Chapter 83: The Old Bear Blocks the Path, How Can a Raccoon Get Past?

With Yang Xin’s roar, the stunned Jiannu outside retreated like a receding tide.

They were truly terrified.

This kind of sweeping, cleansing kill effect completely surpassed their imagination. Having one-third of a Niru wiped out in one go, the corpses piled beneath the walls, and the wails of the wounded among the dead directly shattered the Jiannu’s morale. At this point, no soldier’s fierceness nor strict military law was of any use. Fear dominated every Jiannu’s mind. When Yang Xin shouted “Let’s do it again!”, fleeing had already become an instinct…

Even though Yang Xin was just tricking them.

On the city wall, there was a wave of uproarious laughter.

But this did not end the war; it was merely Wild Boar Skin’s probing attack.

It was just his test of the defending Ming Army’s capabilities.

Having tested the results, Wild Boar Skin launched the real attack on the second day. At least thirty thousand Jiannu launched fierce assaults simultaneously from the east, south, and north of Shenyang, focusing on the city gates.

Like ants swarming over a cake, the Jiannu densely covering the land carried ladders, pushed hastily-made trench bridges, scaling ladders, and even shield carts and moat-filling carts. They drove the last remaining Cannon Fodder forward, braving the fire from the city walls, and quickly crossed the Moat at various points of attack. Although cannonballs, bullets, sharp arrows, and even bricks thrown from the walls continuously caused casualties among the Jiannu, it did nothing to stop their advance. Attack corridors formed over the Moat, and Jiannu pouring through relentlessly quickly set up countless long ladders and began their upward assault.

Ultimately, there was a huge disparity in troop numbers.

The Ming Army only had about five thousand truly capable fighters, and they had to be spread out along the seven-li-long perimeter across three sides.

As for the most effective weapons, they were none other than the Frankish Cannons. However, the Ministry of Works’ shoddy manufacturing made these fast-firing cannons extremely prone to bursting. In fact, Ming artillerymen, much like their European counterparts, basically had to pray to the gods for protection before each firing.

The Trebuchets, though, were truly useful.

“Work harder! Drive back the Jiannu today and everyone gets one tael!”

Yang Xin shouted to those below.

Among the countless simple Trebuchets arrayed behind the wall, the laborers who couldn’t even see the Jiannu instantly became excited. Even women joined the ranks of defenders. They pulled ropes continuously, hurling blue bricks into the sky to land outside the city.

Yang Xin turned back, satisfied.

“Release!”

He yelled to the soldiers behind the multi-bow mounted crossbow beside him.

The latter quickly pulled the release mechanism. The triple-bow mounted crossbow shot a Long Spear-like bolt straight outside the city. It instantly pierced a shield wall on the opposite bank of the Moat and, carrying its powerful momentum, went on to pierce two Jiannu archers.

“Continue!”

Yang Xin said with satisfaction.

At the same moment, an urgent shout came from nearby. Yang Xin casually grabbed a Gunpowder Satchel and ran over at top speed. Ladders were already placed against the wall here. Jiannu swarming across the trench bridge were climbing up; the fastest were already appearing over the parapet. Soldiers on the wall fought desperately to hold them off. Yang Xin didn’t hesitate. He cut a short fuse, a soldier beside him blew on a Tinder Lighter, lit it as fast as possible. Yang Xin watched the fuse burning rapidly, counted to three silently, and suddenly threw it.

“Get down!”

He roared.

The soldiers around him, terrified, quickly dropped flat.

The Jiannu who had already appeared over the battlements immediately understood what was about to happen. He screamed desperately, turned, and jumped down. At the same moment, a ball of fire erupted in mid-air, three zhang away and two zhang high. The blast wave laden with countless iron nails instantly swept the area. Over thirty Jiannu on the seven ladders propped against the wall fell screaming amid the smoke like shaken-off lice, crashing down among their comrades who also fell screaming below.

“Get to work!”

Yang Xin immediately scrambled up, patted an officer’s shoulder and shouted.

The officer immediately began kicking his subordinates.

The soldiers got up one after another. Without pausing to admire the view below, they directly picked up bows and crossbows, even Matchlock Guns, and fired at the Jiannu on the opposite bank of the Moat. The Jiannu there, who had also suffered from the blast, fell one after another under their attack.

Yang Xin kept running forward.

Several soldiers behind him followed, carrying barrels filled with Gunpowder Satchels.

“The north wall is in critical condition!”

A soldier shouted to Yang Xin, looking at a flag waving from a distant watchtower.

“Mount up!”

Yang Xin said, then leaped down.

He mounted a horse below and quickly galloped past the Trebuchets straight for the north wall, with the ammunition carriers behind him also mounting up and following closely. Soon, Yang Xin ascended the north wall. Here, near the Barbican, a breach had been made. Jiannu who had surged up were engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the defenders. Without a moment’s hesitation, Yang Xin took two Gunpowder Satchels. A following soldier lit the fuses. He threw them one after the other, but with all his might.

The two Gunpowder Satchels, trailing smoke from their burning fuses, flew over the Moat and exploded above the densely packed Jiannu reinforcements crowding through on the opposite bank. Their density maximized the destructive power of these satchels.

The explosions of the two satchels turned the entire attack corridor front into a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

The Ming Army’s morale on the wall soared. These elite troops frantically slaughtered the Jiannu who now had no follow-up support.

Yang Xin charged straight into the fray.

Casually grabbing a Jiannu, he directly used the body as a weapon, swinging it around wildly in a frenzied style. The Jiannu, witnessing such combat for the first time, were terrified and completely dumbfounded. Two even panicked, turned, and jumped off the wall, then screamed from broken legs before falling spiked palisades from the wall ended their suffering.

Those remaining above also met their end.

Soon, the wall section was cleared.

“A Frankish Cannon burst!”

An officer yelled, holding a dripping sword.

Yang Xin looked at the wreckage of a Frankish Cannon, said nothing, and patted the officer’s shoulder.

It would be a wonder if a Frankish Cannon didn’t burst!

What could one expect from goods that cost ten taels and came with six extra rounds?

But you couldn’t entirely blame the shoddy manufacturing. To a large extent, it was also because no one in the heat of battle considered controlling the rate of fire. This thing reloaded extremely fast: just take out the empty chamber, insert a new one, wedge it tight from the back with a wooden peg, and it was ready to fire again.

When pressured, the firing speed rivaled that of modern artillery.

With the pathetic cooling effect of these cast-iron junk heaps, how could they sustain such a rate of fire?

“Work harder! Today’s reward increased to one tael!”

He shouted to those below.

The laborers who had just panicked and fled upon seeing the Jiannu suddenly perked up. They immediately regrouped around the Trebuchets and resumed their work.

But right then, urgent shouts rang out from the Barbican.

Yang Xin immediately looked there and saw countless Jiannu swarming across the half-filled Moat, stepping on a newly placed trench bridge.

One of them was carrying a gunpowder barrel.

Yang Xin leaped off the wall without hesitation, racing at full speed along the base toward the Barbican’s gate. The Jiannu carrying the gunpowder barrel had already charged into the gate entrance. Jiannu surging across the trench bridge turned to intercept, while those on the opposite bank of the Moat aimed their bows and arrows at him. But then, the Frankish Cannons on the Barbican fired. As the Grapeshot swept through the Jiannu, Yang Xin also crashed into those blocking him. Swinging his fists, he pounded wildly, soon battering his way through with sheer fists, and then dashed into the gate tunnel of the Barbican.

But the gunpowder barrel in front of the gate was already lit.

Unable to stop it in time, he simply grabbed a Jiannu and threw him onto it.

The dozen or so Jiannu inside who had been trying to flee out were immediately thrown into chaos by the impact. Yang Xin turned and charged back out of the gate. Immediately after, a rope was lowered from the wall above. He grabbed it and scaled up in a few moves. Just as he reached the top of the wall, an intense tremor shook beneath his feet. With a tremendous explosion, the limbs and torsos of those Jiannu, along with flames and smoke, blasted out from the gate tunnel.

Even before the smoke cleared, Jiannu from the opposite bank, roaring with excitement, surged across the Moat and poured in.

But the defenders on the wall remained calm.

In an instant, the Barbican was packed with hundreds of Jiannu. Then, looking at the blocked gate tunnel, they all stared dumbfounded. At that moment, four ignited, proper Peerless Warriors were simultaneously lowered from four different positions on the wall.

And then…

There was no more ‘then’.

Though these weren’t Gunpowder Satchels, four of them together, in such a confined space, weren’t much less lethal. Actually, Yang Xin had taught the defenders how to make these. In the original history, the Peerless Warrior appeared later. Yang Xin made these mainly to supplement the shortage of gunpowder.

While there was quite a lot of gunpowder in the city, most was crudely made and completely unsuitable for Gunpowder Satchels, which required the finest, refined gunpowder.

The Great Ming had high gunpowder output, but the quality was truly nothing to praise.

The Peerless Warrior, however, didn’t need to worry about gunpowder quality. It wasn’t an explosive bomb but an incendiary bomb.

The four Peerless Warriors lowered from the wall, due to differing propulsive forces inside their wooden frames, spun wildly. As they spun, they spewed fire mixed with poison in all directions. The hundred-plus Jiannu who had poured into the Barbican were immediately engulfed in flames. Soon, the Padded Cloth Armor of those nearest caught fire, then more Jiannu were ignited by their comrades. The entire Barbican quickly became a sea of fire. All the Jiannu wailed in the blaze, crowding and pushing frantically, trying to escape the Barbican.

But a Peerless Warrior at the gate tunnel entrance was also spinning, spewing fire.

Soon, the flames burning on their bodies soared upward.

The Jiannu outside who had been charging forward stopped one after another. Each gazed with horror at the column of thick, billowing smoke rising straight into the sky inside. Then, a few Jiannu completely engulfed in flames rushed out, screaming, and collapsed, rolling on the ground before them.

All the Jiannu turned and fled.

Yang Xin stood against the backdrop of raging fire and thick smoke, smiling as he looked into the distance. Wild Boar Skin’s yellow silk umbrella canopy stood there. With his eyesight, he could faintly see the old man’s bright yellow figure. He raised his hand and waved, as if greeting someone. Immediately, a soldier beside him handed him a Gunpowder Satchel. This fellow raised his arm and threw the satchel with all his might. Trailing smoke from its burning fuse, the satchel flew over thirty meters before exploding above the heads of the routed Jiannu. In the next moment, the smoke and flames carrying countless iron nails slammed down to the ground, like a torrential wave released from a dam, instantly smashing aside countless limbs and bodies on the ground.

Amid the scattered flight of a thousand iron nails, the Jiannu around fell screaming one after another, as if blasted in the face by Grapeshot…

“Wild Boar Skin! I’ll give you a saying: ‘The Old Bear Blocks the Path, How Can a Raccoon Get Past?’!”

Yang Xin arrogantly roared.