Sweep Yuan

Chapter 94 A Cooperative Attack on the Five Rivers

"My lord! There seem to be no enemy troops below the city walls."

Outside the west city wall, the sound of war drums continued incessantly. When large armies moved, whether it was the impact of armor plates or the neighing of warhorses, there would be sounds, unlike the strange situation at present.

Without his subordinates needing to remind him, Zhou Xiongwu realized that he had been tricked by the enemy army.

"Fire rockets!"

The defenders on the city wall fired dozens of rockets covered with oilcloth. In the flash of the fire, one could vaguely see dozens of strongmen of the enemy army beating drums with all their might, but there was no army formation behind them.

The thought of how his comrades and subordinates would future generations would ridicule him filled Zhou Xiongwu with a burning rage. He longed to personally lead his troops out of the city and slaughter these audacious bandits, but ultimately lacked the courage. He could only point in the direction from which the drumbeats were coming and shout:

"Shan, take your men out of the city and smash those war drums for me."

"This humble servant obeys!"

After the leader of the single squad set off from the city with a torch, the drumming stopped abruptly, as if the strongmen sensed danger and wanted to retreat.

Before the squad leader could even catch his breath, a muffled thunderous sound of horses' hooves suddenly arose from the south.

"Drop the torches and run!"

The squad leader didn't even consider forming ranks and waiting for reinforcements; he directly issued the order to flee.

In the darkness, they plunged into the trap set by the bandits. No matter how elite the small team of less than a hundred men was, they were just sitting ducks with no chance of holding out. Their only hope was to scatter and flee in the dark.

Unfortunately, in his panic, Shan Ban Tou forgot that the city gates had already been closed after they left the city. No matter how fast they escaped, where could they go?

"what!"

"My lord, open the city gates at once!"

On the city wall, Zhou Xiongwu's face was ashen, both for his own foolishness and impulsiveness and for the cunning and treachery of the enemy army.

"Fire arrows! Fire arrows! Fire arrows now!"

The bandit cavalry were very cautious, turning around when they were far from the city. However, it was difficult to distinguish friend from foe in the darkness. The defenders dared not gamble on whether those below the city were their comrades fleeing for their lives or enemy soldiers who had dismounted to pursue them. They could only try to throw arrows as far as possible.

Arrows rained down, and several unlucky men were hit, screaming and cursing, but this also deterred the pursuing bandit cavalry.

The sound of horses' hooves gradually faded into the distance, but the sound of war drums rang out again, as if mocking Zhou Xiongwu's incompetence.

The rebel army was clearly employing a strategy of exhaustion, likely in preparation for the siege the following day.

Zhou Xiongwu dared not gamble on whether the rebel army would take advantage of the chaos to attack the city. Hearing the cries of agony below the city, he dared not open the city gate again. He could only order the guards to put down two baskets and pull the soldiers who had managed to escape to the city to the city.

After the bandit's war drums stopped again, Zhou Xiongwu stayed on the city wall for another half an hour, his eyelids drooping with sleep. Only after confirming that the bandit's drummer would not return did he order the soldiers on duty to strengthen their patrols, while the rest of the personnel went down to the city to rest.

Zhou Xiongwu dared not go home and stayed overnight in the camp. He fell asleep as soon as he lay down, but the sound of war drums in his mind lingered. In his drowsy state, he seemed to hear shouts of battle and could even feel the jolting of riding a horse.

"My lord! My lord, wake up! The enemy army has stormed into the city!"

Zhou Xiongwu had just been shaken awake and was still a little groggy when he blurted out.

"East of the city."

"How...how could it be the east of the city?"

This was clearly not the time for idle thoughts. Several guards quickly helped Zhou Xiongwu put on his armor and then helped him out of the government office. They saw that the east side of the city was ablaze with fire and the shouts of battle were getting louder. The rebel army had already stormed into the city.

The chaos amplified by the darkness and firelight meant that if the rebel army had simply broken through the east gate, timely troop deployment might have been enough to drive them out of the city.

However, fires broke out in many other parts of the city, which clearly indicated that there were internal accomplices causing the chaos.

The tide has turned; Wuhe cannot be defended!
Zhou Xiongwu didn't dwell on it any longer. He immediately returned to the government office, hurriedly packed some gold, silver, and valuables, and ran out.

"Go through the water gate! Retreat." The water gate is equipped with an iron sluice gate. The sluice gate is lowered at night to block the river. The government troops had gathered the boats along the river in advance. The rebels could only gather a few boats in such a short time, so they should not deploy troops on the northern river. The only way out is there.

Because Zhou Xiongwu was greedy for money and rummaged through chests and cabinets, he was delayed for a moment. By then, the soldiers had already poured into the streets and alleys. His personal guards could not keep up with the situation and were scattered by the soldiers in the chaos.

When Zhou Xiongwu arrived at the water gate, only five people remained with him.

There was a large pool of blood at the water gate, and several guards were decapitated. In the distance, figures could be vaguely seen rowing boats with all their might, and many more small boats were scattered on the water.

Nearby, only one signboard was rowing a small boat away from the shore.

"Brother, don't go! Give me a ride, and I'll guarantee you wealth and honor!"

The officer seemed to notice that Zhou Xiongwu's armor was no ordinary item and asked somewhat uncertainly:
"Who is this, sir?"

"I am Zhou Xiongwu."

"It really is Lord Zhou! Please forgive me, sir, I will transfer it right away."

The city's troops expanded too quickly, and although Zhou Xiongwu was a county magistrate, he didn't have a deep impression of the newly appointed commander, so he hesitated.

"Have you seen me before?"

"I am Geng Zaicheng, a subordinate of He Bantou. I saw you, sir, during my patrol on Huai Shu Street during the day."

As the small boat drew closer, Zhou Xiongwu could see the man's face clearly. He did recognize him, but he still had many doubts.

"Brother Geng, you've arrived early. Did you see who injured the water gate guard?"

"I don't know which mutinous army it was. They started killing people as soon as they arrived. Luckily, I was in the shadows. I only dared to come out after they swung the iron gate, boarded the boat, and escaped."

As he spoke, Geng Zaicheng pushed the boat closer and said hesitantly:
“My boat is small, and there are six adults on board, all wearing armor. If they all come aboard, it might sink.”

Zhou Xiongwu was not a good swimmer and was afraid of falling into the water, so he quickly removed his armor.

"It's alright, I'll remove my armor now. Quickly, all of you remove your armor as well."

After all six men had removed their armor, Geng Zaicheng finally rowed the boat to the shore and extended a bamboo pole to help Zhou Xiongwu.

"Sir, please board the ship."

"Wait! My lord, this fellow is unclear about his identity. Let me go first!"

One of the guards, alert and fearing a trap, tried to grab the bamboo pole and jump onto the boat, but Geng Zaicheng abruptly pulled the pole back.

"What, are you worried I'm up to something? I'm afraid you'll all get on the boat and try to harm me! You can't be a good person. There's a boat over there. If you don't trust me, go and tow it yourselves."

After saying this, Geng Zaicheng lightly touched the water's surface, preparing to row away.

Just then, shouts of killing rang out from the direction of the alley entrance, and Zhou Xiongwu dared not delay any longer.

"Brother, come here quickly, I'll get on the boat right away. You guys, listen to this brother, hurry up and get in the water to tow the boat."

Zhou Xiongwu tightened his grip on the slung knife at his waist, grabbed the bamboo pole with his right hand, and prepared to finish off the suspicious-looking man as soon as he boarded the boat. However, just as he leaped off the ground, a tremor came from the bamboo pole.

Pfft!
Zhou Xiongwu, feeling powerless in mid-air, fell into the icy river. Just as he was about to struggle, a bamboo pole came crashing down on him.

"Hahaha, Zhou Bapi, do you know your Grandpa Geng tonight!"

Seeing that things were going badly, the four guards disregarded the icy river water and jumped into it to try and seize the boat.

Geng Zaicheng pushed off with his bamboo pole, and the small boat quickly retreated. He then whistled behind him, and the small boats that had already rowed away on the water in the distance quickly returned and surrounded them.

"Brothers, we've caught a big fish!"

(End of this chapter)