Dream of the Red Chamber: Start by gaining Zhao Yun's martial prowess, and be ennobled in a sin

In his eyes, the Qing army was now nothing but gleaming military merit, and he felt no fear or cowardice in the slightest.

"Old Han, you're already a first-class man! Why are you arguing with me about being the vanguard! Let me go first in this battle, and you can stay behind and cover for me!"

"I can capture Jizhou City for you in just three days, my lord!"

Feng Ziying's face darkened, and she interrupted Han Qi, speaking quickly.

"I'll go first. I can take over Jizhou City in two days..." Han Qi said without backing down.

Liu Fang and Hou Xiaokang looked at each other, somewhat bewildered, as they saw the two men vying to attack the city.

The Han army has always feared the Qing army like a tiger. Even on the Liaodong battlefield under Nian Gengyao, none of the generals ever volunteered to fight the Qing army.

Moreover, Jizhou City has high walls and thick ramparts, so it is not easy to conquer. If you are not careful, you may lose your life under the city walls. This is no joke.

"Alright!"

Jia Jing snorted coldly, glanced at the two of them indifferently, and immediately stopped their argument.

As Jia Jing won battle after battle, his imposing aura grew stronger and stronger.

Not only did the lower-ranking soldiers grow to respect him more and more, but even Feng Ziying and Han Qi held him in high esteem.

"A direct assault is definitely not going to work; the casualties would be too great! Captain Liu, Captain Hou, what do you think we should do in this battle?"

Jia Jing asked Liu Fang and Hou Xiaokang.

Seeing that Jia Jing intended to test her, Liu Fang thought for a moment, then cupped her hands and said:

"This humble general has seen that the Qing army has been terrified by Lord Marquis. These past few days, our army has repeatedly challenged them, but they have not dared to leave the city."

"The best course of action now might be to bring a few cannons from Shenjing City to blast open the gates of Jizhou City, thus securing victory in one battle!"

The Hongyi cannon was a strategic weapon of the Han army. It was three meters long, weighed more than one ton, and had a range of two to three hundred zhang.

It was used in the Battle of Ningyuan during the early Han Dynasty when Emperor Chengzu was dealing with Nurhaci. One shot destroyed dozens of miles of land, and its power was amazing, causing a great defeat for the Qing army.

Theoretically speaking, Liu Fang's idea is feasible.

But Jia Jing still rejected this strategy, waving his hand and saying:

"The cannons are good, but sending people to Shenjing to transport them would take too long. I expect Qing reinforcements are already on their way, and the war should not be delayed any longer."

Upon hearing this, Liu Fang shrugged: "Then this humble general doesn't have any good ideas!"

Hou Xiaokang looked around and lowered his voice, saying:

"Perhaps we can use fire! I am familiar with the layout of Jizhou City; most of the houses inside are wooden structures."

"The weather is bitterly cold and dry now. All we need to do is wrap crossbow bolts in oilcloth and fire them into the city through the four gates. With the fire raging, the Qing army will have no choice but to abandon the gates and flee."

"At worst, we can burn all their supplies, and the Qing army will inevitably collapse without food!"

hiss~

The generals present gasped and stared wide-eyed upon hearing this.

Feng Ziying said:

"There are still people of my Great Han in this city. If this fire starts, won't they have no way to survive...?"

Jia Jing also glanced at Hou Xiaokang in surprise; this was a vicious scheme!

This is different from his massacre of Qing soldiers. If he really did it, not only would the court hold him accountable, but he himself would also be unable to get past his conscience.

In the heat of battle, casualties among civilians and soldiers are inevitable.

But actively slaughtering one's own people is another matter entirely!

Guan Yu was a figure of great stature, yet his act of flooding the seven armies was criticized by later scholars and historians.

Jia Jing didn't consider himself a saintly, innocent person; even a saintly person couldn't be a military general.

If they were just alien races, he wouldn't hesitate to kill as many as he wanted.

After all, in history, those barbarian tribes who ate raw meat and drank blood ravaged the Central Plains, causing enormous casualties to the Han people.

They even called Han Chinese "two-legged sheep" and killed them for food.

Such a foreign race, of course, should not be treated as a human being.

However, there are still many Han people in Jizhou City. If we were to use fire to attack and massacre the city, it would be too ruthless!

When Hou Xiaokang saw everyone looking at him with surprise, he knew that he might have said something wrong!

He chuckled twice and said, "Ha...ha, this humble general is just talking nonsense, Your Excellency need not take it seriously!"

Jia Jing did not pursue the matter further, but turned to look at the heavily guarded city of Jizhou again, and said in a deep voice:

"Since you don't have any good ideas, then I'll have to resort to my own clumsy method!"

As he spoke, Jia Jing gave Zhuque a wink.

Zhuque immediately understood, turned around and shouted the order:

"Bring it up!"

Instantly, a dozen or so soldiers carried up a huge object.

It was a giant hammer, with a head as big as a winter melon. The whole thing was cast from dark gold metal, with a relief of war drum patterns on the surface. The handle was short and sturdy, and the whole thing looked extremely heavy.

It was quite difficult for a dozen soldiers to lift it; their steps were heavy, and the ground beneath their feet was dented.

"Such a big hammer? What's it for?"

"This hammer would be difficult for more than a dozen people to lift; it must weigh five or six hundred pounds!"

"I've heard that the greatest warrior in history used a hammer, something called the 'Golden Drum Hammer,' a single hammer weighing 400 jin (approximately 200 kg), and two hammers weighing 800 jin (approximately 400 kg). He possessed the strength to fight ten thousand men!"

The generals began to discuss among themselves, some of them confused.

Is the Earl planning to have someone carry this hammer to attack the city gate? Is that really necessary? Wouldn't a battering ram be much more convenient?

Of all the generals, only Qin Qiong and Zhu Que roughly knew what Jia Jing was going to do.

They were also shocked when they first learned about this method!

Jia Jing looked around and said in a deep voice:

"My method is actually similar to that of Lieutenant Liu! However, he used the Hongyi cannon to break through the gates of Jizhou, while I used this hammer to smash through the gates. This hammer is my weapon for this battle."

"After I break through the city gates, you may lead your troops in. The enemy inside will naturally surrender without a fight!"

What?

The generals were utterly shocked! For a moment, their heads were spinning!

Using a hammer to break open the city gate? Are you kidding me?

When did sieges ever use such methods?

Are you kidding us?

If it weren't for Jia Jing speaking, all the generals present would have thought that the person who said this was out of their mind!

Even though Feng Ziying and Han Qi had witnessed Jia Jing's martial prowess many times, they did not believe that Jia Jing could break through the city gate by himself!

This is not the kind of power a normal person should have.

Although Jia Jing had always been at the forefront of battles and was exceptionally brave, that only meant he was exceptionally skilled in martial arts and had a good spear technique, not that he possessed superhuman strength.

In terms of sheer strength, he's at the level of a top-tier warrior, capable of breaking a three-stone bow, possessing the strength of several hundred kilograms.

But this hammer looks to weigh at least 500 pounds. To pick it up and smash through the city gate, it would be impossible without a force of several thousand pounds.

In fact, Feng Ziying and Han Qi were not wrong.

Before being promoted, it would have been extremely difficult for Jia Jing to accomplish such a heaven-defying feat, given that he had only inherited Zhao Yun's martial prowess.

However, after he was promoted, he received two more rewards from the system.

Upon being promoted to the fifth rank, the system rewards Lu Bu with the martial arts inheritance.

Upon being promoted to the fourth rank, the system rewards Xiang Yu with the inheritance of martial prowess.

Who was Lü Bu?