The Ming Dynasty: Starting with bandits, it swept across the land.

Chapter 36 Frankish Machines

As dawn broke, a sharp horn blared.

Upon hearing the horn, Li Chengye, who was half asleep, immediately rolled out of bed.

He pushed open the door to his room and saw that Yang Chongwang next door was already fully armed with helmet and armor.

"Brother Yang."

Yang Chongwang nodded in acknowledgment, and gradually the people around him got up.

When settling down the households, Li Chengye placed all the soldiers who could wear armor in the homes on this street, with some families having as few as two people and others having as many as five.

They weren't staying for free; each family received two liters of grain.

Once everyone was present, Li Chengye and Yang Chongwang led them to the open space where they had been training for the past few days.

Seven or eight large pots had already been set up, and steam rising from them carried the aroma of rice. Next to them were three cutting boards supported by stones, where several auxiliary soldiers were cutting pickled radish strips.

Master Qin stood to the side, watching a pot, stirring it with a wooden spoon, and occasionally tasting it to check the saltiness.

The pot that Master Qin looked at was different from the others; it was emitting the aroma of meat.

"I got up early and slaughtered the last sheep. Today we're doing something important, so the young men need to have meat to have the strength."

"Thank you for your hard work, Master Qin." Li Chengye cupped his hands in greeting.

"Oh, this is all I can do as an old man as I am," Qin Ye waved his hand.

When the meal was ready, there weren't enough tables and chairs. So each person took two bowls, one with mutton and the other with thick porridge topped with some pickled vegetables, and went to find a place to eat.

There were also early-rising children nearby, whose mouths watered at the sight of Li Chengye and his friends' food.

Shortly after we finished eating, the third blast of the horn sounded, followed by the booming of drums.

Li Chengye led thirty armored soldiers and more than two hundred second-line auxiliary soldiers toward the south gate.

Wang Er was gathering a crowd outside the South Gate when he saw Li Chengye's thirty fully armored soldiers and his eyes lit up.

"Brother Li, your soldiers are truly impressive."

"Big Boss has already accepted the reward. It was just that we were lucky when we breached the city and found these armors, so we put them on all the brothers."

Wang Er's gaze swept over the thirty pairs of cloth armor and landed on Li Chengye, who was wearing the chainmail with a cloth robe over it.

"Good luck is also a skill. Since it was already arranged last night, I will entrust Yijun City to you."

"Don't worry, Chief," Li Chengye met his gaze. "Since I have been entrusted with the task of guarding the city, I dare not slack off."

"I wish the chief a resounding victory."

"good!"

Wang Er wanted to say something more, but thousands of people were waiting for him, so in the end he just patted Li Chengye on the shoulder and mounted his warhorse.

Sitting on his horse, Wang Er looked at the thousands of his subordinates around him with admiration in their eyes and felt a surge of pride.

"Set off!"

Wang Er took the lead and rushed out of the city gate.

Leaders such as Luo Dai, Black Scorpion, and Zhong Huaidao led their followers, closely following the large banner with the character "King" held high.

Infantry and cavalry mingled, dust rose, and a vast army surged out of the city gates like a torrent, spreading out a surging formation on the plains outside the city.

Li Chengye waved his hand, beckoning the stone beside him.

"Go and inform Brother Yang and Master Qin to do as we discussed yesterday."

"Yes, brother!" Stone accepted the order and headed north of the city.

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Zhang Shixiong vaguely heard the first blast of trumpets in Yijun City.

Zhang Shixiong chose a camp location three li away from Yijun City. This distance would give him a quarter of an hour to react if the enemy suddenly came out of the city to attack.

Scouts stationed outside the city reported seeing large plumes of smoke rising from within the city.

Zhang Shixiong then deduced that the rebel army was about to leave the city.

The side that was truly defending the city had to have people constantly on the city walls, so they took turns eating.

The kitchen is always on, but it's never very large.

But the scouts said that smoke was rising from chimneys all over the city, and that was quite a large-scale operation.

He immediately ordered the bugle to be sounded to assemble the entire army, and at the same time ordered the cooks to cook a dry meal right away.

Before he could even put down his rice bowl, he heard heavy drumbeats coming from inside Yijun City. Immediately afterward, a cavalryman reported that the gates of Yijun City had opened.

"What thieves! They don't even give people time to eat."

After uttering this curse, Zhang Shixiong had his attendants put armor on him, picked up his long sword that had been with him for many years, and left the tent.

The soldiers in the camp also heard the drumbeats and knew that a great battle was imminent, but they couldn't bear to part with the rice at the bottom of their bowls and began to wolf it down.

Since leaving Huazhou, they have hardly had a full meal. The garrison was already short of food, and they were forced to fight, so they could only have one meal a day and then go hungry.

When Zhang Shixiong was young, it was during the time when Zhang Juzheng was the Grand Secretary. Under Zhang Wenzhong's ruthless methods, both civil and military officials in the court were intimidated.

Even high-ranking officials who had passed the imperial examinations had to be careful, let alone someone like Zhang Shixiong, who had inherited his position as a commander of a thousand households. Therefore, Zhang Shixiong had great respect for the rules and regulations of the court.

Now Zhang Shixiong is old and frail, and has lost the spirit of his youth. He is short of food and dares not extort money from the gentry and officials along the way, for fear that they will file a complaint against him.

His bannermen could only endure hunger while suppressing bandits.

After learning that Wang Er hadn't gone to Baishui County, Zhang Shixiong insisted on staying for two more days, just so that Chen Xianze, the magistrate of Baishui County, could get two more days' worth of provisions.

The soldiers finished their meal, and Wang Er was just about to leave the city.

Seeing the dense crowd of people emerging from Yijun City along the official road, many soldiers couldn't help but swallow hard.

Zhang Shixiong stood with his hand on his sword against the earthen wall in front of the camp, his gray beard and hair fluttering slightly in the morning breeze.

He squinted, looking at the black waves ahead.

"The enemy is formidable, sir," Jiang Jing, a centurion, whispered.

"They're nothing but a rabble, only able to rely on numbers," Zhang Shixiong said in a deep voice, then ordered the soldiers in the camp: "Bows, crossbows, and muskets on the walls! Spears, swords, and shields, form ranks inside the camp gate!"

The soldiers responded with a roar and took their positions.

"Commander Lu!"

"Your subordinate is here." With a great battle approaching, Lu Bingzhong realized the gravity of the situation and became respectful to Zhang Shixiong.

"Your unit is our army's only cavalry. Hide in the hills behind the camp and await my orders. If the enemy attacks the camp with all their might, their flank will be vulnerable. At that time, you will lead your cavalry to break through and strike directly at their left flank, making sure to disrupt their formation!"

Lu Baihu clasped his hands in a fist salute and replied in a deep voice, "Understood." He then turned and went down the wall to call his men to leave from the back of the camp to avoid being observed by Wang Er.

Seeing that Lu Bingzhong led his troops out of the camp safely without causing any disturbance in Wang Er's army, Zhang Shixiong said to his personal guards, "Go and have the artillery bring the cannons to the front camp."

The slow pace of their journey was not only due to the soldiers' hunger, but also because he had brought three breech-loading cannons.

Putting aside the hardships of the journey, these three breech-loading cannons have become his lifeline for defending the camp.

There aren't many shells, so they'll have to be used in critical moments.

Soon, the three breech-loading cannons were brought to the front camp, and the gunner in charge was covered in sweat.

Zhang Shixiong stroked the muzzle of the cannon and gave the order:

"Aim all three cannons at the direction of that 'King' banner in the middle of the enemy ranks, estimate the distance, and load the cannons. But no one is to move without my order!"