Chapter 719 Self-immolation
Chapter 719 Self-immolation
Lu County has been under siege for several days.
After Hou Feihu's troops arrived at the city, they did not have enough troops to surround the city, so they only stationed on the south side of the city.
They were not worried about the defenders escaping, and even hoped that they would abandon the city and flee. After all, the casualties in a violent attack on a city were too great, so it would be much easier to chase them.
Liu Yao did not break out.
He was not stupid, where could he escape to? There were enemies everywhere, and he couldn't escape.
Therefore, he chose to defend the city.
There were not many soldiers, only about 3,000 people, including the thousand who fled with him at the beginning, and the thousands of defeated soldiers who were taken in one after another afterwards. Finally, he recruited more than a thousand able-bodied men in the city.
The soldiers who were willing to follow him back, even though their morale was low, were willing to fight to the death.
Hou Feihu had attacked the city twice, but was repelled both times. But the thousand or so men who were temporarily recruited were not very good, so they needed to boost their morale.
Liu Yao knew what to do.
The army went straight to the city, captured all the pretty women in the city, and gave them to everyone to play with.
The most amazing thing is that some of them are relatives of the conscripted men.
But people are so sad and cowardly, and the more people there are, the more they are like this. They watch their loved ones being toyed with, but dare not stop it.
Of course, there were a few strong-willed people who stood up and denounced, but they were quickly suppressed.
What followed was a revelry in which they lost their sense of shame and human ethics and degenerated into beasts.
Several empty shops were renovated, and the elderly, the weak, women and children were led in every moment.
The chopping board made loud bangs as the knife and axe chopped on it.
The elderly, the weak, women and children who were dragged in were helping to prepare food or make fire and boil water the moment before, and disappeared the next day. There was no resistance, no commotion. It was shocking, but also seemed natural.
After all, there are many surrendered soldiers in this world who first cry while digging a hole for themselves, and then are pushed in and buried alive without any resistance.
They are probably all extremely depressed and have gone crazy.
Liu Yao turned a blind eye to this.
In troubled times, what have we not seen? Are there not many shops that openly sell "beef and mutton"? There is a reason why the fattest and most popular meat is called "Buyuyang".
In this world, social order has collapsed and everyone is a villain. I wonder what kind of hero can turn things around and restore order.
Liu Yao did not think he had the ability to do so. He just went with the flow in the troubled times. He once floated to the surface and even stood at the crest of the tide, enjoying great glory, but he would eventually sink to the bottom of the water.
Perhaps, this is the fate of people in troubled times.
Drums were beating again outside the city.
Hou Feihu sent out a group of captured prisoners and launched a fierce attack.
Behind the captive was Ding Zhuang from Henan.
After the young and strong men from Henan, there were also newly arrived soldiers from the government and their followers.
They attacked in order, vowing to capture the city and kill Liu Yao.
In a hurry, there were not enough defensive equipment in Lu County. In the previous two attacks, they had already consumed hundreds of enemy soldiers. If they continued to attack fiercely, they would have a chance to break the city before Liang Gong arrived.
But he may be disappointed.
On April 27th, Shao Xun's large banner appeared in the east of Lu County, and the endless troops almost filled the valley.
Following Shao Xun's order, Yang Dan drove more than 4,000 surrendered soldiers from Hukou Pass to attack Lu County. For a time, arrows and stones flew everywhere, and the battle was extremely fierce - competition was everywhere.
******
"Flying Tigers fought well in this battle." Shao Xun patted his favorite student on the shoulder and said, "Danzhuling is a difficult terrain. You sent people to take detours many times. Although you didn't succeed, you dispersed the Xiongnu's forces, causing them to be distracted and ultimately achieved success."
Hou Feihu was slightly moved after hearing this and said, "Only if we can kill Liu Yao can we achieve our goal."
Shao Xun turned his head and looked towards the battlefield.
Hou Feihu and Yang Dan each led the surrendered soldiers to attack the city.
The surrendered soldiers had sad faces and their morale was extremely low. Under the oppression of the Jin army, they had no choice but to move forward.
Amid the rumbling of drums, countless people poured out from the ladder trucks and rushed straight to the top of the city wall along the long ladders.
Corpses fell like rain inside and outside the city walls, and the scene was extremely bloody.
The surrendered soldiers were quickly defeated, and then it was the turn of the young men from Henan and Hebei.
This wave of consumption just now probably killed more than 300 defenders.
Liu Yao has too few soldiers, and they can be almost wiped out in a few days.
Shao Xun was no longer interested in watching, and said to Yang Dan and Hou Feihu: "After the city is captured, all officers and soldiers will be killed, and the surrendered soldiers will be sent to Bianliang to dig trenches. If Liu Yao can be captured, then capture him, if not, then kill him."
"Yes, sir." Yang and Hou responded in unison.
Before leaving, Shao Xun pointed his whip to the north and asked, "I remember there are two roads heading north from Shangdang, right?"
"Yes." Hou Feihu replied, "There are two roads, one to the north and one to the northwest. One goes through Wuxiang, and the other goes through Tongdi and Xiangyuan. They are actually very close."
"Jin Zheng." Shao Xun called.
"I am here." Jin Zheng came over wearing a helmet and armor.
"You lead the Silver Spear Right Camp and the Falling Goose Army as the vanguard, set off immediately, and take the northwest road to Jinyang." Shao Xun ordered.
"Yes, sir." Jin Zheng replied happily.
He had studied the maps and knew that such a road existed - if the details were unclear, there were several guides leading the way.
In short, from Lu County, go west for 20 li, then turn northwest for 40 to 50 li to reach Tunliu County. From this county, go northwest for another 90 li to Tongdi County, then turn northeast for 40 li to reach Shangweiting (now Qin County).
From Shangweiting, travel about 150 miles northwest, cross two mountain ranges, and reach the southeast of Qi County. This is where you enter the Taiyuan Basin, which is only a hundred miles away from Jinyang.
In fact, it is not close, a total of four or five hundred miles, and there are many mountain roads, which are not easy to walk on. But how can we fight in Bingzhou without being mentally prepared to climb mountains?
Jin Zheng didn't care and couldn't even wait.
After he led his troops away, the fighting on and around the city became more intense and did not stop even after nightfall.
In the afternoon of the 28th, the government soldiers also began to go into battle. At this time, nearly half of the 1,500 defeated soldiers who followed Liu Yao back to Lu County had been lost, and the city was on the verge of collapse.
Shao Xun led his army out of Lu County and marched northwest. By night they had walked seventeen miles and slept outdoors on the road. He planned to stay there for a few days to meet with the nobles and chieftains of the Shangdang counties.
"What is the name of this place?" Before going to bed, he asked Yang Qin, the commander of his personal army.
"My Lord, the place is called 'Sanchuigang'." Yang Qin replied, "In the past, Liu Cong sent General Qiao Zhong to attack Shangdang. Wang Kuang (also known as Wang Guang) and Han Rou came to rescue him, but they were defeated at Sanchuigang."
Shao Xun nodded slowly. No wonder he was so familiar with this name. It turned out that there was a war when Liu Cong attacked Shangdang.
On the last day of April, Shao Xun held a banquet at Sanchuigang and met with surrendered people from various places.
At this time, Liu Yao had also reached his final moment...
******
"At ten o'clock, his face was as bright as a lotus flower, his body was as smooth as the wind and he moved as fast as flying..."
There was fierce fighting on the city wall of Lu County.
On the city wall, Liu Yao picked up the wine glass, looked sad, and sang in a low voice.
"At the age of twenty, your skin will be radiant and your hair will be smooth, your eyes will be beautiful and your appearance will be glorious..."
The reorganized surrendered soldiers were driven by the Jin army to attack the city again, fighting fiercely with their former comrades. Blood and flesh flew everywhere on the city walls, and life was slipping away at an incredible speed.
Liu Yao glanced at his own troops, there were not many left, and he could not stop crying. They were all good men who had followed him for many years. At this moment, they were still fearless, but their deaths were meaningless.
"At thirty, you will have made a name for yourself and become famous, strong enough to lift a tripod and ambitious enough to reach the sky..."
The surrendered soldiers were defeated again, suffered heavy casualties, and retreated in disgrace. But they had almost no chance to catch their breath, as another group of Hebei men rushed to the top of the city and fought with the Luxian men.
The strength of Bingzhou Dingzhuang and Hebei Dingzhuang is actually similar, or it can be said that Bingzhou Dingzhuang is stronger, because the life here is too miserable and one cannot survive without being strong.
But as the fight went on, they still felt a little exhausted and were forced to retreat step by step. They could hardly hold on any longer.
"At the age of forty, with physical strength overcoming his ambition, he crossed the states and counties to return to the imperial hometown..."
Liu Yao put down his wine glass and looked towards the top of the city wall.
The imperial army, which had just left the city to rest, was forced to go up to the city to reinforce the Ding Zhuang from Lu County. After great efforts, they finally frightened the Ding Zhuang from Hebei and made him fall off the city wall.
After the battle, almost all the personal soldiers were injured, out of breath, and almost unable to fight again.
The day of death is today!
Liu Yao was completely desperate. He picked up the wine glass, drank it all, and continued to sing.
"At fifty, he held a banner and a staff to protect his country, and the sound of drums and bells encouraged the women of Zhao to sing..."
Amid the sound of drums, the third group of people rushed up, this time they were soldiers from Chenliu Prefecture and their followers.
These people had not been serving as soldiers for long and did not have many skills, but they were well-equipped and in high spirits. After rushing to the top of the city wall, they charged forward like tigers, driving the Dingzhuang from Lu County and Liu Yao's personal soldiers down together.
This time, the Huns were really at the end of their strength.
No matter how hard they fought, no matter how determined they were to die, they could not drive these people off the city walls.
Both sides kept screaming and people kept falling down, but if you look closely, the number of defenders was melting quickly like ice and snow under the scorching sun.
"At sixty, he was old and accomplished, and rode four horses into the Purple Palace..."
Amidst warm cheers, the defenders finally collapsed.
Among the Jin army that surged onto the city walls, a sturdy man holding a machete chased and killed while laughing: "Who dares to stop me, Feng Ba Chi!"
Suddenly, he saw where Liu Yao was.
Several comrades also saw it, so they rushed over, intending to seize this great achievement.
Liu Yao finished his last glass of wine and laughed: "I can't sing anymore."
After saying that, he threw down a torch, and a raging fire immediately broke out, enveloping the entire city wall.
Feng Bachi and others subconsciously stopped and looked at Liu Yao in the fire, all without saying a word.
“Let us drink and sing, how short is life? It is like the morning dew, and the past days were full of suffering…” A faint singing voice could be heard from the fire.
The fire grew more and more intense, crackling.
A moment later, the city wall could no longer bear the weight and collapsed, submerging Liu Yao's entire body.
Feng Ba Chi sighed and said, "I don't even bother to chop off a dead person's head, I'll just go play around under the city."
The others looked at each other and then left.
There is still some final resistance in the city, but it is no longer of concern to the overall situation.
After nightfall, all the fighting calmed down and Lu County was conquered by more than 30,000 besieging troops.
Liu Yao, King of Zhongshan in the Han Dynasty, burned himself on the city wall.
(End of this chapter)