Chapter 215: The Enemy is at the Gate, One Step Away

soon.

The rebel army, which had just rested for a day, launched a second round of attack.

The mighty army marched towards Pengcheng, the last city before Handu. As long as they captured Pengcheng, the rebel army could go straight to the Qianqing Palace and capture Daqian in one fell swoop.

This made the defenders and the people in the Han capital panic-stricken and everyone felt insecure.

At this moment, everyone was waiting, waiting for reinforcements to arrive, or for the decision of the emperor in the court.

The people of the aristocratic families also placed all their hopes on Liu Wulie, and therefore they provided a lot of material and manpower support to the court during this period.

Therefore, nearly 100,000 troops were stationed in Handu, a small place under the feet of the emperor, and it was guarded as solid as a rock.

However, everyone understands that this amount of troops is just a drop in the bucket and is not enough to save Daqian’s current decline and change the entire situation of the war.

At this moment, inside Qianqing Palace.

Liu Wulie also received such news. He sat on the dragon throne with a ferocious look on his face and a cruel and insane look in his eyes.

"Bastard!"

"How dare these traitors be so rampant!"

Liu Wulie slammed the dragon table and roared, his voice echoing in the empty hall.

His chest rose and fell violently, like an enraged beast, and his eyes were burning with rage. He had no place to vent his anger, so he could only curse Lin Zhongyun and those who dared to betray him in his heart.

"How's the preparation going at the Tongzhou Reservoir?" He gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his face, and he looked like a volcano that could erupt at any time.

The trusted eunuch beside him looked at the furious emperor with great fear in his heart, and said tremblingly: "Your Majesty, everything is ready for Tongzhou Reservoir, but many suspicious people have appeared in Tongzhou Reservoir recently. I am afraid that the Northern Barbarians have become suspicious of us."

"If we open the floodgates at this time, we will definitely be discovered by the northern barbarians. If it weren't for the huge amount of water in the Miyun Reservoir, the Tongzhou Reservoir alone would not be enough to flood the rebel army."

"hateful!"

Liu Wulie shouted loudly, his face was red with anger, and his facial features became distorted and hateful due to extreme anger.

It's really one wave after another.
This will not be a solution sooner or later. If he does not take any countermeasures, the rebels will attack his Qianqing Palace before he can open the floodgates to block the flow of water. In that case, all his previous plans will be in vain.

He understood that nothing could be changed at this point, and being angry would do nothing except make things worse.

Gradually, his rationality returned, he took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. The most important thing now was to find a solution to the problem, and he must do everything he could to delay the offensive of the rebels.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind: Northern Barbarians.

Although there are rumors that he has his own plans and wants to reap the benefits, the Northern Barbarians have not made any statement until now, which means that they have not yet discovered his plan.

In this case, he and the Northern Barbarians are still allies. From the Northern Barbarians' point of view, they certainly would not want to see the rebel army attack the Handi capital, thus losing an ally like Daqian.

At the same time, if the Northern Barbarians send troops, it will consume their combat power to a certain extent, which is more beneficial to his plan and can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

Thinking of this, Liu Wulie's eyes flashed with determination. He knew that although this decision was risky, it was the most feasible way at the moment. He could no longer hesitate and had to take action immediately.

"Someone come here!" Liu Wulie shouted loudly, and soon a guard hurried over and stood respectfully in front of him.

"Convey my order and send a pigeon immediately to request assistance." Liu Wulie said in a deep voice, with unquestionable firmness in his tone.

"In addition, all the nearly 100,000 defenders in the city will be sent to Pengcheng. No matter what, you must defend Pengcheng until the reinforcements arrive, otherwise you will be beheaded!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The guard took the order and left.

Liu Wulie's heart was still turbulent. He knew what consequences this decision would bring, but he had no choice. In order to save Daqian's kingdom, he had to take a gamble.

"Rebels, northern barbarians, I will let you know who is the real master of this land." Liu Wulie muttered to himself, a burning and cruel look in his eyes, and he became extremely crazy.

he knows,
If he does this, he will be cursed by future generations and called a tyrant or a fool.
But now he doesn't care about all this. He just wants Lin Zhongyun to die and to protect the last foundation of Daqian.

"Have the Tongzhou Reservoir ready at all times. If that time really comes, once the rebels rush into Hanzhou, no matter what happens to the Northern Barbarians, we must open the floodgates to prevent flooding and let them have a taste of what it's like to be drowned by the three armies."

He walked slowly out of the hall, took one last look at the magnificent mountains and rivers of Daqian, and said coldly, with a murderous intent in his voice.

"I will not let anyone take away Daqian's territory, no matter how great the price." His eyes became increasingly gloomy. For the sake of Daqian's foundation, he could no longer care about so many things.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The confidant beside him took the order and slowly retreated, feeling a chill in his heart. He knew that this was most likely the last imperial decree from Liu Wulie to him.

……

At the same time, Pengcheng.

The mighty rebel army had already arrived at the city gates. The huge building vehicle slowly pressed a deep gully on the ground and creaked as it moved towards Pengcheng.

From afar, the rebel flags fluttered in the wind like waves, and the sound of war drums shook the earth, as if the whole earth was shaking under their feet. The rebel soldiers were all in high spirits, with a burning desire to fight in their eyes.

They knew that as long as they captured Pengcheng, the Daqian dynasty would be in danger, the court that had oppressed them would no longer exist, and a peaceful and prosperous era would follow.

In Pengcheng, there was already panic, and everyone was on high alert, with every tree and bush looking like an enemy.

The soldiers on the city wall all looked nervous, their weapons tightly grasped in their hands, and a hint of uneasiness in their eyes.

The glorious record of the rebel army taking seven cities in one night had already spread widely. They didn't know whether Pengcheng could be defended, but they knew that once Pengcheng was taken, everything they had would become a thing of the past and no longer exist.

Most of them are children of aristocratic families. Since there is no place for them in the rebel army, they have to give it a try.

The glory their ancestors won by dying on the battlefield in the past will eventually be inherited and passed on in their generation.

General Guo Huaicheng, who was in charge of guarding Pengcheng, had not left the city wall for a whole month since the rebel army invaded.

His eyes were bloodshot and his face was full of fatigue, but he still persisted. Every morning before dawn, he would start patrolling the city wall, checking the equipment and arrows for defending the city, and trying his best to make all preparations.

He knew that this battle not only concerned their lives and deaths, but also the survival of the entire Daqian.

Since he knew that the rebels were good at using catapults and towers to attack the city, he immediately ordered people to prepare catapults. In addition, the court also knew that Pengcheng was the last line of defense of Daqian. Therefore, they gave Pengcheng the greatest support in the past few days, such as catapults, crossbow carts, rolling logs, and feather arrows, which were all prepared very well.

Now there are more than a dozen catapults, which are prepared to deal with the rebels' tower blocks. This time he is confident that if the rebels use ladders and tower blocks to attack the city again, there will definitely be heavy casualties.

Moreover, he had learned his lesson this time and would only defend the city and never rashly go out to meet the enemy. He was confident that with these equipment and resources, he would be able to hold out for ten days or half a month even if the rebels were at their strongest.

"Soldiers, the rebels are at the gates of the city. We must not retreat!" Guo Huaicheng shouted loudly, his voice echoing on the city wall. His voice was full of determination and encouragement, as if to ignite all the soldiers.

"We are all descendants of aristocratic families. Since the rebel army has no place for us, let us create our own world with our own hands."

Guo Huaicheng continued, his eyes gleaming with determination, "And His Majesty has already sent a letter that reinforcements will be sent to Pengcheng immediately. As long as we work together, we will be able to defend this city."

When the soldiers heard Guo Huaicheng's words, the tension and uneasiness in their hearts were gradually replaced by a firm belief. They knew that this battle was not only for themselves, but also for the glory of their family and the future of Daqian.

Some of them were well-read and sympathized with the people who were in dire straits, but they had no choice but to take up their weapons and prepare for the coming battle for the sake of their status and the honor of their families.

Seeing the atmosphere gradually becoming tense and intense, Guo Huaicheng nodded with satisfaction and looked at the rebel army not far away again.

However, in his sight, those tall buildings were standing still, and it seemed that they had no intention of moving forward...

……

At the same time, Miyun Reservoir.

The atmosphere here was far less tense than that in Qianqing Palace and Pengcheng. In the entire hall, only Yuan Chenghuan was sweating anxiously, while the middle-aged Confucian scholar and Chagan Uli were still old, with a calm and indifferent attitude.

Chagan Uli raised his eyelids slightly, looked at Yuan Chenghuan in the hall, snorted in his heart, and then fell asleep again.

In fact, he had discussed this with the middle-aged scholar as soon as he got the news. Now they knew that Daqian had deployed troops at the Tongzhou Reservoir and had a back-up plan, but this was not a good time to show off.

If they expose it in person, Daqian will probably be desperate and immediately release the floodgates. If the news is leaked to the rebels, the rebels will probably turn their guns on them, and the situation will become more and more confusing.

At that time, even if they released the water from the Miyun Reservoir, it might have flooded the rebels, but it was more likely that the rebels had already been prepared and their efforts were mostly in vain.

There are too many risks and too many unexpected events.
However, what the Northern Barbarians cannot accept the most right now is risk and change.

The Northern Barbarians had finally stood on the Central Plains and were only one step away from ruling the Central Plains. They had this one and only one chance, so they had to ensure that the plan was foolproof.

Faced with the two choices, it would be better for them to follow the original plan, secretly take control of the Tongzhou Reservoir, and then take the opportunity to open the gates and release the water. As long as the plan succeeds, the rebel army will have no chance of survival.

Moreover, by doing so, they can also use Daqian to weaken the fighting power of the rebel army, so that their plan will be more certain to succeed.

Chagan Wuli was secretly calculating in his mind. He knew that the most important thing now was to stay calm and not let Yuan Chenghuan find out that they had already done something about the Tongzhou Reservoir.

He slowly opened his eyes, looked at Yuan Chenghuan with deep eyes, and said calmly: "General Yuan, I understand what you said, but how complicated is the situation now? Although we, the Northern Barbarians, are willing to help, we cannot ignore our own safety."

When Yuan Chenghuan heard this, his heart tightened. He knew that Chagan Uli was trying to whet his appetite and put pressure on him.

But he also understood that only the reinforcements from the Northern Barbarians could solve Pengcheng's urgent needs, so he had to give in.

He took a deep breath and tried to make his tone sound sincere: "Great Khan, I know you have your concerns, but once Pengcheng is lost, Daqian's country will be in danger. Now that Daqian is in trouble, I hope that the Khan can lend a hand and fight against the foreign enemies together."

Of course, he was so humble because he was polite before using force. He then slowly raised his eyes, looked at Chagan Wuli neither servile nor arrogant, and said in a deep voice: "Don't you understand the Khan at this point? Once Daqian is destroyed, how will the Northern Barbarians deal with it?"

"If the Khan insists on not saving us, then I would rather die than betray him. I will reveal the plan to the rebels and let the Northern Barbarians be buried with me."

"How dare you!" As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately attracted a shout of admiration from the middle-aged Confucian scholar.

Even Chagan Uli, who had a plan in mind, could not help but get furious. He stared at Yuan Chenghuan fiercely and asked in a cold voice: "What? General Yuan, are you threatening me? Do you think I dare not kill you?"

His tone was extremely cold and filled with murderous intent. Yuan Chenghuan's words had already angered him.

However, unexpectedly, faced with such a harsh scolding, Yuan Chenghuan was not afraid, but became even more fearless, and he met Chagan Uli's cold gaze directly.

"Yes and no. Since I dare to say this today, I have no intention of walking out of the hall alive. I will sacrifice my life for the sake of Daqian, and this life of mine is worth it!"

At this moment, his eyes were firm, his hands were behind his back, and he looked ready to die. "No matter what, the last bottom line of Daqian is the capital of Handu. If the Khan does not send reinforcements, our plan will be heard by Lin Zhongyun immediately."

Chagan Wuli's hands trembled slightly, and his anger seemed to burn him to ashes, but he knew that Yuan Chenghuan's words were not empty words. The demise of Daqian was not good news for the Northern Barbarians, but would put them in greater crisis.

If the rebel army knew the Northern Barbarians' plan, they would certainly turn their guns on them and launch a fierce counterattack against them.

The thing he was most worried about finally happened...

(End of this chapter)