With just a few words, Guo Jia stirred up the emotions of the three people and fully explored the internal conflicts of the Taishan Bandits. After knowing that Chang Xi and Wu Dun were at odds, and Wu Dun and Yin Li were in the same camp, Guo Jia restrained his smile and stopped provoking the three people: "I am not interested in the disputes between you. If you want to live, shut up and listen to me."

Putting away his cynical smile, Guo Jia now showed his extremely domineering side.

Although Wu Dun was angry, he didn't want to continue losing his temper after hearing this. He just snorted and sat back in his seat.

On the banks of the Xishui River, at the south gate of Pingyi.

Dian Wei led a thousand infantrymen as the vanguard, and they rushed here day and night, and finally arrived here within three days.

The local county magistrate was originally terrified when facing tens of thousands of rebel troops. He finally breathed a sigh of relief and put his mind at ease after seeing Dian Wei leading the reinforcements to arrive.

The county magistrate stepped forward tremblingly and greeted him: "Captain Dian, thanks for your timely arrival. I heard that the rebel army has arrived in Nanwuyang. Now the people in the city are all looking forward to the arrival of the imperial army to wipe out the rebels and pacify the counties. In addition, I have prepared a banquet to welcome you, Captain Dian."

"No need for that. Drinking is prohibited during combat. This is military law."

Dian Wei waved his hand to refuse.

Normally, he, Zhang Fei and Guo Jia were all people who could not live without alcohol. However, since joining Wang Jing's army, Dian Wei had become accustomed to the rule prohibiting drinking during wartime and dared not cross it in the slightest.

What's more, the military situation is urgent now, and it is not the time for him to leisurely eat, drink and have fun.

After arriving in Pingyi, Dian Wei immediately sent out scouts to gather intelligence everywhere. When the scouts returned, he immediately asked in earnest: "Where is the enemy advancing to now?"

After going out to investigate, the scouts returned to Pingyi City and immediately reported: "Captain, the enemy's main force is still staying in Fei County, but they have sent out small forces to attack from all sides and plunder the villages."

The terrain in Pingyi area is complex, with rugged mountains accounting for more than 85 percent of the total area.

The enemy troops were numerous, including the villagers, so it was not difficult to guess their route of advance.

Dian Wei spread out the map and compared the location between the two cities with a solemn expression, lost in thought: "Pingyi and Feixian are less than a hundred miles apart. The villages are mainly concentrated along the banks of the Xi River. According to the Pingyi County Magistrate, most of the villagers have not yet been able to evacuate. If we don't rescue them, I'm afraid it will pose a considerable threat."

The walls of Pingyi were low, and the garrison consisted of only a few hundred soldiers. Even with the one thousand newly stationed soldiers from Qingzhou, the total number was less than two thousand.

Once the enemy is allowed to plunder the villages on both sides of the Xi River and take tens of thousands of civilians with them, the main force of the enemy can then easily hold the line in the rear, drive the people to attack the city, wear down the defenders' strength and morale, and finally take over Pingyi City in one fell swoop while the guards are tired.

Although Dian Wei had never studied military tactics seriously, he had been with Wang Jing for some time and had recently fought together in Xuzhou, so he had accumulated some combat experience.

Dian Wei quickly made his judgment based on the intelligence information he had collected: "The main force has just passed Sishui, and it will take another six days to reach Pingyi. Before that, I must buy enough time to defend the city."

If we want to withstand the enemy's attack, it is not enough to just defend ourselves. The first priority now is to prevent the enemy from continuing to grow its forces like a snowball.

Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, Dian Wei decided to take the initiative. He immediately found the magistrate of Pingyi County and asked him to assign people to escort the food and lead the way.

When the magistrate of Pingyi heard that Dian Wei's army did not defend the city but took the initiative to fight, he panicked and tried to dissuade him: "Captain Wu Meng, please do not act rashly. The enemy is strong and we should hold our ground and wait for help."

Dian Wei shook his head and said, "The enemy has just conquered Fei County and is now sending troops to plunder. They are not yet firmly established. If we stay put and watch the enemy wreak havoc, I'm afraid it will only take a few days for the enemy to bring 100,000 refugees to attack Pingyi. That would be the real danger."

After listening to Dian Wei's analysis, the magistrate of Pingyi County was helpless and finally had to follow Dian Wei's advice.

In a short while, the county magistrate gathered a large number of local warriors and selected several guides to lead the way. He then deployed personnel to escort food and fodder, so that Dian Wei and the soldiers he led could concentrate on fighting.

After a night's rest, Dian Wei got up early the next morning, woke up the entire army, and set out immediately after breakfast.

The army went south along the Xi River and approached Fei County, helping to evacuate villagers along the way and forcing them to quickly hide in Pingyi City.

Although the city wall of Pingyi is low, it still provides some protection and can slightly block the enemy's attack.

There were many young and strong people among the accompanying villagers. After entering Pingyi City, they could be recruited into an army and used for defense in an emergency, which was a disguised way to weaken the enemy and strengthen themselves.

The difference between this increase and decrease is not small. Many times, the victory or defeat of a battle is determined by the accumulation of these little details, and ultimately the details determine success or failure.

Dian Wei personally led a thousand warriors down the river, and indeed discovered the small force sent by Que Xuan to plunder.

The enemy troops were extremely numerous and divided into hundreds of groups, wreaking havoc everywhere, so that the surrounding villages were engulfed in smoke and the local people suffered terribly from the disaster.

However, this was a good thing for Dian Wei. The enemy's division into groups to plunder meant that their forces were dispersed everywhere, with a few dozen at the least and a few hundred at the most. This unorganized robbery team could only barely bully the villagers in terms of combat effectiveness. Dian Wei led more than a thousand warriors and quickly defeated these people one by one.

The opponent couldn't even cause any damage to Dian Wei's troops, but that was no wonder. After all, the thousand men under Dian Wei were the elite selected from the 300,000 Qingzhou soldiers.

Not only are they all sturdy, with strong builds, all of them are over 1.8 meters tall, but they also practice martial arts every day with perseverance, and they also have good food and wine, so their bodies are getting stronger and stronger. They can wear 50 kilograms of iron armor, travel more than 30 miles a day, and then break through the enemy's formation and kill them.

On the other hand, most of Que Xuan's rebels were rioters who came from bandits and thieves. If they were asked to burn, kill and loot, they would definitely cry out in protest.

But if they were asked to go into battle and kill the enemy, all they would be able to do is cry.

How could a group of bandits lacking organization and discipline be a match for the more than a thousand muscular men from Qingzhou under Dian Wei's command?

In almost the first encounter, they were defeated by Dian Wei and had to hastily withdraw their forces.

In Fei County, Que Xuan, who had occupied the county government office as a den of thieves, was upset after hearing the report from his subordinates: "A bunch of rubbish, a mere 1,000 people scared you to death?"

"Your Majesty, it's not that we are incompetent. It's just that the enemy soldiers are all wearing armor and are invulnerable to swords and spears."

"Yes, they all wear heavy armor and hold halberds in both hands. They kill people as easily as chopping melons and vegetables. How can we be their opponents?"

A group of subordinates wailed, and no matter how Que Xuan instigated and threatened them, they refused to leave the city to plunder again.

After all, they have already robbed all the places they could around Fei County, and there is a killing god like Dian Wei outside. If they go out and wander around now, wouldn’t that be courting death?

"What a bunch of useless rubbish!"

Que Xuan was so angry that he started cursing. He felt that he was a very cowardly emperor. Which of his subordinates looked like a founding general?

Just by meeting a little-known Dian Wei, he was beaten like this. How can he achieve great things?

Although Tao Qian was the one who secretly instigated this matter in the beginning, now that things had come to this and he had proclaimed himself the Son of Heaven, Que Xuan still hoped that he could continue to be the emperor.

At present, they must first capture Pingyi and occupy the advantageous terrain, relying on the steep mountains there to block the enemy's main force. Therefore, Que Xuan immediately made up his mind and shouted, "I am the Son of Heaven, blessed by God. How can a mere Dian Wei, who is just an unknown person, stand in my way? Gather your forces immediately, I will lead the army in person!"

Que Xuan quickly assembled a force of more than 30,000 troops, and marched towards Pingyi City in a mighty force, like a swarm of locusts.

The villages along the way had already been cleared out by Dian Wei, and all the food and people had been forcibly taken away, making Que Xuan very depressed.

His military force seems strong, but in fact most of them are useless refugees. But refugees are also human beings, and human beings need to eat.

This led to a huge food pressure on Que Xuan, which almost suffocated him. Otherwise, after taking Fei County, Que Xuan would not have kept his main force motionless, but instead sent people to sweep the villages and plunder the people like a fool.

The lack of food and fodder forced him to resort to this desperate measure.

Only when you manage the household do you know how expensive firewood and rice are. It was only when the rebel army arrived at the city of Pingyi that Que Xuan learned that half of the troops were already starving.

There was no one around him to help him, so the management from top to bottom was a mess. Que Xuan, who lacked counselors, was in great pain at the moment. Regarding the problem of insufficient food, Que Xuan could not think of any reliable strategy at all. The only thing he could do at this time was to think about whether he could rob the granary after conquering Pingyi to make up for the shortage.

Pingyi was a big city, and the rebels lacked siege equipment, so it was difficult to capture it in a hurry. Therefore, before the war started, in order to defeat the enemy without fighting, Que Xuan sent one of his men to persuade them to surrender.

This man was wearing a tattered piece of armor that he had stolen, but the lining inside was not the Han army's uniform, but a colorful brocade robe. No one knew which unlucky rich businessman it was taken from, and the combination was totally out of place.

However, this man had never read a book, let alone know etiquette. He was like a monkey in a human robe, and instead rode a stolen mule to the city gate and challenged: "I am the great general Yang Wu, who is under the emperor's throne. If you know what's good for you, open the gate and surrender quickly. Otherwise, after the city is captured, no one will be left alive!"

"WTF?"

Dian Wei was really confused by the scene before him.

Emperor?

General?
Could it be that the enemy wanted to use this method to make himself laugh to death so that he could easily break through the city gate?
Dian Wei really couldn't imagine that there was such a fool in the world, so he ordered the archer beside him: "Release the arrows, shoot him to death."

"Yes!"

Then more than twenty archers drew their bows together and shot Yang Wu to death under the city gate.

Yang Wu died in a horrible way. His whole body was pricked by thorns like a hedgehog. He died suddenly on the spot with his eyes wide open, obviously dying with his eyes open.

"Your Majesty, the general is dead!"

"Ah! Didn't Yang Wu go to persuade people to surrender? Why did he die?"

The people were in the rear, and before the battle even started, a "great general" had died. Que Xuan, the Xibei Emperor, was completely enraged. He immediately roared and ordered a fierce attack: "This is really unreasonable, we must fucking kill him. Soldiers, listen to my order, capture Pingyi, and leave no one alive to avenge the great general!"

"Attack the city! Attack the city! Avenge the general!"

"His Majesty said that after the city is captured, the swords will not be put down for three days of cleaning the city!"

"Brothers, kill! Break Pingyi, rob money, food and women. Wealth and glory are just around the corner!"

As the saying goes, an army in despair will surely win. Although many soldiers in the rebel army did not know Yang Wu, the so-called general, it did not stop them from burning, killing and looting under the banner of revenge for Yang Wu.

Hearing that they could do whatever they wanted after breaking into the city, the morale of the bandits was still very high. After all, the rebel soldiers were a mob, and they could not be restrained by military regulations, laws, ethics, and integrity. Only money and women could move and drive them.

Afterwards, Que Xuan began to order the people to move forward to fill the line in order to consume the defenders' defensive supplies such as crossbows and rolling logs.

These captured civilians were unarmed, pale and thin. They were often only given a wooden spear or bamboo gun, and some were even only given a carrying pole. They were driven to the front of the rebel soldiers like pigs and sheep, and began to attack the city like ants.

"Attack, attack immediately! Whoever dares to retreat, I will chop off his head!"

The main force of the rebels was not in a hurry to attack. They just stood in the rear with swords in hand, supervising the refugees to attack the city.

Anyone among the refugees who dared to retreat would be hacked to death.

"These damn villains!"

Dian Wei was a chivalrous man who valued righteousness. He had never seen such a thing happen. He was immediately filled with anger, his eyes spitting fire: "Sooner or later, I will kill all of you traitors and avenge the innocent people who died!"

Today, the Yanhan Dynasty is on its last legs, the whole country is in turmoil, and the people are living in misery.

Wherever the rebels and bandits went, they often left the land barren for thousands of miles, and countless villages were destroyed to the point where not a blade of grass grew and no one was living.

Dian Wei himself came from a poor family and saw the suffering of the people, so it was very likely that he would follow a wise leader, wipe out the heroes, and pacify the troubled times.

Under the leadership of Dian Wei, the defenders fought hard for three consecutive days, and the corpses piled up like a mountain below the city gate, while the fluttering battle flag above the watchtower was still standing.

On the fourth day, the main force of the rebels thought that the defenders' physical strength and morale had been exhausted, so they personally went into battle, intending to break through the city gate in one fell swoop and capture Pingyi.

On the watchtower, only 500 of the 1,000 Qingzhou soldiers were left, and all of them were injured: "Captain, the enemy's main force is coming."

Dian Wei's face was calm, but his tiger eyes were fierce: "Are you finally willing to come out of your turtle shell? Get ready, and follow me later to kill these bastards."

The commander was so brave that the soldiers under him naturally did not fear life and death. They all laughed when they heard his words: "That's right, a bunch of bastards, they only know how to hide in the back and make nonsense. If they dare to come up, I will kill a few of them and use them as snacks for wine."

Although these Qingzhou warriors were injured and tired, they were like sharpened swords, sharp and fierce.

Any enemy who dares to attack will surely be killed and defeated in front of them.

After Dian Wei boosted the morale, he decisively took 500 veteran soldiers from Qingzhou with extremely strong fighting will and hid in the soldier cave in the watchtower to recuperate. As for the defense on the city wall, he let a group of newly recruited militiamen take over.

The enemy was unaware of the trick and found that the defense on the city wall had obviously weakened. They thought that the morale of the defenders had been completely worn out, so they immediately ordered the refugees to withdraw and led the main force to hold on.

"Kill! After the city is captured, everyone will be rewarded!"

"Kill! Conquer Pingyi and return home rich and powerful!"

The main force of the rebels rushed to climb the city wall. They were like crazy and couldn't wait to rush into the city and do whatever they wanted.

At the rebel camp, Que Xuan couldn't help but feel overjoyed when he heard that some soldiers had already climbed onto the city wall. He then led his troops forward, intending to capture Pingyi in one fell swoop.

Que Xuan had even planned in his mind how he would vent his frustration and anger after the city was captured. He had been badly beaten by Dian Wei before, so he was always thinking about how to get back at him and avenge his previous humiliation.

However, at this moment, Dian Wei moved.

Five hundred Qingzhou warriors, holding double halberds and wearing heavy armor, rushed out of the watchtower.

Dian Wei bravely took the lead and charged in front. He roared angrily and said, "My fellow soldiers, kill the enemy and serve our country today!"

He then performed his self-realized unique skill "Nine Seals of Moving Mountains". This skill was derived from the Taoist mysterious skill "Secret Blessings of Six Jia". When he stepped on the ground, he would have infinite power, as if he could move mountains and fill the sea.

When Dian Wei was young, he went into the mountains by mistake while hunting a man-eating tiger. There he met a strange man, from whom he learned the magical skills of Taoism. He combined it with his own martial arts and thus developed this unique skill.

"An angry bullfight!"

Dian Wei shouted suddenly, and then he performed the "Fighting" seal among the Nine Seals. He made a sound with the Qi in his Dantian, and the sound waves vibrated the acupoints all over his body. Then his muscles swelled, and the surging essence turned into a bloody smoke and rose into the sky.

dong dong dong~
Dian Wei stepped on the ground, and the power rising from the ground seemed endless. At this moment, he was wearing five-colored divine bull armor, and the whole person was like a tiger entering a flock of sheep. His double halberds spun and rolled up a hurricane, killing more than seventy people in a row. Then he threw his hand halberd and killed two enemy generals, which directly caused the enemy's morale to collapse.

Seeing Dian Wei so ferocious, like the reincarnation of E Lai, the enemy army immediately lost their courage. They were no match for the Qingzhou warriors, and now they encountered a peerless vicious man like Dian Wei. They were beaten on the spot and fled in all directions.

The main force of the enemy was driven off the city walls, and panic quickly spread. The refugee troops, who had been ruled by high pressure, suddenly became uncontrollable and riots broke out.

Seeing this, Dian Wei immediately decided to go out of the city and give chase: "My men, follow me to kill the enemy!"

Five hundred Qingzhou soldiers were so brave that they rushed out from the main gate and chased the enemy for five miles, killing them until the enemy's blood flowed like a river. They then slowly retreated back into the city to rest. (End of this chapter)