Chapter 113: Cheng Xu Finally Finds His Courage
Sixth update for Holy Monday
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At Bai Yuan's command, the Bai family retainers standing beside the Plastic Catapults and Giant Crossbow Vehicles moved first. They reached out, grabbed the black cloths covering the giant crossbows and catapults, and ripped them off. Ten Plastic Catapults and ten Giant Crossbow Vehicles were instantly revealed.
The Plastic Catapults were positioned behind the fortress walls, out of sight of the bandits outside. That was one thing. But the Giant Crossbow Vehicles, mounted on the ramparts and corner towers, were clearly visible to the enemy forces outside, instantly startling them.
The Double-Winged Tiger couldn't help but exclaim, "Huh?"
In the next instant, Bai Yuan shouted, "Catapults, fire!"
Two blacksmiths, who had already been standing by the Plastic Catapults with large hammers, simultaneously swung their tools. With a resounding *thwack*, they struck the mechanisms. The Plastic Catapults' colossal arms sprang up, unleashing a mighty fling. Two enormous stones soared over the city walls, hurtling outwards.
The bandits under the Double-Winged Tiger had just begun their charge when two massive rocks came flying through the air. One crashed into the heart of the bandit formation with a *boom*, instantly flattening two men into pulp. The other stone went astray, landing in an empty space about twenty feet away, tumbling continuously and kicking up a large cloud of dust.
The Double-Winged Tiger roared, "Damn it!"
Just those two strikes were enough to send countless men scrambling, some even soiling their pants in fear.
The Double-Winged Tiger was stunned, momentarily unsure what orders to give. He wasn't some seasoned commander; his entire life of fighting consisted of one command: "Charge, damn you!" After shouting that, he typically left the rest to fate.
With the commander bewildered, his subordinates naturally descended into chaos.
Just as Cheng Xu had initially predicted, the catapults were primarily a blow to morale. Once morale faltered, the bandit army would split into two factions: one wanting to retreat, halting their advance, while the other, a group of dimwits, continued to push forward.
Bai Yuan yelled, "Giant Crossbows, fire!"
The two blacksmiths standing by the Giant Crossbow Vehicles also swung their hammers, striking the mechanisms with a double *thwack*. The taut elastic bands twanged, launching the plastic arrows. The pointed bamboo tubes fitted over the arrowheads looked ridiculously comical.
These contraptions were far more accurate than the catapults. A group of simple-minded bandits were charging when two massive arrows suddenly flew at them. One struck a bandit directly in the chest with a sickening *thump*, piercing straight through him without an ounce of doubt. It carried him back a good six feet before he crumpled to the ground, dead beyond any resurrection.
The other arrow precisely hit another dimwit square in the face. This was truly horrifying; with a dull thud, the center of the man's face was utterly shattered, the enormous arrowhead actually tearing away a piece of his skull from the back of his head. Red and white splattered together, causing the surrounding bandits to shriek in terror.
But it wasn't over yet. The blacksmiths of Bai Family Fortress had already moved to new positions, striking the mechanisms of another two Plastic Catapults and Giant Crossbow Vehicles. A second volley of two colossal stones and two giant arrows flew out...
Meanwhile, a large group of sturdy women from Bai Family Fortress appeared beside the already-fired Giant Crossbow Vehicles and Plastic Catapults, rapidly reloading them. Ten women together used ropes to pull down the catapult's massive arm, placing new stones in its scoop. On the other side, several women together hoisted a giant crossbow bolt, slotted it onto the Giant Crossbow Vehicle's rail, then pulled it back forcefully, tautening the elastic band, and locking it into the mechanism.
Cheng Xu glanced left, then right, thinking to himself: *These women have been trained too. Bai Yuan has really turned this Bai Family Fortress militia into something impressive. It's odd, why are these people so willing to follow his commands? How many benefits has he promised these common folk to make them so utterly loyal?*
His own soldiers had never been so obedient. One day they'd be slacking off, the next they'd be shirking duties, refusing to participate properly in training. If he scolded them, they'd just shrug and say they hadn't eaten enough, or that their military pay was insufficient, making them too hungry to train.
He often fumed with anger at these men, but the lack of military pay was a genuine issue, so sometimes he could only swallow his frustration. Any general understood that if soldiers weren't paid adequately, and you still pushed them to their limits, the only outcome would be a mutiny.
He pondered a few random thoughts, then looked up again, realizing that the first round of ten Plastic Catapults and ten Giant Crossbow Vehicles had all fired. Now it was "reloading" time, and the chaotic Double-Winged Tiger army that had been surging forward was retreating.
Even if the bandits were simple-minded, after a round from the ten Giant Crossbow Vehicles, even they had to come to their senses. Turning around, they saw that more than half of their comrades, terrified by the catapults, weren't charging forward but were actually falling back.
The dimwits were no longer dimwitted. With a strange cry, they began to retreat. Within minutes, all the bandits had fled back to the Double-Winged Tiger's side, cowering and unwilling to advance further.
The bandit army's first assault was declared over.
Two messengers emerged from Bu Zhan Ni's main formation, scurrying into the ranks of the Double-Winged Tiger and Zijing Liang. Soon after, the Double-Winged Tiger and Zijing Liang ran to Bu Zhan Ni's main array. The three bandit chiefs huddled together, pointing at Bai Family Fortress, presumably discussing their next move.
Bai Yuan stood on the corner tower, *swish*, fanning himself with his "gentleman's" fan. "Ha, the celestial weapons granted by the Heavenly Lord are truly formidable, dissolving the first wave of the bandit army's assault in the blink of an eye."
Cheng Xu walked up beside him. "Twenty siege weapons are indeed quite terrifying. Even government troops would be bewildered by such a sight, so it's natural for the bandit army to be scared off. But they aren't fools; they'll soon realize they can attack by scattering."
Bai Yuan nodded. While the siege weapons were powerful, their accuracy wasn't perfect. The bandits would soon think of a dispersed attack strategy, and then it would be difficult to prevent them from reaching the fortress walls.
"If they scatter, let them scatter," Bai Yuan said. "Dispersion means weakness. We might still be able to hold them back."
Cheng Xu didn't need to be told that; he understood far more than Bai Yuan. After weighing the pros and cons, he grinned. "Have your retainers yield the front line of the fortress wall. My men will take point. Damn it, I'm a dignified ninth-rank military inspector, leading Ming soldiers! I can't let you amateurs look down on us."
Hearing his words, Bai Yuan was overjoyed. The coward's confidence had finally risen; he wasn't just thinking about running away anymore. Excellent. As long as the government troops put in an effort, things would be much easier.
Cheng Xu waved his hand, and over a hundred regular government soldiers moved to the fortress wall. The Bai family retainers all retreated to the second line, while the militia fell back to the third...
No sooner had the change of guard been completed inside the fortress than the bandit army outside began to stir.
The three bandit chiefs had evidently finished their discussion. The Double-Winged Tiger and Zijing Liang returned to their respective formations, and then their subordinates simultaneously let out a loud roar. With a sudden surge, like ants pouring out of a flooded anthill, they fanned out in all directions, each man standing more than half a *zhang* apart.
"Charge!" A thousand men from the Double-Winged Tiger's and Zijing Liang's forces lunged towards Bai Family Fortress.
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