Chapter 114: Unable to Scale the Wall
Sacred Monday, seventh update.
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The bandit forces dispersed, charging once more toward Bai Family Fortress.
Catapults and giant crossbow vehicles opened fire simultaneously.
Massive stones rained down with thunderous impacts, yet the dispersed bandit forces suffered minimal casualties. Only the truly unfortunate few were directly crushed to death.
The giant crossbow vehicles' bolts also proved less effective, often whistling harmlessly through the gaps in the bandits' formation.
The simple-minded bandits leading the charge guffawed, their spirits soaring. "Big Brother Bu Zhan Ni is truly brilliant!" one bellowed. "Just a simple stratagem, and those damned government troops are utterly baffled!"
Their cheer lasted less than two seconds. From the fortress walls, a line of government soldiers emerged, nocking arrows with practiced ease and loosing a synchronized volley at the oncoming bandits.
The bows wielded by the government troops were a world apart from the simple hunting bows of the local militia. These were "Kaiyuan bows."
The archers' skill was equally unmatched by the village militia. With each synchronized volley, at least half their arrows found their mark.
The laughing bandits at the forefront suddenly felt a searing pain in their chests. Looking down, they saw an arrow shaft, having torn through their coarse hemp tunics, now impaled in their flesh, quivering violently, its fletching still vibrating with the force of impact.
An arrow loosed from a 60-jin bow was no mere trifle; its lethal power was undeniable.
The fastest dozen bandits crumpled to the ground, thrashing, hands clutching the arrow shafts protruding from their bodies. Their desperate wails echoed: "I'm hit! I'm hit! It burns! Oh, damn it! The pain!"
After their initial volley, the archers swiftly, without a moment's hesitation, nocked a second set of arrows and prepared to fire again.
Now, the flaw in the bandits' dispersed formation became starkly apparent. As the front ranks collapsed, the men behind had to scramble forward to fill the gaps. This brief, crucial delay gifted the archers another precious moment to draw, nock, and aim.
Another hail of arrows immediately followed, felling dozens more of the attackers.
Draw. Fire. Again.
Bandits who had somehow evaded the massive bolts of the giant crossbow vehicles, only to reach the fortress wall, found themselves unable to escape the archers' relentless barrage. In short order, the ground before the ramparts was littered with fallen bodies.
"Where are our archers? Return fire!" Violet Golden Dragon roared, his voice hoarse.
The bandits loosed their hunting bows, returning a shower of arrows towards the soldiers on the fortress walls. But the government troops wore cotton armor, however shoddily constructed or rust-pitted the metal plates might be. Even corroded metal was still metal, and the flimsy arrows from the bandits' bows simply lacked the force to pierce the protective plating, deflecting harmlessly to the ground.
"Pot lids! Get your pot lids up!" Double-Winged Tiger bellowed in frustration.
Those bandits fortunate enough to possess pot lids hastily hoisted them, using the metal to shield their chests.
The wooden pot lids proved surprisingly effective against the arrows. With a series of dull thuds, the remaining bandits, now clinging to their makeshift shields, finally reached the base of the fortress wall.
Bai Family Fortress's walls were hardly formidable, merely a zhang (about eleven feet) high, typical of a wealthy gentry's estate. Two bandits could easily form a human ladder to scale it. As one particularly bold attacker prepared to offer himself as a stepping stone, a government soldier appeared above, clutching a large stone, which he promptly brought down with crushing force.
The pot lid offered no defense against such a heavy stone. With a sickening crunch, both bandit and shield were sent sprawling. The soldier, letting out a disdainful snort, then withdrew his head behind the parapet.
Having dispatched the stone, the soldier turned, shouting over his shoulder, "Another rock!"
A sturdy woman, bent low to avoid the incoming arrows, scurried over and placed a fresh stone into the soldier's waiting hand.
The soldier gripped the stone, then poked his head back over the wall, bringing it down with brutal force upon another unfortunate bandit below. In a flash, another attacker lay stunned.
Though battered and disoriented, the bandits had finally reached the fortress wall. Retreat was unthinkable; they would scale it, or die trying.
A human ladder swiftly formed, and a particularly fierce bandit, brandishing a crude blade, clawed his way onto the rampart. Before he could even steady himself, three government soldiers, their long spears glinting, thrust in unison, impaling him.
These were not sharpened bamboo poles but formidable iron-tipped spears. Each thrust tore a gaping, bloody wound, piercing clean through from front to back.
With a choked scream, the bandit toppled backward, plummeting to the ground below.
Along various sections of the fortress wall, fierce skirmishes erupted.
Though desperate bandits continued to claw their way onto the ramparts, the government soldiers of this era seemed like divine warriors to the attackers, simply unstoppable. Over a hundred troops formed an unyielding front line, their bodies protected by cotton armor. Bandits struggled with every fiber of their being to land a single blow, only to be swiftly dispatched with a few expert moves, sent tumbling back outside the fortress walls.
Moreover, with numerous Bai family retainers and militia fighting alongside them, any bandit who managed to crest the wall found no footing, quickly overwhelmed.
Cheng Xu remained positioned behind the main defense, overseeing the battle without personally entering the fray. Only when roused would he bark a few expletives or direct a dozen or so reserve soldiers to plug emerging holes in the defensive line.
Seeing that a proper commander was now directing the defense, Bai Yuan felt a measure of relief. He extended a hand towards his trusted retainer and announced loudly, "My bow, if you please!"
The retainer wiped a trickle of sweat from his brow. "Master is taking up the bow again?" he murmured, a hint of trepidation in his tone.
Bai Yuan puffed out his chest. "Hmph! These past few days, I, your humble master, have diligently honed my archery skills! The 'archery' aspect among the gentleman's six arts? It has long returned to me, hahahaha! Behold, as I demonstrate what true gentlemanly archery entails!"
With a flourish, he drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and with a swift motion, loosed it directly at a bandit who had just hauled himself onto the rampart.
A magnificent shot it was, truly! A streak of pure white, seemingly chasing stars and eclipsing the moon, carving a path through the heavens, piercing the very firmament itself...
Thwack!
It struck a government soldier squarely in the back, right over his vital organs.
A stunned silence fell.
The soldier, protected by his cotton armor—the rusty breastplate deflecting the arrow harmlessly—was uninjured, but absolutely incandescent with rage. He whirled around, bellowing, "Who the bloody hell shot one of our own?!"
His furious gaze landed on Master Bai Yuan, bow in hand.
His anger instantly deflated. With a forced, sheepish smile, he turned back to the fight.
Bai Yuan's aged face flushed crimson. "The 'archery' aspect among the gentleman's six arts," he mumbled, "strike that from the record, strike that!"
He then turned back to his retainer. "Make a note of that soldier," he instructed. "Later, prepare a lavish gift and extend my sincerest apologies. A gentleman's six arts, I am very particular about the 'rites' aspect!"
Again, silence.
Cheng Xu cut in, "Enough dallying. The bandits are retreating."
Bai Yuan glanced up. Sure enough, the bandit forces were indeed falling back, their morale utterly shattered.
No matter how much Double-Winged Tiger and Violet Golden Dragon bellowed, the bandit army refused to throw their lives away. They had no choice but to order a full withdrawal.
The mass of bandit soldiers receded like a defeated tide, carrying away what wounded and dead they could. They had arrived with swaggering bravado, but now fled in utter disarray. In mere moments, an eerie silence descended upon Bai Family Fortress.
In the distance, the great banner bearing the character for "Ni" (Bu Zhan Ni) swayed twice before moving off towards Huanglong Mountain. Double-Winged Tiger's and Violet Golden Dragon's forces followed, retreating under that same ensign.
After a stunned pause, the defenders inside Bai Family Fortress erupted in a collective cheer: "We won! Bai Family Fortress holds!"
"Bai Family Fortress holds!"
Retainers, militia, and villagers cheered in unison, their joyous shouts carrying for miles around.
Bai Yuan produced his folding fan, flicked it open with a crisp snap to reveal the characters "Gentleman" emblazoned upon it, and smiled with profound satisfaction. His gaze swept over the ten catapults, the ten giant crossbow vehicles, and then lingered on the villagers who had fought so desperately to help repel the attackers. He mused, "This victory is entirely due to the Heavenly Lord, who bestowed upon us these potent weapons and abundant grain to sustain our people. It's only because the villagers within miles of Bai Family Fortress have full bellies that they would fight so fiercely against these bandits. Truly, a divine blessing from the Heavenly Lord!"
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