Chapter 616: Land and Water Battle
Chapter 616: Land and Water Battle (Part )
After destroying the catapults on the top of the city wall, the Sui army in the south of the Yangtze River entered the second round of siege. Another fifty large ships sailed into the moat, bringing the number of large warships in the moat to sixty-three. All of them were large ships with a capacity of ten thousand stones. Hundreds of small boats also sailed into the moat. These small boats were prepared to be used to build a floating bridge.
More than 60 Wanshi warships approached the city wall again. They were all equipped with paddle wheels. The soldiers stepped on the rafts inside the boats, and the rafts rotated, driving the axles. The paddle wheels outside also rotated, driving the ships forward.
Without catapults, arrows alone were not enough to deal with large ships. Crossbows threw medium-sized iron fire bombs onto the top of the city walls. Huge explosions continued to sound on the top of the city walls, and the city walls began to collapse. All the soldiers of the New Liang Army were frightened, including King Liang Xiao Yan, who was helped down by the soldiers.
Xiao Yan stood in the distance, watching the collapse of the city wall in despair. He was originally a man in his seventies, and this time, he seemed to have aged ten years. From a youthful face with white hair, he became an old man with frail features. He could hardly even straighten his back.
The soldiers around were all in panic. Before, they had raised their arms and shouted that they would live and die with the city, but at this moment, all the oaths they had shouted became a joke, and the constantly exploding iron fire bombs destroyed their will.
For the first time, Xiao Yan felt regretful. If he had listened to his apprentice Xiao Xin and gone to the south to develop, it might have been a wise move.
But it was too late to regret now. The north gate collapsed and the explosions suddenly stopped.
The surroundings suddenly became quiet, but this was terrifying.
"The Sui army is coming to the city! The Sui army is coming to the city!"
The battle flag of the Sui army appeared on the top of the city wall, and countless Sui army soldiers appeared on the top of the city wall.
Hundreds of small boats were built into a pontoon bridge, and tens of thousands of soldiers lined up on the bridge and rushed onto the large ship along a solid ladder. A long wooden board extended from the ship, and the front end hooked onto the city wall, forming an aerial bridge several meters long. The soldiers rushed to the top of the city from the aerial wooden bridge.
At this time, thousands of cavalrymen also went to the other side from the pontoon bridge and rushed directly into the city gate. Both sides of the city wall had been occupied by the Sui army, and the inner city gate had been opened. Pei Xingyan led 5,000 Sui cavalrymen and took the lead in rushing into the city.
Within half an hour, 60,000 troops rushed into the city.
The louder the slogans were yesterday, the faster the surrender. When death came, no soldier or general would die for the short-lived dynasty of twenty-five years ago. They chose to surrender without hesitation.
Xiao Yan locked himself in Prince Liang's mansion. The shouting and killing outside were getting closer and closer. The Sui army had already rushed into Prince Liang's mansion. With trembling hands, he poured out all the pills in a red gourd.
This was the elixir he had spent twenty years refining. He tried it on a young disciple, who died the next day after taking one pill.
But that's what elixirs are like. Mortals cannot afford it, and one is enough to kill you. But if you take ten at a time, you will be able to turn bad luck into good luck, break free from death and become an immortal.
Although Xiao Yan understood that the end of death was to become an immortal, he never dared to try it.
At this moment, he gave it his all and swallowed all thirty golden elixirs without hesitation. He lay quietly on the bed, waiting for the moment of becoming an immortal.
The war was over and the city was completely quiet.
Xiao Xia arrived at Prince Liang's mansion surrounded by dozens of personal guards.
Xiao Xia stared blankly at the gate of Prince Liang's Mansion that was blown to pieces. Was it necessary to use iron fire bombs to attack a mere Prince Liang's Mansion?
At this time, Xiao Yan was carried out and curled up on a wooden door in the yard. His face was distorted and his eyes were bulging. Although there was no luster in his eyes, one could imagine the pain and despair he was feeling as he died.
He did not become an immortal and eventually fell into the endless abyss of hell.
Xiao Xia felt a little bored. The Iron Fire Thunder was too powerful. The war had lost its meaning. If this continued, his soldiers would become more and more dependent on the Iron Fire Thunder and eventually would not be able to fight. This would not work. True victory must be born in cruel blood and fire, not in easy waiting.
At this moment, Xiao Xia decided that he would never use the iron fire bomb again unless it was absolutely necessary.
After destroying the Xinliang regime, the Sui army in the south of the Yangtze River seized one million dan of grain, 500,000 strings of copper coins, and countless other materials. Xiao Xia immediately ordered that the people in Jingxiang counties be exempted from taxes for one year in order to appease the people.
In Luoyang, Emperor Yang Guang secretly met with Yuan Hongsi and Dugu Zuan who came from Chang'an in the imperial palace. The meeting was very short and the negotiations between the two sides were very pragmatic. Yang Guang agreed to all the four conditions proposed by the Guanlong nobles except the third one.
The third clause was that the royal heir would not be confirmed within ten years. Yang Guang believed that this was the Guanlong nobles interfering with his imperial power, and he requested that this clause be deleted. In the end, Yang Guang only made a verbal promise and did not consider the heir to the throne for the time being.
Since it was a negotiation, Yang Guang also put forward his own conditions. In fact, he only had one condition. Regarding the issue of supporting the Western Sui pseudo-regime, the Guanlong nobles could formally support the Western Sui pseudo-regime, but they were not allowed to provide substantive support such as money, food, and weapons. Once the Luoyang Sui army captured Chang'an, the Guanlong nobles were not allowed to support the pseudo-regime anymore.
Yuan Hongsi and Dugu Zuan also agreed to Yang Guang's conditions on behalf of the Guanlong nobles, and the two sides signed a memorandum of negotiation, which meant that the two sides reached a reconciliation.
In the imperial study, Emperor Yang Guang and several important ministers discussed the plan to attack Chang'an, including Yu Shiji, Pei Ju, Fan Zigai and Yin Shishi.
Yu Shiji bowed and said, "Your Majesty, once the Guanlong nobles no longer provide substantial support to the Chang'an pseudo-regime, we don't need to be so anxious. We can slow down a bit and make preparations for a few months, including food, supplies, and military training, etc. We can wait until the beginning of next spring before sending troops to Chang'an."
Fan Zigai said, "I heard that the battle of Jingxiang has just ended, and the King of Jin has wiped out the pseudo-Liang regime and restored Jingxiang. According to your majesty's previous request, the King of Jin's army can help us capture Wuguan. Seeing that the cold winter is approaching, I also suggest that we consider sending troops in the spring of next year."
Yang Guang sighed and said, "Thinking of the traitors in Chang'an, I can't sleep or eat. I wish I could send troops right now!"
Yin Shishi also said: "Your Majesty, I understand your feelings, but in many things, haste makes waste, especially if you are not fully prepared and do not know yourself and the enemy, then you will not be sure of victory."
Yu Shiji added: "Since Your Majesty has just reached a compromise with the Guanlong nobles, you can use these few months to observe their attitudes."
The last sentence touched Yang Guang's heart. He nodded and said, "Okay! I will follow your advice and attack Chang'an in the spring next year."
The four men all had their own reasons for opposing an immediate attack on Chang'an. Yu Shiji and Pei Ju were worried about the finances, while Fan Zigai and Yin Shishi were more worried about the morale of the army.
After leaving the Imperial Study, Pei Ju asked Yu Shiji in a low voice, "How serious is the financial deterioration?"
Yu Shiji sighed and said, "Preliminary estimates show that it is only half of what it was three years ago. In fact, it may be even worse. Now we can only rely on our old capital. I really don't know how to explain this to the emperor!"
Pei Ju nodded, "The emperor should know! Everything west of Hangu Pass has been lost, Bashu and Hedong have also been lost, the population of Hebei and the Central Plains has dropped sharply, and the tax burden of Jiangnan has been returned to the King of Jin. I estimate that 30% is very good."
Yu Shiji smiled bitterly and said, "The only solution now is to transfer all the food supplies from Liyang Warehouse back, otherwise it will be too embarrassing."
Later, Fan Zigai also said to Yin Shishi: "The key is that the army is now very tired of war. If we rashly send troops, it is likely to cause serious consequences. We must rest for a few months. I hope the emperor can understand our difficulties."
Yin Shishi sighed and said, "The emperor is very stubborn, but luckily I managed to convince him!"
The four of them were all worried and went back.
(End of this chapter)