Gu Beitian pointed to Qingshui County and analyzed, "The magistrate of Qingshui County is Tang Tianxiang. Although he is greedy, he has some methods of governance."
Many of the people under his rule also rebelled.
Furthermore, they had a strong and well-equipped army, originally intended to aid Tao Feng. However, Tao Feng's grain requisitioning, particularly in Qingshui County, sparked numerous peasant uprisings. A large rebel force emerged, forcing him to begin suppressing the rebellion.
How many soldiers are there in Qingshui County?
"Although Qingshui County is only one county, it is larger than the three other counties combined, and it is also a confidant of Tao Feng. Currently, it has more than 7,000 troops stationed there."
This larger rebel force numbered only a little over two thousand, but because the rebels were quite mobile and waged guerrilla warfare against the government troops, suppressing the rebellion was not easy.
Gu Beitian continued his analysis, "Even though suppressing the rebellion was not easy, Tang Tianxiang still sent a force of two thousand men to support Tao Feng."
Zhao Peng is under a lot of pressure.
Shenxi nodded, which meant that if they wanted to take Qingshui County, they would face at least five thousand people blocking their way.
If two thousand men are needed to quell the rebellion, they will face an interception by more than three thousand men.
It is estimated that by the time Chenxi's troops arrive, Tang Tianxiang will not even be able to quell the rebellion.
The number of troops in Shenxi is greater than that in Qingshui County. One can defend while the other attacks. One man can hold off ten thousand. Only if the number of troops in Shenxi is several times that of the enemy can the situation be more secure.
"Qingshui County is flat and unobstructed by any mountains. In the event of a battle, the only obstacles would be the city walls and gates of the county seat."
I estimate that Tang Tianxiang will likely choose to defend the city rather than actually fight us.
Qingshui County has a unique geographical location, so it has always had a relatively strong defense capability.
Although the city wall is dilapidated, it is still ten meters high. Without siege weapons, it would be very difficult to breach such a wall.
The Shenxi team adopted a direct, flat-out approach and headed towards Qingshui County.
Qingshui County has city walls not only in the county seat but also in its towns and villages.
The garrison in each township is only a few hundred people.
Faced with Shenxi's massive army, the vast majority of the garrison troops in these towns and villages surrendered immediately.
Two of them put up a fight, but the disparity in strength was so great that no strategy was needed and they were easily breached.
Despite the presence of several hundred people guarding the city, both generals would eventually order civilians to climb onto the city walls, inevitably leading to bloodshed.
But that's war.
War is cruel and heroic, but no one compromises and no one retreats.
Is there right or wrong in war?
Yes and no.
In times of peace, those who rashly launch wars of aggression or incite unrest for personal gain will be condemned for eternity.
But if there is unrest and ordinary people can no longer make a living, war will be inevitable.
Someone has to step forward and end this chaotic world.
Shenxi is willing to be that person.
To end this chaotic world that makes it impossible for ordinary people to survive, to build a new country with a new order, so that people can have enough to eat and wear, and live in peace and stability.
Chenxi's research department was not idle; the cloud ladders used by her army were the most advanced.
The tripod ladder has sturdy pulleys at the bottom and a ladder platform on top, which can even lift people directly onto the ladder platform. Sturdy barriers can be raised around the ladder platform to prevent enemy arrows from entering.
However, Shen's army could shoot arrows through the gaps in the barriers.
The soldiers pushing the ladders closer to the city wall were all shielded, so even if the enemy wanted to shoot arrows, they would have little chance of success.
Once the ladders reach the archers' firing range, they will stop, allowing the archers on them to aim their arrows at the enemy's defending soldiers.
Dozens of these siege ladders were pushed forward, leaving the enemy defenders with virtually no defensive capabilities.
In less than twenty days, Chenxi's army was about to sweep through to Qingshui County.
Tang Tianxiang paced back and forth inside the county government office.
He already knew how powerful Chenxi was.
Few could withstand such siege ladders and such a highly skilled army.
Moreover, the opposing team outnumbered his team by a factor of two.
Even if he clings to fame, he probably won't last more than a month.
Tao Feng, however, was fighting Zhao Peng to the death in the city. The two thousand soldiers he sent had indeed been effective, and Zhao Peng had been defeated three times already.
Even so, it won't be easy for Tao Feng to win.
Based on the current results, it will take at least six months to defeat Zhao Peng.
In more than six months, his Qingshui County would have long since changed its name and identity.
He couldn't possibly last more than six months.
I can only hold on for two months at most.
He summoned Li Desheng, the garrison commander, and asked, "How long can our food supply last?"
Li Desheng was equally worried. "Reporting to the magistrate, General Tao transferred away a lot of grain last time. Our grain supply can only last for a little over a month."
More than a month?
Tang Tianxiang sighed, "Desheng, I'm afraid we can't hold out any longer. I need to discuss with you whether we should defend Qingshui to the death, or abandon the city and flee?"
Li Desheng advocated that the army should abandon the city and go to the prefectural city to meet with General Tao.
Tang Tianxiang nodded in agreement.
Leaving now is the last chance.
He had been hesitant before, after all, Qingshui County was the culmination of his life's work.
If we don't leave now, once the troops from Shenxi besiege the city, it will be difficult to leave.
"Before we leave, we need to prepare more food and supplies."
Li Desheng nodded, "The common people in the county town don't have much grain. Even if they were to be levied or robbed, they would only be able to get a small fraction of it. But the wealthy families have plenty of grain."
Tang Tianxiang hesitated for a moment, thinking that robbing a powerful family was bound to be risky.
In this chaotic world, even powerful families had bodyguards to protect them.
Some powerful families even had their own private armies.
Don't underestimate Qingshui County just because it's a county. Because of its large territory, the county seat of Qingshui County is also large. If you add up all the private soldiers raised by those aristocratic families, there must be at least two thousand of them.
If word gets out and they get angry, he'll be in big trouble.
Tang Tianxiang and Li Desheng discussed robbing the money and grain of the common people and noble families. At this time, many noble families in Qingshui County had their own plans.
The Zhao family is the largest and most prominent family in Qingshui County.
He kept 500 private soldiers at home, plus guards, making a total of more than 600.
Zhao Qi, the head of the Zhao family, consulted with the clan elders. Seeing that the Shen family army was about to attack, the best course of action was to escape.
The Shen family army was invincible, attacking cities and plundering strongholds like tigers unleashed from the mountains. The county seat of Qingshui County was absolutely no match for them.
Before Shen's army arrived in Qingshui County, they packed their things and fled as soon as possible.
They didn't want to guard the county town with Tang Tianxiang.
But if Tang Tianxiang insists on guarding the county town, they will definitely be dragged up to guard it together in the end.
If Tang Tianxiang doesn't stay and runs away, the Zhao family won't dare gamble on what the Shen family army will do.
The best way is to escape and go to the prefectural city.
After all, most of the prefectural city is still in Tao Feng's hands.
The Zhao family planned to flee to the prefectural city, while some other prominent families prepared to stay.
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