Chapter 82: Gongji County Defense Battle
The Jianlu had indeed arrived, arriving almost as soon as Zhao Xiaofei's 1,000 men had gathered. However, they hadn't yet laid siege to the city; supplies were still being transported into the city from the crossing point outside. Zhao Xiaofei had previously rented a large building in the village across the river to use as a crossing point. There, a large amount of supplies were stored: cement, bricks, rebar, and a large amount of chemicals.
Just as the last supplies were delivered to the city, Zhao Xiaofei stood on the city wall and said to Hu Wen, "Give the order! Block the city gates with stones!"
"Pass the order down, block the city gate! Do not open it without my order!" Hu Wen ordered one of his squad leaders. The man quickly came down from the city wall to pass on the order.
At this time, the Jianlu army finally arrived. They finally began to besiege the city! Zhao Xiaofei had only seen large armies besieging cities on TV before, but today he finally saw it for real. The computer special effects in the past were simply too awesome, and nothing could be as shocking as the real scene. There were probably nearly 10,000 people standing under the city, some on horseback carrying bows and arrows, some on horseback holding swords, and more infantry following behind. It was as if a group of giant ants were gathering around, ready to break through the fortress at any time. You could still feel the vibrations from their walking when you stood on the top of the city. From the flag, you could tell it was the Bordered White Banner. The Bordered White Banner? Zhao Xiaofei thought about it and remembered that when he was reading a book at night, he said that the current flag owner was Haoge. Wasn't he in Jinzhou? Why did he come to me? History is a bit messed up? This is different from what is written in the history textbook?
At this time, Zhou Shuai came to Zhao Xiaofei's side, and Zhao Xiaofei asked, "Brother Zhou, how are the preparations going?"
General Zhou nodded and said, "We're just waiting for these bastards to attack the city!" He raised his telescope and peered towards the enemy's center. Surrounded by a group of cavalry guards, he saw a man. He wore distinctive armor: white armor with what appeared to be silver dragon pendants on his shoulders, and a black helmet with a black cherry on top. He had a long sword hanging from his waist and was talking to the general next to him.
"The one in the middle is Hauge!" Zhou Shuai pointed to the distance and said to Zhao Xiaofei.
"The one who looks like a western cowboy with a big beard?" Zhao Xiaofei asked while holding a telescope.
"Yes! That's right!" said Zhou Shuai.
"I've seen a portrait of Haoge, and he doesn't have that much beard! And he doesn't look much like the portrait?" Zhao Xiaofei asked. Yesterday, he had carefully examined the portraits of these banner leaders, thinking that if he could meet one of them and kill him, it would be worth his trip to the late Ming Dynasty.
"Traditional Chinese painting methods are all about artistic conception, not the realistic techniques of Western oil painting. Moreover, the painter's angle of painting is different, so you may not be able to tell! The main thing is to look at his attire and armor! This is the armor of the leader of the Eight Banners!" said Zhou Shuai.
"Who cares! Can you shoot this bastard to death?" Zhao Xiaofei said.
"No, it's too far!" At this time, Wanshan also came to the top of the city wall. He was holding a telescope in his hand and carrying a musket nearly two meters long on his back.
Zhao Xiaofei looked back and was first attracted by the gun on his back. He asked, "Did you make this gun yourself?"
"Yes! It's for sniping. Don't be anxious! Wait until they get closer before shooting, so you have a better chance!" Wanshan said.
At this moment, a horn blew from the Bordered White Banner formation. The Eight Banners began to move, with the archers and sword and shield soldiers advancing first. They formed into four phalanxes and slowly advanced toward the city gate. The clattering footsteps felt like stepping on one's chest, like a stone pressing down, making it difficult to breathe. After about 150 steps, their march stopped. The four phalanxes formed a line, waiting for the messenger's flag.
At this moment, someone in the opposing army began to raise flags, and the archers began to prepare. They drew their bows and arrows, but the bowstrings were not fully drawn. They continued to wait for orders.
General Zhou then shouted, "Everyone, get ready! Raise your shields!"
After months of training, the escorts from the Zhenyuan Escort Agency were practically disciplined and their movements were perfectly coordinated. With a clatter, everyone raised their shields and hid behind them, leaving no limbs exposed.
As soon as the action was completed, the other party began to draw the bow to full length. Then there was a drum sound, and thousands of arrows were released at once. Suddenly, it seemed as if a dark cloud had risen from the sky, and a dense cloud of arrows flew over the top of the border town.
One of the escorts was hiding behind his shield when he felt something hit it. The shield clanged loudly, and the force was so strong that he held on to it with all his might, fearing the arrow would hit him.
Zhao Xiaofei did the same, he simply leaned against his shield and watched arrows rain down on the top of the city wall, some even falling inside.
After a wave of arrows rained down, Zhao Xiaofei wanted to stand up to take a look, but was grabbed by Zhou Shuai. Zhou Shuai said, "You want to die? There are two more waves of arrows to come!" Zhao Xiaofei quickly retreated when he heard it.
Sure enough, as soon as the words fell, another wave of arrows rained down, followed by a third. When the third wave of arrows had finished, a horn blew from the Bordered White Banner Army, signaling the attack. The archers stopped firing, while the laddermen and shieldmen began charging forward. They began trotting towards the city wall like ants. General Zhou then called to the messenger, "Wave the flag, and send the light troops up to the wall!"
The messengers began waving flags, and the young and strong soldiers stationed at the city walls, under the command of the Ming army, began to climb the walls. They began to pick up rolling logs and stones, ready to deal with the attacking Jianlu. Some children shuttled among them, picking up fallen arrows and collecting them to hand over to the escorts.
As the enemy drew closer, they began shouting, "Let's charge the city!" Ladders were being erected on the walls, and soldiers were preparing to ascend. General Zhou watched as more and more enemy soldiers descended the ladders. Some were about to ascend the ramparts. Just then, General Zhou pulled out his remote and pressed a button.
At that moment, Zhao Xiaofei saw the enemy troops on the ground suddenly being propelled into the air by the shockwave of the explosion. Those who hadn't been killed immediately lay wailing on the ground, some with broken arms, others missing legs. Others' faces were covered in blood from the metal shards, their eyes reduced to bloody pits. Some rolled on the ground, covered in blood. The escorts, having heard the explosion, calmly drew their bows and arrows, drew their arrows, and shot at the Eight Banners auxiliary soldiers howling on the ground.
Zhao Xiaofei had never seen such a grand spectacle before. The visual impact was beyond anything he could experience from watching a movie. The air was filled with the smell of gunpowder and blood. It was nauseating! However, the local Ming Dynasty people seemed unfazed, still gleefully watching the wailing people being shot to death by the escorts.
Li Deliang and Gu Mancang commanded 200 escorts as a fire brigade, rushing to support any area they saw struggling. But now, they too were joining the fray. Li Deliang, in particular, was a skilled archer, treating it as a form of training. Every arrow he pierced the enemy's eye. His compound bow was incredibly effective, requiring far less effort than before, allowing him to shoot faster and with greater accuracy.
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