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On the first day, the expected battle did not come. Although the enemy came to the city, they seemed to be frightened by the careful arrangements and did not attack.

This made some soldiers happy, and they thought that this battle might be much easier. However, Lin Meng was not so naive.

Sure enough, the next day the open space outside the city became busy. A group of red-haired foreigners began to build a camp and cut down trees, as if they were going to make siege equipment.

Doing these things at the last minute will definitely take a lot of time, but the militias have more than that. Several cannons appeared in the opposite camp one after another.

Through the telescope, Lin Meng could clearly see the specifications of the enemy's artillery. They were similar to the previously captured Xisai naval guns, though the caliber seemed slightly smaller. However, even so, the number of them overwhelmed the artillery on the city walls, not to mention that the newly built gate might not be able to withstand the continuous bombardment.

We have to think of another way.

"Hurry up! Don't dilly-dally!" Cotanzo shouted from the front. Ships always had carpenters, and the island was not short of trees, so building a few crude siege ladders wasn't difficult. The problem was the lack of gun carriages. The artillery pieces had to be temporarily placed on gun carriages, making them very difficult to transport.

This is nothing, filling the gullies in front of us is the real problem.

The enemy clearly had more than just cannons; they also had a significant number of archers. If they charged headfirst, these ditches alone would be enough to kill them. For the time being, all he could do was use the artillery as cover while his soldiers removed the obstacles one by one.

This was of course very troublesome, and not what he, a navy officer, should do, but he had to obey the general's orders. Besides, they didn't need to fight to the death, as long as they could attract the enemy's attention and create opportunities for the pirates who were rushing to the beach from behind.

Although the sailors were not very familiar with setting up camp, they still managed to build the racks in a messy manner and placed the guns that had been brought down specially in advance. Although they were not the main guns of the ship, the four-pound guns had a more ideal firing rate and were more deterrent to the enemy.

The camp had been in disarray for the past few days, and the enemy hadn't launched an attack. Either the defenders were too few, or the city gates were sealed, preventing them from leaving easily. This was good news for the people of Cisse. Cotanzo stood proudly at the front, commanding his soldiers in launching the first round of the attack.

The sound of artillery suddenly rang out inside and outside the city walls.

If the artillery exchange during the advancing position could be considered orderly, then half a day later, the silver shoal behind Luoling Island became a chaotic market. Countless small boats swarmed in, and fierce bandits armed with weapons began to land on the beach.

"Ha! These villages are all deserted! It seems they don't dare to set up defenses outside the city!" The leader of the Long Whale Gang laughed as he landed. The most dangerous beach landing was not hindered at all, simply because the villages on the shore had long been deserted, allowing them to easily occupy the beach.

The previous perfunctory excuses were long gone. The small leader excitedly shouted, "That group of red bandits is led by women. I don't know how many women there are in the camp. Just charge in and I'll give them all to you!"

These inflammatory words immediately drew cheers. Seeing that the morale was high, the little leader no longer hesitated and waved his arm: "Charge in!"

There are no high walls, no traps everywhere, and there are people who are willing to use firepower to contain the enemy. What is there to be afraid of? Just kill!

…

“Ahhhh!”

A terrifying scream rang out, but was quickly suppressed, turning into a suppressed "woooooo." Lin Mo pursed his lips tightly, and deftly tied the white linen cloth, then had several medical staff carry the person to a nearby tent.

There was no time to rush anyone to the hospital. The nurses had already set up tents far away from the artillery fire, and any wounded soldiers on the city wall would be rushed there immediately. However, compared to knife and arrow wounds, artillery wounds were extremely difficult to treat. If they were lucky, they might just break an arm or leg, but if they were unlucky, they could only bandage the wound and stuff a stick in their mouth, which was the best they could do.

Guessing that the fighting outside had ceased, and seeing that no wounded soldiers were sent in, Lin Mo stood up on his knees, shook his numb legs, and walked towards the top of the city.

The village wall, which was originally thought to be strong enough, was now full of holes and dents. Even the parapets in many places were blown away. Rolling logs and firewood were scattered all over the ground. There were also many bloodstains. It was unknown whether they were left by our own people or the enemy.

She spotted her brother sitting against the wall and quickened her pace as she rushed over. Catching a glimpse of the red shadow, Lin Meng suddenly raised his head, then saw who it was. The anticipation in his eyes dimmed, and he forced a smile, "You're here."

Lin Mo knew the reason for this reaction. She was wearing the red dress the gang leader had left her today. Countless seriously wounded and dying soldiers mistook her for the gang leader herself, clutching her hands and wailing, begging her to save them, to take care of their wives and children, to quickly defeat the enemy.

What they worshipped as a god was not her, but the person in the red dress standing in front of the battle line.

However, Lin Mo understood their thoughts, and even she secretly prayed, hoping that the leader would send troops back to rescue them, like he had done before. But this was unrealistic. They were only facing a small force, and the real powerful enemy was still at sea, and they had to deal with it with all their strength.

Therefore, Lin Mo did not say any nonsense, but squatted down and whispered: "Are you okay? How is the situation?"

Lin Meng leaned against the wall, seemingly exhausted, and took a breath before saying, "I can still hold on. It's just that we're all fired up, and there are too many barbarian boats, making it a bit difficult to deal with them."

Just yesterday, he had organized a night raid, secretly sending a group of elite soldiers out of the city and burning the Xisai camp at night. He had indeed succeeded, even setting their food and artillery fire on fire, causing chaos out of control.

However, today, the other side sent another batch of supplies and intensified the bombing, as if to remind him that Cisse's fleet was still floating on the sea, and what was sent ashore was of no value at all.

This was a real blow to morale, and what was even worse was that those red-haired foreigners were truly fearless of death.

After making up their minds to attack by force, they began to organize people to climb the wall. The ladders were extremely simple, but they were all sailors who were used to climbing masts. This little wall was really not enough for them. They would climb up without warning, making the city dangerous.

There were not enough defenders in the city, and they had to send troops to protect the rear, which was really difficult to cope with.

The fake relief in his voice was gone; it seemed the situation was truly dire. Lin Mo hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Is there no other way to deal with this?"

"If there's a surprise force that can tie up the fleet at sea..." Lin Meng stopped mid-sentence and shook his head. "It's okay. Our morale is still there, and the Fanzi and the Long Whale Pirates are clearly at odds. When the casualties are too great and we can't hold on any longer, we'll naturally retreat."

This was his only reliance now. After suffering two setbacks, the long whale pirates who attacked from the shallows were obviously a little lazy. They probably knew that it would be a tough nut to crack and wanted to wait for the pirates to charge in the front so that they could reap the benefits.

It is true that those red-haired foreigners are ferocious and difficult to deal with, and their artillery is frighteningly numerous, but they are just a fleet after all, and sailors are needed to sail. The real war has not yet started, and it is impossible for them to use all their forces on this isolated island.

Even if the gang leader did not send ships for support, the existence of the fleet would be helpful to them. The only thing they had to do was to hold on and not let their morale be crushed by the enemy.

Lin Meng was not worried about this. There were many new recruits on the island, but everyone knew the significance of this battle, and they would hold on even for their own sake.

Lin Mo actually understood all of this, but even though she knew it, seeing the island engulfed in a fierce battle and so many people losing their lives, she still felt extremely heavy in her heart and extremely powerless.

She is not like a gang leader. She cannot give advice or fight on the battlefield. She can only wear this red dress and comfort the dying wounded. For her, this is certainly not enough.

Her mind was in a mess, and she couldn't help but look up outside the city.

There was also a mess below, with blood, corpses, deep pits made by artillery shells, pulled out chevaux de frise, and filled-up ditches.

The enemy has advanced quite a distance and will sooner or later stand directly outside the city, which will make it even more difficult to deal with them.

This wasn't even the enemy's entire force; they still had large ships floating at sea, countless artillery pieces, and countless soldiers. Only by eliminating the fleet at sea could we possibly break free...

Something seemed to flash through her mind, and Lin Mo immediately grabbed the hem of her skirt, holding the red fabric in her palm.

She was not the gang leader, and she did not have the ability of a gang leader, but she did train hard, read military books, and led a group of female soldiers.

After hesitating for an unknown amount of time, Lin Mo opened his mouth and said, "What if we can find a way to launch a surprise attack on the fleet at sea?"

Lin Meng was startled, then shook his head: "The seaport is occupied. Our small boats can't break through the siege, nor can they pose a threat to the gunboats."

In the absence of equal combat power, fire attack may be the only way to deal with the Xisai gunboats.

Unfortunately, those foreigners were cunning, and the army was still stationed at sea. The outlets to the sea on both sides were blocked, so there was no chance of a sneak attack, let alone posing a threat to the fleet.

"What if we don't use a boat?" Lin Mo continued without giving up.

Lin Mo frowned and stared at his sister. Without waiting for his reply, he said directly, "We can send a team to surprise attack that fleet!"