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Chapter 367: Storming the Shore

Bai Yuzhu’s eyes snapped open. “Enough rest! Order the entire army to prepare for attack.”

Several of his trusted lieutenants immediately sprang into action, relaying the command.

Passing orders between ships was usually a cumbersome affair, typically requiring flag signals for a naval force. But Bai Yuzhu’s river navy faced no such issue. The rebel boats were all crammed tightly together, with only small gaps between the larger and smaller vessels, so shouting at the top of their lungs was all that was needed.

“Get ready to work!”

“We’re attacking the dock!”

“Commander Bai has ordered all boats to surge directly to the shore and pile up. It doesn’t matter if we can’t moor properly; just use the front boats as stepping stones to rush ashore!”

“Kill that foolish Heyang County magistrate!”

“Chop up all those militiamen who dare oppose us and feed them to the dogs!”

“Feed them to dogs? What a waste! We’ll take them back and eat them ourselves, hahahaha!”

As the rebels moved, they cursed and grumbled, a simmering resentment building up from their previous setback. Since joining Wang Jiayin’s rebellion, they had only suffered two defeats: one in Hequ County where General Wang Guoliang of Shanxi had routed them with Western cannons, and another in Yichuan County where Hong Chengchou inexplicably broke their lines. Other than that, they hadn't tasted defeat.

The more they won, the less they could accept defeat!

So, a minor setback only fueled their fury.

The entire fleet began to stir. The boatmen prepared to paddle furiously towards the dock, and the soldiers started readying themselves. From their last engagement, they’d observed that the defenders’ main attack method was still archery.

The explosive charges just made a loud bang, intimidating at best, but they lacked any real punch.

As long as they held their shields steady, there was nothing to fear. For those without shields, a thick cotton quilt would stop the arrows just fine. No need to be timid.

These worthless militiamen are nothing but a disorganized rabble. Once we close the distance and their arrows are useless, we’ll crush them in a single charge.

“Prepare to attack!”

“Listen for my command!”

With a decisive clap, Bai Yuzhu bellowed, “All units, charge!”

All the boats on the river, except for Bai Yuzhu’s “flagship,” surged forward. The sight was truly intimidating. Had the Heyang County militia been guarding the stockade wall right now, this spectacle alone would have sent them into a panicked retreat.

But now, the Gao Family Village militia stood ready, and that made all the difference.

From his perch in the tall arrow tower, Feng Jun looked down. Although a small portion of the Gao Family Village militia showed signs of fear, most remained completely unperturbed.

Out of the fifteen hundred men, only five hundred were fresh recruits. The other thousand were veterans who had participated in the “Huanglong campaigns,” hardened by their battles against Wang Zuogua.

They stood their ground, unwavering!

A captain shouted, “Prepare to tear down the stockade wall!”

Feng Jun exclaimed, “What? Why tear down the stockade wall? What will we defend with then?”

Bai Yuan chuckled, “A single-layered stockade wall is too narrow at the top; it obstructs our arquebusiers from continuous firing. So, it must come down.

Don’t worry, our soldiers can hold this position even without the stockade wall.”

Feng Jun merely gaped.

The first row of boats slammed into the shore. The fierce rebels leaped out, shields raised, some clutching pot lids, others propping up wooden planks... They demonstrated a dazzling array of arrow-blocking methods with practiced ease.

The boats behind them squeezed against the front ones, quickly forming several layers of vessels along the bank, so dense that they obscured a large section of the river. The rebels nimbly leaped from one boat to the next, then onto the shore, moving like a swarm of monkeys crossing a river.

The Gao Family Village militia, standing in the arrow towers, raised their hand crossbows and unleashed a torrent of bolts upon them.

An interesting phenomenon occurred: The Gao Family Village forces armed with cold weapons numbered only eight hundred, far fewer than the Heyang County militia. Yet, the arrow-rain they unleashed was even denser and more ferocious than that fired by over a thousand Heyang County militiamen. This was because the Heyang County militia couldn’t possibly equip every man with a bow; their gear was too haphazard, resulting in a sparse, scattered volley of arrows.

In contrast, every man in the Gao Family Village militia carried a hand crossbow, each crafted by the carpenters in the Craftsman Well, using materials provided by Dao Xuan Tian Zun. Crafted without regard for cost, every piece was meticulously made, and the power of their bolts far surpassed the bows of the Heyang County militia.

The rebels found it incredibly difficult to land under such a hail of arrows.

One man, failing to angle his shield properly, cried out as a bolt thudded into his leg. His shield slipped, and then, *thud-thud-thud*, several more arrows struck his chest. He collapsed, writhing on the ground in agony.

Another advanced, head covered by a thick quilt. Arrows *thudded* repeatedly against the fabric; he couldn’t tell how many had hit. Afraid to peek, he misstepped in the narrow gap between two boats and tumbled into the Yellow River.

In an instant, a large number of rebels fell.

However, this time they were determined to charge forward and “teach those foolish militiamen a lesson,” refusing to retreat easily. The border soldiers who had landed braced their shields, advancing slowly against the rain of arrows. They wore cotton armor—even an occasional arrow strike wouldn't pose much of a problem.

Their forced advance truly held some power.

Behind them followed a large group of defected garrison soldiers, and further back, the main rebel forces. Three distinct echelons, clearly defined.

Soon, this determined group gained a foothold despite the relentless arrow fire.

The leader of the border army laughed loudly, “They’ve stopped throwing explosive charges! They must have run out!”

“Advance!”

“Maintain formation, shields up, advance!”

Just then, they heard a colossal *boom*. A large section of the wooden stockade wall suddenly collapsed, sending dust billowing into the sky and obscuring a wide area of their vision.

After a momentary pause, the rebels interrupted in cheers. “Hahahaha, their stockade wall just collapsed on its own! ”

Bai Yuzhu exclaimed, “Heaven is on our side! They must have cut corners when building it, didn’t set the timbers deep enough. Attack! Target the collapsed section of the wall!”

The rebels cheered and roared, rushing towards the breach where the stockade wall had fallen.

Just then...

“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!”

The sound of arquebuses erupted. Right where the stockade wall had collapsed, amidst the dense, obscuring dust, hundreds of arquebuses fired in continuous succession.

Smoothbore muskets didn’t require precise aiming; a simple volley in a general direction was enough. Thus, the dust had no impact on them whatsoever. Bullets tore through the swirling yellow haze, unleashing a brutal, “loving” assault on the charging rebels.

The power of bullets was no match for arrows!

Soldiers carrying iron shields could deflect a shot, but rebels armed with pot lids weren’t so lucky. Lead shot easily pierced the flimsy covers, and the rebels behind cried out, clutching their wounds, before collapsing.