It took another day to rest and recuperate.
Now that the decision to attack has been made, there is no room for talk until there is no result. Including Gao Xingzhou and other generals, they quickly unified their understanding, coordinated the armies, and prepared for the attack. Gao Xingzhou was still deployed in front of the camp.
However, there were objections regarding the direction of attack. Gao Xingzhou suggested that the main attack direction be Nancheng. After all, the Han army had previously focused on this gate. The soldiers were also most familiar with the city defense and military defense here, and the moat was almost filled...
But Murong Yanchao felt that Ye Bing also knew the situation at the south gate, so the south city was also the focus of the rebels' defense. He suggested that we should do the opposite and attack the other three gates in order to have the effect of attacking them unprepared.
Seeing the dispute gradually erupting, Su Fengji stood up and suggested something more simple and crude: "The imperial court's 100,000 troops are here, and the rebels will be outnumbered. There is no need to separate priorities, just attack together."
Liu Zhiyuan was tired of this situation where there were always objections to any discussion, so he decided directly and attacked from all four sides. However, priority is still necessary. Although chaos may be effective, it is too disorganized. After carefully weighing the pros and cons, we decided to attack Nancheng as the main attack. The victory was within our grasp, and we would rather follow the familiar path than find a new one.
Under the emperor's will, the Han army outside Yedu moved like a war machine, and all armies and camps were intensively preparing to attack the city. The "siege beast" that had previously consumed a lot of manpower and materials was pushed to the front line, and the selected soldiers who rushed to the city were attached to its side, ready to move, waiting for the attack order to launch an attack.
The counter-rebellion army had been blocked under the city for so long, and both the soldiers and the people were tired of it. Liu Zhiyuan's arrival had a significant effect on improving morale. They basically mustered up their strength to break through the city in one fell swoop and end this difficult tug-of-war. At Liu Chengyou's suggestion, the civil servants who accompanied the army formed a propaganda team to comfort and encourage the troops and camps. They basically followed the direction of the soldiers and civilians and announced: destroy the city, return home, and spend the winter.
In the process of preparing for the attack, Liu Chengyou personally selected soldiers with loud voices in the army, divided them into four waves, and went to the four gates of Yedu. They took turns to shout into the city with simple "megaphones" they made. For some reason, Gao Xingzhou and others did not think of such things that would damage their morale and reduce their will to resist.
For this reason, Su Fengji also took the initiative to ask for help and wrote a gorgeously written "A Letter to the Army and the People of Yedu for the Emperor's Personal Recruitment of Du Rebellion" to show off his literary talent. Liu Zhiyuan had a headache after reading it.
When Liu Chengyou saw it, he simply discarded it and wrote a short paragraph himself, just two sentences, concise and concise: When the imperial court suppresses rebellion, it only punishes the first culprit and ignores the rest. Those who take the head of Du Chongwei, both inside and outside Yedu, will be granted the title of marquis.
In the early morning of the 22nd, when all preparations were pending, Liu Zhiyuan climbed up to observe the war in person. As a result, raindrops began to float in the sky, and they became heavier and heavier, and the attack stopped. It was impossible to attack the city in the rain, especially in the cold autumn rain. Everyone was very depressed and canceled the battle plan.
After planning for such a long time, when it was about to take action, God came against me, which made me feel extremely aggrieved. According to the weather in the past few days, fog and frost are common, but rain is not expected.
God bless the rebels? The soldiers and people at the bottom are ignorant. If such thoughts are provoked by someone with a serious intention, big problems will definitely arise. Even if the Han army had strict control, morale would inevitably decline after such a setback. The majestic momentum of Liu Zhiyuan's personal visit was shattered by a rain. When Liu Zhiyuan returned to the imperial tent, his black face was terrifyingly gloomy, and seemed to be getting darker.
What makes people feel even more depressed and miserable is that it rains all day long. It's not heavy, but it's annoying. It was raining and foggy, and the entire Han army camp was shrouded in a curtain of rain. Looking around, you could see the boiling water vapor, which was eye-catching. The cold raindrops hit my face, and the chill seems to penetrate into my heart.
"The autumn wind and autumn rain are so sad!" Liu Chengyou sighed in a literary voice in front of the imperial tent.
I shook off the raindrops on my body, raised my numb legs, and rubbed the mud on the soles of my feet on a railing in front of the tent. After cleaning up the ground, I entered the tent.
Inside and outside the tent, there are obviously two worlds, completely different from each other. Entering the "book tent", it was even warmer than spring. There was a stove burning charcoal, but the smell was a bit strong.
"Father." Liu Chengyou called.
Liu Zhiyuan was sitting behind the imperial desk. It seemed that he had been sitting there for a long time. The gloomy expression on his face was like the cold sky, and he kept strangers away.
"Sit down." Liu Zhiyuan was not very interested in talking to Liu Chengyou.
Liu Chengyou grilled himself in front of the stove to get rid of the chill that clung to his face before sitting down. Looking at Liu Zhiyuan: "Are you in a bad mood?"
"You know what you're asking!" Liu Zhiyuan glanced at Liu Chengyou sideways, and then took out a memorial from the case: "From Tokyo, Meng Shu is restless again. The Shu army attacked in three directions, trying to capture Fengxiang and Jingzhao. Hou Yi and Zhao Kuangzan went to the court to ask for help."
The chamberlain brought the memorial to Liu Chengyou. Liu Chengyou read it for a while, frowned and raised his eyes to Liu Zhiyuan: "This is to take advantage of the situation!"
"First Gao Congjie, then Meng Chang, these separatist princes jumped out one by one. These are all the consequences of the prolongation of the war!" Liu Zhiyuan did not appear too excited, but the resentment and anger in his tone were I can't hold myself back.
"Guanyou has been harassing you for so long, and it is difficult to calm down for a while. The road is far away, and the court is now stretched beyond its reach. We can only rely on the strength of Fengxiang and Jingzhao towns to stop the Shu army!" Liu Chengyou Beside, he sighed and said.
"The Shu army is weak and has no generals, so there is nothing to worry about. The ones I am worried about are those who have ulterior motives." Liu Zhiyuan said in a deep voice.
Liu Chengyou's eyes drifted towards Liu Zhiyuan: "Are you referring to Hou Yi or Zhao Kuangzan?"
Liu Zhiyuan said coldly: "Since I have accepted Zhao Yanshou's surrender, Zhao Kuangzan has no worries. Only this Hou Yi has been working in the west for many years. During the previous dynasty, he was suspected of having an affair with Xi Shu. Let alone now. , the Shu army is coming, and if they rebel, the situation in Guanyou will be completely destroyed!"
There was a look of helplessness on Liu Zhiyuan's face.
Liu Chengyou's expression was also a little solemn: "No matter what, the court must prepare for the worst!"
"I have sent an edict to Zhao Kuangzan of Jingzhao, Zhao Hui of Shaanzhou, Kuangyi of Jingyuan, and Xue Huairang of Tongzhou to defend themselves. No matter how chaotic Guanyou is, it will not harm Heluo!" Liu Zhiyuan said. I always feel that his arrangement is not much different from no arrangement, but the bottom line is quite clear.
"We can only wait for Wei Bo's chaos to be resolved before we can free up our hands to take care of Guanzhong!" Liu Chengyou said: "For the current plan, we must defeat Yedu as soon as possible!"
Hearing what Liu Chengyou said, Liu Zhiyuan couldn't help but curse: "This damn rain!"
"Why do you come to see me?"
After hearing the question, Liu Chengyou just came to his senses, raised the corner of his mouth, and said to Liu Zhiyuan: "I am here to offer you a strategy to break the city."
His eyes couldn't help but glance at Liu Chengyou. He didn't seem to take it seriously and asked, "What's the plan?"
"Zhang Lian, the commander of the Yan troops in the city, is willing to surrender to the imperial court with his troops anyway!" Liu Chengyou said.
Liu Zhiyuan's eyes suddenly lit up and he asked hurriedly: "Seriously? Why didn't you report it earlier?"
Liu Chengyou explained: "In the past two days, I sent Deqing Commander Guo Rong to be responsible for contacting the matter. Now that it is basically confirmed, I dare to report the matter."
"Okay! Well done, Erlang!" Liu Zhiyuan's face turned from cloudy to cloudy, then cloudy to sunny. However, a trace of doubt soon appeared on his face: "Is it credible?"
"Since the Han Dynasty came out of Hedong, countless Yan soldiers have been recruited and surrendered. Even Zhao Yanshou can entrust you with Yan's affairs. These two thousand Yan soldiers are nothing. All you need to do is give them a guarantee and reassure them. I don't think so. No different." Liu Chengyou said: "Besides, if they want to surrender, they must first show us their sincerity!"
"What?"
"First create chaos in the city and cover up the attack on the defenders. As long as chaos breaks out in the city, our army will not attack!" Liu Chengyou answered.
"Zhang Lian also sent people to inform everyone about the true and false status of the defenders in the city. This is what came from the city, the layout of the rebel forces!" Liu Chengyou took out a city defense map from his pocket and handed it to Liu Zhiyuan: "In addition, Zhang Lian revealed that the morale of the army in the city was in turmoil, and the soldiers were very determined to surrender. Food and fodder were already insufficient. The previous rumors of 'sufficient soldiers and sufficient food' were all propagated by Du Chongwei's people, with the intention of bluffing and causing the court to surrender..."
Liu Zhiyuan held the defense map and observed it, his stiff face softening a lot.
"Yan Jun made an additional request."
"Say!" Liu Zhiyuan waved his hand in a good mood.
"After the city is destroyed, let him return to his hometown."
"This is an easy matter!" Liu Zhiyuan said grandly: "Youyan is also in chaos. If he has a strong desire to return, I should let him go."
"Instruct all military commanders to come to the imperial tent to attend the military meeting." As he spoke, Liu Zhiyuan gave the order impatiently.
...
This rain was probably just a test of the patience of the Han army. It rained all day and half of the night, and finally stopped at midnight. At dawn the next day, the sky was still gray. In front of the South Camp, Sun Li led 3,000 selected small soldiers in uniform, on standby. This main attack task was earned by him after roaring his neck out.
There are more than two thousand strong soldiers carrying dry planks and preparing to pave the road. Due to the rain, the road was muddy, making it inconvenient for heavy siege equipment such as cloud chariots to advance.
"Master, why is there still no movement? Is there really an internal response in the city?" It was extremely cold in the early morning, and one of his commanders couldn't help rubbing his hands and asked: "It's almost dawn, and the soldiers' bodies are almost frozen."
"If the officials say there is one, then there is!" Sun Li shouted and cursed at his subordinates: "Listen to me, the master of the chamber, and pass on the order. When you see the signal, chaos will break out in the city. When you attack, all your actions will be Please be more prompt with me, the host. If anyone holds you back, I will kill him after the war!"
"yes!"
After another half a moment, the surrounding fog was still dim, but it became much brighter before my eyes. Finally, there was a burst of killing in the city.
The Han army outside the city still did not move until the sound of killing approached the city gate. Several waving white flags were raised from the top of the city, and a roar of drums suddenly erupted from the Han camp below the city.
After receiving the order to attack, it was just like a drill, paving roads and pushing carts at the same time. The front of the camp was not far from the city wall. Soon, several cloud chariots were pushed under the city and explored to the top of the city. The defenders on the city were obviously really confused. There was no delayed counterattack like before.
Behind him, Sun Li saw this and stepped out with his sword drawn. He personally led his soldiers and charged forward with their shields and swords in hand. With almost no effort, they successfully climbed to the top of the city, and the flow continued.
At this point, I am no longer afraid of any conspiracy in the city.
