Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 483 Loyalty is Hard to Judge (A Long Chapter of 10,000 Words)
"I, Han Junxiong, the military governor of Weibo and the prefect of Weizhou, and the acting minister of the Ministry of War, heard that Jilong, under the guise of loyalty and righteousness, imprisoned the emperor."

"Knowing that the Emperor is suffering, the soldiers of the six provinces are unable to restrain themselves. Now we raise an army to attack Liu and cleanse the court of corrupt officials!"

On the 23rd day of the twelfth month of the first year of Qianfu, Han Junxiong, the military governor of Weibo, under duress from his military commanders, issued a proclamation in response to Zhu Wen's move to purge the court of corrupt officials.

Han Junxiong appointed Le Yanzhen, the governor of Bozhou, as his general, leading 7,000 personal guards and 20,000 state troops, claiming to be an army of 50,000. He marched south along the Grand Canal to attack Huazhou and Puzhou.

Weibo's fast horse galloped to Zhencheng in Puzhou, shot an arrow with a memorial inscribed on it at the city wall, and then quickly retreated north.

After the memorial was discovered, it was immediately sent to Luoyang, and the news of the Weibo rebellion naturally reached the ears of Li Yangchun, the military governor of Tianping Army.

"Fifty thousand troops? That's quite an boast..."

Inside the Yuncheng government office, Li Yangchun, who had just sat down, hadn't even had a sip of tea before he was about to face an attack from both Wei Bo and Yan Hai.

As Li Yangchun unfolded the map, he scanned it with his eyes and asked, "Is Zhu Quanzhong still bluffing in Shouzhang?"

Inside the hall, two captains bowed to him from the left and right. The slightly thinner young captain on the left replied, "This thief is still at the camp fifteen li southwest of Shouzhang."

Upon hearing this, Li Yangchun nodded and carefully studied the map before turning to the two of them.

"I am the military governor of Tianping Army, and all 30,000 troops in Tianping Town are under my command."

"Liu Song, pass down the order to the Commandant of Caozhou to dispatch 3,000 troops northward, and to use the troops of Caozhou and Puzhou to defend the Yellow River line."

"Within Qizhou, the main force consists of troops from Yucheng, Changqing, Pingyin, and Luxian, with each army contributing a thousand men. Commandant Zhang Xun is the commander-in-chief, and they are to take on Bozhou."

"The armies of Shanchi and Licheng all left the city to assemble, and under the command of General Deng Yan, they took the western route of Mount Tai and attacked Qianfeng County in northern Yanzhou."

"The troops from Yuncheng, except for the Yuncheng army, will set out north at dawn tomorrow to attack Zhu Quanzhong's camp."

"A messenger was sent to Tan Kai, ordering him to lead his 5,000 cavalry and infantry in a fierce attack on western Yanzhou. After capturing Jinxiang and Yutai counties, they were to immediately head north to intercept Zhu Quanzhong's retreating troops."

"The remaining troops in all prefectures and counties, do not move!"

Although this was Li Yangchun's first time leading troops alone, he had already made arrangements for the two towns of Weibo and Yanhai.

Captain Liu Song quickly memorized the military orders, while Li Yangchun looked at another captain.

"Zheng Hengdong, the army is going on an expedition. Military discipline must be strict. Anyone who makes a mistake will be dealt with according to military orders."

“Zhang Wen, the Commandant of Yunzhou, acted on his own initiative and sent troops out without authorization, resulting in losses of soldiers and generals. He was demoted to a separate general and a memorial was submitted to the court.”

"Yes!" Zheng Hengdong bowed in response. Seeing this, Li Yangchun gathered his thoughts and then picked up his pen to begin writing the memorial.

While he was writing his memorial, Zhu Wen had already deduced from the ever-increasing number of troops stationed in the south that the Han army had probably sent reinforcements.

However, he had already received news that Weibo was about to send troops to attack Hua and Pu prefectures.

As long as Wei Bo can hold back this army, he can take Yunzhou and then approach Qizhou, where he can cooperate with Ge Congzhou and others to hold back Wang Shi's tens of thousands of troops.

Zhu Wen believed that Chengde, upon learning that both Weibo and Yanhai had raised troops, would certainly not remain indifferent.

With Chengde's military strength, whether attacking Yiwu or Yichang, it would be enough to keep the Han army extremely busy.

Under these circumstances, Gao Pian in the south will inevitably take some action.

But before that, I need to make some preparations.

Zhu Wen looked at the map in front of him, finally composed himself, and looked up at Zhu Zhen and Li Tangbin.

"Although our army has lost eight hundred brothers, since we have brought back the armor, we will select strong men from the light infantry to serve as armored soldiers."

"In addition, tomorrow we will send more than a thousand light soldiers to Dong'e, Yanggu, and Xuchang to probe, and armored troops to surround Shouzhang City to see if the government army still has the strength to intervene in our attack on Yunzhou while defending Weibo."

"Yes!" Zhu Zhen and Li Tangbin nodded in agreement and then left the tent.

The following morning, Zhu Wen personally led 5,000 armored soldiers and more than 3,000 light soldiers to Shouzhang to continue besieging the city. At the same time, he drove all 30,000 people who had been looted in the past few days to Shouzhang.

As in the previous two times, Shouzhang City, despite its tight food supplies, still managed to save more than 30,000 people.

Zhu Wen could have sent spies to infiltrate Shou Zhang City and create confusion, but he did not.

His main purpose in attacking Yunzhou was to cut off Yunzhou's connection with Wang Shi and others, and this goal did not require the capture of the city.

What he needed to do was to use Shouzhang to continuously attract government troops to come to his aid, then encircle and annihilate the government troops in Guandong, using war to sustain his own strength, and finally completely take over Yunzhou.

Even if it doesn't work out, as long as he can get Chengde to raise an army as well, or even attract Wang Shi's troops to Yunzhou, his goal will be achieved.

"If we release the Tang soldiers, the government troops in Yuncheng will not allow us to surround Shouzhang so easily."

Zhu Wen gave instructions to Zhu Zhen, Li Tangbin, and others, and then looked out at Shouzhang City, which was surrounded by 30,000 people.

As he gazed into the distance, Li Yangchun mustered his three thousand cavalry and seven thousand infantrymen and moved toward Shouzhang.

There were no fancy schemes or tricks involved, or rather, Li Yangchun had already laid out all the necessary measures.

Defeating Zhu Wen is the first step. Once the first step is successful, the subsequent second, third, and fourth steps will take effect one by one.

The army marched north to Xuchang County with only half a month's worth of provisions, and only needed 3,000 horse-drawn carts and 5,000 laborers.

For this reason, the army's march was not slow, and it covered twenty miles in just two hours.

They safely passed the area where the Yuncheng army had been attacked, and the cavalry and infantry who served as garrison troops ahead also encountered the garrison troops left behind by Zhu Wen.

The whistle was relayed layer by layer, and soon reached the city of Shouzhang.

"Government troops have appeared in the south. The vanguard will become the rearguard and march towards the camp!"

Without hesitation, Zhu Wen ordered all troops except the Tang soldiers to turn their forces around and head towards Li Yangchun's troops to the south.

Half an hour later, Zhu Wen learned the number of Li Yangchun's troops from the soldiers in the pond, and his expression became serious.

"We have only been in Yunzhou for eight days, yet the government army was able to quickly mobilize tens of thousands of troops to attack us. This shows that the government army was well prepared."

Sensing this, Zhu Wen already knew something was wrong. With his keen sense of smell, he pondered for a moment and then gave the order:

"Order the troops remaining at the camp to burn the grain and fodder, and send three thousand light soldiers south to advance slowly, while our armored troops will detour to the west."

"If the government troops attack, Li Tangbin, you will lead three thousand light soldiers to feign defeat and flee eastward, while I will lead my troops to raid their camp and put out fires."

Zhu Wen planned to use a mix of deception and trickery to deceive Li Yangchun. He then appointed Li Tangbin as general and led three thousand light soldiers on a leisurely southward march.

Instead, he led his army westward for twenty miles, preparing to turn south and launch a flanking attack on Li Yangchun's forces.

As the three armies began their operation, thick black smoke soon billowed from the Yanhai naval camp, causing the Han soldiers to stare wide-eyed.

"General, Zhu Quanzhong has plundered a lot of people in Yunzhou. This money and grain is enough for our army to settle the people. I am willing to lead the army to put out the fire!"

Without hesitation, Liu Song spoke to Li Yangchun on horseback. Li Yangchun frowned slightly upon seeing this, but did not immediately agree. Instead, he said to Zheng Hengdong beside him, "Zhu Quanzhong is cunning. Knowing that our army is coming, he will not retreat without fighting our army."

"Expand the patrol posts by twenty li to prevent Zhu Quanzhong from launching a surprise attack."

"Yes!" Zheng Hengdong nodded in agreement. Li Yangchun then looked at Liu Song and said, "You will lead three thousand troops to put out the fire, but one thousand soldiers must remain at the camp gate."

"Your subordinate obeys!" Liu Song agreed without hesitation, then mustered three thousand infantrymen to fight the fire, while Li Yangchun continued to lead the remaining six thousand soldiers (excluding the pond soldiers) and five thousand laborers forward slowly.

Half an hour later, Li Yangchun saw the camp left by Zhu Wen in the distance and saw Liu Song directing his troops to put out the fire.

Upon seeing Li Yangchun leading his troops, Liu Song hurriedly came to report the good news.

"The camp has countless supplies of money, food and provisions. Although the fire is large, it has been brought under control by our army."

"Very good." Li Yangchun didn't say much, but simply surveyed the location of the camp.

This place is right next to a frozen river about ten feet long, and all around is a flat plain, where you can only see a vast expanse of white.

“Build a watchtower here, three zhang high, so that the whistle can be blown in time if there is any situation.”

After Li Yangchun finished giving his instructions, a group of cavalrymen from the north rode south at high speed and soon arrived before them, bowing respectfully.

"General, rebels have been spotted to the north, numbering nearly four thousand, and are approaching our army."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Hengdong took the initiative to speak up, saying, "General, this quantity is incorrect."

"That's not right. It's possible that they left troops to continue besieging Shouzhang to avoid being attacked from both the north and south, or it's possible that they set up an ambush somewhere to lure our troops into an ambush."

Li Yangchun responded calmly, but at the end he said indifferently, "There is no need to worry about these things. No matter how many tricks they have up their sleeves, our troops will remain steadfast."

"Yes!" Zheng Hengdong and Liu Song nodded in agreement, and the army began to rest on the spot.

Li Yangchun's cautiousness prevented Li Tangbin, who was being used as bait, from using his abilities effectively, and he couldn't help but become anxious.

No matter how he sent troops to lure Li Yangchun, Li Yangchun never fell for it. He could only watch helplessly as Li Yangchun led his troops to extinguish the fire at the camp and seize a large amount of supplies.

As he grew anxious, Zhu Wen, who was leading his troops on a flanking maneuver, saw the fire and smoke in the direction of the camp being extinguished, and his mood immediately sank to the bottom.

Clearly, the person leading the troops this time is significantly different from the officer in charge of his own army last time.

The fire and smoke were extinguished, which meant that his plan to launch a surprise attack on the defending troops had failed halfway.

After the fire is extinguished, the number of government troops left behind will inevitably be small, and even if we win, we will not achieve much.

Thinking this, Zhu Wen fell silent, while Zhu Zhen rode up to Zhu Wen's side.

"The government troops' cavalry in the east have begun to spread outwards, it seems they are going to expand their patrol area."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Wen's expression grew even more grave: "This man is no ordinary general; a surprise attack on the camp may prove difficult."

"Then what should we do?" Zhu Zhen asked anxiously, but Zhu Wen shook his head and said, "If he attacks Shouzhang, I will attack Yuncheng."

"The troops in Yuncheng had previously lost several hundred men, and the number of troops remaining in the city must be less than a thousand. Moreover, the surrounding countryside and villages have not yet been looted, and there is ample money and food."

Since Zhu Wen already knew that besieging Shouzhang and attacking its reinforcements was not feasible, he would naturally try to change his target. In short, he wanted to make Yunzhou restless.

After Zhu Wen issued his military order, the army began to bypass Li Yangchun's troops and head south to attack Yunzhou. Li Yangchun, after extinguishing the fire at his camp, led his army northward.

Upon seeing this, Li Tangbin, who had been holding out for two hours, immediately led his troops to retreat.

He knew that he had not fought against the Han army, and if he pretended to flee directly, it would arouse Li Yangchun's suspicion. Therefore, his retreat was justified, but he did not move quickly.

If Li Yangchun wanted to, catching up with their three thousand light soldiers wouldn't have been difficult, but instead he led his army north to relieve the siege of Shouzhang.

At that time, Shouzhang City was already crowded with people. The city, which was not large to begin with, was filled with more than 20,000 soldiers and civilians who were originally in the city, as well as 40,000 people who poured in later. Almost all the streets in the city were occupied.

The city's food supplies were enough for half a month, and Li Yangchun directly conscripted 20,000 men as laborers, promising to provide them with three catties of grain per day, and their families could return to the countryside to settle down.

Seeing this, Zheng Hengdong couldn't help but worry and asked Li Yangchun:

"Although these funds and grains were all captured by our army, they were ultimately looted from the people by Zhu Quanzhong. I'm afraid Your Highness will be displeased by doing this."

Zheng Hengdong and Liu Song were both students in the second phase of Linzhou University and junior students of Li Yangchun. They naturally knew what kind of education they were receiving and the consequences of their actions.

In response, Li Yangchun remained calm and composed, reassuring Zheng Hengdong and Liu Song who had followed him: "In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures must be taken."

"Our army is in dire need of supplies. We need to transport supplies to Qizhou to stabilize the morale of tens of thousands of troops on the eastern front, and we also need supplies to defend against the invasion of Weibo."

"Even if Your Highness knew about this, you should understand the difficulties our army faces. I will bear any responsibility myself!"

Li Yangchun used the same old excuse, and seeing this, Zheng Hengdong and Liu Song didn't say anything more.

"Order the army to set up camp outside the city and await further orders."

"The cavalry will follow the trail of the Yanzhou Navy and inform Tan Kai and Deng Yan that whoever intercepts this army will achieve great merit!"

"Your subordinates obey!" The two men responded immediately and then dispatched messengers on horseback to deliver the messages.

Two hours later, as darkness fell, Li Yangchun rested in the camp, and the people of Shouzhang County, who had been on edge for so long, were finally able to get a good night's sleep.

However, this moment of leisure did not last long. Li Yangchun was awakened by the sound of horses' hooves and noise outside the tent.

He put on his round-necked robe and stepped out of the tent, where he immediately saw Zheng Hengdong and Liu Song arguing.

"What is it?" Li Yangchun asked, and the two could only bow in response.

"News has just come from Yuncheng that Zhu Quanzhong has led his army into Yuncheng and is looting extensively around the city. He has also captured civilians to build siege equipment. It seems he intends to launch a full-scale attack on Yuncheng."

"General, should our army march south to besiege Zhu Quanzhong's forces in Yuncheng?"

The two men's words caused Li Yangchun to ponder. He paced back and forth in front of the tent, and after a moment, he shook his head and said, "No!"

"His Highness once said that in military campaigns, one should not be concerned with the gains or losses of a single city or place, but rather with achieving one's own objective."

"Furthermore, if Zhu Quanzhong is in Shouzhang, our army will attack Shouzhang; if Zhu Quanzhong goes to Yuncheng, our army will head to Yuncheng. Wouldn't this be letting him lead us by the nose?"

"Our army currently has three objectives: first, to resist the invasion of Weibo; second, to ensure the continuous supply of food and fodder to the army on the eastern front; and third, to cooperate with the army on the eastern front to quell the rebellion of the Yanzhou navy."

"Zhu Quanzhong attacked Yuncheng, trying to lead our army by the nose. We must not let him do as he wishes."

"Shouzhang's grain and fodder have been replenished, and the other counties have also made preparations early on. Holding out for a month should not be a problem."

"If that's the case, our army doesn't need to be bound by Yunzhou."

Li Yangchun took a deep breath, and the two of them guessed his intention.

Sure enough, in front of the two men, Li Yangchun said directly, "Take all the gunpowder packs from Shouzhang and Xuchang. Tomorrow our army will attack Yanzhou!"

"The last general takes command!"

The two men accepted the order and the next day, Li Yangchun left 1,000 soldiers to garrison Shouzhang, and then led 9,000 troops, 25,000 laborers, and 5,000 horse and mule carts eastward to Yanzhou.

On the 25th, Tan Kai led his army to capture Jinxiang and Yutai counties in the southwest of Yanzhou. He left more than a thousand soldiers to garrison the two cities and led more than three thousand soldiers to attack Rencheng.

On the 26th, Li Yangchun led his army to besiege Zhongdu County in western Yanzhou. As expected, Li Tangbin abandoned the city and fled. Rencheng was captured by Tan Kai. Li Tangbin encountered Tan Kai's troops at Chengziya and was defeated by Tan Kai. Li Tangbin was captured.

"What did you say?!"

"Jinxiang, Yutai, Zhongdu and Rencheng were captured by government troops who divided their forces. When Li Langjun retreated to Chengziya, he encountered government troops and was captured."

Zhu Wen, who had just captured Yuncheng, had no time to celebrate when Zhu Zhen rushed into the Yuncheng government office, bringing news that Li Yangchun had divided his forces to attack Yanzhou.

Upon learning that four counties in Yanzhou had been captured in succession, Zhu Wen couldn't help but show anxiety on his face.

He knew the situation in Yanzhou very well. Apart from a thousand armored soldiers and several thousand light soldiers in Xiaqiu and Qufu, there were no other troops.

The entire Yanzhou region was quite vulnerable, so attacking Yunzhou was also a way to cover up the fact that Yanzhou was weak.

"Withdraw the troops, withdraw the troops to the south."

Zhu Wen spoke without hesitation, and then said, "Jinxiang and Yutai have just been captured, but there are still people in the city whose hearts we can rely on."

"Recapture Jinxiang and Yutai counties, then detour to Xiaqiu and Qufu to hold them."

"Your subordinate obeys!" Zhu Zhen replied without hesitation and immediately began to order the camp to be broken up.

Zhu Wen gritted his teeth as he looked at the map. He didn't think Li Yangchun's methods were particularly clever; he was just taking advantage of the vast territory controlled by the imperial court and bullying the small area of ​​Yanhai.

Li Yangchun could attack a place where the enemy would have to defend it, but Zhu Wen could not. He had few troops and a short escape route. If he did not rescue Yanzhou, it would be of little use for him to take Yunzhou.

Zhu Wen began to withdraw his troops, but Li Yangchun's schemes were only just beginning.

On the 28th, Li Yangchun led his troops to capture Gongqiu, and Deng Yan led his army to capture Qianfeng. Yanzhou had lost half of its territory, and only Xiaqiu, the seat of Yanzhou, remained to hold out west of the Si River.

Li Yangchun led his army to join forces with Deng Yan and Tan Kai. In addition to the troops stationed in the occupied cities, his forces also included 14,000 soldiers and 40,000 laborers.

In just five days, the balance of power shifted between the two sides.

"General, Jinxiang County is requesting reinforcements. Zhu Quanzhong has led his army south, and Jinxiang may not be able to hold out."

Outside Xiaqiu City, the camp built by tens of thousands of soldiers and forty thousand laborers completely surrounded the city on three sides, leaving only an opening in the direction of the Si River to the east.

Upon learning of this matter inside the tent, Li Yangchun's face did not show any anxiety. He simply pondered and said:

"Giving him the two cities of Jinxiang and Yutai is fine. Our army will first concentrate its forces to take Xiaqiu, and then divide its forces to cross the Sishui River and take the three cities of Sishui, Qufu and Zouxian. At that time, Zeng Yuanyu, who is holding back his troops in the south, will surely respond to the imperial court's order to send troops."

Li Yangchun's words were somewhat cold-blooded and ruthless, after all, there were at least a thousand Han soldiers in Jinxiang and Yutai.

To stand idly by and watch these three counties fall into disarray is tantamount to watching a thousand Han soldiers be buried in a foreign land.

"Our army has seven thousand cavalry and infantry. Why don't you order me to lead the troops to reinforce and drive away Zhu Quanzhong?"

"The general seconded the proposal!"

Liu Song and Tan Kai spoke one after the other, but Li Yangchun said in an unquestionable manner: "The garrison in Xiaqiu City is about three thousand strong. Our army can break through the city tomorrow."

"At that time, the army will advance rapidly, and there will be no shortage of cavalry and infantry sentries and raids. As long as our army attacks the city quickly enough, Zhu Quanzhong will not be able to attack the two counties with peace of mind."

"The fate of the soldiers in these two counties depends on whether you can quickly capture Yanzhou and advance your troops into Yizhou."

Li Yangchun was not wrong, but the generals in the tent were still somewhat hesitant.

Seeing the hesitation of the crowd, Li Yangchun suddenly stood up, frowned, and rebuked them: "I am the commander-in-chief of the army, and all orders of the three armies must be obeyed." "This matter need not be discussed further; only by capturing Yanzhou can the siege of the soldiers be lifted!"

Seeing his arbitrary and self-willed actions, the generals' expressions were not very good. However, the Han army had strict discipline, and they dared not disobey orders. They could only bow and accept the orders with grim faces.

From dusk till nightfall, the Han army outside Xiaqiu City remained silent, while the laborers continued to build catapults and shield carts, cutting down most of the trees on both banks of the Sishui River.

Upon hearing the news, Xie Tong, who was inside the city, knew that a formidable figure had arrived in the Han army.

"This Li Yangchun was not well-known under Liu Jilong before, but I never expected him to be so decisive in his military campaign this time."

Xie Tong paced back and forth, knowing the situation inside the city. He could only look at the general and ask, "Where are Governor Zhu's troops?"

Although Li Yangchun's attack was swift, Xie Tong reacted quickly and ordered Zhu Cun, who was defending Haizhou and Yizhou, to send troops to relieve Yanzhou.

Due to the unfavorable situation in the north, Zhu Cun had rashly sent troops into Ganhuajun territory half a month ago, forcibly conscripting the people of Ganhuajun as laborers to receive the armor that Gao Pian was escorting from the Huai River.

Although this move offended Zeng Yuanyu, the 130,000 shi of grain, 5,000 sets of paper armor, and 3,000 sets of leather armor that Zhu Cun brought back undoubtedly strengthened the Yanzhou navy.

Zhu Cun used three thousand paper-armored soldiers as the White Armor Army and dispatched his general Ding Hui to gallop through Yanzhou.

"Ding Du has already arrived in Fei County and will arrive in Xiaqiu City in three days at the latest."

Xie Tong breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this; he was confident he could hold out for three days.

After more than a year of repairs and reinforcements by Zhu Wen and Xie Tong, Xiaqiu City's six-foot-wide foundation was built of stone, making it difficult for government troops to breach the foundation, even with their magical abilities.

As long as the city foundation is not destroyed, and the gaps are filled with sandbags, it will be difficult for the government troops to enter Xiaqiu City.

As he pondered this, the sky gradually brightened, and the piercing whistle awakened the soldiers inside and outside Xiaqiu City.

Fourteen thousand Han soldiers were arrayed outside the city, including seven thousand cavalry and seven thousand infantry.

If they were to leave troops to garrison the counties, their forces would be even greater.

The catapults, erected overnight by 40,000 laborers, are now complete and only 300 paces from Xiaqiu City.

Because Li Yangchun's advance was too rapid, Xie Tong could only use winches, crossbows, logs, and rolling stones to defend the city.

Xiaqiu City is three zhang high and probably four or five zhang thick. The city wall is built on a six-foot-high stone foundation, making it exceptionally sturdy.

Attacking such a city is no different from attacking Stone City, but the city has few defenders and even fewer armored soldiers.

Facing the fortified city of Xiaqiu, Li Yangchun, stepping onto the drum cart before his army, gazed at the city walls and then addressed the departing generals:
"Send out two thousand infantrymen to scout. If Zhu Quanzhong learns that Xiaqiu City is under siege, he will surely come to its aid."

"If Zhu Quanzhong comes to our aid, Tan Kai and Liu Songru will lead 5,000 cavalry and infantry to intercept him."

"In addition, Zheng Hengdong and Deng Yan, you two will each lead three thousand infantrymen and more than ten thousand laborers to launch a strong attack on Xiaqiu City from the north and west sides of the city."

"With the strength of Xiaqiu City's troops, as long as our army can gain a foothold on the city walls, we can easily win!"

The capture of Xiaqiu City would severely damage the morale of the Yanzhou Navy, as Xiaqiu City was one of the key cities that Zhu Wen had focused on developing.

If even Xiaqiu City can be breached, then the other cities need no further explanation.

"Our army has only 35,000 jin of gunpowder, so we probably need to use it sparingly."

Zheng Hengdong tried to persuade him, but Li Yangchun nodded and said, "Therefore, our army needs to use catapults, shield carts, and gunpowder to frighten the enemy, and then the main force will launch a strong attack with cloud carts and Lu Gong carts!"

"This..." Upon hearing this, the expressions of all the generals changed.

Since the Han army developed the siege tactics of using gunpowder packs and shield carts, they rarely used the Lü Gong carts and cloud carts to forcefully attack city walls.

Normally, the Han army would have enough gunpowder, but in less than half a year, the Han army has fought many battles in Hedong, Daibei, Tianping, Yichang, and Yanhai. In addition, gunpowder is usually made in Linzhou and transported eastward, so the quantity naturally cannot keep up with the consumption of the Han army.

Seeing the generals' uneasy expressions, Li Yangchun frowned slightly: "You've done plenty of siege drills on weekdays, but you're so cowardly in actual combat?"

Although Li Yangchun joined the army late, he had witnessed the formidable attack capabilities of the veteran soldiers from Longyou.

Although the Han army today has generals and soldiers with much better physical fitness than the old soldiers of the past, they have lost their fierce spirit.

The Han army, once numbering only two thousand men, dared to boast that they would march eastward with Liu Jilong and conquer the entire Longxi region.

Now, even with more than 5,000 Han soldiers, they couldn't defeat Zhu Wen, whose army numbered only 10,000, and they had to come to his aid in person.

Thinking of this, Li Yangchun couldn't help but frown, thinking that the soldiers' environment was too peaceful and they had lost their wildness.

But then he thought again that the veteran soldiers of the Han army were all veterans who had fought their way out of Hexi with Liu Jilong and had been tempered in Longyou for several years.

The soldiers in the army right now are mostly soldiers who have only been in the army for three years, so they are naturally not as good as them.

"Order that the first to reach the summit be promoted three ranks, those in the team be promoted two ranks, and those in the brigade be promoted one rank!"

"Yes……"

Under Li Yangchun's military orders, the Han army began to move out, while Xie Tong inside the city also made full preparations.

"Uuuuuu——"

When the bugle sounded, Zheng Hengdong and Deng Yan each led three thousand Han soldiers and tens of thousands of laborers, pushing cloud chariots, trench bridges, shield carts and Lü Gong chariots to launch an attack on Xiaqiu City.

"Prepare the winch crossbow...fire!"

"Bam—"

When the winches on the city wall were activated, more than thirty winches were operated by three hundred Yanzhou naval soldiers and thousands of laborers. The crossbow bolts, which were several feet high, killed countless laborers on the spot.

Even so, the laborers still gritted their teeth and pushed the shield cart forward.

They had just been robbed of their money and had their wives and daughters raped by Zhu Wen's troops, and they were filled with resentment.

Not to mention that Li Yangchun had already promised before the battle that the families of all civilians who died in battle would receive a reward of fifty mu of land.

Fifty mu of land—it's important to know that the Han army hadn't yet implemented the land equalization policy in the five prefectures of Tianping Town. For most people in the five prefectures, having two mu of their own land was a luxury. Most people were tenants of military officers and powerful families.

In chaotic times, a slave could be bought for a few hundred coins, not even enough to buy two acres of land. Now, they could exchange their lives for fifty acres of land, so that their families would no longer have to worry about food and drink. How could they not risk their lives?

"kill!!"

"Keep it up!!"

With generous rewards from the Han army, the laborers exerted all their strength to push the siege equipment, gradually moving it to within a hundred paces of the city.

At the same time, Li Yangchun, who was on the drum cart, saw that his side had entered within a hundred paces and immediately picked up his wooden whistle and blew it.

"Beep--"

In an instant, dozens of catapults began to hurl the burning flaming gunpowder.

The ten-thousand-strong enemy streaked across the sky and exploded as it approached Xiaqiu City.

"Boom!"

Like a thunderbolt striking down, countless iron pellets shot out, instantly killing many unarmored laborers on the city wall.

Without the labor of civilians, it was impossible for three thousand soldiers to wind up so many winches and crossbows.

"Continue to conscript laborers to defend the city, and let the soldiers fight the enemy with bows and arrows!!"

Xie Tong commanded the troops in various locations, and the flag bearers on the city towers kept waving their command flags, which were then passed on to the flag bearers on the corner towers.

The Yanzhou navy on the west and north city walls had no choice but to fight back with bows and crossbows. However, only one thousand of them were armored, while the remaining two thousand were only wearing battle robes. They could not even defend against arrows and could only lean against the parapets and raise their shields to avoid them.

"boom--"

Suddenly, thanks to the efforts of the laborers, the Han army's trench bridge was laid across the frozen moat of Xiaqiu City.

Immediately afterwards, siege engines such as cloud chariots, shield chariots, and Lu Gong chariots began to cross the river.

After doing all this, the laborers began to retreat continuously. Although arrows at this distance could hit the laborers, they could not kill them on the spot.

Many laborers, dragging their wounded bodies, fled the battlefield, while Zheng Hengdong and Deng Yan led 3,000 troops to begin pushing siege equipment, each with their own tasks.

The firearms soldiers, carrying gunpowder packs, pushed their shield carts away from the engineering siege engines such as the Lu Gong cart and the cloud cart, and then rammed them hard into a section of the city wall.

The city walls were built with stacked stones and were incredibly sturdy. They could only dig towards the base of the walls. Once they had dug to a certain extent, they began to plant gunpowder and wait for orders by blowing whistles.

At the same time, Lu Gongche and Yunche began to ram the city wall, and then the Han army began to climb and prepare. When the hanging planks and cloud ladders were lowered, they launched their attack.

"kill!!"

The Yanzhou navy soldiers defending the city had been waiting for a long time. As the sleds and ladders were lowered, countless powerful bows and crossbows were fired.

At such close range, the armor-piercing arrows were impossible to defend against. Many soldiers charged with shields, only to have their shields pierced and their bodies riddled with arrows.

Even so, relying on their heavy armor, the Han army still charged forward, but what they were immediately met with was the long spears of the Yanhai navy.

No matter how brave or powerful a person is, they will be powerless when faced with a barrage of spears.

The Han soldiers who were knocked off the cloud chariot fell heavily off the chariot. Compared with the cloud chariot, the Lü Gong chariot had a larger range of operation, but it was also more likely to be targeted by concentrated fire.

When facing Lü Gongche, the Yanhai Army's method of defending the city was to ignite pottery jars filled with petroleum and smash them hard against the Han soldiers.

When the grease is splattered all over the body, flames ignite along with it. The person who is burned runs around in fear, scraping the grease and flames onto others.

"Don't panic! Wrap them in the felt, and be quick!!"

Upon seeing this, the experienced veterans immediately used wet blankets to extinguish the fire.

After these people were tackled, the remaining wet blankets were thrown onto them, quickly creating an airtight space where the flames gradually died down.

Even so, in just a few breaths, these people were still severely burned and had to be taken away for treatment.

While they were treating their comrades who were on fire, the Han soldiers who had withstood the first wave of stone attack used their shields to brace against the spears and rushed onto the horse path.

Once one person establishes themselves, a second, a third, and even more will follow.

Seeing that Han soldiers were the first to scale the city wall, Xie Tong immediately drew his sword from his waist, preparing to lead his troops to provide reinforcements to various locations.

At that moment, everyone felt their minds go blank, and a deafening sound came to their ears.

"Rumble--"

Suddenly, dust rose up, and a violent explosion made everyone lose their bearings. Dust and snow spread rapidly.

"kill!!"

Xie Tong felt extremely dizzy, with a constant ringing in his ears, mixed with shouts of killing.

When he came to his senses, he realized that he had been sitting on the ground without even noticing, as had the soldiers around him.

The Han soldiers had coarse cloth stuffed in their ears, which was not as effective as cotton, but they were already prepared, so their reaction speed was naturally faster than that of the Yan navy.

Gradually, the Yanhai Army was caught off guard, and with the increasing number of Han troops, they could only be pushed from the horse path to the city walls by the Han army.

Apart from the armored Yanzhou navy, the unarmored Yanzhou navy simply dropped their weapons and surrendered. Xie Tong could only lead less than 800 Yanzhou navy men, whose numbers were constantly decreasing, into the streets and alleys, retreating towards the east gate.

"The city gate has been captured!!"

As the west city gate slowly opened, the generals excitedly looked at Li Yangchun.

Li Yangchun frowned as he watched the wounded soldiers being sent to the camp. He thought to himself that the Han army's ability to attack fortified positions was much weaker than before, and that they would have to strengthen their training when they returned.

"Beep--"

Before Li Yangchun could speak, a piercing wooden whistle suddenly sounded from the south, clearly indicating that enemy activity had been encountered there.

"This fellow really came!" Li Yangchun knew who it was without even thinking. He was surprised by Zhu Wen's reaction, but also glad that Zhu Wen actually dared to come.

Unfortunately, he had too few troops, and the Han army had no reason to lose this battle.

"Tan Kai and Liu Song, you two will lead five thousand elite cavalry south to surround and annihilate Zhu Quanzhong's forces. If you can capture Zhu Quanzhong alive, I will certainly report your achievements to His Highness!"

"Your subordinate obeys!!"

Tan Kai and Liu Song agreed without hesitation, then mustered five thousand cavalry and infantry and galloped south.

After they left, Li Yangchun saw the Han army's banners planted on the city wall of Xiaqiu. He was about to rein in his horse and enter the city when, unexpectedly, a piercing whistle suddenly sounded from the north.

"Beep--"

Why is there a whistle coming from the north?

"Gongqiu in the north has already been captured by our army, so what enemy troops are there?"

Several generals were taken aback, and Li Yangchun was also somewhat confused, but he calmly said, "Gather the cavalry and await orders!"

Under his orders, the cavalry from all directions began to slowly regroup. Except for those from the north and south, the remaining 1,500 cavalrymen rallied around Li Yangchun.

At the same time, the Tang cavalry from the north also appeared and were gathering here.

When they arrived, Li Yangchun frowned and asked, "How many enemy troops are there to the north? Who is their commander?"

"They were carrying Zhu Quanzhong's banner, and their numbers were no less than two thousand!"

The cavalry captain bowed and reported back. Li Yangchun pondered the matter but did not take any action, instead waiting for Zhu Quanzhong to march south from the north.

Half an hour passed, and Zhu Quanzhong still hadn't appeared. Li Yangchun gradually sensed something was wrong. At the same time, the cavalry from the south hurriedly rushed south.

Before they could even get close to Li Yangchun, they hurriedly shouted, "General, there are only a few thousand civilians to the south who have been taken hostage by a few hundred soldiers!"

"Not good! Cavalry and infantry, proceed to the east gate immediately!"

Li Yangchun immediately guessed what Zhu Wen wanted to do. Clearly, the troops in the north and south were feints. What Zhu Wen really wanted to do was to make Li Yangchun withdraw his cavalry so that he could lead his army to help Xie Tong cross the Si River and retreat to Qufu County in the east.

"Uuuuuu——"

Xie Tong, who was leading his troops in a difficult retreat to the East Gate, suddenly heard a familiar bugle call and his spirits lifted.

"The commander has led his troops to rescue us! Brothers, charge towards the east gate!"

Upon learning that reinforcements were coming, the hundreds of Yanzhou navy soldiers, whose morale had plummeted and were on the verge of surrendering, immediately began to retreat steadily towards the east gate.

As expected, the East Gate had been taken over by the Yanhai Army, who had taken a roundabout route to block the Han army from retreating. They were all blocked by Xie Tong's troops on both sides of the gate.

"Sir, please come here first!"

Zhu Wen appeared in front of the city gate and urged Xie Tong anxiously.

Upon seeing this, Xie Tong quickly led his troops to retreat to the city gate. As soon as they reached the city gate, Zhu Wen immediately led his troops out of the city.

The soldiers guarding outside the city immediately pushed more than ten carriages to the city gate, blocking it. Before Xie Tong could speak, Zhu Wen urged, "Withdraw!"

More than 4,000 troops began to retreat eastward, while the Han army inside the city was also moving the carriages blocking the city gate at an extremely fast pace.

"Why are you here, my lord?"

Xie Tong looked at Zhu Wen in astonishment on the way back, after all, it was at least 120 li away from Jinxiang to Xiaqiu City.

"Yesterday morning, we besieged Jinxiang, and after deploying a feint, we came by a roundabout route. We thought that Xiaqiu City could hold out for several days, but we did not expect that it could not even last half a day."

Zhu Wen was somewhat annoyed, while Xie Tong felt ashamed: "I am incompetent and have failed you, my lord."

"It's not your fault. I already know about the government troops' techniques and methods."

Although Zhu Wen was angry, he wouldn't cause internal strife at such a critical juncture. Even if he wanted to settle scores, he would do so after the situation had stabilized.

But not long after he finished speaking, the rumble of horses' hooves sounded behind him.

Zhu Wen turned his head and saw that there were no fewer than two thousand cavalry and infantry chasing after them.

"Damn it, this rat-like fellow is really hard to deal with!"

Zhu Wen was also annoyed. If he had enough troops, why would he use so many tricks to deceive Li Yangchun? He could have just engaged in a direct confrontation.

"Retreat to the west bank of the Surabaya River and form ranks!"

Turning back, Zhu Wen ordered his army to hurry on their way, and the Si River was already only a few hundred paces away.

Before the Han army's cavalry and infantry could launch their attack, Zhu Wen led his troops to form ranks on the west bank of the Si River. His soldiers were exhausted and were all panting heavily.

Xie Tong's heart sank upon seeing this, while Zhu Wen watched as the Han army's cavalry and infantry split into two sides, surrounding their left and right flanks, and then saw thousands of Han infantry rushing in from behind.

In just a quarter of an hour, Li Yangchun led more than 6,000 Han infantrymen to the front of Zhu Wen's troops, thus completing the encirclement of the Han army on three sides, leaving only the Sishui direction for them to retreat.

Li Yangchun rode out into the formation and soon spotted Zhu Wen, dressed in brightly colored clothes.

"Eight thousand against four thousand, whether we can capture Zhu Quanzhong depends on this battle!"

(End of this chapter)