Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 515 The Ling Trip Comes to an End
"Uuuuuu——"

At dawn, while the sky was still dark, horns sounded from different directions outside South China Sea City, followed by a barrage of cannon fire.

"Boom!"

"Boom..."

"Get out of the way! Dodge the falling iron balls!!"

In the Southern Tang army camp north of Nanhai City, countless captains ran back and forth, signaling all the soldiers to squat in the trenches, and no one dared to show their heads.

This earth-building technique, learned from the Han army, has now become their means of survival.

More than ninety iron cannonballs fell like a sudden rain, hitting the ground in the camp, then bouncing up and turning into ricochets to kill and wound the Southern Tang soldiers, tearing apart all the tents.

The Han army's offensive started half an hour earlier than usual, something that generals like Lu Ruyue and Gao Jie had not anticipated.

"Don't panic! The Han army's offensive is over. Order the entire army to don their armor and form ranks!"

Lu Ruyue and Gao Jie led the army's lieutenants and colonels, constantly riding their horses back and forth between the positions of various armies and regiments.

Under their organization, the Southern Tang army was finally organized.

But soon after they were organized, they faced the Han army that was moving toward them.

"Dong dong dong..."

Hundreds of drum carts beat drums to cheer on the troops, and the sound of the drums seemed to come from all directions, making it impossible to tell where the enemy was.

A thin mist blew in from the sea, obstructing everyone's vision, limiting visibility to only about a hundred paces.

But just a hundred paces away, among the nearly 50,000 Southern Tang troops already arrayed in battle formation, the vanguard soldiers could clearly see a dark mass of figures bursting out from the thin mist.

"Screw rustle..."

The sounds of footsteps and the clanging of armor plates mingled with the beating of drums and the occasional blast of horns.

An inexplicable sense of oppression arose in the hearts of the Southern Tang soldiers, and the soldiers in the battle formation unconsciously gripped their spears, lances, and crossbows tightly.

Finally, figures in crimson and silver emerged from the mist and came into view of the Southern Tang vanguard soldiers.

The crimson battle robe was covered by silver lamellar armor, and the banners with the character "Han" written on them were even more dazzling.

“Shoot!!”

"Beep——"

In an instant, a whistle rang out, and the archers who had already formed ranks began to pull their triggers and release their bows at the appropriate distances.

Countless arrows, like dark shadows, shot into the sky from the Southern Tang army formation, then crossed the thin mist, and finally fell like a sudden rain towards the Han army.

The sound of arrows clashing against armor rang out, but the individual cries of pain were too faint to be completely drowned out by the rustling footsteps and the creaking of armor plates.

The falling arrows made a series of soft popping sounds as they struck the Han soldiers, and the distance between the Han army and the Southern Tang army continued to close.

Their speed gradually slowed down, and then shield carts rushed out from among them.

These shield carts suddenly plunged into some trenches, the force of the fall pushing aside the neatly arranged wooden spikes. Most of the soldiers who were responsible for pushing the shield carts survived and were pulled out of the trenches with the help of their comrades.

Cries of pain and pleas for help began to echo across the battlefield. Even though the wounded were Han soldiers, enemies of the Southern Tang army, the soldiers of the Southern Tang army, who were about to clash with them, couldn't help but feel tense.

The Han army is visibly clearing away the trenches laid out by the Southern Tang army bit by bit.

These trenches did not hold them off for long, but as the sun gradually rose and the sea breeze continued to blow, the thin fog on the battlefield gradually dissipated.

"hiss……"

As the thin fog gradually dissipated, the soldiers of the Southern Tang army gasped in shock, especially those in the vanguard.

But the Han army, which outnumbered them by two and filled almost the entire battlefield, formed dozens of square formations of over a thousand men each and pressed down on them.

These formations, some in front and some behind, all cleared the trenches in front of them without exception.

With the trenches cleared, all that remained in their path was a moat no more than ten feet wide, and the sheep and horse wall that had long since become ruins.

The Han army's dozens of square formations were constantly approaching, while the Southern Tang army's whistles rang out continuously, and their crossbows fired arrows in volley after volley.

Countless arrows rained down, but they could not stop the Han army's advance. Even if someone was unlucky enough to be hit by an arrow, they would be quickly dragged to the rear.

Finally, under the watchful eyes of the Southern Tang soldiers, hundreds of Han soldiers carrying trench bridges rushed out from the Han army ranks. They formed groups of dozens and quickly reached the moat in front of the camp, braving a hail of arrows.

"Bang!!"

As the trench bridge slumped down, the Southern Tang vanguard soldiers, who had been motionless, suddenly heard the sound of bugles in their ears.

They began to form ranks and advance, passing the archers and crossbowmen to the ruins of the sheep and horse wall, where they faced the Han soldiers across the moat about ten feet away.

"Beep--"

A piercing whistle rang out, and the Han army, which had been suppressed for a long time, began to skillfully walk onto the trench bridge, form ranks, and charge towards them.

At the same time, the Han soldiers who could not cross the bridge switched to powerful bows to charge at the Southern Tang soldiers.

The Southern Tang army was prepared for the Han army's face-to-face attack tactics, and the swordsmen and shield bearers raised their swords and shields to protect the faces of the vanguard soldiers.

These swordsmen felt their shields getting heavier and heavier until they could barely lift them, so they quickly switched places with other swordsmen to cover the rear guard.

During this period, the Han soldiers on the moat bridge also clashed with the Southern Tang army.

"kill!!"

"Pfft..."

"shhhhhh"

The river, which was about ten feet wide, began to become turbid due to the battle, and the heavily armored infantry on both sides clashed continuously with spears and lances.

Their roars during the battle were like taut ox tendons; all that could be heard were the battle cries and howls of both sides, and the whistling of Han archers firing armor-piercing spikes.

During the battle, Han soldiers were constantly knocked off the trench bridge, muddying the river. Unable to fight them on the left and right, the Southern Tang troops began to stab the Han soldiers who had fallen into the water with long spears, while the Han soldiers on the opposite side kept charging at them with powerful bows.

Countless soldiers in the Southern Tang army were hit in the face by arrows and fell into the moat protecting the camp.

The blood stained the murky sewage red, and the air seemed to carry the smell of rust, making people feel uncomfortable from the inside out.

Everyone's nerves were on edge, as if only constant roaring could vent their unease.

More than ten Lü Gong carts appeared one after another behind the two armies, with generals from various armies standing on them.

Wang Shi and Chen Jingchong gazed at the battlefield, their brows furrowing as they watched the Han army hesitate to cross the moat.

"These rebels are more troublesome than I thought..."

Chen Jingchong's tone was somewhat anxious, but Wang Shi nodded slightly and said calmly, "After all, they are the last elite force under Gao Pian's command. We should be confident in dealing with such a difficult opponent."

"Rumble--"

The sound of cannon fire came from afar, causing them to look at each other.

"It's started in the south and east..."

While they were talking, Li Yangchun in the east of the city began to command his army to launch a strong attack on the more than 20,000 troops under Wang Zhongren's command, while Geng Ming in the south of the city also began to lead more than 7,000 naval troops to land at the harbor and continuously attack the south city wall with artillery.

Gao Qin had only three thousand soldiers, and his main force consisted of tens of thousands of laborers who constantly counterattacked with catapults and winches.

After so many days of fighting, the materials available for throwing stones are becoming increasingly scarce. Now they have even started throwing bricks and landscape stones, which can be described as a desperate measure.

The city wall south of the city was already dilapidated, and sandbags were piled up in many places to fill the gaps.

Faced with the dilapidated state of the southern city wall, Geng Ming simply ordered the warships to bombard it continuously, which blasted open all the gaps filled with sandbags.

Not only that, he also wanted to completely breach the foundation of the wall so that his army could quickly rush into the city.

The power of the Han army's artillery had long since numbed Gao Qin, who was stationed in the southern city. He had foreseen this scene when Geng Ming launched his attack ahead of schedule today.

"Use sandbags to plug the gap..."

Gao Qin squeezed out these words, and the disheveled generals on either side exchanged glances, but still gritted their teeth and ordered the laborers to fill the gap.

The laborers filled the gaping hole, which was several meters wide, with sandbags while dodging the Han army's artillery fire.

The two sides continued to stalemate, while the Han army from the north and east of the city launched a fierce attack.

The blood stained the moat red, flowing along it towards the Pearl River, gradually turning the Pearl River red as well.

The river, which was originally two zhang deep, gradually filled the moat as more and more bodies fell in. Neither side needed to avoid the water anymore, as it had already overflowed onto both banks.

The two sides clashed repeatedly in the blood that was inches deep, with nearly 30,000 vanguard troops constantly forming ranks and clashing, their long spears and lances striking each other repeatedly.

The sounds of battle cries and clashing weapons filled the entire battlefield, making Gao Pian, who was standing on the high platform, feel a little uncomfortable.

Perhaps it's because he's getting old, or perhaps his spirit has been worn down; in any case, he's become somewhat indecisive.

He knew that surrendering would save his tens of thousands of brothers, but he also knew that if he could defeat Wang Shi, he might be able to retake Lingnan and even Hunan and Jiangxi.

Even though the chances were extremely slim, and even though he knew that Liu Jilong still had hundreds of thousands of troops in the north, he still tried to fight for this sliver of hope.

His expression kept changing, and the frequency of his waving of the command flag became slower and slower.

His current opponent is less the Han army and Wang Shi, and more himself.

While he was indecisive, the more than 200,000 people in Nanhai City had no choice at all.

They hid in their homes, the elderly, women, and children huddled together, listening to the constant shouts of killing. Some wept with their heads down, while others went mad and cursed at home.

The child didn't understand, but simply followed what the people around him did.

"Mother, when are Father and Grandfather coming back...?"

The toddler looked up at his grandmother and mother, who were sobbing with their heads down, and asked them in a childish voice.

Upon hearing this, they hugged the child, and their cries grew even louder...

Cries, curses, and prayers became the main sounds in the city, while the laborers who had been conscripted to work kept pulling on the thick ropes in their hands, not daring to slacken even when their palms were worn raw.

The Southern Tang soldiers who were supervising them constantly cursed and urged them on, and from time to time they provoked them by mentioning their families left in the city.

"Give your strength to your father, and don't forget your wives and daughters in the city."

"If you allow the rebels into the city, I don't need to say more about what will happen to you!"

Under the constant instigation and spread of rumors by the Southern Tang army, the people in the city seemed to be trapped in an information cocoon.

From all the sources they knew, everyone said that the rebels outside the city were even more ferocious than Huang Chao had been.

They would not only slaughter foreign merchants after entering the city, but also the city's inhabitants.

Their wives and daughters would be violated by the rebels, and they themselves would become slaves of the rebels, subject to their beatings and abuse at will...

Under such circumstances, they could only desperately pull on the ropes of their catapults and crossbows, just to protect their own lives and the dignity of their families.

"kill!!"

In the eastern part of the city, Wang Zhongren was clearly unable to stop the combination of Li Yangchun, Ge Congzhou, Zhang Guiba, Zhang Guihou, Pang Shigu, and others.

The Han army not only crossed the protective river but also established a foothold on the west bank, and is now constantly squeezing the Southern Tang army's position.

The collision between the two was like two millstones made of flesh and blood, and the friction caused countless pieces of flesh to fall and vanish into nothingness.

"The battle line must not be retreated! The central army will leap forward and charge!!"

"Quickly inform King Gao that the rebel army in the eastern city has crossed the protective moat!"

On the high platform, Wang Zhongren was giving orders at the top of his lungs, constantly issuing commands to his men and women, and sending messages to Gao Pian on horseback.

Under their watchful eyes, more than 40,000 Han soldiers relentlessly pressed down on more than 20,000 Southern Tang troops, who formed a pincer movement from the front and both sides.

In this situation, it was as if the more than 20,000 Southern Tang troops had willingly walked into the pocket formed by the 40,000 Han troops.

Wang Zhongren had no choice but to order his army to fight and retreat, which ensured that the army was not completely surrounded by the Han army.

However, his abilities were limited, and the various units of the Han army cooperated so closely that they were simply unable to break through.

Wang Chongren kept waving the five-colored command flags, but even when the various units received the military orders, they could not meet his requirements.

"Retreat! Retreat into the moat!!"

Seeing that the eastern camp was doomed to be lost, Wang Chongren was unwilling to waste more soldiers' lives there, so he decisively ordered the army to retreat to the west bank of the moat.

Even though there was still enough space to organize a defense, Wang Zhongren was very clear about the retreat from the camp moat to the city moat.

It was only a matter of time before Li Yangchun's troops defeated them.

At this moment, what he most hoped for and least hoped for was that the King Gao in his heart would surrender.

If King Gao had surrendered, more than 20,000 brothers could have survived.

But if King Gao surrenders, his image in his own mind will collapse.

Wang Chongren himself didn't know whether he wanted to surrender or not. He wanted to save his brothers' lives, but he wanted to preserve Gao Pian's image even more.

Caught in this dilemma, he abandoned Lü Gongche and led his army to begin an orderly retreat back to the west bank of the moat.

At the same time, Kuai Ma also informed Gao Pian that he had lost the eastern camp, while the northern camp was also in crisis.

The 80,000 Han troops had already established a foothold on the south bank of the Huying River and began to engage in continuous battles with the more than 40,000 Southern Tang troops.

Fortunately, the battlefield north of the city was not large, and the Han army and the Southern Tang army could only directly clash with each other by about ten thousand men. The terrain was not conducive to Wang Shi's use of his 80,000 troops to overwhelm the Southern Tang army.

Therefore, the situation in the north of the city is still under control, while the situation in the east of the city has obviously slipped out of Gao Pian's control.

"Your Majesty, what should we do?"

Faced with the precarious situation in the east of the city, the generals who had been dispatched there immediately inquired, their expressions extremely tense.

However, Gao Pian fell silent in response to his question, not uttering a single word.

"King Gao?!"

They would all be very eager, but afraid of getting too close, so they could only try to keep their voices down to avoid being impolite.

Gao Pian glanced at him sideways, his face as calm as ever, but his heart was churning with turmoil.

"Order Wang Lang to continue holding the line. If the eastern part of the city cannot be held, retreat to the city center."

"Yes!"

Seeing that they had finally received the imperial decree, they all hurriedly got up and went down from the high platform, riding their horses quickly to the east of the city.

Watching his departing figure, Gao Pian took a deep breath and looked at another general behind him: "Prepare the fireworks."

Everyone was taken aback by these words and looked towards the battlefield, hesitatingly saying, "But our soldiers are still fighting the rebels, if..."

"Get ready!" Gao Pian emphasized, and seeing this, the generals could only quickly agree and then strode down from the platform.

Behind the high platform, a dozen or so catapults were displayed. Compared to the number of catapults in the south of the city, this number was negligible.

However, for Gao Pian, many of the things he hoped for could only be achieved by relying on these dozen or so catapults.

"Beep--"

A piercing whistle sounded, and thousands of laborers pulled the mechanisms of more than ten catapults. After the mechanisms were in the right positions, four people immediately placed the heavy wooden balls, weighing over a hundred pounds, onto the leather belts.

After securing it, the laborers quickly retreated, and Du Jun bowed to Gao Pian, saying, "King Gao, everything is ready."

"Release!" Gao Pian ordered without turning his head. The soldiers hesitated, but still waved the red command flag, signaling the soldiers to throw the fireworks.

"boom!!"

Upon seeing their commander raise the command flag, more than ten soldiers raised their mallets and smashed them against the catapult mechanism.

In an instant, more than ten wooden balls, each weighing over a hundred pounds, were thrown more than two hundred paces away, exploding as they landed.

"Boom!"

"Pfft..."

"Get down! Get down!!"

The wooden ball exploded in an instant, shooting out countless iron pellets. The unsuspecting Han soldiers and Southern Tang soldiers fell to the ground, their faces struck.

"Is Gao Pian preparing for a desperate last stand?"

Chen Jingchong felt a pang of anxiety when he saw Gao Pian's attack, which disregarded the casualties of both his own and the enemy's forces.

Seeing his reaction, Wang Shi spoke up, saying, "If the fighting continues like this, I'm afraid our army will have a hard time reaching the city gates today."

"Push the cannons to the opposite bank of the moat and use them to bombard those ten or so Lu Gong chariots."

Wang Shi's suggestion made Chen Jingchong frown. He knew that doing so would quickly destroy the Southern Tang army's command, but it would also disregard the safety of the Han soldiers.

If the shells killed their own men, it would inevitably cause resentment among the soldiers.

"Raise the cannons so that the army does not cross a relatively safe distance."

"Although there is a possibility of accidental casualties, this is the fastest way to defeat the rebels."

Wang Shi's words were still as unsettling as ever. Chen Jingchong shook his head: "Our army is attacking from three sides; there's no need to resort to such tactics."

Seeing that he disagreed, Wang Shi did not bring it up again, but sighed inwardly that although Chen Jingchong and his group were loyal to Liu Jilong, they still dragged Liu Jilong down many times.

After ending the topic, Wang Shi quietly fell silent, and the battlefield in the north of the city, constrained by the terrain, inevitably became deadlocked.

Thirteen thousand people are crammed into this land of less than ten thousand acres to fight. As far as the eye can see, it is densely packed with people, but progress is slow to come.

Compared to the battlefield in the north of the city, the battlefield in the east was almost entirely one-sided. Li Yangchun calmly waved the five-colored command flags from Lu Gong's carriage, directing his troops to continuously bombard the city gates and towers.

His objective was clear: to sabotage the mechanisms of the city tower, then destroy the city gates, allowing his army to storm into the city.

"Order Ge Congzhou to prepare the shield carts and gunpowder packs. If the city gates cannot be breached, blow up the city walls!"

"I don't care about their deaths or injuries, I just want to capture Nanhai City as quickly as possible and end this war!"

"Your subordinate obeys!!"

Li Yangchun gave a stern order to Deng Yan and the others behind him. He knew perfectly well that only by ending this battle quickly could more casualties be avoided.

Trading the deaths and injuries of hundreds or thousands for the deaths and injuries of thousands or tens of thousands of people is undoubtedly a worthwhile exchange.

Under his orders, Ge Congzhou began to send men to prepare shield carts, while Wang Zhongren, who had already lost all the defenses outside the city, led less than 15,000 soldiers back into the city to defend the city walls.

Not long after Gao Pian's military order was delivered, he lost the city's moat defenses, and his army withdrew back into the city.

Now, all they can rely on is the four-zhang-thick city wall beneath their feet, but the problem is that Nanhai City is just rammed earth covered with a layer of blue bricks.

If the Han army continues to use tunnel attacks, it will probably not be able to hold out easily.

But Wang Zhongren had no choice. He had been forced back into the city by Li Yangchun, and he had no option but to defend the city walls.

"Prepare for a fierce fire, burning oil, logs, and hurdles!!"

"Rumble--"

"General!!"

Wang Zhongren stood in front of the city gate tower, giving orders, but as cannonballs came whistling in, his men quickly pushed him to the ground. The city gate tower behind him was hit by five or six cannonballs, leaving large holes in it.

However, compared to the city gate tower itself, the damage from just five or six large holes is nothing.

For this reason, Wang Zhongren, who had gotten up, continued to command, and the Southern Tang army that retreated into the city did indeed rely on the city walls to inflict considerable casualties on the Han army.

However, as the artillery continued to bombard the city gate, the wooden gate outside was eventually blasted open, revealing the gate that was blocking the way inside.

The gate was made of hardwood covered with iron sheet, five inches thick, so it could not be broken even by battering rams. However, it was undoubtedly very weak when facing artillery.

But after the Han army began shelling, the city gate became increasingly precarious. With almost every round of shelling by the Han army, iron plates would bulge out behind the gate.

While Wang Chongren organized his army to fill sandbags into the city gate passageway, he also ordered his army to use logs and grease to attack the shield carts that were crashing against the city walls.

The places they crashed into were all cracked city walls that had been attacked by cannons.

"Beep--"

"withdraw!!"

When the whistle blew from inside the Han army's shield carts, it wasn't just the Han army that shouted the order to retreat; even the Southern Tang troops on the city walls began to withdraw from the area.

After they retreated several dozen steps, the violent explosion instantly drowned out the cacophony of shouts and battle cries from the entire battlefield of South Sea City.

"Rumble..."

The dust rose dozens of feet high, visible even from miles away, causing Gao Pian's expression to change.

Even more devastating, before he could even relax, he heard another deafening explosion.

However, this time the dust rose from the south of the city, which was something Gao Pian had anticipated.

Seeing that the city's east and south sides had fallen, Gao Pian couldn't help but look up at the azure sky.

"call……"

He exhaled a breath of stale air, then addressed the generals behind him: "Order the entire army to retreat into the city..."

Before the generals could react, he turned and walked down from the platform. The generals who remained on the platform were stunned for a moment before hurriedly relaying Gao Pian's military orders to the various armies.

Upon receiving the military order, Lu Ruyue and Gao Jie immediately began directing the army to retreat in an orderly manner into the city.

"They're leaving!"

Chen Jingchong could no longer sit still. He quickly stood up, braced his hands on the railing of Lü Gongche, and looked excited.

In contrast to him, Wang Shi stroked his beard and speculated, "It must be that Governor Li and Governor Geng led their troops into the city, otherwise Gao Pian would not have been in such a hurry to withdraw his troops."

"Pass down the order: do not rush to pursue. Prepare the artillery to move forward and then bombard the city walls."

Following Wang Shi's order, the Han army did not pursue, but instead moved their artillery to the front lines and began bombarding the northern city wall.

"what is that?!"

"Sorry..."

Inside the South China Sea Palace, when the explosion rang out, the dwarf horse was startled and Li Ye was thrown off its back.

When Li Ye was helped up, he saw dust rising more than ten feet high in the east and south of the city. Combined with the previous explosion, his face turned deathly pale.

Seeing this, Tian Yun and Tian Lingzi sternly urged those around them, "What are you all standing there for? Go and find out!"

Upon seeing this, the dozen or so soldiers on either side quickly sent two of them to gather information.

Half an hour later, when they rushed back, Tian Yun and the others had already returned to the palace.

Soldiers rushed into the palace, shouting in panic, "Rebels! The rebels have stormed the city!"

"What did you say?!"

Tian Yun and Tian Lingzi were shocked, and the atmosphere suddenly became awkward, while Li Ye sat in his seat in a daze.

Although he didn't know what had happened, the expressions on everyone's faces told him that something terrible seemed to be happening.

Before they could react, a large number of armored soldiers suddenly appeared outside the palace, and everyone couldn't help but stand up and look outside in fear.

Fortunately, the person who came was Gao Pian, and he was walking into the palace from among hundreds of Southern Tang soldiers.

"King Gao, didn't you say you could repel the rebels?!"

Tian Lingzi pressed for an answer, but Gao Pian remained calm: "I have already ordered the three armies to retreat back into the city. Now, all we need to do is hold the city."

"But the rebels have already entered the city!!"

Tian Lingzi's voice was shrill, making people irritable, but Gao Pian remained calm: "I will use every means to drive them out of the city."

Although he said that, he no longer held much hope of holding onto the South China Sea.

Right now, he's just thinking about how he should face the impending collapse of the Tang Dynasty.

Thinking of this, he looked at Li Ye and asked, "Your Majesty, are you afraid?"

When Li Ye heard Gao Pian ask him this, even though he didn't understand the current situation, he couldn't help but say, "This place is too chaotic. May I leave?"

Faced with the prospect of national subjugation, Gao Pian hoped to hear Li Ye speak of dying for his country, or at least to inspire him to continue defending the city.

However, he did not expect that Li Ye would want to flee Nanhai City after speaking, which reminded Gao Pian of the emperor's seven escapes.

Thinking of this, he gave a wry smile: "I can't leave..."

After speaking, he casually chose a chair, placed the sword at his waist on his lap, lowered his head, and seemed lost in thought.

At the same time, the shouts of battle within the city grew louder, and the sound of artillery fire grew closer.

As Gao Pian led 40,000 troops into the city, Lu Ruyue, Wang Zhongren, Gao Jie, Gao Qin, Kuang Shiqian and others still managed to drive Li Yangchun and Geng Ming's troops out of Nanhai City again with great effort, and forcibly conscripted laborers to fill the gaps in the city walls.

The Southern Tang army completely lost all its outer defenses, and the city walls were in ruins and could not hold out for long.

Wang Shi divided his more than 70,000 troops into two, sending more than 20,000 men to the south of the city, where they were placed under the command of Geng Ming.

In addition, he ordered the warships at sea to head to the Pearl River, completely cutting off Gao Pian and his men's escape route.

An army of 110,000 surrounded them, and it was only noon.

The Han army began to cook, and Gao Pian, who was inside the city, learned of the casualties on his side.

"We currently have less than 50,000 troops available, while the rebel army still numbers at least 100,000..."

Kuang Shiqian arrived looking disheveled and dejected to report. Gao Pian, upon hearing this, kept his eyes lowered, staring at the dagger in his hand. Tian Lingzi and the others, however, said:

"We still have 50,000 men, can't we break through?"

"Breakout?" Kuang Shiqian couldn't help but laugh. "There are less than two thousand elite cavalry inside the city, while the rebel army outside the city has more than ten thousand elite cavalry that have not yet been mobilized."

"I'm afraid that soon after we leave the city, we will be surrounded and annihilated by the rebels' elite cavalry..."

His laughter carried a hint of bitterness. Upon hearing this, Tian Lingzi slumped into her seat, while Tian Yun looked at Gao Pian, lost in thought.

"Boom!"

The sound of Han army cannon fire rang out again, and everyone's expressions changed.

With the city walls lost and the city blockaded, any general with even a few battles knew that their side was already besieged and defeat was only a matter of time.

In an instant, many generals clamored to break out of the encirclement, and Gao Qin led them into the palace.

The arrival of dozens of generals made Gao Pian glance at them slightly. Wang Zhongren, his eyes bloodshot, bowed and said, "King Gao, let's break through!"

"That's right, King Gao, please lead us to break through!"

"We can go to Lingxi, or if that doesn't work, we can go to Annam!"

"King Gao, continuing to hold out in the South China Sea is a dead end!"

"King Gao..."

The generals chattered amongst themselves, and the noise woke up the young emperor Li Ye, who was sleeping in a chair.

Tian Yun pulled him onto her lap and watched the farce unfold before her without saying a word.

After a moment, as the generals gradually quieted down, Gao Pian finally spoke:

"In that case, let Wang Lang lead the army to break through the encirclement."

"Your subordinate obeys!!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Chongren quickly returned the greeting and then led his generals outside.

Gao Qin's expression changed drastically; others didn't notice, but he saw it clearly.

In the past, my father would never have let things go so easily; instead, he would have made arrangements for breaking through the encirclement with his own ideas.

The fact that his father is like this only shows that he has given up hope of breaking through.

As expected, without Gao Pian's command, Wang Zhongren led his army to break out three times, but was repelled by the Han army each time.

After leaving behind thousands of corpses, he could only lead his army in a hasty retreat back into the city, while the Han army continued to launch a fierce attack.

The city of Nanhai was in grave danger, and the sky was gradually darkening.

The sun was about to set in the distance, and the slanting sunlight shone through the window onto Gao Pian's face, making half of his face yellowish and the other half dark.

"You may all surrender yourselves. Liu Jilong has no habit of killing surrendered people in the Central Plains. As long as you surrender, you will all be able to find good jobs."

As soon as Gao Pian finished speaking, the previously dejected generals became excited.

"King Gao, how could we possibly abandon you?!"

"King Gao, let's charge one more time!"

"That's right, King Gao! If you lead us to charge again, we'll definitely break through the encirclement!"

"King Gao..."

Although all the generals had considered surrendering, they would have no face to surrender if those words came from Gao Pian's mouth.

They were all veterans who followed Gao Pian from Longyou to Qianzhong, and then to the Three Rivers, Jiangnan, and Lingnan.

Even though Gao Pian had many shortcomings, he was still extremely kind and righteous to them.

They hoped Gao Pian would lead them to break through the encirclement, but Gao Pian murmured absently, "This time, I have lost..."

This time he didn't make any excuses for himself. Even though there was a huge disparity in troop strength between the two sides, a loss was a loss.

"King Gao..."

When he admitted his defeat, the generals stared at him in disbelief, stunned on the spot.

Seeing that everyone was paying attention to Gao Pian, Tian Lingzi secretly left the place.

Tian Yun saw his behavior, sighed inwardly, and said nothing.

Half an hour later, seeing that they could not persuade Gao Pian, the generals all bowed to the court and said:

"If that's the case, then we beg King Gao to surrender on our behalf!"

They were worried that Gao Pian might do something rash, and at that moment, Gao Pian was indeed thinking about how to end this farce.

Martyrdom would undoubtedly be his best option right now, but... he didn't want to die.

He placed the dagger on his lap and stared at it for the entire afternoon, seeking only to solidify his resolve to die.

He watched all afternoon, but he was still unwilling to die like this.

He wanted to live with dignity, but he didn't want to die for his country. So, under the persuasion of the generals, his already wavering resolve to die for his country immediately began to falter.

"King Gao!"

Suddenly, Kuang Shiqian entered the palace with a handwritten letter and quickly presented it to Gao Pian.

"Your Highness, this is a letter written by Liu Jilong..."

"Liu Jilong?!"

The generals looked at each other in bewilderment upon hearing this, but finally turned their gaze to Gao Pian.

But when Gao Pian heard Liu Jilong's letter, his eyes lit up slightly. After pondering for a moment, he picked up the letter and opened it.

He pulled out seven or eight sheets of paper, all of which contained writings by Liu Jilong himself.

Gao Pian picked them up one by one and examined them. Sure enough, the contents were Liu Jilong's attempts to persuade him to surrender.

In his letter of persuasion to surrender, Liu Jilong simply promised that he would never hold them accountable later, but his troops needed to be settled in Lingnan, and his family members also needed to be moved to Lingnan.

The families of his generals who had stayed in Chengdu in the past have now been brought to Chang'an by him, and will soon be moved to Luoyang.

All the generals in his army who were generals or above would be given honorary titles.

In addition, his grandson Gao Xun was granted the title of Grand Master of the Palace (equivalent to a fourth-rank official) by the court a few days ago. His title of Prince of Bohai was also retained, with the additional titles of Grand Commandant and Minister of War, and a fief of 5,000 households.

It can be said that Liu Jilong's letter had already secured Gao Pian's wealth and status, and in the letter he also promised to give Wang Zhongren and others honorary official positions of no less than the third rank.

In addition, Gao Qin would also be granted an official position and remain in Lingnan.

This trust was enough to shake Gao Pian's already wavering resolve to die for his country, and the generals noticed the change in Gao Pian's expression at that moment and couldn't help but ask him about it.

"King Gao, what did Liu Jilong say?"

"Your Highness, are we being dismissed or transferred to the capital?"

Clearly, while they all hoped Gao Pian would lead them to break through the encirclement, they were more inclined to surrender and continue enjoying their wealth and status.

Faced with their burning gazes, Gao Pian handed them the letter in his hand, and they all took it and began to read it.

Sure enough, in less than fifteen minutes, after they finished reading the letter, the gloom between their brows immediately dissipated.

In their view, Liu Jilong's granting them honorary official titles of the fifth or sixth rank was beyond their expectations.

They were all very satisfied with the result, until Tian Yun spoke up...

"Has the King of Han clearly stated how His Majesty should be dealt with?"

Tian Yun's words were like a bucket of cold water poured on everyone's burning hearts. Everyone looked at Tian Yun and Li Ye, and then turned to look at Gao Pian.

"Liu Jilong said that His Highness Prince Pu is still young and ignorant, but his overstepping of authority is still evident. Therefore, he shall be stripped of his title and reduced to a commoner, his name changed back to Li Yan, and he shall be confined to Lidefang."

"From then on, every year the Ministry of Revenue shall provide 300 shi of rice, 100 guan of cash, 200 jin of charcoal, 1 shi each of oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar and tea, and 10 bolts of silk. Military and civilian families may choose their own spouses, and their relatives may visit each other. Other idle people and the various princes’ mansions are not allowed to visit or communicate with each other."

"The eunuchs Tian Yun and Tian Lingzi have bewitched His Highness Prince Pu; they are guilty of a capital offense and shall be escorted to Luoyang for execution..."

Liu Jilong did not kill Li Yan, after all, there were still many people who were loyal to the Tang Dynasty, and he did not need to ruin people's hearts for a harmless child.

Although he was demoted to a commoner, he still lacked nothing in terms of food, clothing, housing, and transportation. In terms of salary alone, he was almost equivalent to the treatment of a fourth-rank official.

It can be said that this treatment was even better than the treatment given to members of the imperial clan after the Li Tang emperors demoted them to commoners. Li Yan was probably the best-treated member of the imperial clan to a commoner since the founding of the Tang Dynasty.

"Very well then. I am already old and my death is of no consequence..."

When Tian Yun learned that Liu Jilong would not make things difficult for Li Yan, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He also noticed the change in Gao Pian's attitude when Gao Pian changed his address of Li Yan from "Your Majesty" to "Your Highness Prince Pu".

He knew very well that he was going to die, so he didn't make any trouble. He simply said, "If I can go back to Luoyang before I die, I will have no regrets."

"However, after His Highness Prince Pu is deposed and reduced to a commoner, it is hoped that Prince Gao will consider the favor he received from Emperor Xuanzong and Emperor Yizong and show him some consideration..."

Gao Pian did not respond to his words, but Tian Yun knew what he was thinking. He smiled bitterly a few times, put Li Yan down, and walked outside.

Gao Pian did not speak, but the generals in the hall had already followed Tian Yun.

Seeing them leave the palace, Gao Pian slowly stood up, looked at the bewildered Li Yan sitting in the chair, sighed, and walked out.

Before sunset, the banners flying atop the city walls of Nanhai were replaced by soldiers, marking the end of the Bohai Kingdom and the Tang Dynasty, and the rise of the Liu Han Dynasty, its banners fluttering in the wind...

(End of this chapter)