Chapter 29: Fierce Battle for Qiaoxian County

  In the vegetable garden, two local militiamen saw Luo Zheng coming in and immediately ran quickly to welcome him.

  "Have Ironsmith Old Ma called before this general."

  Luo Zheng waved his hand and two bodyguards turned around and ran without a word.

  Soon, Old Horse the blacksmith came running over, followed by two bodyguards.

  "The little man greets the general."

  The old horse rushed forward and immediately fell to the ground.

  "Get up."

  Luo Zheng waved his hand and sat down in the chair arranged by his personal soldiers.

  Just as he sat down, another bodyguard brought over a table and set it up, and presented him with melons, fruits, and iced tea.

  Luo Zheng casually picked up a cucumber and took a bite, while chewing, he called Old Ma to his side and handed him the messy canvas with paint all over it, saying: "Take a look, how long will it take to make these things?"

  He didn't ask if it could be made first, but directly asked how long it would take, and his overbearing nature was fully revealed.

  The old horse picked up the cloth and looked at it for a long time. Pointing to the horseshoe-shaped pattern, he asked in puzzlement, "General, what is this thing?"

  Luo Zheng displeasedly said: "Don't ask about this for now, just say how long it will take to manufacture."

  The old horse pondered for a moment and said, "A day is enough for what people have in their hands."

  "Where were those armor?" Luo Zheng asked again.

  "The old horse replied: 'At least three days are needed.'"

  "How many people are needed?"

  Lao Ma said: "Two hundred people is enough."

  Luo Zheng immediately waved his hand, "Then go and do it now, the sooner the better."

  The old horse hastily replied, "Yes, sir."

  "Is refined iron enough?"

  Lao Ma said, "General, on this road from Wan City to Qiao County, every time you conquer a place, you must gather fine iron. Now the stored fine iron is not less than 10,000 catties, even if it's slightly less, it can be made up with copper."

  Luo Zheng nodded, "Alright, you can choose whoever you want, just make sure it's all done within three days."

  The old horse responded with a sound, hastily took the cloth and got up, and went to choose people.

  Lu Zheng's mood was refreshed, and he took Xu Zhu to inspect the vegetable garden. He found that only a small piece of watermelon was left, and immediately glared at two personal soldiers, "Damn it, no wonder I felt that you two guys have been getting fatter lately, originally my melons were reduced by half, three months of fasting, the rest will be kept for seeds."

  Two bodyguards chuckled and scratched their heads, hastily obeying orders.

  There are many things planted in the vegetable garden, including grains, vegetables, melons and fruits.

  Although there aren't many, they have a wide variety.

  Moreover, the land of the vegetable garden is fertile, although it is not planted much, but the yield is very high.

  Luo Zheng has already harvested a batch of seeds and retained many varieties. He is just waiting for a suitable plot of land to settle down before vigorously promoting the planting of these crops.

  In this era of widespread famine, grain yields largely restricted the development of vassal forces.

  If some high-yielding crops can be promoted and planted, they will occupy an unparalleled advantage.

  When I came out of the vegetable garden, it was already completely dark.

  Luo Zheng personally went to the workshop to watch the blacksmiths set up earth furnaces, smelt iron and make armor, until after midnight before returning to rest.

  The next day at dawn, before it was light, a shocking war drum sound came from outside the city.

  As soon as the door opened, Xu Chu rushed in and hastily said: "My lord, Sun Jian's rebel army has started attacking the city."

  "Damn it, so fast."

  Luo Zheng scolded his mother and quickly put on his armor, rode his war horse out of the door, and rushed straight to the North Gate.

  The dawn is breaking, and the black curtain on the horizon has not yet dispersed.

  The north gate of Caoxian County, with guns and spears standing like a forest.

  Sun Jian stood sternly under his commander's flag, his eyes revealing a fierce intent to kill, and swung his right arm down fiercely.

  In the midst of a shocking war drumbeat, 15,000 infantrymen were divided into three teams, each with 5,000 people, forming three square arrays in front and back, stepping in unison, taking turns to launch an attack on the city.

  The county town of Xiao is bustling with activity, flags are fluttering in the wind and people's heads are crowded together.

  Luo Zhen rushed up to the city head with Xu Chu and more than a dozen close guards.

  "General."

  "The general has arrived."

  The Western Liang soldiers had long been waiting with bated breath and were suddenly filled with great enthusiasm, chattering and making a racket.

  "General."

  The troops also came forward one after another, clasping their hands and making a bow.

  Luo Zheng waved his hand and rushed to the side of the city wall, supporting himself against the wall and looking down.

  "Fire the arrow."

  At this time, the vanguard of 2,000 Kanto infantry had already charged into bow and arrow range.

  There was a fierce and murderous aura emanating from Xi Lian's small school building. He raised his right arm high in the air, swung it down fiercely, and let out a loud roar.

  Whoosh... whoosh... whoosh...

  In unison, the bowstrings sang out, a dense wave of arrows poured down in an instant, pouring heavily on the heads of the Kanto infantry.

  "Shield Wall."

  Five thousand infantrymen stood in front of the array, with a lieutenant holding a knife towards the sky and letting out a loud roar.

  The Kanto infantrymen carrying sandbags immediately slowed down their pace and raised their shields to cover their heads.

  At this moment, a rain of arrows poured down from above, and mournful cries arose one after another.

  The shield cannot protect the whole body. In the first round of shooting by the Xiliang army, nearly a hundred Guandong infantrymen were shot down.

  "Don't stop, keep going."

  The commander shouted loudly, a knife knocked away a strong arrow, holding up the shield and leading the charge forward.

  On the city wall, Xi Lian Xiao was waiting for the order to give the second round of simultaneous shooting.

  Luo Zheng suddenly shouted loudly, "Wait!"

  The little school was stunned for a moment, and then ran over immediately, asking in a loud voice, "What are the general's orders?"

  Luo Zheng waved his hand and said, "Wait until we get to the city wall before shooting."

  "Yes, sir!" he replied hastily.

  Soon, more than a thousand soldiers with shields and sandbags rushed to the edge of the moat.

  "Fire the arrow."

  Luo Zheng let out a loud roar and swung his right arm heavily downwards.

  Long ago, with bows drawn and arrows ready, a thousand Western Liang soldiers immediately loosened their taut bowstrings.

  As the Eastern soldiers were about to throw sandbags into the moat, a dense and heavy rain of arrows suddenly poured down, instantly shooting two thousand infantrymen so that they fell over each other, with at least five hundred people shot to the ground.

  A shrill and mournful cry suddenly rose to the sky, and the eyes of the commander-in-chief turned red in an instant.

  Damn it, this western barbarian's timing for shooting arrows is really too poisonous.

  "Don't panic, retreat after the shield wall."

  The experienced commander-in-chief let out a loud and decisive shout.

  However, the quality of these troops from Kanto was really disappointing. After being shot down by a round of arrow rain, with more than a quarter of them falling to the ground, the soldiers immediately panicked and threw away their sandbags, turning around to flee before the captain even had time to shout loudly.

  These soldiers were all cobbled together from various lords and were originally not of one mind.

  After Sun Jian's reorganization, although they practiced whenever they had time on the road, what great effect could be achieved in just a few short days? They were originally uneven and couldn't coordinate well. Once they encountered a fierce counterattack, naturally they would first take care of themselves.

  This run immediately made the military formation chaotic.

  "Fire the arrow."

  The Tong Bing Xiao Wei realized something was amiss when the loud shout like a thunderclap from Luo Zheng on the city wall rang out once again.

  Like a swarm of arrows, they poured down again and shot heavily on the heads of the Kanto infantry.

  In the midst of the shrill and mournful howls, the soldiers who were fleeing in a state of panic fell down in batches. Some soldiers were directly shot at their vital parts and died quickly, while the vast majority of soldiers who were not directly killed lay on the ground and let out mournful cries.

  The cruelty of war is fully revealed at this moment.

  In the dense hail of arrows from the Western Liang army, two thousand infantrymen from Guandong were killed or wounded.

  In the end, less than a quarter of them managed to escape with their lives, and most were wounded.

  The commander's eyes were wide with rage, his teeth almost cracking with fury.

  Damn Xue Jing, Qiao County has 3,000 troops and the advantage of a strong city, yet it was still taken by the Western Liang rebels. It's simply incompetence to the extreme. If not for this, we wouldn't have suffered such heavy casualties.

  Attacking a strong city, victory is achieved by filling it with human lives.

  Even if Sun Wu were reborn, if he were to launch a strong attack on a fortified city, he would still have to pay a heavy price.

  The 300,000-strong Kwantung Army besieged Tiger Pass for over a month without success, suffering nearly 100,000 casualties in the process.

  Kwantung Army Rear Garrison

  Sun Jian saw clearly that the first wave of 2,000 infantrymen suffered heavy casualties, and his face turned iron-blue in an instant.

  If the casualties continue at this rate, even if we can finally break through Xiao County, our army of 15,000 men will be almost wiped out. Not to mention whether we can break through Xiao County, it's still uncertain.

  What's more serious is that this army was temporarily assembled.

  Originally, they had not fought many battles, and most soldiers and officers were unfamiliar with each other, making it impossible to form trust. They were not much stronger than the county troops. Once they suffered a setback, the commanding officer could not control the situation at all.

  Sun Jian fought many battles and soon realized this point, with a cold glow shooting out of his tiger eyes.

  These motley troops cobbled together from various lords are really not ordinary in their inferiority, far worse than the elite under his own command.

  However, if these miscellaneous troops can wipe out these 8,000 Western Liang cavalry, it would be worth it.

  Sun Jian thought of this and immediately shouted loudly, "Gongsun Yue, listen to the order."

  "What does the general have to say?"

  Gongsun Zan immediately urged his horse forward and cupped his hands in wait for orders.

  He was a general under Gongsun Zan, the Governor of Beiping, and also one of Sun Jian's generals this time.

  Gongsun Zan lent out 3,000 Youyan cavalrymen, but naturally could not give his elite troops to someone else. He sent his cousin Gongsun Yue as a deputy general under Sun Jian, commanding the 3,000 Youyan cavalrymen and taking orders only from Sun Jian.

  Sun Jian sternly ordered: "Send three thousand cavalry with strong bows to support the formation."

  "I will obey orders."

  Gongsun Yue led the army order and immediately urged his horse to leave.

  Soon, Yu Jin led three thousand Youyan cavalry to quickly press in from the northeast corner. The infantrymen formed a line on the flank of the city, using strong bows and powerful arrows to shoot towards the top of the city wall, covering the infantry's attack on the city.

  However, the result was somewhat disappointing.

  The Western Coolies shot down from the city wall, naturally gaining a great advantage.

  The Youzhou cavalry shot from under the city wall to the top of the city head. Even if the horse shooting is precise, it will be at a great disadvantage.

  Only a handful of exceptionally strong archers from Youzhou could shoot powerful arrows all the way to the top of the city walls using their sturdy bows. As for the vast majority of Youzhou soldiers, they were unable to shoot their powerful arrows high enough to reach the top of the city walls, and they all fell short, dropping into the moat instead.

  "Hmmph!"

  Xiaoyi County Castle Head, Xu Chu hummed and flashed lightning to grab a strong arrow shot at Luo Zheng.

  The rest of the Western Liang army officers and soldiers also waved their sabers to block the strong arrows shot from the city head.

  Fortunately, there were not many strong arrows shot from the city head, and due to inertia, they had already exhausted their momentum and were easily blocked.

  Luo Zheng's eyes gleamed with a hint of surprise as he said in a deep voice, "The cavalry of Youzhou is indeed famous for their excellent horsemanship and archery skills. It seems that their reputation is not unfounded."

  Li Meng said loudly: "Our army has the geographical advantage, no matter how good the Youzhou soldiers are at shooting, they are just paper tigers without claws and teeth, and cannot harm our army in the slightest. General, don't give others courage and destroy your own prestige."

  The rest of the Western Liang army officers and soldiers immediately responded in droves, with even higher morale.

  Xu Chu stood with his knife at Luo Zhen's side, his tiger eyes shining brightly as he stared fixedly ahead. Leaping horse, Western Liang.