The generals had no objection to strengthening Cheng Tian's defenses, and as they were discussing the matter, suddenly the sound of drums blared, followed by shouts of battle from within the city. Immediately afterward, a sentry rushed in and reported, "Master, Li Jun is challenging us to battle in front of the camp!"
"Haha, Li Jun is really impatient. Don't worry about him. Order the whole army to be on high alert and remain in fortified positions!" Cheng Tian and Tang Gan exchanged a glance. They both understood that Li Jun was looking for an opportunity to fight between the two armies so that he could take advantage of the chaos and use his martial prowess to either capture or kill Cheng Tian.
The Peace Army made a ruckus outside the city for half an hour, but seeing that the Lianfa Army remained unmoved, they retreated back into the city. A subordinate general asked whether they should give chase, but Cheng Tian shook his head and said, "No, Li Jun wants to fight our army. If we go after him, we will definitely be entangled. It's better to let him make a fuss on his own. Once he's tired, he will naturally stop coming out."
To his surprise, the Peace Army launched a challenge from the city every hour, forcing the Lianfa Army to be on full alert each time. However, each time, no one responded, and they retreated back into the city. This went on for half a day, and Cheng Tian gradually understood Li Jun's intention.
"He intends to use this tactic to harass our army and wear it down!" he said. "What does the Master think?"
“He’s in the city. The decision to fight or not was originally in my hands, but now he’s seized the initiative by exploiting our army’s reluctance to fight.” Tang Gan also found the situation quite troublesome. If they fought, Li Jun would retreat into the city and defend it with the city’s natural defenses. If they didn’t fight, constantly being harassed like this wasn’t a solution. If he were to suddenly storm into the camp after the Lianfa army had lost its footing, it would be too late to regret it.
"Master Zheng Dingguo sent someone to ask if it is possible to fight the Peace Army?" The message came from the north city. Cheng Tian did not speak, but looked at Tang Gan. Tang Gan kept him in suspense for a while, and finally said, "Now it seems that Li Jun is really anxious. Otherwise, he would not have used such a plan. However, he has forgotten one thing. Our army has more soldiers and his army has fewer soldiers. If we keep harassing him like this, he will be the first to get tired."
"Does the master mean to ignore him?" Gan Ping asked sharply. "Then are we just going to sit and wait for Li Jun to launch a surprise attack?"
"Of course not. If Li Jun has such intentions, our army can turn the tables on him. We can have a unit prepare to attack his army as soon as it shows signs of fatigue. This will cause chaos in Li Jun's army. By the time he recovers, our army will have already retreated. In this way, Li Jun will find that his treacherous plan has been exposed and will have to find another way."
"Please let me charge into the Peace Army!" Gan Ping immediately volunteered, but Tang Gan shook his head and said, "No, Li Jun's intention is to lure our army into battle. If General Gan goes to fight and gets entangled with him, he might suddenly send his cavalry to charge into our rear and head straight for the leader's camp. What should we do then? It would be better to let Ding Guo attack the enemy in the north city. Even if he gets entangled, we can still send troops to our aid."
In truth, he didn't voice his full thoughts. If Gan Ping were defeated and routed, it would inevitably have far-reaching consequences, placing Cheng Tian in grave danger. Zheng Dingguo, on the other hand, was different. Firstly, he didn't believe Zheng Dingguo would be defeated, and secondly, even if things went poorly for Zheng Dingguo, they could still send troops to his aid. Though he didn't say it aloud, everyone understood.
"Master's words are exactly what I wanted!" Cheng Tian waved his hand and said, "Send word to Dingguo, telling him to seize the opportunity to fight, retreat after a small setback, and not to linger in battle. Hmm, tell him to be careful. I've heard that Li Jun is quite brave and skilled in martial arts."
Upon hearing that Cheng Tian had allowed him to fight, Zheng Dingguo was overjoyed, but he didn't take the warning to heart. That day, he fought against Lan Qiao, a general under Li Jun, and had a slight advantage. Although he knew that his opponent was not easy to deal with, he was confident that he would not be defeated.
Sure enough, after the Peace Army harassed them twice more, they visibly showed signs of frustration, and even their shouts subsided considerably. Seeing that the time was right, Zheng Dingguo mounted his prized steed, Xiaoyue Feixue, pointed his sixty-pound steel spear at the Peace Army soldiers who were weakly cursing, and shouted, "Kill!"
Li Jun and Lan Qiao had been consistently appearing in the west of the city, leading Zheng Dingguo to believe that he would have few rivals among the Peace Army challenging in the north. After the battle cries, he charged forward with his spear. Xiaoyue Feixue, a prized steed, possessed unparalleled speed and endurance. Originally Cheng Tian's mount, it had been given to Zheng Dingguo out of admiration for his bravery. Therefore, Zheng Dingguo's spear charge immediately left his own troops far behind.
The soldiers of the Lianfa Army were already impatient and charged out with shouts. Seeing the thousands of soldiers rushing forward and witnessing Zheng Dingguo's unstoppable momentum on Xiaoyue Feixue, Wei Zhan, who was watching the battle from the city wall, couldn't help but take a deep breath.
"What a brave warrior!" Even knowing they were enemies, he couldn't help but exclaim. Just as he was praising them, Zheng Dingguo's horse was fast, and he had already charged into the ranks of the Peace Army, not even giving them a chance to aim and fire their arrows.
Amidst gasps of alarm, the Peace Army was torn apart by him. With a roar, Zheng Dingguo thrust his steel spear left and right, and two Peace Army soldiers fell to the ground without even a chance to react. Wei Zhan, shocked and enraged, had not yet uttered a sound when Zheng Dingguo's spear, imbued with fierce energy, thrust out repeatedly. Although the Peace Army soldiers tried to block or dodge, they were still knocked down with a single touch.
Seeing his unstoppable momentum, Wei Zhan almost dared not look any further. He turned to look around, just then, a thunderous shout erupted from the Peace Army below. The sound of drums from both sides could not drown out the shout. He hurriedly turned back to look and saw Zheng Dingguo sway on his horse and fall off. A lieutenant general was pulling a halberd from his body.
"As expected of Commander Li!" Wei Zhan was first stunned, then overjoyed. The seemingly invincible Zheng Dingguo had been killed by Li Jun in the blink of an eye. That lieutenant was none other than Li Jun in disguise. They had guessed that Cheng Tian would be too cautious to engage in battle in the western city, and that Zheng Dingguo, confident in his bravery, would not let any opportunity slip by even without Cheng Tian's orders. Therefore, they had someone impersonate Li Jun and Lan Qiao, making the Lianfa army believe that their target was Cheng Tian, unaware that their true objective was Cheng Tian's most valiant general!
This abrupt change struck the charging Lianfa army like a thunderbolt, leaving them frozen in place, some even collapsing to the ground. Wei Zhan summoned the purple dragon clan atop the city wall, and immediately the drums thundered. The Peace Army below charged out with shouts, and in a matter of moments, the roles of attacker and defender had reversed. The Peace Army's morale soared, and they charged at the enemy with the vigor of dragons and tigers, while the Lianfa army was terrified. Even a brave general like Zheng Dingguo was no match for them; if they didn't escape now, wouldn't they be left here to die?
It could be said that Zheng Dingguo's swift death in a single exchange was an unexpected and devastating blow to the Lianfa Army in the East City. Even Zheng Dingguo himself never anticipated that he would be defeated so easily by Li Jun. Had he recognized Li Jun and focused on his own attack, he could have fought him for at least dozens of rounds. However, he had always assumed Li Jun was in the West City, attacking Li Jun while simultaneously plotting his next target. Such carelessness made his defeat inevitable. Li Jun also had a stroke of luck. In his dying moments, Zheng Dingguo desperately retaliated with his spear, piercing through the armor on Li Jun's left arm and passing right through a layer of flesh. Yet, Li Jun appeared completely unharmed, waving his hand and shouting, "Charge!"
The Peace Army soldiers to his left and right scattered in a flash, and three thousand cavalrymen, who had been eager to fight, rushed out of the city gate. These three thousand cavalrymen filed out like a whirlwind and charged straight at the stunned Lianfa Army.
The Lotus Army scattered like bees from a swarm of bees. The collapse of the vanguard caused the rear guard, still unaware of the situation, to flee as well. Some even fled with the flow of people before they had even seen the Peace Army. But how could human feet outrun the hooves of horses? The Peace Army cavalry formed several sharp arrowheads, each wielding a long cleaver. Their blades flew like snowflakes, and heads fell like melons.
Li Jun didn't rush to the front lines to fight his men. Instead, he dismounted, taking the reins of his horse, Xiaoyue Feixue, in one hand and gently stroking its neck with the other. The horse seemed startled by its former master's sudden collapse, snorting uneasily. Li Jun gently stroked it, whispering, "Don't worry, don't worry..."
The Peace Army cavalry, having been relentlessly pursuing the fleeing Lianfa army, vented their frustration—from being trapped for days—on these defenseless soldiers. Li Jun knew that letting them slaughter to their hearts' content would boost his own morale and instill fear in the enemy. Therefore, he was in no hurry to retreat back to the city. A while later, Wei Zhan, atop the city wall, received a report that the Lianfa army in the west had dispatched tens of thousands of troops to quickly outflank the east city, clearly aware of the defeat there and coming to their aid. At this moment, Wei Zhan raised his hand to signal, and the sound of gongs rang out from the city wall. The Peace Army cavalry, using their speed advantage, broke free from the fleeing Lianfa troops and retreated back into the city.
When Cheng Tian and Tang Gan circled around to the east of the city, the fields outside the city were littered with corpses and rivers of blood. The Lianfa army, routed by Li Jun's swift and decisive actions, had suffered nearly ten thousand dead and countless wounded. The remaining ten thousand or so soldiers either fled and disappeared, or knelt amidst the piles of corpses, weeping bitterly. The Heping army, on the other hand, had only about three hundred casualties, a mere one-tenth of the number of cavalry that had charged out. This was partly due to the Heping army's superior cavalry mobility, but more importantly, it was due to the Lianfa army's utter lack of fighting spirit and their scattered retreat.
Cheng Tian silently watched the horrific scene before him, tears welling up in his eyes. Even in the battle with Liu Guang, he had never been killed so horribly by the enemy. What pained him most was that the news of Zheng Dingguo's death had been confirmed, and even his body had been taken back to the city by the Peace Army along with the bodies of their own people.
"Dingguo, it's my fault..." He couldn't help but look up to the sky and roar. If he hadn't allowed Zheng Dingguo to fight, how could he have died in the Peace Army? His lament made Tang Gan, who was beside him, extremely uncomfortable. After all, it was Tang Gan who came up with the idea of getting Zheng Dingguo to fight.
"Master, this was caused by my own stupidity. If you want to blame someone, then blame me!" he said reluctantly. He admitted that he had misjudged Li Jun's intentions and that this defeat was deserved.
"Master, as the commander of an army, I should bear the responsibility for this defeat." Cheng Tian wiped away his tears and glared at the city gate. "The one who killed Dingguo must have been Li Jun himself. If not him, who else possessed such martial prowess?"
"Although our army suffered a minor defeat, our main force is still intact. As long as we work together, it will not be difficult to break through Huai'en City," Tang Gan suggested. "Please accept my condolences, Master. Now that the siege of the East City has been lifted, in order to prevent Li Jun from abandoning Huai'en to attack Ningwang, Master, you should divide your forces again to besiege the East City."
"Order Gan Ping to lead 50,000 troops to surround the eastern city and forbid any further battles." Cheng Tian had calmed down by now, and he sighed deeply. "Li Jun must have a scheme to abduct Dingguo's body. Dingguo made great contributions to Emperor Shenzong and was also the master. We cannot allow Li Jun to desecrate his remains. Master, send someone into the city to demand the body back from Li Jun."
Tang Gan's heart skipped a beat. Although Cheng Tian had said he wanted him to send someone to retrieve the body, this was actually a pretext to negotiate with Li Jun. Although they had Huai En surrounded, they had lost their top general, and morale was extremely low. If Li Jun fought to the death, the outcome was uncertain. Furthermore, with their 100,000-strong army facing food shortages, it seemed this battle would end in failure.
"Am I just supposed to watch helplessly as Li Jun embarks on his journey home?" he wondered to himself.
three,
"What do you think we should do with these surrendered soldiers, Mr. Feng?" Tu Long Ziyun really found these thousands of surrendered soldiers a headache, so he passed the problem on to Feng Jiutian.
"What's so difficult about that? These surrendered soldiers are of no use to us." Feng Jiutian said calmly, deciding the pitiful fate of these surrendered soldiers with just one sentence.
Even Tu Longziyun was shocked by the cold killing intent in his words and asked in surprise, "Does the master mean to slaughter them all under the city walls?"
“No, let them in first. If we kill them below the city walls, it will backfire,” Feng Jiutian said. “Throw ropes down and pull them up one by one to the city walls, then tie them up.”
Tu Longziyun was quite puzzled. If the goal was to exterminate all these surrendered soldiers, why go through all this trouble? But seeing Feng Jiutian's cold expression, he didn't ask any more questions and simply did as instructed.
Although the battle in the south city had somewhat subsided, outside the west city, Shi Ze's 30,000 elite troops suddenly emerged, stepping over the corpses of Song Xi's soldiers, and charging towards the city with shouts. Peng Yuancheng had concentrated the main siege equipment in the south city, so Shi Ze could only lead his soldiers to build bridges across the river and then attack the city with ladders. Just as the attack was underway, rows of crossbows suddenly shot out from the city walls. Mo Rong's linked crossbows had a long range and were numerous, and before the attackers could even reach the moat, they had already fallen in large numbers.
Discovering that the enemy had a hidden trump card proved that the Peace Army had anticipated that behind their seemingly weak soldiers lay elite troops. Shi Ze knew that charging now would only be suicide, so he had no choice but to order a temporary retreat. Compared to Song Xi's more than ten thousand soldiers who had lost nearly half their number, he had only lost a few hundred men, and his strength had not been greatly affected. Therefore, when Song Xi heard him sound the retreat, he angrily rushed over and demanded, "Why didn't you attack?"
“The enemy is prepared. If I attack again, it will only increase casualties. The reason he doesn’t use those powerful weapons against you must be because he expects you to have elite troops behind your soldiers. If I attack with all my might, I will be playing right into his trap. A siege is not something that can be done in a short time. Why waste our forces on a pointless fight over loyalty?”
Song Xi was still somewhat angry upon hearing this, and said, "If you had attacked the city with me as soon as you arrived, the city would have been captured by now. You coward, you're just hiding in the back watching me die!" Shi Ze sneered, "You reckless brute, all you know is attack, attack, attack! If I had launched a full-scale attack from the start, would the Peace Army have fallen for the trap? I've said it before, you need to use your brain more when fighting!"
"So what if you used your brain? You still came back empty-handed!" Seeing that Shi Ze was showing him no mercy and scolding him as a reckless fool in front of the entire army, Song Xi completely forgot that he was the one who called Shi Ze a coward first. He retorted, "You're clearly a coward yourself, yet you talk about using your brain. If you're not a coward, then go and try attacking the city!"
"Are you going to attack Kuanglan City for your position as city lord?" Shi Ze's words exposed his true intentions. His eagerness to attack the city was simply for the city lord position promised by Peng Yuancheng. Thinking of this, Shi Ze felt somewhat resentful. He had followed Peng Yuancheng for many years, and now that the great cause was about to succeed, why did a reckless man like Song Xi receive a reward, while his own honor and salary seemed far away?
"You!" When it comes to arguing, Song Xi was no match for Shi Ze. The two glared at each other, but Song Xi saw that the guards beside Shi Ze had already drawn their swords, so he had no choice but to give up and said, "I'm going to ask Commander Peng to uphold justice. You missed the opportunity to fight. What should your punishment be?"
"Go then, do you think I'm afraid of you?" Shi Ze said nonchalantly. After a while, he slowly added, "I forgot to tell you, it was Commander Peng's instruction that I didn't attack the city at the same time as you."