Great Han Empire

Chapter 230 The situation changes suddenly
The sky in western Xinjiang in late autumn is blue, vast and lofty.

In the early morning, a round of golden sun rises slowly, and the soft golden light spreads all over the earth.The big flag on the city tower flutters in the morning wind, the black flag surface and the huge and simple "Han" character are bathed in the golden sun, making a dignified and vicissitudes of life roar. snatch.

Fu Xie felt the powerful force brought to him by the big banner. He raised his head to the sky, raised his hands high, and opened his mouth to let out a roar, as if he wanted to roar out the anger and endless fighting spirit in his heart.

Yesterday, Huang Yan came.Fu Xie hadn't seen him for several years, and the last time they met was when their teacher Liu Kuan passed away.Fu Xie was very happy, pulling Huang Yan to talk non-stop.While drinking, the two recalled the scene when they were studying with the teacher, and had a good talk.They talked about many fellow disciples, some of them died because of the scourge of the party, some were obsessed with the study of Confucian classics, and some retired from official positions. People like them who are still officials in various places and devote themselves to the Han Dynasty too much.

Fu Xie didn't ask Huang Yan why he came, and Huang Yan never mentioned why he came.The two said goodbye.

Looking at Huang Yan's disappearing figure outside the city, Fu Gan asked his father: "This lord has come all the way to talk to you and have a bowl of wine?"

Fu Xie shook his head and did not speak for a long time.He shook his head silently, and said sadly: "The Great Han Kingdom is declining day by day..."

"Boom..."

Suddenly there was a looming sound of war drums in the distance.

Fu Xie and the guards were suddenly startled.Fu Xie rushed to the edge of the city wall in a few steps and listened intently.

"Boom..." The sound of the drums became denser and louder, and gradually became a roar.

The hearts of Yicheng soldiers beat violently with the sound of war drums in the distance.

Fu Xie looked around at his subordinates, saw their nervous and excited faces, and suddenly burst out laughing.

"Haha, it's finally here..." He pointed to the outside of the city and shouted loudly, "Here they come..."

"Beating the drum..."

"Ready to face..."

The violent and berserk sound of war drums soared into the sky in an instant.

=

Hua Xiong jumped up and rushed out of the room like flying.

The sound of war drums, shouts, neighing of mules and horses, and the clash of weapons resounded through the sky, and the tense atmosphere of the coming war suddenly enveloped the entire Yicheng.

Under the leadership of their respective officers, the defensive soldiers are taking their positions in sequence according to different arms.The people in the city have long been organized to undertake different logistical tasks.Now, under the leadership of government officials, they are carrying arrows, stones, wood and other weapons for defending the city to the city wall.

"My lord, the enemy has begun to attack the city." Marquis Zhao Yi greeted Hua Xiong and said loudly, "The horn of the Qiang people's assembly has been sounded for a long time."

Hua Xiong nodded, his thick eyebrows twitched rhythmically a few times, and he said excitedly: "Well done. Although we can't defeat June Thunder's iron cavalry in the wild, we can rely on this tall city wall to defeat June Thunder The cavalry were beheaded at the foot of Yicheng."

He punched the air strike and screamed loudly: "Brothers, it's time to fight..."

=

Huangfuzheng stood on the tower of the west city of Yicheng, staring intently at the army gradually appearing from the distant horizon, with a solemn expression.

He is a descendant of Huangfu's family, and he was the first to follow Huangfusong to conquer the world.After Huangfusong was dismissed, he stayed in the Xiliang battlefield with the eldest son Huangfuhong.After Huangfu Hong's army was ambushed by June's thunder, they suffered heavy losses and stayed in Yicheng.Not long ago, Huangfu Hong transferred Taiwei Zhang Wen to lead the Northern Army, and this army of more than 3000 people was commanded by Fu Xie.Fu Xie was busy with government affairs, so he asked the army Sima Huangfuzheng to lead the army.This time the rebels attacked the city, Fu Xie ordered him to lead his troops to guard the west gate.June Jinglei's army was stationed at the east gate of Yicheng. Huang Fuzheng wanted to take revenge, so he asked Fu Xie several times to switch his army with Hua Xiong's army. He wanted to guard the east gate, but Fu Xie refused.He said to Huangfuzheng: "You have a hot temper, and when you see your enemies, your eyes turn red, and you tend to lose your mind. I only have a small number of people now. If you run out at once, I will find someone to guard them. You are here West gate defense."

"Bian Zhang and Han Sui are here." Junhou Wucheng walked to Huangfuzheng's side and said softly.

Huangfuzheng nodded and sighed: "The battle in Xiliang made people feel more and more chilled."

Marquis Huang Fei looked at him strangely, and asked, "What does your lord mean by that?"

"A few years ago, I often accompanied my lord and the two sons to Jincheng to visit Mr. Bian and Mr. Han, but today?" He pointed to the rebels with flags flying in the distance, and said sadly, "But we have to face each other. fight on the ground."

He looked back at the two subordinates, and said helplessly: "The eldest son is in a hurry to leave Xiliang, it seems that he cannot bear the pain of brotherhood."

There was silence.The big flag standing tall on the city tower screamed in the wind.Huangfuzheng looked up, and saw the huge "Han" character on the big banner rolling violently like a wave, like a dragon about to jump into the sky, ready to go.

Suddenly, his blood was racing.

"All ready?" Huangfuzheng asked.

Wu Cheng and Huang Fei nodded.

"Beating the drum..." Huangfuzheng raised his arms and roared, "The battle has begun..."

=

Because Yicheng is backed by the Wei River and has a convenient terrain, a moat is built along the city.

In Western Xinjiang, there are only a few cities with moats built for city defense, and Yicheng is the largest of them.There is no way to build a city defense measure such as a moat without a water source.Attacking this kind of city with a moat is much more difficult, and the casualties will also multiply.

Of course, Beigong Boyu hoped that Yicheng could get it easily.Last time, under the leadership of Bian Zhang, the army fell down, and the people of Hanyang government abandoned the city and fled. As a result, Yicheng fell without a fight.But not this time.This time, Yicheng was garrisoned by Fu Xie. Fu Xie was a well-known hard-headed man in western Xinjiang.Fu Xie's two subordinates, Hua Xiong and Huang Fuzheng, are also fierce generals in the western border. With their support, Yicheng will be even more difficult to fight.

Beigong Boyu had great expectations for Kuangfengsha to send Fu Xie back to his hometown.Kuang Fengsha and his men knelt outside Yicheng for a whole day, shouting their voices hoarse, and returned to Fu Xie's clean severance.Later, Wang Guo asked Huang Yan to talk about it as a fellowship.It would be a better thing if Fu Xie could be persuaded to join the rebellion.Huang Yan didn't want to go.What kind of person is Fu Xie? When he was still a small Zuojun Sima, he dared to impeach and impeach a traitor, and he was not afraid of beheading at all.Later, when he became Yilang, he scolded Situ Cui Lie in the court hall and wanted to kill Cui Lie.What can you say to this crazy man?But he didn't bother to explain, and rode off alone.After a happy day with Fu Xie, Huang Yan ran back happily, reeking of alcohol.He said to Wang Guo, let's start fighting tomorrow, and then went to sleep.Beigong Boyu got the news and immediately ordered to attack the city the next day.

That night, the leaders of various ministries discussed attacking Yicheng in Beigong Boyu's camp.

Han Sui proposed the safest solution.He believed that since Beigong Boyu had decided to capture Yicheng, the Xiliang army would only occupy and consolidate the entire territory of Xiliang, and would no longer go out to attack Sanfu, so the attack on Yicheng could be done slowly.Play as slowly and steadily as possible to reduce the army's siege losses.

"Under Fu Xie's leadership, the morale of the soldiers and people in the city is high, and their combat effectiveness must be very strong. Under such circumstances, if we blindly attack, the losses will be great." Han Sui pointed to Yicheng on the map and said, " According to the information we have received, Yicheng has only [-] troops, and food and grass are relatively short. If we rely on encirclement and attack as a supplement, and strive to consume a large amount of the enemy's troops and food, then when the enemy's food is exhausted, even if they do not surrender , we can easily take down Yicheng."

Everyone agreed with Han Sui's statement.Beigong Boyu immediately decided to feign an attack by June Jinglei from the east gate and Han Sui from the west gate, and he and the kingdom's army would carry out a strong attack at the south gate.Because the north gate is close to the Wei River, the terrain is narrow, and it is not suitable for the siege army to deploy, so it was abandoned by Beigong Boyu.

In the morning, the army began to move.

韩遂的3万人马攻打翼城西门，六月惊雷的3万人马攻打翼城东门，北宫伯玉的4万人马加上王国的2万人马，武都的一万5000人总共七万5000人攻打南门。13万五千大军象潮水一般扑向了翼城。

=

Beigong Boyu looked at the big flag fluttering high above the city tower, a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"Let's get started." He said lightly.

The war drums rang, and the majestic sound of the war drums suddenly resounded across the battlefield.
In front of the army, Li Wenhou rode on a horse, waved his hand at the flag commanding soldiers, and said: "Order the strong bow battalion, volley, continuous volley."

Ten thousand archers were divided into five square teams and lined up neatly under the city.

The two thousand soldiers of the Strong Bow Battalion fired their first long arrows following an order.The long arrow left the string, flew into the air, and flew towards the tower.Two thousand long arrows merged into a huge black cloud in the air, like two thousand black dragons flying through the clouds and fog. They opened their mouths and let out piercing howls.

Fu Xie opened his eyes angrily, turned his head and shouted wildly: "Raise...shield..."

The shield soldiers raised their long shields obliquely, the archers covered themselves behind the shields, and the spearmen and axemen all fell behind the wall. Everyone looked nervous and waited with bated breath.

The sound of the long arrow tearing through the air was heard instantly, followed by the sound of "boom boom..." as the long arrow smashed into the city wall, and then all the sounds gathered together to form a huge Howling.More long arrows flew into the air in batches at the fastest speed.

Under the cover of the front row of long shield soldiers and the rear strong archers, the four archer phalanxes lined up in the front quickly entered the range within a hundred steps from the city wall.Under the command of the front and rear command flags of the phalanx, and amidst the roars of the phalanx officers, countless long arrows flew away from the longbow. Full of long arrows, they were like locusts all over the sky, covering the sunlight immediately.

The wooden pavilions on the tower of Yicheng groaned in pain under the ravages of the long arrows. They trembled all over, and were pierced by countless sharp arrows beyond recognition.The colorful banners either were shot off and fell or were shot through and broken.The soldiers tried their best to shrink their bodies and hide behind the shields and wall stacks, their expressions were tense and fearful, and no soldier was injured by the long arrows that were ejected.

Fu Xie sat under the walls of the city wall, listening attentively to the movement outside the city.

Li Wenhou pointed to a messenger and said loudly: "Notify the camel and order him to immediately build a bridge over the moat."

"Inform Nie Xiao and Zhanma to bring the siege army and approach the bow and crossbow camp immediately, ready to attack the city."

=

Luo Tuo is a tall and strong man with a loyal face and a thick beard.He is the leader of the Qiang nationality.

Seeing that the Strongbow Battalion was still shooting, he cursed anxiously.Although the bows and arrows of the Strong Bow Battalion have a long range, their accuracy is poor.The moat is about ten steps wide, and the moat is only ten steps away from the city wall, which is within the range of the strong bow.

Baili Yang, the commander of the Bow and Arrow Battalion, was standing next to him. When he saw the camel scolding people, he was very unhappy and said, "What do you mean? You think we are the Leopard Army. We have only trained for a few days. It looks good like this. "

Baili Yang is a tall and thin man with narrow eyes and long hair hanging loose.What he dislikes most is that the Qiang people imitate the Han people to tie their hair.He believes that the Qiang people's hair-dressing is a rule handed down from their ancestors and must not be changed.But now many Qiang people are influenced by the Han people, and the rules of many Qiang people have been changed to nondescript.

The camel glared at him and shouted: "The general has ordered me to rush to the moat to build a bridge immediately."

Baili Yang glanced at him dissatisfied, and said: "You can see clearly, my crossbow battalion hasn't gone up yet, why are you running away? Don't you think it's too late?"

"Then hurry up." The camel called.

"What's the hurry?" Baili Yang said slowly, "Do I want to listen to your command?"

Luo Tuo cursed bitterly, turned around and directed his subordinates to line up and follow closely behind the crossbow battalion.

Baili Yang commanded the four bow and arrow phalanxes in front of them to shoot while advancing another fifty steps in order to cover the bridging troops at close range.

Baili Yang waved at the flag and ordered the soldiers: "Order the Qiangbow Battalion to stop shooting..."

"Order the bow and arrow battalion to make way for the follow-up army."

With the sound of intensive war drums, the dense array of archers suddenly opened up in full rows, giving way to hundreds of roads leading to the city wall.

"Ready to attack..." the camel roared wildly with a shield in one hand and a knife in the other.His army consisted of 50 men.The front and rear sides are covered by shield soldiers, and the soldiers in the middle are holding a six-foot-long ladder.The so-called bridge building is actually to erect long ladders on the moat to allow the subsequent siege troops to pass through.

Baili Yang turned to the camel and shouted, "Camel, it's your turn."

The camel grinned and said, "Shoot the arrow harder, harder."

"Brothers, let's go..." The camel rushed out with the saber held high.

The roar suddenly rose into the sky, and thousands of soldiers rushed out of the archer phalanx and rushed to the front of the empty battlefield.

Baili Yang raised his sword and yelled, "Shoot... intensive volley..."

The array of arrows flying over Yicheng became thicker and thicker, and the piercing whistling sound became more and more shrill.

At this time, Nie Xiao and Zhan Ma rushed to the rear of the bow and crossbow camp with the siege army.

=

Lao Ding is a veteran who has been in the army for 13 years.He's always been thankful he's an archer, which he thinks is the main reason he's alive.Archers are always farther away from the enemy, follow behind the army when chasing, and run in front of the large army when fleeing.He had many comrades-in-arms, all of them were dead now, they were all spearmen or axemen, but this time, Lao Ding felt that his life had also come to an end.Through the small square shooting hole in front of him, he saw the dense formation of enemy soldiers that could not be seen at a glance in the distance, and saw the enemy siege army rushing towards the city like a tide, he smiled helplessly.There are too many enemies.He has been in the army for 13 years and has experienced dozens of battles. It is the first time he has seen so many troops attacking a city wall at the same time.Lao Ding looked up at the long arrows whistling in the sky, a huge black mass, and he was terrified.He swallowed a few mouthfuls of saliva with difficulty, and cursed a few words in his mouth.On the wall of the southern city, Grand Administrator Fu Xie only arranged for 2000 soldiers. Lao Ding thought it was ridiculous for [-] people to deal with the tens of thousands of troops in front of him.How long can this last?

"Old Ding, why didn't your lord give the order? The enemy is almost approaching the moat." A young archer not far from him asked in a low voice.

"It's still early." Lao Ding said with a relaxed smile, "these bridge-building enemies are currently covered by shield soldiers. Even if we shoot, we won't be able to kill a few of them. Wait a minute, they have to cross the river along the ladder to the other side Let's fix the long ladder. We can shoot at this time, and shoot one and kill the other."

"Old Ding, how do you know everything?"

"I have guarded Didao City before, so I know when is the most suitable time to shoot these bridge-builders." Lao Ding said triumphantly, "Di Dao City is the county seat of Longxi County. It is backed by the Taoshui River, and it also has such a moat. .”

"With a moat, it must be much more difficult for the enemy to attack the city. Do you think we can hold it?" The soldier asked hopefully, "There are too many enemies, as many as ants."

"No problem." Lao Ding said with a smile, "I fought with Mr. Fu. He is very good at fighting, and he is not sure about defending such a small city."

Hearing this, the young soldier looked up at Fu Xie in the distance with admiration on his face.

"What are you doing?" Lao Ding asked.

"My lord raised his right arm, as if to give an order."

"It's a little earlier." Lao Ding looked at the busy enemies by the moat, shook his head and said, "It would be better if it was a little later."

Fu Xie leaned in front of the shooting hole, swung his right arm violently, and shouted: "Shoot... shoot at will..."

Lao Ding shot the first arrow very skillfully, and then his right hand was like a fluttering butterfly, holding the arrow, raising the arrow, drawing the bow, aiming, and shooting. Unbelievable.He was concentrating on it, cursing non-stop, and immersed himself in the pleasure of rapid shooting.

With angry roars, long arrows aimed at the enemies rushing towards the moat, and rushed out from hundreds of shooting holes at the same time.The archers were all like Lao Ding, shooting arrows at the fastest speed. The long arrows seemed to be connected together, endlessly, and shot towards the enemy crazily.

=

The army of camels successfully built more than 100 ladder bridges along the moat within a distance of [-] steps.Many dead soldiers lay down on both sides of the moat, and streaks of bright red blood began to float on the surface of the river.

Baili Yang patted Nie Xiao on the shoulder hard, and said loudly, "Old Nie, I will stop shooting arrows after you cross the river. Life and death are up to you."

Nie Xiao smiled and said, "Life and death are up to you."

Zhan Ma brushed back his loose long hair, then tied a white cloth belt on his forehead, and said with a smile: "Old Nie, it's started. I'll attack the left, you attack the right."

Nie Xiao nodded. He slowly pulled out his bright saber from his back, held the round shield, and strode to the front of the team.

The drums of war sounded loudly.

Nie Xiao raised his knife and looked back, roaring loudly: "Brothers, kill..."

"Kill..." The soldiers echoed in unison, roaring like thunder, with momentum like a rainbow. For a while, there was a flood of people, and the siege army rushed towards the most intense battlefield like an overwhelming mountain.

=

Following Baili Yang's roar, the long arrows all over the sky suddenly disappeared without a trace.Thousands of archers hung their hands helplessly, panting violently.

The first batch of more than 100 ladders quickly crossed the river under the frantic sprint of the siege soldiers, and quickly erected.The first siege soldiers began to climb the ladder.

Under the cover of the shield soldiers, some archers quickly approached the moat and began to shoot at the city wall at close range to cover the army from crossing the river.

=

Fu Xie's eyes were fixed on the last long arrow in the sky, watching it draw a beautiful arc in the air, and then fiercely nailed to the blue bricks on the top of the city wall. The long arrow bounced high and straightened again. The ground fell to the ground covered with a thick layer of arrows.

Fu Xie jumped up, raised his knife and shouted wildly: "Archers, shoot... shoot at will..."

"Brothers, kill... ah..."

Don't tell Fu Xie that these soldiers who followed Huangfusong, Huangfuhong and his sons in western Xinjiang for many years and have rich combat experience have already rushed out of the bunker. Just smashed it down.The archers rushed to the edge of the wall with the fastest speed, and fired fiercely at the enemy soldiers gathered on both sides of the moat.

The sound of war drums, shouts, fighting, and screams resounded up and down the city wall. Long black arrows flew in the air, bloody war knives whizzed in the wind, huge stones raged on the ladders, and heavy shovels carried The sound of wind and thunder descended from the sky with the force of a thunderbolt.

Due to the narrow terrain of the siege, the rebel soldiers suffered heavy casualties. Both sides of the moat were soon filled with dead soldiers, and the bodies of enemy soldiers floated on the river, and the river was quickly stained red with blood.

Fu Xie commanded the archers to block the moat with a dense array of arrows, and other defenders took the opportunity to massacre the remaining enemies below the city.

Seeing the failure of the first round of attack, Li Wenhou ordered the archers to launch a new round of fierce shooting at the city wall without waiting for the troops by the moat to withdraw.The defenders of Yicheng were caught off guard, and a large area fell immediately.Nie Xiao and Zhan Ma then led the second batch of siege soldiers to start the second round of strong attacks, braving the sky full of long arrows.This time, some soldiers successfully boarded the city wall and broke through several defenses.Fu Xie personally led the personal guards to support them, beheading all the enemies who broke through the defense on the city wall.

There were more and more ladder bridges on the moat, and the siege ladders leaned against the high city wall one after another, and the siege soldiers began to attack at the same time on the attack surface with a distance of [-] steps.

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(End of this chapter)