novelSusiti Chapter 128 Winning Hearts and Minds is Paramount
Chapter 128 Winning Hearts and Minds is Paramount
The following day, the Si River and the Yi River converged outside Xiapi City, stirring up a cloud of mist.
The moisture from the Sishui River overflowed the city walls, enveloping the entire city in a layer of grayish-white gauze.
The Taiping soldiers on the city wall rubbed their hands together and stamped their feet to ward off the cold, their eyes occasionally glancing at the silent plains outside the city.
The weather today is really unusual; the river, which has never been foggy, is now steaming with mist.
Two soldiers on the city wall were chatting idly.
Suddenly, a soldier looked out of the city.
"Look, isn't there someone over there?"
Another soldier looked in the direction he was pointing.
After the fog dissipated, a dark mass of tents suddenly appeared on the plain.
The camp stretched from outside the south gate all the way to the riverbank outside the west gate. Banners fluttered in the morning breeze, and the characters "Chen," "Peng," and "Zhao" were faintly visible.
People and horses moved about between the tents, craftsmen were busy making ladders and battering rams, and scouts galloped back and forth, raising plumes of dust.
The sentries on the city wall hurriedly blew their horns.
The sound of horns shattered the morning tranquility, and the city instantly erupted into a frenzy, like boiling water.
Li Feng was awakened by the sound of bugles in the back hall of the county government office. He quickly put on his armor and rushed up to the city wall.
His expression changed at first glance.
How many people are there?
"Reporting to Lieutenant Li, there are at least two or three thousand men outside the South Gate, and there are also scouts outside the East Gate, North Gate, and West Gate. I'm afraid they're also joining the encirclement."
Li Feng gritted his teeth.
Each gate has two to three thousand soldiers, and the four gates combined have at least ten thousand...
However, the city's garrison numbered less than a thousand. A thousand against ten thousand, even though they were the defenders, the numerical disparity still made them somewhat uneasy.
Li Feng withstood the pressure and said in a deep voice.
"Issue the order: close all four gates and raise the drawbridges. All gate guards must hold their posts to the death; anyone who retreats without authorization will be executed. At the same time, martial law is declared within the city. Without my order, no one is allowed to move around or linger near the city walls."
Li Feng had read his elder brother Li Sheng's records of previous sieges, and given his cautious nature, he naturally knew the importance of controlling the city and its gates.
"promise!"
In the military camp outside the city, Chen Gui and his son Chen Deng were sitting facing each other in the central command tent.
A map of the defenses of Xiapi was laid out in front of them.
"Father, please look. Although Xiapi is a bit shorter than the capital, its city walls are quite sturdy. The east and south gates are the main gates and have the strongest defenses. The west gate is close to the Si River and is occasionally eroded by the river, so its defenses are slightly weaker."
Chen Gui nodded, stroked his beard, and pondered for a moment.
"You mean, focus our attack on West Gate?"
"No."
Chen Deng put down his charcoal pencil, his gaze steady.
"Instead, we should focus our attack on the south and east gates, leaving the west gate open."
"Oh?"
"Xiapi City is located west of the Si River. If we surround it on three sides and leave one side open, leaving a way out on the west, the defenders in the city will not fight to the death. When people have a way out, they become timid, and when they are timid, the battle becomes easier to fight."
A hint of approval flashed in Chen Gui's eyes, and he nodded slightly.
"So when do you plan to make your move?"
Chen Deng glanced at the sky outside the tent; the sun was already high in the sky.
"Let's begin now. But before we attack the city, I'd like to try our psychological warfare tactics."
He turned and called out from outside the tent.
"Someone, bring those arrows."
The guards brought in several bundles of arrows, each with a thin scroll of silk tied to its shaft.
Chen Deng picked up a token, unfolded it, looked at the words on it, confirmed that it was correct, and then handed it to the messenger next to him.
"Shoot into the city, the more the better. Target the streets and alleys where people live, not the soldiers guarding the city walls."
The messenger responded and left.
On the open ground outside the east gate of Xiapi, dozens of archers lined up, nocked arrows with silk scrolls attached to them, and fired them diagonally towards the city. The arrows traced an arc, flew over the city wall, and landed in the city's streets and alleys.
After the first volley of arrows was fired, a commotion quickly broke out in the city.
First, a few soldiers found the silk scroll attached to the arrow. When they unfolded it and read it, their expressions changed drastically. The news spread like wildfire, and in less than half an hour, the whole city was discussing the contents of the silk scroll.
The silk scroll is very brief, but every word is piercing.
"The Taiping rebel Li Sheng has been defeated by government troops at Jianling, and his entire army has been wiped out. Li Sheng himself barely escaped with his life, and his whereabouts are unknown. The imperial army has arrived, and you are all good citizens who have been coerced by the rebels, which is understandable. If you surrender the city immediately, your past actions will be forgiven. If you resist stubbornly, when the city falls, not a single chicken or dog will be spared. This is an edict from Chen Gui, Chancellor of Xiapi."
The soldiers guarding the city walls naturally saw it as well.
The soldiers looked at each other, and one of the younger ones trembled slightly as he held the silk scroll.
"Lieutenant Li, this... the general... he really lost?"
Li Feng snatched the silk scroll, glanced at it, snorted coldly, crumpled it into a ball, and stuffed it into his pocket.
"Bullshit."
Li Feng, who was usually so refined, rarely swore.
"The general wrote to me before he left, saying that everything was fine. This is clearly a lie made up by that old man Chen Gui to deceive people."
The soldier was still half-believing and half-doubting.
Li Feng saw this and knew that words alone wouldn't suffice. He took a deep breath, drew his sword abruptly, and pointed the tip to the sky.
"Listen up, brothers! I, Li Feng, have followed the General since Siyang Township. You may not know who the General is, but I know him! Don't even mention a small city like Jianling; even a large city like the capital of Pengcheng, the General would take it without hesitation!"
"Think about it carefully. When the general attacked Xiapi, Siwu, and Xiaxiang, which battle did he lose? When did he ever deceive us? Who issued the land deeds for your families? Who gave you the reward money you sent home?"
His shout calmed the soldiers on the city wall.
Someone muttered something under their breath.
"That's right, the general even allocated us land before he left..."
Seeing that the morale of the troops had stabilized somewhat, Li Feng added another sentence.
"Listen up, everyone! Anyone who spreads these seditious rumors again, whether soldier or civilian, will be arrested. As long as we hold the city and wait for the general to return, none of those besieging the city will escape!"
"promise!"
The morale of the defenders on the city wall was barely stabilized.
Meanwhile, inside the central command tent outside the city, Chen Deng was listening to the scouts report on the situation inside the city.
"Reporting to the young master, after the arrow was shot in, the city was in chaos for a while. But Li Feng is quite capable, and the chaos has now subsided."
Chen Deng was not surprised and simply nodded.
"As expected. The garrison commander left behind by Li Sheng is no mediocre man. It would be strange if such a trick could actually make him open the city gates."
He turned to the foreman of the craftsmen beside him.
"How's the earthen mound coming along?"
"Reporting to the young master, the piling up has already begun outside the south gate, and it will be level with the city wall within two hours."
"very good."
Chen Deng stood up, walked to the tent entrance, and looked at the gray-white city in the distance, his gaze as calm as ice.
"Pass down the order: once the earthen mound is completed, attack simultaneously from the south, east, and north gates. The attack on the west gate can be weaker, leaving an opening. Attack the south and east gates fiercely, regardless of casualties, and crush them until they can't breathe."
When the war drums sounded outside the city, the air in Xiapi City vibrated.
Outside the South Gate, hundreds of laborers bustled back and forth, pushing carts full of earth and piling baskets of soil at the base of the city wall. The earthen mound grew higher and higher, and those standing on it could now see the crenellations of the city wall at eye level.
Archers occupied the high ground of the earthen mound, raining down arrows on the city walls, making it impossible for the defenders to raise their heads.
Outside the East Gate, ladders were erected one after another, and soldiers swarmed up them.
The battering logs and rams were pushed to the front of the city gate, striking the heavy wooden door repeatedly. With each strike, dust fell from the door panels.
Although there was no large-scale attack outside the west gate, several hundred people were making feigned movements, constantly shooting arrows at the city walls to tie down the defending troops.
With enemies on all sides, Li Feng's pressure suddenly increased dramatically.