Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 725 Abandoning the City
Under the bombardment of various cannons from the Liang Kingdom, half of the gate tower of the north gate of Song City collapsed, but the city gate and city wall still stood tall in the cold wind.

The next day, Kong Yanzhou sent two of his generals out of the east and west gates respectively to attack the large camp established by Liang Guoli.

【Flying Hammer】Fu Yu and 【Heavenly King】Li Cheng also left their camp to face off. Unable to use their powerful bows and crossbows, the army still had some muskets and three-barreled guns, which they fired at the onrushing Qi army.

Amidst the sounds of "bang, bang," the front ranks of the Qi army were attacked. The unlucky ones were struck in the face and died on the spot. Most were hit by lead pellets and knocked to the ground.

With one charge, Liang Jun drove the two Qi armies that had come out of the city back into the city.

The two won a minor victory. While cleaning up the battlefield, they sent someone to the north gate to report to Pang Yi and Liang Heng.

Inside the main tent at the North Gate, Pang Yi, after hearing about the situation at the East and West Gates, said to Liang Heng, "Commander Liang, it seems that Kong Yanzhou in the city is getting anxious."

Liang Heng laughed and said, "He's testing us. I'm afraid this fellow doesn't have the determination to defend the city. At most, he'll hold out for another three to five days before he runs away."

Bian Xi also laughed and said, "In this kind of weather, the rabble in the city will come out of the city. We can then ambush them and win a great victory with ease."

Pang Yi also laughed and said, "Leaving the South Gate open was originally meant to make him escape. We've surrounded him on three sides and left one open. Kong Yanzhou has been leading troops for many years; he must know what we're thinking."

"Given this fellow's nature, he will surely leave someone behind to cover our retreat. We should also prepare in advance, lest we really let this big fish escape."

After a private discussion in the main tent, the veteran general Liang Heng led 1,000 cavalry and 2,000 infantrymen and mules from the two prefectures out of the camp that night.

As Pang Yi and the others had predicted, Kong Yanzhou sent troops out from the east and west gates to fight each day for the next two days before returning to the city.

Under Pang Yi's orders, Fu Yu, the Flying Hammer, and Li Cheng, the Heavenly King, no longer went out of the camp to meet the enemy. Instead, they relied on the camp walls and used muskets and three-barreled guns to fight and kill the Qi soldiers who charged up.

At the north gate, Pang Yi intensified his attack, firing cannons continuously and assembling siege equipment in the camp, seemingly preparing for a surprise siege.

On the third day, Kong Yanzhou, as usual, arranged for two generals from the Song army who had defected to him to leave the city, but strictly ordered them that regardless of success or failure, they must attack the camp for one hour, and this would be the case from now on.

He shouted, "I told you to go out of the city to fight the enemy, not to go hunting for food. You charged into the camp, and before you even got close, you turned back. The two units guarding the city today are not allowed to open the gates for at least an hour. Whoever disobeys my orders will be sent to guard the north gate."

The generals listened and looked on with schadenfreude at their two unfortunate colleagues.

The two generals who were named accepted their bad luck and dared not question it in the slightest.

Kong Yanzhou was brutal, as all the generals in the camp had witnessed.

Not daring to dawdle, the two mustered their troops and left the city.

Fu Yu and Li Cheng, stationed at the East and West stockades, noticed that the outside world was constantly probing, unlike the previous two days when they retreated as soon as they made contact. They immediately began deploying troops and dispatched soldiers from the rear stockade to the main stockade at the north gate of Song City to report the situation.

Upon hearing the news from the two major camps in the east and west, Pang Yi laughed heartily and said to Sheng Ben and Bian Xi, "The fish have taken the bait. Generals, prepare your troops and, upon hearing the drums of my central camp, each lead a contingent to support the two major camps in the east and west. Afterward, there is no need to attack the city; instead, pursue the enemy who has left the city to the south."

Meanwhile, in Songcheng, Kong Yanzhou took advantage of the opportunity to mobilize troops to attack Liang's main camp outside the city, gathered his own troops, and with a command, opened the south gate, and the soldiers filed out.

Family members and treasures were all mixed in with the baggage train.

After leaving the city, he led his troops south.

This army, totaling over ten thousand men, consisted of those who had followed Kong Yanzhou since his days of robbing and pillaging.

Three days ago, when Kong Yanzhou ordered the packing of provisions and supplies, I secretly suspected something was amiss. Today, instead of engaging in battle, he headed south after leaving the city, which tells me that Kong Yanzhou has abandoned Song City.

As for the more than ten thousand people inside Song City, they were all Song soldiers taken in by Kong Yanzhou, and he didn't feel bad about abandoning them. Moreover, these people could also serve as the rearguard, delaying the Liang soldiers' pursuit. On the other side, when various cannons were raining down on the city walls as usual, Pang Yi personally climbed the flying tower to observe the enemy situation in the city.

Far beyond the city walls, gazing southward, a black line appeared, and Pang Yi shouted, "Beat the drums!"

Upon hearing the drumbeats, Sheng Ben and Bian Xi immediately mounted their horses and led their respective troops to charge around the city and rush towards the east and west gates.

Pang Yi descended from the flying tower and ordered the remaining soldiers to leave the camp as well, shouting around the north gate: "Kong Yanzhou has abandoned the city and fled. You all must surrender quickly, lest the city fall and not a single chicken or dog be spared."

The soldiers guarding the city wall were filled with doubt upon hearing this, but dared not abandon the city wall.

The roar of thousands of men could be heard throughout Song City. The two armies locked in battle at the east and west gates reacted differently upon hearing it.

The Qi soldiers were astonished, and the Liang soldiers, under the command of Li Cheng and Fu Yu, opened the gates and charged out of the camp.

They shouted loudly, "Surrender and you will not be killed!"

On the other side, Sheng Ben and Bian Xi also led their troops to attack. The Qi army, which was at a loss, was thrown into chaos. Some of the troops turned around and ran towards the city gate, while others threw down their weapons and knelt down to beg for surrender.

Sheng Ben and Bian Xi ignored them, bypassed the battlefield, and headed south.

Li Cheng and Fu Yu shouted and charged toward the city gate.

By this time, news of Kong Yanzhou's abandonment of the city and escape had already spread. With tens of thousands of soldiers and countless carriages following him, how could such a commotion go unnoticed?

No one could have imagined that Kong Yanzhou, who had confidently claimed yesterday that he would wear down the Liang army by taking advantage of the cold weather, would actually leave the city today.

Amidst the commotion, the soldiers guarding each gate had long lost their will to fight.

They all rushed down from the city walls, intending to escape from Song City.

The east and west gates were opened first, and then the north gate was also captured by Pang Yi.

The three groups converged, and Pang Yi ordered Li Cheng and Fu Yu to also leave the city to pursue them.

Pang Yi stayed behind to take in the prisoners and post notices to reassure the people.

Outside the city, Kong Yanzhou kept urging his soldiers on. By the time Sheng Ben and Bian Xi caught up with them to the south of the city, Kong Yanzhou's army had already traveled more than ten miles away.

In order to put pressure on Kong Yanzhou, the two followed the plan and made a big show of their advance.

Looking at the baggage train in the ranks and the approaching Liang soldiers, Kong Yanzhou ordered that all the grain and baggage be discarded. He even reluctantly ordered his soldiers to open the chests full of gold, silver, jewels and copper coins and scatter them along the roadside.

Unfortunately, the Liang army had strict military discipline, and no one dared to disregard military orders.

They continued their pursuit, passing the scattered gold and silver treasures.

With the baggage no longer a burden, Kong Yanzhou's speed increased even further.

In order not to be left behind, some soldiers secretly discarded their armor and weapons.

The Liang soldiers chasing behind kept shouting, and the pursuit continued until they crossed the Bian River, at which point the shouts subsided.

(End of this chapter)