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Chapter 2548 Despair

After capturing Fengzhou, the rebel army's path forward suddenly opened up.

He Jingyuan stood atop Fengzhou city wall, studied the map for a while, then pointed north and said to the generals around him, "Look, once Fengzhou falls, there's a vast plain ahead. Mingzhou is the last hurdle. Once we take Mingzhou, there will be no city outside the capital that can stop us. With such a vast plain, our cavalry can reach the capital in half a day."

Wei Qilin stood beside him, nodded, and a rare smile appeared on his face: "Brother He is right. Although Mingzhou also has garrison troops, they can't compare to Fengzhou. If we've taken Fengzhou, Mingzhou is even less of a problem."

Meng Lihua also leaned over to look at the map, pointing to the location of Mingzhou: "The imperial court must have also stationed a large number of troops in Mingzhou, and they won't let us pass through easily. Wei Yan isn't stupid; he knows that if Mingzhou is lost, the capital will be lost."

He Jingyuan snorted and put the map away: "Hmph! No matter how many troops he amasses, it's useless. Fengzhou's city walls are so thick, we blew them up in half a day. Can Mingzhou be harder to attack than Fengzhou? With our lord's skill in using explosives, what city gate can withstand it?"

Everyone laughed when they heard that.

Suning stood aside without saying a word.

He knew in his heart that using explosives once was a surprise attack, but it would lose its effectiveness if used too often.

The people in the imperial court aren't fools. Once they've suffered a loss, they'll definitely be on guard.

However, he didn't say it aloud, not wanting to spoil everyone's fun.

Moreover, Su Ning had already devised a countermeasure; this court no longer had any reason to exist.

……

The army rested in Fengzhou for a day, and set off early the next morning, advancing in a mighty force towards Mingzhou.

Meanwhile, the imperial court was in complete chaos.

The first thing the emperor did every morning at court was to ask about the battle reports from the front lines.

But each piece of news they heard was worse than the last.

"Your Majesty, the rebel army has left Fengzhou and is moving towards Mingzhou!"

"Your Majesty, the garrison of Mingzhou is in dire need of reinforcements!"

"Your Majesty, the rebel army of Prince Changxin in the Northwest has captured three cities in succession, and the defending general has been killed in action!"

Urgent reports poured into the capital like snowflakes, each one adding to the somber atmosphere in the court.

The emperor sat on the dragon throne, his face growing increasingly grim with each passing day.

He flipped through the battle reports, his hands trembling, his voice trembling: "The garrison of Mingzhou has 50,000 men, how come they couldn't even hold them off? He Jingyuan's army hasn't even arrived yet, and they're already clamoring for reinforcements? What use are they to me?"

Wei Yan stood below, his face ashen, without uttering a word.

He didn't have many troops left to deploy; those that could be sent to Mingzhou had already been sent, but the front lines still couldn't hold out.

He has to guard against the Northern Jurchens to the north, and against the Prince of Changxin to the west. The troops from the east and south won't arrive anytime soon, so even if he wanted to, he couldn't.

Li Xing was also extremely anxious, pacing back and forth in the court, muttering, "What should we do? What should we do? If Mingzhou falls, the capital will be defenseless. When the rebel army comes to the city, how will we defend ourselves?"

One minister stepped forward and suggested, "Your Majesty, why not move the capital? Retreat to the south, where there are natural barriers of rivers that can be defended."

These words immediately caused an uproar in the imperial court.

"Relocate the capital? Nonsense! The capital is the foundation of the nation; how can we easily abandon it?"

"What can we do if we don't move the capital? Are we just going to wait for the rebels to invade?"

"That's right, that's right. As long as we're alive, we can always rebuild. Let's retreat to the south first, catch our breath, and then launch a counterattack."

Wei Yan suddenly raised his head and glared fiercely at the ministers who advocated moving the capital. His voice was as cold as ice: "Anyone who dares to mention moving the capital again, I will chop off their head right now! If the capital is abandoned, the people's hearts will be scattered. At that time, we will collapse on our own before the rebels even have a chance to fight us."

This time, Li Xing unusually sided with Wei Yan and stood up to oppose the move: "Prime Minister Wei is right. Moving the capital is absolutely unacceptable. Once the court moves south, the north will be completely lost, and it will be difficult to take it back. What we need to do now is to defend the capital to the death and wait for the armies from all directions to come to the aid of the emperor."

The emperor, his head throbbing from their commotion, rubbed his temples and said weakly, "Alright, alright, stop arguing. The matter of moving the capital is not to be mentioned again. Issue an edict: the garrison of Mingzhou must hold the city to the death; reinforcements will arrive soon. Anyone who dares to abandon the city and flee will have their entire family executed!"

The decree was issued, but everyone knew that reinforcements wouldn't arrive so quickly.

A distant source of water cannot quench an immediate thirst; whether Mingzhou can be defended depends entirely on the capabilities of the 50,000 garrison troops.

Every day, battle reports were sent back from the front lines, and every single one was terrifying.

"The vanguard of the rebel army has reached the walls of Mingzhou!"

"The rebels have set up camp outside the city and are building siege equipment!"

"The rebel army of Prince Changxin has breached Zhenxi Pass and is now 800 li from the capital!"

The emperor, looking at these battle reports every day, lost his appetite and couldn't sleep. He lost a lot of weight, and his eye sockets became sunken.

He often had nightmares at night, dreaming that He Jingyuan rushed into the Golden Palace with a knife, and that he was beheaded. He would wake up in a cold sweat every time.

Wei Yan wasn't much better off.

He stayed at the Ministry of War until late at night every day, deploying troops and setting up defenses, but no matter how he deployed them, he always felt that there were loopholes everywhere.

He felt like he was patching a tattered net; he would patch one side, only to have another leak, and it was a never-ending process.

Li Xing was so anxious that blisters appeared on the corners of his mouth, making it difficult for him to speak.

His men came to his residence every day, bringing only bad news, not a single good one.

……

Strangely, the court's anxiety and fear seemed to remain confined to the imperial palace and the Ministry of War.

The streets of Beijing were still bustling with traffic and activity.

The restaurant was full of customers, some playing drinking games, others drinking, while waiters ran around with trays, calling out "Make way, make way," just like any other day.

The theater was filled with the sounds of gongs and drums, the actors on stage were singing their hearts out, and the audience below cheered in waves, leaving sunflower seed shells and peanut skins scattered all over the ground.

In the homes of those high-ranking officials and nobles, banquets were held, music was played, and crickets were fought. Life went on exactly as before, as if the fighting on the front lines had nothing to do with them.

Wei Yan's son, Wei Xuan, died in Jizhou, and his head was cut off and hung in the bustling marketplace.

Wei Yan himself stayed up all night at the Ministry of War every day, so worried that half of his hair turned white.

But those high-ranking officials and nobles seem to have forgotten all of this.

They continued to eat, drink, and indulge in pleasure with their concubines as usual.

A wealthy merchant was drinking with others in a restaurant. His face was flushed and his neck was thick with alcohol. He slurred, "What's there to be afraid of? If the sky falls, someone tall will hold it up. There are so many high-ranking officials in the court; it's not our place to worry about them. Come on, let's drink!"

Someone nearby chimed in, "Exactly! So what if He Jingyuan and Prince Changxin invade? We'll still live our lives no matter who becomes emperor. Why bother with all that?"

"Haha, that's right!"

Upon hearing this, everyone at the table laughed, clinked their glasses, and continued drinking.

Some people whispered, "I heard that He Jingyuan did not kill the people. After entering the city, he did not commit any crimes. The people of Fengzhou continued to do what they were supposed to do, and were not affected at all."

"Really? The army of Prince Changxin is going to plunder the city for three days."

“It’s true, my cousin lives in Fengzhou and told me this himself. After He Jingyuan’s men entered the city, they not only did not commit any offenses, but also conducted business fairly.”

"What's there to be afraid of? Let them break in, they're not going to take anything from us anyway."

……

When the news reached Prince Changxin, Sui Tuo, he was eating in his tent.

After listening to the scout's report, he put his chopsticks on the table and remained silent for a long time.

The generals around him exchanged bewildered glances, wondering what he was thinking.

Sui Yuanqing sat to his left, holding a wine cup, a disdainful smile on his lips: "Father, look at that group of people in the capital. They're rotten to the core. The front lines are raging, but they're still indulging in debauchery in the capital. They're all hoping our army will enter the city and change the dynasty. It would be a miracle if this kind of court didn't perish."

“…” Sui Tuo glanced at his son but didn’t reply.

Sui Yuanqing then said, "Father, we need to speed things up. The Jizhou army is advancing too fast. Once Mingzhou is captured, they will head straight for the capital. If they get into the capital first and occupy the palace, we will be at a disadvantage."

After a moment of silence, Sui Tuo slowly spoke: "What's the rush? Let He Jingyuan go and attack first. Mingzhou isn't so easy to conquer. Although the imperial court is corrupt, even a cornered dog will bite, and a cornered rabbit will bite. Let's proceed steadily and surely, without being greedy for quick success or rushing ahead."

Sui Yuanqing pursed his lips, feeling unconvinced, but he didn't say anything more.

Sui Tuo picked up his wine cup, took a sip, put the cup down, and said to the general beside him, "Pass down the order: the army should speed up its march, but not advance rashly. If we encounter the imperial army, we should fight if we can, and go around if we can't. Our goal is the capital, not to get entangled with the imperial army's scattered troops."

"Yes!" the generals replied in unison.

Sui Tuo thought for a moment and added, "Also, send more spies to keep an eye on He Jingyuan's movements. I need to know where he has advanced, what tactics he has used, and how many casualties he has suffered."

"Yes!"

Looking at his father's solemn expression, Sui Yuanqing thought to himself: Father is too cautious.

What's so great about He Jingyuan? All he knows is how to blow up city gates.

Once we get to the battlefield, where we're really fighting, it's not certain who will win or lose.

But Sui Yuanqing didn't say it.

He knew his father's temper; if he said too much, he would be scolded.

……

At the front lines, He Jingyuan's army from Jizhou has arrived at the gates of Mingzhou.

Although the city walls of Mingzhou were not as high or thick as those of Fengzhou, they were still quite good.

The city walls were densely covered with flags, and the defending troops were on high alert.

He Jingyuan rode his horse around the city once, then returned and said to Wei Qilin, "Brother Wei, there are quite a few defenders, at least 50,000. There are also many cannons on the city walls. It seems the imperial court has spared no expense."

Wei Qilin frowned: "Artillery? That's not a good idea. If our men charge in, one shot can wipe out a whole bunch of them."

He Jingyuan nodded and turned to Su Ning: "My lord, what do you think we should do?"

Su Ning gazed at the distant city walls and remained silent for a moment. "Don't rush to attack the city. Send someone to persuade them to surrender. It would be best if we could persuade them to surrender, to avoid resorting to violence."

He Jingyuan said, "Persuade them to surrender? Can they surrender? The imperial court has issued a death order: if the garrison commander dares to surrender, his entire family will be executed."

Su Ning said, "Let's try it and see. If it doesn't work, we'll use explosives. But this time we need to change our tactics. They've definitely deployed heavy troops near the city gates, waiting for us to blow them up."

He Jingyuan thought about it and felt it made sense, so he sent a soldier with a loud voice to run down to the city with a white flag and shout at the top of his lungs.

"Listen up, people on the city walls! The rebel commander has ordered that as long as you open the city gates and surrender, you will all be treated well! No killing or looting! Those who wish to stay can stay, and those who wish to go home can go home! You have the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to consider! If you do not surrender after that time, we will attack the city!"

There was a moment of silence on the city wall, then a burst of cursing erupted.

"Bullshit! I'm a soldier of the imperial court, how could I surrender to you rebels?"

"Come and attack the city if you dare! My cannons are waiting for you!"

"Get out of here! If you don't leave, I'll shoot an arrow!"

The soldier who had shouted the order quickly ran back and said to He Jingyuan, "General, they won't surrender, and they're hurling nasty insults at us."

He Jingyuan snorted and turned to look at Su Ning: "Looks like we still have to fight."

Su Ning nodded calmly, "Then let's fight! But let's do it differently."

"What does my lord mean?"

"Encircle and attack reinforcements."

……

Beneath the walls of Mingzhou City, at the main camp of the rebel army.

He Jingyuan pointed to several routes on the sand table and said to his generals, "My lord, your prediction was correct! The court has already made its move. Wei Yan has issued a death order that the garrisons of several nearby prefectures must come to reinforce Mingzhou. There are 30,000 troops in Qingzhou to the north, 20,000 in Yizhou to the east, and 25,000 in Xuzhou to the south, totaling 75,000 men, who are heading this way."

Wei Qilin frowned: "Seventy-five thousand, plus fifty thousand in Mingzhou City, that's one hundred and twenty-five thousand. We have a total of two hundred thousand men. If we divide our forces to defend the city and then divide them to fight off reinforcements, our strength will be diluted."

He Jingyuan nodded and looked at Su Ning: "My lord, what do you suggest we do?"

Su Ning stood in front of the sand table, looked at it for a while, and then drew a circle around the outer perimeter of Mingzhou with his finger. "We've been waiting for them to come as reinforcements. If they had stayed in the city and hadn't come out, we would have had to take down each city one by one. Now that they've come out, we can eliminate them in open battle. This is called besieging the city and attacking the reinforcements."

Li Huai'an asked, "My lord, what is the strategy?"

Su Ning pointed to the official road north of Mingzhou on the sand table: "The 30,000 men from Qingzhou are the closest, they can arrive in three days. Yizhou and Xuzhou are a bit further away, it will take five days. We will take advantage of this time difference to wipe out the reinforcements from Qingzhou first, and then turn around to deal with the other two routes."

He Jingyuan asked, "Should we divide our forces to fight? What about Mingzhou?"

Su Ning shook his head: "Don't divide the troops. The garrison in Mingzhou City doesn't dare to come out. They don't know how many people we have. They only see 200,000 troops outside the city. Even if they had ten times the courage, they wouldn't dare to leave the city. Let's leave 50,000 men to surround the city, and send the remaining 150,000 men to fight the reinforcements."

Wei Qilin gasped: "150,000 men against 30,000? Isn't that using a sledgehammer to crack a nut?"

Su Ning smiled and said, "We need to use a sledgehammer to crack a nut. We need to finish this quickly and decisively, leaving no one behind. Once we're done, we'll retreat immediately and wait for reinforcements from Yizhou and Xuzhou to arrive before dealing with them in the same way."

He Jingyuan slapped his thigh: "Great! Let's do it this way! Encircle the stronghold and attack the reinforcements, defeating them one by one!"

……

That night, a mobilization was quietly carried out within the rebel army camp.

Under the cover of night, the 150,000-strong army left the camp and headed north silently.

Fifty thousand people remained in the camp, still with torches lit and drums beating, and patrol teams moving back and forth, making it look no different from two hundred thousand people.

The soldiers guarding the city walls of Mingzhou looked down and saw only torches covering the mountains and fields, so densely packed that they had no idea how many people were below the city.

They were unaware that the army below the city had already lost more than half its strength.

The commander of the Qingzhou reinforcements was Zhao Desheng, a veteran general with over twenty years of experience in warfare.

He led an army of 30,000 men on a rapid march, hoping to reach Mingzhou as soon as possible.

During the march, his lieutenant approached him cautiously and said, "General, shouldn't we slow down? We don't know what's ahead. What if we fall into an ambush?"

Zhao Desheng shook his head: "The Prime Minister has given a strict order to get to Mingzhou within a specified time. Delaying military operations is punishable by death. Besides, He Jingyuan's army is already surrounding Mingzhou. Where would they get the troops to attack us? Hurry up and go, don't dawdle."

The Qingzhou army continued its advance, heading south along the official road.

We arrived at a place called Black Pine Ridge, where mountains stretched out on both sides and a narrow official road ran through the middle, making the terrain treacherous.

Zhao Desheng reined in his horse, looked at the hills on both sides, and felt uneasy.

Having fought so many battles over the years, he knew that such places were the easiest to ambush.

"Scouts! Go up the mountain and check!" Zhao Desheng shouted. Several scouts rode up the mountain, returned after a round, and reported: "General, there's no one on the mountain, not even a soul in sight."

Zhao Desheng breathed a sigh of relief and waved his hand: "Keep going, hurry up, we must get through this mountain before dark."

The army marched into Black Pine Ridge in a grand procession, the column stretching out in a long line, with the front already inside the valley and the rear still outside the ridge.

Just then, the sound of thunderous war drums suddenly rang out from the mountain.

"Knock knock knock knock—"

The drums thundered, rising simultaneously from both mountain peaks, making the valley reverberate.

Immediately afterwards, countless flags appeared on the hilltop, densely packed and stretching as far as the eye could see.

The rebel army of Jizhou rushed out of the woods on the mountain, a dark mass that surged down like a tide.

Zhao Desheng's expression changed drastically. He drew his sword and roared, "Ambush! Form ranks! Form ranks!"

It's too late.

The Qingzhou army was on the march, and the column stretched for several miles, so there was no time to form ranks.

The soldiers in front wanted to retreat, while the soldiers behind, unaware of what was happening, continued to push forward, turning the entire formation into complete chaos.

The rebel army charged down the mountain, their high vantage point making them unstoppable.

The archers fired a volley of arrows, which flew like locusts towards the Qingzhou army on the official road. One after another, men fell down, and screams of agony rose and fell.

After the rain of arrows, the cavalry flanked them from both sides, their iron hooves thundering and the earth trembling.

The cavalry charged into the ranks of the Qingzhou army, hacking and slashing left and right, their blades flashing, blood and flesh flying everywhere.

The Qingzhou army soldiers were scattered and unable to mount any effective resistance.

Zhao Desheng rode his horse back and forth in the chaos of the army, desperately trying to regroup his troops, but he couldn't control them at all.

His soldiers were stunned and ran in all directions. Some ran towards the mountains and were killed by the rebels; others ran towards the two ends of the main road and were caught up by the cavalry, who killed them one by one.

Wei Qilin personally led a troop of cavalry and charged forward from the front.

He rode on his horse, holding a long spear, looking majestic and imposing, showing no trace of a butcher.

When Zhao Desheng saw Wei Qilin, his eyes turned red. He spurred his horse forward and swung his sword to strike.

Wei Qilin dodged to the side, flicked his spear, and thrust it straight at Zhao Desheng's heart.

Zhao Desheng quickly parried with his knife, and with a clang, sparks flew everywhere.

The two fought for more than a dozen rounds, and Zhao Desheng gradually became exhausted.

Wei Qilin's marksmanship was fast and ruthless; every shot was aimed at vital points. Zhao Desheng could only barely parry and was completely unable to retaliate.

In another round, Wei Qilin feinted with his spear, and Zhao Desheng raised his knife to block it. Wei Qilin then turned his spear tip and stabbed Zhao Desheng in the shoulder.

Zhao Desheng screamed, dropped his knife, and fell off his horse.

Wei Qilin waved his hand, and several soldiers rushed forward and tied Zhao Desheng up.

With their commander captured, the Qingzhou army completely collapsed.

The soldiers threw down their weapons, knelt on the ground, and begged for mercy with their hands raised.

Some ran into the mountains, some jumped into the river, and very few managed to escape.

The battle lasted less than two hours, from the sound of the drums to its end.

Of the 30,000 reinforcements from Qingzhou, more than 4,000 were killed in action, more than 20,000 were captured, and only a few escaped.

On the rebel side, the casualties were less than two thousand.

He Jingyuan watched all this from the hillside on his horse and nodded in satisfaction.

He turned to his apprentice Li Huai'an beside him and said, "See that? This is a classic case of besieging a stronghold to ambush reinforcements. Zhao Desheng was in such a hurry that he didn't even send out scouts far before plunging headlong into our encirclement. This kind of battle is exhilarating!"

Li Huai'an was filled with admiration: "Master, our lord is truly amazing. He even predicted which path Zhao Desheng would take."

He Jingyuan smiled but didn't say anything.

After the battle, the rebels cleaned up the battlefield and seized a large number of weapons, armor, provisions, and warhorses.

The prisoners were taken to a makeshift camp and guarded by designated personnel.

Wei Qilin walked to the front of the prisoner-of-war camp, looked at the dark mass of people inside, and said to He Jingyuan, "Brother He, what should we do with these people?"

He Jingyuan thought for a moment, "Those who are willing to stay can be incorporated into our team. Those who are unwilling to stay can be given some travel expenses to go home. They all come from poor backgrounds, there's no need to make things difficult for them."

Wei Qilin nodded and had someone take care of it.

When the prisoners heard they could go home, some were happy, while others hesitated.

In the end, about five thousand people were willing to stay and join the rebel army, while the rest received travel expenses and left.

He Jingyuan had someone bring Zhao Desheng over.

Zhao Desheng was bound hand and foot, his body was injured, his face was ashen, and he kept his head down without saying a word.

He Jingyuan looked at him and asked, "Zhao Desheng, are you willing to work with our Jizhou army?"

Zhao Desheng raised his head, looked at He Jingyuan, then at Wei Qilin standing beside him, and gave a bitter smile: "General He, I've fought most of my life and have never submitted to anyone. Today, I submit. But I am a general of the imperial court and cannot surrender."

He Jingyuan sighed, ordered his men to untie him, and gave him a horse and some dry rations. "Then you can go! Go back and tell Wei Yan that he can't hold Mingzhou, and he can't hold the capital either. Tell him to prepare early, so he won't be caught off guard."

Zhao Desheng was stunned; he hadn't expected He Jingyuan to let him go.

He first clasped his hands in a fist salute to He Jingyuan, then mounted his horse and rode away without looking back.

……

When the news reached Mingzhou, the defending troops in the city heard that the Qingzhou reinforcements had been completely wiped out and that Zhao Desheng had been captured and then released, which greatly dampened their morale.

The defending general, Zhang Zonghan, stood on the city wall, his face ashen, speechless for a long time.

The lieutenant whispered, "General, the Qingzhou reinforcements are gone. What should we do? Should we send someone to urge the Yizhou and Xuzhou reinforcements to come?"

Zhang Zonghan gritted his teeth: "Hurry up! Go and urge them on at full speed! Tell them that if they don't come soon, Mingzhou is truly doomed!"

Five days later, the two reinforcements from Yizhou and Xuzhou arrived near Mingzhou almost simultaneously.

Having heard about the ordeal of the Qingzhou reinforcements, they marched with extra caution, sending out scouts for miles around, fearing an ambush.

But it was too late for them.

He Jingyuan had been waiting for them for a long time.

Two reinforcements arrived, one from the east and the other from the south, less than fifty li apart.

He Jingyuan decided to divide his forces to deal with the situation. Wei Qilin led 80,000 men to attack the reinforcements from Yizhou, while he himself led 70,000 men to attack the reinforcements from Xuzhou. They would carry out the operation simultaneously, preventing the two reinforcements from meeting up.

Wei Qilin led an army of 80,000 and met 20,000 reinforcements from Yizhou on the plains east of Mingzhou.

The commander of the Yizhou army was Sun Maocai, a cautious man. Seeing that the rebel army was numerous and powerful, he dared not fight head-on and ordered them to set up their formation on the spot to prepare for a defensive battle.

But Wei Qilin didn't give him a chance, directly ordering the cavalry to flank from both sides and the infantry to advance from the front, attacking from three sides.

As soon as the battle began, the rebel archers fired volley after volley of arrows, pinning down the Yizhou army.

Taking advantage of the enemy's disarray, the cavalry charged in from both flanks, like two sharp knives piercing the enemy's ribs.

Sun Maocai desperately organized a counterattack, but he had too few soldiers and could not stop them at all.

The rebel army surged forward like a tide, wave after wave, and the Yizhou army's formation quickly collapsed.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Sun Maocai led his personal guards in an attempt to break through the encirclement.

Wei Qilin had anticipated this and had left a troop of cavalry outside the encirclement to wait for him.

As soon as Sun Maocai broke out of the encirclement, he was intercepted by the cavalry. After a chaotic battle, Sun Maocai was captured alive.

Of the 20,000 soldiers from Yizhou, some died, some surrendered, and some fled; the entire army was wiped out.

……

Meanwhile, the battle also broke out on He Jingyuan's side.

The 25,000 reinforcements from Xuzhou were commanded by Zhou Kejian, a capable and valiant general.

Seeing the rebels advancing from the front, he remained calm and ordered the archers to form ranks. They fired a volley of arrows to hold the line, and then ordered the infantry to form ranks to meet the enemy.

Standing on high ground, He Jingyuan looked at Zhou Kejian's formation and nodded: "This Zhou Kejian is quite capable."

Li Huai'an asked, "Master, what should we do? His defense is very tight, and a direct charge would result in too many casualties."

He Jingyuan smiled and pointed to the left side of Zhou Mingyuan's army formation, saying, "Look at his left side, there's a river with a bridge over it. His main force is all on the front, and the defense on the left is the weakest. Let's send a team to go around to the other side of the river and attack him from the left, and he'll be thrown into chaos."

Li Huai'an suddenly realized what was going on and immediately led 10,000 men to quietly circle around to the other side of the river.

After the battle began, He Jingyuan led the main force in a fierce frontal attack, while Zhou Kejian fought back with all his might, and the two sides were evenly matched.

Just then, Li Huai'an led his men to attack from the left, crossing the bridge and striking directly at Zhou Kejian's flank.

Zhou Kejian was caught off guard by the arrival of someone from the left and immediately panicked.

He quickly divided his forces to block the enemy on the left, but they couldn't hold the line from the front.

They were distracted and their formation was thrown into chaos.

He Jingyuan seized the opportunity and ordered the entire army to charge.

The rebel army charged into the Xuzhou army's ranks like tigers descending the mountain, brandishing swords and spears, their battle cries shaking the heavens.

The Xuzhou army could not withstand the onslaught and suffered repeated defeats, eventually collapsing completely.

Zhou Kejian was killed in the chaos of battle, leaving the army leaderless. The Xuzhou army was either killed or surrendered, with almost all 25,000 men wiped out.

Within two days, both reinforcements were wiped out; of the 75,000 men, less than 3,000 escaped.

……

When the news reached the capital, it caused a stir in the court and among the people.

Wei Yan sat in the Ministry of War office, looking at the battle report in his hand, his hands trembling.

He gave a death order, sending 75,000 men to reinforce Mingzhou, but the reinforcements were wiped out before they even reached the city walls.

Seventy-five thousand people! Not seven thousand five, but seventy-five thousand!

Wei Yan slammed the battle report on the table, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes.

He knew that if Mingzhou was finished, the capital was also in danger.

Li Xing rushed in, his face ashen: "Prime Minister Wei, what about Mingzhou? All the reinforcements are gone, Zhang Zonghan can't hold it alone!"

Wei Yan opened his eyes, glanced at him, and said in a hoarse voice, "We have to hold on even if we can't. Let him hold on to the death; we'll hold on for as long as we can."

Li Xing panicked: "We can't hold it! He Jingyuan has 200,000 men, while Mingzhou City only has 50,000. How can we defend it?"

Wei Yan suddenly stood up and slammed his hand on the table: "We have to defend it even if we can't! If Mingzhou falls, the capital will be exposed to the rebels! What will we use to defend it then?"

Li Xing opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

Wei Yan walked to the window, looked at the gray sky outside, and said in a low voice, "Send down the order to have Zhang Zonghan defend Mingzhou to the death. Tell him that reinforcements will arrive soon, and tell him to hold on for a few more days."

Li Xing smiled wryly: "Prime Minister Wei, where can we send reinforcements?"

Wei Yan remained silent for a long time before slowly uttering two words: "Squeeze. Squeeze out as much as you can. Squeeze out a portion of the garrison from the capital and send them to Mingzhou. Squeeze out as many as you can."

"Prime Minister Wei, why don't we send someone to negotiate with He Jingyuan and see what his conditions are?"

"Hmph! Grand Tutor Li, didn't you see their proclamation? It calls for the elimination of treacherous officials, the overthrow of the corrupt court and the incompetent emperor. Do you think His Majesty would agree to peace talks?"

"This……"

"Grand Tutor Li, if He Jingyuan and that Su Ning were to ask us to offer our necks for execution, would you be willing?"

“…” Li Xing shook his head, turned around and left.

At this point, he also knew that peace talks were absolutely impossible unless the Jizhou army suffered successive defeats.

However, with the Jizhou army now conquering cities and seizing territories, how could they possibly negotiate easily?

……

Beneath the walls of Mingzhou City, at the main camp of the rebel army.

Su Ning, He Jingyuan, Wei Qilin, Meng Lihua and several others sat around the sand table, all with smiles on their faces.

He Jingyuan said with a smile, "My lord, the 75,000 reinforcements will be dealt with within two days. That old bastard Wei Yan must be feeling the pinch now, right?"

Wei Qilin laughed as well: "It's no use him feeling sorry for himself. The morale of the garrison in Mingzhou City will definitely collapse when they hear that the reinforcements are gone. I think it won't be long before Mingzhou is ours."

Meng Lihua said, "I know Zhang Zonghan. He is not Zhao Desheng, nor Zhou Kejian. He will not surrender easily. He is a loyal follower of Wei Yan and would rather die in battle than surrender."

Su Ning nodded: "Then let's attack. Mingzhou's city walls are shorter than Fengzhou's, and its city gates are not as thick. It won't be difficult to blow them open with explosives. But we have to be careful this time. They have definitely deployed heavy troops near the city gates, waiting for us to blow them up."

He Jingyuan said, "Then we won't just bomb the city gates. We'll launch attacks from multiple points, feigning attacks at the east, south, and north gates while our main force breaks through from the west gate. Let them be caught off guard and see how they defend."

Su Ning thought for a moment, "Okay. Let's make our move tonight and catch them off guard. We can also use the method of digging underground tunnels directly under the city walls, and then plant explosives. That will definitely make it easy to break through Mingzhou City."

"Our lord is wise."

He Jingyuan stood up, slammed his hand on the table, and shouted, "Pass down the order! At midnight tonight, attack the city!"

The generals obeyed and left, leaving only He Jingyuan and Su Ning in the tent.

Looking at the city of Mingzhou on the sand table, He Jingyuan said with emotion, "My lord, when do you think we will be able to capture the capital?"

Su Ning smiled and said, "It'll be soon. Once Mingzhou falls, the land ahead will be flat and open. Those high-ranking officials in the capital are still living in a drunken stupor. Once we reach the city, they'll know what fear is."

He Jingyuan laughed heartily, picked up the wine bowl on the table, and drank it all in one gulp.

...(End of this chapter)