Chapter 31

The fierce battle on the city walls of Yingzhou continued, but the intensity of the fighting was beyond Zheng Fakui's expectations. Originally, Zheng Fakui thought that his remaining men could hold out until the afternoon, but the situation from the start took everyone by surprise.

"Kill!"

On the city wall, a soldier in his forties, wearing a tattered red battle robe, thrust his spear into the chest of a starving civilian who had just climbed up. The civilian, struck in the chest, let out a painful scream. However, he did not die immediately. Instead, he roared, his eyes turning red, and with his right hand, he grabbed the spear in his chest. Then, with a forceful push from his left hand, he threw the spear forward, striking the face of the soldier on the city wall. The soldier also let out a scream and was pulled off the wall by the civilian.

The above scenario was not an isolated incident but was happening in many places simultaneously. Zheng Fakui could not understand why these starving civilians were fighting so desperately this early in the morning, as if they had been injected with adrenaline. Did they not fear death? In fact, these civilians had been spurred on by Sun Kewang's promise that they could plunder for three days after capturing Yingzhou. To them, Yingzhou was now as vulnerable as a stripped and defenseless young girl, and with just a bit more effort, they could have their way with it.

"Sir, these bandits are mad! They have no strategy; they are simply trading lives with us one for one!" After a while, Lin Yuanteng, Wang Shoucheng, and Li Yuan, all covered in blood, ran to Zheng Fakui and complained loudly.

"Yes, sir, if this continues, we won't be able to hold out," Li Yuan said in a mournful voice.

Zheng Fakui, suppressing his fear, trembled and said, "If we can't hold out, then so be it. I will die here, fulfilling my duty to the country."

"Alas..."

Seeing more and more starving civilians appearing on the city walls, everyone, including Wang Shoucheng, looked desperate.

Wang Shoucheng muttered, "Are we really going to die at the hands of these rioters today?"

Contrary to the mood on the city walls, Zhang Xianzhong, Sun Kewang, and others below the city were elated.

Looking at the increasing number of starving civilians on the city walls, Zhang Xianzhong was so excited that he danced around. He said to Li Dingguo, who was beside him, "Ha ha ha, Sun Kewang really has a knack for this. In just a short while, Yingzhou is about to fall, and our forces will grow several times over!"

Li Dingguo did not speak but smiled in agreement. Zhang Xianzhong was delighted, and he did not even glance at the piles of starving civilian corpses below the city walls. To him, the greatest use of these civilians was to help him capture city after city, allowing him to gain more wealth, food, and women. As for the people, they were expendable. The Ming Dynasty lacked everything but people. As long as he captured a few cities and plundered all the food and possessions of the civilians, they would have nothing left and would have no choice but to follow him obediently. This way, he would have tens of thousands of troops again. Zhang Xianzhong and his subordinates did not care about the destruction and suffering this would cause. As the old saying goes, in times of chaos, human lives are as cheap as dogs. If they had a grudge, it should be against the court, for making him unable to survive.

"Quick... attack, attack!"

The situation on the city walls became increasingly dire as more and more starving civilians climbed up. Although the soldiers on the walls were desperately trying to push them back, there were simply too many civilians, and the number of soldiers on the walls was dwindling. The fall of the city walls was only a matter of time.

Even the starving civilians outside the city walls realized that the fall of the city was inevitable. Thinking about the full meal they would have after breaking through the city walls, many of them cheered loudly.

Just as Zhang Xianzhong was elated and preparing to witness the fall of the city, a high and heart-stirring drumbeat reached the ears of both sides in the battle.

"Boom... boom... boom..."

"Hmm... what is that sound!"

Upon hearing the drumbeat, Zhang Xianzhong instinctively tensed up and turned to look in the direction from which the sound was coming, to the northwest.

But when he looked, Zhang Xianzhong was greatly startled and shouted, "What... what is that?"

"Boom boom boom... boom boom boom..."

In the distance, the drumbeat continued at a steady rhythm. To the southwest, a neatly formed formation of troops came into Zhang Xianzhong's view, their armor gleaming brightly under the rising sun.

"Great King, that formation is Ming troops, the Ming army is attacking!" Among the generals, Ai Nengqi, who had the best eyesight, was the first to shout out.

Zhang Xianzhong frowned and asked, "How do you know?"

"Great King, I can see it clearly. Look, isn't that the Ming dog's sun and moon flag?" Ai Nengqi pointed forward and shouted.

At this point, as the drumbeat drew closer, the formation slowly approached the rear of the bandits. The bandits, who were a hastily assembled mob, began to panic when they saw the sudden appearance of the formation. Many of them turned around, pointing their weapons at the rear, and the already disorganized formation became even more chaotic. Many bandit leaders began to whip them to maintain order.

Zhang Xianzhong looked carefully at the approaching formation and suddenly laughed, pointing and saying, "Pah... I thought it was something else. They look impressive, but what can a few hundred men do? Are they here to bring us snacks? Ha ha ha..."

At this moment, the other generals behind Zhang Xianzhong also saw the formation clearly. They knew it was at most a few hundred men, and such a small force, no matter how elite, could not pose a significant threat to them. They breathed a sigh of relief. Ai Nengqi quickly stepped forward and said, "Great King, let me go. Give me three thousand men, and I will crush these Ming dogs!"

Zhang Xianzhong nodded with a sinister smile, "Alright! I'll give you three thousand men. You must crush them all! I like their armor!"

"Alright, you'll see!" Ai Nengqi, excited, mounted his horse, gathered three thousand men, and charged toward the formation.

At the same time, Yueyang commanded five hundred soldiers to form a 100x5 square formation. The first and second rows were spear soldiers, and the last three rows were shield and sword soldiers. Yueyang walked with two drummers. The soldiers, wearing Gothic plate armor, were covered in shining silver armor, which gleamed in the sunlight, making them look very impressive.

Seeing the approaching bandits, Yueyang was not nervous, but it was his first time experiencing a battle, especially a cold weapon battle. His heart rate had already exceeded 120 beats per minute. However, Yueyang knew that as the commander of the entire army, he must not panic, or the newly formed troops would surely scatter.

As the bandits drew closer, Yueyang raised his right hand, and the drummers immediately stopped the drumbeat. Upon hearing the drumbeat stop, the soldiers, who had been trained for months to respond to the drumbeat, immediately stopped in their tracks.

Yueyang drew his long sword from his waist, walked to the side of the formation, and shouted loudly, "Brothers, today the bandits have invaded Yingzhou, killed our people, plundered our wealth and food, and raped our sisters and children. As local militia, protecting the people is our duty. Now, everyone, listen to my command. Raise your spears!"

"Protect! Protect! Protect!"

The entire formation let out three loud shouts. The first two rows of spear soldiers took their spears off their shoulders, held them with both hands, and pointed the spear tips diagonally upward. They waited quietly for the bandits to arrive. At this distance, they could already see the distorted faces of the rapidly approaching bandits...

PS: Brothers, give me your recommendations!

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