Late Ming Dynasty: Starting with the overthrow of the county magistrate, a rebellion was launched to

"Sister-in-law, you need to do something about my brother! He's so obviously biased! The brothers are all talking about it now, and they're having a lot of complaints about you!"

When Zhang Da was discussing strategies to defend against the enemy with everyone in the main hall of the county government, he mentioned that they should conduct thorough inspections of the city, arrest all those who were sowing discord, and kill them if necessary...

However, as soon as he said this, Sun Min hesitated and spoke.

"How about we take that woman from the Wu family?"

Exactly! If it weren't for Wang Chengzhu spouting nonsense and uttering filth that led to the government troops coming to suppress them, then it could only be...

Zhang Da suddenly realized what was going on. As soon as he said this, everyone in the hall looked at him. After all, the whole county was talking about how Zhang Da had found a new girl...

"You don't need to worry about this; I'll handle it myself."

Zhang Da slowly said this sentence.

In truth, Zhang could honestly say that he didn't touch the woman, so he assumed he wouldn't have much to worry about when he made a move...

But as he reached the entrance to the magistrate's office, he hesitated again. He didn't know why he hesitated, but after an internal struggle, he finally made up his mind. So, pretending to be furious, he charged towards Wu Lian'er. But when he kicked open the door to the side room, what he saw was Wu Lian'er lying naked in the bathtub amidst the steaming vapor. The blood on her wrists stained the entire tub crimson. The contrast between the pale white and the bright red made him instantly forget his anger and cursing. He only shouted for people to find medicine and cloth, and hurriedly rescued her...

Fortunately, Huang Chaoxuan led his troops to attack soon after, and because Zhang Da's defensive strategy worked, his influence in the entire county remained unchanged...

Meanwhile, outside Shaoyang City, in Huang Chaoxuan's central command tent, shouts of curses filled the air.

The burly lieutenant, clutching the "letter" which was nothing but a lump of brownish-yellow filth, his fleshy face turning a deep liver color, slammed the letter to the ground and stomped on it.

"You scoundrel! You scoundrel! How dare you humiliate me like this! Today, I will raze Shaoyang to the ground, and skin that Zhang the Great alive, tear him limb from limb, and grind his bones to dust!"

The generals inside the tent were all silent, trembling with fear; no one dared to provoke him. Huang Chaoxuan, panting heavily, pointed at Shaoyang City outside the tent and roared...

"Pass on my order! Have the garrison troops lead the charge, followed closely by the militia. Immediately erect ladders and attack the east gate! These treacherous dogs have guarded the east gate so well, but I will break through the city from the east gate!"

According to the scout, the walls of the east gate of Shaoyang have been raised and thickened, and water from the nearby stream has been diverted into the moat. However, Huang Chaoxuan refused to believe it. He had several thousand soldiers under his command. Was it really that difficult to flatten a small city like Shaoyang?

When the military order was issued, a commotion and complaints immediately broke out outside the city.

However, this was of little use. The hundreds of emaciated garrison soldiers protested in vain and were still driven by the sentry officer's whip to carry the ladders to the moat at the east gate. The militia were driven to carry wooden ladders and ram wooden logs behind them.

At the East Gate, Li Er was in charge of guarding the city. He had already led the tenants of Zhang Dajia to stand ready. When the government troops approached, he gave an order, and rolling stones and hot oil rained down from the city wall.

The garrison soldiers were already demoralized. When they saw the hot oil being poured on them, they were instantly scalded and screamed in agony. The ladders were broken by rolling stones as soon as they were placed to the edge of the trench. Many soldiers lost their footing and fell into the water-filled trench, where they were pierced by sharp logs at the bottom. Blood mixed with muddy water stained the trench red.

The scene was extremely gruesome and bloody. The militiamen were terrified by the sight and retreated in all directions. No matter how the sentry whipped them or even slashed them with a knife, they refused to take another step forward.

Half an hour later, the first batch of attacking soldiers lost nearly a hundred men before they even reached the base of the city wall and retreated in disarray.

The officer knelt before Huang Chaoxuan, not daring to raise his head.

"General, you've misjudged the situation! There are far more stones and hot oil rolling down the city walls than you think! They're inexhaustible. Besides, the trenches are deep and slippery, and covered with sharp logs. Our brothers can't even get close to the walls. The ladders we set up get smashed. We simply can't take them down!"

"Useless! A bunch of useless trash!"

Huang Chaoxuan kicked the sentry officer to the ground, furious. "A few trenches and a few piles of rolling stones, and you're scared out of your wits? Pass on my orders! Have the standard battalion troops hold the line, the garrison soldiers carry wet felt blankets forward to block the hot oil and rolling stones, and the militia throw earth bags and firewood to fill the trenches. If the trenches at the east gate aren't filled today, no one is coming back."

The wet felt blankets blocked the hot oil. Once the militia filled the trenches, the standard battalion soldiers could rush directly to the city walls, set up ladders to attack the city, and with the standard battalion's combat strength, it was only a matter of time before the city was breached.

We must act quickly, otherwise it will become increasingly difficult to win as the battle progresses.

So the garrison soldiers carried the wet felt and went forward again, while the militia were driven to fill the ditch with shovels and sacks. But suddenly, several more three-barreled muskets appeared out of nowhere on the city wall and fired in unison. Although the lead bullets were difficult to penetrate the wet felt, the shock made the soldiers' arm bones go numb, and those who were hit in the head or chest fell to the ground immediately.

If Huang Chaoxuan knew Wang Chengzhu, he would have seen him as the first to fire a gun from the city wall. Not only had he been teaching soldiers who had never handled firearms before how to use them, but he had also personally gone to the city wall to fight the enemy, seemingly to vent his frustration.

Meanwhile, Liu Binghuo's supply team had already carried more rolling stones and hot oil onto the city walls. The wet felt blankets could block the hot oil, but they couldn't withstand the heavy blows of the rolling stones. Many garrison soldiers were hit, suffering broken bones and torn tendons, and cries of agony filled the air.

Under such repeated pressure, the soldiers below the city were already suffering greatly. Moreover, it was already difficult to get the militia to fill the moat, and they were constantly suppressed by the arrows and bullets from the city walls, making progress extremely slow.

Although the garrison troops were positioned to reinforce the rear, they were unwilling to die easily. They simply formed ranks and fired arrows for cover, but most of the arrows hit the raw cowhide covering the city walls, causing little damage. Another hour passed, and only a short section of the moat had been filled. The government troops had lost over a hundred more men, and their morale had plummeted to rock bottom.

The sentry, whose body still bore the imprint of Huang Chaoxuan's shoes, reported again, his voice trembling even more than before.

"Sir, dozens of three-barreled muskets have suddenly appeared on the city wall! They're incredibly accurate! Their power is overwhelming. The wet felt can't withstand the heavy pounding of the rolling stones, and the militia dare not desperately try to fill the moats. If we continue the attack, the brothers will mutini!"

Huang Chaoxuan was furious. Twice in a row, the sieges had failed to make any progress and even ended in a crushing defeat!

A fat face contorted with anger.

One more time, one more time

"Issue my order! The entire battalion will attack, and I will personally oversee the battle! Anyone who dares to retreat will be executed without mercy! Today, we must breach this east gate!"

Five hundred battalion soldiers finally donned their armor and charged into battle, wielding long spears, forming a square formation, and rushed towards the east gate.

Huang Chaoxuan, mounted on a black horse and wielding a broadsword, followed behind the ranks, shouting angrily. Anyone who dared to retreat was to be hacked to death by the axemen behind him. The standard battalion soldiers were ultimately much stronger than the garrison soldiers. Despite the attacks from the city walls, they managed to reach the moat, set up ladders over it, and many soldiers climbed over the ladders and rushed down towards the city walls.

Seeing this, Li Er gave an order to lower the barbed rollers that had been prepared on the city wall. The iron spikes slammed into the siege ladders, making them teeter precariously. The soldiers climbing on them fell one after another, crashing into the trenches. Meanwhile, the dozens of three-barreled muskets, fired at close range by the local militia trained by Wang Chengzhu, though their accuracy was limited, were terrifying in their sheer force and dense with bullets. Each volley disrupted the government troops' formation.

The soldiers below the city wall tried to build ladders to attack the city, but they were suppressed by the archers on the city wall and could not raise their heads. The ladders that were finally built were pushed down by the defenders with long poles. They attacked the city again and again, but failed again and again.

……

……

As the sun set, the area beneath the east gate of Shaoyang was littered with corpses, and blood stained the moats and the base of the city walls. Huang Chaoxuan's standard battalion had lost nearly two hundred men, and the garrison soldiers and militia had suffered more than half their casualties. The attacking soldiers could no longer hold out, and despite their shouts, they retreated in disarray, refusing to advance another step despite being slaughtered by swordsmen.

Huang Chaoxuan looked at the tragic scene before him, his fat face filled with disbelief. He was trembling on his horse and couldn't speak for a moment.

Seeing that things were not going well, the deputy sentry cautiously stepped forward, leaned close to Huang Chaoxuan's ear, and whispered...

"General, a direct assault is probably not feasible now. The rebels have a strong defense and the terrain is advantageous... How about we coerce the local gentry to conscript villagers to act as the vanguard, wear down the city's equipment, and then our army can take advantage of the chaos to scale the walls?"

Huang Chaoxuan was stunned for a moment, a hint of hesitation flashing in his eyes.

Doing this will shorten your lifespan.

But if you don't do it, you'll definitely be court-martialed in the future!

Huang Chaoxuan had no other choice. After hesitating for a long time, he gritted his teeth and said...

"Do as you say! Immediately send men to the surrounding villages, ordering the gentry to gather the villagers to aid in the battle within three days. Anyone who disobeys will be treated as an accomplice to the rebels, and their family will be confiscated and exterminated!"

The deputy sentry immediately took his orders and left. Huang Chaoxuan looked at the flags fluttering on the walls of Shaoyang, his eyes filled with resentment, but also with a hint of barely perceptible fear.

He had imagined that he would be lying in Shaoyang County, surrounded by a dozen naked beauties, but who would have thought... Now he was caught in a dilemma, and he even began to regret taking on this mission.

Where is the messenger?

After some hesitation, Huang Chaoxuan decided to request reinforcements from Zhou Fengqi's light cavalry, who were stationed at Longshan Pass...