A lowly soldier becomes king, I slaughter my way through the late Tang Dynasty!

Zhang Yaozu was from Cangzhou. His family had been fishermen for generations, and he was a fisherman before he joined the army.

He may not know anything else, but he has mastered the skill of throwing a hook to perfection.

The technique is similar to casting a fishing net.

Ding!

Ding!

After being swung twice, two ropes were lowered down from the crenellations on the corner tower.

"climb!"

Li Rui acted swiftly and decisively, taking the lead and climbing up the rope on the left.

Zhang Yaozu was completely convinced by Li Rui's arrow and immediately climbed onto the rope on the right, following closely behind.

Li Rui doesn't know rope climbing techniques, but he's incredibly strong!

He pulled and dragged himself up!

With Li Rui setting an example, it took less than a quarter of an hour for the entire eleven-person team to climb the north city wall of Mancheng.

Following the base of the wall, they made their way eastward into the city.

If he encountered a drowsy guard, he would approach quietly and slit his throat with a single stroke.

When he encountered the defending soldiers who were still putting on a brave face, Li Rui had nothing to say. He shot an arrow and killed them easily.

But Zhang Yaozu, because he was too nervous, tripped over a crack in the brickwork!

Fortunately, Li Rui reacted quickly and shot the awakened garrison soldier dead with an arrow, thus preventing the situation from being exposed.

After some tidying up, everything went very smoothly.

Four corpses lay scattered across the city gate on the east side, and the bolts that had been lying across the gate inside had been lifted and thrown aside.

Now, all that's needed is to set a fire and open the city gates, and the planned operation will be completed.

However, after thinking for a moment, Li Rui gave the order.

"Zhang Yaozu, you guys stay here and wait for my signal. Once you see a fire breaking out inside the city, immediately light it and open the gates!"

Zhang Yaozu was greatly surprised upon hearing this and hurriedly said...

"What is Li Fengshi up to? The plan was to set fire to the city gates and open them, so why is he going into the city?"

Li Rui said quickly.

"I didn't know the city's defenses were so weak, so my plan was a bit conservative."

If we simply set fire to open the gates, our army will be able to enter the city, but we will still face the danger of a counterattack.

"To catch the thief, first catch the king. If I kill the city's garrison commander first, preventing the defenders from launching an effective counterattack, then my chances of taking the entire city will be 100%!"

Zhang Yaozu and the others were so shocked by these words that they looked at each other in disbelief, almost thinking they had misheard.

"Li Fengshi, you mean you're going to infiltrate the city alone and assassinate the garrison commander?"

"And then they'd set a fire and notify us!?"

"If you set the fire, thousands of enemy soldiers in the city will rush towards you. How will you survive?"

The group chattered amongst themselves, finding it all unbelievable!

Li Rui's impromptu plan is incredibly audacious and utterly ridiculous!

However, Li Rui only offered a slight reassurance before firmly uttering two words.

Trust me!

Zhang Yaozu and the others were speechless.

Remembering Li Rui's archery skills, he had no choice but to reluctantly agree.

In the darkness, Li Rui's figure quickly disappeared.

Meanwhile, two miles east of the city.

Along several field ridges, 290 people lay in neat rows, each with a leaf in their mouth.

As soon as someone speaks, leaves fall to the ground, followed by military law and beheading.

Niu Ben stared intently at the city wall not far away, his heart filled with eager hope that a fire would break out in the next second.

But after waiting for almost half an hour, there was still no movement from the east of the city!

The adjutant beside him picked a leaf, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

It seems to be asking whether Li Rui has already failed?

Niu Ben glared and told his deputy to put the leaf back in his mouth; he still trusted Li Rui.

But no matter how much you believe, time waits for no one!

Two hundred and ninety people have been lying on the ridge of the field for half an hour!

I don't know what the specific plan is, or what I'm going to do later. All I know is that I'm lying here with a leaf in my mouth.

Niu Ben dared not tell them the full picture of the plan.

After all, it's a bit too frivolous to place the entire army's fate on Li Rui's ten men.

If this plan were revealed, morale would surely collapse!

Just as Niu Ben was becoming impatient and began to suspect Li Rui.

A bright ray of light finally illuminated the scene!

Niu Ben's eyes widened, and he hurriedly patted his deputy's arm, spat out the leaves, and said urgently.

"Pah! Look! Isn't that arson?"

The lieutenant squinted and exclaimed with elation.

"Yes! They set it on fire!"

Niu Ben laughed loudly, jumped up, drew his sword, and roared.

"Get the hell up! Li Fengshi has opened the city gates, brothers, kill them!!"

The lieutenant also drew his sword and roared.

"kill!!"

In an instant, the soldiers, who had been holding back for half an hour, drew their swords and rushed toward the firelight at the city gate.

At this point, even if the city's defenses were lax, everyone knew that something terrible had happened.

The defending soldiers, peering down from the city wall, were utterly terrified!

"You little bastard! Who opened the city gate? Close it! Close it!"

Several groups of garrison soldiers panicked and rushed desperately toward the city gate.

Zhang Yaozu led nine men to block the inside of the city gate, fanning the flames to intensify them while brandishing long swords to force back the approaching defenders.

"Brothers, hold on! Commander Niu is coming with his men soon!"

However, there were only ten of them after all.

The defenders gathered in greater numbers, and their spears were raised.

The saying goes, "An inch longer, an inch stronger." On the battlefield, long weapons possess terrifying suppressive power.

"Kill them! Close the city gates!"

With a loud shout, spears over four meters long thrust forward in unison!

Because Zhang Yaozu and his men were going to climb over the wall, they were only wearing cloth clothes and no armor.

Faced with a barrage of sharp spears, in just one exchange, six out of the ten men were pierced through!

puff!

Blood was sprayed all over the dirt road as if it were free.

The soldiers of the Trapped Camp, who had been stabbed through the body, were all filled with rage, their eyes bloodshot, as they frantically brandished their longswords.

By dragging someone down with me, I've made a profit!

However, how could their knives possibly reach the spearmen four meters away?

Zhang Yaozu stared at his brothers who had died instantly, his eyes bloodshot, his teeth almost grinding to powder.

"Aaaaah! I'll fight you to the death!"

Zhang Yaozu went berserk and fought desperately.

But the defenders weren't fools; some of them had already drawn their bows and arrows in the face of this reckless madman.

Once an arrow is fired, no matter how desperately you fight, you will only die with regret.

Just then, a loud shout rang out!

Just like at Changban Slope, Zhang Yide's shouts deterred Cao Cao's million-strong army.

"Your Grandpa Niu from Ruzhou is here! Who dares to stop me!?"

Niu Ben was the fastest runner. As soon as he rushed into the city gate, he shouted this sentence.

The city gate also had the effect of amplifying sound, which immediately terrified the guards!

Niu Ben, wielding a horse-slaying saber as tall as a man, yelled and charged straight into the crowd!

With a whoosh, it chopped down!

They actually cleaved an unfortunate garrison soldier in two, from his shoulder blade to his thigh!

Blood and flesh were scattered all over the ground, and fresh blood splattered all over Niuben's body.

This god of war has a leopard's head, bulging eyes, and a tiger's glaring gaze!

He roared.

"Who dares to stop me!?"

The surrounding guards had never seen such a display of force, nor had they ever seen such a ruthless person.

They were all terrified, their faces ashen, and dared not step forward.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, more than two hundred people followed and rushed into the city.

Although Niu Ben was violent, he was also a thoughtful man, and immediately gave the order.

"Quickly, seize the county government building in the city and kill the garrison commander first!"

Despite their success in entering the city, their numbers were still too small.

If the defending forces successfully organize a counter-offensive, they are very likely to be annihilated!

Therefore, Niu Ben's strategy was the same as Li Rui's: capture the king first!

However, to his surprise, a fast horse galloped from the center of the city.

A familiar figure rode on horseback, holding a flag in one hand.

At the top of the flagpole, a bloody head was stuck!

The man was agile and skilled on horseback. He raised his head high and shouted.

"I am Li Rui, the vanguard of the Righteous Army! Your commanders have been slain by me! Surrender now!?"