Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 50 Siege
After the wooden ladder was brought over, Xu Sheng pulled out a knife from the scabbard of the soldier beside him, took out a rope from his pouch, and tied the knife firmly to one end of the wooden ladder.

Then he asked two soldiers to lift the wooden ladder together and use the ring-handled knife tied to the other end of the ladder to cut the lifting rope of the suspension bridge.

The wooden ladder is about six meters long and is specially prepared for crossing the moat at night. When it is erected, the blade can already touch the lifting rope.

Two soldiers knelt on one knee on the ground, and under the protection of the shield formation, they swung the wooden ladder with all their might. The sharp blade swayed rhythmically with the ladder, cutting the rope bit by bit.

After the defenders in the gate tower discovered this situation, the rain of arrows immediately became more intense. Arrows flew through the air and shot towards the bottom of the wooden ladder, but were blocked by wooden shields.

Arrows pierced the shield one by one, making the wooden shield crackle.

Since the wooden shields could not completely cover the soldiers' bodies, soldiers screamed from time to time, and the bodies exposed outside the wooden shields were hit by the arrows and bled profusely.

But under Xu Sheng's strict order, no one dared to take a step back, and the two soldiers controlling the wooden ladder were well protected.

Snapped!
Crunch!

Suddenly, there were several strange noises, and the lifting rope under the blade broke into two pieces. The bridge deck, which was no longer fixed by the rope, shook violently, and the huge force pulled the other lifting rope straight.

At this time, the sky was already shimmering with light, driving away some of the darkness. Xu Sheng was anxious and shouted, "Shield formation, move to the left!"

The soldiers holding shields cooperated closely, and the shield formation began to move slowly, stopping in front of another tower pillar.

The ring-handled knife at the top of the wooden ladder began to cut the second rope.

There was a commotion among the defenders in the gatehouse. The captain looked at the crumbling suspension bridge with a grim face and clenched fists.

Du Jing asked beside him, "Captain, the suspension bridge is no longer safe. The enemy may have a rear guard. Should we leave the city immediately and recapture the suspension bridge first?"

"Idiot! Do you want to go out and die?" The village chief yelled in a panic.

The sounds of fighting coming from the suspension bridge had become almost inaudible, indicating that the garrison guarding the bridge was in great danger.

Du Jing didn't dare to say anything more. In fact, he was very hesitant in his heart. If the suspension bridge was lost, everyone here would be severely punished afterwards. But he couldn't help feeling uneasy about going out of the city to fight.

He cast his gaze at the soldiers around him and saw obvious fear and anxiety on their tense faces.

boom!
Suddenly, a loud noise was heard outside the city. As the second lifting rope was cut, the bridge deck, which had completely lost its fixation, fell heavily to the ground.

The village chief's body trembled at the loud noise and he shouted, "Keep hitting the gong!"

In fact, it was unnecessary to strike the bells at this time, because the area around the South Gate was already bustling with noise. Candles began to light up in each house and gradually spread towards the city, as if a sleeping giant beast was gradually waking up.

The defenders in the gate tower picked up their weapons and bamboo hats, and under the command of two team leaders, hurried to the arrow towers and city walls on both sides.

On the avenue close to the south gate in the city, footsteps gradually began to be heard, and soldiers closer to the city gate were arriving one after another.

The captain breathed a sigh of relief. The city wall beneath his feet and the dozens of reinforcements that had appeared in his sight gave him a sense of security, effectively easing his inner tension. Just as his thoughts were swirling, he began to ponder how to deal with the responsibility for the loss of the suspension bridge, when he suddenly felt a slight tremor in the earth. The dull sound of horse hooves came from afar like thunder, dense and powerful, each one like a heavy hammer, hammering at his heart.

The village chief's face suddenly changed. He strode to the arrow window, took a look, and then froze like a statue.

With the faint light from the eastern sky, he saw a row of dark shadows appear on the distant horizon. At first, they were just thin black dots, but soon, these black dots expanded and gathered, forming a dark cloud-like formation. Even though the sky was still dark, it could not hide it.

The village chief couldn't stop shaking all over.

In fact, as early as the brief battle on the suspension bridge, Yan Yi, who noticed the movement, decisively ordered the entire army to advance towards Qian Gonglei.

When the suspension bridge fell, the entire army was less than 300 meters away from Qian Gong Lei.

Looking at the hazy outline of the city ahead, the desire to charge into the city and the tense atmosphere of the upcoming battle temporarily drove away the fatigue in the soldiers' bodies. After a short rest, the army was like a black cloud, pressing towards the city with murderous intent.

Xu Sheng and Chen Gan led nearly a hundred soldiers to form a defensive formation on the south side of the suspension bridge. Seeing the army approaching, they hurried to meet them.

"I have fulfilled my mission and have successfully captured the suspension bridge!" The two men's solemn expressions could not hide a hint of joy.

"If we can capture Qian Gong's fort this time, you two will be credited with the greatest achievement!" Yan Yi, sitting astride his horse, praised them for a few words before his expression turned solemn. A murderous look condensed between his brows. He ordered in a deep voice, "Order the entire army to attack the city immediately!"

Huh!
Everyone obeyed the order loudly and left.

As the military orders were issued, the military formation began to change significantly. Three hundred sword and shield soldiers pushed eight ladders and rushed out, joining nearly a hundred soldiers in front of the drawbridge, shouting and rushing towards the right side of the city wall.

These two groups of sword and shield soldiers were all composed of Yan's elite soldiers. One of them was originally a crossbowman, but now they also changed into swords and shields and were sent by Yan Yi to attack the city.

The cruelty of siege warfare is even worse than that of field warfare. Soldiers are under great psychological pressure when climbing the city walls, and are easily prone to negative emotions such as fear and despair. Only these elite soldiers of the Yan family who have been through many battles can reassure him.

Following closely behind the sword and shield soldiers dozens of meters away were four hundred Danyang soldiers armed with bows and crossbows. They would be responsible for covering the sword and shield soldiers' siege of the city and using bows and crossbows to suppress the defenders on the city walls.

The three hundred sons of wealthy and powerful families are in the third row in this siege. If the four hundred sword and shield soldiers are unable to attack the city wall in one go, they will immediately launch a second round of attack.

The four hundred cavalrymen served as the rear guard, ready for battle. If the city gate could be captured, they would be the first to rush into the city.

Since this siege was of great importance, in addition to Chen Gan, Xu Sheng, Zhao Cuo and others who all participated in the battle, even Fan Yan put on armor and went to the city to supervise the battle in person!

The only ones in the entire army who were truly outside the battlefield were Yan Yi and the twenty or so death warriors who guarded him.

"Kill! The first one to reach the summit will be rewarded 100,000 yuan and promoted to the second rank!"

Amidst earth-shaking shouts, the first 400 sword and shield soldiers who participated in the siege were divided into eight teams. They rushed towards the city wall under the arrows, erected ladders on the wall, held shields in their left hands and swords in their right hands, and climbed up like ants.

Four hundred Danyang soldiers lined up a hundred steps away from the city, drew their bows and arrows, and rows of dense arrows poured down on the city wall.

(End of this chapter)