Looking at the military formation of the Zhao army getting closer and closer, and looking at the soldiers of the Zhao army who were like the waves of the sea, the Han soldiers in the city suddenly turned pale, and many soldiers and young men trembled.

At this moment, there were more than 10,000 soldiers in the Zhao army outside Beicheng, in addition to 10,000 soldiers, there were also thousands of baggage teams and young men recruited from the surrounding towns and villages. The mighty Zhao army slowly approached Gaoling City.

"Zhao Xun is here? How can it be? Zhong Linyu rubbed his eyes and exclaimed. Looking at the approaching army of the Zhao army, the banner of the Chinese army fluttering in the army told him that becoming the commander of the Zhao army was not any general of the Zhao army, but Zhao Xun, the monarch of the Zhao State.

"General, the commander of the Zhao army turned out to be Zhao Xun's house, it seems that they are ready to take this city with all their might." The generals and colonels beside Zhong Linyu also exclaimed in unison.

Zhao Xunke, who was in the middle of the Zhao army's formation, did not give the defenders of Gaoling City a chance to continue to sigh, waved his right arm, and said in a cold voice: "Order the whole army, attack in a big way, today, we will have lunch in the city." ”

In order not to let the catapults in the city bring too many casualties to themselves, the Zhao army was still as always, the cavalry was divided into several teams, ran diagonally into the city wall, and swept the city head with cavalry. Afterwards, the foot soldiers and young men rushed forward with ladders to get past the effective range of the defenders' catapults in the shortest possible time. After that, another group of cavalry rushed diagonally to cover the advance of the footmen. In addition, after the siege procession, Zhao Jun's bed crossbow queue also began to prepare. However, the crossbow arrows the thickness of these babies' arms were bound with narrow sky-shattering thunderbolts.

"The whole army is ready, the archers come forward! Catapult ready! ”

"Fire oil...... Rolling Wood Thunderstone Ready! ”

The fierce siege battle began, although there was the cavalry of the Zhao army to cover it, but the catapults above the city head still brought a lot of obstacles to the Zhao army. However, this still could not stop the speed of Zhao's advance. Although the soldiers carrying the ladder were scattered, they still paid seven or eight hundred casualties. In particular, being hit by a boulder projected by a catapult is basically a certain death.

After paying hundreds of casualties, the siege soldiers of the northern city leaned the ladder against the walls of the northern city. Half of the casualties were the effects of the defenders' catapults. However, the defenders also suffered more than 400 casualties under the fierce counterattack of the Zhao army. However, after the Zhao soldiers set up the ladder at the head of the city, the defenders' catapults could not pose a threat to these close soldiers.

In this regard, Zhong Linyu and the Han army defenders were helpless, and the gap in strength was not something that could be made up by the advantages of the city and the strength of the equipment. In addition, the morale of the defenders was far inferior to that of the Zhao army. Especially now that the four gates of Gaoling City have been attacked by the Zhao army, none of the city walls, all the soldiers of the Zhao army have gone to battle, and there are only more than 2,000 people, and the rest are all young and strong.

And these young men are good to fight against the wind and resist the invasion, but against the Zhao army, they are indeed far inferior to the soldiers. In particular, Zhao Jun's ubiquitous arrows and bed crossbows made the defenders of the city miserable.

"Fortunately, we have transferred more than half of the defenders, otherwise, we will not be able to approach the city wall even if we pay four or five thousand casualties." Zhao Xun couldn't help but sigh as he watched the boulders that flew out from time to time fall in front of the military formation.

Liu Wenqi on the side also nodded and said: "In addition, my Great Zhao's system also attracts the people in the city, otherwise, how can these young people just care about hiding and not want to fight to the death?" The Han army even used the baggage soldiers in charge of the catapults to fight with guns, which also showed that their forces were already stretched. ”

For the defenders, more importantly, they have not rested for a day and a night. Although they rested several times intermittently last night, each time they were awakened by Zhao Jun just after falling asleep, so it was better not to rest. Therefore, although the war is going on now, the Han soldiers are still yawning and weak.

"The king, the minister thinks that he can persuade him to surrender first. Now the Han army above the city is not only exhausted, but also afraid of many people and unwilling to continue to hold on to this situation. If persuasion fails, it can also disintegrate his heart. Seeing that the side of the Beicheng city wall had already leaned on the cloud ladder of the memorization frame, Liu Wenqi said in a deep voice.

"King, although what Lord Liu said is reasonable, but our army is currently attacking the city, if the operation is suspended, it will inevitably put the foot soldiers under the city wall into a crisis, do you want to fight first?" Seeing that Zhao Xun was a little moved, the deputy general of the army immediately said.

Liu Wenqi said with a smile: "It is not to let the army withdraw and stop all operations, but to suspend the attack, and the cavalry continues to march around the city, but the enemy counterattacks, all of them counterattack." And we, on the other hand, directly persuaded us to surrender outside the city tower, and by the way, we also broke the fighting spirit of the Han soldiers who defended the city. ”

"That's okay, although we have the advantage, but it's better not to fight or not to fight, and it's better to avoid casualties." Zhao Xun nodded in agreement.

Randomly, Zhao Xun sent people to go straight to the outside of the city tower to persuade him to surrender, promising that if the defenders surrendered, they would be exempted, and the people in the city would also enjoy the Zhao army system and reduce taxes. At the same time, he also informed the soldiers defending the city that Hangu Pass, a dangerous pass in the west of Xiyongzhou, had been occupied by the Zhao army, and the Zhao army had gone straight to Chang'an from Hangu Pass. If they do not surrender, all the soldiers who defend the city and those who are enemies of the Zhao army will be killed. In addition, Zhao Jun also promised that those who could not be killed would be rewarded with a heavy reward.

If it is said that the persuasion to surrender and exempt the crime makes the generals and soldiers who defend the city excited, the reduction and exemption of taxes will make the hearts of the young people above the city move. The news of the loss of Hangu Pass frightened the defenders. Of course, at this moment, Zhao Xun didn't know that Hangu Pass had fallen into his hands. However, Zhao Xun also knew that it was only a matter of time before Hangu Pass fell into his own hands.

Zhong Linyu, the defender of Gaoling City, saw that the Zhao army had slowed down the attack, although he had not yet figured out what was going on, he immediately ordered the defenders to counterattack, but unfortunately, the current defenders wished that the Zhao army would slow down the attack, they had a good rest, and they were not in a hurry to counterattack. Similarly, after Zhong Linyu ordered a fake counterattack, the Zhao army, which had just slowed down its attack trend, immediately became violent. As a last resort, even if there is Zhong Linyu's military order, the soldiers below are reluctant to come forward. Besides, the Zhao army slowed down the attack and hadn't even landed in the city yet, which was a good thing for the defenders, so why did they go and provoke them?

Seeing that the soldiers under his command were like this, Zhong Linyu was helpless, and he also knew that the soldiers under his command were as tired as himself, so he did not continue to persecute, but wanted to see what Zhao Jun wanted to do.

After King Zhao's envoy arrived outside the city gate tower and began to persuade him to surrender, Zhong Linyu felt that something was wrong. The hard battle could not be won, and the soldiers were unwilling to continue to fight with the Zhao army. And at this time, Zhao Jun began to surrender in front of the battle again, and he didn't need to think about it to know the impact.

Sure enough, before Zhong Linyu could say no, some of the soldiers below began to suggest surrender, and many of them even put down their weapons, with the intention of waiting for the Zhao army to enter the city, and they would have a good night's sleep. And those young and strong people have long been unwilling to continue to defend the city, and the responsibility of defending the city is not their responsibility in the first place. They are all ordinary people in the city and the surrounding towns who have entered the city to escape the scourge of war, and they have heard of the policy system of Zhao State now. And the Zhao army conquered the city and conquered the city, and did not harm the people, they were naturally not willing to let go of the peaceful life and fight to the death for the Han army.

"Damn! is a good Zhao Xun, he is clearly disintegrating the hearts of our army. Someone, shoot him to General Ben, in addition, pass the order, the whole army ......" Zhong Linyu heard what the people in front of the Zhao army said, he suddenly felt bad and gave an order sharply.

"General, slow!" The lieutenant general next to him immediately blocked the way.

"Huh?" Zhong Linyu's face turned cold, and he said in a condensed voice: "What? Are you scared, do you want to descend Zhao? ”

The adjutant general smiled bitterly: "General, it's not what the last general wants, you look around, this order, how the Zhao army outside the city doesn't know, but you and I are just afraid that we will die here immediately!" ”

Zhong Linyu looked up and saw that the soldiers around him were all looking at him, as if they were waiting for his decision, and many of the soldiers were even more fierce, holding weapons in their hands, as if they were going to fight with him.

"General, Zhao Jun persuaded to surrender, kill those who can't surrender, there is a heavy reward! Now there are not enough defenders in the city, and the soldiers are reluctant to continue fighting. If Hangu Pass is lost, Chang'an will not be guaranteed, Chang'an will not be guaranteed, even if we stick to live here, what can we do? The back road is cut off, and at this moment, the Zhao army is withdrawing without a fight, and it will be taken by the Zhao army sooner or later in the future. The adjutant whispered.

Zhong Linyu's heart was shocked, although he knew that Zhao Jun had spread the news of the loss of Hangu Pass, which was not necessarily true. Even if it's true, it's to take down this Gaoling City. He wanted to give the order for the soldiers to fight to the death, but when he saw the exhaustion and a hint of murderous intent in the soldiers' eyes, he couldn't help but feel bitter.

After settling down, Zhong Linyu looked around and said in a deep voice: "Soldiers, Zhao Jun persuaded you to surrender, what do you want?" ”

"Returning to the general, the last general thought that Gaoling City was already in danger, and the morale of the soldiers was gone, and if they continued to fight, not only could they not keep Gaoling City, but they would also suffer together with the people in the city. That is, it is better to descend Zhao. The deputy general was the first to say.

One person spoke, and those generals and colonels who were unwilling to fight also opened their mouths in unison, all of which meant to surrender Zhao.

Zhong Linyu's face turned blue, and he said in a deep voice: "We are deeply favored by the king, how can we surrender easily at this moment?" ”

"General, it's not that we are willing to surrender to Zhao, but the soldiers are no longer able to fight, and the 30,000 soldiers with the Zhao army outside the city have besieged us. In this case, the general should consider the soldiers, for the whole city is considerate. Even Hangu Pass has been lost, and we have no choice but to descend Zhao. ”

Although Zhong Linyu was unwilling, the following generals had their own reasons, which suddenly made Zhong Linyu unable to deal with it. It's not that all the generals and colonels have said that they want to surrender to Zhao, but the soldiers below and the young men above the city head are now showing signs of instability, and many of the soldiers are red-eyed, holding their weapons tightly and waiting for their statement, they do not dare to support the battle to the death.

Seeing this scene, Zhong Linyu also sighed: "If it's not that I don't want to stick to it, when will I be like this!" Then, Zhong Linyu announced the surrender of Zhao, and suddenly the joy above the city shook the sky.

Zhao Xun didn't expect that the persuasion would succeed in one fell swoop, and immediately ordered the army to enter the city, take over the city defense, and settle the surrendered army. In order to appease the surrendered soldiers and young men, after entering the city, Zhao Xun ordered the tax reduction and exemption of the people of Gaoling City, and restructured according to the Zhao State system.

However, Zhao Xun did not let all the soldiers enter the city, but half of them entered the city, and half of them continued to camp outside the city, making a gesture of besieging Gaoling City, even above Gaoling City, and continued to hang the banner of the Han army.

"The king's intention is to bring back the 10,000 reinforcements who went out of Gaoling City?" After Liu Wenqi read Zhao Xun's military order, he said with a smile.

"That's right, if this 10,000 Han army is annihilated, then there will be no brigade of Han troops north of Chang'an to mobilize. And without these 10,000 reinforcements, Jingyang City will also be easily taken by Yang Wangqing's 10,000 army. ”

Liu Wenqi nodded and said, "This is very good, the king needs the seal of Zhong Linyu, the guard of Gaoling City." With his military orders in hand, don't the 10,000 reinforcements rush back in a hurry? ”

"Good news, brother! Good news! At this moment, Zhao Kang, the general of the first town of the forbidden army, walked in with a big smile on his face.

"Oh? What good news can make you so happy, fourth brother? Zhao Xun asked with a smile.

Zhao Kang was overjoyed and said: "Just now the news came from the Flying Eagle Guard, Lord Situ has reported that the second brother has taken the dangerous Hangu Pass in the eastern part of Xiyongzhou, and now, Lord Situ has gone to Hangu Pass, ready to wave his army to the west." As he spoke, he handed the good news in his hand to Zhao Xun.

"Good! That's great! Ha ha! Before the war, this king was still saying that Hangu Pass fell into our hands, and now it really falls into our hands. In this way, Xiyongzhou is already in the bag of this king! After receiving the information, Zhao Xun was overjoyed, immediately stood up, and laughed, "Yes, they are doing well in Dongyongzhou." ”

Liu Wenqi said: "Congratulations to my king for winning the Hangu Guantian Insurance." Hangu Pass has fallen, and the land of Chang'an is no longer an insurmountable place. Xiyongzhou is also about to surrender to the feet of the king. ”

Zhao Xun sat down slowly and said in a deep voice: "Having said that, it still needs the efforts of the soldiers. At present, we have to deal with the Han army in the north first, and when the north is resolved, there is no threat in the east, and the Han army supported by Hanzhong will no longer have any effect on the land of Chang'an. Immediately sent an order to Yang Wangqing's department, and after the reinforcements from Gaoling City left Jingyang City, they besieged Jingyang City, took Jingyang City, waved the army south, and turned with the Tenth Town Town Army and Chang'an City. ”

"Someone is coming, and it is rumored that Gaoling City will descend to Zhong Linyu."

…………

Jingyang City is located more than 150 miles west of Gaoling City. Together with the two small cities around it, Jingyang City had a total of more than 8,000 defenders, but after the Zhao army increased its attack, after several battles, the defenders lost more than 3,000 people, and even the two surrounding cities were lost.

After the loss of Chiyang City, a large city in the northwest of Jingyang City, 30,000 Zhao troops besieged Jingyang City, so that the defenders of Jingyang City had to ask for help from Gaoling City. After more than 10,000 elite reinforcements arrived, Jingyang City calmed down a little.

But today, in the Jingyang City General's Mansion, everyone's faces are ugly. Because there was a military order coming from Gaoling City, let them know that the so-called 30,000 Zhao troops outside the city were actually already besieging Gaoling City.

The defender of Jingyang City immediately sent an army out of the city, and sure enough, the camp of the Zhao army was already an empty camp, and as soon as the army arrived, the Zhao soldiers who were only more than two or three thousand people immediately scattered. At this time, these guards knew that they had been deceived by Zhao Jun.

After Cao Yan, the chief general of Gaoling City who came to support, verified the situation of the Zhao army, he directly asked Jingyang City to prepare the needs of the army and prepare to rush to the aid of Gaoling City. Although the defenders of Jingyang City suspected that the Zhao army outside the city was not far away, but just wanted to mobilize these 10,000 soldiers, Cao Yan had to worry about Gaoling City.

After half a day's effort, the second military order from Gaoling City came, asking Cao Yan to return to help immediately. Cao Yan, who didn't care about the others, had to wave his army to the east to support Gaoling City. After all, in comparison, Gaoling City is much more important than Jingyang City.

However, in less than half a day after Cao Yan hurriedly left Jingyang City with 10,000 troops, 10,000 Zhao army and 30,000 soldiers and civilians appeared outside the city. Especially after the Zhao army used the earth-shattering thunder, the morale of the defenders fell to a low point in an instant.

Like Zhao Xun in Gaoling City, Yang Wangqing also used persuasion to surrender. Also like Gaoling City, there are only four or five thousand guards in Jingyang City, and all kinds of equipment are almost lost when the Zhao army besieged the city a few days ago, even if there is no loss, it is difficult to compare with what the Zhao army has.

As a last resort, the defenders of Jingyang City surrendered more simply than the defenders of Gaoling City. On the defensive line north of Chang'an, another big city fell.

When Cao Yan rushed to Gaoling City with an army of 10,000, Gaoling City was under siege by the Zhao army. Cao Yan saw that the Zhao army was divided into four ways and besieged the four gates, so he immediately commanded the army to break through the siege of the Zhao army at the west gate and enter the city gate.

However, to Cao Yan and his 10,000-strong army, it was unbelievable that they could not enter the city. And at this moment, the Zhao army, which was originally barely killed by them, suddenly gathered again, and there were more and more of them, and the three layers inside and three layers outside surrounded them to death.

After the Zhao army besieged this 10,000-strong army, the banner of the Han army above the head of Gaoling City fell and was replaced by the flame unicorn flag of the Zhao army. At this moment, even the fool knew that this Gaoling City had fallen into the hands of Zhao Jun. With the appearance of Zhong Linyu, the defender of Gaoling City, Cao Yan and the more than 7,000 soldiers who existed before his association finally recognized the reality.

Although some Han soldiers are unwilling to surrender, what if they can fight their way out of the encirclement? As a result, 2,000 soldiers were killed in battle, and the remaining 5,000 Han soldiers who rushed in a hurry abandoned their weapons and surrendered.

At this point, Gaoling City completely fell into the hands of the Zhao army, and most of the garrison of Gaoling City also surrendered to Zhao, and a few were killed in battle. The northern defense line of Chang'an, except for Feng Yi, is full of small cities, and it is no longer possible to stop the Zhao army from moving south.