xymnovel Chapter 100 The Taiping Army has arrived, and the heavens have come!
Chapter 100 The Taiping Army has arrived, and the heavens have come!
Li Sheng stood on the city wall, covered in blood. He looked around and saw the bodies of the defenders lying haphazardly on the wall. The survivors had dropped their weapons and were crouching in the corners with their heads in their hands.
"Leave fifty men to guard the city walls; the rest of you follow me down the wall!"
He led his men down the ramparts inside the city wall and charged straight towards the south gate of the barbican.
Inside the city gate, the guards were trying to close it.
The heavy city gate had already been pushed halfway up, and a dozen or so guards were pushing the gate shut, trying to close it. Once the gate was closed and the bolts were down, it would take even more effort to break it open again.
"quick!"
Li Sheng quickened his pace, rushed down the horse path, and slashed down the nearest guard with a single stroke.
The soldiers behind him swarmed forward, unleashing a barrage of swords and spears, and the defenders inside the city gate were instantly cut down in droves.
But the city gates continued to close.
Li Sheng dropped his ring-pommel sword, braced himself against the door with both hands, and exerted a sudden burst of strength.
The heavy city gate creaked gratingly in his hands, yet he managed to hold it up all by himself.
"Beat the log! Quickly!"
Several auxiliary soldiers rushed up carrying battering rams and slammed them against the door.
"boom--!"
The city gate was forced open a crack.
"Hit it again!"
"boom!"
The door was flung open, and the guards behind it were sent flying.
Outside the city, the main force of the Taiping army had already pressed to the city gate. Seeing the city gate wide open, they immediately surged in like a tide.
Xiaxiang County fell.
From the moment the first ladder was erected on the city wall to the moment the city gate was breached, less than half an hour passed.
As dawn broke, Li Sheng was already standing at the south gate of Xiaxiang County.
He gazed calmly at the streets and alleys of the city.
"Liu Wu, take your brothers and follow me straight to the county government! Pass down the order: follow the rules of Xiapi. Do not disturb the people, do not rape women, and do not take property without permission. Anyone who violates this rule will be executed."
"promise!"
Liu Wu was covered in blood, but he was in high spirits and accepted the order with clasped hands.
Inside the city, the shouts of the Taiping Army had begun to echo through the streets and alleys.
"When the Taiping army enters the city, they will not disturb the people, take their property, or rape women! Every household can live in peace; there is no need to keep doors and windows tightly closed, or hide in the streets and alleys!"
"The Taiping Army acts on behalf of Heaven, punishing only wicked villains and sparing civilians!"
The sound of gongs, accompanied by shouts, spread from the city gates into the city.
The people of Xiaxiang County looked out through the cracks in the door and saw soldiers in full armor, marching in an orderly fashion. There was no smashing of the door or looting.
They had never seen a team like this before.
Someone recognized the character "Li" on the flag.
"Is it...is it the Taiping Army from Xiapi?"
"That Taiping Army led by Li Tianwang?"
The news spread like wildfire throughout the city.
The people who were initially trembling with fear gradually began to open their doors and peek out.
Meanwhile, the county government office was in complete chaos.
The back hall of the county government office.
County Magistrate Wu Hong was awakened by a series of urgent knocks on the door.
He went to bed late last night, dealt with official business all day, and drank with the county magistrate until midnight. He was having a hazy dream.
The sound of banging on the door startled him so much that he sprang up from the couch, nearly rolling to the floor.
"What is it?"
"The county... the county magistrate!"
A trembling voice came from outside the door, as if someone was choking him.
"Bandits...bandits have entered the city!"
Wu Hong thought he had misheard.
"What did you say?"
"The bandits have entered the city! The south gate has fallen, and they are advancing into the city!"
Wu Hong's head exploded with a "buzz," and he instantly sobered up by 90%.
He didn't even bother to put on his outer robe, rushed barefoot to the door, and yanked it open.
The county constable stood outside the door, his face ashen and his whole body trembling.
"Where are the bandits? Which side are they from?"
Wu Hong's voice was sharp and anxious.
"Where are the scouts and sentries outside the city? How did they get to the city walls?"
The county magistrate's lips trembled for a long time before he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence.
"I...I don't know. The sentries kept reporting that everything was fine, the last report came back yesterday, saying that everything outside the city was normal. Who knew that before dawn today, the bandits had already seized the city gates..."
"Bullshit!"
Wu Hong started cursing.
"Ridiculous! Everything seems normal? How could the bandits have sneaked up to the city walls so silently? What were those scouts doing? Were they all fast asleep?"
His voice even changed tone.
"How many men? Where did these bandits come from?"
"At least...at least two or three thousand, maybe more. It was still dark, so we couldn't see clearly. We could only hear the bandits shouting, 'The Blue Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven shall rise!'"
"Could they be the Yellow Turban Rebels?"
Wu Hong frowned, his mind racing. If bandits from Xiapi Kingdom were to infiltrate his Xiaxiang, it wouldn't be a major concern; he could still launch a counterattack.
Just as he was pondering this, the gate of the county government office was suddenly pushed open, and a guard covered in blood stumbled in and collapsed in front of the steps.
"Magistrate! The city walls have all fallen! The bandits have entered the city; they've captured both the south and west gates!"
The county magistrate's face was as white as paper.
"Magistrate, hurry! It'll be too late if you delay any longer!!"
Before he could finish speaking, a stray arrow flew in from outside the courtyard wall, grazing his scalp before embedding itself in a pillar behind him, its fletching humming.
The county constable's legs went weak, and he almost knelt on the ground.
Wu Hong finally regained full consciousness.
He turned and rushed back into the house, grabbed his outer robe and haphazardly put it on, then pulled the official seal from under his pillow and stuffed it into his pocket.
"Let's go! Quickly, let's go through the north gate!"
He gritted his teeth and said.
"Which bandits are these, so ferocious?"
The county constable was too frightened to speak, but the guard next to him, covered in blood, answered tremblingly.
"The magistrate...they seemed to shout...and say something else..."
"What?"
"To vanquish the greatest scourges upon the world and establish a peaceful and prosperous realm!"
Wu Hong suddenly stopped in his tracks.
He slowly turned his head, his eyes wide open.
"What did you say? Peace and tranquility?!"
The news about Xiapi County had reached Xiaxiang more than ten days ago.
The village head named Li Sheng led a group of peasants in a mutiny, killed the county magistrate and the military commander, occupied the county town, and divided up the land.
When the news arrived, Wu Hong even made a few sarcastic remarks to the county magistrate, saying that the local strongmen in Xiapi County were incompetent and couldn't even handle a mere gang of bandits.
But later, more and more news came in.
Li Sheng distributed land, registered households, and opened granaries to distribute grain. The Taiping Army gathered refugees and expanded its army by several thousand.
The local strongmen of Xiapi County dared not resist and were directly suppressed by the Taiping Army.
Wu Hong could no longer laugh.
Therefore, he had already taken precautions and ordered the increase of scouts, the training of soldiers, and the intensification of the suppression of the refugees.
Unexpectedly, the Taiping army arrived...
"It wasn't the Yellow Turbans, it was the Taiping Army..."
Wu Hong muttered to himself, the fear in his voice even stronger than before.
Without further hesitation, he mounted his horse and, with a few close followers, fled hastily through the north gate.
Behind them, Xiaxiang County had completely fallen into the hands of the Taiping Army.
The people in the city watched as the well-armored soldiers marched through the streets and alleys without looting, killing, or even uttering curses.
Someone tentatively opened the door and peeked outside.
The Taiping soldiers on the street smiled at him and said something.
"Fellow villagers, don't be afraid. The Taiping Army has come, and with it peace and tranquility! You will all have a clear sky to live under!"