Chapter 686: Destroying Changxin Village
The endless fields are covered with lush grass. The morning sun shines on the grass leaves, and the dew reflects the sunlight, looking colorful...
A bird flew through the air and a pile of bird droppings landed accurately on Wang Shen's head.
"Fuck you!" Wang Shen, who was in his early twenties, looked up and cursed.
Birds eat, drink, defecate and urinate out of instinct, so they are naturally unaware of the trouble they are causing.
Changxin Village was just ahead. Wang Shen turned around and shouted, "Hurry up."
"General, damn, we have come here in vain!" The old soldier under his command rode his horse to catch up, the wrinkles on his face were full of regret.
Changxin Village is more than ten miles away from Datong and is the outpost of Datong. There are 500 soldiers stationed in the village. The commander, Li Zhi, is hot-tempered and often scolds his subordinates, but he is clear about rewards and punishments.
Wang Shen and others were ordered to conduct scouts. Before they set out, Li Zhiyou told them that if they found any important information, they could immediately go to Datong...which meant that they were asked to escape.
Since learning that Altan Khan was heading south, most of the defenders of Changxin Village thought they were doomed. But after waiting for a long time, they still did not see Altan Khan's troops crossing the border, let alone attacking.
Some people analyzed that the enemy cavalry that appeared a while ago must have been a diversionary force, and Altan's main force might have gone to Xuanfu.
But even so, the defenders in the village were still uneasy, some pretended to be sick, and some even ran away.
"sick?"
Changxin Village is called a village, but it is actually a small earthen city. The top of the city wall is more than one person high, but if you want to climb up, you must use a ladder.
The guard general Li Zhi, whose face was tanned by the sun, looked at a centurion who was carried up.
“Yes.” The centurion was called Zheng Zhong. His face was dark, he was gasping for breath, and it looked as if... he would not live long.
"I see you are dying. You probably won't make it to Datong." Li Zhi came over and suddenly grabbed Zheng Zhong by the collar, lifted him up, and cursed, "Bitch, you were still thinking about going to Datong to spend the night with your lover a while ago. How come you are going to die after half a month?"
Zheng Zhong's neck was strangled by the collar, and he felt uncomfortable. He said with difficulty: "Your subordinate... Your subordinate..."
"You motherfucker!" Li Zhi spitted all over Zheng Zhong's face, "You must die in Changxin Village!"
He looked up at the soldiers and said, "I want to go back to Datong, and I want to live a peaceful life in the city. But this is my fate."
Li Zhi pointed ahead and said, "Changxin Village is located more than ten miles ahead of Datong. Building a small village here is to warn Datong. It is what..."
Li Zhi pointed to a wooden building in the village and said, "It's like a big beacon. Do you understand? When a large number of enemy troops appear, we light the beacon, and then..."
Li Zhi looked at his subordinates and said, "We can die now."
A beacon tower usually has a small flag unit, which is an early warning unit. Once the enemy army attacks in large numbers, they light the beacon fire, and the rest of the work is...
Wait to die!
"But Altan is heading to Xuanfu, and we are safe and sound." Li Zhi said proudly, "Even if the three thousand cavalrymen come, will Grandpa be afraid of them? If he has the ability, he can attack the city. I only need to hold on for half a day, and Datong will definitely send troops..."
"Captain, Datong may not necessarily send troops." Someone said weakly.
"Bullshit!" Li Zhi cursed, "That was in the past. I was there during the last meeting. General Zhang said that those who feared the enemy like a tiger should be killed. Can he take back what the general said in front of us?"
Li Zhi let go, and Zheng Zhong sat down, saying awkwardly, "Captain, you should have said so earlier!"
"Captain Hu!" Wang Shen climbed up to the top of the city wall.
"Have you found anything?" Li Zhi asked.
"Not really." Wang Shen said.
"it is good!"
"Sure enough, he went to Xuanfu."
"Hahahaha!"
Li Zhi looked at his subordinates and scolded, "Everyone, keep a close eye on them. If you spot any enemy troops, report immediately. I'm going back to sleep."
Everyone agreed immediately.
Zheng Zhong followed him and said, "Captain, it's not that I'm afraid of death. You know, my mother is in Datong and my wife has difficulty walking. It doesn't matter if I die in battle, but who will take care of my mother and wife at home?"
"Your son should be taught a lesson." Li Zhi cursed as he walked down the city wall. "I told you at the beginning that your son is a nuisance. If it were me, I would definitely teach him a lesson with a big stick. You were reluctant to let him go, but now your son is idle all day in Datong, and he is almost stealing."
"I only have this one son, and I am thinking about his descendants." Zheng Zhong smiled bitterly.
"Incense? This motherfucker has ruined the family. Forget incense. When you die, you won't even be able to eat cold pork."
Zheng Zhong lowered his head, "Da Lang will definitely change."
"I've seen a lot of guys like that. They can't change even if they are brought to the capital! Just wait for your punishment!"
"Forget it." Zheng Zhong gritted his teeth, "Next time I go back to Datong, I will... I will use heavy hands to deal with that little beast."
"That's right." Li Zhi returned to his room and took out the letter.
He was illiterate and had to rely on military clerks to write letters for him. His wife had asked someone to write the letters for him, and he knew the contents by heart, but he would take them out to read from time to time.
——I heard that a great war is about to begin. Long Wei Bo has been training his troops in the capital all day. My husband, Long Wei Bo is going to the battle. This battle will surely be a great victory...
Li Zhi smiled. He recognized five words in this line.
——Erlang clamored to join the army, saying that he wanted to follow Chang Wei Bo to the battlefield to win an imperial decree for me.
"Baby."
——The family still has eight hundred coins left to repay the money they borrowed for Dalang’s wedding.
Li Zhidu frowned, took out his purse, looked at the remaining hundred yuan, and couldn't help scratching his head, "Damn it, when can I pay it back?"
Changxin Village was small and the rooms were crowded. Zheng Zhong was next to Li Zhi and when he heard the voice, he said, "If you die in battle, you will be paid off."
There is a pension for those who died in battle!
"You bastard!" Li Zhi loved to be praised, so when he heard this, he stood up and went out, ready to deal with this foul-mouthed guy.
The noise on the city wall suddenly stopped.
"Captain, I was just joking." Zheng Zhong, who was worried about being beaten, came out and prepared to escape.
Li Zhi stood outside his door, staring blankly at the top of the city wall.
Zheng Zhong looked over slowly.
The soldiers on the city wall were all looking in one direction.
north!
The ground shook slightly.
Zheng Zhong's face turned pale, "This is..."
"Enemy attack!"
A shrill scream was heard from the top of the city.
"The enemy is attacking!"
Li Zhi and Zheng Zhong ran to the top of the city wall.
Before they could even catch their breath, they were stunned.
In the distance, there was a huge mass of cavalry that stretched as far as the eye could see.
Countless cavalrymen were roaring towards Changxin Village, as happy as wolves finding their prey.
"Be on guard!" Li Zhi's voice was so calm that even he himself was unfamiliar with it.
"Be on guard!" Zheng Zhong roared, "Pick up your weapons, go, boil some gold juice, and put the firearms on the top of the city. And arrows... hurry!" There were a few women in the village who came to visit their relatives. At this moment, they were standing on the only street in the village, looking at the soldiers in despair as they rushed down and carried up the city defense supplies piled up under the city.
"The enemy has 5,000 cavalry!"
The sergeant on the lookout shouted, and he even laughed, "Captain, we can't go back?"
Li Zhi did not answer. He held the hilt of the sword in his hand, and the enemy cavalry in front suddenly separated and went around the earthen city.
"Is this... just passing by?" someone hoped for the best.
"No." Wang Shen shook his head, "It's a siege."
Lin Siyuan reined in his horse and asked, "How many soldiers are there in the village?"
A civil servant accompanying the army said, "Commander-in-chief, there are 500 garrison troops, led by Captain Li Zhi."
"Surrender!"
"Leader!"
More than ten riders rode forward and shouted, "Li Zhi, open the city and surrender. The governor will spare your life!"
Li Zhi glanced at the dozen riders and said, "Descend my goddess!"
"Commander-in-chief, the defenders will not surrender!"
Lin Siyuan said calmly: "Then, crush it!"
"Leader!"
A captain raised his sword: "The governor has ordered to destroy Changxin Village!"
Teams of cavalry took turns charging towards Changxin Village.
"Be alert!" Li Zhi shouted. He was holding a shield and saw a soldier standing there in a daze. He kicked him down in anger, and then a wave of arrows flew to the top of the city.
Most of the defenders took up shields, but about a dozen of them forgot about this in panic and were covered by the rain of arrows.
Li Zhi saw a soldier being shot by an arrow, screaming and falling towards the city. Then the enemy was overjoyed and several riders approached the city.
"Shoot!" Li Zhi shouted.
"Captain, our brothers are below!" said a small flag officer.
"Fuck you!" Li Zhi roared, "Shoot!"
Several archers leaned out and shot two of them with arrows, and the remaining three riders retreated in a roundabout way.
The Ming army soldier at the foot of the city looked up at them in despair, "Save me!"
"The enemy is coming."
The second wave of enemy troops attacked, and Li Zhi said coldly: "Kill him!"
"Qian Hu!" Xiao Qi couldn't bear it, and Li Zhi kicked him over, "If you don't kill me, I'll kill you!"
Xiaoqi stood up, picked up his bow and arrow, poked his head out and shouted, "Old Five!"
"Xiaoqi!" The sergeant looked up in ecstasy, "Save me."
The enemy was approaching, and Xiaoqi's lips trembled, "Brother, take care!"
The hand loosened.
The arrow fell.
The soldier was shot in the chest and slowly fell down in disbelief.
The enemy troops then covered the area with a hail of arrows, avoiding only the area below the city.
"They want to capture us alive." Li Zhi put down his shield.
"Yes." Zheng Zhong said.
"Has the beacon been lit?" Li Zhi asked.
"It's lit."
Li Zhi looked back and saw a thick smoke rising from the beacon tower in the village.
"Shield." someone shouted.
Li Zhi raised his shield and said, "Tell them to get all the meat out."
"The last meal must be delicious." Zheng Zhong said.
Several waves of arrows fired by the enemy caused little loss to the defenders, but their morale plummeted to the bottom.
An hour later, the enemy built the ladder.
"Commander-in-chief." The general came to ask for instructions.
Lin Siyuan narrowed his eyes and looked at Changxin Village. "One hour, I want to go into the village to rest."
"Leader!"
The general turned around and shouted, "Attack the city!"
The enemy soldiers swarmed in carrying ladders.
"Fire arrows!"
"Fire arrows!"
Arrows kept falling from the top of the city. After the enemy soldiers fell, someone would take over and continue running wildly carrying a ladder.
The accompanying archers also drew their bows and aimed their arrows at their companions on the top of the city wall.
One archer fell down screaming, and then another...
Seeing his subordinates being hit by arrows one after another, Li Zhi's face turned pale, but there was nothing he could do.
The enemy has more soldiers, so we can afford the loss if we exchange them at a one-to-one ratio, or even a one-to-two ratio.
But he couldn't bear it.
Bang!
The ladder was leaning heavily against the top of the city wall, and then a creaking sound was heard.
One by one, the enemy soldiers rushed up the ladders.
The earthen city was too low, so they didn't even need to hold their swords tightly. They just used the force to rush up two steps and easily jumped onto the top of the city.
"kill!"
As soon as the contact came, the enemy opened a hole in the city wall.
"Qianhu!"
Wang Shen, who was blocking the hole there, looked back in despair.
"Zheng Zhong!" Li Zhi pointed over there, and Zheng Zhong said, "Captain, please watch!"
Zheng Zhong personally charged forward, and just as he was driving back this wave of enemy troops, the other side was breached.
"Qian Hu!" With desperate screams, the enemy troops quickly rushed up.
"The city has been broken." The enemy cheered.
(End of this chapter)
