Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Chapter 574 Six Harmonies

The tenth day of the twelfth lunar month, at night.

Outside Liuhe City, the lights of the Yuan army camp stretched for miles, turning half the sky a dark red. The central command tent of the commander was set up on an earthen slope, and from in front of the tent, one could overlook the entire city.

When Yu Que arrived, Shuo Sijian was discussing matters with the various military commanders around a map of the six directions. Upon seeing him enter, Shuo Sijian merely raised his eyelids and said, "Yu Jin, your arrival is timely. You are from Luzhou, so quickly conscript a batch of able-bodied men from the rear; we will need them for the siege."

Yu Que took off his raincoat, shook off the snow water, and after a moment of silence, asked, "Is the Marshal recruiting soldiers?"

Chuo Sijian was taken aback for a moment, then said, "Is there a difference between conscripting soldiers and recruiting troops? You decide what to do."

In his view, it was nothing more than recruiting a group of siege tanks; after the war, they couldn't keep them because they couldn't afford to support them.

This kind of short-term military service is actually just conscription; it's not really about "recruiting" anyone, because no one would volunteer unless they were really starving.

Yu Que, however, did not see it that way.

Since the supervisor told him to handle it as he saw fit, he would still give some cloth to the soldiers who were recruited—or perhaps forcibly conscripted—even if it was little.

Shuo Sijian ignored him and continued discussing the battle with the others.

They suffered a lot during the attack on Liuhe.

Tao Weizhong dug three moats outside the city and filled them with the Chu River. For ten days, the weather had been freezing, and a thin layer of ice had formed on the surface of the moats, but the bottom was still running water, and men and horses would sink as soon as they stepped on them. To fill the moats, the ice had to be broken first, and breaking the ice meant facing the crossbows from the city walls.

Countless people died just from filling these trenches.

At first, they relied on capturing civilians, specifically those from the countryside of Liuhe County who had not managed to escape, regardless of age or gender, and forcing them to fill the moat.

The defenders hesitated at first, after all, they were from the same village and couldn't bring themselves to do it, but after a few were killed, they opened fire with crossbows, and the people fell in droves.

Unable to capture the common people, they had no choice but to send the idle men from the capital city of Kangliwei to the city. After suffering heavy casualties, they finally reached the city walls and began a proper siege.

It was precisely because of this that the Yuan army hated Tao Weizhong intensely, especially the Kangliwei, whose soldiers suffered no less than a thousand casualties, who wished they could devour his flesh and blood.

At this moment, Su Sijian and others are discussing today's siege.

"Twenty siege ladders, six battering rams, and twelve artillery pieces have been prepared in the north of the city. The remaining grappling hooks, flying bridges, crossbows, and cannons are enough for two sieges."

"Kangliwei has rested for two days and will send two thousand men in two waves to attack the city. The selected men are all strong and capable. They were given wine and meat and rewards before the battle, so they should be able to launch a decisive attack."

"There aren't many capable bandits left; most of them are just city folks filling in. We can take them down tonight."

The crowd spoke with great enthusiasm. To be honest, who would want to wallow in this mud? Taking over the six directions, staying in the city for a couple of days, and taking a break would be better than anything else.

Yu Que listened silently from the side, then suddenly cupped his hands and said, "Marshal, I have something to say."

"Speak," said Shuo Sijian, seemingly only then realizing that Yu Que hadn't left.

"Liuhe is a small city, and Tao Weizhong's garrison numbers no more than two thousand. Even if they defend it with fortified positions, their strength is limited. However, on my way from Hefei, I have heard that enemy small boats frequently appear on the Chu River, Wu River, and Yu River. If the siege drags on for too long, the enemy's navy may attack our supply lines from behind. What should we do then?"

Shuo Sijian frowned.

Seeing that Shuo Sijian was already thinking, Yu Que stepped aside.

Instead of immediately answering what to do, Shuo Sijian had someone bring him a thick cloak. After putting it on, he left the main tent and stood on the earthen slope, looking ahead.

Yu Que and the other generals followed.

The snow-covered fields were a pristine white, and lanterns lit up every so often on the distant city walls, their lights flickering in the cold wind.

The sound of drums gradually rose.

Kangliwei launched a new round of fierce attacks from the north of the city, and Zhenchu ​​Wanhufu launched attacks from the west of the city.

The government troops in the east of the city moved slowly and were not many in number, appearing to be only a little over a thousand. Half of them were Tangut guards, who were mostly Tanguts, while the other half consisted of Wuwei, veteran guards of previous dynasties, and Eagle Guards.

Of course, they were all military units, but after ten days of fighting, a small number of local people who had been forcibly conscripted had already been mixed into each branch and unit.

The battle first broke out in the north of the city.

The archers of the defending army seemed to have been killed or wounded long ago, and were swaggered forward by the Kangli Guard soldiers who were holding large shields.

The artillery pieces struggled to maneuver across the muddy battlefield. Once in position, all twelve artillery pieces simultaneously launched stone projectiles.

A sharp whistle pierced the night sky, and the stone projectiles struck the city wall with a dull thud.

During the long siege, several sections of the battlements had already been destroyed. When bombarded again, bricks and stones flew everywhere.

The defenders crouched behind the wall, and once the stone projectiles stopped, they rushed forward to block the gap with sandbags.

Twenty siege ladders were simultaneously erected on the north city wall, and Kangliwei soldiers, biting their knives, climbed up the ladders.

Boiling oil, scalding water, and logs rained down from the city walls, and screams of agony echoed throughout the city.

In the midst of the fierce battle, two siege ladders were hooked by the defending soldiers and forcibly pushed over, causing more than a dozen people on the ladders to fall to the base of the wall, screaming in pain.

Even more so was the warrior clad in heavy armor, as strong as a bear, who clearly possessed martial arts skills. Yet, he was doused with a vat of boiling water. The scalding hot water seeped into the gaps in his armor, causing him to scream in agony and fall to the ground, rolling around in the mud.

The battle raged until midnight, but the Yuan army had not yet breached the city walls.

Shuo Sijian had already returned to his tent to rest for a while, but now he was back on the high slope, looking around expressionlessly.

Yu Que stood beside him, quietly watching the second wave of attacks that was about to be launched.

This time, the main focus of the attack shifted to the west of the city.

They built an earthen platform here, which was just completed during the day. It took a lot of effort to finally install the crossbows and cannons on it.

The artillery, positioned high above, was indeed more powerful; the stones flew over the city walls, fell into the city, and smashed through the roofs of many houses.

Upon seeing this, the soldiers guarding the city walls were utterly demoralized, their morale plummeting to an all-time low.

The soldiers of Zhenchu ​​Wanhu Prefecture took the opportunity to approach, set up hook ladders, and climbed onto the city wall.

The first to climb the city wall was the leader of the gang. He had barely gained his footing when he was pierced in the chest and abdomen by several spears. He might not have been killed, but he fell off the wall. But the others had already surged up, and hand-to-hand combat quickly broke out on the west city wall, with the sounds of clashing swords and spears and screams mingling together.

Tao Weizhong arrived with his personal guards to reinforce the city, driving back the Yuan troops who had scaled the walls. However, he himself was also struck by an arrow, in the left side.

The arm was bleeding profusely.

The Yuan army seemed determined and had no intention of retreating. The supervisory team forced the soldiers to continue advancing, preparing to launch a third attack.

An even fiercer battle is about to unfold.

Meanwhile, the walls of Liuhe City were riddled with breaches, and thick smoke billowed from the city. It was unclear whether a fire had broken out or someone was causing trouble.

Tao Weizhong leaned against a pillar on the city wall and had a doctor bandage his wounds.

"General, let's go." A bodyguard whispered, "The messenger said that the commander-in-chief has a ship coming to pick us up. We can still make it by going via the Chu River."

Tao Weizhong remained silent.

He gazed at the endless lights outside the city, sighed, and quietly ordered three lanterns to be lit on the city wall.

As if in response to him, the sound of drums suddenly came from the downstream direction of the Chu River.

The Yuan army camp was in turmoil for a while, and then a large group of cavalry began to move out and patrol along the riverbank.

Tao Weizhong also heard the drumbeats from the city wall. He leaned against the battlements and looked towards the Chu River, but it was pitch black and he couldn't see anything.

"The commander-in-chief hasn't forgotten me," he murmured.

Having said that, he didn't hesitate any longer and said, "Let's retreat, this city can't be defended. Gather all the able-bodied men and rush out through the water gate."

"Yes, sir!" The guards lifted him up and ran towards the south water gate of the city.

More than twenty small boats were moored inside the water gate. Tao Weizhong was crammed into one of the boats by his personal guards. The boatman rowed frantically and rushed out of the water gate.

The others boarded the boats one after another, and seven or eight boats, carrying dozens of people, sailed away in an instant.

Although Tao Weizhong had just instructed his personal guards to relay the message to all units, many people, in their haste to escape, did not carry out the order at all. Instead, they rushed to the vicinity of the water gate in a panic, urging the boatmen to row the boats quickly.

Outside the water gate was a man-made waterway connected to the Chu River. However, because the garrison had lost control of the area outside the city, the connection had long been staked with wooden stakes. Therefore, Tao Weizhong and his men only managed to travel a short distance by boat before being forced to disembark and walk quickly along the riverbank—this was their best escape route.

The Yuan army noticed their movement and shouted as they surrounded them.

In the darkness of night, amidst wind and snow, over a hundred people fought desperately to break through the encirclement, while thousands pursued and intercepted them, determined to stop them.

Regardless of the outcome, Liuhe City had already fallen. The Yuan army surged in, brandishing their swords amidst the terrified gazes of the surviving civilians.

Tao Weizhong finally received the naval vessels that came to meet him, but by then only seven or eight of his trusted confidants remained by his side.

Already.

The Yuan army also caught up.

Several sea crane patrol boats sailed upstream, their cannons under the awnings flashing orange-red in the snowy night, blasting the fastest-charging Yuan cavalrymen to the ground. Dozens of naval officers and soldiers went ashore with long spears, and after Tao Weizhong and his men approached, they pulled him and the few remaining personal guards ashore.

"General Tao, the commander-in-chief sent us to pick you up," said the people on the boat.

Tao Weizhong lay in the cabin, covered in blood, staring at the gray, misty roof, saying nothing.

Although the battle only lasted for more than ten days, it was extremely fierce, and his energy and spirit were completely exhausted.

Shuo Sijian did not enter the city after it fell, seemingly giving the soldiers time to vent their frustrations.

Yu Que has been asked to leave because he strongly requested that no massacres be carried out after the city is breached.

But he didn't have the final say on this matter, nor did the military supervisor—it was one thing to owe wages on ordinary days, but to impose military discipline after the city fell? Did they have any shame? If they were capable of paying the owed wages and giving some rewards, perhaps they would listen to them.

That's it for Liuhe.

After returning to the camp, Shuo Sijian received another message from Guabu.

The troops, mainly composed of the besieging army, have been besieging the city for a day. Finding that they cannot capture it, they request to abandon the attempt to recapture the city.

Shuo Sijian did not answer immediately.

The Weisu Army was actually a temporary force, not a regular army.

The emperor would spend several months in Shangdu every year. At that time, he would often draw upon his personal guards, the private armies of princes and nobles, local garrison troops, and even troops from various tribes to protect him. This is the origin of the "siege army".

Generally speaking, they would disband after returning to Dadu, but not this year. Instead, they were reorganized in the capital for a period of time before arriving at the Liuhe front a few days ago and being sent to the south to attack Guabu City.

It's understandable that these people don't want to take on tough challenges. But Guabu is an excellent ferry crossing, with docks and fortified cities, posing a significant threat. How can they easily back down?

In his heart, Chuo Sijian had already rejected the proposal.