Chapter 176: The Encirclement of Ruyin
This strategy of luring the snake out of its hole was very successful. Even a veteran like Wen Qi who had experienced many battles fell into the trap! Because the opponent underestimated him because of his young age.

After all, Champion Marquis Huo Qubing is also a figure in history books. Everyone knows that such a genius exists, but they don’t believe that they will meet one.

Wen Qi encountered it today, and not only in military affairs, Liu Xiu was at the pinnacle in all aspects of politics and governance! The late Western Han Dynasty was almost a period of discontinuity.

If Xiang Yu, the King of Western Chu at the end of the Qin Dynasty, could compete with Liu Bang, then Liu Xiu would have no rivals! The next such person would be Li Shimin, the Heavenly Khan.

Even though he has not been tempered yet, his abilities are still very strong.

“General, shall we fight head-on?” A general on horseback approached him.

Former General Wen Qi looked ahead and said, “Yes, since we have already tested this man’s strength, there is no need to hold back. Otherwise, it will be bad if we delay the opportunity to fight.”

“I want to decide the outcome in one battle! Li Yang treats my Yuzhou army as a soft persimmon, so I will make him bleed! Ten thousand elite troops are enough to injure the Han army.”

Unconsciously, the last trace of caution in Wen Qi’s heart was filled with excitement.

In fact, it was not his fault. The Han army had besieged Runan for more than half a month. The court in Chang’an was unable to take care of itself and was unable to send troops to help. It was also unable to compete with the powerful Han army on its own.

The fall of Runan was almost a matter of course, it could not happen sooner or later. The mood of the Xinmang army in the city was extremely low, and almost everyone was pessimistic.

There were even some officials and generals who advised him to open the city and surrender, abandon Wang Mang’s shabby and rotten ship, and seek a bright future.

But Wen Qi doesn’t want this to happen, he wants to reverse the situation!
Just when they were at a loss of what to do, an unknown young general, who was still wet behind the ears, led his troops to attack the city. His fighting style was very primitive. He just attacked the city without using any strategies.

This kind of person is a typical general, but he would not be suitable to be a commander… This was Wen Qi’s first impression.

Afterwards, he subconsciously thought that Liu Xiu was just a cover and the real offensive was still to come. His vigilance reached its extreme and it was impossible for him to fall into the trap.

But human nature is like this, greed can easily swallow up reason, and Wen Qi’s inner desire to make achievements and reverse the downward trend was completely exploited.

In the hope of getting lucky, he chose to test it out first. What if the other party was really confused? This possibility cannot be ruled out. After all, the Han army has a considerable advantage.

Once this idea came up, it was already halfway to failure. Sure enough, Liu Xiu acted according to the plan and followed the style of the young and energetic general, causing the defenders in the city to make a wrong judgment and choose to send troops to fight.

Strictly speaking, it was just a fluke mentality, thinking that the other party would make a mistake! In addition, greed took over and stopped thinking.

“General, what if this is a trap? Li Yang has already made mistakes by underestimating the enemy before. Now that he is back in the old place, will he make the same mistake again? That would be bad.”

Sure enough, some people expressed their concerns, but they did not expect that Liu Xiu himself was so capable.

After all, in his twenties, he had the ability to defeat famous generals? It was not very realistic. Of course, there were examples. Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, and Han Xin had no actual combat experience and were unknown.

As soon as he accepted the military service, he immediately made immortal contributions.

But such a gifted person is rare after all. Could it be that I just happened to meet one? No one dared to believe it.

Wen Qi glanced at him and said with a smile: “I don’t rule out this possibility, but if the enemy comes, we will fight him; if the water comes, we will block it with earth. It’s no problem. We just need to dampen the morale of the Han army.”

He had already asked scouts to investigate in advance, and they knew that there were indeed a large number of Han troops in the surrounding area ready to provide support, but they were far away and would not be able to return in a short time.

“Just be sensible.” Seeing that the general was not worried, the general stopped talking.

………

“Great, wonderful, that guy really fell into the trap. General, your talent is no less than that of the young Guanjun Hou during the reign of Emperor Xiaowu.”

Upon learning that Wen Qi had come out in full force, all the generals and marshals in the Han army camp were full of admiration for him, thinking he was so powerful.

They were a blessing to Liu Xiu. Not long after joining the army, he captured more than 30 counties in succession without encountering any trouble and no one could stop him.

“Hahaha… That guy is too careless. Seeing that I’m young, he became arrogant and complacent, thinking that he could eat up the vanguard army and turn the tide of the battle? It’s a good idea, but it’s a pity that the implementation is not the same thing.”

The plan worked, and Liu Xiu was very happy. He had already won half the battle by luring the Xinmang army out of the city.

In a head-on confrontation, the Han army had an absolute advantage.

If he had not made a wrong prediction about his commander, he would not have led his troops out without authorization.

Zhu You, the deputy general next to him, also echoed, “It seems that it will not be difficult for our army to capture Runan.”

“Well… that’s right. After our army defeats the Xinmang troops, other generals will join forces to launch an attack on the counties of Runan and capture Ruyin in one fell swoop!” others also said.

If the main forces of the Xinmang army were all dispatched, the military force in the city would certainly be empty. It is estimated that except for the troops required for daily maintenance, all other forces would be taken with them.

It seems like they are ready for a decisive battle with the Han army.

Although Liu Xiu was confident of victory, he was cautious and said calmly: “Don’t be careless. Wen Qi is also a famous general in the Xin Mang Dynasty. Although he is not as good as Yan You, Wang Yi and others, his level is also quite high.”

“Don’t make the same mistake twice. If something hasn’t happened yet, there are countless variables, so we must pay attention to it.”

The reason for Wen Qi’s failure was that he underestimated the enemy, which was a big taboo in the army and was quite fatal.

The Han army lined up and fought with the Xinmang army. The area here was located on a plain and was relatively open. The advantage of the Liangzhou cavalry of the Northwestern Army was brought to the extreme, and they moved around and reaped lives.

However, Wen Qi soon began to counterattack, gradually repelling the Han army that had no tactics. This time he was just feigning a retreat!

But little did he know that he had fallen into a trap.

“kill!”

More than a thousand Xiliang cavalrymen appeared out of nowhere. The Xinmang army was obviously caught off guard and was defeated in the first encounter. Wen Qi already had the stereotype that the enemy generals were not good at military tactics.

The Han army, which was originally defeated, immediately changed its stance and fought back.

The Xinmang army was caught off guard and was very confused. When the news was passed back to the central army, Wen Qi reacted instantly.

“It’s broken, I fell into a trap!”

At this point, rationality took over again. He knew that Liu Xiu was not the kind of person who was ignorant of military tactics. Everything was done to maintain his position and lure him out.

“General, you said that the commander of the vanguard army that captured two counties might be Liu Xiu, right?” The deputy general made a bold guess.

The method is too sophisticated, it is impossible for it to be unknown. As expected, with Li Yang’s character, he would not hand over the vanguard to others so easily. Things are not that simple!
“It’s possible…” Wen Qi didn’t dare to stay any longer, “Withdraw, withdraw back to the city!” But it was too late, the entire Xinmang army had been defeated, and the morale was already low, so it was difficult to command them.

Therefore, this sentence only refers to the main force of the central army.

“Whoever kills Wen Qi will be granted the title of Marquis of a Thousand Households!”

When there is a huge reward, there will always be brave men. The Han army, which was already bloodthirsty, became even more fierce. They wielded their long spears and were unstoppable. Wherever they went, no one could resist them.

Soon, the troops left behind to deal with the aftermath were dispersed.

Other troops that had been arranged in advance also received the news, spread the news of Wenqi’s defeat, and launched an attack on the outer counties of Runan.

For a time, county magistrates from all over the country saw that the situation was hopeless and surrendered one after another. The Xinmang army fled back to Ruyin, and tens of thousands of Han troops approached the city.

In this era, it is actually only the main cities that need to be attacked. It takes almost no effort to attack other counties. When the county magistrates and lieutenants see that things are going badly, they will open the city walls and surrender on their own.

………

Outside Ruyin City.

The blocking was a great victory. All the troops joined together and surrounded the eight city gates of Ruyin. It could be said that the city would fall in a matter of days!
Li Yang walked into the commander’s tent and patted Liu Xiu’s shoulder with admiration. “Okay, I really didn’t make a mistake. If we can take Runan this time, Uncle Wen will be the first to win.”

The main reason why it was so smooth was that the main force of the Xinmang Army was lured out and suffered a great defeat in the field battle. The 20,000 main forces suffered heavy losses, and only more than 5,000 remnants escaped back to the city. Even if the defeated soldiers were gathered later, their number would not exceed 8,000.

Ruyin City was isolated and helpless, and even if Marquis Huaiyin were alive again, he would be powerless to save the situation.

“It’s thanks to the lord’s cultivation. Without the lord, our army would not have been so successful.” Liu Xiu said modestly.

He felt that praise was empty. Too much would not be much, and too little would not be too little. He would gain nothing. It was not even as useful as rewarding some gold and silver.

Only tangible benefits are what matter.

Perhaps noticing the other party’s expectant look, Li Yang slowly said, “A gentleman’s word is as good as his bond. Although I am not a gentleman, my promise still works.”

“Once this is over, I will immediately recommend you to the court and make you the governor of Runan!”

Hearing this affirmative answer, Liu Xiucai finally showed a happy expression. He didn’t even want to give up his life, so what was it for?
Isn’t it this governor? From now on, he controls his own destiny! No longer at the mercy of others, now he has finally achieved his wish, and becoming a frontier official is almost certain.

Even if he does nothing in Guanzhong afterwards, he can at least become the prefect of Runan, and a direct subordinate of Li Yang, the governor of Yuzhou.

After saying this, Li Yang also straightened his mind and said, “The court will not mistreat any meritorious official, but the prerequisite is that we must capture Ruyin City before we can reward them according to their merits. I hope you will work hard together.”

Although the city will fall in a matter of days, it has not been broken yet and still requires a hard fight.

Ruyin, as the capital of Yuzhou, is different from other cities. Its moat is three meters deep, its city walls are tall and strong, and there are thousands of soldiers and horses in the city with sufficient food and fodder.

As long as they hold their ground and don’t get out, they can still hold out for several more months. This is the difficulty of siege in the era of cold weapons. They can only fill the gap bit by bit by using human lives.

“My Lord, I think that our army cannot attack by force, but can only defeat them with wits! Sun Tzu once said that to conquer the enemy without fighting is the best of all strategies. A forceful attack will not only cause huge losses, but also have no effect.”

Liu Xiu spoke out.

Since ancient times, there have been very few examples of conquering a fortified city by force. Almost all of them were done with the help of internal and external forces, or by inducing surrender.

“I agree.” Everyone immediately agreed.

“That makes sense. If you have any ideas, just speak up.” Li Yang has also changed after experiencing ups and downs. He understands that personal strength is always limited. Before, he would think of ways on his own and would never give his generals a chance to speak.

But now it’s different. Are all these counselors and generals just eating for free? And I can give them some opportunities to make meritorious contributions.

As a person in a high position, all you need to do is know how to use people.

“I think we can persuade them to surrender. The tyranny of the Xin Mang regime is unpopular and people have long been alienated from the country. Now that our army is surrounding Ruyin, I’m sure there won’t be many people willing to work for Wang Mang.”

“So maybe we can take advantage of that.”

Liu Xiu came up with an idea. It was his mission to conquer Runan, and he certainly could not hide his incompetence at this time.

Li Yang nodded, it was indeed a very good idea.

Ever since Wang Mang’s failure in implementing the New Deal, there have not been many loyal ministers. When he touched the land, he touched the fundamental interests of the majority of people!
The source of wealth for many bureaucrats was also land, which was the most valuable thing in the feudal era. However, this reform took back all the land in the country quite abruptly. At first, they redeemed it at a low price, but later they simply confiscated the property and killed those who disobeyed.

Under the brutal suppression, the new policy was implemented smoothly, but it also pushed itself to the opposite side of everyone.

In the end, they even failed to win the support of the people, without any group support, how could the dynasty last long? Peasant uprisings continued.

The Han army’s attack was what everyone wanted, and countless powerful people raised their troops to respond.

Smart people will definitely not be buried with it, it’s just that there is no better place to go at the moment. As long as you explain the reason and appeal to their emotions, and promise big enough chips, I believe there will be someone willing to open the city gate.

“My lord, perhaps we can start with Zhang Cong.” A general who was familiar with the situation in Yuzhou spoke up.

Li Yang was quite interested: “What do you mean?”

He answered, “This Zhang Cong was born in the Zhang family of Yingchuan. When Wang Mang was in power, his family strongly opposed it and was eventually confiscated. But this guy not only did not complain, but also asked for forgiveness by Wang Mang.”

“But I think it’s impossible for him to let go of the revenge of killing his father and mother and slaughtering his clan. It’s nothing more than a matter of weighing the pros and cons. We can just start with him.”

“And Zhang Cong happens to be in charge of the defense of the North Gate. He is brave and upright in battle, and is deeply trusted by Wen Qi. As long as we can persuade him, Ruyin will be at our fingertips!”

This is the most obvious loophole. Of course, a number of other people must have the same idea, but it is safest to persuade Zhang Cong to defect.

“Just do as you say.”

Later, Li Yang sent an envoy to secretly contact Zhang Cong. After some struggle, the other party chose to abandon the Xinmang Dynasty and become a minister of the Han Dynasty.

It is not so easy to swallow the hatred of genocide. The reason why we endure it is just to preserve a trace of incense. It is a helpless act.

(End of this chapter)