Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 588 Sieges and Fortresses: Commonplace Events

Yuancheng, Daming Prefecture.

Pan Huaihua, the commander of the Tianping Army, chewed on dry tea leaves, trying to get rid of the rusty taste in his mouth. However, the more he chewed, the worse it tasted. He even tasted a hint of mold in the tea leaves, so he frowned and spat them out.

"The supply officers are getting more and more outrageous. It's one thing if the millet is a bit old, it's just old grain, it's still edible," Pan Huaihua grumbled. "But what the hell is all the other military supplies?"

The people around him were all his own brothers, so he wasn't worried about these words getting out.

One of them said with a smile, "Chief Geng said that once we capture Daming Prefecture, he will reward the three armies, and everyone will receive wealth and women. At that time, Brother, you can eat tea leaves every day instead of just drinking some tea."

Several people burst into laughter, though it was unclear what they were laughing at.

Pan Huaihua frowned.

He followed Xin Qiji all the way across the north and south, and witnessed the discipline and fighting power of the Jingnan army. Although he did not understand the Jingnan army's policies at the time, he instinctively felt that the current Ping army's approach was not quite right.

The Jingnan army also faced difficulties, especially in the first few days after arriving in Jiangnan, when they were short of even basic food supplies, let alone old rice.

However, the Jingnan army did not encounter any trouble at that time because the Commander-in-Chief led the way, eating less food and even saving grain for the warhorses. Later, when the Song Dynasty's grain arrived, everyone ate whatever was available.

Of course, elite units like the Flying Tigers and the Vanguard Army naturally eat better and receive higher pay, but all of this is clearly stated in black and white on the proclamation. If you are envious and think you have the ability, you can also participate in the selection.

How can things be like the Ping Army today, where those at the top eat better and better while those at the bottom eat worse and worse?
General Xin remained steadfast, always sharing the leftover rice with everyone at mealtimes, which earned him the respect of all the soldiers in the Ta Bai army.

Pan Huaihua wasn't well-educated, so he naturally didn't know the saying, "It's not scarcity that's worrisome, but inequality." He just felt a bit resentful.

But thinking about it now was useless. Pan Huaihua stared intently at the command flag a dozen steps ahead, waiting for the order to attack.

"Shut the hell up, all of you!" Pan Huaihua shouted. "Except for the squad leaders, platoon leaders, and deputy captains, everyone else is stuffing copper coins into their mouths!"

His hundred men were already fully armored, bows drawn and swords unsheathed, waiting for the order to join the siege.

Beside Pan Huaihua, five other hundred-man squads were doing the same thing, their captains also waiting for orders.

Without keeping the soldiers waiting long, a drumbeat sounded, the apricot-yellow command flag was waved a few times, and then pointed forward.

Then, in silence, six hundred elite soldiers marched out of the camp in orderly steps, under the command of the flag.

This place was already a siege camp, only two hundred paces from the city wall. After Pan Huaihua set out, she immediately entered the range of the city wall's long-range attacks.

"Swords and shields at the front! Shields to protect your head and face!" Pan Huaihua shouted the order. "Yu Laoqi, you take the crossbowmen and don't go forward. Feng Si, you and ten swords and shieldmen will cover Yu Laoqi."

As soon as he finished speaking, Pan Huaihua felt a tremendous force coming from the shield, which pushed him and made him stagger.

In the midst of her busy work, Pan Huaihua peeked out and saw several Jin soldiers retreating from the city wall. She could clearly see what they were holding.

"The Divine Arm Crossbow! The Jurchen bandits also have Divine Arm Crossbows!"

Pan Huaihua glanced at the large shield and saw that the shield, which was covered with iron and cowhide, had been pierced by an arrow, with the arrowhead protruding an inch, narrowly missing his shoulder.

"Yu Laoqi! Go quickly! Hold down the city wall!"

Pan Huaihua gave the order again, this time turning around and glaring fiercely at the squad leader.

Yu Laoqi dared not slack off. Braving the occasional cold arrows, he directed more than twenty crossbowmen to disperse and stand still, firing suppressive shots at the city wall.

Several light cavalrymen galloped past the siege infantry, haphazardly hurling their bows at the city walls to create opportunities for the infantry to advance.

Although this section of the moat had been filled in, it was still not very stable. One of the riders on light horse lost his footing, and the horse neighed and fell to the ground. The rider and the horse rolled several times on the ground, and then one of his legs was pinned under the horse. He was unable to move for a moment and could only scream in pain.

The screams were not very loud, especially in such a chaotic battlefield. There were more than 30 casualties in front of Pan Huaihua alone. Some were lying on the ground without a sound, while others were roaring something.

Most of these people were laborers who set up ladders and pushed well siege towers, as well as soldiers of the Taiping Army from the previous attack. Some of them were even Jin soldiers who had fallen from the city walls. When they were alive, they fought to the death, but after they died, they were indistinguishable from friend to foe, their flesh and blood mixed together.

Pan Huaihua glanced at the pile of corpses, then looked at the city wall.

There should have been five siege ladders and two siege towers on this section of the city wall.

At this time, only one well curb was leaning against the city wall, and a fire had already broken out on top of it. The other well curb was simply leaning to one side in the middle of the road, it was unclear whether it was because the wheel had fallen off or because it had been hit by a catapult.

As for the cloud ladders, not a single one was seen.

With the assistance of archers, Pan Huaihua led her infantry, shields in hand, and slowly advanced. Taking advantage of the opportunity when the Jin army on the city wall was suppressed, she charged out in great strides.

He ran five or six steps, pulled the light cavalryman from under his horse, and dragged him directly under the shield.

"I am a captain under the command of the Ta Bai Army. Did you see the siege ladder just now?" The light cavalryman was a young man with just grown hair on his lip. Although he was still limping and had fallen and was dizzy, he still stuck his head out of his shield and pointed to the southwest.

Pan Huaihua also peeked out, squinting to look carefully, and saw that there was indeed a ladder lying across the base of the city wall about thirty paces away.

“Alright! Let’s…” As soon as she finished speaking, Pan Huaihua felt a weight in her hand. She turned around and saw that the light cavalryman had an arrow stuck in his neck, blood spurting from his mouth and nose, his eyes filled with shock. He soon collapsed to the ground.

Although it was somewhat regrettable that the young man had died so absurdly from a stray arrow, Pan Huaihua knew she couldn't delay. She put the whistle in her mouth and blew it hard.

The ten armored soldiers beside him instantly understood, paused only slightly, and then rushed out after their captain.

These soldiers were indeed the elite of the Taiping Army. Even though they were wearing heavy armor, they moved with incredible speed and in just a few breaths, they rushed to the foot of the siege ladder.

"Hurry up!"

After briefly inspecting the ladder, Pan Huaihua shouted, "Set it up! Get it up right now!"

The four armored soldiers immediately lowered their shields, lifted the siege ladder, and worked together to place it on the city wall.

"Hold on tight!" With that, Pan Huaihua, carrying her shield, took the lead and stepped onto the ladder, climbing rapidly.

The city walls of Yuancheng were about three zhang high (3.1 meters in Song Dynasty), which was very majestic. So even though Pan Huaihua was very fast, she was still spotted by the Jin army on the city wall.

While directing the laborers to push the siege ladder down with pitchforks, the Jin army officers ordered the archers around them to fire at Pan Huaihua.

However, Pan Huaihua's heroic performance attracted not only the Jin army, but also the officers of the Taiping army. Soon, a large number of Taiping soldiers also gathered here, and the archers in the army also threw arrows at the city wall, creating an opportunity for Pan Huaihua.

Taking advantage of a brief lull, amidst the Jin soldiers' cries of alarm, Pan Huaihua leaped onto the city wall, then drew two hand knives and began hacking and slashing wildly.

The Jin soldiers tried to stop him, but were scattered by Pan Huaihua. Along the city wall position he had established, four armored soldiers of the Tianping Army climbed the wall and guarded the left and right sides with large shields. Although the Jin army was numerous, they could not break through for a while.

Seeing this, the other commanders of the Taiping Army, without waiting for their commander's orders, dispatched their lieutenants to lead elite troops carrying ladders to support Pan Huaihua, attempting to open a breach from this point.

After more than thirty Taiping soldiers scaled the city walls, Pan Huaihua was finally able to free up her hands and launch a preemptive strike.

However, just after scattering the Jin soldiers and laborers who were boiling broth and hot oil, Pan Huaihua heard the sound of horns and horses' hooves. He immediately disregarded the danger and climbed the parapet. Upon looking into the distance, he couldn't help but curse loudly.

"Damn it! Jin cavalry! The Jin cavalry have gone mad! The Jin cavalry are going to sweep through the city walls!"

"Formation! Formation!"

The Yuancheng city wall is a typical Song Dynasty city wall. With the advancement of siege tactics, the defensive strategy of this era was no longer to build the city wall as high as possible, but to build the city wall as low as possible while making it as thick as possible.

For example, the city wall at Pan Huaihua's feet was three zhang wide (ten meters), enough for warhorses to gallop.

The thirty-odd Tianping soldiers who were the first to scale the walls did not carry long weapons. If the armored cavalry were to charge in recklessly, the fate of the Jin armored cavalry would be obvious, but these thirty-odd brave warriors who were the first to scale the walls would be doomed.

As the Jin army banners drew ever closer and the sound of hooves grew louder, the Jin soldiers on the city walls stirred with excitement, as if they had regained their morale, their shouts and battle cries filling the air.

Although Pan Huaihua had tried his best to throw some debris in front of him and formed a shield formation with the vanguard warriors, he was still uncertain. Just as he made up his mind to trade his life for another, he suddenly heard a particularly loud shout and cheer.

The direction from which the message came was precisely the direction in which the Jin army's armored cavalry had advanced.

To Pan Huaihua's astonishment, a large banner was erected on the city wall, and then became entangled with the banners of the Jin army's armored cavalry.

In a short while, the disparity in strength became clear. The sound of Jin soldiers' hooves gradually faded away, and their banners fell to the ground in neat rows, like leeks sliced ​​by a sickle.

By this time, the Jin soldiers on the city wall had finally reached their limit and were fleeing desperately towards the city below. Many Jin soldiers even jumped off the city wall, leaving stains on the ground like rotten persimmons.

Pan Huaihua ignored this, and his vanguard warriors had the same expression, just staring blankly at the banner sweeping across the city walls.

Qingsi banner.

Xin Qiji, one of the main generals of the Taiping Army, actually personally went up the city wall to fight!
"Follow me into battle and protect the general!"

Pan Huaihua was extremely excited and shouted loudly, raising her hand as if she were wielding a knife.

However, no sooner had he finished speaking than the sound of the retreat signal came from below the city.

Pan Huaihua turned around in astonishment and saw that black flags, signifying the retreat of troops, had been raised below the city.

He couldn't understand why they were still retreating even though this section of the city wall had already been captured.

However, military orders are absolute, and even with a thousand grievances and ten thousand questions in her heart, Pan Huaihua could only reluctantly retreat along the ladder from the city wall.

(End of this chapter)