Northern Dynasties Imperial Industry

Xiangyang City is located near water and backed by mountains. The city layout is steep and solid. There are almost no loopholes in the city defense. It is very difficult to break into it through external forces.

But almost none does not mean absolutely none, especially for Liu Zhongli, a famous general who was born in Xiangyang and has been accustomed to military affairs for a long time. Many details that ordinary people ignore are, in his opinion, an opportunity that can be exploited.

The levee starts from Wanshan, borders the Han River in the east, and reaches the west gate of Fucheng. Military and civilians are not allowed to pass through it on weekdays, so it is often subconsciously ignored by people. However, it is a quick passage that can reach Fucheng directly.

After Liu Zhongli led his troops to rush onto the embankment, they immediately rushed towards Fucheng. At this time, the city of Xiangyang was still very nervous because Liu Zhongli was about to go north. The attention of the people was focused on the vicinity of Xianshan Weir. There were even pedestrians going in and out of the west gate of Fucheng.

Of course, soon the defenders on the city had noticed this sudden appearance of a team that seemed to have bad intentions. They immediately shouted warnings, drove away pedestrians inside and outside the city gate, and tried to set up a barrier in front of the city gate to stop the horses. Be on guard.

However, Liu Zhongli's troops were already approaching, and of course there was no time left for the defenders to respond calmly. The men and horses galloped like arrows, and soon rushed to the east side of the embankment, and swooped down from above, almost in the blink of an eye. In the meantime, he had already rushed to the gate of Fucheng.

"You subordinates, do you know who I am? If you abandon your weapon, you will not die. If you resist, you will be killed!"

Rushing to the city gate in one breath, Liu Zhongli shook the horse in his hand and killed the two soldiers in front of the city on the spot. Then he looked at the hurried crowd in front of the city gate and shouted.

Liu Zhongli was still very prestigious in his hometown of Xiangyang. When the city gate defenders saw the face of the incoming man, they all exclaimed and subconsciously fled towards the city, not daring to stop and resist at all. Some people even cheered and praised, posing as a courtesy to welcome them into the city.

Liu Zhongli laughed when he saw this. He did not expect that things would progress so smoothly. He immediately raised his horse and led his men to ride towards the city.

At this time, the city was already in chaos due to the arrival of Liu Zhongli, and it was impossible to organize an effective offensive at all. Liu Zhongli assigned hundreds of soldiers to guard the city gate, while he led the rest of his troops to rush towards the state capital. As long as he controlled the state capital and captured the family members of King Yueyang, today's surprise attack could be said to be a success. It’s a happy ending!

The Liu family in Hedong was originally from Xiangyang, and Liu Zhongli had been stationed in Xiangyang for many years in his early years. There were many people from Xiangyang in his army. Now that he returned to his hometown, the soldiers and people in the city were frightened, and there were also many people who came to rely on him.

While Liu Zhongli led his troops to the state capital, many people from Xiangyang joined the team with weapons and staffs, making the team expand to thousands of people.

"Shen Zi returns home and takes charge of Xiangyang!"

Hearing the shouts of the people in front and behind, Liu Zhongli also had a proud smile on his face. Shenzi is his nickname, so naturally the villagers shouted this not to humiliate him, but to express their close support.

Although the people who joined his team greatly delayed the progress of the team, Liu Zhongli could not bear to expel these villagers who were rushing to support him. And in his opinion, the fact that the people welcomed him into the city so warmly also meant that the overall situation was decided.

At this time, the state capital already knew the news of Liu Zhongli's entry into the city. On the one hand, they naturally sent people in a hurry to inform King Yueyang who was still stationed in Xian Mountain outside the city. On the other hand, they quickly organized a counterattack.

However, due to Liu Zhongli's great reputation and the great momentum after entering the city, the soldiers still in the city were too timid to fight and did not dare to take orders.

Cai Dabao, who stayed behind in the city, was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot. Just when he was at his wits' end, a man in the hall lined up and stepped out from the crowd. He pointed at everyone and shouted loudly: "It's just Liu Zhongli who abandoned his king in Jiankang." Father, why are you afraid of the castrated bullocks that have been entrusted to Hou Jingcai? You and other people in Xiangyang are deeply favored by King Yueyang. Even if you have no power to kill the enemy, you should be willing to die without fear! Kill the thieves? Are there any men in the city? Let’s kill the thieves together!”

He Ruoden's tongue was as vicious as ever, but it also aroused the shame of the people present to the greatest extent. Yes, what's so scary about Liu Zhongli? When facing Hou Jing in Jiankang, he was more docile and obedient than a steer. How can Xiangyang be the place where he dominates?

So hundreds of strong soldiers soon appeared in the mansion, each beating his chest and shouting that he would go out to kill the enemy with He Ruoden. Cai Dabao was naturally overjoyed when he saw this, and hurriedly armed everyone with the most sophisticated armor and horse equipment in the house. When these people rushed out of the state capital, Liu Zhongli's troops, who were surrounded by people, were already only a few miles away from the state capital.

When other people saw the dense crowds blocking the long street, they could not help but feel frightened in their hearts, but He Ruoden ignored them. He held a horse in his hand and roared, and rushed towards the crowd first.

"kill!"

As He Ruoden roared angrily, the horse spear in his hand had already penetrated several of the rebels. As the horse spear was pulled out, blood spurted out from the corpses of the rebels. This bloody scene quickly scared away the people nearby.

These rebels originally imagined that after Liu Zhongli entered the state capital, they would always be able to reap some benefits from their support. I originally thought it was just a simple mission to show off in the streets, but I didn't expect that my life was actually in danger, and I was immediately frightened out of my mind.

Although the rebels were greatly shocked, the killings would not stop. Seeing He Ruodun set an example, the other soldiers did not dare to think of any appeasement. The most important thing at the moment was to kill the rebels who entered the city, so they They all waved their swords and rushed forward to kill.

"Spare your life, spare your life..."

At this moment, the people no longer cared about waving flags and shouting for Liu Zhongli, they wailed and begged for mercy and fled in all directions.

"Don't act rashly. The number of thieves is small and they will be defeated soon!"

Liu Zhongli was still shouting and trying to stabilize the situation, but these soldiers and civilians came uninvited before, and now they would not greet him when they fled. Instead, the hasty flight of these soldiers and civilians directly disrupted his army formation, and led them to The armored soldiers who entered the city were all in disarray due to the impact, and could not be regrouped.

"The thief is here to die!"

He Ruoden, who was the first to charge, had already rushed forward. Although he did not know Liu Zhongli, he could tell from his armor and staff that he was not an ordinary soldier. The horse spear in his hand immediately stabbed Liu Zhongli with great force.

Upon seeing this, Liu Zhongli quickly raised his horse to block the attack. Although he successfully blocked the opponent's attack, his shoulders sank suddenly. At the same time, his arms were sore and swollen, and the old injuries on his shoulders were swollen. It hurts.

"Who are you? When did Xiangyang get such a brave general to garrison it?"

When the two parties came into contact, Liu Zhongli felt the strength of the other party's arms, his expression suddenly changed, and he shouted loudly.

After He Ruodun heard this, he laughed and said: "I am He Ruodun, who is under the command of Governor Li of Jingzhou. Could it be that the thief general is Liu Jianniu? I will accept my fate!"

Liu Zhongli didn't know the new nickname He Ruodun gave him, but he was shocked when he heard He Ruodun announced his family name. He didn't expect that King Yueyang had colluded with foreign enemies and had penetrated deep into the enemy generals to directly help defend the city.

He didn't know how many people from the Western Wei Dynasty were still in the city. He already felt that it was difficult to defeat He Ruoden in front of him, so he immediately left and returned to his own formation. When He Ruodun saw this, he immediately waved his sword to pursue him and shouted loudly: "Liu Jianniu is here, all the soldiers will quickly capture the leader of the thief with me!"

Five of Liu Zhongli's men were already in disarray after being attacked by the mob. Now they were charged and killed by He Ruodun and his brave soldiers. They lost all their energy and turned towards the city gate one after another. And those soldiers and people who had previously enthusiastically supported him now fled in all directions, making the entire street chaotic.

He Ruodun led the people from the prefecture and quickly rushed to the west gate of the city. Liu Zhongli's troops were able to take a breather temporarily due to the presence of the garrison soldiers arranged before. However, after counting, nearly half of the troops were lost, and it seemed that they were all scattered in the city.

Liu Zhongli was still stationed at the city gate, but He Ruoden had already led his troops to catch up. Without stopping to breathe, he charged directly towards the place. Under this impact, the formation that had just stabilized suddenly became chaotic again, and many soldiers subconsciously rushed out of the open city gate.

"Temporarily withdraw from Xishan and attack again with the whole army!"

If the good situation collapsed, even though Liu Zhongli was unwilling to do so, he saw that the morale of the army had been lost, so he could only withdraw with regret.

So Liu Zhongli's men and horses, who had stormed into Xiangyang Fucheng not long ago, now hurriedly withdrew from the city. On the way to Xishan Mountain, Liu Zhongli looked back at the city gate and saw He Ruodun standing on horseback in front of the city gate. He couldn't bear it. Zhu sighed and said: "How can Yueyang be so virtuous and have such a strong man? Li Boshan in Mianbei can control the powerful, I guess he is not ordinary..."

Although the sneak attack on Xiangyang failed, Liu Zhongli could feel that the public opinion foundation of King Yueyang's rule in Xiangyang was not solid when he entered the city. He just entered the city to make noise and so many scholars and people swarmed up. It can be imagined that King Yueyang was definitely not a citizen of Xiangyang. The British Lord whom we sincerely support.

After evacuating Xiangyang City, Liu Zhongli temporarily retreated to Xishan. Xishan is composed of a series of mountains, forests and hills. Many wealthy people from Xiangyang are happy to live here. They close the mountain to protect the land and run their family businesses. Even Liu Zhongli's family has a garden here.

However, it was the critical moment to capture Xiangyang. Liu Zhongli naturally had no time to return home to visit his relatives. After the army conquered Xishan, he sent envoys to patrol the mountains and fields, hoping to recruit powerful tribes near Xishan, including monks and slaves from some temples in the mountains and forests. If they can all be organized, they will be a considerable fighting force and can help him continue to capture the city.

Soon several powerful men came to recruit, adding hundreds of soldiers to Liu Zhongli. This also greatly increased Liu Zhongli's confidence, so he simply moved to a temple in Wanshan to maintain the pressure on Xiangyang City.

However, the good times did not last long, and soon the scouts sent out by Liu Zhongli reported that there was a large group of people marching by land and water from the western border of Xiangyang, heading straight for Xiangyang!