Five Dynasties River Mountains Fengyue

Chapter 338 Bombarding Taiyuan
"Officials, there are not many defenders in Taiyuan, and it seems that a certain one can attack by force." Wang Shenqi cupped his hands.

Outside the city of Taiyuan, under the banner of Emperor Luan, Shi Congyun sat on a temporary chair, surrounded by many civil and military personnel.

He asked Xiang Gong, Li Chuyun, Wang Shenqi and other generals who had arrived in Taiyuan first to report on the situation.

After Wang Shenqi finished speaking, Xiang Gong stood up and said: "Officials, all the reinforcements can't get in, they have no reason to defend, I see that Taiyuan is nothing to be afraid of, Bizhou, Fenzhou, Liaozhou, Bizhou, Yuzhou, Lanzhou has already been taken, Xianzhou has been besieged by Fuzhou soldiers (zhejia soldiers), and Taiyuan is a lonely tree. As long as the officials give an order, the soldiers of the three armies will take their lives together, and they will be taken in an instant, and the puppet emperors will be captured. Dedicated to the officials."

Many generals around him were also eager to try and echoed.

Li Chuyun came out: "Officials, some people feel that they have to guard against the Khitan people at this time, maybe they will also fight. If they lose the northeast of Hebei, Taiyuan, Xinzhou (near Xinzhou today), Daizhou ( Near Jindai County), they will be blocked outside Yanmen Pass.

At that time, there will be no chance to go southeast from the river. Unless we completely give up hostility with our country, it will be difficult to bear. "

Shi Congyun nodded. Li Chuyun's words were very insightful. If the Liao Kingdom gave up Taiyuan, it would be very difficult to threaten the Central Plains. Only Youzhou in the north still has spare power.

Shi Congyun didn't speak, Dama Jindao sat on it, and his mind began to spin rapidly.

After a while he got up and said: "Let the Shenhuo army bring all the cannons, replace the iron bullets, bring the bed crossbow and catapults, and bombard me. If we can open the gate of Taiyuan by surprise and then attack the city, it will be much easier.

I personally sit under the city, and I will not leave until the city is broken.

Jing Si led a thousand troops to the west to support Fuzhou soldiers and take Xianzhou as soon as possible. "Shi Congyun stood at the end of the line, and he was still the tallest and most handsome boy among many big men.

With his position, if Shi Congyun didn't value it very much, he wouldn't have the chance to face the saint, so Jing Si stepped forward to take the order.

Afterwards, the army began to eat. Shi Congyun did not do anything special, but ate the same wheat cakes as the soldiers. This time it was different from the war in Shu. That time the staple food was rice, but this time it was wheat cakes.

Three years of bumper harvests in Hebei, coupled with the capture of Luzhou, brought benefits that more than 4 troops gathered under the city of Taiyuan, and they were still able to control their food. The soldiers did not have to fight hungry. Home is so much nicer than it used to be.

In the afternoon, more than 60 guns of the Shenhuo Army moved to the front and deployed in front of Taiyuan.

Where the two wings are closer, many catapults and bed crossbows have also been set up, densely spread out under the city, stretching for several miles, aiming at Taiyuan City in the distance.

That night, the lights outside the city were brightly lit, and the army did not launch an attack because the follow-up gunpowder and ammunition were not fully prepared.

Shooting a cannon is a technical job. The adjustment of the heat gun and the calibration of the cannon must be done step by step. You must not be sloppy. The light is not good at night, so it is difficult to calibrate. Cannonballs and artillery are precious things, so after asking for instructions, Shi Congyun allowed them to do it again tomorrow. Start playing.

On that day, many Northern Han troops in the surrounding area surrendered, and many of them came from the counties around Taiyuan to surrender. Shi Congyun accepted their surrender, and then organized these people into a new group just like the Jiannan Army in Shu. The army is called Jincheng Army.

After lunch, Shi Congyun thought about it and asked someone to bring Liu Jiye.

Soon Liu Jiye was brought over. His hair and beard were messy, but his complexion was not bad. It seemed that no one abused him as a prisoner.

Shi Congyun waved his hands to let the people around him back down.

This time Liu Jixun took the initiative to bow down, the situation was completely different from when he was captured, his eyes were full of shock and fear, once it came from the heart, it was hard to hide that look.

Shi Congyun didn't look at him, just said: "Get up."

Then he pointed at Taiyuan City in the distance: "Look how long Taiyuan can hold on."

Liu Jiye refused, Shi Congyun continued: "Your elder brother Yang Jixun raised troops in Linzhou, although there are not many people, but he also fought across the Yellow River to cooperate with the imperial court.

The Zhe family in Fuzhou is a member of the Dangxiang clan, and they also understand the righteousness. They crossed the Yellow River and went east to conquer Lanzhou. They came to Xianzhou. Do you think your name is Liu Jiye? "

Liu Jiye was stunned on the spot, bowed his head in guilt, and couldn't say a word.

Shi Congyun said directly: "You will be called Yang Jiye from now on."

This time Yang Jiye did not refute.

"There are more than 3000 surrendered troops in Hedong. I'm going to reorganize into an army. How about you lead the army?" Shi Congyun changed the subject, and suddenly said, what he said was as common as eating and drinking, so that Yang Jiye Impossible to react in an instant, he froze on the spot.

"I'm asking you something." Shi Congyun said.

Only then did Yang Jiye come to his senses, he was speechless for a moment, and after a while he knelt down on one knee and said: "Your Majesty, I don't have that kind of virtue, and I dare not accept the gift."

Shi Congyun turned his head slightly, and looked down at him condescendingly: "You are ashamed."

Yang Jiye turned his head: "I have a clear conscience."

"With a clear conscience, I dare not lead the children from my hometown."

"No. It's just that someone wants to die."

"It's easy for you to die, but that's just a coward's act. Look at what He Dong looks like now." Shi Congyun's arms swept around, covering all the dense camps, flickering lights, and sparse figures in the distance. in both arms.

"My army is invincible, it came easily, and no one can stop me. You must think how proud and proud I am in my heart now, how proud and happy I am."

Shi Cong looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle from the clouds, chose an angle he thought was the most handsome, and said deeply: "What I'm worried about is what will happen to Hedong after the army leaves, and after I leave.

It's fine if you don't dare to take on the responsibility, just go if you want to die, Zhejia, your elder brother Yang Jixun is capable. "

Yang Jiye's complexion changed, and then he knelt down with a plop, and kowtowed to him three times in succession, "I am willing to do my best for Your Majesty! I beg Your Majesty to forgive me."

Shi Congyun turned around and nodded with satisfaction, "I pardon your guilt. From now on, you will be called Yang Jiye, and you will be appointed as the commander of the Jincheng Army. Messed up."

"No!" Yang Jiye immediately agreed.

At night, there was a cold wind blowing over the city of Taiyuan. Soldiers came and went lighting torches and dared not stop. Some fell asleep lying on the side of the female wall.

For a while, Guo Wanchao shivered from the cold, but he didn't speak. The people around him held his arm tightly, and could feel the trembling coming from him.

The young man is Liu Jien, the most beloved adopted son of the king. The king has no children, and everyone thinks that Liu Jien will be the prince in the future.

Now the lord is seriously ill and the Qin army is besieging the city. At this critical moment, the lord really urgently appointed Liu Jien as the prince.

Tonight, the prince was sent to the city to check the situation and stabilize the morale of the army. He was accompanied by two prime ministers, Zhao Huari and Guo Wuwei, and more than two hundred elite soldiers.

As soon as the two prime ministers went up to the top of the wall, they gasped and were speechless, but they were not at a loss yet, and the young Liu Ji'en seemed even more so.

The trembling in his hands was clearly detectable, and the fear in his eyes flowed in the light of night, like most soldiers overlooking from the top of the city.

The outside of Taiyuan City is like a fluorescent sea. The flames are flickering in the wilderness, the figures are flickering, and the brilliance reflects the sky. You can vaguely hear the voices of Qin Jun shouting and cheering. sharp contrast.

"I heard that Shi Congyun is a murderer." He tried his best to pretend to be calm, so that he could be calm.

Guo Wuwei frowned, seeing his appearance and the words in his mouth, even his fear disappeared, and he said: "He has fought for so many years, fought against the late emperor, captured Huainan, destroyed the Kingdom of Shu, annexed Nanping, Wuping killed [-] Liao troops in Guanbei, and killing people is not a big deal.

Let me see, Shi Congyun doesn't kill people, if he is allowed to enter the city, tsk tsk."

He deliberately didn't say the next words, seeing the prince's face as white as paper and shaking like a sieve, he felt dark in his heart, and he didn't know why.

Zhao Huari next to him couldn't stand it anymore, and said, "There are still four or five thousand defenders in the city, and today all the young and strong in the city have been issued with swords, soldiers and crossbows. As long as they are called to the top of the city, there are at least [-] defenders." .

The envoy asking for help is already on the way, and he will be able to go to Liao Kingdom in a few days. When the army goes south, the siege of Taiyuan will be lifted, just hold on for a few days. "

Hearing what he said, Guo Wanchao snorted coldly and said no more.

Liu Jien, however, seemed to be grasping at a straw, and asked excitedly, "Is what Xianggong said true!"

Zhao Huari hesitated a little, but still nodded: "It's true, at such a critical time, the king is too ill to get out of bed, the crown prince must cheer up, be a model for the army and the people, and lead everyone to unite as one, think about one thing, and work together Only by doing so can we overcome this difficulty.”

With such an argument, the short-legged prince felt a little more at ease.

Guo Wuwei on the side didn't speak, and everyone didn't know what he was thinking. After a long time, he answered: "The city of Taiyuan is fortified, and the Qin army has no reason to attack in a short time.

It's a pity that we miscalculated. We originally thought that there could be [-] to [-] defenders in the city. If we mobilize soldiers from various states and counties to defend Taiyuan, the chances of winning are great.

Unexpectedly, Xiang Gong, the forward general of the Qin army, is indeed a character. I guess he came up from the Shunfen River Valley in Jinzhou in the middle of the river.

The so-called military is expensive and fast, and surprise wins, probably so," he sighed and shook his head.

Guo Wanchao interrupted him: "They haven't won yet, what are you talking about before the war?"

The atmosphere was a little awkward and tense, but fortunately, Guo Wuwei just bowed his hands and led his entourage down the city without any dispute.

It was dawn soon, and Guo Wanchao stayed at the top of the city all night. He was half asleep and half awake in the middle of the night. Taiyuan City was solid, but he didn't dare to go down to the top of the city.

According to the defense of Jiancheng, although the situation is unfavorable, there is still some support in their hearts. The soldiers still feel that they can defend, so there is hope, and I am afraid it will be tragic.

When the morning sun rose and the cold air at the top of the city gradually dissipated, the scene below the city in the distance began to become clear.

Both Guo Wanchao and the defenders at the top of the city found that hundreds of steps away from the city, there were many strange mounds of earth, with iron pipes placed one by one on it, which looked like fifty or sixty.

A large number of bed crossbows and trebuchets, which frightened them, were placed on the flanks.

Everyone was puzzled, and they boldly lay on the top of the city and laughed: "Does the Qin army want to attack the city with a few iron pipes?"

After a low sound fell, the flames suddenly flickered in the distance, and one after another flames flashed in front of the Qin army's formation, and then countless blue smoke filled the air and rose into the air.

Everyone was stunned for a moment, and then they all looked into the distance curiously. Soon, bursts of explosions like thunder from the blue sky rang in their ears. The whistling sound they had never heard before.

Before Guo Wanchao could react, he suddenly saw the bricks and stones of the female wall at the top of the city shattered and splashed, and the head of a soldier watching a theater a few steps away suddenly exploded, and red and white sticky things sprinkled on him.

Guo Wanchao felt his scalp go numb all of a sudden, his brain couldn't turn around at all, his limbs trembled uncontrollably, and he sat down on the ground.

Then there were wailing and screaming not far away. It turned out that a soldier who was a dozen steps away flew to nowhere, holding his broken arm and wailing loudly.

Someone reacted, crying and shouting that Qin Jun will be a demon!

Guo Wanchao got up, walked over in a few steps, cut him down to the ground with a single knife, stabilized the morale of the army, and then gasped: "Everyone stay away! Whoever dares to retreat before the battle, he will end up!"

It was only then that the ground was stabilized, but after a while, there was another burst of flames on the Qin army's position in the distance, the top of the city roared sharply, and the female wall was smashed to pieces.

This time he saw it a bit clearly, it seemed to be something like a boulder, but it was too fast, the projectile was so fast that he could only see a shadow, people would die if they touched it, and hurt if they touched it!

Guo Wanchao was so terrified that he even asked people to hide behind the female wall and not show their heads.

The explosions on the Qin army's position didn't stop all morning. There were broken stones and bricks everywhere on the top of the city. The terrifying power could easily break the bricks and stones within hundreds of steps. Fortunately, they were hiding behind the female wall. , no more casualties.

But slowly Guo Wanchao felt that something was wrong. Since the thing could no longer hurt them, why did Qin Jun keep releasing it all morning?

Are they stupid, or do they just want to scare the townspeople?There were indeed many tile-roofed houses near the city wall in the city that were directly knocked down by the Qin army almost a mile away, making big holes, which made him terrified.

But it doesn't hurt anyone, or Qin Jun didn't expect them to dodge like this, if they didn't expect this, Qin Jun would be too stupid
Just when he was puzzled, someone beside him yelled: "Qin Jun is nothing special, and I think he is mediocre. With this little ability, I cover my ears and they can do anything to me." It immediately caused a burst of laughter.

One sentence shocked him into a cold sweat, and he said, "Send someone down to look at the city gate!"

With such a loud voice, they couldn't hear the movement at all. What if Zhou Jun didn't just fight against the city wall, but also the city gate all morning!

The city wall is made of rammed earth bricks several feet wide, but the city gate is only a thick plank!

A dozen soldiers led the order and walked down the female wall, but only halfway there, the loud noise from the Zhou army's position in the distance stopped, and the guards at the top of the city carefully looked up curiously, and saw a large number of blue In the smoke, many soldiers of the Qin Army in solid armor crossed the moat and rushed towards the city gate.

The defenders at the top of the city wanted to stop it instinctively, but Guo Wanchao was terrified, he just wanted to turn around and run away, because he heard the sound of the city gate below falling to the ground in the chaos.
(End of this chapter)