Sure enough, just under a crooked old tree in the southwest corner of Yuezhou City, "Tietou Jiao" and others discovered a newly dug tunnel entrance. When they went down to take a look, they found that it really led to Yuezhou City. The exit on the other side of the tunnel was sealed with a wooden door. Peeping inside through the crack in the door, they saw only three or four people guarding the door.
Qiu Yizi was overjoyed to learn of this situation, but he was unwilling to let his personal soldiers and militia take risks, so he asked Zhang Qi to select capable soldiers under his command, armed with axes, hammers, torches and pine torches, and sneak into the city through the hole outside the city.
The Lingnan Army in Yuezhou City did not expect that there were also people in the imperial army who knew the method of digging and attacking the city, and there were not many people guarding the entrance of the city.
Zhang Qi led his troops, chopped open the wooden door with a sharp axe, and then started to kill people in the city. The Lingnan army in the city was focused on the city wall, and there were not many troops in the city, so Zhang Qi was able to enter the city without any soldiers.
Fortunately, the Lingnan Army reacted quickly. Seeing that there were not many enemy troops coming out of the cave, they quickly transferred troops from the city wall to suppress the enemy troops in the city first.
Qiu Yizi outside the city had a sharp look in his eyes. Seeing that the Lingnan Army on the Yuezhou city wall had loosened up, he ordered to continue to send more troops to attack the tunnel, and at the same time ordered Zhao Chengxiao to lead the main force of the army to attack the city.
Zhao Chengxiao always led the troops in battle and was always at the forefront. Today, he was asked to lead the rearguard, and he was already impatient. Upon hearing the order, he immediately waved the flag, signaling the army to attack the city wall, and he even wanted to set up a ladder and charge towards the wall.
The Lingnan Army defending the city did not expect that the government troops would dare to attack the city wall without any hesitation or probing. They were a little surprised and hurriedly drew their bows and arrows to shoot at the government troops carrying ladders under the city.
However, the Lingnan army defending Yuezhou City had been divided into two groups. No matter how hard they shot, they could not stop the offensive of the government troops below the city. In a blink of an eye, the government troops had rushed to the bottom of the city wall, leaning against the not-so-tall city wall and setting up ladders.
Upon seeing this, the defenders on Yuezhou City hurriedly poked the ladders with their spears, destroying several of them.
However, the government troops had a large number of ladders, more than a hundred in number. After they pushed down one ladder, they erected another one. The Lingnan Army was also short of manpower and was unable to stop the government troops from climbing up the city wall using the ladders.
But in just a moment, hundreds of people had climbed up the not-so-tall and majestic city walls of Yuezhou City, and fought desperately with the Lingnan Army with their swords and shields.
These troops, which had been defeated by the Lingnan Army, had become quite combat-ready after more than a month of rest and training. They were also well prepared and did not seem to be at a great disadvantage in close combat with the Lingnan defenders who were hastily fighting.
In Yuezhou City, Zhang Qi, who had been newly appointed as the General of the Central Army, led his elite troops to victory after victory, slowly forcing the defenders into a corner of the city wall.
Qiu Yizhi got the news from the city and saw that the battle on the city wall was still a bit intense, so he called Wu Changxi and ordered: "General Wu, our army is now in the upper hand. As long as we make a concerted effort, we can capture Yuezhou. Please lead your elite troops to help us, and we will surely win."
Wu Changxi agreed very readily: "Your Excellency is the commander-in-chief, and your words are military orders. There is no need to ask for permission. Then please take a look at our military tactics, so that you will know that I am not bragging."
After saying this, Wu Changxi let out a long whistle, picked up his familiar spear, called his brothers, and ran wildly towards the city of Yuezhou.
He ran quickly to the foot of Yuezhou City, estimated the height of the city wall, and without even using a ladder, he stabbed the ground with the spear in his hand. Relying on the spear's own toughness, he flew into the air and jumped right onto the top of the city wall. Then he raised his spear and pierced a Lingnan army soldier through the chest, knocking him off the city wall.
Seeing this, Qiu Yizhi shouted, "Great! Really great martial arts!"
Yuchi Jiming, the guard beside him, said, "What's the big deal? Can't you just use a pole to lift it up more than ten feet high? I don't need it. I can just jump over by following the cracks in the bricks of the city wall."
Qiu Yizi ignored her and rode on the back of his "blood horse", watching the battle situation on the city attentively.
Although the soldiers under Wu Changxi did not have the martial arts skills of their commander, they were very brisk. They ran to the foot of the city closely, and relying on the ladders that were originally set up on the city wall, they quickly climbed up the city wall, and with sharp blades in hand, they started to hack and kill the enemy in the crowd.
The Lingnan defenders on the city wall were already struggling to deal with the soldiers who had just climbed up the city wall, and now with the arrival of such a group of fresh troops, they could no longer resist and could not maintain their front line, and began to slowly gather towards the city wall.
Zhang Qi in the city had also occupied the city gate. He ordered his men to cut off the bolt that locked the gate and then pushed the gate open with a bang.
Seeing this, Qiu Yizhi finally breathed a sigh of relief, a smile on his face, and said to Lin Shuhan and Zhao Chengxiao: "The matter has been settled. Yuezhou City has been captured by our army. There is no point in killing more people." He pulled over two messengers and ordered, "Go down and pass on the message that God is merciful and that both sides should stop fighting and wait for my decision."
As he spoke, Qiu Yizi ordered Lin Shuhan and Zhao Chengxiao, "Let's go into the city and take a look!" So he took the lead and passed through the suddenly opened city gate and entered Yuezhou City.
Qiu Yizi had been to Yuezhou City twice before, but when he entered the city today, he saw that the war had not yet ended, and the city was full of ruins, looking dilapidated and depressed.
Qiu Yizhi sighed, then looked up and saw Zhang Qi leading more than a thousand elite soldiers to surround a group of soldiers at a corner of the city wall. Qiu Yizhi urged his horse forward and said loudly: "Listen, all the soldiers in Lingnan Road, you are all Han people, but you are ignorant for a while, so you are accomplices of the tiger. If you know the might of heaven, you don't put down your weapons and surrender quickly, and I can spare your lives."
After hearing this, the Lingnan soldiers looked at each other in bewilderment, fearing that the young man before them would not keep his word and would not only lay down his weapons but also kill them. So they clenched their weapons tightly, refusing to surrender, and showing an attitude of fighting to the death.
Qiu Yizhi hated those who bullied the weak and feared the strong the most in his life. Seeing such a tough guy, he felt a little respect in his heart and called out loudly, "Where is Meng Hong?"
Meng Hong hurried forward and saluted: "Meng Hong is here, what do you want, sir?"
Qiu Yizhi pointed at a dead branch growing out of a crack in the wall and said, "Shoot it down with an arrow!"
Meng Hong didn't know Qiu Yi's intention, but when he looked up, he saw that the dead branch was as thick as the mouth of a wine glass, and was only about ten feet away from him, so it was not difficult to hit it. He raised the crossbow, aimed slightly, and shot an arrow.
With a "swoosh" sound, the crossbow arrow flew out and cut the dead branch right off. Half of the branch fell from the city wall and hit the head of a Lingnan soldier. The crossbow arrow was deeply embedded in the bricks, and the exposed half of the arrow shaft was still trembling.
Qiu Yizhi said proudly: "There are still hundreds of people in our army who can shoot arrows like this. If you resist stubbornly, as long as I give an order, I can shoot you all to death without leaving any one alive, and not a single soldier of our army will be hurt."
After seeing such tactics and hearing such words, the Lingnan Army was a little frightened. Finally, they heard a man who looked like an officer step forward and say, "Well! Brothers, lay down your weapons. Whether to kill or to chop, follow the orders of this lord. If the prince pursues the matter, all the responsibility will be on me." After that, he threw the three-foot-long sword in his hand to the ground.
Upon seeing this, the soldiers dropped their weapons one after another and stood there dejectedly.
Seeing that this general was quite courageous, Qiu Yizhi asked, "What is the name of this general? Is he the commander here?"
Hearing this, the man took a step forward with his head held high and chest puffed out, saying, "How dare I call myself a general of a defeated army? I am only a subordinate general here, and the main commander, General Zhu, is still on the city wall. I beg you not to embarrass General Zhu."
Qiu Yizi listened but did not answer. He said to Zhao Chengxiao, "This general is a man. Please send someone to watch over him carefully and don't be rude." After that, he turned around and led his personal soldiers and militiamen to the city wall.
On the city wall, wounded soldiers and corpses of the Lingnan Army and imperial officers and soldiers were lying everywhere, while the only remaining Lingnan defenders had not yet laid down their arms and surrendered. Instead, they were holding their ground in a tower. However, they were trapped after all. A big fire would burn the tower and the defenders to ashes.
Qiu Yizi was unwilling to kill anyone, so he shouted, "Is General Zhu in the building? Can you please show up and talk to me face to face?"
He shouted three times, and finally a general walked out of the tower calmly. A piece of muscle was cut off from his right forearm, and it was hastily wrapped in a filthy battle robe. Blood was still oozing out, but his left hand was tightly holding the steel knife. He said, "I am Zhu Cha, the garrison commander of Yuezhou. May I ask what advice this lord has for me?"
Seeing that his face was twitching with pain, but his expression was extremely resolute, Qiu Yizhi admired him and said, "I dare not! I am Qiu Yizhi from Shanyin County. Please lead your troops to surrender. I promise that I will not embarrass you."
Zhu Cha suddenly realized: "It turned out to be Lord Qiu who protected the Third Prince and escaped from Lingnan Road. Even the prince praised him highly. It is true that his reputation is well-deserved. I did not lose unjustly."
Qiu Yizhi was delighted to hear that, and continued, "I don't deserve it. Since the Prince of Lingnan spared my life, I am willing to follow suit today and will never harm you. If you are willing to give up the dark and join the court, that would be the best. If you are not willing to serve the court, then please put down your weapons, and I will let you go after I have a few more words to say. If you are not convinced, you can fight me again another day!"
Such conditions were extremely generous, and Zhu Cha was a little surprised when he heard it: "Are you serious, Master Qiu?"
Qiu Yizi nodded solemnly: "Of course! A gentleman's word is as good as his bond!"
Zhu Cha thought for a moment and said, "Well, I trust you, sir." Then he shouted to the top of the tower, "Brothers, we are all going to die anyway, there is no point in wasting time, just throw out your weapons and surrender!"
The soldiers on the tower seemed to hesitate for a moment, and after a moment they threw their swords, spears, and halberds out of the tower one after another, as if a rain of iron was falling on the city wall.
Qiu Yizhi was delighted to see this and said with a smile: "General Zhu is a straightforward person, so I will definitely keep my promise..."
Zhu Cha did not wait for Qiu Yizhi to finish his words and immediately interrupted him, saying, "Well, I don't think Lord Qiu is someone who doesn't keep his word. I'm just afraid that if you let us go, you won't be able to explain to the court, and the higher-ups will blame us, which will affect your future..."
Qiu Yizi was about to answer: "It's okay. Taking this city will be a great achievement..." But he saw Zhu Cha turned the steel knife upside down and stabbed it hard into his chest.
Qiu Yizi screamed and shouted loudly: "Jiming, save people quickly!"