Chapter 64: Never Fear Death

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  As Yang Kai gave the order to fire, all the bed crossbows on the east gate tower that had been cocked and loaded almost fired at the same time. With a burst of continuous bowstring vibrations making a "buzzing" sound, dozens of thick crossbow arrows flew towards the charging rebel army with a whistling sound.

  The number of bed crossbows equipped on the east and south city heads of Sui Tongguan is twice that of Han Tongguan, with 20 sets on each city head. The number of crossbow arrows that can be shot at one time is also twice as many. However, after shooting twice the number of crossbow arrows, the impact on the rebels will not be just twice as much.

  The rebels attacking from the east gate, because the road to the city gate is narrow, the rebel soldiers holding shields are relatively dense and concentrated near the east gate tower. The twenty bed crossbows aimed at the direction from the flat river valley shore where the rebels gathered to the winding stairs between the city gate, when installing the bed crossbow, had already calibrated the shooting accuracy, and the arrow shot out was quite accurate.

  As soon as the ballistae on the city wall began to fire, a rebel general who was commanding the first wave of attack hastily ordered his soldiers who were charging forward quickly to take cover.

  But human movements can't match the speed of a flying arrow, and with the whizzing sound approaching, miserable cries started to echo.

  Large arrows with tremendous kinetic energy shot mercilessly into the bodies of rebel soldiers who failed to dodge in front of their flight trajectory.

  Because the rebel soldiers on the road were crowded, the crossbow arrows shot out had a very large killing power. Many arrows pierced through the body of the front soldier and then shot into the body of the rear soldier. Finally, the arrow still penetrated the body of the rear soldier and injured another soldier.

  The soldiers who were pierced by crossbow arrows either died or were seriously injured.

  Some soldiers were only pierced by the arrow of a crossbow, and a large piece of flesh was scraped off, and they fell to the ground in pain. Soldiers who were shot in the arm or leg had their arms and legs severed on the spot, and some even separated from their bodies.

  Outside the East Gate, it was not uncommon for soldiers to have their legs or arms shot off.

  After just one round of crossbow bolts and arrows, dozens of the 500 rebel soldiers in the first wave of the charge were killed or wounded.

  The shields held by the rebel soldiers could withstand the high-speed shooting of ordinary arrows, but when facing the large arrows shot out by the bed crossbow, they had little protective effect, and a large number of shields were pierced.

  Arrows that pierced shields could also wound soldiers behind them, and even kill the shield-bearers directly.

  The heavy casualties caused the rebel army to panic, and Lang Jiang, who was in command, although unharmed, was also shocked. After a moment's stunned silence, he shouted loudly at his soldiers to beware of arrows and speed up their advance, trying to reach the east gate tower as soon as possible.

  Near the east gate tower, it enters the shooting dead angle of the bed crossbow. Compared with the huge killing power of the bed crossbow, other ordinary arrows cannot penetrate the shield. If the shields are held densely enough, the killing power of ordinary arrows shot from the top of the city wall will be significantly reduced.

  Even if a charging soldier is unfortunately shot by an ordinary arrow, he will basically not die immediately unless he hits a vital point.

  If there are enough soldiers rushing to the city wall, they can counterattack the defenders on the city wall with bows and arrows, or even raise a cloud ladder to climb the city.

  If they were crowded at a distance from the city gate, being hit by the bed crossbow would kill more soldiers, and those who were not killed or injured would be frightened to death, even turning around and running away. Perhaps it can be said that the most frightening thing in the world is not death itself, but knowing that one will face death, but not knowing when death will come is what is most terrifying.

  Seeing companions die miserably by one's side, and soon facing the same fate oneself, even the strongest person's nerves will collapse.

  Having suffered such a heavy blow, the remaining people among the 500 soldiers were frightened and at a loss, some even fell to the ground with their bodies soft, and some wanted to turn around and escape, until Lang Jiang repeatedly roared with anger, they came back to their senses and rushed towards the city gate in a hurry.

  At this time, the second round of bed crossbow brought a strange cry and flew in again, shooting into the chaotic array of rebel army charges, and in a series of miserable cries, dozens of rebel soldiers were shot dead or injured.

  The remaining rebels could no longer withstand such provocation and fled in all directions, either towards the city gate or hiding behind nearby rocks.

  But the commander Lang was still there, yelling at his soldiers to continue charging forward. At this time, another wave of rebel soldiers rushed over under the command of their superior officer, and several subsequent waves of cavalry had also followed closely behind.

  Cheng Wei, who was commanding the siege operation from behind, saw that things were not going well and immediately ordered the subsequent soldiers to start continuous charging.

  The bed crossbows of the Tang army were too lethal to the dense charging troops, and almost no ordinary arrows were needed to shoot. The attacking formation of over 500 people was almost defeated. If they continued to charge at the east gate with a certain time and distance interval, even if thousands of people filled in, not many people could rush to the bottom of the east gate city wall, nor would they consume much of the Tang army's arrows and physical strength, while their own morale would drop to an unbearable low point.

  According to the intelligence gathered beforehand, there were a large number of arrows stored inside Tongguan City by the Tang army, and the arrows for the bed crossbow would not be used up even if they kept shooting at this rate. How could they possibly have a chance to climb the city wall with such frequent charges? Therefore, Cheng Wei gave a desperate order that all remaining soldiers and subsequent gatherings under his command should start charging together, continuously rushing towards the east gate, allowing more soldiers to rush to the foot of the city wall and set up ladders to climb.

  Today, Cui Jianyu gave a death order that even if the bodies of soldiers piled up to the height of Tongguan City walls, they could not stop charging, and at all costs, Tongguan City must be taken down. Cui Jianyu's order was also from An Qingxu, such an order came, no matter which level of commander dared not disobey. The soldiers were under their respective commanders' orders, rushing towards the east gate like a tide.

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  Yang Hui stood on the gate tower of the East Gate, and had long forgotten the scorching weather. All his thoughts were focused on the battle outside the city.

  The shooting effect of the bed crossbow was very good, and nearly one-third of the hundreds of rebel soldiers who charged were killed or injured. The rest dispersed, and it can be said that the rebel army's first wave of attack collapsed instantly. However, Yang Hui also saw that the rebels immediately changed their strategy, switching to a continuous and relentless charge towards the east gate. The momentum they presented was one of determination to take the east gate at all costs, no matter what.

  The rebel's offensive was a bit eerie, but it also excited Yang Hui. He could order his subordinates to kill the rebels who were attacking the city without any scruples, and he himself could try his hand at it too.

  His martial arts and his command art can be demonstrated in the process of the upcoming war.

  He has never been afraid of facing death and has never dreaded seeing death!