Chapter 416: Demolition

The crimson sunset spread across the sky, and the red halo enveloped Weng City.

On a low hill thirty li outside Weng City, Wuyan and his generals looked back.

After they broke through the encirclement, the Great Song army did not pursue.

It seemed they understood that this group of troops was not as easy to provoke as the weak soldiers inside the city.

"I hope the deaths of so many 'able-bodied men' can make them take the bait," a Main General said.

Wuyan sneered; before the Great Song Northern Expeditionary Army had arrived, they had finalized this plan to respond to the Great Song Northern Expedition.

And when the Great Song army arrived at the corresponding positions, they immediately took countermeasures.

Anxi's mission was to block Yan Wang as much as possible.

And his own mission was to feign defeat and lure the enemy deep.

To lead this route of troops commanded by the Emperor of Great Song toward Xian City as much as possible.

If the Emperor of Great Song fell for the trap and arrived at Xian City, they would continue to lure the enemy toward Yongzhou.

Now it only remained to be seen if this route of troops would take the bait.

If they did not take the bait, then it would be a bit troublesome.

However, with the help of the Northern Di, he believed that in this war, they would not lose and would certainly deal a heavy blow to Great Song.

"In any case, those who die are all Song People, there is nothing to regret." Wuyan snorted and reined in his horse, heading north; he was going to Xian City.

Weng City.

Zhao Heng, accompanied by Yang Feng and the Second Prince, walked slowly through the city gate.

After the Great Song soldiers charged into the city, the Xiliang soldiers surrendered in droves.

In just two hours, the Great Song soldiers had gained control of the entire city.

"Father Emperor, your son believes we should press the advantage, rest for two days, and then march on Xian City; in this way, Qinzhou can be taken." Looking at the Xiliang soldiers being escorted by Great Song soldiers, the Second Prince was in high spirits.

He believed that it was because of his strategy that Weng City had been taken so easily.

Therefore, his confidence increased greatly, and he wanted to further seize the right to speak for the Northern Expeditionary Army from Yang Feng's hands.

The great victory at Weng City made Zhao Heng equally spirited.

Now he had the same thought as the Second Prince; Yan Wang had won victory after victory, relying on Artillery.

Since that was the case, he might not be unable to win.

Thinking of this, he could not help but feel tempted.

The credit for recovering Qinzhou and Yongzhou was surely greater than just a single Jinzhou.

"Your Majesty, in this general's view, I fear this is a Xiliang ruse. This general had these Xiliang soldiers interrogated; they are all new recruits who were recently enlisted. This is not right." Yang Feng always felt that this victory had come too easily.

"My seventy-thousand-strong army is on a Northern Expedition; Xiliang's military strength must be stretched thin, so recruiting new soldiers is perfectly normal. General Yang, are you being too cautious?" The Second Prince glanced sideways at Yang Feng, feeling that this old general was becoming more of an eyesore the more he looked at him.

Yang Feng ignored the Second Prince; he only wanted this Northern Expedition to go smoothly, and even if he were slighted by the Second Prince and others, it did not matter to him.

Seeing Zhao Heng remain silent, he knew that this Emperor was eager to establish his own military merits.

He said: "Your Majesty, at the very least we must wait for His Highness Yan Wang and the Xiao Family troops; only then will it be safe and secure."

Yang Feng mentioned Yan Wang.

The Second Prince's expression became even more displeased, and he said: "Father Emperor, General Yang has always spoken for Yan Wang in the court; your son believes he is afraid we will steal Yan Wang's credit."

"Second Highness, the Northern Expedition is no child's play; how can you repeatedly mislead the Emperor? This is bound to cause disaster." Hearing this, Yang Feng could finally hold back no longer and shouted a reprimand.

Zhao Xu's face turned purple; he was the Second Prince of Great Song, how could he tolerate the scolding of a declining old general like Yang Feng? "You are the one bewitching Father Emperor! Father Emperor has taken Weng City, yet from beginning to end you have not had a single good word to say. Is it only when Yan Wang wins a victory that you, Yang Feng, are satisfied?"

"Enough!" Zhao Heng shouted, "This Northern Expedition requires us to work together; how can there be such bickering?"

Seeing Zhao Heng lose his temper, the two closed their mouths and said no more.

With a snort, Zhao Heng said: "Yan Wang has indeed performed meritorious service during this period, but does that mean Great Song's wars must all be fought by him?"

Pausing for a moment, he continued: "Even if most of Weng City were new recruits, it is enough to see Xiliang's current weakness. Furthermore, speed is the essence of war; we should take Xian City before the Northern Di reinforcements arrive, and then use Xian City as a fortress to resist the Northern Di."

Looking toward the east, he continued: "Of course, it would be best if the three routes of troops could arrive at Xian City simultaneously. If they cannot, it does not matter if the central army takes a step forward first; we shall just camp and wait."

Then he said: "Yang Feng, you immediately send scouts to contact Yan Wang and the Xiao Family troops, to investigate their current battle situation, and then we shall make a decision."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Yang Feng replied in the affirmative.

Clearly, Zhao Heng had once again made a middle-ground choice.

As for whether the central army would wait or continue to advance, it would depend on whether Yan Wang had taken Weicheng at this moment.

At this moment, Weicheng.

A five-meter-wide road had been filled in across all three sides of the moat.

Over these past few days, although the Artillerymen had continuously bombarded with Mortars, the Xiliang soldiers still risked their lives to attack.

The soldiers responsible for filling the moat suffered hundreds of casualties.

At the same time, the bombardment of the city walls by the Artillery had not stopped.

"Your Highness, now we can try to blow open the city wall."

At this moment, the blue bricks on the outer perimeter of the Weicheng city wall were constantly being smashed and falling off due to the Artillery, revealing the yellow earth inside.

Zhao Xu nodded; he knew about the time Chang Wei used a Gunpowder Barrel to blow open the city wall when attacking Tongguan.

This time, when attacking Weicheng, Chang Wei similarly advised him to use this method to blast the city wall.

Otherwise, relying solely on Artillery, it would be impossible to collapse the city wall without ten days or half a month.

"Just do as you say," he said to Chang Wei.

Now a road had been filled in across the moat, and the soldiers could pass.

Replying in the affirmative, Chang Wei ordered the Artillerymen to use Mortars to cover the soldiers.

At the same time, he ordered the soldiers responsible for the demolition to take action.

At this moment, more than ten soldiers were seen holding shields, while over twenty soldiers carried digging tools such as iron shovels, spades, and crowbars, heading toward the city wall damaged by the Artillery.

The shield-bearing soldiers raised their shields to protect the other soldiers underneath, and the other soldiers began to widen the hole so that the Gunpowder Barrel could be inserted.

The movement here was naturally seen clearly by the Xiliang soldiers.

Regarding why Yan Wang was only bombarding this section of the city wall, An Xi had long since calculated the reason in his heart.

It was nothing more than wanting to blast this section of the city wall until it collapsed.

However, he had originally thought that this would take at least ten days or half a month.

Thus, he ordered the soldiers to pile up Sandbags, stones, and other items behind this section of the city wall.

Upon learning of the new actions of the Yanzhou soldiers, a bad premonition suddenly arose in his heart.

"Stop them immediately," An Xi shouted.

Receiving his order, the Xiliang soldiers immediately used Firearm and Arrow to attack the soldiers under the city wall.

But they were immediately met with a bombardment of Cannonball.

Under the city wall, the Wangfu Army soldiers kept digging while braving the Xiliang Arrow and stone projectiles.

Once a soldier was injured, someone immediately crossed the moat to replace them.

Half an hour later, a perfect hole appeared in the city wall.

The soldiers carried twelve Gunpowder Barrel and rushed over, stuffing them into the city wall.

An Xi's eyes narrowed; he knew what those were.

Yan Wang's men had used them once at Tongguan.

He descended the city wall and immediately deployed troops and generals to deal with the crisis.

Just at this moment, a loud "Boom—" was heard, and then smoke and dust obscured the sky as a section of the city wall collapsed with a crash.

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