Chapter 843 The Black Wind Cavalry Goes into Battle! (Second Update)
A deluge of arrows pierced the sky, emitting a deafening whistling sound, and with overwhelming force, they weaved a dense rain of arrows across the heavens.
After the first row of archers finished shooting, they quickly retreated to replenish their ranks, while the archers in the back row stepped forward through the gaps and mercilessly fired their arrows!
The three rows of archers worked in perfect coordination, ensuring their attacks were seamless and allowing them to fully recover their strength.
The arrows rained down on the front lines of the Liang army, who hurriedly raised their shields to defend themselves.
Unfortunately, the shield could only block one side; it could only block the top, not the front. Arrows shot in from different angles, and one of them would always manage to slip through the gap and hit the body of the Liang soldier!
After the first volley of arrows was fired, dozens of soldiers from the Liang Kingdom's camp fell.
Chang Wei continued his attack, and the archers almost drew their bows to the point of sparks. The terrifying sound of arrows piercing the air echoed throughout the city. In an instant, the Liang army screamed and wailed in agony.
After three rounds of attacks, the Liang army had suffered over a hundred casualties from arrow wounds.
For the Liang army, which has 20,000 vanguard troops, the sacrifice of a hundred men may not be a big deal, but if it happens in the blink of an eye, it is a very serious situation.
Especially since the enemy didn't lose a single soldier, they only wasted some arrows.
Song Kai felt the pressure from the garrison of Quyang City.
What exactly happened?
Isn't Chang Wei a confidant of the Nangong family? Why would he go to war with the Liang Kingdom?
Could it be that the Nangong family feigned peace that night to distract them and make it easier for Chang Wei to destroy the weapons?
The Nangong family has been toying with the Liang Kingdom's army from beginning to end.
Song Kai narrowed his cold eyes. No matter what, since Chang Wei dared to wage war against Liang today, then they shouldn't blame him for turning his back on them!
He snapped the arrow from his shoulder, and with a sharp shout, projected his voice through his inner strength: "Everyone, do not panic! Hear my command! Vanguard left wing, form formation! Flying Crane Formation!"
The Flying Crane Formation was created by Chu Feipeng, a divine general of the Liang Kingdom. It uses shields as the sky to form a defensive formation, and is named for its resemblance to a flying crane when viewed from above.
A single shield can only defend a limited area, but when all the shields are put together, they form an impenetrable iron dome, blocking the front as well.
The arrows had nowhere left to strike.
But they would be too naive to think that this is all Chang Wei has up his sleeve.
"Catapult!"
Chang Wei gave the order.
The archers, well-trained, retreated to the side, and the catapults were quickly pushed to the edge of the city wall by the soldiers. They loaded stones, pressed them down, and fired them, their movements efficient and uniform.
Some of the Black Wind Camp's generals were also present.
Cheng Fugui's mouth gaped open, unable to close for a long time: "These...these greenhorns...they're pretty good..."
He had once thought these rebels were utterly useless, having been slaughtered by their Black Wind Cavalry.
Gu Jiao said, "Everyone has their own expertise. They may not be our match in close combat, but when it comes to defending a city, they are the kings."
Quyang City was impregnable, not only because of its strong city walls and gates, but also because of its impenetrable defensive tactics.
If Zhaoguo Yuegu City had such a force, it wouldn't have been so difficult to defend back then.
Seeing this, Gu Jiao was basically relieved. Although the Liang army was large in number, as long as the city gates were not opened and the city towers did not collapse, they would not be able to break through the defenses set up by Chang Wei.
An hour later, the Liang army had lost nearly a thousand soldiers. The general's order came from the rear. Song Kai gritted his teeth unwillingly and sounded the retreat.
In the first wave of attacks, they didn't even get close to the city walls.
Although they used the catapults haphazardly a few times, they couldn't get within range because Chang Wei's attacks were too fierce, wasting more than a dozen heavy stones.
The Liang army rested for two hours and then launched a second attack that night.
This time they came prepared, using incredibly sturdy shield-bearing battering rams to push their chariots dozens of feet forward. Their catapults finally proved effective, inflicting some damage on the soldiers on the city walls.
Chang Wei deployed black powder.
The Yan state did not mine large areas of saltpeter, so the raw materials for gunpowder were very limited, making it difficult to use in the military.
Chang Wei pulled out all his hidden stash of drugs; if the explosive power wasn't enough, he'd use sleeping pills to make up for it.
The Liang army was defeated once again.
Song Kai was covered in dust and dirt, and he was so angry he was about to explode!
Dragging his injured arm, he mounted his warhorse, drew his sword, and pointed it at the city wall: "You surnamed Chang! If you have the guts, come down and fight me! What kind of man are you, always cowering on the city wall!"
Chang Wei only responded with two words: "Release the arrows."
Only thanks to the selfless protection of his trusted confidants, Song Kai was spared from being riddled with arrows.
At midnight, Song Kai, still unwilling to give up, launched a sneak attack, but was once again defeated and forced to flee by Chang Wei, who had already seen through everything.
Day 1, perfect defense!
The defenders were quite happy; their confidence, which had been shaken by the Black Wind Riders, seemed to have returned considerably, and everyone was in high spirits.
Since they were, after all, the Nangong family's troops, the reason they obeyed Chang Wei was truly due to the Nangong family's past reliance on them.
Now that the Nangong family is no longer in the city, Chang Wei has become the backbone, so whatever he says goes.
Chang Wei came down from the city wall and immediately saw Gu Jiao by the roadside.
Gu Jiao crossed her arms and leaned lazily against the city wall on her right shoulder: "Well done, Lao Chang."
Chang Wei gave her a cold look and said indifferently, "I'm not that familiar with you. Besides, I'm doing this for the people of the city, not to cooperate with you."
Gu Jiao shrugged: "It doesn't matter, as long as you don't cooperate with Liang Guo."
She raised her hand, covered her face, and yawned softly. "It's getting late, I'm going to rest. I'll leave the task of guarding the city to General Chang."
Watching her departing figure, Chang Wei frowned, but ultimately didn't call her back. Instead, he went to the temporary wounded soldiers' camp next door to visit the soldiers who had been injured that day.
Once inside, the Nangong army's medical officer told him that several soldiers who were originally critically wounded had been saved by the young commander of the Black Wind Cavalry.
He spent the same amount of time fighting on the city wall as he did in the wounded soldiers' camp, only leaving after the battle had just ended.
"Understood," Chang Wei said.
Over the next three days, the Liang army launched no fewer than ten attacks outside the west gate, all of which were brilliantly repelled by Chang Wei's skillful military tactics.
The city has the grain supplies that Gu Jiao seized from Nangong Ze. Even if we fight for another ten days or half a month, it won't be a problem. Besides, we don't need to hold out for that long. The imperial army of 120,000 will arrive in five days at the earliest and seven days at the latest.
The situation in Quyang City is very favorable.
However, just as everyone was joyfully awaiting victory, an unexpected event occurred.
The north gate of the city has collapsed!
It wasn't conquered by the Liang army, but by a trusted confidant of the Nangong family who was lurking in the city, who used gunpowder to blow up the gate from the inside.
That trusted confidant was a soldier in the army who was guarding the north gate. It just so happened that it was his turn to be on night duty that night, and no one expected him to do such a thing.
The moment the north gate collapsed, everyone rushed forward to capture him, but he had already lit the signal firework.
"What's that?" In the military camp, Cheng Fugui gazed at the fireworks in the night sky. "They're so beautiful."
Li Jin frowned and said, "It's in the direction of the north of the city."
Tong Zhong asked in bewilderment, "Has something happened at the North Gate?"
Li Jin said, "I don't know what this signal means. We should send someone to investigate immediately."
They didn't know what this meant, but Chang Wei understood perfectly well—it was clearly a signal that the city gates had been breached!
The Liang army was all outside the west gate. Who breached the north gate?
Could it be—
A spy has been discovered?!
Chang Wei's heart skipped a beat!
Gu Jiao was bandaging the wounded soldiers' wounds in the wounded soldiers' camp when she heard the commotion outside. She hurried up to the city wall and asked Chang Wei, "What happened?"
Chang Wei said with a solemn expression, "The north gate has been breached."
Gu Jiao asked in confusion, "Attack? No large army is heading towards the north gate."
Based on past experience, Chang Wei judged: "No, so the situation may be more serious."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a soldier pointed to the Liang army's camp ahead and shouted, "They've retreated!"
Gu Jiao glanced around, her eyes slightly cold: "They didn't withdraw, they moved to the North Gate."
The Liang army is about to attack the north gate.
Gu Jiao and Chang Wei rushed downstairs.
Gu Jiao whistled, and Black Wind King galloped over. Gu Jiao took a big step and nimbly mounted the horse.
Chang Wei summoned a deputy general and put him in charge of the defense of the west gate for the time being, while he rode off with Gu Jiao toward the north gate.
When the two were halfway there, they encountered a soldier who had come to deliver a message.
The soldier bowed and said, "General Chang, something terrible has happened! The north gate has collapsed!"
Chang Wei said, "Explain it clearly!"
The soldier said, "That bastard Zhang Daman blew up the door socket while he was on night duty!"
The door hinges are equivalent to the hinges of a door in later times; without them, the door cannot be installed.
The gate tower of Quyang City was made of stone and was integrated with the entire gate opening. Once it was destroyed, it was impossible to repair it. Only a new one could be built, but that would not be something that could be done in a day or two.
Chang Wei realized the seriousness of the situation.
They were able to deal with the Liang army because of the advantage of the city walls. If the Liang army were to take advantage of the situation and storm into the city, the consequences would be unimaginable.
The troops at the other three city gates could not be withdrawn, because their enemies were not only the Liang army, but also the Han family and the Jin state, which were eyeing them covetously.
Therefore, fewer than 20,000 were actually able to fight at the West Gate.
Gu Jiao calmly said, "General Chang, you go back to guard your west gate. Leave the north gate to the Black Wind Cavalry."
Chang Wei opened his mouth: "But..."
Gu Jiao gripped the reins tightly, gazing towards the north of the city: "From this moment on, the flesh and blood of the Black Wind Riders will be the city gate of the North City!"
I'm rubbing my hands together, hoping to get some monthly votes for Blackwind Rider!
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
