flstandardbreds Chapter 159 The Jin Army Besieges Tangyin City
Chapter 159 The Jin Army Besieges Tangyin City
In the southern corner of Tangyin City, the village of Xiaoguang, nestled amidst lush greenery, was shrouded in an unusual silence and gloom. The iron hooves of the Jin soldiers, like a locust plague ravaging the land in autumn, relentlessly eroded every inch of the earth. They searched house to house with meticulous and ruthless precision, and even the air was filled with an atmosphere of oppression and despair.
Along the way, villages were reduced to ruins. The smoke from chimneys and the sounds of children playing had vanished with the wind, leaving only a deathly silence that silently testified to the cruelty of war. Xiaoguang Village was no exception. It lay there all alone, as if it were a forgotten corner of the world. Every brick and tile bore a silent lament. The entire village was devoid of any life; even the faintest breath was out of reach.
This scene was not merely a reflection of Xiaoguang Village, but rather the shared fate of countless villages during that era. War, like an invisible blade, cleaved tranquility and harmony, leaving behind only devastation and endless desolation. On this land ravaged by war, life seemed exceptionally fragile, every breath a luxury, and hope, like the most distant star in the night sky, remained forever out of reach.
A Jin soldier kicked over a jar: "Damn it, where have all these lowly people gone? I can't find a single living creature."
Enraged, the Jin soldiers set the entire village ablaze. Thick black smoke billowed into the sky, causing immense grief to the people of Tangyin City. Although they had moved their valuables and livestock out of the village beforehand, their houses were irreplaceable, and the destruction by the Jin soldiers left them heartbroken.
Qian Dazhuang said to Manager Sun beside him, "Old Sun, the chieftain is really resourceful. His scorched earth plan has prevented these Jin soldiers from looting and has also protected our people very well. I just don't know if the brothers down below the village are safe."
Manager Sun stood atop the city tower, holding an exquisite telescope. His gaze pierced through the thin mist as he leisurely surveyed the magnificent panorama outside the city, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.
He slowly turned to the person beside him, his tone gentle yet undeniably firm: "Our chieftain is indeed an extraordinary man. Otherwise, how could he have the courage to quietly recall you from the front lines of the war in Neihuang County? Consider this: there are many generals in the world. If it were anyone else, they would probably have asked you to defend the isolated city until your last drop of blood was spilled on the yellow earth. How many people in the world possess such profound wisdom and extraordinary courage to find a way out of a desperate situation?"
Qian Dazhuang: "Sigh! I guess these Jin soldiers will come straight here after seeing the high walls of Lijiazhai. After this is over, I will ask the chief to make the walls of Tangyin thicker and higher, and see how those Jin soldiers and Song generals can fight us then."
As the two talked and laughed, they saw the main force of the Jin army arrive at the foot of Tangyin City. As was customary, a Jin soldier in fine clothes and riding a spirited horse came to the city wall and shouted loudly, "Listen up, defenders of Tangyin City! We are the Ping Song Army of the Great Jin Kingdom. We are here today to capture Li Zhen, a major criminal of the Great Jin Kingdom. You must open the city gates and surrender immediately, or the day the city falls will be your end."
"Snapped!"
A loud gunshot rang out, and the Jin soldier who had been shouting at the top of his lungs fell headlong off his horse.
Zhang Zhaokun, who had just arrived from Lijiazhai, waved his hand and shouted, "Vanguard Battalion, raze Tangyin City to the ground!"
The Jin soldiers, their pent-up rage like magma about to erupt, surged forward relentlessly, finally unleashing a deafening roar. They charged forward like a tidal wave, crashing into the seemingly fragile city walls. Carrying heavy ladders on their shoulders, each step was an expression of unyielding resolve; the ladders were not merely tools, but symbols of their yearning for victory and their desire for conquest.
Compared to the towering, cloud-piercing wall of Li Family Village, seemingly capable of isolating them from all worldly troubles, the walls of Tangyin City appeared so low, less than ten meters high, an obstacle they could easily leap over. This contrast inadvertently planted seeds of contempt in their hearts, but also subtly awakened their disdain for the unknown challenges ahead. Had they not witnessed firsthand the despairing fortress of Li Family Village, they might not have so profoundly understood how easily this defensive line could evoke such contempt and disdain within them.
However, it was precisely this contempt that made the ensuing battle full of unknowns and uncertainties. The Jin soldiers never expected that this seemingly simple city wall would become a testing ground for their courage and wisdom, with every brick seemingly containing the indomitable will of the defending soldiers, waiting to teach these arrogant fools a heavy lesson.
As the person in charge of defending Tangyin City, Qian Dazhuang calmly waved his hand and said, "Fire!"
Immediately, the machine guns, mortars, and even two infantry guns positioned on the city walls opened fire on the charging Jin soldiers. The remaining soldiers of Li's army, some using rifles and others using composite bows, also opened fire on their targets.
Unlike Li Zhen, who was defending Anyang Prefecture, Qian Dazhuang immediately unleashed a barrage of firepower on the Jin army, leaving them questioning their very existence.
In less than half an hour, the Jin army's vanguard battalion had lost nearly half of its soldiers and had to retreat.
"General, they know sorcery!"
Such a long distance and such fierce firepower—who in this dynasty had ever seen anything like it? Left with no other choice, Zhang Zhaokun could only retreat three miles to rest temporarily. That very night, he summoned the Jin generals to discuss how to capture Tangyin City. They had already retreated without a fight at Li Family Village; although they had attacked Tangyin City today, they couldn't simply withdraw like this.
After a night of discussion, the Jin army decided to surround the entire city of Tangyin. They planned to wait for other Jin troops to join them before launching an attack on Tangyin.
At first, no matter how they surrounded Tangyin City, the armored vehicles in the city were not afraid of the Jin army's arrows and deer antlers, and could still come and go as they pleased, not taking these Jin soldiers seriously at all.
Left with no other option, Zhang Zhaokun organized his Jin soldiers to begin construction work, digging trenches around Tangyin City. These trenches were three meters wide and three meters deep, taking tens of thousands of men over ten days to complete. Just a few days after they finished digging the trenches, a heavy rain filled them all, turning them into a moat. The Li family army inside the city could no longer get out, but the Jin soldiers could no longer enter either.
After learning of the Jin army's large-scale invasion, Li Zhen filled the granaries in Tangyin City in advance, enough grain to feed the city's residents and garrison for several years.
While these Jin soldiers were digging in the earth every day, the remaining Jin troops also began to arrive in the vicinity one after another. However, they did not seem to be having an easy time, as they encountered repeated attacks from Li's army along the way. Especially at night, the Jin army camp, which was sound asleep, was suddenly awakened by several mortar shells. This was fine for one or two days, but it happened for more than ten days in a row, making these Jin soldiers very nervous, and everyone had dark circles under their eyes.