"The country of Xixia was small and weak, and Long Chengen repeatedly took advantage of the loopholes. The affairs of Qiuzitang made the people of Xixia hate the imperial court, so it was defeated so quickly."
"Your Majesty is wise and mighty, and I, the people of Daliang, are united. We have a large number of people and a vast territory, and the city is strong. If Long Chengen wants to eat us, it is absolutely impossible!"
Yu Ziming, Minister of the Ministry of War, said firmly.
Li Chengdao nodded: "Yes, Shi Le and Kong Ji acted recklessly and lost the support of the people. My Daliang is not Xixia."
"Long Chengen dares to come, I will let his Long family army die again!"
"You should return to the military headquarters immediately and prepare for war with all your strength."
"Master Xuanji, could you please go to the Ministry of War to assist the Minister?"
Xuanjizi nodded and said: "I will go with the minister."
The two of them left the imperial study and went to the Ministry of War.
Yu Fuguo was still standing in the imperial study. Li Chengdao glanced at Yu Fuguo, who immediately bowed and said, "I also asked about something."
Li Chengdao said displeasedly: "Why are I hesitating?"
Yu Fuguo lowered his head and reported: "I heard some news that Long Chengen sneaked into the Xixia Palace during the truce."
Yu Fuguo stopped talking at this point. Li Chengdao frowned and asked, "What are you doing sneaking into the Xixia Palace?"
Long Chen also sneaked into the Jinling Palace, did he go to Xixia to steal martial arts secrets?
Yu Fuguo reported: "Long Chengen sneaked into the Xixia Palace and gave away Queen Lu Meier, noble concubine Li Yan, Concubine Shu, and the imperial concubine."
Li Chengdao's expression suddenly changed, and he looked at Yu Fuguo with cold eyes.
Yu Fuguo was so frightened that his legs trembled, and Zhong Gui did not dare to express his anger.
Long Chen played with the queen and concubines in the Xixia Palace, but what about the last time he sneaked into the Jinling Palace? Where are his concubines?
Thinking of this, Li Chengdao was furious!
"Go and find out who in the harem has come into contact with Long Chengen! No one can be missed!"
Li Chengdao issued an order, and Yu Fuguo secretly complained that this job was simply impossible to do.
It's been so long, where do we start to investigate?
Moreover, Youdao is about catching an adulterer and a couple in bed. Which concubine in the harem is willing to admit it?
"The slave takes the order"
Yu Fuguo slowly exited the imperial study, cursing himself a thousand times in his heart.
Xixia, 10 miles east of Xingqing City.
Long Chen led the Long family army and barbarian cavalry to a slow stop and set up camp on the spot.
Long Chen's marching speed was not as fast as Li Chengdao expected, because the Thunder Fire Legion's marching speed was not that fast.
Especially for artillery battalions, transporting their cannons is very troublesome.
The roads in ancient times were not as good as modern ones. Even the official roads were just compacted dirt roads.
Just a heavy rain can turn the official road into a potholed dirt road.
After four days of marching, we arrived at the east side of Xingqing City.
The army marched for four days, and Long Chen stopped on the spot to rest.
Long Chen wanted the army to have a good rest and attack Xingqing City early tomorrow morning.
Wu Jian ordered that the Long family army camped in the middle and the barbarian cavalry set up tents in the north.
Long Chen rode to the rear of the formation, where Gongsun Linglong and Mei Yu, Yue Sisi, and Hu Qiaotong were directing the artillery to inspect the shells and gunpowder.
"How is it? Everyone has followed, right?"
Long Chen dismounted and asked.
Gongsun Linglong said: "Artillery is really difficult to transport, and so is gunpowder. We must ensure safety and don't dare to make any mistakes."
Mei Yu said: "Yes, gunpowder is a powerful thing, and it may hurt yourself."
Long Chen said: "Don't worry, we are sure of victory. Artillery is the key to attacking the city."
"Gunpowder must be safe and must not go wrong."
Mei Yu bowed and said, "The general will know."
Long Chen carefully inspected the Thunder Fire Legion to make sure everything was fine, and then ordered Wu Chuchu and Wu Xiangyun to form an array outside the Thunder Fire Legion to prevent the Xixia army from sneak attacks.
Returning to the Chinese army's tent, Wu Jian came in and said, "Major General, do you want to send out scouts to inquire about the situation?"
Long Chen shook his head and said: "No, Xichang has a stronghold in the city, and the situation will be sent over soon."
Just after he finished speaking, He Juntao came in, holding the information sent by Zhe'er in his hand.
"Sir, please report the situation in Xingqing City."
Long Chen took it and unfolded it on the case.
Shi Le released Lu Qichang and Shi Yuncheng, and all the strong men around Xingqing City were captured and marched into the city. In addition to the original 90,000 defeated troops, the number of soldiers barely reached 300,000.
Shi Le was seriously injured and has been recovering from his injuries. Many officials and people fled when they knew that the Long family army was coming to kill him.
The most important thing is that no reinforcements from the Uzbek state were seen.
"It seems that this siege will be easy."
Wu Jian read the letter and felt that this might be the easiest battle.
Xixia's elite troops were wiped out in the previous three battles, leaving only the defeated generals and the temporarily captured strong men.
As for the strong city walls, they can be easily breached by the power of artillery.
Long Chen nodded and said: "The variable I am most worried about is the reinforcements from the Us State. Since the reinforcements from the Us State have not arrived, it is easy to say."
"Let the brothers take a good rest and attack the city tomorrow!"
"Juntao, please go to the city again and send a message to Zhe'er."
Long Chen immediately wrote a secret letter to Zhe'er. He Juntao accepted it and immediately sneaked into Xingqing City.
The atmosphere in the city was very tense at this time. News that Long Chen's army was camping 10 miles away had spread to the city. The city walls were filled with crossbows and soldiers.
Soldiers and horses kept rushing through the streets, and ordinary people and merchants closed their doors tightly, not daring to come out.
"Get out of the way!"
A group of people suddenly rushed past, led by Shi Yuncheng. He was wearing armor, followed by Yan Xifeng and the imperial army.
He Juntao pretended to be a middle-aged woman and hurriedly hid in a corner to avoid the cavalry.
Shi Yuncheng rode his horse across the main street and entered the royal palace.
When he arrived outside the door, Shi Yuncheng dismounted and Yan Xifeng was waiting at the door.
When Ma Fang saw Shi Yuncheng, he quickly asked: "Your Highness?"
Shi Yuncheng said: "I have something important to report. Long Chengen is here."
Ma Fang hurriedly asked Shi Yuncheng to go in.
In the palace, Shi Le leaned on the couch, and Concubine Li gave Shi Le medicine.
"Father."
Shi Yuncheng stepped forward, Li Fei immediately stepped aside, Shi Le slowly sat up, and Shi Yuncheng immediately said: "Long Chengen's army has reached 10 miles outside the city, and it is estimated that they will attack the city tomorrow!"
Upon hearing the news, Concubine Li shook the medicine bowl in her hand and looked at Shi Le.
Shi Le nodded slightly and said, "How is the defense in the city?"
Shi Yuncheng replied: "We have recruited 300,000 soldiers and horses, and there are sufficient supplies of food, grass, weapons and water in the city."
Having suffered from insufficient water sources in Yangcheng, Shi Le specially ordered to prepare sufficient water sources. There were hundreds of wells in the city to draw water from, as well as cellars to store water.
Shi Le nodded and said: "Okay, tomorrow will be tomorrow. Long Chengen has always avoided attacking the city. This time I will see what he does!"
After fighting Long Chen for so long, Shi Le concluded that Long Chen's only weakness was attacking the city.
Whether it was to capture Linjiang City and Caishi City in Nanliang, or to capture Zhenguo Temple, Yangcheng, or Guancheng, they always used tricks and never attacked head-on.
Shi Le expected that Long Chen was not capable of a frontal attack, so he could only use trickery to outwit him.
But this time, Shi Le was in Xingqing City. If Long Chen wanted to destroy Xixia, he had to attack Xingqing City.
Xingqing City is different from Yang City in that it is a big city. If Long Chen dares to choose to encircle it, Shi Le can attack at any time and attack the weak points.
Another point is that when they were in Yangcheng, the Xixia army was disorganized and did not dare to go out of the city to meet the enemy.
This time was different. Everyone knew that the country was about to perish. The officials, people, and soldiers were united, and Shi Le was not afraid to go out to fight.
"Has the cleanup been completed outside the city?"
