Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

Firelight flashed within the Qi army's ranks.

Boom——

A deafening roar reached the ears of everyone on the wall. Some with sharp eyes and quick reflexes vaguely saw a black line flying through the Qi army formation at a speed invisible to the naked eye.

bang——

A violent shaking came from the city wall beneath their feet. Song Jiang, Wu Yong, Dai Zong and the others stood together and turned to look at a section of the wall about five zhang to the side.

There, a cloud of dust erupted, and shattered stones flew nearly ten feet, crashing to the ground, tumbling, and then splashing into the moat.

"...What is that...?"

Song Jiang felt his mouth was dry and his mouth was full of bitterness. He was a veteran of many battles, so how could he not see that this thing was a long-range weapon like a whirlwind cannon? He turned to look at Tang Long behind him: "Can a whirlwind cannon in the army shoot this far?"

"...No." Tang Long seemed to have a lump of phlegm stuck in his throat: "This distance is almost twice that of the Whirlwind Cannon, and its destructive power is also greater. Now, looking at it...", his eyes flickered: "This cannon was fired straight ahead just now. I wonder if it can be thrown."

“This… General Song…” The prefect of Hejian Prefecture came over and tugged at Song Jiang’s crimson battle robe: “Is there a problem with the city’s defenses?”

Song Jiang opened his mouth, his gaze sweeping over the bomb crater beside him. Then, seeing the wide eyes of the prefect and the others, he gritted his teeth and nodded: "Prefect, do not worry. Song Jiang will risk his life to protect the people of this city."

He then turned to the soldiers beside him and shouted, "Men, escort the Prefect away!"

More than a dozen Song soldiers wearing leather armor stepped forward, and a group of officials from Hejian Prefecture hurriedly followed them down to the city.

After Song Jiang and the other city officials disappeared from the city walls, he turned to the crowd and said, "That was a test firing. I wonder how many of these cannons the Qi bandits have. If they have too many, I'm afraid the city walls will be in danger. Generals, prepare for street fighting."

……

The black plume of smoke slowly dissipated in the air.

Lu Bu shaded his eyes with his hand, and his heart skipped a beat the moment the cannonball hit the city wall. His eyes widened instantly: "What a treasure! It's about 150 zhang away from the city wall, isn't it?"

Li Zhu, standing beside him, widened his eyes and unconsciously sat up straight on his horse: "I've got it, I've definitely got it."

"Judging by its power, it's far superior to the Whirlwind Cannon; it can even knock down rubble from the city walls from this distance." Fang Xuedu stood up in his stirrups, turned to look at Lü Bu, and exclaimed, "Your Majesty, what a powerful weapon!"

"Hahahaha—" Lu Bu stroked his neatly trimmed beard with one hand, looking satisfied, his face flushed: "Order all troops to advance. Once the wall shakes, attack it for me. Order Yao Gang to go forward and, if there is an opening, crush those clowns."

"Then order the artillery battalion to aim at a section of wall..." he gestured into the distance, "and blast it to smithereens!"

The civil and military officials around him all laughed, knowing that their emperor had sworn out in excitement. However, they were all thinking the same thing and turned to look at the artillery battalion's position.

As the bugle call to attack sounded, formations moved forward, encircling Hejian Prefecture from three sides. The able-bodied men laboriously propelled dozens of whirlwind cannons forward, and battering rams gradually advanced to the front of the battle formation. All around were figures carrying sacks, heading towards Hejian Prefecture under the cover of the vanguard battalion.

Standing in front of the artillery position, Wei Dingguo stood upright, his face expressionless, except for his hands gripping the reins, which were trembling.

Shan Tinggui lowered his hands from his ears, exchanged excited glances with Ling Zhen and Kou Yi: "It's done!"

"Damn it, although I tested it in the North before, I can finally put my mind at ease now."

"At least we don't have to go to Pei Xuan's tent to see his deadpan face anymore. Congratulations!"

The three men were congratulating each other with their hands on their foreheads when Wei Dingguo, mounted on his horse, saw the flag signal coming from afar, turned around, and shouted loudly, "His Majesty orders, continue firing—"

Soldiers dressed in red and black quickly set off, excitedly carrying gunpowder and cannonballs. In no time, they were ready, and figures holding torches stood beside the cannons.

The bugle sounded for a moment, the torches moved down, and twelve huge roars followed.

Shan Tinggui, Kou Yi, and Ling Zhen covered their ears and watched the cannons roar excitedly. They glanced at the figure riding upright on his warhorse and, taking advantage of a brief lull in the cannon fire, ran over and said, "Brother Wei, the cannons are too loud. Let's step back and watch from a distance."

The Divine Fire General on horseback remained motionless, his gaze solemnly fixed on the city of Hejian Prefecture.

"Brother Wei, Brother Wei?"

Shan Tinggui called out to him a few times but received no response, so he spurred his horse over, patted him on the shoulder, and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

"Huh?!" A question that almost deafened Shan Tinggui rang out as Wei Dingguo turned around, his eardrums thumping: "What did you say?!"

Shan Tinggui's face twitched, and he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Brother Wei, the cannon fire here is too loud! Back off! Back off!"

"Oh!"

Wei Dingguo replied, then his expression froze: "I'm fine, but since Brother Shan says so, let's proceed."

Shan Tinggui looked helplessly at his stubborn colleague in front of him, and the two of them retreated together.

The dregs from the remaining cannon barrels were cleared out. "Hurry up!" "Keep bombarding the city walls!" Loud voices soared into the sky, startling the clouds and revealing the warm sun in the sky.

Many cavalrymen galloped along the road, their hooves thundering. Yang Zaixing turned to look at the artillery camp where the black smoke had dissipated, then looked at the large area of ​​collapsed bricks and stones in Hejian Prefecture. He took a deep breath: "Our army has deployed its best weapons. The advantage is in our hands. Prepare to assist the infantry in attacking the city!"

"Hurry up—"

"Oh!"

Shouts drowned out the thunder of hooves as the warhorses galloped forward, kicking up dust. The iron arrowheads of the bows held at an angle gleamed coldly.

hum-

……

Chaos began to spread across the city walls. Under the bright sunlight, a cloud of dust erupted the moment the stone wall made contact with the cannonball, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the surface of the wall as the tremors occurred.

"Load the catapults faster and get the ballistae moving. Don't just stand there like birds doing nothing."

"Shieldbearers, advance! Hurry! The Qi cavalry is coming!"

"Don't panic, it's useless across the moat!"

Various roars echoed from the city wall, and figures dressed in officers' armor ran around. Song Jiang gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, watching arrows streak across the wall and hurtle up the wall. Some soldiers dodged in panic, and one accidentally tumbled over the battlements and fell with a scream.

"Don't panic—"

With a deep shout, Song Jiang looked at Dai Zong and Liu Tong and said, "You two officers, lead your men to appease the soldiers. The enemy cavalry is clearly harassing us. What kind of behavior is this, showing such panic?"

"Order Wu Song and Xie Zhen to prepare to ambush the enemy's defenses in the city. Order Mu Hong, Lu Junyi, and Xu Ning to go up the city wall and prepare to fight the enemy to the death."

Dai Zong and Liu Tong responded and immediately turned around to lead their men to take action.

Song Jiang frowned, watching as the Qi army's whirlwind cannons stopped in the distance, their long poles lowered, and figures busied themselves. Soon, as each pole suddenly rose, stone projectiles traced long trajectories, crashing against the city walls, landing in the passageways atop the walls, and striking the heads of the crowded masses, instantly splattering blood-red flowers among them. Some flew directly over the city walls, crashing into the city of Hejian, eliciting cries of the common people, followed by the sounds of collapsing houses.

"Enemy infantry are advancing! Hold the city walls!" Song Jiang drew his long sword and raised it towards the surging black figures ahead: "As long as we work together to defend the city, the imperial court will surely reward us in the future! If the city falls, the enemy will massacre the city, and your families will be doomed. How can we men stand by and watch such a tragedy happen? Kill the traitors!"

"Kill the traitors—"

Countless soldiers roared in response, and the catapults and ballistae on the city walls roared under the control of the Song soldiers.

Stones and crossbow bolts pierced through the air and hurtled towards the black-armored figure advancing bravely.

However, the Qi infantrymen pushing carts and carrying shields did not stop at all. One after another, strong young men and soldiers carrying sand threw the sacks on their backs into the moat.

Water splashed up several feet, and the rippled surface broke the calm. People kept backing up, moving forward, and backing up, repeating the same pattern over and over.

"Shoot arrows! Shoot arrows!"

Zhu Tong pointed his broadsword diagonally downwards: "Stop the enemy from building a road across the river, hurry!"

A large number of archers ran forward from the city wall. As gusts of arrows fell, some of the black-armored figures holding shields fell to the ground, and those behind them hurriedly stepped forward to fill in.

The banner bearing the character "花" (flower) fluttered in the vanguard camp, where soldiers carrying replicas of the Divine Arm Bow ran in, occasionally shooting crossbow bolts onto the city walls.

The roar of cannons, the monotonous clanging of wooden shafts from whirlwind cannons, and the whistling sound of crossbow bolts piercing the air echoed continuously between the two armies.

The shockwave from the hit on the city wall left Song Jiang and his men somewhat numb. As the daylight shifted slightly westward, the soldiers who had replaced the vanguard took up their shields to shield themselves from the sight of filling the moat.

On the city wall, soldiers running back and forth fell to the ground with a thud as cannons roared. Some rolled a few times, stood up, stared blankly at the ground, and suddenly shouted, "The city wall is cracked!"

"very?"

Several gasps of surprise followed his shout, and they turned to see a crack the width of a thumb had appeared in the brick pavement. Zhu Wu, who was defending that section of the wall, gasped, "Get away from that crack, quick—"

As soon as the voice rang out, the soldiers near the crack quickly moved aside. In the distance, stones with a whistling sound fell towards them, and round stone projectiles cast small, fast shadows on the ground.

"Get the craftsmen up there..." Zhu Wu didn't finish his sentence, watching helplessly as three stone projectiles fell, hitting the wall near the crack in succession: "It's over..."

bang——

Large sections of bricks collapsed, and the opening nearby suddenly widened, with a lightning-like crack extending downwards, eliciting a chorus of cries from the city walls.

"Fire at that crack! Hurry—"

Several excited commands came from the artillery battalion and the whirlwind cannon positions in the formation. One after another, the figures operating the cannons hurriedly adjusted the angle, aimed at the crack in excitement, lit the fuse, and smashed the mechanism.

A deafening roar echoed across the city wall, and shouts rose up below. In the midday sunlight, two roads filled with sandbags came into view, and soldiers carrying planks placed them on them under the cover of large shields.

As the makeshift pontoon bridge was completed, the battering rams and tall ladders slowly advanced, pushing forward despite the harassment from the fire arrows on the city walls.

……

What happened on the city wall?

A woman's voice rang out from Wu Song's ranks. The traveler, dressed in officer's armor, glanced at Sun Erniang and smiled bitterly: "You don't need to come to the front line. Now is the time to fight to the death. Who knows when the Qi army will enter the city."

Sun Erniang, carrying a long knife, said, "We are inside the city. We don't know when the northern bandits will enter. Brother Wu Song is being too cautious."

Wu Song shook his head, his expression uncertain: "...Something is not right. You should go home first and not linger here. If something happens to you, how can I face Brother Zhang Qing's spirit in heaven?"

Sun Erniang sighed, "Since you say so, I'll go back first. Brother, please be careful here."

……

On the city wall, the fighting gradually began. Soldiers in black armor, holding shields in one hand and daggers in their mouths, climbed the ladders to the top.

From time to time, figures would throw stones and logs down from above, pour hot oil and hot excrement, and then those who couldn't dodge in time would be shot down from the city walls by arrows and crossbow bolts.

Poisonous smoke balls with burning wicks were thrown onto the city wall by the attacking figures. With a "clang," bursts of unbearable gas erupted, and violent coughing echoed across the city wall.

Countless Qi soldiers gradually climbed to the top, shouted, and jumped onto the city wall. Generals such as Han Shizhong, Shan Shiqi, Guan Sheng, Qin Ming, Han Chang, and He Zhongbao personally led their troops up the wall, spreading like ink across the city wall.

"Sir, hurry down from the city wall! There are still defensive positions inside the city."

When Dai Zong and Liu Tong saw people climbing the city wall, they quickly pulled Song Jiang down the wall. One by one, figures dressed in fine leather armor followed, throwing arrows and short spears from their hands from time to time, causing those who had just climbed the wall to dodge and not be able to catch up immediately.

More and more soldiers in black armor stepped onto the city wall of Hejian Prefecture, and the generals who were originally nailed to the crenellations began to move gradually.

Guan Sheng, wielding his broadsword and with his phoenix eyes wide open, forcefully cleaved the thrusting spears. He then stepped forward and swung his sword with one hand, unleashing a series of screams from the assembled spearmen.

He wiped the blood from his face and said, "Follow me and fight our way down." Guan Sheng brandished his sword with one hand, splattering a trail of blood onto the ground.

Amidst the carnage, elite soldiers clad in leather armor, under Zhu Tong's command, firmly guarded the stone steps leading down the city wall. Watching the black-armored figures gradually closing in, they took a deep breath: "At this crucial moment, retreat slowly..."

Before the words were finished, a commotion broke out ahead. A figure with a long beard stepped forward, pointing a still-dripping blood-stained sword at Zhu Tong: "Where are you going, you traitor Song...?"

The sounds of fighting and shouting rang out around the two groups of people. People fell to the ground dead every now and then. The screams brought the two people who were looking at each other back to their senses. A figure carrying two horizontal swords walked over: "Yo ho!"

Two pairs of eyes turned to the figure who had spoken. Han Chang wiped the blood from his cheek with the back of his hand: "General Guan, this fellow looks quite like you..."

He raised his other hand, pointing the knife at Zhu Tong and waving it: "Your brother?"

"My family has only one son per generation, so where do I get brothers?" Guan Sheng glanced at Han Chang with his phoenix eyes.

Zhu Tong glanced at him expressionlessly.

"no……"

Han Chang chuckled and lowered his hands, simultaneously twirling his sword with both: "But since you two are so alike, won't you be reluctant to fight? Hey, Song general over there, what's your name? Are you willing to surrender?"

"I, Zhu Tong, am a subject of your grace, and serve you..."

"Ah, alright, alright." Han Chang waved his hand, his sword swaying in the air for a moment, without even turning to look at Guan Sheng: "General Guan, shall I do it?"

"Humph--"

Guan Sheng stroked his beard with one hand, his face arrogant: "I am not without hands and feet; General Han can simply watch from the side." (End of Chapter)