NFBE Chapter 341 The Power of the Crossbow at the Critical Moment
Chapter 341 The Power of the Crossbow at the Critical Moment
Inside the Fengcheng government office, a physician was bandaging Gu Jiancheng's wounds. Gu Jiancheng remained calm and nodded slightly to Huang Shuo.
"Thank you, Master Huang."
Huang Shuo hurriedly clasped his hands in a fist and said, "I dare not accept such praise; this is all within my duty."
The physician treated Gu Jiancheng's wound and silently withdrew. Gu Jiancheng tried to move his arm and immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
But he tried to act as if nothing was wrong, raising his uninjured hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, and asked Huang Shuo seemingly casually.
"Master Huang, when will the next batch of crossbow bolts arrive?"
Huang Shuo thought for a moment and roughly calculated the time in his mind.
"Judging by the timeline, it should be within the next day or two..."
Immediately afterwards, Huang Shuo looked at Gu Jiancheng with some concern.
"Your Highness, wasn't it said that the Song army would take advantage of the Yue army's attack on Fengcheng to launch a surprise attack on Chuyang from the sea, forcing Liang Changping to return to defend and relieve the siege of Chuyang? Has the Song army not made any move yet?"
Upon hearing this, a hint of worry appeared on Gu Jiancheng's face.
"That was indeed the plan at the time, but we can't rule out the possibility of unforeseen circumstances. For example, there might be a problem on the way to Guanliushui, and we might not be able to reach Daxin on time. Or, for example, Emperor Song might suddenly change his mind. It's hard to say..."
Yang Zilan, who had been sitting in the chair indignantly, suddenly stood up.
"Your Highness! Even disregarding the Song army's involvement, this constant defense isn't a solution! How about I lead a raid on the Yue army camp tonight? If we're lucky, we might even kill Liang Changping!"
"Zilan, you must not act rashly!"
Gu Jiancheng flatly rejected it.
"If you can think of a sneak attack, Liang Changping might think of one too! The safest way is to hold the city!"
Given the vast disparity in troop strength between the two sides, Gu Jiancheng's strategy was undoubtedly the most correct.
The defensive advantage provided by tall and sturdy city walls is enormous; whether launching a surprise attack or engaging in battle outside the city, it is a voluntary surrender of that advantage.
Moreover, the food and provisions in Fengcheng are enough for them to hold out for at least a month. If the northern border is defeated by the Rong and Di tribes, Qin Shao will send troops to help them.
That's right, Gu Jiancheng has confidence in Qin Shao.
But Huang Shuo, the elderly father, was somewhat confused by his concern.
He looked up to the north, realizing how difficult it was to hold Fengcheng, and he missed Zhao Xuan, so he murmured to himself.
"I wonder what the situation is like on General Qin's side? Are Xuan'er and Xiao Wu in any danger?"
?
At the foot of Tianlu Mountain in the northern border region.
Once again, Rongdi King Yingyang faced off against the Xia army led by Qin Shao from afar.
He looked at Qin Shao, who was sitting on a tall horse in the distance, and then at the gentle and refined young man in military uniform on a chariot next to Qin Shao. He couldn't help but frown and think.
"Uncle Wang!"
Eagle called out to Bog Valley to his side and rear.
"Chen is here!"
Bog Valley responded hastily.
"I heard that the wise king of Xia has come to the northern border in person to boost morale. I think it must be him?"
As Ying Yang spoke, he raised the riding whip in his hand and pointed it in the direction where Gu Zhanghua was standing.
Boggu looked up, his face showing disdain, and immediately let out a sneer.
"He looks so frail, even a lamb is stronger than him. Isn't he afraid of losing his life here?"
"Hahaha!"
The cavalrymen behind Ying Yang burst into loud laughter, clearly disregarding Gu Zhanghua.
Eagle looked back at one of the most burly cavalrymen.
"Mona! See that young man on the chariot? When the two sides clash, take your men and find an opportunity to capture him alive for me!"
Mona asked, "Must we capture him alive? Wouldn't it be simpler to just chop him in half?"
As he spoke, he brandished the long sword in his hand with great force.
Ying Yang curled his lip, clearly looking down on his subordinate general who only knew how to hack and slash and killed without thinking, but he still explained to Meng Na.
"I have a use for sparing his life! Besides, we can't afford to make a real enemy of the Xia Kingdom; they are our major granary!"
It's useful, but what's its use?
Of course, the goal is to capture them as hostages so that they can make exorbitant demands and gain the upper hand when negotiating peace with the Xia Kingdom.
Mona nodded in sudden realization.
"Yes, Your Majesty! You must capture him alive!"
Within the Xia army camp.
Beside Gu Zhanghua's chariot, Hu Junfeng, Li Baiyun, and Shi Shu, all clad in armor and riding warhorses, stood guard.
When Gu Zhanghua saw the Rongdi cavalry suddenly spur their horses and charge towards the Xia army like a dark cloud, he couldn't help but look at Qin Shao, who was standing at the very front of the formation.
Qin Shao remained calm and composed, waving his hand. The infantry at the front of him retreated in unison, revealing three rows of archers.
Qin Shao rode his horse to the rear of the archers and calmly looked at the charging Rongdi cavalry.
He silently counted his steps in his mind:
Five hundred steps...
Three hundred steps...
Ying Yang charged ahead, and when he saw the row of soldiers holding strange devices in the distance, he suddenly had a bad feeling.
In that instant, he remembered how he had been shot by a strange, cold arrow years ago and instantly lost consciousness.
He later asked the archers in the army if they wanted to shoot an arrow from a hundred meters away, the current bows simply didn't have that power, so it must have come from a different device.
The archer even suspected that it was a hidden weapon from a certain sect in the martial arts world of the Xia, Yue, and Song dynasties.
Of course, in the end, it was the secret envoy sent by the Yue Emperor who answered his questions. The arrow that shot him belonged to the Queen Consort of Xia. Now that the Queen Consort was in Qin Shao's army, could it be that the Queen Consort...
In the blink of an eye, the eagle was covered in white sweat!
If the Princess Consort accompanied the Prince to the Northern Border, those extremely powerful crossbows would likely have been deployed to Qin Shao's army!
At that very moment, right in the center of the first row of crossbowmen, Zhao Xuan, dressed in crossbowman's uniform, was also silently counting in her mind:
Two hundred steps...
One hundred steps!
Zhao Xuan suddenly raised her crossbow and aimed it at the Rongdi cavalry charging ahead. The other crossbowmen immediately raised their crossbows as well.
Zhao Xuan shouted loudly, "Release!"
Upon hearing the word "release," Yingyang felt as if he were hearing the death knell of a demon from hell, shuddering and alarm bells ringing in his mind. He immediately waved his hand and shouted.
"Attention everyone! Be careful..."
Before Yingyang could finish speaking, the Xia army's archers had already fired crossbow bolts at the Rongdi cavalry that had charged close in!
After the archers finished firing, they immediately retreated, and another row of archers who had already loaded their crossbows fired again at the Rongdi cavalry!
After a series of maneuvers, many of the Rongdi cavalrymen who were at the forefront were hit by arrows and fell to the ground.
Even if the cavalryman was not hit by an arrow, his horse was hit and immediately fell to the side, causing the cavalryman to fall off the horse.
The Rong and Di cavalry were thrown into chaos!
In the middle of the group, Mona dodged the Xia army's crossbow bolts and led a group of men to rush towards Gu Zhanghua's direction amidst the chaos.
Seeing that they had reached the chariot, Mengna was about to leap off his horse to grab Gu Zhanghua when Li Baiyun and the other two guarding Gu Zhanghua immediately engaged Mengna in battle.
However, the Rongdi cavalry were tall and strong, and Mengna was a warrior of the Rongdi tribe. Even when Li Baiyun and Hu Junfeng joined forces, they could only fight Mengna to a draw.
The dozen or so cavalrymen who followed closely behind Mona were the most valiant and skilled warriors of the Rongdi tribe, and they quickly surrounded Gu Zhanghua's chariot.
Seeing that things were not going well, Shi Shu hurriedly jumped onto the chariot and shielded Gu Zhanghua behind her.
"Your Highness, please be careful!"
Having said that, Shi Shu held her sword and barely managed to defend herself against the long blades of the Rongdi cavalry, and for a moment she was in grave danger.