When the northern wall near the gate collapsed, over a hundred soldiers and laborers failed to evacuate in time. They tumbled down together with bricks, stones, and rammed earth. Dust billowed into the air, choking nearby soldiers into continuous coughing, while the miserable screams of soldiers and laborers falling into the breach filled their ears.
The collapsed section of wall stretched fifty to sixty paces wide. Though over a thousand laborers guarded behind the wall, with large quantities of bricks, stones, timber, and prefabricated wooden palisade walls prepared to fill the breach, this gap was so large it drove one to despair.
Several thousand Liang troops massed on the slopes north of the city now surged forward like a tide, raising shields against arrows and roaring as they swarmed toward the breach.
The siege of Xichuan had continued to this day for fifteen days already. During this time, the southern, northern, and eastern walls had been breached multiple times, but the defenders fought valiantly, repeatedly repelling Liang attacks and quickly blocking the gaps with bricks, stones, and timber, maintaining the battle situation until now.
However, this breach in the northern wall was too large. Seeing it would be difficult to fill in a short time, and sensing the situation turning unfavorable, Han Qian and Li Chong, who had rushed to the northern wall to supervise the battle, urgently ordered the laborers behind the wall to withdraw first.
In the current situation, they could only urgently transfer elite troops to form battle lines behind the breach, first withstanding this wave of the Liang army’s unstoppable momentum. They had to hold until nightfall. Only after the weary Liang troops withdrew could they possibly fill such a large breach under cover of darkness.
Though the Liang army had breached the northern wall, their offensive launched from the southern and eastern walls had not ceased.
The trebuchet positions continued firing stone projectiles methodically. Besides suppressing defenders atop the walls inside their shelters, unable to show themselves, they hoped to simultaneously breach the southern and eastern walls. The Liang army’s elite infantry on Xichuan City’s eastern and southern faces also assembled, ready to charge. Siege equipment like scaling ladders, siege towers, and tower cars were all pushed to the front lines, ready to force their way to scale the walls at any moment.
Li Zhigao, Zheng Hui, and others all understood the Liang army’s intention was to pin down their two units at the southern and eastern walls. At this moment, they also extracted as many elite troops as possible to guard against the unexpected.
The only forces that could truly be massively transferred to reinforce the northern wall and seal the breach were Guo Liang’s unit defending the western wall, plus the Xuzhou Battalion and Guard Battalion serving as the general reserve.
The Guard Battalion was still guarding the Regional Commander’s residence. Until the final moment, they had to guard against enemy forces suddenly assaulting the Regional Commander’s residence where the Third Imperial Prince, Shen He, Shen Yang, and others were located after breaking into the city.
Today the Liang army’s offensive against the northern wall was especially fierce. The Xuzhou Battalion and Left Bureau scouts—six hundred soldiers total—had already reached the northern wall on standby.
The ring of ruined buildings inside the wall had all been cleared away, waiting for the Liang army to kill their way into the city, facilitating the defenders’ counterattack—Han Qian also rapidly descended from the wall, bringing Tian Cheng and others to stand together with the Xuzhou Battalion soldiers, preparing to resist Liang troops charging into the city through the breach.
Guo Liang immediately rushed over with over a hundred bodyguards. Looking out through the breach, the Liang troops who had already charged to within two hundred paces of the wall’s base were densely packed like a black flood.
Even though Guo Liang was a veteran general famous since youth, at this moment his scalp tingled.
The trebuchets the Liang army deployed outside the northern wall, even though operated by trained auxiliary troops, still had very poor accuracy.
Though these trebuchets had not stopped operating, to avoid friendly fire, they now avoided the breach from a distance, hurling scattered stone projectiles toward the wall corners on both flanks, hoping to suppress some defenders from the wall tops on both sides who might flank attack Liang soldiers charging into the city through the breach.
The Liang army had also deliberately made the northern wall their breakthrough priority these past two days. From the dozen-plus tower cars advancing from the flanks, over ten ballista beds fired four-chi-long short-feathered arrows like short spears from three to four hundred paces away, producing whistling sharp sounds. Grazing wall bricks atop the wall sent sparks flying. One volley and the bodies of seven to eight exposed defenders atop the wall were directly pierced through.
Before these giant crossbows, armor was as fragile as paper. Thick hide-covered wooden shields were also easily penetrated.
Fortunately, the ballista beds loaded slowly.
Also fortunately, in previous battles, though the defenders’ twenty-plus ballista beds deployed on the eastern wall were destroyed, the Liang army only had these dozen-plus ballista beds left and had not yet been able to transfer more from elsewhere. Otherwise, there would be absolutely no foothold for defenders atop the walls.
The northern wall defenders were mainly mountain stronghold recruited troops. Though before the war this was the least favored combat force with suspected hidden problems, these past days they had performed quite valiantly.
At this moment, over a thousand soldiers under the command of Zhou Dan and other mountain stronghold commanders raised shields high and advanced from the walls on both sides toward the breach despite arrows, shooting with bows and crossbows, hurling ignited fire oil jars toward the densely packed Liang troops, buying time for the Xuzhou Battalion and Guo Liang’s unit soldiers behind the breach to organize as many battle formations as possible.
One could see that after half a month without capturing Xichuan City, the Liang army was also gradually losing patience.
Successfully breaching such a large gap in the northern wall this time, the Liang army absolutely would not easily abandon this excellent opportunity to capture Xichuan in one stroke.
At this moment, not only did all Liang troops massed to the north launch their attack, but a portion of Liang cavalry assembled outside the eastern wall, clustering around Liang commander Han Yuanqi, rapidly transferred along a shallow stream on Xichuan City’s northeastern side toward the main position north of the city.
Besides their commander Han Yuanqi personally coming to supervise the battle from the north, the cavalry clustering around him during the transfer numbered over five thousand elite.
Some even could not wait to transfer with Han Yuanqi to the northern position. They dismounted by the shallow stream, wielding shields, swords, and spears, waded through the stream, and swarmed toward the breach.
The Liang forces on Xichuan City’s eastern face, especially the northern portion, as Han Yuanqi led cavalry north and other two thousand-plus armored infantry also launched, clustering around seventy to eighty simple watchtowers, tower cars, and siege towers, swarmed toward Xichuan City’s northeastern corner.
The Liang army’s combat intention was simple.
Though the breach blasted in the northern wall was fifty to sixty paces wide, the collapsed wall’s bricks, stones, and rammed earth piled together chaotically, still seven to eight chi high, like a chaotic, rugged slope of rubble—not allowing their soldiers to kill their way into the city very smoothly.
Even if they killed their way into the city, the defenders’ reserve troops could also organize powerful counterattacks on the breach’s inner side.
Once Liang troops killing into the city were blocked at the breach, unable to advance further inward, the battle would stagnate in a direction unfavorable to the Liang army.
In the previous stalemate, through watchtowers over seven to eight zhang high, the Liang army had also clearly seen defenders digging crisscrossing trenches within the city. Obviously, the defenders had prepared for fierce street fighting relying on the inner trenches and those low buildings.
They also had to seize a section of wall. Only by occupying one or two high points, whether using fire attacks or volleys of crossbow arrows, could they suppress defenders within the city, allowing more troops to kill their way into the city for the final bloody decisive battle. Only by completely crushing the defenders’ last bit of morale would they claim final victory!
The defenders collected large quantities of tung oil to make fire oil jars. The Liang army, possessing even more ample supplies, naturally would not fall behind. Seventy to eighty watchtowers, tower cars, and siege towers forced their way beneath the walls. At distances of mere dozens of paces, arrows, stones, and fire oil jars rained down as they fought brutally against defenders at the northeastern corner.
Watchtowers and tower cars were ignited one after another. Soldier shelters atop the walls were likewise ignited. Both Chu and Liang armies soon had over a hundred soldiers set ablaze by fire oil, screaming as they plunged from high places. The battle instantly became as brutally intense as boiling oil.
The Liang army was truly brave. Raising shields high, seeing defenders atop the walls suppressed, they used scaling ladders to climb the northeastern corner walls like ant swarms, fighting with incomparable courage. While resisting troops commanded by Li Zhigao attacking from the south, they fiercely attacked and charged eastward, attempting to drive down the mountain stronghold recruited troops from the northeastern wall all the way to the breach in one vigorous effort.
Zhou Dan personally led over three hundred soldiers defending the northeastern wall, fighting very bravely. He wore bright armor, a pair of iron halberds dancing like serpent dragons, knocking Liang soldiers charging before him off the wall top.
The Liang army’s attack was too sharp, with many brave commanders and valiant soldiers. Zhou Dan had half his armor torn off, his thigh slashed open. Fortunately, the bodyguards beside him were also exceptionally fierce, fighting desperately to protect him as he withdrew from the wall.
Seeing the northeastern wall fall, hundreds and thousands of Liang troops pouring through the breach, Li Chong was driven to despair, nearly closing his eyes.
Though elite troops extracted by Guo Liang’s unit plus Li Zhigao and Zheng Hui from the southern and eastern walls were all gathering behind them, the troops they could extract were too limited. Could they withstand these wolf-like Liang elite troops recklessly charging into the city?
“Thwack! Thwack!”
Over ten sharp sounds piercing the air resonated beside his ears.
Li Chong saw Xuzhou Battalion soldiers push over ten ballista beds of somewhat unusual design to the front lines, volleying toward Liang troops charging through the breach.
“You actually hid ballista beds until now to use?” Li Chong glared at Han Qian, demanding harshly.
After all the brutal fighting before, he had not expected the Xuzhou Battalion, which had never fought hard battles, to have secretly hoarded over ten ballista beds without bringing them out.
“These were only hastily manufactured to make up numbers, difficult to use effectively.” Han Qian said calmly.
The Dragon Sparrow Army’s previous twenty-plus ballista beds had all been destroyed in earlier battles. Xichuan City lacked corresponding materials and had no way to manufacture traditional ballista beds.
Han Qian instead utilized wild silkworm silk from deep in the Qinling Mountains, mixed with animal sinew and horsehair to weave highly resilient cords capable of twisting to store power, using them as the ballista’s propulsion mechanism to manufacture over ten torsion-powered ballista beds.
However, cords made from wild silkworm silk and animal sinew, limited by material defects, would lose tension after repeated use in the manufactured ballista beds, making them difficult to use on a large scale. Their range was also shorter than traditional ballista beds, so Han Qian had not previously brought out these dozen-plus cord ballista beds.
He hoped that at this critical moment, these dozen-plus cord ballista beds could play some role, suppressing the momentum and flames of Liang troops charging into the city through the breach.
The newly manufactured cord ballista beds had shorter range than traditional ballista beds but still reached beyond two hundred paces. They immediately harvested like crops, piercing through over twenty Liang soldiers’ bodies, making them roll down from the breach like watermelons.
The cord ballista beds’ string-loading time was longer than traditional three-bow ballista beds, meaning their firing rhythm was slower, making it difficult to shoot down Liang troops on a large scale. But this time, catching the enemy unprepared and shooting down over twenty Liang troops still lifted the defenders’ nearly collapsing morale somewhat.
Before large shields or even light covered wagons were brought up, the Liang army dared not charge recklessly into Xichuan City’s depths. But the Liang army only hesitated for half the time it takes to drink tea. After they completely controlled the northeastern wall, firmly suppressing Li Zhigao’s unit on the eastern wall, more Liang troops raised large shields and charged through the breach.
“How is the situation?”
Han Qian turned to find the Third Imperial Prince personally leading a squad of young valiant soldiers from the Guard Battalion approaching.
Shen Yang and Zhang Ping followed behind anxiously, presumably trying to persuade the Third Imperial Prince to return to the Regional Commander’s residence, but the Third Imperial Prince ignored them.
Though Yang Yuanpu was only fifteen years old, at this moment his eyes held little fear. Days of exhaustion filled his eyes with bloodshot veins, making him more like a young beast with blood-glowing pupils.
Several stray arrows flew over. Yao Xishui’s sleeve sword slashed out like flowing light, cutting down the stray arrows.
Guard Battalion soldiers hastily raised shields, surrounding Yang Yuanpu and Han Qian, protecting them behind the shield formation.
“Your Highness, the front lines are too perilous. If anything happens to you, Xichuan will truly be lost. Your Highness, return with Director Shen and Director Zhang to observe the battle from the Regional Commander’s residence. Han Qian will definitely repel the Liang army for Your Highness!” Han Qian shouted loudly.
“Your Highness!” Shen Yang called out with tragic fervor, urging the Third Imperial Prince to temporarily withdraw to the Regional Commander’s residence.
“Han Qian, I entrust the entire Guard Battalion to your command. You must hold Xichuan for me!” Yang Yuanpu, seeing everyone opposed his standing at the front lines, called out to Han Qian unwillingly.
“Your Highness, rest assured. As long as Han Qian is here, Xichuan City will absolutely not fall!” Han Qian declared loudly.
Shen Yang and Zhang Ping clustered around the Third Imperial Prince Yang Yuanpu, withdrawing toward the Regional Commander’s residence.
Li Chong struggled for a good while. Seeing a stray arrow shoot toward the Third Imperial Prince’s back, he swung his blade to knock it down, then followed closely behind, escorting the Third Imperial Prince toward the Regional Commander’s residence.
Han Qian saw the first wave of Liang troops charging through the breach was still nearly two hundred paces from them, but scattered arrows were already shooting over. Presumably, among the front-line Liang troops were extremely skilled archery masters.
Han Qian had no time now to expose that Li Chong’s action bordered on cowardice in battle. He accepted a shield from a bodyguard behind him, focusing more intently on every subtle movement on the battlefield…