Chapter 621: The Pacification of Sibao County (Twenty-Three) [Still Burning]
Shen Tang possesses a seemingly ordinary yet easily lost virtue as a leader of a power: self-awareness, a clear understanding of his own strengths and weaknesses. He also avoids readily assigning tasks to experts, believing that professional matters should be left to professionals.
She had never fought in a siege.
Unfamiliar with the mobilization of the three armed forces and the deployment of military formations.
To put it simply, she's a giant in one-on-one situations but a dwarf in team battles, her weaknesses as obvious as lice on a bald man's head. Therefore, she simply handed over command to experienced veterans, letting Gu Chi and Jiang Sheng assist her with Word of Power.
As for her...
Gu Chi didn't even need to look at Shen Tang's face; just hearing her thoughts, he could imagine her almond-shaped eyes wide open, a plea welling up within them. He waved his hand, indicating that she could leave with Xun Zhen. With his lord's martial prowess, no one under Qiu Cheng's command could threaten her life; releasing her would allow her to vent her excess energy. As for why Xun Zhen? Naturally, it was because that fellow was too expensive.
Because Shen Tang is incredibly powerful, she doesn't need much support. And even without Xun Zhen resorting to his "pay-to-win" tactics, his limited literary energy is enough to take care of her alone. If Xun Zhen were to be in charge of supporting the army's verbal abilities, he would unleash devastating attacks... no amount of money could cover his spending.
"attack!"
The army below the city shouted in unison.
The high-pitched and stirring war drums shattered the clouds.
The pent-up morale has finally coalesced into a powerful force.
It hung above the three armies, and then split into three.
A portion of the morale is evenly distributed and integrated into the body of each soldier, either to solidify defense, boost morale, or enhance physical strength, allowing them to temporarily forget the fear and fatigue brought by combat, and inspiring them to charge, kill the enemy, and achieve merit; another portion is transformed into siege equipment needed for this battle, such as battering rams, ladders, catapults, trench bridges, etc. The larger, more sophisticated, and more complex the siege equipment transformed from morale, the more morale is required; the remainder is used to activate the incantation of the military formation, reduce the consumption of one's own forces, and extend the duration of combat.
Lü Jue took the lead, ready to make a move.
Unexpectedly, a streak of light flashed past him, its target matching his expectations: the chains supporting the drawbridge of the city gate. Breaking the chains would lower the drawbridge, allowing him to use battering rams to breach the gate. He turned to see Bai Su fire another arrow.
He was not to be outdone.
However, the drawbridge's iron chains were extremely thick, and even arrows infused with martial energy could not break them in a few blows. Qiu Cheng's troops on the city wall quickly realized Bai Su and her companion's plan and decisively destroyed the drawbridge while simultaneously raising the martial energy city wall for defense.
The giant catapults hurled boulders that crashed against the martial energy city wall, sending ripples spreading outwards, as if the earth itself were turning over beneath their feet. In just one round, the martial energy city wall showed signs of strain, the cracks unable to heal as quickly as they appeared.
Before long, the army below the city walls, under the cover of various siege weapons, had approached the moat. In particular, the battering rams, five stories high and two zhang wide, allowed soldiers to hide inside and use crossbows, stone cannons, or bows and arrows to attack the defenders on the city walls.
"The moat is just ahead..."
The advance on the front line went smoothly, which greatly pleased the old general.
Strictly speaking, this was their first battle under Chen Tang's command, and naturally they had to fight brilliantly to avoid disgracing General Chu Jie. His next plan was to build a pontoon bridge, cross the moat, and cover the advance troops' attack on the city walls, probing the strength of Qiu Cheng's garrison. Unexpectedly, Jiang Sheng and Gu Chi both inquired about the pontoon bridge...
Only those with command authority can formulate the physical form of morale.
Gu Chi did not choose the moat bridge, nor did Jiang Sheng.
The old general paused in stroking his beard. The moat bridge was the siege weapon he had specified: "Without the moat bridge, how can we cross the moat?"
The moat bridge is a good thing.
Previously, the moat wasn't wide, so finding the timber needed for the moat bridges wasn't difficult. Later, everyone became more skilled, digging moats two or three zhang wide, making the timber for such wide moats hard to find. The cost and technical difficulty of constructing the moat bridges skyrocketed. After the arrival of the bandit leader, they became a "darling" again because they could specify the length of the moat bridges. Let alone a moat two or three zhang wide, even a moat twenty or thirty zhang wide could be easily obtained if morale was high. Crucially, these structures were made of condensed martial energy, making them sturdy and durable, and not easily destroyed by enemy troops on the city walls.
How can you attack a city without trenches and bridges?
Jiang Sheng and Gu Chi replied almost in unison.
"Of course, we filled it in!"
The old general: "..."
He hesitated, saying, "If that's the case, morale might not be high enough..."
A moat that is often two or three zhang wide and one or two zhang deep requires far more morale to fill than a few moat bridges.
From a cost-performance perspective, it's not worth it.
Jiang Sheng said, "There's no need for morale."
The old general looked at him, puzzled.
Jiang Sheng said calmly, "The literary quality is sufficient."
It's not like we're filling the entire moat; we only need to fill the area below the city wall. We have that much confidence.
The old general: "..."
He couldn't help but recall General Chu Jie's instructions.
[The scholars under Shen Jun's command should not be offended lightly—they can be overestimated, but not underestimated.]
The old general: "..."
In terms of recognizing talent, he was inferior to General Chu Jie.
Xun Ding shared the same sentiments as the old general.
Despite all his flaws, Gong Xichou, that damned scoundrel, has sharp eyes and a keen eye for people. This Qiu Cheng is truly useless; he knew Shen Tang was going to lead his troops to attack, even though I rushed back in advance to warn him, yet he didn't make any preparations beforehand!
What preparations?
Start the stove, boil water and broth.
These need to be prepared in advance.
Splashing boiling water down from the city walls, or shooting the enemy with arrows dipped in molten gold—especially the latter, where even a glancing blow could cause a soldier to die from a persistent high fever after the battle—is the way to achieve the highest returns with the lowest cost.
result--
They only hurriedly prepared after the fight had already started.
Although the city walls had stockpiled rolling stones and logs, these were high-cost consumables; once they were all thrown down, they wouldn't kill many people. Coupled with Shen Tang's various psychological attacks, Qiu Cheng's morale had plummeted.
Another embarrassing blunder...
If Linshan County can be saved...
Unless Qiu Cheng is God's favorite son, or at the very least, an illegitimate child conceived through adultery... At least Xun Ding accepted the money and helped guard the city walls for a while. But one person's strength cannot save the whole situation.
As the defending lines crumbled, more and more Shen Tang troops, led by their generals, scaled the city walls to fight. Just then, Xun Ding heard that the city gate beneath the walls had been smashed to pieces, and soon soldiers were entering the city…
no……
Xun Ding's expression twisted slightly.
Shouldn't the city gate have been blocked off beforehand?
What kind of ghost can a city gate block?
Xun Ding was truly wronging Qiu Cheng. Moving stones to block the city gate would take time; it was just that the battering ram hadn't completely blocked it before it was breached. They tried to use military incantations to move rolling stones to fill the gap and hold out for a while, but Shen Tang didn't give them the chance. Just when Xun Ding thought this siege would be lost in a muddle, he saw a very familiar face. Standing beside this person, Shen Tang flashed him a set of white, even teeth and charged forward with his sword.
Xun Ding: "..."
_(:з」∠)_
My temperature dropped quite a bit today, returning to normal several times before slightly rebounding, but not as alarmingly high as 39 degrees Celsius last night. My spirits are also normal. My throat is still itchy, and I really want to cough, but I have to hold it in (coughing makes my C-section incision very painful). I'm worried, so I bought a few test kits on WeChat to see if I'm really positive. I also got some fever reducers from my aunt, just in case.
P.S.: Today is December 22nd. My antigen test came back positive, my cough has worsened, but my temperature is still fluctuating within the normal range. I'm very tired today, so I'll be taking a day off. No need to wait for updates!
(End of this chapter)
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