In a siege and defense battle like this, the defenders not only need to line up at the foot of the city wall to guard, but more importantly, they need to deploy heavy troops on top of the wall to shoot arrows down or throw boulders and battering rams to block the enemy's attack.
However, the previous bombardments by the Youyan Army had already blown up the eastern wall of Luoyang to the point of collapse. How could any soldiers dare to risk climbing the city to fight? Therefore, the main force of the imperial garrison was all concentrated under the city wall.
In ancient times, there were also famous battles in which the defending army abandoned the city because the city wall was too damaged, took the initiative to attack, and defeated the enemy outside the city. However, such a method of fighting cannot be achieved without the command of a general who is good at using troops and the high morale of the three armies.
At present, the imperial army had neither of these two things, so they had to rely on the dilapidated walls of Luoyang and line up inside the city, voluntarily giving up the initiative on the battlefield.
However, the imperial defenders had no fighting spirit, but the Youyan army did not dare to take it lightly - after the vanguard cavalry broke through the enemy formation, the elite soldiers behind them followed up and formed a formation, immediately forming a pincer attack on the defenders.
The soldiers of Youyan had just been encouraged by the heavy reward. They were all in high spirits and full of murderous intent. They held their weapons tightly in both hands, waiting for the order from their commander to fight with the defenders of Luoyang.
But the commander of the central army, Qiu Yizhi, shouted, "The power of heaven is unpredictable. The walls of Luoyang have been breached. Do you still dare to resist? Put down your weapons and I will forgive you. If you resist stubbornly, you will lose every piece of armor you have!"
After saying this, the Youyan soldiers in front and behind him also shouted in unison: "Put down your weapons, and bygones will be forgiven; if you resist stubbornly, not a single piece of armor will remain!" The shouts became louder than the last, and it seemed that the entire land of Luoyang was shaken by this uniform roar.
The imperial guards were even more frightened by the shouting that came so close. Although they did not immediately lay down their weapons or surrender, they just stood there, at a loss as to what to do.
Seeing that the enemy had no intention of surrendering, Qiu Yizhi felt that he could not delay any longer under the city wall, so he waved the flag and ordered loudly: "All troops, move forward. Anyone who does not surrender will be killed without mercy!"
The Youyan army listened to the order and responded with a "whoosh" in unison.
The roar was so loud and clear that it startled a soldier in the Luoyang garrison and caused him to loosen his hands. His sword dropped to the ground, making a clanging sound. Seeing this, several soldiers around him thought he had surrendered. After a mental struggle, they followed suit and dropped their swords.
As a result, word spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred, until six or seven out of ten of the imperial army had already laid down their weapons. The rest of the imperial army that still wanted to resist, seeing this situation, figured that they were outnumbered, and for the sake of their lives, they finally shook their heads and threw down their weapons.
Qiu Yizi was not a bloodthirsty person. Seeing that he had scared all the defenders of the capital into surrender without any soldiers, he was extremely happy. He quickly issued an order, asking King Youyan Zheng Rong to send troops to guard these Luoyang defenders who had surrendered themselves, and at the same time take control of the south wall of Luoyang.
He discussed with Zheng Sen and Cui Nan, and then led their respective troops to advance deep into the capital city of Luoyang.
Before the battle, Qiu Yizhi had drawn the topography of the capital in detail and handed it over to Zheng Rong and several of his generals. Qiu Yizhi had been in the capital very well at the beginning of this year and had a very good memory. He drew several important targets in the capital, such as military camps, government offices, and major transportation routes, very clearly.
Therefore, Zheng Miao was on the left. After entering Luoyang from the east wall, he went north along the main road and took the military camp in the northwest corner of the capital. After a fierce battle, he defeated the Luoyang defenders who intended to resist and detained them all in the military camp, prohibiting them from leaving. Then he divided another 10,000 troops and swept along the west wall of Luoyang, and destroyed another military camp in the southwest corner, thus completely clearing out the remaining forces of the court in the capital.
After Cui Nan entered Luoyang, he divided his troops into small teams and moved quickly along the streets and alleys of Luoyang, quickly taking control of various government offices, distributing notices to reassure the people, maintaining public order in the capital, and then taking control of the situation in the entire city of Luoyang.
Qiu Yizi of the central army led a large group of troops and advanced rapidly along the central imperial road towards the imperial city.
Although the Youyan army had almost occupied the capital city of Luoyang, the red walls and golden tiles of the imperial city had not faded at all. They still looked solemn and dignified, as if they were unmoved by the mighty army, and had an aura of majesty and inviolability.
The last time Qiu Yi had the honor of entering the imperial city, he sneaked in through a side door after disguising himself. But today, he was going to lead a fierce army of tigers and wolves to storm into the imperial city from the Meridian Gate with great fanfare, and he felt as if he were in another world.
Although he was originally a naughty child, he had stayed with Youyan Prince Zheng Rong for a long time and had done countless great things for his adoptive father. He also knew that the Han Imperial City was the center of the world and that one should not act rashly. Therefore, although he had already stood in front of the Meridian Gate of the Imperial City, he still did not dare to make a decision lightly. He repeatedly planned and calculated in his mind, fearing that something would go wrong at the last minute and ruin his adoptive father's great plan.
Just as Qiu Yizi was hesitating, several arrows were suddenly shot out from the Meridian Gate Tower, staggering towards the Youyan soldiers. One of the arrows was flying towards Qiu Yizi's forehead.
Seeing this, Yuchi Lianghong, who was guarding Qiu Yiyi, stretched out his right hand calmly and caught the arrow in the air, cursing softly: "A hidden arrow to hurt someone, how can a hero do that?"
Qiu Yizi was awakened from the sudden change and looked towards the Meridian Gate of the Imperial City. It turned out that there were several eunuchs on the Meridian Gate tower, holding bows and arrows and shooting at him stealthily.
What these eunuchs did, on the contrary, completely dispelled Qiu Yizi's worries, and he cursed: "These eunuchs almost hurt my life! Come on, whoever shoots these eunuchs to death for me, I will definitely reward you handsomely!"
Among the soldiers led by Qiu Yi, there are many skilled crossbow archers.
They took a few steps forward, drew their crossbows and aimed, then pulled the trigger. The short arrow on the crossbow flew toward the Meridian Gate Tower with a sharp whistling sound. Then there were several sharp and piercing screams, which were obviously the eunuchs' heart-wrenching screams of pain.
Qiu Yizhi was delighted to hear this, and said to the sharpshooters, "Well done, you have really practiced hard all these years! When you are done, remember to come to me, and I will reward each of you with a Bohai sword!"
This Bohai sword is a rare item. If you don't have fate, no amount of gold, silver or treasure can exchange it for it. Qiu Yi's reward was so generous that the sharpshooters were excited. They thanked him for the reward and returned to their camp.
But Qiu Yizhi, sitting on his horse, gave another order: "All soldiers, listen to my order. Make a concerted effort to break through the imperial city and accomplish our great cause. Today is the day! Why don't you rush forward and break through the Meridian Gate?"
Qiu Yizhi had finished speaking, but the Youyan soldiers under his command still stood where they were, refusing to move forward.
The Youyan army has always been clear about rewards and punishments and enforced orders. There has never been a situation like this where the military orders have been issued but the soldiers did not move.
Qiu Yizhi also felt strange, so he ordered loudly: "Whoever breaks through the Meridian Gate first will be appointed as the General of the Central Army, and will be given a palace and wealth. Why don't you rush forward and break through the Meridian Gate?"
Despite the huge reward, the soldiers of Youyan still whispered to each other and refused to take action.
It turned out that the first thing they said when they were preaching discipline in the Youyan army was "loyal to the emperor, love the people, and serve the country with all your heart." Therefore, the belief that the emperor was the supreme ruler and could not be violated was firmly engraved in their minds. Therefore, although they followed the name of Zheng Rong to fight against the rebellion, they still did not dare to point their troops directly at the imperial city where the emperor was.
Just as the soldiers were hesitating, a man appeared beside Qiu Yi and said with a smile, "According to what Your Highness Yi just said, if we attack the imperial city, will we also be rewarded?"
Qiu Yizhi was sitting on his horse, looking down at the sound, and saw that it was the "Iron Head Dragon" among the eighteen Yunmeng Mountain bandits, so he said: "Although your origins are not very glorious, you have come to the same destination through different paths, and you are also soldiers under my adoptive father. Why can't you receive the reward?"
"Iron Head Jiao" was delighted to hear that, and bowed with a smile, saying: "Okay, I've been waiting for Your Highness Yi to say that!" After that, he led his other seventeen brothers, holding various tools and weapons such as axes, hammers, shovels, and ran towards the Meridian Gate.
These bandits had been living as bandits for a long time, so naturally they were free from the invisible constraints that lingered in the hearts of the regular Youyan soldiers. They swung their weapons and headed for the red-painted door of the Meridian Gate, which was nailed with countless copper nails.
The main function of the Meridian Gate was not to guard the safety of the imperial city, but to demonstrate the majesty of the Han royal family - therefore it was built extremely tall and majestic, but extremely empty inside.
"Iron Head Jiao" and his companions had dug sand and dug holes a few days ago, and their physical strength had increased. The Meridian Gate, which seemed extremely solid, immediately became loose under their tossing and turning, and made a creaking groan.
These bandits were used to robbing and looting, and had done countless things like breaking and entering. The familiar scene before them made them even more excited. They found the weak points of the Meridian Gate very skillfully, and kept knocking, chiseling and chopping with various instruments in their hands.
The Meridian Gate, which was decorated and built so magnificently, finally couldn't stand their destruction and was broken into several holes. The "Iron Head Dragon" patted his bald head, took a deep breath, bent down to gather strength, and used his head to hit the Meridian Gate.
Unfortunately, the Meridian Gate suffered this fatal blow and could no longer hold on, and collapsed inward with a loud bang.
Qiu Yizi saw this from behind and cheered loudly, "Good 'Iron-Headed Dragon', although your brain is not smart, it is useful in other ways. I will definitely recommend you for merit in front of Prince Youyan!" After that, he led his horse into the imperial city, followed closely by Yuchi Lianghong, Zhao Chengxiao and other 18 bandits.
Seeing this, the soldiers of Youyan finally stopped hesitating, made up their minds, and followed them into the imperial city.
If it were a few months ago, these Youyan soldiers would never have dreamed that they could break into the imperial city where the emperor lived. With a bit of trepidation and curiosity in their hearts, they followed Qiu Yi in a daze.
The Youyan army attacked the capital city very suddenly, and the offensive after entering the city was so swift that the court did not even have time to deploy troops to defend the imperial city. In the imperial city, except for a few permanent guards and eunuchs who took up arms temporarily, there was no other army to resist, allowing Qiu Yizhi's army to enter the imperial city unimpeded.
However, although Qiu Yizhi had sneaked into the imperial city once before, it was in the dead of night, and under the guidance of the eunuch, the place he went to was nothing more than Wang Zhonghai's extremely simple and shabby little house. Therefore, he was also confused when facing this imperial city with thousands of doors and windows, and he could not find the emperor Zheng Yao in it.
However, Qiu Yizhi was smart after all. He turned around and told Yuchi Lianghong beside him, "We don't know the terrain of the imperial city. Could you please catch a few eunuchs to lead the way for me?"
Yuchi Lianghong smiled and said, "It's just a trivial matter. My dear brother, let me show you my ability!" After that, he jumped up from the horse's back, somersaulted onto the roof in a very elegant manner, and disappeared in the blink of an eye. (To be continued)