The gods began by supporting Guo Jing to become emperor

Chapter 186: Twelve Hours in Chang'an
In this era, except for a few cities, most of them were built with rammed earth, but Chang'an was not one of them. It has been one of the centers of the world since the Qin Dynasty. The Sui Dynasty established Daxing City, and the Tang Dynasty built Chang'an on this basis. It is one of the tallest and most solid cities in the world.

Guo Jing rode his little red horse to the outside of Chang'an City. The tall city wall stood in front of him. One could not help but sigh that it was not easy to attack such a strong city. On the city wall, teams of soldiers held up big flags, ready for battle.

The sun was shining brightly in the sky, sweeping away the gloom of the past few days. The armor on the soldiers reflected the light in the sunlight.

He looked for a while, then drove his horse forward and stepped within 200 steps of the city wall. He raised his head, gathered all his energy and shouted, "Is Duke Shen up there?"

The voice was loud and powerful, echoing among the two armies.

Soon, a civil servant in a bright red official robe stood on the city wall. He shouted at the top of his voice, "I am here, Guo Jing, you are looking for me. Are you planning to surrender to the Great Jin Kingdom?"

Guo Jing looked very serious, standing proudly, "You must be joking, old man. Han and thieves cannot coexist. I, Guo Jing, am a Han Chinese, so how could I surrender to the Jin Kingdom? The hatred for killing my father is irreconcilable. One day, I will march into Kaifeng and chop off Wanyan Honglie's head to pay tribute to my father's spirit in heaven!"

The high-pitched voice echoed between heaven and earth. Guo Jing drew his sword, pointed at the city in front of him, and shouted, "My lords, take this city, kill the Jin people, and take revenge!"

Under the impetus of the true qi, the sound was very loud. When the army heard the sound, they immediately echoed, "Revenge!"

One hundred thousand people roared in unison, the sound was overwhelming and like a tsunami. On the city wall, Xu Ding saw this scene and his face turned pale. When the sound stopped, he shouted, "You little brat, don't show off your verbal skills." As he said that, he winked at the general beside him.

The man understood and quietly retreated, hiding behind the city wall, drawing his bow and arrow, aiming at Guo Jing.

Guo Jing narrowed his eyes slightly, and said in a slightly cold voice, "Master Xu, I hope you are still alive when the city is captured."

The next moment, “Swoosh!”

The sound of an arrow breaking through the air was heard, and a sharp arrow shot towards Guo Jing. Guo Jing didn't even blink, he stretched out his hand in the air and grabbed the arrow, which happened to be caught in his palm, as easy as eating and drinking.

On the city wall, Xu Ding sighed slightly, feeling a little regretful. If he could have kept Guo Jing under the city, the danger in Chang'an would have been averted.

"It's just a trifle. It's impolite not to return the favor. Sir Xu, I will return an arrow to you!"

Then, Guo Jing picked up the bow and arrow on his horse and shot an arrow at the top of the city wall.

"Lord be careful!"

Before Xu Ding could react, his trusted men immediately protected him behind them. However, the target of Guo Jing's arrow was not him, but the big flag on the top of the city wall. The flagpole fluttering in the wind was broken by the arrow and slowly fell down.

Seeing this scene, the morale of the army under the city was even higher, and Lu Guanying shouted on the spot, "Victory!"

The personal soldiers and the army beside him shouted "Victory!" and he cut off the commander's flag with one arrow, which was truly a brilliant shot.

Xu Ding looked back at the empty flagpole, feeling a wave of fear in his heart. If that arrow had just hit him, he would have been dead. "Sir, the enemy is cunning. Let's go down and hide first."

Without taking the time to boost morale, Xu Ding nodded and left surrounded by his confidants.

After shooting the arrow, Guo Jing returned to his own camp. There were too many people on the city wall, and it was too difficult to kill the opposing general with one arrow. The Jin army's general was not that stupid and would not stand there and let him shoot. It would be better to shoot off the opponent's flag as a demonstration.

He drew the golden sword from his waist, pointed it at the city in the distance and shouted, "All troops, attack the city!"

Immediately, various siege weapons were pushed to the front. The Jin army set up many traps around the city, but they could not stop the army's advance. Soon, the improved catapults were in place, and stone bombs whistled in the sky and hit the top of Chang'an City.

"boom!"

Stone bullets fell on the top of the city wall, causing rocks to fly everywhere. The soldiers were dumbfounded. How could the catapults on the opposite side be so powerful that they could hit the top of the city wall?

There were many kinds of siege weapons in ancient times, but only a few of them were practical. The catapult was the most important one. However, the catapults in the past had a short range and needed to be launched not far from the city wall, so they were easily destroyed by the enemy.

Nowadays, the catapult with counterweight has greatly increased its range and the weight of its projectiles. The Huihui cannon is no joke. With the continuous improvement of craftsmen, its power has been greatly enhanced. It can pose a threat to the city walls even from hundreds of steps away.

On the city wall, the Jin army tried various methods, but neither crossbows nor catapults could pose a threat to them, and they could only take the beating.

However, the one-sided attack dealt a heavy blow to morale. The hit rate of the catapults was very touching, but once they hit the target, it would be a dead end. The three city walls were hit by hundreds of catapults, and the Jin army did not even have the ability to fight back.

At the garrison, Xu Ding was listening to his men report on the battle situation. "Sir, the enemy's newly-made catapults have a long range, and our army cannot fight back. We can only watch them attack the city, which is a huge blow to morale."

"What do their trebuchets look like? Gather the craftsmen in the city to speed up the imitation and find a way to crack it as soon as possible. Also, send the young and strong men in the city to Zhiyun as soon as possible. They will soon attack the city."

"I obey my orders!"

After his men left, Xu Ding's old face was filled with worry. "Alas, the 100,000 troops in the city can still hold out for a while. I hope the war in the south will end soon, otherwise..."

Obviously, the power of the new catapult made him feel uneasy. Xu Ding was a man who understood military affairs. Although the catapult could not break the city wall, it was indestructible and could easily shake the morale of the army.

Before Guo Jing broke through Tongguan, he had gathered a group of people in Chang'an City. Now that Guo Jing's army attacked, it took only a few days to eliminate the strongholds he had set up in the surrounding areas and quickly surrounded Chang'an. This was something he had not expected at all.

The way to defend a city is not to defend it stubbornly, but to alternate between attack and defense. It would be best if there were cities that could serve as support for each other, but how could there be such a place around a city like Chang'an?

The only solution now is to take strict precautions.

The catapults attacked for an hour straight. The city walls were covered with traces of stones hitting the city walls. The city towers were also hit a lot. There were corpses lying scattered on the ground. These people were the unlucky ones who were hit by the catapults.

Cloud chariots, battering rams and other siege weapons rushed towards the city. The first group to go into battle were the surrendered Jin army and Western Xia people. To capture a big city like Chang'an, the cost would definitely not be less than attacking Tongguan.

Guo Jing led 100,000 soldiers, so he was naturally prepared for losses. In war, there are always casualties. The Jin army was attacked for a while, and then they quickly responded, using gold juice, kerosene, rolling logs and stones. The city walls were filled with the wailing of soldiers, and the attackers suffered heavy casualties.

However, the siege from three directions continued. Guo Jing mobilized his soldiers to attack the city wall facing the Wei River with all their strength, while the Jin army also defended the wall tightly without leaving any gaps.

One round of catapult attack, one round of siege, more than 10,000 Xixia soldiers and surrendered Jin people took turns to fight, which consumed a lot of the enemy's strength. Then he sent his own army to start attacking the city.

The war lasted for twelve hours almost without interruption from early morning to night. The dusky light from the west shone on the city walls, extinguishing the flaming arrows. Black smoke rose into the sky. Even birds did not dare to approach. Under the city of Chang'an, the soldiers with the big flags bearing the Chinese character "Guo" retreated from sight like a tide.

When the Jin army guarding the city saw this scene, their bodies softened and they couldn't help but reveal their joy at surviving the disaster. The enemy finally retreated.

The remaining flames in the city gate tower were being extinguished, corpses were pushed off the city wall, arrows on the ground and on the corpses were pulled out and gathered, and busy soldiers were cleaning the battlefield. The city gate was opened a little, and soldiers sneaked out, brought back the battering rams and boulders, and cleaned up the battlefield.

Their eyes were always looking into the distance vigilantly, and when they occasionally encountered an enemy who was not yet dead on the ground, they would casually give him a finishing blow.

The air was filled with the strong smell of blood and barbecue, which was very unpleasant. The land in front of the city was full of corpses, some of the Jin people, some of the Tanguts, and some of the Han people...

On the city wall, Xu Ding led a group of generals and walked behind the parapet, looking at the outline of the enemy army in the distance, then looked at the setting sun. Walking in the wind on the top of the city, his eyes were solemn and he remained silent.

Although the enemy was not able to reach the top of the city after a whole day of siege, the soldiers defending the city suffered heavy losses. According to reports from his subordinates, seven thousand-man teams were killed on that day alone. Of course, there were even more casualties on the enemy side.

Since ancient times, almost all generals have been unwilling to fight siege battles, simply because the loss ratio is too high.

Looking at the soldiers carrying corpses on the city wall, Xu Ding felt calm. As long as the city could be defended, it would be worth it no matter how many people died!

……

Han army camp.

Guo Jing couldn't help but frown as he looked at the battle report sent by his men. Today, a full ten thousand people were killed, most of them were from Western Xia and Jin. But even so, Guo Jing was still secretly amazed.

When he attacked Tongguan, he did not attack so fiercely, but now it seems that the casualties are still a bit too much for him to bear.

Especially in Chang'an City, there were hundreds of thousands of civilians. If one young and strong man was taken out of ten people, that would be tens of thousands of people. As long as there were food and supplies, no one knew how many people would die. When he attacked Guanzhong, it happened to be the time for autumn grain to be stored in the warehouse. Chang'an City would definitely not lack food in the short term.

In the next few days, Guo Jing slowed down his offensive and only attacked the city during the day. As the enemy's defense supplies were depleted, the number of casualties gradually decreased.

Inside the city, Xu Ding arranged the next preparations. "After several days of siege, the enemy is exhausted and their guards must be lax. Tonight, you go out of the city and attack the enemy camp."

The general leading the army did not object. It was not a good thing to keep getting beaten, they had to fight back.

That night, the Jin army went out of the east gate. Two thousand soldiers wearing single clothes and carrying flammable objects and weapons quietly rushed out of the east gate.

In the tent, Guo Jing was reviewing a report at his desk when he suddenly heard shouting and screaming outside. "What's going on outside?"

The guard opened the tent and walked in, "General, we have discovered the bandits' night attack and are now encircling them."

"kill!"

In the camp, a young general in iron armor led his soldiers to charge on foot. He was a burly man, holding a long sword, and he defeated the enemy.

Soon, the enemy was completely wiped out by the reinforcements that arrived, and the night attack was thus defeated.

On the top of the city wall, Xu Ding watched as the fire in the enemy camp started to light up and then gradually went out. He realized that the night attack had failed. He went back without saying a word, leaving only a faint sigh in the air.

However, Guo Jing was not ready to give up. From a combat perspective, he now took the initiative. It was always up to him to decide when and how to attack the city.

Late at night, shouts of fighting suddenly broke out from three directions and people rushed towards the city walls. On the top of the city, the Jin army came out in a panic to meet the enemy, and torches were lowered down the city. Then the enemy retreated like the tide and did not attack the city.

This chaotic battle situation lasted until the second half of the night, making the soldiers on the city physically and mentally exhausted. However, they dared not let their guard down. In case the enemy was actually strong and really rushed to the top of the city, the consequences would be serious.

Under the bright sky, birds flew overhead over the city. The north gate of Chang'an quietly opened, and dozens of scouts ran out and headed south.

Ten days later, the flapping wings flew over mountains and rivers. In the north, black smoke from the city called Chang'an rolled up to the sky. The shouts of fighting sounded like a thunderous wave. Amid the clashing of metal, corpses kept falling from the high walls and onto the ground, covered in blood.

More footsteps stepped over the corpses and climbed up the ladders. This was an even more intense siege, and everything was engulfed in bloodshed.

Guo Kaiyuan shook the arm holding the knife. His shoulder armor had already been torn and blood was spilling out with the shaking. There were sounds of fierce fighting all around him. Several feet ahead of him, the Han army had already spread up. Not long ago, the three brothers of the Shi family under Guo Jing's command climbed up the city wall in person despite the stone arrows. Guo Kaiyuan led hundreds of his personal guards to intercept them. After fighting with the enemy for several rounds, he could no longer resist them, but he could not retreat.

Although he has decided to surrender to Guo Jing, he still has to act. Now is not the time to take action. He must hide and wait for the opportunity to come.

Therefore, when he was on the battlefield, Guo Kaiyuan worked very hard.

"Kill! Don't be afraid. Hold on for a while. Our people will be here soon!"

After attacking the top of the city wall, Shi Tianze gathered his personal soldiers around him and shouted loudly. A Jin general noticed him and rushed towards him. Shi Tianze killed the enemy and rushed forward with dozens of people with swords. Along the way, someone lifted a battering ram to the parapet, but he was knocked to the ground by him from behind with a sword. The battering ram also fell down, knocking down the Han soldiers on the ladder.

Not far away, Shi Tianni took up his knife and rushed over with his personal guards while his brother was killing people. The two sides suddenly collided in hand-to-hand combat, and the crowds collided violently. The cold and pale knife lights chopped into people's bodies. Shouts, wails, blood, and minced meat were all concentrated on this section of the city wall.

After a while, Guo Kaiyuan met Shi Tianze. After several rounds of fighting, the weapon in Shi Tianze's hand was smashed away by the opponent. Guo Kaiyuan strode over with his burly and ferocious figure, swung his hand and chopped at the staggering figure on the head. In his peripheral vision, he saw someone rushing towards him. He felt something was wrong and quickly put away his knife to block. The iron sword deflected and with a bang, half of it was inserted into the parapet, splashing up gravel.

Here comes another one!
(End of this chapter)