Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 90 Siege
Urgent reports from the border kept coming in.

After campaigning in the south and north, Emperor Wanye of the Wen Dynasty, who considered himself a great ruler, finally began to take this northern military force seriously.

Li Laiyong, the first military genius of the Wen Dynasty, also led his troops to set up camp a kilometer away from Hukoubao.

After the 50,000-strong army set up camp and erected fences in the open area, Li Laiyong surveyed the nearby water levels and terrain and quickly made a decision.

Li Laiyong had already devised a plan for attacking the city, but then felt it was unnecessary.

"First, send someone to shout to the city's garrison to open the gates and surrender! The bandits have occupied Tiger Mouth Fort for less than half a month, and the city is not yet stable. There are more than a hundred mountain farmers who cannot control one guard and four garrisons. Shout to them that we will forgive their past transgressions and only punish the bandit leader."

"Yes!"

Vanguard officer Li Jiren was ordered to go out and make a message. He was a member of the Li family and a younger member of Li Laiyong's clan.

Li Jiren is 1.8 meters tall, with a burly and powerful build. He is fat, fierce, and has a loud voice.

When Li Jiren rode his horse to within 300 meters, he shouted at the top of his lungs at the soldiers guarding the city wall:

"Listen up, all citizens! The one who has come to punish the thieves is none other than the most valiant general of the Great Wen Dynasty, the Duke of Qin! Open the city gates immediately! By the Emperor's boundless grace, you will be spared!"

Li Jiren took a deep breath and shouted again, "If you remain stubborn, I will kill you all along with the treacherous mountain peasants!!"

The people on the platform remained silent, watching quietly.

Li Jiren angrily cursed, "Who's guarding this city? Dare to come out?!"

Meng Hetong shouted loudly, "Wait a minute about surrendering! We have the original commander of Hukoubao and the general of Beiyuanwei here. We'll put down our baskets, you put down one hundred taels of silver, and we'll release one of the commanders!"

"One thousand taels for each general!"

"To show our sincerity, we'll put one out first!"

Li Jiren was stunned, completely bewildered by what these people were doing.

Want money?

Li Laiyong and others watching from a distance also frowned.

At this moment, Cen Tianrui, the commander of Tongzhou, spoke quickly.

"General, the Shan Nong tribe sent a message some time ago, saying that if we pay money, we can ransom the prisoners. I have already informed the Emperor and the Prince of Jin about this."

Li Laiyong's expression was calm. More than fifty years of military service had made him take many things lightly, especially the lives of ordinary soldiers.

"Weizhou Garrison has fallen. The garrison commander, Fang Shouxiao, was loyal to the country. Even after the city fell, he fought to the death and was brutally murdered by the enemy."

"These people lost the battle but are still alive and well."

Li Laiyong looked at the guard who was being lowered from the city wall by ropes, and had already sentenced the man to death.

Meng Hetong shouted from the city wall, "We have released Yang Xiangyun, the garrison commander of Hukou Fort. Give us money, and we will release the commanders of Tongzhou Guard and Gaoliu Guard!"

After being lowered to the ground by the rope, Yang Qianyun used her mouth to untie the rope and quickly walked towards the army.

Hukoubao is surrounded by mountains on both sides, so no moat was dug on the side facing inland. Only the side facing north had a moat, which greatly reduced the difficulty of attacking the city.

Yang Qianyun approached Li Jiren, who, as a defeated general sent back, was at a loss for words.

Looking at him unarmed, Li Jiren mocked, "You still have the nerve to come back?"

Yang Qianyun's face immediately turned red.

At this moment, on the city wall were not only Meng Hetong and others, but also General Hong Enzhong, who was about to be released, and Commander Niu Zhifu and others.

Everyone watched the army below with bated breath, waiting to go home.

Yang Qianyun stood there in shame, then immediately knelt down in front of Li Laiyong and shouted:
"General! This humble general has neither surrendered nor yielded to the bandits. This time, I am willing to atone for my sins by attacking Tiger's Mouth Fortress. I beg the general to give this sinner a chance to redeem himself!"

Li Laiyong rode closer and immediately asked, "How many people are there in this city?"

Yang Xiangyun immediately replied, "Reporting to my lord, there are fewer than two hundred men in total! They are all farmers, and there are no ballistae or other defensive weapons on the city walls. They haven't even prepared any thunderstones or rolling logs. They are just a rabble!"

"Moreover, most of them are my subordinates, and I am willing to recruit them!"

Li Laiyong frowned, feeling that this was fucking child's play.

"Good! You immediately persuade them to surrender! Shout that they should open the city gates!"

Yang Xiangyun said excitedly, "Yes! Thank you, sir!"

Both Li Laiyong and Li Jiren felt that this seemed like a scheme.

Yang Xiangyun walked to within a hundred meters of the city wall, stood ten meters away from the wall, and shouted upwards.

"Soldiers of Tiger's Mouth Fortress, listen up! Open the city gates immediately! Follow me to atone for our crimes and capture this traitor Meng Hetong!"

The two hundred-plus people on the city wall looked at each other, then all looked at Meng Hetong.

Lang Wubing, who was standing next to Meng Hetong, immediately cursed, "If you utter another word, I'll shoot you dead!"

Yang Xiangyun roared, "Kill me! I don't want to live anymore! If you don't kill me today, I will kill you all!!"

Meng Hetong shouted, "Give me a thousand taels of silver and I'll open the gate! To show my sincerity, I'll also release Hong Enzhong, the general of Beiyuan Guard! If you still refuse to pay after all this sincerity, then there's nothing more to say! How can I trust that you won't harm us after you enter the city?!"

Upon hearing this farcical scene, Li Laiyong immediately gave an order.

"Attack the city!! Once inside, kill them all!"

"Yes!"

Nearby officers quickly went down to instruct the various units to take action.

The siege ladders were carried out of the camp, and the supervising team and the suicide squads slowly moved forward from behind the main army.

Li Laiyong and the others stepped back a little, but they could still see someone being sent over.

"Lord Duke!" After landing, Hong Enzhong saw the army preparing to attack the city and immediately ran over, shouting, "Lord Duke! I am Hong Enzhong! This humble servant is willing to join forces to kill the traitors! To atone for my crimes with meritorious service!!"

Li Laiyong stretched out his hand, "Bring me the bow!"

The nearby guards handed Li Laiyong his precious bow and also presented him with arrows.

Nearby, there were also people who carried flags and weapons for Li Laiyong; they were all his trusted followers who had followed him for many years.

Li Laiyong targeted Hong Enzhong.

A few seconds later, a sharp arrow pierced Hong Enzhong's chest.

"Useless trash! You let a bunch of rabble of bandits take over your perfectly good military fortress, and you still dare to live! Shameless bastards!"

Li Laiyong's curses didn't travel far. Yang Xiangyun stared blankly at Hong Enzhong, who had been shot dead, and then at the vanguard troops carrying ladders to attack the city.

Under pressure from several thousand regular soldiers, more than 10,000 suicide soldiers and more than 10,000 death row inmates began to carry ladders and charge forward.

Even if all these people died, Li Laiyong would not feel sorry.

When the first wave of suicide soldiers bravely charged to within a hundred meters of the city gate, everyone on the city wall vanished.

The suicide squad charged forward with trepidation, but they couldn't see the arrows that were supposed to be shot down, nor the stones and hot water that were supposed to be rolling down.

After the first siege ladder was secured against the city wall with the support of the suicide soldiers, no one stopped them.

The first assassin, biting his knife, quickly climbed upwards.

The second and third followed suit one after another.

In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen ladders were in place.

Li Laiyong frowned as he looked on, feeling that the killing had been done a bit too soon, and he couldn't figure out what was going on inside.

The first assassin quickly climbed the city wall. Once on top, he looked around and saw a group of people riding horses towards the city gate, about 200 meters away.

"The garrison has all fled!"

More than a hundred assassins quickly rushed up the city wall and then swiftly entered the barbican.

Everyone was on edge, fearing an ambush.

But even after entering the Thousand Household Office, they still didn't encounter anyone.

A large number of Wen Dynasty troops entered Hukoubao and soon ransacked the now-empty city.

The scouts left Tiger Head Castle and entered the territory of the Northern Plains Guard.

Ran?

"General! We've checked everything. There's not a single living person left in the city. Everyone's ridden away on horseback! Only a few prisoners remain, supposedly commanders of a thousand."

Upon hearing his subordinate's words, Li Laiyong immediately asked, "Was the search thorough? Are you sure there were no ambushes?"

Li Jiren replied, "General, we have searched the entire area. Apart from a few dozen prisoners in the jail, there is indeed no one else."

Li Laiyong still felt it was absurd, and immediately said, "Bring those cowards over here!"

"Yes!"

Before long, Yang Xiangyun, Niu Zhifu, Gao Shimian, Zhu Xu and other prisoners were brought over and made to kneel on the ground.

Li Laiyong asked, "Why did the thieves abandon the city and flee?"

Yang Xiangyun replied with a sorrowful expression, "The mountain peasant tribe, including the elderly, women and children, consists of only thirty households and a little over a hundred people. Among them, there are no more than fifty men. The rest are all soldiers from the Beiyuan Guard. They are simply not able to defend against us."

"There are only a little over two hundred people in the city today, all of them desperate criminals who are after money. When they realized they couldn't get the money, they naturally ran away."

Li Laiyong frowned as he thought about something.

Gao Shimian quickly reminded him: "General! Beiji Wu has captured the Great Wall Guard. He is probably going to take the looted gold, silver and jewels and slaves from the Great Wall Guard and go to the grasslands to collude with the Mongols! That Beiji Wu claims to be a mountain farmer!"

Li Laiyong then understood Beiji Wu's thoughts. Although this man was brave, there were too few of him, and he knew that he could not defend Beiyuan Guard on his own.

"Enter the city immediately! Send scouts to check on the situation at Beiyuan Guard!"

"As ordered!"

Li Laiyong glanced at the men on the ground and said coldly, "Take them into the city and lock them in the dungeon first. Execute them all together when we capture Empress Wu Zetian!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Xiangyun and the others felt utterly devastated.

The soldiers escorted them back to the familiar prison, but because the soldiers were unfamiliar with the place, they were all put in different cells than before.

After entering the city, Li Laiyong discovered that there was indeed no ambush.

Lieutenant Qin Jian quickly approached.

"General, the city's grain has been completely removed, and the granaries are spotless."

Li Laiyong said directly, "Set off for Beiyuanwei immediately! Pay attention to the vibration pattern, and send more scouts to explore the route three miles ahead!"

We had already eaten before the siege, and now we've taken Tiger's Mouth Fortress without breaking a sweat. The next step is to capture Arctic Warrior as soon as possible.

Qin Jian asked, "This mountain farmer tribe is a bunch of rabble, and Beiyuanwei should be an undefended dead city at this time."

Li Laiyong instructed, "A few cities are not a big deal. The one who must be killed is Beiji Wu, otherwise there will be endless trouble! You immediately take five thousand archer cavalry to Beiyuan Guard and catch up with Beiji Wu and his men as soon as possible!"

"Yes!" Qin Jian immediately led his men to set off.

After a large number of cavalrymen went out, Li Laiyong also led the central army to Beiyuanwei to provide support for the cavalry units at the front.

Of the 50,000 troops, 20,000 were logistics personnel, including farmers captured from Gaoliuwei and Tongzhouwei, as well as from nearby villages. These people did not know each other, and after the main army left Hukoubao, the logistics teams carrying timber and grain also lined up to enter Hukoubao.

The grain transport team was not checked at all, and Li Laiyong left only a thousand soldiers to guard the place.

There were only a thousand soldiers, but more than ten or twenty thousand laborers and coolies.

Soldiers who had just fought and death row inmates were also taken away to attack Kitahara Guard.

Beijiwu, carrying his load, leisurely entered Hukoubao.

After entering the barbican, the hundred men selected by Beijiwu also followed.

The crowd gathered together. The city was full of people, and even though more than a hundred people were gathered together, no one came over to ask them anything.

"Shall we start now?" The old man, Kitada Gen, was both excited and afraid.

Beijiwu said, "Wait an hour."

Kitada licked his dry lips and said with a heavy heart, "I feel a little uneasy."

Seeing Kitada's distressed expression, Beijiwu said helplessly, "Look at you, so pathetic. Forget it, let's find a place to rest."

Kitada Biao hurriedly replied, "Yes!"

As Wen Chao's army entered the city one after another, a large amount of supplies, food, baggage, engineering machinery, and accompanying craftsmen were left behind in Hukoubao, except for a portion that continued on their way.

Beijiwu stood on the city wall, looking around boredly. He noticed that after three hours, fewer people were coming in.

Unsure whether Kitahara Mamoru could hold out, Hokujo Takeru decided not to wait any longer and took off his headscarf and hat.

"I am Shan Nong Bei Ji Wu! Surrender and you will not be killed!!!"

The Tiger Mouth Fortress, with a circumference of less than 400 meters, quickly fell silent.

"I am Shan Nong Bei Ji Wu! Surrender and you will not be killed!!!"

Arctic Martial shouted again.

Upon seeing Arctic Warrior, the soldiers on guard nearby immediately thrust their spears at him.

Arctic Martial grabbed the spear with one hand and kicked the man off the city wall, killing him instantly.

With his spear in hand, Beijiwu stopped wasting words and began clearing the city wall.

"Not surrendering? There's no one here holding a knife to your head and forcing you to your death."

Beijiwu looked at everyone.

The nearby Wenchao troops obviously wouldn't listen to such nonsense and immediately drew their swords.

"kill him!"

Beijiwu shook his head helplessly and began the efficient cleaning work.

The more than one hundred men on the city wall were quickly reduced to just over fifty, and the rest finally knelt on the ground.

"Sir, spare your life!"

"Sir, spare your life!"

Arctic Martial nodded.

"Stand here and don't move. I'll go and get you more companions. The more people you have to surrender, the better."

While Beijiwu gently comforted these people, those below the city walls were also finding themselves in troublesome work.

"Chief! The city gates are closed!"

Beijiwu shouted, "Leave ten men here to guard the north gate, the rest of you follow me to take it!"

Under the intimidation of such a formidable figure as Beijiwu, the fighting power of the mountain farmers increased dramatically.

The more than a thousand people defending the city, the surrendered soldiers on the city walls, and the porters and craftsmen who fled the city quickly understood why so many people had chosen to surrender.

The five armies lost more than 10,000 men, who were imprisoned in Hukoubao by the Arctic Martial Army.

Arctic Martial found the people in the dungeon.

"So, will you choose to live, or die?"

Arctic Martial asked a few final questions.

Niu Zhifu cursed, "I choose death! I'd rather die than surrender to you, you barbarian dog! Don't even dream about it!"

Beijiwu wasn't angry; he looked at the other silent men.

“I speak the same words as you, eat the same rice as you, and understand propriety, righteousness, integrity, and a sense of shame. It’s just that I have to make concessions for the sake of life. Just like the rice and grains I eat are not as good as your big fish and meat, fine clothes and delicacies, and I don’t treat people like human beings as you do.”

“I accept that you call me a barbarian. But so many emperors have come and gone in the last hundred years. I don’t understand where your loyalty to the emperor comes from. You’re not even willing to live.”

Yang Xiangyun looked up at the gray beams of the prison cell, "If we surrender, our families will die."

Beijiwu laughed and said, "Don't you think you'll die now? If you want to die before your families, I don't care. I'm too lazy to talk nonsense. Anyway, you can't sell for any money."

"I am a mountain farmer, and the rule of the mountain farmer is that whoever wants me to die, I will let them die! Even if I can't beat them, I will just hide. I will never continue to work for someone else like a dog."

"To be or not to be? Whoever says they want to die, die now!"

Arctic Warrior picked up his gun, ready to clear out the cells.

Yang Xiangyun and the others finally realized that their family members were going to die.

From the moment they failed to sacrifice their lives for their country, their families were inevitably implicated.

Yang Xiangyun gritted his teeth and finally shouted, "I choose to live!!"

The Arctic general unlocked his chains.

"Come out. Once I catch that Li Laiyong, I'll use him to exchange for your family. I don't believe he's important."

Arctic Wu's words gave the others hope.

Gao Shimian stood up, his face contorted in pain, and said, "I surrender!"

Seeing that Gao Shimian had surrendered, Zhu Xu sighed, "I will surrender too."

Beijiwu looked at Niu Zhifu and said, "What, do you want to die? Brother, think positively. The imperial court sent 50,000 men to fight us. After I take over these 50,000 men, when the imperial court tries to recruit us, I'll let you go home."

Niu Zhifu closed his eyes. "Kill me! I won't help you, you barbarian dog, harm the Han people!"

Beiji Wu said speechlessly, "Fine, I respect your loyalty and won't kill you, but I'm not making excuses. I really only killed soldiers, I didn't harass the people in the county, and I always restrained my men from disturbing the people. After the city was breached, I protected everyone well."

"On the contrary, haven't you also been involved in plenty of looting and plundering with those you're loyal to?"

Niu Zhifu remained unmoved. "Kill me if you want! Otherwise, get lost!"

Beijiwu picked up his gun and stabbed Niu Zhifu in the stomach.

"Aaaaah!" Niu Zhifu screamed in agony, never expecting the pain to come so suddenly.

The ruthless Arctic Warrior has really made his move!

Arctic Martial looked at the man with a cold face, "Just wait to die! The rest of you come with me, take your personal guards, and take control of this city!"

Yang Xiangyun and the other two glanced at Niu Zhifu, who was curled up clutching his wound, and helplessly followed Beijiwu to persuade the guards to surrender.

Although the cell door was open, Niu Zhifu clearly had no desire to live, and he covered his bleeding wound, slowly waiting to die.

The Hukou Fort, with a population of over 10,000, became extremely crowded. Yang Xiangyun and his men, along with their personal guards, gathered the surrendered soldiers and laborers, and watched with mixed feelings as Beiji Wu led a hundred men away from Hukou Fort.

After Beijiwu left with his original group, Yang Xiangyun and the other two looked at each other in bewilderment.

Gao Shimian asked the two, "What should we do?"

Yang Xiangyun and Zhu Xu both understood what Gao Shimian was asking.

Should they flee with over ten thousand people from the city, or continue helping Arctic Martial Arts?

Yang Xiangyun replied, "These are all conscripted porters and laborers, useless, but they are honest and obedient."

The other two weren't fools; they understood what Yang Xiangyun meant.

Even if they brought these 10,000 people back, the three of them would still face certain death, and their families would also be sentenced to death.

Unless they can return with 10,000 elite troops, especially to escort important officials like Li Laiyong, or imperial relatives who have been trained in the army.

If those people are killed by the Arctic Warriors, then unless the imperial court offers amnesty to the Arctic Warriors, everyone is doomed.

The value of ten thousand laborers in this city is far less than that of one or two people.

***
Li Laiyong led his army to attack the city. The walls of Beiyuanwei were filled with archers with bows and arrows, and anyone who dared to get close would be shot dead!
"It's good that he didn't run away."

Li Laiyong felt a little relieved.

We are not afraid of the siege taking time, nor are we afraid of the death toll; we are only worried about whether Arctic Wu has escaped.

The assassins began their assault on the city, and this time they were met with a hail of arrows.

Hundreds died as soon as they got close, and under the dense rain of arrows, more and more cannon fodder fell to the ground.

Li Laiyong's expression was indifferent; these people deserved to die here anyway.

Wan Yong, Emperor Wanye's nephew, approached Li Laiyong and asked, "General, should we wait for the iron cart to arrive?"

Li Laiyong calmly said, "No need. The arrows inside won't last long. Look, some people have already gotten close to the moat. The rain of arrows should stop soon."

Upon seeing this, Wan Yong realized that it was indeed the case.

Once the suicide soldiers carried the ladders close to the moat, the archers began to prioritize attacking those who were closest.

However, more and more soldiers approached the city gate and walls, picked up the ladders that the suicide soldiers had thrown on the ground, and continued to advance.

"General!"

Li Laiyong looked to his side and behind him, where a bodyguard quickly walked over and knelt down on one knee.

"Tiger's Mouth Fortress has fallen! Arctic Martial, with over a hundred men, has captured Tiger's Mouth Fortress!"

Li Laiyong's face instantly turned cold, and he immediately said, "Protect the rear guard immediately! Form ranks! Send someone to call Qin Jian back!"

Li Laiyong then looked towards Beiyuan City in front of him.

"Continue the siege! After the city falls, reward the entire army! The first to breach the city will be promoted one rank and granted one hundred acres of land!"

Despite the material incentives, Kitahara Masamune is not an easy opponent.

Mu Chuanliang shouted, "Hold on! If the soldiers come in, we'll all die! Once the clan chief returns, we'll win!"

The soldiers on the city wall used to be soldiers, but that was then; they certainly aren't anymore.

The officers and soldiers all knew what the government would do after breaching the city. Although they would still surrender when the time came, at least for now everyone felt that they could still fight.

Most people don't know where Arctic Wu is, but as long as the rest of the Mountain Farmers are still alive, Arctic Wu should also be there.

That kind of man would never desert.

(End of this chapter)