A Tragic Hero Mobilizes a Large Army to Attack Yuncheng from Qingyun Mountain

Chapter 97 A Tragic Hero Mobilizes a Large Army to Attack Yuncheng from Qingyun Mountain

When Cui Hao entered Yuncheng County, Song Jiang already knew about the existence of the "Shadowless" guerrilla unit. Their purpose was to let Song Jiang know the location of every flower and blade of grass in Yuncheng, as well as the actions of every person and dog.

In particular, these two mechanics were the earliest apprentices to follow Shi Qian, so their skills were naturally much more outstanding than those of the other mechanics!

Song Jiang was confident that one day, the intelligence network would spread throughout the entire Song Dynasty, no, it would also include the Liao, Jin, and Western Xia, making the intelligence network ubiquitous.

Zhang Wenyuan's death was also something Song Jiang had expected. As the saying goes, "Heaven will make those who are destined to perish first make them go mad!"

Song Jiang deliberately elevated Zhang Wenyuan's status and told him all his plans and arrangements, hoping to make him a hero. Zhang Wenyuan was indeed so high-profile, as if afraid that others wouldn't know. Song Jiang then used Qingyun Mountain to get rid of Zhang Wenyuan.

Qingyun Mountain is known for its vengeful nature. Even if Miss Chen doesn't go shopping this time, Qingyun Mountain will still find an opportunity. It's impossible for Wu Song to follow Zhang Wenyuan every moment!

Moreover, if something were to happen, Wu Song would take the opportunity to leave, so Zhang Wenyuan's death was already destined!

Looking at their son's body, the elderly Zhang couple wailed incessantly. Their only son had died just like that, and now they had no one to rely on for their old age and funeral. However, most of the people around them were just pointing and whispering, and no one was really sad or upset.

Indeed, Zhang Wenyuan has a notorious reputation for womanizing. Men despise him and women avoid him like the plague. If it weren't for his government job, he would probably have been beaten up countless times by now!

Because Shi Wenbin was present, many people dared not say anything harsh, but none of them expressed any grief or sadness. Song Jiang felt quite sad. He had lived to such an extent that he didn't even have anyone to grieve for him. It was truly tragic!

Song Jiang is gone, and the real battle is about to begin. There's no time to waste here. Sometimes, Wenbin is enough!

Cui Hao's two henchmen fled Yuncheng without stopping, and finally encountered the five thousand men from Qingyun Mountain three days later. This time, Di Lei personally led the men, and the army was magnificent and impressive.

Looking at the disheveled two, Di Lei snorted coldly and asked, "Why are there only the two of you? Where's Cui Hao?"

One of the henchmen answered tremblingly, "Is Chief Cui a guest in Yuncheng?"

Dire thought he had misheard and asked, "What?"

Another henchman recounted in detail what had happened in Yuncheng!

After hearing this, Di Lei was speechless. It was bad enough that He Jian hadn't been found, but now Cui Hao was also trapped in Yuncheng. What kind of mess was this?

He stared intently at the two men and asked again, "Are you saying that Song Jiang let you come back?"

The two nodded quickly!

Di Lei was puzzled as to what Song Jiang was up to. It was obvious that Song Jiang knew he was coming to attack Yuncheng, yet he still sent out his underlings. Did he have some kind of ambush planned beforehand?

Thinking of the previous five hundred men, Di Lei felt a bad feeling. But with five thousand brothers under his command, how could he be afraid of a small county town? He thought to himself that he was already on high alert and was determined to take Yuncheng!

Moreover, he breathed a sigh of relief when the two henchmen told him that Zhang Wenyuan had been killed. However, he still felt that Zhang Wenyuan was a bit of an exaggeration and did not seem like a man of great talent and strategy.

After pondering for a long time, Di Lei slammed his fist on the table and shouted, "Set off immediately! Aim to reach the city in three days and capture Yuncheng in seven!"

Three days later, the army from Qingyun Mountain arrived in Yuncheng County, but the city gates were already tightly closed!

Since its founding, the Song Dynasty had always adopted a policy of strengthening the central government while leaving the regional powers to their own devices, in order to prevent the recurrence of the Later Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, apart from the strategically important border areas, only Bianjing (Kaifeng) housed hundreds of thousands of imperial guards.

Although there were troops stationed in various prefectures and cities, they were only a portion of the Imperial Guards and some local militia, and their combat effectiveness was extremely low.

Juncheng is just a small county town, and it is impossible for it to have too many troops. This is why Di Lei is confident that he can take Yuncheng in four days!

Di Lei ordered that Yuncheng be surrounded first, preventing anyone from coming out of the city or from receiving any reinforcements from the outside!

Yuncheng is not a large city; it only has two gates, one to the north and one to the south, and city walls on the east and west sides, so it wasn't too difficult to surround it!

Looking at the not-so-high city wall, Di Lei led his men to its vicinity and shouted, "I am Di Lei of Qingyun Mountain! Tell your leader to come out, or our army will launch an attack, crush this low city, and on the day it falls, not a single chicken or dog will be spared!"

There was no reaction; the soldiers on the wall just stared at Dire without saying a word!

Dire was somewhat annoyed; when had he spoken up and no one had paid any attention to him!

Thinking back to my daily life, I'm always surrounded by followers and I always walk with my head held high. How can I put up with such humiliation!

Thinking of this, Dillett shouted again, "Are they all deaf? Is there not even a breath of life in them?"

Everyone above couldn't help but look at Song Jiang, leaving him speechless. "I'm not a county magistrate, why are you all looking at me?"

Song Jiang said to Shi Wenbin, "Brother, don't worry about him, this is fine!" After saying that, he whispered something in Shi Wenbin's ear.

A moment later, Di Lei saw a figure emerge from the city wall. Upon closer inspection, he realized it must be an official!

The man spoke up, "I am Shi Wenbin, the magistrate of Juncheng. May I ask what brings Chief Di to my Yuncheng?"

This question, which was obviously asked in a daze, made Di Lei laugh in anger. He retorted, "The county magistrate surely knows why I've come!"

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Shi Wenbin feigned ignorance, saying, "The student really doesn't know!"

Dire laughed loudly, and everyone knew he was on the verge of exploding with rage!

After laughing, Di Lei coldly said, "I'll only say this once: offer up 100,000 taels of gold and 100,000 shi of grain, and release all my brothers, then I'll withdraw my troops. Otherwise, I'll let the blood of the entire city be used to appease my dead brothers!"

Shi Wenbin laughed and said, "The thieves have quite the appetite, but I can tell you very clearly that we will not give you a single penny or a single grain of food, nor will we release the person. Forget about it—"

Di Lei laughed heartily, "Good, good, good." After saying "good" three times in a row, he turned and left. Everyone knew that a tough battle was about to begin!

Inside the camp, Di Lei sat in the commander's seat, with a henchman pouring a large bowl of wine and placing it in front of him.

Di Lei picked up the bowl, drank it all in one gulp, and slammed it down on the table. His henchmen refilled the bowl, and Di Lei drank three large bowls in a row before he could finally quell the fire in his heart.

Dire asked in a deep voice, "I want to hear what the brothers have to say!"

One of the leaders said, "Let's just beat them up and show these bastards what we're made of!"

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Another leader chimed in, "Exactly! These guys only dare to be so arrogant because they have the city walls. Once we break through, they'll be begging for mercy like grandsons!"

Di Lei looked around, and seeing no one else speaking, nodded and said, "We've traveled a long way today, let's rest for the night, and tomorrow we'll attack Yuncheng. Who's willing to lead the charge?"

A man stepped forward, bowed, and said loudly, "Brother, I'm willing to lead the charge."

Di Lei looked and saw that it was Yao Shun, the "Hungry Tiger," one of the three leaders.

Yao Shun was skilled in martial arts and was perfect for leading the charge. He nodded and said, "In that case, Brother Yao Shun, we'll wait for you to make the first contribution tomorrow so that we brothers can get a good reward."

The next day, Di Lei assigned a thousand men to Yao Shun and then personally led the troops to support him!

Bang, bang, bang bang —

The rapid and rhythmic sound of war drums rang out outside Yuncheng!

Holding a long spear, Yao Shun led a thousand men and arrived menacingly at the gates of Yuncheng, shouting:

Yao Shun of Qingyun Mountain is here; who dares to challenge him to a duel?

Zhu Tong knew that Wu Song was not good at mounted combat, and Lei Heng was also a captain of the infantry. He stepped forward and said, "Magistrate, Clerk, let me take the lead and meet this villain!"

Song Jiang smiled and shook his head, saying, "No need. We are outnumbered and outgunned; we don't need to bother with them!"

Although Zhu Tong was somewhat unwilling, he knew that the defense of Yuncheng was extremely weak and could not afford to be weakened. So he didn't say much, gave a salute, and stepped aside.

Yao Shun saw that one of the men was about to go into battle but then retreated. He felt a surge of contempt and cursed inwardly, "You are all a bunch of cowardly rats and cowards."

Those around him, their anger rising, were about to rush into battle, but Song Jiang waved his hand and said calmly, "Let them curse! A few words of insult won't cost us anything. Just ignore them. Pass down the order: if the bandits dare to attack, fire arrows. As for their insults, treat them like barking dogs. No one is to disobey!"

Yao Shun saw that after shouting and cursing for a long time, there was no reaction on the city wall. Instead, they all looked at him like he was a fool. His endless indignation surged out like a volcano. He had never been so humiliated before. In his rage, he wanted to call on the army to attack the city.

But Yao Shun wasn't stupid. Although the city wall in front of him was only a few feet high, he hadn't prepared any siege ladders or other siege equipment. If he forced an attack, it would only increase casualties!

Yao Shun remained clear-headed. Despite his anger, he knew he couldn't risk his brothers' lives. He glanced back at Di Lei, raised his hand, and shouted, "Everyone, retreat!"

Inside the tent, Yao Shun stepped forward and said, "Brother, these guys are like cowards hiding in the sand. Let's prepare for a direct assault!"

Di Lei knew that Yuncheng's soldiers wouldn't be too numerous, and a major battle outside the city was impossible, so he could only nod and say, "Prepare for a direct assault!"

Yao Shun bowed and said, "Yes."

Yao Shun then organized two thousand men, including five hundred archers and five hundred shield bearers to provide cover for the archers. The remaining one thousand men prepared siege ladders and were ready to attack the city directly. It must be said that Qingyun Mountain was much stronger than many other mountains. Its professionalism in siege warfare alone was unmatched by other mountains.

Yao Shun then ordered a large tree to be cut down and placed on the battering ram to serve as a ramming hammer for a powerful attack on the city gate.

On the city wall, the soldiers of Yuncheng were not idle either. Seeing that Qingyun Mountain had temporarily retreated, Song Jiang guessed that Qingyun Mountain was planning to launch a strong attack on the city wall. So he first ordered Lei Heng and Zhu Tong to each lead a hundred soldiers to prepare shields and bows and arrows. Then he ordered the remaining soldiers and the militia from various villages to bring logs and rolling stones. In addition, there were many large pots and firewood.

Under Song Jiang's call, more than 700 militiamen were willing to join the battle, and more than 500 villagers and 200 civilians were willing to do transportation and carrying work. Song Jiang was confident that he could defend Dancheng without any pressure.

"Loose the arrows!" With Yao Shun's command, five hundred archers unleashed a volley of arrows, like a horde of demons, rushing towards the walls of Yuncheng!

Song Jiang shouted, "Take cover! Raise your shields! The rest of you, get behind the city wall and find cover!"

When the first volley of arrows came, although Song Jiang had made preparations in advance, more than ten people were still hit by arrows and fell to the ground. Some died on the spot, while others wailed on the ground!

Song Jiang was also quite helpless. After all, these people had never actually fought a battle before, and this was their first time. Qingyun Mountain was different; they had experience attacking county towns before, and their combat experience far exceeded that of these ordinary soldiers!

This is why Song Jiang was unwilling to open the city gates and let these soldiers fight Qingyun Mountain head-on, because that would be suicidal.

A second volley of arrows followed! Song Jiang shouted, "Those with shields, raise them and crouch down! Those without shields, hide behind the walls! Their arrows can't penetrate our walls!"

This time it was much better; basically no one was hit by arrows.

Seeing the disheveled state of the Yuncheng soldiers, Yao Shun was overjoyed and shouted, "Brothers, get ready, follow me to attack the city!"

Upon hearing Yao Shun's order, a thousand Qingyun Mountain henchmen charged forward with ladders and siege equipment!

However, Yao Shun still ordered the archers to attack from a distance to prevent the Yuncheng County troops from attacking the siege soldiers, thus minimizing losses!

The soldiers of Yuncheng on the city wall were shot down and could not raise their heads, while ladders were erected below the city, and Qingyun Mountain was preparing to attack the city!

Yao Shun ordered a halt to the archery to avoid accidentally injuring his own men! Meanwhile, the henchmen of Qingyun Mountain climbed the ladders and made their way up the city wall!

Song Jiang waved his hand and shouted, "Prepare for battle!"

On the city wall, logs and rolling stones were hurled down, and some who had only climbed halfway were knocked down, the henchmen who were hit screaming in agony!

Then Song Jiang had the people next to him start a fire, and many iron pots were filled with water, which gurgled and bubbled as it boiled over the fire!

The city of Yuncheng had very few defensive weapons, so Song Jiang urged them to use them sparingly. Otherwise, if they ran out, how could the city be defended?

Fortunately, Qingyun Mountain did not have large siege weapons, such as crossbows or catapults; otherwise, even if the city had ten times the number of troops, it would not have been able to hold out!

Whenever the people climbing the ladder were about to reach the pass, Song Jiang would have them throw logs and stones down. Once the water boiled, he would fill buckets with the boiling water and pour it down the ladder!

At this time, it was already late May, and the temperature was not low. In addition, the boiling water was as high as 100 degrees Celsius, so you can imagine what would happen if it were poured directly down!

Many people suffered cuts and bruises, screaming in pain from the burns, and fell directly down the ladder. Compared to the molten metal, the advantage of water is that it is readily available. Of course, the molten metal can cause wounds to become infected, which is something that water cannot do!

Many people fell into the city walls, getting completely disoriented and suffering broken arms and legs. Some were even unlucky enough to fall headfirst and die instantly!

In warfare, it's crucial to strike while the iron is hot. Seeing that things were going on like this, and that his troops hadn't even captured Yuncheng, and their morale was already low, Yao Shun shouted, "Archers, prepare!"

Seeing this, Song Jiang raised his hand and said, "Shield bearers, be on guard!"

Another round of arrows rained down. After the previous baptism, no one was injured this time. On the contrary, the Qingyun Mountain group outside the city fell to the ground and could not dodge, and many were accidentally injured!

Hearing the wails of the man lying on the ground, the rest of the attackers trembled inwardly!

After a while, the morale of Qingyun Mountain dropped even further!