Han Khan

Chapter 52, Don't Know Life or Death

As for the so-called national justice, how many people can have such thoughts at this moment?
How could he surrender when he saw a Han general leading his troops to attack?
The White-robed Emperor Zhang Chengfeng appointed him as the garrison commander of Yizhou, not because of his outstanding talents, but because the Chen family had great influence in Yizhou!
The same was true of the Uighurs who did not kill him.

He knew very well that the Tang people would not come back, and the previous defeat in the field battle in Illinois seemed to have no effect on him.

When Jin Han's guards and centurions besieged Yizhou City, he dared to walk to the arrow scramble and said:
"Which general of the Guiyi Army is on the other side? Yizhou is now the territory of Yidu Protectorate! If you don't want to cause conflict between Gaochang and Dunhuang, please withdraw your troops immediately! We have sent people to ask for help from Yidu Protectorate in the summer capital of Beiting!

Yiduhu will soon send a large army to stop you!"

Many leaders and nobles of the Uighurs and Sai people in the city shouted one after another! Then they sent the remaining guards of each family to climb up the ravines with bows and arrows, aiming at Zhang Sheng and others outside the city!
Such behavior is truly admirable in its courage.

Of course, from a military perspective... well, it can also be considered... a wise move.

To defend a city, one usually needs to go out of the city and confront the enemy.

In this way, the morale of the soldiers defending the city can be boosted, and the enemy army can be feared and dare not attack the city with all their strength.

However, those who are overly obsessed with military tactics often suffer a devastating blow.

But how many soldiers does he have now? The Yizhou soldiers who are good at fighting have either been killed by the Jin Han people or captured! What capital does he have to be so arrogant? Is it possible that he can only rely on those guards?
"I swear in the name of God, you Uighur dogs, after the city is captured, you will die without a burial place!" Koza said loudly to the enemies on the city wall.

Under the mask, anger gradually rose on Zhang Sheng's cheeks. He had nothing to say and didn't want to say much, but he did not intend to attack Yizhou by force!
Wave your hand to signal the army to retreat!

Jin Han's army of more than 3,000 people is right outside the city, and this man dares to speak so wildly... Well, he is from a small place and has never seen the world, so let's forgive him for now.

For the Jinhan people, Yizhou is a sumptuous meal and delicious delicacy, which they naturally like very much.

After Zhang Sheng calmed down, he said to the many anxious guards and centurions around him: "Delicious prey requires a lot of effort to get. Now Yizhou is right in front of us, and all the exits are surrounded, so don't rush to act! Everyone retreat."

"As you command, Your Highness!"

All the centurions and centurions of the Guards followed orders, commanded their troops, and watched Yizhou City slowly retreat!

Zhang Sheng led his troops to retreat a certain distance and set up camp. He knew that being too eager for quick success would only backfire.

As night fell, in addition to the soldiers guarding outside the city gates of Yizhou, Zhang Sheng summoned the captains of each centurion and the guards to gather in a temporary camp to discuss siege strategies.

"Your Highness, I would like to ask you a question. Why don't we just storm the city directly?" Koza asked anxiously.

At this time, many of the guards and centurions around also showed the same anxious expressions. They all wanted to know the answer to this question very much.

After all, everyone knew that once they successfully captured Yizhou City, the amount of spoils that could be snatched would definitely be considerable.

However, they seem to have completely forgotten an important fact: in a siege, the attackers often suffer much greater losses than the defenders.

For Koza, besides his desire for rich spoils, what made him even more unable to let go was the Uighurs who once looked down on him.

He came from the Khitan tribe and had a deep hatred for the Gaochang Uighurs. His father was killed by the Uighurs in Jinshan.

Today, the Gaochang Uighurs and the Khitans on Jinshan Mountain have been fighting fiercely for control of the Dolos River and Jinshan Mountain.

So why didn't Zhang Sheng order the soldiers to forcibly attack the city?
Just as everyone was puzzled, Yin Shanxiong, who was standing next to Zhang Sheng, suddenly raised his voice and yelled at everyone: "Shut up! Anyone who dares to question His Highness's orders again will be punished with ten lashes!"

Everyone knelt down and said, "I dare not. Your Highness, please forgive me for waiting so anxiously!"

At this time, Zhang Sheng raised his head and slowly picked up the stone slab on top of the fire. There was a piece of bread being baked on the stone slab. After taking a bite, he slowly picked up the water bag and drank a sip of water.

Then he looked at the crowd and said, "According to the heavy infantry, the tribal leaders and guards of the big families in the city have not left, and their number is about four to five hundred.

Secondly, we did not have any siege equipment, not even the most basic ladders.

If they rashly attacked the city relying solely on ladders, what would be waiting for the Jin Han people would be a steady stream of falling arrows, stones, and boiling oil.

I'm worried that you will die miserably under the walls of Yizhou! If you are really not afraid of death, you can give it a try!
Furthermore, our soldiers are not good at siege warfare. Whether it is the various hundred households or the guards, they are all cavalry.

Are you naive enough to think that you can break through the city of Yizhou in one fell swoop with just lances?

I will not allow the surrendered heavy infantry to attack the city.

They are all excellent soldiers. If they are incorporated into the various centurions or the imperial guards, the military strength can be increased. It would be a great pity if they were sacrificed in vain outside this insignificant Yizhou city!

The fourth point is, if you guys are not blind.

It should be obvious that the scale of Yizhou City is not large, and the water source for the entire city is located in the nearby Blackwater River. As long as we find a way to cut off the water supply in the city and cut off the passage for transporting food from outside the city to the city, then this Yizhou City will be easily taken by us, right?

At that time, they will either leave the city and surrender, or starve to death in the city!
In this way, the outcome of this war will be decided, and we won’t have to spend too much effort attacking the city.”

Zhang Sheng's analysis made everyone suddenly enlightened, and they all admired and respected Zhang Sheng's wisdom.

"But what if the defenders in the city try their best to break out?" Zhang Xibao expressed his concerns.

Zhang Sheng raised his lips slightly, and said confidently: "Don't worry, I have already made arrangements.

Koza, you lead a team of troops to ambush by the Blackwater River. Once the defenders in the city go out to look for water, you must annihilate them all.

Uncle Xibao, you must lead your men to guard the grain route leading to the city, and not let a single grain of food enter Yizhou City.

The rest of you, follow me and closely monitor the movements of the city gates, and be prepared for enemy surprise attacks at any time."

After everyone finished eating and drinking, they took the order and left. A battle of siege and counter-siege was about to begin.

At the same time, the defenders in Yizhou City were busy in a tense and orderly manner. They were preparing for war with all their strength and did not dare to slack off for a moment.

The soldiers quickly replenished their arrows, the craftsmen stepped up the production of kerosene so that it could exert great power at the critical moment, and the slaves raced against time to repair the city walls.

The leaders and chieftains of each family vowed to defend Yizhou City and never let the Tang people succeed. They frequently sent spies out of the city to conduct reconnaissance and paid close attention to the movements outside the city, especially the movements of the "Guiyi Army".

Since the Han Chinese had been weak in the Western Regions for a long time, only the Guiyi Army in Dunhuang was the most well-known Han Chinese force.

Therefore, the defenders in the city naturally mistook the Jinhan tribe for the Guiyi Army. Apart from that, they could not think of any other possible Han forces appearing here.

In this way, the Yizhou City and the Jin Han people were in a stalemate all night. The defenders in the city did not launch a surprise attack, and the Jin Han people failed to block the Black Water River next to Yizhou due to lack of manpower and tools. Both sides were exhausted!

The next day, at dawn.

"Send someone to invite a fight and see if Chen Yunde will accept the challenge." Zhang Sheng gave the order: "Also send two guard regiments and twenty centurions to plunder the villages and tribes around Yizhou City.

Chen Yunde may not be willing to fight us in the wild, but I don't believe he can take all the livestock away. Yizhou City is actually not that big! "

Yin Shanxiong took the order and left.

A moment later, several fast horses galloped out of the camp, approached Yizhou City, and shot several challenge letters onto the city wall.

Zhang Sheng stared and watched, and saw half a quarter of an hour later, a group of people in armor appeared on the wall of Yizhou City. Due to the distance, he could not see clearly, they should be Chen Yunde and several leaders of the outsiders and Uighurs.

They pointed in this direction and talked non-stop, but had no intention of going to fight.

This is a determined test of patience! Damn it, is he trying to exhaust my patience and make me leave? Zhang Sheng thought to himself.

"How is the interrogation of these people going?" Zhang Sheng asked in the camp, looking at several prisoners who had just been captured and were kneeling on the ground with their hands tied.

"They are all the Sai people, Tatars, Uighurs and Tibetan leaders from the Heishui River and the nearby cities of Nazhi and Rouyuan Shouzhuo. They were captured by scouts to learn about the situation of nearby villages and tribes." Koza replied.

Zhang Sheng nodded and said.

"Well, after the interrogation, they will be assigned to the various centurions and the Tibetan guards as guides to lead the way to plunder these tribal villages. Those who obey will be spared, and those who disobey will be executed on the spot."

"As you command, Your Highness!"

Then Zhang Sheng looked at Zhang Xibao and said:
"Uncle Xibao, bring a guard regiment and all the tribesmen behind you. Let's set up camp here. We will rob all the tribes and villages outside Yizhou City and cut off their water supply. We will eat and live here. I want to see how long they can last me."

"Yes, Your Highness!" Zhang Xibao obeyed the order, walked out of the camp and summoned more than 400 guards, and rushed to the tribe's garrison in the rear.

Yizhou was relatively small, just a small fortress, a fortress that had been run for decades by the Uighurs, especially Anpolai and the Chen family of Yizhou.

There were many tribes and a dense population in this area. The Chen family and later Anpolat occupied this place, and there were only two or three thousand soldiers in the city.

However, yesterday, more than 2,000 soldiers were either killed or captured in the battle, along with a large amount of supplies. The only ones left were soldiers, slaves’ families, tribal chiefs, and Chen’s guards and attendants. The place was already overcrowded, so how could it accommodate all the population around Yizhou?
Yesterday, when the Jinhan people and the Yizhou defenders were fighting outside Yizhou city, a large number of tribes and villages outside the city fled into Yizhou city with their families and livestock. There must have been more than ten thousand people in the city at that time. With so many people, they were cut off from water and food!

I don’t know what the scene will be like.

(End of this chapter)