Crackle! Puff!
Crackle! Crackle!
Less than four hours before the last meal, the sound of burning wood could be heard once again. The tents under Yang Rui's command had started cooking again. It was the seventh and eighth months of the year. Under normal circumstances, it wasn't the time to prepare meals yet.
The discipline of Yang Rui's soldiers was still very strict. The one hundred and fifty thousand soldiers stationed under Shouliang City barely made any noise apart from the sound of burning wood. The strategist had issued a gag order from the very beginning.
As an ordinary Fourth Grade Yellow Turban soldier, Bolt Pillar didn't understand the order at first. However, after a day of siege, he finally understood. The gag order made the army seem a little less intimidating. However, when he looked at them from afar, they looked like a pack of wolves that he had encountered a few years ago, ready to pounce on him at any moment. It made him feel even more pressured!
At the same time, Bolt Pillar also realized that the sudden cooking and the strange siege chariots meant that the army was about to attack the city!
Bolt Pillar was one of the attackers assigned to the siege chariots. For this reason, he was given the giant plush stone tortoise shield produced in Mountain City. This shield was even taller than him and could protect his entire body.
However, this was the first time Bolt Pillar had experienced a true siege. He couldn't help but tighten his grip on the shield.
Even though the shield was wide and sturdy enough, it wasn't just arrows, swords, and spears that he had to face during a siege. There was also the possibility of boulders, oil, and more. A large shield might increase his chances of survival significantly. However, there were also times when it was useless.
However, Bolt Pillar wasn't afraid of death. In the face of famine and war. If it weren't for the appearance of the Governor of Green, his entire family would have died several times over.
It was the various actions of the Governor that allowed Bolt Pillar's family to finally be able to live a peaceful life. Later on, the Governor introduced a military subsidy system, allowing Bolt Pillar to feel completely at ease. He had been serving in the army alone, and it was enough to feed his family of four. Moreover, even if he died in battle. This kind of subsidy would also last for quite some time!
Chuan Zhuzi tightened his grip on his shield, not letting go even when he was eating. In truth, it wasn't entirely because he was nervous. He wanted to use battle to maintain his current good days, he wanted to use battle to protect the good Prefecture Overseer who had brought all of this to him!
"Dong dong dong …"
The war drums were finally beating!
"Kill! Kill! Kill! "
As the order to advance was given, the morale of Yang Rui's army was instantly ignited. From the previous silence to the other extreme, not only did the soldiers in Shouliang City turn pale with fright, even the soldiers on their own side were secretly shocked by this sudden burst of morale. However, this morale quickly turned into confidence …
"Kill!"
He was affected by the atmosphere. With a shield in one hand and a handrail in the other, Bolt Pillar resolutely rushed to the top floor. Not long after, he slowly moved towards the city walls along with the charging vehicle.
The new battering ram built by the army was 12 zhang tall, 6 zhang wide, and 8 zhang long. It could be said to be a colossus. There were more than 20 floors in total, and each floor was surrounded by cowhide shields. There were also arrow windows, gun holes, and hard doors for the soldiers to enter and exit. It was easy for the soldiers to hide in the battering ram and launch an attack on the city walls or directly rush up the city walls.
The height of the charging vehicle was comparable to the height of an ordinary high level city wall. However, Shouliang City's city walls were only at the intermediate level, with a height of only 9 zhang. Therefore, the top five or six levels of the charging vehicle could be used to attack the city walls and city gates from above.
Bolt Pillar's duty was to use his shield to block the arrows, rocks, and boiling oil thrown by the enemy, to protect the safety of the lower levels. At the same time, he could also throw javelins from the top of the charging vehicle to kill the enemy, creating a chance for the soldiers below to climb up the city walls.
"Kill! Kill! Kill! "
The soldiers at the back who hadn't moved shouted with all their might. Bolt Pillar's charging vehicle stopped about 10 zhang away from the city walls. Only the three charging vehicles in the middle were still slowly moving towards the east gate.
"Kill!"
Bolt Pillar threw a javelin with all his might, whistling through the air as it flew towards the densely packed soldiers on the city walls. Although there was still some distance between them, with the help of inertia from above, the javelin actually pierced through two soldiers, causing Bolt Pillar to feel a burst of excitement!
At this distance, the arrows that were shot from the city walls were unable to reach the top of the siege car. Thus, there was no need for a large shield to protect the siege car. Thus, Bolt Zhu took the opportunity to continuously throw his javelins at the human heads on the walls of Shouliang City.
"Sou sou sou"
"Bang bang! Boom! "
“”
Bolted Zhuzi threw out five or six javelins and killed seven or eight people. Suddenly, flames burst out from the top of a chariot facing the east gate. A rain of fire whistled through the air and quickly smashed towards the east gate of Shouliang City!
The fist-sized rain of fire was much more ferocious than the javelins in Bolt Pillar's hands. In an instant, the area around the east gate of Shouliang City was transformed into a sea of fire. The soldiers guarding the city were like ants on a hot pan, unable to escape even if they wanted to. Most of them only struggled for a few moments before they completely stopped moving, forever lying in the sea of fire!
Seeing this scene, Bolt Pillar was momentarily stunned in place. After a while, he finally reacted. This was Fire Lady Zhang Ning's skill!
Bolt Pillar had previously heard some rumors about how powerful Zhang Ning's rain of fire was. The soldiers liked to call her Fire Lady behind her back. There were even some bold soldiers who secretly guessed that this Fire Lady would sooner or later become the wife of the Province Magistrate.
Of course, the soldiers only dared to spread such rumors in secret. Very few soldiers had actually seen this female general in person, and even fewer had seen her rain of fire before!
At this moment, Bolt Pillar was facing the raging fire on the city gate. When he looked at the beautiful figure on the three charging vehicles in front of him, his face turned even redder with excitement.
At any rate, Bolt Pillar knew that Shouliang City had no escape now that they had taken it!
"Sou sou sou!"
"Bang bang! Boom! "
“”
Yang Rui looked at the fire on the city gate tower in front of him and nodded with satisfaction.
After using the siege chariot, Zhang Ning could easily rain the Heavenly Spirit Fire Rain on the city walls and the city gates from his vantage point!
If not for this, the ninety-foot-tall walls of the city and the archers of Fifth Grade and above would be able to exceed Zhang Ning's casting range. They would then be able to interrupt or even threaten Zhang Ning.
With the power of the Fire Rain of Skyspirits, there was no need for the other charging vehicles. As such, Yang Rui only ordered three of the charging vehicles to charge forward. He did not allow the others to get too close to the walls. Meanwhile, Yang Rui stood guard beside Zhang Ning to prevent any unnecessary accidents from happening.
"Dong dong dong!"
"Charge!"
“”
The Heavenly Spirit Fire Rain had completely submerged the East City Gate in a sea of fire. It was already destined to fall. After the fire gradually subsided, the sound of war drums could be heard from the rear of the army. The densely packed soldiers had already swarmed into the dilapidated East City Gate.
At this moment, the fifty charging vehicles surrounding Shouliang City were also attacking the defenders on the walls from a distance. They were constantly inflicting damage to the defenders. Only a limited number of archers on the walls were able to hit the bottom of the charging vehicles. Most of the attacks were blocked by the shields of the charging vehicles. Almost none of them were able to cause any real damage.
As for the boulders, logs, and kerosene, they could not be used due to the distance. The items on the eastern gate and the walls around it were used as fuel for the Fire Rain of Skyspirits!
At the same time, with the situation already decided, Yang Rui did not put the remaining one hundred and fifty scaling ladders into use. Most of the scaling ladders could only be used to aid in climbing. They would inevitably have to engage in close combat with the defenders on the walls, which could easily cause damage.
As such, Yang Rui did not put the scaling ladders into use when the situation was so clear.
With the sudden development of the situation, the defenders of Shouliang City were already terrified, regardless of how tenacious their will to resist. Most of the soldiers had already given up on the walls and retreated into the city. The four gates of Shouliang City and the various sections of the walls quickly fell into the hands of Yang Rui's infantry.
The rest was very simple. Although they had caused quite a commotion during the siege, Yang Rui still adhered to the principle of reducing the intensity of the battle within the city after taking over the four gates and walls. He lured and accepted the majority of the defenders to voluntarily come forward and be captured.
The defenders had long since heard of Yang Rui's treatment of the prisoners in Fuyang County and Wuyan County. Most of them were willing to be captured by Yang Rui. After all, NPCs also cherished their lives.
Next, Yang Rui sent his troops to eliminate a small number of stubborn defenders. He also ordered his soldiers to extinguish the remaining fire at the eastern gate. After that, he appeared to pacify the NPC citizens of Shouliang City. He also sent a messenger to Ding Yuan to find someone to take over Shouliang City. He busied himself for the entire night.
After half a day of rest, Yang Rui once again ordered his soldiers to break camp and head towards Fan County after noon on the second day.
To get from Shouliang City to Fan County, they had to cross the river. Sun Bao and the other water soldiers had already removed the threats on the river and prepared many ferries.
Furthermore, the Broken Moon Alliance's water forces had also joined Yang Rui's side to help search for boats and transport personnel. As such, even though there was a river separating them, Yang Rui's army of one hundred and fifty thousand only took a day to cross the river.
After Yang Rui's troops surrounded Fan County, he did not stop to rest and immediately launched an attack on Fan County.
With the experience of using siege weapons once, Yang Rui already had a plan. Moreover, after the battle of Shouliang City, Guo Jia also knew of Zhang Ning's huge role in the siege. He also agreed to attack the city as soon as possible. (To be continued …)
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