My wife, Wei Gui, was 1.9 meters tall and fought against the Tang dynasty for the throne.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking.

Outside the northern city walls, the sound of drums thundered.

Yang Xuangan's main force arrived in full force, with camps stretching from three miles north of the gate all the way to the end of the official road, banners obscuring the sun, and a cacophony of voices filling the air.

The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and within it, swords and spears stood like a forest, while countless figures surged about like a pack of starving wolves.

Li Zixiong, clad in silver armor and wielding a long spear, stood on horseback at the front of the battle.

Behind him were five thousand elite vanguard soldiers, each one baring their teeth and brandishing their claws, but Li Ju, standing atop the city wall, could see clearly that those soldiers had sallow complexions, sunken eyes, and trembling hands gripping their swords.

It wasn't fear, it was hunger.

Li Zixiong reined in his horse, looked up at the city wall, mustered his strength, and shouted fiercely, "Li Ju! You ungrateful, two-faced scoundrel! Open the gates and face your death!"

The sound pierced through the morning mist, reaching the city walls and the rebel army's front lines.

The soldiers guarding the city wall stirred and all looked at Li Ju.

Li Ju stood before the battlements, his dark iron armor gleaming coldly in the morning light, his expression calm.

He raised his hand to signal the guards to be quiet, then, leaning on the crenellations, slowly began to speak. His voice was soft, yet it carried clearly to the city walls, each word ringing with conviction:

"Li Zixiong, you colluded with the traitor Yang Xuangan, plotted rebellion, and slaughtered the people. How dare you still shout here?"

Li Zixiong's face flushed with anger, and he retorted sharply, "Nonsense! Lord Yang raised an army to overthrow the tyrannical emperor and save the people—this is a noble cause! You feigned allegiance to Lord Yang, secretly destroyed supplies, and betrayed your master for personal gain. Righteous men of the world should condemn you!"

Li Ju's expression remained unchanged; instead, he sneered, "Madam Zheng has the discernment to see through your father and son's short-sightedness and their inevitable divine retribution, which is why she resolutely refused the marriage proposal."

Even Madam Zheng despises you, you despicable person! How dare you speak of righteousness? Instead of repenting, you've joined the rebels. If you dare attack the city today, I'll make sure your blood is spilled on the city walls, and you die a gruesome death!

These words struck a nerve with Li Zixiong. Zheng Guanyin's refusal to marry him was essentially a reflection of her understanding that he was destined to fail, and Li Ju was precisely the one "valued."

The soldiers guarding the city wall burst into laughter, while Wei Feng stood to the side, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Li Ju paused, his gaze sweeping over the rebel army below the city walls. His voice suddenly rose, each word piercing the heart: "You rebels are out of food and supplies, forced to plunder the people to survive. Your attack on Luoyang today is nothing but moths to a flame! The imperial army will arrive in an instant. Those who know what's good for them, lay down your weapons and surrender immediately, and you may escape death!"

The rebel troops below the city immediately became agitated.

Some people looked fearful, while others secretly glanced back at the camp behind them—Li Ju was telling the truth; they had already run out of food and had begun slaughtering horses yesterday.

People's hearts are inherently fickle, and these words pierced through like a knife.

Sitting in his commander's chariot at the rear of the formation, Yang Xuangan was enraged. He drew his sword and roared, "Enough! Li Zixiong, attack the city immediately! Take Li Ju's dog head and offer it as a sacrifice to my army!"

Li Zixiong gritted his teeth, glared fiercely at Li Ju on the city wall, and raised his spear high: "Soldiers, charge! Take Luoyang, and the grain and money will all be yours!"

The rebels shouted and pushed their ladders and battering rams toward the north city wall.

On the city wall, Li Ju remained expressionless and raised his right hand.

"Archers, prepare!"

Behind the crenellations, the archers simultaneously drew their bows and nocked arrows, the arrowheads pointing down at the city walls.

"put."

Arrows rained down like a storm.

The rebels at the forefront were hit by arrows and fell to the ground, their screams echoing one after another.

But the rebels were numerous, and they charged forward relentlessly, stepping over the corpses of their comrades.

Several ladders quickly reached the city wall, and the rebels grabbed the ladders and climbed frantically, shouting "Charge!"

"Roll logs and boulders, smash them down!" Wei Feng shouted the order.

The defenders picked up logs and stones and hurled them at the rebels on the ladders.

The siege ladders were smashed and shook violently. The rebel soldiers on them fell like overripe fruit, crashing down below the city walls with a dull thud before coming to a stop.

Below the city, battering rams repeatedly crashed into the city gate, the dull thuds shaking the city walls.

The city gate shook violently, and the supporting wooden beams behind it creaked and groaned.

Li Ju said to Zhang Yi, "The river embankment camp, concentrate your arrows on the soldiers next to the battering rams. Also, send twenty craftsmen to reinforce the city gates and hold them up with huge stones."

"Yes!" Zhang Yi accepted the order and led the archers of the riverbank camp toward the battering ram.

A barrage of arrows rained down on the rebels beside the battering ram, causing the soldiers pushing the rams to fall to the ground one after another, and the battering ram attack came to an abrupt halt.

The craftsmen carried huge stones into the city gate and piled them up behind the gate, making it firmly blocked.

Seeing that he couldn't break through with a direct assault, Li Zixiong had a sudden inspiration and ordered a portion of the rebel army to feign a retreat.

The shouts of battle from below the city walls suddenly subsided, and the rebels began to run backward, shouting "Defeat! Defeat!" as they ran.

Upon seeing this, the defenders on the city wall cheered, and some even put down their weapons to catch their breath.

"Stop!" Li Ju shouted sharply, his gaze sweeping sharply towards the east corner of the city. "The rebels are feigning a retreat; there's an ambush at the east corner! Wei Feng, take a thousand men to reinforce the east corner! Wang Yu, guard the north gate; don't let a single rebel get close!"

Wei Feng immediately accepted the order and led a thousand elite troops to quickly reinforce the eastern corner of the city.

Sure enough, just as the rebels in the eastern corner of the city set up their ladders, Wei Feng led his troops to the scene.

With swords and spears drawn, the rebels on the siege ladders were almost wiped out, and the rebels below the city were also routed, leaving behind hundreds of corpses as they fled in panic.

When Li Zixiong realized his trick had been exposed, he was so angry that he almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

Yang Xuangan, watching from the commander's carriage, was extremely anxious and kept issuing orders: "Attack again! Take Beicheng at all costs!"

However, after several rounds of fierce attacks, the rebels suffered heavy casualties and were starving, and had long lost their initial momentum.

The pace of the charge slowed down. Some people secretly gnawed on tree bark hidden in their arms, while others collapsed to the ground—not from arrow wounds, but from hunger.

More and more soldiers retreated, and even after the supervising team chopped off seven or eight heads, they couldn't stop the rout.

Li Mi sat beside Yang Xuangan, saying nothing. He stared intently at the large banner bearing the character "Li" on the city wall.

"Lord Pushan," Yang Xuangan turned to look at him, "say something!"

Li Mi remained silent for a moment, then said calmly, "We cannot take it today."

Yang Xuangan's face turned ashen, but he did not refute.

The fierce battle lasted from dawn until dusk.

The rebels launched more than ten fierce attacks, but failed to breach the northern city.

The siege ladders were mostly burned, the battering rams were smashed to pieces, and the corpses piled up layer upon layer below the city walls, the blood staining the moat red.

Of the original five thousand vanguards, less than two thousand remained, and those who survived were all wounded and could barely stand.

Looking at the piles of corpses below the city and the still-defending troops on the city walls, Li Zixiong knew that another attack today would be futile.

He gritted his teeth and forced out a single word: "Withdraw!"

The rebels, as if granted a pardon, retreated hastily and scrambled back to their camp.

The soldiers guarding the city wall immediately cheered, brandishing their swords and spears, their shouts echoing through the sky.

Wei Feng walked over, his armor splattered with blood, his face smeared, but his eyes shone brightly: "Lord Li, a great victory today! The rebels have suffered heavy casualties and are no longer able to attack the city for the time being!"

Li Ju shook his head, his gaze passing over the city wall to the rebel camp in the distance.

"We must not be careless. Although Yang Xuangan was defeated, he still has nearly 100,000 troops. Dogs that are starving bite the hardest. Tomorrow, they will fight even more desperately."

He turned to the messenger behind him and said, "Pass down the order: tonight, continue the shift duty, men must remain in armor and horses in saddle. Reinforce the city defenses and inventory the arrows and logs. Wang Yu will lead men to patrol the supply routes and guard against any surprise attacks by the rebels."

"yes!"

The messenger rushed off.

Wei Feng then said, "Li Yezhe, go and rest for a while. I'll keep watch here."

Li Ju glanced at him and nodded. He turned and walked down the city wall, but stopped after a few steps.

"General Wei."

"exist."

"Tonight, Li Mi might send men to launch a surprise attack on the granary by water. Have Wang Yu withdraw his entire fleet to the south bank, leaving none on the north bank."

Wei Feng was taken aback: "How did Attendant Li know—"

"I guessed." Li Ju didn't explain and strode down the city wall.

As dusk fell, the banners atop the city walls still fluttered in the wind. Though weary, the defenders' eyes remained resolute. Today's battle had shown them that the rebels were not so formidable, and that this city could be held.

Li Ju returned to the main tent on the city tower command platform, while Du Chen was still checking accounts under the lamp.

"My lord, the casualties today are considerable." Du Chen handed over the roster. "The defending troops suffered 123 dead and over 270 wounded. We used 30% of our arrows and 40% of our logs and stones."

Li Ju took the roster, glanced at it, and put it down.

He closed his eyes, and before him lay the corpses piled up below the city walls, the weary yet resolute faces of the defenders on the city walls, and Wei Feng's blood-soaked yet still upright back.

And then there's Li Mi's silent figure in the distant commander's car.

Li Mi, what are you thinking about?

They're probably thinking about a way out.