We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

Liaodong County, Andong City.

The spring rain gently falls on this small border town, washing away the red city walls and revealing their original black color.

On the city wall, a middle-aged general stood with his sword in hand, looking down at the city.

There were endless tents and Korean soldiers, like a colony of ants, a black mass and countless in number.

One hundred thousand!

Goryeo dispatched an army of 100,000 to surround the small town of Andong, determined to annihilate this army.

In the eyes of the great unified dynasties in the Central Plains, Goryeo was a small country not worth mentioning.

Little did people know that this small country had a standing force of 300,000. If it were placed in Europe or Central Asia at the same time, it would definitely be a hegemonic country.

But in the eyes of a powerful dynasty like Daqing, it was not good enough.

Yang Zhongsi had just entered Liaodong last year and captured five cities of Goryeo in a row, scaring the Goryeo king half to death.

If winter had not arrived, Goryeo might have been destroyed.

But now the situation has reversed. Yang Zhongsi's troops have run out of ammunition and food and are trapped in an isolated city, becoming a prey for the Goryeo army.

Perhaps he was frightened by Yang Zhongsi, so the King of Goryeo became ruthless.

Ignoring the threats from Silla and Baekje in the south, he sent out an army of 100,000 to surround Andong City.

Yang Zhongsi sighed softly, looking at the half-rolled "Huan" flag on the top of the city wall, a trace of loneliness flashed in his eyes.

He himself knew that Huan was finished. Even though his army still bore the name of Huan, their country was truly destroyed.

Yang Zhongsi did not dare to demand the restoration of his country, but he only hoped that the army that accompanied him from the Western Regions to Liaodong could preserve the spark of his nation.

They were once the most capable soldiers in the empire, and were feared by the people of the Western Regions, the Hu people, and the Mohe people. But are they going to be destroyed by the mere Koreans today?

Yang Zhongsi was unwilling to accept this, as he believed his brothers should not have ended up like this.

"Marshal." A burly man with a scar on his face walked up to Yang Zhongsi and said, "The weather hasn't warmed up completely yet, so it's better not to be exposed to the wind for too long."

Yang Zhongsi didn't look back, but he knew that the person coming was Jie An, one of his four generals.

Now two of the four generals under his command have passed away, and the only one left besides Li An is ** Zhi, a Confucian general who cannot even draw a bow.

"Jie An, how long has your brother been gone?" Yang Zhongsi asked in a hoarse voice.

"It's been more than half a month."

"Half a month has passed." Yang Zhongsi murmured, "In half a month, whether it's Ninggu County or Shanhaiguan, they should have arrived."

Jie An paused for a moment and said indifferently, "General, they won't send troops."

Yang Zhongsi shook his head.

He knew exactly what Jie An said.

The Huanguo families in Ninggu County only knew how to indulge in pleasure. Although the Huanguo has perished, they still live in the glory of their family's past.

As for the defenders of Shanhaiguan...they were still nominally enemies of the Huan army, so how could they be willing to risk being charged with treason to rescue themselves?

The reason why he asked Jie Ming to go out and seek help was simply to leave a descendant for the three loyal brothers of the Jie family.

At the same time, it also gave the other brothers of the Huan Guo Army a hope, an almost invisible hope.

thump--

A muffled sound was heard, and Yang Zhongsi and Jie An looked over at the same time.

A soldier guarding the city suddenly fell to the ground, but the soldiers around him were not at all panicked, and looked as if they were used to it.

I just fainted from hunger, no big deal.

On the contrary, for the soldiers of Huan Guo Army, being starving to the point of unconsciousness was actually the best time.

If you fall into a coma, you won’t have to endure the bone-eating hunger.

"Let's kill another batch of horses." Yang Zhongsi said silently.

Upon hearing this, Jie An's expression suddenly changed: "Marshal, you absolutely cannot do this."

"The warhorses in the city are your last hope. If you have no horses when the city is broken, how can you fight your way out and make a comeback?"

Yang Zhongsi shook his head, and a strand of gray hair fell from the gap in his helmet.

"I won't leave. Kill them. They are useless now."

There are still hundreds of war horses in the city, and they are all armored horses.

But people can’t even get enough to eat, let alone war horses which are more precious than humans?

They were so hungry that they were emaciated and couldn't even put on their vests.

War horses like these would have difficulty even carrying people, let alone leading the troops out of the encirclement. It would be better to kill them while there is still meat on them to feed the soldiers.

"Even so, I'm afraid we can't hold out for much longer." Xie An said with a look of pain on his face, "Ten more brothers died of starvation yesterday."

Yang Zhongsi turned around, put his hand on Jie An's shoulder, and said softly, "Hold on a little longer."

"If there's no food, eat the horses."

"If the horses are eaten, won't there still be Korean prisoners in the city?"

Xie An's pupils shrank sharply, and he looked at Yang Zhongsi in disbelief:

"The Marshal means that we should eat..."

"people?"

Yang Zhongsi's expression remained unchanged, and he looked at Jie An with empty eyes, as if he was looking at something behind Jie An.

"Eating people is better than dying. I, Yang Zhongsi, will shoulder all the sins for you all."

"When I go to the underworld, I will ask Yama to only count my sins."

. . . . . .

"In order to feed his soldiers, Zhang Xun killed his concubines and servants and distributed the food among them.

With this precedent, the soldiers also began to eat the enemy's corpses. When they had eaten all the enemy corpses, they ate the corpses of the civilians in the city. In the worst cases, they even killed the elderly, weak and sick in the city to satisfy their hunger.

In this way, Zhang Xun relied on the strength of 7000 troops to hold off 100,000 rebels for 10 months, and won a precious breathing space for the court.

After the city fell, Zhang Xun and his men were killed by the enemy. The city was now a scene of hell on earth.

Li Che took a sip of water and put down the glass.

Wang Sanchun and He Conglong in front of him had their eyes wide open and their mouths so big that an egg could fit in them.

"You mean, after Yang Zhongsi ran out of food, he would eat humans to fill his stomach?"

Li Che shook his head: "The key is not to eat people, but to persevere. Anyone who has great perseverance and achieves great things has the determination and means to never give up until the goal is achieved."

"Yang Zhongsi is not an ordinary man. I believe that since he has decided to defend the city, he will do whatever it takes."

The two nodded, understanding what Li Che meant.

Although the Ninggu County leaders had already agreed to send troops to rescue, many people in the army still had doubts.

The main reason was that they were afraid that Yang Zhongsi's troops would not be able to hold on. After all, half a month had passed since they broke out from Jie Ming.

What if Yang Zhongsi's troops were annihilated or surrendered.

It’s no big deal to make a wasted trip, but if you step into the enemy’s trap, it will be a disaster for the Ninggu army.

"I understand, but, Your Highness..." He Conglong said with confusion, "I have read some history books, but I have never heard of Zhang Xun. I wonder which dynasty he was a general from?"

Li Che smiled awkwardly: "I also saw it in an ancient book. It only recorded his deeds, but did not mention which dynasty or era he lived in."

It's strange that you know this, but this ruthless man Zhang Xun was a general from another world, a dynasty called the Tang Dynasty.

The war he experienced was even more serious. It was the An-Shi Rebellion, the peak showdown of cold weapons in human history.

Even with such an impressive record, Zhang Xun probably wouldn't be ranked among the top ten generals in the Tang Dynasty.

It was really too difficult to be a general in the Tang Dynasty, especially in the early Tang Dynasty. If you didn't destroy a country, you would be embarrassed to call yourself a famous general.

Alas, if I also had a famous Tang Dynasty general as my subordinate, I wouldn’t have to go to the battlefield in person. I could just sit in the rear and wait for news of victory.

Even if there is no Li Jing, Guo Ziyi and Xue Rengui, it will be fine to give yourself Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin and Geshu Han.

"Your Highness." Zhuge Zhe pushed the door open and walked in. "The soldiers are ready."

Upon hearing this, Li Che stood up energetically and looked at Wang and He with a smile:

"Okay, that's the end of the story. Now it's time for us to write the story of the Ninggu Army."