Jinting Han people

When Suo Jing led his troops to harass the rebels' food supply, Liu Xian did not join the army, but stayed in Niyang and worked hard to repair the city.

Although Liu Xian had previously achieved a minor victory over Qi Wannian in the Battle of Liumo, he knew in his heart that it was merely a calculated move. In terms of true understanding of warfare, he was probably still inferior to his opponent. Qi Wannian's strategy during the Battle of Rufeng was, at the very least, something he could not possibly achieve. Therefore, Liu Xian did not dare to entertain the slightest hope that Qi Wannian would not attack the city; he must remain extremely vigilant.

Therefore, when Suo Jing and other cavalrymen attacked, he personally supervised the work and led tens of thousands of laborers to rebuild Niyang City.

First, the weaker parts of the city walls were demolished and rebuilt. The materials used were a mixture of river mud and lime, then water and syrup, and then covered with blue bricks. Lime evaporates when it comes into contact with water, releasing heat and billowing white smoke. This method of building was known as steamed earth. After cooling in the spring breeze, the walls solidified like iron, making it difficult to penetrate even with a chisel.

He then extensively dug a trench outside the city, deepening the original seven-foot trench to fourteen feet, nearly doubling its depth. He then set traps on both sides of the trench, either by burying sharpened bamboo sticks smeared with human or animal feces to infect people, or by spreading painted caltrops. In the darkness of the trench, defense was impossible.

At the same time, Liu Xian destroyed all trees and buildings within a five-li radius of Niyang City, including civilian houses. He cut down what he could, burned what he couldn't. The people were relocated to Xiayang. By the end of a month, not a blade of grass grew outside Niyang City. Liu Xian had already built wooden towers and sheds on the city walls, and the four-zhang-high wall seemed to have risen two zhang higher, seemingly from the ground.

Liu Xian also made numerous other preparations. He encouraged his farmers to temporarily plant short-lived vegetables like radish, cabbage, and spinach. He also gathered mulberries from around Beidi County and dried them into dried mulberries. He also sent hunting parties into the mountains. In short, he did everything he could to stockpile as much food as possible in preparation for the upcoming siege.

But even so, the speed at which Qi Wannian came to rescue and attack the north still exceeded Liu Xian's imagination.

In Liu Xian's view, the temptation to seize Chang'an was too great. If it were him, he would rather risk losing more than half his troops than storm and capture it. Therefore, Liu Xian conservatively estimated that Qi Wannian might try briefly, and if progress was unsuccessful, retreat to Weibei. By then, he would rest briefly and then attack the north again, which would probably be mid-May.

As a result, after the second attack on the grain route, Qi Wannian didn't even attempt to attack Chang'an. He simply abandoned the siege and turned his army to blockade the north. It was only late March, not even spring had passed. The crops that Liu Xian encouraged the people to plant had only just been harvested.

Ninety thousand troops poured into Beidi County like a tide. When the vanguard reached Fuping, the troops behind them formed a dark cloud, stretching over twenty miles to the south. The sight of the Hu banners sent shockwaves through the hearts of the Beidi people. Liu Xian had warned them not to hold out, so they fled in all directions, their panicked demeanor like stray dogs, drawing laughter from the rebel soldiers.

By the time the army arrived at Fuping, it was already deserted; all the able-bodied men had been relocated by Liu Xian. However, the soldiers appeared relaxed, which they viewed as a sign of the enemy's fear of them.

However, Qi Wannian couldn't help feeling gloomy after hearing the news. He also realized that the more decisively the Jin army retreated, the more resolute their determination to defend was and the more thorough their preparations for defense were. It seemed that this siege would not end easily.

As they continued their march, they saw a huge fortress rising from the sky in the distance, standing tall on the earthen plateau, blocking the river valley in front and backed by the mountains. The other generals could not help but rein in their horses in fear and said to each other:

"What a dangerous place! How did we lose such a huge city?"

Anyone who had experienced war would know at first sight that Niyang City was an abyss that would devour human lives. Only then did they begin to regret not deploying a large number of troops there.

But it was too late to say anything now. Liu Xian's successful recovery of Beidi County had been beyond everyone's expectations. They hadn't taken the mistake seriously enough back then, and now they could only make amends with their actions and their lives.

While the Hu army began to set up camp under the city of Niyang, Liu Xian, Suo Jing and others were also observing the other side's movements on the city wall.

After learning that the rebels had returned to Weibei in large numbers, Suo Jing immediately returned to Niyang. Standing with Liu Xian, he looked down at the rebels' deployment and said to him with deep emotion:
"Qi Wannian is indeed a rare figure among the Hu people. Every time I play against him, I find that his skills have improved."

"When I entered the Pass earlier, I read the battle reports written by the Jie family, which said that Qi Wannian's army was lax in commanding its troops, and that soldiers often deserted and fled. If we can't seize the advantage of time and place, we won't dare to fight the enemy, and we won't be able to achieve victory."

"When Fufeng faced off, perhaps during the Battle of Liumo, his army was able to retreat without disarray and suffer defeat with moderation. Even when temporarily defeated, the soldiers would march with the main force. This is the spirit of a great general."

"At this point, with consecutive victories and a numerical advantage, his army should be feeling arrogant. But now I look over, I see that the various units are in perfect order. The sentries and guards are patrolling back and forth without letting up. This is another step forward!"

Liu Xian also deeply agreed with this. Looking over now, he saw that under the dark clouds that covered the sky, the rebels had surrounded Niyang from the east, south, west and north. The army was in very neat order, with fluttering flags and soldiers like clouds. Compared with the veterans of the Western Expedition Army, there was almost no difference.

However, as the defender who was about to be besieged by nearly ten times the number of troops, Liu Xian was not pessimistic, because the superior geographical location of Niyang would not be weakened by the enemy's military advantage.

The plateau where Niyang was located was called Dishiyuan. It was named for its proximity to the Qiaoshan Mountains to the north. With only a single mountain path traversing it, it was practically impractical for garrisons. The eastern and western parts of the plateau offered little space, only enough for a few thousand men to deploy, making it impossible to launch a lethal offensive. Only the southern part of the city was relatively flat, capable of accommodating tens of thousands of troops and serving as the natural primary attacking direction. This meant that Liu Xian only needed to focus his efforts on the southern part of the city to withstand any offensive.

Qi Wannian obviously understood this, so he was not in a hurry to attack the city. Instead, while setting up camp, he sent someone to the city to make a statement. The person who came was his clansman Qi Gui. Qi Gui didn't waste any words and rode to the city gate, asking to see one of Suo Jing, Liu Xian, or Li Han by name. When Liu Xian poked his head out to respond, he immediately said:
"Lord Liu, our Majesty is acquainted with you. We met at Huangyaji that year, and we were so happy! After so many years, I miss you so much! Meeting you in battle today is not our Lord's wish. Lord Liu is the descendant of a hero and a wise man of our time, yet he is constantly being suspected by the Jin Dynasty. Why would he risk his life for them?"

"My lord is a hero, eager to seek talented people and cherishing them above all else. Now, he leads an army of 180,000, yet he cannot bear to mobilize. Why? Simply because he admires your talent! If you are willing to open the city gates and surrender to my lord, my lord will treat you with the courtesy of a noble and retain the position of Governor of the North. Later, when my lord enters Luoyang, it is not impossible for you to be granted a title of nobility or even a king. What is there to hesitate about?"

"I heard that there are two other upright people here with you. One is a distinguished scholar from the Longxi Li family, and the other is a virtuous and respected person from the Dunhuang Suo family. Both have been ostracized by the Jin Dynasty. My lord treats them equally. As long as they surrender, they will be given important positions!"

To be fair, considering Qi Wannian's current situation, this condition is still sincere. Unfortunately, Liu Xian did not think Qi Wannian had a chance of winning. He immediately replied:
"Since you know I'm Liu Xian, how could I, as a man of Chinese dignification, be a surrendering general?"

He added, "My city is now secure, and my soldiers are well-paid. Attackers are futile, and defenders are at ease. I've held the city for six months with ease, so how can I surrender immediately upon the arrival of your army, leaving us unscathed? You rebels, if you fail to capture the city, you will all die here when our reinforcements arrive. Surrender is impossible!"

Qi Gui had no choice but to relay Liu Xian's reply to Qi Wannian, saying, "I think Liu Xian is determined and will not surrender easily."

Upon hearing this, Qi Wannian snorted at first, then sneered: "No tears until you see the coffin. If that's the case, then let me see what he's capable of!"

The next morning, the Hu people sounded their war drums. Nearly a hundred cowhide drums surrounded the city walls on three sides, roaring deafeningly at the bare earthen plateau. This marked the beginning of the Hu people's first wave of attack on Niyang.

To inflict immense psychological pressure on the Jin troops within Niyang, hundreds of drummers took turns beating, the drumming continuing throughout the night. The thumping of the drums seemed to reach the very soul, thrilling the attackers and terrifying the defenders. When the drums first resounded through the air, wild beasts within a ten-mile radius panicked. Even after the Jin army had already cut down a considerable amount of trees, birds could still be seen circling in the distance. By the end of the day, the birds around Niyang had completely vanished.

The initial tactic of the Hu people was to build an earthen hill. They wanted to imitate Zhou Chu's previous tactic of attacking Haozu, and directly connect the earthen hill to the city wall to attack into the city.

But it was already the turn of spring and summer, and occasional drizzles fell, turning the ground into a muddy mess. The Hu people dug up the dirt and packed it into sandbags, which were much heavier than usual, making the road difficult to navigate. Even with tens of thousands of people taking turns carrying the dirt, filling the moat in front of the city under a hail of Jin arrows would still be a formidable task.

Furthermore, the Jin army had set numerous traps along the trenches, and many Hu people were caught in them, with their wounds becoming infected and requiring amputation. After learning this lesson, the Hu people became even more cautious, clearing the traps before filling the trenches, which significantly slowed down the work. It took the Hu people six days to fill the deep trenches.

When the Hu people next attempted to fill the city walls with earth, they discovered this tactic was impractical. Wet earth is difficult to mold and, if piled to a certain height, would collapse, making it impossible to form a mound. Furthermore, the mounding process would have required reaching the base of Niyang City. Even if they carried the earth upwards with shields, it would have been difficult to protect themselves from the Jin army's hail of arrows. Another four days passed, and the Hu people hadn't even managed to build a single mound of earth for the siege.

Fortunately, a Xianbei named Tuluoluo came up with an idea: to use the dead bodies under the city as the foundation, burying the bodies and soil together in a mound, and successfully pile up the mound. The Hu people followed the plan and turned the mound into a huge cemetery. They filled the mound with hundreds of dead bodies and finally successfully piled up two mounds. However, the bloody smell of the mound was so strong that it made people physically sick.

Meanwhile, the Jin troops within the city weren't simply using bows and arrows. While the Hu people were piling up their earthen mounds, they were also frantically raising the watchtowers facing the mounds. They used long wooden beams to tie the two towers together, creating wooden ladders that connected them. Between the ladders, wooden platforms were erected, raising the heights one level at a time. Once the Jin army reached the top, they deployed dense crossbowmen and piled on various defensive devices. This created a new wall on top of the Hu people's newly constructed earthen mounds. From their high position, the Jin troops were unable to defend themselves against the crossbows, while the Hu people, attacking from above, suffered many casualties. It wasn't until nightfall that they gave up their attempt, dragging the bodies of their comrades back to camp.

By this time, the Hu people had been besieging Niyang for twelve days. The sound of war drums had not diminished in the slightest, and the torches in the Hu camp were like stars in the sky.

Qi Wannian personally visited the wounded camp to comfort the soldiers. Seeing the emperor in person, the soldiers were all grateful and forgot their worries. However, Qi Wannian felt unhappy when he saw this scene. Because the siege had only just begun, his own side had already suffered over a thousand casualties, which was a bit too much.

But the time was ripe to attack Niyang. Facing such an isolated army without external support, there was no reason why he couldn't defeat them. Otherwise, the victory in the previous battle would be completely wasted.

Therefore, Qi Wannian immediately convened a military meeting and said to his generals: "Whoever can capture Niyang will be given a state in the future!"

This promise was so important that the leaders of the Hu people were immediately interested and volunteered to be the first to attack the city.

On the other side, Liu Xian was also inspecting the city defense. While observing the weak points of his own city defense, he looked to the north from time to time.

Zhang Guang, who was traveling with him, knew what he was thinking and asked, "Huai Chong, are you thinking about reinforcements?"

Liu Xian nodded and sighed, "Let's just hold on for this month. According to Baba Che, we'll know Tuoba Yilu's attitude by next month at the earliest, or two months at the latest." (End of this chapter)