At that moment, Zou Liang was in the administrative office when he received the urgent report that Chishan had actually led men all the way to the county seat. His heart gave a heavy thud.
He had assumed that those peasants from the town would never dare come to the county seat and make trouble. But events had gone far beyond his expectations, catching the county completely off guard and throwing everyone into a brief panic.
The disorder lasted only a moment. Zou Liang immediately pulled himself together, issued orders to the military office, and dispatched officers to meet the enemy.
The county might have its faults, but it had no shortage of soldiers. Because Lü Xian was timid and afraid of trouble, the defenses had been built as solid as an iron barrel. Unless Chishan possessed the ability to punch a hole through the heavens, these ignorant rebels who did not know the height of the sky or the depth of the earth had only one road ahead of them: death.
Since they dared to come to the county seat and challenge them, this was the perfect opportunity to wipe them out and make an example of them for all the other towns under the county’s jurisdiction!
By the time County Magistrate Lü Xian, his forehead slick with sweat, rushed to the administrative office to find Zou Liang, Zou Liang had already gone to the battlements to direct the battle.
Lü Xian’s heart pounded wildly. For a moment, he wanted to go to the city wall and see how the battle was progressing, but his legs were too weak to move. He considered hiding at home, yet felt that would look utterly disgraceful. In the end, he could only pace frantically around the government office like a headless fly.
As he hurried about, he wiped away his tears and began to regret his actions.
“Heavens above, if I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have dragged my feet. What would it have mattered if I’d returned the salt to them sooner? But now they’ve come to the county with guns and cannons! What are we going to do? What are we going to do?”
Outside the county gates, the fierce winter wind howled repeatedly. Dressed in full military attire, Duan Yan rode at the head of the army.
The Red Flame Army—formed from the merged forces of Chishan and Yanzhen—advanced into the wind and snow.
Snow pellets whipped through the wind, stinging the soldiers’ faces. But to the Red Flame Army, which trained without a day’s rest through both scorching summers and freezing winters, this bit of frost was nothing more than a way to sharpen their spirits before battle.
Duan Yan raised his head and looked toward the county walls, which were not particularly high. The defenders stood packed shoulder to shoulder atop them, while the archers had already drawn their bows and nocked their arrows, aiming directly at the approaching army.
“How did Chishan get so many soldiers?”
The military officer in charge of the county garrison was named Hu Jia. He watched the approaching Red Flame Army and, after only a brief glance, estimated that there were at least four hundred men.
He was puzzled. “The man leading them isn’t Pei Shan. With an army this large, why hasn’t he come? And who exactly is that commander?”
Zou Liang hid inside the defensive tower and peered down through the wooden railing. He sneered. “They probably rounded up every able-bodied man in the entire town and dragged them here to make up the numbers. It won’t fool anyone!”
But Hu Jia did not relax because of Zou Liang’s words. As a military officer, he understood the ways of armies far better than a civil official.
Even from atop the wall, he could see that the Red Flame Army advanced in perfect order, its ranks disciplined and every soldier holding his head high. They did not look like a force formed by casually rounding up men to fill out the numbers. Rather, they looked like an army that had undergone long-term training.
Seeing the unease on Hu Jia’s face, Zou Liang grew irritated and barked, “What are you panicking about? Even if Chishan has brought quite a few men, the county has over a thousand defenders. Are we supposed to fear this bunch of rebels?”
He ignored Hu Jia and issued his orders directly. “Listen up! The moment the enemy comes within range, fire all at once! Get the boulders up here as quickly as possible and drop them from a great height. Smash them to pieces!”
“Yes!”
The soldiers answered in unison, their voices loud and clear. Hu Jia’s expression, however, turned gloomy. Seeing Zou Liang once again leap over him to give orders, he grew even more displeased.
Though unhappy, he gritted his teeth and did not pick a fight. With a great battle at hand, this was no time for internal strife.
He ignored Zou Liang, turned, and went to the battlements on the other side to arrange the positions for the rolling stones.
By then, the Red Flame Army had reached the foot of the county walls and entered bowshot range. Nearly a hundred arrows shot through the air, forming a vast net that came sweeping down over them.
Duan Yan raised his hand and gave the order. “Fire!”
The Red Flame Army’s archers returned fire at the defenders on the walls.
At the same time, the army continued forward at a brisk pace. The soldiers at the very front wore armor and carried shields, protecting their comrades as they advanced.
When they reached the base of the wall, the troops split apart and circled around both sides.
Every movement of the Red Flame Army was visible to those atop the battlements. Zou Liang immediately saw through their plan and sneered contemptuously.
“They have a few soldiers and already think they can surround the county from three sides! Every gate tower has its own defenders. They truly don’t know their own limits!”
Lü Xian pointed down at the soldiers below and screamed until his eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. “Drop them hard! Crush every last one of them to death!”
Boulders thundered down from the walls. They sounded like summer thunder—or an earthquake—and the sheer force of their descent was overwhelming.
Shields could fend off arrows, but they could not stop massive stones rolling down from above. The boulders crashed into the tightly packed ranks with terrifying force. The Red Flame soldiers had no time to evade them, and one after another was struck. The orderly formations began to scatter.
Whether they were the troops moving to flank and encircle the county or the soldiers attempting to breach the gates, all found their advance obstructed.
Zou Liang threw his head back and laughed loudly from atop the walls. “Now you know how formidable the county is!”
Duan Yan’s expression darkened. He immediately ordered the archers to fire back at the walls, buying time for the soldiers below to break through.
But the advantage of higher ground was simply too great. The county troops also outnumbered them by a wide margin. Even if every Red Flame archer was a perfect shot, they were still no match for the county army.
Most of the troops dispatched to the east and west had successfully made their way around to carry out the encirclement. But the soldiers attacking the gate could not advance at all. The moment the first scaling ladder was raised against the wall, a rolling boulder smashed it to pieces.
“My lord, we can’t get through!” a personal guard shouted anxiously.
Duan Yan’s eyes narrowed. He roared, “Bring up the carts! Let’s serve them the main course!”
The artillerymen had been waiting for that command. They sprang up as if struck by lightning, hurriedly waving their signal flags and calling the artillery unit into action.
Four projectile carts were pushed forward.
Each cart was firmly protected by six artillerymen carrying shields. The shields overlapped layer upon layer like the shell of a moving tortoise as they advanced toward the walls beneath a storm of arrows.
“What is that?”
Zou Liang narrowed his eyes at the carts being escorted by the soldiers. They had long wooden arms with a semicircular groove at the top, resembling the stone-throwing machines he had seen before.
“The walls are only six or seven meters high. I refuse to believe they can throw stones all the way up here!”
The instant he finished speaking—
Whoosh!
An object the size of a human head, shaped like a clay jar, was hurled from the projectile cart. It traced an arc through the sky before plummeting straight down like a falling meteor and smashing onto the battlements.
Bang! Boom!
The explosions rang out one after another. Fragments flew in every direction, and a wave of heat rolled across the wall.
County soldiers who had been crouching beneath the crenellations and firing arrows screamed as several of them were blown into the air.
“It’s on fire! It’s on fire! Somebody help me—”
Some men rolled across the ground, desperately trying to put out the flames consuming their bodies. Others clutched the sides of their faces, half of which had been torn away by shrapnel. The air filled with the stench of burning flesh and gunpowder, while blood and terror spread through the battlements in an instant.
Before anyone could react, jar after jar came hurtling through the air, landing at different points along the walls. The battlements were bombarded from every direction, and in a moment, the defenders’ careful deployment descended into chaos.
“That… that is…”
Zou Liang’s pupils abruptly widened. His mouth hung open, but his tongue seemed to have tied itself into a knot.
Hu Jia, who had seen far more of the world, cried out in despair before him.
“They’re artillery shells!”
Artillery shells…
How could a rundown little town like Chishan possibly have artillery shells?
Zou Liang's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
The second and third waves of improved and upgraded cannonballs came one after another. The archers on the city tower were startled by the cannonballs and panicked. They kept dodging and had no chance to raise their hands to shoot again.
Even the top of the defensive tower where Zou Liang was hiding was blown off a corner by the cannonballs.
The rain of arrows and the falling rock formation weakened. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Flaming Red Army carried heavy logs to attack the city gate. The huge and heavy siege logs hit the city gate powerfully and rhythmically, one strike after another.
The iron - clad city gate gradually cracked under the attack.
The soldiers on the city tower were eager to stop them, but they were afraid of the power of the cannonballs. Hu Jia turned around and ordered people to go behind the city gate to block it.
"Shoot arrows! Shoot arrows! Shoot them through the cracks!"
Zou Liang was so anxious that he jumped up and down. The words he shouted out of his throat were hoarse.
"Send more people to block the gate! Prop it up with logs!"
"My lord, the west gate is in great danger!"
"The enemy has thrown oil jars and cannonballs up. The city gate can no longer be defended!"
Just as these words fell, another soldier, his face covered in blood, staggered over from the direction of the east gate. He shouted the word "east" fearfully, but before he could finish his words, he fell to the ground.
Zou Liang turned around and roared at Hu Jia, "We can't let them get into the city! Hu Jia, quickly send someone to support the east and west gates!"
Hu Jia's face was covered with gunpowder ash from the exploded cannonballs, and a section of his hair was scorched. He looked rather disheveled. At this time, he still had to be commanded by Zou Liang's frantic gestures. The anger in his heart could no longer be suppressed.
"Are you blind? Where can we spare someone to reinforce the east and west gates now?"
"Oh, dear! It's all over!"
After half of the battle, County Duke Lü Xian finally timidly came to the city tower.
Seeing the blood, severed limbs, and corpses all over the place, his eyes went black. His stomach churned and he felt like vomiting. His legs and hands were so weak that he could hardly stand. He trembled his lips and said, "Surrender... We have no choice but to surrender..."
"Surrender? Are we just going to give this large county to those peasants?!"
Hearing the faint voice like a mosquito, Zou Liang suddenly turned around. Seeing that it was really the cowardly and shrinking county duke, he wished he could stab him with a knife right in the middle of the gunfire.
"No matter how powerful their cannonballs are, I don't believe they will never run out!"
"Hold the city! Anyone who dares to mention surrender, I'll behead him first!"
Lü Xian was so startled by the roar that he stood there stupidly. It took him a while to come to his senses. Then he tried to hold back the crazed Zou Liang, but unexpectedly, he was pushed to the ground. He looked at Zou Liang in shock and said, "You're crazy!"
"Surrendering now can still save our lives. Resisting stubbornly will get everyone killed by you!"
Seeing that he couldn't persuade anyone at all, he turned to look at Hu Jia and said, "Quickly persuade him!"
Hu Jia looked up at the soldiers who were constantly being attacked by the cannonballs and screaming, and the city gate that was on the verge of collapse. Then he cast his eyes on Zou Liang, who was commanding the soldiers to form a human wall to block the city gate in front. Suddenly, his expression became extremely sinister.
"Shh!"
"Ah!"
Lü Xian, who was lying limp on the ground, saw Hu Jia, who had been silent all this time, holding his saber and slowly walking behind Zou Liang. The cold - shining blade was actually stabbed directly into Zou Liang, who was red - eyed with killing.
The blade pierced through the flesh, and the blood gushed out all at once. Lü Xian let out a loud scream. He was supposed to persuade, but how could it be like this?
Before he could say anything, he fainted with his eyes closed because of extreme shock.
The crazed Zou Liang looked down at the knife that had pierced through his body. He was shocked and frightened. He trembled and pointed at Hu Jia with his hand, but the blood rushed up into his throat all at once. "You..."
Before he could finish his words, he fell to the ground with a thud.
Hu Jia pulled out the knife and spat hard at Zou Liang. "Since we're all going to die, you still want to take everyone with you. I'll send you on your way first!"
A moment later, Hu Jia threw away the knife, took off his helmet, and held a white flag up to the city tower.
At this time, outside the city wall, Duan Yan heard some shouting from the city tower, but the sound of the cannonballs was so loud that he couldn't hear clearly for a moment.
Just as he seemed to catch a glimpse of a white object out of the corner of his eye, there was a loud explosion. The city gate was rammed open by the siege log. There were clouds of dust and debris all over the sky. When the soldiers were excited to charge into the city, they first saw a rapidly waving white flag.
"The chief rebel has been killed. Surrender - we surrender!"
Duan Yan reined in his horse. The county soldiers in the city, led by the military affairs supervisor, all laid down their weapons and raised their hands.
And the county magistrate, who had been hiding on the city tower and was extremely arrogant before, had his head cut off and hung on a spear at this time.
The winter wind was still howling at the city gate. Strangely enough, it was this battle that ended before the wind stopped.
Then, the cheering of the Flaming Red Army erupted like a tidal wave, quickly drowning out the bitter winter wind.
Duan Yan slowly sheathed his sword. It saved them from a fierce close - range fight.
With a cold look in his eyes and an imposing manner, he said, "Enter the city!"
At this time, in the Chishan Residence, Song Fengsui carefully put Little Ji, who was wrapped in thick and soft silk, into the cradle.
The little guy was extremely energetic today and kept cooing. After feeding him goat's milk, Song Fengsui coaxed him for a long time before finally putting him to sleep.
He looked at the calm and peaceful sleeping face of the baby and gently stroked his little face. However, his heart was filled with uneasiness.
Duan Yan had led his troops to the county town for a day and a night. There was still no news from the town.
He looked out of the window at the snow, which had somehow become heavier and was falling in big flakes. The familiar grayish - brown mist enveloped the heaven and earth, and he couldn't see the weather in the distance.
Song Fengsui didn't dare to think about too much. He hardly slept all night last night. If it weren't for the child beside him, he really didn't know how he could have endured such pain.
He got up and planned to go outside to ask if there was any news. Just as he walked out of the inner courtyard, Gou San'er gasped and ran over.
Seeing this, Song Fengsui immediately knew that there was news from there. Without caring about anything else, he asked anxiously, "How is it?"
Gou San'er had just rushed back from the yamen to inform Song Fengsui of the situation in the county as soon as possible.
After catching his breath, a smile appeared on his face. "Sir, we won!
Just now, a messenger came from the county in a hurry. He said that halfway through the battle, the county opened the city gate and surrendered! My lord is safe. He has already led the troops into the city to station. He told sir not to worry at all!"
Song Fengsui let out a long sigh of relief, and his whole body seemed to lose strength. "...... Good, good..."
