As Su Mao and Jiaoqiang sent their respective subordinates into battle, the battle of Taocheng was in full swing.

In this battle, Pang Meng, Su Mao, and Jiaoqiang invested almost all their troops, and the army of more than 100,000 people can be described as an offensive tide.

At the head of the city, Chen Jun personally commanded the defenders, resisted desperately, and repelled the enemy's ferocious offensive again and again.

The fighting between the two sides lasted from morning to afternoon, without a single pause in between.

By the afternoon, many of the people in the city had spontaneously climbed to the top of the city and joined the defenders, who followed them against the enemy forces outside the city.

Don't look at Pang Meng, Su Mao, and Jiaoqiang, there are more than 100,000 soldiers and horses, but Chen Jun only relied on more than 10,000 soldiers under his command and tens of thousands of Taocheng people to resist the enemy's offensive.

The fierce battle in Taocheng continued, and Liu Xiu, who was in Rencheng, was also up and down in his heart.

Don't look at him on the surface is very relaxed, very calm, and completely confident, but in fact, Liu Xiu doesn't have much confidence in his heart, after all, the difference in strength between the two sides is too great, and no one dares to guarantee whether Chen Jun can hold Taocheng or not.

Liu Xiu sat in the camp tent, holding a book in his hand, but he didn't read a word.

Then the curtain of the tent was raised, and a man came in from outside.

Thinking that there was a new battle report coming, Liu Xiu immediately raised his head and looked up, and the person who came in was Xi Cheying.

Xi Cheying did not change her clothes, she was still dressed in a military uniform.

She looked at Liu Xiu, intervened in the salute, and said, "Your Majesty! ”

Liu Xiu looked behind Xi Cheying, but he didn't see the others, he was both relieved and faintly worried, the battle on the Taocheng side had been going on for two or three hours, and he didn't know what the current battle situation was.

Xi Cheying knew very well what Liu Xiu was worried about, she walked up to Liu Xiu and said with relief: "Your Majesty, General Chen Jun is resourceful, and brave and good at fighting, although he fights more with less, but after all, he has the advantage of geographical advantages, and it is not easy for the enemy to capture Taocheng, if the battle in Taocheng is really tight, General Chen Jun will definitely send someone over to send a message to His Majesty to tell him about the emergency." ”

Without outsiders present, Liu Xiu can also open his heart.

He said faintly: "What I'm worried about is that Zizhao has no chance to pass the letter out of Taocheng now. ”

Xi Cheying smiled and said, "Your Majesty is too worried, only more than 100,000 enemy troops are not enough to besiege Taocheng. ”

Liu Xiu nodded thoughtfully.

Xi Cheying thought for a moment and said, "The concubine will accompany Your Majesty to play a game of chess!" ”

Hearing this, Liu Xiu raised his eyebrows and asked with a smile: "Che Ying doesn't seem to be worried about the war in Taocheng at all!" ”

Xi Cheying knelt down and said with a smile: "The people of Taocheng have participated in the defense of the city, although General Chen Jun's soldiers and horses are only more than 10,000, but if you add the people of Taocheng who participated in the war, the people who defend the city are as many as 20,000 or 30,000.

Although there is no natural danger to defend Taocheng, the high walls of the city are strong, and the soldiers and civilians defending the city are united, and it is not easy for Pang Meng, Su Mao, and Jiaoqiang to break through the city defense. ”

Liu Xiu asked in surprise, "How did Che Ying know that the people in the city had already joined the war?" ”

Xi Cheying said with a smile: "There is also a Lingyin Pavilion in Taocheng. ”

Lingyin Pavilion is a green building, and it is also the intelligence organization of Xi Cheying.

Originally, the scale of Lingyin Pavilion was not large, and Xi Cheying alone did not have such strong financial resources to support a huge cross-regional intelligence agency.

However, in the matter of getting rid of Peng Pet, Lingyin Pavilion made great contributions, and it was only after this that Lingyin Pavilion received the support of the imperial treasury.

After Liu Xiu accepted Xi Cheying as a beauty, the financial support of Lingyin Pavilion was transferred from the treasury to the Shaofu, that is, the treasury, and then in layman's terms, it was the royal treasury.

Liu Xiu didn't ask too much about the huge Lingyin Pavilion, and it wasn't until now that he knew that there was a Lingyin Pavilion in Taocheng.

Xi Cheying said: "There is a Treasure Pavilion in Rencheng, and between the Lingyin Pavilion in Taocheng and the Treasure Pavilion in Rencheng, you can fly pigeons to pass books and pass on news. ”

I see! It's no wonder that Xi Cheying knows so much about the situation in Taocheng City.

Liu Xiu nodded and said with a smile: "Since Che Ying has Yaxing, I will accompany Che Ying to play a game." ”

Liu Xiu's chess skills are good, but Xi Cheying's chess skills are not bad either.

The two played chess, and they were evenly matched.

After a while, Liu Xiu looked at Xi Cheying in surprise, he really didn't know that Xi Cheying's chess skills were so superb, and he didn't have the upper hand at all when he played against her.

Realizing this, Liu Xiu couldn't help but sigh secretly in his heart, he still lacked understanding of Xi Cheying, his impression of Xi Cheying was only limited to her being Xu Xiling's senior sister and Mr. Yichen's beloved apprentice, as for other aspects, he really didn't know much.

Liu Xiu gathered his mind, his eyes fell on the chessboard, and he played against Xi Cheying with all his might.

I don't know how long it took, Long Yuan's voice came from outside the camp tent: "Your Majesty, Taocheng battle report!" ”

Liu Xiu, who was about to fall, suddenly raised his hand, put the chess pieces back, turned his head and said, "Come in!" ”

Long Yuan strode into the camp tent and handed Liu Xiu a bamboo tube the thickness of an adult's arm.

Liu Xiu took it, opened the lid, poured it outward, and a roll of bamboo slips fell out of it.

He untied the rope, opened the bamboo slip, and looked closely.

There is a lot of content in it, and the description of today's battle situation in Taocheng is called a careful one.

How the attacking Pang Meng, Su Mao, and Jiaoqiang fought siege battles, and how Chen Jun fought defensive battles, are all clearly recorded.

In the end, it was written in the battle report that Pang Meng, Su Mao, and Jiaoqiang, who had been attacking all day, returned in vain, and had now led the army back to the camp.

After reading this battle report, Liu Xiu couldn't help but breathe a long sigh of relief, and finally a relieved smile finally appeared on his face.

He said to Long Yuan and Xi Cheying: "The enemy army has withdrawn, and today, Zizhao has successfully resisted the siege of more than 100,000 troops!" Credit! What a great achievement! ”

Long Yuan's cold face also showed a smile, and he arched his hand and said, "It's Your Majesty Hongfu Qitian!" ”

Liu Xiu waved his hand and was about to speak, when Xi Cheying answered: "General Long Yuan is right, if Your Majesty fails to arrive in Rencheng in time, the morale of the soldiers of Taocheng will not be stimulated, and the people of Taocheng will not fight desperately to help the defenders fight, the reason why Taocheng can resist the large-scale attack of more than 100,000 enemy troops is only because Your Majesty is in Rencheng!" ”

She wears a high hat, which makes it difficult for Liu Xiu not to be happy.

And the actual situation is indeed like what Xi Cheying said, Liu Xiu is in Rencheng, which greatly boosts the morale of Taocheng and makes the soldiers and civilians of Taocheng see hope.

The reinforcements of the Son of Heaven may arrive in Taocheng from Rencheng at any time, even if there are many enemy troops outside the city, there is nothing to be afraid of.

Liu Xiu put away the bamboo slips, handed them to Long Yuan, and asked him to store them, and then said to Xi Cheying: "Come, Cheying, let's finish this game of chess!" ”

I don't know if it's a good relationship, in the next chess game, Liu Xiu played very smoothly, and finally won Xi Cheying's two and a half eyes.

Seeing that there was no skill in returning to the sky, Xi Cheying admitted his defeat, shook his head and said: "Your Majesty's chess strength is outstanding, and the concubine is ashamed!" ”

Liu Xiu laughed and said, "Che Ying's chess power is no longer under Zhonghua!" ”

He and Deng Yu also often play chess, of course, it is usually Liu Xiu who wins more and loses less.

Xi Cheying waved her hand again and again, and said with a smile: "The concubine doesn't dare to compare with the right general."

When the right general plays chess with His Majesty, he often shows mercy! ”

If Deng Yu exerts all his strength, it is not so easy for Liu Xiu to win against Deng Yu.

Liu Xiu blinked, took Xi Cheying's hand, and asked with a smile, "Does Cheying also let me?" ”

Xi Cheying glanced at Liu Xiu and muttered in a low voice: "With Your Majesty's chess strength, how can you allow your ministers and concubines to give in?" ”

Liu Xiu laughed again, took Xi Cheying's hand, and pulled her into his arms.

On the first day of the siege, Pang Meng, Su Mao, and Jiaoqiang returned in vain, which made the hearts of the three of them be covered with a layer of haze.

The war is like this, one blow, then decline, three and exhaustion, they failed to capture Taocheng on the first day, and then they want to capture Taocheng, it is not easy.

Sure enough.

The next day, Pang Meng, Su Mao, and Jiaoqiang joined forces to attack Taocheng again, and the Taocheng army and civilians led by Chen Jun worked together to resist the enemy forces outside the city, and the battle between the two sides was still tragic and bloody, but after a whole day of fighting, Pang Meng's coalition army still failed to tear apart the city defense of Taocheng.

In the next three days, Pang Meng, Su Mao, and the strong coalition army continued to attack the city, but it was such a little-known peach city, but their army of more than 100,000 people was blocked from the city.

From the beginning of the war to the present, they have been attacking the city for five consecutive days, but they have not been able to attack a single soldier in the city, but their own casualties are extremely large, and the morale of the soldiers has also declined rapidly.

Pang Meng, Su Mao, and Jiaoqiang combined, now their own side can no longer blindly attack with all their strength, and if they continue to fight like this, they don't need Liu Xiu to lead the army to attack, and their own soldiers have been defeated under Taocheng City first.

After five consecutive days of siege battles, the offensive of the Pang Meng coalition army finally weakened, and at the same time, the soldiers and civilians in Taocheng City were already at the end of their strength.

In five consecutive days of bloody fighting, the besieging side suffered heavy casualties, and the defending side was not the same.

It can be said that both sides are exhausted.

Fortunately, at this time, Pang Meng, Su Mao, and Jiaoqiang slowed down the offensive, which also gave the soldiers on both sides a chance to breathe.

Under Chen Jun's stubborn defense, the battle of Taocheng was delayed, and this delay dragged on for twenty days.

Twenty days go by in a flash, but you can also discover a lot of things.

In the past 20 days, the great Sima Wu Han, the Huya general Gai Yan, the former general Wang Liang, the Hanzhong general Wang Chang, the captured general Ma Wu, and the captured general Wang Ba arrived in Rencheng one after another.

With the arrival of the generals, the Han army gathered in Rencheng.

Wu Han brought 50,000 soldiers and horses, Gai Yan brought 30,000 soldiers and horses, and Wang Liang, Wang Chang, Ma Wu, and Wang Ba each brought 10,000 soldiers and horses, totaling 120,000 troops.

In addition, Liu Xiu's logistics troops also followed.

All the Han troops were added together, and they were 200,000 people.

It was only at this time that Liu Xiu thought that the time was ripe for his side to take the initiative to fight, and he ordered all the soldiers of the army to launch an attack on the coalition army composed of Pang Meng, Su Mao, and Jiaoqiang.

When the Han army led by Liu Xiu advanced to Taocheng, Pang Meng, Su Mao, and Jiaoqiang were continuing to attack the city outside Taocheng.

Hearing the news of the arrival of the main force of the Han army led by Liu Xiu, Pang Meng, Su Mao, and Jiaoqiang agreed on the same opinion, fight! You must know that the current situation has been reversed, in the past, the Pang Meng coalition army had more troops and Liu Xiujun had fewer troops, but now the situation is just the opposite, Liu Xiujun has more troops and Pang Meng's coalition forces have fewer troops.

Knowing that their side is fighting more with less, Pang Meng, Su Mao, and Jiaoqiang do not seek to avoid the war, but want to face the battle, which is really contrary to common sense.

In fact, it is very understandable that they were blocked outside Taocheng City for more than 20 days, and in such a long time, they failed to attack Taocheng with ten times the enemy's strength, and everyone held a resentment in their hearts.

Now there is no need to fight a siege war, but to fight a face-to-face confrontation with Liu Xiu, and there is only one thought in their minds, which is to fight! Must fight! It can be said that at this time, Pang Meng, Su Mao, and Jiaoqiang have all lost their calm and reason, and they have not made a correct judgment on the situation on the battlefield at all.

The Han army commanded by Liu Xiu, Wu Han, Gai Yan, Wang Liang, Wang Chang, Ma Wu, and Wang Ba, and the coalition army commanded by Pang Meng, Su Mao, and Jiaoqiang, lined up outside Taocheng City and opened a posture.

The last battle of the Battle of Taocheng was also a battle that decided the outcome of the two sides, and the curtain began, and the battle between the two sides was about to break out.