Li Hao was originally from Yuzhou, and he was a hero with a deep reputation in Yuzhou. When he was forced to join the Xiaoshan Forest, it was because he helped Yuzhou people go to Nanyang Mansion to ask for arrears of food.
Later, after Li Hao offended the powerful people of Nanyang Prefecture and was forced to flee with his family into Xiong'er Mountain, there were thousands of people in Guaihe, Yuzhou alone who were willing to follow him and form a stronghold in the mountain.
Therefore, it was easy for Li Hao to take Yuzhou.
His reputation in Yuzhou was so great that with just one word, hundreds of people in the city were willing to sacrifice their lives to help him as internal agents. Therefore, Liu Rukui stationed his troops in a small valley a few miles outside Yuzhou City to avoid prematurely alerting the snake.
.
Li Hao found some old friends he had met when he was an officer and soldier, and let them move around Yuzhou City. He then used the opportunity to bring in merchants and civilians to traffic in goods and grain, and quietly transported a group of soldiers and armored soldiers in.
Into Yuzhou City.
According to the agreement between Li Hao and Liu Rukui, when all the troops inside the city were ready, they would set fire to the signal. The intruders outside the city fired cannons and climbed up the ladder to attack the city directly;
Take the opportunity to open the city gate, attack from inside and outside, and seize the city in one fell swoop.
At night in Yuzhou in May, the weather was neither too hot nor too cold. A breeze blew through the valley, and the weeds on the slopes on both sides swayed gently, creating a gentle undulation of microwaves, as if being thrown into a pebbled lake.
There were many soldiers gathered in the valley, and the men and horses were silent. Liu Rukui didn't have many cavalry left in his hands, and the few remaining horses were also clamped. Some owls that were originally parked on the branches also flew in early.
In the distance, there are only many summer cicadas in the grass. They are not afraid of people and continue to chirp.
Liu Rukui's nickname is "Zaoying". In addition to saying that he is as brave as an eagle, it also means that Liu Rukui's complexion is dark and his body is as black as coal.
Some dew formed in the early morning fell from the top of his helmet to Liu Rukui's eyebrows. He rubbed his eyes with his fingers, wiped away the dew drops, and then confirmed with Li Hao again and asked: "In the city
Are Yuzhou people reliable? Are Yuzhou people willing to help the army? Can we trust Yuzhou people?"
Liu Rukui looks rough and bold, but he has a lot of thoughts. He has not led troops alone many times, and compared to Guo Junzhen, he lacks the ability to lead one area alone, so he inevitably does not have much confidence in his heart.
Li Hao is very different from Liu Rukui. Like many village leaders in Xiong'er Mountain, he was brainwashed by the legend of "Dragon Sha Prophecy" fabricated by Li Laiheng. He firmly believes that Li Laiheng and other small tiger generals were enlightened by Qin's entry into Henan.
I have become the "Tiangang Star" and "Earth Immortal" that have ascended, so I don't think anything will go wrong in this battle at all.
Li Hao was full of confidence, not at all as downcast as when Li Laiheng first met him last year. He replied: "Please be kind to Deputy Shao Liu. In Yuzhou, my face is still worth a few cents."
Liu Rukui was still a little nervous. He looked Li up and down several times. He remembered that Guo Junzhen had told him in a very contemptuous tone before how Li Hao had been with Dazhong before Li Laiheng led his troops to attack Pingfengzhai.
Even when he was seeking revenge for killing his wife and son, he still acted cowardly.
A few drops of dew gathered on the brim of the helmet, and then were blown down by the wind, hitting the ground and breaking into a few small pale white droplets. The dust under Liu Rukui's feet was therefore slightly moister than the early dew in the early morning.
He took a step forward, his boots stepping on the slightly moist soil and weeds blowing in the wind.
"Soap Eagle" took out the sword from its sheath, looked in the direction of Yuzhou from the valley, and asked: "Has the time come?"
After confirming with the soldiers under Li Haotong, he nodded and replied: "The agreed time has arrived!"
"Then let's go!"
Liu Rukui believed that regardless of whether the internal response was successful or not, given the emptiness of Yuzhou's military strength and the strength of his own hands, he would be able to break through Yuzhou City.
He put aside his last bit of uneasiness, and after confirming that the time agreed upon by his colleagues had arrived, he immediately rushed out of the valley with a large group of infantry. The soldiers either pushed large general cannons used for siege, or several people lined up in a line to carry
The ladders and other siege equipment prepared in advance in the valley rushed towards Yuzhou City.
"There is fire at the top of the city!"
There was a soldier under Li Hao's command with good eyesight. He first saw an orange-red fire light up in the corner of Yuzhou City. Looking from the position where the Chuang Army was, the fire was only as big as a grain of rice at first.
Maybe it's just the lights.
But then the orange light grew bigger and bigger, swaying in the wind into a ghostly shape. The flames quickly spread from a corner of the city, and finally completely enveloped a tower in the corner.
"It's the enemy who set the fire! Brothers, follow me to the city. Those who turn their armor on their backs are my soldiers. Don't kill them!"
Li Hao roared with great excitement, and immediately led his soldiers to rush toward the wall of Yuzhou City. But Liu Rukui hesitated for a moment. He saw the fire spreading to the area of a tower.
, it no longer expanded, but gradually shrank, and the city gate did not seem to be opened. It felt that things did not seem to be particularly smooth.
However, because the village soldiers had already rushed over, the siege troops from the direct line of the Breaking Army were also led by them, raising their cannons and firing blunderbuss, and swarmed forward. Liu Rukui originally wanted everyone to wait for a while to see the changes in the situation at the top of the city before attacking the city.
However, although he held a high position under Liu Fangliang, he was actually a fighter who was better at charging and killing. When the soldiers were driven forward by excitement and optimism, Liu Rukui was unable to effectively control his troops.
pace.
He shouted several times, "Check the situation first!", but the effect was not obvious. Then Liu Rukui ordered the soldiers to disperse and control the advance of the invading army, but only the rear team's pace was slightly stagnant.
The front team had already rushed to the foot of the city wall.
"I am Li Hao from Yuzhou. Friends who know me, please put down your weapons! I will never embarrass my fellow villagers!"
Li Hao also followed the front team and rushed to a place very close to the city wall. When he saw that the city gate had not been opened, he shouted loudly, asking his old acquaintances in the city to open the city gate.
But before the city gate was opened, a row of bows, arrows and lead bullets were fired from the top of the city. Immediately after the sound of a cannon, a cannon weighing at least three kilograms flew into the crowd, killing a ladder and the front of the crowd on the spot.
Two soldiers being transported by the platoon were crushed to death.
"The bandits are attacking the city. The bandits are attacking the city. Once the city is breached, the entire city's residents will suffer from the sword. We must stop the bandits!"
After shouting for a while, the defenders on the top of the city fired arrows and bullets with a higher frequency and density. The siege soldiers who rushed to the front and lacked protection suffered heavy casualties in an instant, and a large area was injured.
Li Hao obviously didn't expect this situation. He was stunned. He didn't understand why his reputation didn't work in Yuzhou?
But Liu Rukui reacted first. He initially thought that everyone had been deceived by the army, but soon Liu Rukui discovered: the defenders at the city head seemed to only use firecrackers, bows and arrows and very few artillery pieces? No more weapons were used.
Common defensive equipment such as rolling stones and wood?
"The internal intelligence did not deceive me! It was just that the army failed and was suppressed by the officers and soldiers?"
Although Liu Rukui lacked the talents of a general, as a cavalry commander, his battlefield intuition was extremely keen. After Liu Rukui understood the situation at hand, he immediately rushed towards the city wall with his soldiers and guards.
He spared no expense, except leaving musketeers and artillerymen to shoot at the rear with the defenders. He left no reserve troops at all and immediately devoted all available troops to the siege.
When Li Hao was shocked by the defenders' counterattack and wondered if he should withdraw the village soldiers, Liu Rukui had already led all the siege troops of the intruders to rush over. Behind the fortress soldiers were all the insurgents who were rushing forward.
The soldiers had no choice but to retreat, and Liu Rukui took the lead and charged forward, so they had no choice but to bite the bullet and attack the city with all their strength.
"The officers and soldiers have just suppressed the internal forces. Maybe there are still internal forces fighting in the city? Even if there are no internal forces, the officers and soldiers will be frightened by this drastic change. We can kill the Yuzhou army with a single blow with all our strength!"
With several booms, the rear army's general cannons fired continuously. Although most of the shots missed, a stone bomb still fell on the city head, exploding smoke into the sky. Liu Rukui seized the opportunity and ordered the soldiers of the invading army to raise ten steps at a time.
They used straw bags, door panels, tree trunks, and gravel prepared in advance to cross the ditch in front of the city wall, and then fought hard to climb.
As expected, the garrison at the top of the city was not strong in force. Except for the first two soldiers to climb the city, they were held back by the defenders and driven down. The remaining infantry of the intruders successfully defended a battlement and started fighting with the defenders.
There was a fierce hand-to-hand fight.
"There are people in the city who wear their armor backwards!"
The first few card swordsmen who climbed to the top of the city used round cards or swallow-tail cards to hold back the officers and soldiers, and then they saw that there were still many soldiers with their armor turned backwards inside the city fighting against the defenders.
Liu Rukui finally felt relieved and knew that his judgment was correct. It seemed that although the defenders suppressed the internal troops' attempt to open the city gate, they did not completely eliminate the internal troops who invaded the city.
"Open the city gate first! One team each of Pai Dao and Saber Saber, enter the city for reinforcements!"