996 Fall of Fanyang (1/2)

Chapter 996 – Fall of Fanyang

The rebel army's first day of attacks ended in failure, and the price was 30 thousand innocent civilians and 40 thousand elite troops.

Chang An City was a lot more stubborn than Di Chen and the others had predicted.

As night fell, the moonlight shone on the bloodstained walls, the old and broken city walls, the corpses stacked up like mountains, and the earth stained red by blood.

After the system update, corpses would not despawn. As such, to prevent illnesses from spreading, Ouyang Shuo ordered them to bury the bodies at night or burn them.

The rumbling black smoke spread out in the air, sending a chill down one's spine. In the cold air, sobbing sounds could be heard; these sobs were of someone who lost their loved ones.

During this seismic battle, 20 thousand of the young men recruited had died, mostly from the arrow turrets and trebuchets. The 60 thousand newbies were even worse, as one-third of them were lost.

As expected from the men of Great Tang.

During the night, there were rumors that the rebels only wanted to wipe out the ruler and not rebel. After the army entered Chang An, they would not harm the civilians, so they hoped that the people would not make any needless sacrifices.

The spies that An Lushan had planted in Chang An had started to do their work.

The moment the rumors spread out, there were really people that believed it. Especially those people who saw their neighbors fighting to the death; these people were traumatized and were afraid that such a catastrophe would befall them as well.

The world had been peaceful for long, and the people hated wars. Naturally, it was for the best if they were able to stop the war.

Hence, the people started to feel unsettled.

Ouyang Shuo immediately sent people to send word, ”The rebel army says they are rebelling because of Yang Guozhong, but he's dead, yet they have not stopped. In the day, they used innocent civilians to siege the city, sacrificing innocent lives.”

”With the above two points, one can see that the rebel army is sprouting lies.”

The moment the notice was released, the civilians were woken up, ”That's right, the rebels would not let us off even if they enter.”

As a result, the rebel army making use of civilians during the day was them digging their own graves.

While solving the rumors, Ouyang Shuo once again used the Divine Martial Guards to capture all these mice that jumped out.

...

In the following two days, the rebel army launched relentless assault after relentless assault on Chang An City. Each time, it was useless, and they left with cold corpses.

Chang An City was like a greedy beast, swallowing up fresh life.

On the third day of the siege, the rebel army's morale fell.

”This cannot go on. We are going to fall under those city walls.” Di Chen was still really calm, and he gritted his teeth and said, ”We need to change our strategy and come up with a plan.”

The few of them gathered together to discuss strategy. The atmosphere was not as relaxed as before. All of them were really solemn, and their brows were locked tight.

Only when the dead of night arrived did they go their separate ways.

...

15th day of the Battle Map, Chang An City.

The morning attacks of the rebel army were no different from the first two days. The only difference was that it was much more vicious, and they did not bother about the sacrifices. Each of them was fearless, and there were signs that they were going all out.

”The enemy is giving it their all. Focus guys!”

On the city wall, the experienced generals all noticed what was up with the enemies, so they reminded their men to focus. The battlefield had no eyes, and any small moment of carelessness would be fatal, much less at such a crucial moment.

The consecutive three days of attacks of the rebel army was a huge test for the defending troops. It was eating away at the mental strength of the soldiers, putting them on the verge of collapsing.

If this goes on, the defending troops might not be able to hold on. After all, there was a difference in numbers. However, the rebel army had suffered heavy casualties, and their morale had reached a freezing point. They might not be able to hold on till they managed to break through.

This was a battle of mental strength, and it was a psychological battle of commanders between the two sides.

It was a battle to see who could not hold on.

Undoubtedly, Di Chen and the others were restless first, as they changed their strategy.

At noon, just as everyone was the most relaxed, the rebel army suddenly acted. The 70 thousand troops that Di Chen used as reserve forces were moving.

”Not good!” Shihu felt his heart sink.