The Communist Party of China's 99th anniversary

  The Rouran, Tiele and Donghu tribes expanded their power rapidly over the past year, swallowing up many smaller tribes to become unprecedentedly powerful.

  Now, also considering the indigestion symptoms caused by this rapid annexation activity, these three prairie eagles coincidentally adopted a strategy of harming others and benefiting themselves.

  The Great Qin Empire has a long defense line starting from the Duck River in the east and extending to the Yangguan Pass in the northwest. This defensive system, composed of the Great Wall and large and small military forts and beacon towers along the line, is as strong as copper walls and iron walls. For those nomadic nationalities who are not good at attacking cities, the threat of cavalry is even greater. However, under the premise that the attacker has a large number of cheap cannon fodder, taking the approach of day and night siege without regard for casualties can still be a good way to defeat the enemy. Those small and medium-sized tribes that have recently been annexed by the three major powers are immediately brought to the front line, and under the threat of whips and curved knives, they become unwillingly the stepping stones for filling in the gaps in the Great Wall defense line.

  Under the blade of the vanguard, countless slave warriors fell at the foot of the Great Wall. The Great Wall, which was severely damaged last year, was breached again by the nomadic cavalry after holding out for several days.

  In just four short days, the Xiongnu cavalry rushed south from the Hexi Corridor and arrived at the outskirts of Shenshi City, the seat of Shangjun Commandery.

  Just at dusk, he looked up and gazed at the endless iron armor camp, and the face of Taishou White Zhengzong was full of worry. He gently patted the female wall with his hand and sighed:

  "Where is our reinforcement of tens of thousands of troops?"

  At this time, the deputy general who followed behind Bai Zhengzong bowed and said:

  "Reporting to Your Excellency, the imperial court has already sent someone to inform us that the late emperor's coffin has not yet been buried, and the new ruler cannot ascend to the throne immediately. In accordance with the rules and regulations, without seeing the heavenly son grant the tiger tally, it is absolutely impermissible to mobilize the great army, we can only grit our teeth and hold on for a few more days."

  Upon hearing this, Bai Zhengzong's smile grew even more bitter. After listening to this tactless subordinate repeat the idiotic order that had almost made him roll his eyes in frustration, Bai Zhengzong also found it hard to contain his anger and indignantly cursed:

  "What a bunch of scoundrels in the imperial court! Reinforcements are like putting out fires, is this the time to worry about etiquette and laws? They... they... a group of old good-for-nothings who cling to their positions."

  It has been more than two days since receiving the imperial edict, and after hearing the imperial court's ridiculous and arrogant response, Bai Zhengzong couldn't help but turn pale with rage, his lips trembling uncontrollably.

  One of his trusted aides leaned in close to Shirakawa's ear and whispered:

  "You'd better be careful with your words when you're in a high position, don't you remember what happened to Wu Anjun?"

  As the governor of Shang Jun, Bai Zhengzong was born into a humble family, but his ancestors could be traced back to the Warring States period, and were famous for the great general Bai Qi who massacred 400,000 surrendered Zhao soldiers at the Battle of Changping. As a descendant of the Marquis of Wu'an, how could Bai Zhengzong forget that his own ancestor was killed by the King of Qin because of a careless remark? In many cases, kings kill people without needing a reason; if they want to add crime to someone, what difficulty is there in finding an excuse? No matter how great your achievements are, one day you may be killed with just three feet of green silk.

  When he thought of this, Bai Zhengzong's expression was painful and he closed his eyes. When he reopened them, his gaze was filled with desolation and helplessness. The so-called heroic end is probably just like this!

  In the previous unfortunate event, he was caught by soldiers and became a soldier. Now, Lin Xu, who is serving as a military doctor in the Shangjun army camp, is standing on the city wall not far away. Witnessing this tragic scene, apart from sympathy, he couldn't find any suitable words to describe his feelings towards this white-haired old man.

  An old saying goes: a clay pot cannot avoid being broken when it is always near the well; a general cannot avoid dying in battle.

  It's clear that the enemy is pressing in on us from the front, while our rear is moving as slowly as a warm water, and being stuck between these two is truly one of life's greatest tragedies! It can be imagined that this White General will probably not get to taste next year's new wheat.

  After a while, the anger and sorrow on Bai Zhengzong's face dissipated, leaving only a hint of worldly wisdom. He spoke slowly, saying:

  "When the great way is abandoned, benevolence and righteousness appear; when wisdom emerges, great hypocrisy arises; when the six relatives are not in harmony, filial piety and kindness exist; when the country is dark and chaotic, loyal ministers appear. Even if the great house is about to collapse, I, Bai, have no power to prop up the state, but only wish to follow the example of ancient loyal ministers and martyrs, and die to repay my family and country. A great man stands tall between heaven and earth, life and death are ordinary things, shedding a bellyful of hot blood, what is there to regret?"

  Having devoted half his life to the Great Qin Empire, Bai Zhengzong seemed to have made up his mind to die, and with a calm expression, he took large strides along the city wall on patrol.

  The soldiers who were usually taken care of by Bai Zhengzong witnessed the scene and were moved by the sorrowful words, unknowingly, everyone had tears streaming down their faces.

  This night was exceptionally long, and as the eastern sun rose, the earth-shaking war drums and the loud horn sounds pierced the sky, a large-scale siege battle was about to unfold.

  The grassland nation was not adapted to the siege warfare of the city, they were more familiar with the pursuit war of driving and galloping on the grassland, but the skin city was like a large copper-iron lock, together with the long wall that went east and west, blocked the throat passage from the northern grassland to the Guanzhong Plain. No matter how great the cost, the Tiele people had to crack open this hard walnut, otherwise they would never reach the thousand-year-old imperial capital of Chang'an, which was said to be filled with gold and silver treasures, and beautiful women as numerous as clouds.

  The Qin artisans captured by the Tiele people forged siege engines, and after some simple training, warriors from small tribes that had been annexed dismounted to serve as infantry, shouting as they pushed these heavy wooden war machines step by step towards the city walls.

  "Whoosh! Boom——"

  A whole cauldron of boiling oil was poured down from the city head, immediately raising a piece of scalded miserable cry, and then like flying locusts, fire arrows shot towards the iron people's chariots and cloud ladders.

  The battle of attack and defense on the city wall continued, and after finally repelling one wave of attacks, a small soldier with a hoarse voice shouted:

  "Hurry, the enemy is coming again!"

  The Art of War says: Outside there must be troops that must be rescued, inside there must be a city that must be defended.

  This small-scale fortress, under the command of Bai Zhengzong, stubbornly resisted the enemy's siege, which was tens of times stronger than itself. Unable to withstand the delay in reinforcements, it was only a matter of time before it fell.

  "Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh......"

  When Tiele Khan Sengelidu realized that continuing to delay would be more disadvantageous to himself, he directly abandoned the passive tactic of consuming the defender's strength with cannon fire and instead mobilized his main force elite troops to launch a dense arrow rain that covered the sky and sun to forcibly suppress the resistance on the city wall.

  Those arrows flying in mid-air, with a density comparable to dark clouds at this moment, irrefutably blocked the scorching sunlight at noon.

  Long determined to die, Bai Zhengzong handed over the written will to several trusted soldiers in advance and ordered them to ride two horses to report the death to their hometown. Then, Bai Zhengzong smiled at the sky-shrouded arrow rain, laughing loudly:

  "Men, this place is really cool! Don't waste the good intentions of Tie Le people who have sheltered our ancestors. Today we must let them know the ferocity of us old Qin people from Guanzhong."

  It will be the bravery of the soldiers, and if they are brave, their morale will be boosted. The soldiers are the general's prestige, and only when they are powerful can they be majestic. Under the hail of arrows shot by the Tie Le people like raindrops, Bai Zhengzong was still able to face them with a fearless expression and even taunt them, and the soldiers under his command were naturally at ease. People have different fates! If we talk about the preciousness of life, the general's life is undoubtedly more valuable than the lives of thousands of soldiers. Since high-ranking officials who enjoy wealth and luxury are not afraid to die, it's even less likely that low-ranking soldiers would dare say they're afraid to die.

  Under the enthusiastic encouragement of General Bai Zhengzong, the defending soldiers, who were only one-tenth the number of the Tie Le army, greatly boosted their morale and once again withstood the tide-like offensive of the Tie Le people.

  Of course, apart from the morale factor, the strong crossbow of the Qin army also played a crucial role, and the bow and arrow that relied on human power could not compete with the strong crossbow in terms of range and power.

  When the Qin army's large and small crossbow machines on the city wall began to counterattack vigorously, it was very difficult for the Tiele people to organize a neat and uniform arrow rain again, and they had to retreat from the range of the crossbow arrows.

  A clever general avoids fatigue, for it is a great hindrance to his operations. Sun Tzu's Art of War says: "Victory usually goes to the army that has the quickest and most efficient strategy, not the one with the most elaborate plans."

  A large army was stuck under the strong city, and after a long attack, it did not prevail, and there must be changes behind. I guess the Tiele people didn't read Sun Wu's pre-Qin military classics, but they were pragmatists, and this truth still understood. Just as Sui Jue thought about this steamed and unripe skin city and had a headache, a sudden message came to relieve his urgent need.

  "If we go back and sweat, this little guy outside says he's a righteous army and wants to help us with something."

  The gloomy and proud Si Kong had heard the noise, furrowed his brow, then immediately retracted his angry expression, gesturing to his attendants to let this visitor in.

  With a deep and sinister smile, he deliberately burst out laughing at the moment when his opponent was about to make a move, saying:

  "We are the Iron Eagle Knights, what use is there for us to rely on the Qin people's chicken chicks? Hahaha..."

  The visitor, who had been determined to cooperate with the Tie Le people, had learned some of their language and could at least communicate in everyday situations. Upon hearing this, the person's face turned pale, then white again.

  Wait until you've had enough of laughing. The young Qin man who came forward and recommended himself said:

  "Your great reputation is known throughout the land. Unfortunately, you were stopped at the city of Baoji last time and didn't make it to Xian, I don't know if you'll be able to get through this time."

  Everyone is afraid of death, Si Jue looked at this "I'd rather die than yield" guy and thought he didn't seem like someone who came looking for death on purpose. So, Si Jue said in a low voice:

  "What? Do you have a way to break through the city?"

  "I report back to Your Majesty, I indeed have a plan."

  Having been suppressed in the city for a long time, Sichuodu's inner anxiety was extraordinary, and he would grasp at any straw. Then, Sichuodu narrowed his eyes and nodded his head, saying:

  "All right! If you can come up with a good plan to capture the city, I'll reward you with 1,000 head of cattle, 500 fine horses, 200 slaves, and 50 women."

  Upon hearing this, a faintly contemptuous smile flashed across the face of the young Qin man who had been hanging his head. This crude way of granting rewards was simply humiliating for a member of a noble family. However, he quickly concealed his true emotions and spoke solemnly:

  "Thank you very much, but I don't want these things."

  At this time, Si Kongtu also felt that the other party's performance was a bit interesting. He carefully examined the young Qin person who was kneeling on the ground with a dark complexion and looked like he came from a poor background, saying:

  "What do you want then? Ah, you Qin people don't like livestock, but you like gold and silver and that copper money. Alright, as long as we arrive in Xianyang, I will heavily reward you."

  "I don't want gold, silver, or treasure; I only ask for one thing from the Great Khan's reward?"

  This seemingly humble young man became more and more intriguing as he spoke, and couldn't help but ask:

  "What's wrong with nothing? What do you want?"

  "The Dog Emperor's Head."

  Upon hearing this, Si thought it sounded like he had heard something extremely interesting, and slapped his thigh while bursting into loud laughter, shaking his head as he said:

  "Hahaha, what's good about a dead man's skull? Take it if you want! I'll reward you with a thousand head of cattle, a hundred fine horses, a hundred slaves, and ten camels' worth of gold and silver. Come, quickly tell me, Khan, what strategy do you have to capture the city of Ershi?"