My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

The atmosphere in the tent remained tense for a long while before Xiao He finally raised his eyes and swept them over the generals, a cold smile playing on his lips:
"The best strategy for attacking a city is to capture it without bloodshed or casualties."

He paused, his gaze sharp as a blade, sweeping across the bewildered faces:

"What, have you all forgotten how easily I took Pyeongchang City back then?"

The generals under his command looked at each other, their eyes filled with confusion.

Xiao Ping's methods in pacifying Pingchang were already cunning; he captured the city without lifting a finger, and no one has been able to figure them out yet. Now, when asked, they are even more clueless.

Only Zhang He's eyes suddenly lit up with joy: "Grand Marshal, could it be that your secret gunpowder recipe has been successfully completed?"

Xiao He did not answer, but smiled faintly, his eyes revealing confidence.

He had previously mentioned to his generals that he had developed a magical weapon called "gunpowder," which, once it was invented, would make capturing a city as easy as taking candy from a baby, but he had kept it a secret all along.

Upon seeing this, Zhang He immediately understood and said loudly:

"Good, very good! Today we'll let the Liao army see just how powerful gunpowder really is!"

His words hit the nail on the head, and the tent instantly erupted in excitement.

Although the generals had previously harbored doubts, upon hearing that gunpowder was about to be invented, they were all invigorated, eager to fight, and just waiting for the order to breach the city.

Several days later, the gloomy sky suddenly cleared up, shining on the banners of the Han army camp.

Xiao He stood on the high slope, seeing that the time was ripe, he mounted his horse and raised his voice to give the order:

"Open camp!"

The camp gates burst open with a roar, and bugle calls blared into the sky. More than 100,000 Han soldiers surged out like a tide, rapidly assembling along the western gate of Pingchang City.

In a short while, the Han army had formed several square formations, standing solemnly a few miles outside the west gate of Pingchang, their heavy killing intent pressing down on the city walls, creating an overwhelming momentum.

On the city wall, the Liao army sentries had already spotted the Han army's movements, and the sound of gongs to warn them suddenly rang out, echoing throughout the city.

Upon hearing the commotion, the defending soldiers donned their armor, took up their weapons, and quickly surged onto the city wall, ready for battle.

Gongsun Ze, clad in full armor and with a sword at his waist, strode up to the highest point of the city tower, his hand on the hilt of his sword, his gaze fixed on the Han army formation outside the city, his expression solemn.

Deputy General Shen You followed closely behind, looking at the densely packed Han army outside the city, and said nervously:
"General Gongsun, judging from this situation, Xiao He is going to launch a full-scale attack on the city."

Gongsun Ze stared at the Han army's formation for a long time, then slowly shook his head:
"No, although the Han army's formation is orderly, it shows no sign of a hasty attack, which does not seem like a genuine siege."

"Not like a siege?"

Shen You was taken aback, and followed his gaze to the outside of the city, his face full of confusion:
"If they're not going to attack the city, is it just a show of force by them to deploy this army of over 100,000?"

Gongsun frowned and said in a deep voice:
"Xiao He is a cunning man, and I cannot fathom his intentions for the time being. However, Pingchang is well-defended, with well-trained soldiers and ample provisions. Even if he has cunning schemes, I have no fear!"

Having said that, he drew his sword, raised his arm, and shouted:

"My lads, we've been training for this moment, now let's show our mettle and defend Pyeongchang to the death, not yielding an inch of our land!"

Upon hearing the call, the Liao soldiers on both sides of the city wall responded, brandishing their weapons and shouting in unison.

In the Han army formation, beneath the central banner, Xiao He stood reined in his horse, raising his whip:
"Beat the drums! Advance, vanguard!"

As soon as the order was given, the flag bearer waved the flag as a signal, and three drumbeats suddenly rang out. The deep and powerful drumbeats broke the silence of the battlefield and ignited the fighting spirit of the Han soldiers.

In the vanguard, Zhang He, holding a command flag, shouted sternly:

"Army, heed my command! Advance slowly! Shield formations activated!"

The Han army responded in unison, raised their thick shields, formed a tight shield formation, and steadily approached the walls of Pyeongchang.

In a short while, the Han army advanced to within a hundred paces of the city wall, their formation as stable as Mount Tai, without the slightest disorder.

Upon seeing this, Gongsun Ze on the city wall flashed a cold glint in his eyes:
"Archers, take your positions! Fire!"

At the command, the Liao archers on the city wall all drew their bows and nocked their arrows, and a dense barrage of arrows soared into the air, raining down on the Han army's shield formation.

The Han soldiers were prepared, raising their shields high like walls. With a series of crisp clanging sounds, the rain of arrows was deflected by the shields and scattered in front of the formation, failing to harm a single Han soldier.

The shield formation continued its steady advance, and in an instant, it reached the foot of the city wall.

At this moment, Shen You's eyes suddenly lit up, and he pointed to the Han army below the city:

"General Gongsun, look! The Han army hasn't brought a single siege weapon!"

Gongsun stared intently, and indeed it was as Shen You had said.

In a typical siege, ladders, battering rams, and siege hammers are indispensable, but the Han army before them had nothing but their large shields and weapons.

"Do they intend to scale the city walls with their bare hands?"

Gongsun frowned slightly, his eyes filled with doubt.

The walls of Pyeongchang are several meters high; climbing them with bare hands would be tantamount to suicide.

Seeing this, Shen You couldn't help but sneer, his tone contemptuous:

"General Gongsun is joking. Do you think the Han army can sprout wings and fly up the city walls?"

Gongsun Ze's doubts dissipated slightly, his tense shoulders relaxed a little, and he looked at the Han army below the city with a cold smile:

"Since they have no weapons, I'd like to see how Xiao He will scale the city walls and break through the enemy lines today!"

Seeing that the Han army had no siege equipment, Gongsun Ze's last trace of apprehension vanished. He simply waved his hand and casually gave the order:
"Throw logs and stones to drive them away!"

Upon receiving the order, the Liao soldiers on the city wall bent down, picked up the prepared logs and stones, and smashed them down through the gaps in the city wall.

In an instant, flying stones whistled and logs tumbled.

Although the shield formation below the city suffered occasional casualties, Zhang He remained unfazed and shouted:

"Pass down the order: shield formation, hold your ground! Digging team, advance!"

With a wave of the command flag, a small squad of over a hundred Han soldiers immediately rushed out from the formation, each wielding a sharp iron pickaxe. Under the cover of the shield bearers in the front row, they crouched low and quickly charged to the base of the city wall.

Without a word, the soldiers wielded their picks and began digging holes at the base of the wall.

This scene was clearly seen by Gongsun Ze and Shen You on the city wall. The two exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with deep suspicion.

"Could it be that the Han army is planning to dig tunnels into the city?"

Shen You spoke first, his tone full of confusion.

The tunnel strategy has always been a common method for breaching city walls since ancient times. However, it has always been dug in secret and hidden underground to avoid being seen. How could it be possible to openly construct such a tunnel right under the enemy's nose?

Moreover, the Pyeongchang city wall is built with huge stones and has a deep foundation. Ordinary excavation would take many days and could not be completed in a short time.

Gongsun frowned, his gaze passing over the Han army below the city and landing on Xiao He in front of the central army.

He was a renowned military genius of his time, with unparalleled wisdom and strategy. He had expected Xiao He to come up with some unexpected and ingenious plan, but to his surprise, it was such a clumsy method of digging a tunnel.

A moment later, a disdainful sneer appeared on Gongsun Ze's face:

"Xiao He, I'd like to see your performance. Let's see how you manage to break through my fortified city of Pingchang with these crude methods!"

Although he looked down on this method, he dared not be completely careless and immediately gave the order:

"Pass down the order to deploy elite troops at the corresponding base of the city wall, with sharp weapons ready. Once the Han army breaches the city wall, immediately launch a fierce attack and kill them inside the tunnel!"

In his view, Xiao He's so-called tunnel plan was nothing but a joke of walking into a trap.

However, it wasn't long before Gongsun Ze realized something was wrong. The Han army didn't keep digging deeper; once they had dug a sufficiently large hole at the base of the wall, the digging team quickly put away their pickaxes and retreated to their main camp under the cover of their shield formation.

Immediately afterwards, hundreds of shield bearers formed a barrier, covering dozens of soldiers carrying heavy wooden barrels as they rushed to the cave entrance and pushed the barrels into the cave one by one.

"What do they want to do?"

Gongsun bent down and stared at the cave entrance, his brows furrowed, looking completely bewildered.

What exactly is inside the wooden barrel?
On the other hand, the Han soldiers outside the city were all staring wide-eyed at the city wall, as if they were waiting for an earth-shattering event.

After the last wooden barrel was pushed into the hole and the gunpowder was loaded, Xiao and his horse moved forward, and he gave the order in a deep voice:

"Order the entire army to retreat one hundred zhang immediately!"

"Dang Dang Dang~~"

The crisp sound of gongs pierced the air above the battlefield. The Han soldiers moved at the sound and withdrew completely in an instant, leaving only the city wall that held a secret.

At the front of the Han army, archers were already lined up and waiting for orders, their arrows coated with oil and set ablaze.

Xiao He pointed his whip at the city wall and shouted sternly:
"Launch the rockets, ignite the powder keg!"

The command flag shook violently, and countless rockets soared into the air, trailing long streaks of sparks, hurtling towards the large hole at the base of the wall like meteors.

Gongsun Ze and the Liao soldiers on the city wall were all dumbfounded, their eyes wide with astonishment.

Why did the Han army suddenly retreat?

And why launch rockets?
What good are all those rockets aimed at a hole in the ground?
"What is Xiao He up to?"

Gongsun frowned, a strong sense of foreboding washing over him, sending chills down his spine.

In the next instant, rockets rained down, most of them embedding themselves in the solid city wall, their sparks quickly extinguished, with only a few hitting the large hole with pinpoint accuracy.

Upon seeing this, the Liao soldiers on the city wall burst into laughter.

Someone pointed in the direction of the Han army and mocked:

"Is that all the accuracy? The Han archers are really bad!"

Shen You also breathed a sigh of relief and said sarcastically:
"General Gongsun is overthinking it. Xiao He is probably out of options and can only resort to launching rockets as a pretense!"

Gongsun Ze's unease grew stronger, and ignoring the advice of those around him, he leaned forward to look into the large hole.

Thick wisps of blue smoke slowly rose from the cave, carrying a pungent sulfurous smell that permeated the air.

suddenly!

"boom!"

A deafening roar suddenly erupted, as if the sky were falling and the earth were splitting apart. A huge wave of air surged out of the hole, forcefully tearing down most of the thick city wall.

Huge rocks flew and dust billowed, and the Liao soldiers on the city tower were blown away by the shockwave. Their screams and roars drowned out the entire city tower.

The city wall beneath our feet trembled violently, bricks and stones fell off, like thunder rolling through the ground, and the deafening roar of an avalanche was deafening.

A section of the city wall a dozen steps away was violently hurled into the air, flames carrying debris erupted and instantly engulfed that section of the wall.

The Liao soldiers near the explosion point didn't even have time to scream before they were torn apart by the shockwave and flames, turning into scattered pieces of flesh and blood.

Hundreds of soldiers were violently thrown off the city walls and crashed heavily onto the ground below, leaving no trace of their bodies.

Gongsun was also thrown over by the force and fell heavily to the ground, unable to get up for a while.

On the city wall, the surviving Liao soldiers were already terrified, their formation completely broken, and everyone was only concerned with running away and dodging, with no will to fight whatsoever.

Moments later, the earth-shaking force gradually subsided, and the dust and smoke slowly settled, revealing the devastation left by the bombing of the city walls.

Gongsun struggled to his feet, staggered a few steps to steady himself, and looked toward where the thick smoke had dissipated, then froze on the spot.

The once impregnable Pingchang city wall was blasted open, creating a gap several meters wide. Broken bricks and stones were piled up with the corpses of soldiers, and hundreds of Liao soldiers who had no time to escape were buried under the ruins.

The remaining flames still leaped and crackled on the ruins, and the pungent smell of sulfur and burnt mingled together in the air.

"This...how is this possible?"

Gongsun muttered to himself, his eyes filled with bewilderment and astonishment:
"What kind of magical weapon did the Han army use to be able to knock down my city wall made of huge stones?"

He had never seen such devastating power before, and for a moment he was unable to accept the reality before him, his mind going blank.

Just then, Shen You, who was beside him, suddenly changed his expression, as if he had remembered something crucial, and staggered forward:

“General Gongsun, I remember now. I heard that Xiao He created a secret weapon called ‘gunpowder,’ which is said to be able to split mountains and shatter rocks, and even collapse city walls!”

"Could it be... could it be that he used such a divine artifact today?"

Gongsun was startled, and rumors about gunpowder instantly surfaced in his mind.

He had previously heard rumors spread by the Han Kingdom that Xiao He had developed a peerless weapon, but he took it as a lie fabricated by the Han Kingdom to intimidate the Liao Kingdom and enhance Xiao He's reputation, and never paid it any mind.

But to his utter surprise, the gunpowder actually existed and was so powerful that it blasted down the Pyeongchang city wall, which he was so proud of!

A chill ran from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, and Gongsun couldn't help but shiver.

Outside the city, the Han soldiers witnessed the entire process of the gunpowder bombarding the city, and they were all dumbfounded and extremely shocked.

The earth-shattering roar and flames they had just witnessed completely overturned their understanding of the power of weapons.

After a long while, Zhang He finally came to his senses and exclaimed in admiration:

"What a powerful gunpowder! Its power is truly unstoppable!"

Xiao He stood on the high slope, his expression calm, as if he had long anticipated this outcome.

He pointed his whip at the breach in the city wall and shouted sternly:

"What are you standing there for? Launch a full-scale attack, raze Pingchang City to the ground, and capture Gongsun Ze alive!"

The order was given, and the bugle call rang out.

The thousands of Han soldiers instantly snapped out of their daze, their fighting spirit burning like wildfire, and surged toward the breach in the city wall.

On the city wall, the Liao soldiers who managed to get up looked at the hideous breach and then at the Han army surging in like a tide. Thousands of them were plunged into extreme terror, and they almost couldn't hold their weapons.

The fear from the gunpowder explosion had not yet dissipated when the Han army's fierce attack followed, and despair instantly enveloped the entire city wall.

"General Gongsun, the Han army is attacking!"

Shen You roared, his voice hoarse:

"The city walls have fallen, Pingchang City can no longer be defended. Let's retreat quickly! As long as we're alive, we can always rebuild!"

Gongsun then came to his senses; the humiliation had almost broken him.

He had always considered himself the greatest strategist of the Liao Dynasty. His previous victory over Xiao He at the Battle of Yangshui had boosted his confidence to the point that he even wrote a letter to Gongsun Kang, declaring that Pingchang City was impregnable and that even if Xiao He had extraordinary wisdom, he would not be able to cross the line.

But he never expected that the Yangshui defense line would be easily breached in just a few days, and now Pingchang City has been breached by gunpowder and is about to fall.

Such a crushing defeat and humiliation caused him to lose all face. How could he possibly face Gongsun Kang and the Liao Kingdom?
"No retreat!"

Gongsun drew his sword, the tip pointing directly at the notch:

"All soldiers, block the breach! Fight the Han army to the death! Hold them off!" (End of Chapter)