Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 177: The Great Retreat

"Report!!!"

The spy rushed into the tent covered in dust, knelt on one knee and shouted loudly: "General Qin, it's bad! There is a large army approaching from 70 miles to the west. The number of troops is unknown, but it is about 100,000. They are flying the flag with the word "Li" on it."

"What? How many miles?"

Qin Qiong suddenly sat up from his chair: "Seventy miles... No, sixty miles. There is a vanguard camp sixty miles away."

The vanguard camp was sixty miles away...sixty miles away. Sixty miles of cavalry on the plain was the same as nothing. This news made Qin Qiong's scalp numb.

"Xia Daosheng is right!" Qin Qiong muttered, "How did he know?"

But now it is not the time to consider how Xia Lin knew that the Li family's army was right behind them. The important thing is to consider whether to attack the city. If they can't take it down, the Li family will come to take them away. If they can take it down, the Li family will take advantage of the chaos to take another bite out of them.

Either it is to recapture Luoyang or to quell the rebellion. Anyway, the Li family will not suffer any loss. And judging from the current situation, even if they can capture Luoyang, they will suffer heavy losses. Losing more than half of the troops is a small matter. The most terrifying thing is that they are suddenly attacked by others during the siege. Then the entire army will be wiped out.

Thinking of Xia Lin's words again, Qin Qiong frowned and decisively slapped the documents on the table: "Demolish the camp, bypass Luoyang and advance eastward!"

At the command, the army immediately withdrew from the camp, bypassed Luoyang, and headed eastward without even the slightest bit of reluctance.

At this time, Xia Lin, Shoubei Hong and other generals were standing on the city wall watching the army go away. They all couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. When Shoubei Hong turned around and looked at Xia Lin, he wanted to go up and give him a big kiss.

"My dear brother, you are really awesome, really awesome!" Hong Shoubei said this with gnashing teeth, not out of hatred but pure excitement and love: "How come such a big thing is so easy for you? I can't figure it out, brother, how can you command other people's troops?"

"The oppression of the heart."

Xia Lin patted his chest and said, "If they hadn't suffered such heavy losses in the first round of siege, they might not have left. Also, the Li family's army actually came for Luoyang City, and there was no way they could attack them, but they didn't know that. At this time, we just need to give them a little bit of information, and the mental pressure will crush them. No one wants to fall into the encirclement of others. I asked Lao Zhang to give them a heads-up. To put it bluntly, it was to make them more aware of their situation. The weather is unkind, the time is unfavorable, and if they continue to fight, there will be no harmony among the people. Anyone with a brain will know what to do."

"High... really high!" Guard Hong nodded hurriedly: "Amazing, really amazing!"

After repeatedly pondering Xia Lin's method, Guard Hong found that this guy was really amazing. However, he didn't know why Xia Lin could use the Li family's army to scare away the rebels when he was so sure that the Li family would not come to rescue him. If the two sides agreed, wouldn't it be...

"Oh, brother, that's what you mean. It's actually very simple. Forget about communicating with each other. Even if they sit at the same table and eat every day, this trick will work. Because Li Yuan is a warlord, he is called separatism. Wang Shichong is called a rebel, he is called a rebellion. No matter how a warlord is, he is still a member of the court. At best, he will obey orders but not announcements. Even if he doesn't even obey orders, he is still the king's army in name. But rebels are different. After they are caught, they will be hung on a pole and skinned alive. If a rebel is connected with the king's army, either this army is also planning to rebel, otherwise it is basically impossible."

"Why? I want to hear my brother explain it in detail."

"No need to go into details, I'll just tell you this, brother. You are Wang Shichong and I am Li Yuan. Then you rebelled. I have corresponded with you or communicated with you verbally. If you are desperate, would you think of dragging me down with you? Li Yuan is not stupid. How could he leave such a handle for others? A trial requires evidence, but suppressing a rebellion only requires a list of names."

"Oh my." Guard Hong slapped his thigh and said, "Yes! Hiss... You are really amazing, really amazing. I have been a guard for nothing. You really let me, a rough man, see what it means to be the most talented person in the world."

"Still on guard duty?" Xia Lin bowed and said, "Commander Hong, please don't be too modest."

"Hahahahahaha...Okay, okay, brother, you really make me very happy."

In fact, the news had spread in Luoyang at that time that "Wang Shichong failed to capture the city after a long siege, and Guardian Hong used a clever plan to repel the enemy." Anyway, it was all Guardian Hong's credit, and others just played a supporting role. The second largest contributor was Anmus, who assisted in guarding the north gate. He achieved the highest casualty ratio since the establishment of the dynasty, 6:11215. Although this was somewhat related to the enemy's greed for merit and reckless advance, this casualty ratio was definitely the most exaggerated. Half of the siege team of more than people were killed by him. Don't ask whether it was exaggerated or not, the general in charge of the command had been killed anyway.

Of course, Lao Zhang is indispensable here. Lao Zhang is simply praised as a legend - he went to the enemy camp alone, appealed to their emotions and reason, and persuaded the rebels to leave Luoyang and stop attacking the city in the name of the safety of his fellow Chinese soldiers. More importantly, he was a commoner with no achievements.

Anyway, Lao Zhang's popularity skyrocketed overnight. Everyone said that he was both wise and brave, and his integrity was unparalleled. He knew that he would die but he still did not look back. He must be the bravest man in the world! Unparalleled in the world.

As for Xia Lin, Xia Lin's role was mediocre and unremarkable. He just followed the team and got credit. But it was pretty good. After all, he was considered someone who dared to go up the city wall, which made him better than most people.

"Brother, why are you doing this? You played a huge role in the siege of Luoyang."

"Brother, just listen to me." Xia Lin and Guard Hong were grilling meat on the city wall, with two bottles of wine beside them. "Even if you give me great merit, it will be useless. I can't get promoted anymore." "Why?"

Xia Lin lowered his voice and said, "I am the new crown prince. This is the top position I have reached in the eyes of the current emperor."

"Oh~ I understand. Then I'll have to rely on you."

"Oh, brother, you are so polite." Xia Lin smiled and said, "If it weren't for my brother's trust in me, letting me use the weapons and firearms and letting the soldiers obey my orders, I wouldn't be able to accomplish anything. In the end, it's all thanks to my brother."

"Hahahaha, don't talk anymore, just drink!"

However, the siege of Luoyang has not been completely lifted. There is still the risk from the Li family. If they really come and open the door for them, the Li family will definitely take over Luoyang City. They will not attack the city. But if they take Luoyang, it will be a fantasy for them to come back.

Therefore, it is a matter of great knowledge as to how to refuse their request to enter the city. However, in this world, armed fights are difficult, and when it comes to literary fights, it is nothing more than playing tricks. If Luoyang really does not open the city gates, can Li Yuan still let his troops attack the city?

We have to wait until the Shanxi Guo family arrives before we can open the city gates. Because only when both armies arrive here will Luoyang City be considered safe, and as for what will happen to the east of Luoyang, that is not something the people in the city can consider.

Anyway, the crisis was barely overcome, and Xia Lin landed safely.

Although Xia Lin's contribution is not widely known, those who know him actually understand how important Xia Lin was in this defensive battle. Without his thunder and fire, the 3,000 defenders would have been completely vulnerable to the 100,000 attackers. It only took one morning to attack the city from all sides and consume more than half of the defenders.

When Xia Lin's "Heavenly Thunder and Earthly Fire" came out, it was no exaggeration to say that it was like a miracle. It was the most exciting fire attack in history except for the burning of the rattan armor soldiers by Wu Hou and the burning of Chibi.

However, in terms of efficiency and power, this heavenly thunder and earth fire is actually not inferior to Zhuge Wuhou's several fire attacks, and is even more ferocious and restless. After all, who has ever seen a demonic fire that cannot be extinguished even by water?

Carrier pigeons definitely have to fly to deliver messages. When Wang Shichong's troops retreated, Governor Hong used 42 carrier pigeons to deliver messages to the court.

On the next morning, a messenger in the capital ran through the streets shouting at the top of his lungs: "Good news! Good news! Luoyang City has defeated Wang Shichong's troops. Luoyang is temporarily out of trouble!"

The loud-voiced messenger clutched the 17 text messages he had received tightly in his hands and ran all the way towards the Jinling Imperial Palace.

"Good news!!!"

The messengers usually had very loud voices, loud enough to make people's eardrums buzz. Although the imperial palace was still some distance away from the palace gate, all the civil and military officials in the court as well as Emperor Hongbao heard the shouting.

"Who's making noise outside?" Emperor Hongbao was worried about the siege of Luoyang and the marriage. He suddenly heard the noise outside, but he couldn't hear clearly, so he was naturally a little unhappy: "Tian En, go and take a look."

Tian En walked out of the hall quickly, and soon the old eunuch stumbled into the hall with a look of joy on his face, and knelt down in front of Emperor Hong Bao: "Your Majesty, great victory! Great victory! Great victory in Luoyang!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire court began to buzz. No one could believe their ears. The most optimistic outcome they could think of was that Luoyang would be trapped and wait for rescue from the Li and Guo families.

But who knew that this place had only been surrounded for a few days? How could such a great victory suddenly happen?

"really?"

Emperor Hongbao even sat up directly from the dragon throne, and Tian En handed the pigeon letters to Emperor Hongbao without any further ado.

Due to weather and various other factors, more than half of the carrier pigeons failed to return, so there were only some important information in each letter, but the details were not complete.

But this was enough. After reading every piece of information carefully, Emperor Hongbao couldn't suppress the smile on his face. He said three "good"s in a row: "good, good, good."

After saying this, he put down the papers and said, "Go, hurry to Luoyang at an accelerated speed of 800 miles. I want to see what kind of lucky general guards Luoyang."

(End of this chapter)