Chapter 69: Defeated Again

  "My son is severely infected with sepsis. Everyone, let's wish him a speedy recovery! Thank you!"

  Looking at the sticks swarming outside the village, the villagers' faces turned pale one by one. The eldest son of the Fan family was so nervous that he couldn't control himself, his lips were trembling, and his voice was shouting loudly to ask the villagers to prepare.

  This time, the pole merged with the soldiers in one place and fought more methodically, coordinating better than yesterday, leaving the people of Zhuangzi at a loss for what to do. In a short period of time, they filled out another passage in the trench, making the people inside the village feel under pressure, and everyone inside the village was very tense.

  As they watched, another batch of pole-wielding men shouting and rushing forward like a dark cloud, followed by team after team carrying long ladders, swarming towards the manor walls like ants. The manor guards also realized that they couldn't hold back any longer, so under the command of Master Fan's eldest son, they plucked up their courage, one by one poking their heads out from behind the manor walls and opening fire fiercely at the moat passageway.

  This time they not only used fire guns and bows to intercept, but also other farmhands didn't idle around, taking out freshly cut bamboo spears, using them as javelins to throw at the people below. Earlier they saw Xiao Tianjian use javelins when dealing with Wang Tiandong's gang, which had a pretty good effect. In their urgent situation, they followed suit and immediately chopped down some bamboo from the farm, temporarily crafting some bamboo spears to use as javelins. This is probably also an example of learning by doing.

  The few people who rushed to the front, although holding shields, were still caught off guard by such a fierce counterattack. In an instant, two of them were hit by gunfire and fell to the ground, while another was stabbed in the neck with a bamboo spear, immediately piercing his neck from side to side, without even having the ability to cry out in pain, before stumbling and falling into the trench.

  Xiao Tianjian commanded the musketeers and archers to stop outside the trenches, and with a single order, these archers and musketeers opened fire together, producing a string of explosive sounds like beans popping, and a cloud of smoke immediately rose up in front of them.

  Two more strong men immediately appeared on the wall, let out a miserable cry and fell over, facing such a simultaneous shooting, they simply couldn't dodge in time, this made the momentum of the strong men's counterattack suddenly stagnate.

  A large number of Xiao Tianjian's subordinates also took the opportunity to quickly surge over the trench, and began to loudly and laboriously set up several long ladders, which were erected against the wall of the villa.

  "Fork! Quick, use the fork! Turn the ladder over with the fork, don't let them come up! Boiling water, pour boiling water down! Hit hard! If you kill the old master of the pole, there will be a reward!" The eldest son of the Fan family was in a panic, sticking to the wall and sitting on the wall, shouting desperately like killing a pig. At this moment, he could only hope that these farmers would sacrifice themselves for the Fan family, constantly yelling about the reward.

  Zhuang Ding also knew that once the Zhuangzi was breached, they would not be able to hold out for long. The robust man surnamed Luo was very brave, and despite the arrows and bullets flying up from below, he did not dodge or hide, but instead ran back and forth on the wall of the Zhuangzi, kicking and beating those cowardly Zhuang Ding who dared not stand up to fight back, forcing them to get up and counterattack. As a result, this actually had the effect of boosting morale. Although there was the threat of spears and arrows from below, the Zhuang Ding still had no choice but to get up one after another, desperately throwing down all sorts of rolling logs and stones at the foot of the wall, and holding long-handled iron forks, they exerted their strength to fork out those ladders that had already been placed against the wall. Several people worked together to push them away from the outside, resolutely not allowing the ladders to be stable on the wall.

  At that moment, the city wall was shouting and shaking the sky. The rolling logs and stones on the city wall were falling down like rain, hitting the people below. Although they held shields, they still couldn't withstand the heavy rolling logs and stones, and some of them were immediately crushed, their heads bleeding, crying out in pain, and cursing loudly.

  What's even more ruthless is that suddenly, a large pot was lifted up above, and a whole pot of boiling water was poured down on the people below. The scalding hot water poured down, and even with the rattan shields on their heads, they couldn't withstand it. In an instant, several people were burned by the boiling water, crying out in agony as they rolled around on the ground, and instantly, blisters appeared all over their heads and faces.

  Tie Tou led a few men, holding shields and rushing towards the drawbridge after crossing the moat. They wanted to cut off the ropes of the drawbridge, but Zhuang Ding wouldn't let them have their way. Before they could get close to the bridge, he threw down three or four fire basins, which almost hit Tie Tou. As soon as the basins landed, the tung oil inside splashed out and ignited instantly, starting a huge fire on the ground that blocked Tie Tou and his men from reaching the drawbridge. One of the knife-wielding guards was too slow to dodge and was splashed with tung oil all over his body. He was immediately engulfed in flames, screaming and running wildly in all directions before finally falling headfirst into the moat, disappearing without a sound. The air was filled with the smell of burnt human flesh, making people feel nauseous.

  This time, Xiao Tianjian still imitated Wang Tiandong's method, pushing all of Wang Tiandong's old troops forward, leaving only the long gun hand Du Zhen on his side, planning to take advantage of the chaos to seize the drawbridge. However, what he didn't expect was that a small place like Fanjiabao would be so difficult to deal with. This time, over 100 people were pushed forward, charging across the moat, but they couldn't get close to the drawbridge, not even able to set up a ladder against the wall of the Zhuang family's compound. Although he commanded the musketeers and archers to fire in succession several times, killing or injuring three or four of the Zhuang family's guards, they were unable to stop the counterattack by the guards. It seemed that in a short period of time, they would still be unable to seize the drawbridge.

  After such a chaotic and fierce attack, the people who were squeezed under the wall of the village, under the rolling logs and stones thrown by the village guards, finally couldn't hold on anymore. Some timid people had already begun to retreat towards the moat, and morale had basically hit rock bottom. So Xiao Tianjian also saw that it would be very difficult to continue holding on and attack the village, so he could only sigh and shout: "Bring back our dead and wounded brothers! Everyone retreat! Don't leave them behind!"

  After hearing his shout, those subordinates who were stuck under the wall of the village and couldn't advance or retreat, as if they had been granted a great amnesty, hurriedly lifted up their dead and wounded brothers on the ground, and began to retreat across the trench in a swarm. Iron Head, having no choice, stomped his foot, took several subordinates to hold shields and cover the rear, and also had to withdraw.

  As soon as they went outside, Tie Tou said to Xiao Tianjian in a depressed tone: "Big Brother let us hold on for a while longer, maybe we can take the suspension bridge! Why did he suddenly order a retreat?"

  Xiao Tianjian's face didn't look good either, this was his first time encountering such a setback since his debut. He had thought that after grasping the two forces, he could reorganize and easily conquer Fanjia Fortress, but unexpectedly, Fanjia Fortress counterattacked so resolutely, leaving him also at a loss.

  "Stop talking! Continuing to fight will only increase casualties, you are my brothers, I cannot treat you as non-humans! Let's stop here for today and think of another way, we'll continue fighting tomorrow! I don't believe we can't take down Fanjia Fortress!" Xiao Tianjian gritted his teeth, his face twisted in a fierce expression, as he glared at the cheering crowd in front of Fanjia Fortress and shouted orders to Tie Tou and the others.

  Another failed attack was a blow to the morale of Xiao Tianjian's men, and a large group of people sat on the ground with their heads down, sulking. The occasional cries and groans of the wounded from afar only added to the heavy atmosphere of defeat that pervaded the team.

  Xiao Tianjian took stock of the casualties, and this time he paid the price of more than a dozen people injured or killed. Six were dead, two were seriously injured, and seven were lightly wounded. Most of them were crushed to death or injured by being squeezed between the trench and the wall of the village. The distance was too short, and a large group of people were crowded there, making them easy targets for stones thrown down from above. For Wang Tianlong, this way of attacking might not be anything special, but for Xiao Tianjian, he did not want to use his men's lives as cannon fodder like this.

  This approach is obviously not feasible, Xiao Tianjian can only sit down and think quietly about whether he can come up with a better way.

  But no matter how hard he thought, Xiao Tianjian couldn't think of a good solution. Digging holes? No way! That would take too much time, and they didn't have enough food to sustain themselves here for long. With over 200 people and horses, they needed at least two or three tons of grain per day. They had brought limited supplies with them initially, which could only last three or four days at most. If they couldn't capture the village, they would have to retreat in defeat, unable to wage a protracted war. This was also a common problem faced by all the bandits, including Xiao Tianjian, so digging holes was not feasible.

  But a strong attack would come at the cost of heavy casualties, which was also unacceptable to Xiao Tianjian. He wanted to hone these men into his elite soldiers, making them his backbone and foundation. He couldn't afford to lose a batch of them in a casual battle with a village.

  How can we take down Fanjia Fortress? Can't just retreat with our tails between our legs, can we? But this is also a bit too much to swallow. Most importantly, if we admit defeat and retreat like this, it will undoubtedly make these subordinates, especially the new ones, look down on their new leader! As for his future control over these people, there will be great trouble, so Xiao Tianjian cannot just lead them away like this. He must think of a way to take down Fanjia Fortress and let these people see that he is not someone to be trifled with, following him will be a promising thing.

  Xiao Tianjian became more and more annoyed, the more he thought about it, the angrier he got. But at this time, a few wild bees flew over, don't know what attracted them, let these few wild bees buzz around Xiao Tianjian's head, making Xiao Tianjian even more annoyed, so he grabbed the fur hat on his head and slapped one to death.

  The wild bee fell to the ground and was still struggling, when Xiao Tianjian stepped on it with one foot, twisting it into the soil. However, Xiao Tianjian suddenly had a flash of inspiration in his mind and immediately shouted: "Feng Gouzzi! Come over..."