Chapter 385 Challenge
Having decided to attack the city tonight, Lin Changning quickly led his men down to prepare. They had battering rams, but they didn't know how long it would take to take the city this time.
Moreover, Changning has already kept in mind what Li Mingde just said. The only fear is that there might be a trap set in the city, but the possibility of a trap being set during a surprise attack tonight is very small.
The Xie family was detained in the county government office, and the news only reached here tonight. It's only been two or three days. It would be quite difficult to set up traps and wage street fighting throughout the entire process in just two or three days.
Therefore, Lin Changning estimated that there should be no traps in the city, so attacking the city tonight would be the best opportunity.
The imperial court dispatched veteran generals in advance, presumably because they anticipated that the generals would seize a city here first. However, it is unknown how many people are currently in the city.
The King of Chu only gave three thousand men. If a veteran general had deployed more men in the city, it would have been difficult to take Pingding City.
When Li Mingxiu was reorganizing the troops, he saw Lin Changning frowning in thought and suddenly asked, "What are you thinking about, Changning?"
Lin Changning looked up and pondered as he looked at Li Mingxiu, whose face showed some curiosity: "He's thinking about how many people there are in the city."
Upon hearing this, Li Mingxiu suddenly laughed: "Worry about that? Don't worry, Changning. My father said there are at most two thousand people in the city. Commander Yan's army is still stationed on the frontier, so he can only bring a thousand men. Including the soldiers in the city, there are at most two thousand people."
Lin Changning nodded, his brows relaxing a little, but he didn't dare to relax too much. After all, it was the first battle, and it would be best to get a good start.
The moon rises above the willow branches.
The army had almost finished assembling, and Li Mingde and Li Mingxiu led two thousand men to quickly approach the Pingding city gate.
Lin Changning followed behind the two, assembling the cavalry on the side.
The cavalry is more mobile, and most of the soldiers who came with him were veterans. The infantry would lead the way and the cavalry would guerrilla tactics. When Commander Yan came out, he would then lead his men to provide support. This was the safest approach.
Li Mingxiu and Li Mingde had no objections, watching Lin Changning with his cavalry by their side.
When the group was still a few miles from the city wall, a large drum suddenly sounded above the city gate. Li Mingde and Li Mingxiu exchanged glances and both saw a hint of wariness in each other's eyes.
There are definitely guards on the city walls. Commander Yan must be inside the city now, waiting for them.
As the group approached the city gate, a man on the gate suddenly drew his bow and shot an arrow at Li Mingxiu, who was leading the group.
Li Mingxiu instinctively drew his sword to deflect the arrow, then looked up and squinted at the people on the city wall.
The man with a thick beard stood firmly on the city gate, holding a bow in his hand, which he had just withdrawn.
Li Mingxiu looked up and chuckled, "It really is Commander Yan. Commander Yan fought alongside my father before, and even held me when I was a child. I never expected that upon meeting him again, he would shoot an arrow right at my head."
Li Mingde, dressed in white, sighed and said, "This time it's Commander Yan; it might not be so easy to get it."
Li Mingxiu shook his head and glanced at Lin Changning, who was leading cavalry behind him: "As long as we can take it down."
As the two were talking, the drumbeats on the city gate tower changed, and the city gate tower opened a small crack in an instant.
Eight hundred cavalrymen rode out of the gate with a whooshing sound, along with what appeared to be several hundred infantrymen, bustling about as they headed out of the city.
Li Mingxiu breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the people emerge. It seemed that, just as his father had said, the court wouldn't give out many people.
The man leading the group, with torches beside him, suddenly burst into laughter as he looked at Li Mingxiu, who was standing at the very front.
"Why did the King of Chu send two calves instead?"
Li Mingxiu smiled and cupped his hands towards Commander Yan at the front: "Uncle Yan, how have you been? My father is currently busy with grain matters in Taiyuan, so he sent my brother and me here. Please forgive us, Uncle Yan!"
The unshaven man opposite him shook his head slightly: "Tell me, what's wrong with you guys? Why do you have to act like traitors in this day and age? It's really putting your uncle in a difficult position. Should I take your head or not?"
After saying that, he began to mock himself: "If I take your head, I feel like I'm doing your father a disservice. But if I don't take your head, His Majesty will punish me again, putting your uncle in a very difficult position. Mingxiu, why don't I spare your life today, and you go back and persuade your father to surrender? That way, we can save ourselves from fighting, right?"
Li Mingxiu slowly wiped the smile off his face: "Uncle Yan is joking. Speaking of which, why don't you join my father? Joining my father will surely guarantee you nothing!"
The general opposite sighed and hummed softly, "No, no, we won't become traitors and rebels."
He then waved to the cavalrymen beside him, signaling that the generals of the two armies should proceed first.
Commander Yan, wielding a long sword, rode his steed towards Li Mingxiu opposite him: "Boy, it's been years! Let your uncle see your swordsmanship now!!"
As he spoke, he charged towards Li Mingxiu. Li Mingxiu felt a little apprehensive. Many years ago, when he was still young, he followed his father to the front lines. This Commander Yan had fought his father with swords and was a formidable fighter.
My father was defeated by him many times.
Although my father sometimes won, he generally won more often than he lost.
Now that he was asked to go, he was a little apprehensive, but thinking about Lin Changning's recent harsh training, he gritted his teeth and rushed forward.
The two immediately engaged in battle. After exchanging blows a few times, Li Mingxiu realized that Commander Yan seemed to be deliberately teasing him, like a cat playing with a mouse, leaving several wounds on his body before jokingly saying something.
"Hey, not bad! Your swordsmanship has improved over the years! Come on, let's do it again!"
After saying that, he slashed fiercely at Li Mingxiu's neck. Fortunately, he had been frequently beaten by Lin Changning recently, so his reaction speed was extremely fast. Li Mingxiu quickly dodged Commander Yan's knife and slowly retreated on his horse.
Commander Yan saw that Li Mingxiu was showing signs of retreat and chuckled. "These two greenhorns dare to dream of taking Pingding City? Do they really think I'm a pushover?"
These two people aren't even enough for him to beat up.
Seeing the two men showing signs of retreat, Commander Yan impulsively charged forward, only to find them leading the army in a slow retreat.
My heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Turning his head, he realized he had overtaken them; the cavalry behind him had fallen far behind.
Based on his understanding of Li Mingxiu, he knew that Li Mingxiu was not the kind of person who was afraid of death. The sudden retreat excited him, and he chased after him directly.
It wasn't until they got closer to the two that they realized something was wrong.
For the first time, just as he was about to retreat back to the ranks behind him, he saw a young general in silver armor, wielding a long sword, leading several hundred cavalrymen charging directly at him from his side.
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