Chapter 1 White Stone City

At noon, Bai Shi Cheng was in the midst of a fierce battle of offense and defense. Although Bai Shi Cheng was surrounded, the small city still had a little over eight thousand soldiers after a period of fighting. Among these eight thousand soldiers, only a little over four thousand were originally stationed in Bai Shi Cheng. The rest were mostly soldiers who had been defeated and scattered after the invasion of Xiling. After arriving at Bai Shi Cheng, they were regrouped and reorganized to participate in the battle. With such strength and such a composition of soldiers, it was naturally impossible to talk about high morale, especially when they were besieged in the city, and contact with the outside world was intermittent. They didn't know what the overall situation was, but the constant casualties of soldiers and civilians in the city, and the continuous consumption of stored materials, were visible to everyone. Although everyone understood that the main army would arrive sooner or later, the idea of surrender still had a market in the city.

Before being transferred to Bai Shi Cheng, the city's garrison commander, Pan Xiangmin, had never been involved in military affairs. Bai Shi Cheng was originally just a relatively large town near Ning Shi Cheng. It was only officially upgraded to a city more than ten years ago, but a governor's office was never established separately in Bai Shi Cheng. Instead, a city garrison position was established to handle both military and political affairs, which was considered half a level lower than the governor. Transferring Pan Xiangmin, someone who didn't know much about military affairs, to Bai Shi Cheng was partly the result of balancing several factions in the court, but also because Pan Xiangmin, who didn't understand military affairs, wouldn't interfere too much in the army's affairs in Bai Shi Cheng, which would help maintain consistency with Ning Shi Cheng in terms of defense. Unexpectedly, such a thing happened just over a year after being transferred to Bai Shi Cheng. What was even more unexpected was that Pan Xiangmin, who didn't know much about military affairs, became the mainstay of Bai Shi Cheng's defense at this time.

When the squad leader who was sent from the city wall to deliver military intelligence came to Pan Xiangmin's side, Pan Xiangmin was struggling to persuade the people in the city to cremate the bodies of their deceased relatives. Burial for peace was the basic concept of funeral services in this era, but it was obviously impossible to free up space in the city to use as a cemetery, and stacking up corpses would easily breed plagues. These days, there were almost daily persuasion efforts like this, from the initial resolute resistance of the people in the city to the point where it had become somewhat formal. After all, it was really hard to accept letting the soldiers drag their relatives' bodies away to be burned.

"What? Enemy movement?" The news from the junior officer startled Pan Xiangmin. What other tricks were they up to?

Although Pan Xiangmin was now the city garrison commander of Bai Shi Cheng, he rarely went to the city wall to supervise the battle. The defending generals on the city wall were all loyal, reliable, and well-trained, so there was no need for him to give blind orders. However, in case of any situation, the defending generals would still summarize the situation and report it to him.

Pan Xiangmin immediately went to the city wall, but the situation he saw was a bit confusing.

Starting a few days ago, the enemy army had launched fierce attacks on Bai Shi Cheng twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, and occasionally organized some temporary assaults, plus nighttime harassment. After several days of fighting, everyone could be said to know each other well. Today's offensive at noon was obviously the Xiling army having some of their soldiers eat lunch early, and then disrupting the rhythm of the defending army. Just now, it could be seen that, except for a part of the enemy army that was launching an offensive, the other units were all sharpening their knives and preparing for the routine attack in the afternoon. However, now everyone saw that the enemy camps in several directions had strange movements. A large number of soldiers were gathering out of the camps, but they were heading in another direction.

"What's going on?" Pan Xiangmin pulled over Yu Kang, the current chief commander defending the city, and asked anxiously.

"Sir, if it's not that reinforcements have arrived, then something must have happened in the enemy's army," Yu Kang replied.

"Should we send someone to meet them?" Pan Xiangmin asked. In his opinion, this was at least a choice.

Yu Kang quickly stopped him and said, "Sir, there's no need for that. We only have less than five hundred cavalry in the city. They won't be able to rush out very far. If we send infantry out of the city to fight, we can't afford to lose them right now. If it's really reinforcements, then we might as well wait until they reach the city before making a decision. I'll find someone to organize a force to prepare to rush out of the city at a critical moment."

Pan Xiangmin nodded repeatedly and said, "Then let's do that. I'm still counting on you for the city wall. Be careful."

Yu Kang chuckled. The greatest danger in directing defensive operations on the city wall was that he didn't know when something thrown by an enemy trebuchet, whether it was aimed correctly or not, would hit him. As long as he insisted on standing on the city wall where he could see the actual situation, this danger was unavoidable. But that was fate, not something he could decide, Yu Kang always thought.

Just as a mixed force of a little over a thousand infantry and cavalry was being organized in preparation to rush out of the city, the reinforcements that everyone had heard rumors about were about to arrive and truly appeared in sight. However, it was somewhat different from what everyone had imagined.

The Xiling army, which had gathered out of the camp and formed a battle formation, was actually being pushed back step by step by this army's formation, and they didn't dare to engage in battle. And this army was slowly approaching Bai Shi Cheng bit by bit. The midday sun was actually reflected by the armor on their bodies in such a boisterous and extravagant manner. Yu Kang couldn't think of what kind of troops these were.

"General, look at that flag..." A soldier with good eyesight quickly reported. In the middle of the rumbling iron phalanx heading towards Bai Shi Cheng, two huge flags were erected. When Yu Kang saw the patterns on the flags clearly, a feeling of emotion welled up in his heart.

He had seen these two symbols before, when he received the visiting detachments from the two armies' inspection offices in the capital for the map surveying and mapping competition. It was also at this time that he, a guy who had risen all the way in a small, basically rural city, learned for the first time about the Fire Kirin Army and the Fierce Blood Army, which were under the command of the two armies' inspection offices and were made up of elite veterans, senior non-commissioned officers and officers, and the sons of wealthy families from Dongping, which was causing a stir in the capital.

Yu Kang didn't know how the combat strength of the troops under the two armies' inspection offices was, but just based on the background of this army, the identities of so many aristocratic children in the army, being able to come to Bai Shi Cheng to rescue them was really beyond his expectations.

While Yu Kang ordered his men to call Pan Xiangmin to the city wall again, he ordered the detachment preparing to go out of the city to be ready to attack at any time, and also instructed the soldiers in charge of the mechanism for opening and closing the city gate to prepare...

The Blood Kirin Army had compiled a large number of carriages in the army into six columns to protect the center of the team. On the outermost two columns stood some archers and some soldiers operating heavy equipment who were temporarily holding hand crossbows. On the middle two columns, the carriages were dismantled, and some of the Shenbi Crossbows (Godly Arm Crossbows) were equipped on the carriages, using the carriages as a launch platform, vigilantly facing the outside of the team. This could probably be regarded as self-propelled artillery in this era. The innermost two columns were all kinds of supplies and heavy equipment that had not been assembled. Since Dai Yun was determined to carry out mobility to the end after breaking away from the infantry, and prepared to obtain supplies by plundering the enemy, this time they simply had them carry as many supplies as possible into the city together.

In the very middle of the entire carriage formation, two large banners were erected side by side. These two banners were the most important battle flags of the Blood Kirin Army. Each time they conducted drills, the winning side could erect the banners in the camp as the camp flag until the next drill. Fierce competition and a strong incentive mechanism had already made everyone regard these two banners as a symbol of honor and victory.

On the carriage in the middle of the banners, Ye Tao and Qiu Haohui were wearing armor, with several messengers. And on the carriages in front of and behind them, war drums were mounted. The combination of drum sounds and flag signals could form the Blood Kirin Army's unique battlefield command system.

The Blood Kirin Army's cavalry force, which now totaled slightly less than six thousand men, was led by Dai Yun, following far behind the entire team at a distance of about eight hundred paces. At this distance, once the enemy dared to attack the flanks of the Blood Kirin Army's infantry and convoy on either side, they would have to be prepared to have their flanks attacked by Dai Yun. Dai Yun's mood was also complicated. She didn't know to what extent sending these soldiers into Bai Shi Cheng could change the entire battle situation, but she knew that this was the best option at the moment.

When they first entered the Bai Shi Cheng defenders' field of vision, the Blood Kirin Army's phalanx was still walking leisurely in a relatively relaxed posture. The Xiling army drew nearly ten thousand troops from several city walls, distributed in front and on the left and right sides of the Blood Kirin Army. When the Blood Kirin Army entered about two thousand paces away from the city walls, the Xiling army moved.

The infantry on both flanks shouted and rushed towards the Blood Kirin Army like a tide. At this time, Dai Yun didn't rush to attack, but gestured, signaling the entire cavalry to stop advancing.

The first to encounter the Xiling cavalry were the Shenbi Crossbows set up on the carriages. These Shenbi Crossbows, all produced by the Ye family's workshop's armory workshop, fired arrows that were the size of spears. At this distance, the Shenbi Crossbows could almost be said to be firing at close range. The powerful kinetic energy allowed each arrow to claim more than one life. Being strung together like gourds was already commonplace. The most impressive effect came from those arrows aimed at officers riding on horses. The slightly upward trajectory and sufficient power ensured that as long as the arrow hit, it would carry the person riding on the horse for a distance. In that instant, the officer who was hit by the arrow didn't even have time to feel the pain. He would see the world begin to recede rapidly around him, perhaps upside down, rotating, and then he would spill thick blood on his subordinates, his comrades, and then in everyone's terrified gaze, smash into one or several unlucky ghosts. This officer would undoubtedly die painfully, but to what extent his body became the Blood Kirin Army's lethality was a question. When a giant arrow didn't hit a person, but hit a horse, carrying the horse away and throwing the officer who was originally riding on the horse to his death, the faces of the Xiling soldiers changed. With just one round of volley, the Shenbi Crossbows fully exerted their lethality and instilled fear in every enemy.

"Dong—dong—" The war drums sounded. After two simple leading tones, a total of four pairs of war drums beat out powerful rhythms in unison. Following the rhythm, the outermost circle of heavy infantry of the Blood Kirin Army neatly turned their bodies a little bit, pointing the long knives in their hands outward, and their footsteps did not stop at all. When the enemy approached, all the broadswords were swung in unison, and a circle of corpses and a circle of blood appeared around the Blood Kirin Army's phalanx.

"Load fire oil bombs!" After layers of orders from squad leaders, platoon leaders, and company commanders, the soldiers operating the Shenbi Crossbows carefully took out long, round pottery jars from the carriages and attached them to the arrowheads of the giant arrows. The giant arrows that originally needed to be specially made to launch fire oil bombs were replaced in the Blood Kirin Army by Ye Tao with specially shaped pottery jars combined with a wooden buckle. As long as the pottery jar was loaded on the arrowhead and the wooden buckle was fastened. This little trick, which would soon be promoted throughout the Dongping army, greatly simplified the logistics preparation for the Shenbi Crossbows.

With two rounds of fire oil bomb volleys, the Blood Kirin Army almost burned a passage formed by flames on the edge of the team. Amidst the groans and screams of the enemy, the Blood Kirin Army's phalanx seemed like a giant rock that could not be shaken by the stormy waves, or like a giant beast wielding sharp claws and smashing through the waves, slowly and firmly advancing towards the city gate.

"Let them into the city!" Zang Keming, the commander of the Mo Shui camp, a confidant of Tong Bingwen, who was in charge of the Bai Shi Cheng siege force, couldn't stand it any longer. When he first saw the scale of the enemy, he didn't really want to fight. Although the casualties of siege warfare were greater than those of field battles, there were fewer variables. As long as there were sufficient troops and a relatively stable battlefield environment, breaking the city was only a matter of time. However, he also understood how much of a blow it would be to the morale of the defenders to intercept the reinforcements under the city. Therefore, in the dilemma of fighting or not fighting, he made the decision to fight. But now, he understood that the army in the military intelligence report that had been turning the Xiling controlled area upside down, repeatedly nailing the captured and killed officers to crosses, really had a knack for it. Although it wasn't siege warfare, the casualties in this short confrontation were so great that it was incomprehensible, and the exquisite and meticulous armor from head to toe on everyone in the Blood Kirin Army had already made the fully armed Blood Kirin Army a moving city.

It was better to let them into the city, where there would be fewer variables. Once the Blood Kirin Army was scattered on the city walls, it would be much easier to deal with. Zang Keming's prediction was not wrong, but he would not have thought what the Blood Kirin Army brought to Bai Shi Cheng after entering the city.

Dai Yun, who had not participated in the war from beginning to end, watched her comrades enter the city safely after a short battle. It seemed that they had suffered about a hundred casualties, but this result was acceptable. Afterwards, Dai Yun turned around with nearly six thousand cavalry. When Dai Yun's rearguard became the vanguard, both the Bai Shi Cheng defenders and the besieging Xiling army were equally astonished. But Dai Yun had more important things to do. Just yesterday, Ye Tao conceived a tactic that might be very dangerous, but was entirely possible, a tactic that could very likely turn the tide of the war. This was the tactic she was going to execute.

"Lord Pan, General Yu, we have brought some equipment, please allocate some soldiers to help us install it," Ye Tao said respectfully.

After entering the city and greeting Pan Xiangmin and Yu Kang, Pan Xiangmin, who did not understand military affairs, generously let Ye Tao discuss city defense matters with Yu Kang. And Yu Kang, who was deeply shaken by the Blood Kirin Army's performance just now, almost didn't want to object to any decision of the Blood Kirin Army.

"There is a unit of soldiers in the city that is a collection of scattered soldiers. Because there are no suitable officers to lead them, they are usually placed in the city to specialize in firefighting. This unit has about a thousand people. Let them be led by your unit," Yu Kang thought for a while and generously allocated a unit. This unit was not disobedient to orders. In fact, this unit did very well in firefighting, repairing houses, and transporting earth and stones on the city wall. However, fighting was fighting, and supporting was supporting. Without suitable officers to subdue them, without enough low-level officers and sergeants, sending such a unit to the city wall would only be done when there was no choice. And now, there was obviously a better choice.

Ye Tao nodded. He asked Qiu Haohui to take this group of people to assist two flag teams in installing and debugging all the equipment, while he himself transferred more than a hundred people from those two flag teams, and nearly two hundred people from the four flag teams of archers, and took over the Bai Shi Cheng's armory repair workshop, which was now completely idle.

Pan Xiangmin and Yu Kang did not know what Ye Tao was up to, but the people he brought quickly assembled the Shenbi Crossbows and trebuchets on the city wall, and began to debug them. Although there were enemies under the city, and it was inconvenient to test-fire and calibrate, the large pieces of equipment with obviously different structures and craftsmanship, which looked extremely sophisticated, gave everyone confidence. The twelve derricks with human-powered capstans and pulley systems as the core, which were installed on the four city walls, could speed up the progress of transporting stone bullets and stones from under the city wall by several times, and it was also much easier to evacuate the wounded from the city wall with this set of equipment.

While waiting for Ye Tao's work results, Qiu Haohui had already discussed with Yu Kang the use of heavy infantry. Qiu Haohui did not insist on using heavy infantry in a concentrated manner. In the current Bai Shi Cheng, that was too unrealistic. However, using heavy infantry to block gaps and drive out the enemy who had climbed the city wall was still very useful. The heavy infantry were distributed relatively evenly on the four city walls. But the archers were different. The archers of the Blood Kirin Army were all equipped with both bows and crossbows, had half-body light armor, and carried short scimitars. In terms of equipment, they were better than most of the infantry and even the grassroots officers of Bai Shi Cheng. As the backbone of the city defense, the archers were directly led by Qiu Haohui and concentrated on the enemy's main attack direction.

After Qiu Haohui discussed with Yu Kang, he was looking for a new topic when a messenger ran over, saluted, and said to Qiu Haohui: "Commander Qiu, General Ye invites you to the workshop."

"General is probably done, let's go and see. I don't know what it is," Qiu Haohui said with a chuckle.

"At this critical moment, General Ye must have created some city defense weapon," Yu Kang responded with a smile.

But they did not expect that what they saw in the workshop was such a strange thing, with the base of a Shenbi Crossbow, but also with a complex mechanism, and a long, narrow guide rail.

"This is...?" Qiu Haohui asked with a frown.

"Let's call it a crossbow cannon. I guarantee you, this is a good thing," Ye Tao said confidently.