The rebels of Prince Pingyang came very quickly and encountered almost no resistance on the way. They headed towards Pucheng and surrounded it on all sides, declaring that they would take the city within a few days.
The rebels had the confidence to say so. First, the incident happened suddenly, and the rebels had too little time to prepare for the imperial court and the cities along the way to the north. Second, the number of people on both sides was very different. Prince Pingyang had been secretly planning for a long time. In addition to some soldiers who stayed in Pingyang Prefecture, he sent nearly 50,000 soldiers to the north, while Pucheng only had 5,000 soldiers stationed.
Faced with such a dilemma, the Pucheng magistrate was not actually very nervous at the beginning of the siege.
He also has reason to be optimistic.
He himself came from a military background and was quite experienced in commanding battles. The 5,000 troops stationed under him were all elite and brave generals who were well-trained and obeyed orders. Although their numbers were far less than those of the rebels who came to attack the city, they should be able to hold out for a while thanks to the city's defenses.
In addition to this, more importantly, Pucheng has a special status.
Many years ago, the imperial court set up a triple line of defense on the road heading north to protect Shangjing.
Pucheng is the city at the southern end of this line of defense.
Behind Pucheng, several hundred miles away, which can be reached in a few days, is Longguan, located in the middle of the defense line.
When the dynasty was at its peak, the number of permanent soldiers and horses stationed in Longguan alone reached 50,000. Although it is not as large as before, there are still 10,000 or 20,000 soldiers and horses.
Pucheng is like the gate to Longguan. The imperial court has clearly stated that as long as Pucheng is attacked, Longguan must send troops to support it.
Before the rebels arrived, Pucheng Ling had sent people to Longguan to report the situation and asked the commander of Longguan to send troops to support them in time. As long as they held on for a few days and waited for the reinforcements to arrive, they could take advantage of the terrain and work together from inside and outside. Even if they couldn't defeat the rebels, it shouldn't be a big problem to break the siege.
However, the development of the situation was beyond Pucheng Ling's expectations.
Three days passed, and the reinforcements from Longguan that he was waiting for did not appear as expected.
Three more days passed, but there was still no sign of reinforcements. Facing the fierce attacks launched by the rebels again and again, the defenders on the city walls suffered continuous casualties, and the entire city was in danger. Fortunately, the defense of Pucheng was strong, and the Pucheng commander led the troops and encouraged the people. The people also heard about the rebels' burning, killing and looting, and spontaneously supported them. This is how they repelled the rebels' attacks many times and continued to hold on.
But the people in the city were already uneasy, and rumors began to spread that the court had given up on Pucheng.
Pucheng Ling's initial confidence was also gradually shaken. But he still held on to a glimmer of hope, hoping that the reinforcements had encountered obstacles on the way.
His last glimmer of hope was finally shattered a few days ago.
That day, after once again repelling the attack organized by the rebels, he received an imperial edict from the court.
The court ordered him to hold the city for a month, regardless of the cost, otherwise he would be charged with dereliction of duty and his family would be implicated.
At this point, the Pucheng magistrate finally understood the court's intentions.
Longguan is a strategically located place that is easy to defend but difficult to attack. The imperial court is going to gather all the troops it can mobilize to Longguan at the cost of Pucheng, and prepare to stop the rebels there with all its might.
Pucheng is just a pawn in this "sacrifice pawn to save the chariot" plan.
Pucheng Ling's parents and wife were all in the capital, so he had no choice but to do as he was told.
He concealed the news and continued to boost the morale of the remaining soldiers with reinforcements that would never arrive.
More and more people died inside the besieged city, and the atmosphere of pessimism in the city became more and more intense.
There is no wall that is impenetrable.
On the fifteenth day of their hard resistance, the news that Pucheng had been abandoned by the imperial court spread completely.
The Pucheng commander killed two deserters who had shaken the morale of the army, and climbed up the wall with the remaining less than a thousand soldiers, armed with weapons.
No one believed that they could withstand the rebels' attack again, including themselves.
Towering ladders were placed on the top of the wall, and the rebels climbed up the ladders like ants and rushed to the top of the city.
The city is about to be captured.
Pucheng Ling was hit by several arrows. Behind him were desperate people in the city. Fathers calling mothers, mothers holding children, running around the city like headless flies, trying to find a place to hide in the last moment before the city was breached.
There were cries of fear everywhere.
The end has come, but there is no way to retreat. With tragic feelings, the Pucheng magistrate led the last few hundred soldiers on the top of the city to fight against the rebels who kept jumping down from the ladders, making a final effort that was doomed to be futile.
Suddenly, a cry of killing seemed to be heard from the depths of the wilderness in the distance.
At first he thought he had misheard, but soon, along with the sound of killing, a large black shadow appeared on the distant horizon.
It was a huge cavalry army that could only be born in the border area.
Thousands of horses were galloping, like a black tide coming from underground, rushing towards the city from all directions.
Under the clear sky, a huge black flag that would scare the enemy to death was fluttering in the strong wind.
The rebels under the city also noticed that the situation was unusual, and the general immediately ordered to stop the siege and line up to wait.
Pucheng Ling and the hundreds of remaining soldiers around him killed the rebels on the city wall who had no time to retreat, and then ran to the city wall as if in a dream, staring at the flag on the opposite side that became clearer and clearer as the cavalry advanced.
They finally recognized it.
Pu Chengling was stunned for a moment, and suddenly, he roared toward the sky with unbelievable ecstasy: "God will not destroy me!"
"Hexi Xie Jiedushi is here!"
He shouted this sentence with all his might, tears streaming down his face, and with a "thump", he fell headfirst onto the top of the city wall.
In the wilderness outside Pucheng, the Hexi Army that came from afar fought with the rebels.
Arrows filled the sky, flints rained down like rain, and newly shed blood covered the old blood layer by layer, making the scorched city walls red.
The rebels knew that Empress Liu was going to give up Pucheng and defend Longguan with all her strength. Even if Xie Changgeng was summoned to quell the rebellion, the most likely outcome would be that they would meet at Longguan.
They didn't expect that he would come here in person to help.
Although they had the upper hand in terms of military strength, the rebels gradually began to lose ground in the face of this elite cavalry from the border with amazing combat effectiveness.
After fighting for half a day and losing several generals, the rebels became demoralized and retreated in a hurry under the cover of night.
The siege that lasted for half a month was finally lifted. The gates of Pucheng were wide open, and nearby fire sticks were lit, making it as bright as day.
The news that Xie Changgeng, the governor of Hexi, had led his troops to repel the rebels had spread throughout the city. The people of the city were grateful that they had been saved from a desperate situation. Thousands of people flocked to the city gates and crowded on both sides of the street, wanting to see the youngest governor in the history of this dynasty.
The magistrate of Pucheng had already woken up. He led the city officials to the city gate and personally welcomed Xie Changgeng into the city.
He was supported by someone and waited there. Finally, he heard the sound of galloping horses at the end of the night, coming towards the city gate, getting closer and closer.
The magistrate of Pucheng was eagerly looking forward to it.
Soon, accompanied by the sound of orderly and heavy footsteps, two rows of burly armored soldiers came into his sight, and in the middle, a man was striding towards him.
The man was still wearing his armor, which was stained with blood. The light from the blazing torches around him illuminated his face.
He had a handsome face, but his eyes were blood red, and the terrifying murderous aura in his body had not yet dissipated.
The people crowded at the city gate knew that the man was Xie Changgeng, the governor of Hexi.
The surrounding noise suddenly quieted down as he appeared.
Everyone held their breath and looked at the blood-covered man with eyes that were almost worshipful and fearful. When he passed by, they could not help but kneel down and kowtow to him.
The man acted as if he didn't see it. He paused for a moment and glanced ahead. Among the countless faces, his eyes quickly fell on Pu Chengling.
This usually stoic man could no longer suppress his inner excitement, his eyes were red, and he said, "The governor sent down divine soldiers to save the whole city from disaster. I will never forget your great kindness. Please accept my humble respect!"
He led the officials and hundreds of surviving soldiers behind him, knelt down and kowtowed solemnly.
Xie Changgeng nodded and ordered him to stand up. He quickly glanced at the faces nearby and asked calmly, "Where did you place the Princess of Changsha and her group?"
Pucheng Ling was helped up from the ground by the people beside him, and then he said respectfully: "Your Excellency does not know. The princess is no longer in the city."
Xie Changgeng was startled, then frowned: "What do you mean? If she is not in the city, where did she go?"
Pucheng Ling heard his tone rise slightly, and hurriedly explained: "More than half a month ago, the princess and her entourage passed by nearby. At that time, they did enter the city to avoid the chaotic army, but then, people from Changsha came to pick her up, and the princess followed the people from Changsha to take the water route, from Pushui, to the south, and should be safe."
Xie Changgeng froze.
"Is the person who came to pick her up the surname Yuan?"
After a moment, he asked slowly.
"That's right. The princess called him brother. Before leaving, the princess asked Guard Liang and others to go back on their own and not to escort them. But Guard Liang said that before leaving, he had received your instructions to escort the princess to Changsha and to accompany her again."
Xie Changgeng didn't say anything for a long while.
"I have prepared a resting place for you, sir. Please enter the city."
Pucheng Ling saw that his face seemed a little pale and spoke hurriedly.
Xie Changgeng closed his eyes, then opened them and said, "No need. The army will be stationed outside the city temporarily, you just need to provide food and grass."
After he said that, he turned around and strode out of the city gate amid the shouts of "Farewell, Governor!" behind him.
The army had already set up camp in the fields outside Pucheng, and campfires could be seen in the distance.
Xie Changgeng returned to the military tent, and as soon as he entered, his steps slowed down.
He slowly took off his armor and looked down. He saw a broken arrowhead stuck in his abdomen. A large pool of dark red blood had seeped out and soaked his tight-fitting green shirt.
The military doctor rushed over and pulled out the hook-shaped arrowhead that had penetrated deep into his flesh. He also heated a knife over fire and put it on the wound to stop the bleeding.
After treating the wound, Xie Changgeng wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, calmed himself down, and then called in a close guard and ordered: "Go south along the Pu River and immediately chase Liang Tuan and call him back. Tell him not to send him off anymore!"
In order to ensure that they can be tracked and contacted, his close followers would leave secret marks along the way when they went out that only their own people could trace.
The guard glanced at his abdomen, said "Take care, sir", then left the tent and disappeared into the night.
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