Hearing the horn, the soldiers rushed to the top of the city wall and looked down nervously. The Tatar cavalry did not attack the city like a swarm of bees. In the midst of the dense enemy forces, more than ten simple siege ladders appeared. They seemed to have been cut down from the mountains at the last minute.
The walls of Jiming Posthouse weren't very high. With the ladders and the cover of the Tartar soldiers 'godly archery skills, the city would be destroyed if even a small part of the city was breached.
Jiang Bin held his two blades and said with a murderous aura,"Get the general up and blast their ladders!”Immediately, a few soldiers and civilians ran over to help the gunner adjust the position of the cannon nervously.
A strange-looking thing was erected in the distance. It was crossed with wood on all sides and was about five feet high. At the top was a platform, and at the bottom was a larger square platform. Two rows of wooden wheels were exposed on the side, and a whole piece of cowhide hung in front. It was impossible to see inside, but seeing that strange thing swaying forward, one could guess that the Tartar soldiers were hiding behind the cowhide cover and pushing the wooden platform forward. The dense group of Tartar soldiers began to move forward. From the top of the city, it looked like a dark cloud was pressing down on the snow.
The sun had already risen high up in the sky, but the cold light of swords and spears shone everywhere. Jiang Bin raised his knife and pointed it at the frame, shouting," Quick, blow up that siege chariot."
The Tartars were getting closer and closer. The soldiers lying in front of them suddenly shouted,"Milord, those are our people in front. The Tartars have captured our people and are standing in front."
"Hmm?" Hearing this, Jiang Bin rushed to the front and looked down from the battlements. The Tartars were getting closer and closer. He could see twenty or thirty people standing at the front. There were men and women, old and young. They were all dressed in the clothes of the Central Plains. Jiang Bin was dumbfounded.
Fight? They were all people of Great Ming, who would dare to bear the crime of slaughtering their fellow countrymen? Not fighting? If the Tartar soldiers were allowed to charge forward, they would also die and the entire Jiming Posthouse would fall.
Jiang Bin rolled his eyes and cursed fiercely," Beat them up! That's the Tartars 'trick! They're all dressed up like Tartars! Beat them up!"
The cannon was already aimed at the siege tank. Seeing the gunner bring the torch closer to the fuse, Jiang Bin's cheeks twitched. At this moment, a man suddenly shouted,"" We can't fight, we can't fight. They're our fellow countrymen. I recognize them. The one on the left is my uncle. They're all from the same village on Bala Ridge."
The fire twister burned with a "chi chi" sound. Patrol Officer Liu's hands and eyes were quick. He suddenly pulled out his knife and slashed it on the cannon with a "clang" sound, cutting the medicine twister in half. County Magistrate Huang, Chief Bookkeeper Wang, and the others, who had turned pale, could not help but sigh in shock.
Jiang Bin was so anxious that he stomped his feet. The veins on his forehead bulged as he said,"I say, old masters, if the chariots get close to the city walls, we won't be able to defend the city with just the few of us. We can't be soft-hearted at this time."
"No, we can't. As the parents of the government, how can we hurt our own people?" Those with good archery skills would directly shoot the Tartar soldiers and stop them from approaching. The civil officials on the side nodded repeatedly.
Ordering an indiscriminate bombing? The county annals would probably record their reputation from then on, and they would be reviled by people for thousands of generations. How could they bear such a crime? Moreover, if the Imperial Censor knew about this and impeached him in the court, even if he escaped the Tatars 'butcher's knife today, the Emperor would probably punish him.
A few archers pulled their bows and arrows flew everywhere. However, the front of the war chariots that had entered the firing range was covered with leather. This leather was tough and hard, and arrows could not penetrate it. The large group of Tartar soldiers hid behind the war chariots and slowly approached, not caring at all.
Jiang Bin was anxious. He shouted," I'm in command here. Gunner, attack! Blow up the chariot!"”
"Who dares?" County Magistrate Huang shouted angrily. Great Ming's soldiers massacring Great Ming's people, how preposterous! I am the county magistrate of this county. Lord Min is not here. The officials of this county, including the garrison, are under my jurisdiction. Who dares to disobey orders?”The cannoneers looked at each other, not knowing who to listen to.
A few arrows hit the cowhide, but they only shook it a few times. At most, one or two arrows hooked on the cowhide, which was not intimidating at all. A Tarian cavalryman jumped in front of the chariot with a spear in one hand and shouted in Chinese,""The people in front are all from your Great Ming, who dares to shoot? Look carefully!"
The man turned his horse around and snatched a package from a woman. He then galloped back. The woman cried and chased after him. Suddenly, an arrow flew over and hit her in the back. The woman swayed and fell to the ground.
The city was solemn as they watched the woman fall to the ground, unable to save her. The fierce Tartar held his spear and reached the city. He raised the bag in his hand into the air and pierced it with the sharp tip of the spear in his right hand. He raised it high in the air and shouted proudly,"We know that there are not many guards in the city. Quickly open the city and surrender. We can still keep our lives. Otherwise, the entire city will be massacred.”
Only then did the people on the city wall realize that the bundle in his hand was actually a baby. Everyone's eyes were about to pop out. Even the archers holding bows, who did not know whether they were scared or hated, their arms trembled and could no longer pull their bows.
Seeing fresh blood flowing down the spear shaft and dripping onto the snowy ground, Young Lady Han covered her mouth with her hand, her other hand tightly gripping Yang Ling's arm, tears blurring her vision.
After a long while, Jiang Bin suddenly shouted,"What the f * ck are you all doing? Fire! Fire! You bunch of stupid bookworms, you want the Tartars to charge up and slaughter us before you're satisfied?”
County Deputy Huang's lips trembled as he said,"No, no." However, he was unable to utter a complete sentence. Yang Ling did not expect the Tartars to be so savage. Seeing this bloody scene, he was shocked by a huge psychological difference. The present was the present, and the outsiders were outsiders. They were all inhumane beasts.
Seeing a swaddled baby being stabbed to death by a bloodthirsty barbarian without even blinking, his eyes were already filled with blood. He suddenly shook off the young woman's arm and rushed to the front of the cannon. He snatched the torch from the gunner's hand and lit the fuse. He shouted hoarsely,"Motherf * cker! Kill! Kill! Kill!"
With a boom, the cannon roared. The shell accurately landed on the chariot, shattering the base. The civilians in front and the Tartar soldiers pushing the siege platform under the base were blasted into pieces. The huge frame swayed and fell down. The few Han who were not killed by the explosion fled in all directions, and a few Eagle Feather Arrows chased after them, killing them one by one on the snowy ground.
The Tartar soldier who was threatening the city wall was shocked and immediately turned his horse around to escape. As soon as he turned his horse around, a sharp arrow shot through the back of his neck and he swallowed it. The Tartar did not even make a sound and fell off his horse. One foot was still hanging in the saddle, and the corpse was dragged back to his position by the horse.
On top of the city wall, Young Lady Han's eyes were red as she raised the bow she had snatched from the soldier beside her. Another eagle feather had already been nocked on the bowstring. Unlike the short crossbows with fast firing speed and short shooting range, this kind of city guarding bow was very similar to the longbow she used when she was hunting in the mountains. When she was 12 years old, she used the longbow to shoot a leopard running in the dense forest. It was naturally easy for her to shoot the Tartar soldiers who had no cover under the city.
Seeing that the meat shield had lost its effect, the Tartars shouted and carried more than a dozen wooden ladders to the city wall.
The cannon was knocked away from its original position again, and the smoke dispersed. Yang Ling raised the torch, trembling like a fallen leaf in the wind. His face was black from the smoke, and his eyes were red as he slowly turned around to look at Deputy Huang and Deputy Ma. He said in a hoarse voice,""Viper's pincer, a strong man's wrist. The overall situation is more important!"
County Magistrate Huang stared at him and suddenly shouted. He rushed over frantically, picked up a piece of stone and threw it fiercely down the city. Wang Zhujun, Ma Yi, and the others also rushed forward like crazy. Jiang Bin did not dare to let these people die here, so he immediately called a few soldiers to drag these crazy scholars into the building.
He rushed in front of Yang Ling and patted his shoulder heavily, praising him,""Well done, what great things can a woman's benevolence achieve? No matter what others think, if the nearly ten thousand people of Jichao Posthouse can survive, it's all thanks to you!”
He spat on the ground and shouted,""Continue firing, blow up all the wooden ladders of the Tartars!”
However, the Tartar soldiers below the city had already avoided the main tower. They spread out and set up ladders at the city wall to attack. The effect of the cannons had weakened. Yang Ling retreated to the side. Be it the neighing of warhorses, arrows piercing through the air, or screams of death, they all seemed to have become the sounds of another world. There were already two wooden ladders that had people attacking the city walls, but they were forcefully suppressed by Jiang Bin and his men. Yang Ling stood there in a daze, as if he did not feel anything. Although he knew that the most rational thing to do now was to not fire a single shot, or else more lives would be lost, he still felt a deep sense of guilt when those people died at his hands.
The bombs had already been used up. The originally timid and fearful people seemed to have been stimulated by the blood in their bones. They used all the stones, rolling wood, and lime. Many people picked up the knives and spears of the dead soldiers and joined the melee. The Tartars had completely paved a path with human lives, vowing to take down Jiming Posthouse.
Not far away, four Tartars had already rushed up from an escalator. Behind them, there were still people climbing up and fighting fiercely with the Ming army. Jiang Bin saw that the situation wasn't looking good. He brandished his two bloody sabers and pounced over like a gust of wind.
Yang Ling was awoken by the screams coming from close by. The soldiers guarding the city were severely lacking in manpower, and there were no more fresh troops to replenish the gap. Yang Ling didn't even think about it, grabbing a spear and charging over.
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