Huangming

Chapter 437 A cornered beast will fight on; the way to a quick victory
late at night.

Baoanzhou New Town.

The shouts of battle had been going on for nearly two hours. The corpses of the new recruits piled up at the foot of the city were like small mountains. Some were deformed by rolling logs, and some were pinned to the ground by arrows. Blood flowed down the bricks of the city wall, forming a winding stream on the bluestone slabs, emitting a pungent stench.

Hei Yunlong stood on a distant earthen slope, his eyes as cold as ice.

As he watched the last batch of new soldiers fall beneath the city walls, a cruel smile finally crept onto his lips.

Three thousand lives lost, at least it wasn't in vain.

The logs and stones on the city walls had long been exhausted, and the roar of muskets had become sparse. Occasionally, a few gunshots would ring out, but it was all in vain.

He raised his hand and said to the elite general beside him, "Pass down the order: Cloud ladders, advance! We must take Xincheng today!"

"Order!"

The general responded loudly and raised the command flag in his hand, waving it vigorously.

Two thousand elite infantrymen, already fully equipped and ready, immediately charged forward with shouts. They wore thick leather armor, held sharp ring-pommel swords, and carried the siege ladders steadily. Their footsteps pounded through the blood and grime, splashing up patches of dark red water.

On top of the city.

Zhou Tong gripped the knife at his waist tightly, his face pale.

He frowned as he watched the elite rebel army swarming towards the city.

When the new recruits attacked the city, he could still command the soldiers to throw logs and fire arrows, but now the defensive equipment is gone, the muskets are out of ammunition, and there are only some stones and wood left.

Of the three thousand men under his command, nearly a thousand had already been lost. If he were to fight any further, he feared he would lose even his entire fortune.

"General, should we send troops out of the city to harass them?"

The commander beside him asked in a low voice.

Zhou Tong shook his head, his gaze sweeping over the exhausted soldiers beside him, his voice filled with helplessness:
"No. We only have this many men. Going out of the city would be suicide. We have to stay and hold the city walls while we wait for reinforcements from Ma Xie Town."

He knew in his heart that if he lost all his troops, even if he managed to defend the new city, he would have no say in front of Ma Shilong in the future.

But as he watched the rebels' ladders gradually approach the city wall, he couldn't help but clench his fists.

If this continues, the new city will fall sooner or later.

At that time, he won't be able to protect his soldiers either.

so.
We should still try to hold onto the new city.

Just at this critical moment, a cry for help suddenly came from the northwest.

Hei Yunlong turned around abruptly, his brows furrowing instantly.

That's the direction of Jiming Mountain; Xue Yuan's men should be there!
Just as a sense of unease arose in his heart, he saw a scout riding a fast horse galloping from afar. The rider was covered in sweat and his armor was covered in dust, clearly having rushed here at great personal risk.

"General! Something terrible has happened!"

The scout fell off his horse with a thud and knelt on the ground, his voice trembling with tears.

"Xue Youji of Yanqing Guard led his troops to attack the Ming army camp at Jiming Mountain, but they fell into an ambush!"
Yanqing Guard suffered a crushing defeat, and Guerrilla Commander Xue was captured alive!

"What did you say?!"

Hei Yunlong's voice suddenly rose, and the smugness on his face vanished instantly. He rushed to the scout, grabbed him by the collar, and his eyes were so fierce they looked like he wanted to devour him.

"That's impossible! Xue Yuan has three thousand men. Even if he can't win, he can hold out for at least an hour!"
How could they have lost so quickly?
Are you a spy sent by Ma Shilong to deliberately deceive me?

The scout, gripped so tightly he could barely breathe, his face flushed red, hurriedly tried to explain:

"General, spare my life! What I said is true!"

There was an ambush planned at Jiming Mountain. As soon as Xue Youji attacked the city, he was caught in a pincer movement and was defeated in less than half an hour!

I witnessed Xue Youji being kidnapped with my own eyes, and that's why I risked my life to escape back and report the news!

Hei Yunlong shoved the scout aside, his mind in turmoil.

He didn't believe the scout's words, but the scout's eyes were full of fear, which didn't seem like he was lying.

Just as he was about to ask further questions, he saw dozens more figures running towards him from a distance.

They were servants who had escaped from Xue Yuan's command. Their clothes were tattered, and they had knife and arrow wounds on their bodies. Some of them were leaning on broken spears, and their faces were covered in blood. They looked extremely disheveled.

The soldiers were howling and wailing all the way, clearly defeated soldiers.

"General Hei! We have been defeated! Quickly send troops to rescue my general!"

The head servant knelt before Hei Yunlong, weeping bitterly.

"Ma Shilong knew long ago that General Xue was going to rebel, so he set up an ambush outside the camp and shouted 'Only the leader of the rebels will be killed,' and the brothers all surrendered!"
General Xue tried to escape, but was wounded by an arrow from Lieutenant General Zhao and captured alive!
We escaped with our lives on the line!

These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over the head of the dark cloud.

He staggered back a step, almost falling, and only managed to steady himself by grabbing the flagpole beside him.

It turns out that Ma Shilong knew about Xue Yuan's plan all along; no wonder Xue Yuan was defeated so quickly!

He had a perfectly good plan.

Xue Yuan launched a surprise attack on Jiming Mountain to hold off Ma Shilong, and then took the opportunity to capture Xincheng. The two armies then joined forces to deal with Ma Shilong's main force.

But now, Xue Yuan has been defeated, his inside man is gone, and his plan has completely fallen through.

"how so……"

Hei Yunlong muttered to himself, his eyes filled with panic.

He looked at the elite troops who were about to breach the city walls, and then he remembered the battle cries coming from the direction of Jiming Mountain.

After Ma Shilong has dealt with Xue Yuan, will he immediately lead his troops to reinforce Xincheng?

If Ma Shilong comes, he will be attacked from both sides. Even if he takes Xincheng, he will not be able to hold it.

Zhou Tong, who was on the city wall, also heard the commotion. He saw the rebel army below suddenly stop and start discussing among themselves, and he immediately understood what was going on.

It's definitely Ma Xie Town who won!

He immediately shouted:
"Brothers! Reinforcements from Ma Xie Town are almost here! Give it your all and hold the new town!"

Upon hearing this, the soldiers immediately perked up, and their previously low morale instantly soared.

The rebels were already in a state of panic because of the news of Xue Yuan's defeat. This blow threw them into disarray, and some even began to retreat.

Looking at the chaos before him, Hei Yunlong's desire to retreat grew stronger.

Where there is life, there is hope.

If he were surrounded by Ma Shilong here, he would be finished.

"General, what do we do now? Should we continue the siege?"

Seeing that he was lost in thought, the commander beside him quickly asked.

Hei Yunlong's gaze darted back and forth between the new city and Jiming Mountain, his mind in turmoil.

Continue to attack the city?

They might be able to take Xincheng, but Ma Shilong's reinforcements could arrive at any time, and then he would be surrounded.

retreat?

He was unwilling to give up just because the new city was about to be captured.

Moreover, after the retreat, how would they explain things to Wang Guoliang upon returning to Xuanfu?

Xue Yuan is gone, and he can't even find a scapegoat.

A moment later, Black Cloud Dragon's face twisted in a grimace, and he said viciously:
"I used the lives of three thousand new soldiers to exhaust their defensive equipment, and now you want to retreat? On what grounds!"

The elite generals behind him leaned forward, their voices hushed:
"General, Xue Yuan has been defeated, and Ma Shilong may return to reinforce him at any time. If we don't retreat now..."

"Get out of here my ass!"

Hei Yunlong suddenly turned around, his eyes bloodshot, and pointed at the gap in the city wall.

"Didn't you see it?"
The new city is about to fall!
If that scoundrel Ma Shilong dares to come to our aid, our five thousand elite troops hidden in the woods on the east side will intercept him!
As long as we kill Ma Shilong, Baoan Prefecture will be ours!

"If we use the victory at Xincheng as an excuse, the people of Datong and Shanxi might dare to rebel!"

His voice grew louder and louder, as if he were encouraging himself or trying to persuade the officers and platoon leaders around him.

He's already bet too much on this gamble; there's no reason for him to stop now that he's about to win.

As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his hand and drew the ring-pommel sword from his waist, the blade slicing a cold arc in the night:
"Pass on the order!"
Elite troops without combat missions are deployed!
Ten more siege ladders have been added, and the battering rams have been rotated three times. Tonight, we must breach the city!

Upon hearing this, the captains and lieutenants under Hei Yunlong's command could only nod and say, "Yes!"

The bugle call suddenly became urgent, like a death knell.

Elite soldiers surged out, clad in heavy iron armor and wielding sharp longswords, charging forward over the corpses of new recruits.

The torchlight illuminated the battlefield as if it were daytime, and Zhou Tong, standing atop the city wall, saw it clearly, his heart sinking.

Previously, the attackers were mostly unarmed new recruits, but now those charging in are all elite soldiers clad in armor and wielding weapons.

They climbed the ladders at an extremely fast speed, some even swinging their swords at the defenders on the city wall mid-air.

"Quick! Push the ladder! Throw stones!"

Zhou Tong roared, his voice already hoarse.

His 3,000 men, plus the original 800 garrison troops of Baoan Prefecture, have now been reduced to just over 3,000.

Despite their valiant fighting, many of them were seriously wounded.

However, the rebels' offensive grew increasingly fierce, and a breach had been torn in the city wall. Several rebel soldiers jumped up and quickly began fighting with the defenders, splattering blood all over Zhou Tong's face.

"Where's Ma Shilong? Damn it, why isn't Ma Shilong here yet!"

Zhou Tong cursed Ma Shilong in his heart, but he didn't dare to take a single step back.

Once the new city falls, Black Cloud Dragon will not spare his life.

He wiped the blood from his face, raised his knife and charged forward, slashing down a rebel soldier, but was slashed in the arm by another rebel's knife, making him wince in pain.

Hei Yunlong, who was outside the city, had no interest in watching the progress of the siege. He frequently looked back towards the direction of Jiming Mountain, his brows furrowed so deeply they could trap flies.

An hour passed.

The breach in the city wall was getting bigger and bigger, but Ma Shilong hadn't appeared at all.

Two hours passed.

As dawn approached and the east began to lighten, the rebels had even managed to breach a corner of the city wall, but Ma Shilong still hadn't arrived.

"Something's wrong..."

Hei Yunlong muttered to himself, his unease growing stronger.

He originally thought that even if Ma Shilong didn't care about Zhou Tong, he would care about the position in Bao'an Prefecture and would definitely lead his troops to come to the rescue, at which point his elite troops could launch an ambush.

But now, Ma Shilong seems to have vanished, allowing the new city to be attacked, which is completely illogical.

"Commander! Something terrible has happened!"

A scout rode up at breakneck speed, but before the horse had even come to a complete stop, he fell off its back.

"Lijialiang...Lijialiang has been captured by the Ming army! All our food supplies are gone!"

"what?!"

Black Cloud Dragon rushed forward, grabbed the scout by the collar, and demanded:

"Li Jialiang? Who would want to fight in that lousy place? Say that again!"

The scout was trembling with fear and said haltingly:
"It's...it's Ma Shilong's man!"
They sent their elite troops to bypass Lijialiang. Our supply garrison was too small and couldn't hold out... Moreover... Moreover, they blocked the entrance to Lijialiang, cutting off our route back to Xuanfu!

With a loud "boom," Hei Yunlong felt as if a thunderbolt had exploded in his mind.

He finally understood why Ma Shilong hadn't come to his aid.

That fellow didn't take the new city seriously at all; instead, he was eyeing his supply lines and escape route!
Although Lijialiang was not a strategically important location, it was the only place where he stored grain for this expedition.

Now that the food supply is gone and the retreat route is blocked, his 10,000-strong army is like a trapped beast with its neck choked. In front of them is the new city that has not yet been captured, and behind them are the Ming army blocking the way. Both ends are dead ends.

"Hold!"

Hei Yunlong threw the scout to the ground, and the knife in his hand clattered to the ground.

He looked at the soldiers still fighting on the city wall, then turned back to look in the direction of Li Jialiang, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.

All the arrogance and wishful thinking from before vanished, leaving only a heart full of panic.

He thought he was taking a gamble, but little did he know that Ma Shilong had already laid a trap, forcing him from a dead end of "single-minded attack" into a desperate situation of "being blocked from both sides".

Who leaked the news that he had stored grain in Lijialiang?

In a battle between two armies, provisions and fortifications have always been of paramount importance, hidden even more secretly than the main command's camp.

In the Battle of Guandu, if Cao Cao hadn't launched a surprise attack on Wuchao and burned Yuan Shao's supplies, how could he have turned defeat into victory?
But his team is like a sieve, unable to keep any secrets.
"Ma Shilong intercepted Xue Yuan's secret letter in advance. Ma Shilong also figured out Li Jialiang's grain supply route ahead of time."

Who are we fighting in this war?

Black Cloud Dragon gritted his teeth.

He recalled the events of the past few days:
Those sent to contact former subordinates either disappeared without a trace or sent back false information.

Even the grain and fodder that he secretly transported from the Xuanfu government warehouse could be accurately located by Ma Shilong.

This wasn't a war at all; Ma Shilong had already figured out his secrets completely and was playing him like a cat toying with a mouse.

Is it
The hearts of the people in Xuanfu are not actually with them.

"General, we can't wait any longer!"

The commander beside him was deathly pale as he pointed to the approaching dust and smoke in the distance.

"Ma Shilong's men are probably going to come around us. If we stay here any longer, we'll be surrounded!"

Hei Yunlong took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in his chest with his survival instinct.

He gazed at the new city of Baoan Prefecture, which was so close at hand.

The defenders on the city wall were almost at their breaking point; some soldiers were even lying on the battlements, panting.

Perhaps if we attack for another half an hour, the city gate will be breached.

But now, the food supplies are gone, and the retreat route is about to be cut off. If they continue to hold on, they will either die in battle or starve to death.

"withdraw!"

He gritted his teeth and spat out the word, his voice filled with resentment.

"Cease the siege! Three thousand men in the vanguard will cover the rear; the rest of you follow me. Let's take Lijialiang first!"

Upon hearing the order, the former army commander's face instantly fell.

Everyone knows that covering the rear is tantamount to suicide.

But Hei Yunlong had already retrieved his sword. Its cold light swept across the room, and no one dared to hesitate any longer.

Three thousand soldiers reluctantly turned around and formed a loose defensive formation.

Hei Yunlong led his main force and sped towards Lijialiang.

About an hour later.

He led his troops to Lijialiang.

Lijialiang was just a small fortified village covering half a mile, with rammed earth walls only a little over a meter high. Originally, only two hundred soldiers were stationed there, but now it had become his life-or-death situation.

If we don't capture Lijialiang, we'll not only run out of supplies, but we'll also be stuck with this thorn in our side during our retreat.

If Ma Shilong chases from behind and the people in the fortress block from the front, all ten thousand of his men will perish here.

"Attack! Regardless of the cost!"

Hei Yunlong drew his ring-pommel sword from his waist and pointed it toward the gate of the fortress.

"Come on!"

"Kill!"

The rebel soldiers charged forward like madmen. Some rammed the door with shields, some formed human ladders to climb up, and even wounded soldiers dragged their broken legs forward.

Although the government troops in the fort put up a fierce resistance, with logs and stones constantly being thrown down, they were no match for the sheer number of rebels. The wall was quickly breached, the shouts of the defenders grew weaker and weaker, and the fort was on the verge of falling.

But just then, a deafening sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from behind.

Ma Shilong has arrived.

The three thousand men that Hei Yunlong had sent to cover the rear were now fleeing back like stray dogs.

The musketeers of the Beijing garrison stood in neat square formations, the sound of gunfire rising and falling in waves. Lead bullets rained down on the rebels, and soldiers fell in droves.

"General! Ma Shilong's men are attacking!"

Qian Zongjiang's voice was choked with sobs.

Hei Yunlong looked back and saw a large banner with the character "Horse" rushing towards them on the distant horizon, with soldiers in bright armor on the banner.

His heart sank; he knew he was a step too late again.

Ma Shilong had no intention of defending the new city; instead, he had anticipated that Ma would try to seize Li Jialiang and had already led his main force to follow behind.

now.

Ma Shilong reined in his horse and scanned the battlefield:

The defeated rebel army, the crumbling Lijialiang Fortress, and in the distance, Hei Yunlong's large "Black" banner, almost obscured by smoke and dust.

He raised his hand and drew his sword, his voice booming like thunder:
"All troops, listen to my command! We will take down Black Cloud Dragon today! Charge!"

The government troops surged in like a tide, and although Hei Yunlong frowned, he was not afraid.

He had already set up his defensive formation well in advance.

The Imperial Guard was arrayed in a dense formation of long spears, with two hundred cavalrymen on the left flank, their sabers slung across their waists, ready to charge out and intercept at any moment.

On the right flank, three hundred archers were hidden, their bows drawn halfway, ready to unleash a barrage of arrows as soon as Ma Shilong's men charged in.

As the Ming army drew closer, Ma Shilong felt more pleased than alarmed.

Black Cloud Dragon thought to himself:
Ma Shilong.

Well come!
If you dare to charge my spear formation, I'll first make you suffer heavy losses. Once your morale is low, I'll have my cavalry flank you from the side, and I'll definitely capture you in one battle!

He had even already planned out what would happen next:

If we capture Ma Shilong, we can use him to coerce the garrison of Baoan Prefecture to surrender, win a great victory, and show off our skills in front of our brother-in-law Wang Guoliang.

But as he waited, Hei Yunlong's smile gradually froze.

Ma Shilong's troops advanced to within three miles of the Crescent Moon Formation, when they suddenly stopped.

Instead of sounding the charge or sending out scouts, they began to deploy defenses on the spot:
The musketeers lined up in three rows, with the front row kneeling and the back row standing, their guns all aimed at Black Cloud Dragon's formation.

The infantry and auxiliary soldiers behind them began to build fortifications. They worked very quickly and soon a wall was built, and even the barricades were erected.

"This is... surrounding without attacking?"

The commander next to Hei Yunlong scratched his head, looking puzzled.

"General, what is Ma Shilong trying to do? Does he not dare to fight?"

Hei Yunlong didn't speak, but his face darkened.

He had calculated that Ma Shilong would be eager to rescue Li Jialiang and would definitely lead his troops to charge into battle.

But now it seems that Ma Shilong didn't follow his script at all!

"No, we can't let him keep stalling like this!"

Hei Yunlong gritted his teeth and raised his hand to give the order.

"Let the left-wing cavalry provoke them and charge!"

Two hundred cavalrymen received their orders and spurred their horses toward the Ming army's lines, shouting provocative words:

"Ma Shilong! Do you dare to come out and fight me? What kind of hero hides in the back!"

But the Ming army didn't even lift their eyelids. Several gunshots rang out, and the musketeers in the front row pulled the triggers. Lead bullets grazed the legs of the cavalrymen, startling several warhorses into rearing up.

The cavalry dared not charge forward any further, and could only circle around in place, cursing a few times before slinking back in disgrace.

Hei Yunlong was furious, but there was nothing he could do.

If he sends his main force out to charge, Ma Shilong's musket formation will riddle his men with bullets.

But if they didn't charge, and Ma Shilong just surrounded them, the soldiers he sent to attack Lijialiang would have to be distracted to guard against a Ming army surprise attack, and the momentum of the siege would immediately weaken.

Sure enough, not long after, the captain who attacked Lijialiang sent someone to report:
"General, the morale of the Ming troops in the fortress is soaring. They're all shouting 'Reinforcements have arrived!' Our men can't break through, and we've already lost over two hundred brothers!"

"waste!"

Hei Yunlong cursed under his breath and lashed his horse hard with his whip.

The warhorse, in pain, reared up and neighed.

He's truly in a bind now:

They attacked Li Jialiang, fearing that Ma Shilong would launch a sneak attack from behind.

They were reluctant to retreat, as they were already close to capturing the fortress, and even more afraid of being pursued and attacked by the Ming army during the retreat.

They tried to lure Ma Shilong into charging into battle, but the other party remained unmoved.

at this time.

The sound of horses' hooves came from the government army's formation. Ma Shilong accompanied Zhou Tong out, and the two reined in their horses and stood in front of the formation, no more than two miles away from Hei Yunlong's troops.

Zhou Tong's face still bore the weariness of defending the city, and his armor was covered in dust. He leaned closer to Ma Shilong and lowered his voice, saying:
"Xiezhen, are we just going to surround it like this?"

Although Hei Yunlong has been restrained, if Wang Guoliang leads the elite troops of Xuanfu to reinforce us, our small force won't be able to hold them off!
"We only have a little over ten thousand men at most, while Wang Guoliang has forty thousand. If they really come, we're likely to suffer a great loss!"

Upon hearing this, Ma Shilong turned to look at Zhou Tong, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

He raised his hand and pointed eastward, saying:

"The three thousand cavalrymen of the Beijing garrison, personally led by Cao Wenzhao, arrived at Jiming Mountain half an hour ago and are now on their way here."

Commander Qi is leading the 5,000 cavalrymen of Jizhou on their way, and they should arrive in an hour at most.

Now, we have the resources to act as bait.

Zhou Tong followed Ma Shilong's finger and his eyes lit up immediately:
"You mean... they deliberately surrounded the Black Cloud Dragon to lure Wang Guoliang to their rescue?"

"good."

Ma Shilong nodded.

"Although Wang Guoliang has 40,000 men, most of them are a rabble. The real elites are only Hei Yunlong's 5,000 men and his own 10,000 personal guards."

"If we attack Xuanfu's fortresses and cities one by one, and he stays holed up inside, how long will it take us? How many brothers will we lose?"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the walls of Li Jialiang's fortress, then back to the anxious ranks of Hei Yunlong's group, and continued:
"Hei Yunlong is Wang Guoliang's brother-in-law and the vanguard of this expedition. If Wang Guoliang doesn't save him, not only will he discourage the other generals, but he will also let the people of Xuanfu know that he can't even protect his own people."

Therefore, Wang Guoliang will definitely come to the rescue.

"When the time comes, we'll hide the cavalry from the capital and Jizhou garrisons on the flanks. Once Wang Guoliang's main force arrives, we'll have Hei Yunlong join him first. Then, while their morale is still low, we'll use the cavalry to flank them from both sides, while the musketeers charge from the front. We'll definitely be able to wipe out his main force in one fell swoop!"

As Ma Shilong spoke, a hint of excitement flashed in his eyes.

"Once the main force is gone, the remaining rabble in Xuanfu will either surrender or collapse, and we will be able to conquer Xuanfu in one battle."

This is much faster than attacking cities one by one!

Upon hearing this, Zhou Tong finally understood completely. The worry on his face vanished, replaced by excitement.
"Commander Xie is wise! You have a long-term vision!"
We'll just wait for Wang Guoliang to walk right into our trap!

As the two were talking, there was a sudden commotion on Hei Yunlong's side.

He seemed to have run out of steam.

He then ordered the archers on the right wing to fire arrows at the Ming army's front line. A dense rain of arrows flew over, but most of them landed outside the earthen wall. Those that landed inside the formation were blocked by shields.

Few Ming soldiers were injured.

Ma Shilong sneered as he looked at Hei Yunlong's exasperated expression.
"Getting anxious? Getting anxious!"

The more rushed you are, the more likely you are to make mistakes.

The order is to continue the siege without attacking, and the musketeers are to be on guard and prevent their men from getting close.

Also.

Send someone to contact Cao Wenzhao and have his cavalry circle around to the west of Lijialiang to block Hei Yunlong's retreat route to the west.

We need to weave this net even tighter.

Xuanfu.

We need to take it down quickly.

He didn't want the Datong and Shanxi garrisons to rebel after seeing the government troops' prolonged siege.

If that's the case.

That would make the situation troublesome.

His sharp blade is meant to cut through the mess quickly!

(End of this chapter)