Chapter 42: Canglang (I)

“Woo—woo-woo—woo!”
The sound of horns was mournful and solemn, evoking images of heroes cutting off their own arms or beauties stabbing themselves in the face. Along with Linghu Chao’s order to attack, several trebuchets and crossbows were pushed forward by squads of fierce warriors, creaking as they headed toward Suiyang City.
The rebel soldiers operated the trebuchets with a thunderous roar. Unlike the sophisticated trebuchets of the Tang army, these were massive siege weapons. With arms over thirty feet long, they housed huge stones in leather pouches at the back. Dozens of rebel soldiers pulled on ropes at the front, using the principle of levers to launch the stones high into the air. These trebuchets had an extremely long range—up to six or seven hundred paces—so Linghu Chao wasn’t worried about capturing the seemingly impregnable Suiyang City. No building, no matter how strong, could stand against such massive trebuchets; the huge stones would crush any obstacle in their path!
Like floods and beasts, the giant trebuchets hurled stones with tremendous force, instantly raising clouds of dust and debris. Dozens of stones soared through the air, and some Tang soldiers behind the battlements couldn’t dodge in time, being smashed to pieces. They didn’t even have time to scream before dying.
Life seemed so fragile in the face of trebuchets. The once invincible generals and ordinary soldiers were no different here—they would all be crushed into flesh in an instant, face death up close, cry, and fear…
Lei Wanchun’s eyes turned red as he roared, “Lie down! All of you, lie down! Use the battlements to protect yourselves, cover your heads with your hands—don’t go outside!”
Although the battlements were dangerous, they created dead angles. With proper use of the terrain, everyone could still avoid risks.
At this moment, every soldier in Suiyang City’s life was extremely precious. Although Lord Zhang Xun had successfully turned rebel general Li Huaizhong against them, adding nearly a thousand armored soldiers to the city, defending against attacks on all four gates at once was still overwhelming.
These young people were at an age when they should be studying, yet they had been forced to defend the city. Even if he couldn’t guarantee that Suiyang City could be held, he couldn’t just watch them die needlessly due to a lack of combat knowledge.
Every life was precious. Even in desperate situations, one must not give up easily!
“Lie down quickly!”

A middle-aged man in military uniform rushed in, forcefully pushing a recruit to the ground and shouting. The recruits, unaware of the danger, stood foolishly at the battlements. The trebuchets were extremely powerful, firing boulders the size of millstones; not to mention human flesh, even the enemy walls would shake from such impacts. Standing there, they were likely to be crushed to pieces on the spot.

“Ah!” At that moment, a massive stone the size of a millstone flew from the battlements, a huge shadow covering the head of the military officer. “Boom!” The stone hit the ground, raising clouds of yellow dust. In that instant, time seemed to stand still. The officer seemed to see his son outside Suiyang City, running toward him with a smile, arms outstretched, calling out, “Dad, hug me!” The smiling face grew larger and closer, only to turn into a demonic grin before his eyes—instantly, a deathly silence spread everywhere.

“No! Captain Zhang! No!” The recruit who had been pushed to the ground screamed heartbreakingly. The officer shouldn’t have been in danger—he was standing right where he had been just a few seconds earlier. It was all his fault; he had caused the officer’s death! If only he had been smarter while defending the city, the officer wouldn’t have died! Blood flowed from the officer’s chest, staining the bluestone slabs and the eyes of every Tang soldier. Even in death, a faint smile remained on his lips…

The recruit cried bitterly as he held the officer’s body. He had never been so afraid of death before. Why? Why was heaven so heartless? Why did good people always die young? Why could the barbarians do as they pleased in Tang territory, in Suiyang? This was their homeland! Why, for doing what was only right—defending their home—had they to suffer such injustice? The blood was crimson, like the flowers of the other shore, so pure in its redness. The recruit seemed to recall every moment he had spent with the officer over the short month they had known each other.

“Bang, bang, bang!” More boulders flew in, shattering the wooden enemy towers. “Get up!” A fire officer immediately grabbed the recruit who clung to the dead officer and shouted, “If you’re a real man, snap out of it! When the rebels attack, you’ll have a chance to kill them!”

“I… I! I’ll avenge the officer! I’ll get revenge!” The young man’s eyes turned blood red, filled with endless hatred. Since heaven was indifferent, treating all things as mere straw dogs, then they would take matters into their own hands and defend the dignity they deserved! “Damn it!”

Lei Wanchun punched the stone wall fiercely, roaring in anger. At this rate, without even the rebels charging, Suiyang City would be reduced to ruins!…
“Pass on my orders: keep beating the drums to encourage combat. Use crossbows for cover while forcing your way up with scaling ladders. Once inside the city, hesitate not—slaughter every Tang soldier there!”
Linghu Chao had now fully resolved to go all out. Initially, he had hoped to win over fierce warriors like Nan Jiyun and Lei Wanchun, but it seemed too risky now. The top priority was to capture Suiyang and prevent Yin Ziqi from gaining any leverage over him.
“Boom, boom, boom!”
The deep, resonant drums of the Yan army sounded again as over two thousand rebel soldiers charged forward with shouts. Some carried several zhang tall scaling ladders, while others wielded large shields and swords. Under the cover of crossbows, they stormed toward the northern part of Suiyang City.
Though skilled in horseback riding, the rebels were not adept at craftsmanship. These crossbows were also made by Tang army craftsmen. Although their power might not match those used by the Tang army, they were sufficient for emergency use….
The rebels’ scaling ladders were also modeled after those of the Tang Dynasty—“a large wooden frame with six wheels at the bottom.”
These ladders were not only lightweight and easy to carry but could also be adjusted in height according to the specific walls. The various ethnic groups in Yan region were naturally brave, especially the Khitans, Tongluos, and Turks. With such ladders, they felt even more empowered, filled with fighting spirit, eager to storm into Suiyang and kill every enemy inside!
“Charge ahead and kill them all! Once inside, there are endless treasures and countless beauties in Suiyang City. Those will all be yours!”
A rebel officer shouted loudly. War unleashed the beast within him, and the temptation of wealth drove him almost to madness. Even if Suiyang didn’t have those things he mentioned, so what?
It was understandable to use promises of gold, silver, and women to motivate soldiers on the battlefield. Besides, after capturing the city, General Yin would surely ask the emperor for generous rewards—wouldn’t those be more abundant than whatever they could loot?