weaving

Zhuxian Town was in chaos. Although the bandits had the advantage in numbers and, as the defenders, held the advantageous terrain, their morale was not as high as that of the government troops, not to mention the gap in equipment and training.

Although Xu Jinyong's Imperial Guards and Yu Jin's Central Army Cavalry launched a surprise attack, their numbers were too small to successfully breach the east, west, and south gates of Zhuxian Town.

However, thanks to their mobility advantage, as well as their handguns and weapons capable of taking on ten thousand men, they still caused great trouble for the enemy troops defending the city on the other three sides. They not only killed and wounded many enemy soldiers, but also greatly disrupted the enemy troops' defensive operations.

On the north gate of Zhuxian Town, the mixed army of servants and starving people collapsed at the first contact and failed to hinder the government army's offensive in any way.

Tian Mingyu commanded the warriors of the three headquarters of the White Tiger Camp—the center, left, and right—and advanced with unstoppable momentum until they were less than a hundred paces from the north gate of Zhuxian Town, where they encountered fierce resistance from the bandits.

The rebel army resisted fiercely. The walls and roads were packed with rebel soldiers. Despite their fear of the fierce and brave soldiers, they continued to fight and did not collapse, forced by the strict orders of the rebel king.

As time ticked by, Tian Mingyu grew increasingly anxious, fearing that if he failed to capture the north gate, all his previous efforts would be in vain once the enemy reinforcements arrived.

"Where's the cannon? Why isn't it here yet?"

Faced with Tian Mingyu's roar, Lei Kejun, the left battalion commander, hurriedly replied, "Send someone to urge them on."

"We can't wait any longer!" Tian Mingyu shouted. "Lei Kejun, you lead the left flank around and attack the north gate from the west to coordinate with us."

"Yes, sir!" Lei Kejun received the order and rushed off.

Just then, Zhou Sanping came running over, anxiously saying, "Uncle Tian, ​​we're almost out of ammunition, what should we do?"

Tian Mingyu's eyes widened, and he roared, "What do we do? Charge in with our lives!"

He turned sharply and shouted at his personal guards, "Get me a shield!"

As he spoke, Tian Mingyu drew his sword from his waist and roared, "Damn it, shield bearers lead the charge! Charge straight for the hell out! I'll be the first to charge! If we don't take the North Gate, my head will be left here today!"

Zhou Sanping grabbed Tian Mingyu and pleaded, "Master Tian, ​​please rest. Just stay here and cheer me on. Let Chengji and I charge again. If we can't make it down this time, you can go up again..."

Tian Mingyu looked at Zhou Sanping and saw that his eyes were full of pleading. His heart softened, and he said to him, "Okay. You guys go for it one more time."

Just as Zhou Sanping turned to leave, Tian Mingyu stopped him and instructed him, "Sanping, we are all veterans of the Marshal's Mansion. We must make General Chen and the Commander-in-Chief proud!"

With a resolute look in his eyes, Zhou Sanping replied, "If I can't take the North Gate, I'll leave this useless head here!"

"Take care..." Tian Mingyu said with hope in his eyes, "Come back alive, and I'll treat you to a drink!"

"Okay, definitely!"

…………

At this moment, Tian Mingyu had learned from the prisoners that the commander of the rebel army guarding the north gate was Gao Yigong, the brother-in-law of the rebel king, who was also the supreme commander of the rebel army in Zhuxian Town.

It was for this reason that he did not lead his troops to attack other places, but instead surrounded the north and fought to the death, intending to trap Gao Yigong and wipe him out in one fell swoop.

In Tian Mingyu's view, if Gao Yigong were really eliminated, the bandit army in Zhuxian Town would be leaderless, and then they could be easily defeated.

Even if we cannot eliminate Gao Yigong, if we can capture the North Gate, a fortress personally guarded by Gao Yigong, the enemy soldiers will surely be demoralized and unwilling to fight to the death with us.

At this moment, Tian Mingyu had less than a hundred soldiers by his side. He had committed all his forces to take the North Gate, and the outcome depended on this final battle.

Shortly after Zhou Sanping returned to the front lines, Chen Zheng, the commander of the White Tiger Battalion, arrived at the location with his guards.

"what's the situation?"

Tian Mingyu gave a wry smile: "The rebel's brother-in-law is at the North Gate, putting up a fierce resistance. We haven't taken him down yet."

Chen Zheng said in a deep voice, "Alright, you've done a great job blocking that scoundrel Gao Yigong here." He then waved his hand and added, "I've brought you ten tiger-squatting cannons, each capable of firing three rounds. Go, go and blast that damn Gao Yigong to death!"

Tian Mingyu was overjoyed upon hearing this, knowing that Chen Zheng was giving him the great credit for capturing the North Gate and defeating Gao Yigong.

At that moment, Tian Mingyu clasped his hands and said, "Mingyu will never let you down, General. I will definitely take the North Gate for you."

"Remember..." Chen Zheng shouted loudly, "And also that thief Gao Yigong who was blown to pieces!"

"Here."

Tian Mingyu loudly accepted the order and led his more than one hundred men, along with the ten tiger-squatting cannons, charging towards the battlefield ahead.

…………

By the end of the hour of Wei (1-3 PM), the battle at the North Gate was also drawing to a close.

Although Gao Yigong led his men in a tenacious resistance, they were already in retreat under the fierce attacks of Zhou Sanping and Pan Chengji. They were about to retreat to the gate tower, and their right side was attacked by Lei Kejun's left flank soldiers.

Before he could even redeploy his troops and prepare for the attack, he heard a series of booming cannon shots coming from below the gate tower... followed by deafening battle cries that shook the heavens...

"It's over." Gao Yigong felt utterly hopeless.

He hated himself for not guarding the old camp for the rebel king, and he hated the government troops for being so treacherous that they disregarded the urgency of the battle at the front and instead mobilized their elite forces to launch a surprise attack on him.

The image of the rebel leader, Chuang Wang, flashed through Gao Yigong's mind. He seemed to see Chuang Wang triumphantly attacking Zhang Cheng's main camp, his face beaming with the joy of victory...

Suddenly, he realized that the remaining grain and fodder would soon become spoils of war for the government troops, and even if the rebel leader won at the front, he would still face the worry of running out of food...

It was all because of him—who failed to defend the old camp at Zhuxian Town—that the rebel leader turned victory into defeat!

"I am a sinner, I am a sinner..." Gao Yigong raised the sword in a daze and slowly placed it against his neck.

At the critical moment, fortunately, the personal guard Chen Cai was quick-witted and grabbed the blade. Despite cutting his palm, he held on tightly and refused to let go.

"General, you mustn't!" Chen Cai loudly dissuaded him: "Master Gu and General Li still have twenty or thirty thousand troops. Even if the north opens up, we can go out, mobilize troops, and take it back."

After hearing Chen Cai's words, Gao Yigong was taken aback. He seemed to think that there was some truth to what he said. Although he was willing to atone for his sins with his death, what use would it be if he died?

This actually benefited the government troops!

It would be better to follow Chen Cai's suggestion. Perhaps we could take advantage of the fact that the government troops have not yet gained a foothold and seize back the North Gate in one fell swoop, driving them out of the city!

When Gao Yigong came to his senses, he saw that Chen Cai's hands were covered in blood, which was constantly flowing and dripping to the ground. He couldn't bear it and said to him with tears in his eyes, "Chen Cai, well done!"

"Gather the men and charge out."

After regaining his senses, Gao Yigong immediately reverted to his general's demeanor and shouted sternly, "Liu Wang, I'll give you five hundred men to lead the charge and cut a path through for me."

"Yes."

"Chen Cai, gather your men and charge out with me! We'll meet up at the East Gate!"

"Yes, General."

"Good lads, follow me and kill the government soldiers!"

"Kill...kill the government soldiers..." (End of Chapter)