Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 413 Li Qing's First Battle
After resting, Zhao Zhen ordered his men to break camp and set up camp again three miles outside the south gate of Xintai.

After everything was settled, Zhao Zhen was not in a hurry to attack the city. In the big tent, Zhao Zhen was discussing the next move with Wu Yong and Liu Hui Niang.

Hu Sanniang brought Chen Liqing to the big tent.

Hu Sanniang said, "My dear husband, this time Li Qing and I must lead the charge."

Zhao Zhen smiled and said, "Why would we need female riders to attack a city? You guys just need to be on guard at the periphery."

Chen Liqing snorted and said, "In terms of martial arts, the two of us are not inferior to others, so why can't we take the lead?"

Wu Yong listened, his eyes turned, and he said: "Sir, what the two ladies said is right. It's late today, and we can see the terrain of Xintai. Tomorrow, please challenge the bandits to a fight and show them that my female riders can also defeat them. If you dare not fight, the bandits will surely lose their morale when they attack the city later."

After hearing this, Zhao Zhen nodded in agreement.

Afterwards, Zhao Zhen, Wu Yong, Liu Hui Niang, and Qiao Daoqing, escorted by their own army camp, looked around the city. Although the city wall was only two meters high, it was surrounded by mountains and rivers, and there was a moat five or six meters wide outside the city. If they attacked the city, I'm afraid there would be a lot of casualties.

On the second day, the army left the camp and formed a battle formation.

Chen Liqing was the first to challenge the enemy. She wore a Phoenix Wings Helmet, silver chain mail, rode a rouge horse, held a pear blossom spear, and placed a Tayuan Treasure Carved Bow with a pot of carved feather wolf tooth arrows on her horse. She ran to the front of the battle line and shouted, "You are a bandit without any reason, a traitor and a lunatic. You have come to this place and you still refuse to surrender. You will regret it when your flesh and blood are turned into mud!"

Although Chen Liqing was dressed in military uniform, she was actually beautiful. There are two lines of poetry that say:
The Weaver Girl left the Milky Way without permission, and Chang'e escaped from the Moon Palace.

Zhao Zhen saw this and said to Lin Chong, "Coach, if Li Qing shows any signs of defeat, please protect her."

Lin Chong nodded in agreement and rode his horse to the front to prepare for the response.

On the top of the city wall, [life-seeking ghost] Wang Feibao and [flying centipede] Wu Qian were supervising the defense of the city. Wu Qian was a lustful man, and when he saw Chen Liqing's appearance, he became very lustful.

Thinking that his fellow apprentice also died in Liangshan, and seeing Li Qing's beauty, he said to Wang Feibao: "Brother, Zhao Zhen of Liangshan is so rude. He took advantage of our unpreparedness and robbed three cities. Now the two of us are guarding the cities, but he sent a girl to challenge us. If we don't fight back, wouldn't it show that we are cowardly and useless, unable to even defeat a girl?"

"Brothers, guard the city carefully. I will go out of the city and capture this girl. First, it will boost morale. Second, it will be used as a hostage to prevent the Liangshan army from acting recklessly."

Although Wang Feibao was also indignant, he remembered Song Jiang's instructions and strictly ordered the two men to guard the city and not fight recklessly.

He hesitated and said, "Brother Gongming has issued a strict order to guard the city. If I leave the city without permission, I am afraid I will be punished in the future."

Wu Qian said: "Brother, as long as the city is not lost, Brother Gongming will not punish us. I will only take a thousand people out of the city, and after leaving the city, you will close the city gates, so that there will be no mistakes."

Wang Feibao, after hearing Wu Qian's words, looked up at the city again, and saw Chen Liqing galloping back and forth, showing off his power. The Liangshan army shouted continuously, and the morale was high. The minions guarding the city talked a lot. So he nodded and said, "Brother, be careful."

After hearing this, Wu Qian selected 1000 strong men, rode out of the city, and deployed the troops along the city wall.

Wu Qian said: "There is no one in Liangshan, yet you let a woman fight in the battlefield? I will capture you and make you my wife."

After saying that, Wu Qian drew out a pair of swords and rode his horse straight towards Chen Liqing.

Chen Liqing was furious when she heard the contempt in Wu Qian's words, and she wanted to show off her martial arts in front of Zhao Zhen. Therefore, she used all her martial arts skills, wielding a long spear, sometimes fast and sometimes slow, combining hardness and softness, and hit Wu Qian so hard that he could only defend himself.

Wang Feibao, who was on the top of the city wall, was shocked when he saw this.

He and Wu Qian had competed in martial arts before. If they were fighting on foot, Wu Qian was agile and he would be defeated in fifty rounds. In a horse battle, he could defeat him in thirty rounds because of his strength. But he couldn't be like the female general under the city, who beat Wu Qian so hard that he couldn't use his two swords.

Therefore, Wang Feibao immediately ordered people to sound the horn and open the city gate.

Wu Qian, who was standing under the city, had never expected that this woman was so powerful that she almost let his sword slip out of his hand with just one shot. After fighting for more than ten rounds, his hands were shaking constantly. When he heard the sound of the horn from the city, Wu Qian was anxious to get rid of Chen Liqing, so he slowed down his sword. Chen Liqing saw this, shouted delicately, and stabbed Wu Qian's right arm with a shot.

Wu Qian yelled, dropped his sword, and tried to walk back, covering his arm. Chen Liqing caught up with him and shot Wu Qian in the back of the neck, knocking him off his horse and obviously dying.

When Zhao Zhen saw this, he pointed his spear and his cavalry rushed forward.

The bandits outside the city rushed into the city desperately. The cavalry caught up with them and fought for a while. The city gates were closed and crossbows from the top of the city shot arrows down indiscriminately.

The cavalry reined in their horses and turned back. The female rider stepped forward, snatched the horse that Wu Qian was sitting on, and returned with Wu Qian's body on its back.

They cleaned up the battlefield, killed hundreds of people, trampled on each other, and squeezed into the moat and drowned. There were nearly 400 people rushing into the city gate. Seeing no way to escape, they had to surrender. Of the 1,000 minions, less than 200 escaped into the city.

Zhao Zhen did not attack the city either, but ordered his men to beat the victory drum and return to the camp. The troops returned to the camp and recorded their achievements. Chen Liqing also came forward to give orders, and Zhao Zhen ordered them to chop off Wu Qian's head and prepare to report his achievements to the court.

Chen Liqing took off his armor and put on only his military uniform. He said proudly, "The leaders under Song Jiang are nothing but chickens and dogs. The imperial court is really useless. They can't even wipe out a single bandit."

Zhao Zhen glared at Chen Liqing and said, "Battle is no joke. How dare you look down on others? All these people in the tent are famous for their martial arts."

After hearing this, Chen Liqing lowered her head and said nothing.

Hu Sanniang saw it and said, "Sister, the master is also worried about you. Seeing that you have no armor, he asked the military equipment supervisor to make the silver chain mail smaller overnight. Sister went to the battlefield first, and the master also asked Instructor Lin to skirmish the battle, fearing that sister would suffer a loss."

Chen Liqing blushed after hearing this and said, "Who wants him to worry?"

After saying that, he hid behind Hu Sanniang.

When everyone saw this, they laughed.

After laughing, Lu Zhishen said, "Sir, if we have siege weapons today, we can capture the city. But do we need to send people to cut down trees and build siege weapons?"

Wu Yong stepped forward and said, "There is no rush. It is not difficult to break this city. Now that troops are advancing from several places, Yun Tianbiao and Wei Tianbao in the north can only defend the city."

"Gao Feng in the south lost Yishui and can only defend the prefecture. Hu Yanzhuo in the middle was blocked, but we are making rapid progress here. However, the court regards us as a vassal state and has not allocated any food, fodder or equipment. How can this be justified in the world?"

"I have discussed with the great official and asked Shi Qian to go to Bianjing to report the victory and also asked the court to allocate rewards. We can't fight here and risk our lives without getting any benefits."

Qin Ming said: "We are not the imperial guards. The imperial court has always been like this. Whenever there is an emergency, the prefectures and cities must send troops first, and the local governments must prepare their own food and weapons. The 800,000 imperial guards in Bianjing never move lightly, so as to deter the prefectures and cities, and no one dares to rebel. In the eyes of the imperial court, bandits everywhere can't cause any big trouble. What's more, once the prefectures and cities can't resist the enemy, there are still imperial guards to back them up. It's a plan that kills two birds with one stone." Dong Ping also said: "Who said it's not true? The imperial guards never go out lightly. In recent years, they have even less time to clear the fog along the official roads."

"It's all because of the current Grand Commander Gao. He only cares about promoting his confidants, and capable people are not given any chance to be promoted." Lin Chong snorted at the side.

Chen Liqing poked her head out and said, "I heard from my father that General Gao once said that he wanted Gao Yanei to be the governor of a state."

Lin Chong heard this and said, "Madam Chen, do you know where this guy is going to be appointed?"

Chen Liqing said: "He is a drunkard, and he is just in the vicinity of Bianjing. General Gao can still take care of him from time to time."

Lin Chong said, "This fellow has done me great harm. If he ever falls into my hands, I will skin him alive."

Wu Yong said: "When one person succeeds, his family and friends will also benefit. There is nothing much to say about this. I have never heard of anyone who has achieved such a high level in our dynasty. I heard that Gao Yanei is over 30 years old. He just plays with cats and dogs every day and stirs up trouble. He unexpectedly rose to the high position of prefect."

"It is these people who have ruined the world. It has been more than 20 years since the current emperor took office, and there have been four great bandits. It sounds ridiculous."

Zhao Zhen said: "This matter is not something we can manage. Now that we can gather together and protect this place, it is worth our efforts."

Lu Zhishen said, "That's right. No more petty things, living happily every day, that's exactly what I want."

Everyone laughed after hearing this.

Zhao Zhen asked: "Xuejiao, what do you think should happen next?"

Wu Yong said: "Sir, although we are waiting for the imperial court to reward us, Xintai County cannot let him be safe. Please dispatch a part of the troops to bypass Xintai and set up camp at its north gate."

"First, tell the city's defenders that the reinforcements from Laiwu Prison cannot come easily, so that the bandits in the city will be on guard at all times. Second, let Laiwu Prison's Song Jiang mobilize troops to prevent us from joining forces with Hu Yanzhuo to attack Laiwu Prison from two directions."

"In addition, we will have to trouble Brother Ling Zhen to lead the artillery to bombard the city walls every night. We don't want to kill anyone, but we want to disturb the city. We will also send civilians to cut down trees in the mountains and recruit craftsmen to build siege equipment. We will make the city's defenders think that we are preparing to attack the city. Let them ask for help as soon as possible and force Song Jiang to come to the rescue."

"Although Song Jiang may not come to rescue us, we can let him find ways to mobilize troops and fight Hu Yanzhuo. Regardless of victory or defeat, we can reap the benefits."

Liu Hui Niang said, "Sir, the [Flying Sky Divine Thunder Capital] has now built forty of them. We can use this opportunity to test the accuracy of the calculations. If everyone can calculate, the Flying Sky Divine Thunder will cause great damage in the future."

Ling Zhen shook his head and said, "Sir, I'm afraid this won't work. There are only a few soldiers who can read, and even fewer who can count."

Zhao Zhen heard this and said, "That's true."

Liu Hui Niang said, "Sir, there are many students in the county school. I will personally teach some of the good ones and let them be the instructors of Feitian Shenlei. It would be good for them to follow the army in calculating the landing points in the future."

"My lady is right. I have taken in many homeless children in the county school. I have picked out the older ones and have them taught personally. These people are the most loyal. Sending them to the army is also a way out for them."

Ling Zhen said: "It would be great if it can be done this way. The few craftsmen I brought with me can prepare the gunpowder and build the cannons, but only two of us can calibrate the cannons."

At that moment, Zhao Zhen ordered Lu Zhishen to lead 1000 infantry, Dong Ping and Qin Ming to lead 1000 cavalry, and a captain to lead 10 Portuguese cannons to fire at the north gate.

The plan was set, and the seven heroes led more than 2,000 soldiers and 1,000 civilians to set up camp along the city wall towards the north gate.

Wang Feibao in the city watched helplessly as the civilians methodically dug trenches and erected walls, but he did not dare to go out of the city to engage in battle.

That night, Gu Dasao protected Liu Hui Niang, Bai Sheng followed Ling Zhen, and the four of them sat in two groups on both sides, carrying flying divine thunders, and set off cannons everywhere around Xintai County.

The city was in a state of trepidation all night, fearing that Zhao Zhen would attack the city at night. Bonfires were lit on the city walls for illumination, but they provided Liu Hui Niang with a place to fire her cannonballs. Thunder rumbled and wailing filled the city walls.

Wang Feibao saw that the situation was not good, so he quickly ordered people to put out the bonfire. Fearing that Zhao Zhen would attack the city and it would be difficult to see in the dark, he ordered all the soldiers to go up to the city, without taking off their armor, and to keep watch in the makeshift shacks.

This went on every day for three days.

Wang Feibao saw that the soldiers were tired, so he had to force the able-bodied men in the city to guard the city. The soldiers took turns to go down the city to rest. He also set up a night patrol team, with three shifts taking turns to patrol the city wall at night.

At night, three waves of soldiers and horses were sent down from a secluded place in baskets for help.

But it is said that under the city of Yizhou, after Song Qing surrendered the rebels, he took command of Wu Jiao and his five disciples, as well as eight leaders including Ren Yuan, Zhang Daneng, and Zhao Fu, with 15,000 soldiers and horses, and rushed to attack the city.

Although Wu Jiao created fog, Ren Yuan and his men were still unable to attack the city wall.

Firstly, the city walls of Yizhou were tall and strong. Secondly, after Gao Feng retreated, he moved the people from the surrounding villages into the city as soon as possible, gave them weapons, and had them guard the city together.

Song Qing attacked the city for ten days in a row but failed to break through. Seeing that his troops suffered heavy losses, his brother Song Jiang urged them to return north to Laiwu Prefecture to prepare to resist the Liangshan army.

Following Wu Jiao's suggestion, Song Qing hastily withdrew his troops and ambushed them ten miles outside the city. He waited for Gao Feng to send Huang Kui, the military commander, to pursue him. After a fierce battle, he killed Huang Kui in Ren Yuan's formation and took advantage of the situation to attack Yizhou Prefecture.

Unfortunately, Gaofeng’s defense was well-prepared and could not be breached.

Song Qing then calmly gathered his troops, burned down villages along the way, recruited fugitives from the mountains, gathered 20,000 troops, and retreated to Yishui County.

Leaving behind 5000 troops to make up a total of people, Li Zhong was still stationed in Yishui, and Song Qing led the army to Laiwu Prison.

At the Xintai City South Gate Camp, Zhao Zhen encountered a difficult problem. After listening to the sergeant who reported the news, Zhao Zhen asked Wu Yong, "What do you think?"

Wu Yong also frowned and said, "Sir, this Zhaojia Village is an independent region that refuses to obey the county's management, and Song Jiang's troops have never been able to subdue it. Although the village owner and his wife are very powerful, if I really want to fight them, I can naturally defeat them."

"However, Mengyin is a royal court area after all, and is not under the jurisdiction of the great official. It is not worth starting a war for Zhaojia Village."

Zhao Zhen said angrily: "That being said, the soldiers that Brother Wu Song sent to collect the autumn tax were tied up and beaten by him for no reason. We can't just let it go like this."

(End of this chapter)