243 Taking Down Zhennan Pass Part 2 (1/2)

Mu Guiying nodded. ”I also think that it's not practical.”

When one didn't have good advisors, the detriments were already there to see.

Not only did they have to take over Zhennan Pass in this battle, but they also had to save the lives of Li Anbai and his daughter. After all, he already had the intention to surrender, which meant he was an ally, so they had to save him.

”General, what plan do you have?” Ouyang Shuo asked.

Mu Guiying confidently and resolutely said, ”I don't have a plan; just attack.”

Ouyang Shuo was shocked, he looked at Mu Guiying in awe and amazement. Since they had already riled up the enemy, they should just destroy them outright, as it was the righteous thing to do.

”Good!” Ouyang Shuo got up. ”Let's stick to what the general has said. Lest there be changes as time passes, let's go!”

”Yes!” The many men echoed.

The big army rolled out of Mulan County and toward Zhennan Pass.

At 1 PM, without any attempts to hide, they arrived in front of Zhennan Pass.

The canyon was only 50 meters wide, so they could spread out their forces.

At the front of the formation, the 10 scaling ladders were put in place; closely behind were the 5 three-bow arcuballistas which were being aimed and zeroed.

The bottom of the scaling ladder had a base of wood with 6 wheels underneath; the main ladder was fixed to the base at a certain degree. At the sides, there was protection and was strengthened using leather. Soldiers could effectively defend against arrows while pushing the scaling ladder.

The main ladder was split into two parts, making use of a folding structure where the middle joined up the two parts with a shaft.

When sieging, as long as one placed the main ladder under the wall, and then make use of the secondary ladder, they could easily climb up the wall and reduce the danger and difficulty.

Additionally, as the scaling ladder was placed on the wall, soldiers could prevent the enemy from sabotage only when they were ready to climb.

Standing in front of the forces was the 1st Guards unit that Ouyang Shuo had brought. Their duty would be to made use of the step arrows that the arcuballistas shot along with the 2 sword-shield soldier units from Mulan County to take down the city wall.

Following closely behind the sword-shield soldier units were the two archer units, who were in charge of cover fire. Further behind was the heavy armored infantry. They were in charge of using the wooden ram to take down the city gates.

The wooden ram had a wheelbarrow attached such that it could be pushed forward. The wooden ram was covered with two layers of iron skin. Many shiny spikes were welded on it.

At the back of the force was the cavalry unit from the city protection regiment who acted as a reserve.

The huge army didn't bother about the mountain bandits on the Zhennan Pass, and slowly made their preparations for the war ahead.

Such a huge commotion naturally alerted and shocked the mountain bandits.

The mountain bandit leader who had successfully staged the coup had received the report and brought a bunch of people to the city wall. Upon seeing the huge army outside he muttered, ”Who can tell me where in the world this army appeared from?”

The mountain bandits on his right and left looked at each other, but they all didn't know what to say.

”Leader, was, was it, was it the old head of the stronghold?” One mountain bandit stammered as he said. Although Li Anbai was locked up, he still had high prestige in the mountain stronghold and was still regarded the head of the stronghold.

The leader froze and scolded, ”There’s an 80% chance that it is that old fogey. He's going to die but still wants to go against me. I'll go and kill him now.”

The mountain bandit beside him immediately stopped him and persuaded, ”Leader, what's most important is to stop their advance. We can settle the old fogey at any time.”

For him to be able to successfully stage the coup, he naturally wasn't stupid. He knew that killing Li Anbai at this time would not only not help the situation, but it would make those who liked him not listen to him.

The reason why he was so emotional was because of the sudden situation. It wasn't easy for him to become the leader, and he hadn't enjoyed it long before facing such a thing. As such, he felt frustrated.

After calming himself down, he started giving orders and organizing the defense. He ordered all the mountain bandits up the city wall to fend off the enemy invasion.

Zhennan Pass, which was an old ancient pass, not only did it have high city walls, but the city protection resources in its storage were also in sufficient amounts. They had large amounts of rolling wood and stone pieces, which was where the confidence from the leader came from.

After the mountain bandits went off to prepare, the mountain bandit called a confidant and ordered, ”Dao Ba, quickly go down and find 20 dependable brothers, prepare horses and food. Take out the jewels from the storeroom and rush to the back gate and wait for my orders. If things go wrong, we leave immediately.”

Dao Ba was shocked and asked, ”Big brother, don't tell me we might not be able to defend the pass?”