On the first day of the joint attack of the Xiongwu Army and the Montenegrin Army on the Taocheng City, the Xiongwu Army suffered 7,000 casualties, the Montenegrin Army suffered 15,000 casualties, the Euphorbia soldiers under the command of the defender Zhang He were killed and wounded more than half, and the other more than 10,000 Yuan troops were killed and wounded more than 70%.

Zhang Yan led the army to attack the West Gate in person, and finally captured the city, but was held in the area of the West Gate by the halberd warriors who resisted to the death and could not continue to advance inward.

On the second day, the siege battle was at a fever pitch, and more Montenegrin troops poured directly into the city from the west gate and began street fighting with the defenders. The Xiongwu army led by Li Jinwu also conquered the east gate of the city, and the army rushed into the city.

Under the fierce attack of the eastern and western armies, the Yuan army, which was stubbornly defending, was finally completely defeated, and some soldiers no longer cared about Zhang He's deterrence, and began to retreat along the South Street to the south gate, leaving only Zhang He, who was still fighting to the death, and more than 2,000 halberd soldiers in the final desperate struggle.

By the time of Shen, Zhang He and the remnants of more than 2,000 men were squeezed by the Black Mountain Army and the Xiongwu Army in a very small area in the city, Zhao Xing rode a horse from the army and stepped forward, and then said loudly: "I am Zhao Xing, the Taifu of the Jin Kingdom, please General Zhang Junyi come forward to speak!"

More than 2,000 halberds slowly made a way out of it, and Zhang He, who was covered in blood, walked out from among the soldiers, he looked up at Zhao Xing who was riding on a horse in the distance, and said expressionlessly: "Now that the pottery has been broken, our army has been defeated and surrounded, I don't know what advice Master Taifu has!"

Zhao Xing hugged his fists and saluted Zhang He, and then said: "I can't talk about advice, but I have a few heartfelt words that I want to say to General Zhang." The general has led his army to defend the lonely city alone for several months, and the great battle since yesterday has caused heavy casualties on both sides, and the general can be said to have fulfilled his duties faithfully and is a model for soldiers! However, when manpower was poor, now that the pottery has been broken, there are only more than 1,000 men left under the general's men, so why bother to make useless resistance and only increase the casualties of the soldiers on both sides?

After Zhang He heard Zhao Xing say these words, he kept his face calm and noncommittal, but he was engaged in a fierce ideological struggle in his heart. Zhao Xing's words are very sincere, now that Zhang He has been defeated, if he continues to resist with his more than 1,000 brothers, although he can achieve the name of loyalty and righteousness in his life, he will bury the lives of more than 2,000 brothers, in this situation, no matter who he is, he is afraid that it will be difficult to make a choice without scruples.

Zhao Xing didn't wait for Zhang He to answer, and then asked Zhang He: "General Zhang, do you remember what you said to me when Guangping City was broken?"

Zhang He suddenly remembered that he had said such a sentence to Zhao Xing under Guangping City: "The general is loved, and he is remembered, but the loyal and righteous people, regardless of the two masters, the Yuan family is kind to him, and when the next day reports the kindness of the Yuan family, Zhang He will be under the command of the general!"

So Zhang He nodded and replied: "He still remembers what he said that day." ”

Zhao Xing didn't say anything more and waited for Zhang He to make a final decision.

Zhang He closed his eyes in pain, and after a violent struggle in his heart, he ruthlessly said to the soldiers beside him: "Brothers, now that the city is broken, there is no point in resisting to the death. He had been favored by the Yuan family, and he repaid him wholeheartedly after saddling his horse over the years, and now he has been defeated and captured, and he has done his best. From today onwards, I have decided to take refuge in the Jin Kingdom, and I am willing to continue to follow me in the future, I still treat each other as brothers, and those who do not want to follow can leave from the south gate now, I believe that Mrs. Zhao will definitely not embarrass everyone. ”

After Zhang He finished speaking, the soldiers around him were silent, and after a while, someone left the team and walked towards the south gate. Subsequently, the soldiers left Zhang He, dropped their weapons, and left the city a little lonely.

In the end, there were more than 1,000 Euphorbia soldiers who chose to stay and follow Zhang He, far more than he expected. Zhang He then turned to Zhao Xing and said, "The sin general Zhang He is here, let Master Taifu fall." ”

Zhao Xing smiled indifferently, and finally breathed a sigh of relief, he said to Zhang He: "General Zhang is wounded, and the brothers around him also need to recuperate, so let's retreat to Gaoyi with the wounded soldiers of the Xiongwu Army." ”

Zhang He nodded, agreeing to this arrangement.

At this point, after the siege of Xiataocheng for three months, the Xiongwu Army and the Montenegrin Army finally pulled out the nail of Liaotaocheng, which was wedged into the hinterland of Jizhou, after paying the price of 27,000 casualties, and the Dragoon Army and the Xiong Zhen Army were no longer safe, and the Xiongwu Army and the Montenegrin Army could also lead their troops south to form a powerful situation of confrontation with the coalition forces on the frontal battlefield.

The Xiongwu army lost 8,000 people, and the Montenegrin army lost 19,000 people. But in any case, the northern part of Jizhou has completely fallen into the hands of Zhao Xing, even if it confronts the 190,000 coalition troops in the south of Jizhou in the future, the Xiongwu Army, the Xiong Zhen Army, the Dragoon Army and the Black Mountain Army have a total of 110,000 soldiers who can fight, and they are not afraid of the coalition army on the scene, which is enough to deal with the next situation.

Zhang He, who retreated into Gaoyi City, received an appointment from Zhao Xing soon after, he will lead more than 1,000 halberders to Yuyang to serve as the head of the Youzhou Recruit Training Corps, and more than 1,000 soldiers under him will also be incorporated into the training regiment in the future, become the instructor of the training regiment, and no longer go to the battlefield to fight with others.

For Zhao Xing's arrangement, Zhang He was very grateful in his heart. Although Zhang He took refuge in the Jin State with more than a thousand brothers, if Zhao Xing asked him to lead a team south to attack Yuan Shao soon after, it would be difficult to accept it for a while, both emotionally and psychologically.

Arrange for Zhang He to enter the training regiment to train new recruits, which will not make Zhang He feel left out and waste talents, but also avoid Zhang He from facing his former brothers, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone.

Zhao Xing let Zhang He go north to Yuyang, in fact, there is another meaning, but it will not be announced until Zhang He has gained a firm foothold in the Protector Army and gained a certain prestige.

The battle of Jizhou is such a big scene, but now it is not a good idea to let the fierce general Zhao Yun guard Yuyang. But Zhao Xing still can't fully trust Gongsun Zhan, if there is no absolutely loyal and reliable general stationed in Yuyang, Zhao Xing can't rest assured that Zhao Yunnan will take the lead. Now that Zhang He has been received, it is just right for him to take over Zhao Yun to guard Youzhou, and if Zhao Yun goes south to command the armies, Zhao Xing can withdraw and return to Crouching Tiger City, and arrange the war on the east and west fronts in the center, so as to avoid being broken through in the middle because of the emptiness of the Jin Kingdom.

Zhao Xing comforted the brave soldiers of the Montenegrin Army in the city, and personally awarded military merit medals to the meritorious generals, which greatly boosted the morale of the Montenegrin Army and made this army from the Yellow Turban bandits begin to have a sense of honor and pride.

The bodies of all the more than 14,000 soldiers who died in battle have been transferred back to the Taihang Martyrs' Garden by the reserve forces in the rear, and the more than 13,000 soldiers who were injured have been sent to Gaoyi, Fucheng, and other places that have been stabilized for treatment. Although the Xiongwu Army lost nearly 8,000 men, more than 3,000 of the more than 4,000 wounded soldiers were able to return to the battlefield after receiving medical treatment; the losses of the Montenegrin Army were more serious, and no more than 4,000 of the more than 9,000 wounded soldiers could return to the battlefield after treatment. In other words, among the 27,000 soldiers lost in the attack on the city, the total number of veterans who could return to the battlefield after treatment was 7,000.

After this battle, the 50,000 Montenegrin Army was finally left with 35,000 people, and the original 30,000 Xiongwu Army had a gap of more than 5,000 people. So Li Jinwu bargained with Zhang Yan and exchanged the extra 5,000 men of the Montenegrin Army for the price of 200 grassroots officers, so that the two armies finally made up a full infantry army of 30,000.