Chapter 498 Siege (First Update)
The news of the impending war in Yuegu City had been circulating for some time. People who could escape had already fled, while those who couldn't were hoarding rice and grain at home. The rice shops were already sold out. Gu Chengfeng was lucky at the beginning; the first rice shop he came across happened to have some grain in stock. The other shops barely had enough for their own consumption.
Gu Chengfeng walked dejectedly down the empty street.
As the legitimate son of a marquis, when has he ever worried about food, clothing, shelter, and transportation?
His meals, featuring delicacies from land and sea, cost more than five taels of silver, yet this was the daily ration for hundreds of soldiers.
"Master Hu, is it really impossible to find anywhere else to buy rice?" Gu Chengfeng asked dejectedly.
Master Hu took in Gu Chengfeng's expression and sighed deeply: "We've been to all the shops that have rice and grain, these are all we have."
Otherwise, they would have to go door-to-door to collect taxes, but Master Hu didn't say that.
He realized that these two young officials were different from the previous imperial envoys; they would not forcibly confiscate the people's belongings.
"How long can our food supply last?" Gu Chengfeng asked.
"This..." Master Hu silently calculated in his mind for a while, and said, "If you skip one meal a day, it can last for two days."
Gu Chengfeng murmured, "But my elder brother won't be here for another four days."
Moreover, it cannot be reduced.
They are soldiers who defend their country; how can we let them fight on an empty stomach?
Don't even mention that the Chen army won't attack the city in the next few days. They're already at the city gates. If we don't take this opportunity to capture Yuegu City, are we going to wait for his elder brother to come and wipe them all out?
As they talked, the two returned to their camp near the city gate with the grain and fodder pulled by a mule cart.
Gu Chengfeng walked with his head down without looking ahead, as did Master Hu.
Suddenly, one of the accompanying soldiers shouted, "Sir! Clerk! Look!"
Gu Chengfeng and Hu Shiye looked in the direction the soldier was pointing. It was the kitchen near the camp. They saw that the ground in front of the kitchen was covered with strange bundles. Some bundles were tied tightly, and it was impossible to tell what was inside, while others were loose and loose, and rice or steamed buns could be vaguely seen sticking out.
There were even corncobs, vegetables, cornbread, flatbread, cured meat, and eggs stored directly in sieves and winnowing baskets...
Gu Chengfeng was pondering what was going on when he saw several villagers carrying small bags of wheat flour and corn flour.
They left the flour on the ground and left without saying a word.
The little boy who had just been talking to Gu Chengfeng also came over.
He was with his mother, who put down a few freshly roasted sweet potatoes. He seemed to want to put something down too, but he searched through his pockets and couldn't find anything.
Finally, he thought for a moment, took out the half-eaten sesame candy from his mouth, slurped his saliva, and reluctantly but also out of loyalty placed the sesame candy on one of the sweet potatoes.
That's something he can only eat during the Chinese New Year.
Because war was about to break out, and no one knew if they would survive, his parents took out food for him in advance.
That was the best he could offer.
Gu Chengfeng's eyes suddenly felt hot.
They were the people of Zhao Kingdom whom his grandfather and elder brother had sworn to protect with their lives, but it wasn't just the soldiers protecting the people; the people were also protecting them in their own way.
To defend an army and a city.
Outside the city walls, the Chen army had already begun preparing battering rams and siege ladders for the siege. Because of the moat, they also needed to prepare several flying bridges.
The flyover is being built at a rapid pace, and the ladder is being assembled in full swing.
Looking at their manpower and progress, Tang Yueshan estimated that they would be ready by tomorrow night.
With siege weaponry comes siege weaponry. Not only were blacksmiths conscripted to forge armor and weapons, but carpenters were also recruited by Tang Yueshan, mainly to lead the soldiers in building battering rams, siege stones, and rolling logs.
The battering ram was a military device used to deal with siege ladders. A battering ram was attached to the frame, which could destroy or knock down the ladder when it got close.
In addition, there was oil and arrows.
The archers of the Tang family didn't need the carpenters in the city to make the arrows; they could make them themselves. This was one of their basic skills. Archers from other countries didn't need to know how to make arrows. That's why the archers of the Tang family were famous throughout the six kingdoms.
After Tang Yueshan completed his troop deployment, he quietly awaited the arrival of dawn.
It was a sleepless night, for the army of Chen and for the soldiers of Zhao.
As the first light of dawn appeared on the horizon, all the preparations were nearly complete. They had only seven thousand troops, with less than five thousand regular soldiers.
The 20,000 troops of the Chen state were genuine regular soldiers. The disparity in troop strength between the two sides was too great, making this a battle to the death.
But just as Gu Chengfeng said, even if we fight to the last man, we must defend this city.
The price could be the lives of these seven thousand soldiers, including Tang Yueshan's own.
"Marshal Tang".
The dazzling sunlight shone through the gap in the tent flap, and with it entered were two newly appointed deputy generals of Tang Yueshan, both of whom had come to report back.
"Is everything ready?" Tang Yueshan asked.
Deputy General Cen cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to your Excellency, the battering rams, rolling stones, and logs are all ready and have been moved onto the city wall."
"Okay." Tang Yueshan nodded and then looked at Vice General Li.
Lieutenant General Li also cupped his hands in greeting and said, "The weapons and armor have also been forged."
"Let the soldiers rest," Tang Yueshan said, then paused and added, "have a good meal and prepare for battle tonight."
The two exchanged a complicated look, clasped their hands in greeting, and replied in unison, "Yes!"
Vice General Cen left first, and Vice General Li presented a new suit of armor to Tang Yueshan with his hands clasped: "This is the armor you requested."
Tang Yueshan's gaze fell on the brand-new, cold armor. He raised his hand and gently touched it: "Good."
Gu Jiao worked all night in the tent treating the wounded soldiers. Doctors from the city, hearing that there was a shortage of manpower, also came voluntarily. Like Gu Jiao, they were also busy all night without sleep.
After treating the last batch of wounded soldiers, all the doctors were exhausted.
The doctors, instead of going home to rest, all fell asleep at their desks.
Gu Jiao sat on the ground, holding her red-tasseled spear in her arms, leaning against the pillar supporting the tent, and soon fell asleep.
She was awakened by the heat, and when she opened her eyes, she saw that she was wearing a thick robe that belonged to Gu Chengfeng.
She removed her robe, stretched her legs, sat up straight, and rubbed her slightly sore neck and lower back.
As she massaged her lower back, her fingertips inadvertently touched something cold. She blinked in surprise, turned her head, and saw a suit of armor beside her.
She grunted, "Whose armor?"
Hu Dongqiang carried the prepared medicine into the tent. When he saw Gu Jiao, his eyes lit up: "Sir! You're awake! Perfect timing, I've finished making the medicine you asked me to make. Should I wake the patient up and feed him this?"
"Yes, hello," Gu Jiao said.
"Alright!" Hu Dongqiang went to wake up the wounded soldier who needed to take his medicine.
"Whose armor is it?" Gu Jiao asked him.
"Yours, right?" Hu Dongqiang asked.
"Mine?" Gu Jiao blinked.
Hu Dongqiang speculated, "Last night, the blacksmiths in the city worked through the night to repair and forge armor for the soldiers. Perhaps they made a set for you as well, sir."
Gu Jiao sighed and stood up to try it out.
It fits surprisingly well.
She put on the helmet and looked at her reflection in the water tank.
Hmm.
nice.
Gu Jiao shook her little head!
The ancient city of Yue is situated in a rugged terrain, surrounded by mountains on three sides. If there is no need to consider strength, attacking the city from the front is the easiest approach.
Chen's 20,000 troops were naturally not afraid of Yuegu City's few thousand soldiers; it was a one-sided crushing victory.
The highest-ranking general leading the troops this time was Rong Yao's youngest son, Rong Fu.
Prefect Cheng learned that Rong Yao was personally leading the troops, but in fact Rong Yao had only sent the army out of Ye City. The real commander was his youngest son, Rong Fu.
In the dream, Rong Yao only arrived at full speed to massacre the city after Rong Fu had been shot to death.
The one who shot Rong Fu was not a Tang family archer, but just an ordinary guard. That guard was never accurate when shooting arrows, and he was stunned when he hit Rong Fu.
Rong Fu was even more bewildered than him.
Rong Fu and Gu Changqing were equally famous, both being generals who achieved fame at a young age, and their ages were also similar.
This battle was crucial for Rong Fu, and he was determined to win.
Gu Jiao wasn't sure if Rong Fu would be shot to death.
After all, many things have changed. Tang Yueshan's army entered the city, and she and Gu Chengfeng also entered the city. The guard who once shot Rong Fu to death may have been reassigned to another post by Tang Yueshan, and the attack and defense of Chen State are also quite different from those in the dream.
At dusk, Rong Fu ordered an attack on the city.
(End of this chapter)
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