Feng Jiutian's face flushed slightly. He had no intention of instilling in his soldiers the idea of fighting for any one person. In his political strategy, the army should not be an individual's army, but the nation's army. But now, the situation forced him to do so, and only by reminding them of Li Jun could these soldiers be roused.
Sure enough, after hearing him mention Li Jun repeatedly, the soldiers' emotions were stirred up. Just then, a thunderous booming sound rang out, and amidst the drumbeats, Peng Yuancheng's army began to advance towards Kuanglan City.
"It's finally begun." Feng Jiutian turned around abruptly, leaning on the battlements, and looked towards the enemy army. He saw Peng Yuan's army divided into four square formations, slowly advancing towards the city. Each square formation had as many as ten thousand men. At the front were shield bearers holding shields, followed by crossbowmen wielding bows and crossbows, then siege weapons, and finally a group of infantry.
About a thousand paces from the city, the sound of gongs rang out from the enemy ranks, halting the army's advance, but the dust raised lingered for a long time. From the two enemy formations at the west gate, more than a thousand warhorses galloped out, with soldiers carrying seven-colored battle flags on both sides parting to reveal the central "Peng" banner, and Peng Yuancheng rode a large red horse to the front of the formation.
"Listen up, soldiers and civilians in the city!"
With a loud shout, Peng Yuancheng silenced the battlefield. He stood with his spear drawn, pointing a finger at Feng Jiutian atop the city wall, and declared, "I, Peng Yuancheng, have always served Li Jun wholeheartedly, yet he has listened to the slander of this villain Feng Jiutian and plotted against me. Therefore, I have no choice but to eliminate Li Jun's flank. Now that I am at the city gates, if the soldiers and civilians in the city hand over Feng Jiutian, I will immediately retreat and guarantee that not a single blade of grass or tree in the city will be harmed!"
If Feng Jiutian hadn't reminded these soldiers at the beginning that they weren't defending the city for him, but rather for Li Jun, who was far away in Chen Kingdom, some of the Peace Army soldiers might have actually considered sacrificing Feng Jiutian. But now, Peng Yuancheng's call came a step too late.
"Tu Longzi, you speak up." Feng Jiu knew that her voice couldn't be heard throughout the entire battlefield, so she ordered Tu Longzi to speak for her: "Peng Yuancheng, you are a wolf in sheep's clothing. You don't remember the kindness the commander has shown you, but instead you cause trouble behind his back while he is on a campaign against Chen. When the commander returns, he will surely exterminate you and your entire traitorous family!"
After shouting, Tu Longziyun added, "Listen up, Peng Yuancheng's army: if anyone captures Peng Yuancheng, Commander Li will appoint him as the lord of Yuyang Dagu City!"
Feng Jiutian smiled slightly. Peng Yuancheng used the retreat to lure the soldiers and civilians of Kuanglan City to betray him, while Tu Longziyun used the position of city lord of the two cities to entice Peng Yuancheng's subordinates to become disloyal. This can be described as using their own methods against them.
Peng Yuancheng had never expected the city to surrender; his shouts were merely meant to demoralize the city's inhabitants. Now, seeing the city retaliating, he laughed out loud, "Feng Jiutian, do you still want Li Jun to come back?"
"I have already sent a message to Commander Li. He will return to his troops in five to ten days at the earliest!"
"Then I'll tell you!" Peng Yuancheng felt confident of victory. It wouldn't be satisfying to let the enemy be defeated without explaining, especially since this news would also dampen morale in the city. "The Lianfa army has captured Ningwang City. Li Jun is trapped in Huai'en, barely able to protect himself, and is waiting for Yuzhou to come to his rescue!"
"Peng Yuancheng, you talk too much!" Feng Jiutian shouted through Tu Longziyun's mouth, "As expected, you colluded with the Lianfa Army to frame Commander Li. Now, where can you hide your traitorous face?"
Peng Yuancheng was taken aback and began to regret his words when the situation was about to be settled.
Chapter Eight: The Return Journey
War clouds loom over the city, threatening to crush it.
At some point, the wind died down, and the purple dragon flag on Kuanglan City and the green Peng flag outside Kuanglan City hung limply, as if they were exhausted, or as if they were gathering strength for the upcoming battle.
"Commander Peng, this city is high and the moat is deep. It was built with the help of Dongyue. I'm afraid a frontal assault will be difficult to succeed." Shi Ze boldly advised Peng Yuancheng. At this moment, Peng Yuancheng was in a fit of anger and might make a wrong decision if no one reminded him.
“I know.” Peng Yuancheng took a deep breath, calmed himself down, squinted at the city for a moment, and then said, “Feng Jiutian abandoned Leiming City, which has silver mines, and wanted to fight me in this Kuanglan City. His only advantage is the city’s defense. It seems that it is almost impossible to lure him out. Although attacking the city is not the best strategy, it is a last resort.”
Shi Ze nodded. He knew that a direct assault on the city was not a good idea, but he still had to resort to this last resort. The situation in war does not change because of personal will. Feng Jiutian wanted to protect the lifeline of the Peace Army, so making Peng Yuancheng suffer was the most suitable thing for him. Now it seemed that he had achieved his goal.
"No problem! Even if we launch a frontal assault, with my 100,000 troops, we could blow this city down with a single breath!" Seeing his men seemingly overwhelmed by the imposing and imposing aura of Kuanglan City, Peng Yuancheng used a joke to boost morale. "Besides, a frontal assault can also be carried out with strategy, Song Xi!"
Vanguard officer Song Xi raised his head and said, "Here!"
Peng Yuancheng pointed to the west gate and said, "Listen to my drumbeat and launch a fierce attack from the west gate. I'll give you 10,000 newly recruited men from Dagu City. If you can capture the city before sunset, you will be the city lord of Kuanglan City!"
Song Xi was initially taken aback. To order him to attack the city with those ten thousand cobbled-together new recruits was tantamount to driving sheep to devour tigers. But when he heard that if he entered the city before sunset, he would be appointed as the city lord of Kuanglan City, his joy replaced his astonishment.
Seeing that he was still somewhat hesitant, Peng Yuancheng laughed and said, "Don't worry, I will attack simultaneously in the south city. When the defending army sees that your troops are mostly new recruits, they will surely move their main force to the south city to resist me, and you can take advantage of the situation to enter!"
Song Xi was overjoyed upon hearing this and cupped his hands in thanks, saying, "As you command, thank you, Commander Peng!"
After he rode away, Peng Yuancheng smiled slightly and said to Shi Ze, "Shi Ze, I'll give you 30,000 elite troops to secretly ambush at the west gate. If Song Xi attacks the city, you will provide support for him. If Song Xi is defeated, the western city garrison will think that our army has been defeated and will come to the aid of the southern city. Then you can use these 30,000 elite troops to attack the city. Tonight, you and I can drink and celebrate our victory in Kuanglan City!"
Shi Ze accepted the order and left. Peng Yuancheng looked back at the soldiers around him and said, "Our main force is all here. If Ning Xi and Shi Ze steal the credit, we will lose face, including yours, under the walls of Kuanglan City. Flag bearer, raise my command flag high so that both the enemy and we know that I, Peng Yuancheng, am leading the charge and standing at the forefront of the battlefield!"
A moment later, a deep horn sounded, and following the sound, Peng Yuancheng waved his hand downwards, and forty drums roared simultaneously. Heaven and earth trembled at the tremendous sound of the warriors beating the drums with all their might, and masculine energy immediately filled the battlefield.
Upon hearing the drums coming from the south city, Song Xi ordered his troops to beat the drums and attack the city. He divided his 10,000 soldiers into four groups of two to five thousand men each, who took turns attacking the city from the left and right sides of the west city. Although these 10,000 soldiers were not elite troops, they charged forward with shouts under the pressure of their supervising officer.
They were met with a hail of arrows. It seemed that the defenders of the western city were not the main force of the Peace Army, which had been through many battles. Before the soldiers could even run out of range, the clappers had already been fired, and the arrows fell limply dozens of paces away from the soldiers.
Song Xi was overjoyed. Seeing that his army consisted mostly of soldiers, the enemy's attackers were likely just civilians hastily recruited. If that was the case, Peng Yuancheng's feigned weakness was very likely to succeed.
However, his soldiers were uncooperative. After charging into range, seeing their own men being wounded and killed by arrows, they turned and fled. The first attack ended hastily before even getting close to the moat.
"Those who lead the retreat will be killed without mercy!" This kind of retreat was also within Song Xi's expectations. How could those who had never been on the battlefield be expected to become warriors immediately? Only when they realize that retreat is more terrifying than death will they be fearless of life and death, and only when they realize that advancing can bring them unparalleled glory and benefits will they become even more ferocious.
Under his command, the 500-man supervisory team brandished their ghost-head sabers and rushed towards the soldiers who were fleeing at the front. After a flash of light, more than 200 corpses lay in front of Song Xi. This number was ten times more than those who had been killed by the Peace Army with arrows!
Just as the retreating soldiers were filled with fear, Song Xi waved his hand again, and ten strong men strode forward, placed five boxes on the ground, and then opened the boxes. Instantly, the glittering gold and silver dazzled the soldiers, who came from poor families, and their greed immediately washed away most of their fear.
"Those who advance, reward; those who retreat, kill!" Without needing further words, Song Xi issued this command with a few simple notes. The soldiers, stunned by his swift and decisive action, almost losing their ability to judge, immediately turned around. They could no longer maintain their formation, but their morale was many times stronger than when they had charged in perfect formation!
"Hmph, the way to manage soldiers lies in clear rewards and punishments." Song Xi coldly looked at the wolf-like soldiers. Just moments ago, they were nothing more than an insignificant flock of sheep, but now they were a pack of ferocious wolves.
Soldiers brandished makeshift wooden shields, weaving through a hail of arrows. Soldiers fell frequently, but their comrades would immediately rise to their places. The surging tide of people crashed down upon the city walls like a monstrous wave, reaching all the way to the moat.
The moat surrounding Kuanglan City, designed and supervised by Mo Rong, is ten zhang wide, winding around the south and north of the city, with both ends leading directly to the sea, making Kuanglan City practically an island city in the sea. It is about three zhang deep, and the moat is riddled with hidden stakes and blades, making swimming virtually impossible; the only way is to cross by bridge. Originally, there were drawbridges at the three city gates on the north and south sides. When war broke out, the Peace Army used winches to pull the drawbridges into the city, rather than simply removing them, thus preventing the enemy from easily crossing the river.
Therefore, under the cover of a hail of arrows from archers behind them, the soldiers quickly laid the prepared long planks across the moat. More than four thousand soldiers used their bows and arrows to suppress the arrows from the pacification army on the city walls, making it difficult to stop the construction of the earth-filled bridge along the moat.