Chapter 66: Attacking the Stronghold (Middle)

  The cries of killing started from the hour of Ox and did not stop until dawn.

  Both sides kept exchanging soldiers in battle, and dozens of corpses were left on the city wall of the Han camp.

  Amur's expression grew increasingly stern. These people didn't seem like bandits, neither in their way of fighting nor in their equipment, they seemed more like a well-trained army.

  The white eastern sky gradually expanded, and the majestic figure of the Han village finally appeared in front of Amur. He rode his horse around this mountain peak for half a circle, which was an independent mountain peak. To break through this stronghold, one had to either take the water route from the Rabbit Hair River or take the only road in front. Two newly built earthen city towers blocked the rugged mountain path, and these earth walls themselves were not considered strong fortresses, but with the steep cliffs on the left and the precipice on the right, they seemed invincible.

  Amur wondered in his heart, "Can I really retreat and be spared by the Khan?"

  At the foot of the Han Village Mountain, five thousand Chahar cavalrymen formed a dense black mass. Di Zhe, standing at the summit, caught sight of them and took in a cold breath.

  "I didn't expect so many Chahar people would come!"

  "These people are not easy to deal with, each one is fierce and cruel." Lei Yanqian had a deep understanding of this after a night of fighting, he had just changed shifts with Zuo Ruo and retreated back to the mountain stronghold.

  "The Jurchen troops will arrive soon, we just need to hold on for a few more days!" Ji Zhe encouraged the people around him.

  Xiao Zhiyan was supervising a large number of laborers on the empty land next to the warehouse, mixing niter, sulfur and charcoal into gunpowder in proportion, and packing them into leather bags, ceramic jars and other containers. Two craftsmen who knew how to make firearms were busy non-stop.

  "These are all city-guarding devices, just ignite and throw them down, the Mongols will definitely be scared to death!" Seeing Di Zhe walking over, Xiao Zhisheng smiled and said, "Firearms are good, but their firing speed and accuracy are not as good as my bow and arrow."

  "How many people's archery skills can surpass yours? Comparing archery with Mongolians is courting death!"

  "So, the future of our Ming army still relies on firearms. As someone who has practiced archery for over 20 years, I know its difficulties." Xiao Zhiyan's words, which were like divine archery, surprisingly did not advocate for archery, leaving Di Zhe somewhat perplexed.

  "Have you read the two military books of General Nan Tang? He also attaches great importance to firearms! It's just that the quality of the firearms made by our Ming officials is too poor, and they are prone to explosion and injury, so the soldiers don't like to use them." Xiao Zhiyan explained, seeing Zhai Zhe's somewhat puzzled expression.

  As they spoke, the shouting and killing sounds at the foot of the mountain rang out again. Zong Mao hastily ran over to report: "The Mongols have started attacking the mountain again!"

  Xiao Zhiyan and Di Zhe walked to the mountain pass of Han Village, only to see nearly a thousand Chahar archers standing at the mountain gate, about 100 paces away, densely packed. The dense arrow rain slanted upwards into the sky, drawing beautiful arcs that fell from the air.

  "Launch!" Xiao Zhiyan's face changed slightly.

  The accuracy and killing power of the catapulted arrows would decrease a lot, but the number of Chahar people made up for this deficiency. Mongolian warriors preparing to attack the city held wooden shields high and approached the mountain gate, followed closely by a small number of skilled archers who gave fatal blows to soldiers who dared to show their heads on the city walls.

  "Raise shields!" Zuo Ruo shouted loudly, the Ma bandits who were defending the city for the first time were clearly not well-trained, their shields were raised sparsely and at different angles.

  A dense hail of arrows falls from the sky, and someone under the shield lets out a mournful cry.

  The warriors who were scaling the castle walls began to climb up, and the Mongols' archery was well-controlled, with almost all of the arrows shot from the catapults landing about one zhang away from the earthen wall. None of the warriors climbing the city wall were accidentally injured from behind.

  The first warrior to climb over the wall did not rush up, but instead used his shield to cover his upper body and observed the position of the enemy on the city wall. He then turned around and shouted loudly: "Twenty steps!" This was exactly the distance between the defending cavalry and the city wall.

  The archers under the mountain gate extended their bow and arrow attack based on the distance measured by their companions on the wall. The dark long arrows flew into the sky and fell onto the heads of the Han camp's defensive soldiers, and the originally prepared long gun soldiers were shot down in a piece due to lack of shield protection.

  It's too costly to continue like this. Di Zhe gritted his teeth and said to Xiao Zhishu beside him in a probing tone, "Withdraw!"

  Xiao Zhiyan looked at it for a moment, hesitated and nodded slightly.

  Zong Mao led the way and left.

  "Fall back!" The orderly shouted loudly as he sprinted forward.

  The Mongolian warriors began to climb the wall, slow movements might be caught, Zuo Ruo commanded his troops to retreat to the second gate in an orderly manner, and he personally led dozens of people to cut off the pursuit.

  The Chahar people who climbed up the city wall let out a cheer, and the gate blocked by giant logs was finally opened. A small number of Chahar people who rushed to the top of the earth wall chased after Zuo Rui and others who were retreating.

  Just as they were about to catch up, a shout came from the top of the mountain: "Release!" Several large stones fell from the wall with lightning speed, one of which landed right in the middle of the mountain path. The Chahar warriors who were chasing were hit and crushed into pulp amidst their mournful cries.

  The second pass of the mountain gate was lined with archers, mostly Tumed people under Che Feng's command, who shot arrows with precision and continuous volleys, forcing the Chahar people to retreat after leaving behind several corpses.

  Zuo Ruo had not even fought yet, but was already feeling frustrated and depressed. The wounded soldiers were placed on the flat ground in front of the main hall, where the imperial physician came to bandage them up. Those who were seriously injured could only be carried by civilians to a quiet place to wait for death. After inspecting the troops, Zuo Ruo felt uneasy in his heart. The Han camp had just started out and lacked all sorts of talent.

  The gate fell with one blow, and a hint of disdain appeared on Amur's face.

  "The bandits are still not worth a blow!" But the narrow mountain road in front of him was really too annoying, and the bandits on the top of the mountain could block them recklessly.

  Having gained the trust of Lin Dan, Amur was not a rash man, but rather one of the few wise men among the Chahar people. The Chahar people quickly dismantled the earthen wall of the first mountain gate, hoping to get a wider road for easy access.

  On the mountain top, all the tribal leaders in the Han village were watching.

  "Indeed, they are the most elite Mongolian warriors! No wonder the Chahar people can defeat other Mongolian tribes and make them unable to lift their heads!" Xiao Zhi's words were filled with emotion. From the accuracy of the archers' throws to the coordination between the climbing warriors, the entire process of attacking the city was incredibly precise.

  Such Mongolian cavalry was also chased by Jurchen people and ran for half of the grassland, Zhai Zhe's heart was even heavier than his face.

  After opening the narrow mountain gate, Amur deployed his troops and generals.

  Over a hundred samurai holding wooden shields marched towards the second gate, launching a probing attack. He was searching for the mountain fortress's weak point.

  Di Zhe saw clearly from the mountain that the Chahar people's formation was sparse, obviously taking lessons from the stones thrown down from the cliff just now.

  A soldier on the cliff looked down and couldn't help but push a large boulder beside him, which crashed onto the mountain path with a loud whistling sound, smashing a warrior into pulp before rolling down the mountain. Even Amur, standing far away, felt the ground shaking. A wave of panic spread among the advancing Mongolian warriors, this kind of death was too bloody.

  "Who told you to throw stones!" Zuo Rou rushed over and slapped him, "Stones and logs are all precious resources, no one is allowed to move without orders!" It would take a long time to train the scattered horse thieves into obedient soldiers.

  The mangled flesh and blood of the Yongzheng Road was like rotten mud, causing the Chahar warriors to lose their courage to advance.

  Amur ordered the soldiers to retreat, if there were a lot of boulders on the mountain, the attacking soldiers would be in danger of being cut off, and the most suitable attack method for such a treacherous terrain could only be a night raid, taking advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness to take down the last pass on the mountain, as long as they could rush up the mountain, those horse bandits were not worth worrying about.

  After making a good attack plan, Amur tightened the dispatch of scouts in the north. As soon as he found the Jurchen's trail, he immediately reported back. Having experienced the lesson of Quanzizhen Ferry, his vigilance was raised to the extreme.

  "The Tumet people of the Mongolian steppe!"

  Amur had not forgotten this opponent, and if the Tumet dared to come to the rescue of the Han bandits, he did not mind giving them an ambush. In a face-to-face showdown, he was confident that he could eliminate those remaining Tumets, and compared to siege warfare, he would rather have a field battle on the grasslands.

  No matter what strategy he came up with, the initiative was always on the side of the Tatars, and the Jurchen people were about to arrive.