Under Zhao Hui's active preparation, the Han army quickly launched a siege.
The army was in full swing, and Guo Xin had experienced that tense and exciting atmosphere many times, and felt very familiar with it.
However, no matter what happened to Guo Xin during this attack, he and Wang Pu accompanied Zhao Hui to watch the battle from a distance every day.
The preparations of the Han army cannot be said to be careless. At least all kinds of siege equipment that Guo Xin had seen in Weizhou and other places were available. In addition, Xiguan City had been captured by Zhao Hui before, so the rebels on the city had no advantage in defending the city. big.
However, Zhao Hui did not put in all his strength before he came up. He only ordered his troops to attack the North City in front first, which was more like testing the remaining power in the city.
Guo Xin saw this and felt that Zhao Hui wanted to gradually put pressure on the city to respond to the city's surrender as soon as possible, so there was no need to waste troops. Thinking of this, he looked at Zhao Hui on the horse and saw that his expression was indeed calm and showed no trace of sadness. He felt that his guess had been confirmed by Zhao Hui's face.
…
It was completely different from the atmosphere outside the city. There was deathly silence everywhere in the city. The sound of drums and fighting outside the city reached the city and reached the ears of every frightened defender, but there was no reaction from these pale faces.
"There is no virtue in Tokyo. We have raised the flag of rebellion and are already at the end of our rope! When the city is destroyed, you will all be killed by the Han army's sword! If we fight to the death, there is still a way to survive when the Shu army comes to help!"
Zhou Can, the commander of the capital who had just withdrawn from Beicheng, shouted to the surrounding soldiers on his horse while slapping his horse away towards the government office.
There was not even a single guard on duty in front of the government office. Zhou Can frowned vigorously, threw the reins of the horse to the guards, and rushed to the palace with eager steps. Fortunately, Wang Jingchong and all the generals were there.
Zhou Can looked around, everyone in the hall was standing, as if the seats were filled with steel nails, preventing everyone from getting close.
At this time, Wang Jingchong, who was surrounded by his generals, saw Zhou Can's figure and quickly asked: "How is Beicheng? How is the morale?"
Everyone moved away from Zhou Can, and Zhou Can immediately said: "The enemy has not exerted its full strength, and our army's morale is no longer needed. When the enemy's offensive becomes more fierce, it will be difficult for our army to hold on!"
Just the words, all the people in the palace could hear were sighs, as if the answer they had predicted long ago had been verified.
Even the face of the commander-in-chief Wang Jingchong showed no surprise. Zhou Can looked at the situation in front of him, took a deep breath, and said in a deep voice: "It is useless to stick to it. Originally, Chang'an and Fengxiang towns and I were mutually exclusive, but now the two towns are inseparable. The towns are all in peace, and the children of Later Shu cannot rely on them. The general will see that it is better to leave the city as soon as possible and surrender."
Different from his previous words to encourage the soldiers on the street, these words were what Zhou Can really thought about.
The generals who had previously been resolute were in an uproar when they heard this. The commander Zhang Sirian, who was not easy to deal with Zhou Can, immediately stood up and refuted: "Our army seems to be in the pocket. If we surrender now, we will not become Han." Fish meat under the saber?"
Zhou Can snorted heavily: "Since we know that we have something in our pocket, but we don't want to surrender, does Commander Zhang have a clever plan to take us far away?"
Zhang Sirian was speechless, turned his head and asked Wang Jingchong: "What exactly is going on, the master still has the final say!"
Everyone's eyes were focused on Wang Jingchong. Wang Jingchong put his buttocks on the cold chair: "The situation is at the end of the road. Now it is a matter of life and death for us, so we have to use emergency measures."
Wang Jingchong looked at the generals with a stern look, and he could still vaguely show the demeanor of the former commander of the Forbidden Army. The generals' attention was focused on Wang Jingchong, and Zhou Can couldn't help but respect him in his heart: Wang Jingchong is really a talented general. If not for bad luck, how would he be today!
"Zhang Sirian, Gongsun chariot."
Zhang Sirian and the other general who was called clasped their fists and responded.
Then I heard Wang Jingchong ordering in an orderly manner: "You two are guarding the east city. Zhao Hui's elite troops are mostly in the north. Before the five drums tomorrow, you two will burn the east gate and pretend to surrender, but do not let the enemy troops enter the city. I and Zhou Can will lead It is better for the remaining elite troops to go out from the north gate to attack the enemy and fight for a way out than to sit back and wait to die."
Wang Jingchong's voice suddenly became louder as he spoke: "This general is a general of the former imperial army. I have been ordered to fight for the king for decades. Even if he is defeated and dies, how can he be captured without mercy!"
The generals were ordered to leave. The war was critical, and Zhou Can had to rush to the north city to supervise the army. Outside the government office, before getting on his horse, he found Zhang Sirian and several generals walking together, whispering to each other as if they were discussing something.
As if noticing Zhou Can's gaze, Zhang Silian and several others stopped and looked at Zhou Can coldly: "Master Zhou, aren't you on your way?"
…
When Guo Xin was sleeping soundly, he heard chaos and shouting outside the tent.
Guo Xin quickly put on his armor and walked out of the tent, only to find that it was not even bright yet. He also saw Guo Pu coming with his own soldiers to protect him, so he asked him first: "What's the situation? Is there an enemy attack?"
Guo Pu quickly dismounted, knelt on the ground and listened. After a moment, he raised his head and said, "Brother Yi, if there are no horse hooves, it is not an enemy attack."
Guo Xin got on his horse and looked towards Fengxiang Mansion to the west. In the hazy early morning mist, he saw a blaze of light reaching into the sky.
Without hesitation, Guo Xin immediately patted his horse and said, "Let's go to the Chinese army to find Lieutenant Zhao." After saying this, he remembered something and turned to his bodyguard: "Go and call Wang Zhijie."
Guo Xin and Wang Pu found Zhao Hui and others outside Dongcheng, and the previous fire was also caused by Dongcheng.
Zhao Hui and the generals immediately stood outside the east city. Behind them were a group of Han army soldiers who were ready to attack. However, Zhao Hui and the generals around him remained motionless, as if they were waiting for something or admiring the gate tower at the head of the city. Fire.
Wang Pu, who was forcibly pulled here, still had sleepy eyes. He couldn't help asking Guo Xin in a low voice: "Mr. Zhao neither attacks the city nor enters the city. What are you doing here?"
Guo Xin shook his head and didn't answer, thinking that it was the internal response of the Han army in the city that caused an uprising?
After a long time, the mist gradually dissipated, and the fire at the top of the city gradually turned into plumes of black smoke. The eastern sky was already glowing with the white color of fish belly, and the morning sun was about to emerge.
Soon, the sound of panicked footsteps came from inside the doorway. One of the generals beside Zhao Hui raised his sword, and the archers behind him who had been waiting for a long time drew their swords.
Guo Xin couldn't help but put his hand on the handle of the knife and stared at the door. However, what came out was a group of soldiers who had removed their armor and were walking out of the door in a long queue.
Soon, several men wearing armor but not holding weapons or wearing hoods came with their hair loose and led horses. They knelt in a row not far from Zhao Hui's horse, kowtowed and said in unison:
"The crime will be heinous. Welcome to the Taiwei. Welcome to the king!"
The rebel soldiers who left the city also knelt down to the east, and the scene was silent for a while.
Zhao Hui stood on his horse and yelled in an old but not weak voice: "I am following the emperor's orders, but I am not conquering the subordinates. Where is Wang Jingchong!"
One of the surrendered generals raised his head and said: "Back to the Taiwei, Wang Jingchong, his party member Zhou Can and others were all executed. Dozens of Wang's family members burned themselves to death in the mansion."
Zhao Hui first asked the surrendered general: "Are you Zhang Sirian?"
"It was the guilty general who first served as the commander of the Forbidden Army. Wang Jingchong was killed by the guilty general himself. Wang Jingchong insisted on resisting the Heavenly Master. The guilty general was originally a member of the imperial army and was forced to commit a major crime. The guilty general was unwilling to continue to obey. Secretly and the lieutenant..."
"You have merit." Zhao Hui raised his hand to interrupt Zhang Silian from continuing, and then said to the surrendered generals on horseback: "I will only kill the chief culprit, and the chief culprit is dead. The rest of you will not make a decision until you realize that you have lost your way. No matter how you are convicted, it will still be up to the officials and the princes in the court."
Zhang Silian and others thanked him again.
Then Zhao Hui turned sideways and said something to his general. The general quickly led a few horses and galloped among the troops, shouting to the troops: "Wang Jingchong is dead, Guanzhong is settled!"
So the shouts in the army shook the sky, and the mountains shouted for a great victory.
Guo Pu and others around him were also excited, and even Guo Xin was affected. He had a lot of thoughts in his mind: It has been more than a year since he left Beijing, and now that the three towns are flat, it is finally time to go home.
At this time, Wang Pu was heard whispering to Guo Xin: "This man killed the Lord and should not be left alive."
