Chapter 30

As the night's darkness began to fade, the black veil gradually lifted, revealing a white glow. From the city walls, one could gradually see things below.

Logically, a new day should be a new beginning, and people's moods usually improve with the rising sun. However, for the soldiers on the city walls, they did not wish for the sky to brighten. A bright sky meant a new round of attacks from the bandits, and this time they knew they could not hold them off.

Zheng Fakui, dressed in an official robe stained with dust and blood, looked out at the bandits who were beginning to appear outside the city walls. A sense of despair rose in his heart, and he muttered to himself, "Am I really going to die here today?"

Zheng Fakui turned to look at the three family heads, Wang, Lin, and Li, who were also in a state of exhaustion. He forced himself to ask, "The bandits are about to attack. Can you go back and see if you can gather some able-bodied men from your households to defend the city?"

Wang Shoucheng shook his head with a bitter smile, "Sir, there's no one left. We've already mobilized all the servants and guards from our households to the city walls. All that's left are the elderly, women, and children. If you agree to let the officials gather able-bodied men from the city, we could easily muster a few thousand."

"No!" Wang Shoucheng's words were immediately interrupted by Li Yuan, "The bandits are attacking fiercely. Who knows if there are any of their spies or traitors among the civilians? If we mobilize them and they turn against us, we'll die even faster!"

Lin Yuanteng shouted anxiously, "But if we don't gather more able-bodied men to defend the city, how long can we hold out? Our heads will probably be hung on the city walls by those bandits in a few hours!"

The group began to argue, and Zheng Fakui's head ached. Mobilizing the civilians to defend the city risked the presence of bandits, but not mobilizing them meant they lacked the manpower. It was a difficult choice. After much thought, Zheng Fakui said helplessly, "Forget it, let's just see how it goes. We can at least hold out for a while longer!"

As time passed, it was already the hour of Chen, and the sky was bright. The bandits outside the city had also gathered. Zhang Xianzhong, holding a horsewhip, pointed at the city wall and said fiercely, "Today, I will take this city even if I have to bite it down with my teeth. We can't let that damn Huo Cao laugh at us. Sun Laoye, I have only one question: Can you take this city today?"

Sun Kewang, who had lost nearly two thousand men under the walls of Yingzhou yesterday, was already seething with anger. Looking at the flag of the sun and moon on the city wall, he spat and replied, "Great King, rest assured. I need only half a day. I will take the head of that official on the city wall by noon."

Zhang Xianzhong nodded and said solemnly, "Sun Laoye, including you, we have already lost nearly four thousand men here. There are only about eight thousand left. If we can't take Yingzhou today, the Chongwang will have something to say. I'm giving you half a day. If you can't take Yingzhou by noon, don't blame me for being harsh. Do you understand?"

Sun Kewang shouted loudly, "Great King, rest assured. If I can't take Yingzhou by noon, I'll slit my own throat at the foot of the city wall."

Zhang Xianzhong nodded in satisfaction and encouraged him, "Good, I'm waiting for your good news. If you can take Yingzhou, I'll allow you and your men to have three days of unrestricted looting and killing!"

"Great, Great King, you'll see!" Sun Kewang was overjoyed. Zhang Xianzhong's promise meant that after taking Yingzhou, Sun Kewang and his men could loot and kill freely for three days without interference from others. As the commander, he would naturally get the biggest share, which made him extremely excited.

Sun Kewang mounted a yellow horse and galloped to the south city wall. Looking at the thousands of hungry civilians armed with swords, knives, and farming tools, he shouted, "Brothers, Great King just said that if we can take Yingzhou by noon today, we can do whatever we want in the city for three days. The gold, silver, food, and even women will be ours. But if we can't take the city by noon, we will all die!"

As Sun Kewang shouted the word "die," a chilling aura emanated from him, scaring the surrounding civilians, who showed fear in their eyes.

Sun Kewang waved his hand and shouted, "That's all I have to say. Now, I have only one thing to say: those who advance will be rewarded, those who retreat will be killed! Charge!"

"Charge!" Many of the hungry civilians first showed fear in their eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a疯狂的仇恨. They raised their various weapons and let out hoarse cries as they charged toward the city wall about 600 to 700 meters away. For a moment, the sounds of madness echoed under the walls of Yingzhou.

"They're coming, the bandits are coming again!" Seeing the swarm of hungry civilians rushing forward, Zheng Fakui's face turned pale, and he couldn't help but shout, "Someone, quickly drive these bandits back! Otherwise, we will all die!"

Although Zheng Fakui was somewhat out of control, no one blamed him. After all, he was just a civil official, and he had already done a good job. He was much better than many officials who would urinate and defecate in fear at the sight of bandits. However, there was no need for Zheng Fakui to say more. Everyone on the city wall knew that if the bandits broke through, they would all die. Therefore, including the injured soldiers, everyone gripped their weapons tightly and watched the bandits approaching. Some soldiers placed the stones they had carried up the night before on the battlements, ready to throw them at the bandits climbing the walls.

It should be noted that although Yingzhou was a state capital, its defensive capabilities were very weak. There were few defenders, and no firearms or long-range weapons. Therefore, although the bandits were attacking the city, the defenders could only watch as the hungry civilians rushed forward. Occasionally, some archers fired arrows, but they were quickly overwhelmed by the flood of attackers.

"Bang, bang, bang..." Soon, as crude ladders were placed against the city walls, the bloody battle began again...

Just as thousands of hungry civilians surged toward the city walls, about a mile away in a forest, Yueyang, dressed in Gothic armor, was holding a telescope and carefully observing the battle on the city walls. The telescope in Yueyang's hand was not a high-end military-grade item but a civilian product he bought for a thousand dollars from Taobao. Although it was a civilian product, it was still quite clear. From his position, he could clearly see the figures on the city walls about 700 to 800 meters away.

Yueyang had arrived outside Yingzhou late last night, but he did not disturb the resting combatants. Instead, he ordered his soldiers to rest, as they had already traveled dozens of miles and were very tired. With only a few hundred men, even if they entered the city at night, their impact would not be significant and might alert the bandits. Therefore, Yueyang ordered the troops to rest for the night and wait for the critical moment the next day to launch a surprise attack, which would be more effective.

After watching for a while, Yueyang turned and saw Hu Laosan staring at the telescope in his hand. Yueyang couldn't help but smile and handed the telescope to him.

By the Ming Dynasty, single-lens telescopes had already been introduced to China by Western adventurers and merchants. Many Ming generals were familiar with these devices, so although Hu Laosan had never used a telescope, he was not unfamiliar with it.

After taking the telescope, Hu Laosan carefully observed for a while and then said confidently, "Young Master, the people on the city wall won't last much longer. I estimate they can hold out for at most an hour."

"I agree," Yueyang nodded. "The defenses of Yingzhou are too weak. They don't even have many firearms or crossbows. It's impressive that they've held out this long."

Hu Laosan, also clad in armor, was eager to fight. He rubbed his hands and asked, "Young Master, when do we charge?"

Yueyang smiled faintly, "No need to wait. Now, order the troops to form up and start the drum beats. We need to show the gentlemen on the city wall the might of our Yuejia Village militia!"

"Yes!" Hu Laosan was almost jumping with excitement as he turned and ran back. Soon, a series of commands echoed through the forest, and one by one, the fully armored soldiers slowly emerged from the woods...

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