Chapter 256: Taken in Two Days

After more than an hour of "indiscriminate bombardment," over five thousand stone projectiles had been hurled at the city walls. In the process, the towers, parapets, and the buildings surrounding the walls all suffered considerable damage.

Li Shouzhen had built Hedong city truly formidable, as if he had foreseen the situation of being besieged and surrounded. Under the impact of massive stone projectiles, only heavy impact marks and pits were left on the wall surface—not even a single large breach. On the other hand, the stone projectiles flew in a scattered pattern; without days of continuous pounding, it was basically impossible to smash the walls down in one go.

On the walls, casualties were not particularly heavy, but the blow to the rebels' morale was extremely severe. From seventy or eighty zhang away, though visibility was not very clear, the dense shadows of figures on the battlements were all visible to the eye. Liu Chengyou could sense the panic, fear, and chaos among those rebels. When hearts are unsettled, the enemy's courage fails.

The trebuchets stopped. The stockade gates of the government army swung wide open, and the Longqi and Xiaodi armies, tasked with the assault, moved out on orders. Shielded carts and wooden mantlets were pushed forward in front, with soldiers crouching low behind them. Over a dozen moat bridges were also pushed toward the city to fill the moat, while several massive siege towers advanced steadily under the operation of numerous laborers, like wild beasts opening their maws and baring their fangs at Pu city...

Drawing closer, ranged suppression with bows and crossbows continued to unfold, while the bed-crossbow bolts, thick as spears, carried devastating killing power, shooting straight at Pu city. Some who climbed over the walls—unlucky rebels—were pierced straight through, screaming miserably, their horrific deaths shocking to behold.

In terms of siegecraft, the government army had made thoroughly sufficient preparations, especially in the readiness of these siege engines. And the cost paid to forge these instruments of war was not small; to alleviate fiscal pressure, they had squeezed the craftsmen and laborers to the utmost.

Because the stockades had been built right up against the city, the government army's assault was already very swift, but arranging the siege engines for the attack still took some time. During this process, the rebel defenders on Pu city's walls, though their morale was shattered, were driven by Li Shouzhen's trusted officers and Patrol Inspector battle-supervisors under threat and coercion, and so picked up their weapons and barely managed to prepare to meet the attack. The chaotic scene improved somewhat.

The moat bridges were pushed into the water, secured against both banks, and the moat instantly became a thoroughfare—soldiers could cross holding shields. Scaling ladders pressed against the walls, drop-boards were laid across. The government army's assault was now in full swing...

Li Shouzhen had stockpiled a fair number of defensive implements in the city—rolling stones, falling logs, arrows, boiling liquids, and the like were still fairly ample. For a time, fierce attack and defense unfolded along the Pu city line. Above and below the walls, bows and crossbows faced off, arrows fell like rain, and the clamor of slaughter was intense.

Moreover, because of the government army's stockade tactics, which greatly shortened the distance to Hedong city, the rebels could never react in time under the government army's assault.

Without paying too great a price, some of the frontline assault troops managed to climb onto the city battlements. And once city combat reached the stage of close-quarters fighting, it signaled that a new phase of the attack had arrived. In white-hot battle, where there was no huge disparity in armor and weapons, victory basically depended on the blood and courage of the soldiers.

In terms of soldierly valor, the imperial army's troops—especially the Longqi and Xiaodi armies—were naturally not comparable to Pu's soldiers. Limited by the uphill assault and the rebels' advantage of defending from the city walls, and with the government army's heavy crossbows unable to provide covering support, the attack-defense situation soon reached a stalemate.

Fighting along the wall line continued for nearly another two hours, yet still could not be broken through.

"I had thought the Pu army's morale was already lost, and that once the main force got onto the walls, it would fall easily. I never imagined that under the imperial army's rotating assaults, they could hold out this long!" On the observation platform, watching the battle's entanglement and the imperial army's attack visibly slowing, Feng Dao, seated nearby, could not help but show a trace of worry on his face. He turned his head to look at Liu Chengyou.

Liu Chengyou's expression showed little change—his calm did not seem feigned. Hearing Feng Dao's words, Liu Chengyou asked Yang Bin and Hu Yanke: "What do the two of you think?"

Yang Bin's reply was very concise: "The rebels are few, our army is many. We only need to keep strengthening the attack; under a tide-like onslaught, once their losses mount, the rebels surely cannot hold!"

"But in that case, our army's casualties will also be hard to control." Hu Yanke bowed to Liu Chengyou, supplementing Yang Bin's remarks—clearly, he did not quite agree.

Then, under Yang Bin's intimidating glare, he said composedly to Liu Chengyou: "In my view, this is merely the rebels fighting like cornered beasts. After this wave of resistance, their momentum cannot last. Even if they can hold today, can they hold tomorrow? Besides, our army's siege weapons have not yet fully displayed their effectiveness—why need we fill the gap with men's lives?"

He watched the battle for a while longer. Among those currently participating in the assault at the front were his brother-in-law Gao Huaide and his men. This wave of attack had also lasted nearly two ke, and the scene still looked intense, but the results were poor.

Blinking hard several times to relieve the fatigue in his eyes, Liu Chengyou asked: "What's the situation on the east wall?"

After waiting a moment, Zhao Yanjin came to report: "Fierce fighting along the battlements."

"The rebels have temporarily adapted to our army's rhythm of attack. Before that surge of spirit they've been roused to dissipates, breaking them will not be easy—merely wasting soldiers. Reinforcing and pressing the attack might yield results, but I will not do it." After offering these two observations, Liu Chengyou directly gave the order: "Sound the gong to withdraw. Pass the order to all units: fall back in an orderly manner behind the stockade city, gather the troops, and tend to the wounded!"

With the sound of the gong, the first assault ended with the government army voluntarily ceasing battle.

"Your Majesty, why did you withdraw the troops? Our brothers had already climbed onto Pu city—if we just kept pressing the attack, the rebels surely couldn't hold!" In the imperial tent, his maternal uncle Li Hongjian strode in furiously, helmet tucked under his arm, and directly challenged Liu Chengyou with a glare.

As the Son of Heaven's maternal uncle, Commander-in-Chief of the Inner Palace, Chief Inspector of the field headquarters' cavalry and infantry, and a senior commander of the imperial army—how could he not be powerful and riding high? But since accompanying the army, though he commanded the imperial army, he felt like a puppet on strings, with the Son of Heaven sticking his hand into everything.

Today's assault on the city, in his view, would have broken Pu city at most by sunset. But Liu Chengyou had called it off, and the anger and resentment in his heart surged up instantly.

"Uncle, please sit first." Liu Chengyou gestured mildly to Li Hongjian and said: "The rebels' momentum cannot last. We only need to change the tempo to drain their spirit. The outcome of a forced assault is unknown, but heavy casualties among the soldiers—that is certain."

"If we can break the city, what does a few more deaths matter?" Liu Chengyou's words clearly could not convince Li Hongjian, who retorted without hesitation.

Hearing this, Liu Chengyou's expression immediately turned stern, and he rebuked with some severity: "The soldiers left their homes and families to follow me in putting down this rebellion, to be loyal to the state. I should regard them as my own limbs. Uncle, you are both a relative of the state and a commander—do not speak such words that show no care for the men below. Otherwise, I will not forgive lightly."

Liu Chengyou had truly internalized the art of posturing. Say what you will about how grand his words sounded—when there was truly no other way, see whether the four characters "care for the soldiers" would even cross his mind.

Suddenly faced with Liu Chengyou's change of expression, Li Hongjian was momentarily struck speechless. But seeing his nephew's serious, stern face, the words in his belly were ultimately swallowed back down.

With the cessation of battle and the troops returning to camp, Bai Wenke and the other commanders all came to the imperial camp, each more or less displeased. Seeing this, Liu Chengyou was instead reassured—it showed that fighting spirit remained high. He soothed them with kind words, saying they would attack again tomorrow.

After a simple tally of battle losses, the imperial army on the south wall had committed over seven thousand soldiers directly to combat, with nearly a thousand casualties. Of course, the rebels were not much better off. On the east wall, the losses were somewhat heavier.

Today's attack had clearly not been the government army's full effort, but the rebels' depth had basically been probed. And Liu Chengyou had no intention of going all out from the start—after besieging the city for so long, the officers and men above and below also needed to familiarize themselves with and adapt to the rhythm of assault.

Still, after probing the rebels' defensive capabilities, Liu Chengyou felt even more assured in his heart.

Autumn was deepening, the nights growing colder. The "Prince of Qin's Residence," converted from the Military Governor's yamen, was completely sunk in a stifling atmosphere. In the hall, Li Shouzhen sat high on the throne with a cold, hard expression, while a gathering of Hedong civil and military officials all remained silent.

Finally, a general with a bandaged arm stepped forward, his face full of grievance and anger: "Great King, those trebuchets of the Han army must be destroyed! Thousands of stone projectiles hurled about wildly—the soldiers have lost all their courage. How can they fight? How can they withstand the Han army's assault on the city?"

Seeing his agitation, Li Shouzhen gave him a cold look and asked: "Do you think I don't want to? If I send you out of the city with troops, can you destroy them? Do you dare?"

Faced with this challenge, the general choked for a moment, his face flushing bright red, and retreated.

Previously, they had indeed attempted to sally out and destroy the stockade walls that the Han army had built right up to their doorstep. Several attempts later, the result was always being lured out and slaughtered, with no small losses. Now, wanting to leave the city, cross those "turtle shells," and smash the government army's heavy siege engines was nothing short of a fool's dream.

"Great King, the government army has many men, fine armor and weapons, and great strength. Looking at today's assault, so ferocious—our army barely held them off with all our might. If we don't find another way out, I fear we cannot hold out much longer. When that day comes, the city will be destroyed and we will all die..." At this point, a civil clerk rose, his tone somewhat mournful, his face full of fear. His words also carried an obvious "hint."

Hearing his words, Li Shouzhen's face twisted into a savage sneer, and he roared: "How dare you, you treacherous wretch! Cowardly before the enemy, afraid to fight—you dare to disturb my army's morale?!"

With that, he ordered the man dragged out and beheaded. The entire hall trembled with fear, but clearly, the deterrent effect was achieved in the short term—though afterward, hearts grew even more alienated. They deliberated for a long time but ultimately could not devise any countermeasure. The predicament was such that there was truly no way out, unless some heaven-shaking upheaval occurred...

After a night of rest, the Han army feasted its soldiers, prepared its weapons, and as the morning mist first dispersed, moved again. From yesterday's stone bombardment, many trebuchets had been damaged; after repairs, nearly three hundred were still available for use.

When Liu Chengyou again ascended the observation platform and gave the order to attack, he added one instruction: use up all the stone projectiles!

Then Hedong city once again received a baptism of stone-rain.

The rhythm of attack followed the same pattern as before. After the stone bombardment ceased, the rebels seemed to have gained experience, knowing the government army was about to assault the walls again. The soldiers who had been taking cover were driven back up onto the walls to await battle.

But this time was different. When the defenders on the walls were densely packed, they switched to fire-oil bombs. Clay pots carrying flames were launched at high speed toward the battlements. Before the rebel soldiers' eyes, they plunged into the crowds—pot shattered, oil spilled, and with a roaring burst, the blaze instantly engulfed the several rebel soldiers nearby.

Then came one after another, dense and unceasing, hurled at the city walls. Compared to the earlier stone bombardment, even more miserable screams echoed across Pu city.

"It's fierce-fire oil!" someone cried out in shock, fear lacing the shout.

Several hundred fire-oil bombs were basically all hurled into the city. The battlements, towers, houses, and large numbers of defenders, caught unprepared, were rapidly engulfed.

Great flames shot into the sky, thick smoke rolled—the clear sky with its sparse clouds was no more. There was an illusion that the entire blue sky had been stained black...

Gazing into the distance at the figures fleeing and wailing amid the sea of fire, Feng Dao on the observation platform could not help but shiver several times. His old face went pale, his lips trembling slightly: "This act offends heaven's harmony—it must be used with great caution!"

Liu Chengyou's expression was also somewhat grave, but at this moment, there was no time for him to indulge in womanly compassion. War was inherently an offense against heaven's harmony; on the battlefield, where lives were gambled, there was no room for soft hands.

This time, the fire-oil bombs achieved their effect basically because of surprise—the defenders had no preparation whatsoever. Otherwise, the results would not have been this good. But clearly, these fire-oil bombs were absolutely a lethal weapon for both attack and defense.

The walls were built of earth and stone, and atop the walls, apart from the towers, parapets, and railings, there was not much combustible material. Though the fire was great, it could not sustain itself long on the walls. They had to seize the opportunity while the rebels, struck by sudden catastrophe, had lost their courage, and break the city.

With the order to attack given, the Han army soldiers, who had also been somewhat stunned, followed yesterday's pattern and advanced in an orderly manner toward Pu city, which was radiating waves of heat.

As it turned out, Liu Chengyou had been too cautious. The fire on the walls indeed did not last long, but likewise, the rebels' resistance was negligible—those still alive had all fled for their lives.

With great ease, the city gates were broken open......