Chapter 157: Determined to Revolt
The Jin army outside Jingxing City was also divided into several parts. In addition to the two national troops, there were two thousand palace soldiers sent by the governor of Jizhou, and the Youzhou army under Liu Bao.

Sima Ji, King of Zhongshan, was nearly fifty years old. He was considered a rare honest man among the Sima princes. He had only three wives and concubines, and did not even have a son.

When Liu Bao led the Youzhou army to retreat to the city of Jingxing, Sima Ji took the initiative to give up the command. After Commander Liu easily subdued the captains and military commanders of various units, he gathered all the Jin troops outside Jingxing City together and prepared to fight against the rebels.

The Jin army's food and wages were supplied by the various counties of Jizhou and Zhongshan State. In order to weaken the power of the rebels, they also sent a number of soldiers to the countryside to rob food from the people who had not had time to evacuate, and to force able-bodied men to do hard labor.

This was the situation that the rebel soldiers who set out from Jingxing Pass faced when they arrived.

"General, there are still 4,000 soldiers in Jingxing City."

After opening the city gate to let the reinforcements in, Li Ju, who was guarding the city, first reported the situation in the city to his eldest brother at the gate.

"How much rations do we have? Do we need warm clothes and firewood?" Li Hao asked.

After a city is besieged, the things the defenders lack most are usually food and firewood.

They entered the city at noon just to find a place to make a fire and cook. Only when their soldiers were full would they have the strength to fight the enemy. In order to hurry on their journey, the rebel reinforcements did not carry much rations with them, so they needed to take some rations out of the city.

"There is no shortage of food. The government has collected 600,000 bushels of wheat, and the people who fled into the city to avoid the chaos brought a lot of food with them." Li Ju sighed, "What the city is in urgent need of is salt. The people have been eating plant ash and earth salt for the past half month. If they continue to eat it, they will definitely get sick."

Compared to a few months ago, his handsome face had shrunk into skin and bones. It seemed that defending the city had consumed a lot of his mental and physical energy.

"Salt is not a problem. We can use local salt to last for half a month first. After we capture Julu County, we will have as much salt as we need." General Li comforted him and ordered the officials in the city to cook for the reinforcements of the rebel army.

Taking advantage of this free time, he summoned all the centurions, five hundred masters and other middle-level military officers, and climbed to the top of the city wall to plan how to defeat the Jin army outside the city.

"Liu Bao is known for his good fighting skills. We need to attack the enemy camp in one go."

"My rebel army is strong and powerful. We cannot let the Jin soldiers outside the city escape this time. We must capture them all and mine them."

"I am a little bit familiar with horse riding, and I am willing to guard the east side for the general to prevent Liu Bao from escaping with the remaining troops."

Hundreds of military officers gathered near the city gate tower, and those who spoke were often the Five Hundred Lords or Wang Mi, Li Ji and others who brought their troops.

The Jin army outside the city was mainly composed of soldiers from Changshan and Zhongshan, about 9,000 in number. The rest were soldiers from the Jizhou Military Governor's Office, all of whom were Jizhou military households. The rebel army officers all hoped to capture these Jin soldiers and strengthen their own subordinates.

"I will chase Liu Bao. If I can't catch up with him, Wang Mi will lead the troops to capture him. It's best if he's alive. If he wants to die on his own, Wang Mi, don't stop him."

General Li issued the first military order.

"The method of attacking the camp is similar to the previous one, but this time, in order to train the troops, each of the five hundred leaders will lead their troops to fight. Li Ji, Li Xiang, Li Yu, Lu Rong and others will lead the troops to break into the camp, and the remaining five hundred leaders will lead the soldiers to occupy the four directions. After breaking into the camp, they will enter the camp one after another and make sure that the Jin soldiers outside the city do not escape."

Truly capable soldiers are trained in actual combat. After the rebel army's territory expands, it must send elite soldiers to defend important cities. In order to quickly train enough elite soldiers, Li Hao plans to let the rebel army soldiers go to the battlefield and fight hard.

It so happened that the Yecheng troops who were suppressing the rebellion were defeated, and the Luoyang Central Army that was heading north withdrew to the Sizhou territory. The rebel army did not have the strength to quickly gather tens of thousands of troops within a week, which was just right for conducting small-scale, high-intensity training operations.

The generals received orders one after another, but the newly defected Wang Mi had his own ideas.

"General, I am determined to accomplish something with the righteous army. Attacking the camp is the most important thing. How can I sit back and watch my brothers brave the arrows while I lead the troops to stay in the east? Please give me 200 soldiers, and I will be the first to attack the enemy camp."

He straightened his shoulders and clasped his fists in invitation to fight.

After spending several days together, Li Hao roughly understood what this person wanted to do.

Jun Li Ju was a man of few means. He rebelled because he was forced to vent his anger by Song Zhou and others. After venting his anger, he just wanted to live with his wives, concubines and children. Li Lian, a righteous soldier who came from a military family, was oppressed to the point of being unbearable, and he tried to live like a human being by rebelling.

Wang Mi was different from both of these people. He only wanted to rebel, or in other words, to destroy the Sima family and those high-ranking noble families.

The dozens of his men were almost all like this. Wang Mi had been a bandit in Qingzhou for a period of time and was known as the Flying Leopard. Most of his men had followed him since he was in Qingzhou.

This group of people were the high-ranking horse thieves that the Jin government was vigorously pursuing. They did not want to occupy territory, so they could only gloat over misfortunes and run around wherever they went.

Due to their high mobility, the Jin court officials were unable to do anything with them.

"That's fine. Allocate 200 soldiers to him." Li Hao agreed to his request.

This man was an excellent rider and archer, so there was no need to worry about him defecting to the Jin court. General Li decided that the matter here was over, so he sent him to the south to continue attacking the nobles in the fortress. After eliminating the scourge in the countryside, the rebel army would only have to deal with a small number of Jin court county soldiers when they went back.

"Thank you, General!"

Wang Mi knelt on one knee and saluted.

After the rebel reinforcements had eaten and drunk their fill, 11,000 soldiers went out of the city one after the other and were divided into four directions according to their respective centurions and five hundred masters.

Compared with the Jin army in the camp, the rebel army's flags were incomplete, with only one flag for every five hundred people. The armor worn by the soldiers also had its own characteristics, and it was obvious that they were stripped from dead people. It was good to have armor at all.

But most of the soldiers looked very ferocious. The land they were allocated was basically near the county towns. The land that the Jin soldiers had taken away along the way was all the land allocated to them by the general.

The Jin soldiers who came from military households seemed to lack confidence. The Jin court's jurisdiction over the military households roughly followed the practices of the Cao Wei period. While they stayed in the barracks and obeyed orders, the army was issued rations, weapons and equipment, but no pay. Only if they died in battle could they receive a pension from the government.

This pension money, which is about 7,000 to 8,000 five-zhu coins, is not directly distributed to the families of the soldiers who died in battle, but is distributed by the Military Governor's Office and other military management offices to middle-level military officials such as the Chief of Staff, the Sima of the Separate Department, the Governor of the Military Region, the Colonel, the Colonel, and the General of the Central Army. The specific distribution is decided by these middle-level military officials.

Simply put, even if the soldiers could not get one bushel of wheat a month, they would not want to risk their lives.

After all the units were ready, the sudden sound of drums like a violent storm spread throughout the camp, and the rebel army's battle to break into the camp officially began.

Including Li Hao's group, there were a total of six teams of camp-breaking soldiers. Their attack methods were similar. First, dozens of shield soldiers advanced like a wall. When they encountered chevaux de frise and barbed wooden stakes, they moved away these blocking weapons. After the shield soldiers came the camp-breaking soldiers holding pickaxes and shovels, and armored soldiers pushing battering rams forward. They also carried ring-handled swords as melee weapons.

In order to boost morale, each of the soldiers who participated in the attack on the stronghold was given six strings of money, or six thousand five-zhu coins, before going into battle.

One dou of wheat is equal to one hundred liters, and the price is about one thousand five-zhu coins. The reward of six diao coins is not low.

After each team of soldiers broke through the camp, there were hundreds of archers, who shot arrows at a distance of 60 to 70 steps from the enemy camp to suppress the enemy soldiers in the camp. The rest of the rebel soldiers who did not participate in breaking through the camp also sent out archers to continuously shoot around the enemy camp, shooting and killing the scouts and armored soldiers on the watchtowers and corner towers of the Jin army.

"This Li Hao is so bold. It would be fine if he broke into the village alone, but he sent these bandits here. Does he look down on me, Liu Bao?"

The governor of Youzhou, who was standing on a watchtower observing the enemy situation, was quite dissatisfied. This Jin army could not defeat Li Hao, who was outnumbered by 10,000 people, but they still had the strength to fight against the bandits.

The strategy for guarding the camp had been decided long ago, with the Youzhou army's military officers such as the governor, the guard general, and the lieutenant leading their troops to supervise the operation. The soldiers of the two countries and the two thousand Jizhou army each guarded a section of the wooden camp.

After observing the enemy situation, Liu Bao found that the enemy's arrows only hit the vicinity of this watchtower, so he had to climb down and retreat to a safe area.

"Grand Commander, we can't defend to the death. Even if we can hold on, the enemy soldiers have stored far more food and fodder than we do. After the enemy general Li Hao showed up, the county officials who transported food and fodder for us will no longer come. It is better to concentrate our forces to break out to the east and take advantage of the chaos to retreat eastward."

After meeting the Grand Commander of Youzhou, the gray-haired Sima Ji made this suggestion.

His words were considered mature and prudent. If they retreated to the territory of Zhongshan State, they still had eight county towns to defend, and military rations and warm clothing could be replenished from the surrounding counties. There was no hope in defending the camp here.

The various armies outside Jingxing Pass retreated or fled, and this Jin army suddenly became an isolated force. The lower-level soldiers had no intention of defending this small city that was impossible to break through.

"Alas, it is fate that we cannot defeat the bandits!"

As an experienced warrior, Liu Bao also understood that this was the safest approach. However, there were more than ten thousand bandits this time. Even if he concentrated his forces to break through to the east, most of the defeated soldiers would be captured by the bandits, and not many would be able to escape.

Seeing that the governor of Youzhou looked unhappy, Sima Ji ordered his attendants to walk a few steps away, approached Liu Bao and asked softly:
"Does the Grand Commander want to die?"

Liu Bao nodded slightly, his old face showing a hint of pain.

"The court is full of vulgar people, totally ignoring the fact that the people's rebellion has already taken shape. We can't save many troops by breaking out, and defending the camp to the death will only make it easier to kill the bandits. I feel that I don't have much time left, so I will lead my troops to defend this place to the death. If you are willing to continue to suppress the bandits, you can lead your men eastward after the camp is broken."

Before leading the troops to quell the rebellion, the governor of Youzhou wanted to borrow the Xianbei troops to march south, but the Duan Xianbei had lost hundreds of elite cavalry before and refused to lend troops no matter what. The Murong Xianbei were ambitious and would consider it a good performance if they did not fight the Jin troops, so it was absolutely impossible to ask them to send troops to help quell the rebellion.

The collapse of the court situation made Liu Bao completely desperate. He was also unable to change the general situation in You, Ji and Bing states, so it was better for him to die.

It can also earn you a good reputation, and historians will say a few good words about it when they write.

Sima Ji, King of Zhongshan, was so excited that he wanted to say that he would defend the camp together with the governor of Youzhou, but he held back the words when they came to his lips.

"Zhongshan State still needs my jurisdiction. Once the enemy troops have broken through the camp, I will lead the troops back east. I wonder if the Grand Commander has anything else for me to say, or if he has any proposals that I need to present on his behalf?"

Sima Ji admired Liu Bao for being willing to die bravely. He bowed three times and then asked him if he had any other proposals to make.

"Please submit a petition on my behalf to request that the Luoyang Central Army, Xuchang Army, and Yecheng Army be sent to join forces to suppress the rebellion!"

When he thought of the current chaotic government, Liu Bao didn't even want to take the trouble to write the specific memorials himself. It would be useless even if he wrote them because there would be no reliable people to carry them out.

Sima Ji bowed once more before hurriedly leaving with his entourage. The camp was surrounded by bandits, and even if he and his personal guards were on horseback, they would have to plan carefully if they wanted to escape.

Under the fierce attack of six groups of soldiers, the camp lasted less than half an hour. The first group to break into the camp was naturally the group led by General Li.

The second place was taken by Wang Mi. Among his followers there were many out-and-out desperadoes who were really brave enough to do anything.

The remaining four teams broke through the wooden fence one after another, and more than 3,000 rebel soldiers took the lead in attacking the enemy camp from the gap. The shield soldiers were still in the first row, and the halberd soldiers and spear soldiers followed closely behind the shield soldiers and advanced step by step.

General Li, holding a double-edged spear, charged into the Jin army camp on foot. The Youzhou army, which was better armed, was his first target.

This Jin army was mainly composed of infantry, with many archers and crossbowmen. If they charged into the battle on horseback, they would definitely lose a warhorse. He felt sorry for the warhorse, so he could only chase after the Youzhou army and kill them.

"General, I have captured Sima Ji, the King of Zhongshan. Liu Bao is still in the barracks and has not escaped."

Just as Li Hao was stabbing the enemy soldiers back and forth with the double-edged spear in his hand, Wang Mi on horseback found the general. He had a person under his armpit, who must be the King of Zhongshan.

"Okay, go capture Liu Bao again, life or death."

This group of Youzhou soldiers still had some courage. The military officers such as the commander and the military governor who were supervising the battle refused to order a retreat, so Li Hao chased them and stabbed them.

This scene was deeply imprinted in Wang Mi's mind. He was stunned for a moment. It was not until General Li chased the group of Jin soldiers away that Wang Mi woke up.

The soldiers behind him were not much better. They were all speechless and stunned.

"What are you staring at!" After adjusting his expression, Wang Mi scolded, "Back in Luoyang, I told you about the general's demeanor. How come you still look so inexperienced after seeing him with your own eyes? Cheer up and follow me to capture and kill Youzhou Governor Liu Bao."

Wang Mi was also stunned by the slanders his troops had committed, but he did not refute them and followed him to the vicinity of the central army tent to look for the governor of Youzhou and his personal soldiers.

The battle lasted until the evening. There was not much time to kill the enemy, and most of the time was spent capturing the scattered soldiers of the two countries.

The captured supplies were considerable, and the number of armors far exceeded the expectations of Li Hao and others. Until the night fell, the rebel officers still could not figure out how many weapons and armors were captured.

While having dinner with Wubaizhu and other middle-level military officers in the general's mansion in Jingxing City, Li Hao heard a piece of bad news.

"We have checked with the brothers who fell behind along the way. Liu Yuan has indeed fled with his men. Lieutenant Li Dai even ran hundreds of miles to look for him. We guess he went south."

A few days ago, when the rebel army was fighting against the Yecheng army, the lagging rebel soldiers arrived at Jingxing Pass one after another, and Liu Cong and others also arrived, but Liu Yuan was missing, and the centurion sent by the rebel army to monitor Liu Yuan did not arrive either.

Li Hao suspected at the time that Liu Yuan had killed the centurion and the supervisor of the rebel army, and went to the Shangdang area in the south with a few confidants. After several days of investigation, it was finally confirmed.

"He has several sons still in the hands of the rebels, and his uncle Liu Xuan is also in Jinyang City. This Liu Yuan actually abandoned his elders and sons and ran away."

This kind of behavior of only caring about the head and not the butt made the officers of the rebel army laugh.

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(End of this chapter)