Chapter 318 A Bloody Battle
His advisors’ words were reasonable. After hearing that, Li Keyong slowly nodded and looked better. As long as Li Cunxiao could defeat Liu Dazheng and arrive in Qinzhou City, the situation would indeed be as his advisors said.
Li Keyong looked around and glanced at the Grand Guardians, saying coldly, “If you can be enterprising and reach the realm of the military general like the 13 Grand Guardians, Qinzhou City won’t get into trouble.”
Many generals, who heaved sighs of relief, felt ashamed. Being criticized by Li Keyong thus, they felt embarrassed and humiliated. Some people blushed deeply and immediately pleaded to get out of town to fight against the Pinglu Army.
Li Keyong felt satisfied that he managed to boost their morale. He waved his hand and said, “If you decide to die, you’d better get ready. When the 13 Grand Guardians lead their large army here, we shall collaborate from within with forces from outside to let Li Ye know what we can do.”
Most of them looked excited. They went back to their posts after showing that they would advance or retreat together with Li Keyong, and survive or perish with Qinzhou City.
The political hall became empty soon. Li Keyong sat down in situ, looked at the empty room, and frowned in deep thought.
Li Cunxiao was the bravest general of the Hedong Army and ranked only second to him. If Li Cunxiao could not defeat Liu Dazheng, he would make no difference.
After a while, Li Keyong stood up and went to the door with his hands clasped behind his back. He swung his sleeves back and snorted. He was full of vigor, saying, “In terms of the power of cultivators and the overall force of the army, our Hedong Army can’t compete with the Pinglu Army, with the aid of the demon clan. As far as the generals’ valor are concerned, who can defeat our Hedong Army in the world?”
Li Keyong’s eyes were full of determination and will to win. “Although the war is full of twists and turns, its result depends on the battle between generals and will be based on its progress. It’s help from heaven!”
His confidence in Li Cunxiao was the same as his confidence in himself.
After getting the report in the military newspaper about the fight between Liu Dazheng and Li Cunxiao, Li Ye muttered to himself for a while. He let Song Jiao summon the major generals of the Pinglu Army, Tianping Army, Henghai Army, and Zhaoyi Army to discuss in the large tent.
The discussion did not last long, because it was very simple. Li Ye issued a military order to attack Qinzhou City.
In a concise military order, Li Ye ordered all the army elites out and attacked the city, day and night. It was clear that Li Ye would not give Qinzhou City a break, until he took the city.
The military order of general attack came suddenly, which was far earlier than expected. However, Xue Wei, Kang Chengqian, and others had no objection. Fenzhou’s reinforcement had been defeated. Right now, only the Yizhou reinforcement was fighting against Liu Dazheng. Everybody knew and had his own opinion about the war situation. The general attack was in accordance with the situation.
At the end of the discussion, Li Ye looked around and said calmly, “General Liu led the army to intercept Li Cunxiao. Both sides are fighting. In the short term, the winner or loser cannot be decided yet. At the moment when our army is attacking Qinzhou City, Li Keyong still has no rescue plans. Before the outcome is decided, our task is to capture Qinzhou City!”
“Accept the order.” All the generals cupped their fists. Li Ye meant that it was difficult for Liu Dazheng to defeat Li Cunxiao. That was, Liu Dazheng could persist for some time and would not be held up by Li Cunxiao for the time being.
The allied forces must attack and occupy Qinzhou City before Li Cunxiao broke through Liu Dazheng’s defense line. Otherwise, once Li Cunxiao arrived in Qinzhou City, the war situation would become unfavorable to the allied forces.
At the next dawn, with the muffled sound of the horn, 100,000 armored soldiers came out of the allied battalions and besieged the city on three sides. They first went outside the city in torrents with significant momentum, and then they were led by their high-ranking officers to form an array, accompanied by the sound of drums and carrying banners.
Soon, there were three boundless oceans of iron armor forming on the vacant land, on all three sides outside the city. Nest trucks, aerial ladder trucks, and covered trucks were among them. Those that were30 meters above the top of the city wall, could be found everywhere.
After hundreds of tall stone-throwers bombarded the wall countless times, with the issue of Li Ye’s military orders, amidst the thunderous drum-beats, a tidal wave separated from the armored ocean on three sides and raged toward the city.
The killing shouts sounded one after another, which was earth-shattering.
Li Ye stood on the watchtower with his hands clasped behind his back, watching the army besiege the city.
Behind him stood commissioners such as Xue Wei and Li Chengqian and several civil official advisors.
The Son of God and Holy Child stood apart, stared at the battlefield for a while, and exchanged looks several times behind Li Ye. In the end, the Son of God could not help but say, “Can Liu Dazheng stop Li Cunxiao? All our troops came out and attacked the city with all their strength, and arrayed in battle formation. If he can’t stop him, it will be too late for the army to retreat if Li Cunxiao comes over.”
Li Ye did not speak.
He certainly knew that the Son of God’s words were right. When both sides were fighting fiercely and refused to budge, if they became entangled, and if Li Cunxiao broke through Liu Dazheng’s interception, they would not be able to withdraw in time. Then, the allied forces would suffer great losses.
In the worst scenario, if Li Keyong was well-prepared, and they collaborated from within with forces from outside in the war situation, the allied forces would be in danger of being defeated.
After the Son of God finished speaking, Holy Child saw Li Ye remain silent and asked, “Would you like to mobilize the elite armies to support Liu Dazheng?”
Li Ye shook his head, “It’s not necessary.”
He continued with a firm look, “Liu Dazheng may not win, but Li Cunxiao will not be able to defeat him so quickly. We have three to five days to capture Qinzhou City.”
They nodded in succession. Since Li Ye knew all the answers, they would say no more. They questioned because there was no room for complacency, and they had a responsibility to remind him. Meanwhile, they believed in Li Ye’s arrangement, and thought that they could win the war with his management.
After all, whether before the suppression of the Huang Chao Uprising or during the expedition to Hedong, Li Ye had fully displayed his military talents and they were convinced.
After a day of fierce fighting, both sides suffered heavy causalities. Up and down the walls, thousands of bodies had accumulated and the parapet was smeared with blood. For the last few days, they kept on fighting. By this time, the war had already reached its peak. All the forces poured out without reservation.
Although Qinzhou City was filled with blood and fire after a day and night, the Hedong Army had it under tight control.
On the second day, the war continued.
To raise the morale of the army, Li Ye supervised the war behind the array. The officers and soldiers of the two armies fought to the last and blood flowed like water. However, no cultivator above the Spiritual Master Realm launched any attacks. With the balance of cultivators, they had a tacit understanding.
At the end of the second day, not only did the Pinglu Army attack the top of the city wall several times, but also the Zhaoyi Army, the Tianping Army, and others managed to gain firm footholds there, several times. Although they were eventually driven away, all the officers and soldiers finally saw the dawn of victory.
The third day was the earliest time limit for the conquest of the city, as estimated by Li Ye.
On this day, the fierce battle could be described as a bloody battle. Every section of the top of the city wall was repeatedly tainted with blood, and every moment many soldiers fell into the pool of blood.
When it was almost nightfall, the war could only be described as crazy. Most soldiers from the Pinglu Army desperately launched attacks against the defenders of Qinzhou City, wishing to take Qinzhou City before the day ended.
The fighting continued until midnight, and they had not even taken the top of the city wall. The defensive line of Qinzhou City was about to collapse, and the defense of the Hedong Army was already stretched to the maximum, but the allied forces still had no way to conquer it.
On the fourth day, things started to change.
The Pinglu Army became more irritable, and the Hedong Army guarding the city also became more anxious. The bloody battle became crazier. They knew that the winner of the battle between Li Cunxiao and Liu Dazheng might be decided in the next moment.
If the officers and soldiers of the Pinglu Army wanted to win, they had to take the city before that. Otherwise, their advantage would vanish in a flash, and their own lives would be at stake.
They kept struggling on. They looked northeast in the blood and fire countless times, expecting to see Li Cunxiao carrying the flag and leading the army to rescue them.
Li Ye stood on the watchtower and he looked at the battlefield calmly, as if he was able to cope with all eventualities.
Li Keyong, standing in front of the gate tower of Qinzhou City, had the same look as him.
However, no one knew what they were thinking.
On the fourth night, Li Ye came down the watchtower, and Li Keyong came down from the city wall. Both of them summoned their trusted subordinates and advisors to discuss about this matter.
Li Ye did not say much in the military discussion, but prepared them. The war result must be decided tomorrow. The cultivators above the Spiritual Master Realm must be prepared to fight with one another.
When he returned to the political hall, Li Keyong looked sullen. After he listened to the casualty reports from all the generals, he said without a doubt, “I must hold on for three more days!”
According to the generals’ speeches, it was already fortunate that they could hold on to Qinzhou City for another day. Of course, Li Keyong could not accept that. He must keep Qinzhou City. As for three days, it was the first goal that would be easier to achieve.
However, all the generals looked down and remained silent because of this goal. They were not hot-blooded anymore, and unwilling to make any more sacrifices.
“Are you guys afraid of being beaten by the Pinglu Army? Don’t forget. Our Hedong Army has never lost before! There are tens of thousands of soldiers in the city now. Why can’t we defend the city for three more days?” When he saw that they remained silent, Li Keyong was angry.
Among the generals, no one answered. No matter how hard Li Keyong tried to prod them, the morale of the troops kept dropping.
After Li Keyong forced them to leave their options open, Li Sizhao looked up and asked, “Your Highness, it has been four days. Why hasn’t Li Cunxiao arrived yet?”
Everyone thought that Liu Dazheng was not Li Cunxiao’s opponent at all, and he would undoubtedly be defeated. Li Cunxiao should have reached Qinzhou City three days ago, but now there was no news at all.
The soldiers of the Hedong Army were in despair.
Li Keyong’s facial expression changed, and the corners of his mouth twitched. He could not answer for a moment. After a long while, he pounded his desk and smashed it into pieces, “Get out of here!”
The generals looked at each other in speechless despair, did not dare to speak, and bowed, one after another.
When everyone left, Li Keyong hit the ground with a hard blow, with his clothes and hair in a flurry. “Li Cunxiao, you’re a good-for-nothing. It’s been four days. Why haven’t you arrived in Qinzhou City? At such a crucial time, how can you ruin me? If I lose this battle, you will be no different from Long Ju!”
Long Ju was Xiang Yu’s capable assistant. In the critical battle when Xiang Yu and Liu Bang strove for hegemony, Long Ju led over 200,000 elite forces, but he lost to Han Xin, who only had tens of thousands of military troops and horses. As a result, the war was entirely over, when Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu.
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