Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The cannonballs slammed into the city wall, sending up stone dust that blurred the daylight. A cracking sound came from the city gate as several pieces of metal with copper nails flew out and crashed to the ground with a loud bang.

The expressions on the faces of the generals on the city wall changed drastically. Wen Huanzhang and Zong Ying looked at Zong Ze with some gratitude. If he hadn't decisively released the heavy gate, the morale of the city might have suffered irreversible damage.

“Father, it’s dangerous on the city wall…” Zong Ying hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and whispered to the old man behind him.

Zong Ze suddenly turned his head and glared at him fiercely. The young man immediately took a step back and dared not say another word. He hurriedly grabbed a pen and wrote something.

"General Li." Zong Ze turned to look at the robust Li Shixiong. "The enemy's siege weapons are extremely powerful. The responsibility on the city wall is heavy today. Quickly contact the east and west sides to inquire about the situation, and also send someone to check on the south gate."

"Yes, I'll send someone right away." Li Shixiong knew the situation was critical, so he clasped his hands in a fist and gave the order. Immediately, someone ran along the city wall.

In the distance, the black square formation began to move slowly, escorting siege weapons such as ladders, whirlwind cannons, and battering rams forward. Smoke and dust rose from below the formation, and the simultaneous movement of more than thirty large machines was terrifying.

Thump thump thump, woo--

The bugle sounded, the drums of war beat, and the echoes seemed to reach from the east and west. The cavalry on both sides of the formation began to move, galloping past with a thunderous roar.

On the city wall, the commander and his men were running around, shouting loudly, adjusting the defensive positions of the sections of the city wall, while swordsmen and shieldmen stepped forward to guard Zong Ze.

The whirlwind cannons and ballistae on the city walls roared as the troops below entered their attack range, sending stones hurled high into the air and crashing down upon them.

"Dodge—"

Several voices rang out from within the Qi army's ranks. Quick-reacting soldiers ran away from the area where the stones were falling, and then ballistae fired into the formation, followed by several screams.

Rumble-

The sound of horses' hooves rolled in like muffled thunder, the clattering noise reaching the ears of the soldiers on the high wall. Reacting quickly, Li Shixiong immediately shouted, "Raise your shields!"

A hail of arrows rained down from below, striking wooden shields and battlements with a series of loud thuds. Some arrows even pierced through the gaps in the shields, hitting people's shoulders and vital points, followed by cries of agony.

Urged on by shouts, the archers on the city wall stepped forward, their wooden shields moved aside, and some, without even reaching the battlements, nervously fired arrows into the air. The arrows, split into several segments, flew down and rained down on the cavalry galloping outside the city.

Unfortunately, almost none of the arrows hit the ground. Arrows fell one after another like a rain shower. Wang Yin, who was leading the charge, had already begun to turn around. Only a few arrows stuck in the cavalry's round shields, leaving a trail of tail feathers exposed on the ground behind them.

"Archers, fire back!" Li Shixiong led his personal guards forward a few steps and stood behind the shields. He watched the cavalry below turn in an arc, frowned slightly, and then caught a glimpse of flashes of fire in the dark formation, followed by an even louder roar.

bang——

The continuous impacts and the tremors beneath their feet sent shivers down the spines of those on the city wall.

"Keep firing the whirlwind cannons going, keep loading crossbow bolts!"

The shout came from Zong Ze's mouth: "Don't be afraid. The city wall is wide and thick enough to protect the city. The cannons can smash through the small city, but they pose no threat to Daming Prefecture."

Looking at the soldiers outside, Li Shixiong felt a strange unease. He glanced down, wondering if the heavy gate was sturdy enough.

Zong Ze continued to issue orders: "Order all able-bodied men in the city to block the city gates with stones!"

The messenger turned and ran.

Li Shixiong dared not linger at this moment, urging the soldiers around him to set up the defenses. Soldiers were running around all around, their faces filled with fear and tension. On the stone steps on both sides of the city wall, many young men were carrying logs and stones, and bundles of arrows were placed under the battlements near the city gate.

Just as he was forcing himself to focus on the enemy forces outside the city, his personal guard suddenly pulled him back: "General, the enemy has whirlwind cannons!"

In an instant, the stone projectiles, accompanied by a whistling sound, fell down, crashing violently against the city wall. Some flew backward, destroying nearby houses.

Boom——

A loud crash came from not far away. The people on the city wall quickly looked over and saw that a stone had smashed a hole in the city tower. Several pieces of wood, still attached to the tower, were swaying and falling down with a bang when the wind blew.

Boom boom boom!
The drumbeats of war came from the east and west, and the shouts of orders could be faintly heard. In the distance, soldiers carrying orders rushed over.

"Enemy troops are attacking from the east (west) gate!"

Woohoo——

The sound of horns drowned out the warnings from below the city. Due to the long-range attacks from the city walls, the distance between the military formations was slightly greater, and they appeared as moving blocks at a glance.

"Don't stop! Keep advancing and take the city walls! Order the battering rams to move forward and cover the army!"

Bian Xiang rode his horse alongside the formation, raised his hand, and waved his command flags to relay the signal. The captains and military commanders of each formation shouted "Advance!" In the vast army formation, the soldiers holding shields let out tense panting.

The great banner fluttered and rolled.

On the enormous chariot, Lü Bu, clad in golden armor, sat on a wooden chair, a canopy above his head shielding him from the sunlight. He gently tapped his thighs with his crossed hands, gazing at the outline of the Daming Prefecture city wall.

"As expected of one of the secondary capitals of the Song Dynasty, its city walls are far superior to those of cities like Renqiu."

After saying this, Lü Bu frowned and thought for a moment: "Order Xu Wen and Han Shizhong to be prepared to support Bian Xiang at any time."

"Order Mi Sheng and Shi Wengong to intensify the attack on the east and west sides of the city."

He ordered the riders to ride off at full speed.

"Beat the drums, cheer them on!"

The chariots pulling the war drums followed behind. Upon hearing the military order, the strongmen swung the drumsticks, causing the drumheads to vibrate and the surging sound to be deafening.

On the city wall, where the drums sounded, soldiers in crimson robes swayed, their faces tensing as they clearly sensed the impending war.

At the commander's command, the pikemen quickly ran behind the swordsmen and shieldmen, while the archers, carrying quivers and crossbows, gathered at each section of the city, numbering between one hundred and two hundred at each section.

Beyond the city walls lies a street made up of all sorts of houses, where the sounds of war drums from both inside and outside the city mingle together, even more powerful than the sound of the street-cleaning drums.

At that moment, a single thought arose in the minds of many people.

"The Qi army is about to attack the city."

……

dong dong dong-

Amidst the rousing drumbeats, Lu Zhishen and Wen Zhongrong each led a contingent of four thousand men, advancing towards the city wall with thunderous footsteps. Towering shields, as tall as a person, were linked together to cover the infantrymen who were crouching low behind them. Ladders and battering rams were interspersed among them, and many archers hid under the battering rams, occasionally firing arrows at the city wall.

The advancing troops approached the city wall, and arrows rained down like raindrops, striking the shields and bouncing off to the ground.

In that brief pause, the figures crouching behind the shields surged forward like a flood bursting its banks. Soldiers carrying wooden ladders and pushing siege ladders rushed towards the city wall. Fire arrows, trailing flames, flew up the city wall in an arc of fire. Along the way, people kept falling.

Just as they reached the wall, a shield wall was erected near the ladders. Eight ladders were linked together and slammed against the wall with a bang, their iron claws sinking deep into the stone. "Hey guys, follow me and charge up!"

"Follow me!"

The voices of Lu Zhishen and Wen Zhongrong rang out below the city wall, and Qi soldiers with swords in their mouths climbed up the ladders and wooden ladders like ants.

The shouts echoed from below the city walls to the top.

The daylight turned grim, and flaming arrows flew up to the city walls. Black smoke rose from corpses, wooden shields, and city towers, which was then blown away by the wind and drifted into the distance.

"Pull up the gap! Block the gap!"

"Form a hail of guns and push them down!"

Shouts rose and fell from the city wall as squads of soldiers from Daming Prefecture rushed to the rescue. Arrows crisscrossed in the air as a soldier running to the next section of the city wall was suddenly struck by an arrow and became a corpse.

The Qi soldiers below were drenched in the golden liquid, screamed, and fell to the ground. More soldiers climbed upwards to the sound of war drums.

A spear formation of five long spears thrust wildly downwards from the wall, accompanied by screams of agony. Some Song soldiers, wielding spears, cried out and fell to the ground, clutching the wounds they had been struck by arrows.

Ignoring his bleeding wounds, the veteran Qi soldier in black armor grabbed the thrusting spear and pulled the man off the city wall. With a strong pull on the wooden ladder, he took the horizontal sword he was holding in his mouth and leaped up, rushing towards the forest of spears and shields on the city wall.

In a short while, soldiers from the Qi army rushed forward.

The commander defending this section of the wall led his soldiers to reinforce the area. Just as he had cut down a Qi soldier, his hand holding the sword was severed.

"what!"

The screaming figure watched as the burly man with fiery eyes swung his knife again, his vision shifting rapidly as a headless corpse fell backward.

Wen Zhongrong, accompanied by several personal guards, ruthlessly wielded his swords, hacking several people to death in succession. He roared behind him, "Hurry up and stand firm here!"

In the distance, Lü Bu sat imposingly in his chariot, watching his soldiers leap onto the city walls. Although the defenses of Daming Prefecture were better than those of the previous cities, they were still able to scale the walls. He was very satisfied with the valiant fighting of his soldiers.

"It seems that the defenses of Daming Prefecture are just like this."

Bian Xiang's army lost a major general. Although they were in dire straits, they were also the most heavily harassed by the night attack. If they could still make such a mess of the vanguard battle, then it seems that the army of Daming Prefecture is not worth worrying about.

Lu Bu frowned slightly: "Don't let the fighting lead to the capture of the city. Wouldn't all my worries these past few days have been a joke?"

The fierce hand-to-hand combat spread from the city walls into the city. Zong Ze stood on the city wall, constantly shouting to encourage his men. His eyes were fixed on the various Song army camps fighting each other. After listening to the messenger's feedback, he issued an order to bring up his best men to deal with the fierce Qi soldiers who were scaling the city walls.

As the pacification commissioner of Hebei and Hebei appointed by the imperial court, he could have retreated to a safer area at this time. However, Zong Ze also knew the capabilities of the local soldiers of the Song army. If he were to retreat even slightly and fail to give them the encouragement to fight side by side, these people would probably all run away before the Qi army even climbed the city walls.

He also had several capable generals under his command, though not as good as Yue Fei's generals. At this time, they were all sent out, hoping to hold off the rebel generals who were coming up, repel the attack on the city, and then reward them with some money. The local soldiers who had experienced the battle would probably be useful.

"Archers, come with me! Shoot them down!"

Li Shixiong roared, snatched a hard bow, picked up the quiver, and strode forward.

The sounds of fierce fighting reached his ears. Li Shixiong watched as the Qi army charged up from both sides. The soldiers on the city wall advanced with ferocious ferocity against the Song army in front of them, while the soldiers dressed in crimson robes retreated continuously.

"Damn it..." he muttered under his breath, then abruptly drew back his bow and fired an arrow at a soldier in black: "Shoot! Quickly!"

Several archers behind them drew their bows and nocked their arrows. Several arrows flew past with a whooshing sound, followed by several screams.

"Order the soldiers below to come up and reinforce the city walls. Tell those who are exhausted to go down quickly." Zong Ze watched Li Shixiong charge forward, waved his hand behind him, and simultaneously ordered the east and west flanks to hold the city walls at all costs.

"Men, send crossbowmen to General Li's side and quickly shoot down those Qi soldiers!"

The messenger took off running, and someone raised a blood-red flag on the city wall, the color of which, representing a desperate battle, made people's pupils turn red.

As dawn approached, the midday sun grew increasingly scorching. Under the blazing sun, the reserve troops quickly ran from below the city walls to join the front lines, while some soldiers, their arms and legs aching, retreated.

The newly joined forces roared, barely managing to stop the spreading dark figures.

Li Shixiong was overjoyed at the sight and, taking advantage of the newly arrived soldiers' effort, fired several arrows in succession.

Wen Zhongrong was having a good time hacking and slashing when he was suddenly shot in the shoulder by an arrow. "Ouch!" he cried out, and his hand holding the knife went limp. He was almost knocked away by a Song soldier wielding a spear. He quickly raised his leg and kicked the man to the ground.

Puff, puff—

The sound of armor being pierced came from his body. His burly and powerful body trembled twice. Wen Zhongrong did not have time to treat his wounds. He quickly turned around to avoid an arrow that was aimed at his vitals. Then a rain of arrows came down on his head.

Screams rang out one after another, many people were injured. Wen Zhongrong saw the men wielding crossbows approaching, leveled the crossbow bolts and pointed them in their direction, and shouted, "Back off!"

They led the people fighting in front of them and retreated.

hum-

The crossbow bolts flew horizontally, and several black figures fell to the ground on the city wall.

"Grab the shield, quick!"

Wen Zhongrong's pupils contracted slightly. Ignoring the arrow wounds on his body, he bent down, picked up the shield from the ground, and held it up in front of him.

Tuk-tuk-tuk——

The arrowhead embedded itself in the shield, its fletching trembling slightly. Wen Zhongrong breathed a sigh of relief, then heard a voice shout, "General, retreat quickly—"

The figure behind the shield glanced to the side and immediately felt a chill run down his spine. In his line of sight, dozens of figures wielding divine bows were running towards them.

"Walk--"

Wen Zhongrong made a decisive decision and ran away without hesitation.

The crossbow bolts roared out.

……

"He's retired!"

"Quickly, medic!"

The figure below looked up as the person above slid down, and someone quickly rushed forward to help him up. A soldier, seeing Wen Zhongrong riddled with arrows and crossbow bolts, shouted and, along with several swordsmen and shield bearers, protected him and ran backward. (End of Chapter)