Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 474 Strong City
The catapult creaked, and the long wooden arm twisted twice, and finally bounced up, throwing up the stones in the net bag.

Cui Qianyou stood on the high battle platform, looking at Chang'an City eagerly, his eyes followed the stone across the arc, and fell to the head of Chang'an City. This time, the defenders were not hit, but a piece of the battlement was shattered.

If we expect to break into Chang'an like this, it will take until the year of the monkey. What this stone wants to break is actually the psychological defense of the defenders.

"It's almost here, I feel like I'm about to win it."

"Who would have thought that there would be a fake emperor sitting in the city." Tian Chengsi said: "If I were an official in Chang'an, I would have left the city and surrendered two days ago."

The sentinels of the Yan army had received news that Li Heng had ascended the throne in Lingwu and proclaimed himself emperor, and accused Li Cong of sending Xue Bai to kill the emperor. This move certainly provided great help to the Yan army in their attack on the city.

As soon as Cui Qianyou heard about it, he ordered thousands of letter arrows to be fired into Chang'an City, and he only waited for the generals in the city to open the door to dedicate the city. He waited for two or three days. He guessed that Yan Zhenqing, Xue Bai, and Wang Raolan They all have their own tricks, perhaps to suppress the restless hearts, but can fire wrapped in paper be contained?
"Report!"

"Marshal, an envoy from the city has arrived, saying he wants to 'appease' us."

Before Cui Qianyou and Tian Chengsi could speak, the surrounding generals were already laughing loudly, mocking the mediocrity of the Tang court for being so self-righteous after being reduced to this level.

This so-called "appeasement" is simply surrender.

Wang Nan asked: "So easy?"

"There were cattle and sheep. The rebels drove the cattle and sheep to the banks of the Wei River to graze."

"Brother Zhenyi, you have worked hard, please go and rest. You have made great achievements today, and you will definitely report them to the saint."

"Let me ask you, are you not afraid of death if you dare to come to my camp?"

"He was talking to Cui Qianyou. Cui Qianyou kept holding his shoulders and discussing things in low voices. We didn't hear what they said."

He painted very carefully, and Xue Bai looked at it very carefully. Finally, he asked: "Where is the food and grass?"

Li Qijun shook his head and said: "I didn't see a particularly obvious flag, but I guess it is about two hundred steps east of the Chinese army's tent."

Xue Bai stood on the top of the city, his telescope following the knights coming from far outside the city, and gradually he could see Li Qijun's face, which still had a solemn expression.

Xue Bai looked at the map drawn by Li Qijun, picked up a few war games and played with it on it.

Everyone else retreated.

Wang Nan said: "Tell me."

"General, there is something Li Yushi didn't say."

The drumbeat of curfew has not sounded for a long time, and there is no need for curfew in Chang'an today.

He was a middle-aged official in his thirties, wearing a green official robe. He had an imposing appearance and a dignified appearance. He showed no fear of the Yan army's weapons. After boarding the platform, he first looked around and then stepped forward. Walking towards Cui Qianyou with eight-character steps.

Xue Bai asked: "What kind of person is he?"

"How to guess?"

Cui Qianyou raised his hand to beckon Li Qijun to come to him. Then, he suddenly grabbed his shoulders and used the rudeness of a border town general to break the pretentiousness of the Tang court envoy.

"Since King Zhong has ascended the throne in Lingwu, we will inevitably be unable to defend Chang'an. The best way is to avoid entering Shu County and let the rebels fight with King Zhong in Guanzhong. Therefore, he believes in our sincerity." Li Qijun said : "But he may not be sincere. He will probably send someone to set up an ambush on Ziwu Road tonight."

~~
Evening, Chang'an City.

"He really wants to win." Li Qijun said, "I told him that we can hand over Chang'an City. The only requirement is that we retreat to Shu County. He agreed and will retreat sixty miles tomorrow so that we can take the The saint enters the Ziwu Way."

He asked many more details, and the sky turned dark before he knew it.

"ambitious?"

"The two sides are fighting, and the envoys will not be killed."

"I met Cui Qianyou."

Xue Bai asked: "How is the rebel camp?"

"Got it, let's go."

Xue Bai asked: "Does he want to win?"

After Li Qijun left, several soldiers who accompanied him on the mission stayed behind.

"Serve the country, that's what you should do."

Li Qiyun said: "Of course it is the will of the saint."

"Whose order did you follow?" Cui Qianyou asked.

The city gate was opened and closed again after letting Li Qijun return to the city. Xue Bai went to the city tower and asked people to summon Wang Nannan. Soon, they gathered together to discuss.

"Very good, his eyes look like he could light a fire and burn down Chang'an."

Soon, Tang Ting's envoy was brought over.

"Li Qijun, the censor of the Tang Dynasty, was ordered to recruit Fan Yang's generals."

"With a stalwart figure, he must have such a good physique. His family background should not be too bad. And judging from his conversation, he has been educated before and is both civil and military. He is probably from the Bolingcui family. But his palms are very rough, and he is not only capable of holding a knife. The cocoon formed must be that she has done a lot of heavy work since she was a child, or she is a member of a poor family, or she is a member of the common people, an orphan, and a widowed mother who has been bullied in the clan for a long time.

"Open the city gate."

Xue Bai nodded and said: "Looking at this location, this is indeed a place where the rebels are gathering food."

"It's fake." Cui Qianyou patted Li Qijun on the shoulder and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "I mean, the saint in Chang'an City is fake. I have already heard the news about Lingwu. You can't hide it. I."

"Cui Qianyou met me on the viewing platform, and I took the opportunity to observe his camp." Li Qiyun then picked up his pen and started to draw, saying: "The army is 70,000, divided into 21 armies, and the 20 armies are all sixty The central army has a large camp. Both the Prince of Peiping and General Wang know this. This is a large camp. There are forty camps inside. The camp fence is five feet high and eight feet wide. There are two trenches, three feet wide and one foot deep. There is a horse trap on the first floor, and a horse pit is set up about thirty steps in front of the camp gate. War towers and watchtowers are built every hundred steps. Three paths are opened in the camp. The place is in the center of the flags and drums, with a shield in front and a crossbow in the back, a spear on the left and a halberd on the right, twelve flags, sixteen drums..."

He deliberately moved closer so that Li Qijun would not have to worry about being heard by others and would dare to talk...

At present, the people of Chang'an City are shaking, and they urgently need a victory to stabilize people's hearts. At the same time, they send people to break out and contact all the troops.

If Cui Qianyou really retreated sixty miles tomorrow as promised, he planned to lead a group of troops to occupy the rebel camp, destroy it, and seize the food and grass. Of course, it is impossible for all the rebels to withdraw, and people will inevitably be left to guard the camp. This plan is not easy to succeed.

"How do you say it?" Wang Nan asked.

"Cui Qianyou must be deceiving and will hide some cavalry in the camp. Waiting for us to escort the holy driver south, he will intercept us at any time."

Changing the topic, Xue Bai said: "But not too soon. Since we promised him to hand over Chang'an City, if he takes action too quickly, he will only scare us back into the city. Therefore, he will wait until all our troops leave the city. Then, when 10,000 people leave the city, we will immediately attack the rebel camp."

"What if Cui Qianyou's ambush was faster?"

"No. The most critical part of this plan is that we can send out sentry horses."

Wang Nan said: "Also, we must consider the reaction in Chang'an City once people find out that the saint has fled again."

"So we must be quick. We must let the soldiers and civilians of Chang'an see the fire in the rebel camp before they have time to panic."

"Last question, do you believe Li Qiyun? He is the Li family of Zhao County. You just offended his tribe not long ago."

Xue Bai said: "Do you know why I want him to be the messenger? It is precisely because of his identity that it is possible for Cui Qianyou to believe."

~~
In the Yan army camp, Tian Chengsi also asked: "Do we really want to let them go to Shu County?"

"Of course not." Cui Qianyou said, "Isn't it easier to intercept and kill on Ziwu Road than to attack Chang'an?"

"Will something happen if we retreat sixty miles? What if there is some trick?"

"I believe what Li Qijun said." Cui Qianyou pondered and said slowly: "He told me that he was born in the Li family of Zhao County, a prominent family. He and Xue Bai were Jinshi in the same year as Tianbao Seven Years, but not long ago, Xue Bai While collecting food in Chang'an, he killed two elders of his clan."

"What does this mean?"

"It can be seen that Li Qijun has a grudge against Xue Bai." Cui Qianyou said: "The corrupt and cohesive virtues of the wealthy families have always been like this..."

As the night passed and it dawned, large groups of rebels began to withdraw to the east.

Soon, the Tang army in Chang'an City saw it, and sent out sentry horses to observe the rebels' position, like a timid mouse that had to see if the cat was there before daring to come out of the hole.

To Cui Ganyou's surprise, a Tang Army sentry horse rushed to his formation and asked him why there were still soldiers and horses in the camp.

"I should leave people to guard the camp. If you are afraid of this, the worst thing you can do is tell your saint not to go to Sichuan and Shu. I will ask the saint of Dayan to make him a prince."

In short, he could retreat sixty miles, but only sixty miles. Li Longji and Li Congai could not escape.

~~
"The rebels actually retreated."

"Get ready to leave the city."

"Okay." Wang Nan said, "You are more dangerous than me in the city, so take care."

"rest assured."

Xue Bai was still busy and turned around to do other things, but Wang Nan called him again.

"how?"

"are you hungry?"

"Kind of."

Wang Nan said: "Wait, I will bring food back."

"Okay, it's almost done."

Xue Bai rushed to the city wall and saw more than thirty postmen waiting there, each holding three good horses.

He took out a pile of letters from his arms and handed them to them respectively.

"The city gate will open in a while, and General Wang will defeat the rebels. You take the opportunity to leave the city. Go to Hanzhong. When you arrive, ask Shi Gaoshi, the governor of Tongyi County. He told King Qin a month ago that he must have passed Hanzhong. If you see him, you will Give this letter to him. If there is no trace of his whereabouts, ask if there are brothers Tian Shengong and Tian Shenyu from the Jiannan Army."

"Here."

Xue Bai picked up another letter, glanced at it, and said: "You go up to the party..."

This assignment took a lot of time, and it was already noon when everything was explained. Xue Bai climbed to the top of the city again, looked around with a telescope, and heard the report from the sentry horse, and learned that the main force of the rebels had indeed retreated sixty miles.

But it was unclear how many people remained in the camp.

The city gate opened, and Wang Nan led his soldiers slowly out of the city. The team wanted to make the rebel sentries think they were escorting the holy driver away, but also not cause panic in the city, so they brought many carriages, which were actually empty.

The person riding beside Wang Rao is Li Qijun. He will serve as a guide and lead the troops to sneak attack on the main camp of the rebels.

Xue Bai watched them go away, and the telescope finally focused on Li Qijun's back.

It is actually not difficult to customize a plan. The plan this time was what Xue Bai learned when he discussed the art of war with Zhang Xun in Yongqiu. Zhang Xun said that the art of war cannot be rigid. As the saying goes, "soldiers never tire of deception", so they should deceive the enemy more.

But the difficulty lies in decision-making. While you want to deceive the enemy, you may also be deceived by the opponent.

For example, Xue Bai considered the possibility of Li Qijun being bribed by Cui Qianyou. In the current situation in Chang'an, there are actually many people who want to surrender to the rebels.

Time passed little by little, and half an hour after the team left the city, chaos broke out again in Chang'an City.

"The saint has escaped again!"

The defenders in Nancheng finally saw the carriage in Wang Ran's team, and couldn't help shouting in horror. Xue Bai was prepared and immediately led his people to suppress them.

According to his plan, he would soon be able to see the king's rare attack on the rebel camp from the top of the city, which should be able to appease the people in the city.

But the panic spread quickly. The soldiers and civilians of Chang'an experienced being abandoned, surrounded, and threatened by hunger and death, and the news that Li Heng proclaimed himself emperor in Lingwu was also spreading.

In this case, many people cannot listen to the truth.

"The saint is in the palace, but the rebels have withdrawn! You can see it with your own eyes..."

I thought these were all things that were easy to prove, but instead of calming down, the chaos began to intensify, which reminded Xue Bai of one word - Ying Xiao.

~~
"Chicken prodigy, what should I do?"

In the chaos, Jia Chang was suddenly grabbed by someone, and a series of questions followed.

"In your opinion, is the saint still in Chang'an? I'm really confused."

Jia Chang felt his ears buzzing and was upset.

He was originally just an official who entertained the saints in cockfights, but after Chang'an was besieged, he and the children of Jifang were recruited to defend the city.

During this period of time, he has experienced many difficulties and obstacles. Fortunately, first Yan Zhenqing came back, and then Xue Bai came back. These two sons-in-law took charge of the overall situation and gradually stabilized the situation, making Jia Chang think, Maybe I can become a good general.

Jia Chang has actually done well recently, shouldering countless pressures and swallowing countless panics.

But neither his fighting cock nor his soldiers knew that in the dead of night, he would find a dark corner under the city wall and cry silently. Because he missed the luxurious life in the past so much, he became a man guarding Chang'an. Although he felt honored and proud of himself, he really couldn't bear it anymore.

Yan Zhenqing always inspires him. He also wants to be a hero, but being a hero is not that easy.

He was hungry and afraid of pain. He was afraid of death and even more afraid of being disabled.

On the day of guarding the city, one day's good news will be tomorrow's bad news. Today it is said that Xue Bai welcomed back the saint, and tomorrow it is said that Li Heng proclaimed himself emperor in Lingwu. He really couldn't stand such a surprise.

Finally, with a shout, without even confirmation, Jia Chang's heartstrings collapsed.

"what!"

He vented the fear in his heart. He was too lazy to care whether the saint had escaped or not. He was too lazy to care whether Wang Nan went to kill the enemy or what. He didn't care anymore. He wanted to be a deserter. At this moment, he felt that he was detached.

So Jia Chang dropped his sword, took off his armor, and ran down the city.

"Stop! If you run away again I'll shoot!"

A cavalry of forbidden troops came over, shouting loudly, and pointed their bows at him.

Jia Chang looked back, with a look of pleading in his eyes, and said, "It's me, the chicken prodigy. I've always been very good to the Imperial Army. Please, let me go. I can't bear it."

The imperial cavalry shook his head and said: "The saint is still in the city, but the rebels have retreated. You will know when you go to the top of the city."

"I can't stand it anymore."

Jia Chang ignored him, turned around and ran away. He knew that he might be shot to death by an arrow, but he was so cowardly. He had already tried to be strong, but he couldn't do it.

He was not hit by the arrow, and the Imperial Guard cavalry actually let him go.

There was a commotion in the city of Chang'an. He fled through the streets and alleys until he ran outside the Da Ci'en Temple. Looking up, he could see the tall Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

He looked around and entered the temple, but unexpectedly found that the temple had been temporarily converted into a camp for wounded soldiers. Across the bamboo garden, he could vaguely see the young novices carrying wounded soldiers to treat them, and they heard groans. It came from time to time.

Jia Chang then bowed his head and walked through the bamboo garden until he hid in a secluded and narrow corner behind the main hall. He huddled in a dog hole and felt the safety he had not seen for a long time.

Gradually, as night fell, there was another shouting in Chang'an City. It was not known whether the rebels had entered the city or whether the king had returned from a rare occasion. Jia Chang no longer wanted to inquire and just stayed there.

It was not until dawn that he felt hungry and smelled a faint fragrance. He had no choice but to get up and follow the fragrance. Hiding in the darkness behind the tree, I saw a young novice carrying a food box to a meditation room.

"Amitabha, the steamed buns for the strong men have been delivered."

An injury was being treated in the Zen room, and there were loud screams. The young novice couldn't bear to watch, so he put down his food box and left.

Jia Chang then tiptoed over, took two steamed buns, hurriedly ran back to his dog hole, gnawed one steamed bun, and fell asleep contentedly.

In the dream, Jia Chang returned to the prosperous age of Tianbao. He was fighting cocks, gambling, drinking and having fun in Xingqing Palace, and was intoxicated. In a daze, someone patted his face.

"Don't touch me." Jia Chang drooled.

Then, he suddenly remembered something, and suddenly woke up from the dream of a prosperous world, and fell back into this terrible troubled world.

Standing in front of him was a wounded soldier wrapped in a wrap. He pointed at the steamed bun in his hand and said, "You stole my thing."

"Don't kill me!" Jia Chang cried loudly and knelt on the ground begging for mercy.

"deserter?"

"No, no, please don't take me back. I really... can't do it anymore..."

"Chicken Boy?"

"Do you recognize me?" Jia Changfu had hope and begged: "Let me go. I'm really not made for fighting. I was born to only fight cocks!"

"Chicken Boy, don't you remember me? I'm your chicken boy!"

"what?"

Jia Chang was stunned for a moment, looked at him again, and found that the other person was not as tall as he thought. He also spoke with a southern accent. He must be one of his subordinates.

"I used to feed chickens in the chicken farm. I was too stupid and almost got beaten to death. It was you who saved me. Oh, this is for you to eat. I have made a meritorious service and was rewarded with a lot of rations. I killed two enemies last night. More The reward hasn’t come yet!”

The wounded soldier became more and more excited as he spoke, waving his hands and touching the wound, grinning in pain, but his eyes were shining brightly.

"I followed General Wang, and we attacked the rebel camp! I'm about to be promoted to a regular position. Jijitong, which army are you in?"

"Don't worry about where I am." Jia Chang asked doubtfully, "Are you very skilled in martial arts?"

"I don't know how to do martial arts!"

"Then you can kill two enemies?"

"What you taught me is that in cockfighting, you need momentum. When facing the enemy, you have to risk your life...hiss."

The wounded soldier finally fell to the ground, but the light in his eyes did not fade at all.

Later, Jia Chang found out that he had suffered twenty-eight injuries, large and small, all over his body. If it hadn't been for his thick armor, he would have been dead.

"Why are you so desperate?"

"I have to defend Chang'an!"

Faced with this natural answer, Jia Chang was stunned for a moment and said: "You are not from Chang'an, with your accent."

"There is no better place in the world than Chang'an. I walked for three whole months to get to Chang'an. I was shocked as soon as I entered the city. This is the place where gods live..."

Jia Chang suddenly remembered who this person was. He was a countryman from Lingnan. Everyone in Jifang enjoyed making fun of him, but they didn't expect that he would become a fierce pawn now.

"Chicken prodigy, shall we kill the enemy together? The saint did not escape. We defeated the rebels yesterday. We can defend Chang'an!"

"I, I can't." Jia Chang still shook his head, hot tears rolled down from his eyes, and he cried: "Although I am from Chang'an, I am too timid. I really, really can't stand it. Oh... I'm a waste."

After a while, the wounded soldier stood up and said, "Okay, then when we hold Chang'an, you can fight cock again. I will give you food tomorrow."

Jia Chang was still crying and at a loss.

He cried for a long time, looked up, and saw the wounded soldier walking slowly on crutches. He wanted to call him, but couldn't remember his name.

"Well, hero, hero stay!"

"Chicken prodigy, can you call me?"

Jia Chang wiped away his tears and said: "Not everyone can be a hero. It's really hard. I can't bear it. It's really too hard. There's not even one hero out of a hundred who are dead or disabled." , I’m useless, I can’t be a good person...but I know...you are good..."

"Hey, Rooster?"

"General Xiongwu." Jia Chang raised his thumb, "Guard Chang'an..."

~~
Chunming Gate.

Wang Nan was the last one to enter the city, and those who came first before him were a group of cattle and sheep.

"Uu, uh--"

In the past, the fierce generals who killed enemy generals in the midst of thousands of troops did not kill them with spears tonight. Instead, they entered the city in embarrassment, waving their whips and stepping on sheep excrement.

It was Du Wulang who rushed to greet him.

"Where is the King of Peking?"

"I don't know." Du Wulang whispered, "He almost failed to calm the scene."

"How is it possible?" Wang rarely didn't believe it and said, "You can see it from the top of the city, and we haven't gone far."

Over there, Xue Bai was wiping the blood on his hands and holding his trembling right hand with his left hand.

He killed many people today, and they were all people he didn't want to kill. From this, he thought of one thing - if Chang'an was besieged again, the food was exhausted, and reinforcements did not come, might he be forced into a situation where he could choose whether to eat people?

The thought flashed through his mind, and he knew it probably wouldn't be the case. But the fear still began to arise.

Of course, this is just a result of being under siege for a long time and being infected by an atmosphere of panic.

"Xue...oh, King of Beiping!"

Xue Bai turned around and saw Du Wulang waving. Soon, Wang Rao rushed over.

"It's done! A victory today will stabilize the morale of the army and wait for the decisive battle?"

"The messengers have also been sent out." Xue Bai put away his trembling hands and said: "Everything is ready, let's wait for the decisive battle."

"Guess what I brought back?"

"The cattle and sheep, I have seen them."

"Hundreds of cattle and sheep!" Wang Lan laughed heartily. He had never been so happy even when he stabbed the Tubo prince to death with a shot. He said, "Aren't you hungry? You can have a full meal tonight."

"Thanks to you."

After hearing Wang Rao's hearty laughter, Xue Bai lowered his head and glanced at his hand and found that it was no longer shaking.

This time, Wang's rare adventure allowed him to stabilize his own heart, and at the same time, it also stabilized the people of Chang'an.

Chang'an City is still there and can be defended again.

(End of this chapter)