The sentries of the defense force, working in pairs with tens of meters between each, and with various obstructions, were being picked off one by one without them realizing it.
It wasn't until an arrow was slightly deflected by the wind, hitting a soldier in the arm, that the man, greatly alarmed, shouted the warning of enemy attack.
Hearing this, Hou Junji knew they had been exposed. He let out a great roar.
"Follow me and kill!"
Then he emerged from the woods, charging at the head of his men towards the electric fence.
However, when he was still a dozen zhang away from the fence, he suddenly stopped.
From behind him, a troop of soldiers emerged, carrying massive logs. He had apparently discovered the weaknesses of the electric fence.
Hearing the commotion of footsteps nearby, the soldiers who had just seen Qi Sui off instantly became tense.
The moon had already risen high into the sky.
Looking across the Longshou Canal in the moonlight, they saw a mass of people.
"Damn it! Lure the tiger away from its mountain? Shoot from the dark?"
Looking at his fallen brothers from the past in the distance, the soldier raised his Dragonfang sniper rifle and fired a shot into the crowd.
"Brothers! Hit them hard!"
The soldiers beside him also saw the enemy on the opposite bank and quickly drew their guns to fire.
Returning to the watch house to heat sweet potatoes on the stove, just as Qi Sui took a bite, he heard the chaotic sound of gunfire.
"Pah!"
Qi Sui, scalded by the sweet potato, spat it out and rushed out again with his gun.
"Damn it!"
"They won't even let me eat a sweet potato in peace!"
"Guards! Defend against the enemy!"
From the gunfire, it was clear that the rebellion in the imperial palace had also affected the workshop.
With the Fourth Battalion taken away by Wu Yong, only the defense force remained at the workshop.
They quickly gathered towards the source of the gunfire.
Looking at his fallen brothers, Qi Sui gritted his teeth in hatred.
"Damn it, in such a short time, dozens of brothers are already gone!"
"First Company! Gunpowder Workshop, Bullet Workshop!"
"Second Company! Forge Workshop, Artisan Dormitories!"
"Third Company, mobile!"
"Fourth Company, follow me to kill the enemy!"
With a single command, the remaining four hundred-odd men divided into four groups. The First and Second Companies rushed to their designated defense zones.
The Third Company remained on standby for any unforeseen circumstances.
Qi Sui, leading the hundred men of the Fourth Company, rushed to support the direction of the gunfire.
Upon arrival, he saw that the electric fence had been destroyed by the enemy!
"Damn it, looking at the corpses shot dead in front of the electric fence, they are determined to break into the workshop at all costs!"
"Hit them hard for me! Throw grenades freely! There are plenty in the warehouse, enough for today!"
Qi Gang roared, and was the first to throw two grenades.
Hou Junji, watching the two dark spheres flying towards him, smiled sinisterly and waved his hand at the men behind him.
"Give them back!"
From the crowd, several men instantly surged out. After a short run, they leaped high towards the incoming grenades.
Holding a paddle, they struck the grenades with immense force.
Qi Sui watched in dumbfounded amazement. "What kind of operation is this?"
Seeing the grenade flying back towards him after being struck by the paddle, he quickly shouted.
"Sniper!"
The snipers, who had been continuously picking off Hou Junji's men, heard his voice, looked up, and instinctively raised their guns to shoot at the grenades in the air.
They were accustomed to hitting such targets!
Shooting birds and flying discs were common occurrences for them.
"Boom! Boom!"
The two grenades exploded in mid-air!
Qi Sui gritted his teeth.
"Prepare grenades, delayed fuse for three counts!"
"Yes!"
The soldiers of the Fourth Company, except for those currently engaging the enemy, all drew their grenades.
As Qi Sui had instructed, they pulled the fuses, counted to three, and then threw them en masse towards Hou Junji.
Hou Junji grinned sinisterly again.
"Shield wall!"
"Yes!"
The soldiers around him took shields from their backs and stood in front of them, forming a shield wall!
"This is..."
"They are definitely prepared!"
They knew all their tactics.
The shields opposite them were made of wood wrapped in iron, and covered with animal hide stuffed with straw!
After this wave of grenades, apart from a few unlucky souls who were taken down, only a few shields caught fire!
This was almost unbearable for Qi Sui.
Seeing the enemy advancing step by step, Qi Sui roared, "Fire!"
"Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!"
Five mortar shells were fired from the workshop with piercing whistles, descending towards Hou Junji.
Hou Junji, who had been smug, instantly showed a look of panic.
"What is this thing? Holy crap! I've never seen it!"
He had seen the demonstration of solid shot cannons by the Fang family to Li Shimin, the Dragonfang sniper rifle, and grenades.
Mortars were something Fang Er had never revealed.
The five shells landed in the crowd and exploded, clearing five areas with a diameter of several meters.
Hou Junji's eyes turned cold, and gritting his teeth, he pulled a shrapnel from his left arm.
"Charge through for me! No matter the cost! Charge!"
"Take the workshop, and I'll guarantee you wealth and glory for life!"
"Charge! Kill!"
"Those from the Cui family, charge with me!"
"Those from the Lu family, follow me!"
"Men of the grasslands! Show your courage and kill these brats!"
"Warriors of the plateau! Trample everything before you!"
As Hou Junji gave the order, the leaders of the other factions also began to rally their men.
In an instant, excluding those who had fallen, nearly four thousand men, a dark mass, charged directly towards the workshop.
The mixed forces of various factions charged together, making it impossible to distinguish one from another.
No one noticed that Hou Junji and his subordinates were slowly falling behind the main force!
When only his own men remained around him, Hou Junji instructed one of them, "Qu Zhu, take your men and hold them here. I'll go around to outflank them!"
Qu Zhu nodded. "Duke, be careful!"
With that, he led his men forward.
Meanwhile, Hou Junji, with a thousand men, skirted around the area, took another direction, went into the water, swam across the Longshou Canal, and reached the artisan dormitories!
The commander of the Second Company of the defense force was named Shi Zhen.
He was currently on high alert, ready for any imminent attack.
Suddenly, his ears twitched.
He seemed to hear a sound like washing clothes.
"No!"
"That's the sound of someone walking in wet shoes!"
"Alert! Alert!"
With a loud shout, the hundred soldiers of the Second Company instantly raised their loaded muskets and searched in all directions.
Hearing Shi Zhen's voice, Hou Junji raised his right hand, signaling his troops to stop.
Shi Zhen waited nervously for a while, but no one appeared, and he began to suspect he had misheard.