Insufficient balance

  Han Youniang wielded a wind-and-fire staff, standing on the city wall with the abandoned cannon's gunners who had picked up knives and guns to defend against the enemy. From time to time, she glanced at Yang Ling, seeing him pick up a gun and charge towards the Tartars, almost scaring her out of her wits. Master is a scholar, his body weak, probably can't even beat an ordinary strong man, how could he be a match for these ruthless Tartars? She flew up with a staff and swept it across the shoulder of a Tartar who had just climbed onto the city wall, knocking him down, then she chased after him.

  The enemy's killing on the battlefield was not fancy, it was the simplest and most direct hacking and slashing action. But as soon as they clashed, Yang Ling knew that it was a completely different story. His strength and speed were far from comparable to those who had been galloping on the battlefield for years. A Tartar with a knife had just wiped his blade across a soldier's neck, and with a swift swing, he sent Yang Ling's spear flying.

  A loud shout, a big knife chopped down on his head, Yang Ling looked at the big knife chopping down on his head and thought to himself: "It's come, I'm going to die again, where is Young Lady?" He couldn't dodge it, nor did he want to, in this moment before death, all he wanted was to see Young Lady one more time.

  He turned his head halfway around and saw that Han Yunniang was charging towards him like a mother leopard protecting her cub, her hair tie had fallen off, her braid flying in the wind, her face red as a peach blossom.

  The man and the stick almost formed a straight line, with a loud whooshing sound, the tip of the stick had swiftly passed over Yang Ling's head. With a "clang" sound, the large knife that was about to chop down on his head was instead deflected by Han Youniang's slanted point onto the blade, and it was actually knocked open, leaving a deep gash on the ground.

  Han Youniang arrived, and with a shoulder bump, she rolled forward, her body rising like a stick, and landed on the Tartar's chest with a loud thud. The force of this blow was immense, and the man stumbled backward several steps, his feet still unsteady. Han Youniang took two quick steps forward, "slap slap slap", her stick slicing through the air like wind, striking the left neck, right neck, forehead, and lower jaw, unleashing a flurry of blows that rained down on the man like a storm, leaving him no chance to even fall or cry out in pain.

  Yang Ling was also stunned, seeing Han Youniang's stick spinning around her body, grasping the middle of the whistle rod, the tip of the stick barely sweeping past Yang Ling's chest, bringing up a swift gust of wind, turning over, her hand had already slid to the head of the stick, the entire stick like a flying leopard tail, fiercely striking the throat of that Tartar man, Yang Ling clearly heard the sound of his trachea shattering, this one strike actually sent that massive body flying upwards, flipping once on the city wall and crashing down.

  She made a few moves, each one more ruthless and severe than the last. Her staff technique was both fast and merciless, causing people's eyes to spin with confusion. Her footwork was even more agile and powerful. Just as another head appeared on the city wall, the tip of her staff pointed forward like a spear, and with one strike, she hit that person right between the eyebrows. That person didn't even have time to see their enemy before they fell back down, face up.

  Han Youniang retreated with her staff, retreating to Yang Ling's side. Her knees went weak and she almost fell to the ground, but managed to steady herself by propping her staff against the ground. Yang Ling was staring in shock, seeing her small face turn pale, sweat beading on her forehead, and he quickly supported her, saying: "Youniang, what's wrong? Where are you hurt?"

  "Master, I'm fine, it's just... that one knife, scared me to death, waaahhh..." The person involved was unharmed, but she burst into tears.

  Jiang Bin only then realized that this exceptionally skilled young warrior was actually a girl, and thought she was afraid because she had just killed someone. He swung his sword and cut down several more Tartars, laughing loudly: "What's there to be afraid of? The first time I went into battle my legs were trembling so hard it was like they were having convulsions - it was the squad leader pinching my neck and forcing me to charge forward. If you kill a few more you won't be afraid anymore."

  This guy killed with great pleasure, and actually jumped onto the city wall. With one kick, he knocked down an enemy general who had just climbed up. His horse sword chopped wildly, cha cha cha, several knives in a row, and actually cut off the rope-bound wooden ladder. Several Tatar soldiers who had just climbed halfway screamed and fell to the ground.

  Suddenly, arrows rained down on the city walls, shooting towards Jiang Bin in a concentrated attack. Standing at the top of the city wall with two knives dancing in his hands, Jiang Bin deflected all the sharp arrows, and seeing their commander's bravery, the soldiers who had been wavering regained their morale and suppressed the enemy's offensive once again.

  Han Youniang supported Yang Ling and said: "Master, you quickly go up to Yue Lou".

  Yang Ling stomped his foot in frustration, damn it, this was really useless, couldn't even lift or carry, except for throwing stones downwards, and that bow and arrow, wasn't something someone like him who had never touched before could play with.

  Yang Ling also had a sense of self-awareness, having just narrowly escaped being killed by someone with one knife. Seeing Han Youniang scared out of her wits for his sake, he didn't dare to show off anymore and could only obediently retreat to the upper floor. As he left, he hastily asked: "I didn't expect your martial arts skills to be so good, what kind of staff technique is this?"

  Han Youniang's face turned red, and she hesitated for a moment before saying, "Father taught me, but I don't know either." Seeing him enter the tower, Han Youniang finally felt at ease and immediately rushed back to fight alongside Jiang Bin. Wherever the Tartars opened up a gap, they would swiftly counterattack with their swords and clubs, like thunder, and quickly suppress the enemy.

  Jiang Bing was brave and fierce, Yang Ling had seen it with his own eyes, but he couldn't have imagined that Han Youniang's martial arts were also so outstanding. A Wind and Fire Club in her hands, chopping, slashing, sweeping, and brushing, the stick shadow fluttering, dancing like a dragon, really unexpected that usually such a gentle and timid little girl, now baring teeth and claws like a fierce lion.

  Yang Ling watched with clenched fists and a stirring heart, secretly making up his mind that if he didn't die today, he would definitely learn this set of boxing techniques from her. Just as he was watching with boiling blood, someone patted him on the shoulder, and when he turned around, he saw Wang Zhu Bo approaching, his face streaked with black and blue, Yang Ling had also been smoked by gunpowder, leaving only his eyeballs white, the two of them looked like a pair of little devils.

  He leaned in close to Yang Ling, his eyes fixed intently on the soldiers engaged in fierce combat everywhere, as if he were examining the enemy situation shoulder-to-shoulder with him. In a low voice, he said: "Yang Shifu, you did nothing wrong, this is an unavoidable choice, colleagues will not gossip, just... be careful of Ma Jiying".

  Yang Ling was taken aback and whispered: "Why be careful with him?"

  Wang Zhubu showed a smile that looked like he was about to cry and said, "The posthouse administrator is an insignificant minor official. What makes him think he can sit on equal terms with the county magistrate?"

  He coughed twice and said quickly: "All the messengers of our great Ming dynasty are secret investigators of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, so be careful."

  "Brocade Guard?" Yang Ling was shocked in his heart, he thought the Brocade Guards were all the emperor's personal bodyguards, unexpectedly a postmaster and grain depot director could also be connected to the Brocade Guards, this Ming dynasty's intelligence network is really well-developed.

  Thinking of his relationship with Ma Shiying, he put down his heart a bit, but still said unfairly: "The people under the city can't live, even if they can live, weighing the two and abandoning the light, tens of thousands of lives and dozens of lives, can't you tell which one is lighter and which one is heavier?"

  Wang Zhubu chuckled twice and sighed, "Unless the high-ranking officials in the capital are brought to this city wall, I'm afraid they won't think that way." After finishing speaking, Wang Zhubu quietly moved away.

  Yang Ling turned his head and took a look, only to see Huang Xianchang standing with Ma Yi Chang, saying something. Their eyes met, and Yang Ling immediately understood that he was deliberately entangling Ma Yi Chang, allowing Wang Zhuzhu to come and instruct him on this matter.

  He was somewhat perplexed in his heart: "I did save his son, are all the Brocade Guards so cold and ruthless? County Magistrate Huang instructed me to do so, I must find an opportunity to show him kindness. Alas! I won't live for much longer, if he wants me to die, that's fine, but if he wants me to pay money, that's absolutely impossible, otherwise how will my young daughter survive?"

  My young daughter? At this thought, the heart of Tianzi, the number one miser, trembled. He looked up towards the city gate and saw only the back of Han Young-niang, waving a whistle stick, with her two long black braids swinging behind her.

  At this moment, Liu Xunjian held up his bow and shouted loudly: "The Tartars have been repelled, the Tartars have been repelled!" Huang Xiancheng and Ma Yizheng, who were talking, rushed forward together, only to see the Tartar soldiers retreating like a tide, shooting arrows continuously at the city head to cover their soldiers climbing down the siege ladder.

  Yang Ling watched them advance and retreat in an orderly manner, without any signs of panic or disorder. Although he didn't understand the formation, he could see that those cavalrymen were gathered in a mixed but not chaotic manner, still vaguely presenting several attacking formations. He couldn't help but exclaim: "What are these barbarians doing? If they launch another fierce attack, it's possible to climb up onto the city wall, why did they suddenly retreat?"

  Wang Bantou burst out laughing and said: "Yang Shifu, you think the Tartars are not afraid of death? These bastards have been killed by us until they're sore."

  Yang Lingzhi felt that something was not quite right, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Compared to the several officials who were in high spirits, his thoughts were somewhat clearer. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly exclaimed: "This is bad! Are they going to attack both the East and West gates? We just withdrew some men from those two gates, and now they're thinly defended!"

  At this time, Jiang Bin also rushed back, in the cold weather, he had taken off his battle robe, with bare arms, and the double knives in his hand had already rolled up their blades, with blood and flesh blurred on top. After hearing Yang Ling's words, he continued to say: "It won't work, the roads between the two cities are narrow, and the city gates are not usually open, we have fewer people, and they can't send out a large team of soldiers to fight either, but I think the Tartars must also have some tricks".

  Han Youniang rushed back, and in the midst of a group of elderly gentlemen in the building, she didn't dare to come in, so she stood at the door and gazed at Yang Ling. Her cheeks were bright red, and her hair was wet and stuck to her forehead. Yang Ling smiled slightly at her and took two steps forward, leaning on the railing to look down at the city below.

  On the snowy ground, the Tartar soldiers opened up a road, with four galloping horses in the middle, pulling two black objects towards the city. Before Yang Ling could point out his discovery, Jiang Bin jumped up like a beheaded rooster, and shouted: "Damn it! It's the Thunderbolt Cannon!"