Memoirs of the Heavenly Khan

Chapter 295 Betrayal Doesn't Matter
Bai Bicheng.

Below the cliff, campsites stretched out in a continuous line.

Large numbers of laborers moved about the camp, carrying timber and earth, filling in roads, and making final preparations for Erzhu Rong's army to attack Baibi City.

Ten massive, movable siege towers stood silently, undergoing final finishing touches. Erzhu Rong ascended the already erected earthen mound, looking down upon the battle.

The Northern Army was not good at attacking cities, but it was good at learning. Especially after failing to capture Beizhong City, which was defended by the Liang army, Erzhu Rong realized the shortcomings of his army and put a lot of effort into studying siege tactics.

"He Liuhun, you did a great job."

Erzhu Rong looked at the orderly scene in the camp and nodded in approval.

Gao Huan cupped his hands and said:
"This is all thanks to General Tianzhu!"

Erzhu Rong waved his hand. Behind him, his attendant Wang Xiang, along with several men, carried an umbrella and a stool. After arranging them, Erzhu Rong sat down.

On the earthen hill, Erzhu Rong sat alone, while everyone else stood.

As a horn sounded from the earthen hill, Chilie Yanqing saw flags waving on the hill and realized that Erzhu Rong had given the order to attack the city.

Chi Lieyanqing stepped forward before the group of generals from the six garrisons and said:
"General Tianzhu has decreed: whoever is the first to scale the city walls will be rewarded with 500 households and be enfeoffed as a county earl; whoever captures and kills Yang Kan will be rewarded with 5,000 households and be enfeoffed as a county duke; whoever breaks through the city will be rewarded with 10,000 households and be enfeoffed as a state duke! Your wives and children will be granted titles and privileges, all thanks to this battle."

After that roar, the soldiers of the six towns all looked grave.

The great battle has begun!

Attacking and defending a city is different from open field battles; what is relied upon is weaponry!
The soldiers of the six garrisons were fierce and brave, but they were not fools who charged forward recklessly.

In their first battle to capture the city, they were quite cautious.

Baibi City was built on a cliff, and its strategic location made it difficult to attack. There was only one road leading up to it. The soldiers of the Six Garrisons did not dare to underestimate the city. Holding shields, they slowly advanced along the road, trying to establish a foothold outside the city and prepare for the subsequent attack.

Incidentally, let's test the city's firepower.

For the Erzhu clan, Baibi City had to be captured. If they left the city unattended, Erzhu Rong would have to leave tens of thousands of troops to surround it. Putting aside the cost of supplies, if he did that, Erzhu Rong would essentially have nothing left to do.

Those at the top have their own agendas, and those at the bottom aren't stupid either.

This wasn't the first time these soldiers from the Six Garrisons had come here. They had come once before when Chen Qingzhi attacked Luoyang, and they had confronted the troops from Guanzhong here.

They had witnessed the formidable nature of the city before, but experiencing it firsthand was a completely different feeling.

Inside the city, crossbows and arrows fired in unison!
Thousands of crossbow bolts fell like rain, a dark, overwhelming mass.

Even with shields in hand, these men could not fully protect themselves from the sharp arrows.

Whenever any of the soldiers from the six garrisons formed a tortoise-shell formation, they would receive special attention from the city.

After all, while the tortoise-shell formation provided excellent protection against a hail of arrows, its slow movement made it a prime target for the city's giant crossbowmen.

Shields can withstand bolts from ordinary crossbows, but they are no match for the attacks of giant crossbows, which can wipe out large numbers of bolts in a single sweep.

The first wave of soldiers left behind a large number of corpses before retreating.

On the earthen hill, Erzhu Rong watched all this without being moved in the slightest.

To conquer a city, one must sacrifice lives, especially when facing a fortified city like Baibi.

Erzhu Rong knew this all too well.

For Erzhu Rong, the troops of the Six Garrisons were not the most crucial element. Although they were people he needed to win over, they were not people he couldn't afford to lose.

After the first wave of attacking soldiers retreated, the flags waved again on the earthen hill, and the second wave of soldiers quickly followed.

After the second wave, there will be a third wave, a fourth wave...

The city's military supplies will eventually run out, but Erzhu Rong has a steady stream of soldiers under his command.

Let's see who can outlast whom!
……

Lingzhou, Licheng.

The area at the foot of the Qilian Mountains was once a grazing ground for the Xiongnu.

The land is fertile and suitable for both farming and animal husbandry.

After the Five Barbarian Invasions, this land became a battleground fought over by various tribes.

Now, after the flames of war, Heba Yue has become the largest force in Lingzhou.

His target, however, was the city of Li, which was not far away and was already surrounded by his army.

Once it is removed, no one in the entire Lingzhou region will be able to oppose him.

However, Heba Yue was also in a bit of a predicament, and it could even be said that he was having a real headache.

The city walls of Licheng are not as towering as those of Baibicheng, nor is the terrain as treacherous. However, Heba Yue is not as wealthy as Zhu Rong.

Erzhu Rong could afford to use the troops under his six garrisons, but he couldn't afford to waste the troops under Heba Yue's six garrisons.

These soldiers from the Six Garrisons, like Heba Yue's own troops, were his core fighting force. If they were all exhausted in the siege, Heba Yue would not be able to maintain his foothold in Lingzhou.

Of course, this is only an ideal situation.

In fact, after besieging Licheng, Heba Yue ordered a full-scale attack.

Cao Ni defended well, and after the six garrison troops lost over a hundred men, the generals concluded that a direct assault would result in too many losses and that Licheng was a tough nut to crack. Heba Yue then had no choice but to order a halt to the attack and instead begin a siege.

The number of hundreds was just the beginning for Erzhu Rong, but for Heba Yue it was already a number that could shake people's morale.

"That Cao Ni is as cunning as a fox!"

In open field battles, Heba Yue was not afraid of Cao Ni's few thousand men at all. Even against Suqin Mingda's tens of thousands of troops, Heba Yue had defeated them in a single battle.

However, Cao Ni did not engage in open battle with him. After gaining the wind, he gathered his troops in the city and ran faster than rabbits.

Cao Ni was clearly well-prepared; after arriving in Licheng, he devoted great effort to strengthening the city's defenses.

Zhao Gui followed beside Heba Yue, listening to Heba Yue's words without saying a word. After a while, he suddenly spoke.

"How about we try to persuade them to surrender?"

"Persuade to surrender?"

Heba Yue was somewhat surprised. However, after calmly considering the situation, he quickly realized that this was probably the most economical route at the moment.

Although Zhao Gui was not the most strategically capable general under Heba Yue, he always managed to offer the most appropriate advice at the most opportune time.

Seeing that Heba Yue didn't have many objections, Zhao Gui spoke up:

"We're suffering while besieging this city, but do you think Cao Ni is having an easy time?"

Whether attacking or defending a city, it's all about consuming resources and testing people's morale. Everyone in Ling and Xia knows who's who!

"It's not easy for everyone to save up their savings, so why waste time here? If Cao Ni is willing to surrender, that would be the best outcome."

Heba Yue nodded and said:
"If Cao Ni is willing to surrender, he will remain the prefect of Licheng County and hold the position of governor. There will be no change."

……

in the city.

Upon receiving Heba Yue's letter, Cao Ni was very excited and addressed his subordinates:
"See? That kid Heba Yue can't hold on any longer. He's even started writing letters asking me to surrender."

Cao Ni's subordinates were not a monolithic group. Upon hearing Cao Ni's words, one of them said:
"General, why don't we just surrender?"

Zhao Gui was actually right. If Heba Yue could capture Licheng and obtain its resources and people, then fighting would be worthwhile. But now that the two sides are locked in a stalemate, it has turned from a one-sided victory into a lose-lose situation. Pure attrition is unbearable for either side.

If everyone in the city can preserve their property, then it's acceptable.

Cao Ni sneered upon hearing this.

"Fine, if you want to surrender, I'll hang you and your wife out of the city, then you can surrender!"

Cao Ni's words silenced the person who had spoken earlier, and then someone else said:
"Heba Yue's reputation is widespread, and he will not go back on his word."

Everyone thought Cao Ni was worried that Heba Yue was bluffing him, but to their surprise, Cao Ni had no intention of surrendering at all.

"So what if you have a far-reaching reputation and are a person of your word?"

Cao Ni looked at his men and said:

“I am the commander-in-chief under the King of Qin, ordered to take charge of Licheng County and oversee military affairs in the northern part of Lingzhou. Who is Heba Yue? Does he even deserve my surrender?”

Everyone remained silent, then Cao Ni continued:
"If you gentlemen wish to surrender, I will not stop you. But you should also consider whether you will be given important positions if you surrender to Heba Yue. If you were to fight, would your old arms and legs, accustomed to pleasure and tainted by wine and women, be comparable to those ravenous soldiers of the Six Garrisons?"

Everyone fell silent upon hearing this, and some even wiped their sweat, feeling somewhat uneasy.

Cao Ni's words resonated with everyone.

In terms of fighting, they were no match for Heba Yue. Even if they surrendered, what difference would it make?

Heba Yue kept his promise and didn't attack them. But what happened afterward?
If they really went to the battlefield, what could they do?

Cao Ni was very satisfied with everyone's expression and clapped his hands.

Cao Ni's armored soldiers carried up a man who was beaten to the point of near death.

Everyone in the room knew this man; they had been drinking together just a few days ago!

Cao Ni, with a cold face, took out a letter and spread it out in front of everyone.

This letter was written to Heba Yue.

Cao Ni had someone read the letter aloud, and everyone understood why this person had been beaten so badly!

“We’re all brothers, and we’ve come together for wealth and power. Now that Heba Yue has raised an army and disaster is imminent, I don’t blame anyone for wanting to make a living on their own. We can part ways amicably. But this city belongs to the King of Qin, and this land belongs to the King of Qin. Anyone who dares to betray his own people, collude with outsiders, surrender the city, and seek their own wealth and power should not blame me for being ruthless!”

After Cao Ni finished speaking, a cold aura appeared on his face. He drew his sword and swiftly struck the traitor with a single blow.

With a single stroke, a head rolled and blood splattered.

"You can betray me, but betraying the King of Qin, this is the consequence!"

Everyone was horrified and knelt down.

"We swear to serve the King of Qin to the death and are willing to serve the Commander!"

……

After writing the letter, Heba Yue waited for a reply from the city, but what he received was a letter of rejection.

The letter was written in earnest words, but its core meaning can be summed up in just three words.

You deserve it too!
Holding the reply in his hand, Heba Yue was furious, but in the end, he still had to face reality and return to his original predicament.

A siege is not about using human lives to fill the gaps, but about a contest of will and resources between the sides inside and outside the city.

Unfortunately, Heba Yue couldn't afford to fill the gap or afford to waste time.
-
After several days of attack, Baibi City was left with a large number of corpses.

Neither the defending nor the attacking side had time to collect the corpses.

Fortunately, the weather was freezing at the time, so the body did not decompose so quickly.

The military supplies in Baibi City seemed inexhaustible, and the arrows seemed never to run out.

Erzhu Rong stopped waiting and started to get serious.

The siege towers, even taller than the walls of Baibi City, were pushed to the front lines and, propelled by hundreds of laborers, slowly made their way toward the walls of Baibi City.

Such massive siege weapons would put considerable pressure on the defenders inside the city.

The siege towers have openings and crenellations on the top platform, allowing soldiers to take cover from arrows and retaliate. Below are siege hammers that can be activated to deliver a devastating blow to the city walls once they get close.

The siege towers have both ranged and close-range attack capabilities, and their defenses are also very strong. Covered with several layers of stiff cowhide, even powerful crossbows cannot penetrate them.

Following the siege towers came a large number of soldiers from the Six Garrisons and siege ladders.

Once the siege towers suppress the defenders on the city walls, these troops from the six garrisons will use the siege ladders to scale the walls and then storm into the city.

With such a situation, Bai Bicheng faced immense pressure, but Yang Kan had already made preparations for it.

Yang Kan ordered his soldiers to take out the nets they had prepared beforehand and spread them on the outer city wall. At the same time, he brought out all the oil and explosives from the treasury.

Yang Kan, holding a bow and arrow, personally supervised the battle from atop the city wall, showing no fear in the face of the enemy's rain of arrows.

On the city wall, a group of soldiers were dodging arrows fired from the siege towers, but Yang Kan walked as usual.

Every time he passed a section of the city wall, the soldiers guarding the wall felt as if they had found a pillar of support and were filled with confidence.

It was as if the rain of arrows had no effect on him whatsoever.

In fact, it is true.

Yang Kan was a sharpshooter.

A skilled archer is also skilled at dodging arrows!
The enemy's siege equipment, including siege towers and ladders, suffered heavy losses during the attack, but the remaining ones were still close to the city walls.

Faced with a horde of siege weapons that were getting closer and closer, he ordered the city to fight back while also drawing his bow and nocking an arrow.

With each arrow shot, one enemy soldier will fall to the ground.

Yang Kan wasn't targeting ordinary soldiers, but rather officers. This disrupted the enemy's siege rhythm.

This brilliant archery greatly boosted the morale of the soldiers in the city.

When the battle began, everyone fought bravely.

……

On the earthen hill, Erzhu Rong, who had a clear view of the siege, wore a solemn expression.

From dawn until nearly dusk, this intense battle finally came to an end as the last siege tower was engulfed in flames.

Many of the ladders were either destroyed or stood there alone, with no one around.

The soldiers who stormed the city walls were unable to take them down and had to retreat.

Of course, being able to retire is considered good.

As dusk approached, Erzhu Rong had no choice but to order a retreat.

Despite the loss of a large number of weapons and soldiers, the city of Baibi still stands tall on the cliff, seemingly unaffected.

Erzhu Rong couldn't help but sigh:

"What a fine Bai Bicheng! What a fine Yang Kan!"

……

(End of this chapter)