Chapter 236: Level Heishui City In A Single Day
Blackwater City, the storm is brewing.
Weiming Zhongshi personally led his men to inspect the granaries and armories.
However, this inspection directly turned his face green.
The actual amount of grain in the granaries was one-third less than recorded in the accounts, and the new grain from last year had been replaced with old grain from several years prior.
A large number of arrows, sabers, Divine Arm Crossbows, and other weapons were also missing from the armory.
After an investigation, it was discovered that the mastermind behind it all was his brother-in-law.
“Brother-in-law, brother-in-law, spare me.”
“The Northern Frontier people offered too much, I couldn’t resist~”
“I will never dare again, brother-in-law.”
In the Commander’s Office, the brother-in-law’s tears and snot streamed down as he repeatedly begged Weiming Zhongshi for mercy.
However, Weiming Zhongshi’s face was as black as a pot, so dark it seemed to be about to drip with water.
“Bang~”
He slammed the table heavily and roared in anger, “Re La Mie E, I only knew you had a little greed, but I never expected you to be so insatiably greedy.”
“Selling some sabers and arrows is one thing, but I never expected you to dare to sell Divine Arm Crossbows and Pockmarked Armor to the Northern Frontier people.”
Saying this, Weiming Zhongshi shook his head with a look of grief, “I never thought that I, a man of integrity throughout my life, would be deceived by you and make such a grave mistake.”
“My Blackwater City has produced a great disaster.”
“You are that great disaster,” Weiming Zhongshi shouted sternly, pointing at his brother-in-law kneeling and begging for mercy, his eyes flashing with pain.
Re La Mie E’s face was full of shock, and he quickly said, “Brother-in-law, although I secretly sold some Pockmarked Armor and Divine Arm Crossbows to the Northern Frontier people, the majority of the rest were yours~”
Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Weiming Zhongshi’s roar, “Silence, quickly cover his mouth.”
“At this point, do not try to wrongly accuse others.”
“You trafficked military supplies, embezzled military pay, and profited from aiding the enemy; you deserve the harshest punishment under the law.”
“Take him, drag him down, and execute him.”
With that, two personal guards who had been prepared dragged him out, and he was publicly executed.
Weiming Zhongshi closed his eyes in resignation.
Although he was the biggest mastermind behind the trafficking of military supplies, all the operations were handled by his brother-in-law.
Moreover, he had secretly sold some Pockmarked Armor and Divine Arm Crossbows behind his back.
With the city’s grain stores reduced by one-third and most of the military equipment gone, someone had to pay for this.
Most importantly, the storm from the Northern Frontier was imminent, and if morale was not quickly stabilized, the consequences would likely be very severe.
Therefore, he could only use his brother-in-law as a scapegoat.
After all, this fellow, who usually relied on his power to act like a tyrant in Blackwater City, was already hated by everyone.
Killing him would make everyone happy.
However, shortly after Re La Mie E was dragged away, a personal guard rushed in in a panic.
“Commander, beacon smoke has been lit in the direction of Huangshi Village.”
Upon hearing this, Weiming Zhongshi stood up in shock, his expression grave, and slammed his fist heavily on the table.
“The Northern Frontier people have finally come.”
Afterwards, Weiming Zhongshi donned his armor and ascended the city wall. Looking at the still-burning beacon smoke from Huangshi Village, his expression was more serious than ever.
At this time, a small number of common people from Huangshi Village had already fled to Blackwater City, bringing intelligence about the Northern Frontier Army.
There were less than four hundred of them.
“Commander, let’s send out troops.”
“Only a mere four hundred Northern Frontier barbarians dare to loot Huangshi Village? Do they think our Blackwater City soldiers eat congee?”
“This subordinate requests permission to lead five hundred cavalry to support Huangshi Village.”
The generals of Blackwater City were all indignant.
Weiming Zhongshi shouted angrily, “What are you all shouting about?”
“Do you all want to die?”
“There must be a large ambush of Northern Frontier troops outside the city; if you want to die, get out.”
As his words fell, all the generals fell silent. They could only look towards Huangshi Village in the distance with indignation.
The purpose of the military villages outside the city was to warn Blackwater City and, at the same time, to alleviate the survival pressure on the soldiers and civilians of Blackwater City.
But without the support of Blackwater City, they would not be able to hold out for long.
Not long after, two more military villages were attacked by the Northern Frontier Army, and beacon smoke was ignited.
In a Gobi Desert, Da Hu stood on horseback, his saber in hand. He wore a cotton armor with a white base and red trim, and a tasseled helmet, revealing only half of his face as he gazed in the direction of Blackwater City.
A moment later, a scout galloped from a distance and shouted, “Deputy Commander, the soldiers in Blackwater City have not come out.”
Da Hu’s eyes flickered slightly, and the corners of his mouth turned up as he said coldly, “Weiming Zhongshi’s heart is truly ruthless.”
“He is watching these military villages be broken through by our Northern Frontier Army.”
“Since that is the case, I will not be polite.”
“Pass down the order: within two days, break through all the military villages.”
Weiming Zhongshi’s guess was correct; Da Hu and Wei Xuan were leading their respective main forces, ambushed in the Gobi.
If the Blackwater City garrison were to emerge, they could be directly encircled and captured.
But unfortunately, Weiming Zhongshi was too cautious.
…
Huangshi Village was home to only about thirty households and over a hundred soldiers and civilians.
At this time, regardless of gender or age, anyone who could draw a bow and shoot an arrow stood behind the enclosure wall.
“Rustle rustle rustle~”
As the Northern Frontier Cavalry approached, arrows rained down from the wall like a storm.
“Stop, don’t shoot randomly.”
“These Northern Frontier barbarians are trying to deplete our arrows.”
An old man shouted, stopping the others from firing, and looked out at the swaggering Northern Frontier Cavalry with an angry expression.
He pounded the wall furiously and said indignantly, “Cunning Northern Frontier people.”
Due to the corruption of the higher-ups in Blackwater City, Huangshi Village had not received any military supplies for a long time.
The blades were sharpened and resharpened, and the arrows were used and reused; they relied entirely on themselves.
However, the repeated harassment by the Northern Frontier Cavalry caused Huangshi Village’s arrow supply to be quickly depleted.
Seeing the defenders’ counterattacks weakening, Deputy Chiliarch Wei Ba Jin let out a cold laugh, “They’ve run out of arrows.”
He turned to the personal guard beside him and asked, “Have you contacted the Divine Machine Camp yet?”
“How much longer until they arrive?”
The personal guard immediately replied, “The Commander is leading the 160,000th Household Army and the Divine Machine Camp, and they are expected to arrive in about two days.”
This was mainly because the cannons of the Divine Machine Camp were too troublesome to move.
Each cannon weighed over eight hundred catties and required more than a dozen oxen to pull in rotation.
This severely slowed down the marching speed of the 160,000th Household Army.
“Two days?” Wei Ba Jin shook his head, “I can’t wait.”
“Pass down the order, forcefully attack Huangshi Village.”
“The first to ascend will be rewarded with twenty strings of cash.”
Huangshi Village was just a small military village, only a little over twenty zhang wide, and did not even have a proper city wall, only a three-foot-high adobe wall surrounding it.
With troops from two chiliarchs, a forceful assault would be too easy.
Afterward, Wei Ba Jin ordered the cavalry to surround the village from all sides, no longer harassing, but engaging in an arrow exchange.
Under the cover of arrows, over a hundred cavalrymen in heavy cotton armor charged forward from four directions.
Even if hit by scattered arrows, they would not suffer fatal injuries.
In contrast, the soldiers and civilians behind the village wall were continuously hit by arrows and fell down screaming.
“Roar roar roar~”
When the over a hundred Northern Frontier cavalrymen reached the bottom of the wall, they threw ropes, and iron hooks on the other end caught onto the adobe.
Pulling on the ropes, stepping on their horses, the Northern Frontier cavalrymen climbed upwards with all their might.
During this process, some fell off because the iron hooks couldn’t grip the adobe, but they got up and continued climbing.
Some were hit by stones thrown by the defenders, but immediately, arrows flew from behind, killing the defenders.
It proved that the Northern Frontier Army was not solely reliant on cannons when attacking cities.
The Northern Frontier soldiers were also fearless, and charging forward to break through the city was also a fighting style of the Northern Frontier Army.
When the figures of the Northern Frontier soldiers crossed the wall and landed inside Huangshi Village, the battle was already over.
“Those who surrender will not be killed.”
“Those who resist will have their entire village massacred.”
The Northern Frontier soldiers pressed forward, shouting in cold, stern voices.
Under the threat of blades, the soldiers and civilians of Huangshi Village could only lay down their weapons and surrender.
Soon after, the village gate opened wide, and Wei Ba Jin led his cavalry in.
He looked down condescendingly at the nearly one hundred soldiers and civilians kneeling on the ground and said sternly, “Take them all away to the next military village.”
Afterward, the Northern Frontier Army proceeded to ransack Huangshi Village.
But in reality, there wasn’t even a feather left in Huangshi Village.
They were military households, but they had been squeezed too hard by Dangxiang generals like Weiming Zhongshi.
They could barely get enough to eat, so how could they have any valuables at home?
The only valuable thing they had was their lives.
Not long after, Wei Ba Jin, driving the hundred soldiers and civilians, arrived at another military village, Maling Post.
Although it was slightly larger than Huangshi Village, it had only over two hundred people.
Seeing the soldiers and civilians from Huangshi Village being driven over by the Northern Frontier Army like cattle and sheep, the soldiers and civilians of Maling Post were all shocked.
“It’s people from Huangshi Village.”
“Huangshi Village has been breached?”
“That’s my second aunt.”
“Damn it, what should we do?”
“Are the Northern Frontier barbarians going to use the people of Huangshi Village as shields?”
The people of Maling Post chattered among themselves, their faces filled with indignation and panic.
The Northern Frontier Army had nearly four hundred men, all cavalry, which was more than the combined total of men, women, and children in Maling Post.
Huangshi Village had already been breached, so how could Maling Post resist?
It was at this moment that a Northern Frontier soldier rode forward and shouted, “People of Maling Post, listen up. You have the time it takes for one incense stick to burn.”
“If you open the gates and surrender, your entire village will be spared.”
“Otherwise, once the time is up, Maling Post will be left with no survivors.”
After speaking, the Northern Frontier soldier retreated.
However, the soldiers and civilians inside Maling Post became even more flustered.
They had also heard rumors of the Northern Frontier Army slaughtering the Naiman tribe.
Therefore, they truly believed that the Northern Frontier Army would commit a massacre.
“What should we do? Should we open the gates?”
“If we open the gates, and the Northern Frontier barbarians don’t keep their promise, what will we do if they still kill us?”
“They probably won’t. Aren’t the people from Huangshi Village standing below?”
“If we surrender to the Northern Frontier barbarians, we will become their slaves from now on.”
“Heh, slaves? What’s the difference between that and slaves now?”
“The land belongs to the officials, the grain belongs to the officials. The harvest at the end of the year isn’t enough for our own family to eat. My little daughter starved to death last year.”
“Tell me, what’s the difference between us and slaves? Aren’t we slaves to those in power?” someone said agitatedly.
Some were more rational and said to the Dutou of Maling Post, “We have very few arrows left~”
Once the arrows were depleted, it would mean that Maling Post was not far from falling.
At that time, would the blood-soaked Northern Frontier barbarians still speak so politely?
They would definitely choose to massacre the city!!!
The Dutou of Maling Post looked at the soldiers and civilians of Huangshi Village huddled together outside the city, then looked at the arguing soldiers and civilians of Maling Post beside him.
He sighed heavily, “Open the village gate!”
The hearts of the soldiers and civilians inside the village were no longer united. If they truly fought, not only would they not be able to resist the Northern Frontier barbarians, but they would also anger them, leading to the massacre of the entire village.
It was better to surrender!
Being slaves to the Northern Frontier barbarians would only involve farming, herding, and fighting. What was the difference from now?
By the time Wei Ba Jin arrived at the third military village with the captives, it was already evening.
He had originally planned to attack the city the next morning, but unexpectedly, the Dutou in the city voluntarily sent someone to contact him.
“As long as your excellency guarantees not to harm my Li Wang Village’s soldiers and civilians, the Dutou is willing to lead all forty-three households of soldiers and civilians of Li Wang Village to surrender to the Northern Frontier.”
Looking at the young Western Xia soldier before him, Wei Ba Jin couldn’t help but be a little stunned.
This was the first one to voluntarily surrender to the Northern Frontier Army.
However, whether it was a genuine surrender or a fake one, it still needed to be verified.
“Is your Dutou willing to give up his official position in the Xia Kingdom?” Wei Ba Jin said coldly.
His words questioned the sincerity of Li Wang Village and the loyalty of its Dutou.
As a Dutou of the Xia Kingdom, a grassroots officer with considerable power, surrendering without a fight made him suspect if he was a fickle and unprincipled person.
In response, the Western Xia soldier said anxiously, “Your Excellency need not doubt my Dutou’s sincerity, because my Dutou has a grudge against Re La Mie E. You can ask anyone in Blackwater City, and you will know.”
It turned out to be a rather clichéd story.
The Dutou of Li Wang Village was originally a mid-level general in Heishui City.
However, Weiming Zhongshi’s brother-in-law took a fancy to his wife, not only snatched her away but also sent him to Li Wang Village to serve as a Dutou.
The hatred for his wife being snatched away was undoubtedly the reason he surrendered to the Northern Frontier.
But Wei Ba Jin remained skeptical of his sincerity and ordered, “Tomorrow morning, all soldiers and civilians in your Li Wang Village are to lay down their weapons and come out of the village gate.”
“If you truly wish to surrender, I will not harm your soldiers and civilians.”
“I will also report your loyalty to the Great Protector and credit you with merit.”
“Yes, thank you, General.”
The Western Xia soldier ran back with a pleased expression.
The next morning, the more than two hundred soldiers and civilians of Li Wang Village indeed came out of the city, laying down all their weapons and looking at the Northern Frontier Army with nervous apprehension.
Wei Ba Jin ordered an inspection of Li Wang Village to ensure there were no hidden soldiers or flammable materials like fire oil and dry grass, only then did he confirm the sincerity of Li Wang Village’s surrender.
“Sun Dutou, you have done very well.”
“The Northern Frontier will not mistreat friends,” Wei Ba Jin said with a smile, nodding in satisfaction.
Sun Dutou, a man in his twenties, said with hatred etched on his face, gritting his teeth, “Thank you, Chiliarch Wei. I, Sun, am willing to pledge my loyalty to the Northern Frontier from now on.”
“However, after we break through Heishui City, I ask that Chiliarch Wei speak well of me to the Great Protector and bestow that Re La Mie E upon me. I will surely tear him to pieces.”
He was still unaware that Re La Mie E had already been formally executed by Weiming Zhongshi.
Wei Ba Jin said dubiously upon hearing this, “Re La Mie E is Weiming Zhongshi’s brother-in-law, isn’t he? His status is not ordinary.”
“Your merit of surrendering your troops alone is not enough.”
“To receive the Great Protector’s reward, you must achieve sufficient military merit.”
“The Northern Frontier does not support the useless.”
Sun Dutou gritted his teeth and said firmly, “I will not disappoint the Great Protector or Chiliarch Wei.”
Hearing this, Wei Ba Jin nodded and smiled, gently patting his shoulder before leading his men to rendezvous with the main force of the Seventeenth Ten Thousand Households Army.
In just one day, Wei Ba Jin had captured three military villages, and other units were also making smooth progress.
On this day, the surroundings of Heishui City were filled with beacon smoke; of the eighteen military villages, only eight were barely holding on.
On the third day, all the military villages surrounding Heishui City had fallen.
The Northern Frontier Iron Cavalry began to gallop recklessly around the outside of Heishui City, constantly roaring and making provocative gestures.
Some even urinated in the direction of Heishui City, causing the Northern Frontier soldiers behind them to burst into laughter.
“Bang~”
On the city wall, a Dangxiang general slammed his fist heavily onto a stone, his face filled with rage, his eyes about to spew fire.
“They are going too far.”
“These Northern Frontier barbarians are going too far.”
“Commander, I request permission to lead a thousand cavalry out of the city to attack the Northern Frontier barbarians. We will not let them have it easy.”
Weiming Zhongshi heard this, and a hint of solemnity flashed across his somber face. He shook his head gently and said, “Do not be rash.”
“The Northern Frontier barbarians are waiting for us to leave the city.”
The Heishui Army of today is not the Heishui Army of a hundred years ago. In open battle outside the city, whether it be in terms of soldier numbers or individual combat strength, they are likely not a match for the Northern Frontier barbarians.
Defending the city wall is the best course of action.
After all, Heishui City is tall and imposing, and the Northern Frontier people will certainly not be able to breach it in a short time.
By utilizing the advantage of the city walls to deplete the Northern Frontier’s troops and morale, they can reduce their losses and delay until reinforcements arrive.
“This Commander has already dispatched messengers. In at most a month, troops from Ganzhou and Suzhou will arrive to support us.”
Weiming Zhongshi said in a deep voice. The messenger first had to go to Xingqing Prefecture to report to the Emperor.
Then the Emperor would order the Gansu Army Command to dispatch troops.
This entire process, plus the time required to travel from Ganzhou and Suzhou to Heishui City, would take about a month.
While waiting, another day passed.
Not long after the sun rose, Western Xia soldiers on the city wall brought out buckets of millet porridge that reflected people’s images. This was the soldiers’ breakfast, without even a naan bread.
The Military Command Department had already issued an order stating that Heishui City was at its most dangerous moment and preparations for a long-term campaign were necessary.
Therefore, they had to conserve grain and endure hardships.
The soldiers defending the city were a bit better off, eating to about eighty percent fullness each day, but the old, weak, women, and children inside the city suffered greatly, their stomachs growling with hunger every day.
As the sun climbed higher, its golden rays illuminating the arrow towers on the city wall, some Western Xia soldiers’ hands holding earthenware bowls suddenly began to tremble violently.
The millet porridge spilled onto the ground, and they immediately showed expressions of heartache.
Some also looked towards the outside of the city, only to be stunned by what they saw in the distance.
“Wh-what is that?”
The soldier pointed into the distance and asked in a trembling voice.
They saw that from the end of the Gobi Desert, a sky-obscuring yellow dust had suddenly risen. The horizon seemed to be torn open by an invisible giant hand, and it rushed towards them with a muffled thunderous roar.
That was no ordinary sandstorm – within the swirling dust, weapons clashed, and warhorses roared.
Tens of thousands of yellow tasseled helmets appeared faintly, like demons crawling out of a rift in hell.
They were fully armored, holding spears, with half their faces covered by their neck guards, their eyes radiating a chilling killing intent.
“It’s cavalry.”
“It’s a large contingent of Northern Frontier cavalry.”
“Ten thousand, twenty thousand, thirty thousand, so many.”
“There are tens of thousands of them.”
The soldiers on the city wall cried out in terror, panic and fear spreading across the faces of all the soldiers.
After all, no one could remain calm when surrounded by tens of thousands of cavalry.
Even as sturdy as Heishui City was, at this moment, it was like a poplar tree in a sandstorm, swaying precariously.
This was precisely the troops of Li Xiao’s First Division and Fourth Division, as well as the Sixteenth Ten Thousand Households and Second Divine Machine Camp units personally led by Li Donghe.
In reality, there were only about twenty thousand men, but with a configuration of three horses per man, it was easy to create the illusion of a hundred thousand troops.
As the yellow dust approached, the rammed earth city wall of Heishui City began to shed sand, as if the wall itself was trembling in fear.
In the blink of an eye, the entire Gobi Desert had become a yellow and white ocean.
More than twenty thousand Northern Frontier cavalry, divided into four torrents, completely surrounded Heishui City from the southeast, northwest, and north.
Thus, Heishui City could truly no longer send out a single soldier or recruit.
On the city wall, Weiming Zhongshi, who had just received the news, walked hurriedly. There were still two bloody marks on his face.
This was because he had killed his brother-in-law, and his wife had a big fight with him, leaving the marks on his face.
But compared to the stinging pain on his face, the Northern Frontier army before him filled him with even greater dread.
“How could this be?”
“How is this possible?”
Weiming Zhongshi tightly gripped the stones on the city wall, his fierce gaze fixed on the army formation outside the city, his expression full of disbelief.
“Five thousand, ten thousand~”
He silently counted in his mind, quickly estimating the approximate number of the Northern Frontier Army.
Around twenty-five thousand men.
This was already more than double the number of soldiers and civilians in Heishui City. Even if all the men, women, and children in the city were mobilized, they could not withstand this terrifying Northern Frontier army.
Yesterday at this time, Weiming Zhongshi still had the confidence to hold out for a month, but now, he didn’t even have confidence for ten days.
“One day!”
“Swift victory, flatten Heishui City within one day, and cut off the Hexi Corridor.”
North of Heishui City, within the ranks of the three thousand Wuwei Army, Li Xiao dismounted and, facing the many generals of the Northern Frontier Army, issued the final order for the general assault in a firm tone.
He wanted surprise; he didn’t have much time to waste outside Heishui City.
“Yes, sir!”
Generals such as Li Donghe and Luo Meng responded in a deep voice.
They then began preparations for the final general assault.
Outside the north city gate, twenty cannons were lined up, all aimed at the same spot on the Heishui city wall.
“Fire cannon!”
The Chiliarch of the Second Divine Machine Camp drew his cavalry saber and waved it down fiercely, shouting.
“Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!”
