Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 185: Easily Conquer Chengzhou
"Governor, Gao Pian has led his troops to Mugu Road. Governor Hu Si has led his troops to cut down trees to block the way, but I'm afraid it won't last long."

"If nothing unexpected happens, Gao Pian will lead his troops to Yanjing before dusk tomorrow!"

At 15 p.m. in the afternoon, as the cavalry sent by Huke Siguang brought the news back to the outside of Yanjing City, Liu Jilian in the tent subconsciously looked at Geng Ming.

"How far are Shandoruo and the others from here?"

"Less than ten miles!"

Geng Ming bowed in response, and then asked, "Governor, why don't we move the catapults forward twenty steps and prepare sand and soil to fill the river?"

"You go and do it!" Liu Jilong nodded. He knew that this was a preparation for the cloud chariot to cross the river and attack the city.

There was no way. Yanjing City was too strong. If they had enough time, and were given another two or three days, they would be able to attack the city calmly.

But now Gao Pian is pressing them step by step, and they have no time to prepare calmly.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong thought of Li Wei in the city and couldn't help but say, "It seems that this guy is not prepared to live. His previous actions were just a delaying tactic."

Liu Jilong naturally didn't know that Li Li was so smart that he wanted to wait for a higher price and drive up the price of Yanjing City.

According to the intelligence he obtained, Li Wei might have surrendered to Gao Pian at the beginning of his siege of the city, and the conditions he asked for surrender before were just a delaying tactic.

Originally Liu Jilian wanted him to go to Qinzhou to disrupt the Han and foreign peoples, but now it seems that he is doomed.

Liu Jilong stood up with a cold face, put on the iron helmet on his head, and glanced at everyone coldly: "Besiege the city to the death, and those who dare to resist will be killed without mercy!"

"The last general takes orders..."

More than a dozen generals bowed in response and followed Liu Jilian out of the tent and headed straight for the front line.

The catapults began to move forward, continuously throwing stones at the city wall twenty steps away on the other side of the moat to widen the gap.

At the same time, the laborers pushed the carts in groups of two and filled the sand and soil on the carts into the moat.

With the joint efforts of thousands of laborers, a path was quickly filled in to create a path in the three-meter-wide moat of Yanjing City.

More than a dozen laborers began to use millstone-sized stone rollers to roll over the loose sandy road and compact it with stone plates.

By the time all this was done, it was almost dusk, and Shang Duoluo brought a thousand soldiers to the Longxi military camp outside the city.

A thousand men were reorganized into one group by Shang Duo Luo. Their armors were rusty and they kept making small movements when they were lined up.

Such soldiers may be able to fight a battle with the wind in their favor, but not when the wind is against them.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong looked at Shang Duoluo and Geng Ming and calmly ordered:

"The catapults are preparing for a fire attack, and the cloud chariots are taking advantage of the fire attack to force their way into the gap on the city wall. The Longxi armored soldiers are in the front, and the foreign soldiers are in the back."

"Governor!" Geng Ming bowed and asked, "Why don't you let them lead the charge?"

Geng Ming said they were foreign soldiers, but Liu Jilong glanced at the group of vagrants and said coldly, "Let them lead the charge. Do you want them to panic and turn around and counterattack our army?"

"We will lead the way and break the morale of the foreign soldiers in the city, and then we will let them attack with one blow."

"I understand!" Geng Ming bowed quickly, and at this time the sun had set into Qishan.

"Prepare to attack!"

"Uuuuuu——"

The sound of trumpets sounded outside the city, and all the slingshots were wrapped in tattered linen, soaked in bitumen, and placed on the riprap belt.

With torches lighting the asphalt, fifty catapults attacked the city simultaneously.

With a roar, fifty flaming rocks fell into the city, many houses started to catch fire, and people in the city shouted that the fire was looting.

Pushed by hundreds of armored soldiers, three ladders rushed across the moat and attacked the gap in the city wall.

The gap was three zhang wide, with about ten zhang missing, and was still seven or eight feet away from the ground.

As the cloud chariot rushed over and lowered the ladder, the thousand Longxi armored soldiers who had been waiting eagerly on the other side of the moat began to cross the river and attack.

"All the generals, listen to my orders and follow me to attack the city!"

Shang Duoluo drew his sword and gave the order, leading the thousand Tibetan armored soldiers and following the Longxi armored soldiers to start attacking the city.

"Beep--"

"The Hannu are attacking the city!"

"Surrender and you won't be killed! Surrender and you'll be spared death!"

"Those who surrender in Kaesong will be given 500 acres of land!"

"The first one to reach the summit will be promoted three levels!"

"kill……"

Inside and outside the west city of Yanjing, there were endless sounds of warnings, shouts of killing, and calls for surrender.

The foreign soldiers who had been squatting at the foot of the wall to avoid the catapults from Longxi now rushed to the horse road on the top of the city wall to resist the enemy.

"The fire is breaking out! Put out the fire!"

"Dang Dang Dang——"

The fire in the city burned huts and wooden houses, and the fire spread into one piece.

As the soldiers went up to the horse road to defend the city, the fire in the city could only be put out by the people themselves.

The raging fire illuminated the battlefield. Geng Ming led a thousand Longxi soldiers to rush to the top of the city wall, seized the horse path and the city gate tower, and turned the winch of the thousand-jin gate.

The foreign soldiers who reacted quickly started fighting with the Longxi army on the horse trail leading up to the city. The rustling of armor was drowned out by the shouts of killing.

"Oh!"

Geng Ming smashed a foreign soldier's cheek with the golden hammer in his hand, causing his cheek to instantly become red and swollen, blood oozing from the skin, and several yellow teeth stuck to flesh and blood flew down to the city.

Without waiting for the foreign soldier to fall, Geng Ming kicked him again, knocking him off the horse path, and he fell on a number of foreign soldiers who were raising their bows and shooting.

"Be careful of stray arrows!"

Geng Ming spoke loudly, and the Longxi army had already formed a battle array on both sides of the city wall.

The sword and shield are in front, the spear is in the middle, and the bow and crossbow are in the back.

Faced with the continuous influx of foreign soldiers, the sword and shield soldiers stabilized their position, the spearmen swung their spears and thrust, and the archers took advantage of the gaps to shoot arrows at the enemy's face, or to suppress the foreign soldiers who were shooting upwards from inside the city.

When the foreign soldiers fell, the crossbowmen of the Longxi army immediately drew out their blunt weapons and chopped the injured foreign soldiers with swords and axes, or smashed them to death, or dismembered them along the gaps in their armor and pushed them off the road.

The soil at the base of the city wall was soaked with blood, and the shouting and killing continued.

Geng Ming led the Longxi army to expand the battlefield, and Shang Duoluo commanded the foreign soldiers to follow closely and finish off the corpses.

Occasionally, some foreign soldiers would escape, but it would not affect the Longxi army's formation.

Soon, the Yanjing foreign soldiers were forced back and squeezed off the horse path, and the west gate city wall was seized by the Longxi army.

Shang Duoluo quickly led the foreign soldiers to take over, while Geng Ming continued to lead the armored soldiers to charge down the horse road and head towards the city gate.

Li Wei led 500 elite cavalrymen from the government office and hurried over, only to find that they had already lost control of the horse path and the city gate tower.

"Hold on! Kill one Han slave and you'll be rewarded ten strings of cash!!"

Li Wei also invested a lot of money. After all, the annual income from salt monopoly in the salt wells was only 30,000 to 50,000 yuan.

If he kills all the Longxi soldiers who have invaded the city, he will have to pay at least ten thousand strings of cash.

Even so, he still offered a reward, and continued to increase it as his side was forced to retreat.

"Kill one Han slave and you'll be rewarded 20 strings of cash!"

"kill--"

The shouts of killing grew louder as the bounty increased, but fighting was not about individual bravery; only discipline mattered on the battlefield.

The Longxi Army trained once a day and drilled once every three days under Liu Jilian's command. They had already memorized the various formations for various terrains in the "Collective Regulations".

They killed their way from the top of the city wall to the foot of the city wall, and then from the foot of the city wall to the long street.

Fires were everywhere, and some Han people were also ready to take action.

"Any Han Chinese who wears sackcloth on his head and picks up a knife to kill the enemy will be rewarded with one acre of land for every person he kills!!"

In the battle line, Geng Ming led more than a dozen captains and brigade commanders to fight bravely against the enemy, while at the same time calling for help from the Han slaves who were ready to make a move.

Soon, some slaves tore their clothes and tied them around their heads, picked up various tools, and began to attack the foreign army from behind.

"Kill the thief!!"

"Kill the bandits!"

"Slave dog! How dare you rebel!"

"kill……"

Although Yanjing City is prosperous, the rich people are not the Han people in the city.

The foreign generals and their families in the city were fat and bloated because of the rich salt wells, but the slaves who boiled the salt were skinny.

They have had enough of the same life that has lasted for decades, and now is the time to explode!
"kill!"

The skinny Han man chopped at the foreigner with an axe, but the foreigner had thick armor and reacted after a few hits, swinging his knife to cut the Han man's throat.

Before he could react, seven or eight more Han people surrounded him.

No matter how strong a soldier is, when facing seven or eight slaves who are determined to die, his only outcome is to fall down with hatred, not to mention that they are facing their real enemies in front of them.

The firelight illuminated the night sky. Li Wei's elite cavalry were unable to perform in the chaotic street fighting and could only dismount and kill the enemy.

At the same time, the four gates of Yanjing City were cleared and opened by people sent by Shang Duoluo. Upon seeing this, the armored soldiers and elite cavalry outside the city rushed into the city, intending to kill every armed foreigner.

"Bang!" The door of the tavern was violently broken open, and the blood-stained Longxi soldiers appeared in front of everyone.

The merchants hiding in the tavern felt despair. They knew better than anyone how terrifying the guards of the vassal states under the rule of the Tang Dynasty were.

A feeling of despair began to spread, but just when the merchants accepted their fate, the armored soldier saw that they were dressed as Tibetan civilians and immediately spat.

"Hide here and don't go out on the street, or you'll be slaughtered by the foreign soldiers!"

As he finished speaking, he turned and joined the fight on the street, while the merchants looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Is Yabing so easy to talk to now?"

"That's not right. We are wearing Tibetan clothes. Even if they don't kill the merchants, they won't let us go, right?"

"They don't even kill the natives?"

For a moment, these merchants were stunned.

They have traveled extensively and have been doing business for decades. They know better than anyone what the northern guards are like and what the southern generals are like.

The northern guards don't care about that. As long as a reward is offered, they will take the head.

The generals and soldiers in the south are more honest, but when facing the barbarians and Liao people, they often kill innocent people to seek credit.

Now in this chaotic area of Longxi, they suddenly encountered such reasonable guards, and they were a little uncomfortable.

Before they could continue the discussion, dozens or even hundreds of Longxi soldiers passed by them, and some even entered to search.

But without exception, they only searched for foreign soldiers and did not harm the Han people or foreign people. They would even remind them to be careful of foreign soldiers' attacks.

"Damn it... has this tooth soldier changed his personality?"

"Could they be soldiers from the imperial court?"

"Bah! The officers and soldiers are killing and looting even more fiercely!"

The shouting and screaming continued on the streets, but the taverns were rarely quiet.

Gradually, these merchants became bolder and stuck their heads out to look outside.

On the long street, the Longxi soldiers defeated the foreign soldiers step by step, and countless of them surrendered.

The fighting lasted from 19:23 to :, a full two hours, and the shouting and killing in the long street finally died down.

Another half hour passed, and the sound of horse hooves could be heard on the long road.

More than a dozen cavalry and infantrymen escorted a tall and handsome general as he walked towards the government office. Merchants standing in the tavern looked out and learned the man's identity from the flags in the hands of the cavalry and infantrymen.

"Is this Liu Jilong, the Three States Defense Envoy?"

"He is so handsome, even more handsome than those imperial examination candidates in Chang'an!"

"Tsk tsk..."

These merchants were quite calm. They were still worried about their lives two hours ago, but now that they saw that the Longxi army did not kill indiscriminately, they became bolder.

Liu Jilong ignored them and walked slowly to the outside of Yanjing Yamen, but saw that the Longxi soldiers had surrounded the Yamen in three layers.

"The governor!"

"what happened?"

When Geng Ming saw Liu Jilong coming, he immediately wiped his face, stepped forward and bowed.

"That Li Xi led several hundred remaining soldiers to hide in the government office. I am preparing to send people to attack by ramming the wall."

Geng Ming answered truthfully, but Liu Jilong frowned when he heard it. He then rode his horse to the outside of the government office and shouted to the people inside:
"Brothers of the barbarians inside, as long as you kill Li Xi and throw out his head, I can forgive you for what happened. I will also make you civilians and reward you with land!"

"Take a good look at how much food there is in the government office. Even if I don't attack, you will starve to death after a few days. Think carefully!"

Hundreds of people were trapped in the yamen. Liu Jilian didn't need to attack by force. He just needed to incite them to make them face the reality.

"Pig-dog guys! What do you want to do!?"

"Go out and kill them. I'll reward you 100 coins for every one you kill! My reward... ugh!!"

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the yamen. The chaos lasted less than half a cup of tea before the door slowly opened and a young officer, who had taken off his armor and weapons, walked out with his hands raised.

He was holding a human head in his hand, and blood was still dripping from the head.

"This is Li Wei's head. Does your promise count?"

He asked cautiously, and Liu Jilong dismounted and walked in front of him, looking down at him and said:

"If you know my reputation, you'll know that I never lie!"

Liu Jilong looked at the head, and then said: "Tell your men to take off their armor and weapons, and line up one by one."

"As long as they don't move, I won't make things difficult for you."

Following Liu Jilong's instructions, the young officer put down the head and carefully returned to the yamen.

Soon, he led the foreign soldiers who were only wearing cloth clothes out of the yamen one after another, and Liu Jilong also looked at Geng Ming.

"Withdraw the troops!" Geng Ming understood, and the soldiers surrounding the yamen also withdrew their weapons.

Geng Ming began to take over the surrendered soldiers, while Liu Jilian went to the government warehouses and treasuries.

As he expected, Yanjing was indeed prosperous, far surpassing Shanglu and Changdao.

In the government warehouse, there were 150,000 shi of grain alone and more than 30,000 shi of beans, not to mention other things.

As for the treasury, there were more than 30,000 strings of cash, thousands of rolls of silk, several thousand rolls of linen and more than 2,000 dan of salt.

After reading the documents from the government warehouse and the treasury, Liu Jilong felt much better, along with Gao Pian's disgusted mood.

After the yamen was cleaned, he took Shang Duoluo and Geng Ming into the yamen and sat down in the main hall.

"This fellow is so rich, but he doesn't even think about taking over Chengwu and the other two states. He is really short-sighted!"

Shang Duoluo cursed angrily, and Geng Ming bowed and said, "Governor, we have caught the spy sent by Gao Pian."

"Bring him up!" Liu Jilong responded to Geng Ming first, then looked at Shang Duoluo and said:

"If this guy becomes big, he won't be able to continue his business."

"I see that there are only 40,000 mu of farmland outside Yanjing City. The grain in the government warehouse is probably all earned by this guy from selling salt. Find his account book and I want to take a closer look."

"I obey your command!" Shang Duoluo bowed in response, then took people to look for the account books.

At the same time, Wang Kui, who was captured by the armored soldiers, was also taken into the main hall.

"Your Majesty!"

Two armored soldiers kicked Wang Kui once each and immediately made him kneel down.

Wang Kui knelt on the ground, looking up at Liu Jilong, his face twitching constantly, obviously feeling uncomfortable from being kicked by the armored soldiers.

"Are you the spy under Governor Gao's command?"

"That's right!" Wang Kui gritted his teeth and said, "May I ask what position Envoy Liu has in order to attack Chengzhou?"

Wang Kui meant that Chengzhou and Wuzhou were originally the places that Lu Ruyue and Lin Ruzhen under Gao Pian's command should have recovered, and it was not legitimate for Liu Jilian to recover Chengzhou now.

But in response to his question, Liu Jilong chuckled and shook his head, saying: "Recovering the lost territory is everyone's responsibility."

"The four states of Qin, Long, Feng and Xing are incompetent and have yet to recover the lost territory. So I have no choice but to lead the troops to recover it!"

"Besides, don't you know that the court has promoted my general Geng Ming as the governor of Chengzhou? It is legitimate for me to help him recapture Chengzhou!"

Wang Kui was stunned by Liu Jilian's words. He really didn't know that the court had appointed Geng Ming as the governor of Chengzhou.

If this is the case, then Liu Jilian's recovery of Chengzhou is truly justified.

"All right!"

Liu Jilong slowly stood up and walked towards Wang Kui. Wang Kui was terrified: "Envoy Liu, I am the Shanggui Tunjian appointed by the court. You can't kill me!"

"Kill you?" Liu Jilong asked doubtfully, "When did I say I was going to kill you?"

His words made Wang Kui speechless. Before Wang Kui could speak, Liu Jilong looked at Geng Ming:

"Take his money, sell him a draft horse, and send someone to take him to Mumen Valley to hand him over to Hu Siguang, and tell him that we have rescued the Qinzhou official who was captured by the bandits."

"Yes!" Geng Ming smiled naively. Seeing Liu Jilong leave after giving his orders, he immediately said to the two armored soldiers:
"You two brothers, please work harder and tie him up and send him to Mumen Valley, and hand him over to Governor Husi as the governor just said."

"I obey your command!" The two men bowed in response, but Wang Kui was dumbfounded.

He brought hundreds of strings of cash, but now he can only exchange it for a draft horse?!

"Let me go! You can't do this to me! I am the Shanggui Tunjian appointed by the imperial court! I am the imperial court..."

"Shut up!" The soldier slapped him in the face, then picked him up and walked out.

Before dawn, two armored soldiers rode horses and took the man to Mumen Valley.

After the two men explained to Hukui Guang, Hukui Guang hurriedly blew the wooden whistle, and the elite cavalry who had been cutting down trees all night walked down the hillside tiredly.

"Okay, the salt well has been recovered, no more trees need to be cut down."

After Hu Siguang gave the instructions, all the elite cavalry breathed a sigh of relief.

At the same time, Huke Siguang came forward and saw Wang Kui, whose face was swollen from being beaten.

"Come here, drive a stake for the draft horse that's carrying him, so that it won't run away with us!"

At Huoshiguang's command, the reins of the horse carrying Wang Kui were fixed to the wooden stake, and the two hundred elite cavalrymen and two armored soldiers, led by Huoshiguang, left for the salt well.

A few hours later, when Wang Kui was about to faint, the sound of horse hooves finally came from Mugu Road...

(End of this chapter)