On April 21, the fifth year of the Great Zhou Jingzhi, Li Mao, the lord of northern Xinjiang, finally led as many as 780,000 northern Xinjiang soldiers to Anping State, that is, the land of Hebei and Jinggi.

40,000 infantry, 30,000 Yuyang iron cavalry, when the black army Chen soldiers were under the capital of Ji, the feeling of stagnation that would almost suffocate people was like a nightmare shrouded in the hearts of the guards in the capital of Ji.

Unlike ordinary armies at all, the soldiers of Northern Xinjiang were neatly lined up under the city, even if they did not shout deterrence, it also brought great pressure to the defenders of the capital of Hebei, especially for people like Li Shou who had never been on the battlefield.

"Than ...... Three days later than expected......"

I wanted to say something to break the solemn atmosphere, but when he said it, Li Shou realized that the tone of what he said trembled slightly.

"It's just a threat!" Beichi Hou Wenqin glanced at Li Shou, the son of heaven, as if he was perceptive, he obviously saw the timidity and panic in Li Shou's heart, but he didn't say anything, and said lightly, "Li Mao is proud of himself, he is self-righteous, and he looks down on others, the reason why he is late this time is nothing more than a deterrent measure, so that when I wait for the arrival of the Northern Xinjiang soldiers, I unknowingly fall into fear!" ――Didn't Xie Shangshu say it before? It's not the time when it's actually happening, it's the time when it's waiting for it to happen......"

"Yes...... Is it......" swallowed his saliva, Li Shou's face was still pale and bloodless.

Seeing this, Wen Qin frowned slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but after pondering for a while, he changed his tone and persuaded, "Your Majesty, don't be surprised, the Northern Xinjiang soldiers are the elite divisions of our great periphery, and this matter is categorically true, but if it is planned to easily conquer Jijing." But it's not that easy!

Although the rebellion of the Han family's father and son in the Xigong Mansion caused Ji Jing to lose 20,000 troops, as far as the current strength in the city is concerned, it is not that it cannot be defended, it depends on how His Majesty decides! ”

"......" Li Shou opened his mouth wide when he heard this, and he stopped talking. Perhaps he did have an ambition in his heart before, wanting to block the northern Xinjiang soldiers from Anping Kingdom, but when he saw the dense locust-like northern Xinjiang soldiers outside the city. He couldn't help but retreat in his heart.

It's no wonder, after all, Li Shou has never really led a war, let alone an extremely disadvantageous war. Although he also went to the northwest to quell the rebellion four years ago, in the final analysis, that war was all thanks to the advice of Xie An and the eldest grandson Xiangyu.

And this time, he still decided to stay in Jijing as the Son of Heaven to block Li Mao's army. To put it bluntly, it is just Li Shou's self-esteem and sense of honor, but this does not mean that he is ready to compete with the northern Xinjiang soldiers, even to the point of risking his life. He is not mentally prepared for this.

Seeing Li Shou's hesitant expression, Wen Qin shook his head slightly, secretly comparing Li Shou with the former crown prince Li Wei, whom he had previously been loyal to.

Perhaps in the eyes of others, the former crown prince Zhou Aiwang Li Wei is ruthless and vicious, and has many vices. But Wen Qin has always been loyal to Li Wei. In this world, there is a group of people who value friendship more than anything else. For example, Liang Qiuhao's feelings for Liu Qian are not eroded by the years at all, even if life and death are separated.

And Wen Qin's loyalty to Li Wei is not enough to reach the level of Liang Qiuhao's feelings for Liu Qian, but to be honest, it is not much different, after all, Wen Qin was Li Wei's number one confidant, even if he forced the palace to usurp the throne. With only a word from the former crown prince Li Wei, Wen Qin resolutely led his troops into the palace.

In addition to the former crown prince Li Wei's importance to Wen Qin, more importantly, Wen Qin has always felt that Li Wei is an excellent candidate for the king.

And in fact, even the first emperor Li Ji once said. Among the princes, only the second son of the emperor, Li Wei, is the most like him.

[If the prince is here......]

Taking a slight breath, Wen Qin couldn't help but have a fantasy in his mind, imagining that it was not the cowardly Li Shou who climbed the city tower at this moment, but the former crown prince Li Wei, what kind of scene would it be.

[First of all, the prince will definitely kill all the people who are close to Li Mao, so as to arouse Li Mao's anger and make him attack the city angrily......]

Thinking about it, the corners of Wen Qin's mouth raised a faint sneer. Although the former prince Li Wei is ruthless and vicious, it is quite in line with his appetite for Wenqin, as the so-called one general succeeds and ten thousand bones are dry, and he is still like this for a general, let alone the king of a country?

Even if it was the first emperor Li Ji, didn't he kill his brother and force his father to usurp the throne to become the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and then create a remarkable feat that no one had ever done before?

[Li Shou, after all, is only suitable to be an emperor in a peaceful and prosperous era...... No, it won't be his turn in the peaceful and prosperous world, because Li Xian is more suitable than him......]

Wen Qin's heart couldn't help but flash a thought.

It's not that he can't understand why the father and son of the Han family in Xigongfu abandoned Li Shou and voted for Li Mao, the king of Yan, after all, in many cases, Li Shou could not show his talent as an emperor, if it weren't for the ministers in the court headed by Xie An, he could be the emperor with Li Shou's qualifications? It's a dream!

Of course, although he didn't have much affection for Li Shou in his heart, this did not hinder Wen Qin's determination to help Li Shou guard Jijing, after all, the fourth son of the emperor and Li Mao, the king of Yan, was the former prince Li Wei's fierce rival for the throne during his lifetime, although the crown prince Li Wei is no longer there, but Wen Qin has no intention of switching to Li Mao, not to mention that four years ago, Wen Qin and Zhang Qi, one of the five tigers in northern Xinjiang, still have a grudge.

Zhang Qi, the general of Northern Xinjiang who cut him Wen Qin's shoulder with a sword, Wen Qin has never forgotten it over the years.

"How is the retreat from the city to the castle going?"

Just when Wen Qin secretly wondered if he would bump into Zhang Qi, one of the Five Tigers of Northern Xinjiang, again this time, so that he could take revenge on the hatred of the sword back then, he coldly heard Li Shou beside him ask.

Although Li Shou's question is somewhat out of line with the current tense atmosphere, after all, this person is the son of the current Great Zhou Tianzi, how can he not reply? Thinking of this, Wen Qin replied in a low voice, "The ministers of the court, the queen and the crown prince who protected the harem a while ago have withdrawn to Chaoge, and the people in the city have also ......been evacuated one after another."

"So it's nearly forty percent?" Muttering to himself, Li Shou took a deep breath, gritted his teeth and said categorically, "Master Wen." I don't know about the military, how can I defend Jijing, I hope Lord Wen will mention more! ”

“…… Well, the minister should do his best and die! Wen Qin glanced at Li Shou with some surprise, after all, although Li Shou still had a little fear on his face at this moment, his eyes gradually became firm.

Under Wen Qin's rather surprised gaze. Li Shou took a deep breath, then strode to the edge of the city wall, held the female wall with both hands, and scanned the dense northern Xinjiang soldiers outside the city with his eyes, and suddenly shouted, "Where is Li Mao?!" ”

This reprimand, although the voice was not loud, made many defenders in the city stunned, and even Wen Qin was a little surprised.

[How?] Could it be that this cowardly Majesty by nature. Do you have the courage to directly argue with Yanwang Li Mao? ]

Not to mention that Wen Qin was stunned, even the junior colonel of the Northern Xinjiang Army who was shouting outside the city and persuading the defenders in the city to surrender was dumbfounded, and looked at the man in the dragon robe of the Son of Heaven on the city tower in amazement.

"Heavenly ...... Son of Heaven ......"

"Your Majesty......"

After all, the Great Zhou Dynasty is a centralized monarchy country for hundreds of years, and the idea of loyalty and patriotism is deep-rooted. After all, in this era, the Son of Heaven is the Heavens, and the Anti-Son of Heaven is the Anti-Heavens. It's a rebellion, it's a rebel!

"Hey! Interesting......"

Li Mao, the king of Yan, who was under the banner of the Northern Xinjiang Tiger, was slightly stunned when he heard this. Immediately, a slightly strange look appeared on his face, and he slowly rode his horse to the front of the array, looked up at Li Shou at the head of the city, and said with a laugh, "Xiao Jiu, what is the matter of calling a brother?" Isn't it to open the city and surrender? ”

In all fairness. Li Mao, the king of Yan, did not take Li Shou seriously at all, and even did not take the city including Weiwei Siqing Xunzheng and Beichi Hou Wenqin seriously. The reason why he sent a subordinate colonel to shout before was just because he wanted to take Jijing without blood. After all, if he can take Jijing without blood, Li Mao will not be so stupid that he has to make the city full of blood.

"Surrender?" Li Shou at the head of the city snorted heavily when he heard this. He sneered and said, "Li Mao, although you are my fourth emperor brother, you are a subordinate after all, and now you have the courage to gather troops to rebel, intending to plot the dynasty and usurp the throne, this rebellious act will be punished by everyone!" - How can all those who are loyal and righteous sit back and watch you go against the grain?! ”

At these words, Li Shou said that he was full of anger and emotion, and he couldn't see that he was frightened by the powerful military strength of the Northern Xinjiang soldiers before, and his brain broke out in a cold sweat.

Li Mao's face sank when he heard this, you must know that he just wanted to ridicule Li Shou for a few words, but he didn't expect that as soon as he came up, Li Shou was put on a high hat with the intention of usurping the throne, hmm, although he did it.

"My eldest Zhou Tianzi? Ha! Hahaha! After his face sank, Li Mao looked up to the sky and laughed, and said disdainfully, "Where is my Great Zhou Tianzi?!" ”

Seeing that Li Mao ignored his existence, Li Shou was also angry in his heart, and angrily reprimanded, "Isn't it in front of you?!" ”

"You?" When Li Mao heard this, he showed a disdainful smile on his face, and said coldly, "Xiao Jiu, your throne was just picked up for nothing, or relying on Xie An's group of vain ministers, from the beginning, this king has never admitted it!" - If you know each other and open the city gate and surrender quickly, this king will save your life if you and my brother are in the same place, and it will not be a problem for you to be crowned a prince who enjoys peace in the future; If you are stubborn, don't blame this king for being ruthless! ”

"The anti-country and traitor An dares to speak outrageously?!" Li Shou sneered when he heard this, "Jijing is here, I am also here, if you have the guts, you will come to attack the city!" ”

As soon as these words came out, more than 100,000 people in the city and under the city were in an uproar.

[Unexpectedly...... Did you really call Li Mao out? Calling out to the first warrior of the Li clan of the Great Zhou? ]

Previously, Wen Qin secretly sighed that Li Shou's courage was far inferior to that of the former crown prince Li Wei, but now, Wen Qin couldn't help but be intimidated by Li Shou's courage. After all, Li Mao, the king of Yan, is famous, and throughout the world, I am afraid that few people dare to talk to Li Mao like this.

"Xiao Jiu, so daring!" Li Mao gritted his teeth and cursed, and then he didn't know what he thought, and laughed, "After being the emperor of the Great Zhou for a few days, I didn't take this king in my eyes at all?" Hum! If Liang Qiu Wu was in the city at the moment, the king might still be a little jealous...... It's up to you to wait? Can you keep this Jingshi? ”

Li Shou couldn't help but be a little discouraged when he heard this, as Li Mao said, if Liang Qiu Wu was in Jijing at the moment, he Li Shou would not need to be so panicked, but unfortunately, Liang Qiu Wu was trapped and killed in Boling by the rebellious Western Army and another northern Xinjiang army. Although it can't be said that he is too busy to take care of himself, if it comes to supporting Jijing, the Liangqiu dance at this moment may be beyond the reach of the whip.

"There are still 'trapped' of the southern army and 'back' of the northern army in the city, and the generals of the army are also Xun Zheng, Wen Qin and other Aiqing, not to mention that there is also Liang Qiugong in charge...... This Jijing, how can you say that you can conquer it?! ”

I heard what Li Shou said. Li Mao laughed, and after laughing, he shook his head towards Jijing City, and said lightly, "Xiao Jiu, do you really think you can hold it?" To tell you the truth, in the eyes of this king, there are only three and a half people in the whole world who can frustrate this king! -- Liang Qiu Dance is counted as one. Li Xian counts as one, and the girl from the eldest grandson's family counts as one. In addition, even if it is Liang Qiugong, the king's mentor, the first fierce general of the Great Zhou Dynasty thirty years ago, he is now old, and he can only be regarded as half a ...... Xun Zheng? Wen Qin? Who are they? Be not worth mentioning? ”

"......" The guards at the head of the city, Siqing Xun Zheng and Beichi Hou Wenqin, their faces turned red with anger when they heard this, gritting their teeth and clutching their weapons, looking at their appearance. I can't wait to start a war immediately and fight to the death with Li Mao.

I have to say. Li Mao is indeed too arrogant, and he doesn't mean to take the world's heroes in his eyes at all. Maybe he didn't know that Jiangnan and Hanzhong still had Liang Qiuhao and Zhen Lei, the two great heroes of the world, who were as good as him. Not to mention Liang Qiuhao, the unparalleled fierce general who can't even help Liang Qiuwu and Jin Ling'er join forces, just the general of the White Water Army is enough to make Li Mao unable to eat and walk around.

And now, although Liang Qiuhao and the thunder have all died on the battlefield. However, the Jizhou army still has many generals such as Fei Guo, Ma Dan, and Liao Li, among which Fei Guo and Liao Li are two generals, and their martial arts are also outstanding, plus Di Bu and Mo Fei of the Dongling People. can fight with Li Mao, there are more than four people in the Jizhou army alone.

It can only be said that Li Mao is too conceited of his own bravery, but this also reflects from the side that this person is indeed extremely conceited about his own martial arts.

"No more nonsense! -- As a general on the border of the northern frontier, you don't think about how to consolidate the defense of the border fortress and guard against the grassland, but you raise a banner with the intention of plotting to usurp the throne. ”

As soon as he spoke, as soon as Li Shou raised his hand, the defenders in the city raised their bows and arrows one after another, aiming at Li Mao and the northern Xinjiang soldiers under the city.

"Humph! Stubborn! With a heavy snort, Li Mao shook his horsewhip and shouted in a deep voice, "Siege!" ”

"Oh-oh!"

The 30,000 infantry in northern Xinjiang raised their arms and shouted in unison, and their momentum made the heavens and the earth change color.

However, what is surprising is that the 30,000 northern Xinjiang infantry just shouted, and the real dispatch was the 40,000 Yuyang iron cavalry. I saw that the 40,000 Yuyang iron horsemen were divided into several waves to attack Jijing, like a huge torrent, which made the atmosphere in Jijing suddenly stagnate.

[Cavalry siege?] ]

Li Shou was stunned, after all, his experience was still too little.

Compared with Li Shou, Beichi Hou Wenqin's complexion changed greatly, and he shouted in a deep voice, "Pay attention to the soldiers in the city, each holding a small shield, and beware of the cavalry of Yuyang!" ”

As soon as the words fell, he saw a wave of dense arrows shooting from the city to the city, fortunately, Wen Qin had the foresight to tell the soldiers in the city to hide in the female wall with shields, otherwise, this wave of arrows alone would be enough to cause the Zhou army in the city to suffer heavy losses.

"This ...... This ......" Li Shou, who was guarded by the guards, changed his face greatly, you must know that he could see it clearly, only to see those Yuyang iron horsemen galloping to the periphery of the city head suddenly turned around, and at the same time, the war horse under the crotch jumped up violently, jumped up to a height of nearly a zhang, and then shot arrows with the help of horsepower.

The arrows shot by those Yuyang Iron Cavalry in this way were even farther than the range of arrows shot by the archers in the Jijing City, so that the archers in the Jijing City could not cause any damage to the Yuyang Iron Cavalry outside the city, but fell into a passive situation of suffering from the baptism of arrow rain.

"......" Seeing this scene, Liang Qiugong, who was standing at the corner of the city wall and watching the situation, sighed secretly. Of course, he knew that this was not an ordinary mounted shooting, but an extremely difficult projectile, and the reason why the Great Zhou Dynasty was repeatedly conquered by Beirong was that the latter relied on this skill.

[The glory of Yuyang Iron Cavalry...... Has it recovered in just seven or eight years? Gong'er can be regarded as a successor......]

Liang Qiugong showed a slightly bitter smile on his face, after all, that special way of riding and archery was originally introduced by his eldest son, Liang Qiugong, from the grassland.

Prior to this, the guards on the border were always entangled in the things of the northern barbarians and disdained to study and study, which led to the fact that the northern part of the Great Zhou was always pressed and beaten by the grassland tribes until the appearance of Liang Qiugong. Liang Qiugong learned this kind of projectile used by the grassland tribes, and improved it, and taught it to Yuyang Iron Cavalry. Since then, this special archery has become a compulsory course for Yuyang Iron Cavalry.

Unfortunately, after the death of Liang Qiugong, the Yuyang Iron Cavalry was also disabled for a time, and it was almost on the verge of annihilation of the entire army until the death of the eldest prince Li Yong. Li Mao became the border general of the land of Youyan, and slowly trained a Yuyang iron cavalry that was not inferior to the era of Liang Qiugong.

In this way, it is no wonder that Liang Qiu Gong showed a look of nostalgia when he saw this kind of archery, after all, it was the archery technique improved by his eldest son Liang Qiu Gong, who died young, and was specially used to attack the camps of some large tribes on the grassland with cavalry.

It's a pity that the current situation does not allow Liang Qiugong to miss his deceased eldest son, he took a deep breath and said with a steady look, "Order the whole army." Don't panic! - This kind of special projectile is not very lethal, just ask the soldiers to hide behind the women's wall and use a shield to protect the top of their heads! ”

It was precisely because of the presence of Liang Qiugong and Beichi Hou Wenqin, who were familiar with this kind of cavalry projectile, that the projectile of the 40,000 Yuyang iron cavalry, to be honest, did not achieve the expected effect, which made Li Mao slightly displeased.

"Change the rocket, and do it again!" Li Mao ordered in a deep voice.

With an order, 40,000 Yuyang Iron Riders circled around the land under the city. Again unleashed that incredible throw in the direction of the city, and this time. The arrows in their hands were replaced by rockets.

Li Mao originally wanted to use the 40,000 fire arrows to ignite the fire-burning things in the city, as well as the houses in the city, but for some reason, the 40,000 fire arrows went down, and there was no fire in the capital, and even. There was no sign of the castle being set on fire.

"Did you tear down those dwellings beforehand?" Li Mao glanced thoughtfully at the city, in his opinion, the only one who could do such tactics against him was Liang Qiugong, who taught him martial arts and the art of war.

"Ordinary arrows!" Li Mao, who was slightly deflated in his heart, had no choice but to give the order again, after all, as Liang Qiugong said. Although this kind of cavalry projectile looks scary, but to be honest, the damage is also frighteningly low, not so much an archery technique that effectively kills the guards in the city, but an archery technique used to deter the enemy, as long as the Zhou soldiers in the city hide behind the female wall with their heads on their shields, in fact, not many people will die.

Unless it is to use rockets, use rockets to ignite the fire-causing things in the city and the wooden houses in the city, but it is obvious that Liang Qiugong has already expected this, and demolished the houses in the city one step in advance, and even the city is ready to extinguish the fire accordingly, which makes the tactics that Li Mao has always used have no effect here.

But in any case, despite the low lethality of that kind of projectile, the deterrent effect brought by it really made the Zhou soldiers frightened, after all, they couldn't shoot the other party, but the other party could shoot themselves, which was not very pleasant.

Seeing this, many guards in the city asked Liang Qiugong for a way to crack it.

"Don't worry, this projectile won't last long!" Waving his hand, Liang Qiu said calmly, "Even if you are proficient in this incredible archery, the cavalry is not good at attacking the city, and after this wave of arrows passes, the other party must be using infantry......"

"But ......"

As if he had guessed the scruples in the hearts of the surrounding generals, Liang Qiugong shook his head and chuckled, "The projectile of that kind of cavalry consumes a lot of horsepower and cavalry physical strength, so most of them are used as the first wave of deterrent tactics to deter the defenders in the city, and it will not last long...... His Royal Highness King Yan, no matter what he said, would not shoot his own soldiers. ”

"I see, ......I see" The soldiers and generals nearby breathed a sigh of relief, and it could be seen that they were indeed frightened by the projectile of Yuyang Iron Cavalry.

As Liang Qiugong said, Li Mao outside the city saw that the projectile of the Yuyang Iron Cavalry did not achieve the expected effect, and he was ready to invest in the infantry in his heart, after all, no matter how strong the Yuyang Iron Cavalry was, he couldn't cross the moat on a war horse and rush directly to the city head along the outer wall of the city wall, right? Cavalry siege is a strange thing after all, and infantry is the mainstream of siege.

"Zhang Qi, take the city!" Li Mao shouted at Zhang Qi, one of the five tigers in northern Xinjiang under his command.

"Order!" Zhang Qi hugged his fists, spurred a thousand horses, and made a move with his right arm.

"Oh oh!!"

The 30,000 infantry in the northern frontier once again let out an earth-shattering shout, carrying the ladders and attacking the walls of Jijing City in waves after waves.

Compared with the rain of arrows shot by the previous three waves of cavalry, the infantry in the northern Xinjiang may be the real strong enemy of the Zhou soldiers in this battle. (To be continued......)