While Hou Ye, Yue Fengwan, and Huo Tianxiu in the west were rushing towards each other, Concubine Li outside Chang'an City did not give Xiao Mubai and the others any room to breathe.
At dawn, the first batch of Baoning's garrison arrived, and they were already discussing the siege with Shi Fuqiu. At Shen Shi time, one after another, the garrison from the eight nearby cities arrived outside Chang'an City.
A city has a reserve of 30,000 garrison troops, and eight cities have 240,000. In addition, Shi Fuqiu's original 20,000 soldiers, combined with the troops of Dali Temple, Xingbu, Yushitai, and Jingzhaoyin in the capital, are close to each other. Two hundred and eighty thousand.
In Chang'an City, there were only 40,000 King Mo's troops from Xiao Mubai.
Although there are 100,000 people in the city, they are all ordinary civilians who perform their duties. Although their morale is high and they can do some logistical errands, if they are expected to go to war, it is empty talk.
Despite this, there are still many middle-aged men who actively seek military service, hoping to contribute.
Xiao Mubai arranged for Zhao Xingwen to select 10,000 people. It was too late for training, so he could only temporarily teach them some common commands in the army.
The military attaches in the DPRK took off their official robes one after another and put on their military uniforms to join the battle voluntarily.
Prince Mo's Mansion became a temporary command post, and everyone in the room was solemn, making final preparations for tomorrow's battle.
At three o'clock in the morning, Xiao Mubai also entered the palace to attend the morning court.
The more times like this, the more important it is for everything to be business as usual, otherwise the minds of the soldiers and civilians will be in confusion, and the battle will be lost before it is even fought.
Xiao Zimu and Xiao Mubai, who had gone down to court, stood on the imperial city. Xiao Zimu looked at the final handover preparations being carried out in an orderly manner in Chang'an City, and asked Xiao Mubai: "Second brother, how long can we hold on? "
Xiao Mubai looked solemn and replied in a deep voice: "Chang'an is easy to defend but difficult to attack. If they had not brought large siege equipment, I could defend it until the last moment."
Xiao Mubai has been stationed at the border all year round. He has seen countless soldiers and horses facing each other from the two countries. His life has been hanging by a thread since he was a child, and he has long been accustomed to it.
Therefore, facing the army approaching Beijing, Xiao Mubai did not panic at all, but the deep meaning behind this sentence made it clear that he had no confidence in winning.
This is a tug-of-war that must be defeated but must be faced with the enemy. It just depends on how long it can be delayed.
"Since Concubine Li has long had the intention to rebel, she even dispatched the garrison, so the siege equipment will come without preparation." Xiao Zimu looked sadly at the hazy sky that was about to break at dawn.
"If you want to buy time, you have to strike hard at the moment they approach Chang'an to dampen their military morale and energy." Xiao Mubai looked at Chang'an, which seemed to be shrouded in a silver-gray gauze, and smiled slightly. Narrowing his eyes: "There are four city gates in the southeast, northwest and northwest. Where do you think Shi Fuqiu will attack from?"
Xiao Zimu also knew that the current military strength was seriously insufficient. If he wanted to boost the morale of the army and fight against the rebels, this first battle was crucial.
"If the general is Shi Fuqiu, then he can only be... the North City Gate." He lowered his eyes and said in a deep voice. If he could win the first victory in one fell swoop, it would be a great encouragement to the soldiers.
"Same as my idea." Xiao Mubai nodded and agreed.
The reason why he was detained at the North Gate was because Shi Fuqiu was defeated without a fight the day before yesterday. Such a shame, as the leader of a general, naturally wanted to regain the lost ground.
Xiao Mubai frowned: "I left a team of light cavalry there."
Xiao Zimu glanced at him, and a strange color flashed in his eyes. There was a huge disparity in strength between the enemy and ourselves. It was simply impossible to send troops to defend the enemy outside the city gate.
But Xiao Mubai was determined to hit hard, so he had to give the rebels a memorable blow the moment they approached the city gate, in order to slightly reduce the morale of the rebels.
However, even if the light cavalry left behind by this team caused damage to the rebels, they would be chased and strangled, and I was afraid that the last person would not survive.
Xiao Mubai guessed what he was thinking, lowered his eyes, and said with a hint of coldness in his tone: "There is no one in King Mo's army who is greedy for life and afraid of death."
Xiao Zimu sighed softly. Even so, what if this resistance is in vain
If all the sacrifices come to an end and blood still spills on the imperial city, if they give up now, will they be able to save the people of Chang'an
"Second brother, even if my father wakes up, does he really have a backup plan?" Xiao Zimu looked at Xiao Mubai with complicated eyes.
He is not cowardly, he is just afraid that it will be in vain.
He was not afraid of death, he was just afraid of dragging down the people all over the city... to bury him with him.
Xiao Mubai patted his shoulder, then turned around and prepared to get off the city wall to fight. He sighed in his heart. Whether his father could wake up was actually a big gamble.
He just had to hold on until Raven returned to Beijing. Xia Chu would not leave at this time no matter what, but if Raven came back, he could still take her away by force.
In this battle in Kyoto, even if he takes the lead and dies due to exhaustion, he still selfishly hopes that Xia Chu can survive safely.
He left his golden seal for her, as long as the raven could take her to Yucheng.
Even if the Xiao Kingdom falls, she can spend the rest of her life in Liang Kingdom safely.
The moment Xiao Mubai stepped down the stairs, the horn sounded.
He turned his head and looked down from the imperial city. Green smoke was everywhere. Outside the four city gates of Chang'an, countless wolf smoke appeared in different directions.
Xiao Mubai and Xiao Zimu both guessed that Shi Fuqiu would attack mainly from the North City Gate, but at first glance, the rebels were actually upright and attacking at the same time from the four city gates in the southeast, northwest and northwest of Chang'an.
The two of them let out a breath of cold air at the same time, looking at each other and thinking, how many garrison cities could be betrayed by such a large battle
Although Xiao Mubai received some news before Concubine Li sealed Chang'an, he thought he had only rebelled against the garrison of two or three cities.
Little did they know, eight nearby cities all rebelled!
In just a moment, Kyoto was surrounded by smoke...
Shi Fuqiu looked at the North City Gate, feeling a little excited in his heart.
Human psychology is really erratic and fickle. Yesterday he felt guilty for his treasonous act, but today he was eager to conquer the capital of Chang'an.
Before betraying him, he was cautious and trembling.
Once you really rebel, you throw away the shackles and become unscrupulous.
This time when the army attacked the city, what Li Fei wanted was to be upright and use force to suppress others. It was best to suppress the people in Chang'an City, who were timid and frightened and surrendered.
Originally, she wanted Xiao Yanjun to have a good reputation. Since Renjun couldn't succeed, she would use force to suppress them and make them fearful.
A tyrant is also a king.
Since he cannot be loved by the people, he must be feared by the people.
The rebels approached from four city gates. As Xiao Mubai and Xiao Zimu expected, the Shi family army led by Shi Fuqiu did go through the north gate.
The shame of yesterday must be washed away with your own hands.
Chang'an City is now full of 40,000 King Mo's troops, guarding four city gates.
The 280,000-strong army attacked four gates, which was extremely easy for Shi Fuqiu.
Therefore, he can't wait...
(End of chapter)