Dragon Raja: History Simulator

Page 88

During this period, everything proceeded as planned. Although Liu Yan led the Green Forest Army to defeat the government army, he did not win the hearts of the army except for Wang Chang, the leader of the Lower River Army. As a result, when he was about to establish his own dynasty, he was preempted by an unknown soldier, who was also his cousin from the Liu family of Nanyang.

Liu Yan's appointment as Grand Minister of Works is a consolation.

After all, the official system of the Gengshi regime was quite chaotic. New and innovative positions such as Dingguo Shanggong Wang Kuang and Chengguo Shanggong Wang Feng were actually the heads of the Gengshi regime.

That's right, there are now two Wang Kuangs. One is Wang Kuang, the nephew of Wang Mang, the emperor of the Xin Dynasty, who is now the Grand Tutor in Luoyang. The other is Wang Kuang, the Duke of Dingguo of the Gengshi regime.

To date, Wancheng, the capital of Nanyang, has held out for five months. The main force of the Green Forest Army has basically gathered in Wancheng to besiege the city, while government troops from the north are also invading.

Liu Xiu raised his head and looked up at the sky. The vast sky was so clear that he could hardly imagine that in just one or two months, a meteorite would fall outside Luoyang City and land right in the military tent of the imperial army, thus solidifying his reputation as the "Great Earth Archmage" with forbidden magic.

Of course, in this world of dragons, the proper explanation would be the ultimate incantation of the earth and mountains: Shiva's Dance of Karma.

In orthodox historical records, the "words of power" mentioned in the account of Emperor Guangwu, the legitimate founder of the dynasty, are the Shiva dance.

However, in Wang Anzhi's simulation, Emperor Guangwu's words of power were clearly not Shiva's dance of karma, but royal authority.

Now, the Battle of Kunyang is approaching, the place where he, the "Grand Magus," rose to fame in a single battle, and the place where he, the chosen one, will defeat the "transmigrator" Wang Mang.

Liu Xiu drew his sword and looked around, completely bewildered. What happened to the Shiva dance?

How did it become a monarchy?

Although both of these are the words of power of two brothers-in-law, the differences between them are worlds apart.

One is the "weakest emperor," and the other is the "strongest power."

Liu Xiu once didn't understand why Fenrir was qualified to be called the strongest power, but if "Shiva's Dance of Karma" is indeed "Heavenly Obstruction Star", then it can be explained.

“Young Master,” Yin Lihua slowly entered the room and saw Liu Xiu leaning against the couch, looking up at the sky in deep thought, his face still as calm as ever.

"The time for the Duke of Cheng to invite you to the military council is approaching."

"I understand." Liu Xiu came back to his senses and looked at the beautiful girl in front of him. "Thank you for the reminder, Miss Yin."

He stood up, straightened his clothes, and looked again at the "handsome man" in the bronze mirror and the girl behind the mirror.

She had already seen the documents laid out on the table. After reading them carefully, she sighed softly, "Has the situation gotten to this point?"

Liu Xiu remained expressionless and did not turn around. "It is indeed very critical. At yesterday's military council, the Duke of Cheng actually advocated seeking peace with the government army, and many of his generals agreed."

Yin Lihua remained silent. Wang Feng, the Duke of Cheng, was the head of the Gengshi regime, whose status was even higher than that of Liu Xiu's elder brother, Liu Yan, the Grand Minister of Works. At the same time, he was the person in the Gengshi regime who currently controlled the most troops in Kunyang City.

Even he now advocates for peace talks, which shows how critical the situation has become.

The Han Dynasty was not like the Song Dynasty of later generations, which was fond of accepting amnesty. The idea of ​​"killing and arson and then accepting amnesty" was not popular in the Han Dynasty, let alone for rebel armies like Wang Feng, who did not even have a way to surrender to the court.

Surrendering is a very difficult thing.

The attitudes of the Ming and Qing dynasties toward peasant uprisings were basically the same: one was Commander-in-Chief Hong, and the other was Zeng Guofan; they both essentially used the word "kill".

Although the new dynasty has suffered repeated defeats in foreign wars, resulting in a series of disastrous battles, this has not diminished the court's arrogance towards the Green Forest and Red Eyebrow groups, whom it considers nothing more than a rabble.

Now, not only are their military strength superior to that of the bandits, but their armor and weaponry are also far superior, making it even more difficult for them to surrender.

Therefore, Yin Lihua was very confused about the choice of Duke Wang Feng of Chengguo. In the Green Forest Army, all the generals could surrender, so why did you, Wang Feng, surrender?

After hesitating for a moment, Yin Lihua said again, "Young master, please be careful. Wang Feng is a mediocre man. If you are bothered by him, you will die at his hands sooner or later."

Liu Xiu nodded, walked out the door, and, accompanied by the two guards standing at the door, headed towards the location of the Kunyang County government office, which was the former residence of the Kunyang County Magistrate and was now occupied by Wang Feng, the Duke of Cheng.

It was here that Wang Feng convened a military meeting.

When I got to the door, I saw a chaotic scene, so messy that it was almost impossible to look at it properly.

Liu Xiu grabbed one of his acquaintances and hurriedly asked, "General Zong, what happened?"

Zong Tiao, who was on good terms with Liu Xiu, explained, "A scout has come to report that a large army is approaching from the north of the city."

"How many people?" Liu Xiu asked again.

"The sound of horses' hooves is deafening, and the camps stretch to the sky, countless in number," Zong Tiao replied.

Liu Xiu nodded and didn't ask any further questions. When the number of people exceeded 100,000, it became extremely difficult to check the number of people using scout camps.

It is perfectly normal for the number to be unknown.

He pointed to the chaotic scene inside, where the general was shoving and pushing, and a large pile of armor and weapons was on the ground. Anyone who didn't know better would think that the government troops had already invaded.

He then asked, "General Zong, what's going on here? Where is the Duke of Cheng?"

Cheng Guo Shang Gong Wang Feng is currently the highest-ranking official in Kunyang City, so logically he should be the one presiding over the recollections. How did it turn into this chaotic scene?

"The Duke of Cheng?" Zong Tiao snorted coldly, glancing sideways at the side bedroom. "He was just here a moment ago, but now he's probably seeking comfort in the arms of his beautiful concubine."

Liu Xiu grimaced.

Not a buddy?

Li Zicheng at least entered Beijing before suffering a series of defeats. Now, the Green Forest Army hasn't even captured Wancheng, let alone entered Luoyang, not to mention Chang'an. You, Wang Feng, have fallen to such a state.

They could even turn a blind eye to the government troops coming to besiege them.

He was losing his temper. "Where are the others? The north side of the city faces a large army that will soon be stationed at the city walls. Once the army arrives, they will surely attack the city. Is there not a single person who wants to defend the north side?"

Upon hearing this, Zong Tiao became even more disdainful, pointing indignantly at the chaotic crowd inside the government office, and said in a low voice:

“The bandits are outlaws; such a scoundrel is not worth associating with.”

Zong Tiao came from a powerful family in Nanyang. Even though he was forced to follow Liu Yan and join the Green Forest Army, he still looked down on this group of "bandits".

Liu Xiu didn't say much, but calmly said, "This can't go on. We must find the Duke of Cheng and demand military power to defend the city."

Nowadays, most of the people in Kunyang City are outlaws who are looked down upon by the clansmen. These local strongmen of Nanyang are not without soldiers, but they are far fewer than the outlaws.

Currently, some of them are besieging Wancheng with Liu Yan's troops, while others are stationed in Dingling and Yancheng. The cities are mostly inhabited by Green Forest Army soldiers. Given the current situation, the city defense will depend on the Green Forest Army.

Otherwise, if Kunyang falls, the army besieging Wancheng will have no natural defenses and will inevitably be defeated.

The Gengshi regime understood this principle, so it dispatched Wang Feng, one of the leaders of the Xinshi Army, and Wang Chang, the leader of the Xiajiang Army, to guard this strategic location.

However, on the other hand, most of the Green Forest Army's previous victories were won by Liu Yan and his men. Although the Green Forest Army had a large number of men, their fighting spirit was truly precarious.

He grabbed Zong Tiao's arm. "General Zong, take me to the room of the Duke of Cheng."

Zong Tiao curled his lips, just about to retort that these bandits were beyond saving and that everyone should flee eastward, but when he saw the golden pupils gleaming in Liu Xiu's eyes, he almost subconsciously lowered his head, not daring to make any move to refute.

"Yes."

After saying this, Zong Tiao led Liu Xiu to Wang Feng's room. There were more than a dozen guards standing at the door. Seeing the two men looking fierce, they hesitated but did not dare to stop them.

“Uncle Wen, that’s the room of the Duke of Cheng,” Zong Tiao said, pointing to the luxurious room in front of him with disdain. “However, I advise you not to count on his opinions.”

As he spoke, he glanced at the guards hiding at the door and said in a low voice, "If you, Uncle Wen, truly have great ambitions to defend the city, why not directly coerce the Duke of Cheng and seize military power from him? Only in this way can you realize your ambitions."

“No,” Liu Xiu said in a low voice, “The city is full of the supporters of the Duke of Cheng, and under the Duke of Cheng, there are generals who hold military power. In addition to the Duke of Cheng, there is also Wang Chang of the Xiajiang Army. Although he is on good terms with my brother, he does not have enough prestige to rely on. Once he seizes military power, the city will be in chaos in an instant. It would not be surprising if they scattered and fled. Kunyang will definitely not be able to be saved.”

Zong Tiao opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

Uncle Wen, I was just saying that. There are only a few of us. Although we are nominally generals, we are less than a hundred people including our guards. We have always been at odds with the Green Forest Army. How can such a force want to seize military power?

Speechless, I could only remain silent.

Liu Xiu looked at the room in front of him. From inside the room came a series of decadent sounds, including women's flirting and men's loud laughter.

He sighed, released Zong Tiao's arm, strode to the door, drew his sword, and without hesitation, cleaved the door open.

This action immediately made the already hesitant guards even more at a loss. They wanted to step forward, but dared not approach because of the newcomer's identity.

Liu Xiu ignored Wang Feng's guards behind him and stepped into the door.

What came into his view next was a burly figure embracing two women through the breeze. The shadows of the three people on the screen were piled up together, indistinguishable and inseparable.

Judging from Liu Xiu's action of splitting open the door

Liu Xiu was even more disappointed. Although he had long known that Wang Feng was not a hero, he was still a man who had led a large army in an uprising.

Now that the enemy is at the city gates, instead of guarding the city, they've been coerced by women; they're utterly useless.

Leaving aside Zhu Yuanzhang, he was far inferior to Li Zicheng, and even more so to Chen Sheng and Wu Guang. He can be considered a typical floor tile in peasant uprisings.

He said loudly, "Lord of Cheng, the enemy army is now at the city gates. What are your thoughts, General?"

The room fell silent abruptly; both the woman's and man's voices ceased, leaving only a heavy, angry panting sound.

Soon, Wang Feng put on a long robe, stepped out from behind the screen, and looked at Liu Xiu holding a sword, his angry golden eyes, and the door that had been shattered by the sword. He was suddenly startled, his anger was suppressed, and his voice softened.

"General Liu, what brings you here?"

He had experienced a mutiny and knew what to do in this situation.

"General, the new army led by Wang Yi is approaching the city. None of the generals in the city have gone to defend it; they have all gathered here. And you, General, have given no orders, indulging in your pleasures with women..."

Liu Xiu paused, glanced at Wang Feng's flushed face, and said bluntly, "...General, what will become of my million-strong army if you act this way?"

Wang Feng breathed a sigh of relief, then remained silent for a moment before asking, "General Liu, do you know how many troops are outside the city?"

Before Liu Xiu could answer, he said, "The prisoner Wang Yi leads the army, with the giant Ju Wuba as the vanguard. He is ten feet tall and has a girth of ten spans. He has recruited several hundred people from sixty-three families across the land who are skilled in military strategy, and appointed them as military officers."

They also drove forth fierce beasts such as tigers, leopards, rhinoceroses, and elephants to enhance their might, bringing the total number of cavalry and infantry to 420,000. This scale of military campaigns had never been seen before, even in the Qin and Han dynasties.

Wang Feng pointed to the city wall that was faintly visible to the north of the city and said, "Kunyang is a small city with only tens of thousands of soldiers and enough food for a few months. It cannot be defended."

"Can we leave?" Liu Xiu asked again.

“Our army is composed of infantry, while the enemy has many cavalry. We cannot retreat; if we do, we will suffer a crushing defeat.” Wang Feng shook his head.

"Does the general wish to surrender?" Liu Xiu asked again.

Wang Feng remained silent.

Liu Xiu shook his head and said with a sigh:

"General, you will neither fight, retreat, surrender, nor leave. You will defend the north of the city today. If the city falls in one battle, you may bind Xiu and take him to the Minister of Works to surrender. If Xiu is fortunate enough to defend the city today, you may withdraw your troops as a great achievement."

Chapter 152 Defending the City and Before Leaving the City

North of Kunyang City.

On the city wall, Zong Tiao watched Liu Xiu calmly and confidently directing the Green Forest Army to take their positions while holding the tiger tally, and couldn't help but feel excited.

"Uncle Wen, among the heroes of Nanyang, only you and Liu Bosheng can be considered true heroes. Liu Bosheng won the first victory against the government army, while you defended Kunyang alone and took the right to defend the city from the Duke of Cheng. You are truly the mainstay."

After leaving Wang Feng's residence, Liu Xiu and Zong Tiao quickly arrived at the north of Kunyang City and took control of the situation on the entire city wall.

When they first arrived at the city wall, the entire northern part of Kunyang City was on the verge of collapse, and the situation was extremely dire.