Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 423 Fear Before Battle (A Long Chapter of 10,000 Words)

"Drive! Drive! Drive..."

In late May, amidst rising dust and thunderous hooves, hundreds or even thousands of cavalrymen scouted the northern grasslands of Liangmao in Longdong, providing cover for the main force to advance southwest.

At present, only Liu Jilong's Han army could march in such a large-scale manner in Henan.

On May 12, Cao Mao and Husi Guang marched south to recover Linzhou and other counties. Husi Guang led more than 2,000 elite cavalry and more than 3,000 infantrymen south, while Cao Mao led 5,000 infantrymen to take over the prefectures and counties and guard against Tang army raids from the east of the Yellow River.

On the 16th, Liu Jilong and Husi Guang joined forces in Yinzhou. After leaving 6,000 infantrymen along the prefecture, they advanced towards Xiaoguan with 7,000 elite cavalry, 23,000 cavalry and infantry, and 20,000 laborers.

It is now the 20th day, and after marching 300 li, the army has arrived on the grassland north of Xiaoguan.

"Your Majesty, the vanguard cavalry has reported that they have met up with the cavalry at Xiaoguan Pass."

Husiguang's voice came from the marching column. Upon hearing this, Liu Jilong spurred his horse out of the column and came to the grass beside the marching road, gazing at the marching column that stretched for two or three miles.

Most of them were only around twenty years old, and 70% of them were new recruits who had been in the army for less than ten months.

Looking at them, Liu Jilong couldn't help but say, "The younger generation surpasses the older generation. Although they don't have as much experience as the veterans, they are much easier to organize than the veterans."

"Given time, they will also become the backbone of the army."

Liu Jilong was generous with his praise, and many of the new recruits puffed out their chests upon hearing it. Husi Guang also rode up, smiling broadly, and said:
"King of Han, you haven't seen the Commander of Wine for many years. Now that you've met him, will you be speechless?"

"Hehe." Liu Jilong chuckled: "Even if good friends haven't seen each other for many years, they can still talk freely when they meet."

"Tell Jiujuyan to prepare meat. We've been eating too much military rations these past few days; it's time for the brothers to have some meat."

"Yes!" Husiguang responded, then selected several cavalrymen and ordered them to go to Xiaoguan, instructing the wine merchant Juyan of Xiaoguan to prepare a sumptuous feast.

Upon learning that they would be able to eat meat today, the cavalrymen immediately perked up and spurred their horses toward Xiaoguan.

After they left, Liu Jilong and his companion returned to the group and continued their march towards Xiaoguan.

Two hours later, as evening approached, Xiaoguan Pass became faintly visible in the distance, and thousands of soldiers dressed in red coats stood in formation outside the city.

The camp that Liu Jilong had built when he attacked Xiaoguan was still preserved, and on the original basis, a rammed earth and stone wall about ten feet long was built.

Liu Jilong led a large army, so there was no need to set up camp; they could go directly to the camp to rest.

However, before that, Liu Jilong still led his troops to the east gate of Xiaoguan and met Jiu Juyan, who was nearly fifty years old but still had black hair and was full of energy.

"This humble general, a wine merchant from Juyan, pays his respects to the King of Han..."

“Get up, you know I don’t like brothers being too concerned with formalities.”

As soon as Liu Jilong finished speaking, he dismounted and walked to the front of Jiuju Yan.

Looking at the wrinkles on the face of the saka yuki, Liu Jilong couldn't help but sigh at the passage of time.

Compared to him, when Jiuju Yan looked at Liu Jilong, he felt that apart from being slightly more mature than before and having grown a mustache, Liu Jilong had not changed at all and looked to be no more than twenty-six or twenty-seven years old.

"Husiguang, you lead the troops into the camp and arrange for the brothers to eat and rest. I will first go to the county office with this fellow to catch up."

"The general will get the order!"

Liu Jilong gave Husi Guang some instructions, and then he and Jiuju Yan headed towards Xiaoguan.

The tavern owner bowed in agreement and, after Liu Jilong left, directed his troops to enter the camp.

At the same time, Liu Jilong nodded in satisfaction as he passed through the official road in the middle of the soldiers' ranks on the west bank of the Xiaoguan River.

The soldiers of the Guiyi Army in Hexi were still the same as when he was in Hexi in the past; although they were rough, they were very polite.

However, most of them were around thirty years old, and many were even forty. Compared to the relatively younger troops in Longyou and other places, they were slightly older.

This also shows that the situation in Hexi was not as good as Zhang Huaishen said. Although with Liu Jilong's help, the Han people regained their footing in Hexi and the three prefectures of the Western Regions, the Han people were always in a weakened position.

Thinking this, Liu Jilong approached Xiaoguan. Compared to last year, Xiaoguan had not only expanded its city walls by a hundred paces to the north and south, but the walls had also been thickened to be made of rammed earth and brick.

Inside the city, the dilapidated walls and houses have been renovated, and even the roads on the streets have been rammed and are now very smooth.

Liu Jilong and his group boarded the carriage and headed towards the county government office.

People from many streets and alleys along the way came out to watch them. Compared to last year, their clothes were cleaner and tidier, and their complexions were much healthier and rounder.

It must be said that Cao Mao governed the Shuofang region very well. He advocated exchanging old clothes for new cloth, which allowed the people to exchange their old clothes. After receiving the new cloth, the people were naturally able to make new clothes.

After Cao Mao ordered his men to wash those old clothes, they were cut into coarse cloths for wiping military equipment.

In addition, Cao Mao vigorously reclaimed arable land within Shuofang and ordered trees to be planted on both sides of the official road to provide shade for the army's march.

Cao Mao spared no expense in water conservancy and city construction, since the money and grain spent were all from the Protectorate General's funds.

It is precisely because of this that the people of Shuofang have been able to take on a completely new look.

"This Xiaoguan Pass is quite nice. How does it compare to Shandan now?"

Liu Jilong asked Jiu Juyan, who was driving for Liu Jilong, and Jiu Juyan replied, "Shandan is still the same as before, without any changes."

"However, after the commander relocated the population of Liangzhou to other states, Hexi became much more lively, with villages appearing between counties."

The counties and prefectures in Hexi were quite far apart, and coupled with the chaotic situation, many villages disappeared and were abandoned after the An Lushan Rebellion.

The reappearance of rural areas today is enough to illustrate the population situation in Hexi.

"The current situation in Hexi is inseparable from your support."

Sakae nodded as he spoke, and Liu Jilong chuckled but did not deny it.

Of the more than 300,000 people in Hexi today, nearly 30% were exiled there by Liu Jilong.

Leaving aside other matters, the number of prisoners captured by the Han army in the battles against the Tang army alone was nearly 50,000.

In addition, not to mention the rebellious families and powerful clans in the three rivers and various prefectures and counties, no fewer than 40,000 people were exiled as a result.

That's 90,000 in total, not to mention the criminals, corrupt officials, and their relatives sent there over the years.

These people are all Han Chinese, the Han Chinese that Hexi lacks the most. Many of them are literate, and they can all be put to use by Zhang Huaishen.

When Zhang Huaishen withdrew from Liangzhou years ago, the population of Hexi was 220,000, of which 120,000 were Hu and Fan people, and only 100,000 were Han people.

With Liu Jilong's support, the Hu and Fan population in Hexi has been controlled at 130,000 to 140,000, while the Han population has increased to over 200,000.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong couldn't help but ask, "How many people are there in Hexi now, and how many are Han, non-Han, or barbarian?"

Upon hearing this, Sakaju Nobuyuki did not try to hide anything, but said directly: "There are more than 140,000 Hu and Ba people, and the number of Han people should be no less than 230,000, including those who have been exiled in recent days."

"370,000 people?" Liu Jilong couldn't help but feel gratified upon hearing about the population growth in Hexi.

"If we can defeat the government troops in this battle, the captured troops will be enough to replenish Tingzhou and Xizhou, and help General Zhang recover the towns of Kucha and Yanqi."

Liu Jilong's words moved Jiu Juyan deeply, and at that moment the carriage arrived at the entrance of the county government office.

The tavern owner got out of the car first, and the soldiers following him offered him the steps.

Liu Jilong walked down the steps, looked at the county government office which was the same as those in other prefectures and counties, and went inside with Jiu Juyan.

He wasn't worried about what the wine shop owner might do to him, since besides the six thousand Hexi soldiers, there were also four thousand Shuofang soldiers in Xiaoguan.

The group entered the county government office and sat down according to their rank.

Generals from Longyou and other places sat on the left, while generals from Hexi sat on the right. Although they had different titles, they were all carrying the banners of the Han army.

"The cook is preparing the meal. Before that, let's talk about the situation in the south."

Liu Jilong spoke first, and upon hearing this, Jiuju Yan immediately looked at the soldiers at the door and ordered them to bring the sand table.

Before long, a sand table, about ten feet long and wide, was carried to the center of the main hall of the yamen and placed on the ground.

This sand table not only includes Guannei Road and Gyeonggi Road, but also the area from Longyou to Liangzhou and Longnan and Xingyuan Prefecture, which consist of one prefecture and three states.

In addition, there is the entire Hadong Province region.

Tang army flags, Han army flags, and Tangut flags from Henan province filled the map with flags from various cities.

Liu Jilong looked at them and realized that almost every flag represented about a thousand people.

Based on the sand table, the military strength of the three towns of Binning, Fufang, and Xiasui on the Longdong Liangmao (Loess Plateau) is approximately 20,000.

Seeing this, Liu Jilong pulled out several of the Xia Sui Army's banners and then said:

"Xia Sui Town originally had only five thousand soldiers, but now it has been defeated by our army one after another. If it weren't for the lack of time, I would have planned to occupy the last Sui Prefecture as well."

"At present, the troops in Suizhou number only a little over a thousand, and the troops in the three towns of Liangmao in Longdong have a maximum strength of no more than seventeen or eighteen thousand."

His explanation drew nods of approval from the generals, and he continued to look at the situation in Jingyuan Town and Fengxiang Town.

Most of the Tang troops in Jingyuan Town and Fengxiang Town were wiped out in the Battle of Qinzhou. Now there are 90,000 Tang troops in the two towns, of which 30,000 came from the Central Plains and Hedong towns, nearly 10,000 were Shence Army soldiers, and the remaining 50,000 were new recruits from the remaining towns in the northwest of the capital.

These new recruits had been trained for more than half a year, so they naturally had combat effectiveness, but their organizational skills and overall quality were not as good as those of the Han army.

In addition to these 90,000 troops, there are also more than 10,000 Shence Army and Left and Right Shenwu Army troops in the Chang'an direction.

In the Qinling Mountains direction, there are also more than 5,000 infantrymen and 20,000 Shence Army soldiers from Fengxiang Town, who are stationed at Huanghua County, Sanguan Pass, Luogu Pass, Kugu Pass and Lantian Pass respectively.

All told, the imperial court still had no more than 130,000 troops in the Guanzhong region, which was the largest force the court could muster.

Previous defeats had led the local warlords and prefectures in Hunan and Jiangxi to openly refuse the quotas allocated by the imperial court for transporting goods, resulting in a reduction in the court's funds and grain.

If we suffer another defeat now, even if the court can retreat to Hedong, what will be left behind will probably be a complete mess.

Lost in thought, Liu Jilong looked at his own side's situation again.

Currently, there are about 10,000 troops stationed in Guannei Circuit, mainly concentrated in Shengzhou and Yinzhou, while other prefectures and counties have only a few hundred or even a thousand troops stationed there, in order to guard against the more than 100,000 Dangxiang people in Henan.

However, after suffering heavy losses, the Tanguts can only muster 20,000 to 30,000 men, which is not a cause for concern.

There are still more than 3,000 troops in the Liangzhou direction, but Zhang Chang and Zheng Chu have probably already started recruiting soldiers.

In the Longyou direction, there was Gao Jinda's 30,000 troops, including 20,000 new recruits and 10,000 trained cavalry and infantry, commanded by An Pohu.

In the direction of Xingyuan Prefecture, Chen Jingchong's 20,000 troops were facing off against the Tang army stationed at various passes and checkpoints in the Qinling Mountains.

Besides these, there are the 40,000 troops in the direction of Xiaoguan.

In terms of sheer numbers, the Han army could only field troops under Gao Jinda and his own command. Gao Jinda also had to leave troops behind, but he could still muster 50,000 troops.

On the Longshan front, 50,000 troops faced 90,000, while on the Qinling defense line, 20,000 troops faced 20,000.

If I want to occupy Guanzhong at this moment, then breaking through from the Qinling Mountains is undoubtedly the best option.

However, the Tang court still has its uses. What I should do most is to take advantage of the situation to defeat the 90,000 Tang troops in Longshan, observe the situation, and then decide whether to take the two capitals first or the remaining prefectures in the Three Rivers and Qianzhong Road first.

As he was thinking this, Husi Guang had already arranged for his troops to be stationed and entered the county government office.

"Your Majesty, it's time to eat."

Sakae Yan reminded him in a low voice, and Liu Jilong nodded in response: "Let's eat first."

"Yes……"

The generals readily agreed, and the aroma of the food quickly spread throughout the yamen. After several rounds of drinks, everyone became more lively.

The grain and provisions at Xiaoguan were enough to feed the 40,000-strong army and the people in the city for four months. Therefore, Liu Jilong did not rush to attack Yuanzhou. Instead, he sent troops, ordering An Pohu to lead cavalry and infantry around Longshan to Xiaoguan.

Five days later, An Pohu led his troops to Xiaoguan, where the number of soldiers gathered had reached 50,000.

On May 26, after reorganizing his army, Liu Jilong left 4,000 Shuofang soldiers at Xiaoguan and led 46,000 troops and 50,000 laborers south.

Meanwhile, Zheng Tian had already transferred his troops back to various prefectures and counties. Pinggao County, the former seat of the prefecture, was not only reinforced with rammed earth and brick walls, but also had 20,000 troops from various garrisons led by Wang Chongrong inside the city.

These troops were composed of soldiers from towns such as Hezhong, Heyang, Yiwu, Hedong, and Zhaoyi. Although they had undergone more than half a year of training, coordination problems still existed.

Ultimately, the arrogance of the officers and soldiers of various garrisons had become the norm. In particular, although the officers and soldiers of Zhaoyi and Yiwu, which were close to the three garrisons of Hebei, had not caused any major incidents, it was still true that they were more arrogant than the officers and soldiers of other garrisons.

If it weren't for the fact that Pinggao County had tens of thousands of people and enough food for half a year, Wang Chongrong would have abandoned Pinggao County and retreated south long ago.

"Damn it! Why is Liu Jilong attacking Pinggao instead of directly attacking Zhisheng Pass?!"

Inside the Pinggao County government office, upon learning that Liu Jilong was leading his troops south through Xiaoguan, Wang Chongrong immediately recalled the days when he was under Liu Jilong's control.

The scene of Liu Jilong burning Maijishan was still vivid in their minds, not to mention the suffering caused by Husi Guang's pursuit, which forced them to detour through the Qinling Mountains and retreat to Guanzhong via Fengzhou.

Wang Chongyi was well aware of his behavior, but simply coughed and said, "Cough cough..."

"Si Lang, Prime Minister Zheng has ordered our army to hold Pinggao and hold it for at least three months before we can retreat."

"In addition, Zheng Xianghui will send troops to that city to meet our army's retreat."

After Wang Chongyi finished speaking, a general stood up, scanned the crowd, and sneered, "Liu Jilong only has fifty or sixty thousand troops under his command. Pinggao City has high walls and thick walls, ample food supplies, and is guarded by twenty thousand troops. It is as solid as a rock!"

"Even if Liu Jilong were to attack, it would take him several months to conquer Pinggao. To talk of retreating before even engaging in battle is utterly absurd!"

Wang Chongrong's face darkened upon hearing this, but he did not reprimand him.

The general who stood up was Liu Guang, the general of the Zhaoyi Army, which was arguably the most unruly among the various regional military forces at present.

Five years ago, Liu Guang was involved in the rebellion of the Zhaoyi Army's soldiers, which killed the military governor Shen Xun.

Wang Chongrong wasn't afraid of being coerced by his own generals, but he was afraid that Zhaoyi, Yiwu, and their group of generals would take the opportunity to cause trouble.

Not only was Wang Chongrong worried, but even the prime minister Zheng Tian was very worried, which is why he assigned troops that were more prone to mutiny to Wang Chongrong's command.

"General Liu is right. Our army is on a roll. Even if the rebels have magic to break through the city walls, do you think we can let them get in so easily?"

The one who spoke was Zhang Fan, a general of the Yiwu Army, who was also a six-foot-tall officer with thick arms.

Seeing that both the Yiwu Army and the Zhaoyi Army had spoken, the generals of Heyang nodded in agreement, while Yi Zhao, the general of Hedong, looked at Wang Chongrong and said, "How to deal with Pinggao depends on how the military commander arranges things."

That being said, Yi Zhao’s attitude was clear: he would stick to Pinggao.

If Pinggao is lost, the battle line will quickly retreat to Zhisheng Pass. If Zhisheng Pass is lost, then only Anrong Pass and Qianyuan County will remain as the first line of defense.

If this line of defense is lost, then Guanzhong will truly become a playground for the rebels, allowing them to run rampant at will.

Just a few days ago, the imperial court gave the army over 200,000 strings of cash as a reward. They withdrew as soon as they received the money. How are they going to get another sum of money now?

Naturally, they would fight a few battles with the rebels, and then, based on their own standing, they would be able to demand money and provisions from the imperial court.

Many people share this view. Wang Chongrong thought the same way back then, but after fighting Liu Jilong a few times, he only wanted to preserve his strength and no longer wanted to fight Liu Jilong.

In his view, the Tang Dynasty was already in decline, and preserving its strength was what he should do.

However, he was being held up by Liu Guang and the others, so he had no choice but to fight.

"Hmph, let you fight the rebels to the death. When things become unbearable, I will be the first to break out."

Wang Chongrong thought to himself, then raised his cup and said, "Since that's the case, then let's defend Pinggao to the death!"

"Defend Pinggao to the death!" The generals raised their wine cups and drank them down in one gulp.

The following day, Pinggao dispatched countless fast horses northward and countless more southward, bringing intelligence.

As the fast horses continued to retreat, groups of cavalrymen dressed in red coats and silver armor gradually appeared in the northwest direction of Pinggao County.

At 15:45 PM, as the cavalry gradually approached Pinggao County, a large contingent also set off.

"Dang, Dang, Dang..."

The bells of the bell tower rang continuously, and the generals of various towns rode their horses to the top of the city wall. After dismounting, they leaned on the parapet and looked out.

Two miles northwest of Pinggao County, a huge crowd filled almost all the open spaces outside the city, calmly setting up camp.

"Judging from their ranks, there are probably no fewer than 100,000 men!"

"Hmph, have you forgotten about the laborers?"

"Even so, there are at least forty or fifty thousand people. The number of rebels is indeed quite large."

"so what?"

Liu Guang of the Zhaoyi Army stretched out his hand, patted the blue brick parapet in front of him, and looked at the rammed earth and brick wall, which was nearly four zhang thick.

"A city wall built by over 100,000 people over half a year, surely it can't stop a mere 30,000 to 50,000 rebels?"

Liu Guang was confident, and the generals around him nodded in agreement.

This naturally does not include the brothers Wang Chongrong and Wang Chongyi.

The two men were well aware of the magic techniques possessed by the rebels. Although the city wall built of blue bricks was thick enough, as long as Liu Jilong had enough magic techniques, it was not impossible to blow up this flat and high city wall; it was just a matter of how long it would take.

Thinking this through, Wang Chongrong immediately began to discuss with the others:
"The rebels outnumber our troops by two to one. I think we should divide our troops into three squads, and decide the specifics by drawing lots."

"Yes!" The generals did not object and nodded in agreement.

Seeing this, Wang Chongrong had someone bring paper and pen, wrote down a note, folded it, and immediately began drawing lots with everyone. The results were announced shortly afterward.

"The Heyang Army will guard from midnight to 7:00 AM, the Hezhong, Yiwu, and Zhaoyi Armies will guard from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM, and the Hedong Army will guard from 3:00 PM to 1:00 AM."

Wang Chongrong showed it to everyone, and seeing that no one had any objections, he immediately began to arrange the specific locations of the city walls where the three armies would be stationed.

The Ui-mu Army and the So-u Army were stationed on the west and south city walls, while the north and east city walls were assigned to the Ha-chung Army.

This is because Pinggao County is located on a plain between ridges and hills in eastern Gansu, with a small river to the east and ridges and hills to the north.

Although the north city is some distance from Liangmao, the rebels would not launch a full-scale attack on three sides. Normally, they would surround three sides and leave one side open. That is why the Heyang army dared to claim that they were defending two sides of the city wall.

After the arrangements were made, Wang Chongrong and his generals led their troops to garrison in various locations to guard against the rebel army's attack.

Meanwhile, Liu Jilong, outside the city, while directing his army to set up camp, also kept an eye on the situation in Pinggao County.

"It seems they are prepared to defend Pinggao County to the death; this must be Wang Shi's suggestion to the court."

"That's a good suggestion, it's certainly beneficial to them, but..."

Liu Jilong's expression was solemn. After a pause, he said, "I just don't know if they have the determination to hold out to the death."

"Crackling..."

The campfire was lit, and the camp was set up.

One hundred thousand soldiers and civilians were stationed in the camp, while several thousand cavalry and soldiers were sent out on the outer perimeter.

With a major battle imminent, everyone was heavy-hearted, and many even had trouble sleeping.

Among them, Wang Jian sat in his tent, with Wang Zhi lying on a folding wooden bed behind him.

Wang Zhi was already fast asleep, while Wang Jian was still maintaining his weapons.

He had to admit that the Han army did indeed reward merit and punish wrongdoing.

After joining the army, he followed Liu Jilong in his campaigns. In just over a month, he was promoted to squad leader based on his personal bravery and merit in commanding troops to kill the enemy. Wang Zhi was also promoted to squad deputy.

Although it is still not as high as his original rank in the Zhongwu Army, at the current pace, if he can defeat the government troops on the eastern front of Longshan, he can at least be promoted to brigade commander, or even captain.

However, none of these are the most important things. The most crucial thing is that there are literacy classes in the Han army, and this guy who couldn't read a single character has now been able to write his own name fluently and recite a few lines of ancient poetry through the teaching of the literacy classes.

With this in mind, Wang Jian sheathed his weapons, arranged them neatly, and then peacefully put on his armor and went to sleep.

There were many mid- to low-ranking military officers like him, all thinking about fighting well the next day and securing a good future for themselves.

As they thought this, the sky gradually brightened from darkness.

At dawn, the laborers were the first to get up and cook for the army. After the rations were cooked, the soldiers gradually got up and went to the well they had dug the day before to fetch water for washing.

In this era, the Liangmao area in Longdong had abundant groundwater resources; one only needed to dig down two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) to find groundwater slowly seeping out.

The Han army dug fifty wells within the camp, ensuring water supply for 100,000 soldiers and civilians.

"King Han, the food has arrived."

An Pohu carried a wooden tray into the tent and saw Liu Jilong examining the sand table. He then placed the food on the table.

Seeing this, Liu Jilong turned around, walked behind the table, sat down, and looked at the military ration porridge mixed with cooked dried meat on the wooden plate. He frowned and drank the porridge clean.

The seemingly large bowl of military ration porridge actually only had a slightly bitter taste of salt and vinegar.

Even so, it was still a decent ration for the march.

Zheng Tian implemented a scorched-earth policy in Jingyuan, preventing the army from obtaining meat and vegetables from the countryside. Therefore, even someone of his status had to rely on military rations to stave off hunger.

However, Liu Jilong didn't care; as long as he could eat his fill, that was enough for him.

"have you eaten?"

"This humble general has already eaten."

An Pohu answered honestly, and then said, "King of Han, let this humble general lead the troops to the front today."

"No rush." ​​Liu Jilong shook his head: "Have the laborers set up the catapults and let's fire them for half a month first."

"Yes." An Pohu was somewhat disappointed, but still respectfully carried out Liu Jilong's military order.

Before long, more than 50,000 laborers who had eaten breakfast began to build positions for catapults and triple crossbows, while digging for catapults in the Liangmao area in the north.

More than 20,000 horse-drawn carts transported catapults back and forth, and soon a hundred catapults, fifty triple-bow crossbows, and a pile of catapults were set up about a mile west of Pinggao City.

Hundreds of laborers here used chisels to smooth the catapults, making them smooth so as not to cut the leather straps of the catapults.

Meanwhile, Wang Chongying inside the city had also prepared forty winch crossbows and a sufficient number of chisel arrows on the city walls.

He forcibly conscripted tens of thousands of people in the city as laborers. Women cooked, children delivered food, and men were responsible for loading the winches and crossbows.

A warehouse was specially set up in the city to store firewood, and for this purpose, Wang Chongrong cut down all the trees on several ridges and mounds.

In contrast, the Longyou army transported coal from Qinzhou through Mupan Pass to the front lines.

Gao Jinda organized 60,000 men from Qin Prefecture to continuously transport grain and coal to the front lines.

With the four passes of Longshan, it meant that Liu Jilong could attack from north to south without any problems with supplies as long as the distance to Longshan was no more than two hundred li.

That's why they didn't cut down the trees that had finally grown on the nearby hills, but instead used coal to cook.

If Liu Jilong wasn't in a hurry, he could have besieged Pinggao County for several months.

Even though Pinggao County has enough food, fuel remains a problem for them.

In the end, when the siege was complete, they had no choice but to dismantle houses to cook, and even demolish the city gate and the county government office, leaving behind a pile of ruins and food.

If you eat rice soaked in cold water, you'll get sick and have diarrhea after a few days, let alone fight a war.

However, Gao Pian was training troops in the south, eyeing the area in the heart of the Three Rivers region with predatory intent, so Liu Jilong naturally couldn't spend several months besieging a small county like Pinggao.

As he pondered this, more and more catapults were produced, and the catapults on the position began to fire.

"put!"

"Boom bang bang-"

In the blink of an eye, a hundred winch-type counterweight catapults launched stones weighing twenty or thirty kilograms.

The catapult traced a perfect parabola through the air before sparsely striking the city walls and the city, leaving only a few white dots and destroying a few houses.

"Move the catapults forward fifty paces and await orders to fire!"

Seeing that the Tang army did not retaliate with stones, the commander, Jiuju Yan, calmly ordered the army to advance.

Soon, more than 5,000 laborers began to dismantle the catapults again, and after advancing fifty paces, they continued to rebuild the catapults and then continued to launch a stone-throwing attack on Pinggao City.

This important town in northwestern Guanzhong, which has existed for hundreds of years, was subjected to twenty rounds of slingshot attacks in less than an hour, and sections of the city walls were smashed down.

Fortunately, with Wang Chongrong's guidance, the Yiwu Army at the West Gate withdrew from the horse path after the Han army launched a stone attack on the city. They stood with their backs against the city wall and watched helplessly as countless stones destroyed the houses near the city wall.

“There are not many people in Pinggao City. The catapults and ballistae they use are the counterweight type that our army used before, which requires a lot of manpower. Therefore, they should not be able to set up catapults and winch ballistae.”

Liu Jilong had somehow left the camp and, after observing Pinggao County for a moment beside Jiuju Yan, immediately said, "Let the catapult advance another fifty paces, change the catapult to a forty-pound catapult, and do not reduce the weight of the counterweight box."

"Yes!" Jiuju Yan agreed decisively, and then moved the position forward according to Liu Jilong's command.

As the catapult positions continued to advance, the catapults' power against Pinggao City increased, but Wang Chongrong still did not use the winch crossbow.

His actions puzzled generals like Liu Guang and Zhang Fan, who had never fought against the Han army.

They all found Wang Chongrong and couldn't help but question him: "Why didn't you use the winch crossbow?"

"They've already closed to within three hundred paces; the winch crossbow will definitely hit them!"

Faced with the two men's aggressive demeanor, Wang Chongrong, sitting in the main seat of the county government office, calmly said, "Although the rebels' catapults are powerful, they cannot break through the walls of Pinggao City in a short period of time."

"What we need to guard against right now is the magical methods they use; the winch crossbow is meant to be used in that time."

"You two have never witnessed the rebels' magic, which is why you are urging me now. Once you have witnessed the rebels' magic, you will understand why I did not use the winch crossbow."

Zhang Fan and Liu Guang had never seen the rebels' methods before. Seeing that Wang Chongrong remained as steady as Mount Tai, the two could only suppress their anger and return to their own defense zone.

Seeing them leave, Wang Chongyi couldn't help but say, "Fourth Brother, this group of people is truly arrogant, they've picked up a lot of the bad temper of the three towns!"

Wang Chongrong wasn't angry. Instead, he sneered, "They do have the right to be arrogant. I just hope they can maintain their arrogance after they clash with the rebels."

After he finished speaking, before Wang Chongyi could say anything more, he took the initiative to say:

"Send a fast horse to Zhisheng Pass and tell the rebel army that it numbered 100,000. Order Prime Minister Zheng to speed up the construction of cities such as Nacheng, Baiquan, and Pingliang."

"Yes!" Wang Chongyi did not ask why, but readily agreed and then dispatched a fast horse.

They rode swiftly towards Zhisheng Pass, eighty li behind Pinggao. As they traveled south, the towering Longshan Mountains on their right side put immense pressure on them.

The fact that the rebels controlled all four mountain passes of Longshan, and that they could attack Zhisheng Pass at any time via these passes, made them even more anxious.

Fortunately, the journey was safe and sound. The fast horse arrived at Zhisheng Pass in the middle of the night and was hoisted into a basket and escorted to the gate of Zhisheng Pass.

Zheng Tian sat in the main seat, while Yang Gongqing and Wang Shi sat on the left and right sides respectively.

Upon seeing the fast horse, Zheng Tian asked first, "How many troops does Liu Jilong have as he attacks Pinggao from Xiaoguan?"

Upon hearing this, Kuai Ma bowed and said, "I see no fewer than 100,000 on the battlefield, half of whom are civilians, and the number of soldiers should be around 50,000."

"When a certain person led his troops out of the city, the rebels did not send troops to stop him, which must have been intentional."

After he finished speaking, Kuai Ma explained the current situation in Pinggao County.

"Pinggao City has sufficient food and provisions, but firewood can only last for three months at most. I request that Prime Minister Zheng meet with our army as agreed in three months."

“Of course,” Zheng Tian replied without hesitation, then instructed the soldiers who had escorted him on horseback, “Take him down to rest and recuperate, and return to Pinggao County tomorrow.”

"Yes!" the two soldiers replied, and then led their horses out of the gate.

After they left, Zheng Tian looked at Yang Gongqing and Wang Shi: "Liu Jilong is indeed planning to take over all the towns of Jingyuan and Binning. Otherwise, he would not have needed to attack Pinggao. He could have directly attacked Zhisheng Pass or Anrong Pass and then entered Guanzhong."

As Zheng Tian finished speaking, Wang Shi nodded and said, "He is confident in himself, but he also has the ability to be confident."

"At present, our army has 90,000 troops, but apart from the 20,000 troops gathered from the towns of Hedong and Hebei under Wang Chongrong, we only have troops from Fengxiang, Zhongwu, Xuanwu and other towns available."

"Although the remaining troops have been training for more than half a year, they are still weaker than the rebels."

"At present, we can only adopt a scorched earth policy, defend our strong cities with strong troops, and inflict heavy casualties on the rebels, so that even if they capture towns such as Jingyuan, they will not be able to quickly attack Longzhou and advance on Chang'an."

"At that time, Gao Qianli in the south can also take advantage of the situation to send troops. Even if he cannot reclaim all the lost territory in Sanchuan, he can take back Chengdu depending on the situation."

"As long as Chengdu is recaptured, Liu Jilong will have no choice but to retreat south, and the safety of Guanzhong will be secured."

At this point, Wang Shi paused again before saying, "But these are ultimately just theoretical discussions. Whether they can actually inflict heavy losses on the rebels depends on how many casualties Wang Chongrong can inflict on them."

"Hmm!" Zheng Tian nodded in response with a serious expression, while Yang Gongqing spoke up at the opportune moment:

"In your opinion, does His Majesty need to make a northern tour to Taiyuan?"

"No!" the two responded in unison, exchanging glances before Wang Shi spoke first:

"The imperial court's prestige has been severely damaged after the loss of the Three Rivers region, and the various towns in Hunan and other places are even more outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant, arbitrarily reducing the amount of money and grain to be transported."

"If His Majesty were to go to the Northern Capital, not only Hunan, but also the finances and provisions of Jiangnan West Circuit and Jiangnan East Circuit might be affected."

“Even if we were to make a northern tour, we should do so after we have quelled the Yellow Rebels.”

Zheng Tian nodded, agreeing with Wang Shi's statement, and continued, "Even if Chang'an is not an option, we can use the excuse of the soaring grain prices in Guanzhong to go to Luoyang for food, instead of going to Beidu."

"Going to Luoyang, we can still control the grain transport and prevent the Huai River and Jiangnan regions from causing trouble."

"As long as there is money and grain in Jiangnan, the imperial court will have a chance to defeat the rebels."

"But if we go to Beidu, then there really will be no chance."

As soon as Zheng Tian and Wang Shi finished speaking, Yang Gongqing nodded and said, "I understand. Please rest assured, I know how to tell His Majesty about this matter."

Zheng Tian and Wang Shi breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, while Yang Gongqing also stood up and bowed, saying, "I will take my leave now."

"Take care, Yang Gong." The two men rose to see Yang Gongqing off, and his figure soon disappeared into the night.

After he left, Zheng Tian and Wang Shi exchanged a glance and both sighed deeply.

At the same time, Yang Gongqing also wrote a memorial to the throne and sent a fast horse to Chang'an.

While the fast horse was heading to Chang'an, the Han army was still attacking Pinggao County. Li Cui in Chang'an received the news on the first day of the sixth month.

Inside Xianning Palace, Li Cui looked at the memorial sent by Yang Gongqing, feeling slightly relieved. He then said to Tian Yun beside him:
"I have decided to send you ahead to the Eastern Capital to recruit laborers and craftsmen to repair the palaces there."

"Your subject obeys the decree." Tian Yun bowed in response, but then looked up and added:
"Everyone, there are only a little over half a month left until the rainy season. Since we can't start construction during the rainy season, should we wait until the rainy season is over before we go?"

"The rainy season?" Li Cui's expression turned unnatural. "I can wait for the rainy season, but can the rebels wait?"

“This…” Tian Yun hesitated for a moment, then said, “The rebels are mainly cavalry. If they are forced to fight during the rainy season, their horses’ hooves will be soaked and rotten.”

"The rebels could have used the cavalry in such a way that they couldn't possibly be unaware of this principle."

"I believe that the rebels will not launch their attack until around August at the earliest, rather than now."

What Tian Yun said is not wrong. After all, during the rainy season last year, Liu Jilong did not launch a large-scale military campaign. Instead, he confronted the court for more than a month before launching an attack after the rainy season had passed.

However, that attack was swift and decisive, sweeping away the 80,000-strong army of Qin Prefecture in less than half a month.

Now Liu Jilong has more troops, while the imperial court only has 90,000. Li Cui doesn't want to gamble his life on whether Liu Jilong will attack Guanzhong.

"I don't care what you think, but until we win in the Western Frontier, I will take all my officials to the Eastern Capital for a meal at any time."

"If the palace cannot satisfy me, then you should plead guilty!"

"Your subject obeys the decree." Upon hearing this, Tian Yun quickly bowed his head in response, then turned and walked out of Xianning Palace.

Shortly after he left Xianning Palace, a fragrance wafted from the entrance.

Li Cui looked up, intending to get angry, but upon seeing that it was Li Meiling, he immediately suppressed his temper and put on a kind smile: "Is it Nannan?"

“Father…” Li Meiling had lost her former liveliness; at this moment, her face was filled with worry.

She entered the side hall, bowed to Li Cui, and then said, "I heard that the rebel army has already attacked Yuanzhou. Doesn't that mean it's only six or seven hundred li away from Chang'an?"

"More than seven hundred li, more than seven hundred li." Seeing Li Meiling like this, Li Cui comforted her with heartache.

"Although it is seven hundred li, there are continuous mountain gorges and passes, as well as city walls and passes, and the imperial army of ninety thousand guards. Chang'an will be safe."

“Father…” Li Meiling gently shook her head, and couldn’t help but look at Li Cui and say, “Is it really impossible to negotiate peace?”

“In the past few days, the price of grain in Chang’an has soared to five hundred coins per dou, and people are starving to death in the streets every day. It is a world apart from the scene before the war.”

"Your Majesty, I have heard that the fallen soldiers have not received their compensation, and even their back pay has not been paid. Many common people are privately supporting Liu Muzhi, while powerful families and clans continue to buy low and sell high, causing grain prices in Guanzhong to rise continuously. Your Majesty believes..."

Upon hearing this, Li Cui's pupils constricted, and he couldn't help but interrupt, "Who told you this?!"

"I saw it all with my own eyes," Li Meiling replied respectfully. Upon hearing this, Li Cui immediately lost his temper and showed a hint of dejection.

He knew perfectly well that he shouldn't have attacked Longyou, but as Longyou continued to grow stronger, if he didn't attack, he would be leaving it to his children and grandchildren, bringing them harm.

No emperor would have allowed a power like Liu Jilong to exist in the surrounding area; he was simply doing what he thought was right.

It was only because the soldiers did not fight bravely and the officials did not dare to sacrifice themselves for the country that the court suffered repeated defeats.

Thinking of this, Li Cui felt a surge of anger and couldn't help but flick his sleeve, saying:
"These people have no idea that I am working day and night to pacify Longyou and restore peace to Guanzhong."

"If we can defeat Liu Jilong, grain from Longyou and Jiangnan can be continuously transported into Guanzhong, stabilizing grain prices in Guanzhong. As a result, the regional military governors will become more subservient to the court, and our Tang Dynasty can continue its reign for several more decades."

"If they hadn't misunderstood me, the court wouldn't have suffered so many defeats..."

Li Cui didn't mention his own problem at all. Li Meiling tried to speak, but Li Cui interrupted her, saying:
"Alright, I'm tired too. My dear, you don't need to worry. Just enjoy yourself in the palace. I'll take care of the burdens of the world. Nothing will go wrong."

Before Li Meiling could speak, Li Cui flicked his sleeve and said, "Step back."

Li Meiling hesitated, but seeing Li Cui's back to her, she could only sigh and say, "Your subject takes her leave..."

As the fragrance faded, Li Cui knew that Li Meiling had left, and he suppressed the emotions he was putting on.

"Bam—"

He kicked over his desk, scattering documents and memorials all over the floor. The eunuchs outside the side hall buried their heads in their chests.

Li Cui ignored them, staring intently at the map in the side hall, his gaze fixed on the location of Yuanzhou, gritting his teeth:
"Liu Jilong!!"

(End of this chapter)