By the end of September, there were only two cities in Jiangbei that had not been breached, one of which was Anqing and the other was Xiangyang. Tian Chengsi, who arrived under Xiangyang City, learned the lesson of the last time, and took the initiative to write a letter of help to Li Siye when he encountered a problem, and the main thing is that Xiangyang City is too famous, so he doesn't have to think that he can't eat it quietly.

Zhang Guangtao and Tian Chengsi were just the opposite, he had been blocked in the lonely city of Anqing for more than a month, and the 8,000 soldiers in the city resisted to the death under the leadership of Liu Changqing, and the Yong army besieging the city suffered heavy losses. Zhang Guangtao breathed a sigh of relief in his chest, and he was determined to take down Anqing.

Even if he is unwilling to reveal his incompetence in front of Li Siye, he can directly ask Duan Xiushi, who has already captured Yangzhou in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, for help, he can send an army up the river, or he can tow dozens of Xuanwu gunboats upstream, and bombard Anqing's back from the river, and it won't take long for him to capture the city from both sides.

However, Zhang Guangtao's undercurrent self-esteem made him reluctant to ask for help from the outside world, and only ordered his soldiers to attack the city every day, which made the soldiers of the Hedong Army complain.

Li Siye is sitting in Hefei at the moment, and he has already received the news of Duan Xiushi's capture of Yangzhou, and he has also received a letter of help from Tian Chengsi, but he has not been able to get a signal from Anqing for a long time.

According to his judgment of Zhang Guangtao, if he wins, he will report to him as soon as possible, and if he loses the battle, he will not dare to hide it. However, if an inconquerable city is pinned down by the enemy, it will not be able to win for a long time.

Zhang Guangtao must have fallen into the quagmire of war, and this person had an excellent face, which made the Hedong Army lose its troops.

Li Siye immediately called Bai Xiaode and ordered him to lead 20,000 soldiers and horses to carry 30,000 people and livestock, and transfer one of the Xuanwu artillery battalions south to Anqing to help in the battle, and at the same time, the giant Kong Ming lantern was also transferred to Anqing, ready to attack the city at any time.

When Zhang Guangtao saw Li Siye, who was sent by Li Siye, he was relieved and ashamed at the same time, thinking that someone in the army must have leaked the news. It's just that now he has to put on a smiling face to see Bai Xiaode.

Bai Xiaode knew that he loved face and was not very broad-minded, so he said: "When the lord saw that you had not received news for a long time, he guessed that there must be a strong city that stumbled his feet, so he sent me to send the Xuanwu artillery battalion and the giant Kong Ming lantern. So I'll just take care of the escorts, and I'll leave the siege under your command. ”

Zhang Guangtao breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "The lord is really clever, my brother is indeed blocked by this small Anqing City, I don't want to bother the lord to send troops to come, and in a few days, my brother will definitely be able to take down the city." Presumably, Brother Bai Xian has a clever plan for attacking the city, and he can give his brother a guide or two. ”

"With the help of the Xuanwu Artillery Battalion and the giant Kong Ming Lantern, General Zhang's siege of the city is easier, and the younger brother is finally busy, so he won't participate in it."

With the help of Xuanwu heavy artillery, Zhang Guangtao was more handy in attacking the city, and his measures were no longer anxious, anyway, the lord already knew that Anqing was difficult to overcome, but let him calm down and arrange the siege deployment step by step.

The Tang army in Anqing City seems to have fallen into a desperate situation, and Liu Changqing, the Taishou is also anxious, and the soldiers under his command not only have to withstand the enemy's artillery fire, but also the grain and grass in the city are already unsustainable, and it is pointless to hold on. He couldn't do something as dehumanizing as asking his soldiers to eat human flesh.

In fact, this is just a consideration between morality and righteousness in his heart, because he understands in his stomach that Anqing's gains and losses have no impact on the overall situation of the world, even if he holds Anqing, Datang will no longer be able to recapture the land north of the Yangtze River, and his current insistence is just to adhere to the righteousness in his heart. But he can't drag the people of the whole city to be buried with him because of his own righteousness, he has no right to decide the fate of others, he can only decide his own.

He called Pei Lu, the don't drive of Anqing Mansion, to him, and his voice was flat as if he usually played a homely life: "Anqing City has been cut off from grain and grass, and the people are hungry, and it is pointless to defend it any longer." I want to die for myself, and tomorrow morning you will lead everyone to surrender to the Yong army. ”

Pei Lu's eyes suddenly turned red, and he stepped forward and said: "I want to go to justice with the public, you and I will die, and the soldiers and the people will open the door and sacrifice the city." ”

Liu Changqing shook his head sadly and said: "It's easy to die impulsively, but the difficult thing is to live with a sense of mission and humiliation, let you stay and sacrifice the city, you can ask the rebels to treat the people and surrender their pawns." ”

Pei Beijia bowed to Liu Changqing and said, "The public entrusts it, Pei Lu will definitely do it." ”

After Pei Lu retreated, Liu Changqing's wife Du Jiuniang walked to his side with her two children, and said with tears in her eyes: "The husband is loyal to the country, and the concubine is obedient, but the two children under his knees still have a lot to go in the future." ”

Liu Changqing took his wife's hand and said: "I think the same way, tomorrow Pei Lu will dedicate the city, you take the children out of the south gate tonight, and I will send someone to escort you across the river." ”

"Husband!" She knew that this was goodbye, and two lines of tears flowed down her cheeks.

The two children also ran to their father's lap, hugging the hem of their father's robe and crying.

Liu Changqing held back the tears in his eyes, waved his hand stiffly and said, "Don't cry anymore, tears are useless to you, leave quickly!" ”

After the lady and the children left, Liu Changqing took out the horizontal knife on his waist, wiped it on his sleeve, and then put it on his neck and closed his eyes and pulled the knife......

Pei Lu ordered people to raise white flags on the city wall and shouted that the Yongjun army was willing to talk about surrender.

Zhang Guangtao was not very happy when he learned about it, this is the inevitable result of this war, and it is only a matter of time before the city is taken, but it is good for both sides to get rid of it early. He waved his hand and said, "Let's go, go under the city wall." ”

Pei Beijia asked the belated enemy general under the city wall, "Which of you said that it counts?" ”

Zhang Guangtao snorted and stepped forward, and said loudly: "I am the envoy of Hedong Jiedu ordered by King Yong, and the head of the march of the Middle Route Army of the Southern Expedition, and I have the final say in the affairs of Anqing." ”

"We want to surrender the city, but there are two demands, I hope the general can agree."

"Just say, it's my business whether you agree or not."

"First, the soldiers who lay down their arms and surrender should be spared their lives when the army enters the city."

"You can promise that."

"Second, the people in the city have been cut off from food, and I hope that the general can solve the hunger for the people after entering the city, and the people will definitely be grateful to Dade."

Zhang Guangtao replied: "This is not for you to say, we will definitely treat the people well after we enter the city." ”

"In that case, I will open the city and surrender."

Bai Xiaode, who was riding a horse behind Zhang Guangtao, praised him: "This person is really a righteous man, and he only mentions the soldiers and the people in his mouth when he surrenders the city, but he does not mention himself." ”

"Wait." Zhang Guangtao raised his hand and said: "You put forward two conditions, I only mention one, I want to assassinate Shi Liu Changqing, I swear to divide his five horses, naturally I can't break my oath." ”

Pei Lu closed his eyes and sighed, "Liu Taishou has committed suicide and martyrdom last night. ”

"Hmph, if it's cheap, then whip the corpse and hang it on the city wall to show the public."

After Zhang Guangtao entered the city, he did help the people with military rations, but he was a small-bellied chicken intestine, and he hated Liu Changqing very much, and learned that the people had built a tomb for Liu Changqing, so he sent someone to dig up his body, and hung it on the city wall after whipping the corpse, so the people dared to be angry but did not dare to speak.

After Bai Xiaode helped Zhang Guangtao break through Anqing, he led the Xuanwu artillery battalion and the giant Kong Ming lantern back to Hefei, and also informed Li Siye of the beginning and end of the Anqing siege campaign.

Zhang Guangtao first attacked the city for personal face, and forced the soldiers to spend their lives on the city, causing great casualties. Although he appeased the people after entering the city, digging Liu Changqing's body out of the grave in order to vent his personal anger was indeed not the demeanor that a general should have. He then ordered Zhang Guangtao to be transferred to Chang'an to serve as the general of the Imperial Forest Guard, and transferred Ashina Lulu to serve as the envoy of Hedong Jiedu, and ordered him to go to Anqing to take over the city army.