After Qiu Rixin finished speaking, even Lü Shinang fell silent.
If Mingzhou City could not be taken, they would likely have to retreat in disgrace.
But this would also mean they might be subservient to others for the rest of their lives.
"If Mingzhou isn't taken in three days, I will die on the path of assault!"
After taking a deep breath, Lü Shinang said with red eyes.
"I understand. If the Song army wants to advance south, they will have to tread over my corpse!"
After a long silence, Qiu Rixin suddenly spoke.
"Take care, brother!"
"Mingzhou is entrusted to you!"
Qiu Rixin and Lü Shinang had known each other for many years and understood each other's thoughts.
Both of them came from well-off families. If they hadn't been unwilling to be subservient, why would they risk decapitation for this kind of business?
"Pass down the order, from this moment on, advance with no retreat. Those who retreat will be executed!"
Seeing Qiu Rixin lead his troops northward, Lü Shinang, with red eyes, issued the bloodiest of orders.
As his command was given, the previously tense battle immediately escalated into a frenzy.
"Damn it, are these rebels insane?"
Seeing his own guards joining the defense of the city walls, even Han Shizhong felt immense pressure.
"Captain Han, the commander sent me to bring you a thousand Xiang Army troops!"
As soon as Han Shizhong finished speaking, Jiang Yan rushed onto the city wall with a thousand Xiang Army soldiers!
"You've come at the right time!"
Although these men were all the weaker and elderly, in this close-quarters combat, they couldn't afford to be picky.
Even children no taller than half a person were better than no one at this moment.
"Zhao Xicheng, you take them. Leave five hundred men with me, and send the rest to Captain Li!"
Although Han Shizhong didn't know how Li Bao was faring, he knew that Li Bao's situation was likely not much better.
"Yes!"
"How is the commander? How many arrows have been produced so far?"
Compared to these reinforcements, Han Shizhong was more concerned about how many arrows had been produced in the rear.
Mingzhou's armory was severely depleted, and their reserve of arrows was critically low.
At this moment, with the heightened intensity of the battle, the arrows they had were being consumed at an unprecedented rate.
"The commander is already organizing all the citizens in the city to help manufacture arrows. The first batch should be delivered within two hours at most!"
"Then take my message back to the commander. Tell him that as long as there are enough arrows, for those rebels to break through the city, they'd better be able to fly!"
"Yes!"
Seeing Han Shizhong busy again, Jiang Yan turned and headed back to the grand training ground.
As dusk approached, the first batch of fifty thousand arrows, hastily manufactured in the city, was finally delivered to the city walls.
Although due to the tight schedule, the arrows, which normally required over a hundred processes, were reduced to just five by Han Mo, they were largely usable as is, and the short-term impact was not significant.
"Commander, why not mobilize the civilians to assist in defending the city?"
Listening to the shouts from the city walls, Jiang Yan suggested again with some concern.
"Do you know that sending civilians who have never been on the battlefield up there is just sending them to their deaths..."
Han Mo spoke while taking another deep breath.
Warfare in the age of cold weapons was unimaginably brutal.
The Xiang Army soldiers on the city walls at least had some leather or paper armor, but Mingzhou's treasury was empty. Sending these civilians up the walls was tantamount to sending them to their deaths.
Perhaps other officials could harden their hearts, but the damn education of later generations had forged Han Mo's values into something as solid as cast iron. It was precisely at times like these that he found it hardest to make such a decision.
"But the damage to the city walls is too great. If it continues at this rate, they might run out by tomorrow evening!"
Having witnessed the brutality on the city walls, Jiang Yan was now extremely worried.
"Alright, I believe in Captain Han. If he said three days, it will be three days!"
Even at this point, Han Mo was still willing to trust Han Shizhong.
Night slowly descended, but the rebel army outside the city showed no signs of stopping.
Amidst the cacophony of battle cries, countless civilians gazed towards the direction of the city walls.
Although darkness obscured everything, everyone knew in their hearts that once the city fell, their fate would be decided.
Children shivered in their mothers' arms, and women frequently glanced out the window with worried expressions.
After finally enduring until the latter half of the night, his son finally fell asleep.
Looking at his sleeping son, and then at the twenty catties of grain issued by the government, Tie Niu silently downed the tasteless, watered-down wine from his gourd and reached under the bed, pulling out a rusty waist saber.
"Husband, where are you going?"
Seeing the knife in her husband's hand, Xiu Lan quickly asked.
"You take the child and sleep. I'm going to check the grand training ground! The people on the walls have been fighting all day. If the city falls, we won't have good days either!"
Forcing a smile, Tie Niu retrieved a whetstone from under the stone stool outside the door.
Although he had been a镖师 (bodyguard) in a镖局 (escort agency) in the past, he hadn't touched a blade in five or six years since injuring his left hand.
"You, you come back soon!"
"I know! Lock the courtyard gate and get some good sleep!"
To avoid disturbing his child's sleep, Tie Niu walked quite a distance before reaching the riverbank. Under the faint starlight, he began to sharpen the knife he hadn't used in years.
His master had once said that a good knife should neither be too dull nor too sharp. Too dull, and it would easily get stuck between bones; too sharp, and it would often break more easily.
He had originally thought that the imperial army would act like before, raiding houses for grain as soon as the rebels arrived.
But unexpectedly, the new commander not only didn't raid but also distributed grain to the poor families in the city, even giving an extra five catties to families with infants.
He had traveled extensively in his life, but he had never seen such an official.
After finishing sharpening the knife, Tie Niu performed a saber flourish and nodded with satisfaction, then strode towards the grand training ground.
In the darkness, Tie Niu suddenly felt a sense of amusement.
He himself never expected that he would one day pick up a knife again for the damn imperial court that only ever collected taxes...