Chapter 562
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Chapter 562: One Person Against Ten Thousand Soldiers
Under Fengzhou City
When Lin Jiang’s five thousand troops appeared, Governor He on the city wall grew tense, and the guards held their breath, some already feeling uncertain.
Governor He was furious at the inefficiency of the Feng State. Despite Lin Jiang capturing Qishan Prefecture some time ago, his mobilization of the army had been delayed. Instead of having a force of eighty or a hundred thousand soldiers, he now only had a little over twenty thousand.
In other places, leaders make excuses like having rebels or not having enough money for soldiers. Even if they are given enough money, they delay their journey and still haven’t reached Fengzhou City.
"General Sun, the enemy troops have appeared. Are you sure we can defeat them?"
Governor He asked a close general by his side, who was his trusted supporter. All the soldiers under his command were controlled by General Sun.
"Governor, the enemy troops are well-prepared. We shouldn’t engage in a reckless battle."
General Sun confidently said, he was knowledgeable about warfare. By observing the enemy troops, he could tell how strong they were. Lin Jiang’s thousands of soldiers arrived in an orderly manner, with well-built camps, trenches, walls, watchtowers, and scouts positioned all around. It would be difficult to surprise such a well-prepared military camp.
"Can’t we defeat their 5,000 soldiers with our 20,000 elite troops?"
"Governor, in a battle, victory is not determined by the number of people on each side."
General Sun explained, if victory depended on numbers, how could Chen Kingdom have been defeated when they had fewer soldiers than the Demon Human?
"Thieves are approaching Fengzhou City. If we don’t retreat, it will bring shame to Feng State and Chen Kingdom. General Sun, you should quickly come up with a plan to retreat. Whatever you need, I will support you."
Governor He said he was good at politics but not so good at military matters, so he didn’t interfere much. He just asked General Sun to come up with a plan to retreat quickly.
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In the military camp, Lin Jiang arranged for people to set up the camp. In Lin Jiang’s opinion, it was not really necessary, but he thought that in the future, military leaders would have to lead troops on their own. That’s why he wanted them to practice.
"Sir, the camp is set up."
"Follow me for an inspection."
Qin Yong came to report, and Lin Jiang and Qin Yong went to inspect the military camp.
Qin Yong explained to Lin Jiang how to set up a camp one by one. Choosing a campsite should be close to a water source, preferably close to natural barriers to reduce the risk of attacks. It is important to have trenches, fences, and wooden walls, etc.
Actually, Qin Yong’s skill in leading troops was not very high. He had only learned from his father for a few years before, without any experience of leading troops on his own. Now he just followed the military manuals and set up camps according to textbooks.
"Your father used to be a Deputy General in Feng State, holding a high position. He should have had many former subordinates."
"Yes, many of them are on the city wall, they are definitely brave soldiers in the army."
Qin Yong said that his father used to have a high military position and was one of the most powerful figures in the Feng State military. He had a group of well-trained and skilled soldiers, but his father had been killed.
Accusing of sheltering rebel soldiers is a serious crime, but more deaths were caused by internal disputes. This is because his father was loyal to the court, while the governor wanted to establish his own power, leading to his father’s murder.
"We still lack experienced commanders in our army, you will be in charge of persuading them to surrender when the time comes."
"Yes, sir."
"Alright, go back now. We will attack the city in three days. Be careful tonight and don’t let the enemy sneak up on us."
Lin Jiang nodded, recognizing the importance of experienced elders in guiding a large army, helping them to avoid mistakes and become combat-ready quickly.
Starting the next day, the rebel army began to construct siege weapons such as siege towers, and Lin Jiang brought along many craftsmen to assist.
Three days later, Lin Jiang led his troops out of camp and approached Fengzhou City. Normally, a large army would be stationed below the city to defend against direct attacks on the city walls. However, Fengzhou City didn’t do so, revealing the state of morale within the city.
Following the plan, Lin Jiang shot a surrender letter to Fengzhou City. But after half a day passed, Fengzhou City still had no response. So, Lin Jiang, alone with his horse, left the camp.
"I will go up to the wall and defeat the guards there. Once I’m up, you can start attacking the city."
Leaving a brief message, Lin Jiang immediately spurred his horse and charged towards Fengzhou City.
With him around, no fancy tactics were needed. Lin Jiang was the best at tactics.
"Fire!"
On the city wall, General Sun saw Lin Jiang charging alone and immediately roared.
In an instant, arrows rained down from the battlements, some powerful crossbow bolts mixed in. Lin Jiang’s horse suffered, but he leaped into the air, dodging the arrows and leaving the horse riddled with arrows.
Lin Jiang faced countless arrows in the air but persevered. When he reached the wall and ran up it, he used his strength to make it to the top.
"Kill him!"
General Sun roared loudly as a large number of warriors approached from both sides. They were all at least at the innate level, led by a Martial Saint invited by Governor He.
"Crash!"
Lin Jiang, with no fancy moves, simply swung his sword fiercely. A violent aura appeared, causing the leading Martial Saint to change color and hastily grab a shield to defend himself.
"Boom!"
The shield in his hand exploded, sending him flying backward. Dazed, he saw Lin Jiang charging through the enemy like a tiger among sheep, slashing wildly.
To Lin Jiang, who relied on his powerful internal strength to form a protective aura, even Innate Martial Artists, Martial Arts Masters, and Grand Masters of Martial Arts were no different from ordinary soldiers. Despite not wearing armor, Lin Jiang remained unscathed by their attacks. Some Grand Masters managed to break through his aura, only to find their weapons useless against him.
"How can a mortal body be so strong?"
The Martial Saint was stunned. He knew some warriors practiced toughening techniques to strengthen their bodies to resist normal weapons. However, this method was ineffective against weapons infused with internal strength, which could easily overcome such defenses. A skilled warrior could shatter steel with a wooden stick in hand.
"Run!"
In the next moment, the Martial Saint ran away. He was originally just a warrior from a martial arts sect in Feng State, recruited by Governor He with a lot of money. But now that he had fought with Lin Jiang and lost, he didn’t feel guilty towards Governor He anymore. After all, no matter how much money, it’s useless if you lose your life.
When Lin Jiang made a move, Qin Yong ordered an attack. With the soldiers pushing them, the siege ladder and siege engine charged towards the city wall. The counterattack from the wall was very weak, they climbed the wall with minimal casualties.
When Qin Yong arrived, he saw that the city wall was full of corpses, there was no place to even step. Over dozens of meters of the city wall, Lin Jiang had swept through it more than ten times on his own. By now, the enemy was terrified, they didn’t dare to fight Lin Jiang at all.
When Qin Yong ordered to open the city gates and lower the drawbridge, the result of the war had already become clear. The morale of Fengzhou City defenders was low, they couldn’t face them in a street battle. Street battles are brutal and require a high level of skill from the soldiers.
"Qin Yong, gather the surrendering soldiers, bring a group with me."
Upon Lin Jiang’s shout, they stormed into the city. The high-ranking officials of Fengzhou City, including Governor He, were trying to escape through other city gates. However, the gates were crowded with too many people trying to escape, few of them could make it out.
"The enemy is coming!"
"Governor, come with me."
Governor He still had a few trusted aides. One Martial Arts Master picked up Governor He, leapt onto the city wall, fled over it, leaving behind family and everything else.
"Guard the city gates and don’t allow anyone to leave."
Lin Jiang rushed into the crowd, causing chaos and then ordered the city gates to be closed, especially for officials and wealthy citizens who were carrying a lot of wealth, they were not allowed to leave.
At this time, Qin Yong had already surrendered many soldiers, some of whom were his father’s former troops. Qin Yong directly used these people, having them take off their uniforms to become rebels, starting to control Fengzhou City.
Fengzhou City has a total of five city gates, each with five hundred guards. The rest of the people searched for remaining enemies within the city to maintain order.
By the second day, the battle finally ended. Fires broke out in various parts of the city. Lin Jiang sent people to extinguish the fires, while he himself entered the military camp within the city, where there were a large number of captives, the exact number was unknown, but it was a huge crowd.
Lin Jiang had the officers separated and detained. As for the other soldiers, Lin Jiang began his brainwashing speeches. With only over four thousand people under his command and having recruited at least ten thousand troops, there was no way he could guard all the captives. He couldn’t possibly be like Bai Qi.
Lin Jiang had prepared his brainwashing tactics early on. Most of these soldiers had very low levels of education, with the majority being illiterate. Trying to reason with them was futile.
So Lin Jiang only talked about the benefits. He first explained to them that being forced to join the army was inevitable for many of them. If someone didn’t want to be a soldier anymore, they could be provided with travel expenses to return home. Those willing to stay would receive generous treatment, such as abundant food, timely military pay, opportunities for promotion based on merit, and the chance to learn advanced martial arts.
As Lin Jiang spoke, the rebels behind him set up ten large pots and began cooking large chunks of pork and lamb. By the time Lin Jiang finished speaking, the aroma from the pots had filled the entire camp.
In addition to the temporary brought dozens of boxes of gold and silver jewelry, poured directly in front of everyone to form a small mountain, directly breaking down the defenses of most people, they let their guard down.
