Assault on the Stronghold
Zhou Xian pointed his finger at the mountain path on the map inside the tent, his brows furrowing slightly.
"The road from the foot of the mountain to the gate is eerily smooth, paved with some kind of stone, as hard as a millstone. But it's too narrow. One side is against the mountain wall, and the other side is a bottomless ravine. At its narrowest point, it's only about ten feet wide, barely wide enough for four or five people to stand side by side. Larger troops simply can't spread out."
He paused, then his tone became even more serious:
"Look at the stockade wall, it's also built with the same material as the road, and it's three zhang high. The scouts tested it with a powerful crossbow, and the arrows only left white marks on it; it's very hard."
When we reached the base of the stockade wall, the open space was somewhat wider, only about thirty or forty feet in size. However, it was too close to the city wall, and arrows and rolling logs and stones rained down from it, leaving us nowhere to dodge. Of my three thousand men, only one thousand were fully armored warriors. If we were to launch a direct assault, the casualties would be considerable.
Upon hearing this, Prefect Zhang frowned. He naturally knew the origin of this item and immediately replied:
"Lord Zhou, you may not know this, but this stuff is called cement. It's originally a powder, but when mixed with sand, gravel, and water, it hardens like rock after it dries. I don't know where these bandits got their hands on it; they've not only paved the mountain roads, but they've also used it to build the entire stockade wall. It's quite a troublesome situation."
Seeing Zhou Xian's solemn expression, he quickly added:
"However, my lord, rest assured, this bandit suppression is crucial to local peace, and I will certainly cooperate fully. The gentry in the city are grateful for the imperial army's long journey and have raised a total of 50,000 taels of silver as a reward. Once the banditry is quelled, I will certainly submit a memorial to the court to request your commendation."
Fifty thousand taels of silver was no small sum, but Zhou Xian didn't show much joy, only nodding slightly.
"Thank you for your trouble, Lord Zhang and all the gentry. Now that we've come this far, there's no reason for us to leave empty-handed."
He immediately stood up and gave the order in a deep voice:
"Pass on my order: the entire army shall form ranks and advance into the mountains to attack the stronghold! The vanguard shall lead the way with shields, followed closely by archers and crossbowmen."
As the order was given, bugles sounded throughout the camp, and the three thousand Government Army quickly formed ranks and set off up the mountain along the mountain path.
However, the mountain road was too narrow, so the troops could only move forward in a single file, stretching more than a mile in front and behind. Although it looked impressive, the number of troops that could actually be deployed for frontal combat was very limited.
After walking for about half an hour, the vanguard finally arrived at the open space in front of the stockade. When they were still more than a hundred paces from the stockade wall, Zhou Xian raised his hand and gave the order:
"Halt! Front line, shield formation! Archers, advance!"
At the order, the shield bearers in the front row immediately erected wooden shields as tall as a person, forming a dense shield wall. The archers followed behind the shields, crouching low. Behind them were armored soldiers carrying ladders that had been made overnight, pressing forward step by step towards the stockade wall.
Following the usual method of suppressing bandits, once they are within range of arrows, they can fire upwards to suppress the city walls, and then use siege ladders to attack the city.
But they had only moved forward thirty or forty feet, and were still forty or fifty paces away from the stockade wall. Their archers had not yet reached effective firing range when suddenly a loud clapper sounded from the city wall.
In an instant, a dense barrage of crossbow bolts rained down from above like a torrential downpour.
The mountain path was narrow to begin with, and the shield wall could only protect the soldiers at the front of the line; it couldn't shield the soldiers on the sides and back at all.
Azure Cloud Stronghold used powerful crossbows with sharp arrowheads. Even though the Government Army were wearing armor, an arrow could pierce through their armor, and screams of agony rang out one after another.
The front row was alright, with large shields providing cover, but the soldiers in the back row were instantly riddled with three or four arrows, looking like hedgehogs. Fortunately, their armor absorbed most of the force, so not many died, but they were all wounded, wincing in pain.
Even worse, the crossbow bolts from the city walls never stopped, raining down wave after wave. The Government Army's archers couldn't even lift their heads to aim, they were too pinned down to look up.
Before long, the soldiers in the front ranks couldn't hold on any longer. Someone shouted, and the ranks immediately fell into chaos, turning around and retreating.
But behind them lay a narrow mountain path, where the large group of men was blocked, with nowhere to retreat. In the chaos of the crowd pushing and shoving, many soldiers lost their footing and fell into the deep ravine beside them with screams, their voices not even echoing.
The first attack had barely begun when it ended in a chaotic and inexplicable defeat.
Zhou Xian, watching from the rear, turned ashen-faced. He ordered his personal guards to draw their swords and oversee the battle. It took a tremendous effort to stop the fleeing soldiers and barely manage to stabilize the situation.
At this moment, the head of the Huang Household stepped forward, bowed, and said:
"General Zhou, we have some martial arts experts under our command. Ordinary crossbow bolts can't harm them. They can lead the way and help the army attack the city."
"If you have such a skilled fighter, why didn't you say so earlier!"
Zhou Xian frowned, then said in a deep voice:
"Summon them all! Attack again immediately!"
The three families, along with the Wang Household, now had a total of thirty or forty skilled guards and instructors, each a formidable fighter with both internal and external strength, capable of withstanding some of the attacks from ordinary swords and arrows. As before, the shield bearers led the way, with the group of martial arts experts following closely behind, using the shield wall for cover as they charged forward.
With this group of people leading the way, things were indeed different. When crossbow bolts came from the city wall, they either swung their weapons to deflect them or dodged to the side. Even if they were hit by one or two arrows, they relied on their skills and internal strength to withstand them, and the team advanced much faster. In just a short while, they actually reached the foot of the stockade wall.
Immediately, logs and stones rained down from the city wall, crashing down with a deafening roar.
These experts were indeed skilled, dodging and weaving, parrying with swords and axes, and managing to withstand most of the attacks. Two of them, who were the best at light footwork, pulled out grappling hooks and hurled them out with a "whoosh." The iron hooks gripped the wall firmly, and the two used the momentum to leap up, their bodies like hawks, heading straight for the top of the city wall, about to scale it.
Meanwhile, atop the city wall, Hu Tieniu, with a submachine gun slung across his shoulder and the familiar machete in his hand, stood behind the crenellations, staring intently down below. Beside him stood Zhao Kui, gripping a thick-backed goose-feather saber, his expression tense, ready to strike at any moment.
Each of the village guards wore a bright red hard-shell hat and a stab-proof vest.
These were all brought by Shen Jingchuan from the modern world. They were difficult to harm with ordinary swords and arrows, and although they looked inconspicuous, they could save lives in a real fight. The village soldiers didn't say much, and they took turns loading their crossbows and fired wildly down the mountain.
Seeing that the two men were about to climb over the wall, Hu Tieniu grinned, and without even using an axe, he took the submachine gun from his neck, raised it, and fired a burst at the two men on the wall.
"Da da--"
A sharp gunshot rang out suddenly. The two men who were jumping up jolted, lost their momentum in mid-air, and fell straight down, hitting the base of the wall without a sound.
The martial arts masters below were stunned when they heard the strange noise and saw their companions die instantly. Taking advantage of this moment, the crossbows on the city wall fired another volley, immediately killing seven or eight more. The remaining men dared not stay any longer and hurriedly retreated.