The reality is very cruel. Even though the soldiers of the Huaixi Army turned Yushan County upside down, they still could not find a grain of food.
At dusk, Han Jin slaughtered all the hundreds of mules and donkeys that accompanied the army and used them to make soup and meat to reward the soldiers. However, a few hundred mules and donkeys were still a drop in the bucket for the 90,000 soldiers. Many soldiers could only drink broth and even the meat.
You can't even see the scum, I can only say it's better than nothing.
Han Jin was preparing to break through the encirclement from Nancheng. He selected five thousand tall and strong soldiers, each holding a shield and a sword, and lined up in five lines. As an assault force, they were responsible for breaking through the encirclement and creating conditions for the army behind to break through.
But at this moment, several gunpowder arrows soared into the sky from the mountains outside Beicheng.
This is also a characteristic of Yushan County. The city is built on the mountain, but from Beishan you can clearly see everything in the city. Maybe the details are not clear, but with five thousand people lined up, you can see clearly anyway.
Zhang Xian, the commander of the army, immediately led 10,000 crossbowmen to block the south city gate. They used heavy-duty divine arm crossbows, one for two people, with a killing range of up to 350 steps. They could shoot through ordinary shields and leather armor, and had
It has a strong range advantage. The general crossbows on the city walls have insufficient range, so there is nothing they can do against them.
The drawbridge was lowered, the city gate slowly opened, and soldiers holding shields rushed out. What greeted them was the ruthless blow of the God's Arm crossbow. A thousand arrows were shot from the southeast like a torrential rain. The soldiers who had just rushed onto the drawbridge rushed
Hit by an arrow and fell to the ground.
Immediately after the second formation, the third formation, the fourth formation, and the fifth formation, arrows were shot out one after another. The five-round arrow formation completely blocked the city gate, and batches of soldiers rushed out and were shot down. In a short period of time,
Nearly five hundred people were thrown down in front of the city gate, and the soldiers who were not killed by the arrows groaned and crawled back.
The Huaixi Army did not dare to leave the city, and the crossbow array also stopped firing. The two sides held a stalemate for a moment, and Han Jin shouted, "Keep charging!"
Five hundred soldiers rushed out again, this time without rushing to shoot arrows. After they ran a hundred steps, when the third group of 500 people rushed out again, the five thousand divine arm crossbows came into power, and the crossbow arrows were like a storm.
Shooting at the soldiers of the Huaixi Army, soldiers screamed and fell down one after another. The shields could not withstand the strong penetrating power of the crossbow arrows. The leather armor also lost its protective ability in the face of the powerful heavy god arm crossbow arrows. Even the iron armor could not withstand it.
, not to mention leather armor.
After five rounds of arrows were fired, all five hundred soldiers were shot down, together with the third group of more than two hundred people who came out from behind. The soldiers behind were so frightened that they retreated back into the city. There were people all over the ground who were still alive after being hit by arrows.
The soldiers groaned in pain and struggled to crawl into the city.
In just one moment, thousands of soldiers were shot to death and wounded.
Zhang Ziqi couldn't bear it anymore and rushed down to the city and shouted: "Such a breakout will lead to death, stop breaking out!"
Not only Zhang Ziqi, but other generals also persuaded them that the other side was fully prepared and had strong force. They simply could not break through. Regardless of whether they succeeded in breaking through, they would be dead in the end.
Han Jin had no choice but to issue an order to stop the breakout.
The night was getting late, and 90,000 soldiers were distributed among the houses in the city. There were more than a dozen or more than 20 people living in each house. All food and valuables were taken away by the people, leaving only some tattered furniture. Many soldiers were even left behind.
Don’t hit the store to sleep.
The conditions were not very good, but no one among the soldiers cared about such trivial matters. They were worried about tomorrow and their own destiny.
"I believe him. Where can we get food tomorrow? The mules have all eaten it. How can the food fall from the sky? We will be hungry tomorrow."
"That's right! All the meat was eaten by the officials, and I only had a mouthful of soup. I really miss the days of killing pigs and eating meat in my hometown. If I surrender and go home, I promise to be the first to surrender."
In a room, more than a dozen soldiers couldn't sleep and were all chatting. At this time, a soldier who was on his way to the hospital shouted in the yard: "Come out and take a look."
"What a fart! What's there to see?"
"There are a lot of pieces of paper in the sky, they are flyers!"
The soldiers stood up one after another and ran barefoot into the yard. Five or six leaflets fell in the yard. Looking up at the night sky, they saw that there were still a few pieces of paper floating in the sky. Most of them had probably fallen to the ground.
"You guys are late, the sky was floating a lot just now!" the yard soldier said regretfully.
The crowd ignored him and surrounded a literate soldier, asking eagerly: "What is written on it?"
"Let's go inside and talk!"
Everyone returned to the house, lit the oil lamps, and the literate soldiers read: "To all Jianghuai officers and soldiers, Shouchun has arrived, the people are safe and sound, the Western Army will not invade autumn, King Yong has become the master of Jianghuai, and you are all Prince Yong."
People, we cannot bear the killing. It is late autumn now, the New Year is approaching, spring plowing is approaching, and the barren land is waiting for you to go home and cultivate. Surrender as soon as possible and let everyone return to their hometowns to reunite with their families. If you refuse to surrender, the city will be burned down!
"
Everyone looked at each other in shock, and then they realized that the houses were all made of wood. If the Western Army set fire to the city, none of them would survive.
It was getting daylight. Zhang Ziqi was sitting alone in the courtyard, holding a notice in his hand. He stayed up almost all night, sitting on a big stone in a daze. Several soldiers stood not far behind him, and no one dared to disturb him.
he.
At this time, there was a rush of running sounds, and a soldier reported at the gate of the courtyard, "Marshal, the Western Army has sent an envoy to the city!"
Zhang Ziqi nodded, "Invite him to sit in the lobby for a while and treat him politely!"
Zhang Ziqi got up, washed up a little, and then came to the lobby.
Zhang Ziqi, the envoy of the Western Army, knew him. He turned out to be Wang Yong, a soldier in the army whom he had met several times. Wang Yong stood up and said with a smile: "Mr. Zhang, we meet again."
"It turns out to be Wang Canjun, please sit down!"
The two sat down, and at this moment, Han Jin also hurried over. His face was ugly, and he sat aside without saying a word.
Zhang Ziqi asked: "Is my father still alive?"
Wang Yong said slowly: "We got some news. The 100,000 troops led by your father were completely wiped out in Niutoushan, or they all surrendered. Your father Zhang Jun, His Highness King Yong, let him go, and he escaped with his soldiers.
, his current whereabouts are unknown.”
"Where is my family?"
Zhang Ziqi took a deep breath and asked: "The notice says that Shouchun has passed away. How is my family's situation?"
Han Jin couldn't help but straighten his back and looked at Wang Yong with concern. Of course, he also cared about his family in Shouchun.
"Your wife, mother and grandmother are all well, your two-year-old son is still alive, and everyone left behind is safe and sound. However, your brother and several nephews were led by Li Jiming to break out of the city. Li Jiming refused to surrender, and the entire army was killed.
, your brother and nephew were dragged down by him, and they all died in the rebellion."
"Stupid!" Han Jin couldn't help but cursed. Of course he was scolding Li Jiming for being so foolish and loyal that he harmed his lord's descendants.
Wang Yong glanced at Han Jin and said: "General Han's wife, mother and two sons are all safe and sound. The notice said that the Western Army will not attack the city in autumn!"
Han Jin moved his lips a few times, and finally couldn't help but sigh, "Thank you so much!"
Regardless of whether he accepted it or not, King Yong did not kill his wife, children, and mother. For this reason, he was grateful.
"Are you planning to set fire to the city?" Zhang Ziqi raised the notice in his hand.
"We chose Yushan County for short-term planning. We originally had this consideration. You should have noticed that most of the houses in Yushan County are made of wood, which is related to the abundance of timber in this area. As for whether we should set fire to the city, this is actually not important. I
I am not here today to advise you to surrender. It is up to you to decide whether you want to surrender or not. We Liu Dutong just hope that the young master will give the soldiers a choice. Those who are willing to surrender can be allowed to leave the city and return to their hometowns to reunite with their families. If they are not willing to surrender, then they can go to the battlefield.
See you, I hope you will make a decision before dark."
After a moment of silence, Zhang Ziqi whispered: "Does His Highness King Yong want to hand our father and son over to the court?"