Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 401: The Fall of Hanoi
The entire north was in chaos.

The Zhou army and the Han army were embedded in each other's territory, with each other in each other, and it was impossible to tell who surrounded whom.

In comparison, the situation in Hanoi is much clearer.

Dugu Yongye was steadily being beaten, and tens of thousands of his troops retreated into the city, being attacked day and night by Liu Taozi's army.

The sound of catapult shooting continued to ring out, and arrows covered the sky again and again.

Under the fierce attacks of the Han army day and night, Yewang City was on the verge of collapse and suffered heavy casualties.

There was a deep despair throughout the city.

Soldiers were running quickly in the city, and noise could be heard everywhere.

There were officers leading soldiers through the alleys. These soldiers were like ants, constantly shuttling back and forth in the huge Yewang City.

The officer looked at the two soldiers, who took a few steps back and rushed towards the gate in front of them.

"Boom~~"

"Bang!!"

"Crack!"

After several collisions, the gate collapsed.

A scream was heard in the yard, and someone quickly ran into the house. Several soldiers drew their knives and started shouting. In a moment, these ants turned into tigers and wolves, becoming burly and strong, holding sharp blades, and occupied the yard. Several of them began searching, leaving nothing behind. Even the chicken coop, they would reach out and rummage around to see if they could find anything good.

The officer led the other two into the house.

There was only a woman in the house, holding several children, trembling with fear.

The soldiers continued to "search", leaving nothing behind.

There were cries in every household.

When the officers returned to the street with their captives, many teams with rich harvests had already appeared on the road. Many men, old and young, were tied up and taken back to the parade ground as a new batch of cannon fodder for defending the city.

The things that were looted were used as military supplies.

Just as I walked towards the training ground, I suddenly saw fire in the east.

That was the direction of the armory. When the soldiers rushed over in a hurry, they saw a mob, civilian laborers who had just been captured not long ago, who took the opportunity to transport supplies to enter the armory, and then attacked the soldiers there and set fire to it.

The soldiers were not surprised and quickly suppressed these lawless villains.

A cycle of its own has been formed in the city. In order to defend the city, they constantly conscripted civilians and extorted money. Their actions led to frequent resistance from the people, making it difficult to defend the city. Then, in order to defend the city, they increased their efforts again.
The government office had already been heavily guarded.

However, the atmosphere here was equally dead silent. The soldiers did not speak and just patrolled back and forth in the mansion silently.

In the inner room, musicians were singing.

The ministers and generals sat on the left and right respectively. Everyone looked very unhappy. Even though the musicians played with all their might, they could not appreciate the charm of the music.

Only Dugu Yongye sat in the upper seat, holding a wine cup in his hand, eating with big mouthfuls, his face flushed, looking drunk.

The next moment, someone suddenly rushed into the house.

"Step aside!!"

"Step aside!!"

After hearing a few roars, the man rushed in quickly. Everyone looked and saw that the man was Dugu Xuda.

Dugu Xuda looked at the scene in the house and became even angrier, "Everyone get out! Get out!"

However, the ministers did not dare to obey and looked at Dugu Yongye.

Dugu Yongye looked at his son who had disturbed his leisure time, stared at him for a long time, and then said, "Everyone, go out first."

The ministers and generals seemed to be relieved. They stood up, bowed and said goodbye, and the musicians left with them.

Only the father and son were left in the room.

Dugu Xuda hurried forward and took the wine cup.

"Grandpa, what are you doing?"

"How can you drink so much when you are facing such a powerful enemy?"

Dugu Yongye's eyes were complicated. He looked at his son and suddenly laughed disdainfully.

"Why, do you have a way to repel the enemy?"

Dugu Xuda was speechless.

He said very seriously: "When I was young, my father taught me archery. I thought it was too difficult and wanted to give up. My father once told me that unless my fingers were broken and I could no longer hold the bow, I should never give up easily."

"There are still several states in my master's hands, with more than 100,000 troops that can be mobilized, millions of subjects under his command, and countless civil and military officials!"

"No matter what you say, it won't get to the point where your fingers break and you can't hold the bow. Why did you give up, Grandpa?"

Now, it was Dugu Yongye's turn to be speechless.

His eyes gradually became clear, but were soon replaced by deep sadness.

He said, "You don't know military skills."

"I have several states under my command, but outside of Heluo, the defenses of the other states are useless and unable to stop the enemy. Of the 100,000-strong army, only 10,000 or so can fight the enemy. The so-called subjects have long been alienated, and the civil and military officials are terrified at the mention of a tiger and have long since dared not fight Liu Taozi head-on."

"This isn't a broken finger, this is a broken arm!!"

Dugu Yongye raised his head and said, "With this kind of offensive, in just half a month, you and I will become Liu Taozi's captives."

“Absolutely not!!”

Suddenly, a voice was heard outside the door, interrupting the conversation between the father and son.

Dugu Yongye was furious and was about to scold when he saw Yang Su walking in quickly with a resolute look on his face.

Dugu Xuda sneered, "Isn't it because of Lord Yang that we have fallen to this point?"

"Grandpa, even if I have to be Liu Taozi's prisoner, I must first kill this evil Zhou man!"

Yang Su was not afraid at all. He looked at Dugu Yongye and said, "My lord, I didn't expect Liu Taozi to be able to deceive the people to this extent. The mistake was my fault. Whether you want to punish him or kill him, I have no complaints."

"I am a lowly person, and life and death are not worth discussing, but it is different for my lord."

"My lord, you have been occupying Heluo for many years. Even Zhou, with its 200,000-man army, could not break through. What can Liu Taozi do now?"

"Even if he seizes the Wild King, we can still retreat to Jinyong and continue to defend, and Liu Taozi still won't be able to commit any more crimes!"

Dugu Yongye sneered, "What's the difference between returning to Jinyong and staying in Yewang? It's just a change of place for a grave."

Yang Su fell silent. He seemed to be thinking. His face was confused and he seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Dugu Xuda disliked Yang Su very much and was ready to drive him out immediately.

But before he could open his mouth, Yang Su bowed deeply to Dugu Yongye.

"My lord, there is only one solution left."

"You said."

"Submit to the Great Zhou."

Dugu Yongye was not surprised or surprised, and did not even answer. However, Dugu Xuda sneered, "This is the real reason why you came here, right?"

Yang Su knelt on the ground and said solemnly: "My lord, Liu Taozi will definitely not let you go. He has always regarded himself as a man who loves the people. With what we have done, if we fall into his hands, death would be the least of our punishment. I am afraid that we will be tortured and killed like the King of Nanyang."

"Wang Lin attacked fiercely from the east, making faster and faster progress, encircling more and more soldiers."

"To defend Hanoi is death, and to return to Kim Yong is death."

"The only way is to submit to the Great Zhou."

"The Emperor of Zhou has always attached great importance to the Heluo area. If the Lord surrenders, he will definitely not treat the Lord unfairly. The Lord can continue to have his official title, wealth and honor, and perhaps even continue to rule Heluo."

Dugu Xuda did not refute the other party at this moment.

But his expression was extremely ugly.

As for Dugu Yongye, he suddenly raised his head and laughed.

"Yang Jun, Yang Jun."

"It's easy to surrender to the Great Zhou, but how can we save our lives?"

"Do you think I should stand on the city wall and shout to Liu Taozi?"

Dugu Yongye stood up and pointed forward, as if pointing at Liu Taozi, and said in a pretentious tone: "Liu Taozi! I have already surrendered to the Emperor of the Great Zhou!!" He turned his head to look at Yang Su, "Will Liu Taozi be scared to death and run away after I said this?"

Yang Su said calmly: "Of course not."

"But you can lead your elite troops to retreat, and at the same time send people to ask for help from the Great Zhou. The Zhou Kingdom knows that you are in trouble and will certainly send troops to support you!"

"By then, a steady stream of Zhou soldiers will pour into Heluo, and Liu Taozi will no longer be able to capture cities."

"Well, you go out first."

"let me think again."

Dugu Yongye waved his hand and let Yang Su leave.

When he and his son were the only ones left here, Dugu Yongye looked at his son and said, "I don't think it will work."

"Ok?"

"What do you mean by an endless supply of Zhou soldiers? If the Zhou people have this ability, do they still need me to hold off Liu Taozi?"

"Yuwen Hu was defeated earlier, which damaged the foundation of the Zhou Kingdom. The new emperor is unwilling to stop. He keeps sending troops and suffers defeats one after another. The national strength is depleting more and more."

"What do you mean by a 24-man army? Even if it's just 200 or 2,000 men, without officers and soldiers leading the army, and without food and weapons, it's all in vain!"

"Besides, Yang Su hasn't told me about the battle situation in other places for a long time. I think it's probably because the Zhou people also suffered a great loss and they are afraid that I will waver, so they dare not tell me."

Dugu Yongye is not completely a stupid man. Although he has difficulty controlling himself when facing his desires, his many years of military experience and years of court activities have provided him with a lot of knowledge. Based on his past experience alone, he can also make some judgments about the situation.

Dugu Xuda didn't know what to say for a moment.

Dugu Yongye looked at him for a moment, and suddenly said quietly: "But I still plan to listen to him."

"Rather than staying here and waiting to die, it's better to give it one last try."

"Grandpa, I."

"Don't say more."

"It's not difficult to break out. Liu Taozi hopes that we will abandon the city, so he only surrounded three sides. Although he has a lot of cavalry, if we insist on leaving, he can't stop all of us."

"But after we break out, you can't go with me."

"what?"

"I'll prepare some manpower and belongings for you. Take Ah Xu and Ah Tao with you and run."

Dugu Xuda was confused, "Grandpa, where should I go?"

"Run south, preferably across the river. I have too many enemies in the north. Right now, only the south is safe. When you get to the south, change your name, buy a mansion, and live a peaceful life with your son and brother."

"Don't worry about world affairs anymore, and don't keep money around. Spend it when you need to, and donate more to the temples. Those great monks in the south are reliable, and they always do things for money."

"Go get ready."

Dugu Yongye has already despaired of the future. He has no idea whether he can survive, but at least he wants his descendants to survive.

He still has tens of thousands of troops in the city, but the Heluo soldiers who are the core force have suffered heavy casualties. These people are constantly decreasing, and when these core forces are reduced to a certain number, he will surely die.

The next day, the Han army launched an attack on three sides as usual.

The two sides fought again.

Dugu Yongye had also made preparations long ago. He rode on a warhorse, wearing armor, with his carefully selected guards behind him. This guard was the elite selected by Dugu Yongye from among his warriors in his early years, imitating the Hundred Guard Knights.

Their number is less than a thousand, but each of them is good at fighting and invincible. They are the only strong army under Dugu Yongye that can fight against the armies of Baibao, Shanxiao and others.

However, they would not go out to fight on weekdays. Most of the time, they would follow Dugu Yongye and act as guards.

Every time Dugu Yongye fought with the enemy, these people would follow the main general to charge and tear open a gap.

This time, Dugu Yongye also planned to use the guards as the vanguard.

He led the charge.

While both sides were attacking the city, the South Gate, the only gate that was not attacked by the enemy, was suddenly opened, and Dugu Yongye led his elite troops out in a line.

There were no enemy troops outside the city gate, and there was not even anything blocking the road ahead.

The road was left open, and the defenders in the city were welcome to escape at any time.

Surround three sides and leave one side open, this is a classic siege tactic used in the Northern Dynasties.

After Dugu Yongye and others had rushed out a lot, the Han army on both sides began to shoot slowly.

The reason for not surrounding them completely is to let the opponent run away.

When the opponent just runs out, you cannot easily chase and stop him. The best time is to wait for the opponent to escape and then chase him.

The cavalrymen on both sides were eager to try.

The entire Yewang City was like a cowhide ball. When a city gate was opened, the air in the ball began to leak out like crazy, continuously flowing towards the south of the city.

The armies attacking the city from three sides could find that the enemy's defense strength suddenly dropped.

Without further ado, they intensified their offensive.

The Han soldiers climbed up the city wall, and control of the city wall fell into the hands of the Han army.

Liu Taozi officially advanced into Yewang City from the north gate.

He never participated in the assault, and the generals under his command had all died admonishing him. This was the disadvantage of being in power, and no one dared to let Liu Taozi lead the charge.

The desolation and dilapidation of the city was beyond everyone's imagination.

Most of the troops who were forcibly conscripted chose to surrender, as a small city gate was not enough for so many people to escape.

Besides, the Han army never killed prisoners.

There is no bad reputation for killing prisoners.

Looking at the many civilians who were controlled in the distance, and then looking at the ruined city, Liu Taozi's eyes became sharp.

"I've been here before, it was very busy, with people coming and going"

"Dugu Yongye, you deserve to be killed."

Kou Liu hurried forward and volunteered.

"Your Majesty, I am willing to lead the troops to hunt down Dugu Yongye!!"

"He can't run away. Jinyong City is indeed strong, but if Hanoi is abandoned, it will be an isolated city. And after many defeats, his subordinates have long lost their morale. Let's appease the many people in Hanoi first."

"We must take care of the prisoners, do not kill them indiscriminately, and do not let them do evil."

Just as Dugu Yongye had expected, Liu Taozi would rather reorganize Hanoi as soon as possible than kill Dugu Yongye.

Hanoi has been turned into a mess by Dugu Yongye, and it is difficult to deal with the tens of thousands of captives he left behind. These soldiers are not all locals, and if they are all released, it is hard to say how many thieves will emerge.

The civilians who have killed others and become homeless will become a serious threat to the local area when they gather together.

If it is kept for a long time, it will easily breed panic.

The most disgusting thing is that Dugu Yongye has never thought about really training an army. Most of these people were captured temporarily and have no identification. They don’t even know which team they belong to. Therefore, they need Liu Taozi’s men to apply for identification for them so that they can legally become Han citizens. In addition, there are those who escaped, ownerless farmland, vacant houses and properties, etc.

After Liu Taozi entered the office, he immediately began to arrange the officials.

Every time Liu Taozi went on an expedition, there was always a large group of officials waiting behind him.

These people entered the city immediately after the war, took over various important positions, quickly took over the government in the city and carried out effective management.

Because of the promotion of academies and law schools, as well as the imperial examinations imitated from those in the southern countries, Liu Han generally had no shortage of officials, but the local proportions were somewhat unbalanced and needed to be adjusted.

With the fall of Yewang, Henei officially fell into the hands of the Han army.

The Han army advanced step by step and officially pushed the battle line to Luozhou.

When Northern Yuzhou learned that Henei had fallen, everyone was shocked and surrendered without a fight. The governor sent someone to write a letter to Liu Taozi, and then went out of the city in person to accept the surrender.

The surrender of Northern Yuzhou caused a trend, and states and counties such as Liang, Northern Yan, Yangcheng, Kaifeng, Chenliu, and Yangxia all requested surrender.

Wang Lin divided his army into two. One part of the army just arrived in Yan and accepted the enemy's surrender, while his other army set out for Zheng, Xin and other states and encountered almost no resistance.

Large tracts of Qi's territory south of the river fell into the hands of Han.

Only Luozhou, where Dugu Yongye was located, and the former Lianghuai were not under his jurisdiction.

When Yang Su arrived in Luozhou, he hurriedly contacted his hometown, hoping that the Zhou Kingdom would quickly send troops to recapture Luoyang! !
Before he could send his good news, bad news came from his hometown.

(End of this chapter)