Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 109

Chapter 109 Forest Night Battle (2)
Although Lu Zhen did not know how to use troops, he had read many novels about historical evolution before, and there were many descriptions of wars in them. These stories were exaggerated to the protagonist, many of them unrealistic, but some of them were still useful in the end.

For example, in the current situation, setting a simple trap was enough for a bunch of bandits to fall for it. Even though they had some strength, they were still just mobs. How could they be prepared like an army?

Moreover, Lu Zhen still had more than ten crossbow machines in his hands. This was a big killing weapon. Once the enemy rushed forward, the continuous firing of arrows had an extremely strong killing and deterrent effect, causing the bandits rushing at the front to fall to the ground. At the same time, they also scared the people behind them to subconsciously retreat.

“This is a trap!”

“Let’s go!” These bandits didn’t have any military discipline at all. Once they encountered such a situation, their first reaction was to quickly flee. Very quickly, a wave of attacks was completely repelled. Many people even rolled and crawled, only hating that their parents had lost two of their legs.

When Liu Hei Hu saw this behind his back, his entire face turned green with anger, “Trash! How many people can there be in this camp? Could it be that our hundred plus brothers can’t eat? Continue, show us the abilities of our Crouching Tiger Village!”

Along with his roar and the kick that sent one of his brothers flying, the fellows who were pushed back by the rain of arrows finally regained their courage and turned their heads, launching another attack on the camp. This time, they had learned a lesson. They no longer attacked from the front, but circled to both sides and the rear.

Borrowing the light of the stars and moons outside, as well as the still unextinguished campfire, the soldiers also saw the thief’s sudden change of moves. After greeting them, they swiftly changed the direction of their attacks. The crossbow planes that had been reloaded with arrows had already taken aim at them.

This time, they no longer let the bandits shoot their arrows as they did before. Instead, they pulled the trigger without hesitation as soon as they were within range. With a crisp sound of collapse, the sharp arrow pierced through the fairly thick tent once again and shot straight at the enemies that surrounded it.

However, this time, the effect was much worse than before. Only a few people were hit by arrows and fell to the ground. It wasn’t that the lethality of the crossbow arrow had weakened after increasing the distance. In fact, as long as the crossbow arrow entered the range, the sharpness of the crossbow in the army would be enough to kill people. It was only because the enemy was much more vigilant after suffering a loss. While advancing, they constantly borrowed the stones and wood beside them to cover themselves. At the same time, they also put their kittens on their hips. Once an arrow was shot, they immediately dodged, allowing them to dodge most of the rain of arrows.

Seeing this, everyone cried out in pity. Hurry up and forcefully pull open the bracket again, filling the arrow in. At this moment, the biggest problem with the crossbow was exposed. This thing’s strength was much greater than a bow and arrow, but it was also more troublesome before every two shots. Just now, it was because the bandits had retreated that they were able to calmly increase their firepower, but now the situation was different.

Fortunately, the soldiers here were all experienced fighters. At worst, they had fought against the Mongols in the city defense battle. Therefore, they would not panic because of the enemy’s approach. They would still finish their work steadily and fire another sharp arrow.

Unfortunately, although the distance between the two sides was shorter due to the close proximity of the enemy, the damage to them was still limited. At the same time, these bandits also saw their weaknesses, someone shouted loudly: “Quickly kill them, they have no time to shoot the third arrow!”

With a greeting, dozens of bandits rushed towards the camp at an even faster speed. In the blink of an eye, they had already arrived at the edge of the tent once again. With a sinister smile, they wanted to cut down the tent and slaughter all the people inside.

However, at this moment, a short bow string sounded once again, followed by a rain of arrows hitting the bodies of those fellows at the front. The officers and men in the tent shot out another arrow when the enemy arrived. This time, because they were already close at hand, many people were unable to dodge the arrows that flew towards them. Instantly, more than a dozen people were hit by the arrows and fell to the ground.

However, the role of the crossbow machine in stopping the enemy was over. Seeing that there would be a period of time between the two arrows, the other bandits no longer had any fear. They were only stunned for a moment before they ferociously pounced forward again.

With a whoosh, a tent on the left had been cut through by someone with a knife. However, before the bandit who brandished his saber could be happy, a bright saber light flashed out and sliced him to the ground. Then, another spear pierced out, piercing the hearts of his companions.

It was only at this moment that they were shocked to see five or six soldiers holding weapons standing side by side in the tent. After shouting, they charged towards them without any hesitation. Behind them, several crossbow planes were thrown to the side, but at the same time as they fired their last arrow, they had already picked up the weapons beside them.

The same situation also occurred in the other tents. These officers and soldiers were indeed more ferocious than ordinary bandits. After a round of assassination, they forcefully pushed the enemies that had surrounded them back. At the same time, the soldiers and horses in the tents gathered in one place and stopped in front of the big tent in the middle. Because it was where Lu Zhen and the two women were hiding, their purpose was to protect their safety.

After a round of attacks, not only did he fail to defeat the fat sheep, he even broke many of his brothers, causing Liu Hei Hu’s face to turn pale. In a blink of an eye, more than forty of his brothers from Crouching Tiger Village had died under the attack of his opponent. Yet, these fellows on the other side were actually so full-bearded. This was a situation that he had never encountered since he had established his foothold here.

It seemed that he had underestimated these fellows. Not only were they tough, they could even be considered iron bones. Not only did this bite break his teeth, it also splashed blood all over his body!

But at this point, there was no chance of anything good happening! He could only kill all of these people and then take their corpses to ask for more benefits from the people of Guo Jia Village!

Just as he was stunned, his subordinates launched another attack on the enemy in front of him. As they shouted, the bandits brandished their weapons and rushed towards the target from all directions.

However, the other party was obviously very calm and well-organized. He actually relied on the tent to form a circle and forcefully blocked the onslaught of the bandits.

In the end, after a battle, although the officers and soldiers were injured and two people died, the bandits who attacked them suffered heavy casualties. Not to mention, more than ten people fell. The dozen people who retreated were all injured, and fear flashed in their eyes.

This was the true strength comparison between the bandits and the official army.

Perhaps the bandits could rely on their momentum to make the official army clasp their heads while attacking, but that was only a few cases. Furthermore, they had to meet the weakest official army. However, it was clear that everyone from Crouching Tiger Village had encountered elites from the Great Harmony Army this time. They had fought against the Meng people without losing out, so they were naturally able to defend themselves against these bandits very steadily.

Liu Hei Hu originally planned to personally bring people to charge over at this time. However, upon seeing this result, the knife that he had just raised fell down. He was very clear about his weight. Even if his martial arts skills were decent, he would definitely not be able to get along well in front of this defensive formation even if he killed them.

To the bandits, the circular array set up by the government troops in front of them was like a ferocious beast facing a hedgehog. There was simply no place for them to attack.

“Stronghold Master, what should we do?” The cowardly brothers looked at Liu Hei Hu and saw what he was thinking. Attacking like that just now would only cause more brothers to die here.

Liu Hei Hu also understood this point. After his muscles trembled, he suddenly thought of something, “Quick, take out all our bows and arrows!” How could he be so stupid? Just now, the other party had already revealed his method, yet he had actually foolishly ordered someone to launch an attack. Wasn’t this not going to go against the lives of his brothers?

The other bandits were stunned for a moment before laughing comprehensively. Very quickly, thirty simple and crude bows and arrows were brought in front of them, and the archers swiftly put on their arrows and aimed at them.

Following an order, dozens of bamboo arrows flew towards the Guan army.

Although the bows these bandits used were made of bamboo and wood, their range was short, and their strength wasn’t great, they were still long-range weapons. Moreover, under such a dense rain of arrows, the weakness of its destructive power had also been made up.

Sure enough, when the soldiers faced this rain of arrows, even though they were desperately trying to block the defenses, there were still people who were constantly hit by the arrows. Some of the less fortunate ones were even shot at their vital points and fell to the ground, seemingly unable to survive.

Seeing that this method worked, Liu Hei Hu and his subordinates’ spirits lifted. They immediately shouted and shot more arrows towards the front, vowing to kill all of these enemies.

“My lord … it seems that we have no chance of winning now.” Li Xian and Lin Lie stood in front of Lu Zhen and the two women, but the arrows that missed the net were sent flying by them. “It’s fine if we die, but you can’t fall into their hands. Why don’t we let Brother Lin take you from behind first? We can hold on for a while longer!”

“Yes, my lord. You guys go first. We’ll block them!” A few soldiers from Guang Ling also said the same thing.

Lu Zhen’s eyes flashed with gratitude. These people really treated him as their master, but he, Lu Zhen, really couldn’t let him abandon everyone and leave like this. Moreover, the terrain here was so complicated, and it was the home ground of the bandits in front of him. Could he really escape?

Therefore, he immediately said, “No! I, Lu Zhen, am not someone who is afraid of death. Either we go together or we die together!” At the same time, he turned to look at Chu Yunrong.

Chu Yunrong sensed the meaning of his words towards her. Her originally pale face was a little more pale, but her eyes were filled with determination. She also nodded at Lu Zhen.

At this moment, a new round of arrow rain poured over, and a few people were struck. Evidently, as long as they came a few more rounds, there wouldn’t be many Guan Jun left standing …