Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 746 Lower Tanzhou

[Painted Arms] Jin Zhuang and He Yun were locked in a fierce battle when a hidden arrow was shot at them. It was too late to dodge it.

Jin Zhuang could only lower his head as much as possible. The arrow grazed Jin Zhuang's iron helmet, flying past in a streak of golden light.

Jin Zhuang was terrified and turned his horse to leave.

He Yun was reluctant to give up and spurred his horse to give chase.

He secretly shot a arrow, which angered Su Yi, the "Peach Blossom Gentleman," who said, "The Liao dog is untrustworthy; take my arrow too."

As he spoke, Su Yi took out his bow and arrow and shot an arrow at He Yun, who was chasing Jin Zhuang.

Hearing the sound of the bowstring, He Yun looked up and saw a sharp arrow coming straight at him. He Yun shouted and jerked his horse's head up. The arrow pierced the horse's eye.

With a neigh, the warhorse collapsed, and He Yun, unable to react in time, was pinned to the ground.

Upon hearing the sound of his warhorse collapsing behind him, Su Yi reined in his horse, turned it around, and slashed at the still struggling He Yun.

After lifting He Yun's head, Jin Zhuang shouted at the city wall, "Liao Kingdom, you're using underhanded tactics to harm people. I'll let you taste the bitterness of such attacks too!"

On the city wall, Kou Zhenyuan was furious to see He Yun dead. But remembering that defending the city was the priority, he could only glare fiercely at the arrogant Jin Zhuang below.

Seeing that Kou Zhenyuan's defenses were effective and that the troops on the city walls were all elite, Shi Wengong ordered a retreat of three miles to set up camp and await Zhao Zhen's army.

The next day, in Tanzhou City, Qiong Yaona led a large army into the city through the north gate.

Meanwhile, Zhao Zhen also led his troops to the city of Tanzhou.

After hearing Shi Wengong's account of the situation in Tanzhou, Zhao Zhen led his men to the city walls to inspect the city.

The next day, the army lined up, and Wang Tianba, the commander of the Tiger Cavalry Battalion who had not yet fought, took the lead in requesting to fight.

A white mule carrying Wang Tianba's burly body galloped to the front of the battle line. Wang Tianba pointed his [Black Iron Brush] at the city wall and shouted like thunder, "Liao dogs, those who know what's good for them, quickly open the city gates and surrender, lest you get your hands dirty!"

On the city wall, Qiong Yaonayan and Kou Zhenyuan were shocked to hear this, exclaiming, "The Song Kingdom actually has such brave warriors!"

"General, we sent someone to Youzhou to ask for reinforcements yesterday. As long as we defend the city and wait for Deputy Commander General He to arrive, we can use our magic to launch a surprise attack. The Song army outside the city will be no match for us."

The two decided that as long as they guarded the city, they would simply ignore Wang Tianba's insults outside the city.

Wang Tianba returned to his position, and Zhao Zhen dispatched Ling Zhen, known as "Thunderbolt," to bombard the city walls with cannons. Lu Zhishen, known as "Flowery Monk," led his men to guard the city.

Under Ling Zhen's command, various cannons fired at the Liao army on the city wall.

Although the Liao army had witnessed the "Flying Thunder" of Tong Guan's army, which was extremely powerful, its accuracy was poor.

While Ling Zhen's Shenji Battalion couldn't be said to be able to hit exactly where they were pointed, they were pretty close.

Lei Zi unleashed a single volley at the Liao soldiers defending the city walls, killing no fewer than three hundred. Of course, many more were wounded, but the majority of the dead were young and strong men from within the city.

Upon seeing this, Qiong Yaonayan exclaimed in shock, "Has the Song army's artillery become so powerful?"

Kou Zhenyuan composed himself and said to Qiong Yaonayan, "General, although these cannons are quite powerful, they mostly kill unarmored young men."

Hearing Kou Zhenyuan's words, Qiong Yaona said, "It's alright, it's alright. However, if the Song army's cannons continue to bombard the city with impunity, I'm afraid we won't be able to hold out until the deputy commander comes to our aid."

Kou Zhenyuan said, "The general is right. In the current situation, we must destroy the cannons outside the city."

After discussing the matter, Kou Zhenyuan led three thousand cavalrymen. Once the second volley of cannon fire landed on the city wall, he opened the city gates and charged towards Ling Zhen's artillery position. A drumbeat sounded from Zhao Zhen's ranks, and the infantry, who had been in a tight formation, quickly parted to create several channels, revealing the cannons behind them.

Kou Zhenyuan saw this and assumed that the Song army was afraid of the cavalry charging, which was why they moved aside.

Kou Zhenyuan smiled and shouted, "Charge! Fire the cannons! Fire the cannons!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the cannons that had cleared the way unleashed a deafening roar, firing countless shells at the charging cavalry. At least a hundred riders at the forefront of the charge fell to the ground, bloodied and mangled.

Caught off guard, the cavalrymen fell in droves.

Lu Zhishen shouted, and his infantry charged forward, quickly plunging into the Liao cavalry formation.

On the city wall, Qiong Yaonayan, who had witnessed everything, closed her eyes and sighed in anguish, "It's over."

Without speed, the Liao cavalry was no match for the heavily armored Wuwei Battalion.

In the midst of the chaos, Kou Zhenyuan encountered Wu Song, the "Tiger-Taming Tyrant." Wu Song grabbed him by the spear, dragged him off his horse, and then beheaded him with a single stroke.

The cannons roared, and Ling Zhen's Shenji Battalion continued firing at the city walls without stopping.

With a loud "boom," a solid cannonball from the [Invincible Divine General Cannon] struck the city gate squarely.

The city gate of Tanzhou, where the cavalry had just been released, was blasted open with a large hole by this eight-pound cannonball.

The cannonballs rolled, splinters flew, and the Liao army inside the city gate suffered heavy casualties.

Upon seeing this from the top of the tower, Zhao Zhen ordered the strongmen to beat the drums, pointed their spears forward, and the army set out, heading straight for the gates of Tanzhou.

When Qiong Yaonayan saw that the city gate had been broken, he quickly mounted his warhorse and fled for his life towards the north gate, gathering a cavalry of more than a thousand people along the way, and left the city.

The army entered the city and posted notices to reassure the people. In this battle, more than 4,000 Liao soldiers were killed and more than 10,000 were captured.

For two consecutive days, Tanzhou City remained peaceful. Zhao Zhen discussed the matter with Wu Yong, who was accompanying the army, and decided to leave Lu Zhishen and others to guard Tanzhou. The rest of the troops broke camp and marched towards Youzhou.

Immediately, Lu Congshuang, having ridden half a horse's length behind Zhao Zhen, asked, "Your Majesty, are all the soldiers of my Liang Kingdom so valiant?"

However, a few days ago, after seeing Lu Zhishen and others fight on foot against the Liao cavalry, and defeating them without any chance of fighting back, Lu Congshuang had this idea.

Just as Zhao Zhen was about to speak, Tu Qiao said from the side, "Sister, you are a princess of Lu, how come you've never seen someone fight on foot against a horse before?"

"It is only through seeing so much that one realizes the difficulty of fighting off mounted soldiers on foot."

Zhao Zhen said, "The Wuwei Camp was formed early, and its soldiers have fought on the battlefield many times. The Imperial Guards do not engage in production but train every day, so they are skilled in martial arts. Commanders such as Lu Zhishen and Wu Song are all brave and fierce, so the soldiers are naturally willing to fight."

"Furthermore, the battle a few days ago was also a surprise attack. The cavalry was in disarray and had no room to maneuver, so when the infantry surrounded them, the horses became a hindrance."

Lu Congshuang listened and nodded silently.

“You’ve been to the battlefield and seen plenty of fighting. In such large-scale battles, besides the general’s bravery, the soldiers’ high morale is also essential.”

Lu Congshuang said, "Your Majesty, I have only led men to suppress bandits and quell rebellions before. This is my first time marching with the army. Judging from the situation, Sister Tu Qiao and I will have no use for our skills."

Zhao Zhen said, "That's how it is when the army goes on an expedition. We've already scouted out the troops in Youzhou; they have at most twenty or thirty thousand combat-ready soldiers. With my army pressing forward, we naturally won't need the two of you for this duel."

(End of this chapter)