Chapter 23 Today's Xiang Yu

Yang Xun was riding on a Hexi horse, looking at the majestic Hongnong Palace not far away.

He came from a prominent family. Although he was taciturn since childhood and was considered a "fool", he had a majestic appearance and was extremely brave in battle after he grew up. People of his time compared him to the reincarnation of Xiang Yu.

And his state of mind was similar to that of the Overlord, the Overlord at Gaixia.

It was already the second day of the siege, and the situation was not going well for the "righteous army".

According to his idea, with such a fierce attack, they should be able to break through the Hongnong Palace today, but now the defense of the Yan army looks shaky. The rebels climbed to the top of the city several times, but were driven down by the Yan army without exception.

There is no news coming from Luoyang now, which means it is bad news.

The main force of the Yan army should have returned to support, and they will be able to catch up in a few days at most.

Can we take down the Hongnong Palace?
He now knows that he has made a mistake. As the Art of War says: A commander should not lead his troops in anger.

But once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back, and they have to grit their teeth and fight on. The morale of each tribe has been aroused by the treasures and beauties in the Hongnong Palace that Yang Xun mentioned, and the performance of the defenders has also made the "righteous army" feel that the Hongnong Palace is not unbreakable and they will definitely be able to take it down in a few days.

If we withdraw our troops at this time, the morale of the army will be completely destroyed.

Therefore, Yang Xun had to go to the front line in person to boost morale.

The situation of the Yan army in the palace was not optimistic.

Yang Xun divided the three siege teams into ten teams, which took turns to climb the city walls and attack day and night.

This was a huge drain on the rebels themselves, but it was even more draining on the government troops. Although they were the ones defending the city, the rebels had no chance to catch their breath as they attacked the city in turns.

The military strength of the two sides was already very different, and faced with the rebels' extraordinary siege methods, they could only barely hold back.

Li Yuanhui, who had originally become a civil servant, had to put on his armor again and serve as a military officer.

It wasn't that the situation was so dangerous that even a soldier had to go, but a captain under Murong He's command was unlucky enough to be hit by a stray arrow and died in battle. Murong He directly let Li Yuanhui take over this army of more than 300 people.

He also earnestly reminded: "This is a good opportunity to make meritorious service!"

To others, this might be special care, but to Li Yuanhui it was not so friendly.

In fact, in a city defense battle, as a lieutenant, as long as the city is not breached, the safety factor is still quite high. The probability of that lieutenant being hit by a stray arrow is about the same as winning the lottery: his helmet fell off during the fight with the enemy in the upper city, and a feather arrow from below the city happened to pierce his neck
Although he did not want to be rewarded for his merits, he had to realize the current situation since King Gaoyang was favoring him.

You must not show any timidity.

So Li Jishi turned back into Lieutenant Li, still wearing his own Ming Guang armor, which was well-made and strong enough to withstand arrows.

During the battle on the second day, Li Yuanhui also killed a rebel who climbed up the city wall at close range for the first time.

He was a teenager with a childish face, wearing a uniform but no armor, holding a broadsword and a crudely made shield.

He leaped onto the city wall from the battlement with a loud scream, and was then pierced through the chest by Li Yuanhui's standard-issue official army spear. At that moment, he seemed to be able to feel the other person's life slipping away.

Then, there was no movement, just a slight tremor in the hands.

He actually killed someone.

The battle continued, and the government troops could only be divided into several teams to take turns to rest, otherwise even an iron man would not be able to hold on.

The rebels seemed to be blood-thirsty. Even though the city was already filled with corpses, they continued to climb the city walls.

It was not until nightfall that the rebels, who had been attacking for two days and one night, finally stopped their offensive.

This gave the government troops a rare chance to catch their breath.

Li Yuanhui leaned against the city wall and did not dare to take off the heavy iron helmet on his head easily. He was very afraid of death.

It would be a pity for the future prince to die here. Han Quan handed over the water bag, Li Yuanhui took it and drank a sip, then asked: "How many did you kill today?"

Han Quan thought for a moment and said, "About a dozen."

Li Yuanhui asked: "If an ordinary soldier is promoted, how many ranks can he be promoted to?"

Han Quan smiled and said, "Silang, you may not know the rules of the army. How many ranks are there? I am an ordinary soldier and I am lucky to get the reward money. We don't count the merits of beheading in the city. If you fight in the field and behead more than ten people, you can be promoted to a captain. But a captain is the limit. If you want to be a captain, you have to rely on luck."

Li Yuanhui was surprised and asked, "Is there so many twists and turns in military promotion?"

Han Quan asked back, "Does Silang know that, except for the former general Pu Gusu, are there any governors or generals from other states who come from humble backgrounds in the Great Yan army?"

Li Yuanhui thought about it and realized that he really didn't have any. He had always felt that the nobles of Dayan had a tight monopoly on the path to advancement, and today, when he heard Han Quan's question, his impression became even more clear.

When we arrive in the Tang Dynasty, things will change, right?

Early in the morning of the third day, the rebels' attack began again.

The commanders of both sides were using various means to boost morale. Yang Xun knew that time was running out. If they failed to capture the city today, they might have to leave, otherwise the elite troops of the Yan army would catch up.

Murong He was also aware of this, so he slaughtered pigs and sheep to reward the entire army, and promised a generous reward for defending the Hongnong Palace.

Yang Xun’s method was similar. He set up a valuable reward and the first one to reach the top would be promoted to Lang Jiang.

The battle became intense from the beginning. At one point, a team of elite rebels even rushed onto the city wall. The Yan army then sent out the personal guards of its commander Murong He to launch an all-out counterattack and strangled these people.

Deputy Governor Pang Lingxun was fully armed and led two teams of elite soldiers to act as a fire brigade, rushing to wherever the defense was in danger.

Although shaky, the rebels were never able to break through the Yan army's defenses.

Both sides suffered heavy casualties.

The Yan army, which originally had 7,000 men, was reduced to less than 5,000 after three days of bloody fighting. The rebels, who were attacking the city, suffered nearly 10,000 casualties.

In the afterglow of sunset, the setting sun was as red as blood, illuminating the fields in front of Hongnong Palace.

On the third day, Yang Xun still failed to capture Hongnong Palace.

After instructing the messenger to convey the order to withdraw the troops, Yang Xun turned his horse around and headed back towards the camp.

"Liu Lang, is there still a chance?"

Yang Xun asked his cousin Yang Sui, who was half a body length behind him, without even turning his head.

Yang Sui, who was always full of wisdom, was silent for a while and said, "Yes, it is not possible to go to Guanzhong, so cross the river north and go to Hedong."

"Hedong?"

"Hedong is mountainous. We can find a place to stay in Taihang Mountain and wait for the right opportunity."

Yang Xun shook his head and said, "I originally thought that the Murong clan was unpopular, imposed heavy taxes and levied heavy taxes, and the people were living in misery. If they raised the banner of rebellion against Yan, they would surely be supported by everyone. Now that they are trapped here, God will not let the Murong clan go."

Yang Sui said, "No, brother, we are right to start a rebellion. Even if the Murong clan can quickly defeat our rebel army this time, the people in the world have already been boiling with resentment. We just started the rebellion at the wrong time. In a few years, there will definitely be chaos. The Murong clan will rule the world. Brother, after nightfall, select thousands of elite troops, cross the Yellow River from the Pandou Ferry in the north of Dongduyuan, and head to Hedong to wait for a comeback."

Yang Xun did not comment and rode his horse into the camp.

He didn't know what to choose, but he certainly wouldn't abandon the army and escape alone as Yang Sui said.

Not defeated yet.

Although at this moment he could already feel the chill of the swords and spears of the Yan army's cavalry behind him.

(End of this chapter)