Chapter 154: The Wiping Out of a Household

In cold-weapon-era city warfare, the city walls were the key point of attack and defense. But as long as the attackers climbed onto the city walls and entered close-quarters combat, the advantages and disadvantages shifted between attacker and defender—the attacking side could rely entirely on superior numbers to press in continuously and break the city's defenses.

Of course, for the Han army, this process was a bit easier. With Yan troops causing chaos inside and the Han army attacking fiercely outside, the already low-morale Ye soldiers collapsed in an extremely short time. They threw down their weapons and surrendered one after another. The Han troops entering the city had received orders from above: if the rebels surrendered, do not add to the slaughter.

Some Ye soldiers simply and naturally "rose up on the battlefield," turning their blades against the "stubborn elements," especially the supervisory troops appointed by Du Chongwei. On the battlefield, supervisory units were always hated. Some supervisory soldiers were sensible enough to follow suit and declare their "uprising," only to be swarmed and cut down by the Ye soldiers.

Sun Li led his troops on the front line. Seeing this situation, he paid it no mind—the orders only said the Han army must not kill surrendering troops; if the Ye soldiers slaughtered each other, however many died had nothing to do with him. His target was Du Chongwei's head. After joining up with the Yan troops, Sun Li directly ordered the leading officer around, not even asking his name, and had him lead the way to attack the Military Governor's mansion.

The officer singled out was, of course, Zhang Lian, and he was so angry his nose nearly twisted crooked. This Han general was far too arrogant, practically not even acknowledging him—without their Yan soldiers coordinating from within, could he have broken into the city so easily? But no matter how disgusted he felt inside, he still had to lower his head and lead the way. Soon, the Yan soldiers noticed that their Commander Zhang had become much more irritable.

While the battle started at the south gate, the other four gates also launched attacks one after another. You don't put all your eggs in one basket—besides, this could also support the south gate battlefield. Only, progress was much slower than at the south wall, but after the situation at the south gate spread, the other gates fell in succession.

At the Han army's southern main camp, Liu Zhiyuan personally came to the battlefield to supervise. Standing atop the tall observation tower, watching the Han army easily seize the gate tower and break through smoothly, he couldn't help but clap his hands and laugh: "Excellent! The Yan army truly did not deceive me—Zhang Lian deserves the foremost credit!"

"We besieged the city for over two months without gaining an inch, suffering many setbacks instead. The moment Your Majesty arrived, righteous troops submitted and we easily broke this wicked city—this is truly the mandate of Heaven!" Murong Yanchao flattered from the side, but his gaze kept darting toward Gao Xingzhou.

Gao Xingzhou's face twitched slightly, as if somewhat embarrassed.

Liu Zhiyuan's dark face was like a blooming chrysanthemum. He waved his hand modestly and said: "Without the bitter fighting of all the officers and soldiers before, today's victory would not have been possible. This is the merit of the entire army, not Our doing."

Liu Zhiyuan had grown clever by now—he must not emulate Zhuangzong. More than twenty years ago, though he had only been a minor figure, he had witnessed how Li Cunxu took all the credit for himself while showing little grace to the three armies, and what his fate had been.

"But without Your Majesty's awe-inspiring might, how could such a turn of events have occurred within the city? The soldiers can fight the enemy, but they cannot achieve complete success—it still relies on Your Majesty's authority!" Su Fengji followed up with his flattery.

"The Prince of Zhou did well too!" With a slight smile and a relaxed mood, Liu Zhiyuan turned his head and praised Liu Chengyou.

"This is all the merit of Commander Guo Rong of Deqing." Liu Chengyou casually deflected the credit to Guo Rong.

Greatly pleased, Liu Zhiyuan was not stingy with praise, saying: "Guo Wenzhong raised a fine son. Previously at Lujiadian he turned the tide and stabilized the rebellion-suppression situation, and now he has merit in breaking the city. Such a young talent deserves heavy rewards and proper promotion!"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the defenders at the south central gate have been completely controlled. Most of the Ye soldiers have surrendered, and the rest have scattered into the city. Chief Commander Sun has led his troops to join with the Yan soldiers and is advancing to attack the Military Governor's office! All gates of Yedu have been blocked with stone, wood, and other objects—the gates are not yet passable!" Soon a junior officer of the imperial army in charge of relaying messages came to report.

"Excellent!" Liu Zhiyuan had nearly degenerated into a bystander who could only shout praise.

With a spirited expression, he instructed Gao Xingzhou: "Minister Gao, immediately arrange for follow-up troops to charge in, suppress the rebels at the fastest speed, and control the entire city—especially the various government offices, treasuries, and guest houses! Gather men to clear away the debris blocking the roads below the walls!"

"Yes!" Gao Xingzhou acknowledged and hurried off. Murong Yanchao couldn't sit still either and followed to help.

"With Yedu taken, one of Our heart's burdens is lifted!" Gazing at the "Du" banner that had already toppled on the city wall, Liu Zhiyuan took a deep breath, as if a great weight had been lifted, and let out a long sigh.

Perhaps he had inhaled the cold air too forcefully—Liu Zhiyuan couldn't help but cough violently several times, his body swaying. Seeing this, Liu Chengyou hurried forward to support him, asking with concern: "Are you alright?"

Liu Zhiyuan still wore a smile on his lips and waved his hand: "I'm fine."

Though he said this, he had no intention of staying long on the tower. He had Liu Chengyou supervise the battle, while he himself, supported by palace eunuchs, slowly descended the tower and returned to the imperial tent. Liu Chengyou watched Liu Zhiyuan's retreating figure from behind, his expression wooden, his gaze very deep—he had clearly felt just now that Liu Zhiyuan's body was trembling slightly.

It seemed......

Liu Chengyou quickly withdrew his gaze, but noticed that Su Fengji was also watching Liu Zhiyuan's back. Caught by Liu Chengyou's stare, his heart jumped, and he quickly averted his gaze, looking around before pointing at Yuancheng and saying with a somewhat guilty tone: "I wonder who will take Du Chongwei's head and earn the title of marquis."

Liu Chengyou looked at Su Fengji calmly and said flatly: "Then we'll see who's luckier!"

In the city, when the chaos began, Du Chongwei was in the government office, sleeping soundly with his beautiful concubine in his arms. Yesterday's major movements by the Han army had frightened him badly—especially the Han army's morale-corrupting shouts, which had wound his nerves taut to the breaking point. He felt that everyone's gaze toward him was strange.

Fortunately, Heaven favored him with that freezing rain, which allowed him to sleep relatively peacefully through the night. He had already prepared himself to send someone to negotiate surrender before the Han army's next attack.

Woken from his sleep by his personal guards, Du Chongwei flew into a temper—and upon learning the battle had begun, his mind was still unclear: "How could the Han army possibly attack the city?"

In his view, since it had just rained yesterday, the roads were muddy and the city walls slippery—the Han army absolutely would not dare launch a hasty attack. When he learned that the Yan troops had rebelled and let the Han army into the city, Du Chongwei jolted awake, scrambled out of bed, and hurriedly dressed himself while cursing the Yan troops as traitorous thieves.

He sent people to check the situation, but none returned—instead, the sounds of killing around him grew louder and louder, especially from the south. Now Du Chongwei was thoroughly panicked. He hastily gathered his yabing guards to defend the Military Governor's office. The Military Governor's office in Yedu was in fact a small fortress, sufficient to rely upon for resistance. Of course, Du Chongwei's purpose was not to stubbornly resist behind the walls, but only to protect his family and wealth—he knew all too well what a scene looked like when outside troops broke into a city. At the same time, he sent trusted confidants out of the city to surrender to Liu Zhiyuan, hoping only to preserve his life and property. To ensure the surrender offer was delivered, he sent over a dozen men......

However, Du Chongwei had clearly chosen his surrender timing far too late.

"What do you want to do?" In the main hall, Du Chongwei and his family gathered together, staring in shock and anger at the soldiers closing in around them, and roared: "Get back at once! Hold the government office for me!"

The two leaders, one tall and one short, were both the yabing officers Du Chongwei ordinarily trusted most. They exchanged glances, and the tall one said coldly: "Marshal Du, the imperial army has already broken the city—we brothers don't want to die!"

Clearly seeing the killing intent in the yabing officer's eyes, Du Chongwei's heart turned cold, and he said somewhat frantically: "I've already sent men to surrender!"

Hearing this, the tall one sneered coldly: "With a mere surrender, how could we fare well afterward? The court has placed a heavy bounty on Marshal Du's head—we'd rather use it to buy ourselves a path to advancement!"

As he spoke, the tall yabing officer drew the blade at his waist, frightening Du Chongwei into retreating several steps in succession. Pointing a trembling finger at him, Du Chongwei said: "You... how dare you? I have always treated you as my own brothers, and now you want to kill me! You ungrateful, disloyal, unrighteous things!"

"When it comes to gratitude, loyalty, and righteousness, Marshal Du—you have no right to lecture us!" The tall one revealed a cruel smile, suddenly lunged forward two steps, and drove his blade into Du Chongwei's abdomen before he could even react.

The hall immediately erupted in screams as Du Chongwei's sons, wives, and concubines panicked into chaos. But the hall had long been surrounded by yabing guards. The tall one paid them no mind, gleefully cutting off Du Chongwei's head—bloody and brutal, yet it only excited him more.

Before he could enjoy it for even a few breaths, a blade pierced through his chest from behind. Through the searing pain, he only heard a cold laugh: "This marquisate reward is better taken by me!"

The short one's face broke into a delighted grin. Holding the blood-stained blade in his right hand and Du Chongwei's head in his left, he turned to look at Du Chongwei's family gathered in the hall, his gaze turning vicious: "Kill!"

The surrounding yabing guards obeyed obediently, raising their blades and hacking at Du Chongwei's sons and female relatives, intending to slaughter them all.

People scattered in every direction, but only one young, beautiful woman stepped forward, calmly shouting at the chaotic soldiers: "You cannot kill me—I am the daughter of Gao Xingzhou, commander of the imperial army!"

This statement actually startled the yabing guards, and they all looked toward the short yabing officer.

His eyes darted in quick calculation; then, blade in one hand and the head in the other, he bowed to Lady Gao with a smile: "The daughter of Marshal Gao naturally cannot be killed. Someone, escort her down and protect her well."

As Lady Gao was led away from the main hall, the miserable wails from within reached her ears again. She sighed silently......

In the original history, Du Chongwei's rebellion had lasted nearly half a year from start to finish—even with Liu Zhiyuan personally leading the campaign, Yedu was still not taken. The court exhausted the national treasury, and the Han army suffered heavy casualties. In the end, only when the city's grain supplies ran out and Du Chongwei came out to surrender did the rebellion "honorably" come to an end.

That rebellion had been a heavy blow to the newly born Han dynasty.

This time, Liu Zhiyuan's personal campaign came much earlier, the court's strength was greater, and preparations were more thorough—so in three months, the rebellion was settled. Even so, the time dragged on long enough.

However, Du Chongwei was simply unlucky—he never got the chance to surrender before being killed by his own yabing guards in mutiny, and his household was nearly wiped out to the last person......