Fu Shanhe

Chapter 386: Battle of Shenglong
"My life is here, come and take it if you can!"

Shi Yufeng immediately challenged.

He was trapped in the enemy's encirclement, and with the few remaining soldiers he had, there was no hope of breaking out.

As a general of Dai Viet, he wanted to use the last moments of his life to buy as much time as possible for the army to break out.

But this kind of self-deception may deceive others but not yourself.

They tried their best and risked their lives to hold back an enemy force that was no more than one guard.

The rest of the Yu army was still on their way to pursue the main force.

However, the country is in crisis, so he has to do something, otherwise he will not be at peace even if he dies.

Deep down in his heart, he was full of resentment towards Hu Xinbo.

Having nothing to do after eating, he went to challenge the Dayu Dynasty, which was simply courting death.

After making so many preparations during the previous emperor's reign, he finally chose to hide behind the scenes and instigated the White Lotus Sect and Dayu to fight.

Hiding behind the scenes and standing in front of the stage are two completely different concepts.

If he didn't get involved personally, even if he was caught, the worst that could happen was that he could just find a few scapegoats and let the matter go.

Dayu will not open up a new battlefield when it is facing internal and external troubles.

As for the border conflicts that occurred before, they are commonplace.

Over the past hundred years, frictions have occurred between the two sides every few years.

What is right and what is wrong has long become a mess.

"General Shi, if you don't think about yourself, you should at least think about the soldiers under your command!
Their families are waiting for you to bring them back.

The traitor Hu Xinbo committed atrocities and not only proclaimed himself emperor without authorization, but also sent troops to invade the Celestial Empire. His crimes are truly unforgivable.

Rather than following him down a dark path, it is better to turn to the light instead of the dark..."

Before the middle-aged man could finish his words, an arrow flew down from the mountain and landed about ten meters in front of him.

"Ruan Yunxiang, you damned traitor, I am ashamed to be associated with you!"

Shi Yufeng couldn't help but curse.

He thought his deputy general had died on the battlefield and was secretly sad for a long time. He never expected that this guy would become a traitor.

If the ammunition for the muskets had not been exhausted and the distance between the two sides exceeded the range of bows and arrows, he would have wanted to kill the traitor immediately to stabilize the morale of the army.

"Shi Yufeng, you've lived enough, just kill yourself, why bother dragging others along?
Listen up, brothers on the mountain. The country has issued an order: Those who lay down their weapons and surrender will be forgiven.

If you resist stubbornly, not only will you die, but your entire family will also be charged with treason.

Before making a decision, think about your wife, children and parents at home.

That old bastard Shi Yufeng wants to drag your entire clan to death just for his own reputation.

Don't be fooled by his false kindness and righteousness. If you take this wrong step, your entire clan will be implicated!"

Ruan Yunxiang tried his best to persuade them to surrender.

Just two or three hundred remnant soldiers have no military value to the Dayu Dynasty, but they are of great significance politically.

To recapture Annan, it is not enough to rely on military force alone, but it is also necessary to win over a group of local people.

Once these people surrendered, it would mean that the Vietnamese army had set a precedent for surrendering in an organized manner.

With a little reorganization, these remnants of the army would be the best helpers for Dayu to rule Annan.

"Don't listen to his nonsense. The Yu army can't break in..."

Just when he was halfway through his words, Shi Yufeng was hit by an arrow.

"Why... this old man..."

He thought of various ways to die, but he never expected to die at the hands of his own people.

"General, I'm sorry.

You are not afraid of death at your age, but we haven’t lived enough! "

"Brothers, don't look at me like that.

This arrow is not only shot for myself, but also for everyone.

It is not a pity for me to die, but if my wife and children at home are implicated, it will be a great sin.

You don't want to destroy your entire clan just because of an impulse, do you? "

The strong man's explanation dissipated a lot of the anger that had accumulated in the crowd.

At a time like this, being loyal and righteous comes at a price.

At this moment, the fear of the Dayu Dynasty in his bones was instantly awakened.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

The sound of weapons falling rang out one after another.

When the courage is gone, the desire to resist is gone.

In the clan era, one can die but the clan cannot be destroyed.

No one dared to bet that after Dayu won, there would not be a massive liquidation.

……

Prime Minister's House.

"Why are there gunshots in the city?"

Cui Ziyan, who was entertaining guests, was startled by the sudden sound of artillery fire.

"Prime Minister, the noise should be coming from the south gate. It seems that there are also cannon fire from the west."

Upon hearing this answer, Cui Ziyan's face changed instantly.

Thang Long City was the capital of Dai Viet. The garrison's artillery was strictly managed and no one was allowed to fire without orders.

Either there was a mutiny in the city, or the enemy army was attacking.

"Report!"

"Prime Minister, something terrible is happening!"

"There are so many... so many enemy troops outside the city, they..."

The bad news brought by the messenger made the banquet lose its joy and laughter, and everyone started to perform Sichuan Opera face-changing.

The enemy has reached Thang Long City, which is a life-threatening situation.

Many of the people present had fled from their hometowns to the capital to escape the war.

Now that the enemy is charging forward, it means that the last peace will soon be gone.

"Lord Lin, the enemy has reached the foot of the imperial city. Don't you have anything to say?"

Cui Ziyan immediately questioned.

When the emperor was not in the capital, he took the lead in handling important military and political affairs.

Now that the situation has deteriorated, he needs to bear the unshirkable responsibility.

If you are going to be unlucky, you naturally can't let others go.

The first to be affected was Lin Zeliang, who was responsible for collecting intelligence.

The enemy was at our doorstep, but we did not issue any advance warning. We cannot escape the blame for our dereliction of duty.

"Prime Minister, if the enemy wants to attack us, they will have to pass through many areas on the way.

Moreover, two large camps were set up near Thang Long City to protect the imperial city.

With so many people, even if they can't stop the enemy, they should at least send back the news.

The Yu army just landed three days ago, and as long as the troops along the way are not dead, they can delay them for a few days.

Unless the troops we recruited rebelled again and let the Yu army in directly."

Lin Zeliang hurriedly explained.

This pot is too big for him to bear.

The main force encountered trouble during the evacuation and failed to withdraw to Thang Long City in time. At this moment, there were only 30,000 defenders in the city.

Although there seemed to be a lot of them, most of the soldiers were civilians who had just put down their hoes.

The two large camps outside the city were filled with recruited rebels.

They were kept outside because they wanted to use them to deal with Yu's army, but were also worried that these guys would take the opportunity to cause trouble.

"impossible!"

"The Yu army and the White Lotus fought to the death, and both sides were stained with the other's blood.

The power of hatred has long penetrated into the bone marrow.

They finally escaped from the sea of ​​suffering, how could they possibly go back and serve the Emperor of Dayu as dogs again!"

Cui Ziyan immediately denied it. As the financial backer of the White Lotus Sect, Dai Viet and the White Lotus Sect had always been in a cooperative relationship since the Guangxi Rebellion broke out.

He knew by heart all the grievances and entanglements between the White Lotus Sect and Dayu, and the hatred between the two sides was as deep as the sea.

Based on the principle that the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

After the failure of the encirclement and suppression of the rebels, Cui Ziyan changed his strategy, using military encirclement and suppression as a supplement and political appeasement as the main approach.

The effect was very good, and many rebel groups were willing to accept the amnesty.

Up to now, many rebel groups have accepted their offer of amnesty.

In order to eliminate hidden dangers, he also deliberately looked for opportunities to swap out those rebels who had accepted the amnesty.

The two large camps outside the city were composed of troops drawn from multiple rebel groups, and the commander was his confidant.

Suddenly at the banquet, he saw two familiar figures and almost vomited blood.

"Bai Youlin, Shi Hongjun, you two bastards, why did you leave your post without permission?"

Cui Ziyan couldn't help but question.

At this critical moment, the commanders of the two camps did not stay in the camp to control the situation, but instead came to celebrate his birthday.

It would have been fine if nothing had happened, but now that problems have arisen, it's like putting him on the fire!
The enemy was at the gates of the city, but he was still busy celebrating his birthday. This was a definite political disaster.

When the emperor comes back, he will definitely not be able to be burned.

"Prime Minister, let's go back to the camp and mobilize our troops to keep the enemy out of the city!"

Bai Youlin responded first.

It doesn’t matter whether you can complete the task or not. Just brag first and wait until you get through this hurdle.

Deep down, he felt very depressed.

Cui Ziyan may not be able to remember who attended today's birthday party, but those who didn't come will probably be remembered.

As a trusted younger brother, I definitely cannot be absent.

This is the political ecology of the Dai Viet Dynasty.

If you want to be an official, you must first be a human being.

If one fails to grasp the ways of the world, even if a wealthy and powerful person enters the officialdom, he will still suffer a bloody nose.

"Come here, arrest these two people who neglected their duties and wait for your majesty's decision!
Pass the order down, and have the defenders in the city take action immediately to ensure that Thang Long City is not lost."

At the critical moment, Cui Ziyan showed his wisdom.

Since Yu's army was able to reach the city so quickly, the two camps of soldiers outside the city were most likely rebellious.

He couldn't figure out what exactly caused these people to rebel again.

But he knew that at such a sensitive moment, he must not let Bai Youlin and Shi Hongjun go.

If the two men were afraid of being punished and ran to join Yu’s army to act as guides, that would be a big trouble.

"Prime Minister, this is unfair!"

"Prime Minister, this is unfair!"

……

The group chose to ignore the grievances of the two.

Even relatives and friends spontaneously distanced themselves from them.

Smart people know that when such a big change happens, someone will definitely be blamed.

If I get close to them now, I might get myself involved.

……

The roar of artillery fire continued.

After a loud "boom", a section of the originally solid city wall collapsed directly, and a gap more than ten meters wide appeared.

"Come on!"

Without any hesitation, Yu's army launched a charge immediately.

Watching outside the battlefield were the White Lotus rebels who were recruited by the Annamites.

"General, please give us a chance and let our brothers join the battle?"

The bearded man pleaded with Zhang Ning.

After entering Annan, although they killed many enemies, they could not withstand the terrible system of collective punishment.

In addition, military merit is determined by the number of heads taken. In many cases, even if the enemy is killed successfully, the head may not be preserved intact.

If we want to pardon all our relatives, we still need to work hard.

"Don't worry, you will have a chance to perform.

After we capture the city, I will ask for credit for you from the Marquis!"

Zhang Ning promised immediately.

These rebel troops played an important role in enabling the team to advance to the city of Thang Long so quickly.

Not only did he deceive the Annan court by offering amnesty, he also brought the lower reaches of the Jiulong River into his sphere of influence.

Thanks to their cover, the army was able to suddenly arrive at the city and catch the enemy off guard.

Even now, Zhang Ning's head is still buzzing.

He really couldn't understand what the Annan people were thinking. They actually tried to stop the attack of Yu's army by recruiting these rebels.

What is even more incredible is that these troops occupied the lower reaches of the Jiulong River without them taking any precautions.

We can't assume that these people were prisoners of war of the White Lotus rebels and that they were die-hard White Lotus followers who lived only to overthrow the Dayu Dynasty.

If we dare to let them in, we have only done so after screening and making sure they are not threatening.

The diehard members of the White Lotus Sect had long been thrown into the mines for reform.

After a brief moment of distraction, Zhang Ning quickly sorted out his logic.

As an insider, he thought the Annan people's ideas were weird.

But if we change to the perspective of the Annan people, the situation is different.

It's not that they are not on guard against these recruited rebels, but the main reason is that the country's military force is short, and they need soldiers to be on guard.

The rebels' territories were conquered by themselves with real swords and guns, and they will not be handed over just because of a request for amnesty.

Even if they are willing to hand it over, there must be soldiers stationed there to garrison it.

Since I can't do it, I might as well take a gamble.

If you win, you will make a lot of money; if you lose, you won’t lose much.

In order to reduce the risk, they even drew troops from multiple recruitment teams and formed two battalions to guard the imperial city.

Under normal circumstances, this mixed team of multiple rebel forces can restrain each other to the greatest extent.

The bloody killing continued, and after the first gap, a new gap soon appeared.

The new artillery, which made its first appearance, declared its position in the war with its dazzling images.

Looking at the giant artillery that continued to exert its power, everyone knew that the mode of war would change from today.

In the face of this steel behemoth, the once strong cities will become insignificant.

If the solid bullets of the giant cannon have great impact force, then the other artillery pieces after replacing the ammunition will have increased lethality.

Compared with the original artillery shells, both the killing radius and the explosive power have been greatly improved.

The only pity is that these new types of ammunition are limited in quantity and cannot be supplied to the entire army.

If it wasn't for the purpose of taking Shenglong City as soon as possible, Li Mu would not have used it.

There is no way. The production of sugar is limited and the price is too high.

The fierce attack frightened the defenders in the city.

Especially the civilians who were temporarily recruited, they were quickly defeated by the murderous Yu army.

"Come back quickly!"

"Come back quickly and block it for me!"

"who……"

The defender's cry was like the dying struggle of a drowning man.

The general trend cannot be reversed by individual efforts alone.

Realizing that the situation was not good, the sons of powerful and influential people who held important positions in the military took the lead in running away.

The supervisory team raised their butcher knives high, but in the end they dared not bring them down.

(End of this chapter)