Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 478 Side Story: The Southern Expedition (Part Two)
The last point is the real reason why the wealthy families of Xin'an County betrayed the Jiangnan Army at all costs.

You, Tao Wudi, are barely clinging to life. Even if you don't fight the Pei family army to the death, you won't live much longer. Why should the hundreds of thousands of people in Xin'an County follow you to their deaths?

Emperor Zhaoyuan unified the world, his momentum like the Yellow River, unstoppable. They merely wanted to go with the flow and survive.

Pei Qinghe remained calm and said indifferently, "I have remembered everything you have said. Since you have come from Xin'an County, do not go back for the time being. Stay in the military camp and wait for the Pei family army to break through the city."

The fact that the wealthy families dared to escape the city gates to deliver the message meant they were certain that Pei's army was the victor. Pei Qinghe keeping them in the camp was exactly what they wanted, and they quickly knelt down and kowtowed in gratitude.

Tao Wudi is a ruthless man. If he finds out they've left the city to deliver a message, he'll definitely kill them. It's safer for them to stay in the Pei family army's camp!

Wealthy families provided military intelligence, even revealing the exact strength of the city's defenses. Pei Qinghe summoned his generals overnight to devise a strategy for attacking the city and defeating the enemy.

After three days of rest, the army set out to cook at dawn on the fourth day. Wisps of smoke rose like clouds, visible from dozens of miles away.

Tao Wudi stood on the wooden tower of Xin'an County's city gate, looking at the drifting smoke, his face gloomy and as black as the bottom of a pot.

Several trusted generals stood behind him, all of them with grim expressions.

Several wealthy families in Xin'an County fled overnight, and the next day they found out. Tao Wudi was furious and beheaded the dozen or so soldiers who had opened the city gates without permission.

These ruthless methods of killing were indeed somewhat effective. All five city gates of Xin'an County were sealed off, and no one was able to leave the city.

With no chance of escape, the Jiangnan army had no choice but to defend the city and fight to the death.

The claim of a 50,000-strong army was just a hoax to fool the people. Excluding the old, weak, and wounded, the actual number of elite soldiers was only about 17,000 or 18,000, less than 20,000.

The opposing force is the Pei family army, renowned as the most elite army in the land. Even the Bohai Navy's imperial guards are no match for them, and the Xiongnu barbarians have been defeated twice by the Pei family army. With such elite troops and fierce generals, what can the Jiangnan army possibly use to stop them?
Knowing it's a dead end, yet still going forward—only those who have tasted it know the bitterness and despair it brings.

The last military officer who advised Tao Wudi to flee Xin'an County was beheaded, his body now cold. They dared not offer any more advice, and could only grit their teeth and defend the city, waiting for the Pei family army to breach it.

The sun rose and slowly moved south. The ground trembled incessantly as countless warhorses galloped in, kicking up clouds of dust, their black banners bearing the character "Pei" fluttering in the wind.

"How many warhorses do they have?!" a general exclaimed, stunned.

Another military officer sighed in a low voice, "The Pei family army has a cavalry battalion that, after defeating the Imperial Guards, captured a lot of warhorses. This time, they must have mobilized their entire force."

The sheer force of ten thousand horses galloping in was truly astonishing.

Tao Wudi's face darkened further, and he said coldly, "We've sealed the city gates. No matter how many warhorses they have, they won't be able to break in."

"Pass down my order: have all the archers on the city gates. Prepare the catapults, and make sure there is plenty of hot water and oil."

“Xin’an County is our stronghold. We will defend it with all our might. The Pei family army will not be able to break through the city.”

The military officers roused themselves, received their orders, and immediately began making arrangements.

The Pei family army remained remarkably calm, stopping ten miles outside the city and instead of attacking, setting up camp.

At such a distance, catapults and arrows were useless. The Jiangnan army lacked the courage and manpower to venture out of the city to fight, and could only watch helplessly as the Pei family army established their camp.

The next day, Pei's army still did not send out troops, but continued to set up camp.

On the third day, the fourth day, the fifth day... the sentries of the Jiangnan Army kept listening to the movements of the Pei family army and then reporting back.

Tao Wudi, a veteran general with over a decade of experience, naturally understood Pei Qinghe's intentions. She was building a stronghold to fight tough battles, ensuring a quick return to camp for regrouping even if the initial siege failed. She wasn't even afraid of a surprise attack from the Jiangnan army.

The Jiangnan army was indeed unable to leave the city for a decisive battle. They were trapped in Xin'an City, watching the Pei family army build their camp.

Even though the war hadn't officially started, the atmosphere in Xin'an County was growing increasingly tense. The people were like cattle and sheep in a pen, powerless to break free. The morale of the Jiangnan army soldiers was also sinking lower and lower.

If this continues, the morale of the Jiangnan army will collapse before the Pei family army even attacks the city.

Tao Wudi had no choice but to send a cavalry unit to the Pei family's camp to deliver a declaration of war.

In war, envoys are not to be killed. Pei Qinghe tore up the declaration of war, ignored it, and threw the new envoy who delivered it out of the camp.

"We've been at the city walls for almost half a month, and our camp is nearly complete. Aren't we going to send troops to attack?" Pei Yan was already itching to try.

Yang Huai also volunteered to be the vanguard.

Young military officers such as Pei Feng and Pei Yue all volunteered to go into battle.

Pei Qinghe said, "The ones who are anxious now are the Jiangnan army and Tao Wudi. We don't need to rush. Let's wait for their morale to plummet and their troops to collapse before we send out our troops and win in one battle!"

A forced siege is not impossible, but it would inevitably result in too many casualties. She wants to take Xin'an County with minimal losses.

Over the next few days, Pei Qinghe led the artisans in the army camp to build siege towers. These towers required a great deal of timber, and once completed, they were three feet taller than the city gates of Xin'an County. Using the towers as cover, soldiers could approach the city gates, significantly reducing casualties. They could also exchange arrows with the archers on the city gates, providing cover for the soldiers actually attacking the city.

After five tall chariots were built, Pei Qinghe finally ordered an attack on the city.

On the eighth day of the tenth lunar month, the weather is clear and sunny, making it auspicious for breaking ground, moving house, weddings, funerals, and all other activities.

Thousands of soldiers pushed the siege towers closer to the city gate, and the archers on the towers kept firing arrows, suppressing the arrows coming from the city gate.

Huge stones hurled by the catapults frequently landed on the trebuchet, damaging the wood and causing people to fall off.

Soldiers using wooden ladders to scale the city walls were constantly being shot down or doused with hot oil and water, their screams of agony echoing throughout the city.

These are the costs of conquering a city.

The Pei family army was riding high and had the upper hand from the very beginning. After fighting for half a day, they leaped onto the city wall and began close-quarters combat.

The Jiangnan army was utterly defeated and unable to fight back. If Tao Wudi hadn't personally supervised the battle, a large number of soldiers would have turned and fled long ago.

The disastrous consequences of forced conscription were fully revealed in this battle. These new recruits, who had never been on the battlefield, were routed by Pei's army and scattered in all directions, greatly affecting the morale of the troops.

Tao Wudi simply couldn't kill them all.

On the third day of the siege, the Jiangnan army was defeated. The Pei family army stormed into Xin'an County, shouting that those who surrendered would not be killed. The Jiangnan soldiers threw down their weapons and knelt down.

Such a speed of breaching the city was truly astonishing, setting a new record for the fastest breach of a city in history.

(End of this chapter)