Dragon Raja: History Simulator

Page 109

Once you understand this point, you'll understand why Wang Mang attacked the Gengshi court in Nanyang first.

Fan Xing looked at Lai Xi, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Hebei is in complete chaos, and now Nanyang is in the same state. May I ask why Liu Bosheng's uprising started so early?"

Lai Xi continued with a smile, "When Liu Bosheng launched his uprising, not a single member of his family supported him. If it weren't for his usual efforts to gather heroes, and the fact that his younger brother Liu Wenshu and his brother-in-law Deng Chen brought back several thousand men from Xinye, Liu Bosheng would probably still be living a miserable life at home."

As for the powerful families of Nanyang…

Lai Xi couldn't help but smile bitterly. "Since Liu Bosheng's uprising, he has achieved remarkable results. However, there are no invincible soldiers in the world. Liu Bosheng is proud of his achievements, but he has been excluded by the Green Forest Army and has not been able to ascend the throne. In addition, he has rarely contacted Gao Qiang of Nanyang. This is the result of his defeat."

None of the powerful clans of Nanyang wanted to revolt at this time, but Bo Sheng's uprising forced them to join in. Everyone harbored resentment towards Bo Sheng, but now that Liu Bo Sheng was victorious in every battle, they dared not speak out.

Fan Xing shook his head. "Bosheng isn't that bad."

He had watched Liu Yan grow up and knew that this kid was a "cunning villain in prosperous times and a hero in chaotic times." Now, he was able to usurp the throne and turn the tables on the Green Forest Army, which had been in control, making them extremely passive. This was also his doing.

He said this, and then added, "Now that Wang Feng, the Duke of Chengguo of Xinshi Army, is stationed in Kunyang, facing the imperial army directly, Liu Bosheng is leading his troops to besiege Wancheng. Isn't this a good thing?"

Faced with Fan Xing's idea, Lai Xi burst into laughter, "The Green Forest Army hasn't even conquered Nanyang yet, and there's such a huge rift within them. Does the general think this is a good thing?"

Fan Xing fell silent. Then, he spoke of Wang Feng, who was stationed in Kunyang, facing an attack by an army of 420,000 men led by Wang Yi. Faced with such a massive and overwhelming force, Fan Xing couldn't help but groan inwardly, feeling utterly lost and helpless.

Lai Xi looked at Fan Xing and asked with a smile, "This matter is simple; it's just a matter of whether to save him or not."

He looked at Lai Xi and hesitated, saying, "It's not that simple. The general is stationed in Yanling and Dingling to protect himself. There's no reason for him to go to dangerous places on his own initiative."

“In that case, General, you may choose not to rescue us. If you don’t want to rescue us, there’s no need to worry so much,” Lai Xi replied.

“It would be difficult not to rescue them, as Kunyang City is not only infested with bandits, but also with many of the sons of powerful families from Nanyang.”

At this point, Fan Xing lowered his voice and deliberately said, "Even Liu Xiu, Liu Wenshu, is in the city. Bosheng is truly ruthless."

Unfold the map, locate Nanyang, and trace the mountains and rivers. Everyone knows the importance of Kunyang. It is the last waterway to enter the Nanyang Basin. To enter Nanyang, one must conquer Kunyang.

It was for this reason that the Green Forest Army stationed the leaders of the Xinshi Army, Duke Wang Feng of Chengguo, and the leaders of the Xiajiang Army, Wang Chang, in Kunyang to ensure that the main army in the rear could capture Wancheng and take Nanyang.

This was something not only the Green Forest Army knew, but the imperial court was also well aware of it, which was why Kunyang had to be captured.

Of course, this was not what Fan Xing wanted to complain about. What he was dissatisfied with was that Liu Bosheng, in order to assure the Green Forest Army that there would be reinforcements in Kunyang, also ordered the sons of powerful families in Nanyang to send a portion of their troops to garrison in the city, including Liu Xiu and Liu Wenshu.

It should be noted that of the seven brothers and several sisters in the Liu family, almost all of them have been lost in the war. Apart from Liu Yan and Liu Bosheng, only Liu Xiu and Liu Wenshu are safe and sound.

Even so, Liu Bosheng did not hesitate to send his younger brother into Kunyang to show his determination.

This is also why Fan Xing felt depressed and said that Liu Bosheng was heartless.

Lai Xi found this somewhat amusing, saying, "Those who achieve great things do not concern themselves with trifles. Emperor Gaozu abandoned his wife and children to achieve great things. On the other hand, Xiang Yu took Yu Ji with him in the army camp, showing only womanly compassion and thus failing to accomplish anything."

As for Liu Wenshu?

Lai Xi thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "I think you don't need to worry about this, General."

"Why?" Fan Xing asked solemnly.

"When I was in the army, I often heard that Liu Wenshu had a nickname. He was often called the Long-Legged General in the army. I wonder if the General has heard of it?" Lai Xi said with a smile.

Fan Xing's face turned ashen, but he had no way to refute it. "I've heard a little about it."

"Does the general know why?" Lai Xi asked solemnly, without any hint of mockery.

Fan Xing was taken aback. Could there be some "deeper meaning" to this?

This nickname refers to Liu Xiu, also known as Liu Wenshu, who was skilled at escaping during battles. In fact, every time he was defeated, the government troops could not catch up with him, and he could easily escape.

Such a nickname is hardly a compliment among the government troops who always valued bravery; to put it bluntly, it's a form of irony.

Lai Xi, however, had a different opinion. He explained calmly, "When Uncle Wen first received this title, a bandit leader mocked him, but Uncle Wen did not reply. Does the general know what the situation is now?"

Fan Xing shook his head.

"Uncle Liu is still safe and sound today. On the other hand, I heard that the bandit leader had surrendered to the government army and was beheaded as a result. He died a terrible death." Lai Xi said this ending in a calm tone.

Most nations perished because of their weakness, but the Han dynasty alone perished because of its strength.

This statement refers to the Eastern Han Dynasty, but it could also be used to describe the Western Han Dynasty.

When the Western Han Dynasty fell, the Xiongnu, who had troubled the Han for a century, had already split up. The Southern Xiongnu had submitted to the Han, and the Northern Xiongnu had fled far away, leaving the Han without any major external threats.

When Wang Mang usurped the Han throne, although he suffered repeated defeats in foreign wars, in reality, given the size of the Han Dynasty, even if it "hurts the enemy with its own strength and inflicts heavy casualties," the enemy would find it difficult to sustain the war and would be unable to invade.

As for the country, although war broke out everywhere, local powerful families were still observing, since the imperial court was still invincible in suppressing uprisings, but the rebels were too numerous and some were difficult to sustain.

For example, not long ago, the imperial court swept eastward to conquer the Red Eyebrows, and after returning to Luoyang to rest for a while, it had to go south again to attack the Green Forest Army that occupied Nanyang.

At this time, the Red Eyebrow Army in Shandong rebelled again and expanded its influence into Hebei.

Although everyone knew that the new dynasty was doomed, they also acknowledged that it still had some luck, just like the Han dynasty during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the Tang dynasty when Huang Chao captured Chang'an, and the Ming dynasty after the Battle of Songjin. They could hold out for a few more years and wear down several waves of rebel armies.

This is why powerful local figures were willing to rise up in rebellion at this time.

At this time, the imperial court was implementing the tactics of future Hong Chengchou and Zeng Guofan: kill those who could be spared but not killed, to eliminate future troubles, and do not accept surrender.

The imperial court felt that these rebel armies would inevitably rebel again in the future, so it would be better to kill them all as soon as possible.

This is also why Wang Yi, who is currently besieging Kunyang, does not allow the Green Forest Army inside the city to surrender, and why Wang Feng inside the city does not dare to surrender either.

There is no level of trust between them.

After listening to Lai Xi's words, Fan Xing suddenly realized and said, "Is Lai Xi telling me that Uncle Wen is skilled in riding and archery, and that Kunyang cannot contain him?"

Lai Xi gave his old relative Fan Xing a deep look and said, "General, what I mean is that the court cannot be trusted. We must not have any wavering thoughts. Whether or not we save Kunyang, we must not have any thoughts of surrendering."

Fan Xing chuckled awkwardly, tapped the table slightly, and said, "It's been filtered, it's been filtered."

He quickly realized from Lai Xi's words, "So, between Bo Sheng and Uncle Wen, you actually value Uncle Wen more?"

Lai Xi nodded silently.

Just then, a soldier rushed into the tent and said, "General, General Liu has arrived at the central army, carrying His Majesty's tiger tally, requesting the dispatch of troops to rescue Kunyang."

Lai Xi and Fan Xing were both stunned, and Fan Xing looked particularly at a loss.

Lai Xi demanded, "Which General Liu?"

The soldier said blankly, "Long-legged General... Liu Xiu, Liu Wenshu."

Lai Xi and Fan Xing were both astonished by this. They had not expected Liu Xiu to arrive so quickly and seize military power so swiftly. He truly lived up to his title of "Long-Legged General".

But how did they manage to do that?

Without much thought, Lai Xi immediately slammed his hand on the table and exclaimed, "Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! Uncle Wen truly has the spirit of our ancestor!"

In the fifth month of the third year of the reign of Emperor Dihuang, the army of Wangyi attacked Kunyang and besieged it.

On the same day, Emperor Guangwu blunted their advance and defeated their vanguard behemoth.

That night, Emperor Guangwu marched out of Kunyang, entered Yanling and Dingling, and returned to reinforce Kunyang.

On the day of Ji-Mao in June, Emperor Guangwu advanced with his camp, personally leading over a thousand infantry and cavalry, and arrayed himself four or five li ahead of the main army.

Chapter 171 A Meteor Falls into the Camp at Night

Outside Kunyang City.

Wang Anzhi gazed into the distance at the dilapidated city walls, where a figure galloped on horseback. Only after the figure came to a stop did he inquire:

"Uncle Jun, I wonder how the Duke of Cheng responded?"

Lai Xi tightened the reins, removed the armor from his head, and took a deep breath of the bloody scent in the air. The siege had been going on for half a month straight, and the air inside and outside the city walls was thick with the stench of rotting corpses, which was extremely unpleasant.

He smiled, his face bearing an unspeakable sarcasm. "Just as you predicted, Uncle Wen, the Duke of Cheng refused to come out of the city to attack from both sides, and Wang Yi, the Minister of Works of Mangxin, was only willing to hold his ground and not come out."

Upon hearing this, a group of generals behind Wang Anzhi couldn't help but burst into curses.

"Those bandits and outlaws are indeed untrustworthy..."

"Such childish behavior, what kind of Duke of Cheng is he..."

"We should let Wang Yi break into the city and see if he still dares to be so arrogant..."

“Send a woman’s dress to the Duke of Cheng, and have him wear it in front of Wang Yi, then ask him if he thinks it’s beautiful…”

In an instant, all sorts of unpleasant sounds came out of the general's mouth, ranging from the most refined to the most vulgar.

This is quite normal. After all, these powerful Nanyang families stationed in Yanling and Dingling came from hundreds of miles away to rescue the Pinglin Army and Xinshi Army in Kunyang City, despite the threat of hundreds of thousands of troops.

What kind of spirit is this?

This is the spirit of fearless internationalism.

Who would have thought that the Green Forest Army inside the city didn't even have the courage to go out and fight? How could this not make these people feel disappointed and fearful?

It should be noted that these people were only a small group of elite mixed-race individuals with dragon blood flowing through their veins, who arrived as the vanguard. There were only about 2000 of them, and the subsequent reinforcements would only number around 10,000.

What they would have to face was Wang Yi, whose army of 420,000 men was fully armed and well-trained, making them a formidable enemy.

At this moment, Fan Xing, the commander originally stationed in Yanling and also Wang Anzhi's maternal uncle, swallowed hard. Looking at the endless camp of Wang Yi's 420,000-strong Xin Dynasty army in the far distance, almost resembling a small city, he felt a sense of unease and asked:

"Uncle Wen, since the city is unwilling to launch a pincer attack from within and without, why don't we retreat first and wait for the main army to arrive before launching another attack?"

Wang Anzhi glanced at him but said nothing.

In fact, he didn't even need to speak; another general beside him, dressed in silver armor, couldn't help but rebuke him:

"General, what nonsense are you talking about? The enemy has 420,000 troops. They have sent out a battalion to pursue us. Our troops are only superior because they are elite. How are we supposed to deal with them?"

He is Deng Yu, the future leader of the Twenty-Eight Generals of Yuntai, and also the person with the highest military skills in Liu Xiu's army at present, capable of leading independently.

In addition, he became close friends with Liu Xiu during his studies in Chang'an, and the relationship between the two was extremely deep.

Only he was able to stand up at this time and dispel the unease and even the desire to retreat among the soldiers.

After Deng Yu finished speaking, the generals looked at each other, all of them knowing that if they were defeated, none of them would be able to escape.

So Zong Tiao gritted his teeth, stepped forward, and said:

"The mandate of heaven for the Han dynasty has not yet ended, but Wang Mang's Xin dynasty has usurped power for twenty years, and the world is in great chaos. Is this not a celestial phenomenon?"

As he spoke, he looked at the shrinking crowd, his bright gaze so piercing that no one dared to meet his eyes, yet Zong Tiao spoke with increasing ease:

"The elite troops of the Xin Dynasty are gathered here. If they are defeated, the Xin Dynasty will perish, and the rise and fall of the Han Dynasty over two hundred years will depend on this battle. With all the armies here, how can we possibly flee without a fight?"

After speaking, Zong Tiao blushed and looked extremely excited. He even drew his long sword and looked at the twilight sky.

"Wang Yi is a mediocre man. Tomorrow's battle will be nothing more than a matter of winning or fleeing."

At this moment, Wang Anzhi spoke up, “There’s no need for tomorrow. I observed the celestial phenomena last night, and I foresee a dramatic change tonight. At midnight tonight, we will launch a night attack on the new army’s camp. I urge all generals to be on high alert.”