Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 195 Fierce Battle (Part 1)

Yang Huai's personal guards all turned away and chuckled.

Yang Huai was somewhat embarrassed and annoyed: "We are engaged, what's wrong with me looking at you?" He paused and then said: "My uncle is preparing to send troops to support Bohai County, and I plan to volunteer to go."

Fighting is a life-or-death struggle; you could be killed by a stray arrow or a knife at any moment. He just wanted to take one last look at her before he left.

Unfortunately, Pei Yan was naturally thick-skinned and blurted out, "If you die on the battlefield, I won't keep my vows for you."

Yang Huai angrily turned his head to the side and ignored Pei Yan completely.

Seeing that Yang Huai was truly angry, Pei Yan finally realized what was happening. She scratched her messy hair and, unusually, reflected on her words: "I was just talking nonsense. Don't take it to heart. Go fight well and come back safely. Even if you lose your arms and legs, I will never abandon you."

...It was a truly touching and heartfelt confession.

Yang Huai turned back in anger, and when he met Pei Yan's big, bell-like eyes, he suddenly realized that she was serious.

That's it!

She's just a girl who speaks her mind without thinking.

Yang Huai nodded and said, "These are your own words, and I've remembered them. You can't go back on your word later."

The soldiers' teeth ached from hearing it.

Upon returning to the military camp, Yang Huai gave Pei Qinghe's letter to General Yang. After reading it, General Yang sighed deeply and remained silent for a long time, his brows furrowed.

Yang Huai was surprised and couldn't help but whisper, "If General Pei is unwilling to send troops, our Guangning Army can send troops on its own. Why is Uncle so hesitant?"

General Yang sighed again: "General Pei reminded me in his letter that as the garrison of Youzhou, our greatest duty is to defend our territory and resist foreign enemies. Bohai Commandery has 70,000 elite troops, and Tao Wudi has led 100,000 soldiers from afar. In terms of troop strength, the forces defending the city are actually sufficient. Whether the Guangning Army is mobilized or not is not really a big deal. If the Xiongnu barbarians take advantage of the Guangning Army's weakness to launch an attack, it will be extremely bad!"

It must be said that Pei Qinghe's words hit the nail on the head regarding General Yang's hidden worries.

In other words, General Yang's will to send troops wasn't actually that firm, and he was easily swayed. Pei Qinghe, unwilling to send troops, then tried to persuade him with reason and evidence. General Yang immediately wavered.

Yang Huai nodded subconsciously: "What General Pei said makes sense."

So, will the Guangning Army send troops or not?
After much deliberation, General Yang finally made a decision: "The rebel army has just arrived in Jizhou, and the two sides have not yet officially engaged in battle. Let's wait and see how things develop. If Bohai Commandery can hold out, we won't need to send troops."

……

This wait lasted for a month.

Tao Wudi was trusted and valued by King Qiao, which meant he was indeed quite capable in battle. The Northern Expeditionary Army didn't rush to attack the city; instead, they first occupied a county town more than sixty li from Bohai Commandery. The 100,000-strong army easily breached the city gates, followed by a bloody massacre. Only young women were spared.

This was a common tactic used by the rebels: wherever they went, they would massacre the inhabitants of a city to use as military camps. This was much faster and easier than building camps. Furthermore, the soldiers could indulge in revelry through slaughter and women. Such actions were cruel, yet highly effective. The morale of the rebel army remained consistently high.

Meng Liulang was furious and repeatedly applied to go into battle, but his requests were rejected each time. Frustrated, he continued to defend the city.

A month later, the rebel army had finished its rest and was in high spirits. They had prepared a large number of siege weapons and began their attack on the city.

The first day of fighting was not intense; it was mainly a test of each other's troop strength and combat capabilities.

After probing for five or six days, Tao Wudi said to his subordinates, "Bohai County is a tough nut to crack. The city walls are high and sturdy, and the one defending it, Meng Liulang, is a rare and fierce general. We must be prepared for a long siege." A battle was inevitable, but they had to be prepared for heavy casualties.

When they attacked the capital, countless rebels died in waves. In the past two years, they have been recruiting soldiers continuously, not only recovering their strength but also doubling their troop numbers.

This time, Tao Wudi brought 100,000 elite troops. The term "elite troops" is debatable, but the number of 100,000 is genuine and undisguised.

Warfare is extremely expensive in terms of both money and supplies. Before setting out, the rebel army brought a large amount of military rations. They kept looting along the way, so they weren't short of food. If they did run out of food, they would simply capture a group of civilians, kill and cook them—that would be ready-made military rations.

In short, we can afford to fight and we can afford to wait it out.

On the seventh day of the siege, Tao Wudi dispatched 20,000 men, while he himself remained at the rear, commanding from a war chariot.

Catapults on the city wall relentlessly hurled boulders, while the rebels below retaliated with their own catapults. The defenders, holding the advantage of terrain, suffered far fewer casualties. The rebels pushed ladders, using them as cover to approach the city wall, then rammed the gate with massive logs. The Beiping soldiers on the wall continuously fired arrows. By afternoon, a group of rebels had scaled the city wall.

Meng Liulang led his troops forward, and in close combat, blood and flesh flew everywhere.

This is a truly fierce battle.

At dusk, the rebel army sounded the retreat, leaving behind a field of corpses.

The city walls were littered with severed limbs and blood. The wounded soldiers cried out in agony.

Wearing soft armor, Meng Liulang suffered only minor injuries, his handsome face expressionless.

Meng Dalang and Zhang Yun came together to comfort the wounded soldiers and boost morale. At his brother's prompting, Meng Liulang managed to exchange a few words with Zhang Yun before quickly shutting up.

Meng Dalang said to Meng Liulang, "I will guard the city tomorrow, you can rest for a day."

Meng Liulang said, "Your legs are not strong enough to carry a knife and kill people. I will guard the city."

“You’re not made of iron,” Meng Dalang frowned. “Listen to me, go back and rest for a day. There are so many people on the city wall, I can direct them to guard the city, you don’t need to do it yourself.”

Before Meng Liulang could speak, Meng Dalang's face turned cold: "I am the commander-in-chief of the Beiping Army, and you, as the deputy commander, must obey my orders."

Meng Liulang had no choice but to agree.

After sleeping for a day and a night, Meng Liulang was full of energy and went up to the city wall.

With the valiant Meng Liulang by their side, the morale of the Beiping army soared, and after a fierce battle, they once again repelled the rebel army.

After a series of victories, Meng Liulang of the Beiping Army became renowned throughout Bohai County.

Emperor Jian'an was overjoyed and issued a series of imperial edicts praising him. General Zhang and his son also showered him with praise, making Meng Liulang famous.

Meng Dalang quickly sensed something was wrong and privately reminded Meng Liulang: "Neither the Zhang father nor his son are easy to deal with. Their lavish praise of the Beiping Army to make you famous is actually putting you in a dangerous position."

Meng Liulang sneered: "Anyone with eyes can see what they're up to. They just want to use the rebel army as a weapon against the Beiping army."

"Right now, we need to defend the city and can't afford to bother with them. Once I defeat the rebels and my reputation spreads, I'll make sure they can't even lift their heads."

(End of this chapter)