Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 81

Chapter 81 Guang Ling Offensive and Defensive Battle (1)
As a transmigrator, Lu Zhen had witnessed the confrontation between the two armies in movies, TV dramas and historical books. However, the descriptions of wars in historical books were always so brief, and most of them were just generalizations. As for movies and TV dramas, no matter how big they were, they were merely vague scenes. When they got closer, there were only a hundred or so people competing for them. The battlefield he saw with his own eyes was much more terrifying than he thought.

Countless Meng people rushed over like waves. Before they could arrive, their imposing aura had already covered the sky and earth. Following that, countless ropes flew high up and accurately hooked up to the city wall’s entrance. Those Meng people were like Mount Taishan, climbing over with such speed that everyone felt that they still had a staircase beneath them that they could borrow power.

In a short while, they had already climbed more than half of the city walls. Seeing that these ferocious howling Dazi was about to completely step into the city. This made Lu Zhen’s heart tighten, and he had to subconsciously clench his fists in order to protect himself. He even wanted to ask Liu Yi, who was still standing there, why he hadn’t ordered an attack at this time and killed the enemies who had ascended the city back.

But in the end, Lu Zhen resisted this impulse. In terms of commanding the battle, he was a complete layman. He hadn’t even read half of the so-called military manuals, so he didn’t even have the ability to talk on paper. He could only be a quiet bystander. He believed that Liu Yi would never be so frightened that he didn’t know what to do. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to lead the troops to defend Guang Ling City.

Lu Zhen’s view was clearly correct. Although he stood at the city wall without any words or actions, Liu Yi’s expression was very calm. Only the knuckles that gripped the hilt of the knife at his waist turned slightly pale.

It would be the courage of a soldier! When a general was able to remain as stable as Mount Tai in the face of such a change, his subordinates would be able to remain calm. Even the soldiers who were venting their anger earlier appeared exceptionally calm at this moment. They only stared down with their eyes, not panicking at all, and no one attacked casually.

Only when Liu Yi saw that the enemy was about 20 feet tall and could quickly climb up the wall did he suddenly pull out his saber and forcefully wave it forward, “Crossbowman, step forward!”

With a loud boom, more than a hundred archers had already moved forward neatly, aiming their bows and arrows at the approaching enemies below. As Liu Yi shouted, “Let go!” After that, their crossbows, which were already full of strings, quickly returned to their positions, and the arrows on top of them shot towards the enemies below.

In an instant, miserable screams came from below, accompanied by the cracking sound of heavy objects falling to the ground. It was because some muddled people loosened their bodies after being hit by the arrow and fell off the rope.

After a group of archers shot out their arrows, they quickly retreated, and the second group of 100 archers followed suit. This time, there was no need for Liu Yi to order the arrows to be fired, so they started shooting down again. Then, the first batch had already pushed up again …

After shooting out two or three rounds alternately, the situation on the city wall had completely changed–

The blindfolded ones were in midair, There was no way to dodge the incoming arrows, Even if they could hold the rope with one arm and brandish the weapons in their hands to block it, they would still be unable to pull away all the arrows that were crafty and numerous. As a result, some people were continuously hit by the arrows. In the end, when their momentum weakened, some people began to walk down the rope. Moreover, when they panicked, they loosened their grips and directly fell into the city.

The distance of more than twenty zhang was neither high nor low, but even if they landed on the ground, they would still suffer some injuries. Especially those who were unlucky. If they landed on their backs or heads, they could die. For a moment, the gates of the city cried out in anguish. The first wave of attacks of the Mongolian army was repelled by a few rounds of arrows.

Although there were only two to three hundred people who threw ropes into the siege this time, their defeat still had a great impact on the morale of the entire Mongolian army. Only at this moment did they realize that what they wanted to take down was not a weak city, it was an iron plate!

Lu Zhen watched all of this from the side. He had his own opinion as well as admiration. He finally understood Liu Yi’s purpose of silently waiting for the enemy to climb the city halfway before launching a counterattack.

It was because only when the enemy reached this height would their chances of retreating calmly be reduced. Moreover, if the arrow fell at a height of about 20 feet, it could cause tremendous damage to the enemy. Otherwise, if it was lower, perhaps they would only have suffered a slight casualty.

In addition, letting these Meng people climb up also played a role in protecting themselves. The reason for that was because it was impossible for the Meng people behind them to release arrows without harming their own people, which would pose a threat to the Ming army in the city. Once Meng Ren’s bow and arrow lost its effect, the Ming army guarding the city would naturally be much safer.

After thinking about this, Lu Zhen admired Liu Yi and the defenders in his heart. This was the accomplishments of the most elite generals and sergeants in this era. Even at such a dangerous juncture, they could still calmly make the most reasonable judgment on the matter, and thus control the victory and defeat on the battlefield.

After the Civil Castle, Great Ming’s spirit was completely incomparable to that of the Ming army after the elite had been completely mourned. It was the confidence and confidence that Great Ming had cultivated after several battles with the Mongol people in the past hundred years. This was the morale of the army. Although they couldn’t be seen or touched, it was real and had a subtle impact on the hearts of every soldier of the Great Ming Empire!

When Lu Zhen sighed in his heart and learned this skill, Liu Yi also looked deeply at Lu Zhen and said, “This county magistrate Lu is indeed extraordinary. He was actually able to resist not saying anything just now.”

In Liu Yi’s cognition, even though the civil servants didn’t understand military affairs, they liked to point their fingers at him the most. In the face of danger, they would be even more panicked, and they would even overstep their responsibilities. This was precisely the reason why he didn’t want Lu Zhen to stay in Chengtou at the beginning. He was afraid that this person would affect his command of the battle.

But Lu Zhen’s performance greatly exceeded his expectations. Although he was a little panicked at first, he quickly endured it again. Moreover, judging from his expression, he definitely wasn’t frightened by the situation before him. This was a truly courageous young official!

Thinking of this, Liu Yi looked at Lu Zhen with a gentle gaze. Originally, Lu Zhen was respectful only because he was valued by Hu Sui, but now he treated him as a friend from the bottom of his heart.

However, this was not the time to exchange hearts. Liu Yi’s gaze flashed as he shouted, “The entire army retreat! Shield soldiers, step forward and stand upright!”

Following his words, the archers who had just finished shooting the arrows in their hands immediately retreated. At the same time, hundreds of soldiers with large wooden shields the size of tables rushed forward and built a shield wall on the city.

Seeing this, Lu Zhen’s heart suddenly stirred, as if he had guessed something.

At the same time, a more shrill horn sounded at the gates, and then the whistling sound rang out from low to high in front of them. The dense arrows carried raindrops of vengeful rage and pounced towards the city head like locusts.

If those archers were still at the city wall, they would probably be able to turn them into hedgehogs. But now, Guang Ling City had been replaced by a group of strong men with giant shields. Most of the arrows were blocked by the solid shield, and there was a clear sound. It was the sound of the arrows being nailed onto the surface of the shield.

There were also some arrows that shot in through the gap between the shields, wounding a few unlucky soldiers. Two shield soldiers were also shot. However, in the blink of an eye, a group of soldiers quickly replenished their positions and continued to fight against the seemingly endless arrows.

Lu Zhen only felt that the sky above his head was dark. The powerful pressure caused by the war made his breathing somewhat uneasy. And this was only the invasion of two thousand enemies. If it were ten thousand or even tens of thousands of troops, what would happen? No matter how much Ren Lu Zhen thought about this, he couldn’t think of a reason.

“These are just a few moves that Dazi used when he attacked the city. We are already used to them.” At some unknown time, Liu Yi had already arrived beside him and said with a relaxed expression, “That was how they fought against our Taizong Emperor’s army. I didn’t expect that after decades, they didn’t make any progress.”

“Haha, it’s a good thing that they don’t improve. Otherwise, there will be many casualties among our soldiers.” Lu Zhen forced a smile, but the smile was really ugly.

“This is the first time County Magistrate Lu has seen such a battle, right?” Liu Yiyou glanced at him.

Lu Zhen nodded. Then he asked, “What will Dazi do next?”

“Next, we might be in trouble.” Liu Yi said with a solemn expression, “After all, they are several times stronger than us. After forcefully attacking one gate, they will probably split up and attack my other three gates. As our forces are limited, they will definitely be limited to passivity.”

Hearing this, Lu Zhen’s expression changed. Only then did he realize that Guang Ling City wasn’t the only city wall facing the threat of the Meng people. This lonely county had three southeast and west sides that could be targeted by the enemy. As long as the Meng people had enough troops, once they split up their forces to defend, the defending Ming army would inevitably be overstretched.

Liu Yi looked ahead with a serious expression. The density of arrows there had rapidly decreased. Obviously, the Mongols knew that the threat to the city was limited, so they no longer wasted arrows.

Seeing this, Lu Zhen’s expression changed, “Then what should we do?”

“Even if we know that dividing up the troops is not good, we can only divide up the troops. I only hope that reinforcements can arrive as soon as possible. Otherwise, our Guang Ling City won’t be able to last long.” As he spoke, Liu Yi looked worriedly at the sun that was gradually heading west. It had only been two hours, and the battle had only just begun …