang them on the city walls, wouldn't that boost morale and frighten the Jiannu?"

Xiong Tingbi did not criticize this inexperienced suggestion, but patiently explained, "If we send men down the city walls by ropes, and the enemy attacks with fast cavalry and sharp archers, we might not be able to return to the city in time, resulting in casualties."

Ma Chengfeng blinked his eyes and understood, but he seemed unwilling to give up. His eyes rolled around, and I don’t know what he was thinking about.

Xiong Tingbi said hello and continued to patrol the city with his personal soldiers.

Yeah? There's a solution.

As soon as Xiong Tingbi left, Ma Chengfei suddenly slapped his thigh and ran towards a city defense crossbow not far away with two Jinyiwei.

When Xiong Tingbi finished his inspection and returned to this section of the city wall, he heard shouting while he was still far away.

"I got it, I got it! Pull it back slowly, don't fall down again like you did just now."

Xiong Tingbi heard what seemed to be Ma Chengfei's voice. There was also a tall pole erected on the city wall, with the body of a Later Jin soldier hanging on it, but it was not just a head.

As they got closer, Xiong Tingbi and others could see more clearly.

It was indeed Ma Chengfei, who was accompanied by two Jinyiwei and commanding a dozen Ming army soldiers, who were pulling the rope towards the city with all their strength.

"Slow down, slow down, come up quickly, use the hook, use the hook to hold it tightly." Ma Chengfei gave orders in a loud voice.

Several Ming soldiers clung to the wall, followed the hooks, and pulled together. With a "Hey!", the body of a Later Jin officer flipped over the wall and fell to the ground.

"Sir General." Several soldiers who were watching the excitement finally noticed Xiong Tingbi and hurriedly saluted him.

Xiong Tingbi waved his hand and walked over to take a closer look.

Ma Chengfei introduced his plan to Xiong Tingbi as if presenting a treasure. "Master, I will use this crossbow to shoot a crossbow arrow with a barbed rope attached to it. I will drag the enemy corpses up from under the city and hang them on a high pole..."

"Captain Ma's ingenuity is something I admire greatly." Xiong Tingbi smiled and nodded, praising him. He then asked the soldiers to learn and follow his example, and also put several crossbows used to defend the city into use.

Hanging a corpse was more conspicuous than just hanging a head, and would also irritate the enemy more. Xiong Tingbi felt that if he could lure the Later Jin army to attack the city again, the effort would be worth it.

Not to mention that the siege equipment built by the Later Jin army was not powerful enough, even the Later Jin archers who lined up under the city walls to suppress the city walls suffered heavy losses under the bombardment of artillery from above.

Although the offensive and defensive battles were fierce, the defenders actually had a significant advantage. The shortcomings of the Later Jin army in terms of siege tactics were also fully exposed.

Without artillery, let alone heavy artillery that could pose a threat to the city walls, the Later Jin army would be severely beaten by the defenders if they could only rely on ladders to climb the city walls or use shield carts as cover to approach and dig through the city walls.

As an old soldier, Xiong Tingbi was known for his defensive skills and had comprehensive preparations and countermeasures for many methods of siege.

Coupled with the boost in morale and confidence brought about by today's defeat of the Later Jin army, the Guangning City is not impregnable, but it is definitely not something that the Later Jin army can easily break through.

If the Later Jin army still had hope and pinned their hopes on traitors in the city, they would stay quiet for a few days, build a large number of weapons, and attack the city from all sides in order to tie down as many defenders in the city as possible and create opportunities for the traitors.

Xiong Tingbi stood on the top of the city wall, stroking his beard, looking at the lights of the Later Jin army camp in the distance, and squinted his eyes slightly.

…………