The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 107 Attack and Defense
On November 14th of the first year of Jingfu, the ink in the inkstone froze while writing a draft edict in the tent, and the camps were set up at Niutouyuan.

Zhu Wen breathed out hot air, stepping on the snow in shallow and deep steps. The preparations before the expedition were not inadequate, but the weather was still too cold. The mountains in the south were also blocked by the royal army. In the past few days, the yamen soldiers took turns to go out and try to make fires with firewood to keep warm, but were fiercely counterattacked. The West City Gate was built by digging into the mountain and was as high as a pagoda. The yamen soldiers could do nothing about it except shouting and cursing.

Zhu Wen walked around the camp for half an hour. The soldiers were quite resentful, especially those from Chen, Xu, Ru, Cai, and Shen. They asked for coal and prostitutes, which made the atmosphere chaotic. The 7,000 Wuchang soldiers were also in a commotion, shouting to go home. Why fight with the saint? This made Zhu Wen very disgusted with the southerners.

But it is understandable. In the past hundred years, Eyue has only been in chaos once, when the actor Du Hong was supported by the army by making promises. Although Du Hong surrendered to him, the prefectures and counties and the soldiers of the Wuchang Army may still have some centripetal force towards the court. Otherwise, Du Hong would not have needed to wag his tail like a dog and seek his support to intimidate the internal forces; this is what Zhu Wen thought.

The magical imperial edict. When you are weak, it can help you win the hearts of the people. The county officials and gentry will not oppose you. For example, in centuries-old towns like Hedong, Huainan, and Xuanwu, the government troops are more likely to accept you. Regardless of others, he has tasted the sweetness. This is also the fundamental reason why he was very respectful to the court after surrendering. Because it is beneficial.

But when you become strong and try to fly into the sky like a dragon, it will turn into a big hand that grabs your wings.

Zhu Wen also suffered a lot in this regard. If the attack on Yan, Yun, and Xu could have been supported by the court like the conquest of Chao, Cai, and Hua, they would have been conquered long ago. This was also the main reason for his uprising. Under the management of the saint, the prestige of the royal family was restored. Anyway, the towns in the northwest of Beijing were submissive. They were not obedient, but they had shrunk in the corner and dared not shout. This time, facing the great opportunity of Chang'an's emptiness, they did not dare to stab in the back, which shows how scared they were.

If this continues, there will be more and more constraints, and the difficulty of annexing neighboring vassals will only increase. This is the future Zhu Wen does not want to see. Only a half-dead court has the value and meaning of "loyalty". He has to cut off these hands that are constraining him, and at the same time he needs to strike a balance and let the court work for his cause.

For this purpose, he could even put aside his past grudges and join hands with Pu and Jin to enter Chang'an. In terms of undermining the prestige of the court, he believed that the three families had a common interest. By then, it would not matter whether the Shatuo woman was sent back or not. Once the saint fell into an absolute disadvantage, the fragile alliance between Chang'an and Hedong would collapse. Unfortunately, the hatred with Li Keyong could not be mediated. Wang was very cautious.

Thinking along the way, Zhu Wen arrived at the Yajun camp. The men had plenty of wine and meat, and everyone was wearing warm furs, and their morale was high. This made Zhu Wen feel better. He randomly called out dozens of names, and those who were drawn raised their hands to respond.

Suddenly, Zhu Wen saw a small purple bruise on the neck of a Luoyan soldier, and his smiling face instantly changed color. He rushed into the crowd, pulled the man out by his hair, and knocked him to the ground with a punch, roaring violently: "You dog! You brought women into my camp? What is the military law? Go back on me!!"

"In times of attack and defense, there should be no prostitutes in the army... and the soldiers should not be allowed to engage in prostitution. Prostitution will weaken their energy and make them weak, making it impossible to strike with a spear. Prostitution will make their comrades jealous, and people will compete to be their prostitutes... That's why it is said, that's why it is said..." Two teeth of this Luoyan soldier were knocked out, and blood mixed with saliva flowed out.

The soldiers were silent, no one dared to move.

"Hang him up and flog him fifty times." Zhu Wen called Du Yuhou and waved his hand.

"Thank you, Marshal, for sparing my life." Luo Yanbing covered his mouth as he was dragged away by the warriors. He was hung at the gate and beaten half to death in public.

"If you like beauties, after we capture Chang'an, the emperor's concubines can be given to you. If you want wealth, you can take all the treasures in the Daying treasury." Zhu Wen spat, stared at the soldiers and said, "But if anyone can't control himself during the war and pretends to obey, I won't give it to you. Eat well and sleep well to conserve your energy. If you are still so lazy, is it decent? Hurry up."

"Yes." The soldiers responded.

……

Zhu Wen strode into the central army tent. Dozens of shogunate officials were working. Seeing him come back, they stood up and greeted him. Zhu Wen waved his hand, told them to get busy, and then sat down behind the commander's seat; the military officers stood on both sides.

Zhu Wen looked around.

These people are very aggressive in private, and most of them are like the barbaric barbarians outside the Great Wall, with ugly habits that are frightening. They can always force people to fill trenches, cut breasts for food, fight with swords, pile up skulls, and drink sunflower water. Apart from the threat of genocide, Yanei has no higher authority. However, although they are cruel, they are still obedient to Zhu Wen. Whenever Zhu Wen summoned them, they bowed deeply again and again like slaves, saying that they are servants who lead horses and stirrups for the king.

Look, two dusty warriors were kneeling in the big tent - Zhu Yourang, the commander of the Victory Army, and Liu Zhijun, the commander of the Wude Army. Their buttocks were raised high, and their foreheads were pressed against the floor. Early in the morning, they received the mission and launched a tentative attack on Sanguan Village. The enemy counterattacked fiercely, and more than 300 soldiers died before they could even reach the gate of the village.

"Get up." Zhu Wen did not blame the two.

When he was in the Chao army, he attacked Tongguan. At that time, Zhang Chengfan and 20,000 people were guarding the pass. Hundreds of thousands of Chao troops could not attack it head-on. It was he and Lin Yan who sneaked into the forbidden valley to cooperate with King Huang to attack from the front and back, and then they were able to enter the pass. He knew best how difficult it was to attack this fortress with a river in the north and peaks in the south.

"What is the morale of the defenders?" Zhu Wen asked as he flipped through the files.

"Tenacious." Liu Zhijun said succinctly. The people of Guanzhong defending Tongguan felt like the people of his hometown helping to defend Xuzhou. There was no need for military supervision at all, and men, women, and children were very active on their own.

"Wang Congxun..." Zhu Wen muttered the name silently and quickly read the information compiled by the Imperial Court. "This man was born in a rebellious army and once instigated soldiers to rob the imperial palace. How can he be loyal to the king when he is so arrogant? Sima Kanwu is also a thief. It's lucky that he didn't have his clan exterminated. Why is he used to guard such a vital place as Tongguan City?"

Either the saint is stupid, or these people are really controlled by the saint and become scapegoats for various reasons. After thinking carefully for a while, Zhu Wen ordered: "Why not write a letter, humble words and generous money to exchange Wang Congxun for surrendering the pass. Tell him that as long as he is willing to surrender, he can choose any army from the army in the yamen and be the governor remotely. If he is really a hero who turned from evil to good, it is a pity to bury him in Chang'an."

"The other two defenders, Sima Kanwu and Wang Shaorong, should also persuade them," he added.

Jing Xiang shook his head and laughed.

The king is really unscrupulous. Since the thief Wang was placed in that position, there must be a reason. Moreover, the imperial army system has been greatly changed, and the three officials of the training envoy, the chief military officer, and the chief general have divided their powers. Even if Wang Congxun is willing to surrender the pass, it is still a matter of whether his soldiers will listen to him. In comparison, it is more likely that the soldiers will offer their merits. Alas, the king despises the saints too much.

The saint has actually proven himself. He was able to overthrow the eunuchs not only because of his status as an emperor, but also because of his extraordinary ability to maneuver. Later, during the Qi-Bin fight, he was also very cunning, taking the opportunity to tear off a piece of Wang Xingyu's flesh and initially establish his prestige. The ensuing war and the defeat of nearly 40,000 rebels in Meipi Lake further proved his ability to respond to emergencies. He can bend and stretch, control all kinds of emotions freely, and dictate the military and political affairs inside and outside. Is this Li kid, who was evaluated by Li Zhen as "particularly dangerous", really that easy to deal with? An emperor who was calm after bloodbathed the palace, why do you think he is easy to control? Judging people by their age is not a wise thing to do.

He was able to lead more than 100,000 people to Tongguan without anyone causing trouble, which meant that he was no ordinary opponent. Unfortunately, the king still had the same impression of the saint as before, and he would not wake up until he suffered a setback.

"The letter has been written." Jing Xiang finished it in one stroke and sent an officer to give it to the general outside the village, who then shot it into the village.

Everyone continued to talk about military affairs and how to break through the Tongguan defense line.

To the west, the frozen Yellow River Pass is undoubtedly the best passage. It is impossible to set up camps on the ice, so the enemy can only set up camps on both sides of the pass. This is blocked now, but there is still a few feet wide road. Unfortunately, the Jindou Pass City and Hezhai City on the river beach are important threats to it. How many people will die if they force their way through? If too many people are killed without any ability to fight back, will the soldiers feel resentful?

If the defending generals were fools, it would be fine, but Wang Congxun easily repelled three waves of attacks from more than 10,000 elite soldiers from the Zhisheng and Wude armies, which was obviously very difficult to deal with. To force through the pass, you must be prepared to lose at least 30,000 people. In this case, I am afraid that before entering the pass, the generals will be surrounded by the noisy soldiers. Zhu Wen had experienced the farce of "escaping with one's own body" twice, and he did not want this to happen again.

"How about attacking the West City Pass?" asked the second son Zhu Yougui.

"It's just as difficult. This pass was built by digging into the mountain, it's very high, and the military strength is unknown. It's not easier to attack than Hezhai." Zhu Wen repeatedly observed the map, as if looking for loopholes.

"Then there is nothing more to say." Liu Zhijun, the general of the Wude Army who was unsuccessful in capturing the stronghold, bowed and said, "I hope the king will give me orders. I will make up for my crime and take back the Hezhai and kill Wang Congxun even if I have to risk my life."

"What are you fighting for?" Zhu Wen asked frivolously. He smelled a kindred spirit in Liu Zhijun. He felt that this killer who had defected from Shi Pu's army was respectful in appearance but unconvinced in heart, and would rebel sooner or later. Although he had no evidence yet, his "experienced" intuition was always accurate.

"Your Majesty..." Liu Zhijun sat there awkwardly.

"West City Pass is not easy to attack. Without an insider, even if I give you 100,000 soldiers, it will be difficult to advance if all of them die."

Liu Zhijun stood up suddenly and said hastily: "How could I——"

"That's enough!" Zhu Wen raised his voice and interrupted Liu Zhijun's loyalty. He said, "I'll give you 24000 Shaanxi people. Take your people from Wude City, cooperate with Zhu Yougui, Zhu Yourang, Luo Yin's Wuchang Army, and Zhang Ju's Zhongwu Army, a total of soldiers, to take down the four outer villages. It depends on whether the saint is panicking. Are two days and two nights enough? If not, go to farm."

"But please rest assured, Your Majesty. We will conquer the four outer camps." Liu Zhijun stood up and said with a bow.

"In Caozhou, we vowed to defeat Zhu Xuan, but what happened?" Zhu Wen cursed. After Liu Zhijun and others left the general's tent in a panic, he turned around and asked Zhang Guiba, the general of the four directions, "Is the forbidden ditch guarded by the saint? Is he at Fenjing Pass or Xundi Pass?"

"It should be at Fenjing Pass. I saw his dragon flag planted on the top floor yesterday. It could also be at Xundi Pass."

"Possible?" Zhu Wen narrowed his eyes and stared at Zhang Guiba, saying grimly, "How dare you use the word 'possible' to estimate the enemy during a battle? Knowing is knowing, not knowing is not knowing, what is possible? Immediately deploy scouts, move day and night, and compress the royal army in the city. Make every effort to find out the location of the saint, his family, and the imperial court."

"Yes." Confused Zhang Guiba also turned around and strode away. I don't know who has provoked this ancestor again. Maybe his plan went wrong, and the army was blocked at Tongguan, so he must be unhappy.

"Send another message to Ge Congzhou." Zhu Wen moved the small stool over and sat down, sighing, "Just tell him one thing - counter-espionage tactics don't work on everyone. The saint appointed him as the successor, and no one can do anything about it. I believe in him."

Jing Xiang wrote it down. "One more thing. If you can lure a part of the royal army out of the pass to fight with me, and once they enter Chang'an, I will give him Consort He as a reward, and appoint him as the inspector of Yanhai, Yimi and other states."

Hearing this, Jing Xiang felt very complicated. The king really likes to give other people's wives and daughters to his subordinates to play with. Just before, Zhu Wen told him privately: Shi Pu's favorite concubine Liu is so beautiful that she can make fish sink to the bottom of the water and geese fall to the ground. Once Xuzhou is pacified, she will be given to you.

Is it fun to always send whores to everyone? He doesn't like it.

As for the king's painstaking efforts towards Ge Congzhou, Jing Xiang understood - Ge Congzhou had saved the king's life before. That was when he was facing the peerless enemy Qin Zongquan. The king fell off his horse and was about to be killed, but it was Ge Congzhou who rushed into the chaotic army and dragged him onto his horse and took him away. With this favor, as long as Ge Congzhou did not take the initiative to cause trouble, the king would not do anything to him.

"It's not easy to enter Chang'an. Take your time. We are not the ones who are anxious." Zhu Wen looked at the shogunate officials who were writing non-stop and said, "Talk to Wang Chongying again. As long as he is willing to open the Puguan Road, he can be given the title of Duke, the title of King, and wealth. If that doesn't work, the two families can also become relatives. My eldest daughter Lingya is about the same age as his eldest son, so why not?"

"Feng Xingxi of Shangzhou should also ask again what conditions can be met in order to give up Wuguan Road."

"Yes." Everyone responded and wrote down his order.

"Thank you for your hard work. Each of the staff members here will be rewarded with five pieces of silk." Zhu Wen ordered.

After finishing all the work, Zhu Wen walked out of the general's tent and looked at the heavy snow in deep thought. If it continued to snow at night, he planned to lead the Ya army to personally attack the forbidden ditch at a certain time to see where the saint was hiding. If he was attacked in the middle of the night, he could also find out the bottom of the king's army.

……

Boom, boom, boom, the sound of drums in preparation for war never stops.

The riverside fortress was in chaos. Strong men and women were running around, carrying tools. Warriors were rushing through the crowd, looking for their auxiliary soldiers. They whipped them, slapped them, hit them on the head with their scabbards, pulled their ears and scolded them, telling them not to panic. I didn't ask you to fight in the battle, so what are you afraid of? If you are afraid, go home and wait to be robbed by the Bian thieves.

"Stand still!"

"Don't cry."

"When the enemy attacks the stronghold, you just have to follow our orders," the young officer said with a dark face.

Wang Congxun was the first to climb up to the outer camp.

But in the vast white snow, a large group of soldiers were carrying military flags and marching in a column. There were the Zhongwu soldiers wearing yellow hats, full of murderous intent. There were the Wuchang soldiers wearing white rattan armor, with sad faces. There were the Cai soldiers eating meat with laughter. There was the Yanei wearing a gorgeous costume embroidered with brown tigers, black bears, white cranes, and gray elephants. Some had wild geese tattooed on their faces, and they were selected from the army. Some had dragon tattoos on their necks, and they were martial arts warriors who stood out from the whole town's martial arts competition; seeing them from afar was terrifying.

Among them were a large number of civilians captured from the two states of Shaanxi and Guo. Naked women were covered with kerosene, and young men were holding wooden spears and crying. The elderly and the weak kept dying in the wind and snow. The team was very long and chaotic, with no end in sight. There were also a lot of carriages and horses transporting pointed wheels, weapons, arrows, and siege equipment. There was no doubt that the Bian bandits were going to do something reckless this time.

Wang Congxun judged that the enemy army had nearly 50,000 troops.

After Liu Zhijun, Zhu Yourang, Zhu Yougui, Luo Yin and Zhang Ju arrived a hundred steps outside the camp, they first sent a team of cavalry to challenge them. Their words were kind, and the general idea was to inform the defenders of the consequences of breaking into the camp, and to quickly kill the generals and surrender the camp. King Bian decided to forgive the past and only employ the talented, and they could conspire to make the generations rich and powerful.

"If you kill this villain, I'm afraid you will be rewarded with fifty pieces of silk!" Looking at the arrogant Bian cavalry, a junior officer pulled out a heavy arrow from his quiver.

Just as he was about to draw his bow, he heard Wang Congxun yell, "I'll do it myself!"

He snatched the bow from a lieutenant next to him, grasped the string and pulled it hard, and his tiger-legged arm immediately squeezed a large ball of tendon meat and pressed it against the inside of his elbow. He leaned to one side, closed his left eye and squinted, and the sound of the bang pierced his eardrum.

Everyone looked in the direction of the arrow, and saw that the arrow had penetrated into the right eye of the horse under the crotch of the leading knight. Blood spurted out of the eye socket, and the horse went crazy and stood up.

This archery!
The soldiers looked at Xiao Wang with envy.

The knight was frightened. He was furious and yelled at the ungrateful man while trying to comfort his horse. Before he could leave, Wang Congxun shot two arrows off his helmet and sandwiched his buttocks. The cavalrymen who followed him were afraid of being named, so they pulled their horses back and left the young officer there. The young officer was in full armor, and the arrows were not fatal, but they were extremely humiliating. He hurled a few harsh words at Wang Congxun, covered his buttocks and limped back.

The Bian army in the distance saw a commotion. The cavalrymen who had abandoned the junior officers and ran back first were pulled off their horses by the Yajun, slapped several times, and then beheaded in front of the battle formation.

The people upstairs were quite surprised at the cruelty of the Bian bandits' discipline. They killed the entire team just by abandoning the officers. If they were to suffer a major defeat, wouldn't there be deserters everywhere?

"Dong, dong, dong." The rumbling drums of the Bian army interrupted everyone's imagination, and the warriors led the strong men and women to their positions. Those who ate dry food ate dry food, and those who boiled water boiled water. Perhaps worried that everyone would be afraid of the enemy, Xiao Wang took a chair and sat down on the wall of the village with his legs crossed.

"Old Wang, how about we light a fire as a signal to ask the saint to come for help?" Xu Shanyi asked doubtfully.

"Zhu Ni has sent a large number of troops to attack Sanguanzhai, clearly to lure Your Majesty to come to rescue." Wang Congxun rubbed the back of his hands and frowned, "Besides, Zhu Ni has a strong army. If I were him, I would attack Beizhaicheng, Zhongzhaicheng, and Nanjingou at the same time. The Saint guarding Jingou may be besieged by Zhu Ni's main force at any time, and the pressure is much greater than ours. Don't bother him unless it is absolutely necessary."

"What if the village is breached?"

"Even if we give this village to Liu Zhijun, what does it matter?" Wang Congxun sneered, "We have 22 villages here. When will he be able to take them all? There are no trees nearby, so there is no need to worry about him setting fire. Water has been poured on the village walls, so they are frozen solid. Just defend it. If you can't defend it, just give it to him. It's just the beginning of the battle to defend the city. Why rush?"

"Okay." Xu Shanyi hurried away.

"General Zhong, the Bian army has just sent you a letter to persuade you to surrender, saying that you can choose any of the troops in the Yanei army to be your envoy, and you can remotely command a town."

"I'm a regular official, and I want to be his fake official? If Zhu Wen gives me the position of commander, I can consider it, hahahaha."

"Kill!!!" Suddenly, shouts of killing rang out, and a large group of Bian troops pressed towards the village. The trenches dug out were filled with civilian corpses and quickly froze to form a fortification. Women with kerosene smeared on their bodies were driven towards the village gate and the barricades. As they approached, the archers used small buckets of oil to penetrate the tips of their arrows and fired rockets like locusts. In a moment, the fire broke out, and the howling in the blazing fire with black smoke shook the sky.

……

The attack and defense of the northern fortress could not be hidden from the sage sitting in Fenjing Pass, nor from the soldiers. Knowing that the Bian army was serious, the army and the people were extremely nervous. One moment they said they were going north to reinforce, the next moment they said that the forbidden canal was sneaked by Zhu Ni. One moment they said that the sage was planning to take his concubines and children and escape at night. One moment they said that the West City Pass fell. One moment they said that Wang Congxun died in the battle. The sage was so angry that he arrested more than 60 people and beat them until they vomited blood. The military commanders of the cavalry and infantry also went out in full force, holding axes and leading warriors to enforce the law, and ordered them to stand by.

"It is forbidden to gather and talk in groups. Violators will be beheaded."

"No one is allowed to walk around at will. Violators will be beheaded."

"It is forbidden to run away with military horses. Those who violate this will be executed."

"No lighting of fires is allowed. Violators will be executed."

"..." The guards were beating the harsh gongs, and their loud voices could be heard throughout the city.

On the top of the fort, the saint walked back and forth with his hands behind his back and his head down. Sometimes he put himself in Zhu Wen's shoes, thinking about how Quanzhong would attack. Sometimes he put himself in the shoes of the guards of the various passes, guessing what their mentality was. Sometimes he recalled the locations and structures of various forts, reviewing whether there were any loopholes that could be exploited.

"Report! Bian army scouts sneaked into the forbidden ditch cypress forest to conduct reconnaissance. This may be a sign that Zhu Ni is leading a large army to attack."

The saint immediately stopped and stood still.

　I have received the reward from the leader, and I will update for you soon.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)