Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 378 In chaotic times, all that matters is the amount of meat!

"Jinyang City".

"It's already so dilapidated!"

Later, Zhou troops arrived at the walls of Jinyang.

Seeing the dilapidated and desolate environment, everyone was stunned.

"The most important town in Hedong." Lin Dao sighed, "It's too tragic."

During the Huang Chao Rebellion, Hedong Town was an important town of the imperial court, rich in resources and populous.

In terms of both economic and military strength, it was one of the best in the world at that time.

Jinyang City was a famous city at the time, bustling with merchants and travelers.

But the city of Jinyang before me is dilapidated and damaged in many places, and the whole city is gray and gloomy, clearly indicating that it has not been properly maintained.

Outside the city, the landscape was even more desolate, with weeds growing rampant in the fields.

Many waterways and canals are damaged, or even blocked and silted up.

The road was dilapidated, and the ruts were full of weeds and shrubs.

The scattered houses are mostly made of adobe and thatch, while the wooden houses have long been demolished, leaving only ruins.

It was practically a wasteland.

And the transformation from a famous city to its current desolate state has only taken sixty years.

This once glorious city has now fallen into such a state of ruin.

"The Shatuo people are hateful!"

Since Li Keyong took control of Hedong Town, he has been waging war year after year, with almost no year without fighting.

The men were either fighting or on their way to fight.

Coupled with the rampant exploitation and plunder by the Shatuo nobles, even the wealthy Hedong Town could not withstand such turmoil.

This place has been ravaged by the Shatuo people for far too long.

The various troops set up camp and were stationed to surround Jinyang City.

The generals gathered in Chai Rong's (Guo Rong's) tent for a military meeting.

"Shi Yanchao."

Chai Rong specifically named the brave general Shi Yanchao, saying, "Your unit will go to Xinkou to intercept the Liao reinforcements."

"Leader!"

Shi Yanchao was the military governor of Huazhou and was known for his martial prowess.

This time, he led 20,000 troops to Xinkou to prevent the Liao people from coming to their aid.

The remaining units were stationed around the perimeter of Jinyang City, where they built siege equipment in preparation for the attack.

Lin Dao's troops were all cavalry, and their camp was located far from Jinyang City.

After all, few commanders would send cavalry to storm the city walls.

During sieges, they were usually responsible for patrolling and patrolling.

The task of setting up camp was handled by the civilian laborers accompanying the army.

The cavalrymen were either on guard or busy settling their horses.

Lin Dao looked up at the sky and said, "It's going to rain."

The clouds in the sky were quite thick and low.

The wind that brushed against my cheeks also carried a damp and cool feeling.

Based on his experience traveling through the heavens, he could naturally tell that rain was coming soon.

Sniffing, Lin Dao frowned and turned to enter his tent.

Before the industrial age, the air was fresh.

However, this does not include military camps that house large numbers of horses and other livestock.

These animals don't know what "going to the toilet" means; they just ejaculate on the spot when they feel the urge.
The taste was amazing!
It leaves one speechless.

After entering the tent, Lin Dao took out a simple folding table and stool, sat down, and took out a ballpoint pen and notebook.

He recorded the situation of Jinyang City that he had previously observed.

Although the city walls are dilapidated, it is still Jinyang City, the number one city in Hedong.

Historically, Chai Rong failed to capture the city this time. More than a hundred years later, the Jin army, which was at the height of its power, also besieged the city until it ran out of ammunition and food before finally breaking through.

Of course, Jinyang City more than a hundred years later is not in this location; it is a new city.

As for the city of Jinyang before him, the God of the Chariots of Gaoliang River feared that Jinyang, a place that had been ruled by emperors three times, might produce another true dragon emperor.

He simply ordered the city to be burned to the ground, and then diverted the Fen River and the Jin River to flood the ruins of Jinyang City, causing the ancient capital of nine dynasties to completely disappear into the riverbed.

Zhao Guangyi was no good at fighting, nor was he a good person, but he was definitely number one at doing bad things.

"It's not good to attack a city on a rainy day."

"The Shatuo people fought back to the death."

"The Liao Kingdom spared no expense to come to our aid."

Lin Dao paused, looked up, and heard the pattering of raindrops and the shouts of cavalrymen and laborers outside the tent.

After thinking for a moment, he lowered his head and continued writing, "Let them attack the city first. If they can't take it, then I'll go into battle!"

"Only in this way can the true nature of a hero be revealed."

Liu Chong was already dead, and the people of Jinyang were filled with fear.

Fortunately, the people of this city had long been ravaged by war and quickly came up with a plan to deal with it.

It didn't matter that the emperor was dead; they pushed Liu Chong's son, Liu Chengjun, to succeed to the throne and become the new emperor.

Even if the army was wiped out, it didn't matter. The nobles of the various Shatuo tribes all brought out their private troops to defend the city.

Even when food supplies are scarce, arrangements are made.

The numerous cattle and sheep raised by the nobles of each department, and the grain piled up in the warehouses, would be sufficient for military use in times of crisis.

Of course, there are also some Han Chinese men in the city who can be captured and used as food.

After the initial panic subsided, the Zhou Dynasty envoy who came to persuade them to surrender had his nose cut off and was thrown out of the city.

Chai Rong was furious and ordered an attack on the city.

Outside Jinyang City, there was a bustling noise and swirling smoke and dust.

Thousands upon thousands of laborers moved back and forth like ants.

They carried sacks filled with sand and gravel, braving a hail of arrows from the city walls, to fill the moat.

The moat of Jinyang City was fed by flowing water, which was drawn from the nearby Fen River and flowed around the city.

Chai Rong had already ordered the laborers to cut off the water source, but the heavy rains continued and the water level in the moat dropped little.

Upon learning that Liao reinforcements were about to arrive, he disregarded the lives of the laborers and ordered the moat to be filled in.

"Our lives are truly as insignificant as ants."

Riding a horse along the forest path, I gazed into the distance at the laborers falling one after another to arrows from the city walls.

He thought to himself, "If one comes into this world without an identity or any special abilities, this is the most common outcome."

"In times of war, you either starve to death or are worked to death as a slave." "Even if you have a lot of skills, it's useless."

"Time travel? It's not that easy."

"Men are destined to be laborers, and those who are fair-skinned and chubby are even worse off, as they will be used as food."

As for women~

"What's the point of thinking about palace intrigue and domestic power struggles?"

"I don't even have the right to enter the palace or mansion."

"They were either kidnapped by the villagers and mountain bandits to give birth, or they fell into the hands of the marauding soldiers, who took turns attacking them before beheading them and cooking them."

"You still want to travel back in time to fall in love?"

"In chaotic times, all that matters is the amount of meat!"

As Lin Dao was lost in thought and reflection, the large-scale filling of the moat came to an end.

After paying a heavy price, a section of moat was finally filled in during the siege.

Chai Rong, unable to wait any longer, ordered an attack on the city.

Various hastily constructed siege engines, dragged by armored oxen, clattered and rumbled as they raced toward the city walls.

Archers and crossbowmen stepped forward to provide cover, while armored soldiers from various units took turns attacking the city.

Bows and arrows, boulders and logs, ash bottles and gold syrup, forks and paddles—all sorts of equipment came and went in an endless stream.

Lin Dao, on horseback, watched silently, recording with his phone in hand.

Zhou Jun fought bravely and relentlessly, charging forward without fear of death.

They believed that the main force of the pseudo-Han army had been wiped out, and even the emperor was dead.

With morale low, the city will inevitably fall in a single battle.

Therefore, everyone strives to be the first to reach the top.

Unexpectedly, the Shatuo people did not collapse; instead, they fought desperately, inflicting heavy casualties on the Zhou army attacking the city.

Sometimes, brave warriors do manage to scale the city walls, but they are quickly overwhelmed by the defenders' counterattack.

What's even more hateful is the weather.

Occasionally things would go well, but a sudden downpour would make it impossible to continue.

When the rain stopped, the garrison on the city wall had already filled the gaps.

After several days of setbacks, the morale of Zhou's army plummeted.

On this day, rain began to fall softly from the sky again.

The generals gathered in Chai Rong's tent for a military meeting.

Lin Dao's gaze swept over the crowd, each one either looking dejected, or with troubled expressions, or loudly arguing and describing their difficulties.

Those in charge of food and logistics, in particular, complained incessantly.

Transporting grain and fodder from places like Bianzhou and Tanzhou was already difficult due to the rugged mountain roads, and then they encountered heavy rain, which made things even more difficult for those in charge of logistics and transportation.

Lin Dao was simply curious about this and kept looking around.

After all, he had never encountered such logistical problems before, and found it novel and interesting.

"His Majesty."

King Fu Yanqing of Wei advised, "The army is currently short of supplies and the roads are difficult to travel."

"With the Liao army at our side, being trapped under the walls of a fortified city may not be a good idea."

The families and descendants of Chai Rong and Guo Wei were all killed by Liu Chengyou, the Emperor Yin of the Later Han Dynasty, several years ago.

Later, Chai Rong married Fu Yanqing's daughter as his second wife.

Fu Yanqing was his father-in-law, and because all of Chai Rong's previous sons had been killed, he was a staunch supporter of Chai Rong.

Even Fu Yanqing suggested retreating at this point, and Chai Rong, who was determined to avenge himself and destroy the false Han, also wavered.

His gaze swept over the generals in the tent, finally settling on Lin Dao.

All the generals spoke of difficulties and wanted to retreat, but Lin Dao remained silent.

Chai Rong wanted to hear what this peerless general had to say.

If even this peerless warrior thinks the fight is over...
"Lin Dao."

"What are your thoughts? Tell me."

Lin Dao stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty, this humble general requests permission to fight!"

When everyone suggested retreating, Lin Dao volunteered to fight.

Such behavior naturally drew attention from everyone.

Zhao Kuangyin couldn't help but ask, "You are a cavalry general, how do you attack a city?"

Lin Dao laughed at these words, "Dismount and fight on foot."

All the generals laughed.

Since the rider wasn't born on horseback, he could naturally dismount.

However, when using cavalry to attack a city, the losses are much more painful than the losses of infantry.

Chai Rong hesitated slightly.

But when he thought of the fact that only the puppet Han was left in the north, when he thought of his deep-seated hatred for the Shatuo people, and when he thought of how the Khitans could use the puppet Han to intervene in the Central Plains, he was filled with a sense of loss.

He made up his mind.

"it is good!"

"If that's the case, then let's fight again!"

"If this attempt fails, retreat immediately."

The next morning, the wind stopped, the rain ceased, and the sun shone brightly.

A large number of laborers went to the mountains and forests to cut down timber and worked day and night to build siege weapons.

After drying for several days, once the earth was dry, Zhou Jun launched another all-out attack.

"That's strange."

Zhao Guangyi, who served as Chai Rong's personal guard, looked up at the sky curiously, "It hasn't rained for several days this time!"

Previously, every time we attacked a city, it would rain every three to five days, which would hinder the attack.

After all, the ground was muddy, making it difficult for the heavy siege equipment to move forward.

But this time it didn't rain for several days in a row, and there weren't even any thick clouds.

This not only gave Zhou Jun ample time to rest and reorganize, but also allowed him to build more siege weapons.

This also allowed the ground to dry to a suitable degree.

Thinking of all this, the young Zhao Guangyi looked at the imposing figure standing beside the emperor in front of him.

That was Gaoping Bolin Road, fully armed and ready to charge into the city.

Zhao Guangyi muttered to himself.

“What good luck~”

(End of this chapter)