The Great Rebel at the End of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 042 Ruthless

As Zhou Lun had predicted, Gao Yingxiang had probably already guessed Wang Er's plan.

He sent Li Wanqing to the east of the city in advance to make arrangements, not only to cooperate with Huanglong's ambush and to guard against possible government troops coming to the rescue, but also because he intended to divert Li Wanqing away.

Thinking about this, Zhou Lun couldn't help but admire Gao Yingxiang's foresight.

Let the straightforward Li Wanqing stay away first, lest he witness Wang Er's actions and become indignant, causing a scene on the spot. Once An Ding is captured and the situation is fait accompli, Li Wanqing will have no choice but to accept it even if he has any other ideas afterward.

This approach avoids internal conflicts within the rebel army and ensures a smooth siege. It is indeed beneficial for the rebel army as a whole.

Gao Yingxiang probably took this into consideration, which is why he made this arrangement after deciding that Wang Er would be the main attacker. This man is so meticulous and has such a clear understanding of human nature. Gao Yingxiang is truly remarkable!

However, Zhou Lun was also curious as to why Gao Yingxiang would specifically explain these things to him.

Logically speaking, he was merely Li Wanqing's subordinate, and his position within the rebel army was somewhat distant from that of Gao Yingxiang, the high-ranking leader. If anyone should be explaining, it should be to Li Wanqing, not him. Why was he suddenly being addressed to him?

With doubts in his heart, Zhou Lun pondered to himself, "Could it be that Gao Yingxiang said all this to me in an attempt to win him over?"

Thinking of this, Zhou Lun couldn't help but feel a sense of pride, but at the same time, he became more wary. What exactly was Gao Yingxiang up to? What was he planning? Was he trying to win him over, or to sow discord? Zhou Lun wasn't sure for the moment.

However, at this point, he had no time to think further. Wang Er's attack had already begun, and the fighting had officially started.

Driven by the people, Wang Er's troops easily reached the city walls.

It wasn't that there was no response from the city walls, but rather that the resistance there was far less intense than expected.

After all, Wang Er was driving away the surrounding villagers, and with his shouts and pleas just now, most of the garrison in the city were locals, and many of them were relatives of the people outside the city.

Faced with their fellow villagers who were crying and being driven forward, how could they bear to be ruthless? Even under the strict orders of the centurion Xu Zhao, their reactions were either distorted or they instinctively let the situation slide.

Arrows and stones fired from the city walls were sparse and inaccurate. Even when Wang Er's troops reached the city walls, there was little damage below. Apart from a few unlucky ones who were hit by arrows or stones, most people were unharmed.

Seeing the weak counterattack from the city walls, the people who had been coerced into attacking the city grew bolder. Desperate for a way to survive, they were now willing to risk everything. Wang Er had made it clear beforehand that as long as they helped capture the county town, they would have a chance to live.

In this situation, these people actually unleashed their greatest potential. With red eyes and clenched teeth, half of them shouted and built ladders, while the other half carried battering rams and smashed them against the tightly closed city gates.

"Charge! Charge! Take An Ding, and you'll live the high life! You can have anything you want!"

Wang Er, who was overseeing the battle, saw that the siege ladders had been erected and the city gates were being rammed by his men. He was so excited that he kept shouting at the top of his lungs.

His men were like they'd been injected with adrenaline, roaring as they climbed the ladders. Once they reached the top of the city wall, they could drive out the defenders and the superior number of rebels would win.

"Fire arrows! Throw stones! You bastards! Are you all just waiting to die at the hands of the enemy after the city falls?"

Xu Zhao grew anxious and roared at the top of his lungs, "Don't forget your families are all in the city! If you don't want your families to suffer a fate worse than death at the hands of the bandits, then fight to the death! Anyone who doesn't put in the effort, I'll smash their sand pot!"

The situation was critical, and Xu Zhao became determined. He knew exactly what the consequences would be if the rebel army breached the city walls.

He didn't have many troops to begin with; most were constables, yamen runners, laborers recruited from the county town, and local able-bodied men. These men totaled no more than three hundred, yet they had to face an attack from a bandit army several times their size. Moreover, these bandits had resorted to the underhanded tactic of driving villagers to swarm the city in an attack. Now, the morale of the able-bodied men in the city had been shattered, and they were hesitant to resist. How could things continue like this?

If the city walls are captured, Anding City will be completely indefensible.

At that time, those common people might still have a way to survive, but as a government military commander, he would only face certain death.

In his desperation, Xu Zhao didn't care about anything else. He not only took the lead and charged to the front, leading his personal guards to fight desperately, but also shouted loudly to the surrounding area, trying to make these young men realize that if the city fell, it would be too late to regret it!

Amid Xu Zhao's incessant shouts, some of the young and strong gradually came to their senses. Although they still felt sorry for the villagers outside the city, they understood in their hearts that Xu Zhao was right.

Once the city falls, their fate will be no better than that of their fellow villagers outside the city. Moreover, although it is their own fellow villagers forced to attack the city, their families are still inside. For the sake of their families and themselves, they must choose the lesser of two evils; at this moment, who can care about anything else?

As the resistance on the city walls intensified, the rebel army, which had been advancing smoothly, suddenly ran into a brick wall.

Wang Er's troops were a motley crew. Fueled by their youthful vigor and the thrill of capturing the town yesterday, they roared as they climbed the city walls, their minds filled with dreams of looting the county town, getting rich, and rising in rank.

But as Xu Zhao led his men, the arrows fired from the city walls became more and more accurate, and the stones thrown became more and more frequent. The rebel soldiers at the front fell one after another from the high ladders, screaming as they crashed outside the city, their bones broken, their fate unknown.

Seeing their brothers, who were full of energy one moment and turned into corpses the next, the rebels, who had been blinded by desire, gradually calmed down.

As the resistance on the city walls intensified and their own casualties mounted, the already ragtag rebel army began to falter. Their climbing slowed involuntarily, and some of the more astute among them even started looking around, plotting their retreat.

The offensive momentum was suddenly halted. Seeing his brothers, about to scale the city walls, being driven back, Wang Er, watching the battle, jumped up and down in fury, cursing loudly. They could have charged forward in one fell swoop, but now the defenders had held them off; wasn't this tantamount to all their efforts being in vain?

"Kill! Charge forward! The first to reach the top will be rewarded with three hundred taels of silver! He'll be made a leader, and a beautiful young woman will be his!"

Wang Er used his "ultimate move," making a grand promise on the spot. This reward was undeniably substantial. Three hundred taels of silver—an amount an ordinary person couldn't earn in a lifetime. Moreover, there were the added benefits of a direct promotion to leadership and a woman as a reward. With these, wouldn't it be like achieving instant success and becoming a winner in life?

Under the reward, there must be a brave man.

Wang Er's words were like a shot in the arm for the rebels. Those who had just been contemplating retreat instantly regained their courage and quickened their pace of climbing. The rebels below the city walls were not idle either. Wang Er organized a dozen or so archers to continuously exchange fire with those on the city walls. In the back-and-forth exchanges, the defenders on the city walls gradually suffered casualties.

"Hold on! Hold on for me!"

Xu Zhao's eyes were bloodshot as he led his personal guards back and forth on the city wall to "put out the fire."

Wang Er's rebel army had no strategy whatsoever; they launched a fierce attack on the western city right from the start, erecting five siege ladders alone, not counting the men carrying battering rams and desperately ramming the city gates.

As a centurion, Xu Zhao was no ordinary soldier; he had some experience in warfare. In his view, Wang Er was merely relying on his superior numbers and the initial advantage of using civilians to swarm in. If his troops were all elite government troops, holding off the enemy's attack would be no problem at all.

Unfortunately, most of Xu Zhao's garrison was not government troops, but rather yamen runners and able-bodied men.

The former fared somewhat better, while the latter were barely enough to make up the numbers. Adding to the woes, the rebel army outside the city relentlessly fired arrows, and in the back-and-forth fighting, the defending troops began to suffer casualties. Those constables and able-bodied men had never witnessed such brutal warfare before. Panic gripped them, and their ranks gradually crumbled.

In order to stabilize the defense line, Xu Zhao had no choice but to personally lead his men to provide relief in various places, plug the gaps, and repel wave after wave of rebel attacks.

Seeing that the rebel army's offensive was getting stronger and stronger, and that his side was really unable to hold them off, Xu Zhao made a desperate move and ordered his men to quickly bring up the prepared broth.

This thing was a "powerful weapon" he had prepared in advance. If the rebel army hadn't arrived so quickly that he hadn't had time to prepare more, he would have used it long ago.