New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

Upon learning that the Jin army had regrouped outside the city, Tang Qian was not surprised at all.

As Tang Qian walked out of Yan Xier's room, he reached out and gave her a gentle pat on the head: "If you can't bear to face your clansmen outside the city, you don't have to go to the city tower."

Without a trace of sadness, Yan Xier's expression was very stubborn: "They are all your wives, so naturally I will be wherever Yingluo and Qingmiao are."

After leaving the Qiu family compound and boarding a carriage to the North Gate tower, Tang Qian glanced down and a meaningful smile appeared on his lips: "Our opponent is indeed worthy of being the Grand Marshal of the Jin Kingdom, who has fought for more than 20 years and has rich experience in commanding battles. After only a small-scale battle, he has already figured out a way to break through our city defenses."

Ye Zhao's expression was somewhat solemn. He could see that the enemy's formation today was completely different from yesterday's. In fact, it could be said that the Jin army had not set up any battle formation at all. The army of more than 20,000 men was scattered in a mess, almost covering every corner of the battlefield in front of him.

"They've learned firsthand how terrifying explosives can be, and they've scattered all their soldiers to minimize casualties from the explosion?"

“That’s right.” Tang Qian crossed his arms and nodded slightly. “Yesterday, the enemy troops were all gathered in one place, so the destructive power of the explosion was naturally multiplied. Wanyan Xie did the same thing. First, he wanted to reduce casualties. Second, he wanted to deplete our resources. As for the third, he wanted to stretch the battle line. If even one part of the city wall is breached, we won’t be able to hold it.”

Hearing Tang Qian say this, Ye Zhao not only had no worries, but instead showed admiration: "This Jin army commander is indeed difficult to deal with. He was defeated and routed yesterday, but he was able to regroup in just one night and came up with an effective battle plan, which shows his leadership ability and prestige."

Then, the two turned their heads and looked at each other, revealing a wicked smile full of mockery: "Unfortunately, he still can't know himself and his enemy."

If Wanyan Xie could also see this scene on the city wall, he would definitely beat those two brats so badly that even their parents wouldn't recognize them. But there are no "ifs" in this world. At this moment, Wanyan Xie was also looking at the battlefield with great ambition, where the corpses of countless soldiers from yesterday's battle still remained. His eyes were full of angry flames, and his hands were clenched into fists, making his knuckles crack.

Just wait, Tang Qian, today is the day you pay for your blood debt. Seeing that the army of nearly 30,000 men had all scattered, the time to avenge his comrades had come. Wanyan Xie also drew his long sword from his waist and pointed it diagonally at the top of Guangling City in front of him: "Pass on my order, attack."

As the bugle call sounded, the swordsmen and shieldmen at the forefront began to run at full speed, followed closely by pairs of Jin soldiers carrying siege ladders, while archers brought up the rear to cover the slow advance of the various siege weapons toward their designated positions.

After yesterday's battle, the surviving Jin soldiers had learned from experience that packages thrown from the walls of Guangling would explode, so they had to stay far away. If a package landed near them, they should lie down immediately. By doing so, the chances of being hit by the flying nails and pieces of iron that accompanied the explosion would be greatly reduced. So, every new weapon has its drawbacks. As long as they dodged this wave of fierce ranged attacks and used the ladders to climb the city walls, it would be time for them, with their invincible close combat skills, to cut down the heads of the Song soldiers.

Just as desperate shouts echoed from below the city, a whooshing sound came from the city tower as dozens of explosive charges were launched, tracing graceful arcs as they crashed down on the heads of the Jin soldiers below.

"Spread out and lie down!"

A commander shouted in the crowd, and many Jin soldiers near the point where the explosives would land immediately stopped their charge. Just as they were about to lie down, the explosives that were still flying overhead suddenly exploded unexpectedly. First, a blast of air blew them away, and then countless iron nails pierced their bodies with lightning speed. Many sharp iron nails even went straight through their bodies, shooting towards the second Jin soldier with a muffled thud.

With just one explosion, a large number of Jin soldiers fell, leaving the other survivors who had barely escaped with their lives terrified. Weren't those cloth bags supposed to explode after they hit the ground yesterday? How come they started reaping lives while they were still overhead?

But now is not the time to think about these things. The bugle call to charge continues, which means that these people have to keep pushing forward despite the explosions. Otherwise, even if they turn back, they will not escape military law.

Despite taking many hits from air-to-ground bombs, Wanyan Xieye's battle plan was still effective. At this moment, a large force of Jin troops had broken through the first blockade line, and the soldiers behind them were coming one after another, showing a determination not to return until Guangling was captured.

Tang Qian immediately waved his hand, and Ye Zhao gave the order: "Strike the drum three times."

Led by Zhao Yingluo, the group of female generals immediately changed their hand gestures. As the drumbeats, one fast and two slow, sounded, Niu Er, who had just been promoted to the leader of the throwing group, shouted at the top of his lungs: "Single groups continue with the three-gear throw, double groups switch to the two-gear throw!"

Chen Laosan, who was cooperating with him, also shouted, "Lao Niu, are we in singles or doubles? How many counts do we need to silently count before pulling the machine back for the second throw?"

If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't control the catapult by himself, Niu Er would have loved to kick the old man aside: "We're a pair, count to ten silently!"

"Alright, you bunch of bastards, take this blast from your Master Chen!" With a roar from Chen Laosan, another explosive charge with a lit fuse flew out from above his head, landing steadily on the heads of the Jin soldiers charging at the forefront, instantly exploding into sprays of blood everywhere.

The explosive charges were indeed powerful, but unfortunately they couldn't cover the entire battlefield. Although the Jin army had already suffered heavy casualties, some soldiers still managed to break through the second layer of blockade and begin building a pontoon bridge over the moat.

"very good!"

The battle ahead was fierce, but it was still within Wanyan Xieye's expectations. Tang Qian's firearms were sharp, but he could not change the throwing distance at all times. Compared to cumbersome weapons, people's agility and mobility were much greater.

As more and more pontoon bridges were laid across the moat, the Jin army, already bloodthirsty, began to surge toward the city walls. Tang Qian waved his hand once more: "Catapults, continue the suppressive fire. Archers and grenadiers, prepare."

At his command, local militiamen appeared at the lookout points along the city wall, some with bows drawn and arrows nocked, others with iron balls in their hands. Seeing that the Jin army below had already crossed the pontoon bridge and was about to set up siege ladders, they all threw their weapons into the Jin army below.