A lowly soldier becomes king, I slaughter my way through the late Tang Dynasty!

"Damn it! What the hell!"

"Damn it! You bastard!"

Inside Yelü Ruan's camp, his furious curses echoed continuously.

He had been lingering outside Boling County for ten days, yet still couldn't find the slightest flaw.

Yelü Ruan knew about it after he had visited Langshanwu before.

There is absolutely no way to take Langshanwu by force!

He can't do it, Yelü Jieli can't do it, even if they gather all their troops, they can't take it in a short time.

The only breakthrough point is Boling County.

But this small county town, built on a plain, actually has extremely well-prepared defensive fortifications!

Yelü Ruan was truly at his wit's end!

He tried to launch a strong attack for a long time.

As a result, they lost four hundred cavalrymen before they even reached the walls of Boling County.

Yelü Ruan pondered deeply.

Finally, on the eleventh day, he came up with a wicked plan.

He ordered his men to bring in three thousand civilian prisoners, line them up in two rows, and advance towards Boling County.

These three thousand people were all Han Chinese civilians who had been arrested.

They came from nearby states and counties, and included men and women, as well as elderly people in their sixties and children as young as six!

These are living, breathing people, ordinary citizens unrelated to the war.

Like livestock, they were tied together with ropes and moved forward step by step under the whip.

At first, they didn't know what they were going to do.

All they knew was that if they didn't move forward, they would be beaten to death by the Khitans!

When they finally saw the city wall of Boling County in the distance, everyone seemed to understand.

They're cannon fodder!

They are consumables!

Gradually, some people started crying and tried to run away.

But the Khitan soldier behind him chopped down with his sword, splitting the man in two.

"Move forward! Retreat, or die!"

The people wept as they moved on.

Without needing to be taught, they began to wail at the top of their lungs.

"Don't kill us! We are people from Jin!"

"I'm from Xingtang County, Zhenzhou! Don't shoot!"

"I am a native of Dingzhou, my home is in Hengyang. Gentlemen of the army, please understand, we are not Khitans!"

These cries of alarm and pleading echoed up to the city wall of Boling County.

The soldiers of the Restoration Army all changed their expressions and hurriedly put down their bows and arrows.

"Truly an ordinary person!"

"What should we do? Fire arrows?"

"How can this be allowed? Are we going to shoot civilians?"

"If we don't fire arrows soon, they'll be closing in. If the Khitans let them climb the city walls, are we just going to kill them too?"

"That's not what I meant, but...they..."

The two governors argued for a moment.

But then a sharp shout came from behind.

"What are you all doing?! Why haven't you fired your arrows yet?"

The two quickly turned around and saluted.

"General, the Khitans are forcing the people to besiege the city. We dare not fire arrows for fear of harming the people."

The visitor was Zeng Feng, the commander of the Restoration Army and the current garrison commander of Boling County.

He frowned, stepped forward to take a look, and then, without thinking, made a decision.

"Release the arrows!"

His soldiers were greatly alarmed!

"General! They are ordinary people..."

"Yes, military regulations stipulate that anyone who kills civilians will be executed by slow slicing!"

Upon hearing this, Zeng Feng suddenly turned his head.

Zeng Feng, who was usually calm and reserved, suddenly opened his eyes wide with anger and roared.

"They were commoners before, but they aren't anymore! Serving as vanguards for the Khitans, whether willingly or unwillingly, makes them traitors!"

"If we don't shoot them now, are we supposed to wait until they scale the city walls, lead the Khitan soldiers into the city, and slaughter our own people?"

This roar startled the two commanders so much that they dared not answer.

Zeng Feng snorted angrily and turned to look at the approaching civilian procession.

A hint of reluctance flashed in his eyes.

After all, Zeng Feng himself came from a farming family.

After following Li Rui, he was deeply influenced by Li Rui and attached great importance to the lives of ordinary people.

But he was also the commander of an army and the general defending a city.

Besides the tens of thousands of people behind him who needed protection, he also had to protect his mistress, Wang Shuyu, at all costs.

Any risk must be nipped in the bud!

A ruthless glint flashed in Zeng Feng's eyes as he gritted his teeth and said.

"Pass on my order: you may fire your arrows without hesitation; I will bear the blame!"

All the soldiers tensed.

Seeing their commander's decisiveness, they all obeyed and raised their bows and arrows.

Those who couldn't bear it closed their eyes after adjusting the angle of their bows and arrows.

"put!"

A hail of arrows was unleashed.

The civilian group, which was already not very disciplined, panicked instantly after being shot down by a hail of arrows, killing half of them!

These people cursed the garrison of Boling County as they fled in panic.

The Khitan soldiers escorting them immediately rushed forward and killed those who tried to escape on the spot.

After a period of chaos.

Yelü Ruan couldn't help but curse.

"Li Rui is truly ruthless! He even kills his own civilians!"

However, from the perspective of a general, Yelü Ruan had to admit that shooting was the best option.

The next three days.

Yelü Ruan would escort a group of civilians to attack Boling County every day.

Unsurprisingly, they couldn't even reach the city wall of Boling County.

Perhaps its only effect was to let more people witness the cruelty of the Khitans.

Because there's simply no one left!

These ordinary people are both laborers and property!

If you give them all away, the other generals won't be happy!

Left with no other option, Yelü Ruan attempted to besiege the city again.

He ordered the construction of a towering chariot, which was a meter higher than the city wall of Boling, in order to suppress the defending troops from a superior position.

That very night, a wooden frame was erected on the city wall of Boling, even taller than the siege tower!

Yelü Ruan then launched a cannon attack on the city.

The so-called "pao" refers to a catapult.

Unfortunately.

The city wall of Boling has already been reinforced and is several meters thick!

The mud pellets fired from the artillery were completely incapable of causing any damage.

If stones were used instead, the artillery vehicle would need to be pushed forward a long distance, and the soldiers operating the artillery vehicle would be completely exposed to the range of the Restoration Army.

Even firing the cannon didn't work.

Yelü Ruan also tried strategies such as digging tunnels, setting fires, and launching night raids.

But each time, the Restoration Army defended against it flawlessly.

Yelü Ruan gritted his teeth and unleashed almost all the knowledge he had acquired in his life!

He even went so far as to consult Han Chinese military books, trying to find a way to break through the city.

More than ten days have passed in the blink of an eye.

Yelü Ruan and Zeng Feng engaged in a fierce and back-and-forth struggle every day.

Gradually, Yelü Ruan became excited!

"Hmph! Li Rui and I have been locked in a battle for more than ten days, and we are evenly matched! That is enough to prove it."

"In the last battle at Yunshan Dang, I was caught off guard and was captured alive, not because I was inferior to him!"

After a pause, Yelü Ruan continued.

"Hehe, no matter how famous Li Rui is, he's still trapped in the city by me and doesn't dare to come out."

After this battle, let's see who dares to say I'm inferior to Li Rui! At the very least, we should be evenly matched!

Upon hearing this, the officers beside him nodded in agreement.

At least for now.

His Highness Prince Yongkang's military skills are indeed comparable to those of the garrison commander of Boling County.

There's a reason why the two sides are deadlocked here.

however.

What Yelü Ruan never expected was...

The Li Rui he longed for was not even in Boling County!