Blades, blood, spear tips, and flames. Under the blazing sun, the scene of a fierce battle stretched out near the stone wall outside Zhu Village.
Arrows flew across the sky, piercing into shields, mud, and bodies. Shouts and cries merged into one. The people who were shouting a moment ago might have turned into corpses the next moment. Those who wanted to rush up the stone wall were doused with boiling water. Blisters appeared all over their bodies, and blood seeped out of their skin. Those who were hit by swords and spears fell from the stone wall. Some had their limbs broken, and some had their necks broken. The people of Zhu Village used long wooden poles to prop up rattan and threw fireballs out. They landed on the heads of the Liangshan soldiers who could not dodge in time, and then the fireballs rolled away.
There were all kinds of wounds, spurting blood, and broken limbs. On the east side of the stone wall, someone fell from above. Before he could steady himself, the broken tibia of his calf had already pierced through his skin. Before he could dodge with a scream, boiling water fell from above. The Liangshan soldiers carried the villagers of Zhu Jia Village and jumped down from the wall. After they fell to the bottom of the wall, the Liangshan soldiers swarmed up and dismembered the villagers. Some of the villagers who wanted to help threw stones and arrows at them. The soldiers who were holding bows and arrows from below also shot upward.
It was like an Asura massacre. Countless similar scenes were playing out around the stone wall. Looking from afar, dozens of wooden ladders were hanging on the wall. The people surged up and down. The stone wall of Zhu Village was uneven. The ladders that Liangshan had built over the past few days were simple and crude. Some protruded out of the wall and were pushed back by the people of Zhu Village with wooden sticks. Some were shorter. Groups of people huddled around the ladders to change positions. Arrows shot down, leaving behind the wounded and corpses, mottled with blood.
Whether it was a conspiracy or an overt plot, whether the battle of wits was honorable or strange and ridiculous, at this moment, it did not make any difference. Everything would be turned into the most intuitive result and tested. All of the fights below the stage and below the stage were also for this moment on the battlefield. When their strengths finally collided without holding anything back, all of their preparations would be turned into real strength on the level of reality.
When more than ten thousand people surged up to the outer wall of the village defended by three thousand people, Liangshan's side actually exerted their peak strength. Zhu Jia Village was like a reef in a precarious situation amidst the raging waves, being crazily washed over by the tide of people. Even though the defending side had a great advantage, the momentum from the beginning of the attack was also extremely shocking.
The onslaught of the sea of people, the onslaught of the rain of arrows, and the long ladders that carried malice spread over. Several Liangshan elites rushed up desperately under the leadership of their leader. On the other side, there was a crowd of people holding huge logs, ready to smash the manor gate. The outer wall was only twenty feet tall, a distance of an arrow's throw, but it was like a thin thread that was stretched taut in everyone's heart, constantly trembling as if it could break at any time.
At this moment when everyone had doubts in their hearts and the morale of the army was shaken, no one would easily change sides. To an individual, perhaps everyone would think "I won't retreat", but to a group, only one person would think "If I don't retreat, will the others change their minds?" But no matter what, at the first moment of the battle, everyone entered the battle with the mentality that they had to defeat the other party.
And on the side of Lin Chong and the other leaders, they had already reached this consensus. Only by destroying Zhu Jia Village and killing the evil traitor on the other side, could they fight for a chance of survival for Liangshan in the future. Therefore, at the first moment, they organized their trusted subordinates and carried out the fiercest attack on the stone wall. There were even a few leaders who were highly skilled in martial arts who rushed up, only to be forced to retreat.
Zhu Jia Village was fully prepared for the attack from Liangshan at the first moment, and their resistance was also the most tenacious. Boiling water, fireballs, stones, and arrows caused huge casualties to the Liangshan soldiers at the first moment. When a few leaders rushed up, they would be attacked from all sides. Even if they were highly skilled in martial arts, it was impossible for them to forcefully withstand the attacks under such circumstances. Coupled with the limitations of the terrain, there were only a few places where the attacks were the most intense. Luan Tingyu, Zhu Biao, and the other strong fighters ran back and forth, and there were still more than forty crossbows behind them. Under the siege, a few middle and small leaders were either injured or killed, and they fell.
The wounded leaders were sent to the back of the formation and gathered with the generals who stayed behind. "White Flower Snake" Yang Chun, "Golden Leopard" Tang Long, "Little Overlord" Zhou Tong, "Long Armed Ape" Hou Jian, and the others were already seriously injured in the first fifteen minutes of the charge. "Arrow Tiger" Ding Desun was shot by an arrow, and his corpse was dragged back. No one could laugh when they thought of his nickname. Only "Golden Leopard" Yang Lin rushed up the stone wall and did not retreat. He wanted to buy time for the soldiers behind him, but he was found by Luan Tingyu. Under the concentrated fire of a few crossbows behind him, Luan Tingyu smashed his head with a stick, and even his corpse could not be saved.
Under the big tree, the doctor was looking at the injuries of the group of leaders. Wu Yong sat there, his eyes fixed on the changes on the stone wall. Beside him, Li Kui was half covered in blood and was being bandaged by the doctor. Even so, he still cursed from time to time.
In the attack just now, as Song Jiang's confidant, he also rushed the most ferociously. The stone wall was two feet high, and there was a ladder. For someone like him who had martial arts skills, it was not difficult at all. However, after he rushed up, he was shot by more than ten crossbows before he could start a massacre. He was only hit by two arrows, and the soldiers who rushed up while he was the vanguard were shot and killed as soon as they showed their heads. In the end, he jumped down from the wall and killed one of his subordinates. At this time, he could only come back to treat his injuries.
At this time, Xi Junyu had also come over. Wu Yong asked for his opinion, but he had no opinion to speak of at this time. Everything had been forced to the edge of the blade. Other than attacking with all their strength, there was not much room for the implementation of the conspiracy. But … this was actually only the situation on the side of Liangshan.
What really upset the leaders was not the current chaotic situation of the battle. If the battle could continue like this, the fall of Zhu Village could also be expected. The only thing that could make everyone feel danger and agitated was the continuous shouts coming from the Zhu Residence in such an intense battlefield. At this time, the battlefield was boiling with voices. Because they were far away, the sound could be heard faintly, but as long as they listened carefully, they would be able to hear the content. The shouting had almost never stopped since the beginning of the battle.
It was about Liangshan being repeatedly tricked in this battle, about the imperial court having long set their eyes on Liangshan, about the Wu Rui Camp having turned to attack Liangshan Lake, about the death of the red-haired ghost Liu Tang, and about the surrender of the chief. After shouting these, they shouted again, "Don't you believe this! Think about what happened in the camp these days, look at the people next to you … "
"Those brothers who were released! Don't hesitate anymore! The faster you change sides! The faster Liangshan collapses! You are already hopeless … "
"Even if you don't do it, others will! Just now, someone secretly surrendered to us and gave us two heads. Let's see whose boss is dead … "
"If you kill a Liangshan man, come here immediately, then you are innocent! I guarantee in the name of the Minister of the Right that the government will not pursue this matter! Kill two! Reward twenty taels of silver! Reward fifty taels of silver for killing a leader … "
Voices shouted excitedly from within the stone wall, towards every direction of the battle. In the previous attack, there were also shouts of "Yang Lin is dead! Yang Lin had been beaten to death! Everyone, look! "Such shouts. When Li Kui was injured and forced to retreat, the other side also shouted," Black Whirlwind Li Kui ran away! Black Whirlwind Li Kui ran away! Everyone, look! Black Whirlwind ran away … "This was the real reason why Li Kui was trembling.
If it were before, such shouts wouldn't have had any effect at all. Everyone would only find it funny when they heard it. However, at this moment, no one was in the mood to laugh. There was only fear and pressure. That was because everyone who knew how to use troops knew that such a shout would definitely have an effect in the Liangshan Formation. Everyone had understood this since the start of the battle. However, when it really appeared, it could cause everyone's heartstrings to tremble like the stone wall.
The long series of conspiracies and overt plots had never caused internal strife and suspicions before the start of the war. Everyone could suppress their suspicions for a while. But that was what war was all about. When the choice of life and death was pressed in front of people, a slight waver could form a chain reaction that could determine the lives of millions. The people of Liangshan understood this, so they could only fight with five times the manpower and send out the leaders as soon as possible to boost the morale. In such a battle, both sides were fighting against each other.
Facts and rumors spread fiercely from the Zhu Village. One moment, it was "Patrol Officer Guan surrendered", and the next moment, it was "The brothers of the Twin Dragon Mount are not willing to go forward, and Liangshan is having internal strife". Some people rushed to the stone wall, but their retreat was cut off. Inside the stone wall, more than ten crossbows were aimed at them. A man raised a megaphone and shouted, "Kill and you will surrender! Kill and you will surrender! " The two people who were originally back to back looked at each other. Just like Guan Sheng and Yan Qing on the hill, they hesitated for a moment and finally swung their sabers with all their strength. The man who killed his companion was at a loss. He shouted from inside, "Throw your weapons over here! Throw your weapons over here! You're fine! You're fine! " Outside the stone wall, Hua Rong drew his bow and shot an arrow, but the arrow was smashed away by Luan Tingyu and he burst into laughter.
Not many people could rush to the top of the stone wall, but many people below could see the same scene. Excited shouts came from inside the village, "You're fine! You're fine! Brother! The government won't hold you accountable, and you'll be rewarded! Come, tell us your name … Liang Er! His name is Liang Er! "
The battle had not even lasted for an hour when such shouts sounded from the battle formation. Someone reported, "Brother, tell us your name … Ye Gu Cheng! His name is Ye Gu Cheng! "
"… Lu Xiaofeng! Brother Lu Xiaofeng is here! "
"… You can come here after killing one person! Brothers, go to the wall and kill! Then come in quickly! It'll be fine! "
"Be careful of Hua Rong's sneak attack!"
Then someone shouted, "Brothers, we can't win! They schemed against each other and fought amongst themselves … When we rushed up, Wu Song's subordinates refused to do so … They wanted to wait until all of Leader Song's subordinates were dead so that they could take over the leader's position … I had no choice. My brothers all died after coming up … "The voice was hoarse and extremely mournful.
Another person shouted, "The government has already regarded us as a rebel … Brothers, come over, kill the chief and you can go home and become rich. We've fallen into their trap. Look at the people around you, everyone knows … It's only been three days, three days, and they've turned Liangshan into this. How can Wu Yong fight him …"
Not many people knew whether such shouts were true or not. However, whether they believed it or not, in the past three days, the mentality of the people had already passed the line of determination. The people who rushed up the stone wall began to be wary of whether the people around them would betray them. In fact, they were wary of whether the people around them would be forced to brandish their swords at them once they were surrounded by the enemy's superior forces. In such a life and death battle, once they hesitated, their combat strength would actually be on the verge of collapse.
In the attack of more than ten thousand people, the plague was still expanding with the continuous shouts. One by one, the leaders organized the attack and also encouraged their trusted subordinates, "Think about your families on Liangshan, they're just trying to sow discord among us!" In this way, waves of attacks were organized, but the ratio of casualties was constantly tilting as the battle progressed and the shouts from the rear were constantly tilting.
On this side of the hill, Song Jiang and the others could only grit their teeth and watch the scene unfold on the entire battlefield. They had no confidence in how long they could hold on with an advantage of five times. At this time, once the soldiers went up the wall, their combat strength had already declined to an extremely low level. Even if the experts who did not care about their lives opened up the battlefield for a moment, causing eight to ten people to rush up, as long as the villagers of Zhu Village rushed up, these soldiers would begin to collapse. Some of them would look back, and if their companions behind them were already too far away, they would immediately jump off the wall.
Some of the leaders had already begun to ask Xi Junyu for his opinion. At this moment, when Wu Yong saw that it was useless, everyone began to place their hopes on the opinion of the other strategist on Liangshan. Xi Junyu could only point to a certain spot on the battlefield and signal to the others.
Not far away, under a big tree, Wu Yong sat there, one hand tightly gripping the grass beneath him. As he trembled, his eyes were constantly looking in the same direction.
Occasionally, the defense formed by the few iron shields would appear on the stone wall.
"Mixed Element Thunderclap Hand". Everyone understood that this was the name of the person who had always been behind the big iron shield.
In three days' time, he had forced Liangshan to this level with a psychological strategy that was close to sorcery, despite the great disparity in strength. No one dared to underestimate the person behind the iron shield. He patrolled the battlefield and would occasionally come over to check on the situation of the battle. There were also people who wanted to rush up and kill him, but the defense of the iron shields was tightly protected around him. There were also a few experts surrounding him, accompanied by more than twenty hand crossbows. Almost no one could withstand a barrage of arrows on the battlefield. Once he appeared, it was impossible to attack with one or two ladders.
"But … if we kill him, there is a possibility of breaking the stalemate …" Xi Junyu said as he looked in that direction.
On the other side, Wu Yong sat silently under the tree, waiting in his heart for a certain change to appear.
He was not a completely incompetent military advisor, but his opponent's strategy was completely defenseless at the beginning. Liu Tang's injury during the battle had indeed made him wary of the various tricks his opponent had up his sleeve. However, when the situation seemed to be worsening, he had indeed buried an idle chess piece. At this moment, as his last hope and expectation, it was waiting to ferment …
*****
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