lovenovelstory Chapter 123 Heavenly Demon Lord, Earthly Tai Sui
Chapter 123 Heavenly Demon Lord, Earthly Tai Sui
Li Sheng sheathed his bow, his gaze cold and stern.
He knew that archery alone wouldn't be enough to breach the city. The Jianling garrison was well-rested and had the advantage of the city's defenses; if they continued to wear him down like this, even if they managed to capture it, it would come at a great cost.
He tossed the powerful bow to his personal guard, dismounted, slammed his halberd to the ground, and strode towards the leading siege formation.
"Get out of the way!"
He parted the soldiers in front of him, walked to a siege ladder, and looked up at the city wall.
The soldiers on the city wall were throwing stones down. A stone the size of a millstone rolled down from the crenellation and hit the sandy ground next to the ladder, splashing up a cloud of dirt.
Li Sheng did not back down.
He gripped the thick logs on both sides of the ladder with both hands, used his waist and abdomen to exert force, and climbed up like a monkey, as fast as a black shadow.
The soldiers guarding the city wall were stunned for a moment.
They had never seen anything like it before.
"Shoot him! Shoot him now!"
A garrison commander shouted at the top of his lungs.
The archers on the city wall hurriedly changed direction and shot arrows at Li Sheng.
Li Shengren was in mid-air with nowhere to grab onto, but he didn't stop. Instead, he increased his climbing speed.
With a sudden burst of strength in his right hand, he sprang up from the ladder, grabbed the edge of the crenellations in mid-air, and flipped over to climb up, narrowly avoiding a volley of arrows. The arrows grazed his armor, sending sparks flying.
The soldiers guarding the city wall stared wide-eyed.
In the blink of an eye, the man had climbed over the city wall from the outside.
The moment Li Sheng landed, his ring-pommel sword was already drawn.
He swung his sword at the nearest garrison soldier, who fell into a pool of blood before he could even scream.
Then the second cut, the third cut, the fourth cut...
The city walls were narrow, and although the defending troops were numerous, they could not rush up all at once.
Li Sheng leaned against the battlements, his ring-pommel sword transforming into a silver whirlwind in his hand, blood splattering wherever the blade passed.
A guard came thrusting a spear at him, but he dodged to the side. The blade sliced across his side, and blood spurted from the guard's throat as he clutched his neck and fell to the ground.
Another garrison soldier charged forward with his shield raised. He swung his sword backhand and cleaved the shield in two with such force that it shattered. The blade then sliced into the man's shoulder, and the man screamed and fell to his knees.
Li Sheng's face was splattered with blood, and his armor was soaked in blood, reflecting a dark red light in the sunlight.
The defenders on the city wall were driven back by his single-handed attack.
Some people started to back away, some dropped their weapons and tried to run away, and some collapsed to the ground, unable to move, their legs giving way.
The leader was still shouting desperately from behind.
"Surround him! He's alone! Attack him together!"
But no one dared to go up.
Most of the garrison in Jianling City were county soldiers who usually only caught thieves. They had never seen such a fierce man before. One man, with a knife, blocked the city wall and killed people until blood flowed like a river. His momentum made everyone's heart tremble with fear.
Someone in the crowd shouted first.
"Is he a human or a ghost?!"
Then, the sound spread like wildfire.
"He's not human... He's a war god descended to earth..."
"A demon...he's a demon!"
When Li Sheng reached the seventh defender, the resistance on the city wall completely collapsed.
The remaining defenders dropped their weapons and fled in panic. Some rolled down the ramparts, while others jumped off the city walls, breaking their legs but crawling away without a care.
Li Sheng stood atop the city wall, covered in blood, his ring-pommel sword embedded in the crevice of the battlements, supporting his slightly trembling body.
He turned around and faced the outside of the city. The afterglow of the setting sun shone on his blood-red armor, making him look like a demon king descended from heaven. He was truly a god among men. What a magnificent Taiping Army general, Li Sheng!
Below the city, the Taiping soldiers looked up at that figure, their eyes filled with tears.
People shouted at the top of their lungs.
"Victory!"
"May the General be victorious!"
The south gate of Jianling City was smashed open by a battering ram.
The Taiping army surged into the city like a tidal wave, with shouts of battle, the sound of gongs, and the clatter of horses' hooves blending together.
"The Taiping army enters the city! They will not disturb the people! They will not take any property! They will not rape any women!"
"Surrender and you will not be killed! Those who resist will die!"
Wang Huan, the magistrate of Jianling County, was captured in the back hall of the county government office and brought before Li Sheng with his hands bound.
Li Sheng sat in the main hall of the county government office, wiping the blood off his face with water.
"General, this man is Wang Huan, the magistrate of Jianling County."
Li Sheng looked up and glanced at him.
Wang Huan was trembling all over, but he still managed to maintain a stubborn expression on his face.
"Thieves...bandits! You will all die a horrible death!"
Li Sheng was not angry; he simply said something.
"Take him away and keep a close watch on him."
The guards escorted Wang Huan out of the main hall.
Li Sheng stood up, walked to the map hanging in the hall, and focused his gaze on the northern part of the map.
"Report—!"
A scout strode in from outside and knelt on one knee.
"General, we have captured a spy inside and outside the city. He was a messenger sent by Chen Gui, the Chancellor of Xiapi. We also found a secret letter in his possession."
Li Sheng took the letter, unfolded it, glanced at it, and his brow twitched slightly.
The letter was written by Chen Gui to the Wang family, a prominent clan in Jianling County. The wording was polite, but the meaning was very clear: he requested that the Wang family of Jianling, together with the Peng and Zhao families of Liangcheng, send troops to join forces and march south to attack the Taiping Army from both sides.
At the end of the letter, he specifically mentioned that reinforcements from the prefecture would arrive soon, and told Wang not to worry.
Li Sheng folded the letter, stuffed it into his sleeve, and a cold smile appeared on his lips.
"Chen Gui... he's quick on his feet."
Li Sheng tucked the secret letter into his sleeve, but his gaze did not immediately leave the map.
His mind raced through the image of the city of Xiaxiang, which had nearly fallen.
"This time, we cannot repeat the same mistakes."
He muttered something under his breath, then turned around, his gaze sharp as a knife.
"Ashi, pass on my order. All the major clans in Jianling City, especially the Wang clan who correspond with Chen Gui, are to be immediately sealed off. Not a single one is to escape."
"Each battalion will act separately, sealing off residences and confiscating weapons and armor. Anyone found to be privately possessing more than ten sets of bows, crossbows, or armor will have their head of household detained on the spot, and their clansmen will be incorporated into the refugee camp. All account books, land deeds, and grain registers in the residences will be sent to the county government for my personal review."
Li Shi clasped his hands in acceptance of the order and was about to turn around when Li Sheng called him back.
"There's one more thing. After confiscating the property of the powerful clans, immediately arrange for people to take over their estates. Register all tenant farmers and, according to the rules of Xiapi, divide the land equally among the tenants, with the first year being tax-free. Each household should write down the acreage of their land, draw up a contract, and make two copies, one for the tenant and one for the county government's records."
He paused, his voice becoming even deeper.
"The reason why Xiaxiang got into trouble was because I left too hastily. Although I distributed the land to the common people, those powerful clans were still around."
"promise!"
Li Shi strode out.
That night, the mansions of four prominent families in Jianling City were simultaneously besieged.
The soldiers scaled the wall and entered, their torches illuminating the courtyard as if it were daytime.
The Wang, Zhao, Zhou, and Sun families were successively taken into custody. Their privately hoarded armor and crossbows were carried out box by box, and their grain and money were counted and cataloged one by one.
The next morning, notices were posted all over the four gates and street corners of Jianling City. The Taiping Army had taken back all the land occupied by the powerful clans and distributed it equally among the original tenant farmers and landless people in the city. The contracts were issued on the spot.
At first, the people dared not accept it.
But when they saw that all the members of these powerful clans had been conscripted into the Taiping Army, their fear was instantly overwhelmed by the prospect of gain.