Chapter 41

Two hundred steps... one hundred fifty steps... one hundred steps... eighty steps...

On the city wall, three hundred soldiers held defensive bows, lining up in two rows, with their arrows pointed upward at a sixty-degree angle.

Inside the city, five hundred Song army soldiers also lined up in five rows, holding defensive bows, ready to fire their arrows over the city wall and towards the outside.

As they entered the sixty-step line, Chen Qing gave the order: "Fire!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The sound of the drumsticks echoed, and eight hundred arrows from the city wall and inside the city took to the sky one after another, drawing high arcs in the air before turning downward, equivalent to falling from a ten-story building, increasing their penetration power.

Wanyan Alu, staring at the arrows being shot, said calmly, "There are at most a thousand defenders inside the city!"

"Raise the shields!"

The first battalion commander, Xue Yong, shouted, and the soldiers running in the fake army raised their shields.

The powerful arrows 'whoosh! whoosh!' fell, and the shields could not withstand the penetration power of the arrows, which pierced through them, causing a chorus of screams. Over a hundred and fifty soldiers were hit by the arrows and fell to the ground.

The remaining fake army soldiers continued to run wildly, and the second round of arrows from the city wall was fired...

Chen Qing, holding a shield and a long spear, assessed the effect of the arrows on the city wall. The two rounds of arrows had caused nearly three hundred enemy casualties, as he had estimated. The shooting angle of sixty degrees was high enough to penetrate the shields, but this also sacrificed the distance, reducing the number of arrows fired.

"Prepare the axe men!"

Yang Yuanqing shouted, and thirty soldiers holding long-handled sharp axes stood by the city wall. At this moment, the attacking soldiers had crossed the filled moat and swarmed to the base of the city wall...

At the same time, Han Chang gave the order: "The second battalion, charge!"

The drums beat loudly, and another thousand soldiers rushed towards the city...

One by one, the ladders were placed against the city wall, and the long iron hooks caught the wall. The fake army soldiers, holding shields and spears, climbed up the wall. On the city wall, an axe man appeared, swinging a large axe to cut the crossbeams. 'Crack!' A crossbeam was cut, and then the second and third were also cut. The axe man retreated.

The leading attacking soldier quickly climbed to the top of the wall, only to find that three crossbeams were missing, making it impossible to climb further. The fake army soldiers were momentarily stunned.

"Die!"

A Song army soldier on the city wall roared, and a heavy log fell from above, striking the leading soldier's raised shield. The shield was knocked away, and the soldier lost his balance, rolling down and taking five or six other soldiers with him.

"Thud!" The falling log rolled down, striking a soldier's head, causing his brain to splatter, and he died on the spot.

This was just one of the series of events happening on one ladder. In fact, the same scenario was playing out on all the ladders. The axes cut the crossbeams, and the logs and stones rained down like hail.

The screams continued, and the fake army soldiers on the ladders became timid. Xue Yong, enraged, shouted, "Charge up! Whoever retreats, I will execute them!"

Just as he finished speaking, three powerful crossbow bolts shot down from the city wall, targeting his exposed head and neck. The crossbow bolts were too fast, and Xue Yong, realizing the danger, was too late. He was hit by three bolts, blood splattering from his forehead, and his neck was pierced. He fell backward and died.

Hundreds of attacking soldiers retreated in panic, but the second wave of a thousand soldiers arrived, led by a thousand fake army soldiers, and the attack on the city wall resumed. The logs and stones rained down like hail, and soldiers were continuously knocked off the ladders, their bodies and blood splattering on the ground, causing heavy casualties.

At this moment, the retreat bell rang, 'Ding! Ding! Ding!'

Han Chang finally noticed the problem. The twenty ladders on the city wall had become useless, and no matter how brave the soldiers were, they could not climb up.

The attacking soldiers retreated like a tide, and the city wall was showered with arrows, causing more soldiers to fall.

At this moment, a Jurchen cavalryman galloped over and shouted, "General, why are we retreating?"

"Please report to the general that the ladders have been destroyed by the enemy and cannot be used to climb the wall. I need to adjust the tactics!"

The cavalryman galloped away to report to Wanyan Alu, who was momentarily stunned. He hadn't seen any changes in the ladders!

Wanyan Xin, a Jurchen battalion commander, said, "General, I saw enemy soldiers swinging large axes on the city wall. Their target was not the attacking soldiers but likely the ladders!"

Wanyan Wulu thought for a moment and suddenly realized, "That's right. They must have cut the crossbeams of the ladders, making it impossible for the soldiers to climb."

The others were enlightened and said, "The Song army's tactic is ruthless. I wonder how General Han will respond?"

Wanyan Alu said to the soldiers, "Tell General Han not to consider casualties and to suppress the enemy with arrows!"

...

Wanyan Alu's advice was correct, and Han Chang realized he had underestimated the enemy. He immediately changed his strategy.

"Uu—"

The low horn sounded again, and three thousand soldiers, holding shields and bows, lined up. Facing the arrows from the city wall, the shields could not withstand the arrows, and many soldiers fell.

Chen Qing turned back and shouted, "Tell General Yang that the enemy's archery formation is coming. Order the soldiers inside the city to evacuate immediately!"

The three thousand Jin archers quickly took their positions, lowered their shields, and fired a barrage of arrows. The arrows, like dark clouds, pressed down on the Song army on the city wall, making it impossible for them to raise their heads.

Many arrows flew over the wall, raining down on the open ground inside the city, where the Song army soldiers had been standing. If they hadn't evacuated in time, the Song army would have suffered heavy casualties.

But the Song army on the city wall still fired back with arrows. They were a few feet from the wall, and the arrows were shot at a thirty-degree angle, like a swarm of locusts, piercing the dense enemy ranks. In a series of screams, nearly a hundred fake army soldiers fell.

Han Chang, no longer concerned about these casualties, waved his sword, "Charge!"

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

The attack drums sounded, and two thousand Jin soldiers, carrying thirty ladders, rushed towards the city.

"Commander, let me go!" A general over two meters tall appeared behind him, wearing heavy armor, holding a long spear, broad-shouldered, and with bulging muscles, looking like a giant ape.

His name was Xiao Ta, the leader of the Khitan Black Mountain tribe, who had once been a thousand-man commander in the Liao army.

After surrendering to the Jin, Han Chang centered his strategy around him, selecting a group of fierce Khitan soldiers from the Liao army, known as the Wolf Soldiers. Each was over 1.9 meters tall, incredibly strong, fearless, and wore heavy armor and wolf helmets, making them immune to arrows. Their task was to seize the city wall.

Han Chang had five hundred Khitan Wolf Soldiers, but half had died in the Fuping battle. This time, he brought only eighty Wolf Soldiers south.

Han Chang nodded, "If you can kill the enemy commander, I will reward you with five thousand strings of coins and a hundred beautiful women!"

Han Chang didn't know that the reward for the city's commander was far more than five thousand strings of coins.

"Understood!"

Xiao Ta led eighty Wolf Soldiers towards the city.

The two thousand Jin soldiers had reached the base of the city wall. The previous ladders had been removed by the Song army, and thirty new ladders were placed on the wall.

At this moment, thousands of arrows shot towards every crenellation. Several axe men had just raised their axes when they were hit by dozens of arrows, falling off the wall with their axes.

Chen Qing shouted, "Use shields to protect the axe men!"

Several soldiers immediately raised their shields, blocking the crenellations, leaving only a narrow gap. The axe men swung their axes, 'Crack!' cutting a crossbeam.

But there was no second chance. As the axe men tried to cut again, several arrows whistled towards them, hitting the axe men in the head and chest. The axe men screamed and fell backward.

Eight of the thirty ladders were cut, but the archery formation played a significant role. The storm of arrows pressed down on the city wall, preventing the Song army from cutting the crossbeams again.

Dozens of tall and strong Khitan Wolf Soldiers, holding shields and biting their swords, climbed the ladders like giant apes...

The logs and stones on the city wall knocked down seven or eight Wolf Soldiers, but twenty or so still climbed to the top. At this moment, the crossbow bolts arrived, and ten powerful bolts hit their necks and heads, causing eight Wolf Soldiers to fall.

Fifty Wolf Soldiers continued to charge up the wall, many jumping onto the crenellations, trying to break through. The defending soldiers, red-eyed with rage, stabbed them from all sides with spears, continuously pushing them off the wall, but more Wolf Soldiers kept coming.

Several Wolf Soldiers had already jumped onto the city wall, fighting with shields and swords against the Song army.

Chen Qing roared, "Everyone, stay in your positions and don't panic!"

He led fifty supporting soldiers to charge, his spear thrusting forward, 'Puh!' piercing a Wolf Soldier's chest. He lifted the spear, and the Wolf Soldier screamed, falling off the wall.

Another crenellation was breached, and it was too late to charge. Chen Qing took his bow and arrow, and the faces of the enemy appeared in his mind.

He shot five arrows in quick succession, all hitting their marks. Five Wolf Soldiers, who had just climbed onto the wall, were hit in the throat and face, dying instantly. The scattered Song army regrouped and sealed the breach.

"Commander, be careful!" a soldier shouted.

Chen Qing instinctively ducked forward, feeling a heavy blow on his back, followed by a burning pain.

He turned around to see a fierce-looking Wolf Soldier leader, wearing a silver wolf helmet, likely a thousand-man commander. He was over two meters tall, holding a sword, with cold and cruel eyes. He swung his sword, cutting down two Song soldiers who tried to help.

Xiao Ta, the thousand-man commander, had targeted Chen Qing as soon as he reached the wall. He had killed seven or eight Song soldiers and, being extremely cunning, had abandoned his conspicuous spear and circled around to Chen Qing's back, aiming to cut his neck.

But Chen Qing reacted too quickly, dodging the fatal blow.

Without hesitation, Chen Qing pounced on the Wolf Soldier leader, pinning him down. Xiao Ta struggled fiercely, but Chen Qing tightly gripped his neck.

Chen Qing freed his left hand, drew an arrow, and thrust it into Xiao Ta's face, 'Puh!' The arrow pierced his left eye, and blood spurted, splattering Chen Qing's face.

Chen Qing pulled out the arrow, which still had an eyeball on the shaft, and thrust it into Xiao Ta's forehead. Xiao Ta turned his head to avoid, and an ear was cut off. His face covered in blood, he screamed and tried to crush Chen Qing's throat with his large, hairy hand.

Chen Qing pressed Xiao Ta's neck with his knee and broke his fingers with his right hand. Despite the pain, Xiao Ta refused to let go. Chen Qing thrust the arrow into Xiao Ta's forehead several times, 'Crack!' The arrow broke, and the tip pierced his forehead. Xiao Ta gradually lost his life...