While Chai Shao and Ashina Sher were fiercely fighting, a major event was taking place in Shuofang City, a major event that could affect the war!
Although Liang Shidu had predicted that there would be Tang soldiers outside Shuofang City, he had thought that they would only be soldiers from the Summer Province, and there wouldn't be too many of them. Who could have imagined that there would be tens of thousands of elites brought by Yuchi Jingde from Chang 'an?
Thus, even when Yuchi Jingde had led his army to besiege the city, Liang Shidu's mind was still in a daze. He simply couldn't understand. The Tang emissary had clearly only left two days ago, so how could Yuchi Jingde have arrived outside Shuofang City? The only explanation was that the Tang emissary had come with the main force of the Tang army!
But this also didn't make sense! Wasn't the Tang known as the Celestial Empire, a land of etiquette and propriety? How could the officials of the Great Tang Imperial Court allow Li Er to bring an army to persuade them to surrender so rudely?
In any case, the Great Tang's strategy of 'diplomacy before force' had caught Liang Shidu off guard. Upon learning that the Tang army was besieging the city, the price of food in the city immediately soared, and the price grew more and more exaggerated with each passing day. On the second day of the siege, many of the grain stores in the city had been plundered. It was now the sixth day of the siege, and many of the common people and officials had no food to eat!
In the desperate situation of starvation and near death, obedient people would also become mobs. In the past few days, there had been dozens of cases of mobs robbing the rich in Shuofang City. What was even more serious was that just yesterday, there had been a case of mobs attacking the county government and robbing the official storehouse. Although it had been suppressed, the rest of the citizens had already begun to stir. There was a fine line between mobs and obedient people. Now that someone had made a good start, the rest of the citizens would be able to follow suit!
All of this seemed like an invisible hand was secretly adding fuel to the fire, causing the Shuofang City that had been stable for ten-some years to be on the verge of collapse in just a few days!
Of course, what made Liang Shi even more anxious was the army. In the past few days, there had been cases of generals leading soldiers to mutiny. The walls of Shuo Fang City were indeed impregnable, but the inside was shaky and could not withstand a single blow!
When it was close to noon, in a courtyard near the imperial palace of Shuo Fang City, a middle-aged man dressed in rough clothes was anxiously pacing back and forth in the courtyard. His expression was very ugly!
"Your Highness! General Xin has already come out from the palace! "
Just at this moment, a soldier came before the man and bowed.
The man hurriedly asked, "How is it? Did my brother agree? "
The soldier shook his head and replied, "Your Highness, His Majesty did not agree. It is said that he even scolded General Xin. He said that as the ruler of Da Liang, he would rather die than surrender!"
It turned out that this man in rough clothes was Liang Shi Dou's younger cousin, the Prince of Da Liang, Liang Luoren. This brother did not have any other skills, but he could eat a lot. It was not an exaggeration to call him a glutton. Shuo Fang City was now surrounded on all sides, and the crops outside the city had been trampled. Even if the Tang army retreated, Da Liang would face a shortage of food this year. As a glutton, how could Liang Luoren endure this?
Thus, among the high-ranking officials of Da Liang, Liang Luoren was the one who wanted to surrender to Da Liang the most. After all, if he followed Da Liang, he would not lack food and drink, right?
However, although he had this thought, Liang Luoren did not dare to reveal it. This fellow had always been timid, so he encouraged the generals close to him to persuade Liang Shi Dou to surrender!
At this moment, after learning that Liang Shi Dou was unwilling to surrender to Da Liang, Liang Luoren's face was filled with displeasure. After a moment of hesitation, he viciously said, "Hmph! My good big brother, since you don't know what's good for you, then don't blame me ~! "
What a glutton was most afraid of was not having anything to eat. Whoever did not give him food to eat, he would take that person's life ~!
At this time, even the most timid person would take the risk when forced into a corner!
"The Heavenly Dog is eating the sun! The Heavenly Dog is eating the sun! "
At this moment, the sky suddenly darkened, and the cries of the commoners could be heard from outside the mansion.
"Your … Your Highness! This … this Heavenly Dog eating the sun has always been seen as the omen of a country's demise! Now that it has appeared in Da Liang, I'm afraid that Da Liang is not far from its demise! "
At this moment, the soldier beside Liang Luoren said with a face full of fear.
"Hmph! Da Liang should have been destroyed long ago. Unfortunately, some people are still stubbornly holding on! "
Liang Luoren coldly snorted and said a rebellious sentence. The soldier next to him kept quiet out of fear, not daring to say anything.
A quarter of an hour later, the solar eclipse was over, and the world was bright again. Liang Luoren said, "Now that the celestial phenomenon has appeared, it means that Da Liang's fate has come to an end. Quickly prepare a horse! This King wants to see General Xin! "
"Yes!"
… … …
"Reporting!"
"Reporting to the Chief Steward, General Chai encountered the Tujue wolf cavalry at the east gate. After a battle, the Tujue were defeated, leaving behind thousands of corpses as they retreated in defeat! Now, General Chai is leading the army in pursuit of the enemy! "
South of Shuofang City, Tang Army's central tent.
A soldier rushed in and cupped his fists at Yuchi Jingde.
"The Tujue retreated in defeat? Good! Good! Good job, Sichang! "
Hearing the good news, Yuchi Jingde laughed loudly and said, "Quickly tell this Chief Steward about the battle!"
The soldier quickly began to explain, "Reporting to the Chief Steward, General Chai set up a pocket formation on the official road three li from the east gate …"
The soldier roughly explained the battle between General Chai and the Tujue to Yuchi Jingde. Yuchi Jingde nodded as he listened. In the end, he came back to his senses and quickly ordered, "Quickly ride a fast horse and catch up to General Chai. Tell him not to chase too deep and accidentally get surrounded by the enemy! Ashina 'er Tujue is not easy to deal with! "
"Yes!"
The soldier cupped his fists and left.
Just as Yuchi Jingde was about to breathe a sigh of relief, another soldier walked in and cupped his fists.
"Reporting to the Chief Steward, the south gate of Shuofang City has been opened. Liang Shidu's younger brother, Liang Luoren, personally carried Liang Shidu's head and led hundreds of officials out of the city, saying that he wants to surrender to the Great Tang!"
The moment these words were said, all the officials in the tent were stunned!
Although these old generals were not experienced in hundreds of battles, they had still fought dozens of wars! But now, before they even launched an attack, the enemy directly delivered the head of the enemy to admit defeat. They had never encountered such a battle before.
"This … could this be a trick that Liang Shidu deliberately came up with? His goal is to deceive us and make us lower our guard? "
Summer Province's Governor Liu Min could not help but ask.
Having been in Summer Province and having interacted with Liang Shidu for many years, he subconsciously thought that Liang Shidu was using a scheme to trick them into surrendering.
Xue Wanjun shook his head and said, "It shouldn't be! Opening the city gates and letting the officials out of the city would make it easy for our army to seize control of the city gates. At that time, the situation in Shuofang City would be at our mercy. Liang Shidu shouldn't be so stupid as to think of such a stupid move! "
The soldier cupped his fists and said, "Reporting to the generals, this general has already sent people to personally check. That head is indeed Liang Shidu's head! Furthermore, according to the spies in the city, Liang Luoren had just killed Liang Shidu in the palace. Together with Great Generals Xin Liao 'er, Li Zhengbao, and Feng Duan, they took control of the situation in the court. Then, they brought hundreds of officials out of the city to surrender! "
Yuchi Jingde laughed and said, "Good! Good! Good! Since Liang Shidu is already dead and the generals in Shuofang City have surrendered without a fight, then we have taken down Shuofang City without shedding a drop of blood! Let's go! Generals, follow this old man into the city! "
"Yes, sir!"
The atmosphere in the central tent instantly surged. All the generals cupped their fists and agreed, their faces filled with joy. After all, to be able to take down Shuofang City without shedding a drop of blood was the most ideal result!
.....
Chang 'an City.
The solar eclipse only lasted for a quarter of an hour before the world regained its light.
The commoners discovered an interesting thing. In the past, when the Heavenly Dog ate the Sun, everyone needed to beat drums and gongs. They used this loud noise to scare the Heavenly Dog away and "save" the Sun.
However, because Li Zexuan's Solar System Theory had been widely spread, only a small portion of the citizens went to beat the drums and gongs during the Heavenly Dog devouring the sun. After the initial panic, Chang 'an City became quiet. However, in the end, the sun still came out. This meant that the legend of the Heavenly Dog was a lie. There was no Heavenly Dog at all!
Of course, this also meant that Li Zexuan's Solar System Theory was correct!
Therefore, after the solar eclipse, the citizens regained their peace faster than usual. Those who were eating went back to eating, and those who were going home went home. However, most of them lamented that the Heavenly Dog devouring the sun was because the moon had blocked the sun!
"Your Majesty, after the Heavenly Dog devouring the sun, the citizens quickly returned to normal. No one spread rumors, and no one panicked! Now, the citizens believe what the Marquis of Yong 'an said on Datang Daily! "
Royal Palace, Ganlu Hall.
Li Er had personally witnessed the solar eclipse. At this moment, after he returned to the palace, Zhao Song came in to report to Li Er.
Since ancient times, the County Kings had placed great importance on the Heavenly Dog devouring the sun. Therefore, after the solar eclipse, Zhao Song sent people out of the palace to investigate the citizens' customs.
When Li Er heard this, he smiled and said, "Good! This way, I can rest assured! After all, if someone took the opportunity to mislead the people, although the Imperial Court has the ability to quell the rebellion, in the end, the people will be the ones to suffer! Send the Minister of War to commend Li Zexuan on my behalf! "
This small matter was not enough to confer Li Zexuan an official title, but it was still necessary to commend him!
Zhao Song smiled and said, "This old servant obeys!"
.....
Cloud Mountain, Yanhuang Courtyard.
Li Zexuan, who had just finished "admiring" the solar eclipse, was sunbathing in the courtyard. At the same time, he was thinking about the situation in Shu Zhong and the front line of Shuo Fang City.
That's right, when the solar eclipse came, he was seriously admiring this rare astronomical spectacle. This guy used two lenses covered in ink as sunglasses to admire the solar corona during the solar eclipse.
In his previous life, he had also experienced a total solar eclipse, but at that time, he was highly myopic and did not have the chance to look carefully. In this life, because of his cultivation of Inner Qi, his eyesight was excellent. Naturally, he did not want to miss such a good opportunity!
"Marquis! Marquis! I just saw an incredible phenomenon! Ouch! "
At this moment, Li Chunfeng ran into the courtyard excitedly and said excitedly, "Master, you've been waiting for a long time. However, just as he ran into the courtyard, he accidentally tripped on a bamboo stick on the ground and fell to the ground like a wild goose falling from the sand.
The Li Family's courtyard was full of cement! Li Chunfeng was already running very fast, so the fall was not light. His palms and arms were bleeding on the ground.
Li Zexuan was far away, and Li Chunfeng's fall was too sudden, so he could not react in time. He could only watch as Li Chunfeng fell to the ground!
"Master Li, are you okay? Xiao He! Quickly, bring gauze, water, and medicine! "
Li Zexuan only reacted when Li Chunfeng cried out in pain. He quickly walked to Li Chunfeng and pulled him up from the ground. He then shouted at Xiao He who was in the courtyard.
"Yes! Master! "
Xiao He quickly went to carry out the order.
Li Chunfeng immediately waved his hand and said, "No need, no need! I just didn't see the road clearly and accidentally tripped. It's just a small injury. It's not worth mentioning. I've embarrassed myself in front of you, Marquis! I'm here because I have something important to discuss with Marquis! "
"Didn't see the road clearly?"
Li Zexuan looked at Li Chunfeng suspiciously. Although his eyes were a little sluggish, they were not as rigid as those of a blind person. He could not help but let out a sigh of relief and asked, "Master Li, were you the one who was observing the entire solar eclipse?"
Li Chunfeng's face froze. He then smiled embarrassedly and said, "Erm … I was … fascinated by it, so …"
"So you've completely forgotten what this Marquis told you before? Hmph! It's a miracle that you're not blind! "
Li Zexuan said angrily.
Although the eyepiece and objective lens of the astronomical telescope were smeared with ink, this method could only slightly reduce the damage done to the eyes by the light in the corona. It could not completely eliminate the damage. That was why Li Zexuan reminded Li Chunfeng not to use the telescope for too long when they were in the academy. He did not expect this guy to be so daring as to forsake his own eyes!
Now, Li Chunfeng's eyes were not completely blind. That was definitely a blessing!
"Ahem! Marquis! This is all my fault, but I don't regret it. Because during my observation just now, I discovered a very extraordinary phenomenon! "
Li Chunfeng apologized embarrassedly and then said excitedly, "I'm sorry.
Li Zexuan saw that Li Chunfeng kept saying that he had discovered something incredible. He could not help but ask curiously, "Master Li, what did you see just now?"
"It moved! I saw the stars move! "
Li Chunfeng's words shocked Li Zexuan to the core!
.....
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