Thief Emperor

Chapter 574 The humiliation of Jizhou!

Li Yun has not even been in Jizhou City for a full day, only less than a day.

And at this time, the Khitans just happened to come over. This was obviously not a coincidence. These people must have calculated the time accurately, preparing to take over Jizhou while Li Yun was not yet firmly established, or to give Li Yun a warning.

You have to know that this was an era when communication was extremely untimely. Even if the distance was dozens of miles, the communication delay was enormous. It would take a long time, half a day, to coordinate information between the two places. Even if the Khitans received the news immediately, they could only react at this moment, and it was impossible for them to come to Jizhou so quickly.

And since they have come, it means they must have noticed it in advance and made preparations in advance.

Moreover, when marching and fighting, especially in this era, the army cannot take action just by thinking about it. Sometimes, it takes several days to discuss the military meetings before the war.

Well, within the Fanyang Army, or even within Li Zhang's army, there must be a traitor who has sided with the Khitans, and he is very likely in a high position.

Because these Khitan people probably knew accurately that Li Yun would arrive at this time about ten days in advance.

These thoughts flashed through Li Yun's mind quickly, and he quickly issued orders one after another: "Notify Meng Qing and ask him to return to Jizhou City immediately with scouts."

At this point, Li Yun paused and continued, "It depends on the situation. We can leave a dozen or twenty people outside to hide our whereabouts."

The messenger did not dare to be negligent. He immediately bowed his head and responded, then turned around and strode away.

Li Yun called Zhou Bi and Su Zhan and said in a deep voice: "Su Zhan, go tell Li Zheng that the Khitans are likely to attack. Tell him to be on guard immediately, especially at the city gates. Defences must be prepared as soon as possible."

Su Zhan responded quickly, turned around and ran away quickly.

Li Yun looked at Zhou Bi again and said in a deep voice: "Go see Zhou Chang and tell him about the situation outside the city so that they can also respond."

Zhou Bi was not in a hurry and lowered his head and said, "Yes."

He wanted to turn around and leave, but Li Yun looked at him and said slowly, "Tell Zhou Chang that he can't act alone. If there is anything, at least let us know."

Zhou Bi bowed his head again, then turned and left.

Li Yun himself, with Yang Xi, climbed up to the east city tower of Jizhou and looked outside the city.

Yang Xi stood behind him and said carefully, "Sir, before you came in this time, Madam and Mr. Du both found me in private and told me that the Khitans are fierce and their archery skills are very accurate. You must not go into battle again no matter what."

He said firmly: "If you come to the battlefield again, your subordinates will offend the superiors!"

Li Yun turned around, glanced at him, and snorted, "The enemy hasn't even seen their shadow yet, and you're still nagging here. If you keep nagging, I'll send you back to Nanjing to retire."

Yang Xi shrank his neck, lowered his head and dared not speak.

Just as Li Yun was watching from the tower, Li Zheng, who had received the news, hurried over and stood behind Li Yun. He followed Li Yun's gaze and looked into the distance. He bowed his head and clasped his fists and said, "Sir, all the gates in the city have been arranged."

He said confidently, "There won't be any problem."

The defending side is already in an advantageous position, and Li Yun's side also has an advantage in terms of numbers. If Li Yun had not seen the Khitans before and had no idea what they were like and how many cavalry they had, given his temper, he would have led his men out of the city to fight. It would be impossible for him to hide in the city and wait for the Khitans to come.

Li Yun retracted his gaze, looked at Li Zheng, and said slowly: "Even if the Khitans rush straight to Jizhou, it will be dark outside the city. They will most likely not attack the city tonight. Don't be too nervous. You must deploy your troops well and don't let the brothers get tired all night."

Li Zheng smiled and said, "Don't worry, second brother. I have been leading troops for a while. I know how to take turns on duty."

He also looked outside the city and said with emotion: "I heard from Su Zhan that there are only 5,000 Khitans found. According to my second brother's previous temper, we should go out to find them now."

"My second brother has really changed."

Li Yun shook his head slightly and said, "We just arrived in the north and haven't even settled down yet. Moreover, many people are sick. The army needs to rest for a while before it can recover its combat effectiveness."

"Besides, we don't understand the Khitans."

Li Yun looked back at Li Zheng and said slowly: "According to the intelligence, these Khitans are quite terrifying."

According to the information Li Yun received, the unification of the Khitan tribes should have happened last year.

Theoretically speaking, the tribes had just been unified and the casualties among them must have been considerable. The Khitans should have calmed down at this time, and the new Khitan Khan should have taken this opportunity to consolidate his power.

It will take at least three to five years before we can form a fighting force against the Han Dynasty in the south.

But in fact, in just one year, the young Khitan Khan not only subdued the other Khitan tribes, but also conquered the Bohai Kingdom. With his merit in destroying the country, he established almost supreme prestige among the Khitan tribes.

Therefore, he was able to turn the gun and aim at the south in such a short time.

All these undoubtedly revealed the powerful ability of the Khitan Khan, an ability that Li Yun had to pay attention to.

“So, I’m going to take a look first.”

Li Zheng naturally would not oppose Li Yun's decision. He stood beside Li Yun and expressed his own opinions.

"I have also read some intelligence about the Khitan. This Khitan Khan is too arrogant. He just unified the Khitan tribes and fought a great battle with the Bohai Kingdom. If he can recuperate now, he will definitely be much more powerful in a few years."

"He doesn't think about restraining himself, but instead goes south at this time." Li Zheng whispered, "In my opinion, he may be brave enough, but not very smart."

Li Yun looked at Li Zheng with great satisfaction, and said with a smile: "Not bad, not bad, you have finally learned to think about things, but this Khitan Khan is not as simple as you think."

"He...probably doesn't have any intention of heading south in one fell swoop."

"At this time, he has brought the power to destroy Bohai, and other Khitan tribes dare not disobey him. It is a good time to eliminate dissidents. By the way, we can also try to see how strong the Han people in the south are."

"If we can't stop him, he'll probably take advantage of the situation and head south."

While the two brothers were discussing, Major General Zhou Chang also rushed over and asked Li Yun about the details.

When it was dark, Meng Qing led his men back to Jizhou, and the city gates of Jizhou were immediately closed, waiting for the arrival of the Khitans.

…………

Nothing happened that night. The next morning, Li Yun woke up from his bed. Zhou Bi was already waiting at the door. When he saw Li Yun coming out, he hurriedly whispered, "Go up!"

Li Yun looked at him and asked, "Is there something wrong with the city defense?"

Zhou Bi first shook his head, then clenched his fists and said, "The Khitans have already stationed outside Jizhou City. General Xiao Meng is guarding the city right now. These Khitans are so hateful!"

Li Yun glanced at him, and Zhou Bi said in a hoarse voice, "Second brother, you will know if you go and take a look."

Li Yun put on his clothes and went up to the city wall of East City.

Not far outside the city, the Khitan people's tents could be seen. They were probably built overnight.

At this time, about a thousand Khitans had arrived outside Jizhou City, only about a hundred feet away.

These Khitans did not attack, but they erected several tall poles outside Jizhou City. On one of the poles was tied a thick hemp rope, and under the hemp rope were men's heads tied and hung on the poles.

There were traces of blood on these heads, which clearly showed that they had not been dead for long.

On another upright pole, there were four or five female corpses hanging. The corpses were stripped of their clothes and were completely naked. There were many horrific wounds all over their bodies, and some of them had their intestines spilled out.

There was a white flag hung on each of the two poles, with a few crooked Chinese characters written on it in scarlet blood.

Written on the left banner.

"The Han army shrinks its head."

Written on the right banner.

"Pigs, dogs, and Han Chinese."

The words are crooked, but particularly eye-catching.

Li Yun climbed up the city wall and saw this scene at a glance. The muscles under his eyes couldn't help but twitch.

Meng Qing, who had just put down the telescope in his hand, had a flushed face.

He has turned red and warm.

After seeing Li Yun, Meng Qing strode forward, bowed his head and gritted his teeth and said: "Step up, I will fight you!"

Li Yun did not answer him, but looked at the scene outside the city, expressionless and said: "Last night, they did not attack the city, but went to do these things?"

Meng Qing gritted his teeth and said, "That's probably the case. Those are the people they captured outside Jizhou City last night."

Li Yun took the telescope handed over by Meng Qing and looked at the scene outside the city carefully again. This time, even he had a blush on his face.

"The next work."

With a cold face, he called the Jizhou garrison commander Li Zhang, who stayed in the city and was the main garrison commander of Jizhou who communicated with Li Yun, He Mao, and pointed outside the city and asked, "Was it the same when you were guarding the city before?"

He Mao lowered his head and did not answer directly, but gritted his teeth.

"Mr. Li, this is the enemy's way of provoking you, don't fall for it!"

Li Yun grabbed his collar and almost lifted him up, shouting, "I want to ask you, was Jizhou like this originally?"

This He was only a lieutenant in the Fanyang army. He was frightened half to death by Li Yun and quickly said, "Before...there was once before."

"Mr. Li, there are thousands of them, wandering around Jizhou for a whole night, and we only...only caught a few of them. As long as you can be patient and prudent, these Khitans will suffer heavy losses!"

Li Yun threw him aside and sneered, "What a heavy loss!"

(End of this chapter)