The Ace Troops

Xu Erlang pointed to the map and said:

"Songshan County is one of the important strongholds in Governor Yang's second line of defense. If Songshan County is defended, the grain and provisions of Qingzhou can be transported to the south via the Songhe River waterway."

"The entire northwest region, with Songshan County as its focal point, can serve as a major rear base for our army, supporting our efforts to entangle with the rebels in Yunzhou."

Miao Youfang peered over and saw that Xu Erlang had drawn the city walls occupied by the Yunzhou army on the map with charcoal. "Songshan County" was like a nail embedded in the northwest of the rebel army's advance line.

"Now that you've drawn it like this, I understand the importance of Songshan County. I was wondering why Governor Yang valued such a small, run-down county so much, even though you often say it's an important stronghold in the defense line."

"But what's so important about it, even I, Master Miao, don't quite understand. Isn't it obvious now?"

Miao Youfang nodded as he looked on.

"As expected of Erlang, a scholar who passed the imperial examinations twice and graduated from the Cloud Deer Academy, this old hero is greatly pleased."

"Read more books when you have time to improve your rhetoric," Xu Erlang replied calmly.

He was quite experienced in dealing with uncouth brutes.

He will never get angry easily.

Xu Erlang continued:

"Unless the Yunzhou rebels suffer a major defeat on both the Dongling and Wanjun fronts, forcing them to commit more troops to the battlefield and leaving them unable to support Zhuo Haoran, Zhuo Haoran will not withdraw his troops but will wait for reinforcements."

Dongling and Wan County, together with Songshan County, formed the second line of defense.

"Then what should we do?" Miao Youfang asked, puzzled.

"The city still has ample food supplies and sufficient guards, so naturally we will hold our ground and wait for Governor Yang's reinforcements," Xu Xinnian said thoughtfully.

"The premise is that the battles at Dongling and Wanjun will not be too brutal."

"What if it's very tragic?" Miao Youfang asked, puzzled.

"Then we must prepare for a protracted war, with no one to rely on," Xu Xinnian sighed.

Dongling and Wanjun were relatively more important than Songshan County.

Fortunately, before he set out, Sun Xuanji gave him a large number of heavy firearms, including cannons, ballistae, crossbows, and muskets, all of which were powerful defensive weapons.

As for supplies such as kerosene and logs, Songshan County itself is wealthy and has ample reserves.

The Great Feng garrison was confident in its ability to wage a protracted war.

As he spoke, he summoned a centurion and gave him instructions:

"Send scouts out from the west city, armed with pickaxes and shovels, to stealthily advance along the Song River and ambush the enemy's supply lines."

After the centurion left to carry out his orders, Miao Youfang offered his analysis:

"You want to cut off the enemy's supplies before reinforcements arrive?"

A few days ago, he led his cavalry to charge into the camp, causing chaos and burning the rebels' supplies. Even if the fire is eventually extinguished, the remaining supplies probably won't last more than a few days.

Xu Xinnian chuckled "Hey!"

"No, I want to destroy the main road to slow down the enemy reinforcements' advance, then provoke Zhuo Haoran and force him to attack the city. That way, we might be able to wipe out Zhuo Haoran's army before the rebel reinforcements arrive."

Military campaigns inevitably involve the transport of provisions and military equipment, which rely on vehicles.

Vehicles depend on roads for normal movement.

A route riddled with holes would greatly slow down the march of reinforcements.

"Brother Miao, you've just been through a tough battle. Go eat some meat; you still have to keep watch tonight."

Xu Xinnian rubbed his throbbing temples and exhaled, "I need to rest for a while too."

He hadn't slept for a day and a night.

After sending Miao Youfang away, Xu Erlang, wearing light armor, fell asleep immediately. The hard, uncomfortable equipment posed no obstacle to him, and he soon drifted off to sleep.

This was thanks to the experience of going north to support the Yaoman. At that time, the allied forces of Great Feng and Yaoman were scattered, and the remnants were scattered in various places, and they were in danger at any time.

Thus, he mastered the extraordinary skill of falling asleep quickly even while wearing armor.

"Knock knock knock"

The dense and deep drumbeats woke Xu Erlang. He opened his eyes abruptly, sprang up from the simple bed, and subconsciously turned his head to look at the water drain beside the bed. The time was 4:45 a. m.

On the eve of dawn.

He rushed out of the barbican carrying his standard-issue military knife. The sky was pitch black, and the torches on the city walls burned brightly in the cold night.

Miao Youfang, who was heading towards the barbican, met Xu Erlang's gaze and grinned:

"That bastard's a madman, he actually launched an attack on the city. Isn't this exactly what we wanted? We don't even need to think of any provocation."

As Xu Erlang walked towards the battlements, he frowned and said:

"Zhuo Haoran is hot-tempered and impulsive, and easily provoked. But we haven't even tried to provoke him yet. And he's no ordinary man. He should know that with the little troops we have left, it's simply not enough to take down the city."

There's something fishy about this.

Miao Youfang asked, "Is there something fishy going on?"

I'm not the supervisor, how would I know that Xu Xinnian had arrived at the city wall and was cautiously looking into the distance? By the light of the cannon fire from the city wall, he could see a dense enemy force approaching the city.

Is this a case of mutual destruction?

Xu Erlang frowned deeply.

In a flash of thought, he suddenly lunged to his left, and a shell exploded with a whoosh where he was hiding, the flames, shockwaves, and debris scattering in all directions.

Miao Youfang stirred his qi to deflect the scorching airflow, saving Xu Erlang from serious injury.

"Fuck him!"

Xu Erlang scrambled to his feet in a cold sweat, crouching low, and ran towards the horse track while shouting:

Catapults launched oil for illumination.

"Archers and musketeers, prepare yourselves! Don't bring up the oil barrels yet, bring up the logs first."

Under his command, the defending troops launched a well-organized defensive counterattack, with the booming of artillery fire and the deafening sound of exploding shells echoing everywhere.

The expanding flames exploded below the city walls and on the city walls.

The artilleryman was killed, and the reserve team quickly took his place.

With the ballistae and cannons destroyed, the militia immediately brought in new heavy weapons.

In addition, these conscripted militiamen crouched low and ran back and forth on the horse trail to rescue the wounded.

The battle was extremely fierce.

Holding a standard military knife, Zhuo Haoran skillfully dodged cannon fire, arrows, and rolling logs thrown down from the city wall.

They successfully approached the city gate.

He had personally destroyed the city gate three days earlier, but the Yunzhou army was unable to pass through it because the defending army had already moved tons of stones to block up the city gate.

Only a small door, just wide enough for one person and one horse to pass through, remained.

When defending the city, the small gate was blocked by huge stones.

When leaving the city, dozens of militiamen used hemp ropes to pull apart the huge rocks.

This tactic was commonplace before the advent of the Warlock System.

In ancient times, each city gate had a separate warehouse for storing stones, so that the defending army could quickly seal the city gate in times of war.

After the emergence of the Warlock System, border towns and main cities were protected by formations, and the "city-sealing tactic" was gradually abandoned.

Over the past year, Yang Gong has revived the strategy of sealing off cities and ordered all counties to build warehouses and prepare stones.

The city-sealing tactic is mainly used to defend against experts at the fourth rank. City gates cannot stop martial artists of this level, while the city-sealing technique can ensure that the enemy army can still be blocked even after the city gates are destroyed.

After all, the army is still mainly composed of ordinary soldiers and low-ranking military officers.

Zhuo Haoran leaped up, took several steps on the city wall, and easily climbed to the top. With a sweep of his blade, he cut a cannon and two gunners in two.

With a series of thuds, Miao Youfang stomped deep holes in the horse trail, like a mad bull, charging at Zhuo Haoran, a fourth-rank official, with his fifth-rank body.

Zhuo Haoran grinned maliciously, unleashing his sword intent. His standard military knife instantly turned as red as a branding iron, carrying the intent to annihilate everything, as if he were about to cut down the fifth-rank fellow.

Not far away, Xu Erlang, protected by two guards, exuded a faint aura. With one hand behind his back and the other on his lower abdomen, he said in a deep voice:

"A true man should die without regrets.

A true man should be benevolent and righteous.

The jade pendant belonging to Yang Gong, hanging at his waist, lit up, adding to his Vast Righteous Qi spirit.

At the same time, the guard on Xu Erlang's left nocked an arrow and shot it into the sky.

Arrows, each carrying a firework, exploded high in the sky.

After those two sentences, Miao Youfang seemed to have taken a stimulant, his aura surged, while Zhuo Haoran's eyes clearly glazed over for a moment. The words "benevolence and righteousness" prevented him from striking with the knife in his hand.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Miao Youfang closed in, slapping the knife out of Zhuo Haoran's hand. He then lunged forward with a side shoulder strike, sending Zhuo Haoran flying uncontrollably. And then came the signature move of a martial arts master of the Transformation Realm—

One combo and I'll kill you!

Xu Erlang is a seventh-rank benevolent person; he just used an eighth-rank Self-Cultivation Realm ability—the power of literary courage.

The greatest benefit of a strategist is boosting morale, increasing the fighting strength of one's own troops, and alleviating certain ailments.

Secondly, it can temporarily influence the enemy's morale; if used well, it can weaken the enemy.

The eighth-rank self-cultivation skill of literary courage is advanced to the fifth- Virtue. Virtue, Virtue name suggests, regulates a person's words and deeds, and requires others to meet the standards of the "Six Virtues of a Gentleman".

This is very similar to the precepts of Buddhist School.

However, there is no room for advancement in precepts, while Virtue, the next step, is Law Follows Speech.

At that point, regulating people's words and actions will no longer require the "six virtues of a gentleman," and can be done arbitrarily and forcefully.

Bang!

Miao Youfang's combo was forcibly interrupted by Zhuo Haoran, who had regained his senses. He was then kicked in the abdomen and sent flying backward, rolling around on the horse track.

Ignoring the disheveled Miao Youfang, Zhuo Haoran stomped on the parapet repeatedly, aiming directly at Xu Erlang.

In the past few siege battles, this scholar from the Cloud Deer Academy had caused him a lot of trouble. Relying on the temporary restraint of Confucian School Law Technique and the cooperation of a fifth-rank martial artist, he had repeatedly caused him to suffer defeats.

Miao Youfang plowed deep furrows in the ground with his elbows and feet, forcibly dissipating the force, and then opened his palms to grab two shells from the basket and flung them at Zhuo Haoran.

Then ignite it with a gas engine.

"Boom!"

The expanding flames engulfed Zhuo Haoran, and Xu Erlang took the opportunity to retreat under the protection of the guards.

He remained remarkably calm, showing no fear whatsoever at being pursued by a fourth-rank martial artist. After Zhuo Haoran broke free of the fireball, he once again channeled his pure energy:

A gentleman values harmony above all else.

A gentleman should sacrifice his life for righteousness.

Miao Youfang, his face contorted with rage, lunged out from the side and tumbled down the city wall, entangled with Zhuo Haoran.

Clang, clang, clang. During the fight, the two men used their hands, feet, and elbows in a fierce hand-to-hand combat. Enemy soldiers climbing the ladder were caught in the crossfire and fell with screams.

Miao Youfang was quickly outmatched, and Zhuo Haoran opened up an opening with a punch. Immediately afterwards, Zhuo the Butcher struck with his palm like a knife, unleashing the intent of the knife into Miao Youfang's chest.

At that moment, a sharp spear light shot out like a comet, interrupting Zhuo Haoran's attack and forcing him to parry with his palm blade.

Zhu Jun darted across the wall, arriving just in time to save the day.

With Xu Erlang and Miao Youfang's strength, dealing with Zhuo Haoran was barely enough. Whenever Zhuo Haoran attacked the city, Xu Erlang would send someone to send fireworks as a signal to Zhu Jun at the north gate.

Zhu Jun knew that a fourth-rank enemy soldier was in this area and would immediately rush over.

"Bang!"

In the shockwave resembling an exploding cannon, Miao Youfang seized the opportunity to break free, climbed back onto the city wall, and stood guard beside Xu Erlang.

After splitting the spear, Zhuo Haoran returned to the city wall and stood on the parapet.

Zhu Jun then stepped between the two sides, beckoned to summon a long spear, and confronted Zhuo Haoran.

Zhuo Haoran's gaze swept past Zhu Jun, then turned to Xu Xinnian behind him, and he sneered:

"I once boasted to the General that I would capture Songshan County within five days. Now it is the eighth day, the city has not been captured, and more than half of my elite troops have been lost."

"I never imagined that my lifelong reputation would be ruined by a mere brat like you!"

Xu Erlang remained calm and said indifferently:

"The son is ruined by his father; it's not unjust."

A flash of anger crossed Zhuo Haoran's face, but he suppressed his emotions and slowly said:

Do you know why I'm attacking the city tonight?

This was exactly what Xu Erlang was wondering about, but he simply responded calmly:

"Because you're tired of living."

Zhuo Haoran's forehead vein throbbed. "I don't need to get angry with a dying man, because the elite troops that the Imperial Preceptor has been painstakingly cultivating have already arrived."

"Li~"

Suddenly, a high-pitched, piercing cry came from the horizon.

At this moment, the first light of dawn appeared in the east, and the sky was a deep blue-green.

Beneath the deep blue sky, a group of enormous creatures flapped their wings and swept towards Songshan County.

"Vermilion Bird Army!"

Zhuo Haoran glanced at the horizon, then looked away and grinned maliciously:

"If the city falls today, I will slaughter for three days and three nights."

Flying Beast Army. Xu Erlang's pupils contracted.

Southern Frontier.

Xu Qi'an summoned the Floating Pagoda, whose doors opened, casting a beam of light down.

The beam of light revealed Mu Nanzhi holding Bai Ji.

What do you want?

As he retrieved the pagoda, he glanced at Bai Ji.

The little fox sent him a message through the tower spirit, saying that it had something important to discuss.

Mu Nanzhi's gaze immediately fell on Luo Yuheng, who was standing next to Xu Qi'an.