I was living in the Five Dynasties period, just after crossing the Zhongdu Bridge.

By this point, the Battle of Ye City had become a high-stakes gamble where all sides held their breath and held their breath.

Shen Lie accepted Gao Xingzhou's command, left the central army camp, and followed Li Congxi's three thousand Fuwei Army northward.

If you were to read military books, the strategy for besieging a city is to surround it on three sides and leave one side open, intending to leave a way out for the defending army so that they don't have to fight to the death.

Moreover, the exits left behind are usually located in terrain that is easy to ambush, such as deep valleys or rivers, with the intention of luring the enemy out of the city.

This time, however, Gao Xingzhou's strategy was a genuine encirclement from all sides.

It wasn't that Grand Tutor Gao was ignorant of military strategy, but rather that the overall situation had changed.

Ever since Emperor Liu Zhiyuan entered Daliang, most of the wealthy families in the Central Plains, unless they had a knife to their throats from the Khitans, had wisely withdrawn their Liao banners and replaced them with Han banners.

Looking around Yedu, the southern, eastern, and western borders had all become Han territory.

If Du Chongwei runs in these directions, he will be walking into a trap.

Only the north, the vast and flat land of Yan and Zhao, was still in the hands of the Liao people, and it was the only way out for Du Chongwei.

Gao Xingzhou's decision to leave the Fuwei Army, the emperor's personal army in a dead-end corner north of Yedu, was not to dump the worst mess on them.

To outsiders, the area directly facing the Liao army of Zhenzhou to the north was a strategically vital and dangerous place, even a potential death trap for Khitan cavalry.

But in the eyes of this seasoned coach, it was an absolutely easy job.

Why?

All of this is due to the variables in this geopolitical game.

Just as the army was besieging Yedu, Xue Huairang, the defense commissioner of Mingzhou north of Yedu, had already seen the wind was blowing and submitted a memorial to the Han.

With the surrender of Mingzhou, half of the land route between Yecheng and the Liao army in Zhenzhou was cut off.

The ministers in Daliang were not to be underestimated either; upon hearing this, they all wrote to Liu Zhiyuan urging him to send troops.

Therefore, the imperial decree has been issued in Daliang City, ordering Guo Congyi, the Hebei Provincial Inspector, to lead 10,000 elite troops north to join forces with Xue Huairang and launch a joint attack on Xingzhou, which is still observing the situation.

Guo Congyi's 10,000 fresh troops stationed in the north were like adding another layer of armor to Gao Xingzhou's camp.

Du Chongwei was trapped inside the city, and with such a disparity in troop strength, there was absolutely no reason for him to leave the city and fight in the open, thus risking his own death.

Meanwhile, the Liao reinforcements outside the city were firmly blocked by Guo Congyi at the Xingzhou line.

Therefore, although the area north of Yedu was nominally cut off from escape routes, it was actually a safe and secure place heavily protected at this time.

Gao Xingzhou was simply doing someone a favor.

This not only fulfilled Liu Zhiyuan's noble cause of having Shen Lie accompany him to avenge his father, but also protected this fledgling army in the safest rear, preventing Murong Yanchao from truly using these few thousand men as cannon fodder.

After all, Shen Lie's value lay in walking alive to Du Chongwei, not in being a nameless corpse thrown into the moat of Ye City.

Shen Lie stood in the new camp north of Yedu, watching his soldiers slowly and deliberately set up the fence.

The summer river breeze swept by, taking away some of the tension from the battle.

Yang Ting wiped the sweat from his face and looked at the distant city wall, feeling rather bored.

"My lord, this Grand Tutor Gao is quite a character. He says we should kill them all without mercy, but we can't find a soul in the north. Are we really going to be fishing by this river?"

Shen Lie sat on a stool, holding the battle report that had just been forwarded from Mingzhou.

He understood the logic behind it.

Gao Xingzhou wanted to wear down Du Chongwei's patience with time, while Liu Zhiyuan wanted to use Guo Congyi to lock down the variables in Hebei.

This is precisely why Gao Xingzhou was not in a hurry to attack the city.

Once the north is secured, Ye City will be within our grasp.

Shen Lie coldly observed the seemingly secure encirclement.

He knew that Du Chongwei was waiting, waiting for the internal strife in the Khitan to subside, waiting for that glimmer of hope.

Gao Xingzhou was also waiting, waiting for Du Chongwei's power to wane, waiting for a perfect surrender document.

······

At this time, outside Xingzhou City, Guo Congyi's troops had been launching a fierce attack for several days.

"Defender Xue, you lad from Mingzhou, have you been holding your child at home for so long that you can't even climb the earthen walls of Xingzhou anymore?"

Guo Congyi reined in his horse on the mound, looking at the retreating Mingzhou soldiers ahead, his face extremely pale.

As Liu Zhiyuan's confidant, Guo Congyi's journey north was carried out with a death order.

The official in Daliang City wanted the submission of the entire Hebei province, not to linger for over a month under the walls of Xingzhou City.

Xue Huairang rubbed his hands awkwardly. He had originally wanted to get a bargain, but who would have thought that the Xingzhou garrison would be such a tough bunch.

"Inspector Guo, it's not that the brothers didn't try their best," Xue Huairang complained bitterly.

"That Xingzhou governor Liu Duo, I don't know what got into him, but he was so determined to be buried alive with those rotting Liao people."

"The logs and stones rolling down the city walls never stopped. This is all the soldiers in Mingzhou have. If they keep piling on, I'm afraid we won't even have any guards left to defend the city."

"A cornered beast will fight on, and its greatest weakness is procrastination."

Guo Congyi snorted coldly, but didn't dare to say anything harsh.

"His Majesty is waiting for news of victory, and Grand Tutor Gao is also waiting for us to determine the victor. If we fail to capture the city today, our own Imperial Guards will be sent in to replace them tomorrow."

However, both of them overlooked a crucial variable.

That was Ma Da, the Liao general stationed in Zhenzhou.

In Du Chongwei's eyes, Mada was a lifeline; in Gao Xingzhou's eyes, Mada was a withered skeleton awaiting death.

In reality, although Ma Da was a Liao person, he was well-versed in the political logic of the Central Plains.

Although he was rotten, greedy, and violent, he was not like Du Chongwei, a mediocre talent who was blinded by profit and only cared about himself.

In his view, Xingzhou was the gateway to Zhenzhou, and Weizhou was the gateway to Xingzhou.

If Liu Zhiyuan is allowed to connect the dots along the Hebei Road, then he, as the commander of Zhenzhou, should be waiting for the Han army to come knocking on his door.

Inside the Zhenzhou Prefecture government office.

"The Han people are faithless; all they do is kill and slay."

Ma Da was wearing a fur coat and holding Liu Duo's letter of appeal for help.

Among the generals below, the Liao generals laughed heartily upon hearing this, and most of the Han generals echoed his sentiments.

Only He Fujin, the former defense commissioner of Yingzhou, and Li Rong, the commander of the Crane Control Division, had their jaws clenched and looked extremely pale.

"Now that Liu Zhiyuan has entered Daliang, do these southerners really think the world belongs to them?"

Ma Dazhi stood up and casually ordered, "Order Yang An to lead his 1,000 elite cavalry south immediately to reinforce Xingzhou. Also, tell Liu Duo that if Xingzhou is defended, he will be richly rewarded."

Upon hearing this, Li Rong and He Fujin exchanged a glance, and immediately understood what the other was thinking.

The Liao soldiers remaining in Zhenzhou were already few in number, and not long ago, Generals Zhang Lian and Yang Gun led troops to reinforce Du Chongwei.

If Yang An were to take another thousand elite cavalry to Xingzhou, then only eight hundred Khitans would remain in Zhenzhou.

The restoration of order is just around the corner!

But this was a principle that not only the two of them had thought of.

A general below him looked alarmed and hurriedly advised, "General, you mustn't!"

Upon hearing this, Ma Da turned his head to look.

The person speaking was one of the Han Chinese generals who had been smiling obsequiously earlier.

He was Bai Zairong, the former Commander of the Left Wing of the Imperial Guard and the Military Commissioner of Enzhou.

Bai Zairong ignored the resentful looks from Li Rong and the other man, and continued talking to himself.

"There are not many soldiers in the city to begin with. In order to support Du Chongwei, Zhang Lian and Yang Gun had already taken away several thousand Youzhou soldiers."

His Majesty and Empress Dowager Shulu are currently locked in a fierce struggle in the capital, leaving us isolated and helpless here. If Yang An leaves as well, the defenses of Zhenzhou will be virtually empty!

"What if the Han Chinese in the city decide to change their minds..."

"A desire for change?"

Ma Da scoffed.

He slaughtered Han people in Zhenzhou as easily as cutting grass. How could those Southerners, who were as obedient as lambs, dare to have any disloyalty in front of him?

"Do they dare? You Han people, the mere sight of us Liao people makes your bones go weak. Go and do as you please, I know what I'm doing."