Establishing a thousand-year family from the nobles of the Western Han Dynasty

Chapter 33 Cutting Robe and Cutting Beard
Ten days later, the rebels had broken through the last line of defense and arrived at Chang'an. When the soldiers on guard in the city discovered this, they immediately rang the bell.

All the defenders in Chang'an became alert and began to prepare bows and arrows and rolling stones to meet the enemy.

"All generals, listen up. The first one to enter the city will be granted the title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households! Even if you die, your relatives can be granted the title instead."

Liu Ruyi drew his sword and ordered an all-out attack.

Under the temptation of such huge benefits, the soldiers were extremely brave and rushed up fearlessly, trying to climb into the tower one by one.

The soldiers in the city fought back, shooting arrows frantically and waving spears and swords. A large number of enemy soldiers were either shot down from the city or hacked or stabbed to death.

Attacking a city is not that easy. The walls are tall and solid, and it is difficult to climb up even with ladders. In addition, the crossbows on the walls are constantly firing arrows to suppress the defenders. Many times, they fall down before they even make contact.

"Get on the ram!"

Dozens of strong and sturdy soldiers rushed up pushing an extremely huge "wooden stake" and rammed the city gate frantically.

Under the tremendous pressure, the city gate shook several times. Countless soldiers in the city were holding on the other side, and the soldiers on the wall kept shooting arrows to stop them. Under the pressure of the rain of arrows, Liu Ruyi could only order the troops to retreat.

In this way, the defenders of Chang'an finally gained some time to catch their breath. The enemy was numerous and powerful, and even on defense a large number of soldiers died.

If this continues, the city will be broken sooner or later.

"General, the rebels' offensive is too fierce. We have suffered nearly a thousand casualties in just one day!"

"Moreover, the rebel leader seems to be well aware of our disadvantages. He keeps sending people to die with our army. It seems that he wants to fight a war of attrition!"

The commander defending the city reported the previous situation to General Zhou Yafu. It was very difficult for them to resist. The thorns laid in advance did not play much of a role and seemed very vulnerable in front of the giant arrows fired from the crossbows.

Zhou Yafu certainly knew the pressure on the frontline soldiers, but he had no choice but to say, "Tell the brothers to hold on! I will go to the prince later to increase the pension for the dead. We must not let down the relatives of the soldiers who died in battle."

"I obey your command!" The general accepted the order with pleasure. This would indeed boost the enthusiasm of the soldiers.

"By the way, General Taiyuan believes it."

"What? Give it to me quickly. It must be handed over to the prince immediately!" Zhou Yafu was obviously delighted. It seemed that the time for His Majesty to return for help was already approaching.

He originally wanted to open it now, but after thinking carefully, he felt that it was a bit distracting, so it would be safer to present it to the prince.

After receiving the letter, Zhou Yafu immediately got on the carriage and headed towards the Prince's palace.

Later, Liu Qi got the news, and his expression gradually changed from joy to sorrow.
"Prince, has something unexpected happened to His Majesty?" Zhou Yafu couldn't help but feel a little worried when he saw the prince's expression change so much. He knew the importance of Taiyuan, and with His Majesty's benevolent character, he would definitely not give it up easily.

"Alas... It seems that we have to hold on for at least another three months. We will be busy in the future." Liu Qi put down the letter, looking a little disappointed. As expected, his father was worried about the situation on the border.

"My father wrote to me that he must first retake Taiyuan from the Hu people, and then go to Yan State to help the King of Yan defeat Hu Duo before he can lead his troops back to support. This period will take at least three months."

"This..." Zhou Yafu felt a little heavy after hearing this. How could they hold out for three months with their current strength? Moreover, even if they really held out until His Majesty, they might not be able to come back. They could not control any unexpected situations along the way.

"But I have good news for you, General. General Xu has returned with his troops. It is said that he has already arrived near Chang'an and is waiting for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack on the rebels!"

Liu Qi forced a smile on his face. This was the only thing worth being happy about. Xu Zhao was the descendant of Jinghou and his military ability was unquestionable. Maybe he could really have miraculous effects.

"Alas... Prince, don't be too happy too soon." Zhou Yafu didn't feel anything. "Yan has 200,000 Donghu cavalry, and my Han army only has 50,000 vanguards. Now I'm afraid it's even a problem whether Yan can be preserved." "Even if General Xu returns to help, how many troops can he bring?"

Liu Qi stood up, smiled, and consoled him: "I believe in General Xu. He is the eldest son of Marquis Jing and has inherited the true teachings. When Emperor Gao was defeated by Xiang Yu in Pengcheng, everyone believed that he would lose without a doubt."

"But Marquis Jing created a miracle and repelled the 30,000 elite Chu troops. I'm sure that General Xu will also bring us surprises."

Zhou Yafu forced a smile and said, "I hope so."

In the following days, the rebels never stopped their offensive. They continued to lead their troops to attack and adopted suicidal tactics to deplete the number of defenders in the city. Now the Han army suffered heavy losses.

All officials were in a panic. No one thought they could hold out for more than three months as the rebels' offensive was too fierce.

However, with Zhou Yafu's military suppression, the ministers had no way to surrender even if they wanted to. Many people had already been executed in the city.

"Brother, the rebels are attacking again."

Hundreds of miles outside Chang'an, Xu Zhao was leading his troops stationed here. He had already surveyed all the geographical conditions and was now just waiting for the right opportunity to attack.

"Okay, tell the scouts on the front lines to monitor the movements. According to insider intelligence, Prince Zhao Liu Ruyi plans to personally lead the army today. This is our chance."

Xu Zhao had planned everything. He planned to lead the cavalry to launch a surprise attack after Liu Ruyi left the protection of the central army!

Try to kill King Zhao directly.

"As ordered."

As expected, Liu Ruyi had plans to lead the army in person today. Seeing that the morale of the troops in the city was unstable, he planned to attack the city in one go. Even if he could not take it down, it would be good to consume some of the enemy's resources.

"Walk."

Liu Ruyi mounted his warhorse and left the central army under the escort of his personal soldiers. Xu Zhao, who was far away, immediately received the news from the scouts.

He immediately gave the order: "Attack quickly! Aim at the one wearing the royal robe and hit him!"

Xu Zhao led 3,000 cavalrymen from an ambush position and rushed quickly towards where Liu Ruyi was. The Zhao army was unable to resist this elite cavalry and was soon scattered.

The army was also alarmed by the sudden change and defended with all their might, but due to the suddenness of the situation and the high mobility of the cavalry, they were unable to react in time.

"Soldiers, kill Liu Ruyi!"

The Han army, covering the sky and the earth, was coming from a distance. Liu Ruyi cursed loudly, realizing the situation was not good, and ordered his personal soldiers to cover him and then fled quickly.

"The one wearing royal robes is Liu Ruyi, kill him!" Xu Zhao took the lead and acted like an unstoppable force.

After receiving the order, the soldiers rushed towards the target wearing the royal robes and continued to shoot arrows to interfere.

"Damn it..." Liu Ruyi quickly took off his clothes and continued to run away.

"The one with the long beard is Liu Ruyi, kill him!"

(End of this chapter)