The Korean sailor army advanced with their fine armor, their presence imposing. The city walls before them offered little more resistance than a pile of dry brush that could be knocked over with a single push.
"Form ranks!"
"Attack!"
"Charge!"
"Go!"
The crossbowmen's formations advanced steadily, one regiment after another, their banners fluttering like a tempestuous tide on the sea.
The immense pressure caused the hands of the frontline defenders on Taihai City's walls, gripping their weapons, to tremble slightly. Sweat trickled down their foreheads.
"Hold steady, all of you! Those who flee die!"
Liu Donglai, a Grand Governor of the second rank, his gaze sharp, forcibly suppressed the fear in his heart. The Wu army's interlocking formations halted about three hundred meters in front of Taihai City, their battle flags flying, their morale soaring.
Engaging in a ranged battle with the archers of the Korean navy, the undisputed masters of the sea, was undoubtedly the most terrifying prospect in this world.
...
The effective range of ordinary longbowmen of the Wei Empire typically fell between 180 and 200 meters. With a tailwind, this could extend to around 245 meters.
However, the Wu army's powerful bows and heavy crossbows, honed through countless naval battles and countless improvements incorporating experience from various overseas nations, possessed a minimum range of at least 280 meters.
With a tailwind, this terrifying range could extend to around 320 meters.
Do not underestimate the difference of a mere few dozen meters in range. In the era of cold weapons, this could decide the outcome of a war, determining the life and death of soldiers on both sides.
Tonight, as the cold wind whipped against his face, Liu Donglai's heart was filled with a chilling dread. The enemy had the wind in their favor!
On the fronts of heaven's timing and human harmony, they were completely outmatched. Their side held only the advantage of terrain.
When opposing forces unleashed a volley of arrows simultaneously, it was inevitable that their own soldiers would fall.
...
Yet, this was a battle for survival. No one could choose to retreat, nor would they be allowed to. Not even he was an exception!
"Nock arrows!" Rows of Korean soldiers lined up in a single formation, raising their heavy bows and formidable crossbows, aiming them precisely in one direction.
"Fire!"
At the command, countless arrows, like a swarm of locusts, filled the sky in an instant.
The cold glint of arrows sliced through the pale white sky. *Pa! Pa! Pa-pa!* They rained down in dense volleys, the vast majority striking the city walls.
Ah! Ah! Ah!
Splashes of crimson blood sprayed upwards, reaching half a zhang into the air. A bloody mist drifted down, dyeing the city red.
The city walls were now piled high with countless corpses, blocking the pathways. Perhaps in the future, someone would discover this city with mountains of bones and a scene of utter carnage, with not a single soul left alive within its walls.
Beneath the city, the shouts of battle were deafening...
Tens of thousands of soldiers had completely encircled the thick, solid city walls, rendering escape impossible. High siege ladders were erected against all four walls.
Countless soldiers scrambled upwards, shielded by a dense rain of arrows from powerful bows and crossbows, raising their shields and moving like apes, their limbs nimble as they ascended rapidly.
Rolling stones and logs rained down from the city walls, along with boiling oil, as if they were inexhaustible. Soldiers on the siege ladders, unable to evade, let out piercing screams as they were struck, falling like dumplings.
There were also warriors of formidable strength, steel blades in hand and faces contorted in savagery, who leaped onto the walls and, in a single breath, severed five heads.
However, they were immediately riddled with hundreds of arrows and fell to the ground, dead.
*Whew, whew, whew...*
Han Han stood silently on a war chariot at the rear of the formation. The sea breeze, blowing through the nearby trees, emitted a mournful sigh.
The stench of blood filled his nostrils. The city wall bricks had long since been replaced by the red of blood...
The bloody scene before him, the constant screams, reminded him of his own unbearable past. He had been the child of a destitute fisherman, and later his entire family was massacred by pirates. He was left with no one to rely on.
In those days, he had been utterly miserable, so despairing that he had almost taken his own life.
Everything changed the first time he tremblingly took a life. Different choices led to different outcomes.
No one knew what would happen in the next second; the future was constantly in flux.
Who could have imagined that a mere orphan from those days would become the King of Han, a formidable figure of the present?
As time wore on, the tide of the battle began to turn.
The remaining defenders were driven back relentlessly. The Korean army surged forward, their weapons hacking without mercy.
The bodies of the defending soldiers fell, blood splattered, and screams continued. The frontline showed a clear one-sided trend.
The fierce sounds of combat erupted as if ignited in an instant.
Faced with the experienced and ruthless Korean soldiers, the desperate resistance of Taihai City's troops was barely holding on. After a mere half hour, it was nearing collapse.
Cold light flashed across the battlefield, blood splashed everywhere. Countless swords and blades chopped, and spears thrust. Taihai City's remaining defenders fell like wheat, patch by patch.
Meanwhile.
Liu Donglai, the Grand Governor of the second rank, slowly pushed away the two adjutants who were trying to drag him away to escape.
At this moment, looking at the wolf-like Korean soldiers outside the city, he said calmly but with undeniable authority, "Our only option now is to fight to the death. As a Grand Governor of the Empire, there has never been a precedent for abandoning a city and fleeing, and I am no exception."
"Moreover, everyone in Taihai City, from top to bottom, has been surrounded by the enemy. We cannot escape even if we wanted to. Surrendering now is too late."
"Today, even if I am outnumbered and fall here, before I die, I will not fail the honor of being a Grand Governor of the Empire!"
The civil and military officials gathered around Liu Donglai heard his words and put aside their selfish thoughts.
Indeed, the entire city would be massacred! If hundreds of thousands couldn't escape, how could a few of them get away?
However, though their spirit of disregarding life and death was commendable, it was ultimately futile. Courage alone could not defend the city.
...
Just then, Liu Donglai suddenly noticed a strange phenomenon. The panicked residents of the city, darting about like headless flies, were all old, weak, ill, or disabled.
Strong adult males were rare, as if they had vanished into thin air. This was highly unusual.
As Liu Donglai was pondering this in confusion, thousands of adult men, dressed in civilian clothes and carrying shovels and spades, advanced openly from the direction he was facing.
The military officers surrounding Liu Donglai were, naturally, not fools. They immediately raised their swords and spears, pointing them at these civilians.
The first dozen or so young men, dressed in more respectable attire, representatives of noble families, suddenly raised their hands high. They held no weapons.
One young man wearing a jade pendant shouted loudly, "We are our own people, our own people! Don't be alarmed. Is that Lord Liu Donglai, the Grand Governor of the second rank, ahead? We are the citizens of Taihai City. We heard that enemies have invaded, so we have gathered to obey orders and defend against the foreign invaders."
Upon hearing this, the military officers' spirits relaxed. They lowered their swords and spears, a hint of joy appearing on their faces.
In such dire circumstances, adding this new force was like receiving charcoal in the winter snow. They were all immensely pleased.
With thousands of able-bodied men present, perhaps they still had a slim chance of survival.
Liu Donglai, however, frowned and shouted, "How many of you are there? Who organized you? Why are you here? Stop!"
The military officers around him startled. They hastily raised their swords and spears again, but it was already too late.
"We can't help it, my lord, don't blame us. We just want to live. Attack."
Song Zhongxing, a patriarch of a noble family, walked at the forefront. Behind him, over a hundred hunters holding wooden bows and with arrows nocked, simultaneously released their bowstrings, sending over a hundred arrows flying.
Caught completely by surprise, over a dozen civil and military officials died under the hail of arrows. The remaining officials who miraculously survived also fell to the ground, suffering injuries of varying severity.
...
Seeing this, the sturdy men bound the surviving civil and military officials. Naturally, the most important target was the Grand Governor of the second rank, Liu Donglai.
Bound, Liu Donglai looked at the strong men dressed in civilian clothes around him. He was momentarily stunned, then, after a long sigh, he said, "It's all for survival. That's true; in this world, how many people are there who are not afraid of death?"
...
Half an hour later, Song Zhongxing brought Liu Donglai and his party before the war chariot of King Han, Han Han.
Song Zhongxing's face was plastered with a fawning smile as he spoke with extreme subservience, "Your Majesty, we have abandoned the darkness and embraced the light, and have apprehended all the civil and military officials of Taihai City. Can you spare us, the common people of this city?"
The officers in front of Han Han's chariot burst into a chorus of laughter, looking at these people with immense mockery.
Han Han looked at them with contempt, his gaze like sharp swords, sweeping over their faces one by one.
After a cold snort, he said, "Hmph, when did I ever promise you that I would spare you after you captured these civil and military officials?"
"Taihai City was already mine for the taking. Why would I need to resort to such despicable means to tarnish the name of a king!"
"Moreover, my soldiers risked their lives to take this city. If I don't slaughter the city and vent their fury, how can I explain myself to my soldiers."
"Your Majesty, what… what do you mean by this?"
Upon hearing Han Han's words, Song Zhongxing's face turned ashen. Coupled with the mocking laughter of the surrounding officers, he and the other leading patriarchs became uneasy.
But he still asked, stubbornly unwilling to give up.
Han Han felt no goodwill towards these individuals who would betray their own officials for their own survival, and he felt immense disdain.
Too lazy to waste words with them, Han Han gestured to his officers.
These officers, with sinister smiles, drew their swords and sabers. Cold light gleamed on their blades.
The smiles on Song Zhongxing's and the leading patriarchs' faces instantly froze.
So, they had gone to a lot of trouble for nothing. Regardless, these people were still going to kill them.
At this moment, they were both shocked and enraged. They could no longer restrain themselves and shouted fiercely, "You… you beasts, I'll fight you to the death!"
Saying this, these men lunged at Han Han.
(New book is being updated, please collect, please vote for recommendations, please forward, click more, thank you friends. Your support is my motivation and the source of my writing mood!)