Chapter 96: Attacking the Heart is Paramount

  Outside Mengcheng City, Li Zhongzheng sat in the big tent, holding a letter in his hand, with Cheng Yu and Jia Kui by his side, while Hao Zhao stood with his hands tied behind him.

  Li Chong did not open the envelope, nor did he ask about military affairs. Instead, he smiled at Hao Zhao and said: "Hao Zhao, where are you from? How old are you? Are there any family members at home?"

  "Hao Zhao hastily replied: 'I report to the lord, I am from Jin Yang, 17 years old this year. In the first year of Ping (190 AD), when the lord recruited soldiers, I joined General Taishi's army. My parents have both passed away, and I am the only one left in the world.'"

  "Hmm!" Li leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and gently tapped the desk with his fingers, producing a crisp sound.

  Li Chong knew Hao Zhao, who in the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" was described as using 3,000 men to defend Chen Cang against Zhuge Liang's army of 100,000 for over three months. In the end, Zhuge Liang could not take Chen Cang and had to retreat, showing how formidable Hao Zhao was.

  Li Chong was delighted to have a famous general under his command, but he was also afraid that Hao Zhao might be a spy sent by Zhang Yang, simply because Hao Zhao was from Jinyang.

  Li Chong stood up and walked quickly out of the tent, calling over a personal soldier and saying a few words in a low voice.

  The guards led the orders and left, Li Chong only returned to the account, asked Hao Zhao about the battle of Yinfenggu, Hao Zhao carefully told the story of the battle of Yinfenggu.

  Li Chong then opened the envelope and read Tai Shi Ci's letter. Tai Shi Ci's letter was simple, only briefly mentioning the war situation, emphasizing Hao Zhao's talent, and recommending him to Li Chong.

  After verifying the handwriting and seal, Li Zhong finally put his mind at ease, thinking that he had been overly suspicious. At this time, Li Zhong's personal soldier also came in to report, whispering in Li Zhong's ear that Hao Zhao's enlistment date was indeed in the third year of Chuping, and there were many people who could testify to it.

  Li Chong finally put his mind at ease, called someone to give Hao Zhao a seat, and smiled: "Bo Dao, General Taishi Ci said you are familiar with military strategy, and your martial arts skills are not weak. He wants to recommend you as a junhou (a position equivalent to county lieutenant), but I think General Taishi's idea is not appropriate."

  Hao Zhao's disappointed expression flashed and disappeared, and he hastily bowed his head and said: "Thank you, General Taishi, for your kindness. I also feel that my abilities are still somewhat lacking, and I should work harder to improve."

  "Haha……" Li Zhong burst out laughing and said: "Hao Zhao, my intention is that being a junhou is too humble for you. In my opinion, you should be leading the army alone in battle. It's just that you don't have any notable achievements, so I couldn't promote your official rank. Calling you a tunzhang is already an exception, do you understand?"

  "I will know later!" Hao Zhao got up and knelt down, respectfully answering.

  Li Chong smiled slightly and nodded to Hao Zhao, then said: "Now that Taishi Ci has heavily defeated the enemy in Yinfeng Gorge, killing nearly 4,000 enemies. In my estimation, Zhang Yang will not send reinforcements again, nor can he send them. Our goal now is to capture Langmen County, quickly withdraw troops to support Taishi Ci, and strive to eliminate Guo's 5,000 men and horses in Yinfeng Gorge, reducing the pressure on our attack on Jinyang."

  Jia Kui replied: "Since it's like this, tomorrow at dawn, let the whole army attack the city."

  Li nodded heavily and replied: "Alright..."

  Just then, Cheng Yu suddenly smiled and said: "Your Excellency, wait a moment, I have something to say."

  Li Chong smiled and said: "Mr. Cheng, please speak."

  Cheng Yu said slowly: "Your Excellency, the Art of War says that attacking a city is inferior and attacking the heart is superior. Why doesn't Your Excellency wait until the morale of the enemy army in Langya County collapses, then send troops to attack the city? Perhaps it can make Langya County surrender without a fight?"

  Li Zhong pondered for a moment, then smiled and said: "Thank you, Mr. Cheng, for reminding me. How about this? Tomorrow we'll withdraw the soldiers from the south gate to support Taishi Ci?"

  "It's right!" Cheng Yu nodded silently.

  ……

  The county magistrate of Langmen County saw that the soldiers besieged at the south gate had withdrawn cleanly, and was overjoyed. He hastily ordered: "Quickly call the scouts to go and investigate whether the reinforcements from Jinyang have arrived. If there is any news, report it to me immediately."

  For the next two days, the soldiers besieging Langya were very perfunctory in their attack on the city, only shooting arrows from the nest carts and constantly shouting words like "surrender without killing".

  The next evening, Lang Meng County Magistrate was resting in the government office when a servant suddenly came to report that the scouts he had sent out had returned and were waiting outside the door.

  Lang Meng, the county magistrate, was furious and shouted loudly: "Didn't I say that as soon as there is news, you must report it to me immediately? Why do you still need to let the scout inform him, hurry up and let him come in."

  Before long, the scout sent out came to the front of County Magistrate Lang Meng, knelt down on one knee and said quickly: "Report to your lordship, the situation is very bad. General Sui Gong and Yang Chou were intercepted by Taishi Ci in Yinfeng Gorge, they fought three battles, but General Sui Gong... did not win a single battle, eight thousand soldiers were killed or wounded, and there is no power to rescue... my lord."

  "Hmm..." The county magistrate of Lang Meng let out a mouthful of turbid air, his eyes as sharp as an eagle's, fiercely staring at the scout who had brought the news. After a while, he raised his hand and said: "This official understands, you may go down now."

  The scout retreated cautiously, and soon another scout rushed back. The wolf Mengxian County magistrate, who was not yet dead, immediately met with the new scout. Of course, it was just a different scout, but what he heard was the same result, unless the scout lied.

  At night, Lang Meng County Magistrate came to the top of the city wall, looking at the twinkling lights outside the city, and couldn't help but feel heavy in his heart, having no confidence in defending Lang Meng County.

  He also understood that whether he could hold Wolf Meng County for so many days was not because of his outstanding military ability, but because Li Chong simply did not want to fight.

  Suddenly a gust of night wind struck, icy and piercing to the bone. Lang Mengxian shivered with cold, and suddenly came to his senses, saying in a low voice: "I understand now, Li Ziyue's target from the beginning was not my Lang Mengxian, but Yang Chou and Sui Gong's reinforcements. What a sinister plan!"

  Although his voice was low, the personal soldiers beside Lang Meng County heard it clearly and asked urgently: "Sir, what should we do?"

  Lang Meng County Magistrate glared fiercely at his personal soldiers and shouted to the garrison troops: "Everyone must be vigilant and prepared, prevent the enemy from launching a surprise attack, do you understand?"

  "Understood!" The soldiers on the city wall responded in unison.

  "Go cheat the ghosts! Don't think I don't know, you secretly discussed escaping and surrendering, sooner or later I'll settle accounts with you!" Wolf Meng County Magistrate sneered at these soldiers.

  "Huh......" Wolf Meng County Lord's heart moved, and suddenly a thought that couldn't be waved away arose - why couldn't he surrender?

  Let's think about the benefits of holding out. If we can hold on to Langya County, it seems that we won't get any benefits ourselves, at most we'll be praised by Zhang Yang and rewarded with some money.

  Think again about the disadvantages of insisting on holding out. First, you have to take out money and goods to encourage these soldiers, boost their morale, and compensate for the dead soldiers and repair the damaged cities. These are all costly and laborious tasks. If handled improperly, it may also provoke public outrage.

  Of course, the biggest drawback is that Langya County cannot be kept, and he was caught by Li Chong, used as a model of stubborn resistance, and beheaded with one knife.