Chapter 256: Youzhou City is Strong, Li Chengqian Takes Action
“Boom!”

A loud noise was heard.

A huge hole was torn in the thick city wall of Youzhou, and the city area collapsed, leading directly into the city.

Amid the smoke, there were soldiers fighting.

There are brave men who take the lead.

But they were repelled time and time again by the soldiers defending the city and were unable to break out.

“Your Highness, please allow me to lead the army. We will capture Youzhou City today.”

Before going to bed, Cheng Chumo asked for permission.

After a month, the battle was very frustrating. Even with the use of gunpowder, they still could not break through the defense line of Youzhou City.

As a result, the entire march was blocked outside Youzhou City.

“Sound the retreat!”

Li Chengqian said solemnly that he took all this for granted.

He thought that with many famous generals like Pei Xingjian and Cheng Mingzhen, and gunpowder, they could easily defeat the enemy.

But in ancient times, besieged cities were rarely conquered.

When Zhuge Liang led a northern expedition, his army of tens of thousands was blocked outside the city of Chencang by Hao Zhao’s thousand men.

Zhang Xun and his 7,000 troops defended Suiyang City and resisted Yin Ziqi’s 130,000 troops for as long as ten months.

Chen Youliang’s army of hundreds of thousands was also blocked outside the city of Hongdu by Lan Yu’s thousands of men, and firearms were already available at that time.

Nowadays, the gap in troop numbers between the two sides is not that big, so it is not realistic to capture Youzhou City in a short time.

The important cities in the Central Plains were all built with rammed earth, and they were many times stronger than the mountain cities built by Goguryeo.

Youzhou City was the most important city in the north to defend against the Rong and Di tribes. One can imagine how solid it was and how well-defended its garrison was.

In the first year of the Wude reign, Youzhou was established as one of the five general administration offices of the Tang Dynasty. It was a military administrative agency that commanded troops in order to be able to act at one’s convenience.

Youzhou has been an important military city since ancient times. In the first battle, Li Chengqian will have to face the toughest bone to chew.

However, if Youzhou is captured, then the march into the Central Plains will be smooth sailing.

“Your Highness, the battle has now reached a fever pitch. We must fight to the last breath. Whoever can hold out will win in the end.”

Pei Xingjian on the side also persuaded.

He had no good idea about the siege.

Since ancient times, siege has been the best strategy.

However, that could easily take several months.

From their strategic point of view, this is not allowed.

“Who is commanding the battle on top of Youzhou City?”

Li Chengqian still shook his head, changed the subject, and pointed to the middle-aged general on the top of Youzhou City.

“This person is Lu Chengqing, Duke of Fanyang!”

Wu Xing replied respectfully that the Bad People had found out a lot about the situation of the officials in Youzhou.

Fan Yang was under the jurisdiction of Youzhou.

However, during the Sui and Tang dynasties when the aristocratic families rose to power, the military and political power of Youzhou was controlled by the Lu family.

The Anshi Rebellion also started in Youzhou.

In fact, it was an attack by the Hebei gentry on the Guanlong Group, which was the result of the mutual struggle between the two major groups.

“Lu Chengqing!”

Li Chengqian’s face twitched.

Li Chengqian naturally knew Lu Chengqing. He was the prime minister with real power during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty and was not comparable to Xu Jingzong and Li Yifu.

The phrase “remaining calm in the face of praise or criticism” was invented by Lu Chengqing.

Li Chengqian never expected that he would face off against such a talented person.

With a strong city and powerful men, can it be conquered from the front?

“Your Highness knows this person?”

Pei Xingjian asked. From Li Chengqian’s expression, he could already see some clues.

“Youzhou City is guarded by this man. We can’t take it by force. We can only take it by wits.”

Li Chengqian nodded.

This made everyone gasp.

You must know that many previous battles were planned by Li Chengqian. In the minds of these people, Li Chengqian is the god of war.

However, after learning that the other party was Lu Chengqing, he looked embarrassed.

They couldn’t help but secretly wonder what was so special about Lu Chengqing.

After all, before this, Lu Chengqing was not well-known and little-known.

“My Lord, why did the rebels retreat? Is there something wrong with our deployment?”

The general next to Lu Chengqing showed a puzzled look.

Then, he looked towards the city and saw countless soldiers standing in the alleys.

On the defense of Youzhou city, they have always been in a shaky state.

The purpose was to lure Li Chengqian’s army to attack, and to continuously consume the enemy forces on the advantageous terrain.

How could Youzhou be short of troops?

This is the Lu family’s base camp. There are hundreds of thousands of Lu clan members.

The Lu family has a long history, and its ancestor can be traced back to Lu Zhi, one of the three heroes of the late Eastern Han Dynasty.

In the land of Youzhou, it has experienced ups and downs for many years and is deeply rooted. It has gone through countless storms and waves, but it has remained standing.

It is said: “Since ancient times, Youyan has been an unparalleled place, and Fanyang is the number one state in the world.”

Nowadays, an army of one hundred thousand people knocking on the gate is nothing new to the Lu clan.

That is to say, during the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, there were fewer wars in Youzhou.

Otherwise, there would be a small battle every three days and a big battle every five days.

Located on the border, the people there are tough and any farmer can be an elite soldier.

The city is strong, the generals are powerful, and the soldiers are skilled.

“Ren Xu, no need to look, that person is here.”

Lu Chengqing also let out a long breath, feeling the pressure from the bottom of his heart.

“The Duke of the County said that the former Crown Prince Li Chengqian came in person to supervise the battle.”

Lu Renqi looked into the distance.

Lu Renqi was the father of Lu Zhaolin, one of the Four Great Talents of the Early Tang Dynasty, and was also a member of the Fanyang Lu family.

Although his reputation was not as great as Lu Zhaolin’s, his achievements in official career were far ahead of Lu Zhaolin. He was promoted to the rank of captain, and it was not an exaggeration to say that he was a high-ranking official.

If you don’t have a wealthy family, you can’t afford to go to school.

Not to mention being able to make a name for oneself in this era of official monopoly.

Lu Zhaolin’s fame was also thanks to Lu Renqi.

“Yes, that should be the case. I wonder when the imperial court’s reinforcements will arrive.”

Lu Chengqing knew his own limitations. He was an okay commander of troops, but he was definitely not the best among them.

By defending the city, he was sure to remain invincible against ordinary generals, and could even find an opportunity to defeat them.

However, facing the famous Li Chengqian, he began to lack confidence.

“Isn’t the county lord worrying too much? The rebels have a force of less than 100,000 at most, and if all the soldiers in Youzhou City were to gather together, there would be 100,000 people. If we defend the city, we will definitely be able to hold it.”

Lu Renqi said.

Of course, the number he mentioned included the number of people that Lu concealed.

A large clan like their Fanyang Lu family could have as many as four or five hundred thousand members if all of them were counted.

“Could it be possible that the battle records we collected before were false?”

“When Li Chengqian attacked, it was because he had more troops than the enemy. He is very good at attacking. I don’t know which side will be torn apart by him.”

Lu Chengqing said worriedly.

Since Li Chengqian disobeyed the imperial edict, the Lu clan members became wary and studied all the campaigns Li Chengqian launched in Goguryeo and Baekje.

Only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you win every battle.

But the more they studied, the more frightened they became.

Because all the battles launched by Li Chengqian were aimed at using force to overwhelm the enemy, and they were all unexpected and hit the vital points directly.

If you don’t take action, then it’s fine. But once you do take action, you will definitely win the game.

“If we continue to wait like this, we will be extremely passive. If we defend for too long, we will lose. It is better to take the initiative and defeat them head-on!”

When Lu Renqi heard this, he also felt that it made sense.

“Attacking a camp is a tactic that works against barbarians, but if you want to defeat a master of military strategy, you’re just asking for death.”

Lu Chengqing sneered, mocking himself.

“That being said, I think we can send a thousand-man team to attack them at night. If it fails, it won’t be a big deal.”

“But if we can find out that the rebels are unprepared, we can lead the army to kill them.”

Lu Renqi suggested.

The war situation is unpredictable and anything can happen.

This strategy is flexible and worth a try.

If you lose, the loss will not be big, but if you win, you will deal a heavy blow to the opponent.

“It’s definitely worth a try!”

Lu Chengqing thought for a while and decided that it was time to change strategy.

Simply defending will give the opponent an opportunity to take advantage.

At this time, in the Liaodong army formation.

A group of generals were also in a difficult situation.

“Generals, after so many days of fighting, what do you think?”

Li Chengqian spoke first. He had just arrived and only had a general understanding of the battle situation.

“What can I expect? I just feel like we are just a little bit away from conquering the city, just that one last breath.”

Cheng Chumo snorted, feeling very unwilling.

“But I have always felt that this is a false impression deliberately created by the enemy. Every time we increase our troops, the defense force in Youzhou City is also strengthened.”

Pei Xingjian looked thoughtful.

“It is indeed as General Pei said. The defense of Youzhou City is constantly changing with the intensity of our attack. I also think that this is done intentionally by the enemy’s defenders to lure our army to attack the city.”

Cheng Mingzhen also said.

After summarizing everything, everyone found something wrong.

“I think so. There are a large number of hidden people in Youzhou City. The information we collected before is definitely not completely correct. If the battle drags on, I’m afraid the armies of the Tang Dynasty will come one after another. Do you have any strategy to defeat the enemy?”

Li Chengqian asked.

The focus now is not on finding someone to blame, but on taking the city as quickly as possible.

“If we surround them with ten times the number of troops, we will attack them with five times the number of troops. However, we are not sure about the number of troops in Youzhou City right now. I am afraid we cannot attack them any further, lest we fall into the enemy’s trap.”

“I think we should find a way to lure the enemy outside the city for a decisive battle.”

Pei Xingjian advised that this was the best solution to the war he could think of.

If he could lure him out, he would have a way to defeat him.

“It may not be easy to get the enemy to come out of the city to fight. General Pei, just tell me what you have planned.”

Lu Chengqing was a well-known calm person. He was not arrogant when he was promoted, and he was not discouraged when he was demoted.

Such a reckless act of meritorious service was obviously not the style of this defending general.

Besides, as members of a big family, would they lack this little bit of achievement?

In addition, given the unfavorable political environment, even if one has made great contributions, the reward he would receive would probably be just that.

“If you want to lure the other party out of the city, you need a big enough bait.”

Pei Xingjian looked at Li Chengqian.

The bait that can tempt the defenders is probably the bandit leader Li Chengqian.

“I have said before that General Pei can arrange military affairs himself.”

Li Chengqian acquiesced.

“In that case, please move your camp forward. As for you, you can stay in the center. I will select someone with a similar figure to yours from the army to impersonate you.”

Pei Xingjian bowed.

“No, since we are putting on a show, we have to do it in full. Not only will I move forward with the camp, I will also go and meet this Lu Chengqing.”

Li Chengqian knew that only by taking risks himself could he lure Lu Chengqing out of the city and attack him.

“Your Highness, this must not be done!”

Pei Xingjian’s face changed drastically. He was not only worried about Li Chengqian’s own safety, but this would also disrupt all his arrangements.

“General Pei, do you think you are incapable of protecting my Zhou?”

Li Chengqian certainly had his own thoughts, so he showed up himself.

Even if Lu Chengqing thought it might be a trap, he would most likely launch an attack.

“Military forces are unpredictable. I really don’t have this confidence.”

Pei Xingjian shook his head. As long as the enemy’s troops were directed at Li Chengqian, all his commands would have to revolve around Li Chengqian.

As for the other party, all they had to do was give the order to chase Li Chengqian and chop him down.

Maybe, outside Youzhou city.

The situation where Zhang Liao and his eight hundred brave soldiers chase and hack at an army of one hundred thousand will also happen again.

The risk of the commander leaning forward is too great.

“I don’t need your guard. I am confident that I can handle this on my own. Just follow your instructions.”

Li Chengqian said without comment.

“Your Highness…”

Pei Xingjian still wanted to dissuade him. This was no joke. If something happened to Li Chengqian, everything would be over.

“No need to say more, Li Zhen, you give the order to move the camp forward, and I will go and meet the people of the Lu family, who are “famous and prosperous in the world”, to find out what is so extraordinary about them.”

Li Chengqian no longer listened to the dissuasion and led his personal guards out of the camp.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, the figures of several riders and horses were stretched out in a long line.

“Captain of the city, when the Crown Prince arrives, why don’t you go out of the city to greet him?”

Wu Xing shouted.

The group stopped three hundred steps away from Youzhou City.

This is the maximum range of the bow and arrow.

However, this does not include bed crossbows.

It was indeed risky for Li Chengqian to go there in person.

However, wars generally abide by the bottom line of war.

Persuade the enemy to surrender in front of the battlefield and don’t shoot from behind.

This is also to leave yourself a way out.

Otherwise, the outcome will be a fight to the death.

“My Lord, why don’t you let me go out of the city and meet this Crown Prince Li Chengqian?”

Lu Renqi said that he did not know Li Chengqian and was afraid that it was a trap.

“This man has such a powerful aura that no ordinary person can match. He must be Li Chengqian. If he dares to take risks, why should I be afraid?”

“If he hadn’t been so ambitious and wanted to suppress my clan, he would have surely become a great leader. It’s just a pity that he is not knowledgeable enough. He doesn’t know that this world is the world of clans and his Li family is just one of them. People are greedy and will choke to death.”

Lu Chengqing said with regret that it was originally a win-win situation, but now it has turned into a hostile situation.

The gate of Youzhou city opened a crack, and Lu Chengqing came out of the city alone to meet Li Chengqian and his men.

This courage alone is enough to be admired.

(End of this chapter)