knife

Chapter 293 Siege
When Feng Congwen left Wei County, he only had more than 5,000 men under his command, but when he arrived outside Luoyang, he had more than 10,000 men.

The soldiers who joined along the way were not just random thugs, but well-trained and valiant private troops.

Luoyang was a key area where powerful families were concentrated. Compared to Chang'an, the political center, which was more tightly controlled by the imperial court, Luoyang, an economic hub, was much less subject to supervision.

Because the smooth operation of this economic center cannot be separated from those merchants and tycoons, and behind these merchants and tycoons, without exception, stand wealthy and powerful families.

This is why Kou Zhong had to leave Chang'an and come to Luoyang to take charge.

But now that the building is about to collapse, those who used to tremble at the mere mention of Kou Zhong's name now have the audacity to follow behind others and brandish their claws at Kou Zhong.

If you want to eat meat and drink soup, you have to make some contribution. Otherwise, when it comes to sharing the profits afterward, those who didn't participate will naturally just stand by and watch.

Not punishing you is already a favor to you; why would you want more benefits?
So, at this point in time, everyone has to make a choice.

Should we side with the imperial court, or stand against it?
When He Zudao was wreaking havoc on both sides of the river, no one made a choice.

When He Zudao was waging war and causing destruction everywhere, no one made a choice.

But when He Zudao marched towards Luoyang, and when legend had it that Yang Jian of the Hongnong Yang clan appeared in He Zudao's army...
These people have finally made their choice.

They completely abandoned the imperial court and sided with the other side.

The saying "when a wall falls, everyone pushes it down" perfectly describes this situation.

Feng Congwen's attack was simple yet domineering.

Without flanking maneuvers, without detours, without any demonstrations, and without any unnecessary actions, he led his troops directly to the outside of Yingtian Gate.

Located on the south side, Yingtian Gate, also known as Wufeng Tower, can be called the first gate of Luoyang, which shows its status and importance.

The massive architectural complex, consisting of the gate tower, side towers, and east and west gate towers, is over 100 meters long and over 30 meters high. It is indeed apt to describe it as impregnable.

After Kou Zhong arrived in Luoyang, Luoyang began to prepare for war. While other places were desperately reinforcing their city walls and reorganizing their military equipment, Luoyang alone did not need to prepare anything, because it was the most solid and powerful place to begin with.

No one expected that Feng Congwen's chosen breakthrough point in attacking Luoyang would be Yingtian Gate.

Even Li Dachui in the army had to give Feng Congwen a thumbs up.

Sometimes, the strongest point is precisely the easiest point to break through.

Kou Zhong would never tolerate any mishap at Yingtianmen, because any failure at Yingtianmen would be magnified infinitely. In such a situation, a single move would have far-reaching consequences, ultimately leading to the collapse of a domino effect.

Although his family had previously had innate masters, they were used as strategic weapons for deterrence. Li Dachui had never seen an innate master appear on the battlefield.

Inside the Yuan Dynasty's capital city, Duanmu Miaomiao had made a move, and she heard Zhou Yi mention it afterward. However, even though Zhou Yi was eloquent and described it vividly, he hadn't witnessed it firsthand, so it was difficult for him to have that kind of personal experience.

So today, Li Dachui stared wide-eyed, eager to see just how much of a role a master of innate talent could play in a war.

An army has nothing to fear from a single innate master.

Human strength has its limits, and even a master of innate abilities is powerless against the relentless attacks of the army.

But if a master with innate talent cooperates with an army and becomes the sharpest weapon, how much power can they unleash?

Thinking back to when they were outside the Great Wall, Xiao Changche was only a ninth-rank Xuan Yuan, yet the cavalry that used her as their spearhead were almost invincible.

Feng Congwen aimed to capture Wufeng Tower in one battle, giving the enemy inside the city a huge shock and providing tremendous support to those outside the city.

Of course, he also had his own selfish motives.

That is to let Yang Jian and Kou Zhong fight each other.

With his current strength of only the seventh rank of Xuan Yuan, Feng Congwen will probably be unable to avenge himself even when Kou Zhonglao passes away peacefully.

If Kou Zhong hadn't fought Yang Jian today, he could have easily taken Luoyang.

For both moral and rational reasons, Kou Zhong would not allow such a thing to happen.

"Lord Yang, I beg you!" Under the central banner, Feng Congwen bowed deeply in reverence.

Yang Jian waved his hand, "Today was meant to be a battle with Kou Zhong. You just do your job, I'll take care of Kou Zhong!"

After saying this, Yang Jian, still dressed as a Confucian scholar, walked slowly with his hands behind his back towards the nearby city of Luoyang, towards the magnificent Five Phoenix Tower.

Feng Congwen turned around with a smile and looked at the hundreds of martial arts experts behind him.

This naturally includes Li Dachui and Fang Xiaomao.

These were all gathered by Feng Congwen during his military campaign.

"Gentlemen, with Lord Yang leading the charge, the pressure on you is almost gone. The success of capturing the Five Phoenix Tower and opening a major road for the army depends entirely on you!" "We will certainly live up to the general's expectations!" A group of martial arts men shouted in unison.

People who were originally not very brave become incredibly bold when they have a master with innate abilities backing them up.

"Let's go!" A local expert at the peak of the eighth rank, brandishing his long spear, followed Yang Jian with great enthusiasm, heading towards Luoyang City.

Behind them, Feng Congwen waved his command flag, and the soldiers pushed the siege engine and carried the ladders, following closely behind.

Yang Jian held off Kou Zhong,

Martial arts experts opened a breach.

The ordinary soldiers surged forward.

Simple, direct, and effective!
If the city doesn't have enough strength to deal with this violent aesthetic, then the city could be breached in an instant.

Kou Zhong stepped onto the Five Phoenix Tower and looked down at Yang Jian below.

Everyone here is a top expert from a prestigious family, but compared to the Yang family of Hongnong who have stood for a thousand years, the Kou family of Pengcheng has only risen to the top tier of aristocratic families in the last few decades.

Thirty years ago, a high-stakes gamble propelled the Kou family of Pengcheng to instant prominence. If the Kou family wins again this time, they could potentially become a top-tier family like the Yang family of Hongnong. Two emperors and over a hundred years is more than enough time for them to build their fortunes.

Of course, the rise of new top-tier wealthy families will inevitably erode the interests of the old ones. Therefore, in the eyes of the Yang family, the Kou family has become fat enough and it is time to destroy them and seize the wealth they have accumulated over the years.

You're not qualified to be part of a family like ours.

Seeing Kou Zhong upstairs, Yang Jian smiled slightly, lightly touched the ground with his feet, and the earth suddenly trembled. The entire Yingtian Gate seemed to shake, and he soared into the sky. The next moment, he was riding the wind, with his head above his feet.

Kou Zhong laughed contemptuously, then stuck out a finger and poked upwards.

"Damn it!" Li Dachui, who had already run to the foot of the city wall, cursed softly as he watched this scene.

Everyone on the battlefield stared in disbelief at the scene.

Yang Jian descended like a divine warrior, striking down with a majestic palm.

Kou Zhong, however, was like a pillar in the middle of the stream. With a gentle flick of his finger, he lifted the other person into the air.

Li Dachui silently pulled Fang Xiaomao and moved her sideways for more than ten zhang.

At this moment, hundreds of martial arts experts were scattering and rushing towards the city wall. The only weapons that could pose a threat to them on the city wall were crossbows and similar weapons. With everyone scattered, these crossbows lost their power due to their respective martial arts skills. As for ordinary arrows, they were just a tickle.

Therefore, when Li Dachui and Fang Xiaomao moved sideways, no one else was moving either.

It roared like thunder from the heavens.

The violent true energy spread outwards from Kou Zhong and Yang Jian. On the upper floor of the Five Phoenix Tower, the huge stone beast head shattered into powder. The wooden city tower collapsed, bricks and stones flew everywhere, and the soldiers on the city wall were sent flying into the air like kites. Below the city, the martial arts experts who had just run here and happened to be within the range of this overflowing true energy had almost no chance to resist. Those on the side were directly blasted away or forced to their knees. The few unlucky ones in the very center tried their best to resist, but the result was that they bled from all seven orifices and died with their internal organs shattered.

Fang Xiaomao saw that the guy who had previously spoken so passionately to Feng Congwen about devoting himself to the cause had now indeed gotten what he wanted.

This guy was really unlucky. He was right at the very center of the overflowing true energy of the two innate masters. He was sandwiched between the two sides and shattered into dust.

If it weren't for the young master pulling him back, even though he wasn't in the very center, judging by the imposing manner, if he had been hit, he would have been either killed on the spot or had his bones broken.

"Move to the side and fight!" Li Dachui shoved him and whispered, "I'll go check on these two!"

The true energy overflowed, causing the roof to collapse. The two figures remained frozen in mid-air for a moment before slowly sinking downwards, eventually landing inside the tower.

Taking advantage of the rising dust and the fact that it was impossible to see clearly from the outside, Li Dachui leaped up the city wall like a ghost.

A soldier who had just crawled out of the rubble was dazed and saw Li Dachui. Without thinking, he slashed at Li Dachui with his sword.

This guy has decent martial arts skills and extremely fast reflexes, but he's just incredibly unlucky.

If he had encountered any other enemy instead of Li Dachui, he could have fought back and forth for several rounds.

But he encountered Li Dachui, a master of innate martial arts.
So the moment he swung the knife, it shattered, and he was sent flying.

The attacking soldiers were astonished to see a creature fly over their heads with a whoosh, as if it had grown wings; its speed was such that even a peregrine falcon would have to admit defeat.

However, judging from the way that guy was bruised and screaming in pain, he probably wouldn't survive.

Li Dachui silently descended into the interior through the broken roof.

The invisible and intangible true energy flowed freely within the room. The two evenly matched opponents were locked in a life-or-death struggle, neither daring to hold back in the slightest. If anyone else were to step into this space at this moment, they would probably be cut into pieces. However, Li Dachui walked through it as if nothing had happened.

Concealing his presence and quietly hiding to the side, Li Dachui watched this fierce battle unfold.

(End of this chapter)