Chapter 1632: Siege and Final Battle

Chapter 1632: Chapter 1632: Siege and Final Battle

Clang, clang, clang!

At the Xing’an Prefecture City Tower, soldiers on the lookout immediately sounded the alarm when they saw the Rong people’s commotion, shouting: "The Rong people are attacking again! The Rong people are attacking again!"

Doctor Lu and several military doctors lived on the city tower. Upon hearing the shout, he jolted awake and quickly dashed out with his medical kit, peering over the city wall at the tens of thousands of Rong soldiers.

Even from afar, Doctor Lu could feel the murderous intent of the Rong soldiers.

Looking further away, the old camp of the Rong people was ablaze, presumably burning those Rong soldiers afflicted with the poisonous insect disease.

They’re burning their own; this must be a call to the final battle!

Clang, clang, clang!

"The Rong people are attacking! The Rong people are attacking!" Soldiers on the lookout continued to sound the alarm.

General Liang was having his meal, but upon hearing the news, he rushed out of his room and ordered his personal soldier, "The Rong people are attacking. Tell the soldiers to prepare for battle. The Rong people might use catapults first, so have the brothers hide initially, then counterattack after avoiding the boulder hits."

"Yes!" The personal soldier quickly rode horseback across the tower, shouting, "The Rong people are attacking! General Liang orders all brothers to avoid the Rong people’s boulder attack before engaging!"

The tower erupted into chaos as various Company Commanders and Chief Commanders led their troops in preparing to dodge the boulders.

"Company Commander Niu, quickly take me to General Liang. Mrs. Qin warned us that with the Rong people’s vengeful temperament, they might not use catapults first but instead deploy poison. Tell the soldiers to quickly take the detoxification pills!" Doctor Lu found Niu Dabao and grabbed him while speaking.

"The Rong bandits are going to use poison again. Brothers, quickly take the detoxification pills!" Niu Dabao shouted to his troops, adding, "Pass the message to the Lei Family’s Trading Team, Feng Family Escort Agency, and those laborers helping with the defense to swiftly take the detoxification pills!"

His troops trusted these detoxification pills, having taken many on the westward road, and immediately took them upon hearing the order.

Three soldiers went separately to inform the Lei Family’s Trading Team, Feng Family Escort Agency, and laborers.

"Company Commander Niu says the Rong people might use poison attack this time! Everyone, take the detoxification pills first, take them first!" The three soldiers ran while shouting.

Recently, Niu Dabao had spoken to his troops about Gu Jinli’s creation of insect attractant curing the poisonous insect disease, which led everyone to trust his words and Gu Jinli’s detoxification pills. Upon hearing his troops’ words, they quickly consumed the pills.

"Quickly take out cloth towels, dampen them with water, and cover your mouth and nose!" The section leaders instructed the soldiers again.

Doctor Lu had taught them many anti-poison methods in recent days, including dampening a cloth to cover the mouth and nose, and refraining from breathing when the poison spreads.

"Yes!" The soldiers quickly complied.

Thus, when Niu Dabao took Doctor Lu to General Liang, many soldiers on the tower were already prepared for the poison.

"A poison attack?" General Liang was unsurprised upon hearing, as Doctor Lu had been telling him daily that the Rong people would definitely use poison to avenge their poisoned comrades: "Have the soldiers take the detoxification pills first, then hide behind iron shields, and after the poison attack, use poisonous insects to counterstrike."

Gu Jinli knew that once the Rong soldiers truly attacked, Xing’an Prefecture wouldn’t hold for long. That’s why she’d been cultivating poisonous insects during this time... Since using poison in battle would be condemned by those stubborn elders in the Capital, they’d attack with poisonous insects instead.

After all, the poisonous insects were thrown in by the Rong people, so returning the favorn’t be criticized.

"Yes." General Liang’s subordinates, deputy generals, Company Commanders, Chief Commanders, and Niu Dabao were thrilled upon hearing, as General Liang finally agreed to insect attacks.

They immediately took action, and just as they finished, the strong crossbows of the Rong soldiers arrived.

Whizz, whizz, whizz!

The forceful crossbow arrows sliced through the air like lightning, illuminated by the flames, suddenly skimming across the sky.

Boom, boom, boom!

The crossbow arrows pierced through the city tower walls, shattering the poison bags, with countless poison powders spreading like thick mist, engulfing the tower.

Poison powder—it’s indeed poison powder; the Rong people indeed used poison attack first.

The soldiers were shocked but rejoiced inwardly, thankful that they had taken detoxification pills in advance; otherwise, they’d be finished.

Still, the batch of poison made by Tu Zhang was formidable; even though everyone had taken detoxification pills and was out in the open, the poison spread quickly. Yet, some weaker laborers experienced abdominal pain and persistent vomiting.

Doctor Lu braved the fog-like poison powder to treat the vomiting laborers.

After diagnosing, he pointed to the bamboo tube hanging on the laborers’ waist, "Drink it."

"Ugh... really drink it?" The poisoned laborers looked terrified; although child urine wasn’t very pungent, it was still urine, and drinking it was hard to endure.

Doctor Lu: "Drink if you don’t want to die!"

The Young Marquis’s wife once said there’s something called a phosphorus relieving needle that can detoxify, and this child urine has a similar effect. In emergency situations, drink some, and combined with detoxification pills, should save lives.

The laborers didn’t want to die, trusting Doctor Lu’s high medical skills, so they closed their eyes and gulped down the contents of the bamboo tube.

Whizz, whizz, whizz!

Boom, boom, boom!

The Rong people’s poison crossbow arrows attacked again, surrounding everything in mist-like poison.

The poison attack lasted for over a quarter of an hour before the Rong people’s poison supply finally depleted.

"Bring up the siege cones, break through Xing’an Prefecture, slaughter Great Chu men, and capture Great Chu women alive!" Leimuqin issued the siege order.

The Rong soldiers heard this and thought of the bodies of the Chu women, eagerly advancing the siege cones toward the city gates.

"The Rong people are attacking, release insect arrows!" General Liang commanded the counterattack.

As the main general, General Liang was protected within a circle of soldiers using iron shields, and because the city walls were too long, his voice didn’t carry far. Hearing this, his personal soldier rushed out to shout, "General Liang orders releasing insect arrows for counterattack!"

The laborers listened and immediately brought the wrapped poisonous insects to the soldiers, saying, "Take it and shoot, Military Officer!"

Their voices carried a hint of gritting teeth... They never thought General Liang would have them do such a task of wrapping poisonous insects.

For days they were tormented excessively, with some laborers having poisonous insects burrow into their bodies.

Fortunately, with the insect attractant, the laborers were fine.

But the soldiers on the tower had mocked them harshly.

Now it’s their turn for revenge!

"Military Officer, why hesitate? The Rong bandits are here, quickly shoot the insect arrows."

"Don’t be afraid, Military Officer; we have insect attractant. Even if poisonous insects burrow into the body, they can be lured out with the attractant."

"That’s right, Military Officer, don’t worry. Poisonous insects aren’t so terrifying. Look, they’re as plump as those months-old chubby children."

The soldiers turned pale, glaring at the laborers, overcoming fear and disgust, and picked up the small cloth bags containing poisonous insects. After tying them to long arrows, they shot them toward the Rong soldiers.

Whizz, whizz, whizz!

A rain of arrows surged toward the Rong soldiers, but they weren’t afraid, using iron shields to block the arrows and continuing to advance.