Chapter 1640: Assault on the City, Execution Wine

Chapter 1640: Chapter 1640: Assault on the City, Execution Wine

"Wha- what?" General Dai was terrified upon hearing this and begged, "General Luo, I’m also a general, capable of leading troops into battle. Instead of holding me back, let me lead the troops against the Rong people; this way, Xing’an Prefecture can be rescued quicker."

Luo Ying laughed, "Ha, sending a useless person like you to fight will only cause Xing’an Prefecture to fall sooner! Don’t waste my time. If you dare to speak again, I’ll kill you immediately."

Upon hearing this, General Dai was too scared to speak further.

But Duan Changling was not afraid; he knew as long as Luo Ying had a request, Dai would not die.

Duan Changling simply couldn’t understand, "Why is General Luo forcing us to aid Xing’an Prefecture? Whether Xing’an Prefecture falls or not should have nothing to do with General Luo."

This question struck exactly at Luo Ying’s motives.

Duan Changling had some knack for war but was not exceedingly intelligent. If he were Xu You, even with such a question, he’d never ask it directly, but rather send someone to inquire secretly, to find out why Luo Ying was forcing them to rescue Xing’an Prefecture. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

Luo Ying, "The court indeed wrongs the Luo Family, but the Luo Family must honor our ancestors. The Northwest is terrain left by our ancestors; Luo descendants cannot stand by and watch these lands fall into the hands of Rong bandits!"

Duan Changling laughed, "General Luo, I’ve been around for decades. While what you say is righteous, it doesn’t seem sufficient, does it? Surely, you must have some personal motives?"

Forcing them to rescue Xing’an Prefecture just on this account was too sanctimonious.

Luo Ying sneered, "You, someone without righteousness, naturally don’t care about ancestral lands, but the blood of the Luo descendants runs strong; we would never allow Rong bandits to seize a piece of land left by our ancestors!"

It was one truth Luo Ying spoke, and yet Duan Changling didn’t believe him.

Lord Ghost timely remarked, "Eagle Food Gang’s main base is in the Northwest, and the Northwest has already lost three prefectures. If Xing’an Prefecture is also lost, the complete occupation of the Northwest isn’t far off. Eagle Food Gang must preserve their influence in the Northwest, and therefore can’t let the Rong people continue conquering Great Chu’s prefectures."

Defending ancestral lands was righteous, but Duan Changling did not believe it.

However, if it was to preserve Eagle Food Gang’s influence in the Northwest, then Duan Changling believed it wholeheartedly.

After all, Duan Changling was selfish; he thought others were selfish too, and if the Northwest were conquered by the Rong people, Eagle Food Gang would find it difficult to continue surviving there.

As soon as the Northwest fell, within half a year, Eagle Food Gang would be eradicated by the Rong people.

"Alright, I agree, I’ll immediately lead troops to aid Xing’an Prefecture." Duan Changling agreed upon receiving the answer he wanted, then said to General Dai, "Brother Dai, don’t worry, you aren’t in any danger."

What does this mean?

"Aren’t you taking me with you?!" General Dai was afraid; he didn’t want to stay with this gang of fierce bandits.

He heard from his uncle that because Luo Ying came from a good background and had served as the Vanguard General of the Northwest Army, he was extremely arrogant and stank of bad temper. General Dai was really afraid that if Luo Ying wasn’t pleased, he’d be killed.

Luo Ying laughed, "Relax, we’ll take you to Xing’an Prefecture. If you don’t come along, some people might dawdle, and probably won’t arrive until the city has fallen."

These words were meant for Duan Changling.

Duan Changling listened, his expression unchanged, but inwardly he was disheartened; this Luo Ying was indeed not one to be fooled, and it seemed he genuinely intended to confront the Rong people in a fight.

"Beat the drum and gather troops; we depart in three quarters of an hour!" Duan Changling ordered.

Luo Ying didn’t agree, cursing, "What kind of troops are you leading? Gathering troops needs three-quarters of an hour? Are you giving birth? Depart in one quarter of an hour; anyone who delays will be executed!"

Duan Changling had no choice but to change the order.

Thud, thud, thud!

In an instant, the drum sounded, and upon hearing the call to gather, soldiers from the two camps quickly assembled.

But these troops couldn’t compare to the previous Northwest Army, as it took more than a quarter of an hour to gather the troops and horses, ready to set out.

Late departure was trivial, but their marching speed was slow, causing Luo Ying to become furious, only after beheading in public a batch of the slowest soldiers did the others become terrified, risking their lives to rush to Xing’an Prefecture.

Yet Luo Ying was still dissatisfied, fearing Xing’an Prefecture would be besieged by the Rong people. He left Lord Ghost with half the fierce bandits from Eagle Food Gang to push Duan Changling and his troops forward, while he led Pang Hai and half the fierce bandits from Eagle Food Gang to hurry ahead.

As fate would have it, they ran into Tuogude who came to help, resulting in a clash that led to the encounter with Qin San Lang.

...

Bang, bang, bang!

The Rong soldiers in the center had reacted, pushing catapults and using fire stones to strike the flanking reinforcements.

As the fire stones fell, many soldiers on Duan Changling’s side were killed or wounded.

"General, the Rong people are counterattacking. Their stones are bigger than ours; we have suffered many casualties. What should we do? Should we retreat first?" Troop Commander Fang rode to Duan Changling’s side to ask his intentions.

Two slaps, Mr. Chi’s spear struck Troop Commander Fang, cursing, "Afraid of two hits from the Rong people’s fire stones and wanting to retreat? Keep advancing, and anyone daring to retreat will be shot by Eagle Food Gang!"

He then turned to Duan Changling, warning, "And your family. If Eagle Food Gang loses its Northwest base because of you, its fierce bandits will raid your home and chop up your entire family and clan to feed the dogs!"

Duan Changling’s face turned dark; damn, this battle was frustratingly hopeless; both advancing and retreating were impossible.

"Continue using catapults to clear the way!" Duan Changling issued the military order.

"Yes!" Troop Commander Fang could only continue as commanded.

...

The reinforcement on the right was led by Lord Ghost, still using catapults to clear the way.

However, a brother reported, "Lord Ghost, the siege cones of the Rong soldiers are at the city gate. Judging by the situation, by the time we reach the center, the Rong soldiers may have breached the city gate."

Lord Ghost frowned upon hearing this and asked, "What’s the situation with Lord Ying?"

A brother from Eagle Food Gang replied, "There’s still no movement from Leimuqin; Lord Ying and his men likely haven’t acted."

If Lord Ying were to besiege Leimuqin’s royal chariot, the Rong soldiers would be thrown into chaos, but currently, Leimuqin was still safely standing atop the royal chariot directing the Rong soldiers to attack the city.

Upon hearing this, Lord Ghost shouted, "Ma Da, lead three batches of brothers across Huhe City, go to the city gate, and kill those Rong soldiers attacking the gate."

He then said, "Bring up the good wine, let’s see off Ma Da and his men!"

This was a risky move; the three batches of brothers led by Ma Da might die at the city gate.

This farewell wine was also their execution wine.

But Ma Da and his brothers did not show any fear, saying, "Understood!"

He then called to the three batches of brothers behind him, "Brothers, drink up. If we return, we’ll drink on the ground; if we don’t, we’ll drink below ground. Anyway, Xing’an Prefecture is ours; it cannot be trampled by the Rong bandits!"

"Roar!" The three batches of brothers roared loudly, drank the prepared strong wine, grabbed their gear, and charged toward the city gate under siege.