When they heard this, they all sighed at the same time.
"Oh! Who isn't an unlucky guy? I don't know if the governor of Jiangzhou Prefecture has been kicked in the brain by a donkey. I heard that the King of Chu has already conquered many cities in Jiangzhou Prefecture, and some other small cities have simply surrendered, but Jianglin City is still resisting." A captured strong man complained.
"What's the point of saying so much? Anyway, when the King of Chu attacks, let's do our best to save our lives. I don't want to die inexplicably." Another strong man also sighed.
Young men like them have little fighting power and are purely used to make up the scene. Once a fight breaks out, they will probably be chopped up by the opposing army.
Ye Liuyun dared to bet that once the fight started, these people would definitely surrender or run away quickly.
"Seeing how aggressively the city is recruiting soldiers, I guess that the King of Chu's army should be arriving soon, right?" Ye Liuyun asked again.
"Well, I think the enemy will be at the gates of the city today. Boy, be mentally prepared. It would be a great loss if you die at such a young age." The middle-aged man advised.
Time passed slowly, and Ye Liuyun finally put on the ill-fitting armor and walked around the city.
The city was currently in a state of disorder, with soldiers in armor everywhere, based on what she heard from other people's conversations.
The Jiangzhou governor and his family had already evacuated Jianglin City, but before leaving, they gave a death order to the generals defending the city, requiring them to hold the city to the bitter end and not surrender.
They also took away the families of some of their important generals to coerce them. In this way, even if the defending generals knew it was impossible, they had to fight to the death, otherwise their families would die.
This is a trick that works for the court.
Except for a small number of family members, almost everyone in Jianglin City is a soldier. Those businessmen who could escape had already fled before receiving the news.
So the once prosperous Jianglin City is now deserted. However, there is one place that is very lively, and that is the brothel.
The place is filled with soldiers and generals surrounded by beauties. They are spending their days drinking and partying, and are all drunk. How can they look like they are ready to fight?
But in fact, it is understandable. They must all understand that once a fight breaks out, those who cannot defend themselves will know that they will not survive, so they must enjoy themselves before they die.
"Alas! It seems that there are many people, but in fact they are all a mob. It's a pity for this city." Ye Liuyun complained.
As Ye Liuyun was strolling around, Fan Ling suddenly appeared riding a black bull.
"Hey? Master, what are you doing? Are you going to join the army to help them defend the city? It's so boring here. After walking around, everywhere is closed. Why don't we leave?" Fan Ling came out of an alley riding a black bull.
Ye Liuyun smiled when he saw Fan Ling and Hei Niu coming out.
"I'll play for a while first. We came out here just to wander around. Since we've encountered a war so suddenly, I definitely want to join in the fun. You guys can just find a place to rest. I'll come find you after I've played for a while." Ye Liuyun said with a smile.
Fan Ling was a little confused about what Ye Liuyun was thinking, so she could only ride the Black Bull again and leave.
Time passed quickly, and around seven or eight in the evening, night fell. Outside Jianglin City, in the distance, a long fire dragon suddenly appeared, and was approaching Jianglin City at a very fast speed.
When the soldier on the city wall saw the fire dragon, his face changed drastically. He hurriedly pulled the bell on the city wall and shouted at the same time.
"There are enemies, there are enemies, quickly inform all the generals."
When he shouted, the soldiers who were resting on the city wall sat up in shock as if they were dying, and looked outside the city. The guards in the city tower also ran out hurriedly and looked into the distance.
"Damn it, they're here so soon? Quickly notify the reserve forces in the city and be ready to fight at any time." The middle-aged general gave the order sternly.
This person is Gao E, the governor of Jiangzhou Prefecture.
Following Gao E's order, gongs and drums were beaten everywhere in the city.
"The enemy is coming, the enemy is coming. Everyone, get ready for battle. Regular troops, go up to the city walls, and reserve troops, go to the three city gates in the southeast and west, and make preparations... Those who disobey orders will be punished by military law." Military orders sounded one after another.
The reserve soldiers who were resting in various places in the city were forced to gather at the three city gates under the drive of some veteran soldiers.
Jianglin City has about 20,000 regular troops. If we include the able-bodied men captured in the past few days, the total number is more than 200,000. There is also enough food in the city, so it is no problem to hold out for ten days or half a month, but the prerequisite is that they have to be able to hold on.
As for why Jianglin City had to be defended to the death, it was mainly because this place was an important waterway. If Jianglin City was given up, then it would be very easy for the Chu King’s army to go north or meet up with other rebel kings.
The imperial court's Prince Jing was also sending reinforcements to support Jiangzhou Prefecture, but it would take time because Prince Jing had to face not just one rebel king, the Prince of Chu, but nine rebel kings.
These nine rebel kings came from Nanling, Xichuan, Beiyuan and Donghuang. Under the pretext of clearing the court of corrupt officials, they gathered a large number of troops. To be honest, the imperial court could not suppress them.
Ye Liuyun also pretended to follow others and came to the west gate. When she came to the west gate, she used her spiritual sense to look outside the city. She saw flames shooting into the sky outside the city, and there were soldiers holding torches everywhere.
"Wow, it's so crowded, eh? Are there any cultivators hiding among the soldiers? Strange, there are quite a lot of them?" Ye Liuyun used his spiritual sense to scan and found that there were many cultivators in the army outside the city. Although their cultivation bases were not high, there were still some at the Lingxi realm.
Not to mention anything else, the other party only needs to dispatch these Lingxi Realm cultivators to easily break through Jianglin City.
However, after Ye Liuyun carefully checked the people on the Jianglincheng defenders' side, he was also stunned, because there were also quite a few cultivators on the defenders' side.
In other words, the so-called worldly battles are not just fights between ordinary people, there are also confrontations between monks in secret.
However, if you think about it carefully, it is true that there are many independent cultivators in the secular world. These independent cultivators may be the lower-level people in the cultivation world, but in the secular world, they are the top-level people.
In this world, the secular court is not completely separated from the world of cultivation. There are still a large number of cultivators in the secular world. These people can no longer make it in the world of cultivation, so they come to the secular world to enjoy wealth and glory. This can also be considered a choice.
At the main gate, the two sides were facing each other, and the Pan army did not attack the city immediately.
"Gao E, Prince Jing is plotting a rebellion and usurping the throne. As an official appointed by the court, you don't heed the call and instead aid and abet him. Do you want to rebel? Why don't you quickly open the city gates and surrender, and welcome His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu into the city." Outside the west gate, a mighty general in golden armor was pointing at Gao E on the city wall with a long sword in his hand and shouted.
Honestly speaking, since ancient times, those who rebel against the government and seek to purge the emperor's court are generally traitors. Since they can't find a suitable reason, they can only use this old-fashioned reason, which always works.
Gao E, who was standing on the city wall, looked at the huge crowds of people outside the city and felt very disappointed because there were more soldiers than he had expected.
If he originally had the confidence to hold out for a month, now it is a question whether he can hold out for ten days.
The most important thing is that he felt a lot of strong auras in the enemy army. Gao E is also a cultivator, in the middle stage of Lingxi Realm.
If the other party's practitioners take action, it will be a problem whether we can get through tonight safely, let alone ten days.
After thinking for a while, Gao E decided to say something, because he didn't want to fight unless it was absolutely necessary.
"Your Highness, the King of Chu, please show yourself to me, your servant Gao E." Gao E said loudly.
As soon as these words came out, the rebel leader signaled to the general beside him, who quickly turned around and went behind the army.
Soon, the army made way for a path, and a carriage carrying a young man wearing a crown and a light yellow royal robe slowly came to the main entrance.
"Gao E, you asked to see me, what do you want to say?" The young man asked calmly while sitting in the carriage and looking at Gao E on the city wall.
When Gao E saw the Queen of Chu, he immediately bowed and saluted.
"Your Highness, although I don't know where you heard that His Majesty the Emperor was murdered by His Highness Prince Jing, I can guarantee you with my life that His Majesty the Emperor was indeed seriously ill and died, and it was not murdered by others."
"Also, Your Highness Prince Jing has never thought about sitting on the throne. After the emperor passed away, Your Highness Prince Jing and the Queen Mother, together with the old ministers in the court, summoned you princes into the palace in order to re-elect a new emperor. But why didn't you princes obey the imperial edict, and determined that Prince Jing was plotting a rebellion and insisted on raising an army?" Gao E asked.
When the King of Chu heard this, his face remained expressionless. He must have known about this matter, but to put it funny, if they really wanted to choose a new emperor, there was no need to call back all the princes who were qualified to inherit the throne to the imperial capital.
According to past practice, the new emperor would usually be selected first, then secretly summoned to the palace, ascended the throne, and then announced to the world, so that the matter was settled.
But this time, the situation was different from the past, because the imperial capital required the local princes to come to the palace to pay tribute upon the death of the emperor, and then discuss the issue of the new emperor.
This is obviously problematic. Any prince with a bit of common sense would not be fooled by this. No matter whether it is true or not, they would not believe it, because once they enter the imperial capital, they will be at the mercy of others.
The King of Chu was obviously not a particularly ruthless person, but at this moment, a middle-aged man with a goatee who was following the King of Chu looked at the King of Chu and suddenly spoke on behalf of the King of Chu.
"What a joke, Gao E, you believe this? Prince Jing is the regent, and the emperor is young. She has the final say on everything in the court. If His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu obeys the order and returns to the imperial capital, I'm afraid he will be placed under house arrest immediately, right?" The middle-aged man sneered.
After he said this, he immediately saluted the King of Chu in the carriage.
"Your Highness, those who accomplish great things do not care about trivial matters. You must not believe what Prince Jing says. Besides, now that the princes have all raised their armies, we have no choice."
The King of Chu thought about it and then nodded at him.
"The military advisor is right. Now that we have raised the army, we have no choice but to fight to the end," replied the King of Chu.
Gao E had no way of denying what the military advisor said, because this possibility was very high. Even he didn't believe that things would be so simple.
But there was no way, because he had not heard any talk of usurpation of the throne from the court. Besides, his family was in the imperial capital, so even if there was a problem, he had no choice but to act according to the court's orders.
But he still wanted to fight for it. Jianglin City was an important town in Nanling Mountains. If it was destroyed, it would be a great loss for the Tang Kingdom.
"Your Highness, even so, can you bear to watch the people of the Tang Kingdom suffer? Shouldn't you, the descendants of the late emperor, work together to maintain the stability of the country at this critical moment? Would it be worthy of the spirit of the late emperor to start a rebellion at this time?" Gao E changed the subject and tried to persuade the King of Chu in a different way.
This is a typical case of trying to reason first, and if reason doesn't make sense, then resorting to moral kidnapping.
But the King of Chu seemed to have made up his mind and didn't want to listen to Gao E's nonsense anymore.
"It seems that you are not going to open the city gate yourself. In that case, don't blame me for being rude. Let's go," the King of Chu gestured to the coachman.
Seeing this, the coachman quickly turned the carriage around and left. He was ready to take action because he knew there was no point in saying more.
This kind of fight between royal children has always been a life-and-death struggle since ancient times, and the truth lies only in the edge of the knife.
"Archers get ready, catapults get ready!" As the King of Chu left, the leading general gave the order without saying a word.
Seeing that the King of Chu refused to listen, Gao E of the city wall had no choice but to fight.
"Hey! Prepare for defense." Gao E gritted his teeth and told his subordinates to prepare for defense.
The soldiers on the city wall immediately picked up their bows and arrows and aimed at the army below the city.
"Shoot!" With the order from both sides.
A large number of ordinary arrows were shot from the upstairs, while a large number of arrows carrying stingrays were shot from the downstairs. The attacking side not only shot arrows, but also used catapults to throw wine jars and oil into Jianglin City.
Gao E and other Lingxi Realm generals on the upper floor waved their spears and swords, trying their best to intercept the arrows.
As the oil and wine jars hit the city wall and were ignited by the flaming arrows, the fire spread across the prairie and flames shot up into the sky wherever they went.
The city walls and the edge of the city were engulfed in flames in a short while.
Especially the soldiers on the city wall, many of them had nowhere to hide and could only watch the flames engulf them, with screams echoing through the night.
Although wars in the secular world are not as loud as the wars among cultivators, fire attacks are one of the most effective ways to attack cities.
"Put out the fire, put out the fire, let the reserve troops in the city fetch water to put out the fire." Gao E ordered.
Ye Liuyun and others who were in the city at this time looked at the flaming arrows and fireballs falling from the sky with solemn expressions.
She was very calm, but the reserve soldiers around her turned around and ran away in fear.
"Ah, run! The fire is coming." When the conscripted soldiers saw this scene, they turned around and ran without thinking. If they didn't run, wouldn't they be waiting to die?
But where could they run to? Before they could run far, they were stopped by the soldiers supervising the battle.
"Don't panic, don't run. Go get the bucket over there, fetch water, and put out the fire. Anyone who dares to fear a fight will be killed without mercy." A guard general threatened fiercely with a group of veterans.
Some of those able-bodied men mustered up the courage to resist, but in his opinion, this was simply courting death.
"Brothers, don't listen to them. They want us to die. We will die if we run or not. We might as well fight them." Someone shouted.
But as soon as this man finished speaking, a rope flew out from the veterans and was accurately put around the neck of the man who was causing the commotion. Finally, with a slight pull, he pulled the man out of the crowd and chopped off his head with a knife.
The scene was very bloody, and the strong men immediately became scared when they saw it.
"Whoever dares to stir up trouble will suffer this fate," the general supervising the battle said angrily.
Ye Liuyun saw this scene with a look of helplessness on her face. She looked at the people around her who were unfortunately swallowed by the flames. After thinking for a while, she felt that she could not just watch. Anyway, she had no taboos. But no matter whether it was the cultivation world or the secular world, she had to find a way to help the people outside the city break through the city with the least casualties.
Why didn't he help defend the city? It was because this place was definitely undefendable. The other two city gates were also on fire, unless she directly used a powerful elixir or exposed her strength.
But if she did that, it might trigger a war among the monks, so it was still not possible. Besides, he had his own purpose and needed the people outside the city to win.
"We can't just stand there and watch. If this continues, Jianglin City will turn into a sea of fire. The King of Chu is really cruel and ruthless."
Ye Liuyun took the invisibility pill during the chaos and hid himself. When he came to a deserted place, he found a blue pill in his hand. This was the Rain Gathering Pill. Now Ye Liuyun could call the wind and rain and was omnipotent.
She used her power to activate the pill and dropped it on the ground, which immediately gave off a thick vapor that floated into the night sky.
After a while, a large number of dark clouds floated over the sky above Jianglin City. There were only dark clouds, but no thunder or lightning, and no wind. Then it began to rain, and the rain was heavy.
Under the impact of rain, the flames burning in the city were quickly extinguished, and the torches on the city walls and the torches of the rebels outside the city were also extinguished.
"Eh? It's raining? What's going on? The sky was just clear and starry, why is it raining all of a sudden?" This rain must have caused a lot of trouble for the rebels.
The soldiers on the city wall and in the city shouted in surprise when they saw it suddenly raining.
"That's great! God bless us, otherwise we would have died today." Some strong men looked at the flames gradually dying out around them and smiled with ecstasy on their faces.
It was raining late at night, which meant that fire attack would definitely not work, and it was not even suitable for attack. How could we attack in the pitch dark? Jianglin City also had a moat, which was even more troublesome.
"Your Highness, it's raining suddenly. It seems we have to stop fighting temporarily and wait until the rain stops tomorrow." The military advisor suggested.
The King of Chu had no choice but to order his troops to retreat a distance and set up camp.
Gao E, who was standing on the city wall, felt relieved for a moment when he saw the defenders outside the city suddenly withdraw.
"Ah! This is really a timely rain." Gao E exclaimed.
But he didn't know that he was happy too early. Ye Liuyun was not trying to help them, he just didn't want too many people to die.
The rain did not last long, probably only about an hour, and the three armies of the King of Chu had already camped outside the city. Since they had set up camp, it was impossible for them to continue the attack just because the rain stopped. It would be better for them to think of a better way, let the soldiers rest, and fight again tomorrow.
Anyway, as far as they know, Jianglin City will not receive any reinforcements in the short term, so there is no need to rush.
Inside the tent of the King of Chu, a group of generals were having a conversation.
"Your Highness, why don't we just send out the warrior team directly? The number of warriors in our army is several times more than the monks guarding the city. If we send out the warriors, we will be able to easily capture Jianglin City." A general suggested.
Warrior is a general term for practitioners in the secular world. Some of them are acquired physical practitioners, some are Lingxi practitioners, but most of them are physical practitioners.
