The black-sailed boat carrying the Gaiyan gradually moved farther and crossed the wide Huai River and headed towards Huaiyin. Liu Xiu stopped on the shore for a long time and sighed: "There are indeed many tiger generals under the command of the Fifth Reun."

What he didn't know was that most of the people under the Five Lun, including Gai Yan, should have belonged to him. Even though the corner of the wall was almost hollowed out, the two groups of civil and military generals and officials under Liu Xiu were quite good at Nanyang and Yingchuan. Such as Feng Yi, they could fight with Cen Peng on the opposite side.

But there are no generals. When the Fifth Reunification Army was approaching, the former Han generals were also killed in battle one after another. In addition to being sad, Liu Xiu had to sigh: "How can you get a strong soldier to guard all directions?"

Especially generals who can use cavalry!

After taking over Donghai County last year, Liu Xiuke picked up a lot of good things in the county arsenal. The Han Dynasty and the New Dynasty accumulated hundreds of thousands of weapons and weapons, and all of them were enough to arm the 100,000 army.

This made Liu Xiu sigh: "The arsenal of a mere county has so many weapons. It is worth knowing how powerful the former Han Dynasty was. Unexpectedly, the disaster caused Xiao Jiang and was usurped by the treacherous."

Fortunately, they fell into the hands of the Liu family. With this batch of old goods, the Han army was armed to their teeth in one breath, so that they could fight with the Wei army in Huaibei.

Among them, there are 2,800 saddles, 825 horse mounts, and more than 900 head armors of war horses. However, these horse harnesses, especially horse armor, cannot be used by the Han cavalry. The southern horses are too short and cannot run with heavy armor. They can only be used as living targets for the Wei army's crossbows.

People from the north ride horses and people from the south ride boats. Some of the troops are indeed regional characteristics, but Liu Xiu does not believe in this evil.

"Xiang Yu is a southerner, and most of his subordinates are Jiangdong and Huainan elders, which are quite similar to me. However, Xiang Yu is good at using chariots and cavalry. He once defeated Emperor Gao hundreds of thousands with 30,000 elite cavalry chariots. It can be seen that if there is a good cavalry commander, the southerner will not be inferior to the northerner!"

Because of this, Liu Xiucai became interested in recruiting Gai Yan. He learned that this person was not the fifth confidant, and that the factional struggles in the Wei army were no less than that in the Han army.

Unexpectedly, Gai Yan refused decisively. Liu Xiu looked at the shadow of the ship that was leaving and sighed: "If I could have more than 100,000 people and two states, which were evenly matched with the fifth reunion, Gai Yan might have agreed."

If Gai Yanzhen is the loyal minister of the Great Wei Dynasty, how could he sleep well after being captured? This is the desire to survive.

But the ancients said that if a dangerous country does not enter or a chaotic country does not live in, no one will defect to the treacherous and rebellious man for no reason.

Since you can't get Gaiyan for the time being, then use him to the end!

Liu Xiu gave Deng Yu another mission: "Zhonghua will bring Gai Yan with him, and on the excuse that he will travel to the south and think about returning to the Han Dynasty, so as to walk Huainan and Jiangdong well."

Deng Yu immediately understood Liu Xiu's intention: "Your Majesty wants the rear to have surnames, officials and the people know that the Han army won a great victory and captured the general of Wei alive?"

Liu Xiu nodded: "Of course, the number of winners will be exaggerated ten times, so he will say that he will defeat tens of thousands of enemies and kill more than ten thousand prisoners. He must brag about Gai Yan's name, so that people think that he is tied with Geng, Ma, Cen, Jing, Wan, Wu, and several famous generals of Wei State."

He knew very well that fighting was not only military struggles, but also people's hearts. The fifth army of more than 100,000 troops came to Huaibei, which put too much pressure on the small court in the southeast. Not only were the generals and officials in the army nervous, but there were all kinds of ideas behind them. Many people were probably thinking about when it would be more appropriate to "submit"?

Liu Xiu knew that the defeat of the Momatai could not be hidden, so he made great efforts to give Liu Zhifa a mourning and appoint him as the king, giving him the highest honor after death, and stabilizing the hearts of his confidants and loyal ministers.

For those who "who wins and helps whom", they have to rely on Gai Yan's huge spoils to let them see that the Wei army is definitely not invincible, and Liu Xiu has won a big victory!

The rear needs encouragement from victory, even if it is a victory mixed with water.

But Liu Xiu would not deceive himself, and felt that Xu County could turn the overall situation around with two small wins.

Before Deng Yu went south, Liu Xiu asked him: "Zhonghua thought, what is the situation now? Han Ke still has a chance to win?"

"What Your Majesty said is to block the fierce attack of the fifth reunion and protect the Han people from the east of the Yangtze River in Huainan or to defend Pengcheng and regain Huainan?"

Deng Yu said: "If it were the former, the Han Dynasty would have won!"

Liu Xiu shook his head with dissatisfaction: "If I were only satisfied with this, why should I fight wits and courage with the fifth reunion? I can just withdraw everyone in Huaibei to Huainan, and I will not lose Liu Zhi, and I will even let Uncle Lai Jun be trapped in Pengcheng."

Deng Yu had no choice but to say truthfully: "Even if Your Majesty asks for the latter, it has won most of the victory. The fifth reunion gathered more than 100,000 people, but it was unable to sweep Huaibei in one go. After a half month in Pengcheng, he wanted to lure Your Majesty to attack Lingbi, but failed to succeed. Instead, he lost thousands of troops from the subordinates, especially without learning the lesson. He even sent Gaiyan's alone army to enter, trying to decide the victory or defeat, and lost the general again. These two drums declined. The fifth reunion could no longer send his troops south, crossed Xia Pi and the Sui River line."

Liu Xiu was not so optimistic: "But the Han army was running around the Si River repeatedly, and it was too exhausted to go north to rescue Pengcheng."

Yes, both sides fought less than expected, and the battle was stalemate, just like the weather that freezes the ground.

"It is beneficial for you to drag it down."

Deng Yu pointed to the cold wind outside and said: "It's cold as this. If the fifth reunion cannot conquer Pengcheng within one month, the army will inevitably suffer serious losses. Wait for his teacher to work hard, and the three armies will have the ambition to return. Your Majesty will lead the rest to attack Wei and will defeat him!"

Liu Xiu was quite convinced of this analysis. He clenched his fists and turned north, eager for a shocking turnaround!

"After more than a month, as long as Pengcheng holds on for more than a month, the fifth reunion will be exhausted and the death of the sky will come!"

...

Although he had fantasies about Pengcheng's persistence, Liu Xiu and Deng Yu were not aware of the situation in this city after all, and their predictions were too optimistic. Just a few days after Gai Yan was captured, Pengcheng was in danger.

What Liu Xiu never expected was that the will of the Pengcheng defenders was not destroyed by the whistling shot of the Wei army's catapult, but was about to collapse under the shouts of a group of Liu prisoners!

It has to be said that the efficiency of the Wei army engineers and the craftsmen of the army is indeed high. In just half a month, more than ten viewing buildings were built outside the four walls of Pengcheng. Almost every day, a narrow wooden building higher than the wall of Pengcheng rose from the ground.

The watchtower can not only be used by Wei army scouts who hold a thousand-mile mirror to observe the virtual and real situation in the city, but also to carry out propaganda offensives against the enemy.

"Brother Kun of Pengcheng!"

On that day, the projectile of the catapult had just stopped, and someone from the building held a simple horn in a copper-skinned roll and shouted to the city.

The dialect is in the local Western Chu dialect, which is probably the same as the accent of Xiang Yu, the King of Chu who sang "Strive to the Mountains and the Aura of the World" hundreds of years ago. He first reported his hometown and name. It turned out that during the Battle of the Momatai, he took the lead in pointing the blade at the guard Liu Zhi, living in a certain county, township and a village. The most important thing is that his surname is Liu, and he is a former Han clan.

"I am also a descendant of King Yuan of Chu. Even the people of the Liu clan know that the virtue of the hand has been exhausted and has been interrupted by Wang Mang. Now that Liu Xiu has established the Yan Han again, it is just a reflection of the future. Like the rest of the world, it will sooner or later die!"

Some of his propaganda, which is really tempting to ordinary people in Xuzhou who are fighting hard on the city walls during the cold winter in the city:

"It is rumored that the Wei army was cruel and wanted to slaughter Pengcheng, especially killing Liu without leaving any left. This is a nonsense! We are still alive? The Emperor of Wei treats prisoners very well and can drink hot soup every day. ** rice. I was hungry and thin on the horse stage. Now I have made up for it!"

"The Han Dynasty is just a private property of the Liu family. We are not helping us as the Liu family. You are a foreign surname. What should the Han family add to you? Why do you have to sacrifice your life to protect the Liu family's country, and finally get changed and eat, break your bones and cook? Is it worth it?"

Of course, these words were drafted by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the surrenders who fought in the Moma Station took turns to read them, but they hit the hearts of ordinary soldiers in the defenders: "Yes, why should we give up all our lives for the Liu family? Don't end, foreign surnames died in battle, but Liu relied on surrender to enjoy wealth."

The hearts of the Pengcheng defenders began to shake violently. Although they did not surrender for the time being and the uprising happened, it had already affected the situation of the war: when the Wei army launched another attack, the defenders' resistance was not so desperate, but they were desperately retreating, thinking about their own family. Anyway, the Emperor of Wei promised that after breaking the city, as long as they did not bear the stubborn resistance, they would be pardoned and not punished, and they would resume their careers in the future.

They don’t understand the righteousness of the country. Wang Mang was so loyal to the Han Dynasty that Wang Mang emerged from his death. The rest were just grasses that moved with the wind in troubled times.

Most people did not do their best, which made Lai She's few elite soldiers die hard to defend the city, with heavy casualties, and even they gradually lost their support, and Pengcheng's defense was full of loopholes.

"Can't hold on."

When the siege of Pengcheng entered the 20th day, it stood tall like a flagpole on the city wall, leading the team to repel the Wei army's attacks again and again, and he had no choice but to say such words.

Lai Xu has been sleeping for several days, and several holes have been cut on his face by a runaway arrow. The tiger's mouth in his hand has broken due to the cold winter fight. Now he even holds the knife in pain.

The soldiers' situation was worse than him, especially the three thousand "Sima Guards" in Lai She, who had lost half of them, were killed by flying stones, shot to death by rainy arrows, stabbed to death by the Wei army climbing up, and even stood guard in the cold weather, holding a spear all night. The next day, when the robe came to change shifts, he fell down and found that he had been dead for a long time...

The attitudes of the fathers and children in the city became more and more unpredictable. Before the war started, the three elders kept saying: "Pengcheng has been blessed with the great emperors of the Han Dynasty and the King of Chu for two hundred years. It is time for him to repay the kindness of the Han Dynasty."

But when the Wei army drove to the city, they looked at the endless troops outside the city, and the continuous and the layers of Dazhai with strict formations, the atmosphere in Pengcheng changed, and they all felt fearful.

When the Momatai was captured and Liu Zhi died in battle, everyone in Pengcheng was even more in danger.

The Han army captives surnamed Liu were shouting in the Wanglou, which was even more amazing. The people of Pengcheng were both happy and worried.

"What is happy is that the Wei army promised not to massacre the city and kill prisoners, but what is worried is that this general's decision to defend his life will be depressed."

Lai She said: "Recently, there have been local military officials in the camp who have colluded with each other, and the soldiers are looking at the road. In a few days, if Your Majesty's reinforcements are not yet available, there may be a disaster of mutiny and overturning in the city!"

It was not an ordinary mutiny that could be suppressed, but the soldiers and civilians wanted to surrender. Lai She and his confidants could not stop it at all. As long as the Wei army took advantage of the chaos in the city, it would be easy to seize the city.

"Pengcheng is like a fruit on the branch, blowing from the wind and rain, and it is finally shaking."

After Lai Xu told this cold fact, the generals and officers he summoned looked at each other, all of whom were shocked. If this was the case, wouldn’t they be killed by attacks inside and outside?

What should we do now? Reinforcements have been delayed.

At this time, someone suggested: "Ten days ago, a large number of Wei troops were withdrawn from the city. Although there are still 50,000 or 60,000 people there, the defense is very loose, and there may be a chance to break through!"

But Lai She immediately rejected the proposal: "Your Majesty thinks that I know the praise and decree, and knows how to abolish and rise, so he granted the position of Grand Sima and ordered me to guard Pengcheng, and agreed to persevere until after the spring. This is the trust of the ministers and the ministers. If Lai She abandons the city and refuses to defend it because of a small crisis, it would be against loyalty and trustworthiness!"

Lai She was a man of faith and righteousness, and was not contrary to his words and deeds. He was even more shocked by Liu Zhi's death in battle. At the same time, he knew that he insisted on defending in Pengcheng was the key to Liu Xiu's turnaround of the situation. How could he turn his promises over the slightest opportunity to break through and survive?

After Lai She made up her mind, she said to her confidants:

"I heard that there are many poisonous snakes in Longyou. When a local brave man is bitten by a poisonous snake, if his wrist can be cut off immediately, it will prevent the toxicity from spreading."

"The fifth relationship is quite like a poisonous snake, and the desire to return to the scene is the poison that will spread throughout Pengcheng's body!"

"At present, there is only one way."

Lai Xu was unsheathed with a knife around his waist. Although his bandaged tiger mouth was still trembling slightly, his voice did not shake at all, but instead he was full of determination.

"Do all the hands and feet that are highly poisonous will be cumbersome!"

"You bring reliable soldiers, plus those who are truly loyal to the Han people, abandon all the outer lands and follow me to defend the inner city!"
Chapter completed!