The winter solstice is the shortest day and longest night of the year, and therefore the heaviest day of the year.

Zheng Rong chose this day for the general attack, thinking that he wanted to respond to the spirit of heaven and killing, in the final analysis, he was still weak in his heart and just a good omen.

However, Zheng Rong was afraid that Qiu Yizhi's plan to use gunpowder to collapse the city wall of Luoyang would not succeed, and the large-scale mobilization of the battle would become a laughing stock, so he did not want to explicitly say that he was going to launch a general attack, but specially ordered: It was said that the Youyan army had been stationed under the capital for a long time, and it was tired and lax, and he wanted all the soldiers and horses to go out of the camp and line up to make a strong reputation.

Where did Qiu Yizhi know Zheng Rong's thoughts, only when his father-in-law was so deployed to protect the confidentiality of the battle plan, and he secretly admired it in his heart.

After the army was completed, Qiu Yizhi ordered his eighteen Yunmeng bandits, still divided into six groups every three points, each holding a fire medium, and went deep into the tunnel to ignite the fire.

The tunnel was dug extremely long, always two or three hundred steps long, and it took a long time for the Yunmeng thieves who entered the cave to crawl out of the cave one after another, and they all said that they had lit the gunpowder fuse.

In order to ensure that the gunpowder was indeed ignited without accidents, and that the person who went to start the fire would not be trapped behind the collapsed tunnel, when Qiu Yizhi first prepared the gunpowder, each gunpowder was prepared with three extremely long fuses.

Therefore, Zheng Rong, Zhong Likuang, Zheng Sen, Cui Nan, Qiu Yizhi and others looked forward to it for a long time, and the Luoyang city wall never moved.

Until everyone's nerves gradually relaxed, they suddenly saw a few clouds of smoke rising from the side of the Luoyang city wall, and then the mountain shook, and there were a few extremely dull sounds, and the smoke spread out, hiding half of the Luoyang city wall in the dust.

Seeing this, Zheng Rong was overjoyed in his heart, and said secretly: "Sure enough!" But his face tried to maintain this calm demeanor that was indescribably happy and angry.

There were also many sergeants in the Youyan army who had seen the scene when the Yanshi city wall was collapsed by gunpowder, but the total amount of gunpowder used in the bombardment of the Luoyang city wall this time far exceeded that of the Yanshi, and they were still dumbfounded. Those sergeants who had never seen this scene were even more dumbfounded, not knowing what was happening on the Luoyang city wall in front of them.

The entire battlefield suddenly became silent, only to hear the huge sound of walls collapsing and houses collapsing from the direction of Luoyang, but the smoke and dust continued to disperse, making people unable to see the reality in it.

This made Zheng Rong, the king of Youyan, who was about to be happy, a little anxious, and gently called Qiu Yizhi and asked: "Yizhi, you don't know when the smoke and dust will dissipate, so the truth is unknown, how can our army attack?" ”

Qiu Yizhi thought for a while: "When I bombarded the Yanshi city wall a few days ago, it was also full of smoke, and it was quickly washed down because of the rainfall. At present, the bombardment of the city wall of Luoyang is much more powerful, and there is no precipitation, I really don't know when it will ...... This is all incomplete thoughts, please ask the righteous father to condemn the sin. ”

Zheng Rong listened, rode on the horse and squinted at Qiu Yi, and said: "Our army does not know the reality of the enemy, and the enemy army does not know the reality of our army. If the dust settles, I am afraid that the enemy army has already prepared for defense, how can Luoyang be taken lightly? ”

Qiu Yizhi was startled by Zheng Rong's eyes, and said, "Why don't you go to investigate before Yi to see what the current situation of the Luoyang City Wall is." After returning to my father-in-law, I will make a decision, okay? ”

Zheng Rong nodded, but said: "Although this matter is big, Yizhi is a lonely henchman, and he can't be in danger, just send a safe person to go." ”

Qiu Yizhi's heart was hot when he heard this, and he hurriedly waved his hand on the horse and said: "Do things for your father-in-law, Yizhi will never give up." Besides, how can someone else tell it with their own eyes? In case the Luoyang city wall has not completely collapsed, Yizhi can also give advice to his father-in-law according to the situation! ”

Qiu Yizhi paused, and said: "Yizhi is going, take Wei Chi Lianghong and Zhao Chengxiao together, go and return quickly, there must be no accidents, please rest assured!" ”

Wei Chi Lianghong and Zhao Chengxiao's skills, Zheng Rong still knows, Qiu Yizhi just said a word after a sentence, and finally nodded and said: "That's good, I will rely on you." But go and listen to the situation clearly, and don't be reckless. Have you made a note of it? ”

Qiu Yizhi nodded hurriedly, beckoned the two lieutenants Chi Lianghong and Zhao Chengxiao, and asked the soldiers in the Youyan army who were responsible for raising horses to wrap the hooves of the three horses and a total of twelve horses in thick cotton cloth, so as not to alarm the enemy with the sound of the horses' hooves, and then galloped away in the direction of Luoyang.

Zhao Chengxiao and Wei Chi Lianghong protected Qiu Yizhi one after the other, passed through layers of smoke and dust, and approached the Luoyang City Wall at great speed.

The closer you get to the Luoyang city wall, the stronger the smell of sulfur in the air. Yu Chi Lianghong held his breath so well that he had already held his breath; Qiu Yizhi and Zhao Chengxiao did not have this means, and under the smoke of the sulfur smell, they kept coughing and crying.

Through the fog of smoke and dust, Qiu Yizhi and others finally walked to the foot of the Luoyang city wall.

However, I saw that a section of the tall and majestic Luoyang city wall had been blasted out by a violent explosion that could be used by four or five people to enter and exit side by side, and the ground was full of broken bricks and tiles, and on the damaged section of the city wall, there were still bricks and stones constantly peeling off and falling.

Qiu Yizhi listened attentively, and faintly there seemed to be a wailing of pain and the sound of screaming and screaming into his ears, so he didn't dare to stay for a long time, so he beckoned Wei Chi Lianghong and Zhao Chengxiao to escort him along the Luoyang city wall to the south.

After walking a few steps, I saw that a section of the city wall was full of blackened marks, and the wall became crumbling, but it did not fall - as if a warrior had used his last bit of strength before death to protect the home behind him.

Qiu Yizhi didn't have time to sigh, and after secretly noting the situation here, he continued to ride his horse to the north.

In this way, Qiu Yizhi took no more than a meal to get a close look at all six predetermined blasting points—three of which had blasted the walls of Luoyang open for the army to move; Although the two walls were badly damaged, the walls did not fall; The other is intact, as if the gunpowder had not been ignited.

Zheng Rong listened to the report of Qiu Yizhi, who had returned to the battle, and already knew in his heart that with these three gaps, it was enough for his army to enter Luoyang several times at the same time, which was really a good result that he expected.

So Zheng Rong summoned Zhong Likuang, Zheng Sen, Qiu Yizhi, Cui Nan and others, and ordered: "At present, the city wall of Luoyang has been broken, and it is the time to make a move. and led 10,000 Chinese troops by Lone and broke through from the center; Cui Nan and Zheng Sen each led 10,000 horses and horses to fight into the battle from the left and right; Mr. Zhongli and Yizhi led the rear army to receive support, and they will definitely take the capital Luoyang today! ”

Zheng Rong said that, and looked around at everyone.

But he saw Zhong Likuang waving his hand and said: "What kind of person is the prince, how can he personally enter the capital?" ”

"Lone leads the army to fight, and has always taken the lead, now is the time to turn things around, how can Lone be greedy for life and fear death, and stay behind the army?" Zheng Rong said.

Zhong Likuang still had that expressionless look, and said slowly: "The prince misunderstood, the student didn't mean that. It's just that the prince has entered the capital, if he encounters the current emperor Zheng Yao, how should he deal with it? ”

Zhong Likuang's question really made Zheng Rong stupid.

Although Zheng Rong has been given the righteous name of rebellion, Zheng Yao is still the emperor, which is very different from his current status as a prince. If Zheng Yao puts up a stand for the Son of Heaven and asks Zheng Rong to kneel down and pay homage, then will Zheng Rong worship or not? Or Zheng Rong would rather die and refuse to surrender, so will Zheng Rong capture or kill the king?

Zhongli Kuang saw that Youyan King Zheng Rong was deep in thought, so he continued: "Therefore, please don't be impatient. Yizhi is very familiar with the terrain and defense of the capital, so it is better for him to lead the Chinese army into Luoyang on behalf of the prince, and other deployments can be handled as usual. ”

Zhong Likuang said to Qiu Yizhi in a low, almost inaudible voice: "The capital is a land of right and wrong, and the emperor is a person of right and wrong. It's better to let him commit suicide in fear of sin, or simply die in the chaos, in short, he can't leave his mouth alive! Do you understand Qiu Yizhi? ”

Although Zhong Likuang has always been bitter and mean, he has always been gentle and elegant, how could he ever say such murderous words. Hearing this, Qiu Yizhi shuddered all over his body, and hurriedly turned his head to look at his father-in-law Zheng Rong. saw that Zheng Rong also had a very serious expression on his face, and nodded vigorously.

Seeing this, Qiu Yizhi had no choice but to agree: "Yizhi has written it down, and he must do his best!" ”

So Zheng Rong selected 35,000 elites from the nearly 100,000 Youyan army, led by Qiu Yizhi, Zheng Sen and Cui Nan respectively, and laid down three conical formations.

But I heard Zheng Rong surrounded by many guards and honor guards, and personally stepped forward to lecture: "All the Youyan soldiers have listened!" Lonely Heaven is destined to return, so God is in love, and the thunder falls to collapse the Luoyang city wall. There is a way that God does not take it, but suffers from it. If our army does not take advantage of the victory to attack Luoyang today, it will be against the sky, and I am afraid that it will be punished by heaven! ”

I heard Zheng Rong say again: "Now Zheng Yao's traitor has become a frightened bird, and he can't resist the blow of a lone soldier." However, Luoyang, the capital city, is the first good district, and the people of the capital are all brothers and sisters, so you can't disturb it, otherwise you can't blame the lone army for being ruthless! ”

Zheng Rong saw that the soldiers under his command were all solemn, so he said loudly: "Today, whoever fights bravely to kill the enemy, Gu has prepared a thousand taels of gold, it depends on whether you dare to come and take it!" ”

Under the heavy reward, there will be brave men, and when the army heard that the reward of today's battle was so rich, they could not help but burst into a burst of exclamation.

At this point, the morale of Youyan's whole army has been completely mobilized, so Qiu Yizhi, Zheng Sen, and Cui Nan discussed with each other again, used flags to reorganize the formation, and personally led the army to rush to the Luoyang City Wall.

At this moment, a gust of north wind blew, blowing away some of the dust around the Luoyang city wall.

Through the gradually thinning mist, Qiu Yizhi saw that the defenders of the imperial court in the gap in the Luoyang city wall were still in formation, and knew that this opportunity could not be lost, so he waved the command flag, and commanded the cavalry in the formation to rush forward towards the gap in the city wall, and the soldiers behind him also accelerated their pace and followed.

Seeing this, Zheng Sen and Cui Nan on both wings also drew gourds in the same way, taking the cavalry as the lead and entering Luoyang.

The defenders of Luoyang were overwhelmed by the sudden huge explosion, and it took a while to react, thinking that the Youyan army was very likely to rush in through the gap in the city wall.

So the general Zuo sent people to report the situation to the military department and the emperor Zheng Yao, and on the other hand, he lined up on the spot, intending to fill the gap in the city wall with the flesh and blood of the soldiers of the forbidden army first, and then prevent the craftsmen from repairing the city wall when the situation stabilized.

This is the best response that the defenders of Luoyang can do in a short period of time.

However, the speed of the Youyan army's actions and the fierceness of its offensive were far beyond their imagination.

Before the defenders of Luoyang could arrange their defensive formations, Youyan's elite cavalry rushed in from the gap in the city wall.

The infantry did not have a tight formation, so they lost the cooperation and protection of their comrades, and they were at an absolute natural disadvantage in front of the rapidly attacking cavalry. In addition, since the war between the imperial court and the King of Youyan, there have always been more losses and fewer victories, and morale is low. Today, they suddenly lost the protection of the tall city wall, and the defenders of Luoyang were all panicked in their hearts, seeing the elite cavalry of Youyan rushing in with an indomitable momentum, they didn't even have the courage to resist, and they actually got out of the way and let the enemy rush into the city!