Chapter 65: Before the War

  Jincheng, it is said that when the city was built, gold was dug up, hence the name Jincheng. There is also a metaphorical meaning of the city being as solid as gold soup. The Jincheng in front of Gongsun Ce was indeed exceptionally strong, with the White Tower Mountain to the north and the Yellow River to the south. The city wall built in just one month was also unusually high and thick.

  Jincheng Revival's Liang Wang was Zhang Chonghua, whose courtesy name was Tailin. He was a gentle and kind person, calm and taciturn. When his father Zhang Jun died, he was only 16 years old, but despite his youth, he managed to carry on the Zhang family's legacy. Compared to Sun Ce and Sun Quan, he was in no way inferior.

  During Zhang Zonghua's reign, he reduced taxes and exempted tariffs, abolished imperial gardens to show sympathy for the poor. The Jin dynasty sent an envoy to confer him as Duke of Liang, but before the envoy arrived, Zhang Zonghua died at a young age, at 27 years old. It is said that the cause of death was complicated, but the most reliable reason is that he was angered to death.

  Because his biological mother, Lady Ma, was promiscuous and had an illicit relationship with her half-brother Zhang Zuo (the son of Emperor Ming's concubine), the affair was discovered by Emperor Xuanzong, who did not know how to handle it and soon died in depression. His throne was then succeeded by his son, Zhang Yaoling.

  Later, Zhang Zuo usurped the throne and killed his 11-year-old nephew Zhang Yaoling. It is said that one of the five most cruel punishments, "pulling to death", was used, which involves tying a rope around the waist and abdomen, pulling hard from both ends, making the dying process extremely prolonged, and the pain and suffering endured by the victim are not hard to imagine.

  Thus, the state of Liang fell into turmoil, with ten years of internal strife within the imperial clan, causing its national strength to rapidly decline. Later, Zhang Xuanjing, the second son of Zhang Junhua, was enthroned by officials Song Hun and Zhang Guan, but he was overthrown and killed by Zhang Zuo's brother Zhang Tianxi at the age of 14 after a nine-year reign. Soon afterwards, the repeatedly turbulent state of Liang was destroyed by Fu Jian of Former Qin.

  Zhang Chonghua was heroic and chivalrous when he was alive, but because of his heavy emotions, he was infuriated to death. After his death, his two sons were still young and were killed by Zhang Zuo's brothers. It can be imagined how great his resentment was, so naturally, he could revive before the other Liang kings of the Zhang family.

  The Qin army suddenly appeared in front of him, and Zhang Chonghua decided to hold on. If the Qin occupied Jincheng, the northwest stronghold, other northwest forces could directly go home and sell soy sauce.

  He believed that as long as he defended the Golden City, the Western Xia army in the northwest, the Han and Tang armies in Wuwei, and the Former Qin in the southwest would all come to his aid, and could even wipe out the Qin army under the city.

  "Who dares to persuade surrender?" Gong Sun Ce looked at the high and thick Jin City, which was difficult to take down, and wrote a letter of persuasion, preparing to persuade Zhang Chonghua to surrender. Although he knew the chances of success were slim, he couldn't help but try.

  "I will go with you!" Ma Dai stepped forward and clasped his fists in respect.

  Ma Dai rode out of the formation alone and went straight to the east gate of Jincheng. Jincheng had just been rebuilt, with only the city wall roughly completed, while the city tower was simple and crude.

  Under the city tower, Zhang Chonghua wore a golden armor and was surrounded by his generals. Looking at Ma Dais approach, he said to his generals on both sides: "This man must have come to persuade us to surrender, who will replace me in shooting him dead?"

  "King above, and look at the minister's shooting technique below!" A light armor general came out of the ranks, saw Zhang Chonghua nodding, turned his body to the city wall battlements, drew his bow and arrow, aimed at Ma Dai, and shot an arrow.

  Ma Dai looked up and saw the opponent hiding behind the stack, shooting a cold arrow. He suddenly pulled the reins, but didn't expect a black line to shoot straight at him!

  "Despicable!" Ma Dai crouched on horseback, dodging this arrow, and also drew his bow to shoot.

  Unexpectedly, the famous Liang general hid behind the city gate, and Ma Dai shot three arrows in a row. Two of them killed two Shu soldiers defending Liangzhou, while the third arrow carried a letter of surrender, which was nailed to the pillar of the city tower, shaking its tail feathers and buzzing loudly.

  "Bring me the Lone King's bow." Zhang Zhonghua stretched out his hand, and a nearby attendant presented the bow on bended knee before him.

  Zhang Chonghua pulled out a long arrow nailed to the column, stood at the mouth of the city wall, drew a bow and aimed directly at Ma Dai.

  "Break the Golden City, annihilate them all!" Gong Sun Ce's cold voice echoed in the ears of his generals as he saw Ma Dai return with injuries.

  "Report, milord!" A scout rushed over, dismounted and knelt before Gong Sun Zhan's horse.

  "Report to Your Excellency, Ma Wan and Yang Qiu are leading 5,000 troops from the north!" The scout also handed over a letter from Ma Wan.

  Just then, another scout rushed in and said that Cheng Yi and Li Kan were leading 5,000 troops from the south. The four generals had already arrived at the Yu Zhong area and learned that Gongsun Zan was leading his troops to attack Jincheng City, so they didn't want to miss this battle achievement and hurriedly led their troops to the battlefield.

  As for the other four generals in Xiliang Eight Generals, on the one hand, they had to guard the territory they had conquered, and on the other hand, they were also preventing all eight of them from coming to Gongsun Zan's place together, being wiped out by Gongsun Zan. It is necessary to know that Gongsun Zan and Dong Zhuo joined forces to get rid of Han Sui, leaving an impression that was hard to erase in this life.

  "Ah Meng, how many cloud ladders and siege vehicles have been made?"

  "My lord, the surrounding wood is in short supply, all taken away by the Liao army. What's left are only trees, and now each department is cutting them down under Gao Shun's supervision."

  "The herald conveys the general's order: General Ma is to gather all the wood materials along the way and must set up camp before tonight. Tomorrow, we will build siege engines!" Gong Sun Ce also just arrived with his troops, and their camp has not been set up yet.

  At night, Gong Sun Ce's large camp. Chu Mengmeng was walking alone in the camp with a strong smell of wine on him, he had just taken Wushi San and his whole body felt hot and dry, and he was dissipating the medicinal properties.

  The ghost general Li Jin returned to the main camp with intelligence gathered from reconnaissance.

  "Your Excellency, Li Jin has discovered some interesting military information." Chu Mengmeng found Gong Sun Ce, who was currently polishing his golden armor.

  "Want to try?" Gong Sun Ce didn't even lift his head, carefully wiping.

  "General Xie Ai, a trusted general of the Liang army, has persuaded Lord Zhang Zonghua to lead 7,000 troops in a surprise attack on our army tonight!" Chu Mengmeng's mind was clear and empty after taking the medicine, and suddenly a burst of inspiration struck her, with numerous strategies and tactics appearing in her mind.

  "My lord, Ah Meng thinks that Li Jin's news gathering is a bit too easy. The Liao army may still have an ace up their sleeve, but Ah Meng has also thought of a way to make him go without return!"

  "Who is outside?" Gong Sun Ce put down the handkerchief and shouted.

  "Reporting to the master, last night and tonight are both guarded by General Jiang Peng." A crisp sound of armor clashing echoed outside the tent, followed by a low, thick voice.

  "Assemble all generals, hold a council of war in the great tent!"

  "Yes sir!" The footsteps faded into the distance.

  "Come, put on armor!" A group of guards on duty came in to help Gongsun Zan wear his helmet and armor. These guards were all heavenly soldiers under Gongsun Yang's command, they were also from the same hometown as Gongsun Zan, and were the most reliable people. The night watchmen, since Gongsun Yang followed the army, had always been filled by heavenly soldiers from Gongsun Yang's unit.

  "What a pity, that kid Guo Liang might have missed the opportunity to capture the city again. Time waits for no man!" Gong Sun Ce put on his armor and hung Wu Shan sword at his waist.

  "At the speed of the marching army, normally, Guo Liang should arrive by tomorrow noon at the latest." Chu Mengmeng's medicine took effect and she stood unsteadily, sitting down in a nearby chair, shaking her head.

  "Tonight, the Lü Bu's army may first attack the two camps on both sides. As long as my central camp is unstable, the Lü Bu's army will surely launch a fierce attack on the central camp. The rear camp will also be affected, so in this battle, we must first ensure that the rear camp does not fall."

  Gongsun Zan highly agreed with Chu Mengmeng's words. His own rear camp was not strong in combat, with only Li Zixi's unit of 500 men, and the remaining 3,000 able-bodied soldiers and 500 craftsmen were all following the army, with very poor fighting strength. Moreover, most of the logistics supplies were in the rear camp, and many of the siege engines made overnight were also in the rear camp.

  "Hou Zhai must prepare more fire prevention measures, Master Gong will dispatch another battalion of soldiers to go there, and it can be guaranteed that nothing will be lost." After Chu Mengmeng finished speaking, Gongsun Ce took out a pure gold tiger tally, grasped it with his eyes closed and transmitted his orders.

  In an instant, Li Gui, the commander of the Central Camp, woke up from his sleep. He took out the silver waist card from his pocket and saw that it was shining brightly. Immediately, he got up and gathered his soldiers to rush towards the rear camp.

  The gods of the Zhongjun General's Mansion each led their attendants towards Gong Sun Ce's large tent, seeing a unit of soldiers on duty, also knowing that there would be a battle tonight, and one by one raised their spirits.

  Gongsun Ying, who was on duty in the second half of the night, was also awakened. At this time, he was sleepy and yawning. Seeing that all the soldiers with the central army token had been mobilized, he hurried to Gongsun Zan's large tent.

  "Report!" Gong Sun Ce was assigning tasks to the various generals in the tent when another scout came to report from outside.

  All the generals in the account, including Gong Sun Ce, felt a chill in their hearts and secretly shocked that Liang Jun's action was too hasty. Only Chu Mengmeng, who had taken medicine, lay on a large chair on one side, snoring loudly.

  "Your Excellency, the Li Ziqi, the Sima of the rear camp, has sent someone to report that a thousand cavalry are rushing from the east, and it is unknown what they are up to in the dark of night. He has specially sent someone to ask Your Excellency how to deal with this." The officer on duty outside the tent reported loudly.

  "As expected, it should be Guo Liang's unit. Tell Li Ziqi to let Guo Liang's unit rest and recover at the rear camp. This battle is for reserve forces!" Gong Sun Ce thought for a moment and guessed that it was indeed Guo Liang's unit. Because all the forces in the Yu Zhong area had been swept away by him, either being destroyed or hiding within the Jin City.

  Gongsun Ce's guess was not wrong, Guo Liang's unit had just arrived at the rear camp and didn't even have the strength to dismount. Guo Liang shook his canteen and found it was empty, with Hua Xiong's help he got off his horse.

  He immediately had his personal soldiers bring Li Wei, who was enduring the pain all over his body, a scoop of water from the water tank in the rear camp. Guo Liang drank it in one gulp and said thank you. Li Wei's face turned red after hearing this, not knowing whether it was due to exhaustion or excitement.

  Du Yuanzheng, after seeing Gongsun Zan change his clan on the mountain slope, felt that the character 'Yuan' in his name, which indicated his generation, would make him unwelcome to Gongsun Zan, so he changed his name to Du Zheng. Now, with every bone in his body shattered by war horses, he trembled as he came to Guo Liao's side.

  "It's a good thing I'm quick-witted and had everyone march day and night. Otherwise, we would have really missed this battle!" Guo Liang finished drinking water, his whole body covered in sweat.

  "Indeed, Gong Sun's progress is too fast." Du Zheng also took a ladle of water and drank it in big gulps.

  "Hurry up and eat, rest, the battle is about to start soon. I'll go ask Li Ziqi about the situation." Guo Liang patted Du Zheng's shoulder and walked away with his numb legs to find Li Ziqi.

  Looking at Hua Xiong closely following Guo Liang, Du Zheng was full of envy. He also knew that Guo Liang's good luck was really enviable. Guo Liang was born with a good appearance and had an open-minded personality, which was cultivated later in life, and he also had talent, all of which were very likable.

  Along the way with Guo Liang to Xianyang, the relationship between the two people has greatly improved. Apart from Du Zheng wanting to get close to Guo Liang, Guo Liang's demeanor is also very important.