Sweep Yuan

Chapter 176 Dark clouds threaten to destroy the city

Four miles southeast of Lu'an City, on a gentle slope, the vanguard camp of the Red Flag Battalion was built. The gate was high and the watchtowers were imposing. Crimson battle flags fluttered in the slightly sultry air.

The camp was meticulously laid out, with sturdy fences and patrolling soldiers in bright armor. Despite the minor setback in the siege three days prior, the soldiers in the camp showed no signs of dejection; instead, they exuded a suppressed yet fierce atmosphere that was about to erupt.

Led by Wu Guoxing, Feng Guosheng passed through the gate and headed straight for the central army.

The roads within the camp were clean, but the pervasive smell of herbs in the air and the faint, suppressed groans coming from the distant wounded soldiers' camp silently testified to the brutality of the fierce battle that had taken place not long ago.

As soon as they entered the central camp, they heard a familiar and hearty laugh coming from the direction of the main tent. The sound was like a bell, with a strong penetrating power.

"Hahaha! I knew it! The Marshal would definitely send Brother Feng to lend me a hand!"

Chang Yuchun's left shoulder and arm were exposed, his bronze-colored, muscular body wrapped in thick white linen bandages. Several smooth wooden boards firmly secured the wound, and his tiger-like eyes still shone brightly.

"Brother Chang!"

Feng Guosheng's gaze swept over the bandage on Chang Yuchun's shoulder. During their hurried journey, he had already inquired about the battle details and the deployment of the Lu'an garrison from Wu Guoxing, hoping to join the fight as soon as possible. Now, seeing that Chang Yuchun's injury was indeed quite serious, he was somewhat worried about whether there would be any more battles to fight in the next few days.

"Is your injury serious? Are you still able to deal with Zhu Liangzu yourself?"

"Hey! It's just a minor injury, nothing to worry about!"

Chang Yuchun, completely unconcerned, extended his intact right hand and slammed it heavily onto Feng Guosheng's shoulder armor, producing a crisp "clang." The force was so great that Feng Guosheng swayed slightly. He then declared with boundless pride:

"Even if I'm holding a gun with one hand, I can still charge in and out of the enemy lines seven times! Even if Brother Feng doesn't come, I can still tear down the Lu'an city wall after resting for a few days!"

A flame of revenge suddenly ignited in Chang Yuchun's eyes, and his voice turned cold and sharp:

"That scoundrel Zhu Liangzu injured me by relying on his brute strength and despicable methods. If I don't avenge this, I'll write my name Chang Yuchun backwards!"

Feng Guosheng's shoulder went numb from the slaps, but Chang Yuchun's vigorous energy and undisguised hatred relieved him of a great weight—Brother Chang's fighting spirit remained undiminished, and a battle was about to begin! His own eyes were also brimming with fighting spirit.

"Brother Chang, tell me, how should we fight this battle? I'll listen to whatever you say, as long as I can fight Zhu Liangzu one-on-one!"

Seeing that Feng Guosheng wanted to fight Zhu Liangzu one-on-one, Chang Yuchun remembered that he had previously underestimated his opponent and acted rashly, wanting to take Zhu Liangzu down personally, which had given the other party an opportunity. He immediately put away his smile and said in a serious tone:

"I've been thinking about the last battle repeatedly these past two days. The garrison in Lu'an isn't very strong; we easily stormed the city. It was only because Zhu Liangzu was so brave and daring that he would suddenly attack when our new camp was relaxed, catching us off guard. Defeating him isn't difficult!"
"We just need to continue the siege, deliberately creating openings. This fellow got away with it last time, and he'll most likely launch another counterattack. You can then use your cavalry to cut off their retreat and trap them outside the city."

At this point, Chang Yuchun suddenly raised his voice, his gaze sharp as a knife as he stared at Feng Guosheng, and said:
"But remember, never fight Zhu Liangzu one-on-one! This guy is quite strong, his moves are cunning and ruthless, and he likes to use hidden weapons to hurt people. What's the point of fighting him?"
"Once we trap him, we can unleash a hail of arrows and a barrage of spear thrusts. Even if he has three heads and six arms, we'll turn him into a dead hedgehog! Revenge doesn't necessarily mean chopping off his head with our own hands. A petty person who uses hidden weapons deserves to die like that!"

"this--"

Feng Guosheng was naturally combative, especially enjoying the thrill of fighting to the death with a powerful enemy. However, Chang Yuchun arranged for cavalry to cut off the enemy's retreat, forbidding him from dueling with Zhu Liangzu. Feng Guosheng was somewhat frustrated.

But he was not a reckless man. Although he was usually careless about details, he was not confused when faced with important matters. He knew that military orders could not be disobeyed, and he did not want to ruin the marshal's plans because of his own competitiveness.

Feng Guosheng took a deep breath, suppressed the fighting spirit surging in his chest, clasped his hands in a fist and said in a deep voice:

"The Commander-in-Chief is absolutely right. Guosheng was reckless. This subordinate will obey your orders! We will prioritize the overall situation. If Zhu Liangzu dares to leave the city, I will lead my cavalry to cut off his retreat and ensure that not a single man or horse returns to the city!"

Seeing that Feng Guosheng's eyes were clear and his tone was steady, Chang Yuchun was overjoyed, realizing that he had truly understood and accepted his orders. He grabbed Feng Guosheng's wrist and said...

"Hahaha! Good! With the two of us brothers joining forces, let's see where Zhu Liangzu can escape to! Lu'an City is ours to take!"

Feng Guosheng's troops came to the rescue, and although they numbered only seven hundred cavalry (they had recently reorganized the cavalry from Lujiang and Shucheng), they represented Marshal Shi's support and greatly boosted the morale of the vanguard, who had just suffered a minor setback.

The next day, the Red Flag Battalion finished its rest and reorganization.

Beneath the walls of Lu'an, the muffled sound of war drums, like rolling thunder, resounded once more.

After three days of rest, the Red Flag Battalion once again besieged the city, their banners obscuring the sun and their weapons like a forest. Chang Yuchun still focused his main attack on the eastern city wall, while Liu Ju's troops launched fierce attacks in shifts. Ladders were erected, arrows rained down like locusts, and the battle cries were deafening. The offensive was even more intense than it had been three days prior.

The atmosphere was noticeably different on the south side of the city wall.

Chen Tong led the Lujiang army to carry out the feigned attack mission, but this time Chang Yuchun moved them to the south city wall.

Having learned from the disastrous defeat at the hands of Zhu Liangzu’s elite troops the day before, Chen Tong was extra cautious this time. He divided his men into two parts: one led by his deputy to carry out the attack on the city; the other, which he personally commanded, formed a tight circular formation at a later position.

The two armies roared with battle cries, yet their advance was slow. Every soldier was on edge, eyes scanning the surroundings and ears listening intently, like startled birds, waiting for the slightest movement on the city wall so that the two armies could immediately converge, determined not to give the defenders another chance to divide and break through their main force.

On the south gate, Zhu Liangzu, clad in iron armor, gripped the crenellations, his face grim as he watched the commotion below. Beside him, a trusted subordinate pointed at Chen Tong's tense troops below and sneered:

"Commander, look at these people's clothes! Aren't they the bandits we defeated at the North Gate a few days ago? Look at their cowardly appearance, they don't look like they're going to attack a city at all! Hahaha!"

Without his subordinates needing to remind him, Zhu Liangzu had already spotted Chen Tong nervously directing the troops from behind the lines.

His grip on the hilt of his sword tightened and loosened repeatedly, his knuckles turning white from the effort. A powerful impulse surged within him: open the city gates, lead his men out! Crush them once more, behead the bandit general, and wash away the humiliation of the previous day's breakout with the blood of the traitors!
But in the end, he slowly released the hilt of the knife, a disdainful sneer tugging at the corner of his mouth, his voice carrying a barely perceptible dryness.

"Hmph! The thieving general has learned his lesson so quickly, trying to lure me out of the city? Does he really think I'm blind, unable to see the extra cavalry that's appeared behind the western slope?"

On a battlefield with only three thousand men, the addition of more than seven hundred cavalrymen was indeed impossible to conceal from the defenders on the city walls, who had a wide field of vision.

However, the real reason Zhu Liangzu gave up on launching a counterattack outside the city was not because he discovered the Red Flag Battalion's newly added cavalry.

The battle three days ago, which seemed like a minor victory, was actually a brutal counterattack, like a bucket of ice water, extinguishing Zhu Liangzu's inner fire.

Zhu Liangzu chose an excellent time to launch his attack, unexpectedly defeating Chen Tong's Lujiang army and nearly causing the fleeing troops to overwhelm Fei Ju's second force. However, he was quickly surrounded by the main force of Chang Yuchun's troops.

Although Zhu Liangzu managed to break through the encirclement through his personal bravery and sneak attacks with hidden weapons, most of the hundreds of elite soldiers he had painstakingly built up were lost in the bloody battle. What pained him even more was that most of his clan members were also trapped in the encirclement, their fate unknown.

After the battle, the garrison in Lu'an City still numbered nearly 1,600. However, the "Zhu Family Army," on which Zhu Liangzu relied to establish himself in the chaotic world, was devastated. The small military leaders under his command, who had either been absorbed by him or voluntarily submitted to him, began to look at him with a dangerous gaze.

If it weren't for the formidable enemy at hand, coupled with Zhu Liangzu's infamous reputation and lingering influence, people would probably have already questioned whether his position as "Commander of the Righteous Army" could be reassigned.

After this battle, Zhu Liangzu gained a clear understanding of the Red Flag Battalion's fighting strength—it was not just the bravery of one or a few generals, but the terrifying organizational power and resilience of the entire army.

If it were any other rebel or landlord militia, an army of over three thousand men would have been routed after two consecutive attacks that scattered over a thousand of them.

But what about the Red Flag Battalion? Not only did they not collapse, but they were able to organize a fierce counterattack in a very short time, completely surrounding the surging "Zhu Family Army." This kind of organizational ability is terrifying!

Even if Zhu Liangzu's elite troops were all still there, he would not dare to rashly leave the city to confront this large army head-on.

Defending the city might offer a glimmer of hope; leaving the city would mean certain death!
At the foot of the east city wall, the siege had been going on for nearly an hour, and Chang Yuchun was still not wearing armor. He stood on his horse in front of the battle line, his face growing increasingly solemn.

Although the strategy of luring the enemy out of the city was set from the beginning, in order to avoid being discovered by Zhu Liangzu, Chang Yuchun strictly ordered Liu Ju, who was in charge of the main attack on the east city, and Fei Ju, who was in charge of the feigned attack on the north city wall, to fight for real.

Liu Ju, a former bandit, still had dozens of old brothers under his command, but Chang Yuchun had him completely subdued. Knowing the mission was dangerous, they dared not disobey in the slightest and could only grit their teeth and drive their men to launch wave after wave of fierce attacks, braving the rolling logs and stones from the city walls and the rain of arrows. Fei Ju's troops, whose mission was to support the main attack, faced relatively less pressure, but he fought even more fiercely.

When the Red Flag Battalion attacked Wuhe, he joined Shishan. After the city was captured, he became the commander. Although his unit was later promoted to a first-class battalion, he was subordinate to Chang Yuchun, who had joined the army much later than him.

Fei Ju was self-aware and admired the brave and skilled Chang Yuchun, but as Marshal Yuan Cong, he still had to save face.

In the battle three days ago, if Fei Yuchun had acted decisively and led his personal troops to intercept them, Fei Ju's forces would likely have been overwhelmed by Zhu Liangzu and the defeated troops from Lujiang, with unimaginable consequences.

Fueled by this frustration, Fei Ju charged to the front lines today, turning a feint into a main attack. Seeing their commander fighting so desperately, the soldiers also unleashed astonishing fighting power, with more than ten men climbing the east city wall and nearly breaching the city.

Unfortunately, due to Zhu Liangzu's fearless counterattack, the enemy suffered heavy losses and was forced to retreat. Fei Ju himself was also wounded by a stray arrow in the melee, and his left arm was hit by an arrow. He was almost left on the city wall.

With the battle having progressed to this point, Chang Yuchun realized that Zhu Liangzu was unlikely to leave the city again.

On the Red Flag Battalion's side, even if ordinary soldiers managed to breach the city walls, they would easily be driven back by Zhu Liangzu. Not wanting to lose the lives of their soldiers in vain, they had no choice but to retreat.

"Sound the retreat! Withdraw!"

Feng Guosheng's cavalry, which had been on guard around the perimeter, covered the retreat of the attacking forces as they swarmed back to their main camp. Only now did they ride up, their faces filled with confusion and resentment.

"Brother Chang, is that Zhu guy really a turtle? Is he determined to stay in his shell and never come out?"

"Ok!"

Chang Yuchun gazed at the indistinct figure of Zhu Liangzu atop the city wall of Liuan and said:

"This fellow has either already figured out my plan, or he suffered a terrible defeat in the last battle and is too scared to show his face again. If trickery doesn't work, then we'll just have to take him down head-on! Let's go back to camp and build more siege equipment. I refuse to believe that we can't deal with this coward!"

The thought of a potentially tedious, long siege ahead, with the cavalry rendered useless, immediately dampened Feng Guosheng's spirits, and he muttered in frustration:

"If I had known it would be like this, I should have begged the Marshal to let me join you, Brother Chang, to fight for Lu'an when we split up the troops in Shucheng!"

In the Battle of Lujiang, Feng Guosheng displayed great prowess, leading his cavalry in a charge through the rain. Although they were promptly cleaned up after the battle, some warhorses were still damaged or fell ill. Subsequently, cavalry from Lujiang and Shucheng were replenished, and they needed rest and joint training. That's why Shishan did not allow his troops to accompany Chang Yuchun on the expedition to Lu'an.

"You!"

Chang Yuchun chuckled and shook his head. He had a swallow-like chin and a tiger-like beard, and looked mature, but he was actually four years younger than Feng Guosheng. The two got along well and had similar temperaments. In private, they called each other "elder brother" and "second brother" affectionately and spoke to each other without much restraint.

Seeing Feng Guosheng's frustrated and unfulfilled state, Chang Yuchun comforted him:
"With the Marshal, are you afraid of not having any tough battles? This Lu'an is just an appetizer! Besides..."

Chang Yuchun changed the subject, a sly glint in his eyes.

"Even if we temporarily abandon the assault, we can't let that Zhu bastard have it easy in the city! In the next few days, Brother Feng, you'll have to lead the men to work hard and 'serve' the city's defenders well!"

Upon hearing this, Feng Guosheng's eyes lit up, and he immediately perked up.

"Brother Chang is right, I love messing with this Zhu bastard, hahaha!"

In the days that followed, the situation outside Lu'an City changed abruptly.

Inside the Red Flag Battalion's main camp, the shouts of craftsmen working day and night, and the clanging of hammers and chisels, filled the air as the prototypes of siege weapons gradually took shape. Outside the city, in the vast fields, the scene was even more bustling with activity.

Chang Yuchun organized a large number of military laborers and local people to rush to harvest the ripe wheat in the vast areas around Lu'an City.

As the sickles flew, stalks of wheat fell in droves. Bundles of wheat ears were quickly transported to a temporary threshing ground behind the camp. After being threshed and dried, one-tenth of the harvest was given to the villagers who participated in the harvest, while the rest went to the Red Flag Camp.

With these summer grains, Chang Yuchun's army of several thousand men could hold out in this place for a long time, even without supplies being transported from the rear.

Meanwhile, Feng Guosheng's cavalry patrolled outside Lu'an City, harassing the defenders on the city walls with a barrage of arrows and intercepting unfortunate defenders who tried to sneak out of the city to gather firewood or vegetables.

The sound of horses' hooves thundered, sometimes far away, sometimes near, constantly injecting a tense and oppressive atmosphere into the city of Lu'an.

Life inside the city began to become unbearable. Although the food reserves could last for several more months, the daily necessities such as firewood, vegetables, and even clean drinking water were being consumed at an alarming rate. Considering that the Red Flag Battalion might besiege the city for a long time, Zhu Liangzu had begun to use them sparingly.

The Red Flag Battalion has fought for many years without ever suffering a defeat, and has long since established a formidable reputation in the Jianghuai region.

The orderly harvest outside the city and the elusive cavalry, like wolves and tigers, all demonstrated the patience and strength of this army. The soldiers and civilians in the city were filled with anxiety, and their whispers were filled with fear of the future.

Zhu Liangzu knew he couldn't let the Red Flag Battalion continue like this, so he risked sending a small group of messengers to the Anfeng Road Marshal's Office for help, but it was like throwing a stone into the sea, with no news at all.

Little did he know that the Yuan army on Anfeng Road was being held back by the Red Flag Battalion's Fenwu Guard (Commander Wu Liujin), and was too busy to help his small town isolated on Luzhou Road.

The oppressive feeling of being trapped in the city of sorrow and the complaints of his subordinates finally made Zhu Liangzu unable to hold back any longer.

Seeing that a wheat field outside the city was about to be harvested, he gritted his teeth and sent a team of about three hundred men to sneak out of the west gate, intending to attack the laborers and civilians working in the wheat field to the south, seize some grain, and boost the morale of the city.

Having long been eager to seize this opportunity, how could Feng Guosheng let go of this lucrative opportunity?

First, dozens of cavalrymen rushed out from the woods on the flank, holding back the troops who had rashly left the city. Before they could form ranks and retreat, more cavalrymen gathered in succession.

Iron hooves trampled the earth, stirring up clouds of dust, while gleaming spears flashed with the cold light of death in the sunlight.

The garrison troops who left the city were only newly recruited local militia, and they had never seen such a terrifying sight before. They immediately took off running.

On that day, the garrison on the walls of Lu'an witnessed a one-sided massacre.

Their comrades fled desperately across the wilderness, only to be easily overtaken by the galloping cavalry. In the flash of blades, heads rolled; in the thud of iron hooves, flesh and blood turned to mush! The piercing screams and desperate wails drifted on the wind to the city walls, chilling the heart to the bone.

Of the three hundred infantrymen, fewer than ten eventually escaped into the city. The morale of the defenders of Lu'an plummeted instantly.

Before this gloomy atmosphere had even dissipated, the following afternoon, the sentries atop the walls of Lu'an City let out a terrified scream:

"Reinforcements! A large contingent of Red Flag Bandits' reinforcements!"

On the official road in the direction of Shucheng, dust billowed into the sky, obscuring the sun.

A massive, crimson banner embroidered with large golden characters fluttered in the summer breeze, leading an endless torrent of steel, like a raging tide bursting its banks, rolling towards Lu'an City.

Banners blotted out the sun, swords and spears were like a forest, and the heavy footsteps and clanging armor merged into a suffocating sound wave, as if even the earth was trembling.

After being besieged for nearly a month and a half, Shi Shan personally led the main force of the Red Flag Battalion to the city gates!

(End of this chapter)