Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 57 What can allies be used for?

He did some ideological work among the generals under his command and managed to suppress their arrogance.

After everyone had gone to work, Liu Bei sat down on the Hu chair and continued to deal with the military affairs piled on the desk.

Qian Zhao moved the desk and sat on the right side of the hall to handle the affairs of Donglai and Lai counties. The two of them would sometimes chat.

The only sound left was the sound of the knife carving bamboo.

After an unknown amount of time, Liu Bei finished his military affairs, straightened his back and exhaled lightly, and saw Qian Zhao still busy with his pen with his head down.

His brows were furrowed from time to time, and his pen was held in the air without falling.

Liu Bei smiled, and without making a sound to wake him up, he quietly went out from the back door, lifted the curtain, and went out.

When they got to the courtyard outside, Liu Bei said with a smile, "Zijing, you are still too slow. I have already helped him take care of half of the military affairs, and he hasn't finished the county affairs yet. Could it be that he is busy until late at night every day in Le'an County?"

After leaving the county government office, Liu Bei, under the protection of his personal soldiers, climbed up the watchtower on the city wall and looked north.

He planned to stay in the city for two more days, and after the scouts had found out the situation in Ye County, he would continue to lead the army northward.

At present, grain is mainly transported from the eight counties of Beihai along the river to Duchang and Xiami, so the loss is not great.

After taking Ye County, we will continue to march towards Qucheng, which will be a huge cost.

The grain and fodder from the plain behind and Jinan were all transported along the water system to Le'an, and then transported by land across the Beihai Sea to the two counties in front.

Jian Yong was stationed in Le'an County to ensure that grain could be transported in time, so that if anyone caused any delays, they could be dealt with immediately.

The sun is setting at this moment, and the lush grass in the wild is shrouded in the afterglow of the sunset.

Turning around and looking back at the dilapidated city, the collapsed roof beams were tilted to one side, and rubble was scattered in the alleys, at the base of the walls, and on the top of the walls.

The cautious old man and old woman, with no men or women to do the work in the house, limped out from the cracks, fearing that the sound of secretly drawing water would anger the ferocious soldiers.

Liu Bei thought of the songs and dances sung by Yuefu, which not only included poems by Sima Xiangru and others, but also recorded the suffering of the common people.

After a long silence, he suddenly smiled, pointed his whip at the slanting sunset, and said optimistically: "Even if you will eventually fall, I have firewood to help you tonight, so the people don't have to worry about being cold and hungry."

……

April 21st, the fourth year of Chuping.

After a short rest, Liu Bei led his army out again, heading straight for Ye County where 2,000 soldiers were stationed.

In order to prevent Liu Bei from digging tunnels to break into the city, the bandit army built two barriers outside the city to resist and stop the Han army.

Liu Bei sent the vanguard camp to attack the rampart, using giant weapons built to defend against arrows and crossbows to hammer through the simple rampart that had been built for two days.

The enemy troops in the fortress were caught off guard. When the battering ram crashed in, the soldiers standing in front of them were instantly crushed into a bloody mess.

A dozen Han soldiers rushed out of the battering ram with swords and shields in hand. Countless armored soldiers rushed into the broken gap at the back. The two or three hundred bandits defending in the fortress had no power to resist at all.

They were forced to retreat again and again due to the huge outnumbered forces. They tried to escape from the fortress, but were shot to death by crossbows.

The bandit troops on the city wall of Ye County watched helplessly as the earthen ramparts they had built day and night for two days were removed one by one by the fierce Han army.

They didn't dare rush out of the city to rescue, for fear that once they opened the door, they would never be able to close it again.

Originally, they wanted to rely on the barriers and city walls to delay for a while, so that the Liaodong army could come and hunt down the Qingzhou Han army.

Who would have thought that in just half a day, both bases would be breached.

Looking at the flags that covered the sky in the distance, as well as hundreds of chariots and archers who skillfully and quickly drew their bows.

The Xianbei tribal leader, who was wearing a hakama jacket, a long hat and short boots, saw this and sweat broke out on his forehead. He held onto the city wall and said anxiously to the officials next to him: "The Han people in Qingzhou are so brave and good at fighting, how can we defend this city?" The Liaodong officials also turned pale, as the outer barriers had been breached.

What will we do if the people of Qingzhou dig tunnels to cause the city wall to collapse and then attack the city?

Seeing that the other side had begun digging trenches outside the city to prevent the people inside from breaking out, it would be too late once the trenches were dug deep.

The officials quickly suggested to the Xianbei leader: "It is still possible to break out now. You can rush out of the city gate with the infantry to survive."

"I heard that the Qingzhou army wants to kill all the Xianbei people. If we don't fight now, it will be too late to regret it!"

He was also trying to intimidate these barbarians, hoping that they would charge forward and attract their attention, so that he could take the opportunity to break through.

The Xianbei leader was not stupid either. He looked at the chariot formation that had been set up under the city and drew his crossbows to fire at the four city gates.

Breaking through on horseback is simply sending oneself to the front as a sitting duck. No matter how high the horse jumps, can it be higher than the chariots blocking the road?

Facing the Wugang chariots from behind, the Han army erected rows of spears and large shields, and no one dared to charge into the battle.

Who dares to break through by bravery?
The Xianbei leader immediately said, "It is not appropriate for the cavalry to attack at this moment. Please ask the officers to let the infantry charge first and destroy the enemy's chariot formation. The men of our tribe will follow and we will surely defeat the enemy."

The Liaodong official shook his head and said, "That's wrong. Infantry is not worth using. Only cavalry and archery are fast and can shoot arrows to confuse the enemy before they can react."

The Xianbei leader cursed the shameless officials in his heart, clearly wanting to send them out to die so that he could escape with his men.

But I have to say it in a high-sounding way.

He couldn't help but said angrily, "Since you are unwilling to leave first, then we can just stay in the city, but at least we should build more earth mounds, so that if the city wall collapses, there will be a place to defend."

The Liaodong officials also said: "At this point, we have no choice but to do this."

"I will order the people in the city to build up the earth quickly, and kill those who are slow to do so, to hurry them up."

The Xianbei leader nodded and said, "Then go quickly. If the Han army attacks the city, I will first let the tribesmen defend it with arrows, and you can order the infantry to assist."

After watching the official leave, he immediately called his confidant, whispered a few words to him, and ordered him to take a few more people to investigate the other three city gates. If any of the Han troops were slacking off, they should report immediately.

He would gather his troops, open the city gate and break out. As for the life and death of the Liaodong army in the city, it had nothing to do with him, the Xianbei people.

They are just hired soldiers, there is no need to risk their lives.

Coincidentally, after the Liaodong officials quickly walked down the city wall, they found the infantry captain and asked him to send people to supervise the Xianbei people on the city wall. Once they found any signs of the city being breached, they should immediately kill the Xianbei servants who were taking care of the horses.

Select those who can ride horses, take the horses and leave the city, and do not leave them here to be buried with the Xianbei people.

Their lives are much more precious than those of barbarians. Do they really think they will live and die with you?
The captain was shocked at first, but was convinced by the official's words and nodded repeatedly.

He clenched his fists and made up his mind quietly.

If you can only escape by stepping on the corpses of your allies at the critical moment, then just put friendship aside for the time being.

"Boom, boom, boom..." There were bursts of rapid drum beating sounds coming from outside the city.

The two looked at each other and were stunned at first.

Then he suddenly realized that the Qingzhou people seemed to be attacking the city.

"Make preparations quickly!" the official whispered.

"Be careful, don't let the barbarians find you."

The captain nodded vigorously.

(End of this chapter)