Chapter 177 Traitor
"Yan thieves knock on the city! Yan thieves knock on the city!"

Panicked screams suddenly began to sweep across the sky as the sky began to brighten.

Under this sky, large groups of Yan soldiers with disheveled uniforms rushed towards the walls of Youzhou's inner city like a tide, carrying ladders.

On the top of the city wall, there was a constant sound of gongs and drums. The armored soldiers of the Imperial Guard hid behind the battlements, throwing down almost everything they could. Some archers even had several large bags full of feather arrows, and although their arms were extremely sore, they still shot down with all their might.

There were densely packed heads swaying under the city wall. These archers almost never missed their targets with their arrows. However, even so, the ferocious shouts and screams from below the city were endless. Looking down slightly, one could see pale, numb, and fierce faces, falling one after another. The former died, and the latter immediately picked up the knocked-down wooden ladder and climbed up. Then, in a moment, the corpses fell lifelessly.

This went on and on, just like a separatist war, with wave after wave of Yan army soldiers rushing up the city walls as if they were free, with almost no restraint, they just rushed forward, and as soon as one batch died, another batch would come up, and there seemed to be no end.

The Liang army on the city wall was in a much more miserable state. The defenders behind the city wall were almost sparse. No matter whether they were the imperial guards, guards or the civilians in the city, they were all driven to the top of the city wall at the sound of gongs, just to stop this wave of Yan army's offensive.

Unlike the Yan army under the city, the Liang army had one less soldier for every death, and there was no replenishment. It could be said that every elite soldier of the imperial guards was very valuable. However, under the circumstances, they had to send all the imperial guards to the top of the city, because there was really no one left in the city, and most of the available heads were on the city wall.

On the other hand, the Yan army seemed to be surging towards the top of the city wall without end, and even rushed straight to the top of the city wall several times. If Li Zhen had not personally led the last few reserve soldiers to kill several people at the top of his lungs to stabilize the situation, the top of the city wall would have been submerged by the crowd and the Liang army would have no place to stand.

Fortunately, these Yan soldiers had almost no protective gear, and some of them were just some leather armor and other remnants picked up from somewhere. They were easily killed and their wooden ladders could be overturned by the attackers. These Yan soldiers attacked the city only with their huge momentum. As long as they could hold on, they would inevitably retreat.

However, as the saying goes, one must sacrifice his life to bring down the emperor. In this momentum, even elite troops like the Imperial Guards would inevitably be killed by the lowly Yan Army. Everyone is equal on the battlefield. No one can be safe and sound just by wearing armor and having some military power. Whoever comes here will die here.

After all, not everyone has a beauty who is a "ghost doctor" who can bring the dead back to life.

Not to mention the casualties of the imperial guards, Lord Li, who had never taken the lives of low-level soldiers seriously, was naturally heartbroken. But at least the sacrifice was rewarded. As the sky went on, there were corpses everywhere under the city wall, mixed with more than a dozen knocked down wooden ladders. Some of the bodies were not completely dead yet, and were still slowly wriggling and making sounds in the pile of corpses.

Even now, the corpses piled up under the city were several meters high, giving people the illusion that they could climb directly to the top of the city. With so many deaths, the offensive of the Yan army finally slowed down a bit, and the Liang army finally took this chance to command the people in the city to bring wooden barrels and pour black oil under the city.

The Yan army, which was about to fight again at the city gate, froze in their tracks after seeing this thing, and then retreated in panic.

Soon, several torches were thrown down from the top of the city wall. With a "bang", the black oil caught fire in the snow. A raging fire also broke out on the wooden ladders. The entire pile of corpses was instantly engulfed in the sea of ​​fire. Some dying people howled in pain in the fire, but were annihilated in an instant.

The air was filled with black smoke, a smell that later generations would call asphalt, mixed with the smell of burnt hair and flesh. The thick smoke rose straight up into the sky below the city, interspersed with raging fires, blocking the view of the attackers and defenders above and below the city.

It is no wonder that the Yan army was afraid, because the fire could not be put out at all. No matter whether they used water or piled up earth, they were completely helpless against the fire caused by the black oil. Besides, the Liang army on the city wall would not watch the Yan army transport earth to put out the fire, and would launch an attack on them.

So they could only wait for the fire to go out on its own. Although the gap was not long, it was enough for the Liang army to catch their breath, replenish their strength, fill their stomachs, and so on.

The Yan army also stopped outside the range of the city wall and began to rest on the spot under the command of their respective marshals and generals. Then they ordered their men to continue carrying wooden ladders, intending to continue attacking the city after the fire was extinguished.

There was nothing they could do. The gates of the inner city had been sealed by Li Zhen's men, and the inner city was only that big, so they had no choice but to attack the city walls. In addition, Youzhou had fallen into the hands of others several times in the past year, and their warehouses had long been moved to the inner city. Siege equipment could not be deployed under the city, and the Yan army had no large equipment. After seeing that the Liang army had the black oil, they were reluctant to use the ladders they had collected with great difficulty, because it was obvious that the ladders would probably be burned by the black oil, which would then be counterproductive.

On the top of the city wall, Li Zhen's cold face became even uglier when he saw that Yan Jun was eager to try again.

He turned his head and looked in the direction of East City. He could see that the Yichang Army stationed there was still motionless, as if they had a tacit understanding. Unless the Yan Army went to East City to provoke them, they would not launch an offensive against the Yan Army. It was as if they did not see the attack and defense of the inner city that was just before their eyes. From the time the Yan Army entered the city until now, they had been watching from the sidelines, not to mention the sudden and fierce offensive of the Yan Army in the past two days.

He murmured, "I can't count on the Yichang Army anymore..."

On the side, Zhu Hanbin, whose helmet was stained with blood, wiped the iron knife in his hand and sneered, "Even today, Lord Li still hasn't seen the situation clearly? If the Yichang Army was willing to help, they would have sent troops long ago. Why wait until now?"

Li Zhen shook his head, not wanting to pay attention to Zhu Hanbin's ridicule. He just continued, "There is not much flaming oil left in the city. If there is no flaming oil, how can Zhu Junshi stop the Yan army?"

The so-called fierce fire oil is the black oil that was just poured from the top of the city. It was rarely seen on the battlefield before, but after the Huang Chao Rebellion, this thing gradually appeared on the battlefield. Because this thing is extremely fierce with the momentum of burning oil and setting fire to the tower, it is called "fierce fire oil".

When Li Zhen was in the Central Plains, he also followed Zhu Wen in his expeditions to various places. He knew that this fierce fire oil was used more in the south. It was very common in Huainan, Wuyue and other places. It was also heard that it was presented from Annan and other places further south, and was widely used in attacking and defending cities.

As for why Youzhou had such a large amount of flaming oil, according to officials, it was transported from Liaodong and Bohai, where many flammable springs were found, which was the flaming oil. However, because Li Cunxu had used a lot of it during the last siege, there was very little left now, and this thing could only be called a weapon for defending the city, which might be useful at a critical moment, but had little impact on the overall situation.

As it is now, it can only stop the Yan army's offensive for a moment.

After hearing what Li Zhen said, Zhu Hanbin laughed coldly: "How many defenders are there in the city? I think Lord Li knows better than me. This fierce fire oil is useful, but it can only solve the crisis temporarily. If even the fierce fire oil is gone now, according to what Lord Li saw, I am afraid that the inner city will be breached today!"

As he spoke, he pointed outside the city. Li Zhen looked in the direction of his finger and saw that behind the Yan army, in a long street where some houses had been demolished, a group of armored soldiers were quietly waiting behind the majority of the Yan army.

This group of armored soldiers, all wearing iron armor, even had auxiliary soldiers to help put on the armor. Each of them carried a layer of heavy armor, and they would probably put on another layer of armor when necessary. These were the so-called heavy armored infantry.

This group of heavily armored infantrymen were different from the Yan army who were waiting to save their lives. They had been waiting quietly at the back since morning, eating in front of the Liang army and wiping their weapons in front of the Liang army, almost exuding the strongest sense of deterrence.

As for why they were guarding there, Li Zhen could easily guess with his buttocks that the commander of the Yan army had them there, perhaps to serve as a supervisory team, but perhaps their ultimate goal was to use them as the main force in the siege.

As long as they wait for a certain opportunity, perhaps when the Yan army's bandits have exhausted their flaming oil and the Liang army's physical strength, these well-rested heavy-armored infantry will immediately begin to attack the city.

If there was no flaming oil, the city would have been destroyed in an instant...

Seeing a hint of fear on Li Zhen's face, Zhu Hanbin laughed coldly, "Lord Li asked me how to defend. I am not a god, so what else can I do? When the city was broken, I could only die for Your Majesty! Could it be that Lord Li has no other solution? Or is he afraid of death?"

After that, he asked himself and answered, "Oh, Lord Li is afraid of death now, I'm afraid it's too late. If he had surrendered to the Yan army half a month earlier, Lord Li would not only be able to save his life, but he might even be able to seek a high position in the Yan army. But now... Hehe, so many people in the Yan army have died, does Lord Li think he can end up well in the hands of these bandits?"

Knowing that the city was about to be breached, Zhu Hanbin was still mocking him. Li Zhen finally lost his patience and glanced at him coldly, saying, "The Yan army has entered the city. Is Zhu Junshi really going to die? Zhu Junshi is not trying to make a fool of himself. Don't I know who you are? You said that I am afraid of death, but does that mean that you, Zhu Hanbin, are really upright and fearless?"

Fortunately, the two of them were still far away from the defenders on the city wall, so most people could not hear them. However, these words were still harsh to the ears of their personal soldiers.

Zhu Hanbin narrowed his eyes and stopped addressing him as Lord Li. He just said coldly, "What do you mean?"

"What do I mean, Zhu Jun, make sure you know it clearly!" Li Zhen sneered, "I'll just tell you one thing, how can you gain anything by trying to get the skin of a tiger?"

"Ridiculous!" Zhu Hanbin did not answer. He snorted coldly and turned away.

Li Zhen looked at his back and knew at a glance that Zhu Hanbin must be hiding something. He sneered again, then climbed down from the top of the city wall to look for his two loyal slaves, who were now few in number.

"Did Lu Yan and his group really get out of the tunnel?"

"Reporting to Lord Li, we saw with our own eyes that General Lu and his men trampled two tents one after another and fought their way out without any obstacles! After seeing them get out safely, we collapsed the tunnel and retreated..."

"Did they really break out?" Li Zhen stared at the two of them solemnly. His eyes were so intimidating that the two servants even broke out in sweat on their foreheads.

The two hesitated for a long time before saying, "According to what we saw at the time, they did break out, but we don't know what happened after they crushed the two Yan bandit tents. But why should Lord Li worry? The secret passage was used to catch the Yan bandits off guard, and General Lu and his men were extremely brave, so how could the Yan bandits stop them? It has been three days now, and I'm afraid that General Lu and his men have already left Youzhou and went to Lutai..."

"Three days..." Li Zhen paced back and forth, thinking carefully about where Lu Yan and others could go in three days. He repeatedly asked the two servants for details before he finally made up his mind.

Zhu Hanbin was right. The city was about to fall and he could no longer wait.

Even if it's a desperate measure, he's still going to take a chance!
"Come here, take my letter, take the gondola out of the city, and ask to see the Yan army's commander, Yuan Xingqin. Tell him that I want to talk to the person behind him!!"

------

Gaoliang River.

Xiao Yan half-leaned on the chair behind the desk, propped up his elbow on the armrest, then read the letter in his hand with a half-smile and smiled gently.

"When did your Lord Li guess it?"

Inside the tent, a scholar in a light blue official robe knelt tremblingly in front of the commander's desk, not daring to raise his head.

Judging from his attire, it was obvious that this man was a genuine official from Bianliang. Perhaps he had met Xiao Yan in Youzhou. An official from Bianliang could at least be a seventh or eighth rank official serving in a county. However, in this tent, he was extremely respectful, almost prostrating himself, with a tremor in his voice.

"Let General Xiao know that Lord Li... Li Zhen did not guess it, but discovered your arrangement after being reminded by Lü Yan of the Yichang Army. Before that, he thought that the rewards were not paid truthfully, which led to the two tribes in Hebei not obeying the rules..."

In the tent, Han Yanhui stood beside the commander's desk, while Yu Zhong and other generals of Dingba stood on his left and right. At this moment, the former had no expression on his face, while the latter all sneered.

The official became more and more frightened. He glanced around with his peripheral vision and almost curled up on the ground.

After a moment, he heard the sound of someone standing up from his seat, and out of the corner of his eye he saw a pair of legs in long boots slowly approaching him.

"Xiao, General Xiao..." The official raised his head with a flattering smile on his face.

Xiao Yan also smiled faintly, and then asked back: "Isn't it?"

The official was stunned for a moment, then looked at Xiao Yan's kind smile. Yu Zhong and others in the tent had gloomy faces, but they just kowtowed like crazy and said in a panic: "Yes, yes, yes, Li Zhen privately withheld the reward money, causing the Hebei surrendered soldiers to be unstable. This humble official saw it with his own eyes, it is absolutely true!"

"Do not be nervous."

Xiao Yan squatted down, smiled and consoled him, "It's just that I don't understand for the moment, what does this letter written by Lord Li mean, saying that I, Xiao, have been raising bandits to disturb the Yan territory, and what is the meaning of this letter?"

"Yes, yes..." The official was sweating profusely, his mind racing, and finally he suddenly realized something and said in a hurry, "It was the treacherous minister Li Zhen who was jealous of General Xiao's achievements and was afraid that he would lose Youzhou due to his own incompetence, so he sent me to come up with this bad plan to slander General Xiao's innocence!"

After saying that, he glanced at the letter that Xiao Yan was holding lightly between his fingertips, crawled over quickly, grabbed it and was about to stuff it into his mouth.

"Master Xiao, please be clear. I was forced to do this!"

"Be bold!"

On the side, Yu Zhong was furious and kicked the official in the face. He then snatched the letter, knocked off the official's hat, and grabbed his hair. On his honest face, there was only a vicious look at this time: "You bastard, are you trying to destroy the evidence?!"

The official was kicked so hard that he saw stars and knocked out one of his front teeth. There was a trace of blood in his mouth, but he was frightened by Yu Zhong's expression and his crotch felt cold. He cried, "Captain Yu, Captain Yu, spare me. I was really forced to do this..."

On the side, Xiao Yan waved his hands.

"Lao Yu."

Yu Zhong glared at the official fiercely, then loosened his hand, wiped the letter on his chest to wipe off the saliva on it, and then handed it to Xiao Yan respectfully: "General Xiao, according to what I said, it is better to kill this kind of stuff to save a lot of trouble!"

Han Yanhui, who was standing behind him, glanced at the official who was almost weeping, took a few steps forward without changing his expression, and whispered to Xiao Yan, "My lord. Gong Yangzuo and his men haven't sent back any news yet. If the things carried by the hundred riders who escaped are really as described in the letter, it may be a bit troublesome for you, my lord. Should we be more cautious..."

The official immediately knelt on the ground and moved forward a little, and hurriedly said in a trembling voice: "Yes, yes, yes, General Xiao, first stabilize this treacherous minister! The person who escaped from the city was none other than Lu Yan. When he was defending Cangzhou, he ate human flesh as food. He is really a ruthless person. Don't force him too hastily..."

Yu Zhong was furious and threatened: "How dare you talk too much!"

"Villain..." The official shrank back in fear.

Yu Zhong turned to Xiao Yan and said, "General Xiao, let me go. Give me a thousand cavalrymen. Even if I have to search the mountains and seas, I will capture that Lu Yan for you!"

"No hurries."

Xiao Yan calmly handed the letter to Han Yanhui, turned around, and in front of everyone, took down a set of armor hanging on the wooden rack in the tent.

"General Xiao." A general hurried forward to help Xiao Yan put on his armor.

The latter waved his hand, then slowly put on his armor, saying, "Since Lord Li wants to see me, why not meet him?"

The official was overjoyed and said hurriedly, "I will lead the way for General Xiao!"

"Oh, that's not necessary."

Xiao Yan laughed and looked at the bad guy at the door: "Send someone to tell Yuan Xingqin that it will take half a day to ride over here. In half a day, I want to see this Mr. Li in his tent."

Han Yanhui was startled and reminded: "My lord, the angel delivering the decree should be here soon..."

"It's okay, let him wait."

The official was also stunned and cautiously reminded: "General Xiao, Li Zhen sent Lu Yan... Aren't you afraid...?"

"so what?"

Xiao Yan looked at him calmly and asked, "Are you scared?"

The official was stunned for a moment, then he prostrated himself on the ground and cried out loudly.

"I, Zheng Jue, am willing to lead the horse for Commander Xiao!"

(End of this chapter)