Chapter 128: The Army’s Morale Is Shaken

Page 1/3

But then Miao Mei lowered his voice and said, “It’s just that the soldiers of Longmen Town took advantage of our subordinate’s deployment, broke into the main camp, and burned our siege weapons.”

Wang Zuogua’s face froze, and he sighed helplessly, “You really are something else.”

“We’ve stayed too long in the Han City territory. The soldiers have likely already surrounded us. There’s still an hour before nightfall. I’ll send two thousand more men to assist with the siege. We must quickly reclaim the funds and provisions, then move into Shanxi to shake off the soldiers.”

Upon hearing this, Miao Mei immediately clasped his fists and said, “Commander, rest assured, I will definitely break through Longmen Town.”

Inside Longmen Town, the Suijin Army and auxiliary troops were hastily preparing for battle. After dismantling houses, they were crafting rolling logs, fire oil, and boiling down gold extract.

Meanwhile, Li Yi seized the opportunity of Miao Mei’s retreat to have workers dig a moat at the south gate, filling it with sharp wooden stakes to somewhat hinder the bandits’ assault.

After Miao Mei and Wang Zuogua merged their forces, the besieging bandits at Longmen Town swelled from three thousand to eight thousand. Even accounting for hundreds of casualties earlier, they still outnumbered the official troops by seven or eight times.

The isolated army was trapped, vastly outnumbered, and the situation was dire.

Not only the ordinary soldiers and auxiliaries, but even the unit commanders felt heavy-hearted and somewhat fearful.

Therefore, Li Yi had no choice but to convene everyone to discuss how to respond next.

“The bandits have surrounded us on three sides, advancing fiercely, redeploying troops to prepare for another assault on Longmen Town. Now that He Renlong has fled in defeat, and Hong Chengchou certainly won’t send reinforcements, if we want to hold Longmen Town, we can only rely on ourselves.”

Li Yi spoke plainly, without beating around the bush about the current situation.

Page 2/3

Gao Jie, unable to contain himself, shouted, “Commander, the bandits far outnumber us. If we stubbornly defend Longmen Town, we’ll be wiped out. The best option now is to break through the gap under cover of darkness—only then will we have a chance to survive.”

Li Yi looked around at the others and calmly asked, “What do you think?”

Liu Zongmin clenched his fists and said, “Commander, whatever you decide, I’ll follow. But I’m unwilling to die for the court.”

Li Yi pondered silently.

Gao Laoshi glanced left and right, then spoke, “But Hong Chengchou gave a fatal order: we must hold Longmen Town to pin down Wang Zuogua. Now that He Renlong has fled, if we retreat, it’ll be hard to explain.”

Military orders are like mountains—disobeying them means death.

Even if not executed, losing one’s post is something no one wishes to face.

Everyone hesitated, falling silent.

It was clear: if not for their rank and future prospects, no one truly wanted to stay behind and defend Longmen Town.

The court had lost the army’s morale; everyone was thinking of earning merit and rewards. No one was willing to sacrifice themselves for the nation.

As they deliberated, Buyan suddenly hurried in.

“Commander, the bandits are maneuvering. It looks like they’re preparing to attack the city again before nightfall.”

Page 3/3

Everyone was shocked.

Li Yi led the group up to the south gate tower, where they saw four thousand bandits slowly advancing, soon halting three miles from Longmen Town, forming ranks ready for battle.

Warning alarms sounded throughout Longmen Town. The soldiers digging the moat hurriedly retreated inside the walls.

After the bandits completed their formation, a horn blared. The front ranks of displaced civilians began advancing.

Then the war drums beat, as five hundred border bandits and a thousand local bandits formed ranks and moved forward.

As the troops marched, dust billowed in the distance. Against the dimming sky, a bleak, deadly aura quietly arose.

“Dong dong dong.”

The soldiers responded with their own war drums. Each unit climbed the city walls, standing ready in tight formation.