My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 261 Dark clouds loom over the city, threatening to crush it!

Chapter 261 Dark clouds loom over the city, threatening to crush it!
Gao Yu had already learned that the Southern Liang army had entered Ping County and was building siege weapons.

Based on this, he deduced that the Southern Liang army was most likely going to attack from the east.

Although Luoyang has no natural defenses and is located on a large, flat plain, it is not ideal for besieging a city.

To the north of Luoyang lies Mangshan Mountain, and to the south, the Luo River flows.

Neither the north nor south is suitable for deploying a large army; only the east and west are suitable.

If the Southern Liang army wanted to go west, they would have to take a long detour. Attacking the east would be the easiest and most convenient option.

However, Gao Yu was only speculating. He still sent out a large number of scouts out of the city to find out the latest movements of the enemy.

Just now.

Someone rushed in to report.

"General, there is a man outside Dongyang City who claims to be a special envoy of the King of Wei of Southern Liang. Please come up to the city wall to meet him."

Gao Yu then went up to the city wall and, sure enough, there was a man and a horse outside the city gate.

“My king has long heard of the Xuanjia Army’s valor, but my army also has brave warriors such as Baipao and Fuji. In the previous battle, the general managed to ambush and win against my army by chance. However, such a treacherous act will inevitably tarnish the reputation of the Xuanjia Army’s bravery!”

"Today, my king has ordered me to come and challenge you to a duel!"

"Our army has sent five hundred brave warriors to challenge us, selecting only deputy generals and soldiers. I wonder if the Xuanjia warriors under the General of Chariots and Cavalry dare to meet us in battle?"

"Be bold!"

"A defeated general dares to claim bravery?"

The soldiers on the city wall were furious, and some even drew their bows to shoot the messenger to death.

But Gao Yu stopped him.

He remained expressionless, but in his mind he was thinking... what exactly was the commander-in-chief of Nanliang planning?
They tricked me into leaving the city, then took the opportunity to attack?

Nor is it possible.

The army moved slowly and in great formation, making it visible from a distance from the city walls, so it was impossible for them to catch the enemy off guard.

Or……

The enemy believed that the Xuanjia Army's extraordinary bravery was due to their close following in battle, and they wanted to use this to boost morale.

Aren't you afraid that you might turn around and use it to establish your authority?
Just as Gao Yu was pondering, he saw a cloud of dust rising in the distance, and hundreds of soldiers dressed in white robes and riding white horses approached from afar. Soon after, another person came to the side of the special envoy.

"I am Ma Fonian, the deputy general under General Wuwei. I wonder if any of the generals under General Cheqi dare to come out of the city and fight against my elite white-robed troops!"

"How brave!"

After shouting loudly, Gao Feng took the initiative to clasp his hands and volunteer for battle, saying, "General, give me a hundred elite soldiers, and I will go and capture him alive!"

After a moment's thought, Gao Yu felt somewhat uneasy about Gao Ang.

This guy hasn't been under my command for very long, and I'm not sure if he'll disobey orders once he gets into a fight.

He turned his head to look at Peng Le.

"Zixing, I order you to lead three hundred capture troops out of the city to meet the enemy. If things don't go well, return immediately. If you win, do not pursue them. Do you understand?"

"Yes, General! This humble general will certainly not fail your expectations!"

Peng Le was overjoyed. He couldn't refuse such a golden opportunity, so he hurriedly went down from the city wall to muster his troops.

Mulan also wanted to leave the city, but she only glanced at Gao Yu and didn't say anything.

Gao Ang was extremely dissatisfied. "General, are you looking down on me? Zixing is nothing but a defeated general of mine. Why did you let him lead troops out of the city!"

Gao Yu had a bit of a headache, but still tried to persuade him kindly, "Why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut? Ao Cao is so brave, I have a great responsibility to him."

Gao Liang's expression improved slightly, but he still muttered under his breath, clearly dissatisfied.

After Peng Le had finished mustering his soldiers, Gao Yu shouted from the city wall, "I have ordered my deputy general Peng Le to muster the troops and prepare to leave the city. Let me show you the bravery of the Xuanjia Army!"

Ma Fonian showed no fear. He immediately turned his horse around and ran back to the white-robed soldiers, ready to meet the enemy.

Peng Le had already led his troops out of the city. He said with a stern face, "This time, the general has ordered me to lead the Capture the Living Army out of the city, which is to give us a chance to make a name for ourselves. We have been raising soldiers for a thousand days, and we will use them for one. If anyone disgraces the name of the Capture the Living Army, don't blame me for not showing any brotherhood!"

"Let the Xuanjia Army see that my Zhusheng Army is the most valiant unit under the general's command!"

"Hahaha! Of course!"

Although she knew Peng Le was trying to boost morale, Mulan still looked displeased. "This kid Xing..."

Then he looked at Gao Yu and said, "General, you can't be biased. You should also give the soldiers of the Xuanjia Army a chance to make merit!"

Gao Yu chuckled and shook his head.

Despite the overwhelming force of the enemy, his own soldiers were vying to leave the city to fight and earn merit, ultimately stirring up the atmosphere of infighting within the army.

That's a good thing!
In war, courage is paramount!
On the battlefield, a group of fearless and valiant soldiers charged forward, inspiring the cowardly soldiers behind them who lacked courage.

Stunned.

The two sides are already locked in combat on horseback!
"Kill!"

Peng Le followed Gao Yu's battle tactics, charging ahead at the forefront. Moreover, he had a clear objective; he had already memorized Ma Fonian's appearance from afar on the city wall. Upon spotting Ma Fonian amidst the chaotic crowd, he spurred his horse and charged towards him!

"The thief will leave!"

Even though Ma Fu Nian had several bodyguards by his side, Peng Le was not afraid at all!

Using the momentum of the horse, Peng Le swung his lance in a sweeping motion. Ma Fonian dared not meet the attack head-on and barely dodged it by lying on the horse's back. His personal guard on the left grabbed the reins and saddle, put one foot on the stirrup, and hid to the side of the horse to avoid the attack.

The other three, oblivious to the danger, chose to confront him head-on, but were all swept away by Peng Le's sweeping attack and fell to the ground.

Peng Le laughed loudly, "Is this all the skill you've got to call yourself a valiant warrior?"

"Hahaha, is there no one in Southern Liang? With this kind of skill, he's not even qualified to be an auxiliary soldier in our army!!"

Ma Fonian was furious and thrust his spear at Peng Le. Peng Le dodged to the side, grabbed the shaft of the spear, and the two began to wrestle on horseback, neither giving an inch!
Standing on the city wall, Gao Ang saw it from afar and thought, "Zixing is too useless. If I were to lead the troops there, that bandit general would be no match for me."

Gao Yu ignored him.

His gaze remained fixed on the distance, wary of a possible sneak attack from the Southern Liang army, but looking left and right, it seemed the enemy had no such intention. The outcome of the battle was already decided.

Peng Le roared angrily!
He forcibly snatched the lance from Ma Fonian's hands, and before Ma Fonian could adjust, he spurred his horse forward, grabbed Ma Fonian's collar, and forcibly pulled him over, placing him across his own horse.

Peng Le laughed loudly.

"The bandit general has been captured alive!!"

Upon seeing this, the soldiers of the Capture Army were greatly encouraged, while the soldiers of the White Robe Army suffered a great loss of morale. As some of them took the lead, they turned around and rode away, and more and more soldiers of the White Robe Army followed suit and fled.

Peng Le did not lose his temper. Instead, he led his soldiers back to the city and personally dragged Ma Fonian to the top of the city wall.

"Reporting to the general, the bandit general has been captured alive!"

"it is good!"

Gao Yu was overjoyed and patted him on the shoulder. He then ordered the news to be spread throughout Luoyang.

In an instant, the whole of Luoyang knew.

The bandit army came to provoke them, and Peng Lesheng captured the bandit general and returned!

In the palace, Yuan Ziyou also received the news and was overjoyed!

at the same time.

As the white-robed soldiers ran back to their ranks, news of their defeat gradually spread throughout the army, and Chen Qingzhi couldn't control it no matter what he tried.

So many eyes are watching.

"General, Deputy General Ma... he was captured alive by Peng Le."

Chen Qingzhi's face turned ashen, and Lan Qin, standing beside him, was also shocked. Ma Fonian was Chen Qingzhi's deputy general, a rare and valiant warrior, yet he had been captured alive?

Yuan Hao also came over at this time.

With a stern face, he reprimanded sharply, "I intended to award the greatest merit to the general, whose white-robed generals are renowned for their bravery. How could they be so incompetent? Returning defeated and disrupting the morale of our army! Their crime deserves death!!"

"Your Majesty..."

Yuan Hao then changed his tune, "General Chen, General Lan, I know you two have had a tough time, but... you may be spared the death penalty, but you cannot escape punishment!"

"I hereby order you two to lead your troops as the vanguard to attack the city, while I will personally lead the army to support you from behind!"

Chen Qingzhi and Lan Qin's expressions changed drastically!

Now that things have come to this, how could they not see it?

Yuan Hao had just set a trap for them.

How can you send your elite troops to attack a city right from the start?
Especially when you've just lost a battle and your morale is plummeting, wouldn't attacking the city at this time be a complete waste?

Yuan Hao clearly intended to take this opportunity to wipe out all the brave soldiers of Southern Liang under their command.

Regardless of whether they could capture Luoyang, the Southern Liang would not be able to consolidate the gains made in this Northern Expedition.

Unexpectedly, Gao Yu's previous handwritten letter hit the nail on the head.

It turned out that Xiao Bodhisattva mobilized a large army and spent a fortune, only to have it all benefit Yuan Hao.

But right now.

They have been restrained.

If they refuse to fight, Yuan Hao will take them down in public.

Xing Gao stood behind him, clearly having already conspired with Yuan Hao, and Yuwen Luosheng had no chance of helping them.

After hesitating for a long time, Chen Qingzhi and Lan Qin could only bow and say.

"This humble general will lead the troops immediately. I hope Your Majesty will also lead troops to support us. Our army will take advantage of this momentum and attack Luoyang in one fell swoop!"

"I, the king, will personally oversee the operation!"

"Issue my order! The entire army shall advance, beating the drums!!"

Boom boom boom!
The Southern Liang army continued its march.

Their army formation stretched for nearly twenty miles, seemingly endless.

At Dongyang Gate!

Gao Yu hadn't even seen the enemy army yet, but he could already hear the deafening sound of drums.

After a long time.

Only then did I see a black line appear in my field of vision from a distance.

This is the enemy's vanguard.

What was originally a black line turned into a 'black cloth' as it got closer.

A poem involuntarily surfaced in Gao Yu's mind.

Black clouds are threatening to destroy the city.