Chapter 114: Unable To Scale The Wall
Chapter 110 of "The Great Ming in the Box" opens revealing the plot: The bandit army spread out their positions, charging toward Bai Family Fortress once more.The catapults... Discover what happens!
The bandit army spread out their positions, charging toward Bai Family Fortress once more.The catapults and Giant Crossbow Vehicles began firing simultaneously.
Rocks flew through the air, crashing down with a thunderous boom. But with the bandits dispersed, the damage wasnât severe. Only the truly unlucky wretches were hit directly by a stone and killed instantly.
The effectiveness of the Giant Crossbow Vehicles was also significantly reduced; their bolts easily passed through the gaps between the bandits.
The foolish bandits at the forefront roared with laughter, their morale soaring instantly. âBig Brother Bu Zhan Ni is truly amazing! A simple trick and the damn officials couldnât touch us!â
However, the front-runners hadnât even enjoyed their triumph for two seconds when a row of officials appeared atop the fortress wall. They nocked their arrows and loosed a volley towards the charging bandits.
The bows in the officialsâ hands were nothing like the hunting bows carried by the local gentry. These bows were called âKaiyuan Bows.â
The highest grade Kaiyuan Bow had a draw weight of 120 jin, while the lowest grade still had 60 jin.
The archery skills of these bowmen also far surpassed those of the local gentry. In this single volley, at least five out of ten arrows struck their targets.
The foolish bandits in front, still laughing gleefully, suddenly felt a sharp pain in their chests. Looking down, they saw an arrow lodged in their burlap clothing, wobbling in their chests, its fletching still tremblingâŚ
An arrow shot from a 60-jin bow was no joke in terms of lethality.
The swiftest dozen foolish bandits dropped like flies, grabbing at the shafts embedded in their bodies as they writhed on the ground, howling in agony. âIâm hit⌠Iâm hit⌠hurts like hell⌠damn⌠so painfulâŚâ
After the first flurry of arrows, the archers didnât hesitate. They nocked their second arrows and loosed another volleyâŚ
This highlighted the disadvantage of the banditsâ spread-out formation. When the front rank fell, the rear ranks had to run forward a few extra steps to close the gap and become the new front line. This brief interval gave the archers enough time to draw and nock their bows again.
Immediately, another row of archers sent down another flurry of arrows, felling dozens more bandits.
They drew their bows once more. Another volley flew.
The bandit troops who had dodged the giant bolts and managed to reach the fortress wall now found it impossible to evade the archersâ arrows. Soon, bodies littered the ground.
âOur archers! Return fire!â Purple Gold Dragon bellowed.
The bandits drew their hunting bows and sent a wave of arrows back towards the officials on the wall. However, the officials wore cloth armor. Though it might have been shoddily made and the metal plates rusty, rusty armor was still armor. The arrows shot from hunting bows were weak and feeble, utterly incapable of piercing the officialsâ armor plates. They all bounced off harmlessly and clattered to the ground.
âPot lids! Raise the pot lids!â Double-Winged Tiger roared furiously.
Bandits carrying pot lids hurriedly raised them, shielding their chests.
The wooden pot lids proved quite effective at blocking arrows. With a chorus of muffled thud thud thud sounds, the shielded bandits finally reached the fortress wall.
The wall of Bai Family Fortress was no higher than that of an ordinary country manor â only about ten feet tall. Scaling it required only two bandits to form a human ladder. As bandits reached the wall base and prepared to act as stepping stones for their comrades, an official holding a large stone appeared atop the crenellations. He hurled the large stone straight down onto one of them.
The pot lid offered no defense against a large stone. With a loud crack, both man and lid were smashed to the ground. The official snorted derisively, chuckling âHeh,â before ducking his head back behind the wall.
After throwing the stone, the official turned his head and called back, âStone! Bring it!â
A strong woman, stooped low, scurried over and handed him another large stoneâŚ
The official took the large stone, leaned out over the wall again, and heaved it down with full force. In the blink of an eye, another bandit soldier was crushed to the ground.
The bandit troops were being battered left and right, but they had finally reached the base of the fortress wall. Retreat was unthinkable now. They had to make a desperate push to get over the top, even if it meant death.
Soon, a human ladder formed. A fierce bandit, brandishing his saber, scrambled up and over the wall. But before he could find his footing, three officials, wielding three spears, thrust them simultaneously into his bodyâŚ
The spears of the officials werenât mere sharpened bamboo poles. They were tipped with iron spearheads. Each thrust tore a gaping, bloody hole, piercing from front to back.
The fierce bandit shrieked in agony and toppled backwards off the wall.
Intense combat broke out in multiple spots along the fortress wallâŚ
Desperate bandits continuously scaled the walls, but the officials of that era were like divine warriors descending upon the bandit army, utterly impossible to withstand. The hundred-plus officials held the front lines, protected by their cloth armor. Bandits had to exhaust every method just to injure a single official, yet the officials could send three or four of them tumbling off the fortress with just a few moves.
Not to mention, large numbers of Bai family servants and militia were assisting. Bandits who managed to climb onto the fortress wall couldnât hold their ground for long.
Cheng Xu stood at the rear supervising the battle, not joining the fray himself. He only cursed a bit when particularly riled up, or directed the dozen or so reserve officials to plug holes in the defensive line.
Seeing someone now in command, Bai Yuan relaxed a little. He stretched out his hand to a trusted servant beside him and commanded loudly, âBring my bow!â
The servant wiped sweat from his brow. âIs the lord going to shoot arrows again?â
Bai Yuan snorted. âThis lord has been diligently practicing archery these past days. The art of âshootingâ from the Six Arts of Gentlemen has long since been restored within me! Hahaha! Watch this lord demonstrate what true âgentleman archeryâ looks like!â
With that, he drew his bow, nocked an arrow, aimed at a bandit soldier who had just scrambled onto the wall, and swishedâsent an arrow flying.
Such an arrow, streaking across the sky, chasing the stars and the moon, piercing the firmamentâŚ
âThud!â
It struck the vital center of an officialâs back.
Everyone: ââŚâ
Clad in cloth armor, the rusty heart-protecting plate deflected the arrow. He wasnât injured, but he flew into a rage. Twisting around, he roared, âWho the hell is shooting their own men?!â
After roaring, he saw it was Lord Bai Yuan holding the bow.
He could only swallow his anger, offering an awkward smile instead. He turned back around and continued fighting the enemy.
Bai Yuanâs old face flushed slightly. âCross out âshootingâ from the Six Arts of Gentlemen. Cross it out.â
He then turned to his servant. âTake note of this official. Prepare a substantial gift later. Apologize to him on my behalf. I hold the art of âproprietyâ in the Six Arts in very high esteem.â
Everyone: ââŚâ
Cheng Xu interjected, âStop fooling around. The bandit army is starting to retreat.â
Bai Yuan looked up. Indeed, the bandit army was pulling back, their morale utterly broken.
No matter how Double-Winged Tiger and Purple Gold Dragon yelled and admonished, the bandit troops refused to throw their lives away anymore. They had no choice but to order a withdrawal.
Hordes of bandit soldiers retreated like an ebbing tide, carrying away every wounded comrade and corpse they could manage. Their earlier arrogance was matched only by their current wretchedness. In an instant, Bai Family Fortress plunged into quiet.
In the distance, the large flag bearing the character âMudâ wavered twice, then headed towards Huanglong Mountain. Double-Winged Tiger and Purple Gold Dragonâs forces also retreated, following the âMudâ flag.
The people inside Bai Family Fortress stood momentarily stunned. Then, cheering erupted as one: âWe won! Bai Family Fortress is secured!â
âBai Family Fortress is secured!â
Servants, militia, and villagers all cheered together, their voices shaking the land for miles.
Bai Yuan took out his folding fan. With a flick, it snapped open, revealing the characters âGentlemanâ (ĺĺ) painted upon it. He laughed heartily, filled with pride. His gaze swept over the ten catapults and ten Giant Crossbow Vehicles, then moved towards the villagers who had risked their lives to help him repel the enemy. He thought to himself: It is all thanks to the Deity who gave me such formidable weapons and vast stores of grain to relieve the villagers. Only because the villagers within miles of Bai Family Fortress could eat their fill were they willing to fight the bandits so desperately. Truly, it is by the Deityâs blessing!