Using debris to block the city gate was just a stopgap measure. If they encountered an army skilled in siege, it would not make much difference whether they did it or not. However, the Jiangnan Circuit Army had no way to deal with it. A battering ram struck countless times, but it did not shake the thin Shanyin County gate at all. Instead, the dozen or so strong men carrying the hammers were exhausted and lay on the ground gasping for breath.
Zhao Chengxiao saw this and said to Qiu Yizhi, "Why are these troops so useless? If you had a few hundred more soldiers and horses, wouldn't you be able to defeat them by opening the gate and charging out now?"
The Han Dynasty's central imperial army is strong while the local military is weak. This has been a custom since the founding of the country, and it involves the military foundation of the empire. Qiu Yizi was not in a position to speak clearly, so he smiled and said, "If they were stronger, how could we talk about it here?"
Before Qiu Yizhi finished speaking, he heard a guard shout, "Sir, look down, the government troops seem to be setting fire to the gate!"
Qiu Yizhi quickly stuck his head out of the city wall and looked down. Sure enough, he saw a large number of government soldiers carrying firewood and piling it under the city gate. The government soldiers were so numerous that they soon piled up a mountain of firewood at the city gate. He also saw several junior officers who looked like centurions and captains throwing their lit torches onto the mountain of firewood.
After a while, thick smoke rose at the gate of Shanyin County, followed by the crackling sound of burning firewood.
The walls of Shanyin County were not very high, and the heat waves brought by the thick smoke and flames continued to gush upwards, making it impossible for Qiu Yizi and others to remain safe, and they hurriedly ran down the wall.
Zhao Chengxiao saw a few flames coming out from the inside of the city gate and asked hurriedly, "Sir, it seems that the fire outside the city is very big. Do you want to get water to put out the fire immediately so that the city gate can hold out for a little longer?"
Qiu Yizi thought for a moment and said, "No need to put out the fire. Since the government troops want to set fire to the city, let's lend them a helping hand. Go inside the city and find some flammable materials such as tung oil, quilts, asphalt, etc., and set a fire there as well. This fire should be ten times bigger than the one outside, and then we'll see how the government troops will overcome the fire."
Zhao Chengxiao couldn't help but clap his hands and laugh when he heard this, "Your Excellency, this is indeed a good plan! Why couldn't I think of it?"
After that, he led a dozen of his brothers to collect quilts, pillows, lamp oil, firewood, paint, charcoal and all other flammable items from the surrounding houses, and piled them under the city gate just like the government troops outside the city. A torch was thrown over, and a raging fire immediately broke out. The flames shot up to the top of the city tower, which was more than two meters high, and burned the blue bricks of the city wall red.
Not thinking the fire was big enough, these soldiers, who were originally bandits, collected more flammable items from the city and threw them into the fire, causing the fire to spread further and immediately engulfing the entire city gate.
Qiu Yizi was afraid that the fire would get out of control and burn down the entire Shanyin County, so he hurriedly stopped his personal soldiers and asked them to return to the positions set up outside the cell and be prepared to guard it strictly.
Qiu Yizi's strategy of fighting fire with fire really worked wonders. Although the government army had 8,000 people, they were blocked by the fire and were unable to break into Shanyin County from morning till night.
The government troops had no ability to fight at night, so when they saw the sun set, they stopped fighting and returned to the camp to rest.
So the whole day was delayed by Qiu Yizi again.
However, facing a powerful enemy, Qiu Yizi did not dare to relax at all. He calculated again and again in the cell, thinking that with his 18 personal soldiers, he could not resist the 8,000-man army anyway. Moreover, the "Grand Prince" Zheng Xin's travel date was unknown, and it was unknown when he would arrive in Jiangnan. Even if he arrived, the exasperated Yin Chengliang might not withdraw his troops immediately.
So Qiu Yizhi thought about it and finally called Yuchi Jiming and said to her: "Jiming, the enemy situation is urgent now. We are outnumbered and weak, and it is difficult to fight against the government troops. In my opinion, if you want to save your life, there is only one way, and it must be done by you. I wonder if you are willing?"
Yuchi Jiming frowned and said, "Before leaving Beijing, my father asked me to protect my uncle personally, saying that my Yuchi family and my uncle share life and death, honor and disgrace, and no accidents can happen. Although my uncle has a small number of people, they are all elite soldiers and generals. If we let them handle things, they may succeed. I'd better stay by my uncle's side."
Qiu Yizi shook his head and said, "This is a task that is extremely difficult and dangerous. It is indeed only you who can do it. If someone else does not have the ultimate Qinggong martial arts like you, they will just die if they go."
After all, Yuchi Jiming was still a young girl who had not experienced much of the world. Hearing Qiu Yizi's compliment, she immediately became interested and asked curiously, "What is the matter that requires me to make a trip? Uncle, why don't you tell me first?"
Hearing that Yuchi Jiming had already agreed halfway, Qiu Yizi reached out and took out something from her bosom and waved it in front of Yuchi Jiming.
Yuchi Jiming examined it carefully and saw that it was about the length of a half-adult's palm and about an inch thick. It was carefully wrapped in bright yellow silk, but it seemed very heavy. He asked, "Uncle, what is this? And how does it relate to what you want me to do?"
Qiu Yizi did not answer her. She carefully opened the silk, revealing a token that looked like an arrow and was either made of pure gold or gold-plated. On it were written four words the size of an egg in seal script: "As if I were here in person"!
Qiu Yizhi said, "This is the so-called 'Golden Order', which was given to me by the Emperor when he left Beijing. With this thing, I can exercise military power on behalf of the Emperor. I want you to take this thing with you to Quzhou."
"What are you going to do in Quzhou?" Yuchi Jiming asked.
"Don't ask so quickly. Wait until I finish what I'm saying." Qiu Yizi said, "There is a large army stationed in Quzhou now. The general leading the army, Cui Nan, is the emperor's trusted general and is very familiar with me. You can take this 'golden order' to see him and tell him that it was me who asked him to send troops immediately to mediate the dispute between me and the Jiangnan Circuit Army. General Cui will naturally take care of the rest."
Yuchi Jiming rolled his eyes and said, "It turns out to be such a trivial matter. It seems that Quzhou is not far from us, why must I go there?"
Seeing that the government troops could not break through the city gate for the time being, Qiu Yizhi simply explained the matter to Yuchi Jiming so that he could fully understand the importance of the matter: "This is not something that anyone can do. First, you have to get out of the city amidst the blockade of nearly 10,000 government troops; second, you have to travel day and night to and from Quzhou; third, you have to risk your life to protect the golden medal in your hand. These three things are simple to say, but not necessarily easy. Right now, it is indeed only you who can do it. No one else can do it, not even Zhao Chengxiao."
After hearing this, Yuchi Jiming realized that what Qiu Yizi said, "Only I can handle it," was indeed true, so he nodded vigorously and said, "Although this matter is not small, it is not difficult to handle. Otherwise, I will leave for Quzhou now."
Qiu Yizi lowered his head and thought for a moment, then said, "Okay, it's best to go early and come back early." Then he took out two silver ingots weighing ten taels each from his sleeve and handed them to Yuchi Jiming, saying, "This is your money. Be careful on the way. Especially this 'gold medal order'. You must see General Cui Nan in person before you can take it out and show it to him. You are very smart. As for how to verify General Cui's identity, I don't need to teach you!"
Yuchi Jiming was delighted to hear this and answered casually, "Of course. A general must be extraordinary. Moreover, he has the tiger seal and name card as proof, so it would be very difficult to impersonate him."
Qiu Yizi thought what she said made sense, so she repeatedly reminded him that the "Golden Token" must not be lost or damaged, and then let Yuchi Jiming set off.
Yuchi Jiming was indeed an expert in light martial arts. She chose a slightly higher house next to the city wall, climbed up the wall in three leaps and two jumps, observed that there were no government troops around, then flew down the wall and headed towards Quzhou under the cover of night.
Seeing this, Qiu Yizi felt a little relieved. She immediately felt sleepy and fell asleep with her clothes on.
Qiu Yizi slept until almost noon the next day, when he woke up. Seeing that it was late, he hurriedly asked Zhao Chengxiao about the movements of the government troops.
Zhao Chengxiao answered truthfully: "The government troops did not attack the city last night, but wanted to break into the city gate early this morning. I saw that you were sleeping soundly, so I did not disturb you and set a big fire inside the city gate. Now the government troops outside the city seem to have stopped attacking, I wonder what their plan is."
Qiu Yizi nodded and said, "Brother Zhao, this is a very appropriate way to deal with it. But if you encounter any urgent military information in the future, just wake me up." So he didn't wash up, just grabbed a pancake placed beside him, and said while eating, "Let's go up to the city wall to take a look!"
The government troops outside the city seemed to have been reinforced and their numbers had increased a lot, but the team was still in disarray.
The soldiers seemed to have collected some ladders from the houses outside the city overnight, and then made more ladders overnight, making more than a dozen ladders. Each ladder was carried by a dozen young and strong soldiers, who pushed it up the city wall with all their might.
If Qiu Yi had a hundred or so strong crossbowmen from Youyan Dao under his command, he would be able to repel the government troops' unprotected attacks as many times as he wanted. However, he only had eighteen personal infantrymen under his command, and he could not resist anyway.
So he pondered for a moment, and said to his soldiers: "We can no longer defend the Shanyin city wall. The enemy and us are much stronger than each other, and there is no point in fighting in the streets. Everyone, follow me and retreat to the prison. As long as we can hold out for two days... three days at most! Reinforcements will come!"
These personal soldiers had been through life and death with Qiu Yizi countless times and had great trust in him. Although Qiu Yizi's order was actually to put them to death with no way of retreat, they did not hesitate at all. After agreeing, they trotted down the city wall and headed for the cell.
With the help of ladders, the government troops were able to speed up the siege, and more than a hundred soldiers climbed up the city wall. Seeing that there were no enemy troops guarding the city wall, their morale immediately rose, and they shouted that they were going to enter the city to plunder.
However, the officer in charge was quite knowledgeable about military affairs and knew that with only a few makeshift ladders, it would be impossible for the tens of thousands of troops outside the city to enter the city. So he ordered the soldiers who were the first to climb the city to clear the city gate.
These soldiers were used to being domineering and arrogant on a daily basis, so when they heard that they had to do such hard and tiring work, they all frowned and were unwilling to do it.
The leading general knew that his immediate superior was also in the team. He was afraid of being impeached for delaying military intelligence and losing his official hat, so he had to use both kindness and force, and persuade and coax, and finally got this group of "old soldiers" to start cleaning up the embers left by a fire at the city gate.
Qiu Yizi did not expect the government troops to progress so slowly. Seeing that the few soldiers who entered the city were focused on clearing the city gates but were completely unprepared, he called on a dozen of his personal soldiers and led the charge personally. In an instant, the hundred or so government troops were defeated and driven back to the city wall in one fell swoop.
However, although the gate was still not open, more and more government troops continued to climb up the city wall using ladders. By the time of Shen time, nearly a thousand government troops had entered Shanyin County.
The gap in strength between the enemy and us became increasingly large. Qiu Yizi did not want to waste his precious 18 personal soldiers, so he completely abandoned the harassment plan. He reinforced the barricades originally built with flour bags and rice bags with bricks and wood, and waited for the government troops to attack.
In this way, another whole day was delayed by Qiu Yizi. (To be continued)