Traveling back to the Northern Song Dynasty: Picking up a princess as my wife

The inevitable had arrived. Thousands of refugees gathered on the outskirts of Li Family Village, carrying makeshift ladders and awaiting orders from the Zoroastrian leader. From last night until tonight, they had only eaten a single meal of thin porridge. The leader had promised that once Li Family Village was captured, they could eat as much fish and meat as they wanted.

Although the outer wall of Li Family Village is not as tall as the inner wall, it is still over ten meters high. It would be quite difficult for these refugees to break through with the siege weapons they have.

"attack!"

"Enter Li Family Village, rob money! Rob grain! Rob women!"

“冲压！”

Countless refugees, as if possessed by demons, rushed toward Li Family Village with bloodshot eyes. They didn't care whether they could get in or not; they had only one thought in their minds: to rush forward.

Seeing the approaching group of refugees, Li Zhen hardened his heart and ordered them to open fire.

Composite bows, catapults, fireworks, and other weapons were unleashed, and despite the intense firepower, it was still unable to stop the frenzied horde of refugees from charging forward.

Soon, the refugees rushed to the foot of the village wall and began to hammer at the sturdy wall with all kinds of weapons. Several of the refugees' wooden guns broke, while the wall of Li Family Village was completely undamaged.

The refugees who used ladders to attack the city had just placed the ladders below the stockade wall when they were met with fierce bombardment from the defending soldiers above. The dead bodies below quickly piled up on the ground, forcing the refugees behind to step on the corpses of their own people to rush forward.

Whether the ladder built by the refugees was too short or the walls of Lijiazhai were too high, the refugees climbed up the ladder to the top only to find that they were still two meters away from the walls.

The leader of the Zoroastrian Church in charge of attacking Lijiazhai was dumbfounded when he saw this scene. The ladder couldn't even reach the top of the wall, so what was the point of fighting?

In addition, the firepower of the Li Family Village defenses was so strong that these refugees had no choice but to retreat temporarily.

Li Zhen sneered, "You think you can just run away because you can't win? There's no such easy way out."

"Commandos, charge out of the camp and kill the enemy!"

Wang Changdao led a squad of soldiers, fully armed, out of the city. They wore light steel armor, stab-proof gloves, and carried long steel spears.

A group of refugees were overjoyed to see that the other side had actually rushed out of the village, saving them the trouble of attacking the village walls.

Wang Changdao led his spear team in a charge according to the formation they had practiced. As the team leader, Wang Changdao was naturally the spearhead of this charge. Soon, the spear team of Lijiazhai was like a sharp dagger piercing into the ranks of the refugees.

"Pfft!"

Wang Changdao plunged the rebar spear deep into the chest of a refugee, and after the man fell to the ground, he pulled it out with all his might, then charged toward the next refugee.

A refugee wielding a steel knife slashed at the spearman with all his might.

"when!"

The steel sword broke in two, but the spearman who was slashed was not only unharmed, but also took advantage of the opponent's momentary daze to stab the spear into his stomach.

Watching Wang Changdao's squad rampage through the refugee ranks outside, Li Zhen nodded in satisfaction and said to Yue Ying.

"Drive your tractors and rout these enemies."

Yue Ying was already impatient; he roared as he charged toward his tractor, and his squad of soldiers were equally excited. After all, they couldn't let Wang Changdao wander off alone; they needed to earn some merit themselves.

“嗵嗵嗵......”

The modified tractor, billowing black smoke, rushed out of the village, followed closely by Yue Ying's third squad of soldiers, who brandished their broadswords and charged towards the refugee group with howls.

"What kind of monster is that? Why is it emitting black smoke?"

The refugees were seeing a tractor for the first time and had no idea what it was. After the first few were violently struck and crushed by the tractor, they finally understood what it was. They dropped their weapons and began to run.

"They're carrying monsters! Run for your lives!"

Wang Changdao's spear team repeatedly charged at the refugees, scattering their ranks. Yue Peng, on the other hand, had a much easier time. He gripped the steering wheel tightly and floored the accelerator, relentlessly ramming into the enemy.

Whenever a tractor passed by, the ground was covered in red and white stains, a truly gruesome scene.

Yue Ying's third squad used longswords to cut down the scattered refugee soldiers one by one. Some refugees, seeing that they could not escape, quickly threw down their weapons, knelt on the ground, and raised their hands in surrender.

Li Zhen had already made arrangements for these surrendered refugees, having them bound with ropes and escorted back to the village.

In less than an hour, the nearly four thousand refugees were routed by the soldiers of Lijiazhai. Seeing the dire situation, the leader of the Zoroastrian Church quickly turned his horse around and headed towards Tangyin City. Regardless, saving his own life was the priority.

As for Tangyin City, things were not so easy. Magistrate Zhang Cheng summoned all the servants of the local gentry and wealthy households to the city walls for defense. However, these servants hadn't had a proper meal since they were on the walls, let alone any chance to defend against enemies.

Standing on the city wall, Zhang Cheng looked at the dense mass of refugees outside the city and said in a deep voice, "Without the rivers and mountains, how can the people live in peace?"

Then he said to the constables behind him, "Brothers, as long as you can defend Tangyin City, I will guarantee you a lifetime of wealth and honor!"

At this moment, the yamen runners and soldiers on the city wall looked worried; they didn't want to lose their lives in vain. However, they couldn't refute what the county magistrate had said, so they could only stand on the city wall and pretend to be strong.

The leader of the Zoroastrian Church, Fang Bucun, waved his hand and pointed at Tangyin City: "The sacred flame will illuminate the land of China. I am the son of the Holy Emperor, and I will lead you into a golden age for all generations. My sons, charge in and restore peace and prosperity to China!"

In an instant, tens of thousands of refugees surged toward Tangyin City like a flash flood. At this moment, the government soldiers guarding the city wall turned ashen-faced, their fingers gripping their weapons trembling slightly.

The patrol officer, his face grim, ordered, "Fire!"

Instantly, dozens of arrows flew in arcs toward the charging refugee corps, and more than a dozen people fell to the ground with cries of agony. However, the refugee corps charging from behind paid no heed to the deaths of those in front, stepping over their corpses as they surged forward.

The leader of the refugees at the forefront shouted, "Protected by the sacred fire, we are invulnerable to swords and spears!"

Then a sharp arrow shot from the city wall, piercing his throat. The leader clutched his neck in pain and collapsed to the ground.

Upon seeing this, the Zoroastrian followers behind them raised their hands high and shouted, "Holy Fire God, guide your disciples back to heaven!"

The remaining refugees sang hymns and charged forward against the hail of arrows from the government troops, disregarding their own lives.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Cheng, the magistrate of Tangyin County, collapsed to the ground, thinking to himself, "My life is over!"