Traveling back in time to Liu Feng, starting with rescuing soldier Guan Yu.

Chapter 121 The First Battle of the Siege

When Deng Ai led his militia to the walls of Linxiang, it was already the afternoon of the following day. The setting sun cast a dark red glow on the Han army's red flags atop Linxiang city.

The soldiers guarding the city walls were busy at work. The militia carried bundles of arrows up the city walls, the craftsmen were repairing the winches of the three-bow crossbows, and the doctors had set up a makeshift camp for wounded soldiers at the foot of the city walls. The sounds of pounding medicine and the groans of the wounded rose and fell.

The city gates slowly opened, and Liu Feng personally came out to greet him. The arrow wound in his ribs had been properly bandaged by the physician, wrapped only in a thin bandage, and covered by a black battle robe. If it weren't for his pale complexion from days of fighting, the wound would be almost undetectable.

The Jade Lion Horse followed behind him, its snow-white mane fluttering slightly in the wind.

Deng Ai dismounted, knelt on one knee, and clasped his hands above his head: "This humble general, Deng Ai, has been ordered to lead 13,000 righteous soldiers here. We encountered some setbacks on the way, which caused us to be a few days late. Please punish me, Your Majesty."

Liu Feng laughed and quickly dismounted, helping Deng Ai up with both hands. His gaze passed over Deng Ai and landed on the dark mass of soldiers behind him.

Thirteen thousand militiamen stood in formation outside the city, their armor tattered, many with their leather armor worn down to the lining, their battle robes stained with mud and tree sap from the Jing Mountains, and many with bloodstained bandages wrapped around their heads. But not one of these thirteen thousand men was hunched over.

They lined up in neat rows and columns, completely silent. The vines and rocks of the mountains had left crisscrossing scratches on their faces and arms, but their eyes did not show weariness, but rather a tempered composure.

It wasn't the calm of a battle-hardened veteran who had seen life and death countless times, but rather a fearlessness of suffering that came after crawling out of despair.

The tenacity.

Most of them were refugees, defeated soldiers, and hunters in the mountains just two months ago; now, standing there, they are an army.

Liu Feng nodded slowly, his eyes filled with undisguised approval. He walked to the front of the column, carefully examining the soldiers who had just struggled out of the brink of death, and suddenly stopped in front of a young soldier. The soldier was only sixteen or seventeen years old, his face still bearing the bloodstains from the thorns of the mountain, but his back was straight, and he held the spear firmly in his hand.

"What's your name?" Liu Feng asked.

"General, my name is Wang Gan!"

The young soldier answered loudly, his voice trembling slightly with nervousness, but his gaze remained unwavering.

Liu Feng patted him on the shoulder, then turned to Deng Ai and said, "Shizai, these people were refugees just two months ago. To train them like this, you can't find many in the entire Jingzhou region with this level of military skill."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was clearly audible in front of the quiet queue.

Deng Ai lowered his head, his face expressionless, and simply clasped his hands in a fist and said, "You flatter me, my lord. These soldiers are of fine quality; I merely washed the mud off them."

"You'll need the skill to wash off the mud." Liu Feng turned around, waved towards the city gate, and said, "Enter the city."

Mr. Ji Chang has arranged your lodgings, a new battle robe and a pair of new straw sandals for each of you, plus a hot meal. Eat your fill before heading to the city to fight.”

The militia entered the city in turn under Deng Ai's command.

The people of Linxiang had already heard about this army that had come from the Danshui River Valley, crossing mountains and valleys, and many of them spontaneously gathered on both sides of the street to watch.

An old woman with a full head of white hair held a water ladle and shakily handed it to a young soldier passing by. The soldier took the ladle, gulped down a few mouthfuls, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and grinned.

Liu Feng stood inside the city gate, watching the procession file in, and whispered to Kou Wei beside him, "Deng Ai is destined for greatness."

Kou Wei nodded without saying a word.

The Wu army's siege began the following morning.

Sun Quan was stationed in the camp that Sun Huan had seized, which now served as the forward base for the Wu army's attack on Linxiang City.

Just after Chenshi (7-9 AM), Han Dang led 20,000 infantrymen to form a battle formation outside the North Gate, with shield bearers in front, archers and crossbowmen behind, battering rams in the middle, and cloud ladders on both sides.

The sound of war drums shook the heavens and the bugles blared one after another. The formation of 20,000 armored soldiers, seen from the city wall in the morning light, resembled a black tide.

Han Dang waved his command flag, and the Wu army's archers unleashed a hail of arrows at the city wall, riddling the "Han" character flag with holes.

The defenders crouched behind the crenellations, firing bolts from their crossbows one after another into the crowd below. These bolts were extremely penetrating, often piercing through two or three layers of shields with a single shot.

The three-bow ballistae on both sides of the city gate were specially added by Ma Liang when he reinforced the city wall. Each ballista was equipped with three composite bows and was drawn by a winch, with a range of up to four hundred paces. The iron-backed giant arrows, as thick as an arm, flew out with a dull whistling sound, and could pierce through the entire battering ram with a single shot.

When Wu Jun's battering convoy was still more than two hundred paces from the city gate, several of the convoys were overturned by ballistae. The convoy pushers were killed or wounded, and the rest abandoned their convoys and fled.

Han remained unfazed, waving his hand to order the second wave of battering rams to follow. He dismounted himself, raised his shield, and walked to the front of the formation, shouting sternly, "Whoever is the first to scale the walls will be rewarded with a thousand pieces of gold! Those who retreat will be executed!"

Wu's soldiers regained their courage at his hoarse roar and slowly pushed the battering ram toward the city wall.

The siege ladder teams circled around from both sides, placed the ladders on the city wall, and Wu soldiers with short swords in their mouths climbed up the ladders.

Radium and boiling oil poured down from the city walls, turning the siege ladders into fiery dragons. The Wu soldiers who were climbing on them screamed and fell off the city walls, crashing onto the mountain of corpses piled up at the base of the walls.

The acrid smell of burning flesh filled the air, making people nauseous. But Wu Jun was outnumbered and powerful; as the front ranks fell, the rear ranks took their place, and the offensive continued wave after wave without any sign of stopping.

Liu Feng stood upright in the city tower, directing the city's defenses. He divided the city's garrison into three shifts, each shift guarding for two hours, taking turns going up the city wall.

The militiamen heated oil and moved stones at the foot of the city wall, while women and children carried dry food and water to the top of the wall in bamboo baskets.

Bu Zhi also appeared on the city wall. This scholar, who had been tricked into going to the office by Liu Feng's "sophistry", was now standing behind the crenellations directing the militia to move the wounded soldiers. His robes were covered with blood and dust, but his face still showed a calm and composed expression.

Deng Ai's militia was placed in barracks west of the city to rest and recuperate. Liu Feng's order to him was only four words: "Conserve your strength."

o

For the entire day, the militia did nothing but eat and sleep. While the sounds of attacking the city shook the barracks, they snored loudly on their straw-covered bunks.

Deng Ai did not sleep. He stood on the open ground outside the barracks, watching the smoke and fire rising from the city wall. His face was calm, but his fingers unconsciously tapped lightly on the hilt of his sword.

The fierce battle lasted from dawn to dusk. Wu's army launched several fierce attacks, but failed to break through the city's defenses.

As dusk fell, Han Dang withdrew his troops to camp, leaving behind a pile of corpses almost level with the moat. On the walls of Linxiang, the defenders ate dry biscuits during their shift changes and sharpened their worn-out blades with whetstones.

The wounded soldiers were carried down from the city wall by the militia. The healers worked under the lamplight at the foot of the city wall, using liquor to clean the wounds and applying crushed herbs to the wounds, which emitted a bitter smell.

Outside the city, the Wu army camp was brightly lit, and the cooks were busy preparing meals for the attacking troops, with wisps of smoke rising into the twilight.

Sun Quan sat in his tent listening to Han Dang report on the day's casualties. His face was gloomy. On the first day of the attack, more than a thousand men had been lost, and they hadn't even been able to touch the city walls more than a few times.

The fortification of Linxiang City far exceeded his expectations.