On the occasion of rebirth Zhou Sui

Chapter 590 Attack on Wudang
The focus of everyone's attention is on Xiangfan. On the surface, in Anyang County, there are Cui Che's 13 cavalry and [-] naval troops.

On the south bank of the Han River, the garrison troops from various counties in the Sui Dynasty were also scrambling to rescue Xiangyang.

At this time, the Han River was in the Xiyang County section, and there were no Sui Dynasty ships patrolling on the river.

This was partly because the governor of Xiyang was taking it lightly. After all, Cui Che was confronting the Xiangyang army in Anyang County.

It is also related to the fact that he divided his troops to rush to Xiangyang, resulting in the empty defense of Xiyang County.

Xiyang is different from Xiangyang, it is just a small county.

Three thousand infantry were dispatched, and some soldiers could still be left to guard the city, but the two thousand naval army had almost mobilized all the water resources of Xiyang County.

Cheng Yaojin rushed to the crossing point and ordered people to build a pontoon bridge overnight.

The soldiers of the Yan army followed Cui Che in the north and south. Although they were not familiar with water warfare, they were good at building pontoon bridges.

During the Battle of Song and Jin Dynasties, Song general Liu Qi once built five pontoon bridges overnight, inviting the Jin army to cross the river for a decisive battle, and finally defeated Jin Wushu.

The engineering work of the Yan army was not inferior to that of the Song people. That night, three pontoon bridges were erected on the Han River.

The Yan army, which had taken a short rest before, took the opportunity to cross the river and attack Wudang City.

At dawn, the first ray of morning light broke through the long night. With the faint light, the defenders on guard on the city wall discovered in horror that an army was approaching Wudang City.

Looking from a distance, we can see a dense group of soldiers and horses.

Warning horns sounded throughout the city, but the Yan army did not give the defenders time to assemble. After arriving outside Wudang City, they immediately launched an attack.

The war drums roared, and the Yan army carried the ladder and swarmed toward Wudang City like ants.

Cheng Yaojin, who was supervising the battle from the rear, suddenly turned around and asked Xu Shiji:

"Brother Xu, do you know why your Majesty wants me to be your chief general?"

The relationship between the two warmed up during this period, and Cheng Yaojin no longer called him Deputy General Xu.

Of course Xu Shiji knew the reason. He smiled and said:

"In the Central Plains War, Brother Cheng captured three cities in Heyang one after another, occupied the river bridge, and opened the road to Luoyang. His Majesty rated it as his first achievement."

Cheng Yaojin was quite pleased with himself when he heard this:
"That's right, Your Majesty thinks that I, Old Cheng, am an expert at attacking cities and strongholds, so I will lead the partial army.

"I can still take the three cities of Heyang, let alone this mere Wudang County!"

He was full of confidence. As he spoke, he said to Xu Shiji:
"The matter of supervising the war will be left to Brother Xu."

Xu Shiji was horrified. He knew that Cheng Yaojin couldn't bear the loneliness and wanted to personally participate in the siege.

"Has Governor Cheng forgotten what happened to Duke Tang (Li Yuan) before him?
"I know that Brother Cheng is a brave general in the army, but life and death are small matters, and we must not miss His Majesty's important events."

Xu Shi actively dissuaded him.

Cheng Yaojin was stunned for a moment and remembered that he was now the commander-in-chief of the army, not the vanguard.

What he had to do was not to be the first to climb up the mountain bravely. Li Yuan learned from the past. It was clear that Zhangye City was about to be captured by Xue Ju, but because he was accidentally killed by a boulder, he had to retreat in anger.

Now if I try to be brave for a moment, I will definitely make this trip fail.

"Thanks to Brother Xu for reminding me."

Cheng Yaojin said with shame.

Soon, Xu Shiji pointed in the direction of Wudang City with a smile and said:
"Brother Cheng, please see, the soldiers can storm the city without you personally."

Cheng Yaojin nodded and smiled, the corners of his mouth reaching to the base of his ears.At this time, the defense in Wudang City was insufficient due to the division of troops to support Xiangyang.

The Yan army suddenly launched an attack, and the defenders were unprepared and could only respond hastily. There were not enough soldiers and horses on the city wall to resist the Yan army's tidal attack.

When the reinforcements from the city arrived one after another, the Yan army had already established a firm foothold on the city wall, and the people below the city were constantly climbing up the city wall.

The governor of Xiyang's eyes were about to burst. He didn't understand when the Yan army came to Xiyang again when it was clearly north of Xiangyang.

"Prefect, let's go quickly. The Yan thieves have occupied the north wall. There are only a few soldiers in the city and we can't drive them down. If you don't leave, you will become prisoners of the Yan people!"

The county magistrate pulled the sleeve of the Xiyang governor and urged him.

They were not able to climb the city tower, and they did not know how many Yan troops were outside the city. They only heard that it stretched as far as the eye could see, with no less than 4 or [-] people.

The prefect of Xiyang didn't even know whether it was the entire Yan army or the vanguard.

Seeing that the situation was irreversible, the prefect of Xiyang gritted his teeth and stomped his feet:

"go!"

Then he led a group of cronies and escaped through the east gate together with the Wudang County Magistrate.

The battle ended when it was daylight. After the prefect of Xiyang and the magistrate of Wudang abandoned the city, all the few defenders in Wudang City also laid down their weapons.

Cheng Yaojin and Xu Shiji led the army into the city from the north gate.

However, unlike in previous civil wars, the first thing the Yan army did after seizing the city was to issue a notice to calm the people.

Cheng Yaojin immediately ordered all the people in the city to be driven out of the city, including the surrendered soldiers who had previously laid down their weapons and surrendered.

Fear and uneasiness permeated Wudang City. They were afraid that Cheng Yaojin's move was to massacre the city and surrender.

The people of Wudang, regardless of age or sex, were unarmed and were surrounded by the ferocious Yan army in the open space outside the city.

If it weren't for Cui Che's tolerance during the civil war, they would have revolted long ago.

Of course, it is also possible that they were afraid of the Yan army's weapons and did not dare to raise their arms and shout until the last moment.

Just when the Wudang people were scared, the Yan army that drove them outside the city made a gap, and cartloads of clothes were pushed over. If you look closely, they are all Yan army uniforms.

Amid the incomprehension and doubts of the Wudang people, Cheng Yaojin appeared in front of everyone. He shouted with a loud voice:
"I am Emperor Yan's consort, my name is Cheng Yaojin, and I am also the vanguard general in this battle.

"The Emperor of Dayan is now leading his troops. I hope you can wear the robes of our Yan army to strengthen the momentum of our Dayan army.

"I will not force you to attack the city or participate in the battle. You only need to follow me to Xiangyang. Afterwards, I will let you return to Wudang.

"Emperor Dayan has issued an edict. If the people of Wudang can obey the destiny and help the king, you will be exempted from paying taxes for five years after the war.

"Your Majesty is merciful, but I, Cheng Yaojin, am a rough man, if there is a stubborn person who refuses to serve Dayan, I shall slaughter his clan and divide up his wives and daughters with the soldiers.

“Where to go, it’s up to you to choose!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd seemed to explode.

The choice between five years of tax exemption and the slaughter of the clan and humiliation of the wife and daughter was not difficult.

After all, for them, the so-called righteousness is actually far away.

One, two. More and more Wudang people happily stepped forward to receive Yanjun robes. They looked at each other pretending to be Yanjun, and the crowd burst into laughter from time to time.

　not tonight
　　
　
(End of this chapter)