The gods began by supporting Guo Jing to become emperor

Chapter 339: Siege War, People from Luoyang

Song Que, Su Ming and others focused their eyes and watched the battle from afar. Corpses were scattered all over the ground under Jinyong City. The broken arrow-shielding carts and tower carts fell to the ground, with corpses lying around them. Blood was flowing on the ground, and arrows and weapons were densely scattered.

In the past, the Wu army used the Shu Road pass to block the Guanlong coalition forces. Now, Jinyong City also made them taste the same pain as the Zhou army did in the past. This city was a military fortress when it was first built, which was easy to defend but difficult to attack.

Song Lu looked at the city walls that were bombarded with flying stones but not damaged much and couldn't help but sigh, "The city walls are thick and deep, no wonder Wang Shichong couldn't take them down." To this day, catapults are still a powerful siege weapon in the hands of the Song clan. The reason why the cities in the south were so easy to capture was not only because the Song clan lacked a strong military force, but also because the catapults were too powerful. After a few rounds of attacks, the city walls were damaged, morale dropped, and they had no choice but to surrender.

Wu Jun suffered heavy casualties in the siege. Song Que was full of confidence. "This city can stop Wang Shichong, but not me. Brother Lu, just wait and see."

Su Ming stood on one side and saw Song Que's rising momentum. He thought to himself that his martial arts had improved a lot compared to when he was in Hanzhong. It must be because he killed Fan Qinghui and the Song family was successful in their careers. As a result, his thoughts became clear, his heart of Taoism gradually became complete, and his power flourished.

In this age where force is rampant, it is difficult to become the overlord without superior martial arts. Within a short distance, all the enemies are within reach. When a common man gets angry, blood will splatter ten steps away. Ordinary people are too vulnerable in front of martial artists.

But if a martial arts master becomes the overlord of a region, he can rely on his words to be powerful and his mighty power to greatly boost the confidence and momentum of the martial artists. This is a different kind of spiritual and mental cultivation. Observing the way of heaven and following the way of heaven is like a saint who follows one principle and shepherds the world. The words and deeds of the leader of a region can affect the fate of the people around him or change the general situation of the world. In this process, he can understand the way of nature and the way of people's hearts, and have a clear understanding of the beginning and end of all things in the world. It is normal for martial arts to improve.

Unfortunately, this method of using the power of the country to feed back the momentum of one's own martial arts also has obvious shortcomings. That is, once one's own forces suffer a defeat and their strength is weakened, at the least they will be left with psychological trauma, at the worst, their hearts will be broken, their spirits will collapse, and their martial arts realm will fall.

Once those who fight for the world suffer a crushing defeat, most of the time they have no chance to persevere and make a comeback. In contrast, those who don't know martial arts can get rid of the impact of failure in a short period of time and start over!
This is the same principle as for Taoist and Buddhist practitioners, once greed, anger, and ignorance fill their hearts, and evil thoughts arise, their Taoist and Zen mind states fade, and their skills are greatly impaired. This can be called "retreat of the mind", and Shi Zhixuan is a vivid example.

The difference is that the confidence and momentum of the ruler are placed on the forces under his command. It is easy to make rapid progress with the expansion of the forces, but it is also easy to disappear into thin air with the decline of the forces. It is far less stable than the state of mind of Taoism and Zen. In a sense, it can be regarded as an external help. The state of mind of Taoism and Zen formed by comprehending the nature of heaven and earth needs to be developed step by step. It seems a bit slow and difficult to make progress. However, once it is fully developed, it can be unmoved. Even if the state of mind is lost for a while and falls into the devil's barrier, it is possible to break through the devil's barrier at any time and reach a higher state of mind.

The saying "There is gain and there is loss, there is no gain and there is no loss" is exactly this truth.

Song Que's martial arts skills had improved at this time, but he did not show it. It was as if he had returned to his original state. He looked like just a local leader, not a martial arts hero.

On the top of Jinyong City, the Wagang Army defended in an orderly manner. When the attacking army filled the moat and attacked close, the Wu army's catapults stopped bombarding to avoid hurting their own people.

At this time, the Wagang Army hiding behind the city wall came out to defend, with archers at the forefront. Arrows were quietly drawn out of the quiver, and like many other arrows, they were put on the bowstring by calloused hands. Tough branches pressed against the string, straining it with all their might. There were shouts and screams all around, the sound of people's footsteps shook the earth, and one after another running figures climbed up the city wall using ladders.

A loud shout rang out: "——Shoot!"

Under the city, Wu army archers also shot arrows.

The next second, the bowstring vibrated, and the arrow instantly rushed into the sky. The air was filled with the buzzing sound of the bowstring. The sky darkened and then brightened, densely covering a section of the city wall.

"Ding Ding Ding!"

The other arrows on the left and right collided head-on with the feather arrows that were also flying towards them. The two sides collided and could no longer move forward. They fell powerlessly and landed at the feet of the figures below who were carrying ladders and holding shields and running towards the city wall.

The arrows from below the city finally hit the top of the city. Dense arrows hit the shields and wall bricks like raindrops, then bounced off or stuck on them, passing through the gaps between the shields and piercing into the bodies.

An unlucky archer leaned half of his body out, drew the bow and shot downwards, but was pierced in the chest by a flying arrow. The blood instantly stained his leather armor. As the severe pain came, his shrill screams suddenly rose, and the archer fell from behind the parapet with it.

With a "bang", it hit the ladder and rolled to the ground with the figure who had just climbed up. Blood plasma spread out from the person's nose and mouth. At a certain moment, more footsteps stepped over the corpse. Amid the roar, the knife bitten climbed up. Turning his head, arrows flew from above. The city wall approached in his sight. Along this section of the city wall, ladders were set up one after another, and dense soldiers climbed up like ants.

Looking from afar, the city walls stretching for hundreds of meters were filled with human figures, like ants.

Amid the screams and shouts of war, swords clashed. Soldiers who climbed up the city wall drew their swords and jumped onto the top of the city wall, throwing themselves into the crowd of soldiers defending the city. Then, they screamed and were stabbed to the ground by several spears. More soldiers defending the city rushed forward and worked together to remove the hook. Soon after, the ladder was pushed down.

The drizzle was hazy, falling drop by drop in the burning smoke.

At this moment, the casualties on both sides gradually increased.

Siege warfare, especially the assault on a strategic fortress like Jinyong City, is not something that can be accomplished overnight. The losses suffered during this period are enough to shock any hard-hearted general.

But the importance of Luoyang is far more than just a city. It was the imperial capital of the former Sui Dynasty and the largest city in the world. It had great political significance. Only by taking Jinyong City could the Wu army attack Luoyang without any worries.

Behind the wall, the fortification soldiers, who were all young and strong, kept transporting arrows, stones, boiling oil, etc. to the top of the wall to replenish the consumption just now. The top of the wall was full of figures running back and forth...

Finally, the Wu army's siege soldiers arrived at the city gate.

"boom!"

The battering ram hit the city gate like an angry dragon, making a deafening noise. Behind the gate, the Wagang Army held up wooden bolts and brought sandbags to try to stop the powerful enemy.

As time passed slowly, the solid Jinyong City began to show signs of damage. A collapsed gap appeared on the previously intact wall. This was the result of the Song army's catapults attacking one place, but the gap was still not enough.

It was already dusk, and the mountains and plains outside the city were lit up with torches. The soldiers' ears were filled with shouts of killing, the sound of the mechanisms of the tower carriages, the sharp sounds of the wheels rubbing against the ground, and the rumbling sounds of stones hitting the ground or walls, which resounded throughout the battlefield.

"Crash!"

The sound of boiling oil being poured under the city walls.

The next moment, there were screams of agony coming from under the city.

The Wagang Army defending the city was running back and forth to fight the enemy. Everyone's eyes were bloodshot, and there seemed to be only one simple goal in their minds, which was to block and kill the invading enemy by any means.

There were corpses everywhere on the wall, and bright red blood kept adding to the charred bloodstains, but no one had the time to pay attention.

The sky was covered with dense clouds, and the stars and moon were dim.

The braziers and torches on the wall were burning brightly, dyeing the whole place blood red. What we saw before us was like hell on earth!
Inside the city, Li Mi sat in his house, and his heart was bleeding when he saw the battle reports sent back by his men. In just one day, the Wagang Army lost thousands of people, a considerable number of whom died from the enemy's catapults and crossbows.

The first day of the attack and defense of Jinyong City saw such a horrific killing, which was beyond Li Mi's expectations and made him feel very heavy: Did Song Que really want to capture Jinyong City in one battle?

If defending a city is such a problem, the damage from attacking it will be even greater.

As the saying goes, "surplus cannot last long." Song Que allowed the Wu army to maintain such a fierce attack at a near-limit state, which could not last for more than three to five days. The soldiers would become too tired to continue the siege!
……

In the Wu army camp, high-ranking generals gathered together.

Li Jing reported the military situation to everyone, "Everyone has seen the defense of Jinyong City. This is a military fortress and it is difficult to take it down in a short period of time. According to spies, Li Mi has stored a large amount of food in the city. In addition, there are tens of thousands of elite soldiers. If we want to capture this city, we must be prepared for heavy casualties."

"If Jinyong City was Luoyang, a big city like Jiangdu, it would be easier to deal with. But Jinyong City is a small city, used exclusively for military purposes, and has strict defenses. If we want to break into the city, we have to find another way."

Song Que's eyes fell on the map, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "Li Jing, the siege will continue tomorrow, and the troops from each unit will rotate. Don't stop."

"As ordered."

Then, Song Que looked at everyone, "Do you think Wang Shichong will take the bait?"

Everyone knows the principle of "the lips and teeth are interdependent". Once Jinyong City is taken, Luoyang will be the next turn. The Wu army has many methods that cannot be used to deal with Jinyong City, but it is much easier to deal with Luoyang.

In ancient times, the larger the city, the harder it was to defend. When dynasties were attacked and their capitals were reached, the people had to either flee or surrender. It was not because the city was not strong enough or the food and grass were not sufficient, but because there were not enough soldiers. The larger the city, the more areas had to be defended, and it was difficult to cover everything. Therefore, the best way was to keep the enemy out of the country.

The reason why the Ming Dynasty was able to hold on was because it still had soldiers who could fight, and its vitality was still not exhausted, and there were troops from all over the country coming to its defense. Looking at the end of the Ming Dynasty, there was a plague, and countless people died and injured in the capital. Even if there was a strong city, it would have been impossible to defend it.

Wang Shichong had soldiers and food, but it was an isolated city, and it was only a matter of time before it was conquered. Therefore, Song Que attacked the city at all costs just to seduce Wang Shichong.

Kou Zhong thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, in my opinion, Wang Shichong will definitely take the bait."

"Tell me why."

"If it was just Wang Shichong himself, he might not dare to leave the city, but Luoyang is not far from Guanzhong, so the two sides will definitely unite."

Song Que smiled and nodded. It was not in vain that he had been taught the art of war. The purpose of this battle was to attack the city and also to lure the enemy. In a sense, the State of Wu was not willing to attack the city. In fact, no general in history had been willing to attack the city, but they had to do it.

Especially in the north, which faces the threat of the grassland, various dangerous passes and cities emerge one after another, which can better protect the country and the people. On the contrary, the south does not have too many passes and cities, and is easier to attack.

"Tomorrow, you don't have to attack the city. Take your young army to sweep the city of Heluo and take it down as soon as possible. I want to make Luoyang an isolated city and force the Guanzhong Pseudo-Zhou to fight."

"As ordered."

……

In the next two months, the Wu army maintained its siege momentum, and the two sides fought back and forth. However, Wang Shichong, who was close at hand, acted as if he did not see anything. He only sent spies to observe the military situation of both sides. He neither accepted surrender nor provided rescue.

In fact, Wang Shichong was extremely anxious. How could he sleep peacefully when the two forces were fighting under his nose?

But all he could do now was to prepare for defense. As for a field battle, that would be seeking death. Don't even think about it. No one in the world could defeat Song Que in the art of war, and no one wanted to face Song Que's troops head-on.

"Prime Minister, someone is coming from Guanzhong!"

"Please!"

In the hall, Wang Shichong personally received the envoy sent by the Great Zhou, Yuwen Wudi, "Nephew, it's been a long time since we last met. Is your father doing well?"

Yuwen Wudi said in a deep voice, "My Lord, my father is fine. Before he left, he asked me to send his regards to you."

After a few pleasantries, the two sides got straight to the point, "Prince, how strong is the Wu army?"

Wang Shichong stroked his beard, a solemn expression on his elegant face. "The Wu army is powerful. They have been attacking the city for two months, but their morale has not decreased. According to my observation, they may have suffered heavy casualties, and they may have even captured able-bodied men to make up the numbers. In my opinion, they cannot take down Jinyong City."

"Nephew, when do you plan to send out troops?"

Yuwen Wudi pondered for a moment and gave him a reassurance, "Prince, His Majesty has reached a cooperation with Hedong to lead the Turks into the pass. In another month, they will arrive in Guanzhong. By then, we will work together and will surely defeat the Wu army."

Wang Shichong's worried face suddenly brightened up, his eyes were full of joy, "Great, with the Wu army beside me, I'm worried that they will attack me. The Turkic army is strong and powerful, and although the Wu army is strong, it is mainly composed of infantry. This battle is a sure win."

Yuwen Wudi raised his chin and said in a proud manner, "Prince, my Great Zhou has made every effort to save Luoyang. After this battle, His Majesty wants to see your sincerity."

Hearing this, Wang Shichong's smile froze, and he quickly said, "Don't worry, nephew. I only have this lonely city. How can I accomplish anything? After defeating the Wu army, I will personally deliver the Sui emperor and surrender outside the city."

There was no way. Last month, Kou Zhong swept through the cities in the Heluo area and took control of most of the cities. Luoyang and Jinyong City were basically surrounded by them. That was why Wang Shichong was so humble.

……

Just as the guests arrived in Luoyang, the Wu army camp also welcomed an uninvited guest.

(End of this chapter)