"The Xia thief is sieging the city!" A heart-wrenching shout rang out at the top of the city.

The soldiers resting under the city stood up after hearing the news, and after checking the equipment, they climbed to the top of the city under the leadership of the officers.

Wang Tan, the commander of the Shenjie Army, also received news that because it was the first time the Xia army siege, he attached great importance to it and personally led people to the city to supervise the battle.

As a result, after he got there, uh, that's it?

There were already officers beating the defenders who were reporting the news around. What's the matter? Is this a siege? They just assembled a man and horse array, and they didn't mean to attack at all.

"Who are these?" Wang Tan did not lose his temper at the pitiful soldier and directly asked the guard.

"The army envoys are all from the city. They have never been to the battlefield and are panicked when they see the bandits gathering."

Wang Tan sighed.

It is really difficult to find some experienced veteran Liangdi soldiers now. There are 200,000 people, but they don’t know where they are going. If you really have to look for them carefully, there may be more Liangdi soldiers in the Xia army, which is too unacceptable.

"Look at it well, don't yell." Wang Tan scolded, then walked aside and carefully looked outside the city.

Bianzhou was actually not big, that is, the size of ordinary prefectures. During the Dezong period, the city was expanded, with 155 steps 20 miles and 155 steps, and there were seven city gates, including two water gates. Before the expansion, it was not even as big as an ordinary prefecture. After all, the court did not rely much on southern money and grain at that time, and the status of Bianzhou was not that high. Hebei, the main grain-producing household, was still sending rents to the court, and this transportation line did not pass through Bianzhou, and Weizhou's status was even far superior to that of Bianzhou.

Since the separatist rule of the feudal states, the wealthy Hebei paid a lot of money and food to the court, and there were frequent wars in Henan, and sometimes the central government needed to provide assistance. The court's expenses began to be taken from Jiangnan.

But to be honest, the population and arable land area of ​​Jiangnan are not large, and a large number of swamps and forests are deserted there, and a wild natural appearance, how could it be that much wealth? To put it bluntly, Jiangnan is honest and does not have much expense to support the army, and the remaining money and grains were just plundered by the court. In that era, Jiangnan's tax amount far exceeded that of Huainan, Henan, Hedong and other places, and the people were overwhelmed, which eventually led to the Qiu Fu Uprising.

The canal transportation brought about the prosperity of Bianzhou, which led to its rapid rise, surpassing Weizhou, and becoming the richest place in Guandong. As well as the cities of Caizhou and Xuzhou also developed along with it, and the strength of the entire Guandong began to grow rapidly.

Wang Tan is quite clear about these histories.

He once imagined that if the world was transformed and King Liang established a new dynasty, then Bianzhou would probably be the capital. At that time, Bianzhou City would also usher in great development, and the city circumference would change from twenty miles to fifty miles or even seventy miles, which would be a matter of nostalgia.

Unfortunately, none of this happened.

Wang Tan was slightly regretful. Bianzhou may have missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and that's it.

There were more and more Xia troops gathering outside the city. They were neatly arranged and disciplined. The soldiers were boasting about their bravery and the auxiliary soldiers were digging trenches.

Yes, it is just digging trenches, which is the prelude to the siege. The Xia army will not give up until it takes Bianzhou.

"What a good soldier, with high morale, I feel that I can conquer the world." Wang Tan took a last look at the Tianxiong Army soldiers outside the city and went down the city.

The Liang army has lost the confidence to win, which will make their combat effectiveness lower than their real strength. Self-confidence is too important for an army that has been fighting for many years. Sometimes it can even allow you to exert combat effectiveness beyond your own strength.

The situation reverses and the general trend is gone.

Wang Tan returned to the military camp and suddenly saw Shi Yanci, the envoy of the street.

"General Wang." Shi Yan bowed and bowed.

"Doctor Shi." Wang Tan was a little impatient, but still gave a greeting.

Shi Yanci disregarded Wang Tan's attitude and said, "General Wang is from Chang'an, right?"

Wang Tan's heart moved, but his face remained silent, saying, "It's all the old things from more than ten years ago, and now his home is in Bianzhou."

Shi Yanci seemed not to hear this sentence, and said again: "I heard that King Xia was using Kansai warriors as generals..."

Wang Tan suddenly stood up, stroked the hilt of the knife, and called out his personal general.

Shi Yanci's face turned pale and he sighed in his heart, "My life is over." Under the instigation of his staff, he was about to take a risk, but he didn't expect that he would be finished just after taking the first step. His luck was too bad.

"Those who drive everyone away and get close to the big tent for no reason will be killed without mercy." Wang Tan ordered.

"As for your order!" The personal general took the order and left.

Shi Yanci's face turned from white to red, his heart pounding and became active again.

"Why didn't Doctor Shi continue?" Wang Tan looked at Shi Yanci with a smile and said.

Shi Yanci was frightened by this and forgot what he had thought about. He heard this and asked, "General Wang thinks that Bianzhou can be defended? How long can he last?"

"If Xia thieves siege and do not attack, the city will be united and will only be able to stay for the rest of the year." Wang Tan sat down, suddenly smiled, and said, "But in this situation, at most half a year. If the city is not broken within half a year, it can be held for one year."

Generally speaking, the more you defend the city, the more you will be, the more you will. Because they have killed a large number of siege soldiers, they are worried that the city will be liquidated after it is broken, they dare not surrender easily. Unless the attacking party gives a guarantee not to massacre the city and must have credibility, it will be a tragedy for both the offensive and defensive sides.

"But according to my view, the city is panicked, and it is impossible for half a year, so it is difficult to defend for three months." Shi Yanci said: "Xia thieves dig trenches and act like long-term sieges. Obviously, they don't want to kill and injure a large number of lives. After half a year, the water situation gradually rises, and Xia thieves do not need to attack, build dams to block water, dig dikes to irrigate the city, and they may not be able to defend it."

It is indeed a good idea to attack with water, but if the defenders are strong, it will be ineffective. In history, Jinyang was attacked more than once. The water in the city was deeper than knees, and the bodies were floating on the water. Did they fall? No! Instead, the soldiers in the besieged city suffered an epidemic due to the weather in Jinyang, and suffered heavy casualties.

Zhu Quanzhong's Liang army besieged Jinyang. Due to the heavy rain, the army suffered from frequent epidemics and severe reductions, they had to retreat.

Guo Rong of the Later Zhou Dynasty besieged Jinyang. Due to the heavy rain, the soldiers were sick on a large scale and suffered heavy casualties. They had to retreat.

But if the morale of the defenders is low and their fighting will not be tenacious enough, then Bianzhou is indeed not easy to defend because it is more suitable for flooding.

Is the morale of the Liang army guarding the city high? Even the blind man can tell that it is not high.

"Doctor Shi has already communicated with Xia people?" Wang Tan asked suddenly.

Even though he already knew Wang Tan's attitude, Shi Yanci was still shocked and denied: "There is absolutely nothing."

After saying that, he felt a little regretful. The staff asked him to pretend that he had something to do with the Xia people, but now he didn't have time to make up for it.

"Then why are you looking for me?" Wang Tan touched his hand again and sneered.

"Is the Shenjie Army responsible for the defense of Zhengmen, Liangmen, Zizaomen and Fengqiumen?" Shi Yanci's face turned a little pale again and he said in a hurry.

"You are a street envoy until now, have you ever thought about why?" Wang Tan sneered: "You should have answered that you have secretly communicated with Xia people. I may be afraid to kill you. But what value do you have? If I want to join King Xia, I will kill you and make more contributions, wouldn't it be wonderful?"

"How can General Wang do this?" Shi Yanci was shocked and said subconsciously.

"Why can't you act like this?" Wang Tan asked back.

"I am the concubine of Liang. She is charming and charming and charming, and she is always favored by King Liang. When King Xia sees him, he will definitely be too loving and pity, so you can't kill me." Shi Yanci said.

Wang Tan is stupid.

He forced a smile and said, "Come on, give Dr. Shi tea."

After saying that, he said, "I just worried that Doctor Shi was sent by Zhu Youwen to test me, and I offend him in words, so I hope he can forgive me."

Shi Yanci said intently that I believe you, he really felt that Wang Tan was going to kill him just now.

But now it is not the time to worry about this matter. Shi Yan quit his mind and asked, "Can General Wang send people out of the city with me to meet King Xia?"

Wang Tan was silent for a moment and said, "The messenger can walk through Zheng's door, but other doors are not safe."

*******

Zhu Youwen is very busy now and is busy killing people.

The Xia army entered Bobianzhou in large numbers, and the city was panicked and rumors continued to banish.

Some people said that the defenders fled one after another and the Xia army was about to break the city. Zhu Youwen sent troops to arrest and kill dozens of people.

Some people say that there are military generals in the city who want to offer the city to gain wealth. Zhu Youwen sent troops to arrest and kill dozens of people.

Some people also said that the city was short of food and grass, and whether the consumption of a month was enough. Zhu Youwen also sent troops to arrest and killed more than a hundred people.

The bloody head was hung everywhere to serve as a warning.

The atmosphere in the city became increasingly silent and weird. Zhu Youwen subconsciously felt something was wrong, but he couldn't tell what the problem was.

"The King of Liang was forced to leave and could not enter the city." This is the latest news. Zhu Youwen did not dare to kill people because it was circulated too widely, and even the soldiers were speculating and whispering.

It’s not impossible to guard an isolated city without reinforcements. But you have to give a deadline, right? How long will it take to guard?

No one dares to answer, nor can he answer.

Looking at this, either Yun, Yan, Qing and Huai towns joined forces to defeat the Xia bandits and rescued Bianzhou. Or Xia bandits were surrounded by the Xia bandits until the city was broken. No one could escape.

Moreover, for the civil and military generals and even the big-headed soldiers in Bianzhou, the Yun and Yan soldiers coming to rescue the siege are not necessarily a good thing, and may mean a greater disaster.

The hatred between the two sides is too great. Once Bianzhou is controlled by them, everyone's wealth cannot be preserved, and women will be humiliated by these hatred warriors from other places, and even have their lives to worry about.

Then, it would be better to surrender to the Xia thief. At least, Shao Shude can restrain military discipline, and he will only humiliate the women of the Zhu family and will not harm ordinary people.

Zhu Youwen left the military mansion with great worries and returned to his mansion under the escort of his personal soldiers.

His wife Wang was busy and changed into casual clothes for Zhu Youwen.

"Alas!" Zhu Youwen sat down and sighed.

He had little experience in fighting on the front line, which was his fault and also made many martial artists dissatisfied and very rebellious.

As for why he was the commander of the Guangsheng Army and even took charge of the defense of Bianzhou, it is not difficult to understand. Zhu Youyu was the oldest and the best among all the brothers, and often led troops to fight. After his father and elder brother went to war, the candidates for those who stayed in Bianzhou were very critical. In the past, he could choose a general to be responsible, but in the past two years, his father's suspicion became increasingly serious. He no longer believed in the veterans of Yuancheng, and was more inclined to select people from the clan.

But the Zhu family is too thin and has a bad relationship with the Zhu clan in Dangshan. It can be seen that no one from his hometown has come to join him since then.

After choosing, I chose myself.

At first, Zhu Youwen felt quite excited, feeling that his position in his father's mind was second only to his elder brother. After hearing the "rumor" that his elder brother might have died in battle, he even felt that the opportunity had come.

But now it seems that he has caught a big fire pit. He was put on it and repeatedly roasted. Maybe one day he will borrow the head of his subordinates and die without a place to die.

"Husband, the princess has returned to the palace from Kaiyuan Temple. I went to see you today. The princess agreed to come forward to help stabilize the morale of the army." Wang came over, poured a bowl of wine for Zhu Youwen, and said.

"Oh? That's great." Zhu Youwen breathed a sigh of relief.

The influence of the princess in the army cannot be underestimated. His father was irritable and often killed military generals and punished soldiers. The princess was in the middle to persuade him that there were quite a few generals in the army who received the favor of the princess. Some of these people were transferred to the Eighth Army of Tianwu, and now they are all officers.

Footsteps sounded outside the door.

Zhu Youwen looked up, but it was a relative, and asked, "What's the matter?"

The dear couple looked around and leaned closer and whispered: "Zhang Guibian, Xie Yanzhang ran away."
Chapter completed!