Updated: 2013-09-09

"Get up, come with your own officer! There is a situation below, hurry! The captain of the castle tower finally heard that this small movement was coming from below, and immediately shouted urgently. The latest free chapters of the book can be found here.

The closest to the inner city wall were a few people from the team that had spoken earlier, one of them had just gotten up, and while stretching his waist, he looked towards the city gate, but found that there were hundreds of people gathered in the city gate, and he was surprised to rub his eyes and want to see more clearly. Suddenly, there was a crisp sound, and he felt a stabbing pain in his neck, and then he felt cold and weak, and he lost consciousness in a moment.

"Xiaohu, why are you ......" Seeing that the soldier had just gotten up and suddenly fell to the ground, he immediately asked urgently. But before he could finish speaking, he remembered a series of "sigh" sounds in the dark night, and then he also felt a tingling pain on his body, and then lost consciousness.

"Damn! Night Raid...... Come ......"

Finally someone realized that something was wrong, and opened their mouths to shout, but they were immediately 'shot' by a crossbow in the dark. Hundreds of black-clothed people appeared on the tower of the city 'gate', some of them began to clean up the defenders who were still 'confused' and 'confused' and at a loss, and the remaining ten or so people flashed out, quickly climbed onto the drawbridge chains on both sides like monkeys, took off the sharp axe that had been prepared on their backs and slashed down fiercely.

"Ding!" The sound of gold and iron 'intersecting' with iron axes cutting iron chains has been heard for a long time. In an instant, more than a dozen heads on the city wall in the distance poked down together. However, the man in black on the city wall didn't care, nor did he panic, and took the crossbow machine in his hand and deducted the plate machine. Suddenly, a series of screams rang out, and they were heard far away in the silent early morning.

At this time, the defenders on the city tower finally reacted and sounded the alarm, "Bell bell!" The shrill voice sounded rapidly, and the lights were lit up all over the city, and the shouting and curse continued.

More than a dozen black-clothed men went down with dozens of axes in a row, and the thick iron chain was finally broken, and with a snap, the drawbridge fell from the sky and was laid in front of the moat. And the 'gate' of the city under the city has already been opened.

"Signal!" The black-clothed man waiting on the side of the city 'gate' saw the drawbridge falling, his eyes flashed, and he ordered in a cold voice.

"Whew!" An arrow with flames soared into the sky, sending out a beautiful moment in the faint light of the night sky. Then, with a crisp sound of "bump", the flames suddenly exploded, forming a large ball of firelight, which was particularly conspicuous in the dark night.

At this time, the defenders on the city wall who were still resisting the man in black felt that the city wall and the earth under their feet shook slightly, and the defenders on the city wall also panicked to find that in the morning light of the night, in the distance, there seemed to be countless knights galloping on war horses.

The defenders of the temporary camp around the city 'gate' finally reacted at this moment, and hurriedly rushed to the south city 'gate' with their weapons, wanting to deal with the enemy under the 'gate' and 'hole' of the city and keep the enemy out.

It's a pity that the black-clothed people at the 'gate' of the city have already prepared, and under the cover of several large shields, the black-clothed people in the back are divided into ten rows, the front one is squatting, and the back one is standing. Everyone had a repeating crossbow in their hands, and when they saw them coming, an arrow flew at them. The Han soldiers who came in a hurry, except for a weapon, didn't even have time to wear armor on their bodies, and many Han soldiers came naked **, facing the arrows and crossbows that were 'shot' in the night, they could only wave their knives to block the flying crossbow arrows, but they had already asked the eighteenth generation of the ancestors of the black-clothed man opposite. Of course, the soldiers defending the city did not escape the curse in their hearts.

"Damn, where the hell did these men in black come from? It is definitely not the meticulous work of Zhao Jun 'mixed' into the city outside the city. These crossbow machines, these weapons, are all standard weapons, except for the army, only the big clans in the city have them. Damn, if Ben finds out who did it, he's going to kill his whole family. The camp master of Nancheng scolded with an iron face.

Two or three hundred corpses were dropped in a row, and the Han soldiers who came to counterattack failed to capture the city gate. Just because these soldiers who came to help were all in a hurry to get up and come in a hurry, without armor, no shields, no bows and arrows, they could only splice ** to resist the suppression of the crossbows and bows of these black-clothed men.

Of course, it was impossible for more than a hundred black-clothed men to fight against hundreds or thousands of troops, but they failed to quickly recapture the city 'gate', but the cavalry outside the city was not slow at all, like flying, and went straight forward.

"Brothers, kill ...... with me" Qin Shan, the commander of the cavalry, shouted violently and took the lead in the city. Thousands of cavalry of the Zhao army rushed across the drawbridge, rushed through the city gate, rushed into the city, dispersed the Han army that was blocked, and went straight to the city.

Qin Shan left a thousand men and horses to guard the city 'gate' and clear the remnants of the Han army around the city 'gate'. Where there is fire, it rushes there, and where there are gathered men and horses, it is a rain of arrows and crossbows. Immediately after, Zhao Xiong also led most of the foot soldiers to arrive quickly, and in the faint light, I don't know how many people and horses arrived.

After the army entered the city, in addition to sending various units to go straight to the other three city 'gates', the rest of the soldiers went straight to the Han army camps in the city under the leadership of the commander general. And at this moment, in the Han army camp, Zhou Yuan and other Han army generals had just gotten up, and under surprise, they gathered the soldiers to prepare for a counterattack. However, in the dark of night, there was an urgent assembly, and there was no preparation in advance, and it happened that the Zhao army had a surprise attack into the city, which was simply a disaster for the Han soldiers who had been fighting against the Zhao army for three days and were full of fear for the Zhao army.

It cannot but be said that the Han army is still an experienced veteran, and it cannot be said that they are not ordinary guerrillas. At the time of the great 'chaos' in the city, after being hurriedly awakened by Zhou Yuan and other generals, they did not roar or collapse, and began to prepare to put on armor and go into battle. It's a pity that when Zhao Xiong and other towns and other armies arrived, the big camps in the city had only gathered a small number of people. Although they also quickly raised troops to fight, but the headquarters was not fully prepared, the soldiers were caught off guard, and the morale was complete, and because of the night raid, there was no unified command, and the tens of thousands of soldiers in the camp, 20,000 and new soldiers were like a plate of scattered sand.

The generals of all the Zhao army galloped with their men and horses and galloped with several enemy camps in the city, countless bows and crossbows were 'excited' and 'shot', and arrows rained down. Even those veterans of the Han army are difficult to hostile.

"The king has an order, and those who descend will not be killed!" Seeing that the Han army was defeated, scattered and fled, and there was no unified resistance, Zhao Xiong, who was in charge of the operation, issued a new military order, of course, this was also requested by Zhao Xun.

In an instant, these Han army troops who had already collapsed surrendered countless times, even some Han army generals and colonels did not dare to confront the Zhao army, and knelt on the ground to ask for surrender. By the time dawn, Xianyang City had gradually stabilized, because the Zhao army was besieged on all sides, and the soldiers of the Han army who fled from the city also fell into the hands of the Zhao army, and none of them escaped. More than 30,000 soldiers and recruits were all captured by the Zhao army. Zhou Yuan, the defender of the Xianyang Han army, and his generals were almost all captured alive.

"Haha...... Fight down, good! Generals have worked hard! Zhao Xungao sat in the general's mansion where the former Han army commander of Xianyang City convened the generals and soldiers, and congratulated the generals with a smile.

"Zhou Lin, Fang Ye, Zhang Tai, the three of you, this time you have made great contributions to our army to take Xianyang, and this king will give you the corresponding arrangements according to the prior agreement." Zhao Xun said to the three middle-aged people on the right who were not from Zhao Jun's line.

"The little people are willing to obey the king's orders, don't dare to disobey!" The three of them said in unison.

After the Zhao army conquered the western prefectures of Xiyongzhou, leaving only Xianyang and Chang'an under the jurisdiction of the Han army in Xiyongzhou, the big clans in the city felt that the Zhao army's rule over Xiyongzhou had become a foregone conclusion. Although they did not want Zhao Jun to take over this place and let their family business suffer, however, the general situation was difficult to change, and they also knew the outcome of their confrontation with Zhao Jun.

Therefore, in the cooperation with the Han army and the defense of the city, many of the big clans in the city gradually moved away from the Han army. Especially after the Han army 'forced' them to provide food and grass for the army, these dissatisfaction was even deeper. At this time, Zhao Jun's meticulous work selected some big Zhao who had a good reputation on weekdays to win over.

These three families were the big clans that were co-opted by the Zhao army, and after learning of these circumstances, Zhao Xun decided to carry out internal and external attacks on Xianyang to capture Xianyang. Therefore, as early as half a month ago, these three clans cooperated with Zhao Jun to train manpower, prepare weapons, and inquire about intelligence. It is precisely because they have the Zhao army behind them that they are very close to the Han army, but they have never been suspected by the Han army, and even found out some of the situation in the city.

After using the name of Luo Dingyuan in Chang'an to 'lure' the enemy into battle and destroy the 5,000 defenders, the Han army in the city feared the Zhao army well, which further damaged their morale. Subsequently, the Zhao army used catapults to intimidate the city, so that the defenders did not dare to be careless, and they were worried all day long, making them tired.

Later, when the Zhao army was feasting and drinking in the camp, taking advantage of the Han defenders to let down their vigilance, they let Neiying cooperate with the action and took the south 'gate' of Xianyang, allowing the Zhao army to enter the city smoothly and go down in a battle.

After the celebration, Zhao Xun summoned Situ Liang, Yang Wangqing, and the generals of the towns and towns to continue to discuss the military to settle Chang'an, the last Han army in Xiyongzhou.

"Now almost all of the land of Xiyongzhou has been taken by us, and the rest of the land of Chang'an has no great impact on us, and they no longer dare to go out of the city. Therefore, there is no need to garrison too many troops in Xiyongzhou, and after consulting with the two privy envoys, I decided to let some of your men retreat to Dongyongzhou. ”

"The current situation in Dongyongzhou is also very bad, although the southern coalition army did not capture the land of Dongyongzhou, but also let the people of Henan Mansion and Hongnongfu in the south of Dongyongzhou withdraw to the city and give up the fields outside the city. We can't let the food in these fields be wasted between the fields or taken by the Southern coalition forces. Otherwise, we will have hundreds of thousands more people in need of relief. ”

"Zhao Xiong, after tomorrow, you will immediately lead the sixth town to return to Dongyongzhou, and support Zhao Lin's ninth town to garrison Dongyongzhou, so as to 'force' the king of Hanzhong to retreat. Come to think of it, since Xiyongzhou has been lost, he will not continue to fight hard with us in Henan Mansion. Now, he should be concerned about his land in Hanzhong, not continue to attack us. ”

Zhao Xiong said in a deep voice: "The last general is ordered!" ”

"Zhao Kang, have you arranged the person in place? How many of the routs were let go by us, and how many of them were our people? Arranged to play in Dongyongzhou, Zhao Xun looked at the land of Chang'an again.

Zhao Kang said: "We let go of about 3,000 defeated troops, of which only 600 of us are man. However, their identities and origins have been arranged, and they are all replaced from the identities of the soldiers in Lantian, Sanguan, Luoguguan and other places. However, there are only 600 people, isn't it too small to make a difference? ”

"Six hundred?" Qin You, the general of the Eighth Town Town Army of the Forbidden Army, frowned and said, "It's really a little little, does the king want these soldiers to enter the city, and the inside and outside should be combined with our army to attack the city?" ”

Situ Liang said with a smile: "Of course, after the news of our takeover of Xianyang spreads, Chang'an will definitely not make the same mistake as Xianyang again, and will definitely strengthen vigilance." It is naturally impossible to make 600 people cooperate with the outside world. However, the loss of Xianyang is not a big earthquake for the defenders of Chang'an? ”

"We need to let the Han army in the city know that Xiyongzhou is now under the control of my Great Zhao, except for their Chang'an land. We need them to spread rumors in the city, and we need them to win over the great people who want to survive and have the heart to turn to us. ”

"In addition, after these people informed Luo Dingyuan of the situation of the destruction of Xianyang City, you said, will this Luo Dingyuan be wary of the big clans in the city? Will they allow the big clans in the city to continue to control the family's 'private' soldiers? The task of these 600 people is to cooperate with those in the city, create pressure on these big clans, or provoke trouble. ”

"Of course, we still have to persuade us to surrender again for the first time, and if we can make the Chang'an Han army surrender, it will naturally be the best thing. Naturally, these arrangements were useless, but if they refused to surrender, they could only fight. At that time, these six hundred people will definitely be arranged by Luo Dingyuan to go to the city to assist, perhaps, they can play an extraordinary role. ”

Zhao Xun said with a smile: "I don't know what the situation in Chang'an is now, I don't know what the expressions on Luo Dingyuan and Lin Shucheng's faces are?" According to Chang'an? ”

Needless to say, the situation in Chang'an is very bad, and the faces of Luo Dingyuan and Lin Shucheng are also ugly. They were trapped in the city by the Zhao army, and their contact with the outside world was cut off by the cavalry of the Zhao army, so that they did not know the situation outside the city at all. However, the grain and grass materials in their hands were very sufficient, so they were not worried about the siege of the Zhao army.

However, whether it was Lin Shucheng or Luo Dingyuan, they didn't expect that in half a month, only Chang'an was still in the hands of the Han army in the land of Xiyongzhou, and the others had already fallen into the hands of the Zhao army.

They did not expect that the reinforcements of the Shu army in the south, as Song Yang, the envoy of the Zhao army, said, not only did not go north to support Xiyongzhou, but instead confronted the Han army in the land of Hanzhong, and occupied the cities of the prefectures and counties in the south of Hanzhong.

They also did not expect that Xianyang to their west would be conquered by the Zhao army, and almost all the reinforcements from Hanzhong were exhausted.

When the rout of Xianyang appeared outside the west city last night, the Han soldiers in the city did not believe it at all. However, when the Han army generals 'appeared', the guards on the city wall found that the untidy 'chaotic' army outside the city was really their own soldiers.

When Lin Shucheng and Luo Dingyuan rushed to inquire, their faces suddenly turned blue. Especially Luo Dingyuan, who scolded the guards of the West 'Gate'. Because of his inquiry and disbelief, the soldiers of the Xicheng garrison were clear about the current situation in Xiyongzhou, the situation in Xianyang, and the land of their Chang'an was already a lonely city.

The news has spread, and Luo Dingyuan and Lin Shucheng can no longer cover it up, so they can only issue a blockade order to the defenders of Xicheng, so that they cannot spread it. But can this be easily stopped? However, it was also because the defenders of Xicheng learned of these circumstances that the defeated army outside the city could enter the city smoothly.

Of course, these routs have been checked, but they have not found anything wrong with them. These people, except for a small number of officers who escaped from the western prefectures and counties, the rest were all soldiers from Hanzhong, that is to say, they were all soldiers from Hanzhong to support Xiyongzhou.

"Lord Lin, you say, why did Zhao Jun let them escape? It stands to reason that there is a cavalry blockade of the Zhao army between us and Xianyang. Even if they all go to attack Xianyang, it should be difficult for these routs to escape the pursuit of the Zhao cavalry. After arranging these routs and strictly ordering them not to leak their information, Luo Dingyuan asked with a bitter face.

Lin Shucheng said coldly: "What else can it be?" General, don't you see the trouble that these routs have brought to Xicheng? It was nothing for them to come back, but the defenders soon learned that we were the only ones in Xiyong Prefecture under the jurisdiction of the Han army, and we were now a lonely city. ”

"You mean, this is Zhao Jun's deliberate doing? That's right, so that our city will be 'riotous' and 'chaotic' because of these circumstances. ”

"How was Xianyang lost? It's because there are great clans in the city who respond. If the gentry of the great clans in Chang'an City learn about this, do you think they will continue to stand with us and continue to die for us, General? Lin Shucheng frowned and said astringently.

Luo Dingyuan was stunned, his face turned cold, and he said sharply: "Even so, we can't be defenseless." Lord Lin, most of your subordinates are locals, so the task of assisting in the defense of the city, inspecting various places, and inspecting the gentry of the big clans in the city will be 'handed over' to my Hanzhong reinforcements. The Han army will kill them if they break the city, but General Ben can take their lives now. ”

Hearing what Luo Dingyuan said, Lin Shucheng hurriedly stopped: "General, don't, in this way, maybe there will be the opposite effect." This official believes that there must be Zhao Jun's meticulous work in the city. If you do this, it will definitely make them think that we are going to attack them because of the Xianyang matter. At that point, maybe ......"

Luo Dingyuan shook his head and said, "Don't worry, General Ben won't make a move on anyone for no reason." Ben would have done so, also just in case. What we have to do now is how to deal with Zhao's attack. Zhao Jun took Xianyang, and we are their final goal here. ”