Chapter 40

The night was clear, the moon bright and the stars sparse, a crescent moon hung in the sky like a blue curtain, casting its clear light over the earth.

At the foot of the city gate, a special battle was taking place with great tension. Over 2,300 Han soldiers were divided into two groups; 300 were responsible for digging and filling bags with soil, while 2,000 were divided into 20 teams, carrying the bags of soil to the trench several hundred steps away and throwing them into it.

Soldiers kept falling as they ran, never to rise again.

Strong arrows flew swiftly through the night sky, targeting every running soldier...

On the city walls, 400 Song soldiers were also divided into two teams; half were responsible for shooting crossbows, while the other half were responsible for reloading. This greatly reduced the time needed for the crossbowmen to reload, allowing them to shoot almost continuously, increasing the casualties among the soldiers filling the trench.

At the southeast corner, ten Han soldiers were running quickly with bags of soil. They were still thirty steps away from the trench when a dozen powerful crossbow bolts flew towards them. The darkness greatly reduced their visibility, and they only noticed the faint green glow of the arrowheads when the bolts were right in front of them.

"Ah!" Several soldiers screamed almost simultaneously. Four soldiers were hit by the poisoned crossbow bolts and fell to the ground, convulsing.

"Leave them, run faster!"

The leading soldier shouted, leading the other few to continue running. When they were ten steps away from the trench, more arrows flew, and three more fell. The last three threw their bags of soil into the trench and turned to run, but they fell to the ground after a few steps and did not rise again.

One team after another of soldiers was shot down by the crossbow bolts from the city walls. By the fifth watch, the trench was less than half filled, and the air was thick with the smell of blood.

The number of soldiers transporting the bags of soil had already dropped to less than a thousand. The trench was littered with the bodies of the fallen Han soldiers. The thousand or so dead soldiers alone were enough to fill the remaining half of the trench.

"General, the casualties are too heavy. It's already the fifth watch, and we've only filled half the trench. We probably won't complete the task."

Xia Jin looked at the night sky and asked hoarsely, "How many soldiers are left?"

"Less than seven hundred."

Xia Jin's heart ached. In one night, 1,300 soldiers had been killed.

Thinking of Wanyan Wulu's cruelty, Xia Jin's heart bled with hatred. He immediately ordered, "Gather all the soldiers!"

Before long, the exhausted soldiers reassembled. Each was covered in mud, their faces filled with despair, fatigue, and numbness to death.

Surrendering to the Song army was impossible, and returning to the camp would mean certain death. Xia Jin steeled his resolve; he had no other choice but to lead his troops to escape to Western Xia.

"Let's go!"

Xia Jin led the remaining thousand soldiers to quickly retreat towards the valley entrance. However, as he reached the entrance, fires suddenly broke out on both sides, and thousands of Han soldiers surrounded them from all directions.

The leading general was a one-eyed general, Han Chang, a famous Han general in the Jurchen army. He had lost an eye in the Battle of Fuping but remained as powerful as ever. He currently served as the deputy commander of the western front, commanding 20,000 Han soldiers.

Han Chang swung his large saber and said coldly, "The main camp is to the east. Why are you heading west, General Xia?"

Xia Jin's heart quaked. Wanyan Wulu had set up an ambush against him. He steeled himself and said, "I am originally from Western Xia. Since Commander Wanyan has no tolerance for me, I can only return to Western Xia. General, you are also Han, I hope you understand!"

Han Chang laughed loudly, then his smile vanished, and he said coldly, "The commander ordered you to take the Arrow Pass, but you failed. You have delayed the army's southward strategy. How can the commander spare you?"

"But the commander only ordered me to make the siege ladders, not to continue the battle!"

"That was just to prevent you from surrendering to the Song army. As a commander, don't you know that military orders are as heavy as a mountain?"

Xia Jin knew he could not escape. He suddenly shouted, "Break through!"

He spurred his horse and charged northwest. Han Chang sneered, drew his bow, and shot an arrow.

*Pfft!*

The arrow, powerful enough to pierce iron, shot through Xia Jin's body, emerging from his chest. Xia Jin screamed and died instantly.

Han Chang roared, "Leave none alive, kill them all!"

...

By dawn, the trench was completely filled. Han Chang personally led the operation, sending 10,000 soldiers to fill the trench using a method where two soldiers held shields to protect one soldier carrying a bag of soil. It took only an hour to completely fill the trench, and only about 300 soldiers were killed by arrows.

Han Chang also had all the fallen soldiers removed. He knew that if an epidemic broke out, they would be the first to suffer. In handling the fallen soldiers, he was even more cautious than the Song army.

On the city walls, the soldiers who had fought all night had gone to rest, and a new batch of defenders had taken their place. Chen Qing, though he had fought until midnight, was not tired. He looked down at the city with a serious expression.

He realized the threat of the shields to the city. The enemy wore hard leather armor, and if they held shields, neither the crossbows nor the arrows could penetrate them. Although the Qilin Fort had used the city defense bows to pierce the enemy's leather armor, it was because of the height advantage. Shooting from a ten-story building, the acceleration of the arrows was enough to pierce the shields. But here, with only a three-story height, if the arrows were shot upwards, they might possibly pierce the enemy's shields.

But no matter how they shot, there were only 300 soldiers on the city walls, and they could only kill a thousand or so enemies. Against an army of ten thousand, it was insignificant.

The key was the close combat during the siege. This was the main battlefield. He had previously overemphasized the importance of archery, which was a mistake.

"Order all to switch to city defense bows!"

As for the forty bed crossbows, Chen Qing held back. They were his last trump card, and he would not use them until the last moment.

Yang Hua led teams of soldiers to bring large stones and logs to the city walls. At this moment, a low horn sounded in the distance.

*Whoo!*

The horn sounded outside the valley, and Chen Qing's eyes narrowed. The battle had begun again.

"Beat the drums, prepare for battle!"

The city walls were immediately filled with the sound of drums.

...

Six thousand soldiers shouted their deep battle cries, their formation orderly, and the black-armored soldiers formed a black banner covering the valley.

All were Han soldiers, originally low-spirited and undisciplined Song soldiers. After surrendering to the Jurchen, they had learned to plunder and kill, and their inner beast had been unleashed, making them fierce in battle.

Six thousand soldiers, armed with long spears and shields, marched in formation through the valley, dust flying, the spear tips flickering in the dim valley, and the valley was filled with a sense of impending death.

Among the ranks were dozens of siege ladders, professionally crafted and sturdy, covered in cowhide, far superior to the ladders made by the carpenters of Qianyang County.

The commander of this army was still General Han Chang, followed by 2,000 Jurchen cavalry, armed with long spears or axes. They served as both supervisors and guards, with the commander Wanyan Wulu and several Jurchen generals in their midst.

The 6,000 Han soldiers stopped a mile away from the city gate. Han Chang gazed at the city gate for a moment. The gate was narrow, and only a thousand soldiers could attack at a time.

"Those who take the city will be rewarded with 100 strings of coins, and those who enter the city will be rewarded with ten beautiful women and 1,000 strings of coins!"

The Jurchen always kept their promises on the battlefield. As long as they survived, the rewards would be given. The Han soldiers were excited and shouted loudly.

Han Chang swung his saber and ordered, "Beat the drums! First camp, attack!"

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

The huge war drums sounded, and a thousand Han soldiers, carrying twenty siege ladders, charged towards the city gate...

Han Chang, a seasoned veteran, knew that the city gate was narrow and could only accommodate a few hundred soldiers. Their arrow attacks would not affect the overall situation, especially since the soldiers had shields. He did not need to prepare an archery formation.

On the city walls, Chen Qing coldly watched the thousand enemy soldiers charging like a tide. He turned and ordered, "All city defense bows, fire simultaneously!"