Sui and Tang Dynasty Generals

Chapter 96 A Changed Mindset, a Bandit Archer

"Fire arrows!"

"Release the arrows!"

Looking outside the city, the rebel soldiers, forming groups of five, approached with shields in hand. The soldiers inside the city kept shouting and shooting arrows at the rebels outside the city.

However, the rebels were organized into groups of five, wearing not only armor but also shields. At first glance, they looked like a sea of people slowly approaching, so the arrows did not have much killing power.

Seeing the ladders and chariots slowly approaching the city from outside, the soldiers inside the city road hurriedly put down the huge straight woods they had prepared, drove them out from the city road, and placed them in front of the ladders and chariots to prevent the thieves from pushing them to the front of the city.

Suddenly, a huge rock was thrown from a catapult in the plains and fell from mid-air under a high platform. The rock hit the wooden beams of the platform and broke them. Three of the soldiers defending the city on the platform rolled down and hurriedly grabbed other wood, while two of them fell directly into the city road and groaned in pain on the ground.

"Prepare!"

A soldier stood on the city gate. As iron hooks extended from both sides, the soldier looked at the battering rams below the city with a tense expression.

The iron hook must hook up the battering ram of the ram, and because the ram has a roof to protect against arrows, the whole process only takes one or two seconds.

As the commander, the soldier must keep a tense expression and observe the impact rhythm of the rebels in the battering ram. Only in this way can he accurately hook the battering ram.

However, just as the soldier raised his hand and finished speaking, an arrow shot from under the city. The soldier was caught off guard and was hit directly in the face. In an instant, blood flowed continuously from the arrow.

The soldier opened his eyes and had no chance to say anything else. He slowly collapsed on the city wall and slid down from it.

The soldiers defending the city around saw the soldiers being shot and looked at the blood sliding down the city wall, their faces all turned pale.

"I come!"

One soldier knew that he would die if he stuck his head out, but he still stood up without hesitation and stood in the position of the previous soldier.

As soldiers defending the city and the Jinyang garrison, there are some things that someone will have to step up and do.

"Prepare!"

The soldier was only in his early twenties. When he stretched his head to look outside the city gate, his face was full of tension, but his eyes had no time to pay attention to other places. He could only stare at the battering rams below the city.

Within the city road.

The soldiers defending the city had tense expressions, holding the ropes tightly in their hands, looking at the young soldier, waiting for him to speak.

But the next moment, everyone saw an arrow flying past the young soldier's cheek. After a scream, the young soldier covered his bloody face and shouted in pain.

Looking at the young soldier covering his face with his bloody hands, everyone's heart tightened. Everyone knew that this young soldier had already saved his life, and the next one might not be as lucky as him.

"I come……"

The drums of the rebel army outside the city were still beating, huge rocks were constantly thrown over the top of the city, and looking at the left and right sides of the city road, arrows were flying back and forth. When everyone was in panic, a middle-aged soldier chose to stand up.

They were all soldiers from Yingyang Mansion and knew each other. The soldiers guarding the city around them all knew that this middle-aged soldier had parents and a wife and children.

"I come!"

An older soldier couldn't stand it anymore, so he stepped forward and decided to stand up for the middle-aged soldier, the other soldiers, and the people in the city.

"Let me do it!"

The older soldier heard a voice and felt a hand on his shoulder. Anger immediately appeared on his old face. He turned around and was about to scold the soldier who was overestimating his own abilities. However, when he saw who it was, his face suddenly froze.

"Colonel Captain!"

The old soldier looked at Fu Zihou. How could he not recognize this captain from the east city of Jinyang? He was the one who had come to his home in the past, given him money to buy him a car, and also helped him to get back the land and household supplies.

"Colonel Captain!"

"Colonel Captain!"

The other soldiers defending the city were all stunned. When they saw Fu Zihou trying to stick his head out himself, they all tried to stop him.

"I go!"

"Captain! Let me go!"

"I'm not afraid of death! I'll do it!!"

All the soldiers of Yingyang Mansion were arguing that they wanted to go by themselves. They had seen what the young captain had done for them in recent days. Everyone knew how dangerous it would be to stick their heads out, and no one wanted to do it. But if it was for Fu Zihou, they were all willing to go.

In their eyes, they can die, but the captain cannot!
"Captain, you still have to protect the people of Jinyang East City! You can't go!"

The old soldier pulled Fu Zihou and started to persuade him, saying that no matter what, he would not let Fu Zihou stick his head out and be the one who waits and sees.

"I, Fu Zihou, don't even dare to raise my head. I don't even dare to take the risk for you. How can you talk about protecting the people? I am the captain of Dongcheng, and I am also your captain!"

Fu Zihou looked at everyone with a tough attitude.

Fu Zihou knew that his premonition could give him some chance to save his life, which was much better than those of these soldiers.

Looking at the old soldier with red eyes, he refused to let go no matter what.

"If you still recognize me as a captain, then let me go! This time, regardless of life or death, I, Fu Zihou, hope to fight alongside you soldiers instead of hiding away because I am afraid of death. Otherwise, whether I live or die in the future, I will not be able to see you again!"

Fu Zihou said to the old soldier, his eyes sweeping over everyone. At first, Fu Zihou couldn't get over the hurdle of conscience, so he came to the East City of Jinyang, intending to find an opportunity to return to the West City and hide after doing his best to defend the East City.

Fu Zihou didn't want to die, and he didn't want to risk his life and face the huge army of bandits.

The sudden attack of the rebels caught Fu Zihou off guard. When Fu Zihou hesitated whether to leave, the hurdle in his heart stopped him.

Fu Zihou was afraid that when Li Yuan led the Sui army to repel Zhen Zhai'er's army, he would not be able to face the people in the East City who had experienced the catastrophe when he walked out of the West City!
Fu Zihou was afraid and hid in West City, suffering nightmares day and night!
Fu Zihou was afraid that the news would reach his parents' ears, and that his grandfather, who used to be so proud that he said his grandson could have a page in the family tree, would hear it!

Fu Zihou didn't want to see that the teacher who taught a young boy in that village would regret accepting him as a disciple!
In the end, Fu Zihou chose to stay, do his best, and then leave his life to God.

"Colonel Captain!"

The old soldier looked at Fu Zihou with red eyes, and his grip on his hand no longer had the strength it had just now.

"Colonel Captain!"

"Colonel Captain!"

The soldiers around, regardless of age, and with different looks, all stared at Fu Zihou in a daze.

In the past, they had all seen Fu Zihou leading his troops out of the city with their own eyes, but they were not among them.

Now, facing the army of bandits outside the city attacking the city, looking at the captain leading them, it was the first time they saw Fu Zihou's expression during the battle.

It was also the first time they heard Fu Zihou say such words to them.

The blood of each soldier was boiling, and they swore in their hearts that they would follow Fu Zihou regardless of life or death.

"Don't worry! Zihou is the one guarding the city, and he is the captain who commands you. No one outside the city can kill me!"

Fu Zihou looked at the old soldier guarding the city, smiled confidently, and then his eyes were full of sharpness.

Seeing the old soldier let go of his hand, under the worried gazes of other soldiers, Fu Zihou turned two steps, put his hand on the city wall, and looked down from the top of the city.

Every soldier in the city held the thick rope tightly with both hands, staring at Fu Zihou, not daring to breathe. Everyone was on edge, on the one hand they were afraid that Fu Zihou would get hurt, on the other hand everyone was filled with anger.

They all swore in their hearts that if anything happened to Fu Zihou, even if they died, they would also use their lives to make the rebels outside the city be buried with Fu Zihou.

"Prepare!"

Fu Zihou shouted.

Looking at the battering ram that kept hitting the city gate, feeling the pattern, he suddenly sensed something between his brows and turned his head, but his eyes were still looking at the battering ram below the city.

"put!"

At Fu Zihou's shout, the frightened soldiers defending the city inside the city road hurriedly loosened their hand ropes. As the triangular iron hook fell below and the thick rope became soft, they all grabbed the thick rope and stood up to pull it. One by one, the soldiers leaned their bodies and tried their best to pull up the thick rope.

Fu Zihou looked at the battering rams under the city gate, which were hooked up by long iron hooks. Only then did he look in the direction where the arrows came from.

But when he saw a young rebel soldier hiding behind a ladder on the plain outside the city, taking out an arrow, drawing the bow and aiming the arrow at himself, Fu Zihou's eyes were full of coldness, and he just let the rebel aim at him.

Behind the ladder.

Qi Lingyang held a longbow and looked at the young Sui army soldier on the east city gate with a frown. The first time he missed, his arm was injured by an arrow, so the arrow went off target. The second time he missed was just a coincidence.

Qi Lingyang was absolutely confident in his archery skills. The arrogant young Sui army officer would never have the chance to see him again...

As Qi Lingyang released the bowstring, just when he thought that his arrow would definitely kill the Sui army soldier, he suddenly saw the Sui army soldier turn his head to the side and easily dodge his full-strength arrow.

"How can it be……"

Qi Lingyang stood there in shock. With the speed of his arrow shot at full force, it was no exaggeration to say that at this distance, the opponent would have no time to react if he saw him let go.

How did the Sui army soldiers do it?
"what!"

Before Qi Lingyang could figure it out, this brief moment of distraction made him fail to see that on the other side of the city wall, Yin Tianzong had already aimed at the small part of his body that was exposed. After Yin Tianzong released the bowstring, an arrow hit the wooden beam of the ladder and happened to injure Qi Lingyang's foot.

Under the huge pain, Qi Lingyang instinctively retracted his feet. Before he could drop his longbow and grab the ladder, he fell down.

On top of the city.

Fu Zihou also saw this scene. When he saw the bandit who had drawn his bow and shot an arrow fall to the ground unconscious, he quietly remembered it in his mind. He saw that the people nearby had already taken black water and poured it on the battering ram under the city, and then threw torches down.

Seeing the battering rams burning below the city, the rebels who were trying to smash the hooks with hammers were all burned and screaming. Fu Zihou knew that he didn't need to worry about the city gate today, so he returned to the city.

Under the gaze of the soldiers around him, Fu Zihou walked in the city road and came to a damaged platform. He asked the people to carry the injured soldiers into the city. Then he personally picked up the wooden beams prepared on the side and worked together with other soldiers to prop up the half-collapsed platform.

"Hold on!"

"The mud on the car is falling off! Put out the fire!"

"Shoot the arrow!!!"

Inside the city, facing a city guard captain like Fu Zihou, both the soldiers and the common people were not afraid of danger or the army of bandits outside the city. They shouted aggressively and worked together to defend the city.

(End of this chapter)