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Volume 4 Midstream Chapter 159 Drinking Horses and Kong Youyi-1

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    Under the rays of the setting sun, thousands of years of snow on the remaining veins of the green ridge reflected the colorful colors, and the wild grass on the plain undulated like golden waves.  In the evening, both sides of Dawan City, who had fought hard for a day, called back their troops and stopped fighting. The city walls made of rammed loess reflected a golden light, making this ancient city at the western foot of the Coong Ridge appear brilliant and peaceful. However, if people  If you look carefully, the red and black blood stains are particularly eye-catching, indicating that this is a bloody battlefield.  Black smoke rose from both inside and outside the city. Although Emperor Chen Xuan of Yuande was besieged by rebels for several months, he still had benevolence towards his subjects and specifically allowed the attackers to collect the corpses between battles. The ground was already covered with blood.  Soaked soft by blood, the exhausted soldiers slowly dragged the corpses, piled them up like a hill not far away, then poured kerosene on them and burned them.  More than a dozen priests belonging to different sects stood around, leading believers to recite prayers for the deceased. The desolate voices dissipated with the wind.  The same situation also happened in the city. In order to prevent the spread of epidemics, the bodies of the war dead were transported to several designated places and burned to ashes. Thick smoke rose, and there was silence inside and outside the city.  Such a situation fell into Chen Xuan's eyes, making his heart very heavy.  "It is my fault that I, the people of Daxia, did not go to expand the territory, but instead killed each other here." "How can we blame your majesty for the rebels' wild ambitions!" Zhang Yingda, the deputy general of Longya Army, said solemnly, "It depends on the situation.  , the rebels won't be able to hold on much longer." He took out a letter from his arms and presented it to Chen Xuan, "This was shot from below today, his tone was much softer, I don't want my minister's head," he said disdainfully.  "Humph".  Since being trapped in Dawan City, the rebels have released many falcons, and their own pigeon messages cannot be transmitted in. They can only speculate on the situation outside from the enemy's words.  The rebels' previous surrender letters mentioned that the lives of Chen Xuan and the royal family could be saved, but they required him to make up his mind to kill the "villains" and "sycophants" around him, and Zhang Yingda was among them.  Although it is very disgusting, everyone knows that it is a divorce plan.  The surrender document sent by the rebels today no longer mentions the "villain", and Zhang Yingda is not afraid to speculate on the other party with the greatest malice.  "The situation in the south is probably tight for the rebels." He said optimistically, "General Zhang and Xu, once the generals return to attack, the rebels will be unable to bear it." "Not necessarily." Chen Xuan thought, but he didn't  After saying this, he smiled and said: "This is a confrontation between two sides. Whoever breathes a sigh of relief will lose." He knew the situation on the Western Front very well. Not to mention that the cannibals would not allow the Western Expeditionary Army to return calmly.  Along the way, they passed through thousands of miles of barren land. Under the tight situation in the rear, the supplies for the army to return to the division were problematic.  However, at this time, under the city wall, the rebel battalions had already had dinner and were once again lining up to attack the city. In recent days, the rebels' attack on the city was far more vigorous than before. Often after a day of fierce fighting, there would be mountains of corpses under the city.  More than ten days ago, the rebel siege heavy artillery was also transported to the city. The round-the-clock shelling suddenly increased the casualties in the city.  Zhang Yingda also sent Longya elite cavalry out of the city to attack at night, but the rebels built a lot of low walls and trenches outside the city, especially the artillery forts, which were protected like iron barrels by firecrackers.  Hundreds of cavalrymen were all killed, but they still could not break through the last line of defense.  The Longya Army suffered heavy losses in this battle, which made His Majesty extremely distressed. After this battle, Chen Xuan never allowed Zhang Yingda to send cavalry out of the city again.  "The men of Daxia did not die on the battlefield of opening up the territory, but they bled needlessly in the interior. Second brother, you are really wrong this time." Looking at the black smoke rising inside and outside the city wall  , Chen Xuan's eyes became colder and colder.  The undercurrent in the Xia Kingdom has been turbulent for a long time, and he has made some preparations. However, when the situation turned violent, he never expected that the masterminds were actually brothers.  Since the founding of the country, due to the existence of the National Protectorate and various other factors, the close relatives of the Xia Kingdom's royal family have been very united, and there has never been any fratricide, let alone rebellion.  Even the move to depose the emperor decades ago was led by the Protectorate and was not the original intention of the royal family.  This was also the main reason why Chen Xuan had no doubts about Chen Ang, the commander of the Tiger Wing Army.  Chen Xuan, the emperor, will personally conquer the river this time, and will even ask Chen Ang to guard the heart of the river after the army sets out, secretly telling him to keep track of the movements of the big families in the river.  Nowadays, the history books have repeatedly revealed that the feud with the Shu royal family happened among the Chen family of the Xia Kingdom, which had always been harmonious. What Chen Xuan felt in his heart was more than just heartache.  Outside the city, behind the well-protected artillery fort is a heavily fortified camp. According to the instructions compiled by Zhao Xingde, this is the standard location for the battlefield headquarters.  "Tell me now, I don't want you to guess for me, what does Zhao Xingde want to do?!" A deep voice ordered in the central military tent, "Tell Kang Hanzhi, what I want to hear is what he did?!" 1  The prince with a golden robe and a golden crown, with a broad face and forehead, is in a high position. If Chen Xuan were here, he would definitely recognize him, it is Chen Ang, King of Yong.    The generals lined up on both sides, looking at Chen Ang with awe. If he succeeds in seizing the throne, he will no longer be a lame emperor restricted or even controlled by the Protectorate, but a powerful ruler like Emperor Qin and Han Wu.  .  Emperor Yuande Chen Xuan was trapped in Dawan City, and Chen Ang was only one step away from his throne.  However, at this moment, there was no trace of pride on Chen Ang's face, instead it was terrifyingly gloomy.  On May 21st, Zhao Xingde captured Tiemenguan, and the guard camp expanded to 60,000 people. King Kang, who stayed in the river, issued a mobilization order to double the army and recruited 120,000 troops. They were named the rebel army and were led by Kang, King Kang's brother.  Hanzhi personally led the troops to attack Zhao Xingde, bringing with him enough artillery and other siege weapons.  Chen Ang originally thought that this time he would be able to defeat the Wenwen camp that You Binggong put together with a thunderous force, and solve the worries in the river.  However, more than a month has passed, and the rebel army has not yet arrived at Tiemenguan, and Zhao Xingde did not wait honestly to be beaten. The guarding camp quickly passed through the Alan Valley, daring to capture Alan again before the rebel army arrived.  Gushang City in the north of the valley.  Gushang City is the key to the northern end of the Alan Mountain Tunnel. If the Wenwen camp goes further north, it can not only penetrate directly into the capital of Kang State along the post road in the west of Alan Mountain, but also change its direction and attack other large cities in the river.  For a moment, the vibration in the river was greater than the fall of Tiemenguan. After all, the collapse of Tiemenguan was separated by the Alan Mountain Tunnel and the Gushang City Pass. Now Gushang City was not protected, just waiting for the gate to be opened.  With the power of the Huwenxing camp to capture two cities in a row, which city in the river could stop them?  Kang Hanzhi's army against the rebels was still on the way. When he heard the news of the fall of Gushang City, he immediately stopped marching.  Chen Ang did not expect that before the armies of Zhang Shanfu and Xu Wenhu moved, Zhao Xingde's small force could turn the river upside down, but Prince Kang and his son who were left behind in the river had nothing to do with him.  Dawan could not be captured for a long time, which made Chen Ang very angry. Not only could Kang not be able to capture Zhao Xingde's partial army, but he was also full of fear of him. Kang Hanzhi's military book was full of speculations about Zhao Xingde's next move.  Action, which city he might attack, without mentioning how to send troops to destroy it. If it weren't for the overall situation in Hezhong and the help of the nobles of Kang State, Chen Ang almost wanted to behead this cowering guy immediately.  "You want to add another hundred thousand troops?" Chen Ang's eyes widened when he saw the back.  "Zhao Xingde only has a total of 60,000 troops. He has 120,000 troops. How can he still think he has too few troops?" Chen Ang couldn't suppress his anger and angrily shook his military book: "General, you are afraid of the enemy like a tiger. You are not ashamed of it."  "Your Highness the Regent, calm down," a general came out to persuade him, "Kang Han is acting in a mature and prudent manner." This man's name is Shi Tianbo, his speech is no different from that of China, but his face is tall and deep-eyed.  , brown hair and blue eyes, was from a wealthy family in the state of Kang. He was the leader of the generals of the state of Kang who served under Chen Ang.  Although Shi Tianbo was not a subordinate of King Kang Kang Hengming, he was still a member of the local forces in Hezhong. Standing up to defend the Kang family at this time also had a vague intention of winning the hearts and minds of many Kang generals.  Sure enough, after he spoke, several generals from the Kang family came to speak out. Although they did not come up with any brilliant ideas, their words were intended to protect the Kang family.  If Chen Ang wanted to pursue the case, he would have to be wary of two points.  Chen Ang stared at Shi Tianbo and others, his fingers gently rubbing the calluses on his palms, which were sharpened by holding swords for many years.  Everyone around Chen Ang knew that this was a sign of his extreme anger. The next moment, he would probably swing his sword to kill someone.  However, this time, he took a long breath and suppressed the anger in his heart.  "Okay, now that everyone has made it clear for Kang Hanzhi, the lonely king will temporarily send him the crime of fearing the enemy and not advancing for a month." Chen Ang looked at the generals around him with chilling eyes. Shi Tianbo and others couldn't help but shake their heads.  Look down, the regent has been in charge of the Tiger Wing Army for a long time, and there are countless people in the old army. He has more than just the power in the river. "In one month," he said coldly, "Kang Hanzhi must send troops to deal with Zhao Xingde, and we must not let him  He can't establish a foothold in the river, let alone collect grain and fodder to support Zhang Shanfu and Xu Wenhu's army returning eastward!" Chen Ang also heard a little about Zhao Xingde's management of Henan and Hebei in the Song Dynasty in Dunhuang.  This is what Chen Ang is most worried about. There is thousands of miles of Gobi between the river and the country of food. If the food and grass supplies cannot be solved, the armies of Xu Wenhu and Zhang Shanfu can only sit back and watch the changes in the river. In case Zhao Xingde gets enough food from the river, he said  Maybe we can pick up the army and return.  Chen Ang gave a loud "hum" and waved to signal the end of the issue.  "Today we will continue to besiege on all sides, with Nancheng as the main attack. Who is willing to lead his troops to ascend first?" Dawan City is small but strong. It has been one of the many fortified cities in the river since ancient times. In the past, its only weakness was that there was no water source in the city, so water needed to be obtained from outside the city.  .  Before Chen Xuan visited Hezhong, he secretly arranged to dig a deep well in Dayuan City, so that he no longer relied on water sources outside the city.  There were originally more than 100,000 residents in Dawan City. After Chen Xuan entered Dawan,One thing is to drive all the old, weak, women and children in the city out of the city, which can be said to be invulnerable.  Therefore, although the armies in the river led by Chen Ang had an absolute advantage in terms of strength, they had been besieging the city for several months, and with the help of iron barrels and huge cannons, they still could not capture the city.  They can only rely on food shortages and continuous siege to consume the defenders' strength and morale.
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