Xiangyang City is close to the water and backed by mountains. The city layout is steep and solid. There are almost no loopholes in the city defense. It is very difficult to break into it through external forces.
But almost none does not mean absolutely none. Especially for Liu Zhongli, a famous general who was born in Xiangyang and has been accustomed to military affairs for a long time, many details that ordinary people ignore are, in his opinion, an opportunity that can be exploited.
The levee starts from Wanshan, borders the Han River in the east, and reaches the west gate of Fucheng. Military and civilians are not allowed to pass through it on weekdays, so it is often subconsciously ignored by people. However, it is a quick passage that can directly reach Fucheng.
After Liu Zhongli led his troops to rush onto the embankment, they immediately rushed towards Fucheng. At this time, Xiangyang City was still very nervous because Liu Zhongli was about to go north. People's attention was focused on the vicinity of Xianshan Weir, and there were even pedestrians going in and out of the west gate of Fucheng.
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Of course, soon the defenders on the city had noticed this sudden appearance of a team that seemed to have bad intentions. They immediately shouted warnings, drove away pedestrians inside and outside the city gate, and tried to set up a barrier in front of the city gate.
Be on guard.
However, Liu Zhongli's troops were already approaching, and of course they would not leave any time for the defenders to respond calmly. The men and horses galloped like arrows, and soon rushed to the east side of the embankment, and swooped down from above, almost in the blink of an eye.
In the meantime, he had already rushed to the gate of Fucheng.
"You subordinates, do you know who I am? If you abandon your weapons, you will not die. If you resist, you will be killed!"
Rushing to the city gate in one breath, Liu Zhongli shook the horse in his hand and killed the two soldiers in front of the city on the spot. Then he looked at the hurried crowd in front of the city gate and shouted.
Liu Zhongli was still very prestigious in his Xiangyang Township. When the city gate defenders saw the face of the incoming man, they all exclaimed and subconsciously fled towards the city, not daring to stop and resist at all. They even even
Some people cheered and praised, and put on a gesture of greeting them as they entered the city.
When Liu Zhongli saw this, he burst into laughter. He did not expect that things would progress so smoothly. He immediately raised his horse and led his men to ride towards the city.
At this time, the city was already in chaos due to the arrival of Liu Zhongli, and it was impossible to organize an effective offensive. Liu Zhongli sent hundreds of soldiers to guard the city gate, while he led the rest of the troops to rush towards the state capital.
, as long as the state capital is controlled and the family members of King Yueyang are captured, then today's surprise attack can be said to be a successful conclusion!
The Liu family in Hedong was originally from Xiangyang, and Liu Zhongli had been stationed in Xiangyang for many years in his early years. There were also many people from Xiangyang in his army. Now that he returned to his hometown, the soldiers and people in the city were frightened, and there were also many people who came to rely on him.
While Liu Zhongli was leading his troops to the state capital, many people from Xiangyang joined the team with weapons and staffs, making the team expand to thousands of people.
"Shenzi returned home and took charge of Xiangyang!"
Hearing the shouts from the people in front and behind him, Liu Zhongli also had a proud smile on his face. Shenzi was his nickname, so the villagers naturally did not shout this to humiliate him, but to express their close support.
Although the people who joined his team greatly delayed the progress of the team, Liu Zhongli could not bear to expel these villagers who were rushing to support him. And in his view, the fact that the soldiers and people welcomed him so warmly into the city also meant that the overall situation had been decided.
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At this time, the state capital already knew the news of Liu Zhongli's entry into the city. On the one hand, they naturally sent people in a hurry to inform King Yueyang who was still stationed in Xian Mountain outside the city. On the other hand, they quickly organized a counterattack.
However, due to Liu Zhongli's great reputation and the great momentum after entering the city, the soldiers still in the city were too timid to fight and did not dare to take orders.
Cai Dabao, who stayed behind in the city, was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot. Just when he was at a loss what to do, a man in the hall lined up the crowd, stepped out, pointed at the crowd and shouted: "It's just Liu Zhongli who abandoned his king in Jiankang."
Father, why are you afraid of the castrated bullocks that Hou Jingcai was entrusted with? You and other people in Xiangyang have been deeply favored by King Yueyang. Even if you have no power to kill the enemy, you should have the ambition to die! If you are not afraid of death, why should you be afraid?
Kill the thieves? Is there any man in the city? Let's kill the thieves together!"
He Ruodun used his venomous tongue as always, but it also aroused the shame of the people present to the greatest extent. Yes, what is there to fear about Liu Zhongli? When he faced Hou Jing in Jiankang, he was more docile and obedient than a steer, so what about Xiangyang?
This is the place where he dominates and dominates!
So hundreds of strong soldiers soon appeared in the mansion, each beating his chest and shouting that he and He Ruoden would go out to kill the enemy. Cai Dabao was naturally overjoyed when he saw this, and hurriedly armed everyone with the most sophisticated armor and horse equipment in the mansion. When these people rushed
When they left the state capital, Liu Zhongli's troops, who were surrounded by crowds, were already only a few miles away from the state capital.
When other people saw the dense crowds blocking the long street, they could not help but feel frightened in their hearts, but He Ruoden ignored them. He held a horse in his hand and roared, and rushed towards the crowd first.
"kill!"
As He Ruoden roared angrily, the horse spear in his hand had already penetrated several of the rebels. As the horse spear was pulled out, blood spurted out from the corpses of the rebels. This bloody scene quickly scared away the people nearby.
These rioters originally imagined that after guarding Liu Zhongli's entry into the state capital, they would always get some benefits from their support. They thought it was just a simple task of parading in the streets to show off, but they did not expect that their lives would be in danger, and they were suddenly frightened.
The soul flies into the sky.
Although the rebels were greatly shocked, the killings would not stop. Seeing He Ruodun set an example, the other soldiers did not dare to think of any appeasement. The most important thing at the moment was to kill the rebels who entered the city, so they
They all waved their swords and rushed forward to kill.
"Spare your life, spare your life..."
At this moment, the people no longer bothered to wave and cheer for Liu Zhongli, they all wailed and begged for mercy and fled in all directions.
"Don't act rashly. The number of thieves is small and they will be defeated quickly!"
Liu Zhongli was still shouting and trying to stabilize the situation, but these soldiers and civilians came uninvited before, and now they would not greet him when they fled. Instead, the hasty flight of these soldiers and civilians directly disrupted his army formation, and led them to
The armored soldiers who entered the city were all in disarray due to the impact, and could not be regrouped.
"The thief is here to die!"
He Ruodun, who was the first to charge, had already rushed forward. Although he did not know Liu Zhongli, he could tell from his armor and staff that he was not an ordinary soldier, and he stabbed Liu Zhongli with great force with the horse spear in his hand.
Upon seeing this, Liu Zhongli quickly raised his horse to block the attack. Although he successfully blocked the opponent's attack, his shoulders sank suddenly. At the same time, his arms were sore and swollen, and the old injuries on his shoulders were swollen.
It hurts.
"Who are you? When did Xiangyang get such a brave general to garrison it?"
When the two parties came into contact, Liu Zhongli felt the strength of the other party's arms, his face suddenly changed, and he shouted loudly.
After He Ruodun heard this, he laughed and said: "I am He Ruodun, who is under the command of Governor Li of Jingzhou. Could it be that the thief general is Liu Jianniu? I have accepted my order!"
Liu Zhongli didn't know the new nickname He Ruodun gave him, but he was shocked when he heard He Ruodun announced his family name. He didn't expect that King Yueyang had colluded with foreign enemies and had penetrated deep into the enemy generals to directly help defend the city.
He didn't know how many people from the Western Wei Dynasty were still in the city. He felt that he was no match for the He Ruodun in front of him, so he immediately left and returned to his own formation. When He Ruodun saw this, he immediately chased him with his sword and shouted loudly: "Liu Jianniu is here.
Here, all the soldiers will work with me to capture the leader of the thief!"
Liu Zhongli's five men were already in disarray after being attacked by the mob. Now they were charged and killed by He Ruodun and his brave soldiers. They immediately lost all their energy and turned back towards the city gate. Those who had previously supported him enthusiastically
The soldiers and civilians were all fleeing in all directions at this moment, causing the entire street to be extremely chaotic.
He Ruodun led the troops in the prefecture and quickly rushed to the west gate of the city. Due to the presence of the garrison soldiers arranged before, Liu Zhongli's troops were able to take a breather. However, after counting, nearly half of the troops were lost, and it seemed that all of them had been killed.
They were scattered in the city.
Liu Zhongli was still stationed at the city gate, but He Ruoden had already led the crowd to catch up. Without stopping to breathe, he rushed straight towards the place. Under this impact, the formation that had just stabilized suddenly became unstable again.
There was chaos, and many soldiers subconsciously rushed out of the opened city gate.
"Temporarily withdraw from Xishan and attack again with the whole army!"
If the good situation collapsed, even though Liu Zhongli was unwilling to do so, he saw that the morale of the army had been lost, so he could only withdraw with regret.
Therefore, Liu Zhongli's men and horses, who had rushed into Xiangyang Fucheng with great momentum not long ago, now hurriedly withdrew from the city. On the way to Xishan Mountain, Liu Zhongli looked back at the city gate and saw He Ruodun standing on horseback in front of the city gate. He couldn't bear it.
Zhu sighed and said: "How can Yueyang be so virtuous as to have such a strong man? Li Boshan in Mianbei can control the powerful, I guess he is not ordinary..."
Although the sneak attack on Xiangyang failed, Liu Zhongli could feel that the public opinion foundation of King Yueyang's rule in Xiangyang was not solid when he entered the city. He just entered the city to make noises and so many scholars and people swarmed up. It is conceivable that King Yueyang was definitely not a citizen of Xiangyang.
The British Lord whom we sincerely support.
After evacuating Xiangyang City, Liu Zhongli temporarily retreated to Xishan. Xishan is composed of a series of mountains, forests and hills. Xiangyang's wealthy people are also happy to live here, sealing the mountains to protect the land and running family businesses. Even Liu Zhongli's family has a garden business.
this.
However, it was now the critical moment to capture Xiangyang, so Liu Zhongli naturally had no time to go home to visit his relatives. After the army conquered Xishan, he sent envoys to patrol the mountains and fields, hoping to recruit powerful tribes near Xishan, including monks and slaves from some temples in the mountains and forests.
If they can all be organized, they will be a considerable fighting force and can help him continue to capture the city.
Soon several powerful men came to recruit and added hundreds of soldiers to Liu Zhongli. This also greatly increased Liu Zhongli's confidence, so he simply moved to a temple in Wanshan to maintain the pressure on Xiangyang City.
However, the good times did not last long, and soon the scouts sent out by Liu Zhongli reported that there was a large group of people marching by land and water in the western border of Xiangyang, heading straight for Xiangyang!