Do you know: I have a different surname: Wang, uncle Minglan.

Chapter 303: The Outer City is Lost, the Situation is Over

In the Liao army tent.

Many soldiers were confused.

Marshal, when did you get in touch with General Zhou?

"Marshal, I wonder who General Zhou is?"

A Liao general asked.

Yelu Ren first explained the whole story.

General Zhou originally defected to Prince Yan. Later, the Two Kings Case broke out. Wei Yuan personally investigated the case, and countless people involved in the Two Kings Case were killed or injured.

General Zhou was originally the deputy commander of an army, but because of this incident, he was demoted to the position of captain of the city gate. He had no hope of promotion and was often suppressed.

When he learned that Yelu Renxian was about to attack Bian Jing, he took a risk and sent his personal guards to contact Yelu Renxian.

As the original Imperial City Division's strict investigation of Zhou's treason had come to a temporary end, Yan Da dispatched all Imperial City Division personnel to closely monitor the movements of various enemy forces.

So, when Zhou contacted Yelu Renxian that year, no one noticed.

The next day.

Yelu Renxian still ordered all the soldiers to attack the city as usual.

After many days of fighting, many parts of the Bianjing city wall had been damaged.

Both sides paid a heavy price.

In this battle, the Zhou army's soldiers became less and less confident, but Han Zhang believed that the Liao army was already showing signs of defeat.

Whenever the enemy attacked the city, Han Zhang would always put on armor and climb to the top of the city wall.

The moment the drums and trumpets sounded, Han Zhang knew that the enemy had begun attacking the city again.

While actively preparing for the battle, I also heard the voices of some generals.

"Mr. Han, how long will this battle last?"

"The enemy is endless. If this continues, the soldiers will lose the will to defend the city."

"."

Hearing this, Han Zhang frowned, "The enemy is attacking the city so fiercely, they must be determined to take Bianjing."

"With the Emperor and the Regent in the city, it is the foundation of our Great Zhou. We must grit our teeth and hold on no matter what."

"Besides, after several days of siege, the Liao army has suffered far more casualties than ours. Why are you so lazy?"

After these words were spoken, all the generals fell silent.

The elite troops capable of fighting have already been sent out.

Among the remaining imperial guards, how many of them have actually been on the battlefield?
Moreover, everyone knew that this place was Bian Jing. After defending the city for several days, there was still no sign of reinforcement.

How could the determination to win of the entire army not be shaken?

Han Zhang glanced at everyone one by one, feeling a sense of powerlessness in his heart.

No wonder Wei Yuan insisted on military reform.

It would be strange if an army like this could win a battle.

"Generals, we have no way to retreat. We can only defend Bianjing to the death!"

At this point, Han Zhang changed the subject and said loudly:
"Fight for His Majesty, for the Regent!"

As soon as the words fell, one or two soldiers took the lead, and then more and more soldiers raised their arms and shouted,
"Fight for His Majesty, for the Regent!"

"For Your Majesty"

"."

The sounds of trumpets, drums, and shouts of fighting and killing became more and more frequent.

Soon, the war was about to break out.

On the city wall, the defending soldiers were on high alert. They held their weapons tightly and watched vigilantly the enemy troops approaching from outside the city.

The Liao army's flags fluttered, and the Liao army soldiers pushed the siege vehicles, constantly shouting the word "kill" in the Liao language, and rushed to the city gate at all costs.

Arrows flew towards the city walls like raindrops, and huge stones fired by catapults smashed big holes on the walls of Bianjing. Soon, the two sides launched a fierce offensive and defensive battle.

The archers defending the city stood on the battlements and continuously shot arrows at the attacking army. The arrows rained down like locusts, causing considerable casualties to the enemy.

The attacking troops used their shields to block the rain of arrows and steadily approached the city wall step by step.

At the city gate, the defending soldiers attacked the siege vehicles with boulders and hot oil, trying to stop their advance.

The siege vehicles kept hitting the city gate, and the gate was shaking under the huge impact force.

At this time, dark clouds covered the entire Bianjing.

Most of the people in the city heard the fighting at the city gate.

This was the most fierce siege launched by the Liao army in recent days.

The sound of killing seemed to shock the entire city of Bianjing.

Nowadays, there are no pedestrians in every street and corner of the capital, even near the most prosperous Imperial Street.

The officials stayed in various yamen, and once the court issued any order, they would frantically run the various agencies of the yamen and do their best to help the defending soldiers defend the city.

The military heroes closed the door of the mansion tightly, and a solemn atmosphere filled the mansion.

If the Liao army really broke into the city and attacked, they would stop the Liao army from entering the palace gate at all costs.

They are military heroes and have been deeply favored by the emperor for generations. For them, there is only one way to go: to be loyal to the country.

The common people who still stayed in the capital dared only to stay at home and did not dare to go out.

Some people's homes near the city gate were hit by huge stones from the catapults.

The room was instantly shattered by the force.

At this time, in the Duke of England’s mansion.

Zhang Guifen was supervising Zhang Fu to finish drinking the medicine.

After many days of recuperation, Zhang Fu's health has improved greatly and the toxins in his body have been mostly cleared.

Now, I can get out of bed and walk normally.

After drinking the medicine, he asked Zhang Guifen and others about the current situation in Bianjing City.

Minglan also stayed here.

She wanted to stay with her mother during this time.

But Wei Shuyi insisted on letting her come to the Duke of Yingguo's mansion.

Helpless, Minglan had to come and accompany Zhang Guifen.

"Father, Han Xianggong is taking care of the defense of the city, so you don't have to worry about it. You should take good care of yourself."

Hearing what Zhang Guifen said.

Zhang Fu, who was lying on the bed, shook his head slowly and said, "Han Zhang is better at governing a country than I am, but now he is facing Yelu Renxian, and he is not good enough."

Minglan took the opportunity to say, "Hasn't my uncle already rushed over from Jiangnan?"

Zhang Fu sighed, "Fujian and Guangnan are very far away from Jiangnan. It is not easy for Yuan'er to gather 300,000 troops and march north."

After a pause, Zhang Fu called Zhang Guifen to his side again and said earnestly:
"If Yuan'er's army can't arrive in Bianjing, you can take Zhuang'er, Jing'er, and Ming'er with you and take advantage of the chaos to flee the capital and go to Jiangnan."

"With Yuan'er's strength, it won't be difficult for him to defend Jiangnan against the Liao army."

Zhang Guifen was stunned. After coming to her senses, she said in disbelief, "Could it be that the situation today is so serious?"

Zhang Fu sighed, "If your uncle Gu were still alive, it wouldn't matter if your father was seriously ill."

"Ever since Qin Lie took command of the army, he has been led by Yelu Renxian everywhere."

"This guy never fights a battle without confidence. I am worried about him. He must have a perfect plan to attack Bianjing so fiercely."

Having said that, he slowly closed his eyes, waved his hand, and signaled Zhang Guifen and others to leave.

If the city of Bianjing was captured, everyone would have a chance of survival, including the Crown Prince who was the Regent.

But only Zhang Fu has no chance of survival.

If he were alive, Yelu Renxian would not be able to sleep.

Miyagi.

Crown Prince Zhao Xi has not slept well since the Liao army attacked the city.

He sat in the Xuanzheng Hall all day waiting for battle reports from the city gate.

After about an hour or two, news of the battle finally arrived.

Han Zhang once again successfully defended Bianliang.

After hearing the news, Zhao Xi let out a breath and felt a lot more relaxed.

The Liao army marched southwards, winning every battle and conquering every city. The Zhou army was really frightened by them. "It is a blessing for the country to have loyal ministers!"

Zhao Xi murmured.

Han Zhang is already too old, and now he is only defending the capital with his resolve. If he loses this resolve, I'm afraid he will die soon.
-
March 28th, the eighth year of Jiayou.

Han Zhang leaned against a city wall to take a rest.

In the past few days, he has been eating and living with the soldiers defending the city.

Many people don’t understand him. Why does he still cling on when he could have retired?
In fact, what Han Zhang wanted was very simple. Not only did the emperor need civil and military skills, but the prime minister did too.

Why is Zhuge Liang still remembered by later generations?
Isn’t it because Zhuge Liang is not only good at governing the country, but also good at fighting wars?

That year, Han Zhang suffered a crushing defeat in the battle against Western Xia, and this incident has always been a stain on his political career.

If he could defend Bianliang this time, then his civil and military achievements as the prime minister of the Great Zhou would be perfect.

"Prime Minister Han, why don't you go to sleep for a while? The Liao army has been having trouble attacking the city these past few days. Now it's almost noon and the Liao army has not made any moves to attack the city. I think they need to rest for a day."

General You Zhou came up to him and whispered.

Han Zhang just shook his head and said, "Don't take it lightly."

Hearing this, General Zhou had nothing to say and had to retreat.

It was around noon.

Han Zhang, who was feeling sleepy, suddenly woke up as if from a dream. He stood up, stood in front of the battlement and looked around. Suddenly he saw the Liao army gathering its troops.

Moreover, the scale was far greater than the previous sieges.

Seeing this, Han Zhang frowned deeply, "So soon, the Liao army is going to launch a general attack?"

General attack?

Upon hearing these two words, the soldiers around them all had their pupils shrink and their expressions were stunned.

Launch a general attack at this time?

Since the siege, the Liao army has suffered heavy casualties.

However, the garrison forces in the capital did not lose more than half of their strength.

Wouldn't it be asking for trouble to launch a general offensive at this time?

"Prime Minister Han, this is not right? The commander of the Liao army is Yelu Renxian, he can't make such a mistake."

"Whether it's a general attack or not, judging from the situation, they are definitely going to attack the palace."

"The Liao army is really strong. If our army were to attack the city at all costs, the morale of the army would be broken in three to five days at most."

"."

Han Zhang immediately ordered, "All troops on alert!"

The next moment, heralds ran all over the city, shouting,
"The entire army is on alert!"

"Prime Minister Han has issued an order, the entire army is on alert!"

"."

Not long after.

On the city walls, flags were flying and the soldiers of the Great Zhou were ready for battle.

Outside the city, the enemy troops surged in like a tide, with drums beating and shouts of killing rising one after another.

Catapults continued to hurl huge stones into the city, and arrows fell like rain.

Han Zhang commanded calmly, and the soldiers built a solid defense line with shields, while the archers on the city kept shooting arrows back.

The rockets shot at the enemy like fire dragons, setting their tents and siege equipment on fire.

The city gates were closed, the water in the moat was dyed red, and the corpses of enemy soldiers were piled up under the city walls.

A bloody battle ensued.

However, just as Han Zhang was commanding the defense of the city.

Outside the city, however, a shocking incident occurred.

A Zhou general who was in charge of guarding the city gate suddenly opened the city gate while the soldiers were changing shifts.

The reason for rotation of guards during wartime is that the soldiers guarding the city gates need a certain amount of time to recover their strength.

Outside the city, the Liao army's siege vehicles had also arrived.

After opening the city gate, General Zhou suddenly ran out of the city and shouted:
"Warriors of the Liao Dynasty, enter the city quickly! Enter the city!"

However, as soon as he finished speaking, an arrow shot towards him.

He was unable to dodge and was killed by the arrows.

The rest of the Zhou army wanted to close the city gates, but it was too late.

This was because the Liao army's siege vehicles had already passed the city gate.

A large number of Liao troops have already rushed into the city gate.

The city of Bianjing was divided into the outer city and the inner city. The outer city was connected to the moat, while the inner city was more like a huge iron cage.

As long as you get in here, without any cover, you will easily be shot to death by arrows.

By the time Han Zhang learned that the outer city had been lost, many Zhou army soldiers had already lost their composure.

"Stop the Liao army outside the inner city at all costs!"

Han Zhang personally led a team of soldiers to guard the inner city.

The Liao army was attacking fiercely outside, and Liao soldiers were constantly pouring into the inner city.

Han Zhang felt increasingly exhausted.

But he knew very well that he had to defend the inner city even if he died here.

Otherwise, the entire Bianjing would be undefendable.

The imperial city and the palace could not stop the charge of the Liao army.

"If anyone deserts the battlefield, kill him!"

Han Zhang kept shouting.

But it seemed that more and more Zhou army soldiers had given up defending the city.

Over there at the Liao army's tent.

Yelu Renxian saw that the time was ripe and divided his troops into two.

One team attacked the inner city, while the other team provided cover and delayed the main force of Zhou army defending the outer city.

"Boys, today, the history books of the Liao Dynasty will record that Bianjing was conquered!"

"Follow me and charge!"

In order to raise the morale of the Liao army to the peak, Yelu Renxian actually led an army to charge personally.

Above the inner city.

Han Zhang, wearing armor, with a white beard and a haggard face, felt powerless when he saw the enemy troops constantly climbing up the outer city and even heading towards the inner city.

He knew that the game was over.

A general came to him and wanted to take him away temporarily.

"Mr. Han, you go first. I will protect you while you retreat!"

withdraw?
Han Zhang drew the long sword from his waist, and with both hands, he managed to hold the sword steadily, gnashing his teeth and saying:

"Retreat? Where can we retreat to at this time?"

"As the emperor and the regent, we have only one choice: death!"

At this moment, no matter whether this old guy did it for fame or for other reasons, in the eyes of some generals, he seemed increasingly taller.

Once upon a time, during Han Zhang's reign, the status of military generals was the lowest in the history of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

There was no general who did not hate Han Zhang.

However, at this moment, they suddenly discovered that the hateful old man in front of them was not as disgusting as they seemed.

At least, he did not choose to desert the battlefield like some civil officials.

"Since Mr. Han is not afraid of life or death, I will follow him on this journey!"

"kill!"

"."

With Han Zhang's fearlessness.

The soldiers of the Great Zhou who were forced into a desperate situation also burst out with their last bit of bloodiness and morale at this moment.

(End of this chapter)