Everyone in the rebel camp was silent. There were still two days at most. If the capital could not be captured within two days, then unless Huo Yan could deliver the food and grass on time and there was still room for change, the consequences would be disastrous. At that time The morale of the army was disorganized, and before Xun Mou could counterattack, the rebel army would be defeated without any attack.
Liu Xingyuan hit the case with his right fist angrily, "Mr. Lu, how about we just fight it out now?"
"How do you say this?" Lu Zuo asked.
"Rather than wait until we run out of ammunition and food, and then let the brothers know that the food and grass are insufficient, how about telling everyone directly tomorrow, and then attacking the city with all the strength of the army, and doing a 'burning the cauldron'?"
An Shiqing refused without waiting for Lu Zuo to speak: "No, no, this is too risky. If the food and grass are already on the way, we can still delay the killing of horses and cattle for two or three days."
Lu Zuo also nodded in agreement, "We are not ready to burn the boat. But we should use the whole army to attack the city and make a last ditch effort. If we can't take the capital again, we should withdraw our troops."
Lu Manxi said unwillingly: "How can we do that? We have worked hard all the way to the capital. Are we going to retreat like this?"
Yin Ji explained: "If we fail to break the city again and again, and the food and grass cannot be replenished, and the morale of the army is weakened, Xun Mou and the others will definitely find a way to counterattack, and the losses will only be more severe. We must withdraw first, and then wait for the opportunity. It’s just a bad idea.”
On the fourth day, it was still drizzling, but looking at the dark clouds surging in the sky, it felt like the clouds would clear away and the sun would appear at any time.
In front of the west gate of Kyoto, the rebel army's formation was set up. In front of the Chinese army's formation, Lu Zuo and An Jing were sitting in armor, both on horseback.
On top of the city tower, Xun Mou, who was dressed in black armor, looked particularly majestic. He saw that the rebels were in large numbers today and their formations were uniform. When Tan Ma came to report that the rebels were led by Lu Zuo himself, he felt a little timid and quickly gave the order. The generals in various positions must concentrate their attention and not underestimate the enemy.
This time, Lu Zuo decided to let heavy equipment launch an indiscriminate bombardment first. When he saw that the city wall was still unable to be smashed, he ordered the archers to fire thousands of arrows. At the same time, he asked the vanguard troops to ascend the ladder to the city, and the siege troops pushed up to the siege ram. Go and break the door.
An hour passed, and the capital remained motionless.
Suddenly there was heavy wind and rain, and the siege troops gradually declined.
Seeing this, Lu Zuo felt extremely anxious and took out a pill from his bag. Just when An Jingruo was about to stop him, Lu Zuo had already taken it.
Jing Jingruo was so angry that she burst into tears, "You don't want your life!"
Lu Zuo pulled out his sword and said, "I am about to die, but I can't let two hundred thousand soldiers be buried with me. Jingruo, take care..." After that, he took Yin Ji and rode away.
"Don't worry, sister..." An Shiqing couldn't help but follow suit.
Jing Jingruo had no time to worry, so he quickly took out his bow and arrows, rushed to the front of the formation, set his bow and arrows, and opened the way for Lu Zuo and others.
Lu Zuo drove his horse to the bottom of the city and pushed the battering ram along with him.
At this time, the three armies saw that their commander was taking the lead, and their morale instantly rose. They all fought bravely to take the lead without fear.
The sudden change in the situation on the field made Xun Mou furious. When he learned that Lu Zuo was personally leading the charge, he couldn't help but be shocked. He quickly looked around and found Lu Zuo at the city gate downstairs. He took out his bow and arrows and prepared Shoot at Lu Zuo.
Just as Xun Mou was preparing his bow and arrow, two sharp arrows flew towards Xun Mou. When he looked closely, he saw Lu Zuo's wife not far away, pointing towards him with her bow and arrow.
Xun Mou also shot in the direction of An Jingruo, and all three arrows missed in succession. However, he was caught off guard by an arrow shot by Angruo, hitting his right arm. He quickly returned to the tower and had someone take out the arrowhead and bandage it.
Although the morale of the rebels was high, they were still unable to attack the city. The gates of Kyoto were far stronger than everyone imagined.
In the palace, the courtiers were waiting anxiously. Everyone knew that today's attack on the city was different from the previous two days. The bandits' food and fodder had been exhausted. If they still could not break the city today, there was a high probability that the situation could be reversed. Xun Yu sat in the main hall with a gloomy face, scanning the reactions of the ministers below. Seeing that everyone's expressions were tense, he smiled and said: "Today the bandit army came to attack the city again. My dear friends, what do you think the outcome of the battle will be?"
Du Zongting hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, the thieves are just at the end of their powerful crossbows. For three days in a row, they have been unable to break through the city. What's more, today, I think the thieves will be completely annihilated today."
Cui Hao came out of the class and said: "Master Du, you serve three masters in succession, but there is one more person, so what's the harm?"
"You..." Du Zongting frowned in anger, "Cui Hao, what are your intentions? I, Du Zongting, am sincere and can be seen from the sun and the moon. How can I allow you to sow discord here. Your Majesty, please make the decision for me..."
Xun Yu looked contemptuous, "They say a friend in need is a friend indeed. I see that there are already people in the court thinking about how to lead the way for the traitor army and how to surrender to the traitor army when the city is broken!" After saying that, he laughed and said, "I don't care, otherwise , some people died when Liu Yan gave in last time! But I won’t let you go, do you think Lu Zuo and Liu Xingyuan will let you go? It’s just wishful thinking..."
When talking about Lu Zuozhi, Xun Yu suddenly thought of Lu Renxiang. After scanning the hall twice, he still didn't see him, so he hurriedly asked, "Where is Lu Renxiang? Where is Lu Renxiang?"
For a moment, people in the hall were looking around and talking.
Meng Silang, the general of the Jinwu Guards, hurriedly left his duty and replied: "Your Majesty, Lu Renxiang said this morning that your Majesty had an order from your Majesty, asking him to lead a thousand Jinwu Guards soldiers to guard the city gate. I'm afraid they are almost at the west gate now!"
Xun Yu was surprised and said: "My oral instructions?"
Meng Silang felt bad when he heard that His Majesty's tone was wrong, so he quickly knelt down and said, "He said it was Your Majesty's will to give him one thousand men from the Jinwu Guard, the last general, to help the front guard the city gate."
Xun Yu couldn't figure out what Lu Renxiang's intention was for a while. He was only worried about whether Lu Renxiang would betray him.
Du Zongting hurriedly said: "Lu Renxiang must be rebelling. Your Majesty, please send someone to suppress him quickly!"
Only then did Xun Yu feel that something might be going on. For the sake of safety, he quickly ordered: "Meng Silang, you quickly bring five thousand gold guards to capture Lu Renxiang. Act according to the opportunity. If there is any unruly behavior, kill him without mercy." Then he ordered Zhang Dan to go again. Lead a group of people to surround Lu Renxiang's mansion.
The rain gradually stopped, and the road was muddy. Fortunately, the dark clouds in the sky had gradually dispersed, and the sun was looming, so it seemed that it was time.
At this time, there was no one on the street. Lu Renxiang led a group of people towards the west city gate. He could only hear the sound of killing, which made people shudder. Although Lu Renxiang's martial arts skills were far from those of his brother Lu Zuo, they were still acceptable. So he drew his sword and called to his men: "Brothers, speed up. Today's battle is a matter of life and death. Come with me and rush out of the city to capture Liu Xingyuan alive." .”
