Zhao Song: My father was Emperor Taizu of Song

Chapter 55 Jing Si

"Zhao'er, this is your first time personally witnessing a siege battle, so you must watch carefully."

When the Song army officially began its siege, Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Dezhao were standing on a chariot in the central army, gazing at the distant walls of Zezhou.

Zhao Dezhao looked at it with exceptional care.

During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, both the Imperial Guards of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the Imperial Guards of the early Song Dynasty were among the best in the world in terms of combat effectiveness!

Their ability to tackle tough challenges is unparalleled.

Even the mighty Liao Dynasty was far inferior to the Song army in positional warfare.

Although Zhao Kuangyin had previously imparted all the essentials of military strategy to him, theoretical knowledge alone is insufficient; only by personally experiencing the battlefield can one truly grasp its essence.

"Charge with me!!"

Ma Quanyi led a hundred elite soldiers, shields raised high, their bodies hunched over like cats, in a pre-rehearsed formation, carrying fully prepared siege weapons, braving a hail of arrows, and charged toward the moat.

Zezhou was an important town, and its moat was extremely well-constructed. It was not only about five zhang wide and waist-deep, but the bottom of the moat was also covered with sharp wooden stakes.

"Shanghao Bridge!!"

At Ma Quanyi's command, several assassins immediately pushed a giant wooden bridge across the moat to the riverbank.

The bridge is made of huge logs and has iron wheels underneath. The front section was specially sharpened to a blade-like point for use in crossing the moat!

(Diagram of the moat bridge)

"Three—two—one, push!"

Ma Quanyi personally led a team of more than ten suicide soldiers to push the moat bridge to the other side. The iron wheel rolled over the turbid river water and with a "clang", the pointed end was firmly stuck in the crack of the stone on the opposite bank.

"Quick! Cross the bridge!"

Ma Quanyi took the lead and stepped onto the bridge. The bridge was only wide enough for three people to walk side by side, and a hundred assassins followed closely behind, maintaining perfect order.

They raised their shields overhead with their left hands to protect their vitals, while pushing the ladders with all their might with their right hands, rushing down the city wall with all their might.

The ladders can only be used once you reach the city walls.

"Watch out for rockets!"

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!

No sooner had he finished speaking than a rain of fire and arrows rained down from the city wall like locusts, their sharp whistling illuminating the night sky as they hurtled towards Ma Quanyi and his men.

"call!"

When the rocket struck the wooden stake of the flying bridge, a fire broke out in no time!

The arrowheads of these bows were wrapped with grease-soaked linen, making them highly flammable. Even though Ma Quanyi and the others desperately tried to deflect the arrows with their shields, it was to no avail.

Fortunately, the ladder was wrapped in lacquered cloth beforehand, and with the protection of the suicide soldiers, there was no major problem.

But with the firelight, Ma Quanyi and his hundred elite warriors were completely exposed to the gaze of the rebel army defending the city.

shhhhhh!

Arrows rained down, and several screams suddenly rang out on the flying bridge. Several assassins fell to the ground, arrowheads piercing their armor, and blood instantly stained the wooden bundles.

"Quick! Get to the wall!"

Ma Quanyi roared and charged towards the city wall first!

The other assassins pushed the ladders and followed closely behind. A moment later, all the assassins who had rushed across the moat pressed their backs tightly against the cold city wall, panting heavily.

By the light of the fire, Zhao Dezhao could not see very clearly, but he could vaguely tell that of the original hundred assassins, only eighty or so remained.

Just crossing the river resulted in the loss of one-fifth of their forces, even under the cover of a large army.

But the real test of the siege has only just begun.

Zhao Dezhao gazed at the city wall, which was five zhang high, in the distance.

Although concrete and cement did not exist at that time, few people knew that as early as the Qin Dynasty, the ancients had already mastered the ancient method of increasing the hardness of bricks and stones.

For example, the Terracotta Army has remained intact for over two thousand years, precisely because of this.

The high-quality bricks and stones of that time were already as hard as concrete in later generations!

The walls of Zezhou were constructed by ramming glutinous rice juice mixed with clay, making them exceptionally sturdy and with a smooth, mirror-like surface, making them extremely difficult to climb.

"Climb the ladder!"

The remaining assassins immediately took action, pushing the wheeled ladders to a suitable position under the city wall and quickly securing the ladders with wooden wedges and anchors.

Immediately afterwards, a soldier quickly turned the pulley to raise the main ladder. With a "bang," the iron hook at the top of the ladder was placed on the battlements, and the ladder was finally set up.

The whole process was smooth and efficient, with each person having a different role and working together seamlessly.

(Illustration of a cloud ladder from the Song Dynasty)

"Throw stones! Fire crossbows!"

Seeing that everyone had set up the siege ladder, Shi Shouxin immediately gave the order for the catapults and ballistae to start operating. In an instant, all kinds of boulders and crossbow bolts as tall as a person pierced the night sky and headed straight for the city wall.

"Boom boom boom—!"

Hearing the thunderous roar of the boulders breaking through the city walls, Ma Quanyi saw his opportunity and immediately waved his hand, roaring, "Assault the city walls!!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he leaped onto the ladder, holding a shield in his left hand to protect himself, and gripping the steps with his right hand, climbing upwards at an extremely fast speed!

"Quick! Keep up!"

The others quickly followed behind him in the pre-arranged formation.

"Put down the logs!!"

Just then, a roar suddenly came from the city wall, and a wet log as thick as a bowl rolled down the wall, crashing down on the people on the ladder with a whistling sound.

Ma Quanyi, who was at the front, was prepared. As the log fell, he blocked it with his left shield. With a muffled thud, the impact made his arm go numb.

"Ouch, damn it, that hurts like hell!"

Ma Quanyi cursed angrily, but before he could recover, a cold arrow suddenly shot from his right.

He hurriedly tried to raise his shield to block, but his left arm was too numb to obey his commands, and he couldn't move it in time.

"You scoundrel!!"

In a moment of urgency, Ma Quanyi had no choice but to raise his right arm and hastily protect his chest.

With a soft thud, the arrow pierced his arm.

"Commander Ma!"

A rather burly assassin behind him was shocked to see this.

"Damn it, it's alright!" Ma Quanyi gritted his teeth, forcefully pulled out the flying arrow, looked at the city wall above his head, veins bulging on his forehead, and roared:

"Get them!!"

"Kill!!" Upon seeing this, the numerous assassins roared in unison, braving the rain of arrows as they rapidly climbed upwards.

However, after the logs came rolling stones, and after the rolling stones came molten gold…

The Central Plains army had long since thoroughly studied the art of attacking and defending cities, and had developed a variety of countermeasures, forming a mature offensive and defensive system.

Moreover, Li Jun was quite skilled in defending cities, so for a time, the death squad suffered heavy casualties, but no one was the first to charge!

"Damn it, delay will only make things worse, we can't wait any longer!"

Ma Quanyi cursed under his breath and reached for the grappling hook at his waist. Just as he was about to throw it, a dark shadow flashed past him.

Someone was one step ahead of him!

Ma Quanyi was immediately alarmed and looked at the burly assassin behind him.

Flying hooks are generally used for defending cities, and occasionally they can be used as climbing tools, but nobody uses them that way.

Because this thing, although its claws are very sharp, is made of ordinary hemp rope. If you climb halfway up, the consequences of an enemy slashing you would be unimaginable.

He wouldn't have taken such a risk if he hadn't been forced into it, but he never expected that someone would have such courage and beat him to it!

"What is your name?"

"The villain Jing Si!"

The burly man grinned, then tugged on the rope. After confirming that it was difficult to pull, he gave it a sharp tug and simultaneously stomped hard on the ladder.

Under the combined force, he shot out like an arrow, and with incredible speed, he swept past several sections of the siege ladder and rushed straight to the city wall!

"Good lads! Keep up! Keep up!"

Ma Quanyi was both surprised and delighted, and instantly understood Jing Si's intention.

This kid is trying to create an opening for everyone!

If he can gain a foothold on the city wall for a moment, the pressure on his brothers will be greatly reduced, and they will be able to take the opportunity to swarm forward.

But this is tantamount to taking a dangerous gamble alone. Can this kid hold on?

He subconsciously looked up and saw that Jing Si had already used the grappling hook to leap forward again, his right hand already touching the edge of the city wall!

Upon seeing this, a rebel soldier on the city wall raised his ring-pommel sword and slashed at his finger.

Without hesitation, Jing Si threw away his shield, quickly twisted his left wrist, drew the short sword from his waist, and slashed upwards along the opponent's blade!

"Sizzle—!"

With a piercing metallic scraping sound, the soldier guarding the city suddenly clutched his throat, and the next moment, blood gushed from his palm!

Taking advantage of this fleeting moment, Jing Si suddenly exerted his strength and leaped onto the city wall!

First come, first served!