Chapter 51

The Tartars had never expected that a small village like He Wan would have cannons. The sudden attack caught them off guard, and at least a dozen Tartars were injured or killed. The iron sand hit one of their shield carts, splintering wood and killing two more Tartars.

Seeing that even the shield carts were not safe, the Tartars at the back could no longer bear it and ran away. Many Tartars on the city walls did not have time to escape. The new recruits were greatly encouraged, each tightly gripping their spears and thrusting them forward with all their might, skewering another dozen Tartars.

In total, over seventy Tartars were killed, and about forty to fifty were severely injured, unable to escape back in time. They screamed in agony at the foot of the city walls. Unable to bear their cries, Qiao Fu led the archers to use these Tartars as targets, and before long, they were all shot dead!

Dai Angelai had brought six to seven hundred men, and after the battle, he counted his losses, which exceeded ten percent. This made the Taiji so angry that his nose was almost twisted.

"Useless, all of you are useless! You have disgraced the Mongol warriors. What do those Nikan have? They defeated you with ice blocks. Do you even deserve to be called warriors? I will kill you all!"

Dai Angelai became angrier as he spoke, drew his saber, and beheaded two deserters. Blood splattered all over his face, making him look like a fierce ghost. Shanba, who was standing next to him, could no longer bear to watch.

"Brother Dai Angelai, the warriors attacked the city with all their might. They couldn't take it because the Han people inside were too resilient. They are even harder to deal with than the Ming army at Daqing Fort!"

"Hmph, I don't care. If we can't take a small village, we have no face to return to the grasslands. Everyone, listen up! Set up camp and rest now. I will continue the attack tomorrow!"

Dai Angelai was still not satisfied. The new recruits, who had just been through a fierce battle, were also trying to recover.

The wounded were carried away, and the bodies of the fallen soldiers were neatly arranged and sent to the training ground in the center of the village. The civilian workers brought blocks of ice to repair the damaged crenels.

"Phew, that was close!" Qiao Tieshan suddenly pointed to a crack in the city wall.

Zhang Ke quickly looked over and indeed saw a deep crack, with ice chips falling off when he lightly touched it.

"It must have been left by the explosion of the 'Ten Thousand Enemy'!" Zhang Ke said, still shaken. "Thank goodness for the heavens, or we would have defeated ourselves!"

After all, an ice wall is still an ice wall and cannot compare to real brick and stone!

Zhang Ke urgently told everyone, "Tonight, everyone should pour more water on the city wall to make it as thick as possible!"

"Alright, we'll do it right away!"

Wu Boyan took on this task voluntarily. Zhang Ke and Qiao Tieshan continued their inspection. They arrived at the blacksmith's workshop, where Blacksmith Liu was leading the craftsmen in their work.

"Uncle Liu, the 'Ten Thousand Enemy' you made was very useful, killing at least twenty Tartars!"

"That's great!"

Blacksmith Liu excitedly clapped his hands and said, "We only used three out of ten loads of gunpowder, so we still have seven loads left. This time, I'll make a big one!"

Saying this, Blacksmith Liu brought over a small water vat and placed it in front of Zhang Ke.

"This can hold at least thirty pounds of gunpowder. Throwing it into a crowd will surely kill a dozen Tartars!"

Wow! He really dares to do it!

Qiao Tieshan laughed bitterly, "Old Liu, I think you'll blow up the city wall before you kill the Tartars!"

Blacksmith Liu turned pale and stammered, "Is it that serious?"

Zhang Ke nodded and smiled, "Uncle Liu, a 'Ten Thousand Enemy' should not contain more than five pounds of gunpowder. However, you can add some iron shavings, nails, and metal pieces to increase its lethality."

"Good idea!" Blacksmith Liu slapped his forehead and said, "I'll start right away. By tomorrow morning, I'll have at least a hundred ready!"

Leaving the blacksmith's shop, they didn't go far before reaching the training ground. By then, about twenty bodies had been brought over and neatly placed on the ground.

In less than half a day, the lively children had turned into cold corpses. No one could bear the pain of losing a loved one.

An old man sat beside his son's body, holding his cold hand, tears streaming down his face. An arrow was stuck in his son's throat, the blood having already congealed, and his slightly furrowed brows seemed to indicate the struggle he had endured before dying.

The old man gently grabbed the spear in his son's hand and tried to pull it out, but it wouldn't budge.

"Son, let go. Don't fight anymore in the afterlife. Let's live in peace!" The old man continued to pull, but it wouldn't move.

"Let him keep it, old man!"

Zhang Ke walked over and recognized the fallen recruit, a shy young man who had trained diligently but had never spoken much. He never expected him to be killed in his first battle!

The old man sighed heavily, "A good man doesn't become a soldier, and good iron isn't used to make nails. My son had a hard life and died in vain. In his next life, may he be born into a good family!"

Saying this, the old man ignored Zhang Ke, hugged his son's body, and tears silently fell, leaving only his back to Zhang Ke.

Zhang Ke didn't mind the old man's actions but sighed and said, "Uncle Qiao, arrange for someone to record the names of each fallen brother. After the battle, we will bury them together, give each family thirty taels of silver as compensation, and one dan of grain per month. In the spring, we will allocate twenty mu of land to each family."

Qiao Tieshan nodded quickly. The old man, still holding his son's body, stared wide-eyed, unable to believe it.

"Sir, what did you say?"

Zhang Ke smiled, "Old man, your son was a hero, and the whole village is grateful for his sacrifice. I plan to bury the soldiers together and send people to offer sacrifices regularly. The families of the fallen will receive compensation and land, as I promised. If you have any other difficulties, just let me know, and I will do my best to help."

The old man's face contorted with pain, and he trembled with emotion. Suddenly, his legs gave out, and he knelt before Zhang Ke, tears streaming down his face.

"Sir, I was ignorant and disrespectful. You are kind and just. My son did not die in vain! His spirit will be grateful to you!"

Zhang Ke quickly helped the old man up, his nose tingling, and said, "Old man, on the first day of forming the army, I said we are a people's army, protecting our parents and relatives. Soldiers should also be respected. You don't need to kneel anymore!"

The old man's tears flowed freely, and he finally cried out loud.

"Sir, meeting you is our good fortune!"

Not just the old man, but many of the families around him also burst into tears. They never expected Zhang Ke to keep his word, and their hearts were warmed. The pain of losing a loved one seemed to lessen.

"Sir, I have nothing else, but I have one request."

"Please speak."

"Sir, I have three sons. The eldest is dead. Let the second son take his place and continue to serve you."

...

Morning came again. Dai Angelai and his men had only eaten a little dried beef and had no hot water, only a bit of snow. Though not a life of luxury, Dai Angelai was not used to such conditions!

He was so angry that he gritted his teeth and swore to take He Wan Village.

Before he could leave his tent, Shanba rushed in, panicked.

"Bad news, very bad news!"

"What is it?"

Shanba panted, "Come and see for yourself!"

Dai Angelai, puzzled, followed him to a high slope and looked at the hateful ice city.

He almost fainted when he saw it. The city wall had been thickened by almost half overnight, the ice blocks reflecting the strong light, making the entire city look like a giant ice sculpture.

"Too much!"

Dai Angelai gritted his teeth and said, "No matter what tricks they use, I will take the city today. Prepare for the attack!"

"No way!" Shanba, still thinking clearly, said urgently, "Taiji, don't be rash. We lost a dozen shield carts yesterday. Now that the city wall is frozen like this, the warriors can't set up ladders to attack. Attacking now would be suicide!"

Dai Angelai wasn't stupid, but he couldn't bear the anger of losing so many men.

"It's just an ice city. Smash it with hammers, burn it with fire, but I must break it!"

Dai Angelai was determined, and Shanba's persuasion was in vain.

At that moment, a scout rode up.

"Taiji, someone requests an audience!"

"Who?"

"He calls himself Xia Shanhu."

Indeed, it was Xia Shanhu. Defeated by Zhang Ke, he was unwilling to retreat and wanted to find a chance to attack the city. But he waited and waited, and instead received the shocking news that his base had been raided.

Xia Shanhu could no longer hold on and fled back to Heishankou. From a distance, he saw the black smoke still rising. His hard-earned base was destroyed, and he rushed into the valley, searching everywhere, but found nothing left of his accumulated wealth and supplies.

Xia Shanhu's heart was bleeding. He roared in rage, "Who did this? Who did this? I will tear him apart!"

After shouting for half an hour, Xia Shanhu finally grew tired, sat on the ground, and stared blankly at the ruins. His nails dug into his flesh, blood dripping, but he didn't feel it. His heart was bleeding too.

The strategist, Dogleg Lan Baxian, seeing Xia Shanhu calm down, trembled and said, "Boss, the most pressing issue is how to survive the winter. We can't let the brothers scatter!"

"Strategist, who did this?"

"I think it was either the Mongols or the Ming army. I asked a survivor, and he said it was the Ming people, but we don't know who sent them!"

"Who else?" Xia Shanhu stood up and said loudly, "It must be Xu Bangyan, that despicable man. He made me attack He Wan Village and took advantage of the situation. I won't let him off!"

Xia Shanhu never imagined that a small village like He Wan and an unremarkable Zhang Ke would have such courage. Xu Bangyan had taken the blame for Zhang Ke.

"Boss is right, but what should we do next?"

Xia Shanhu laughed coldly, "It's simple. Since the Tartars have entered the Great Wall, we will help them. They can eat the meat, and we can drink the soup, right?"

Thus, Xia Shanhu led his men to search frantically for Dai Angelai and eventually found him at He Wan Village.

Dai Angelai looked at Xia Shanhu, not particularly concerned about this bandit leader.

"What do you want?"

"Taiji, the people of He Wan Village are poor and vicious. Why bother with them? I am willing to lead the attack on Daqing Fort instead."

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