in2ebook Chapter 17 Siege
Chapter 17 Siege
The sudden turn of events did not cause Tu Lan much emotional fluctuation. He merely smiled and said to the Grand Preceptor beside him, "It seems there are a few more rats in the city. Grand Preceptor, I am not disobeying His Majesty's orders."
Gulna understood Tulan's meaning and smiled wryly, saying, "Since the people of Daqi are courting death, then let you have your way with your temper! But remember, you must keep it within a certain range."
"Tu Lan thanks the Grand Preceptor." Tu Lan laughed, then angrily rebuked the still-stunned Jurchen soldiers, "Useless trash! Did you hear what the Grand Preceptor said? Why aren't you going down to arrest them immediately?"
A hint of ferocity and joy flashed in the eyes of the surviving Jurchen soldiers, and they immediately obeyed the order.
As a result, the entire city of Beining descended into a certain degree of rioting. Shops were smashed, houses were destroyed, men were killed, and women became playthings of the Jurchen soldiers.
The celebration for the Jurchen soldiers continued until late into the night, when 70,000 Shence Army troops finally arrived at the city gates.
"Your Highness, according to reports from scouts at the front, the Jurchen army does not have a large force guarding the city walls. This is a good opportunity."
General Du Manjiang was radiant, his eyes filled with fighting spirit.
The Jurchen Kingdom had been flexing its muscles in the northern border for over a decade, and the Great Qi Empire had never shown any sign of counterattack. Even defending the city was a last resort. Naturally, the Jurchen soldiers never imagined that one day the Great Qi army would launch a surprise attack on their Great Man City.
"Notify the entire army to prepare for an immediate attack on the city."
Qin Xuan did not hesitate and immediately gave the order.
Then, under the cover of night, the 70,000 Shence Army quietly approached a place five miles outside the city of Daman.
The siege soldiers had already reached the base of the city wall. They were well-equipped, with lassos, grappling hooks, waist knives, and daggers concealed on their bodies, waiting only for the order to climb the city wall as quickly as possible.
"kill!"
Qin Xuan shouted in his heart, and then the army charged out.
The thunderous sound of hooves instantly startled the soldiers guarding the city wall, who were immediately terrified.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
The Jurchen soldiers shouted, and one of them immediately ran to the beacon tower, attempting to light the beacon fire.
But just then, a sharp arrow, as if it had eyes in the darkness, pierced his head in an instant.
Qin Xuan's gaze was icy as he cleanly and efficiently retrieved his bow and arrows, hiding them behind his back.
The infantry and supply battalions had already approached the city walls, but the next second a rain of arrows began to fall from the sky.
"Raise your shield!"
"Keep charging forward!"
Guan Xingsheng held a shield in his left hand and a knife in his right, roaring fiercely.
He easily deflected the arrows, but soldiers around him continued to fall.
War never lacks deaths.
"Archers, fire!"
Seeing that the infantry battalion ahead was being suppressed by this barrage of arrows, Qin Xuan gave an order.
Ten thousand archers simultaneously drew their arms, and a rain of arrows instantly covered the entire city wall.
Hundreds of the city's defenders died on the spot, and many more were shot in the thighs and arms, temporarily losing their fighting ability.
It was at this moment that the soldiers of the Shence Army's siege camp successfully climbed the city wall using the help of locks.
As soon as one of the soldiers went up, before he could even catch his breath, a scimitar slashed into his abdomen.
He let out a scream of pain, but then pulled a dagger from his waist and plunged it into the other man's neck.
The Jurchen soldiers stared incredulously at the Shence Army soldiers before them.
His eyes seemed to ask, "Why were you able to kill me?"
In the eyes of all Jurchen soldiers, the soldiers of Daqi were all useless. When had they ever seen such a fearless and powerful enemy?
The soldier shoved aside the corpse in front of him, then, ignoring the huge wound in his abdomen, charged directly at another Jurchen soldier who was attacking.
He was immediately slashed in the chest, but he no longer cried out in pain. Instead, he grinned maliciously, grabbed the other man's blade, and with all his might, pushed both himself and the other man off the city wall.
Similar scenes were playing out repeatedly on the city walls of Daman City, with more and more Shence Army soldiers climbing the walls.
At the same time, ladders were already leaning against the city walls, and hundreds of Shence soldiers climbed up them as if their lives depended on it.
The soldiers who had climbed the stairs using ropes were now covered in blood.
They were a true suicide squad, never expecting to make it down the city wall alive.
They knew that if they held on for even one more second, they could give their comrades below a better chance of survival.
At this moment, the billowing smoke on the city wall was finally ignited by the Jurchen army, and the entire city of Daman was instantly plunged into panic.
In the Jurchen royal palace, the current emperor, Fuchahar, was already alarmed and quickly summoned all civil and military officials for a meeting.
"What's the situation outside the city right now?" The Jurchen emperor asked, trying to remain calm, his tone chilling.
"Your Majesty, the Qi army launched a surprise attack. Our troops are short-handed and have already lost one-third of the city walls," the Minister of War of the Jurchen Kingdom replied in a panic.
"Where is the general guarding the city?" the Jurchen emperor asked coldly.
An elderly man clad in armor immediately stepped forward. His name was Nalan Shuo, a military genius of the Jurchen Kingdom, and Tulan was his most prized disciple.
He slowly said, "Your Majesty, the commander of the city defense, Varna, has rushed to the city wall, and the deputy commander, Paha, has been killed in battle. I have now mobilized all the city defense troops to go to the north gate to provide support."
"However, given the current situation, the border troops may not be able to withstand the attack. I request Your Majesty to issue an order now to mobilize all the Imperial City troops."
The so-called Imperial City Army is similar to the Imperial Guard of the Great Qi Empire. It is a personal guard directly under the emperor's control, and its number is generally less than 20,000.
"allow!"
The Jurchen emperor was extremely decisive, but the solemnity on his face did not diminish in the slightest. He asked in a deep voice, "In this surprise attack, does anyone know which army it was?"
The Shence Army's siege was both incredibly swift and abrupt.
After all, neither the Jurchen Kingdom's intelligence nor the Daqi Allied Forces' intelligence indicated that the Shence Army could possibly appear under the walls of Daman City.
“I believe that only one person in the entire Great Qi Dynasty possesses such ability and courage to suddenly choose to launch a night attack on Daman City!” Nalan Shuo said.
The Jurchen emperor frowned and pressed, "Who is it?"
“The sixth prince of the Great Qi Dynasty, Prince Qin Xuan of Chu!” Nalan Shuo replied solemnly.
But before he could finish speaking, the Minister of Rites retorted, "That's absolutely impossible! According to the news from Daqi yesterday, the Shence Army is still blocked outside Tianshan City. Do you think they have wings and can just fly over here?"
In order to kill Qin Xuan, the Emperor of Daqi had already sent envoys to the Jurchen Kingdom to discuss the matter, and at the same time provided information about the Shence Army.
"Foolish!" Nalan Shuo was a military genius, and he didn't take the mere Minister of War seriously. He sneered, "Is the information you have necessarily true? Qin Xuan is so young, yet he has already made great achievements on the frontier. Even the brave Khan cavalry and Khitan army have suffered losses at his hands many times. How could a mere Tianshan City possibly stop such a person?"