A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

Geshu Han was a veteran general with a knack for organizing troops. Upon learning of the enemy's night attack, the imperial army quickly completed its deployment, and many soldiers who had been resting in shifts put on their armor and went up to the city walls.

All of this was done silently. Before the rebel alliance outside the city even noticed, the city's defenses had been strengthened by more than double.

Geshuhan kept a close eye on the rebels' position until they were only a few miles from the city. At that point, the rebels could no longer hide and began a full-scale attack, regardless of the situation.

At Geshuhan's command, the soldiers on the city wall, following their prior rehearsals, calmly pretended to be in a panic and began to constantly adjust the city's defenses.

All of this was done to impress the rebels outside the city and lower their guard.

Seeing the chaos on the city walls, the rebels outside the city gained even more confidence.

The leading general was still Zhang Huai. Given the intensity of the daytime battle, he assumed that the Tang army inside the city would not expect to fight again tonight, and that his attack would surely catch them off guard.

However, Huang Ce felt that with the moon and stars shining brightly today, it was not a good day for a night attack.

Moreover, having just experienced a large-scale and intense battle, the entire Tang army is on high alert. Now is the time when the entire Tang army is most vigilant, and a night raid tonight will surely be fruitless.

However, Zhang Huai's trust in Huang Ce has diminished considerably, and he stubbornly insists on launching a night attack on Fanyang.

Huang Ce also keenly sensed that a sad rift had appeared between him and Zhang Huai. Huang Ce was somewhat puzzled as to why this rift had occurred.

Everything he did was to repay Zhang Huai's kindness in recognizing his talent, and he never did anything out of line. He wanted to tell himself that this was just his illusion.

But the wisdom of a sage tells him that this is not an illusion, but the truth.

This filled the loyal Huang Ce with immense sorrow.

Could it be that he really misjudged Zhang Huai and that Zhang Huai was not a wise ruler?

Zhang Huai also wanted to prove himself to Huang Ce. He didn't necessarily need Huang Ce. While Huang Ce's help was certainly a factor in his success, his own abilities also played a crucial role.

With this in mind, even though he had been fighting all day and was exhausted, Zhang Huai still rallied his spirits and prepared to attack the city.

"All soldiers, listen to my command! Whoever first breaches the city walls will be rewarded with a thousand gold pieces, promoted three ranks, and enfeoffed as a marquis with ten thousand households!"

A generous reward will surely bring forth brave men. As Zhang Huai's order spread throughout the army, all the soldiers were panting heavily, their eyes fixed intently on the city wall.

A reward of a thousand gold pieces, a promotion of three ranks, and the title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households—this price is enough to buy their lives!

Zhang Huai nodded in satisfaction; the army's morale was high.

"kill!"

At Zhang Huai's command, a large number of soldiers rushed towards the city wall.

When the rebels were no more than a hundred meters from the city wall, Geshuhan raised his hand, and a large number of archers who had been crouching stood up straight, nocked their arrows, and aimed at the rebels below the city.

"shoot!"

At Geshuhan's command, a rain of arrows shot out from the city walls, flying densely towards the rebel army.

Zhang Huai looked up and saw the archers who had suddenly appeared. His heart tightened. His first thought was not that he had fallen into a trap, but that Huang Ce had been right again.

Is it really impossible for him to succeed without Huang Ce?

impossible!

While Huang Ce's planning certainly played a crucial role in my success, my own efforts and contributions cannot be ignored.

Zhang Huai took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and personally led his troops to charge towards the city wall.

Zhang Huai is indeed capable. If he were to withdraw his troops because he fell into a trap, his morale would plummet.

However, if a fierce attack is launched, even if the city is not successfully captured, it can boost morale, at least preventing morale from plummeting.

Therefore, in this situation, the best option is for the commander to personally lead the charge.

Seeing their commander leading the charge, the soldiers, who had been suppressed by the rain of arrows, were no longer afraid and followed Zhang Huai forward to fight.

Relying on the sudden surge of blood, the rebels suffered heavy losses but managed to scale the city walls several times.

However, they were all driven away by Geshu Han's troops, and it wasn't until late at night that the rebels left with their remaining troops.

After leaving, Zhang Huai did not break his promise despite failing to capture Fanyang City. He summoned the soldier who had been the first to scale the walls and survived to the front lines and personally gave him a thousand taels of gold in front of hundreds of thousands of troops and numerous lords, promoting him from a common soldier to a captain, a promotion of more than three ranks.

Then a town with ten thousand households was set aside from Yunzhou and granted to this soldier as his fief, and he was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Xiandeng.

The Marquis of Xian Deng, Tian Chengsi, was overjoyed and patted his chest, proclaiming his loyalty!

Many soldiers stared intently at Zhang Huai, their thoughts also consisting of only two words: loyalty!

They were now hoping that Zhang Huai would give the order to launch another attack, as they also desired the immense wealth and rewards.

"Go back and get some rest. We'll fight again tomorrow. The town will still reward you; we will not go back on our word!"

With Tian Chengsi as an example, everyone knows that Zhang Huai keeps his word. Most of the soldiers are from military households, and they will never hesitate to risk their lives as long as they can make a future.

Each and every one of them was a ruthless person willing to risk everything and even bring down the emperor.

Now Zhang Huai has proven the weight of his promise, and the fighting power of this army will surely increase many times over.

After all the soldiers left, Huang Ce followed Zhang Huai to the commander's tent.

"My lord is wise. With Tian Chengsi's move, our army's morale will surely soar and we will be invincible in the coming days."

"What's even more interesting is that this Tian Chengsi is not from Yunzhou, but a soldier from Hedong."

"Our lord now holds the position of leader of the allied forces of the feudal lords. In just a few days, he will be able to completely control the allied forces, and none will dare to disobey his orders."

Huang Ce was also extremely surprised by Zhang Huai's performance today. Apart from the fact that a night raid was not the best strategy, his performance was outstanding in all other aspects.

"But isn't today's reward a bit too generous?"

"A thousand taels of gold and a promotion to a captain are fine, but a marquisate of ten thousand households is a bit too much."

"If a marquis with ten thousand households is granted now, what will be the reward for anyone else who rises to that position first?"

"If the reward is not as good as that for Tian Chengsi, the soldiers will naturally feel disappointed. My lord, the effect of your reward will be reduced by three points."

"But if we continue to reward people so generously, it won't be long before the entire Yunzhou is sealed off."

Zhang Huai was initially pleased with Huang Ce's admiration, but he found Huang Ce's subsequent words rather jarring.

"I have my own plans for this; I just need to set a higher goal."

"These soldiers followed me in rebellion against the Tang Dynasty. Those generals were there for titles and honors, but what about these soldiers? If they can't earn a place in the government, if they don't have that opportunity, why should they risk their lives for me?"

"Sir, you do understand military strategy, but you don't understand the soldiers at the grassroots level."