Smash Them with Rocks

Several men quickly climbed the stockade wall and looked down. The Government Army's carts had already advanced three hundred meters and were steadily approaching along the mountain path. Hu Tieniu took half a step forward and shouted the order:

"Machine guns, hold! Fire only on my command! Everyone take cover behind the wall, and do not fire without my order!"

The stockade wall wasn't very long to begin with, with a gate tower in the middle and about thirty meters on each side. His shout was clearly audible to the soldiers along the line.

Everyone huddled behind the wall, only peeking out to watch the convoy getting closer and closer down the mountain.

"Two hundred meters!"

"One hundred meters!"

"Fifty meters!"

Hu Tieniu swung his arm down abruptly and roared, "Lies! Release!"

The round stones that had already been lifted to the edge of the wall were all pushed down with a thud.

Each of these boulders weighed two to three hundred pounds and was specially polished round by the stonemasons. As they rolled down the steep cement road, their speed increased instantly, and they crashed heavily onto the convoy on the mountain road with a whooshing sound.

The first two carts were hit head-on by the boulder. The thick wooden panels shattered instantly, and the entire cart was thrown backward by the force of the impact. Several soldiers pushing the carts were unable to avoid it and were crushed on the spot.

One of the vehicles was swerved to the side of the road and rolled down the slope into the ravine, taking several soldiers who hadn't managed to let go with it. Their screams were cut short by the time they heard them.

Then a dozen more boulders rolled down one after another, their heavy bodies bumping and jostling on the narrow mountain path, smashing the cart in front to pieces.

Some of the side panels were smashed through, some of the wheels broke off, and pieces of wood and metal were scattered all over the ground.

The soldiers pushing the carts couldn't dodge and were smashed in, their heads bleeding profusely. Screams of agony rang out one after another, and the originally orderly advancing formation was quickly thrown into chaos.

Surrounded by more than ten guards wielding large shields, Wei Zheng rounded the bend in the mountain path.

He stood behind the shield formation, witnessing firsthand the entire process of the round stones shattering the shield carts in front, his expression remaining completely calm. He simply gave the order in a deep voice:

"Shieldbearers, form ranks! Protect the ladders and charge upwards!"

The Black Armor Army was, after all, an elite force of the Imperial Guards, with strict discipline ingrained in their very bones, and they would move at a moment's notice.

The shield bearers in the front row raised their heavy iron shields, forming a tight shield wall to protect the soldiers carrying ladders behind them, and steadily advanced upwards in orderly steps;

When they encountered damaged shield vehicle wreckage along the way, dedicated personnel immediately stepped forward to clear and move it away. Although the entire team was on a narrow path, their formation remained completely intact.

On the stockade wall, the boulders that had been piled up along the edge rolled round and round, but their momentum gradually weakened. The top of the stockade wall was only so long, and it couldn't hold too many huge stones. In no time, the boulders on the top of the wall were all gone.

"Quickly bring the boulders up!"

Hu Tieniu frowned and shouted loudly.

The soldiers responsible for transporting the stones inside the village quickly got to work, forming groups of four. They used thick nets made of hemp ropes to scoop up round stones weighing two or three hundred pounds each, and carried them up the village wall while shouting slogans. The stones were heavy and the slope was steep, so each trip took a lot of effort. Supplies couldn't be replenished for a while, and the sound of rolling stones on the mountain path soon subsided.

Wei Zheng, who was at the foot of the mountain, saw through the situation at a glance.

Such a short section of the stockade wall couldn't possibly hold many stones. Now that there's been no movement, it must be that the stockpile is exhausted, and they're relying entirely on reinforcements from the rear. He immediately shouted:

"Speed up! Move the ladder closer!"

The mountain path was narrow, and the eight ladders could not be lined up in a row; they had to be passed forward in pairs.

The remaining dozen or so shield carts were still at the forefront, slowly advancing towards the stockade wall, shielding the troops behind them from the sporadic falling debris.

However, the closer they got to the stockade wall, the weaker the shield carts became—the stockade wall was ten meters high, and looking down from the top, the shield carts that could originally block their frontal attacks could no longer provide adequate protection.

The machine gun crew on the wall couldn't hold back any longer, and Zhou Meng shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Boss! If you don't fire now, they'll be right against the wall!"

"What's the rush!" Hu Tieniu's eyes were fixed on the middle section of the mountain road. "Listen to my command!"

He wasn't waiting for the shield carts and shield soldiers in front, but for the crossbowmen following behind, who were using the shield formation as cover to sneak forward.

These military-made crossbows have a considerable range. If they were to get close enough to fire a barrage of arrows at the top of the wall, the soldiers guarding the city walls would inevitably suffer losses. This is the real threat to the fortified walls.

Seeing the crossbowmen inching forward under the cover of their large shields, Hu Tieniu suddenly raised his hand and shouted, "Machine guns! Shoot that group of crossbowmen! Don't let a single one escape!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a series of rapid thuds erupted from the stockade wall, bullets raining down on the crossbowmen's position like a deluge.

The Black Armor Army's iron-clad shields were like paper in the face of close-range machine gun fire, instantly riddled with holes, with even the shield surfaces cracking into pieces.

Before nearly a hundred crossbowmen could even fire their arrows, they were swept by a volley of bullets. Screams filled the air as they were either killed or wounded, and the ground was littered with fallen bodies, not even a single intact shield remained.

"Change ammunition belt!"

Zhou Meng roared, and his men quickly removed the empty ammunition belts, picked up new ammunition boxes, locked them in place with a click, turned their guns, and swept the crossbowmen who were coming to reinforce the ranks.

"Ignore the shield carts in front, focus on the reinforcements behind!" Hu Tieniu shouted.

At this moment, the shield carts at the front had been pushed to within twenty meters of the stockade wall, and the soldiers carrying the ladders also rushed forward, each one huddled behind the shields, preparing to approach and set up the ladders to climb the city wall.

Hu Tieniu glanced down and loudly gave the order:

"All crossbowmen, listen up! Don't shoot shields, shoot people! Aim before you fire, don't fire randomly! They can't get over this high wall, what's the panic!"

A total of 450 crossbowmen were deployed on the stockade wall, standing in three staggered rows.

After the front row fired an arrow, they immediately stepped back to reload, and the second row followed closely behind to fill in and fire their own arrows, one volley after another in an orderly fashion.

Taking advantage of their superior vantage point, the arrows aimed precisely at the gaps along the shield's edge, striking with unpredictable angles. With each volley, dozens of muffled groans could be heard from below.

Using the stockade walls for cover, the guards fired steadily, accurately, and ruthlessly. At first, they were a little flustered, but they gradually became orderly.

By this time, there were very few stones left on the stockade wall. The soldiers carrying the stones were in groups of four, carrying thick ropes and nets, and moving up the narrow stone steps step by step. The stones, weighing two or three hundred pounds, made everyone's steps heavy, and it took half an incense stick's time to complete one trip, so the speed was very slow.

Hu Tieniu stood by the ramparts, watching the shield carts slowly advancing down the mountain, and urged them on at the top of his lungs:

"Hurry up! Get all the boulders up here! Stop dawdling!"

The shield convoy at the foot of the mountain had advanced to within fifty or sixty paces of the stockade wall when they all stopped—any further would put them within the direct range of the falling rocks, and no one dared to approach rashly.

However, this row of shield vehicles blocked the narrow path completely, preventing the team carrying ladders from advancing.

Seeing that the formation was blocked, the captain leading the group immediately leaned forward and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Shield vehicles, move aside to make way for the ladders!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than gunfire erupted from the stockade wall. A burst of bullets swept across the area, and the captain's body jolted as he fell to the ground on the spot.

The order was given, but the shield carts were heavy, the mountain road was narrow and sloping, making it extremely difficult to move them to the sides.

The soldiers shouted slogans and pushed and pulled, using great effort to barely create a gap.