Chapter 153: The Twists of Breaking the City

After resting, another day passed.

Since the decision to attack had been made, there was no room for idle talk until results were achieved. Including generals like Gao Xingzhou, they quickly unified their understanding, coordinated the various armies, and prepared for the assault. Gao Xingzhou remained Commander-in-Chief of the forward camp.

However, on the direction of the attack, objections arose once more. Gao Xingzhou suggested making the southern city the main assault direction—after all, the Han army had previously focused on this gate, the soldiers were most familiar with the city defenses and troop dispositions here, and the moat had been mostly filled in...

But Murong Yanchao felt that the Yedu troops also knew the situation at the southern gate well, so the southern side was also the rebels' defensive priority. He proposed that they should do the opposite and shift the attack to the other three gates, to achieve the effect of catching the enemy off guard.

Seeing the dispute beginning to grow, it was Su Fengji who stepped forward with a simpler, more brutal suggestion: "The imperial court has a hundred thousand troops here; the rebels have few generals and weary soldiers. Why bother with primary and secondary? Just attack all at once."

Liu Zhiyuan was tired of this situation where every discussion produced objections, and directly made the call: attack all four gates simultaneously. However, primary and secondary was still necessary—chaotic fighting might work, but it was too lacking in method. After carefully weighing the pros and cons, he decided to make the southern city the main assault. With victory in hand, better to walk the familiar road than blaze a new trail.

Under the Emperor's will, the Han army outside Yedu moved like a war machine, with each army and battalion busily preparing for the siege. The "siege behemoths" that had consumed vast amounts of manpower and materials were pushed to the front lines, and the selected assault troops clung to their sides, eager and restless, waiting only for the order to attack before launching their charge.

The rebel-suppressing army had been stalled before the walls for so long that both soldiers and civilians were weary. Liu Zhiyuan's personal arrival had a marked effect on morale—basically everyone mustered their strength, determined to break the city in one stroke and end this agonizing stalemate. At Liu Chengyou's suggestion, the civilian clerks accompanying the army formed a propaganda team that went through the various armies and camps offering encouragement and motivation, mostly proclaiming what the soldiers and people wanted to hear: break the city, return home, survive the winter.

During the preparations for the assault, Liu Chengyou personally selected soldiers with loud voices from the army, divided them into four waves, and stationed them at Yedu's four gates with simple homemade "megaphones," taking turns shouting into the city. This kind of morale-sapping, will-breaking tactic—for some reason, Gao Xingzhou and the others had never thought of it.

For this, Su Fengji even volunteered, showing off his literary talent by writing a floridly worded "Proclamation to the Soldiers and People of Yedu on the Son of Heaven's Personal Expedition Against the Traitor Du." Liu Zhiyuan found it rather headache-inducing to read.

When Liu Chengyou saw it, he directly discarded it, picked up a brush, and personally wrote a short passage—just two sentences, concise and to the point: The imperial court punishes rebellion, executing only the chief culprit; all others are forgiven. Whoever takes Du Chongwei's head, inside or outside Yedu, will be enfeoffed as a marquis.

On the morning of the twenty-second, when everything was ready and Liu Zhiyuan had personally climbed to a high vantage to observe the battle, raindrops began to fall from the sky, growing heavier and heavier, and the attack abruptly halted. Storming the city in the rain—especially in the cold autumn rain—was impossible. Everyone, from top to bottom, was deeply frustrated as the battle plan was cancelled.

After preparing for so long, just when they were about to strike, Heaven chose to oppose them—it was especially galling. Based on the weather of the past few days, fog and frost were common; rain shouldn't have been possible at all.

Was Heaven protecting the rebels? The ignorant common soldiers and civilians—if such thoughts were stirred up by those with ulterior motives, it would absolutely cause major problems. Even with the Han army's strict control, after all this commotion, morale inevitably slipped. The overwhelming momentum of Liu Zhiyuan's personal presence had been broken by a rainstorm. When Liu Zhiyuan returned to his imperial tent, his dark face was grim enough to be frightening—it seemed even darker than before.

What made it all the more depressing and stifling was that the rain fell for an entire day—not heavy, but utterly maddening. Misty rain veiled everything, and the entire Han army camp was shrouded in a curtain of rain. Gazing out, one could see the steaming vapor, dazzling to the eyes. Cold raindrops struck the face, the chill seeming to seep into the very heart.

"Autumn wind and autumn rain bring sorrow to man!" Before the imperial tent, Liu Chengyou sighed with literary flair.

He shook the raindrops from his body, lifted his numb legs, scraped the mud from his boots against a railing before the tent, and only when he had cleaned them off sufficiently did he enter.

Inside and outside the tent were clearly two different worlds, cold and warm in stark contrast. Stepping into the "study tent," it was warm as spring, with a brazier burning charcoal—though the smell was rather strong.

"Father." Liu Chengyou called out.

Liu Zhiyuan sat behind the imperial desk, seemingly having sat in silence for a long time. The gloomy expression on his face matched the freezing weather—keep away, unfriendly to all.

"Sit." Liu Zhiyuan's enthusiasm for engaging with Liu Chengyou was not high.

Liu Chengyou warmed himself by the brazier for a while, dispelling the chill clinging to his body, before sitting down. He looked at Liu Zhiyuan: "You're not in a good mood?"

"You know the answer and still ask!" Liu Zhiyuan shot Liu Chengyou a sidelong glance, then picked up a memorial from the desk: "Forwarded from the Eastern Capital—the Meng Shu is getting restless again. The Shu army has struck out on three routes, seeking to take Fengxiang and Jingzhao. Hou Yi and Zhao Kuangzan have submitted memorials to the court requesting aid."

A palace eunuch handed the memorial to Liu Chengyou. Liu Chengyou skimmed through it briefly, his brow furrowing involuntarily. He looked up at Liu Zhiyuan: "They're trying to fish in troubled waters!"

"First Gao Conghui, now Meng Chang—these separatist warlords are all jumping out one by one. This is all the bitter fruit of this prolonged campaign!" Liu Zhiyuan didn't seem overly agitated, but the resentment and anger in his tone could not be concealed.

"The Guanzhong region has been in turmoil for so long; it truly cannot be settled in a short time. The distance is great, and the court's resources are stretched thin—we're beyond our reach. We can only rely on the strength of the Fengxiang and Jingzhao garrisons themselves to hold back the Shu army!" Liu Chengyou sighed from the side.

"The Shu army is weak and lacks capable commanders—they're not a concern. What I worry about are those with treacherous intentions." Liu Zhiyuan said in a low voice.

Liu Chengyou's gaze drifted toward Liu Zhiyuan: "You mean Hou Yi, or Zhao Kuangzan?"

Liu Zhiyuan said coldly: "Since I have accepted Zhao Yanshou's submission, Zhao Kuangzan should be safe. It's only this Hou Yi—he's been active in the western regions for years, and during the previous dynasty, he was already suspected of secretly communicating with Western Shu. Let alone now, with the Shu army pressing in—if he rebels, the situation in Guanzhong will completely collapse!"

A hint of helplessness showed on Liu Zhiyuan's face.

Liu Chengyou's expression also turned somewhat grave: "Regardless, the court must prepare for the worst!"

"I have already sent edicts to Zhao Kuangzan in Jingzhao, Zhao Hui in Shanzhou, Shi Kuangyi in Jingyuan, and Xue Huairang in Tongzhou, ordering them to hold their positions. Even if Guanzhong descends into chaos again, it must not spread to the Yellow River and Luo River region!" Liu Zhiyuan said. Liu Chengyou felt that his arrangements were hardly different from having no arrangements at all—though the bottom line was clear enough.

"We can only free up our hands to deal with Guanzhong once the Wei-Bo rebellion is settled!" Liu Chengyou said: "For now, the priority is still to break Yedu as quickly as possible!"

Hearing Liu Chengyou say this, Liu Zhiyuan couldn't help but curse: "This damned rain!"

"What business do you have coming to see me?"

At the question, Liu Chengyou seemed to snap back to himself. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly as he said to Liu Zhiyuan: "I've come specifically to present you with a strategy to break the city."

Liu Zhiyuan's gaze involuntarily swept over Liu Chengyou, not looking very impressed. He asked: "What strategy?"

"Zhang Lian, the Commander of the Yan troops in the city, is willing to come over to our side and lead his men to surrender to the court!" Liu Chengyou said.

Liu Zhiyuan's eyes immediately lit up, and he asked urgently: "Truly? Why didn't you report this earlier?"

Liu Chengyou explained: "These past two days, I sent Guo Rong, the Commander of Deqing, to handle the liaison for this matter. Now that it's basically confirmed, I dared to report it."

"Good! Second Son, well done!" Liu Zhiyuan's face visibly turned from overcast to partly cloudy, then from partly cloudy to clear. However, a trace of doubt soon surfaced on his face: "Can he be trusted?"

"Since the Great Han emerged from Hedong, we've accepted countless surrendering Yan troops. Even Zhao Yanshou could be entrusted with the affairs of Youyan—what are a mere two thousand Yan soldiers compared to that? We just need to give them assurances and set their minds at ease, and I expect there will be no trouble." Liu Chengyou said: "Moreover, if they want to surrender, they must first show us their sincerity!"

"What?"

"They will first start a disturbance within the city to distract the defending troops. If chaos doesn't erupt inside the city, our army won't attack!" Liu Chengyou answered.

"Zhang Lian has also sent people to inform us of the full disposition of the city's defenders. This is the rebels' troop deployment, transmitted from within the city!" Liu Chengyou pulled a city defense map from his bosom and handed it to Liu Zhiyuan: "Additionally, Zhang Lian revealed that morale in the city is wavering, and the soldiers' desire to surrender is strong. Their grain and fodder are already insufficient—all that talk of 'elite troops and ample supplies' was propaganda spread by Du Chongwei's men, trying to bluff and make the court hesitate..."

Liu Zhiyuan studied the defense map, his stiff face visibly softening considerably.

"The Yan troops have one additional request."

"Speak!" Liu Zhiyuan waved his hand, in excellent spirits.

"After the city falls, they want to be allowed to return to their homes."

"That's easy!" Liu Zhiyuan said magnanimously: "Youyan is also ravaged by war. If they are eager to return home, I will naturally let them go."

"Send word to all army commanders to come to the imperial tent for a military council." Saying this, Liu Zhiyuan gave the order with some impatience.

This rain had perhaps only been a test of the Han army's patience. It fell through the day and half the night, finally stopping around midnight. At dawn the next day, the sky was still gray and overcast. Before the southern camp, Sun Li led three thousand hand-picked, fully equipped soldiers of the Xiaodi Army, standing by. This main assault mission was something he had won by shouting his throat hoarse.

Another two thousand or so strong soldiers carried dry wooden planks, preparing to pave the road. Because of the rain, the roads were muddy, making it difficult for heavy siege equipment like cloud ladders to advance.

"Battalion Commander, why is there still no movement? Is there really an agent inside the city?" The morning was exceptionally cold, and one of his subordinate Commanders couldn't help rubbing his hands together as he asked: "It's almost dawn, and the soldiers' bodies are nearly frozen stiff."

"If His Majesty says there is, then there is!" Sun Li was quick to berate his subordinates: "All of you listen well—pass the order down. When you see the signal and chaos erupts in the city, when we move out, I want every one of you to move fast. Anyone who holds us back, I'll cut him down after the battle!"

"Yes!"

After another half a quarter-hour, the surrounding fog was still dim, but visibly brightening. Finally, a burst of killing cries erupted from within the city.

The Han army outside the walls still did not move. Only when the killing cries drew near the city gates and several fluttering white flags were raised atop the walls did a thunderous roll of drums suddenly erupt from the Han camp below.

Receiving the order to attack, just as if it had been rehearsed, paving the road and pushing the vehicles proceeded simultaneously. The camp was not far from the city walls, and soon several cloud ladders were pushed up to the walls, reaching the parapets. The defenders on the walls had clearly been thrown into chaos—they no longer put up the delayed, sluggish resistance they had before.

Behind them, Sun Li saw this, raised his sword, and personally led his men forward, shields raised and blades in hand, charging up. Almost without much effort, they successfully climbed onto the city walls, wave after wave.

At this point, there was no need to fear whatever schemes or tricks the city might attempt.