Start to be a martial arts hero from the famous people of Hengshan

Chapter 494 The city is broken
Loneliness becomes a pair of shadows, and the sleepless person at the hour of Yin has only the starlight as his companion.

As time went by, the soldiers defending the city felt something was wrong. Why did the starlight look yellow tonight?
The old soldier next to him slapped the new recruit on the head and yelled, "Fuck you, this is the imperial army's night raid!"

"Night raid?!"

Seeing the recruit standing there in a daze, the old soldier kicked him again and urged him, "Why are you still standing there like an idiot? Go and beat the drum! If I hadn't woken up because I had to pee, I'm afraid the city wall would have been breached by the imperial army today!"

"Oh oh oh, I'll go right away!" The new recruit reacted and immediately climbed up to the drum tower and beat the big drum with all his might.

The old soldier who was originally sleeping quickly woke up, picked up his weapon and rushed to the city wall.

Not long after, Xiong Juntang, the general guarding Guangrun Gate, also hurried over. He looked up and saw that the imperial army below had already formed up their battle array, with ten cannons lined up in a row, the black muzzles of the guns like the mouths of ferocious beasts, facing the city wall grimly.

"Why do they have artillery?!" Xiong Juntang asked in surprise.

He clearly remembered that when the imperial army assembled yesterday, no artillery was seen!
The personal guard beside him shook his head. He didn't know any more than Xiong Juntang now.

Xiong Juntang looked at the neatly arranged artillery and could not help but feel a little afraid. He immediately ordered the guards beside him: "Quickly convey the urgent military information to the general. Guangrui Gate is facing a fierce raid by the imperial army late at night. The situation is critical and reinforcements are urgently needed!"

The guard took a look at the imperial army still carrying artillery shells below, and there was something in his mind that he didn't know whether to say or not.

However, under the urging of Xiong Juntang, he had to clasp his hands, quickly get down the city wall, and ride on horseback to inform the general.

The same thing happened at Deshun Gate, but the defending general Li Deren was calm and composed. He only asked his subordinates to inform Xiong Junlin, and then he commanded the soldiers to light torches and prepare stones and gold juice.

With the help of the evening breeze, the stench spread far and wide.

Xu Dacong smelled the smell, his face changed immediately, and he asked, "Who is the guard?!"

The deputy general beside him looked at the Li character flag on the top of the city wall and said, "My lord, it should be Li Deren!"

"But in a civil war, he actually used gold juice. This person should be killed!"

Xu Dacong said coldly: "Pass the order down, adjust the artillery, and bomb for half an hour first!"

"Yes!"

Afterwards, the roar of artillery could be heard in all directions, and shells hit the city walls one after another. Every explosion made the soldiers' scalps numb. No one knew when the next shell would fall, and whether it would take their own lives or the lives of their comrades.

Fortunately, Li Deren kept shouting loudly to boost morale while arranging the artillery on the city wall to fire back. Then he was surprised to find that the hit rate of the artillery of both sides was so different.

Every artillery shell from the opposing imperial court could hit the city wall, while their artillery seemed dwarfed in comparison. It was rare for one out of ten shells to successfully hit the enemy position.

Why is this happening?

Li Deren looked back at the artillerymen on his side, and then he noticed that many of them were squinting their eyes to observe the opposite position.

At this moment, a shell landed next to the artillery. There was a loud "bang!" and a large amount of iron pieces flew out, injuring a group of artillery soldiers. For a while, there were wailings everywhere.

When Xiong Junlin learned that two city gates were attacked by the imperial army at the same time, he immediately realized that this was a strategy adopted by the imperial court to divide the troops. However, he had to make the decision to divide the troops, because no matter which city gate was breached, it meant that Nanchang City would be lost, and the consequences would be disastrous.

With the transfer of two groups of soldiers, the number of guards at Zhangjiang Gate decreased significantly. Xiong Junlin hesitated for a moment, but decided to guard the place himself to avoid any accidents.

He looked up at the dark night sky and thought to himself: "As long as we can hold on until dawn, we will be able to see the enemy's troop deployment clearly after dawn."

In the dark night, a group of people quietly approached the city gate. They used the cover of night and moved extremely cautiously.

When they found a sentry patrolling ahead, the group quickly selected a few agile ones, who quietly moved to a nearby area and deliberately made a series of subtle but noticeable noises, successfully attracting the sentry's attention. The others took the opportunity to continue forward.

By the time they were discovered, they had already successfully reached the city gate.

Xiong Junlin was furious when he saw this. He tightly grasped a stick that reached his eyebrows, stretched out his body, and jumped down from the city wall. He pointed directly at the group of people and shouted angrily: "You are looking for death!"

"You go open the city gate, I will hold him back!" A man in the crowd drew out his sword without hesitation, rushed towards Xiong Junlin with a determined look, and fought alone.

The rest of the people didn't waste any more time and rushed towards the city gate.

Xiong Junlin opened his eyes angrily and chopped down the man with the sword with his stick.

Seeing this, the man hurriedly raised his sword to block, but unexpectedly Xiong Junlin changed his moves suddenly and used both chops and sweeps, doubling his power.

The man with the sword was caught off guard and couldn't change his moves in time. He only felt a huge force coming, and the whole person was instantly swept away by the stick and fell heavily to the ground.

Xiong Junlin didn't care about the life or death of the man with the sword at all, and rushed towards the rest of the people like a tiger descending from the mountain.

At this time, those people had dealt with the soldiers guarding the city gate and were preparing to lift the heavy bolt together to open the city gate.

The man with the sword tore off his mask, spat out a mouthful of blood, endured the severe pain, climbed up, and stabbed Xiong Junlin in the kidney with a sword.

With a clang, Xiong Junlin turned around with his long stick and blocked the attack. He saw the other party's face clearly and was horrified: "Master Zhang?! What are you doing?!"

"Hehe. Of course it's to avenge my master!" Zhang Mingyuan replied with a smile, with blood on the corner of his mouth.

"Drink!"

Xiong Junlin burst out with brute force, knocking Zhang Mingyuan out again, and yelled, "Master Zhang, you don't know martial arts at all, stop trying to show off!"

"Hey"

Zhang Mingyuan stood up again and recited calmly: "Lofty ambitions were wasted, and blood was shed on the mountains and rivers. Although my body died on the battlefield, my soul is loyal to my country!"

Seeing that Xiong Junlin's attention was drawn to him, Zhang Mingyuan smiled and continued, "General Xiong, do you know where the imperial army's artillery comes from?"

Xiong Junlin was stunned for a moment, then his pupils shrank and he looked at Zhang Mingyuan in disbelief.

"Of course!"

Zhang Mingyuan nodded and said, "It is the military equipment that my mentor hid. I told the imperial army the location of the hidden equipment the day before yesterday, so that they could get the military equipment."

"you!."

Before Xiong Junlin finished his words, he heard the sound of a heavy door slowly opening behind him. His face suddenly changed and he immediately turned around and tried to close the door again.

However, just as the wooden door opened a crack, a sharp arrow shot towards him. Xiong Junlin was quick-witted and swung his long stick to knock the arrow away.

But what he didn't expect was that this was just the beginning. Immediately afterwards, more and more arrows came towards him like dense raindrops.

He swung his long stick very quickly, creating many shadows and knocked all the arrows away.

After a moment, the city gates opened and the arrows stopped.

Xiong Junlin was just about to breathe a sigh of relief, thinking that the danger was over, but unexpectedly a row of musketeers suddenly appeared from the opposite side, with smoke coming out of the black muzzles of their guns, pointing directly at him.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Several deafening noises rang out one after another. Xiong Junlin instinctively swung the long stick in his hand and felt a strong vibration in his wrist. He couldn't help but feel happy, thinking that he had successfully blocked the shooting of the musket.

However, the next moment, he felt an unprecedented severe pain in his chest, as if he was hit hard by something.

He looked down and was horrified to find that there were several bloody holes on his body, with blood gushing out, accompanied by wisps of green smoke.

He raised his head and looked at the long stick in his hand, and sure enough, there were several bullet marks on it.

Obviously, he only blocked part of the projectile.

However, with just a fatal injury, Xiong Junlin felt that he could still fight!
But at this moment, the musketeers on the opposite side suddenly retreated to the sides, revealing the archers hiding behind them.

“Ha…” Xiong Junlin roared, and summoned his inner strength, but what responded to him was the sound of dense crossbow arrows breaking through the air—“Swish, swish, swish, swish!”

Dozens of crossbow arrows poured down like raindrops. Xiong Junlin tried his best and only blocked the first round of attacks.

But then, the second and third rounds of attacks followed one after another, with crossbow arrows as dense as locusts, and finally shot him into a "hedgehog" covered with arrows.
Xiong Junlin vomited blood, his face full of resentment, and finally fell to the ground powerlessly.

Unfortunately, his martial arts skills were of no use at all, as he was shot to death by arrows from the opposite side.

Ma Zheng walked over Xiong Junlin's body and came to Zhang Mingyuan, clasping his fists and saying, "Master Zhang, I am Ma Zheng, the commander of the Infantry Battalion of the Fifth Army Battalion of the Beijing Camp! In this operation, Master Zhang helped us. He not only provided us with vital military equipment, but also helped us enter the city. I will write to Lord Ou and explain Master Zhang's achievements in detail."

"Mr. Ma, you are too polite. I just did what I should do. I am loyal to my emperor and I eat his salary." Zhang Mingyuan bowed in return and said weakly.

"Somebody come!"

Ma Zheng finally reacted and immediately shouted behind him, "Help Master Zhang to rest and arrange for a doctor to diagnose him."

"Yes!" Four soldiers immediately stepped forward and helped Zhang Mingyuan away.

As the soldiers poured into the city like a tide, they quickly engaged in a fierce battle with the defenders. Amid the flashing of swords and the shadow of sabers, the shouts of killing were deafening, and sparks flew wherever the two armies fought.

As night fell, the stars disappeared, and the moonlight seemed to be too frightened by the battle to show its face, leaving only chaos.

On the city walls, torches flickered like ghosts, cutting the night into bizarre shadows, reflecting the screaming and distorted faces.

The sound of iron guns was like thunder, the dust was flying, the collision of weapons and the roar of soldiers were intertwined, and the short and tragic wails were drowned out by the thick smell of blood.

The night seemed to be stretched out, and every second was filled with uncertainty. Everyone was wondering why the sun hadn't risen yet?
In Prince Ning's mansion, Concubine Lou, who had already received the confirmed news, decisively sent Prince Ning's son and his younger brothers and sisters onto the wooden boat. The four concubines Zi, Su, Cui and Qu also boarded the boat under the escort of their personal maids.

In this huge palace, apart from Concubine Lou, there were only a dozen servants who had received her favor and voluntarily stayed to take care of her.

Seeing that her persuasion was fruitless, Concubine Lou could not help but sigh and slowly said, "If the imperial army breaks into the palace, you should tell them the specific situation truthfully! By then, those ships will have already sailed away, and even if they are unwilling, they will be helpless."

"Princess, are you safe?" a steward asked bravely.

Concubine Lou gently rubbed her brows, her expression revealing an exhaustion that was difficult to conceal. She explained, "I'm fine. The one leading the troops is the Minister of Rites Ou Zanghua. Even if the prince has committed a big mistake, he will never hurt me without the order of His Majesty himself."

Seeing this, the personal maid Jianjia was filled with worry for the princess. She gently advised the princess to rest for a while.

Concubine Lou nodded slightly, gave a few more detailed instructions, and ordered the steward to open the gate of the palace open, and let everyone gather in front of her courtyard, and not to act rashly to avoid unnecessary casualties.

The steward agreed to everything, and after the princess entered the room, he strictly followed the princess's instructions and arranged everything in an orderly manner.

So, when Ma Zheng rushed in with a group of people, there was not even a guard in the entire palace. They came in without any hindrance as if they were strolling in the street.

Half of the lanterns in the palace were extinguished, while half were swaying dimly. The light flickered, making this once prosperous and glorious palace look like a forgotten empty city.

Ma Zheng's eyes were as sharp as an eagle as he scanned the surroundings. He had already put 100% of his attention in his mind to avoid falling into a trap.

They walked along the way, stopping and starting, and shuttled through the winding corridors.

A quiet courtyard came into view, with two people dressed in servants' clothes and holding lanterns standing at the door. Their figures swayed in the dim light, adding a touch of vitality to the quiet night.

The soldiers slowed down their pace and gradually approached. A middle-aged man who looked like a manager stepped forward quickly, cupped his hands slightly, looked pleading, and his voice trembled slightly: "My fellow soldiers, I am the manager of the palace. This is the residence of Princess Ning. I hope you can understand and not disturb her rest. There are only about ten people in the palace. Everyone took the initiative to stay here to take care of the princess. The others went to Tengwang Pavilion and left by boat."

When Li Chong, a military official in the capital, heard this, he couldn't help but say, "This princess is really careless. We have already entered the city, but she can still sleep!"

Ma Zheng waved his hand, signaling Li Xiaowu not to talk nonsense, and then he clasped his fists and said, "Thank you for the reminder, steward. We, the soldiers of the Fifth Army Camp, have fulfilled our duties and have taken over the palace to ensure that everyone in the palace is safe. If the princess has any needs or instructions in the future, please let us know and we will do our best to help."

"Okay, okay, thank you for your understanding, General." Seeing this, the steward felt relieved and quickly bowed in return, his face full of gratitude.

Ma Zheng did not say much. He immediately ordered the soldiers to disperse and check the palace, while he led a group of soldiers to rush towards Tengwang Pavilion.

In the night, the lights in Tengwang Pavilion were dim, but there was an inexplicable silence.

Ma Zheng's heart tensed and his pace quickened.

However, when they arrived at Tengwang Pavilion breathlessly, the scene before them made them feel depressed. Several large ships were sailing slowly away from the shore with the flow of Ganjiang River, going farther and farther away, leaving behind long ripples flickering in the moonlight.

Li Xiaowu frowned and panted while complaining: "Are these guys born in the Year of the Rat? As soon as there is any sign of trouble, they run away faster than anyone else."

"This is a manifestation of their guilty conscience. They have no roots in their hearts, so they will naturally flee at the first sign of trouble." Ma Zheng stood on the shore, looking at the large ship in the distance and said indifferently.

"What should we do now?" Li Xiaowu calmed down, stood up straight and asked.

"We have completed all the tasks assigned to us by Lord Ou. For other matters, just wait for Lord Ou's orders!" After Ma Zheng finished speaking, he turned around and left with big strides.

Seeing this, the others stopped talking and followed their commander's steps, quickly returning to the main city of Nanchang.
(End of this chapter)