"Master!!"
Seeing Kong Bao jump into the moat, Kong Yan on the city wall cried out in pain.
"You bastard!!"
Seeing this, Chen Man, who was behind, couldn't help but curse. He never expected that the head of the Kong family would choose to commit suicide.
Chen Man roared, "Men, bring the Kong family members to the city walls! If the people of Xiang County do not surrender, kill them all!"
"Wait a minute!!"
Lu Qing, who was standing nearby, hurriedly said, "Kong Bao must have wanted to die because he saw that the Kong family line was still going strong, in order to clear his name. If Brother Chen kills all the others, it will just be in accordance with his wishes!"
Chen Man: "Then what should we do?"
Lu Qing: "The only way is to capture Xiang County as soon as possible and kill that remnant of the Kong family!"
Chen Man glanced at the city wall and then nodded.
Xiang County was the capital of Pei State. Its city walls were high and it was surrounded by a moat. Even if the rebel army had 200,000 men, it would not be easy for them to take it.
Chen Man and Lu Qing then split into two groups, one responsible for the east and north gates, and the other for the west and south gates.
While setting up camp, the rebels also cut down trees to build siege ladders.
When the Prime Minister of Pei State and the Magistrate of Xiang County on the city wall saw that the rebel army was preparing to attack the city, they also hurriedly ordered the soldiers and servants inside the city to call on the people to continuously move various defensive weapons.
Upon hearing that Kong Bao, the head of the Kong family, had committed suicide, the scholars in the city were both shocked and furious, and they cooperated even more actively with the government in defending the city.
Soon, a fierce siege began. Rebel troops from the east and north gates surged toward Xiang County like a tidal wave, while the two gates under Lu Qing's command remained completely still.
Upon seeing this, Pei Guoxiang, who was guarding the city gates, ordered his men to be on guard while simultaneously dispatching a large number of men to guard the west and south gates.
As dusk fell, after the fourth unsuccessful siege, Chen Man had no choice but to order a retreat.
Immediately, Chen Man found Lu Qing in a menacing manner and questioned him: "Brother Lu, why didn't you join me in attacking the city today?"
"Hey, Brother Chen, don't be hasty, please let me explain!"
Lu Qing smiled and pulled Chen Man to his seat, then said, "The reason I did not attack the city today was intentional!"
"What?" Chen Man asked, frowning.
Lu Qing: "Today, Brother Chen attacked the city, causing the defending troops to mistake us for our army and concentrate all their forces at the east and north gates, thus neglecting the defense of the west and south gates. Isn't this a good thing?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Man's expression shifted slightly: "Hmm~, Brother Lu, is this a diversionary tactic?"
"good!"
Lu Qing then said, "Tomorrow, Brother Chen, continue to lead your troops in a fierce attack. I will wait for the opportune moment, and then lead the army to swarm forward. Xiang County can be captured!"
A smile appeared on Chen Man's face, and she nodded: "Okay!"
After discussing it, the two went their separate ways.
That night, a man in black arrived at Lu Qin's tent. The man was Chen Hu, one of Jia Xu's subordinates.
The imposter Lu Qing hurriedly bowed and said, "This subordinate greets Assistant Chen. I was unaware that Assistant Chen had come in person. What are your instructions?"
Chen Hu waved his hand, then whispered, "The superior ordered that none of those coerced by Chen Man be spared!"
Lu Qing was slightly taken aback, then quickly replied respectfully, "Your subordinate obeys!"
"Also, the reinforcements led by Generals Dong Zhuo, Gao Shun, and Huangfu Song have arrived in Lu County and will be there in two days. You must be prepared!"
Lu Qing nodded: "Yes!"
After giving some other instructions, Chen Hu left under cover of night.
Nothing happened that night.
Early the next morning, with the sound of drums, Chen Man's rebel army launched a fierce attack on the east and north gates, while Lu Qing remained inactive.
Just as Lu Qing had said, the garrison troops of Xiang County rushed to the east and north gates to guard them.
Seeing this, Chen Man sneered and launched an attack without hesitation, hoping that Lu Qing could succeed.
Following Chen Hu's instructions, Lu Qing commanded his soldiers to coerce the scholars who had been brought there into attacking the west and south gates.
Faced with Lu Qing's sudden attack, the defenders at the two city gates were caught off guard. Fortunately, those who were coerced had little experience in attacking cities, so the city did not fall.
Seeing that Xiang County was in imminent danger, the scholars in the city worried that they would follow in the footsteps of the Kong family. They organized their guards and servants to climb the city walls and assist the garrison and local militia in defending the city.
Although the defenders fought valiantly and repelled the rebels' attack, they suffered heavy casualties because they were not a regular army, lacking both a large number of bows and arrows for defense and armor.
The fierce battle continued until the afternoon. The walls and ramparts were littered with the corpses of both the defenders and the rebels, and the flowing blood had turned the gray walls crimson.
On the other side, Dong Zhuo led 5,000 Imperial Guards cavalry to arrive first at Guyang, north of Xiang County, only 50 li away from the rebel army.
Upon learning that the rebels had failed to capture Xiang County, Dong Zhuo immediately ordered a halt to their advance and awaited the arrival of Gao Shun and Huangfu Song's army.
Meanwhile, Huangfu Gui led 40,000 troops from Jizhou away from Rencheng and headed towards Lu County.
That night, Chen Man and Lu Qing met again.
Chen Man looked at Lu Qing with a dejected expression: "Brother Lu, I never expected the scholars in the city to resist so stubbornly!"
Lu Qing frowned and said, "Brother Chen, don't worry. Today's attack on the city resulted in heavy casualties among the defending troops. They won't be able to hold out for more than a few days!"
"Sigh, at this point, there's no other way!"
With a sigh, Chen Man left Lu Qing's tent in a daze.
January 9th.
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