Chapter 39: Forgetting Greed (6)

Under Linghu Chao’s strict orders, the rebels divided into four columns and advanced toward Suiyang City. The first and second battalions immediately set up ladders against the city walls. Accompanied by the rapid beats of drums, they swiftly climbed up the ladders. Perhaps due to the exhaustion of the stones and logs used for defense, or maybe because the defenders to the north were overwhelmed, only a few stray arrows were shot down from the walls, failing to cause any real damage to the rebels.

Seeing that the Tang forces had no effective countermeasures, the barbarian soldiers believed victory was within reach and accelerated their ascent. General Linghu Chao had promised a reward of a thousand taels of gold and three ranks of promotion for whoever first breached the city walls!

This was an extremely tempting offer. The soldiers, who had suffered in the ranks for years without any promotion, became eager to break into Suiyang first and claim the glory for themselves. The Tang troops inside Suiyang were like meat on a chopping board, ready to be slaughtered. If they lacked the courage to fight, how could they hope to achieve fame?

One step, two steps, three steps… The rebel soldiers allowed arrows to whiz past their temples without hesitation.

Four steps, five steps, six steps… They watched their comrades fall from the walls without a trace of pity. All they saw were glory and the tempting rewards!

A thousand taels of gold and three ranks of promotion for whoever first took the city!

Greedful glances flashed in the rebels’ eyes—titles, gold, and silver could all be obtained by taking the heads of the Tang people!

Foot by foot, they drew closer and closer to the Tang troops on the walls!

“Pfft! Pfft!”

The arrows from the Tang side suddenly became more frequent. Those damned sheeplings had been hiding their strength!

At that moment, the Tang forces, who had built up their strength for a long time, launched a fierce attack, firing arrows in dense waves from the battlements.

“Pfft! Pfft!”

The arrows pierced flesh with dull thuds, and more and more comrades fell from the ladders, torn to pieces.

“Sss!”

For the first time, the rebels climbing the ladders felt fear. Death seemed so close—just a slight mistake could make them another victim of the Tang people’s fury.

“Swish! Swish! Swish!”

The arrows grew even denser, pressing the rebels to the ground. They barely managed to pull out wooden shields to protect themselves as they endured the relentless barrage from the Tang forces above.

This was the anger suppressed for nearly ten months—a hatred between two nations.

The rebels could feel the anger carried in the feathered arrows and were momentarily at a loss as to what to do. Should they continue climbing? Or wait for the Tang forces to finish their barrage? The outcome of life and death often hinges in an instant. While these barbarian soldiers hesitated, the Tang forces suddenly dropped nail slams from the top of the north city wall. Many rebels had seen the power of these devices before and cried out in horror.

But it was too late. The nail slams, embedded with countless iron nails, crashed down with tremendous force, crushing dozens of barbarian soldiers into a mass of flesh.

“Sss!”
Those who narrowly escaped death took a deep breath before continuing to charge at the rebels on the wall. At this point, there was little chance of retreating. Rather than being beheaded by the military officers, they chose to hold their ground and keep climbing!

Since they weren’t among those who died, it meant that the Eternal Heaven had chosen them as its instruments to ascend the walls of Suiyang and put an end to the heinous crimes committed by the Tang forces. It had to be that way—they were the chosen instruments of the Eternal Heaven, born to end evil!

“Forward, forward, forward!”
The sound of drums outside the city declared.

“Kill, kill, kill!”
The sound of hammers below the city declared.

“Break, break, break!”
The Eternal Heaven declared.

These rebels seemed to suddenly gain courage and fighting spirit, braving the hail of arrows as they climbed step by step toward the wall. Continuously, some were struck by multiple arrows and fell, but the rebels turned a blind eye and kept climbing. They were the instruments chosen by the Eternal Heaven, bearing its mandate!

…On the top of the north city wall of Suiyang, the battlements were filled with wounded Tang soldiers. Even the newest recruits who had joined the defense force after over ten months of fighting now bore at least several wounds. Some wounds had become infected and suppurated due to lack of timely treatment, oozing yellow fluid.

All the soldiers had vacant eyes. They mechanically drew their bows, loosed their arrows, and sent them flying. They had no idea nor cared how effective those arrows were. After all, death was inevitable—sooner or later their arrows would run out, and sooner or later the rebels would climb the walls and kill everyone inside. Since fate was already decided, what good was resisting?

No reinforcements from the imperial court would come; they had only death ahead!

“General Lei, what do we do? They’ve climbed up, they’ve climbed up!”

A Tang general’s deputy, seeing the rebels approaching the city walls ever closer, broke into cold sweat. The stones and logs had long been used up, and the last supply of feather arrows had also run out after the previous barrage. He had no defensive weapons left at all. If the rebels managed to climb onto the walls, his forces would surely be no match for them!

“What’s there to fear? Isn’t this general here?”
Lei Wanchun glared at the deputy and declared loudly, “Pass my order: all troops must put down their bows and crossbows and prepare to face the enemy!”

“Ah, ah,” the deputy nodded repeatedly. “General Lei orders that all troops put down their bows and crossbows and prepare to face the enemy!”

“General Lei orders that all troops put down their bows and crossbows and prepare to face the enemy!”…

A Hu soldier was only a foot away from the wall. He took a deep breath to gather his strength, then leaped onto the wall. As soon as he tried to move forward, the Hu soldier drew his sword to attack.

But what met him was not a group of weaklings unable to wield weapons, but a group of Tang soldiers armed with spears and faces filled with fury.

“Ah!”

The Hu soldier was instantly terrified and had no desire to fight. He turned around and ran away.

“Kill them!”
Lei Wanchun swung his sword decisively and gave a cold order.

Dozens of spears were thrust out at once, turning the Hu soldier into a sieve. Bright red blood flowed from his wounds, splashing all over the ground.

“Huh!”

The soldiers together threw the dead Hu soldier away. His body landed right on top of the rebels trying to climb the wall, knocking several of them off.

“Fellow soldiers, fight them! Kill one, gain one; kill two, gain a pair!”

Lei Wanchun raised his sword high and shouted fiercely. Even if they couldn’t escape Suiyang alive, they wouldn’t let the rebels succeed so easily.

“Fight them! Fight these Hu invaders! Follow General Lei! Follow General Lei!”

The officers all raised their swords in response, creating an atmosphere of fierce determination.

“Damn them! Kill one if they come, kill two if they come in pairs! Damn them!”

“Kill, kill, kill!”

Nearly a hundred silver spears blocked the north gate. Whenever rebels tried to climb the wall, they were fiercely pushed back by the Tang soldiers.

As long as there was one man left in Suiyang, the Hu invaders would never be able to set foot on the purest land of the Tang Dynasty!…

Meanwhile, the rebels from the third and fourth battalions had already climbed the east and west walls, engaging in fierce battles with the Tang soldiers there.

On the city walls of Dongcheng, the soldiers armed with halberds, led by Nan Jiyun, faced enemies several times their number without fear. Time and again they swung their blades, cutting the barbarians who dared to threaten the dignity of the Tang Dynasty into bloody pieces.
Those who defy the might of the Tang Dynasty shall be killed without mercy!
They defended the dignity of a Tangman with their actions. “Forward!”
Nan Jiyun raised his heavy halberd high and swung it at a Turk wielding a curved sword. The halberd pierced through his shoulder blade and emerged from his left side.
“Ugh!”
“Ugh!”
Intestines and internal organs spilled out across the Turk’s belly, and he died instantly from the blow.
“Forward!”
The halberds slashed and chopped relentlessly. In little time, the more than 200 halberd soldiers cleared the barbarian troops ahead, leaving pools of blood and flesh at their feet.
The once noisy city walls fell silent. The rebel soldiers instinctively stepped back, keeping a distance of over ten steps from the halberd soldiers. Many of them were death warriors trained by An Lushan, unafraid of death on the battlefield, but now they were terrified of those halberds gleaming with a sinister silver light.
There could truly be such terrifying weapons in the world, capable of splitting a person in an instant.
“Forward!”
Nan Jiyun refused to give these barbarian troops even a moment’s respite and issued another order—every rebel on these city walls must die; anyone who dared to threaten the dignity of the Tang Dynasty must die.
Hundreds of halberds were raised high and swung forward with a whooshing sound.
“Ah!”
“Ah!”
The experience was utterly terrifying. The rebel soldiers threw down their weapons and ran in the opposite direction, covering their heads.
The already cramped city walls became even more crowded. Many rebel soldiers were pushed off the walls by their comrades, breaking to pieces, while others met their end under the deadly halberds.