novelSusiti Chapter 11 First up
Chapter 11 First up
"Knock knock knock!"
After breakfast, the war drums thundered, and tens of thousands of troops on the main battlefield lined up in neat formations four miles away from Wushaoguan Pass.
First, the soldiers of the artillery battalion, under the cover of the infantry, pushed the red-coated cannons to a place three miles away from the city wall.
After adjusting the cannons, a command was given, and the city walls began to be bombarded relentlessly.
The Oirat soldiers on the city wall also began to retaliate with cannons, but their cannonballs landed on the ground two hundred paces away from the artillery battalion, rolled a distance, and then disappeared.
So the Oirat cannons fired a round and then fell silent.
"Ha!" Qian Lei chuckled contemptuously. "I thought it was back in the Ming Dynasty. These barbarians can only imitate those shabby things from the Ming Dynasty."
Wushaoguan Pass truly lives up to its reputation as the gateway to the Hexi Corridor. Its walls are high and its fortifications are thick. The Great Zhou has been bombarding it for five days, and the walls are only riddled with holes, with no section collapsing.
After a round, the Great Zhou's cannons finally reached the top of the wall.
Just then, a deafening drumbeat suddenly rang out.
"Kill them!"
The thousands of soldiers in the vanguard battalion, who had been silent, suddenly erupted as soon as they heard the drumbeats. They bypassed the firearms battalion, carried makeshift ladders, and rushed forward.
After charging for some distance, the Oirat artillery fired again, this time the shells landed directly in the ranks of the vanguard, and a large part of the vanguard was wiped out in an instant.
The other soldiers of the vanguard battalion ignored everything, disregarding the severed limbs and screams around them, and continued charging forward with their heads down.
When they reached within 150 paces of the city wall, they were met head-on by a hail of arrows from the Oirat people. This time, the casualties of the vanguard were even more severe, but the others still braved the arrow rain and continued to charge forward without hesitation.
When the vanguard finally reached the city wall, Liu Hu estimated that in just one charge, nearly half of the vanguard had been killed or wounded.
Judging from the bloodstains on the city wall, this was clearly not the first time such a charge had taken place.
Just as Liu Hu was watching the battle with bated breath, Qian Lei suddenly tightened his grip on his knife.
Liu Hu followed his gaze and saw that a vanguard soldier was almost upon the city wall.
Suddenly, flames shot down from the city wall, and the soldier was instantly engulfed in flames, screaming as he fell off the ladder.
"Fire-inducing oil!"
Qian Lei slapped his thigh in regret; he was so close, just a little faster and he would have made it up.
As the vanguard soldiers desperately climbed, the battle became exceptionally fierce. In less than half an hour, the number of Zhou soldiers below the city was reduced to less than a thousand.
"Clang clang clang!"
The sound of the retreat signaled the complete failure of the siege.
At the same time, the vanguard troops immediately retreated. After they were completely out of the range of the Oirat soldiers' shots, only a little over 600 men remained of the thousands-strong vanguard troops.
On the distant city walls, the cheers of the Oirat people were particularly jarring.
"General, this can't go on."
"Our army has already lost nearly 20,000 men at Wushaoguan Pass. We can't keep pushing like this."
"If all else fails, just keep bombarding with artillery; we'll eventually break through."
Jia Daishan glanced at the Prince of Xining with a livid face, understanding his scheming.
They just didn't want the imperial court to completely eliminate the Oirat Mongols, so they played the trick of "raising bandits to enhance their own power."
If the court were to wipe out the Oirat people and eliminate the threat from the west, what would the court need him, the Prince of Xining, for?
At that point, he will either completely relinquish his military power and return to the capital to become a wealthy prince, or the court will find a dirty trick to strip him of his official position.
They'll break through the pass eventually. With the current cannons, they'll cool down after two or three rounds. Trying to blast open Wushao Pass with cannons is less effective than hoping for Emperor Guangwu to possess them.
Furthermore, they really think the imperial court's provisions are free. If they fail to conquer the Hexi Corridor before winter, the imperial court will have to consider whether to withdraw its troops.
"Your Highness, please calm down! The commander-in-chief has his own plans."
A general from the Xihe Army offered a perfunctory piece of advice.
"So you have a plan? We've already lost 20,000 soldiers here, and the Oirats are still living there happily."
"Then tell me, how many more soldiers' lives will it take to take Wushaoguan? If you fail, don't blame me for reporting you to the court and accusing you of neglecting military affairs!"
"Three days. If you still can't take Wushao Pass after three days, Your Highness may do as you please."
Jia Daishan glanced at the Hexi general and said through gritted teeth.
"Alright, I'll give you three more days. If you still can't take Wushao Pass by then, don't blame me for being impolite."
After saying this, the Prince of Xining, along with his Xihe generals, stormed off in a huff.
"General, if we can't take Wushaoguan Pass in three days, are you really going to let him make all sorts of accusations?"
Zhao Zhong, who had been silent the whole time, asked in confusion after the Prince of Xining left.
"During this period, the Xihe Army sacrificed more than 10,000 men in order to capture Wushaoguan Pass, so it is no wonder that Prince Xining was not blamed."
Jia Daishan sighed and said helplessly.
"But our Lantian camp also lost nearly ten thousand soldiers..."
"So the Prince of Xining felt he had been taken advantage of, believing that we had deliberately weakened his strength during this western expedition," Jia Daishan explained.
"But who could have imagined that Wushaoguan would be so difficult to conquer? The Huit tribe went crazy and transferred most of their elite troops to Wushaoguan, and drove out all the Han people inside the pass."
"Otherwise, our previous plan wouldn't have been abandoned halfway through."
Zhao Zhong muttered resentfully.
"This may not be a bad thing. As long as we break through Wushaoguan, the Hui Te tribe will be practically crippled, and then the Hexi Corridor will be within our grasp."
Suddenly, Jia Daishan seemed to have thought of something, and his eyes gleamed.
"Has Liu Hu's battle report from last time been verified?"
"You mean to..." Zhao Zhong immediately understood Jia Daishan's plan and looked surprised.
"We can't afford to drag this out any longer. Besides, how can one become a qualified general without experiencing a life-or-death battle?"
Jia Daishan said firmly, "If he really dies here, I will personally explain to His Majesty, and I will bear all the consequences."
"What the heck?"
When Liu Hu was told that the commander-in-chief had summoned him, he looked puzzled. But when he heard that he was to join the vanguard battalion and participate in the vanguard battle the day after tomorrow, he cursed inwardly.
Having witnessed the ferocity of the First Assault Battle firsthand, I knew that even Xiang Yu himself would have been reduced to mincemeat in such a situation, let alone himself. This was practically sending me to my death!
I haven't offended anyone from the Jia family!
But since it was a military order, he couldn't refuse. However, he did put forward his own conditions.
"Alright, no problem, I'll have the craftsman prepare it for you personally!"
Upon hearing Liu Hu's request, Jia Daishan immediately agreed.
"If you are the first to breach the city this time, I will directly petition His Majesty to promote you to the rank of Commander and give you an additional title of Cloud Cavalry Captain."
Jia Daishan started making empty promises to Liu Hu, and they really sounded tempting!
If I survive this time and am the first to breach the city, not to mention the reward money, I will be promoted to the rank of Commander-in-Chief, which is equivalent to a promotion of four ranks, from a sixth-rank centurion to a fourth-rank Commander-in-Chief.
This is not a militia rank like a guerrilla commander in a garrison, but a formal military rank in one of the three battalions of the regular army.
What's more, he was given an extra Yunqiwei (a military rank). Liu Hu already had half a Yunqiwei, so adding the Vanguard rank added another one, and he was given an extra reward.
He had already earned the title of Yunqiwei (a military rank) and the merit of one and a half Yunqiwei. If he could earn another one and a half Yunqiwei, he would become a fourth-rank Yunqiwei (a military rank).
But no matter what, Liu Hu's priority is to survive.
After leaving the command tent, Liu Hu did not return to his own centurion camp, but instead followed one of Jia Daishan's personal guards to another camp not far from the command tent.
Upon arriving at the destination, the guard did not leave but instead went straight into a tent not far away.
Soon after, Liu Hu saw many familiar figures in the camp, all of whom were personal guards he had met at the Jia family mansion.
"Brother Zhang, you wouldn't be like this too...?"
It wasn't until he saw Zhang Wannian that Liu Hu stopped him and asked his question.
Zhang Wannian was taken aback when he saw Liu Hu, but then nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"That's right, I just didn't expect you to come too."
Zhang Wannian looked relaxed, as if unaware of the danger he would face the day after tomorrow.
It was clear that Jia Daishan was going all in this time, even sending his personal guards into the vanguard camp.
"Brother Jia and Commander Sun didn't come?" Liu Hu asked Zhang Wannian when he couldn't find the two.
"They've come too. All the personal guards who accompanied the general on this expedition have been assigned to the vanguard camp."
"The reason this camp is so close to the commander's tent is to prevent the commander from being taken advantage of by villains when he is alone."
He then patted his shoulder and said excitedly, "I've wanted to join the Vanguard Battalion for a long time, but the commander didn't agree in the past. This time, I finally have a chance to make some money for my sons."
"Have you thought about what would happen to your sister-in-law and children if something were to happen to them?" Liu Hu couldn't help but ask, seeing his excited expression.
"What's the big deal? Titles aren't so easy to come by. If you die, you can only blame your bad luck. As for your family, the lord has promised to provide them with work."
At this point, Zhang Wannian solemnly said, "If I'm unlucky enough to die here, please take care of my family."
Liu Hu nodded solemnly: "Me too." He then extended his right hand.
Zhang Wannian nodded solemnly after hearing this.
"Snapped!"
The two made a vow by high-fiving.
The two then returned to their respective tents.
The food in the Vanguard Battalion was much better than in other camps, but the other soldiers did not object to this preferential treatment, because they all knew that this was probably their last meal before they were beheaded.
The soldiers who entered the vanguard camp rarely interacted with each other. After eating, they would stretch their muscles and return to their own tents to rest and recuperate.
The next day, Jia Daishan sent someone to deliver what Liu Hu had requested: a large umbrella-shaped shield, two inches thick, covered with iron sheets, and with a radius of one and a half meters.
After Liu Hu received the item, he tried it out and found it to be fairly easy to use.
The shield weighs about 100 pounds, but for Liu Hu, whose strength now exceeds 600 pounds, carrying it while running doesn't have much of an impact.
Liu Hu discovered that his strength was increasing at a slower and slower pace. He used to gain about 100 pounds a month, but now he could not gain 100 pounds in two months, and the rate of increase was slowing down.
He estimated that his strength would only increase to the point where he could lift 800 jin (400 kg).
Liu Hu was already quite satisfied with this level of strength. The weightlifting record in later generations was only over 600 jin (300 kg). With his current height of nearly 1.9 meters and long arms, it was already quite good to be able to exceed that record by more than 100 jin (50 kg).
Moreover, his overall qualities far surpassed those of weightlifters in later generations; he had virtually no weaknesses in strength, reaction time, agility, stamina, or speed.
Before they knew it, the day that would determine their fate arrived. As dawn broke, the soldiers of the Vanguard Camp began to get up and eat.
Today's meal was exceptionally lavish. Although it wasn't a Manchu Han Imperial Feast, there was still plenty of meat, and everyone had a bowl of wine.
Although it wasn't the Moutai of later generations, it still made everyone very happy.
"Stay close to me, and wait until I get to the top of the city wall before you rush up."
As the team set off, Liu Hu whispered something to Jia Dun and Zhang Wannian.
Looking at the large shield in Liu Hu's hand, the two men nodded slightly, though they didn't understand Liu Hu's plan.
This time, the vanguard camp consisted of 2,000 men from the Lantian camp and 2,500 men from the Hexi army.
There was no distinction between superiors and inferiors in the vanguard camp; as soon as the drums sounded, they all charged forward.
As the rallying drum sounded, the entire camp instantly erupted in excitement.
"Boom boom boom!"
As before, the artillery battalion spoke first, and this time the Oirat city wall was quiet, and they did not waste their cannonballs.
However, the sight of countless heads on the city wall made Liu Hu realize that it was teeming with murderous intent, just waiting for them to rush over.
Liu Hu tightened his grip on the shield and pulled the Miao sword at his waist back.
As the artillery fire was about to reach the city wall, Liu Hu bent down slightly and stared intently at the city wall in front of him.
"Knock knock knock!"
The moment the artillery fire reached the top of the wall, the war drums immediately sounded.
"kill!"
Liu Hu roared and ran forward with his shield in one hand. However, this time he did not recklessly break away from the group and charge alone. Instead, he joined the group at the front.
With his agile movements, Liu Hu safely passed through the Oirat cannonballs.
Jia Dun and Zhang Wannian, who were following behind, noticed that Liu Hu seemed to know about the Oirat cannonballs and was always able to dodge them in advance.
The two people following behind him also passed through the area safely.
The most difficult part is yet to come; just 150 paces from the city wall, you'll face the Oirat's projectiles.
Upon arriving at this area, the three immediately huddled together, using their shields to protect themselves in front, to the left, and to the right.
However, even so, the three of them suffered injuries of varying degrees.
After all, with nearly ten thousand arrows fired in a volley, there are bound to be some that slip through the net.
Liu Hu was hit by two arrows in the leg, but fortunately the bones were not broken. Jia Dun failed to keep up with the two, resulting in an arrow hitting his right arm. Zhang Wannian was almost blown in the head by an arrow that pierced through his shield. Fortunately, he dodged quickly, but a deep wound that exposed bone was left on his face.
Even though they were injured, the three of them did not dare to stop. Liu Hu and Jia Dun ran while gritting their teeth and breaking off the exposed arrow shafts.
Seeing that the people in front had already set up the ladder, Liu Hu whispered, "Take care of yourself, and remember what I said."
After saying that, Liu Hu suddenly exerted force with his feet, leaped over the crowd, and flew upwards on the cloud ladder.
Indeed, whether it was the soldiers of the Great Zhou below or the Oirat soldiers on the city walls, they all saw what was happening as flying.
Liu Hu took three steps at a time and quickly climbed seven or eight meters before grabbing the ladder to steady himself. Then he was about to continue climbing.
At this moment, the Oirat people immediately reacted, and arrows, logs, and stones were all aimed at Liu Hu's head.
Upon seeing this, Liu Hu hurriedly raised his large shield to protect his head while swinging it left and right to push the thunderstones and logs aside.
At the same time, he exerted force with his feet and shot up another seven or eight meters.