Tiger Guards

Chapter 41 Hou Jing conferred the first title
In the morning, the sun has not yet risen.

The outline of the mountains and fields was covered with a layer of green, and Hou Jing climbed up the wall to inspect with red eyes.

The manor has two layers of walls, the outermost one was added after his family became rich through trade during the troubled times.

The earthen wall was four or five feet thick and 145 feet high; on the inside of the wall there was a walkway made of logs, large enough for two people to walk side by side.

Twenty steps away is a wooden arrow tower.

Originally, this was the village where his family had lived for generations, but since the troubled times, the Hou family has occupied it exclusively.

The place is not very good, but there is a small path leading to the south of Purple Mountain.

Since we didn’t want to choose a new location outside, we continued to add to and reinforce it, and it has become what it is today.

"Master, look!"

One of his followers pointed to the hillside west of the manor, and saw a group of bandits on the winding path on the hillside, holding shields above their heads and attacking the beacon tower on the mountain.

The beacon fire on the beacon tower has been extinguished, and the wolf smoke is burning.

The few soldiers stationed at the beacon tower were obviously unable to resist so many bandits.

As Hou Jing was watching, he saw the soldiers in the beacon tower lower the ladder on their own initiative and flee along the ridge before the bandits could climb the mountain.

Zhao Ji did not chase after the fleeing Hou soldiers, but observed the distance from the slope.

He measured with his palm and found that the straight-line distance between him and the west wall of the manor and the arrow tower was about seventy steps. The effective shooting range extended to the left and right, and could suppress a battle line about forty steps wide.

He immediately told Han Shu, "Let's use the wind to release smoke and have Wang Fu and Wei Xing wait for an opportunity to attack. Also, tell Ximen Jian to cooperate with Wang Fu and his men in a feint attack and act when they see me with the flag."

"Yes!"

Han Shu agreed, holding his shield and running down the slope with big strides.

The arrows fired from the western wall and arrow tower were sparse and could not catch up with Han Shu.

The Tiger Guards on the slope had all raised their shields and were crouching with their bows and crossbows in hand. There were only about fifty of them, but they were all skilled archers.

Zhao Ji drew his bow and aimed at a crossbowman who was holding a crossbow and looking at Han Shu. He raised the shooting angle by three points and shot an arrow.

The arrow flew through the air and pierced the opponent's leather armor on his chest.

The surrounding crossbowmen and archers also began to shoot freely, suppressing the west in an instant.

Ximen Jian squatted on the ground at the foot of the slope with a shield in his hand, turning his head from time to time to look to the north, where the wind was blowing.

Soon Wang Fu sent Han Shu away, raised his sword and shouted, "Fire!"

"Trolley!"

Ten Tiger Guards wearing heavy armor slowly pushed the two burning vehicles.

There is no need to push it to the wall, just a dozen steps away will be enough.

Their armor was rather messy, whether it was iron armor or leather armor, they even put on leather clothes that had just been stripped off.

From last night till now, this is the first battle of the Second Village.

Smoke and fire filled the air, and the Hou family troops on the opposite wall started shooting on their own.

Behind the convoy, there were also Tiger Guards holding shields and following, moving forward with their bodies bent, and their tactical movements were very vulgar.

Whenever a Hu Ben soldier pushing the cart was hit by an arrow and his movement was affected, he would immediately step forward to cover himself with a shield and pull the cart backwards.

The flames of the vehicle mixed with wet horse manure grew bigger and bigger, and the Tiger Guards pushing the vehicle retreated under the cover of other shield-bearing companions.

The smoke drifted towards the manor with the wind. Hou's soldiers covered their faces with wet wipes, and most of them were unable to shoot accurately.

Meanwhile, as Han Shu approached on horseback, Wei Xing pointed to the distant hillside to the south. "There are over a hundred men there, few in armor. They must be bandits from the mines. They severely damaged the Hou clan's cavalry last night. Without armor and cavalry, they won't dare approach easily."

Wei Xing paused, then added, "If they dare to come, I will hold them back!"

"understood!"

Han Shu responded, whipped his horse, and headed towards Ximen Jian to the west of the manor.

Another team officer, Yang Ji, had bad luck last night. He missed a step while charging and not only sprained his ankle but also knocked out one of his front teeth.

I fainted from the pain at that time and am still lying in the convoy behind.

When Han Shu was delivering the message to Ximen Jian, he couldn't take a detour, and from time to time, scattered arrows were shot at him.

When he arrived, Ximen Jian saw Wang Fu lighting fires and setting off fireworks, so he started a feint attack, and it was the second feint attack.

Every feint attack could attract some arrows.

When some of the Hou family's soldiers were shooting arrows, they would expose their heads and be shot by powerful crossbows.

At this moment, on the slope, the archers with relatively poor shooting skills have given up killing and are only using whistling arrows to interfere with Hou's troops.

The crossbowmen were divided into groups of three or four, and they sniped the crossbowmen in the three arrow towers.

Unlike them, Zhao Ji is the real sniper.

After a few arrows, he had adapted to the change in altitude, and the Hou family's troops were in great pain. Crouching behind the wall was fine, but even showing his head would attract Zhao Ji's shooting.

Even if you are protected by armor, you will lose your combat effectiveness if hit by an arrow.

When Zhao Ji hung up the second pot of arrows, no archer dared to show up.

The leader of the Hou clan who was supervising the battle was also a human being. If he showed his body even a little, he would be sniped by Zhao Ji.

When supervising the battle lost its meaning, the fighting enthusiasm of Hou's troops dropped significantly.

Hou Jing ignored the main attacking bandits in the north, and when he led the last dozen or so reserve troops to the west, he was immediately sniped and killed by Zhao Ji and a powerful crossbow.

Three of the soldiers were immediately hit by arrows, and the others took shelter behind the wall of the house.

Hou Jing glanced sideways at his nephew who was lying on the ground with an arrow in his face, and his eyes were bloodshot and his expression was painful.

The other party refused to talk to him. Although he knew that the other party was sent by Wei Gu and Pei Xiu to take revenge, he was unable to negotiate terms.

Although he is a powerful person, he is more like a businessman.

There is nothing that cannot be discussed, but faced with such a situation, he is no longer able to make a calm judgment.

The only ones who could really fight were his two younger brothers, but they are both gone.

At this moment, Hou Jing wanted to burn down the warehouse with everything.

But if he dared to set fire to the grain, most of the troops in the manor would be in chaos.

I even regretted not digging a tunnel!
Just as he was catching his breath, Ximen Jian, who had launched the seventh feint attack, had led his team to the bottom of the wall, which was already a blind spot for the enemy's shooting.

Ximen Jian held his shield with his left hand over his head, leaned against the wall, and gasped for breath. He shouted at the wall: "The crime is on the Hou family, and I won't ask about the rest! Shout!"

The thirty or so Tiger Guards leaning against the walls on either side shouted in unison: "The crime is the Hou family's, the rest will not be questioned!"

"The bandits are cunning and brutal, don't trust them!"

There were also Hou family members, relatives, and fellow villagers shouting from within the wall, but they all shouted in unison: "The crime lies with the Hou family, and the rest will not be questioned!"

Seeing the flags waving back and forth on the hillside, Ximen Jian shouted, "Climb the wall!"

A dozen Tiger Guards set up the ladders they brought. The Tiger Guard at the front had lost his mind and climbed up quickly with his left hand while holding a knife in his right hand.

As soon as he showed his head, he saw a man squatting behind the wall and running towards him. He quickly lowered his head. The man stood up, stretched out his arm and slashed at the earth wall with a knife.

Immediately afterwards, the opponent was hit by an arrow in the face and fell backward.

Just as the Tiger Guard came to his senses, his squad leader below him hit his shoulder with a spear and shouted, "Go!"

As he was climbing, a Tiger Guard on a nearby ladder leaped onto the wall and shouted, "I, Zhao Boyang, am the first to reach the top!"

Then he drew out another spare sword, holding a knife in one hand and a sword in the other, jumped down the aisle, and slashed at a Hou soldier who turned around and walked away.

Immediately afterwards, another Tiger Guard climbed over the wall and threw the ring-handled knife in his hand at a member of the Hou family's army without thinking.

He also jumped down and grabbed an iron halberd on the ground.

The third person followed, and more and more Tiger Guards climbed over the wall. Ximen Jian soon climbed up and shouted, "Everyone go back to your homes! Those who stay at home will not be questioned!"

A member of the Hou clan slid down the ladder from a nearby arrow tower and stood there, looking at Ximen Jian at a loss.

Ximen Jian glanced at it and roared, "Go!"

This man turned and ran as if he had been pardoned.

Most of the people around Hou Jing left. He stumbled back to the inner courtyard and wanted to push the door open, but the door was blocked by the concubines and maids inside.

"Bad maid!"

Roaring angrily, Hou Jing looked around for the source of the fire.

At this time, a small group of Tiger Guards came chasing after them, still shouting as they ran: "The crime is on the Hou family, and the rest will not be questioned!"

Upon hearing this, Hou Jing ran to the backyard and hid in the toilet along the corridor.

The pursuing Hu Ben rushed into the backyard and saw a maid opening the window and looking at them. She was so scared that her face turned pale and she was unable to speak.

As these Tiger Guards turned their heads and looked around, several more Tiger Guards rushed in and asked, "Where are the people?"

At this time, a little maid appeared from the window, pointed to the toilet, and quickly lowered the window.

Immediately, these warriors rushed towards the toilet with spears and halberds in front.

In the toilet, Hou Jing shouted, "Wei Zhongjian and I are friends! We know each other very well! I even treated him to a drink and a banquet yesterday! If you can't kill me, let Wei Zhongjian come to see me!"

Several Tiger Guards hesitated for a moment, looking at each other. The sergeant following behind them shouted, "If Gongcao wanted to see him, why would he stay in the convoy? What are you still hesitating about?"

Immediately, the Hu Ben attacked with spears and halberds. Hou Jing pushed his palm to block it and tried his best to hide in the corner, but soon he let out a scream.

These tiger soldiers were a little embarrassed and angry, and stabbed repeatedly.

(End of this chapter)