Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 692: Deceiving the City
In the Bocheng City Lord's Mansion, Wanyan Yongan looked very unhappy.

He cursed inwardly: The Marshal's token of the Jin Kingdom in Yang Anguo's hand was indeed not so easy to obtain. He was even more dissatisfied with Yang Anguo, and hated him for not saving him.

It seems that the soldiers of Liang State are elite and not easy to deal with. Now we just hope to keep the city and survive for a month.

On the second day, in the Liang camp, drums were beating loudly, and Bian Xiang and his men led their troops directly to the city of Bo to challenge the enemy.

When Wanyan Yong'an saw this from the top of the city wall, he just ordered his soldiers to defend the city carefully and ignored the challenge from those below.

After scolding for an hour, Wanyan Yong'an was like a turtle hiding in his shell, pretending not to see anything.

Bian Xiang wanted to attack the city, but saw crossbows, hard bows, battering rams and cannon stones lined up on the top of the city, gold was being melted in the shops, and ash bottles were piled up against the parapet. The defenses were very strict.

The army only brought simple ladders with them. If they attacked the city like ants, there would probably be a lot of casualties.

Bian Xiang looked at the top of the city wall and said to everyone, "It seems that we have to send the siege equipment here."

Zhen Xianglin said: "Commander, interrogate the prisoners. Wanyan Yongan, who sold out his ancestors for fame, still has a city. And there are only three or two thousand old and weak people guarding the city. If the two cities are isolated, it will not be difficult to capture the rear [Ancheng]."

Bian Xiang heard this and said, "General Zhen is right. I never thought of that. It takes a lot of troops to surround Bocheng. So, there won't be many troops left in Ancheng."

Zhen Xianglin said, "Commander, we can deploy 4,000 soldiers at each of the four gates of Bocheng, and we can always allocate 2,000 cavalry to attack Ancheng. Many of the soldiers and officers defending Bocheng have their families in Ancheng. If we succeed, we can persuade them to surrender, and Bocheng will be in our hands."

"In addition, the man killed by Jindujian yesterday was named Wang Shiwu, a trusted general of Wanyan Yongan. The other man was named Hu Yi, whose martial arts were not as good as Wang Shiwu. Using Wang Shiwu's head to persuade Hu Yi to surrender may help."

Jin Chengying said: "Commander, although what General Zhen said is very risky, it is not a bad idea. Besides, it will take several days to transport the siege equipment from the rear. Why not give it a try?"

After hearing this, Bian Xiang was about to speak when he saw seven or eight riders on fast horses rushing towards him from the direction of the big camp.

It was Luan Tingyu from Qingzhou who had dealt with the surrendered soldiers of the Yellow Turban Army and rushed here with 3,000 men. These fast riders came first to deliver the message.

Bian Xiang laughed and said, "It seems this is God's will. Who dares to go deep into the tiger's den?"

After hearing this, all the generals rushed forward.

Bian Xiang said, "Since this is what Zhen Tuan Lian Shi wanted, and we won't offend two masters, let Zhen Xianglin lead the troops. The three thousand cavalry in the army will be handed over to you for command, and you can do whatever you see fit."

"We can attack [Ancheng] if we can, but if we can't, there's no need to force it. When the real commander returns to [Bocheng], the siege equipment will have arrived by then, and we can just focus on attacking [Bocheng]."

The plan was finalized, and Bian Xiang deployed troops.

Three thousand cavalrymen, carrying enough food for seven days, followed the Green Bamboo Snake Zhen Xianglin to bypass Bocheng and head straight for Ancheng.

At the foot of Bocheng, Bian Xiang, Harlansheng and Jin Chengying each led a group of troops to surround the east, west and north gates, while the south gate was handed over to the Little Overlord Zhou Tong and Xiahou Cheng.

Small camps were set up at all four gates, preparing for a siege.

Wanyan Yongan, who was on the top of the city wall, saw this and began to worry about [Ancheng] behind him.

Just as he was considering whether to leave the city to fight back the besiegers, he saw dust rising in the distance. After waiting for a quarter of an hour, he saw a group of cavalry rushing towards him from the southeast.

Seeing that they were dressed like Liang soldiers under the city, they knew they were Liang reinforcements. When they got closer, they roughly counted and found that there were more than 3,000 cavalry.

Wanyan Yong'an's face suddenly changed, and he suddenly realized that the other invading world might have been wiped out. Luan Tingyu went around the city to find Bian Xiang, and after listening to Bian Xiang's strategy here, Luan Tingyu said: "I will bring 3,000 cavalry, leaving 1,000 to patrol the four gates, and the other 2,000 people can rush to [Ancheng]."

Bian Xiang did not refuse after hearing this and ordered the Little Overlord Zhou Tong to lead the troops to pursue Zhen Xianglin to Ancheng along his route.

As for Zhen Xianglin, he galloped all the way and arrived at the city of Ancheng at noon on the third day.

The cavalry galloped, and the spies sent out by Hu Yi, who was guarding the city, arrived.

When Zhen Xianglin arrived at the city of Ancheng, Hu Yi had already closed the city gates and mobilized the men in the city to attack the city walls.

When Zhen Xianglin saw this, he seemed to have expected it. He ordered his soldiers to hold Wang Shiwu's head on a long pole and then asked the Red Coat Army captives they had brought along to come forward and speak.

For a time, the news that Wanyan Yong'an was defeated and [Bocheng] was captured spread throughout [Ancheng].

Then, Zhen Xianglin ordered his soldiers to look into the city and shout, "Listen, everyone in the city. Wanyan Yong'an is dead, and you have been defeated. We are the vanguard, and there are more troops coming to attack the city. Open the city gates quickly. If you delay, the city will be breached and everyone will be slaughtered, regardless of whether they are soldiers or civilians!"

The people on the city walls knew the Red Coats below, and with Wang Shiwu's head there, they were already noisy. Now after hearing the shouting, they became even more noisy. The people, young and old, were in a panic, and children and girls were crying in every household.

Hu Yi was hesitant after hearing this. Just as he was wondering what was going on, he saw a cloud of dust rising from the south in the distance, which made him even more frightened.

After a while, they saw a group of Puma soldiers, also flying the flag of Liang. There were no less than two thousand of them.

Now, 5,000 cavalrymen have gathered under the city of Ancheng, and the number of infantrymen behind them is unknown. Hu Yi sighed, ordered his men to take off their armor, and tied them up with ropes.

He ordered the city gates to be opened and knelt on the side of the road to beg for surrender.

When Zhen Xianglin saw this, he urged his troops to occupy the city gate first.

Without bothering to talk to Zhou Tong, the two men dispatched their troops, occupied the four gates, and posted notices to reassure the people.

All the Red Coat Army weapons and armor in the city were confiscated, and the people were detained in the camp. After the government warehouses, the Red Coat Army generals' residences and other key places were occupied, Zhen Xianglin breathed a sigh of relief.

After everything was settled, Zhen Xianglin sent someone to pass the message to Bian Xiang while talking to Zhou Tong. Hearing that it was Luan Tingyu who came to help and the two thousand cavalry were all from Qingzhou, Zhen Xianglin said, "It's such a pity. Otherwise, Hu Yi, who was guarding the city, would not have surrendered so readily."

After saying this, he asked someone to invite Hu Yi to the county government office.

Seeing Hu Yi prostrating himself on the ground, Zhen Xianglin stepped forward to help Hu Yi up, saying, "General, you are very righteous and have saved the people of the city. Your merits are immeasurable. We will naturally ask for credit for you at the king's place."

After hearing this, Hu Yi said he didn't dare.

Seeing Zhen Xianglin's righteousness, Hu Yi said, "General, there are two people imprisoned in the city's prison. One is called Zhang Jin and the other is called Tian Fu. They are also Red Coat Army generals. Zhang Jin is from another Red Coat Army, a general under Liu Erzu, and Tian Fu was originally the Marshal of Haizhou. Although the two asked Wanyan Yongan to annex them, they were unwilling to surrender. Wanyan Yongan didn't want to kill them without permission, so he locked them up in the cell."

"These two people deeply hate Wanyan Yongan for being disloyal. General, you can release these two people. Perhaps they can help you."

"Did General Hu figure it out?" Zhen Xianglin asked.

Hu Yi said: "The general did not shy away from me. After entering the city, he first sealed Wanyan Yong'an's mansion and asked soldiers to escort all his family members to the south. It must be that he has not yet conquered [Bocheng]."

(End of this chapter)