Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 355 Huh?
More than 300 bandits were arranged in a loose formation, each corresponding to the gap in front and behind.

The hot summer breeze blew, and the hazy smoke dissipated in an instant. Another round of red-haired artillery shells flew out through white smoke. The bandits hundreds of steps away seemed to have predicted the trajectory of the shells in advance and reacted immediately to avoid them.

The scene was like a large dance party with more than 300 people. The bandits' movements were synchronized, and the white smoke from the gun barrels was like dancing command guns. The shells, powerful enough to crush flesh and blood, passed through the positions where the bandits had just stood.

The artillery salvo that could have killed dozens of people only crushed six people. The seriously injured but not dead bandits were still trying to get up and continue to participate in this death game.

Faced with the tragic deaths of their comrades, the bandit soldiers did not even bother to look at them, as if the dead were chickens and ducks killed by hail.

The surviving bandits still had the courage to stay in the dangerous place, some shouted at the top of the wall, "Fire the hell up!", some raised their middle fingers and cursed the defenders on the wall.

How could the bandits be so crazy? Don’t they want to live?

Yang Wenyue thought back to the decades of his life when he had suppressed at least five gangs of bandits and robbers, but this was the first time he had seen such a crazy fool.

He had seen all kinds of bandits who pursued wealth and glory, grand ambitions and hegemony, and the pursuit of titles for wives and children, but he had never seen a madman who did not take his life seriously.

Not only are they not afraid of death, they even dare to keep moving forward, as if putting their necks into a guillotine; the closer they get, the more thrilling it is.

Officials from Lu exclaimed, "These must be the remnants of the Red Turban bandits who wreaked havoc in southern Lu!"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the officials cast concerned glances at them. Although both of them were the banners of the Red Turban Army, what could they have in common?
Seeing the scorching gazes coming towards him, the official frowned, and the intermittent roar of the Red Cannon's firing was like a series of alarm bells.

Officials said that everyone knew about the rebellion in southern Shandong, but few people knew the methods used by the bandits to attack the city.

When the bandits failed to attack Yanzhou, they used catapults to bombard the city walls.

However, trebuchets were less powerful than artillery and had a shorter range, so how could they possibly bring down the high walls of Yanzhou? So the bandits switched to more powerful artillery shells.

The official kept his mouth shut deliberately to keep the secret, but it seemed as if he was thinking of the bloody and horrifying details and had to keep quiet for a while.

"Could it be that the dead cattle and sheep were used to infect the city's defenders with an epidemic?"

"No, no, no, it must have been poured with clear oil to make a fire bomb."

"Maybe it's a stone-crushing bomb, thrown out, taking advantage of the power of the stone shattering into the air."

Du Cang, who was more familiar with the Red Turban Army's style, guessed, "Could it be that they used... people?"

The official said nothing after hearing this, swallowed his saliva and nodded silently.

"what?"

Yang Wenyue gasped. How could people be used as lethal weapons? Where was benevolence, righteousness, and humanity?
Lu Wenjin was filled with righteous indignation and cursed, "The bandits actually forced the people to be used as cannonballs. They are totally inhumane!"

Du Cang curled his lips when he heard this, thinking that you, Governor Lu, ordered the burning of more than ten cities, which is no different from the Red Turban bandits.

"The bandits forced the people to become cannonballs, so why are the people still so loyal to them?"

Someone immediately pointed out the logical flaw, but the second half of the sentence was drowned out by the roar of the Red Cannon - why were the officers and soldiers who went to the countryside to collect food regarded as plague gods and avoided by the people?

Instead, the official who had initiated the conversation explained, "The rebels never cared about the common people. Back then, the rebel generals rushed to serve as human bombs to bomb the city, and they had to draw lots to choose who would die. If you were unlucky enough not to be chosen, you wouldn't even be able to die. Ordinary soldiers weren't allowed to serve as human bombs."

"Just like the bandits who went crazy outside the city today!"

"How bizarre! There are only weak soldiers in the world who are afraid of death, but there are no brave soldiers who are so determined to die! If all the soldiers of the imperial court were like this, how could the rebels dare to be so arrogant and domineering?"

"I've heard that the beggar bandits also used flying 'human bombs' to bombard the ranks of officers and soldiers. The two bandits must have been secretly teaching each other secret techniques to rebel against the imperial court and divide the country in the future."

"That makes sense. The people under the rule of these bandits are like they've drunk a spell! Could it be that the bandits are using sorcery to seduce the people? Ordering the soldiers to brave death and fear no pain, making the people lose their minds about right and wrong and wholeheartedly help the bandits?"

"Hurry up and ask the experts to break the bandits' evil magic!"

"Quickly get some black dog blood and boy's urine!"

"Ridiculous!" Yang Wenyue cursed, swirling his cloak behind him in anger. "You are all pillars of the nation, well-read in the books of sages, yet you blindly believe in sorcery and witchcraft! How disgraceful! Your Majesty has entrusted you with the affairs of state, and this is how you conduct yourself? If witchcraft could kill people, how could there be any rebellion in the world?! Pass the order - cavalry out! The bandits are seeking death, so let them have it!"

When Yang Wenyue's order was issued, the entire city's garrison responded, and tens of thousands of cavalry rushed out from the left and right gates of the county town.

But before the officers and soldiers had assembled, the bandits who had just been enjoying the death game in front of the city rushed back to their horses as if they had heard the wind.

Without even looking back, they galloped on horseback to a safe area several miles away, leaving the officers and soldiers empty-handed.

Yang Wenyue, who witnessed the bandits' retreat, was once again filled with doubts.

The front and rear groups of bandits were about 300 steps apart. There was no signal arrow fired and no horn sounded. The bandits in the front were so focused on staring at the top of the wall that they couldn't even see the visual signals from the bandits in the rear. How did they know that the cavalry had left the city?
This was not the end. The officers and soldiers continued to pursue and fight, and the bandits galloped away on horseback to distance themselves from them. If the officers and soldiers drove their horses back to the city, the bandits would follow and pursue them, always keeping a distance of about two and a half miles.

The bandits had captured countless fine horses from Liaodong, and the officers and soldiers, with their average low-quality horses, could not catch up at all.

The officers and soldiers also tried to pursue the enemy in depth, but they were defeated by the bandits' clever coordination of dividing their forces, surrounding them, and attacking them together. They killed two or three hundred riders and had to retreat in disappointment.

The bandits were like a piece of dog-skin plaster, clinging tightly to the officers and cavalry, and no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't get rid of them.

When the officers and soldiers retreated into the city, the bandits dismounted and came to the front of the city like rogue beggars, crying and begging the officers and soldiers to "reward" them with a few cannons.

The bandits even took off their clothes and dried their dicks in the sun in front of the defenders on the wall, or exposed their buttocks and swung them from side to side, which made the defenders so angry that they frantically loaded ammunition and fired, but they still couldn't kill many people.

The artillery gradually heats up due to continuous firing, and eventually explodes due to overpressure.

The terrifying impact turned the Red Cannon into several brutal artillery beasts, knocking away dozens of gunners nearby and causing the soldiers to no longer dare to approach the hot cannon.

The casualties caused by several exploding cannons far exceeded those of the bandits.

The artillery missed, the cavalry couldn't catch up, and the infantry going into battle was a death wish...

Just over a thousand bandits made Yang Wenyue and others pound the wall and roar in anger, but they were helpless. Some impatient officials were so angry that they fainted on the spot and bled from their noses and mouths.

Perhaps the civil officials had only a vague understanding of military tactics before, but only at this moment did they understand what it meant to "attack the heart first."

Yang Wenyue also sent hundreds of elite warriors to attack the bandits' campfire camp at night. Unexpectedly, the bandits were not only good at fighting during the day, but they could also distinguish between the enemy and us even in night battles.

Soon after the officers and soldiers approached, they heard the sound of gunfire like popping beans, and more than a hundred officers and soldiers were killed or injured.

Some officers and soldiers who escaped claimed that a bandit leader was holding a "chain pistol".

He was not afraid at all when surrounded by many officers and soldiers. He just leaned back slightly like a drunkard, with his right hand hanging on the pistol at his waist.

The flames of the bonfire reflected on his face, and the leader suddenly shouted in a low voice, "It's noon", then quickly pulled out his pistol and fired six shots in a row, and every shot hit the target.

The remaining officers and soldiers, not knowing how many more rounds their pistols could fire, quickly turned their backs and fled. Other officers and soldiers also encountered strange things. By the campfire, they heard someone screaming in pain, thinking it was a bandit who had been stabbed and fallen. When they got closer, they realized it was a cylindrical object making the sound.

It's just like the furniture in a weird story turned into a spirit, so scary that it makes me weak in the knees!

Some officers and soldiers were blinded by the brief "glare" and were rescued by friendly forces who pulled them back.

The fleeing officers and soldiers heard the bandits muttering and adding spells, "I'm completely blinded", "You f*cking flash bombs randomly flashed your teammates", "You're so timid when killing the enemy, but you have so much energy when harming your teammates"...

A carefully planned night attack ended in failure, with 20% of the elite soldiers either killed or injured.

Early in the morning, Yang Wenyue still stayed at the gate tower, watching the bandits' every move - the number of bandits had decreased by 30%, and they seemed to have dispersed to the countryside to collect food.

All the officers and soldiers who had fallen into the hands of the thieves were stripped naked and made to lie prone on the ground. Only two of them were wearing new clothes, one bright yellow, the other dark black.

Seeing the bandits hanging the two men on a crooked tree, Yang Wenyue immediately hammered the wall in anger and cursed the bandits for being so cruel and inhumane that they killed the defeated soldiers in front of the defenders. What was the difference between them and the Tartars?

The other civil and military officials were also indignant, spewing out all kinds of dirty words.

However, after Yang Wenyue looked for a while, he realized that the "hanged" captive was not dead, but just a "show" mixed with interpretation elements.

One by one, the bandit leaders, dressed in strange clothes, came to the feet of the "hanged man", smiling and making a pair of scissors gesture, while shouting words that could not be heard from the top of the wall.

In front of every showman, there is a person who uses his hands as picture frames, as if to remember the scene.

There were even bandits kneeling on the ground, crying and shouting some lines at the two prisoners who were not dead.

At this time, the official who was proficient in lip reading repeated through the telescope, "Respectfully send off... the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty... on his journey..."

"It's treason!" Yang Wenyue was so angry that his facial muscles trembled.

The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was still in the capital, commanding the troops of the world. How could he end up like an old crooked man hanging himself on a tree!

And the official who is proficient in lip reading is still repeating——

I'm so smart and cry... My Ming Dynasty is going to fall... This is not the Ming Dynasty I want... How can you, Zhu Youjian, govern the world with those insects... Leave the heavy responsibility of the world to us, Zhu Youjian, go with peace of mind...

The bandit soldiers beat their chests and stamped their feet, tears in their eyes, crying more sincerely than the officials who had lost their country.

After they finished making a fuss, they freed the two prisoners who had "hanged themselves" and found that they were not dead.

Yang Wenyue was stunned. Are you Red Turban bandits the soldiers, or are they the soldiers? The future of the Ming Dynasty has nothing to do with you rebels, right? Why are you crying wolf?

Besides, since you love the Ming so deeply, why do you still raise the flag of rebellion and bring chaos to the world? Even if you love deeply and blame harshly, it shouldn't be expressed like this.

Or is it that there are many "pro-Ming" factions within the Red Turban Bandits, but their minds have been controlled by the evil sorcerer's drugs, which causes them to have divisive ideas of being smart at one moment and anti-Ming at another?

If the sorcerer's evil magic is broken, wouldn't it be possible to quell this rebellion?

Yang Wenyue's belief that "a gentleman should not speak of strange things" began to waver, and he became more and more inclined to hire some sorcerers to fight the bandits.

Just as he was hesitating, a postman from the neighboring county broke the deadlock.

Qingcheng County claimed that it was under siege by thousands of bandits and requested Governor Yang to send reinforcements.

Before Yang Wenyue and others could deploy their troops, a second urgent report arrived. It turned out that thousands of bandits were seen crossing the border in Lijin County, and they seemed to be going to attack Binzhou.

Then, urgent reports came in continuously: Boxing County, Qidong County, Xincheng County, Changle, Zouping, Zibo... a total of eleven counties were attacked by bandits.

Some said the county town had already fallen, with bandits constantly entering the city. Some said they had encountered a main force of 100,000 bandits, with smoke and dust covering the sky like a dark cloud. Still others said a major bandit group was active near Zhangqiu, seemingly heading straight for Jinan...

There were three directions where the main force of the bandits was encountered. Yang Wenyue looked at the crude map and found that from the seaside to the foot of the Lubei Mountain, the main force of the bandits was everywhere.

If all the information is true, then the bandits must have mobilized at least 200,000 troops to cause such a scene, right?
But with a total population of one million in the three prefectures of Denglai and Qing, how could they possibly muster two hundred thousand soldiers?!

Unless the bandits can create an army of hundreds of thousands by simply sowing beans, or their sorcery in deceiving the people has advanced a step further...

For a moment, Yang Wenyue and others could not figure out the authenticity of the dozens of urgent reports.

Was this a feint by the bandits, or was it really happening? Were the bandits rioting day and night outside the city the vanguard, or were they a decoy designed to distract the government troops?
The situation was extremely urgent, and Yang Wenyue had to live in the gate tower to observe the enemy situation day and night, and the topic of the military meeting was brought up again.

The main force of the bandits had clearly arrived. The officers and soldiers could either use this place as a fortress to reinforce the city defenses and fight the bandits to the death, or they could quickly withdraw and resupply food, grass, and ammunition in Jinan, which was better than this poor little county.

They have been stationed in Gaowan these days and have been harassed repeatedly by bandits, which has consumed a lot of ammunition and food. Even three of the red cannons exploded.

At this moment, the bandits outside the city came to harass them as usual, but the defenders had learned their lesson long ago. No matter how the bandits provoked them, they did not fire a single gun or cannon. They just stared at the relative distance of the bandits to prevent them from using thunder guns to shoot.

Suddenly, there was a loud sound of firecrackers coming from several houses near the city wall, and Yang Wenyue ordered people to go and check it out.

At this critical moment, how can we allow the people to act recklessly?

As a result, hundreds of officers and soldiers dispersed but saw nothing. On their way back, they saw a strong man suddenly climbing onto the roof of a house inside the wall.

The man held a long pole in his hand, stepped on dozens of tiles, and stabbed them hard into the thick roof ridge.

The flexible long pole was like a bow pulled into a semicircle, carrying the strong man in an arc in the air.

Perhaps the position of the stab was not stable enough, and the strong man could only hold on to a corner of the wall while hanging in the air for a second.

By the time he had finally climbed up the wall with great effort, several spears had already pierced his chest.

The sturdy man vomited blood uncontrollably. He clutched a piece of propaganda paper and pointed at Yang Wenyue, who was wearing gorgeous armor. "It's a pity that I can't kill this bastard official. I hate it!"

The strong man pulled the short rope at his waist, and his body instantly turned into a meteor and exploded into more than ten officers and soldiers around him. Sparks, dust, blood and flesh fragments flew everywhere.

Even though the suicidal man was still some distance away from him, Yang Wenyue still felt a sense of fear and his heart was pounding wildly.

Is this a spy of the bandits, or an ordinary citizen who has been bewitched by the bandits' evil magic?

When the piece of propaganda paper torn by the explosion fell at his feet, Yang Wenyue could clearly see the four words "Suppress the Soldiers and Ensure the People" intact in the remaining flames.

The main force of the bandits is approaching, but the local people are unwilling to support them!
The sudden change finally made Yang Wenyue no longer hesitate. He made up his mind and said, "Retreat! Return to Jinan!"

He then brought up the matter again to the official who proposed the "Yan Sheng to Counter Evil Method," saying, "I'll leave this matter to you..."

(End of this chapter)