The emperor would rather have a

Chapter 184 Going to Shouzhou in half a month?
In the morning mist, the charred remains of the catapult still emitted wisps of black smoke.

A strange smell spread out. If Li Yi were here, he would definitely be familiar with this smell, which is similar to burning plastic. This is because when the Tang army attacked the camp last night, they used oil. The smell of incomplete combustion mixed with the smell of burnt wood was very pungent.

A foul odor permeated the camp, black smoke drifted in the air, and the entire sky seemed shrouded in gloom... just like Li Chongjin's mood at that moment.

Li Chongjin walked through the camp on the scorched earth, his boots creaking. He soon stopped, bent down, and picked up a warped piece of bronze, feeling its warmth against his fingertips.

In the distance, several soldiers were cleaning up the battlefield. They covered their mouths and noses with cloths, but were still coughing from the choking.

"Liu Renzhan...Good! Excellent!"

Li Chongjin's face was ashen, and he unconsciously gripped the sword hilt tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force, and the veins on the back of his hands snaking like pythons.

The generals gathered around, and the surrounding area fell silent. They could all sense the suppressed anger in Li Chongjin's heart, so naturally no one dared to step forward and provoke him.

In fact, the Tang army attacked the camp last night, and the Zhou army suffered few casualties, but most of the siege equipment made from locally felled trees was burned.

More importantly, the Tang army's attack on the camp was merely a feint; another force secretly advanced to the shallow rocky beach area and set fire to the Zhou army's stored grain and supplies in the rear.

The logistics of Zhou Jun's army were already very difficult. Most of the grain and fodder were transported from neighboring prefectures and counties such as Shen, Tang, Ying, and Cai, almost emptying the granaries and warehouses of these places.

If anything goes wrong, it's simply unrealistic to expect to get more supplies in a short time.

In the cold and damp winter of the Jianghuai region, how could the hundreds of thousands of troops attacking the city sustain themselves without sufficient food and supplies?
"Snapped!"

Just then, a broken piece of wood fell from the siege engine, startling everyone who was focused on Li Chongjin.

Li Chongjin snapped out of his daze, took a deep breath, and forced himself to calm down. He knew in his heart that no amount of anger would help; now he needed to think about how to arrange things next.

He turned and asked, "How badly is Liu Chongzan injured?"

One of the officers replied, "That fellow was seriously injured. After being treated by the army doctor, his life was saved, but it will probably be a month or two before he can get out of bed and walk."

Li Chongjin nodded slightly: "As long as people are alive... Liu Renzhan is quite willing to go to such lengths, sending his eldest son to his death. I want to see if he really cares about his son's life or death!"

Although Liu Renzhan's night raid infuriated him, he had to admit that Liu Renzhan was indeed a formidable veteran who seized the opportunity perfectly and was also very courageous.

Moreover, he entrusted the most dangerous task to his eldest son, a decision that few people could make.

Now, Shouzhou City has provisions, soldiers, high walls, and Liu Renzhan in charge. Li Chongjin is even beginning to doubt whether he can actually capture Shouzhou City before the end of the year.
"Report!" A guard rushed over, knelt on one knee and saluted, "Commander Zhao, who is stationed at Shallow Stone Beach, has arrived outside the camp and says he has important matters to report in person."

Li Chongjin slowly turned around and said expressionlessly, "Have him come to see me."

Before long, Zhao Chao's figure came into view. His armor was covered with soot and fire marks, half of his beard was burned yellow and curled, and he looked disheveled.

Last night, the Tang army burned the Zhou army's provisions at the shallow stone beach. Zhao Chao, who was stationed there, led his men to pursue the Tang army, causing heavy casualties. Only Zhang Quanyue led more than a hundred remnants of his army back to Shouzhou City.

However, the fire had already spread to the rear camp, and Zhao Chao personally rushed into the fire to salvage supplies. He worked until dawn and managed to save most of the supplies.

He's here now to report the specific losses to Li Chongjin...

"Your subordinate greets Commander Li!" Zhao Chao clasped his hands in a salute. Li Chongjin stared intently at him, his face terribly grim—he felt that Zhao Chao was absolutely implicated in the Tang army's night raid.

Otherwise, after besieging Shouzhou for one or two months, the Tang army never launched a proactive attack, but instead chose a strategy of turtling and holding their ground. It was only after Zhao Chao killed three thousand prisoners that this Tang army launched this night attack.

It was clear that the killing of prisoners had enraged the Tang army defending the city, and at the same time made the Tang army feel that there was no way to survive even if they surrendered, so they were willing to obey Liu Renzhan's order to risk attacking the camp.

Li Chongjin didn't feel pity for the Tang soldiers who were killed, nor did he think that killing prisoners was against the will of Heaven... The warriors of the Five Dynasties had done too much burning, killing, and looting, how could they possibly have such a kind heart?

He simply believed that Zhao Chao's killing of prisoners was ill-timed and seriously hampered his progress in the siege. Now, with the Tang army launching a night attack and losing a large amount of food and equipment, the emperor's words of "negligence in defense" would be enough to give him a hard time.

All the credit for Zhengyang's previous great victory was squandered in one fell swoop. How could Li Chongjin not be angry with Zhao Chao?

However, Zhao Chao is now the commander of the Left Wing of the Tiger-Swift Army. Although his status is not as high as Li Chongjin's, the other party is the commander of one of the eight main wings of the Imperial Guards, and he cannot be moved at will.

Li Chongjin could only suppress his anger and said in a deep voice, "Commander Zhao, can the losses of grain and military equipment be accounted for?"

Zhao Chao said in a muffled voice, "Last night, I personally led men to put out the fire and managed to save most of the grain and military supplies. However... more than 50,000 bushels of grain, as well as more than 10,000 bows and crossbows, military uniforms and winter blankets were still burned."

Even though he was mentally prepared, Li Chongjin still felt dizzy and almost coughed up blood when he heard about such a huge loss.

The more than 50,000 bushels of grain were enough to feed 100,000 to 200,000 troops near Shouzhou for more than a month, and now they have all been burned. In addition, there were winter clothes and quilts, as well as stockpiled weapons and military equipment, so the loss can be described as heavy.

Li Chongjin gazed in the direction of Shouzhou City. The city wall was faintly visible in the morning mist, and the large banner with the character "Liu" still fluttered high, as if silently mocking him.

"Half a month! We'll take Shouzhou City in half a month!" Li Chongjin said with his back to his generals.

A gust of cold wind swept past, whipping up dust and making his cloak flutter loudly. In the distance, several crows landed on the charred frame of the carriage, cawing shrilly.

At the same time, all the generals remained silent.

Half a month later, he descended to Shouzhou?
Everyone thought that Li Chongjin must have been furious about the huge losses caused by the Tang army's night raid, which was why he said those words without thinking.

If Shouzhou City were really so easy to capture, why would everyone have braved the freezing cold and endured this for one or two months under the city walls?
But Li Chongjin didn't seem to be just saying it out of anger. He turned around and said seriously, "Pass down the order: starting tomorrow, send more men to launch a strong attack on the southeast walls of Shouzhou City. Also, send men by warship to attack the northern water gate from the water fortress. Bring all the Tang warships captured in Zhengyang here. We must raze Shouzhou City to the ground at all costs!"

The war has reached this point, and we must take Shouzhou City no matter the cost.

Li Chongjin absolutely refused to give up. What would it mean if he left this place with the shadow of defeat? Was he, Li Chongjin, not even as good as a junior general who was barely twenty years old?
He was determined to fight to the death here. Whether Shouzhou City was a tough nut to crack or a solid boulder, he would crush it and break it apart. There was no way out!

Zhao Chao immediately volunteered, saying, "I am willing to be the vanguard and lead the army to attack the main gate of Shouzhou City, and drag Liu Renzhan's son to the city gate to offer sacrifices to the flag!"

Li Chongjin ignored him and instead ordered, "Summon all the generals!"

After saying that, he turned and walked towards the central command tent.

Seeing this, Zhao Chao awkwardly stroked his bushy beard, but accidentally pulled out a handful of charred stubble.

(End of this chapter)