The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 262 Zhao Lujiao

"I've long heard of Commander Zhao's great name. It's a great honor to meet him today! Who tied him up like this? Untie him now!"

Northwest of Ningyuan, Kaiyuan Central Army Headquarters.

Kang Yinggan, dressed in elegant clothes, walked into the big tent and without saying anything, he stepped forward and shook Zhao Lujiao's hand, as if he had met his long-lost brother.

Zhao Lujiao was tied up with ropes all over his body and swayed like a big dumpling. Seeing Kang Yingqian being so enthusiastic, he couldn't help but look confused.

"I've heard Xiong Jinglie mention Commander Zhao before, saying you're the best general in Liaoxi. Today..."

Zhao Lujiao asked coldly:
"Where are Liu Zhaosun's people?"

Kang Yingqian laughed dryly:
"Marquis Ping Liao is busy with military affairs, so he sent me to visit Commander Zhao."

When Zhao Lushi was untied by the soldiers, he immediately raised his fists and went forward to beat Kang Jianjun.

The guards rushed over, pinned him to the ground and tied him up again.

"Commander Zhao, why are you doing this? I am a kind person. If you have any questions, please tell me..."

"You and Liu Zhaosun are birds of a feather, and you're even more despicable! It was because you joined forces with Liu that Kaiyuan prospered. Now that I've fallen into your hands, I only ask for death. No need to pretend! I'm not Wang Huazhen, I won't surrender! Kill me!"

Kang Yingqian looked at Zhao Lujiao struggling on the ground and narrowed his eyes:

"Commander Zhao, you may not be aware that the imperial court has already negotiated peace with Kaiyuan, and the emperor's envoys will be arriving soon. You are already abandoned. Your life or death is of no consequence to me. One of the conditions I have set for peace is the execution of the Liaoxi warriors. Zu Dashou is the first. I have already prepared the charges for you: the massacre of Kaiyuan, the persecution of loyal officials, and the resulting mutiny in Liaodong."

Kang Yingqian smiled widely, staring at Zhao Lujiao's face, squinting his eyes and saying:
"Commander Zhao, it's not easy to be a loyal and righteous person in this world. I'm not afraid to tell you that from Liaodong to Shandong, from the Three Law Departments to the Six Ministries, they are all under the command of the Marquis of Ping Liao. We can turn black into white, and of course we can also say that you are a deserter. Before you die, your reputation will be completely destroyed, and you will gain nothing from dying. Your family will suffer even more miserably."

"Of course, Commander Zhao is benevolent and loves his people. Marquis Ping Liao specifically instructed the Emperor not to kill you. I'm saying all this for your own good. Think about it carefully..."

Zhao Lujiao interrupted Kang Yingqian before he could finish speaking.

"Where is Liu Zhaosun now?"

"By the moat."

"Listening to the flute."

~~~~
On November 20th, the Kaiyuan army continued to attack the city.

Deng Changxiong ordered people to pour water on the earthen wall, and the wall became extremely hard after freezing. The defenders on the city wall bombarded the wall with red cannons, and the shells left only a few white spots on the wall.

The Ningyuan defenders followed suit and continued to pour water on the city walls.

As a result, the lethality of artillery on both sides was reduced.

Liu Zhaosun asked Sen Ti to bring several surrendered generals from Juehua Island to the city to call on the Ningyuan defenders to surrender as soon as possible.

When the generals of Liaozhen heard that Juehua Island had fallen, they were all shocked.

Zu Dashou led his servants to the top of the city wall and saw from afar a Kaiyuan officer holding a loudspeaker and shouting.

He turned to the gunner and said:
"Can it hit?"

Luo Li looked at the target carefully and said hesitantly:
"Marshal, the red cannon is only slightly more accurate than the falconet. It's already difficult to hit a shield cart, let alone a person."

Zu Dashou said angrily:

"Back then, when Kaiyuan hit Huang Taiji with a cannon, wasn't it also a red-coated cannon? If they can do it, why can't you?"

Luo Li was speechless and hesitated for a moment before saying:

"That's because Liu Zhaosun is lucky..."

Just as Zu Dashou was about to get angry, a cold voice came from behind him.

"When two armies engage in battle, envoys are not executed. Since Liu Zhaosun has sent someone, let's hear what he has to say first."

When Zu Dashou heard that it was Wang Zaijin who was speaking, he quickly turned around to explain:
"Sir, the Liu thief is full of tricks and schemes, so we must be on guard. Besides, sending someone here at this time will only serve to seduce the people. It would be better to kill him directly to avoid disrupting the morale of the army."

Wang Zaijin stroked his beard and smiled:
"We guard Liaoxi for the emperor and protect the people of Liaoxi. The righteousness of the world is with us. What should we be afraid of the mere thief Liu? I have the people's hearts with me, so I am not afraid of him disturbing me!" Zu Dashou wanted to stop him, but was interrupted by Wang Zaijun with a wave of his hand.

"Let them speak. I want to hear what Liu Zhaosun wants to say."

Sen Ti's Cantonese accent was heard from the foot of the city.

"You idiot! Last night, Juehua Island was captured by our army. Have you eaten? You must be starving now! Your Zu Dashou embezzled military pay and drank your blood! He stockpiled 80,000 dan of grain on Juehua Island. Did he give you a single grain? Now, all the grain has been taken by us, along with tens of thousands of kilograms of gunpowder. Ningyuan was surrounded, and the reinforcements from Shanhaiguan were just defeated by Ping Liaohou. No one is coming to rescue you. Ping Liaohou said, I'll prepare two gifts for you. What are they? Cannonballs and steamed buns. Put down your swords, open the city gates, and eat white flour steamed buns together. We'll only kill Zu Dashou, not others. The commander of Juehua Island, Zhao Zhihuishi, said, your food is only enough for three days. When the food in the city is gone, you'll starve to death. Think about it carefully, cannonballs or white flour steamed buns! I'll give you half an hour to think about it. After half an hour, we'll fire!"

Wang Zaijin said angrily:

"Kill them!"

Two red cannons were fired, and Sen Ti quickly retreated.

Two shells flew past Dongguanzi's scalp and hit the ground twenty steps ahead, splashing up a cloud of yellow mud.

Luo Li helplessly watched the target gradually disappear into the distance.

He prided himself on being an expert in handling cannons, and after he finished reloading, the enemy had already escaped from the range of the red cannon.

Zu Dashou looked up towards the moat and saw that the people on the opposite side were still digging tunnels with perseverance.

He was not afraid of the Kaiyuan army's tunnel attack. In his opinion, this siege strategy required a huge amount of work, was time-consuming and labor-intensive, and had almost no chance of success. It was okay to use it against small cities within the Great Wall, but it was ridiculous for Liu Zhaosun to use tunnel attack against Ningyuan.

He called the head servant and ordered:
"Recruit warriors, descend from the city walls, and dig a deeper trench thirty paces in front of the wall. Fill it with water and let Liu Zhaosun dig! His efforts will be in vain!"

The head servant asked cautiously:

"Marshal, why didn't we dig yesterday? It was warm yesterday, but now it's freezing cold. The ground is frozen into lumps of ice, harder than a pickaxe."

Zu Dashou looked at the head servant and said with a cold smile:
"If we had dug the trench yesterday, Liu Zhaosun wouldn't have attacked. Stop talking nonsense! Hurry and get started. If they can dig, why can't you? I'll give you one hour. If you don't see the trench, I'll throw you in to dig!"

The head servant was trembling with fear and hurried down to prepare.

At this time, a general from Liaoxi came up from behind the city wall.

Zu Dashou looked up and saw that it was He Kegang, the garrison commander of Shanhaiguan, and said coldly:
"Why is Guard He not guarding the South Gate? Why is he here at the West Gate?"

He Kegang looked anxious and saluted Zu Dashou:
"General Zu, Liu Zhaosun has sent people to build a wall outside the city. Why don't you send people out to repel them?"

Zu Dashou said with disdain:

"Liu Zhaosun has only won a few battles by chance. Don't be scared by him. He has more people than us. Let him build the wall. Let him dig!"

A hint of pride flashed in Zu Dashou's eyes.

He Kegang was puzzled:

"What do you mean, Marshal Zu? Don't you know that victory in war depends on having the right time, the right place, and the will of the people? Now that the traitor Liu has both the right time and the will of the people, if we let him build the city and take advantage of the place, Ningyuan will be in danger! Marshal Zu, don't you know about the Battle of Yubi between the Eastern and Western Wei? Gao Huan attacked Wei Xiaokuan by building a mound outside Yubi City and attacking from above. In the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao attacked Cao Cao by also building a mound of earth and piling it up like a mountain, surrounding Cao Cao's camp and shooting at him..."

Zu Dashou clapped his hands and laughed:
"So, both of them were defeated! Hahaha! I haven't read much, but I do know the endings of Gao Huan and Yuan Shao."

Zu Dashou looked at He Kegang and continued:

"Liu the bandit is ramming earth outside the city. Ramming earth into a wall is time-consuming and laborious. It would take at least three or four months, and at most half a year, to completely encircle the main city. I don't believe Liu Zhaosun can keep the siege going that long. Hundreds of thousands of their troops don't have food or water? Where will they get food and fodder? Besides, in this icy and snowy weather, where can they find clay, field mud, sand, rice milk, raw eggs, and straw? Without these things, the city wall will collapse before it reaches even two meters."

Zu Dashou was born into a military family in western Liaoning. He participated in the construction of forts with his father since he was a child and was familiar with the structure and defense of cities.

From the very beginning, he knew that the earth wall outside the city could not be built at all.

Therefore, he delayed sending his servants out of the city to attack the foreign tribes who were building the city.

"Liu Ze may be an exceptional warrior, but when it comes to sieges, haha, an incompetent general can tire out the entire army. Previously, in Guangning and Liaoshen, it was the city's insiders who helped him open the gates. Now in Ningyuan, Wang Jinglie has sealed the gates, leaving Liu Ze with nothing to do."

Zu Dashou said this, pointing to the earthen wall that was still growing taller a mile away:

"Liu Zhaosun got lucky and won a few times, so he got carried away. He's still a villain who has achieved success. If he dares to offend our ancestors, I will chop off his head within three days!"

(End of this chapter)