Poor Yan King Zang Di not only chose a very bad time to rebel and raise troops, but also was blind enough to choose a messenger who ate inside and outside to the extreme to send an envoy to the enemy camp.

After returning to the city with the Yan army's Jicheng defense map, according to the requirements of Xia Shuo and others, in order to paralyze Zang Di, and in order to prompt Zang Di to send people out of the city again to contact the Han army, Zang Di personally named Li Scoop, who was the envoy to the Han camp, and made up a lie that Xia said that he had been shaken and bargained, but Zang Tu not only did not have the slightest suspicion when he heard it, but also applauded and laughed: "Okay, things are much easier to do now, at least don't worry about Xia saying that the puppet is fighting to the end with us." ”

"General Li, in the camp of the Zhao thieves, did you find any signs that the Zhao thief army is preparing to attack the city?" Zhang Sheng next to him interjected and asked, "Also, did you see the thug trebuchet that you and the prince talked about before?" How many are there? ”

"Nope." Li Luo didn't need to lie about this matter, he just shook his head and said: "When I entered the camp of the Zhao State Thief Army, the soldiers of the Zhao State Thief Army were still hurrying to build the barracks, and I didn't see the siege weapons prepared, nor did I see the kind of trebuchet I had seen in Licheng before. ”

"That's good." Zhang Sheng breathed a sigh of relief and said: "It's better for the tyrant army to prepare for more time, the later they attack the city, the better, the later they attack the city, the more hope we have to wait for the reinforcements of the Xiongnu Shan Yu." ”

"Even if you come to attack the city now, you won't be afraid." Zang Di replied confidently: "Jicheng is our national capital, the city walls are strong, the city is high and the moats are deep, and the defenders are absolutely sufficient. ”

"King, Jicheng is indeed not afraid of the attack of the tyrant army, but he is afraid that someone will act as an internal response and respond to the attack of the tyrant army." Zhang Sheng Yinyin said: "Especially the tyrant army is famous for its penchant for bribery and rebellion, but I am afraid that it has already started to act." His Majesty suggested that the king had better be careful to guard against these situations. ”

Hearing this, Li Lao, who was a thief, of course the muscles at the corners of his mouth twitched, but Zang Di nodded his head and said: "Of course you have to be careful about this matter, when the tyrant army attacks the city, the widow will let the whole army lead the guards to guard the palace, and be optimistic about the family of the hundred officials, the widow will not believe it, who dares to betray the widow after eating the leopard?!" ”

The speaker is unintentional, the listener is intentional, hearing Zang Di's words, Li Scoop immediately became vigilant, and said secretly: "I have to find a way to solve this problem, otherwise, I am afraid that none of my family members will be able to escape for their lives." ”

The next few days can only be described as dull and tasteless, the scouts of the Han army continued to be active around Jicheng, desperately collecting all kinds of information about the defenders of Jicheng, during which they repeatedly shot books into the city, preaching the counterinsurgency policy of the Han army this time, and clearly declared that they would not harm the innocent people in the city after breaking the city, so as to deal with the rumors of the slaughter of the city that Zang Di deliberately spread, and at the same time desperately rushed to make all kinds of siege weapons, collected suitable stone bombs that were relatively rare on the North China Plain and prepared to throw stones, and tried to make equally important incendiary bombs.

On the sixth day after Li scooped back to the city, under the respective commands of Xia Shuo, Tao Xi and Gongsun and others, the Han army dispatched a large number of auxiliary troops to carry earth and stones, and began to fill the moat of the east, west and north gates of Jicheng, among which the Han army Tao Xi Department was responsible for the west gate of Jicheng, Gongsun Tongsuo was responsible for the north gate of Jicheng, and the Zhao army was responsible for the east gate of Jicheng, and only the south gate of Jicheng with water control protection was ignored. As a result, after the river reclamation began, the defenders of the city of course continued to block the Han soldiers from filling the river with strong bows and crossbows, and the Han crossbowmen were very happy to shoot at each other after the temporary fortifications under the city, and both were killed and wounded.

The situation was reported to Zang Di, and Zang Di, who was old in the battlefield, immediately understood that the Han army was preparing to attack the east, west, and north gates of Jicheng at the same time, and Zang Di, who had a strong confidence in the defense of Jicheng City, was not afraid of this, but he was also a little worried, and said: "Why is the thief army of Zhao State working so hard to fill the river? Are they unwilling to be fooled, and really want to help the army of thugs attack us with all their might? ”

According to the request of Xia Shuo and others, Li Luo also took the opportunity to make a statement, and strongly persuaded Zang Di to send a secret envoy out of the city to contact Xia Shuo to understand Xia Shuo's attitude, Zang Tu adopted, and sent another envoy out of the city that night and sneaked to the Zhao army camp to contact Xia Shuo. As a result, the envoy did not return to the city until the early morning of the next day, and reported that Xia said that the river reclamation was only forced by Tao Xi and Gongsun Tong, and at the same time, Xia said that as long as the Yan army laid down its arms and surrendered to the Zhao army, Xia said that he would not directly execute Zang Di, and would beg for Zang Tu's life in front of Xiang Kang.

"In addition to these, did Xia say anything else?" Zang Di hurriedly asked again, the envoy denied it, and Li Scoop on the other side glanced at the seemingly calm envoy, and sneered in his heart - although he didn't know the inside story, Li Scoop also dared to bet that Xia said that he refused to sever the secret contact with Yan Jun, so there must be something else!

After the hard work of the Han soldiers and the price of casualties, by the evening of the eighth day, the Han soldiers still succeeded in filling in six solid roads that could directly cross the river at the east, west and north gates of Jicheng, which could directly push and pull heavy siege weapons such as ladder trucks and Lu Gong vehicles to the city of Jicheng. The situation was reported to Zang Di's thinker Zhang Sheng, and Zhang Sheng, who had a keen sixth sense, immediately knew that something was wrong, and hurried to the palace to meet Zang Di, wanting to persuade Zang Tu to hurry up and prepare for the guard, and beware of the Han army launching a full-scale attack the next day.

To Zhang Sheng's surprise, although he met Zang Di very smoothly, but when he saw Zang Di, Zang Di was actually drinking and having fun in the palace garden with Zhao She's tail, Zhai Xu and Zang Quan's cronies, and the banquet atmosphere was still very festive, and then Zhang Sheng was curious to know that Zhai Xu and Zhao Shi fell off their tails to visit their families, and happened to meet Zhai Xu's daughter and Zang Quan's son of the same age as the bamboo horse. The two got married on the spot and feasted and drank, Zang Di is also a lively person, and after hearing about it, he also came to join in the fun, so everyone drank it directly in the garden.

Such a coincidence did not make Zhang Sheng suspicious, after the symbolic congratulations, Zhang Sheng just hurriedly persuaded Zang Di to immediately order to prepare for war, but Zhao Shi and Zhai Xu agreed that Zhang Sheng was worrying about the sky, and felt that the Han army could not launch an attack so soon, and Zang Di, who had been flushed with a red face and a thick neck, also had the same opinion, so Zang Di not only did not listen to Zhang Sheng's good words and advice, but also forced Zhang Sheng to sit down and drink, Zhao Shi and Zhai Xu joined forces to persuade him to drink, and soon drunk Zhang Sheng, who was not good at drinking.

After getting drunk, Zhang Sheng was finally carried home from the people, but he didn't know how long he was lying on the bed, Zhang Sheng suddenly heard the sound of gongs in the distance, and had to quickly struggle to get out of bed to understand the situation.

Fortunately, Zang Di's alcohol is very large, last night's drunkenness did not make Zang Di bedridden, after the hundred officials of the Yan Kingdom hurriedly arrived, Zang Di also shouted at the hundred officials of the Yan Kingdom who looked flustered: "Don't panic, don't be afraid, although the tyrant army came suddenly this time, which caught us off guard, but our pre-war is very sufficient, we don't have to wait for the tyrant army to attack the city, we can prepare everything, and we don't need to worry at all!" ”

"I hope so." Zhang Sheng muttered, and then glanced at the silent Zhao Shi and Zhai Xu, a little suspicious in his heart, and said secretly: "What happened last evening, isn't it a bit too coincidental." "Nest of beauties

Zang Di's suspicion is obviously not as serious as Zhang Sheng's, when arranging the city defense, Zang Di still let Zhai Xuan be in charge of the west gate of Jicheng, Wei Man is in charge of the north gate, Zang Di's wife and brother Ying Qi are in charge of the east gate, there are two reserves in the city led by Zhao Shewei and Li Scoop, the main force of the reserve is personally commanded by Zang Di, and the safety of the palace and the hundred officials of Yan State is in charge of Zang Quan.

In this regard, Zhang Sheng was somewhat worried, and said after a little calculation: "King, judging from the information collected before, the one who sent troops to attack the west gate of Jicheng today will definitely be the tyrant general Tao Xi, this puppet has always been known for his fierceness and bravery, and the army under his command is more than the tyrant army led by Gongsun Tong, so if it is not expected, our main battlefield today is likely to be the west gate of Jicheng, His Majesty proposed, you might as well arrange a reserve for Zhai Junzun in advance, and also help him control the city defense points such as the urn city, the city gate and the jack gate by the way, So that Zhai Junzun can free his hands and deal with the siege soldiers of the tyrant army without distraction. ”

After that, Zhang Sheng hurriedly added another sentence and said: "Your Majesty proposes to let the reserve troops under General Li Scoop rush to the Ximen battlefield in advance to help Zhai Junzun defend the city, and ask the king for permission." ”

After listening to Zhang Sheng's analysis and feeling reasonable, Zang Di also nodded, and agreed to this decision on the spot, Li Luo, who cared about the safety of his relatives, heard the bitterness in his heart, but he didn't dare to disobey, so he could only obediently give up his hand and sing the promise, Zhai Xuan glanced at Zhang Sheng intentionally or unintentionally, and then thanked Zang Di for his arrangement.

Of course, the matter is not over, after arranging the city defense affairs, when the hundred officials dispersed, Zang Di took the initiative to say to Zhang Sheng: "Aiqing, the widow is still a little worried about those thug trebuchets who have broken through Puyang and Julu, and I want to go to the scene to see it with my own eyes, I don't know what you think?" ”

"King Shengming, only by knowing oneself and knowing the other can we win a hundred battles, we should go and see the situation of the thug's trebuchet with our own eyes." Zhang Sheng hurriedly complimented, and then said: "King, why don't we all go to the west gate of Jicheng to take a look at the situation, there is the main battlefield, if there is any change in the situation, we can also adjust the deployment on the spot." ”

Zang Di nodded yes, and hurriedly led Zhang Sheng and a team of guards to the west gate of Jicheng to check the situation, but when they boarded the west gate of Jicheng under the banner of Zang Di's Yanwang, more than 20,000 Han soldiers have also finished lining up outside the west gate of Jicheng, and the legendary more than 40 Han army trebuchets have also lined up in front of the battle, and they have begun to slowly press towards the west gate of Jicheng.

After carefully looking at the layout of the Han army and the siege weapons it carried, Zang Di sneered and said: "Except for those trebuchets that I have never seen, there is no surprise, isn't it just that the trench bridge car opens the road, the flying ladder cloud ladder climbs the city, and the city car smashes the door, as long as we fight as usual, we can crack anything with rockets, strip stones and sheep's head stones." ”

"The key is those trebuchets." Zhang Sheng stared at the approaching Han army trebuchet, and said without looking back: "The prince said that on the battlefield of Licheng, he once saw with his own eyes that the trebuchet of the tyrant army could easily smash the city tower, smash the female wall, and smash the city wall directly, so that the tyrant soldiers could quickly ascend the city, I hope our city will not be like this." ”

"A small county town like Licheng is also worthy of being compared with the capital of the widow." Zang Di sneered and said: "It's about to start, the widow must see with his own eyes today, whether the bullshit trebuchet of the tyrant army is as powerful as rumored." ”

As he spoke, a guard rushed to Zang Di's face, presented a letter to Zang Di, and said: "King Qiqi, General Ying Qi just sent someone to send it, saying that it was a handwritten letter written to you by Zhao Guo's thief Xiang Xiashuo, and it was shot at the east gate of Jicheng with an arrow in advance. ”

The big-looking splitter snatched the letter, and when he unfolded it and took a closer look, Zang Di suddenly froze, and Zhang Sheng next to him rushed forward to look at it together, but he only saw it at a glance, because Xia said that the letter was so simple that it couldn't be simpler, and he wrote directly in the vernacular: "Traitor Zang Tu, the previous promise of this prime minister will continue to be valid, and you won't be able to support it for a while, as long as you open the east gate of Jicheng and go out of the city to surrender to me, this prime minister still promises not to kill you, and will promise to beg for your life in front of the emperor." Surrender to me is the best policy! Don't forget! ”

Let Zang Di and Zhang Sheng surprise still behind, and then immediately after, the north gate of Jicheng also sent a Han army on the city wall in advance of the arrow book, the letter is also written by the Han army general Gongsun Tong himself, the content is, "Zang Tu rebel, if you can't hold on, you will go out of the city from the north gate and surrender to me, I promise not to kill you, and I will definitely intercede for you in front of the emperor." In addition, you also know that I am a person sent by Li Zuoche of Guangwujun, and your surrender to me is equivalent to surrendering to Guangwujun, and I will intercede for you with Guangwujun, and Your Majesty will give us a little face. So surrendering me is your best choice, you have to think clearly. ”

After carefully reading the letter signed by Xia Shuo and Gongsun Tong, Zang Di and Zhang Sheng looked at each other, and only after a while did they say in unison: "The tyrant army is so confident? Before the start of the fight, they were already scrambling to persuade us to choose a surrender object? ”

"Be careful, King! The army of thugs has begun to throw stones! ”

The soldier's shouting reminded Zang Di and Zhang Sheng to come back to their senses, and when the two quickly turned their heads to look, they saw that thirty or forty boulders had flown in the sky, whirling and spinning together and smashing towards the west gate tower of Jicheng, and then the boulders fell to the ground one after another, and the city tower that had been repeatedly reinforced by the Yan soldiers was like a house with papier-mite sand, and collapsed in the sound of successive impacts, and in a blink of an eye, it became a ruined ruin, and at the same time, there were many Yan soldiers who could not dodge, and were hit by the boulders, all of which were smashed into a blur of flesh and blood, broken tendons and fractures, The unbelievable screams and exclamations immediately resounded throughout the west gate of Jicheng.

"Is it really that powerful?" Zang Di and Zhang Sheng were pale together, and then they were like ashes together.

There is also something unexpected to Zang Di and Zhang Sheng, after the end of the first round of salvo, the Han army Tao Xi Department did not rush to launch the second round of stone throwing, but sent a knight to carry a strong crossbow that had already been opened, rushed to the west gate of Jicheng, pulled the trigger and shot a crossbow arrow to the city, and then soon, a handwritten letter from Tao Xi, the general of the Han army, was also presented to Zang Di.

The content of Tao Xi's letter is simpler, and he directly writes: "Zang Tu dog thief, have you seen how powerful Naiweng's trebuchet is? Kaesong surrenders to me, I promise not to kill you, so that you can live to see our Majesty begging for mercy, and I will also intercede with His Majesty the Emperor on your behalf to try to save your dog's life! Otherwise, you know the consequences! ”

It was as if a bucket of ice water had been poured on his head, Zang Di suddenly shivered, and then said with a sad face: "These three arrogant puppets have already treated the widow as the meat of the caged bird's beak. ”