Chapter 115
"Sir, why are you here?" He Xin was directing the garrison soldiers to set up their crossbows. He turned around and saw the figures of Lin Shuge and Chu Xu. He hurriedly went up to them, "Sir, is your leg okay?"
Lin Shuge replied: "It's nothing serious. He will be able to leave in a few days. How is the situation?"
He glanced outside the city wall and saw a group of soldiers checking Hu Luo, an important defensive fortification that the border troops would use to block the enemy's attack.
"Before leaving, Commander Hou told us not to be careless, so all preparations for war have been made. You don't have to worry, sir." He Xin said.
"Where are the Qiang people? How many have come? Have the scouts found out clearly?" Lin Shuge asked worriedly when he saw his serious expression.
He Xin said with some difficulty: "The scouts reported that at least 5,000 people have arrived."
When Lin Shuge heard the number of five thousand, he was shocked and asked, "How many defenders are there in the city?"
"There are 5,000 soldiers in the city, but Commander Hou is not here, and the number of soldiers in the city is not advantageous. I'm afraid this battle will be difficult." He Xin could no longer hide the truth from Lin Shuge and could only tell him the truth.
"Which group of the Qiang people are coming?" Lin Shuge asked again.
He Xin paused for a moment before saying, "Shaoliangbu."
"Shaoliang tribe? Didn't Zhongxuan go to pursue the Shaoliang tribe? Could it be that he has..." Lin Shuge's face was pale, and a trace of panic flashed in his eyes.
No, that wouldn’t happen. Maybe it’s just that he didn’t encounter the Shaoliang tribe, or there might be some other reason. He suppressed his panic and said, "He Weishi, I asked the craftsmen to make a new weapon and have it shipped here. We can try it out on the Qiang first. This weapon is quite powerful, so tell the soldiers to be careful when using it."
"What weapons are they? There are enough swords and guns in the camp." He Xin asked.
Lin Shuge said: "It's a weapon that can explode. Just watch it. When the Qiang people are thrown into disarray, it will be your advantage."
"Thank you, sir. I'll have someone arrange it right away." He waved his hand, and soldiers immediately stepped forward to obey his orders. "Take your men to find the craftsmen that Lord Lin just mentioned, and do as they say."
"Wait, move out as many catapults as you can." Lin Shuge called the soldiers again.
He Xin nodded and said, "I'll listen to you, sir." The soldier saluted and retreated.
The wind was strong in the wilderness. Lin Shuge looked towards the smoke and dust in the distance. A voice came from behind, and then someone said, "Sir, the people of Pingxiang have learned about the Qiang people. Many of them have come to help. They said they must defend this place together with you. However, many people are ready to flee the city overnight after hearing the news."
It’s Lu Yuechuan.
"Let's go take a look." Lin Shuge said to Chu Xu and Lu Yuechuan, and then looked at He Xin, "He Weishi, I don't know anything about fighting, but just tell us about other things."
"Yes, sir." He Xin bowed to him.
Lin Shuge, Lu Yuechuan and others came to the city wall. In the dark, Lin Shuge could not see the faces of the people. When he got closer, he saw that some of the people in Pingxiang were holding hoes and sticks, and some were pulling carts and pushing food. When they saw him coming, someone said, "Sir, we heard that the Qiang people were invading, so we all came to help defend the city."
"Yes, sir. Although I can't fight, I am a good cook. At least I can cook for you."
"That's right. You are a good official, and the soldiers guarding the city are also good soldiers. Why can only you guard the city? We are also Pingxiang people, so we should have our share."
"That's right. To put it bluntly, if the city is breached, everyone will die. It's better to come here. Maybe you can drag the Qiang people with you before you die."
Lin Shuge looked at them one by one and said, "Thank you very much. Everyone, please listen to our arrangements. We do need your help for some things. Although the Qiang people are coming aggressively, we are not afraid. With me, He Weishi and all the soldiers here, we will never let the Qiang people set foot in Pingxiang."
"Besides, if Lord Wei knew about the situation here, he would definitely come back to help in time, so don't worry."
"Okay, we'll listen to the adults." Someone shouted, and the people echoed.
Lin Shuge asked Chu Xu to push the wheelchair aside and said to Lu Yuechuan, "Arrange the people to escort the supplies. How is the preparation going in Xiangli Valley?"
Lu Yuechuan said, "I understand, sir. Xiangli Gu and the others are ready."
"Okay, success or failure depends on this one." Lin Shuge looked determined and touched the bracelet on his wrist.
Suddenly, a soldier came to report, "Lin County Magistrate, the Qiang people... are coming."
"What? So fast," he looked at Lu Yuechuan, "Tell the soldiers and Xiang Ligu to withdraw quickly. I'll go up there and take a look."
Lu Yuechuan said hastily, "Okay, sir."
Chu Xu helped Lin Shuge up to the tower. When He Xin saw him, he immediately said, "Sir, the scouts reported that the Qiang are less than ten miles away from Pingxiang."
Lin Shuge looked at the rolling dust in the distance, and soon he saw a dark mass of Qiang people riding horses with scimitars in their hands. Standing here, Lin Shuge could even hear their excited shouts.
He gritted his teeth and said, "Don't fight yet, let them get closer."
The horses were extremely fast and soon the Qiang troops arrived at the foot of the city wall. A leader rode out and spoke a few words loudly in Qiang language. Some of the soldiers stationed in Pingxiang had dealt with the Qiang people before, so their faces changed immediately after hearing what the Qiang people said.
"What did he say?" Lin Shuge looked at Lu Yuechuan.
Lu Yuechuan looked at him in horror, his voice hoarse, "He said, he said that Wei Houchang and his soldiers had been killed by them, and asked us to surrender quickly, otherwise... Wei Houchang and his men would be ours."
"No... impossible, it definitely won't happen. He Weishi, this will shake the morale of the army. Tell the soldiers not to fall into the Qiang people's trap. Send someone to talk to them. We won't fall into their trap. If they dare to take a step forward, we will make sure they never return. Do whatever you can to provoke them." Lin Shuge dug his nails deeply into his hands, suppressing the panic in his heart, and instructed He Xin.
He Xin's eyes were full of blood, "Yes, how could it be possible that Lord Hou... I'll be back soon."
Lu Yuechuan said worriedly: "Sir..."
"It's okay, Zhongxuan said he would come back. This must be the Qiang people's strategy of besieging Wei to save Zhao." His face was calm again, but he was actually very confused.
"Your Excellency is saying..."
Lin Shuge closed his eyes, nodded and said nothing more.
I could hear the two armies cursing at each other. The Qiang people were obviously getting impatient. Seeing that the Yan soldiers refused to leave the city, they prepared to attack head-on.
"Here they come, let them have a taste of gunpowder first." Lin Shuge smashed his hand hard against the city wall, blood immediately flowed out, and Lu Yuechuan exclaimed "Sir."
"It's okay, I just want to stay awake." He ignored the wound on his hand and looked into the distance.
The sound of Qiang people's horses' hooves was like thunder. They drew their long swords and rushed towards this side. The shouts of people and the neighing of horses were intertwined. The Yan soldiers remembered the orders carefully, their eyes were murderous, and the crossbows in their hands were ready, waiting for the order to take action.
When the Qiang people saw that no one came out to fight, they thought that the city was well defended, so they wanted to start an attack under the leadership of their leader.
"We're almost there." Lin Shuge said with a cold tone in his voice.
There was a loud "bang" that resounded through the sky. From Lin Shuge's position, the first thing he saw was rolling dust, and then the Qiang cavalry who were in chaos. Their faces were full of fear. The area closest to the explosion was littered with corpses, and the horses were frightened and began to run out of control.
"Master Lin, this... what on earth is this thing?" He Xin's jaw dropped. "Master, you can't summon divine punishment, can you?" The soldiers next to him were also shocked. Some of them even lost their bows and arrows and dropped them to the ground.
"No, it's just a weapon. Hurry, let the catapult go while they are in chaos." Lin Shuge said expressionlessly with a hint of cruelty in his eyes.
"Okay... okay, I'll give the order immediately." He Xin had a look of fear and a hint of admiration on her face, and she ran down in a hurry.
The leader of the Qiang people covered his painful ears and asked in panic, "What on earth is this?"
Many Qiang people actually bowed down to the heavens. Some were knocked down by the gunpowder or thrown off by frightened horses. In their ears, the soldiers of Dayan shouted in Qiang dialect, "This is a punishment from heaven. It is a punishment from heaven for the Qiang people's rebellion."
"They are talking nonsense," the leader shouted, "get up," he held the reins with both hands and looked coldly at the city wall in the distance. Unexpectedly, the soldiers of Dayan opened the city gate, and a team of soldiers pushing catapults came out.
Before they could react, gunpowder was coming towards them like a falling star in the night. "Oh no, retreat quickly, everyone retreat."
But the gunpowder was faster, and huge sparks fell around him. Explosions rang out one after another, and the leader's eyes were filled with despair. Looking at the corpses around him, he spurred his horse back, but he didn't expect another huge spark to explode next to him.
Next, He Xin led the armored soldiers of Dayan to charge towards this side. Today, the soldiers had witnessed how gunpowder blew the Qiang people into pieces, and their morale was greatly boosted. As soon as the order to charge came out, they immediately rode out on horseback to charge.
The Qiang soldiers here had already been frightened by the gunpowder, and when they saw countless Dayan soldiers coming towards them, they immediately fled or surrendered, leaving only corpses on the ground.
"Sir, we won. We have never fought a battle like this before." He Xin was so excited that he couldn't speak clearly when he ran up. "What is this thing called?"
"The gunpowder was just made. These Qiang people came at a good time, but this time we just caught them off guard." Lin Shuge felt relieved and finally smiled. "Catch the prisoners and interrogate them to find out what happened."
"Yes, sir." He Xin's eyes were full of admiration. He looked at him as if he were a god, and asked again: "Sir, do you still have this kind of gunpowder?"
He felt a little embarrassed. After all, although Lord Lin was the elder brother of their marquis, he was not under the jurisdiction of their Duwei Mansion. To ask for such a sacred object rashly, to put it bluntly, it seemed like he was taking advantage of his relationship.
"No more. The Qiang people came too hastily. I asked Xiangli Gu to transport all the products here. What we fried just now are all the stock. But don't worry. We have craftsmen and raw materials. We can ask them to work harder and make another batch," Lin Shuge replied. He turned around and saw that He Xin, who was originally very excited, now looked disappointed.
He smiled and said, "When Zhongxuan comes back, let Xiangli Gu try it with you. Maybe we can make something more powerful. However, this technique is confidential and must be kept strictly to prevent it from being known by people with bad intentions."
He Xin immediately smiled and said, "Thank you, sir. With the gunpowder, I don't know who dares to do it again."
Lin Shuge said "hmm" and smiled at him.
At this time, a soldier brought a captive and said, "Report to the magistrate of Lin County, He Weishi, the Qiang captive identified that this person is the nephew of the chieftain of Shaoliang tribe."
Lin Shuge asked Chu Xu to invite Lu Yuechuan over. In order to interrogate the prisoners, someone who could speak Qiang language was needed.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
