You have truly caused me great suffering!

Chapter 84 The Siege of Terror

Hongzhou was a strategic transportation hub located on the border between the Song and Xia dynasties.

It controlled the "Guoxin Post Road," which connected Xingqing Prefecture and Lingzhou, the core areas of the Western Xia Dynasty, with Fuyan Road of the Northern Song Dynasty.

This place was one of the essential passages for the Western Xia's southward invasion, and also a springboard for the Song Dynasty's conquest of Xia.

Liu Fa, who died in battle not long ago, became famous here thirty years ago when he launched a surprise attack on Hongzhou, killing more than 500 enemies and destroying 1.2 camps, turning the tide of the battle.

Twelve years ago, the Song Dynasty captured Yanzhou, and the Western Xia launched an attack from Hongzhou to retake Yanzhou.

The Song army pressed in, and a chilling, murderous aura enveloped the entire city of Hongzhou.

Its city walls are not very high or thick, because this place was originally a county.

After the Western Xia rebelled against the Song Dynasty, Hongmen Town was upgraded to Hongzhou.

Since then, war has raged between Song and Xia, and Hongzhou is located at the very center of the struggle between the two countries. There has been no time or space for them to build a sufficiently strong city wall.

However, the surrounding mounds and fortifications were densely packed, and there were also many fortified villages supporting the main city of Hongzhou.

Rows of archers were stationed on the city wall, their crossbows pointed down at the city below, ready for battle.

These crossbows were incredibly powerful, easily piercing through Song army armor. Although not as powerful as the Divine Arm Crossbow, they were still formidable defensive weapons.

The craftsmanship of the Western Xia was actually very good, as was that of the Khitan. In fact, both of them had begun to experiment with the use of gunpowder.

In the stillness, behind them, dust rose faintly. From the watchtowers outside the city, one could see caravans of camels moving swiftly under the shepherds' command.

Some of these camels were equipped with whirlwind cannons, while others carried huge wicker baskets filled with pebbles the size of bowls. Clearly, these were important weapons for Hongzhou's defense and long-range attacks.

The city mobilized all men, women, and children, even the stronger women, all determined to defend the Hongzhou fortress.

Once war breaks out, all those who can fight must climb the city walls and battle the Song army.

A tall, thin military general stood on the city wall, gazing into the distance at the Song army's camp.

He was Liang Duomai, a member of a powerful family in Western Xia. Five years ago, he led troops from Hongzhou to launch a surprise attack on Dingbian Village of the Northern Song Dynasty, which induced the Song army to counterattack.

This intensified the conflict between the Song and Xia dynasties, indirectly prompting Tong Guan to launch a general offensive against Hengshan, which is the second Battle of Hengshan between the Song and Xia dynasties, which lasted for five years and continues to this day.

At this moment, the flames of war have once again reached his head. Liang Duoma stared for a long time before slowly shifting his gaze from the menacing camp below the city walls to the east.

There was no sign of reinforcements.

Despite the fact that this force had already conquered two states, the officials in Yin and Xia still felt that the Zhong family army posed a greater threat.

He himself also sent out warnings and appeals for help to the various tribes that were nomadic outside the city, but when would the reinforcements from the Qiang and other Hu tribes arrive?
After five years of fighting, the imperial court has exploited them too much; it's already quite good that these people haven't taken the opportunity to rebel.

Especially after the Song Dynasty occupied Yanzhou, the Western Xia took back Yanzhou and carried out a massacre in the Yanzhou area in retaliation for the defection of surrounding tribes.

This is also why Chen Shao was able to swear an oath of allegiance at the salt lake and become the common leader of the surrounding tribes as soon as he arrived in Yanzhou.

It's a blood feud.

Liang Duomai sighed. He hadn't expected the Song people to be so resilient this time.

In the past, even those famous ministers who came to the Northwest couldn't last this long. Who knew that this eunuch commander Xuan would be so courageous, fighting for five years without backing down?

Tong Guan was determined and single-minded in his desire to achieve military merits. Moreover, he had the support of the emperor. Among all the ministers who had governed the borders before the Song Dynasty, none had enjoyed the emperor's favor as much as he did.

The Western Xia had offended him; you could say they had kicked a hornet's nest.
In short-term skirmishes, the Xia army might be able to gain some advantage by virtue of its fighting strength and large stockpile of warhorses.

Once this protracted war began, a contest of national strength, the Western Xia's true colors were completely revealed.

They can't afford to waste time.
Five years of continuous warfare had long since depleted the resources of the Western Xia. The Song Dynasty, on the other hand, only needed to use the saved annual tribute on the front lines to make ends meet.

After the Song Dynasty weathered this storm, things seemed to slowly start to go wrong.
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Inside the Song army camp.

Chen Shao was very patient; he hadn't expected Tong Guan to be so helpful.

The Pacification Commissioner ordered all the fortresses and strongholds on the other side of Hengshan to support Chen Shao's attack on Hongzhou.

Afterwards, there were generous rewards. All those who sent troops would have their provisions replenished within a month, and after capturing Hongzhou, the spoils of war would be divided equally.

Tong Xuanshuai told everyone to fight desperately while he picked up the scraps from behind, and everyone might outwardly comply but inwardly ignore him;

Tong Xuanshuai told everyone to beat up a drowning dog and reap the credit, and everyone was eager to be the first to do so!

Therefore, all the fortresses and cities on the other side of Hengshan, regardless of size, with troops, dismantled their siege equipment and took the loose equipment to attack Hongzhou.

Taking Hongzhou had another benefit for them: it deprived the Western Xia of its springboard.

The threats I face have been greatly reduced, and I am no longer on the front line.

If the Western Xia people were to make a comeback, with Hongzhou in front of them, they would have ample time to prepare.

The eastern villages, too far away to get any meat, eagerly hoped that Chen Shao would quickly take Hongzhou and then attack Longzhou.

Inside the camp, Chen Shao reined in his horse and stood upright, looking proudly at the distant city of Hongzhou. Hongzhou was indeed heavily guarded and well-prepared, but its city walls and moat were not particularly formidable.

It is too close to the Song Dynasty, which makes it the core of both offense and defense. When attacking, Hongzhou is naturally considered to be the best place in the world, and it can be used to directly attack the Song Dynasty's Fuyan Road.

However, defending this city meant using the Western Xia troops, who were more accustomed to riding fine horses, carrying good bows, galloping across battlefields, and wielding swords to kill enemies, but were not used to siege warfare, to resist the Song army, who were most skilled at attacking and defending cities.

Chen Shao was confident that he would remain invincible.

After taking Hongzhou, the next city is Longzhou. The two cities are not much different, but Longzhou will probably be easier to conquer.

Since the fourth year of the Yuanfeng era of the Northern Song Dynasty, which was thirty-eight years ago, when Song general Zhong E captured this city, the area has always been under Song control.

It has only been less than a year since the city fell, and the powerful local figures will surely take action when they see the arrival of the Song army.

As powerful clans in the Northwest, they couldn't possibly be unaware of the situation; following the Western Xia meant there was absolutely no future for them.

Rather than worrying about the Western Xia garrison, Chen Shao was more afraid of the local powerful clans, and thus surrendered to the Zhong family army ahead of time.

Looking at the various new types of catapults, siege engines, siege ladders, and battering rams being built day and night in the camp, which resembled menacing beasts, Pang Ge grew increasingly itchy and impatient. He couldn't wait to attack Hongzhou City.

At this moment, Han Shizhong walked over from afar, his left hand gripping the hilt of a knife at his waist, his right hand clutching a letter, his gait extremely arrogant.

"Prefect, Brother Pang," Han Shizhong said with a smile, "Hongzhou City has sent out several dozen men to seek help from the Southwest Route Pacification Commission of the Liao Dynasty."

Chen Shao laughed heartily, "The Great Liao?"

This is truly a desperate measure; the Liao Dynasty is no longer the powerful Northern Kingdom it once was, and now they are preoccupied with their own problems.

If Tong Guan saw this, he would probably laugh out loud.

He was afraid that the Liao Dynasty wouldn't give him a reason. Even if they didn't give him an excuse, Tong Guan would have taken the initiative to attack the Liao Dynasty.

There was an alliance between the Liao and Song dynasties, which bound them as brother states for eternity.

It would be better if the Liao Dynasty broke the treaty, because the unified dynasties of the Central Plains valued alliances.

"Collect them all and send them to the Pacification Commissioner and the Pacification Commander."

"Commander Xuan has been good to us this time, so I'll give him a gift too!"

In late April, people from all walks of life arrived one after another and began to reassemble the dismantled equipment outside Hongzhou City.

The people of Hongzhou City were filled with fear and dread. Although it had not yet begun, many had already fallen ill from the torment of fear.

Chen Shao was not in a hurry and continued to apply pressure, and the surrounding tribes came one after another to surrender.

In early May, Chen Shao sent Han Shizhong to attack Longzhou. After a day of fierce fighting, the local strongmen of Longzhou killed the defending general and surrendered the city.

Inside Hongzhou City, Liang Duomai finally couldn't sit still any longer. He sent out multiple cavalry units to harass and attack the Song army's camps.

Chen Shao ordered Han Shizhong and others to lead cavalry on guard, but still did not rush to attack.

In mid-May, Zhong Shidao's attack on Yinzhou was thwarted, and he sent someone to urge Chen Shao to launch an attack.

Chen Shao postponed the operation again, citing the muddy conditions caused by the rain and the inability to effectively deploy siege equipment.

Zhong's army then retreated. The siege of Yinzhou had just been lifted, and on the third day, Chen Shao ordered his army to attack Hongzhou.

The Song army, which had been preparing for a long time, began to demonstrate its siege skills.

The ballistae emitted a powerful whistling sound that seemed to rupture eardrums, sending bolts as thick as a child's arm deep into the walls of Hongzhou. Then the catapults were activated.

At that time, catapults were not very sophisticated, requiring hundreds of people to run back and forth pulling ropes, but their power was still considerable.

Standing on the watchtower, Chen Shao and Han Shizhong saw heavy, massive stones being thrown high into the air, flying far into the sky with terrifying whistling sounds, and crashing heavily onto the city walls, raising clouds of dust and scattering blood and flesh everywhere.

At the beginning, everyone on the walls of Hongzhou, where the entire army was prepared for battle, was on high alert.

Unexpectedly, the Song army surrounded them without attacking, and gradually, they found it difficult to maintain that tense state.

On the walls of Hongzhou, soldiers were caught off guard, and many suffered splattered brains, broken bones, and fractured tendons.

The generals, realizing what was happening, hurriedly ordered their men to take refuge in the hidden bunkers. Some who couldn't escape in time crouched under the arrow emplacements and walls, watching in terror as a hail of crossbow bolts and stones rained down relentlessly on the city walls.

Chen Shao didn't consider what would happen next and ordered his men to sell off all the supplies prepared for the month today.

Logically speaking, this level of tactics wouldn't be necessary to attack Hongzhou, but Chen Shao was unusually focused.

He stood on the lookout tower, occasionally looking down to take notes with a charcoal pencil, and also drawing something.

Han Shizhong glanced at it curiously, seemingly lost in thought.

Prefect Chen seems to be using this siege to plan an even bigger offensive.

The targets, needless to say, are Yinzhou and Xiazhou.

Han Shizhong couldn't help but feel a sense of awe. He realized that he was indeed no match for the prefect's ambitions. After conquering Yanzhou, Youzhou, and Hongzhou, Han Shizhong couldn't help but feel somewhat complacent.

After all, he had been frustrated for so many years, and now that he had finally achieved his goal, anyone would become a little arrogant.

This is absolutely not a bad habit, but rather human nature. If Chen Shao hadn't transmigrated, he would definitely be even more arrogant than him.

But Chen Shao was different. He knew things that the heroes of this era did not, and he understood that the current victory could not change the future situation.

Let alone people like Han Shizhong, even the Jurchen barbarians who are currently overthrowing the Liao Dynasty probably never imagined that they would one day be able to enter the capital city of Tokyo.

So Han Shizhong was right; Chen Shao was treating this siege as a drill.

During these days, he recorded all of Liang Duoma's actions in Hongzhou City.

Then he pondered repeatedly what methods and countermeasures Yinzhou City and Tongwan City in Xiazhou would use.

It was rare to see Tong Guan so helpful, and Chen Shao wanted to see how much power the Song army could unleash with adequate preparation and the current level of equipment manufacturing.

His ultimate goal was actually Xiazhou.

Xia Prefecture, the birthplace of the Western Xia dynasty, was the core of the Tangut Tuoba clan, who used Tongwan City in Xia Prefecture as their base to eventually become the foundation for the Western Xia's resistance against the Central Plains.

The Western Xia dynasty used this opportunity to transform itself from a regional military governor to an empire, while the Northern Song dynasty, unable to integrate the region, ultimately fell into a predicament in the northwest, becoming a microcosm of the tragedy of the "weak Song".

Xiazhou will not be taken so easily, and only by truly conquering Xiazhou can we say that we have won this battle completely.

Otherwise, with Xia Prefecture as its center, Western Xia could have a chance to make a comeback at any time.

All the victories we see now are nothing more than temporary illusions.

Chen Shao could naturally have the leisure to observe and record, but the garrison in Hongzhou City, which had been strengthened, was in a terrible situation.

Some people attacked them with the same intensity they used to attack Xiazhou, and this terrifying effect caused a sense of despair to begin to spread.

Rocks and crossbow bolts whistled overhead, smashing their comrades into a bloody mess. The apocalyptic scene branded the word "horror" into the hearts of the defenders.

(End of this chapter)