Yedu is not the ancient Ye County (now Linzhang), and it is not the same place as Yecheng since the Han, Wei and Jin Dynasties. After the changes of the times, it is no longer enough to be one place. It's just that since the end of the Han Dynasty, when Cao Cao was granted the title of King of Wei and made his capital Ye, Wei and Ye have been the same for a long time, with the same place and different names.
The city name of Yedu during this period was Yuancheng, which originally belonged to Weizhou and now belongs to Guangjin Prefecture. At the beginning of Tongguang in the Later Tang Dynasty, Weizhou was renamed Xingtang Prefecture, named Tokyo, and later changed to Yedu. During the Shi-Jin Dynasty, Tang Mansion was renamed Guangjin Mansion and was still called Yedu.
It was a lonely autumn day. At this time, Yedu had become a city of sorrow, shrouded in desolation and indifference. It was silent and the atmosphere was particularly depressing. After all, the city had been besieged for two months. When a city is besieged and soldiers fight, the besieged party is always under greater pressure. Especially in this situation where the city is alone, there is no food inside, and there are no reinforcements from outside.
Outside the city, there were continuous Han army barracks, which locked Yuancheng tightly, suffocating the Ye soldiers so that they could not move.
On the Nancheng side, there are heavy traces of fighting. The previous attack should be the main direction of the Han army's attack. Behind the city wall, the few Ye soldiers were huddled and curled up, but the cold wind still couldn't help but penetrate their bodies through their armored robes.
These Ye soldiers on the city were placed on the city wall for defense, and more people were hiding in the barbican. However, it seems that they are not very concerned about it. Since the last Han army's strong attack was repulsed, there has been no movement for more than ten days. In addition, Du Zhongwei sent people to completely block all the city gates, and he was determined to hide in the city.
Since the siege, the city of Yedu is still strong, but the morale of the soldiers and civilians in the city has been extremely low. Du Chongwei was not loved by the army, let alone the hearts of the people, and the two losses to Lujiadian were even more devastating.
To be able to resist until now, Du Chongwei also tried his best. First, he sent people to spread the word in the city that the Han army wanted to massacre the city after breaking it, and intimidated the military and civilian officials; second, he organized several teams of supervisors to patrol and supervise day and night, and to enforce strict laws; third, there were still people in the city. There is a powerful Yan army serving for him, and Du Chongwei even relies on him more than those Ye soldiers. Fourthly, he exploits the soldiers and people in the city and plunders their grain and goods for military needs. However, his own residence Zhongtun has a lot of money and food, but it is stingy in rewarding soldiers...
The enemy's situation is such that the failure to capture it is basically the problem of the Han army itself. Of course, it was not just a matter of disagreement among the generals. The Han troops under the city, including the Forbidden Army, were second-class troops of the Han Dynasty. Their combat power was not as strong as that, coupled with Gao Xingzhou's conservative style of play.
In fact, from the beginning of the siege, except for the previous fierce attack, the two sides did not engage in many confrontations. The scene of this city attack and defense battle did not look so cruel.
But the cruelty of war is not limited to the direct manifestation on the battlefield. The destruction of civilians was the most serious. In addition to the more than 30,000 Ye soldiers left in the city, there were still more than 100,000 civilians. These people became the targets of Du Chongwei's exploitation, and as the war situation worsened, they were already regarded as As a burden.
The situation of the people in Weibo, especially in Guangjin Mansion, is also difficult to describe. In the previous period, the imperial court issued an edict to camp the Han army in Yedu, in order to keep food in the state. After receiving the order, the Han army did the same. Taking advantage of the autumn harvest, they continuously sent troops to the countryside to collect grain in conjunction with local officials.
In name, it was requisitioning, but in fact it quickly evolved into robbing. At first, it was just robbing food, and later it was almost robbing people and food. The Han army's fortifications on the front line should not be wasted on the physical strength of the imperial officers and soldiers in building them. Up to now, more than 100,000 people have gathered under the city of Yedu to counter the rebellion, and more than half of them are young men recruited from nearby areas.
As a result, on the Nancheng side, as time went by, the stronghold set up by Gao Xingzhou was steadily moved to the bottom of the city. It was very close, only two arrows away. Basically, as long as the Han army left the camp, they could run for a few seconds. With one step, he could directly enter the stage of storming the city... Du Zhongwei did not react much to such threats. He almost watched helplessly as the swords of the imperial soldiers touched his nose.
A hill in the southeast of the city was originally a lush forest, but now only a bare patch is left. The trees in the middle, along with the sand, gravel and soil, have turned into the camps under the city.
It was cold and depressing inside Yedu, and the Han army outside the city was actually not much better. With the two armies in a stalemate, military management was particularly cruel. In the past few days, many soldiers had been killed for violating military law. Some of them lost their lives just because they made noise for no reason.
Fortunately, compared to the defenders in the city, life for the imperial officers was easier, at least there was basically no shortage of supplies. The food may not be good, but it is enough to fill the stomach. The weather was cold, so the imperial court replenished many autumn and winter quilts. In addition, Gao Xingzhou dragged his old body and kept patrolling to appease the morale of the soldiers.
In comparison, the tens of thousands of people who were kidnapped and summoned to serve in front of the army were much miserable. Although they did not deliberately abuse them, they were worse than dogs in those days when they were doing hard work in front of the army.
After this period of time, nearly two thousand people fell under the city of Yedu. Some died of exhaustion, some died of illness, some were dealt with by military law, and some were killed by the defenders. Some time ago, the temperature dropped suddenly, and more than 400 people froze to death overnight...
In the south camp, behind the stronghold, there is an open space, the autumn wind is blowing on the ground, withered grass is flying, and the craftsmen recruited are concentrating on building siege equipment. They were all big guys, with ladders and wooden curtains on their backs, and workers moving and unloading materials were coming and going all around. The sounds of knocking and knocking were incessant, and together with the mournful chirping of cicadas nearby, they looked particularly sad.
Guo Rong led a team of people on a patrol and stopped to observe. He summoned the responsible equipment supervisor to inquire about the progress. The cool wind blew on his face, which already hurt a little. Guo Rong had a sad face, looked around, gave some instructions, and led the people to the north.
In front of Nanying Village, the civilian men of the First Battalion, under the command of the military supervisor, were reinforcing and repairing the forefront of the stronghold. They had a tough attitude and would mercilessly reward anyone who was slacking off with a whip. When Guo Rong arrived, he saw this scene and had no sense of justice. He went up and said something decent to show his kindness.
Participating in this counterinsurgency war, Guo Rongcai truly realized what it means to be kind but not in charge of troops. Compared with the previous defeat of the Khitan in Luan City, how passionate and enthusiastic he was at that time. Killing him with corpses lying all over the field and blood flowing like rivers didn't feel anything, but felt great pleasure.
However, in the face of this kind of civil war, the Han soldiers and civilians fought brutally, which touched Guo Rong even more. As mentioned in the introduction, the degree of bloodshed between the two sides on both offense and defense was not too high, but the fierce battle involving more than 200,000 people inside and outside the city had a huge impact, wide spread, and serious consequences, which made him feel even more depressed. .
Guo Rong knew the sufferings of the people, and also knew what Wei Bo and even the people in the north and south of the Yellow River had paid for this rebellion. As a general of the imperial court, even though he couldn't bear it, he had to work for the common people in order to win the war.
Guo Rong noticed the numb and indifferent eyes of the civilian men who were repairing the stronghold. They looked at the supervising sergeant, even with hatred in their eyes.
Climbing a sentry tower in front of the camp, Guo Rong looked towards Yuancheng, his eyes almost solid. After a long time, he sighed, and then his cold expression became more determined: No matter what, this war must end as soon as possible!
"General Guo!" A messenger hurriedly found Guo Rong.
"What's the matter?"
"The emperor's imperial chariot is approaching. The commander-in-chief summons you to return to the army and prepare to welcome him!"
