Chapter 109: The General Attack

A great army presses upon the city.

The people within the city are still filled with panic.

The royal family has already issued a warning decree. Third Prince Halike, with the support of Queen Reguli, denounced the evil nature of Seventh Prince Hemuti and denounced the Temple Army for disregarding the royal family and inciting the people to rebel. Loulan has belonged to the royal family since ancient times; mindful of the Temple's universal salvation, they allowed the Temple to preach within Loulan's borders. Who would have thought the Temple would grow arrogant from favor, commit all manner of evil, and raise an army to rebel? Their hearts deserve to be executed.

Reguli first stripped the Seventh Prince of his status as a royal heir and convicted him of treason.

She then declared the Temple an illegal religion, to be expelled from within Loulan's borders.

Once these national decrees were issued, the entire city was in an uproar.

After all, there were many people who had believed in the Temple over the years, but facing the Loulan Guard Army armed with sharp weapons, everyone still chose to stand on the side of the royal family—after all, staying alive is what matters! The thoughts of these people were simple: wait and see if the Temple Army could break through Kucheng. If they could, they would rise up in anger and be believers again. If they could not, they would honestly live their lives following the Loulan royal family; wouldn't that be pleasant?

Therefore.

These past few days, the streets of Kucheng in Loulan have changed from their former prosperity to a scene of desolation. Most shops have ceased business, and the merchants have organized their own armed forces to assist the Guard Army in maintaining stability.

Queen Reguli and Third Prince Halike appointed Reheman as Great General and appointed Xiang Zheng as Protector of the State—although he has no real power, he still needs a standing identity for Liu Zheng. Afterward, at Liu Zheng's suggestion, Loulan entered a wartime state. In a wartime state, all officials are temporarily promoted by one rank! If the wartime state is lifted, the promoted official rank will be maintained as is. In other words, as long as this battle is won, everyone will be promoted by one rank!

This greatly stabilized the hearts of those in the court, so there was no need to worry about internal instability.

However, what gave Liu Zheng a headache was...

Looking across the entire Loulan Guard Army, the only general who could be brought out was Reheman. As for the others... they had all been taken away by the Seventh Prince. Seventh Prince Hemuti was himself a skilled fighter, brave and adept at war, and held great prestige in the army. Once he rebelled, many of his subordinates followed him.

No generals to use!

But fortunately, the discipline of the Loulan Army has always been good, with strict systems and rigid hierarchies. That is to say, they follow orders, and that is enough.

Looking out.

The Temple Army over there has already finished setting up camp, an endless expanse that looks like an ocean of people.

Reheman gasped: "Young Master, it seems this is not a mob of rabble!"

Liu Zheng also looked solemn and nodded: "No matter what, we must hold for three days!"

"Yes!"

At this moment, Hemuti came galloping on a War Horse, followed by several generals. A hundred paces outside the city gate, he laughed loudly: "Young Master Xiang, trust you have been well since we last met!"

Reheman said angrily: "Traitor Hemuti, everyone has the right to execute you!"

"Just by relying on you?"

Hemuti laughed coldly: "Today I bring an army of two hundred thousand to trample your Loulan! The royal family is muddled, the Temple brings universal salvation; it is time for Loulan to change dynasties!"

After saying this, he took down the Long Bow from his back, pulled it into a full moon, and with a 'Zeng!' sound, that arrow flew over terrifyingly.

"Young Master, watch out!"

Qin Zhangfeng, who was beside Liu Zheng, shouted angrily. The arrow came with fierce momentum; it was too late to draw his sword, so he could only push Liu Zheng. Liu Zheng was also terrified in his heart and stumbled. That arrow stuck into the wall right behind the position where he had just been standing, buried extremely deep!

Everyone was shocked.

Hemuti laughed arrogantly: "Listen to my advice, Loulan is not a place for you to stay. Surrender early, and I will allow you to roll back to Yinzhou!"

Liu Zheng watched with cold eyes.

As soon as Hemuti returned, the first large-scale attack began. The Temple Army's battle cries shook the sky as they surged from all directions. The Kucheng Guard Army faced a formidable enemy and dared not be the least bit negligent. Under Reheman's orders, arrows and rolling stones descended from the sky, beating back the first wave of the Temple Army and leaving corpses and remains all over the ground. This was the first time Liu Zheng had witnessed this scene of a thousand armies and ten thousand horses, with corpses strewn across the field.

He knew that the people in this first wave were merely cannon fodder; what followed would be the Temple Army's continuous attacks.

By the second wave, the third wave, and the fourth wave, because of the cover provided by the corpses of those in front, the Temple Army had already begun to reach the city walls. Some siege equipment was also being pushed forward in an orderly manner: Scaling Ladders and Catapults.

Only then did Liu Zheng personally feel the cruelty of this war for the first time.

Although this first day of resistance barely held off the Temple's attack, the Loulan Guard Army also suffered significant battle losses. Furthermore, the consumption of arrows and stones was immense. The Temple Army even had a small squad that used a Scaling Ladder to climb the city wall.

Smoke from signal fires was everywhere; inside and outside the city, there were battle cries and screams.

The enemy's Catapult stones and Rockets fell into the city from time to time, leaving the common people in a daze.

Throughout Kucheng, people hurried back and forth.

Some were rescuing the wounded, some were replenishing military supplies, some were putting out fires, and some were hurriedly moving house because their homes had collapsed.

Reheman was issuing orders everywhere, busy to the point of exhaustion.

Only at night did he have time to go up to the city tower again, panting as he came to Liu Zheng's side: "Young Master, the Scout has already found the location where the enemy stores their grain and fodder, but it is heavily guarded and very difficult to break through!"

Liu Zheng nodded.

This was also within his expectations. If Loulan wants to win this time, they must find a Method regarding the enemy's grain and fodder! The daily consumption of grain and fodder by an army of two hundred thousand is no small amount. If they could destroy their granary, the great army would naturally collapse without a fight.

But if they cannot, as the Temple Army from other cities within Loulan's borders continuously transports grain and fodder over.

These two hundred thousand people could starve Kucheng to death just by laying siege!

It seems this Hemuti is indeed a skilled fighter, protecting the granary well. It left the Suicide Squad that Liu Zheng prepared unable to make any breakthrough.

"Young Master, the enemy's momentum is fierce; I fear we won't even be able to hold for three days!"

Reheman said anxiously.

Liu Zheng said calmly: "Let the soldiers rest well, but do not forget to keep watch. Let me think."

Although Reheman was anxious, he could only accept the order and leave.

Grain and fodder...

Grain and fodder...

Liu Zheng stood on the wall, looking at the continuous camp, pondering a strategy to defeat the enemy in his mind, and also thinking about classic battles in history. Burning the connected camps? This idea is certainly good, but as it stands, it is still unrealistic.

Loulan is located in a desert and has few plants itself, so there is not much combustible material. The effect of a fire attack would not be great, and the military tents are mostly independent, making it easy to cut off the source of the fire.

Water Submerging Seven Armies?

Suddenly, Liu Zheng's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly called Reheman over again.

"Has the Young Master come up with a strategy?"

Liu Zheng smiled: "Brother Re, how is the flood prevention in Kucheng?"

Reheman was stunned and smiled bitterly: "Young Master must be joking! Loulan is arid year-round, so where would there be any talk of flood prevention?"

Liu Zheng shook his head and emphasized: "I mean, if the Peacock River floods, can Kucheng withstand it?"

Reheman shuddered: "Young Master, what do you mean?"

Liu Zheng brought over a map, pointed to the north of Kucheng, and said calmly: "This here is Tianshan. Kucheng is at the southern foothills of Tianshan, and the Peacock River is simply the melted water from Tianshan... So, Brother Rehe, have you ever thought about what the effect would be if we used great fires to melt the water, closed the sluice gates to store the water, and then opened the gates to release it?"

Reheman's eyes widened as he listened.

How could people in a place like Loulan, which suffered from year-round drought, ever think of such a strategy?

He took a deep breath: "We can divert the Peacock River and make the floodwaters rush directly toward the enemy camp! The terrain of Kucheng is slightly higher, and the enemy camp is in a low-lying area!"

Then he said excitedly: "In this way, even if we cannot drown many people, their grain and fodder will certainly become moldy because of it, and the siege can be lifted!"

Liu Zheng laughed loudly: "That is exactly it!"

Reheman said: "This matter is not difficult; Kucheng itself still has channels, we only need to make slight modifications!"

Liu Zheng was overjoyed: "Why not go quickly? Remember, you must use people you can trust!"

Having received this brilliant plan, Reheman hurried away.

That night, he organized fifty thousand citizens within the city and went overnight to the southern foothills of Tianshan, seven li north of Kucheng. Tianshan had always been the Mother Mountain of Loulan; all the water consumed by the entirety of Loulan basically flowed down from Tianshan, and the Mother River, the Peacock River, was even more so the water melted from the ice mountains. Therefore, the people of Loulan still held deep feelings for Tianshan.

Fifty thousand people were divided into two waves.

One wave was responsible for modifying the channels to store water.

One wave was responsible for burning ice to obtain water!

Although the workload was immense, there was, after all, a large amount of labor. By the time dawn arrived, the embankment upstream of Kucheng had already begun to store water rapidly.

And at this time, the Temple Army's second day of attacks also arrived on schedule.

……

"Lord Temple Envoy, good news, good news!"

"The Temple Army is already outside the city, attacking the city incessantly, and three gates of the Kucheng south city wall have been breached!"

"Have they attacked the city?"

Muzhade asked excitedly.

"Not yet, the Guard Army is resisting strongly, and they have retreated back..."

Muzhade looked regretful, but was still very happy: "Haha, that will be soon, soon! Hahahaha, Lord Mire, do you see? Loulan will soon be mine, and your Islam will soon become history!"

He held a glass of wine in his hand and looked mockingly at Mire, who was to the side.

Mire smiled faintly: "Muzhade, if you were not afraid of defeat in your heart, why would you still keep my life? You know I am someone Loulan wants, so by keeping me, you can exchange it for your own life. You already anticipated defeat, why bother putting on a brave front?"

"Audacious!"

"Shut your mouth!"

A whip lashed fiercely across Mire's face; Mire was already a bloody mess, yet he did not even let out a single groan.

Muzhade chuckled: "Look, I invited Lord Mire over to drink wine and discuss the situation, yet you insist on bringing trouble upon yourself; why bother? Haha, why not offer your camel caravan to me? When I become the King of Loulan, if you are willing to submit to my religion, this Temple Envoy position will be yours!"

"Lord Temple Envoy, good news, good news!"

"Hahahaha……"

……

During the second day of resistance, the Loulan side suffered heavy losses.

The war drums shook the heavens.

On this day, the Temple Army brought out Wooden War Chariots specifically designed to withstand rolling stones and arrows. Behind the war chariots, Temple Army crossbowmen were equipped. These war chariots were tall and mighty; if they reached the foot of the city wall, they could even be used as Scaling Ladders.

At this time, the Loulan side used hot oil for fire attacks, but they could only cause a small degree of damage to these types of war chariots.

It was these war chariots that caused the three gates of Kucheng to almost fall into the hands of the enemy. Fortunately, Qin Zhangfeng and Reheman killed their way out at the critical moment, sacrificing the lives of several thousand Loulan Guard Army soldiers, only then managing to recapture the three gates and fortify them with strongholds.

"Young Master, can we launch the water attack now?"

Reheman was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

Liu Zheng shook his head calmly: "Tonight will suffice!"

"But, but..."

Reheman wanted to say that with the Temple Army's fearless attacks, the morale of the Loulan Guard Army had already begun to waver, and he feared they would struggle to hold on for even one more day.

"It must be at night!"

Liu Zheng also knew the matter was of great importance and said coldly: "Pass down the order: those who are passive or slack in battle shall be executed without mercy!"

"Yes!"

At this moment.

The one-hundred-thousand-strong Temple Army shouted in unison, war horses neighed, and the heavens and earth changed color both inside and outside Kucheng.

The Temple Army was actually about to launch a full-scale assault!