Zhuoletai was not in a hurry to attack the city. Instead, he ordered his fierce general Manghuaer to bring a group of Sheng army prisoners to the wall of Guangning every day and burn them alive. He let every soldier defending the city see and hear their own people's dying struggles and screams. He then hung the charred corpses with wooden pestles and stuck them one by one in the snow. Finally, he led all the soldiers to shout in unison, "If you surrender, you won't be killed."

If we close the door and ignore him, it will take two or three hours to shout. If we go out of the city and pursue him, he will run away so fast that we will not be able to catch him.

This went on for three days. The soldiers defending the city began to lose their morale after witnessing such atrocities and were filled with fear of the Jin people. There were even rumors in the city that Han Zhaoxing wanted to surrender to Zhuoletai.

Yuan Mao ordered his soldiers to pour water on the city walls day and night to freeze them to reinforce them, but he knew that even the strongest walls could not withstand collapse from the inside. Although he kept trying to stabilize the morale of the army, he could clearly feel the impetuousness of the people around him. Zhuoletai was indeed a famous general of the Jin Dynasty. He attacked the hearts of the people before attacking the city. He was so vicious.

Han Zhaoxing discussed with them several plans to ambush Mang Huaer, but they all felt that they were too risky. Mang Huaer must be well prepared. If they rashly left the city, there might be ambushes outside the city, which would be exactly what he wanted.

That night, Yuan Sikong hurriedly found Yuan Mao: "Dad."

Yuan Mao had no time to pay attention to him: "Don't come again, let your mother rest assured."

"No, Dad." Yuan Sikong ran up to hold Yuan Mao, "It might snow tonight."

"What?"

"It has been sunny in Guangning for three days and the snow has melted, but it may snow tonight, which is a good time to set an ambush."

"How did you know it would snow tonight?"

Yuan Sikong pointed to the clouds in the sky and said, "The book says that when the clouds are low, thick, and scaly, it means it will rain in summer and snow in winter. I have observed this for many years, and it is true in 70% to 80% of cases."

Yuan Mao looked up at the clouds in the sky, half believing and half doubting: "Really?"

Yuan Sikong nodded and said, "If we scatter horse spikes on the road leading to Manghuaer now, after a night of snow, there will be no trace left. Then we can ambush him when he retreats, and we will achieve twice the result with half the effort."

Yuan Mao thought for a moment and said, "Okay! Dad will give it a try. If it really works, it will greatly reduce the prestige of the gold thief."

Yuan Sikong was very happy: "Dad, the wounded soldiers have been properly settled, what else can Kong'er do?"

Yuan Mao pressed his shoulder and said, "Take good care of your mother, your elder sister, and your younger brother, and you will share your worries with your father."

"Kong'er will certainly take good care of them, but..." Yuan Sikong glanced at the towering city wall behind Yuan Mao, "Dad, I can do more."

"Okay, you go back first."

Yuan Sikong took another step forward, his clear eyes flashing with a resolute and determined light: "Dad, if it really snows tonight and Manghuaer is really ambushed tomorrow, it will prove that Kong'er is useful. Can you let Kong'er stay with you?"

Yuan Mao was stunned by Yuan Sikong's shining eyes: "Kong'er, Dad knows you are a useful person, but the war is too brutal and you are still young. I don't want you to get involved. Do you understand Dad's painstaking efforts?"

"Kong'er understands, but every citizen of Guangning has already been involved. The city is intact as long as the people live, and the city is destroyed and the people die." Yuan Sikong knelt on the ground with a thump, "Dad, take Kong'er with you, Kong'er will definitely be able to lend you a hand!"

Yuan Mao sighed lightly, his face full of helplessness. No matter how much he wanted to isolate Yuan Sikong from danger and cruelty, Yuan Sikong kept coming up to him. He knew that this child's future was limitless. Since he was a dragon, he was destined to ride on thunderclouds and stir up storms. How long could he stop him?

That’s it.

Yuan Mao pulled Yuan Sikong up from the ground: "Okay, Daddy promises you."

Yuan Sikong showed a happy expression: "Thank you, Dad!"

"Why are you thanking me? Do you think this is a good thing?" Yuan Mao said seriously, "I have three rules for you."

"Dad, just tell me what you want."

"First, you must obey my orders and not act on your own. Second, you are not allowed to speak. Third, take good care of your family before you come to see me."

"Yes! Kong'er will definitely do it!" Yuan Sikong's heart was pounding. He was always worried about the military situation at home and couldn't sleep or eat well. No matter how dangerous it was, he wanted to stay with Yuan Mao and defend Guangning together.

"Let's go. I'll let them set up an ambush."

Horse spikes are also called caltrops. They are made of several iron spikes and thrown on the ground. There will always be iron spikes facing upwards, which can pierce the horseshoe. It is said that this thing was invented by Wu Hou, who died of illness at Wuzhangyuan. When the Shu army retreated, Sima Yi pursued them. The chief secretary Yang Yi "laid a lot of caltrops to block the road", which was very effective against the cavalry.

Taking advantage of the night, the soldiers scattered horse spikes, and Yuan Mao ordered Hu Baicheng to lead 500 soldiers to ambush on Manghuaer's retreat route in the middle of the night.

Manghuaer usually comes to provoke in the early morning, when the snow is neither too thin nor too thick, just the right thickness. If it is too thin, it cannot cover the horse nails, and if it is too thick, the enemy may become suspicious.

Everything is ready, just waiting for the snow to fall.

The people stood on the city wall waiting for the snow, but until late at night, there was no change in the weather.

A soldier was so cold that he rubbed his hands and said, "Sir Yuan, when will the snow fall?"

"Wait patiently." Yuan Mao stood with his hands behind his back, his face serious.

Yuan Sikong was also a little anxious. If it didn't snow tonight, he would break his promise to Yuan Mao and would definitely be sent home.

After a while, Yuan Shaoxu also became suspicious: "Dad... Lord Yuan, how can you be sure that it will snow tonight?" He glanced at Yuan Sikong beside him and suddenly thought of something: "It can't be that Kong'er said that."

Yuan Mao remained silent.

Yuan Shaoxu said anxiously: "Master Yuan, do you really think he can read the sky? How can such a joke be relied upon to deploy troops?"

Yuan Sikong pursed his lips and wanted to retort, but then he remembered that Yuan Mao didn't allow him to speak casually, so he remained silent.

Before Yuan Shaoxu could say anything, Yuan Sikong suddenly saw a tiny sliver of soft white passing before his eyes. He raised his head sharply, only to see the sky was covered in silver. He said excitedly, "It's snowing! It's snowing!"

Everyone looked up, and Yuan Mao finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Okay!"

Only Yuan Shaoxu frowned and his expression changed.

Yuan Mao walked down from the tower and ordered, "Send scouts to survey the terrain for Manghuaer's retreat."

"yes!"

"This matter must be kept secret, and the soldiers on duty tomorrow must not disclose it."

"yes!"

At this moment, Han Zhaoxing came towards them. Even when he was still several feet away, he asked in advance, "Yuan Mao, did you send Hu Baicheng out of the city?"

Yuan Mao clasped his fists and said, "Your Excellency the General, it was I who ordered Hu Baicheng to leave the city and ambush Mang Huaer."

Han Zhaoxing said in a deep voice: "You and I just agreed a few days ago that we should not leave the city without permission. You issued the order, so why didn't I know about it?"

Yuan Mao replied in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "Before Lord Li left Guangning Guard, he handed the garrison military token to me. As the garrison commander of Guangning, I can deploy soldiers at will."

Han Zhaoxing raised his voice and said, "I am the general of Liaodong. I am ordered by the emperor to guard the border. The Liaodong Army is at my disposal. Don't you take me, Han, seriously?"

Yuan Mao knelt down and said, "I dare not." His face was calm and his tone was calm. "It was my fault for not asking for permission from the general. However, the military situation was urgent and I did not give the order. Besides, I am more familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of Guangning's soldiers, so I can deploy them more easily than the general."

"You..." Han Zhaoxing's face turned pale and he was so angry that he couldn't speak.

In fact, ever since Han Zhaoxing returned to Guangning, the two had been fighting for military power in Guangning. On the surface, Han Zhaoxing was the general of Liaodong, and every city, pond, and soldier in Liaodong obeyed his orders. But in fact, he lost Qingzhou first and then Huangshui, and had lost the support of the people. Yuan Mao was very prestigious in Guangning, and Han Zhaoxing could not command Yuan Mao's men at all. The Liaodong army brought back by Chen Yulong suffered a large number of casualties. He became a decoration in Guangning, and naturally he could not swallow this breath.

Yuan Mao also knew that he had to stop when he saw the good, and he spoke in a more humble tone: "Opportunities for fighting often pass by quickly, and it is difficult to find them again if you miss them. I was careless in a hurry, and I ask General Han to punish me."

The Liaodong soldiers who were kneeling on the ground behind him were busy pleading for Yuan Mao.

Han Zhaoxing certainly didn't dare to punish Yuan Mao, as long as Yuan Mao still held the military token in his hand. Seeing Yuan Mao gave him the steps, he also walked down: "The punishment is severe, Master Yuan, there is no need for this, please stand up."

Yuan Mao then stood up.

Han Zhaoxing coughed lightly and said, "But any future moves of the Guangning garrison must be discussed with me first."

"I understand."

Yuan Sikong cheered for Yuan Mao in his heart, saying that he was worthy of being his most admired father. At the same time, he severely denounced Han Zhaoxing.

——

Everyone stayed awake at all times, and at dawn, good news came from the front.

After a night of light snow, Mang Huaer was ambushed as expected. The cavalry he led stepped on the horse spikes and fell flat on their faces. While they were fleeing in panic, they encountered an ambush by Hu Baicheng halfway and were cut off from both ends. In this battle, they killed nearly a hundred enemies and rescued a dozen Sheng army soldiers. The leader Mang Huaer died on the spot.

As the good news spread, there was joy in Guangning Guards and the morale of the troops was high.

The first battle was extremely important for the morale of the army. They were already small in number and isolated in the city, and were weak in strength. The threat of 70,000 troops pressing on them could be imagined. So even though this battle was just a small ambush and only a small part of the enemy was killed, it still boosted morale. It was expected that Zhuoletai would not dare to send anyone to provoke them again.

Of course, they also knew very well that if Zhuoletai did not send anyone to provoke them again, the next step would probably be to actually attack the city.

They both wanted him to come and didn't want him to come.

In the siege, we are the host and they are the guest. Sheng's army would of course like to delay the battle as long as possible. However, Zhuoletai has 70,000 soldiers and would eat so many cattle and sheep in a day that he cannot afford to delay the battle. Since he cannot delay the battle, we might as well fight him!

As expected by everyone, Zhuoletai saw that threats and persuasions to surrender were futile, so he took cannons and rams and marched towards Guangningwei with great force.