Chapter 1058: Siege
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Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Seeing the speechless expression on the aide’s face, the King of Zhenxi felt embarra.s.sed. “Yin Huaixi is far away in the southern desert. We don’t know what the news from the gra.s.sland is like. The news that came back was all spread by him. Who knows whether he returned early and set up a plan in advance in the North? Otherwise, why would he besiege the capital without any warning? Thief Liang broke through like a hot knife through b.u.t.ter and entered the capital. Even the King of Dongning doesn’t dare to underestimate him. How can he be easily besieged?”
Just because Thief Liang had entered the capital did not mean that he was completely in control.
Yin Huaixi had used the news from the southern desert to numb the King of Liang, making him think that King Yue Fei was still far away in the desert and had yet to return. He had let down his guard against King Yue Fei, which was why he had fallen into King Yue Fei’s trap and was unexpectedly besieged.
The aide agreed deeply and couldn’t help but sigh softly. “Thief Liang probably never dreamed that King Yue Fei would flatten the gra.s.sland in less than a year. Before he could realize his dream of ascending the throne, King Yue Fei caught him off guard. If the King of Liang had succeeded in ascending the throne and gathering the people in the capital, the entire army wouldn’t have been so pa.s.sive.”
King Zhen wiped his face. “Isn’t that so? Once the King of Liang controls the defense line in the capital and controls the general situation in the capital, even the King of Dongning, who fought his way to Tianjin, will be in danger.”
The capital was famous for being easy to defend and difficult to attack.
Since ancient times, it had always taken more than three times the number of troops to attack the city than to defend it, so it was much easier to guard the city. Ten thousand to 20,000 people could often defend against 70,000 to 80,000 people. The Marquis of Zhenguo reorganized the troops in the capital and resisted with all his might. He used the natural terrain, defense, and resources of the capital to cause Thief Liang to suffer a lot.
“Not to mention that Thief Liang didn’t expect it, I’m afraid no one expected it. King Yue Fei fought the Northern Barbarians as if it was a game. The arrogant Di people who dominated the gra.s.sland were actually unable to withstand a single blow from King Yue Fei. Not only was the 600,000-strong army wiped out, but they were also beaten to their hometown in the desert and their Khan was beheaded. Who would believe this?!”
Therefore, it wasn’t that he had surrendered too quickly, but that he had surrendered too slowly and lost his life!
The aide’s heart skipped a beat. “I’m afraid King Yue Fei has long planned a north expedition. The 600,000 troops of the Northern Barbarians are just a logical opportunity for him.”
If he was not wrong, King Yue Fei was too terrifying.
King Zhenxi’s expression was solemn. “That’s most likely the case. Look at him. Not only has he grasped the topographic map of the gra.s.sland and understood the distribution of the Di people’s activities, but he has also led his troops deep into the gra.s.sland and attacked the various tribes of the gra.s.sland. No matter how I look at it, he seems to be familiarizing himself with the terrain of the gra.s.sland in advance. I also heard that King Yue Fei has trained a military formation that specializes in subduing the Di people’s bows and horses. No matter how I look at it, it’s not a battle he wasn’t prepared for.”
The two of them looked at each other and saw the shock in each other’s eyes.
This battle was clearly a battle of knowing oneself and the enemy.
The aide was even more glad that he had followed a clear-minded master. If he really waited until King Yue Fei dealt with the King of Liang and had time to settle the score, an aide like him who had joined the King of Zhenxi’s Residence would definitely have no way out.
On the second day after King Yue Fei besieged the capital, at midnight, the troops that the King of Liang had deployed in various parts of the capital were attacked separately. It was unknown where elite troops had come from, but they used the cover of the night to catch the King of Liang off guard. Before he could react, news spread that King Yue Fei’s troops were approaching the city.
Large amounts of torches illuminated the city tower like it was daytime.
The King of Liang ascended the city tower and looked down. King Yue Fei, who was sitting high on his horse and standing in the middle of a thousand troops, almost gritted his teeth on the spot.
He sneered. “Isn’t King Yue Fei still fighting the Di people in the desert? Why did he suddenly besiege the capital? I, the King of Liang, think that I’ve been smart for a lifetime, but I was tricked by a young child like you and benefited you for no reason.” At this point, he was already exasperated. He laughed in anger. “Good, really good. King Yue Fei is really scheming…”
At this point, what else was there not to understand?
Yin Huaixi had used the death of King Li of Zhou to stir up trouble in the Great Zhou Dynasty, creating an opportunity for him to rebel. This made his ambition grow wildly. When the time was right, he would interrogate Ning Yuanbo again and make him lose his composure. In order to prevent his collusion with Ning Yuanbo from being exposed by the Imperial Court early, he could only start early.
All of this was within Yin Huaixi’s plan.
Yin Huaixi rolled his eyes at him and said slowly, “Everyone has to punish rebels.”
“You.” The King of Liang’s face was ashen. He gritted his teeth and squeezed out a voice from between his teeth. “Yin Huaixi, are you sure you want to go against me? You have to think carefully. The You army is brave and good at fighting one against ten, but my Liang army is not to be trifled with. When two tigers fight, one will die and the other will be injured. Wouldn’t that allow the King of Dongning, who’s hiding in Shandong, to benefit for no reason?”
The King of Dongning sat in Shandong and was less than 600 to 700 kilometers away from the capital. The King of Liang had always treated the King of Dongning as the greatest threat and was wary of him. He had deployed his most elite army to the defense line in Tianjin, causing there to be insufficient troops in the capital. He had never expected to be caught off guard and be attacked from both inside and out by the King of Yue Fei. It was already the end of the line.
Yin Huaixi looked up and said nothing.
The King of Liang felt that he had convinced him, so he struck while the iron was hot and continued, “I believe that King Yue Fei is a smart person. You should understand how to make a choice. If King Yue Fei retreats now, from now on, the entire Youzhou will be under King Yue Fei’s control. I won’t interfere.”
To put it bluntly, he wanted King Yue Fei to establish himself as a king in the North.
He handed over half of the north side.
He felt that he had made the greatest concession.
However, Yin Huaixi sneered. “Don’t think too highly of yourself.”
The King of Liang was furious. “Yin Huaixi, don’t be too arrogant. I’m useless, but this capital isn’t something you can take down just because you want to. Why don’t both sides take a step back? If you insist on becoming my enemy, at most, we’ll fight to the death…”
Yin Huaixi was speechless. He had already said that he shouldn’t think too highly of himself. Where did he get his confidence from? How could a mere 200,000 crippled soldiers fight to the death with his 300,000 You soldiers?
With such self-righteous intelligence, did he still want to be an emperor?
Wasn’t he dreaming?!
Yin Huaixi couldn’t be bothered to waste his breath on him. He raised his hand and ordered, “Attack!”
The King of Liang’s pupils constricted when he saw King Yue Fei’s army approaching not far away. Seeing that the army was in range, he shouted, “Fire!”
The dense rain of arrows was like a net of arrows that shot down from the city tower. With a loud shout, thick shields blocked the siege army from the front, back, above, left, and right. The siege army kept advancing with an unstoppable aura.
Seeing this situation, the King of Liang’s heart turned cold.
These were the elites of the You army.
Yin Huaixi followed closely behind the siege soldiers. When the two rows of crossbows reached the shooting range, he ordered the crossbows to be released. The crossbows were large-scale crossbows that were necessary for sieges. The crossbows had a long range and could shoot more than ten arrows at a time.