ushernet Chapter 214 is becoming more and more like a villain.
Chapter 214 is becoming more and more like a villain.
The gears whirred and clicked as the city gate drawbridge snapped shut, raising clouds of dust. Shen Qing rode his horse and led his troops into the city, the hooves clattering on the scorched earth.
The victory was a foregone conclusion. At the time, the fire was fierce and spread rapidly, and countless people were trapped in the inferno. Yuejiang led most of his troops to the inner city to evacuate people, maintain order, and carry out rescue operations.
In reality, he had no choice but to go. Panshi Pass was a border town, and most of the residents were military families. The soldiers risked their lives at the front for the sake of their families.
Even if Yue Jiang could be so ruthless as to abandon all the people of the city, he probably wouldn't be able to maintain morale and would mutini on the spot. Rather than that, it would be better to go all out and fight the enemy first!
Crossing the river, one can only hope that the situation inside the city can be brought under control quickly, and that the soldiers defending the city can hold out for a while until they return to reinforce.
However, this departure greatly weakened the originally strong defensive force of the city. The remaining soldiers, facing this sudden change, were caught off guard by the uncertainty of what might fall from their heads and were also unaware of the enemy's next move. They were all in a panic.
Thus, the defenders on the city wall were caught between worrying about the safety of their families and being wary of enemy troops who might appear out of nowhere. As the saying goes, the unknown is the greatest fear, and panic gripped the city, causing morale to plummet.
Shen Qing launched his attack at this opportune moment. The elite Chixiao troops, who had been prepared in advance, seized the opportunity when the city's defenses were at their weakest. With their combined efforts from inside and outside, the city, which had seemed impregnable, was easily breached by the Lu family army.
After the city fell, Shen Qing took the lead and led his troops into the city. The garrison of Panshi Pass was different from the Lu family army. The soldiers were iron-blooded, and the strongest army was tempered by battles large and small. Anguo had been living in peace in one corner for many years. The garrison lacked experience in large-scale battles except for clearing out bandits in the surrounding area. In the last time, they cooperated with Jing and Di to attack Xuanguo and lost.
The greatest advantage of the Panshi Pass garrison was its terrain. Now that this advantage has been lost, they are no different from lambs to the slaughter when facing the battle-hardened Lu family army. Crossing the river, however, is a shrewd move; those who know when to yield are the wise ones, and they surrender directly.
Next came the post-war cleanup work. Shen Qing handed over the tasks of handling prisoners of war and taking stock of battle damage to Mu Qi and Guo Yu, while he led a squad of personal guards to patrol the city.
There wasn't much to patrol. All that could be seen were broken walls and ruins, with charred wood still smoking. The surviving civilians were in a sorry state, avoiding the Xuan Army's gaze as much as possible to minimize their presence, not daring to show any resentment in their eyes, and not even daring to cry out loud. The innocent children had their mouths tightly covered by the adults.
The scene that Shen Qing had envisioned—the victim rushing out, spitting at him, and cursing him—did not happen. Although their lives were as fragile as grass, their will to survive was exceptionally strong.
"General, six members of the Sky Lantern Squad have returned."
Hei Zi led six disheveled soldiers to the street to report to Shen Qing.
Shen Qing drew up blueprints and had hot air balloons built, but everyone still liked to call them sky lanterns. So be it, sky lanterns it is, when in Rome, do as the Romans do.
Shen Qing looked at the Sky Lantern Team members who had returned to report. Out of forty-three people, only six had returned, a survival rate of about fourteen percent, which was shockingly low.
Shen Qing's hot air balloon design is definitely capable of taking off, since the principle is that simple. However, with the current technology and materials, don't expect it to be leak-proof, and the direction is also uncontrollable; otherwise, there would be no need to borrow a favorable wind.
It can be said that Shen Qing's products are all about controlling the top and not the bottom, controlling life and not death. If any accident occurs, it's like the sponsorship declaration of a certain well-known beverage: your death will be beyond your imagination. Whether you can land smoothly depends entirely on how strong your ancestral connections are in the underworld.
"You've worked hard. As I said, those who return safely will be promoted to centurion. Go and find Military Advisor Guo to record your merits."
"Thank you, General!"
The six men wore expressions of joy, showing no lingering fear of surviving a close call, but rather a strong desire for military merit.
Currently, military merits are mainly divided into four types: first to scale the enemy lines, break through enemy lines, kill enemy generals, and capture enemy flags.
That's what they say, but apart from the first to scale the walls, the latter three positions are basically out of reach for ordinary soldiers.
Speaking of breaking through the formation, since they've already challenged each other, it's definitely not a one-person operation. The person who can break through the formation must be an officer with professional knowledge, experience, and command ability.
Furthermore, the ability to slay generals and capture flags is basically only a legend. In addition to superb martial arts skills, it also requires a great deal of luck. The right time, place, and people are all indispensable. Even Shen Qing, who has a cheat code, cannot guarantee that he can still succeed.
Only the first to scale the city wall can truly be accomplished independently with brute strength and fearless courage. As the name suggests, the first person to climb the city wall during a siege is called the first to scale the city wall. This is the fastest way for low-ranking soldiers with poor backgrounds and no connections to get promoted. Therefore, the first to scale the city wall has always been ranked first among the four major military merits and is the goal that countless ordinary soldiers can strive for.
The idea of "first to the city" sounds exciting, and it really is exciting in practice. The defenders on the city walls are not dead, and they will use any means necessary in the battle, such as oil, hot water, stones, rolling logs... they will smash anything they can find.
When Shen Qing was guarding Yu City, he had people boil gold juice with excrement. One spoonful of that juice caused more magical damage than physical damage, and anyone who didn't die on the spot would not survive.
It can be said that the soldiers who rushed to the front were expendable resources that consumed the city's supplies... The expendable resources offset each other.
Admittedly, you may lack ambition, but once you join the army, there will be a supervisory team to help you improve. Before a battle, the roles of archer, shield bearer, spearman, and infantry will be assigned...
The Sky Lantern Team members were originally from the vanguard unit, the kind of unit that would be among the first to go in a siege.
When Shen Qing approached them, he had already made it clear how dangerous it was. These forty-three people were selected from those who volunteered. Since they were all going to go, they might as well go all the way! They were going to fall anyway. What difference was there between falling from the city wall and falling from the sky? Even if the height difference was several times, could a person die twice?
But surviving is a different story. The six surviving soldiers of the Sky Lantern Squad received envious glances from their comrades and were promoted three ranks to centurion, skipping the ranks of squad leader and platoon leader!
Most importantly, this method has a much higher survival rate than the traditional method of climbing city walls using ladders!
"General, is your move called 'Buying a Horse's Bones with a Thousand Pieces of Gold'?" Hei Zi chuckled and winked, thinking he had seen through everything.
"..."
He's a heartless capitalist.
Shen Qing ignored Hei Zi and continued forward, reining in her horse. Looking at the devastated ruins, she felt a pang of sadness. She could only console herself that there was no paradise in chaotic times. Even if she didn't fight back, others would, and their destructive power was far greater than hers...
Sigh... there's no turning back now. I feel like I'm becoming more and more like a villain...
Shen Qing composed himself; he didn't have time to think about these things now. According to the previous plan, Tao You should be in Chishan now, following the same method, heading towards Xuanwu City. He should hurry up and finish dealing with things here before attacking Chishan City before it could react.