Chapter 517: The Shield Carts Arrive

Three days had passed in a flash.Outside Puzhou City.

Wang Guozhong looked at the fifteen shield carts lined up in a row before him, along with four catapults and four battering rams, and felt quite satisfied in his heart.

“Look, this is the benefit of becoming an official soldier.” Wang Guozhong pointed at these brand-new large equipment, couldn’t help but feel proud and satisfied: “Back when I was with Wang Jiayin, I saw officials wielding these things to fight me. Now that I’m an official myself, I can conscript porters, build large equipment, and use it to fight others. So satisfying, hahahaha.”

A subordinate approached him, chuckling: “We hang out with General Wang, and it brings us face and glory too. With this batch of large equipment, attacking the tiny water fortifications of that small salt smuggler Xing Honglang will come easy as pie.”

“Hahaha!” Wang Guozhong patted the subordinate’s shoulder: “Well said! Order the whole army to march.”

Wang Guozhong’s army started to move. Three thousand fierce bandits, carrying a mass of siege equipment, began marching towards the water fortifications of Yongji ancient ferry dock.

Governor of Puzhou Qiu Qianfan stood on the city wall, watching this army depart, and couldn’t help but sigh deeply in his heart: For no reason at all, you insist on attacking Xing Honglang. If you anger her, she might first eliminate you, then counterattack to Puzhou City, and unlucky one will be me again. Sigh… Hope this doesn’t blow up too big.

“They’re coming! Wang Guozhong’s army has started to move.”

A scout swiftly reported in.

Once this news came, the entire Yongji Ferry Dock also stirred into action. Zao Ying personally led a large group of cavalry to charge out of the water fortifications, searching for Wang Guozhong’s scouts on the outskirts.

A fierce scout battle broke out first.

The scouts from both sides first greeted each other with “kind” civilized courtesies like “F your mother,” “Screw your sister,” and “Kill your ancestors for eighteen generations,” then drew their bows, arrows, and sabers, launching into a chasing battle.

Wang Guozhong’s scouts, of course, couldn’t compete in numbers against Zao Ying’s entire cavalry camp. Three Hundred Cavalry Troops pursued and hacked away on the outskirts, and soon enough, drove all of Wang Guozhong’s scouts beyond ten miles out.

True, there was no longer any scout activity nearby. Two hundred Chassepot firearm soldiers and one hundred rifled gun troops took out dry provisions and water bags, walked outside, split into groups of five or six persons each, and moved to earthen pits dug in advance on both sides of the battlefield.

They lifted the turf and wooden boards covering the pits, jumped into the holes, then covered the planks back up and replaced the turf.

Five or six soldiers huddled in one foxhole, waiting quietly and peacefully.

This waiting lasted until dusk.

The sky neared darkness before Wang Guozhong’s army slowly arrived within ten miles of the water fortifications’ periphery.

Carrying his cumbersome siege equipment, he had covered only twenty miles in the entire day.

With the sky blackened, siege warfare became inconvenient. Wang Guozhong had to set a temporary camp ten miles away. He originated from a bandit background and had never learned proper marching knowledge, setting up a camp with chaotic equipment. If attacked by an enemy night raid, casualties would surely be heavy.

But though a night raid on the enemy camp was easy to succeed, the enemy commander could also escape under the cover of darkness. Gaojia Village didn’t want to startle the snake, so that night they did not raid him.

Only the soldiers who had already hidden in the foxholes suffered. They passed the night in the pits, taking out dry provisions to fill their bellies, opening water bags for a sip, sitting against the walls to sleep.

Early in the morning the next day…

Whoof-whoof horn sounds rang out. Wang Guozhong’s army began preparing to attack the fortifications.

It was still the same messenger, running once again to the main gate of the water fortifications: “Xing Honglang, I give you one last chance for appeasement!”

Xing Honglang snorted: “Go back and tell Wang Guozhong: Someone who betrayed even his own kinsman brother—who in this world would dare trust him? Acceptance of his appeasement? No way!”

At the same time, Three Boundary Governor Yang He, who was hurrying to Yongji ancient ferry dock to prepare “Surrender Wine,” suddenly encountered a messenger rider on the road. Upon seeing him, the messenger burst into tears: “Lord Yang, Lord Yang, I am under Yongji Xing Honglang. We are being bullied!”

Yang He went “Huh?”: “Don’t panic yet; speak to this official.”

The messenger cried out: “We were stationed at Yongji Ferry Dock, waiting for Lord Yang to appease us. Not our luck, that newly appointed deputy of Puzhou, Wang Guozhong, took office and decided to crush us straightaway. We desperately explained that we were ready to surrender to Lord Yang and seek appeasement, but Wang Guozhong ignored us entirely; he insists on attacking us.”

Yang He angrily said: “Why? Clearly you too will receive appeasement; soon you will become officials in the same hall. Why does he still want to fight you?”

Messenger: “I don’t know! Perhaps… because we disregarded Wang Jiayin’s commands before, Wang Guozhong still holds a grudge.”

Yang He wrinkled his brow, thought slightly, and seemed to grasp something: Surely these two bandit leaders had old grudges before. Wang Guozhong, once appeased and made an official, targeted the bandit chief he resented first—killing a foe while also earning court merit, a perfect two birds with one stone!

Yes, it must be exactly so!

In officialdom, this kind of affair was damn common.

Yang He quickly told his subordinates: “Quickly, quickly, make the carriages move faster. This official must rush to the ancient ferry dock…”

“Shield carts at the front, slowly advance.”

Wang Guozhong handled large equipment exclusive to officials for the first time, truly feeling proud and satisfied. He waved his hand again: “Catapults, follow up.”

His soldiers, who still lacked any official air and were full of bandit spirit, immediately pushed the enormous shield carts, beginning to edge closer to the water fortifications.

Fifteen shield carts were deployed in a row; thick wooden walls mounted on wheels, moving forward side by side, seeming like one immense wall advancing.

This truly was an excellent way to counter firearm soldiers!

Moreover, this method was universal in both China and the West.

Whether in Great Ming, Europe, or Japan’s Warring States period, they coincidentally developed this “high-tech” shield cart to combat firearm soldiers, proving only that human intelligence is closely shared.

However, the firearm soldiers of Gaojia Village saw these and remained utterly cool, not scared at all. Many turned to gaze at five groups of artillerymen concealed behind the fortification walls.

The artillerymen raised their hands, waved at the firearm soldiers, and made a superbly stylish gesture, saying “Relax, trust us with this.”

“Don’t hurry to shoot!” Old Nan Feng yelled loudly. “Artillerymen, don’t act hastily. Your range is too far; firearm soldiers can’t keep up. Don’t fire the moment enemies enter your range. Wait for me; once within range for firearm soldiers too, then you strike.”

The artillerymen responded: “Understood!”

The artillerymen suppressed their itching little hands, eagerly anticipating the enemy army swiftly reaching their range.

From Wang Guozhong’s side, he observed Xing Honglang’s water fortifications utterly tranquil, every soldier appearing in a state of “can only gape blankly at the shield carts.”

His spirits soared uncontrollably: “Hahaha, Xing Honglang saw my shield carts and is stunned dumb. She is stunned dumb. She must be pondering an escape plan now.”