Above the Sifang City of Luoyang, countless soldiers of the Zheng Army saw soldiers of the Tang Army frantically logging wood. They looked at the piles of wood being transported away, and unconsciously tightened their thin clothes, as if they saw the cold winter ahead.
"Wei Qing, the Tang army is logging around. Do you want to cut down all the wood and let our soldiers and civilians in Luoyang freeze to death at the hands of the cold winter?" Prince Wang Xuanying looked at Wei Ji.
Wei Ji whispered: "The Tang army is besieging the city. We have no reinforcements outside and there is not much food and grass inside. Now that the cold winter is coming, the Tang army will not risk attacking the city again. They cut wood, firstly, for winter needs, and secondly, as the prince said
.”
Wang Xuanying's face suddenly turned ugly, and he asked: "Do you have a way to save me?"
"Send someone to stop the Tang army." Wei Ji said, "This is the only way."
Wang Xuanying looked at Wei Ji blankly, and he could hear the despair in Wei Ji's calm tone.
The Zheng army had fought many battles with the Tang army this time, winning less and losing more. Now if they want to take the initiative to go out of the city to fight the enemy, the outcome is unpredictable. Once the city gate is lost, the consequences will be disastrous.
Do you want to sit back and wait for death?
Wang Xuanying gritted his teeth and turned around to find Wang Shichong.
Wei Ji watched Wang Xuanying walk away and sighed to himself. This day has finally come. Ever since Zheng Jun's attack on Tongguan failed, he had expected this day. But he did not expect that this day would come so quickly.
Wang Shichong's demise is imminent, where should Wei Ji go?
Thinking of this, there was a hint of bitterness in the corner of his mouth. Hundreds of thousands of Tang troops were besieging the city, and Luoyang would definitely be defeated this time.
Wang Xuanying met Wang Shichong in the palace, and his brothers were also present.
Previously, Wang Shichong asked his sons and nephews to garrison various cities and build defense lines to prevent the Tang army from advancing. However, without exception, they were all defeated by the Tang army and could only lead the remaining troops back to Luoyang.
Now the Tang army was besieging the city and frantically cutting down trees in an attempt to trap Luoyang. They had no choice but to come here and ask Wang Shichong what to do next.
Wang Shichong himself also wanted to know what to do next. He couldn't defeat the Tang army on a frontal battlefield, so anything he said was false.
Wang Shiwei said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, you have to think of a way. Luoyang doesn't have much food, soldiers and horses anymore, and the Tang army has hundreds of thousands of troops besieging the city. If no one comes to rescue, we, the Wang family, will have to..."
"Shut up!" Wang Shichong shouted to Wang Shiwei.
Wang Shiwei is the elder brother of Wang Shichong and was granted the title of King of Chu.
Wang Shichong said with a gloomy face: "Don't panic, I have sent someone to contact Dou Jiande. As long as Dou Jiande goes south, the crisis in Luoyang can be eliminated."
"Will Dou Jiande come to rescue us?" Wang Shiyun asked.
"He will definitely come." Wang Shichong said confidently: "If the Zheng Kingdom is gone, his Xia Kingdom will also die."
Luoyang was Dou Jiande's line of defense blocking Li Tang's exit. If Luoyang fell, Hebei would definitely be difficult to preserve. Wang Shichong was certain that Dou Jiande would not sit back and watch him be defeated by the Tang army.
With Wang Shichong's confidence and blessing, everyone in the Wang family has a little more confidence.
Wang Shiwei asked: "Your Majesty, the army does not have enough food and grass. What should we do?"
"Do you still need me to teach you?" Wang Shichong said solemnly: "The Tang army was brutal. If they were allowed to capture Luoyang, it would be difficult for the people to survive. Now is the time when the army and the people are united to resist foreign humiliation. Although there is not enough food and grass, we can ask the people
Secondment. When the Tang army retreats, the imperial court will return it a hundredfold."
"Yes." Wang Shiwei responded.
Wang Xuanying sighed secretly in his heart, this so-called secondment is probably a loan without repayment. Now the people in Luoyang already hate their Wang family to the bone. If this continues, they may provoke a civil uprising. Unfortunately, even if he knows this, he doesn't want to
to stop.
Because this is the only way to keep them going.
Wang Shiyun asked: "Your Majesty, do we want to stop the Tang army from logging?"
Hearing this, Wang Shichong shook his head and said, "Give it to them if they want it. Now we just need to defend Luoyang City."
"But winter is coming, and there is no firewood. How can we light a fire to ward off the cold?" Wang Xuanying asked.
"There are many buildings in Luoyang, many of which are useless. We might as well demolish them to provide warmth to the armed forces." Wang Shichong said.
"yes."
Wang Shichong only has one thought now, which is to use all his strength to defend Luoyang. As long as the foundation of Luoyang remains, Zheng will be able to resurrect. On the contrary, if Luoyang is lost, it will be useless no matter how much people support it.
Wei Mansion.
"I heard that Wang Shichong issued an order to borrow food from the people and demolished a residential area in the south of the city, leaving thousands of people homeless. Is this true?" Wei Jin asked.
Wei Ji looked at him unexpectedly and nodded: "Yes, now the Tang army has surrounded Luoyang and cut down trees outside the city. The purpose is to take advantage of the right time and place to make the Zheng army soldiers hungry and cold."
Wei Jin said silently: "It seems that the Tang army is preparing to trap Luoyang to death."
"This is not surprising. Luoyang has been repaired and reinforced by Yang Guang several times, and it is difficult to break through in a short period of time. Encircling without attacking and trapping Luoyang to death is one way," Wei Ji said.
At this moment, a slave came to the corridor.
"Master, a letter from my hometown in Jingzhao."
Although the gates of Luoyang City have been closed, there are still some secret doorways through which messages can be conveyed.
"Bring it up."
"yes."
Wei Ji took the letter and looked at it. He thought it was just an ordinary letter, but he never expected that it was an urgent letter concerning human life!
"Look!"
After Wei Ji read it, he quickly asked Wei Jin to read it.
After Wei Jin read it, he felt a little dazed. He asked: "Do you think this is true or false?"
"How can this matter be false?" Wei Ji asked first, and then said: "In my opinion, it is probably true. Now Siqi is working under the King of Chu, and Guiniang is married to the King of Chu. If we can
Helping the Tang army break the city may not necessarily mean they can't escape danger!"
Although Wei Jin was heartbroken, it didn't mean that he really wanted to die. Now that he had a chance to escape, his heart started beating again.
"What the letter said, let us spread rumors, is of great importance and cannot be taken lightly. Now you and I, brothers, have no one available in Luoyang, how can we cooperate with him?"
Wei Ji thought about it, suddenly remembered something, and whispered: "Don't forget, Duguji and Duguwu are still in Luoyang."
"you mean?"
"The Dugu family supports Li Yuan, how could they die together with Wang Shichong. If we can receive such a letter, the Dugu family should also have received it."
Wei Jin said: "Do you want to contact the Dugu clan?"
"No need to contact us." Wei Ji said: "We just need to find someone to keep an eye on the Dugu family. As long as we confirm their movements, it won't be too late to contact them again."
Wei Jin looked at the letter in his hand and nodded heavily.
"Okay, let's do it."
Who in the world doesn’t understand the Tang Dynasty?
Whether it is the Webster family or the Dugu family, although they are loyal to different emperors, they are all placing bets.
Now that Wang Shichong's defeat was imminent, how could they accompany him to be buried with him?
In other words, their investment failure was only their personal failure, but the family behind them succeeded.
For example, if Wang Shichong dies this time, Dugu Ji and Dugu Wudu will not be killed because they are members of the Dugu clan.
The same is true for Wei Ji and Wei Jin.
The current Wang Shichong does not know that his ministers are panicking and looking for a way out. Now he just wants to contact Dou Jiande, and then use Dou Jiande to drive the Tang army back to Guanzhong. Of course, if he can join forces with Dou Jiande to destroy the Tang Dynasty, then
Better.
However, a piece of unfortunate news quickly reached Luoyang.