Liu Xing saw the situation and hurriedly asked Lu Tong, "Brother Lu Tong, do you know how many days it will take for the food and grass to arrive?"
"Two days at most!"
Liu Xingyuan felt slightly relieved.
Lu Manxi said: "I think Third Uncle Qin is right. Instead of waiting for Huo Yan to come back, we should prepare for the attack as early as possible."
Liu Xingyuan also agreed, "Brother Lu is right."
Lu Zuo then nodded, "It's better to prepare early. Let Lu Manxi and Yin Ji handle it. The siege equipment must be checked carefully, and training in the morning and evening is also essential."
The next day, it rained heavily again. The reactions of people inside and outside the city were completely opposite. The people inside the city celebrated with their hats and hats, while the people outside the city felt like they were mourning for their heirs.
Lu Zuo quickly summoned the generals to the central military tent for discussion. This time everyone had the same opinion. Before the morale of the army was weakened, he immediately summoned troops to arrange an attack on the city.
In the imperial palace in the capital, it was early morning, and all the ministers expressed their loyalty to Xun Yu. Coupled with the heavy rain today, Xun Yu and his son were very happy, so they gave some ministers promotions.
Lu Renxiang saw that his colleagues around him were all promoted, so he also advised Xun Yu, "Your Majesty, it is raining heavily today. I think it will not stop for a few days. The rebels will have difficulty transporting food and grass, so they will inevitably change their strategy and choose to attack the city. In order to prevent things from happening in the army if it is too late, a minor official may not know whether to say something or not."
Xun Yu nodded noncommittally, "Tell me..."
"Since the other side is eager to attack the city, we will do the opposite."
Du Zongting came out and said: "Lu Renxiang, you don't need to tell me that your Majesty has a wonderful plan. The generalissimo Guoshi Wushuang has already arranged everything. I wonder if it is you who has second thoughts. You must know who is leading the rebels to attack the city. But your brother..."
Lu Renxiang saw that Du Zongting was in a weird mood, so he also retorted: "Humph... Mr. Du, it is true that Lu Zuo is my brother, but we have severed our ties long ago, and now we are each his own master. Let me ask you, what did you think of him at the beginning? Your Majesty is so loyal? Who and Quan Shidao and others wanted to frame your Majesty in the first place? In my opinion, if it hadn't been for your Majesty's magnanimity, would you have survived until now? Can you still be here to beat me up? I think you are harboring evil intentions. He intends to drive a wedge between me and His Majesty, the king and his ministers."
Xun Yu was originally a little suspicious of Lu Renxiang, but after thinking about what he had done before and what he had just said, he felt relieved, so he decided to be a peacemaker and said: "Okay, the loyalty of the two dear friends, I It is clear as day that we are faced with a formidable enemy and we should work together to retreat from it. Lu Aiqing, continue to share your thoughts."
Du Zongting then leaned back and returned to his position.
Lu Renxiang then continued: "Your Majesty, as the saying goes, if you make a strong effort, it will weaken again, and it will be exhausted three times. As long as we can defend the rebels' strong attack, then when the rain stops, it will be the day for our counterattack."
Xun Yu and Xun Mou looked at each other and nodded. Xun Yu continued, "Lu Aiqing is interested. He will reward you with hundreds of fine brocades from the south of the Yangtze River. When the enemy is defeated, he will be granted the title of Uncle Zhongyong."
Lu Renxiang was flattered and hurriedly knelt down to thank him.
The next day, it was still rainy. Originally, Lu Zuo wanted to lead the army to attack the city in person. However, Liu Xingyuan said that in order to prevent the bandits from stealing the camp, he insisted that Lu Zuo sit in the camp and lead the army himself. Lu Zuo reluctantly accepted, but still asked An Shiqing to help Liu Xingyuan attack the city.
Liu Xingyuan's army of tens of thousands of people came to the city in a mighty manner, but they were not seen for a few days. The city wall of Kyoto was much higher, the flags on the city were fluttering, and the defenders were in order. It seemed that they were prepared.
Liu Xingyuan ordered archers and trebuchets to be dispatched at the same time. After a shower of arrows and indiscriminate bombardment by trebuchets, he began to order the siege.
The cold rain of early winter roared in the cold wind, and the soldiers who bravely moved forward fell one after another under the city wall, with no chance at all. The rebels' battering ram hit the city gate under the rhythm of regular drums, sending out bursts of roars that resounded through the sky, but it still failed to hit half of the wooden planks of the city gate. Gradually, the soldiers began to lose their patience by the mountains of corpses and seas of blood in front of them. Everyone swayed between moving forward and retreating unconsciously. Liu Xingyuan and An Shiqing also saw the plight of the soldiers and immediately ordered the troops to retreat.
"Haha..." There was a hearty laugh from the city tower. Xun Mou had already felt that the situation was changing. As long as the rebel army's food and grass did not arrive for another two days, the rebel army's death would not be far away once the rain stopped. .
On the third day, there was a winter rain and a cold. The soldiers only felt that today's rain was more and more biting. They trembled unconsciously every time, as if the god of death in winter was summoning all the souls who were about to die. Everyone formed a siege formation at the foot of the city, clutching the equipment in their hands as if they were holding on to the last life-saving straw.
"Rush..."
Sometimes hot golden juice is poured down on the city head, sometimes terrible tongues of fire spit out, sometimes huge rocks are smashed down, and sometimes deadly crossbow arrows are shot. Liu Xingyuan once again shook his head helplessly, is it really God who wants to destroy me? After sighing, he once again ordered the troops to retreat.
Everyone in the rebel camp was a little frustrated. Liu Xingyuan rushed to Lu Tong in a rare move, grabbed him by the collar and asked, "It's been three days. Has Huo Quan's grain transport team arrived?" "
Lu Tong looked troubled and replied innocently: "It's raining heavily for days. Huo Yan and his team can't move forward at all. Now they are hurrying up..."
"I just asked when I can get there!"
Liu Xingyuan's roar surprised everyone in the tent, and then everyone's eyes fell on Lu Zuo.
Lu Zuo quickly stopped him and said: "The heavy rain is God's will and cannot be done by human beings. Let's discuss other methods."
Only then did Liu Xingyuan regain his senses. He felt that he had lost his composure just now, so he quickly leaned over and apologized to Lu Tong, "Brother Lu, please forgive me. I see that we have sacrificed too many brothers, and I feel upset. Please forgive me."
"It's not in the way...it's not in the way," Lu Tong said, slightly embarrassed, "According to Huo Yan's current schedule, it may take three to five days."
Qin Fu was also very anxious, "It will take another three to five days. With the only army rations we have left, we can't last two days at all. If we hadn't sacrificed more than 20,000 brothers in the two days of attacking the city, we would probably have enough food tomorrow." It’s gone.”
"So what?" Lu Xiuyuan glared at Qin Fu, "What's the use of being anxious now..."
"If you are not in a hurry, you will know that you are not in a hurry. You can come up with a solution!" Qin Fu said angrily, "If the gates of Kyoto cannot be opened, how can we explain to our two hundred thousand brothers?"
Just when everyone was at a loss, another detective came to report that Lanzhou wealthy businessman Fan Hesui was willing to donate another 500,000 tons of grain and grass and 8 million taels of silver.
After hearing this, everyone in the tent felt a little relieved, but it was still unclear whether they could survive for a few days.
