Updated: 2013-09-08

Yang Wangqing also nodded and said: "The minister also agrees with Lord Situ's opinion, and in the opinion of the minister, the remnants of the Han army in Xianyang City are afraid that they will not fight easily. Therefore, after besieging them and weakening their fighting spirit, it is likely that a certain onslaught will still be taken. ”

Zhao Xun nodded and said, "Originally, it was planned to be solved quickly, but now it seems that there are many problems. However, it is also good that while we are besieging Chang'an and Xianyang, we can also assist our civil officials to quickly gain a foothold in this newly occupied land, so that our policies and systems of Zhao State can be quickly restructured. The system of local county soldiers and government soldiers can also be quickly established by taking advantage of this. Various relationships such as local clans and gentry can also be quickly sorted out when our army is on our side. In addition, it can also allow the soldiers to take a period of rest in rotation, so that all departments can replenish the loss. ”

Subsequently, the Zhao army besieged Xianyang and Chang'an, and began to cooperate with civilian officials to take over and govern the prefectures and counties of Xiyongzhou. The government and county soldiers in various localities also began to be formed one by one with the cooperation of the soldiers.

The Zhao army was busy with his own internal affairs, but the Han army in Xianyang City and Chang'an City could not survive at all. Especially in Xianyang, when the Zhao army took the western Zhufu counties of Xiyongzhou, many Han troops also fled into Xianyang City, so that the defenders of Xianyang City knew the current situation in Xiyongzhou.

Surrounded by the Zhao army, surrounded by enemies on all sides, and completely losing contact with Chang'an, this is absolutely unacceptable to the Xianyang defenders. Fight? None of the defenders in the city dared to fight the Zhao army easily. Defend the city, but the grain and grass in the city can hardly hold on for long. In particular, Xianyang's city defense was far worse than Chang'an's, and they didn't believe that they could resist the Zhao army for long.

Garrisoned in Xianyang was Zhou Yuan, one of the four generals under Luo Dingyuan, who was originally arranged here by Luo Dingyuan to make this place and Chang'an horns. It's a pity that the Zhao army is powerful and strong, and the connection between the two has been directly cut off, and there are not many original Han troops in Chang'an City.

Especially after several failed attempts to get in touch with Xianyang and the failure of the Zhao army to attack the city and counterattack, and after seeing the power of the Zhao army's earth-shaking thunder, the morale of the defenders in the city plummeted, and the soldiers were even more reluctant to leave the city. The Han army in the city also lost thousands of people, making Chang'an's troops even more stretched.

As for Xianyang, it is far inferior to Chang'an, so after Chang'an does not move, this Xianyang will completely become a lonely city. Zhou Yuan cut off contact with Chang'an, and also thought about killing him and joining forces with Chang'an in the east. It's a pity that after the rout of the western prefectures and counties retreated to this place, the generals and colonies who were interested in the reinforcements in the city completely lost their courage, and they were reluctant to go out of the city to fight with the Zhao army.

In just a few days, there was some instability in Xianyang City. It's not that there is any problem in Xianyang, but that Zhao Jun has been 'shooting' persuasion letters to the city one after another recently, which has made the city a little unstable. In these letters of persuasion, Zhao Jun explained the current situation in Xiyongzhou one by one, and let the defenders know that Xianyang, where they are now stationed, is already a lonely city, and there is no way out, so it is better to surrender early.

For the generals and colonels in the upper echelons, since they are stationed here, if they surrendered, they would have surrendered a long time ago, so why wait until today? These generals are all from Hanzhong, and their families also live in Hanzhong, and if they are demoted, their families may be implicated. In addition, as generals of the first army, surrendering without a fight is not what they should do.

However, for the ordinary soldiers below, surrender is not so difficult to accept, especially in a desperate situation, they all want to live. The above were reluctant to fight, so they naturally could only give up the idea of fighting to the death, and began to think about surrender in their hearts. Of course, this is also related to the narrative of Zhao Jun's persuasion to surrender on the Zhao army's system, policy, and treatment of these soldiers.

"General, our army has almost run out of food and grass, what should we do now?" In the hall of the General's Mansion, the general in charge of logistics reported to Zhou Yuanyu with a sad face.

Zhou Yuan also had a sad face, don't look at him as the commander of the city, but it is definitely not an easy thing to command the military and political affairs of a city. The original county order in the city was still on the side after Luo Dingyuan sent him to take over the city, and he was responsible for all the military and political affairs in the city. Now, instead of realizing the benefits of rights, he has experienced the heavy troubles that rights bring.

"Running out of food? How can it be so fast? Originally, the grain and grass in the city could at least support half a moon, right? How come it has been exhausted in less than ten days? ”

The general in charge of logistics said with a bitter face: "General, have you forgotten that the original statistics only counted the soldiers from our Hanzhong, and now, there are more than 4,000 defeated troops from all over the city. In addition, the data at the beginning of the statistics were also the data statistics saved when our army was in danger of preventing the siege of the Zhao army, resulting in the possible difficulties of grain and grass materials. But after the siege of the Zhao army, in order to appease the soldiers in the city, the general did not restrict the soldiers to eat every day, but gave them additional meals, so that the food in the city began to be consumed rapidly, and now it has begun to be scarce. ”

"How so?" Zhou Yuan frowned suddenly, it was indeed a military order issued by him at the beginning, but it was also for a reason, but he was negligent about the food problem. looked at the generals and colonels on both sides, and said in a deep voice, "What do you think?" If we don't have enough food, we're afraid it will be difficult to hold on! ”

"General, don't be careless about the matter of grain and grass, everything else can be put down for the time being, but the food problem cannot be solved, once there is a shortage of food, then there will be a big 'chaos' in the city." The general said urgently.

The other generals are not stupid, they can naturally see the problems in this, and they all believe that the food problem is the most critical factor affecting the defense of the city.

"General, maybe the Zhao army let these routed troops into the city just to consume our food and grass materials, otherwise, how could the Zhao army outside the city easily let us increase our troops? In addition, these routs into the city also brought unfavorable news about our army outside the city, which made the people in the city panic, perhaps, this is also one of the purposes of the Zhao army. General Lang said in a loud voice.

Zhou Yuan took a cold breath and said in surprise: "When you say this, General Ben thinks what you said is very reasonable. However, these routs have entered the city, and we can no longer expel them. At the moment, we still have to work together to hold Xianyang. Putting aside the rest, how to solve this food? ”

"Generals, among the last generals, are nothing more than taking from the gentry of the big clans in the city and levying them from the people in the city. Otherwise, we have no other way! ”

"In this way, you will offend the people and the gentry of the big clans in the city!"

"Afraid of what? We are reinforcements from Hanzhong, and we are no longer employed in Xiyongzhou, are we still afraid of the big gentry in this city? Besides, don't they know that if we are defeated, they will face the system of the Zhao State, and what they will lose will be even more right! As for the people of the city, what can they do? Even if we have these problems, we must solve the problems in front of us first. Otherwise, there is no need to talk about anything else, and we will run without food. ”

Zhou Yuan groaned a little, and said coldly: "Ask for food from the big gentry in the city, and tell them that if you want to keep what they have now, you must provide us with food, otherwise, when the Zhao army enters the city, they will have nothing." In addition, a new batch of grain was levied in the city. ”

"In addition, immediately spread the news in the city, saying that the reinforcements of the Shu army, the Luo army, and the Han army have gone north from Hanzhong and are about to arrive in Xiyongzhou, as long as we can hold on, we will definitely be able to defeat the Zhao army and recover the entire territory of Xiyongzhou."

The Han army in the city began to ask for food from the big clans and gentry in the city, and levied more money and grain on the people in the city. However, for these Han soldiers, where can they still take care of these at this moment?

The situation in the city, naturally, soon there will be a secret sigh in the city to send the information with arrows at night. Zhao Xun and others, who learned about the situation in the city, also began to discuss the attack.

"The siege has been ten days, and even if the defenders in the city have the fighting spirit and the heart to resist, under such circumstances, they will also suffer and it will be difficult for them to continue to this day." Outside Xianyang City, the Zhao army camp, Yang Wangqing looked at the city with the limit of his field of vision, and said lightly.

Situ Liang said in a deep voice: "In addition, the grain and grass in the city have also become a problem, according to the information sent by the spies in the city, the Han army in the city has begun to ask for food from the big clans in the city and forcibly requisition food from the people's homes. In addition, the city also began to spread the news that reinforcements from the south were about to cross Hanzhong and go north to calm the people. ”

Zhao Xun said in a deep voice: "Since they are talking about reinforcements, then let's use the matter of Chang'an reinforcements to lure the Xianyang defenders to fight." We've been prepared long enough that it's time to get started. ”

Zhao Xun asked a soldier to enter the city at night and enter the city under the banner of Chang'an messenger. After seeing the Xianyang guard, he informed in the name of Luo Dingyuan that Chang'an was ready to send a group of men and horses to support Xianyang, and asked Xianyang to continue to hold on, echoing with Chang'an's guards.

Zhou Yuan naturally would not easily believe what the messenger said, but the Zhao army naturally wanted to act, so he naturally had a lot of knowledge of the situation in Chang'an City, and he also made more preparations for the internal situation of the Han army's reinforcements. In the midst of the confrontation, Zhou Yuan still believed that the person who came was sent by his coach Luo Dingyuan.

Needless to say, the Xianyang city once again followed the strategy of the sixth town of the forbidden army under the city of Sanguan and the cavalry of Zhao Kang's department, and attacked the Zhao army camp with the Chang'an army outside the city, 'luring' the Xianyang defenders to fight to respond. Needless to say, the 5,000 soldiers sent by Xianyang broke into the ambush of the Zhao army and could not escape.

It's a pity that it was not Zhou Yuan himself who was lured out, but a general under his command. Originally, he wanted to trap Zhou Yuan and attract a steady stream of Han troops in the city, but as a result, the Xianyang defenders were more afraid of the Zhao army than expected.

Zhou Yuan's caution made it completely impossible for these 5,000 soldiers to get out of the east 'gate', but it also made Zhao Jun's plan to lure the main force of the Han army out of the city for a decisive battle failed, and at the same time, it also made the Han army's preparation for a counterattack on Xianyang fail. However, being able to exterminate the 5,000 soldiers of the Xianyang garrison was also a great victory for the Zhao army. The defenders in Xianyang City were originally not many, but after the few 5,000 soldiers, they were even more insufficient.

"It's a pity...... Almost! This Xianyang guard is too timid, and when he sees that something is wrong, he immediately blocks the 'gate' of the city, and even the soldiers who can withdraw from the meeting outside the city are blocked outside the city. Zhao Kang, who was in charge of counterattacking and attacking Xianyang after the main force of the Han army left the city, couldn't help but sigh.

"Zhou Yuancai doesn't believe that the people and horses outside the city can still return to the city, but I'm afraid that he is more worried about whether these soldiers who returned to the city are pretending to be our army, how can they let them return to the city?"

Situ Liang said in a deep voice: "It seems that it is going to be attacked!" After this battle, the Han army in the city was afraid that they would never dare to leave the city easily, and they would never be easily tricked again. ”

Yang Wangqing said with a smile: "It's okay, after this battle, the Han army in the city is no more than 10,000 people, and the morale is 'chaotic', what are we afraid of?" Even if it is a strong attack, it will not be a problem. ”

Zhao Xun said with a smile: "From tomorrow, the army will attack the city, and the defenders must be pressed hard." Isn't this also what we expected? In two or three days, we should be in the city. By the way, how many of the big clans in the city are ready? ”

Situ Liang said in a deep voice: "Don't worry, the king is ready." As long as we attract the defenders for a few days, our Secret Sigh will be able to temporarily train the 'private' members of these great clans and let them act according to the plan. ”

However, from the second day onwards, the Zhao army attacked the city with the catapults first, and the Zhao army did not storm it. Instead, he invited the defenders to fight, and 'desired' to fight with the Han army outside the city and fight it out. However, the catapults of the Zhao army have already terrified the defenders, coupled with the repeated defeats, where do they dare to go out of the city to 'engage' the Zhao army? The soldiers of the Zhao army took turns to challenge outside the city for three days, and they ridiculed to no avail.

On the third day, after some cynicism, the Zhao army stopped its operations outside the city and returned to the camp with the army. The whole army was given fine wine and 'meat' to eat, and at night, the Xianyang defenders could still see the firelight and noisy celebrations in the Zhao army camp several miles away.

Some generals suggested going out of the city to raid the Zhao army, but because of the failure of the last night operation, these Han soldiers all had sequelae of attacking the Zhao army, and they were unwilling to fight. Seeing this, Zhou Yuan could only give up.

The guards on duty at the Xianyang South 'Gate' couldn't help but feel a little envious and jealous when they looked at the firelight and the faint noise from miles away. Outside the city, the Zhao army drank freely at night, but because of food problems, their rations began to decrease.

"Captain, I really envy them, we are keeping vigil here, being bitten by mosquitoes, but Zhao Jun can drink wine and eat delicious food. It is said that this is true outside the four 'gates' outside the city, and the cheers can be heard inside the city. Alas...... When will such a day be a head! I don't know how long this Xianyang can hold on! The guards couldn't help muttering as they slapped the mosquitoes on their faces.

"Okay, you kid don't say a few words, what you can say and what you can't say, don't you move these things, be careful that trouble comes out of your mouth!" The team leader who was sitting behind the 'female' wall and resting on the 'female' wall said coldly. Actually, he didn't think so, but these things were not for them to think about at all.

"There is no one else here, they are all brothers in our team, what are you afraid of! In my opinion, it is better to descend to Zhao, it is simply a crime here, Zhao Jun's catapult has been three days in a row, and there are two more corpses on the city wall, and I don't know when we will also become one of them......" Another person not far away said coldly.

Just when this small group of soldiers muttered quietly, they didn't notice that at the city 'gate' not far from them, a lot of black-clothed people poured out at some point. The three of them and the five of them didn't know when they 'touched' them, but they had already gone dozens of steps away from the cover of the shops and houses in front of the city 'gate'.

It stands to reason that there are quite a few people stationed around the city gate. However, because the Zhao army contacted the 'Sao' for three days, and the catapults also raged for three days in a row, the Han army was tired, and the Zhao army went back to the camp to feast and drink, so there were not many guards near the city 'gate'. Of course, around the 'gate' of the city, there is a small military camp stationed there, which can support more than 1,000 soldiers at any time. However, by the moment they had all gone to rest. At the end of three days, they were equally exhausted.

Even the soldiers on duty on the city wall were also sitting on the ground, resting on the spot. After all, in their opinion, Zhao Jun is feasting in the camp at the moment, where will he pay attention to this. Besides, the three-day siege was a hard work for both sides, and it was only normal for both sides to rest at this moment.

"Uh......" was resting in the "gate" and "hole" of the city, and the captain of the garrison who was already "confused" and "confused" suddenly felt a cold cold air suddenly coming from his neck, and opened his eyes that had just woken up and looked back, only to see the shining eyes and the dagger shining in the dark night. As soon as his neck was cold, a stream of blood spurted out, and when he was dying, he found that more than 30 soldiers under the city 'gate' and 'hole' had died quietly......

This group of black-clothed people moved quickly and lightly, especially the more than ten people in the lead, who acted quickly and ruthlessly, and had already put down a small team of guards under the south 'gate' in three or two clicks.

A man in black gently lowered the corpse in his hand, pulled his throat, and suddenly let out a cat's meow of "meow meow". As soon as the sound fell, a corresponding dog barking was heard in the street not far away. The next moment, hundreds of black-clothed people came galloping with horizontal knives.

"The first and second squads went up to the castle tower, lowered the drawbridge, and moved quickly. The third team assisted us in pushing the 'gates' open and preparing to signal out of the city. ”

"Squeak!" Under the careful push of dozens of people, the originally tightly closed 'gate' of the southern city only let out a slight laugh, and began to open slowly.

"No, get up! There is a case! "The sentry officer on duty at the 'gate' of the city heard a slight noise from the noise coming from outside the city, and the sound was still coming from his own side.