Two Machine Guns

At the city gate tower, Lin Weiyuan leaned against the battlement and gazed into the distance, his expression relatively calm; Lin Yue's palms itched with desire as he watched, and he quickly moved closer to Hu Tieniu, his eyes fixed on the flickering gun muzzle, not even wanting to blink.

Some archers on the mountain path had just drawn their bows halfway, while others hadn't even nocked their arrows properly, when a burst of gunfire swept through and they fell in droves, their screams mingling with the sound of gunfire echoing through the valley.

The shield carts could only block the front. When fired down from the ten-zhang-high stockade wall, the soldiers' shoulders and backs were completely exposed to the fire. The thick shields were no match for them. Bullets drilled in at the right angle, and the large shields were as fragile as paper. The two machine guns fired at them, sending soldiers flying.

Hu Tieniu became more and more engrossed in the shooting, turning his gun to aim at the foremost shield vehicle, holding the trigger tightly, and firing half a magazine of bullets into the same spot on the front of the vehicle.

The iron plate, half a finger thick, wrapped around the hardwood shield, couldn't withstand the continuous concentrated fire. First, the iron plate was pierced through, then the hardwood inside cracked into pieces, and the entire shield vehicle fell apart with a "crash," with pieces of wood and iron rolling all over the mountain road.

"So this thing can be destroyed! It just takes a few bullets!"

Hu Tieniu laughed heartily:

"The young master said there are plenty of bullets, so fire hard!"

With that, he turned his gun and targeted the second shield vehicle. Hundreds of bullets hit the center of the vehicle's front, and in no time, the second shield vehicle also fell apart.

Seeing that even the sturdy shield carts couldn't stop them, the border troops on the mountain road instantly lost all their confidence. If it weren't for their strict military discipline, they would have fled on the spot.

Zhou Lie stood at the command post after the bend in the mountain road, watching his soldiers fall in droves, his face as white as paper.

The day before yesterday, the Black Armor Army at least forced the enemy to use boulders, but today, the enemy didn't even need to use boulders. Just two rapid-fire weapons were enough to keep the entire team pinned down. There was even one more weapon than last time, doubling the firepower.

Continuing to fight would be suicide, Zhou Lie gritted his teeth and hissed as he gave the order:

"Sound the retreat! Withdraw!"

As soon as the gong sounded, the soldiers, as if granted a pardon, turned and retreated down the mountain. But Hu Tieniu wasn't about to let them go so easily; the two machine guns had already been assigned their tasks:

One gun swept across the middle of the mountain path, chasing after the retreating crowd and targeting the soldiers at the back of the column; the other gun aimed directly at the narrow bend in the mountain path, raining down bullets and completely blocking the retreat route, cutting the entire retreating column in two.

Unable to advance or retreat on the narrow mountain path, those in front couldn't get past the bend, while those behind were being chased and attacked. The soldiers were crammed together, becoming sitting ducks.

When the remaining soldiers finally managed to rush through the bend and retreat, a headcount revealed that more than a thousand men had been lost; most of the troops who had charged forward had not returned alive.

Zhou Lie stared at the reported casualty figures, his knuckles clenching until they turned white. This was clearly sending people to their deaths.

The remaining soldiers dragged their wounded soldiers all the way down the mountain to the main camp. The mountain paths near the stronghold were littered with corpses, making it impossible to even collect the bodies.

Zhou Lie, covered in blood, entered the commander's tent, knelt on one knee, and said with a pale face, "This humble general is incompetent, causing heavy losses to our troops. Please punish me, Your Highness."

Then he recounted the process of the defeat.

Inside the tent, Xiao Mingyuan's face was ashen. He slammed his hand on the table, making the teacup jump.

"Waste!"

Wei Zheng stood to the side, his brows furrowed. He had long anticipated that the border troops would be ineffective in attacking fortified positions, but he had not expected such a crushing defeat.

Unexpectedly, another rapid-fire weapon appeared, blocking the narrow passage from a high vantage point and even cutting off the retreat route. This was simply a one-sided massacre.

He stepped forward and said in a deep voice:

"Your Highness, it's not that Deputy General Zhou is incompetent. This stronghold has a perfect geographical advantage; their rapid-fire weapons have a long range and dense firepower, and the mountain paths are narrow with nowhere to dodge. A direct assault would only result in death. If we continue fighting, even if we send all 20,000 troops in, we might not be able to take it."

"The only option is to besiege them and wear them down."

"Can we afford to waste time?"

Xiao Mingyuan suddenly turned his head and stared at him:

"Have you calculated how much food and fodder 20,000 troops consume every day? If they're just stuck here at the foot of this mountain, the imperial court's grain transport will have to travel thousands of miles. When will this ever end?"

He paced back and forth inside the tent a couple of times, hands behind his back, and said sternly:

"I refuse to believe it! We'll attack again tomorrow, and I'll have the Prince's Guard lead the charge! I want to see whether the bandits' firearms are stronger or my Prince's Guards are stronger!"

Your Highness, you mustn't!

Wei Zheng hurriedly stopped him:

"The guards of the Prince's residence are all elite imperial troops. How can we explain their losses to Prince Jing? In my opinion, we should surround them without attacking, cut off their water and food supplies, and wait until they collapse on their own inside the stronghold."

"Water source?"

Xiao Mingyuan sneered:

"This mountain stronghold has no shortage of water; there are plenty of springs. Can you cut off its water supply? Not to mention food; they have enough stored grain to last a year. You're going to besiege it until next year?"

Xiao Mingyuan was furious and pointed in the direction of the stronghold, cursing:

"These mere bandits have more provisions than my entire army!"

Meanwhile, on Azure Cloud Stronghold, a lively scene unfolded. A great victory during the day, coupled with the addition of a machine gun, had greatly boosted the morale of the garrison.

Hu Tieniu personally led the men to inventory the weapons, muttering to himself:

"That was awesome, fucking awesome! Two guns blocking the way, any number they come will die. Let's see if they dare to charge any further."

Lin Yue stood to the side, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

"Chief Hu, next time let me try firing two shots? Just one magazine, I promise it won't delay things."

Hu Tieniu grinned:

"Alright, we'll let you have your fun next time the Government Army come. But you'd better aim carefully. Even though Young Master Shen gave us a lot of bullets, we can't waste them. Let me teach you how to use them first."

Just then, a soldier came to report that Young Master Shen had arrived and was in the backyard.

He also brought a lot of vegetables and fresh meat, instructing the kitchen to stew meat that night, so that everyone in the village would get a share, and those on duty at the city wall would get double. Hu Tieniu slapped his thigh:

"Good! Tell the brothers to eat their fill tonight, then continue the defense, and let the Government Army down the mountain starve!"

As night fell, Shen Jingchuan was in the backyard talking with his father-in-law, Lin Weiyuan, while Lin Qingyao Bai Ruoli stayed with him.

Lin Weiyuan stroked his beard and said:

"Today's great victory has dampened the morale of the Government Army, but they outnumber us and are unlikely to give up easily. We must also be wary of their night raids, and simply keeping them surrounded like this isn't a sustainable strategy."

Shen Jingchuan nodded:

"Don't worry, father-in-law. Hu Tieniu has increased the number of sentries, and the city walls are guarded day and night. If it really is a night attack, once the machine guns open fire, the entire mountain road will be under fire, and they won't come out unscathed."

He paused, then said:

"I've already ordered two horse-drawn carriages specifically for mounting machine guns. Once they're ready, we can launch proactive attacks instead of always staying on the mountain."

Lin Qingyao sat to the side, Bai Ruoli gently poured him more tea.