Honey Pomelo

Chapter 1159 The Poisonous Scheme Against Taiyuan!

"This has already happened, and all we can do now is find a way to cover it up!"

As everyone fell silent, Li Gang finally stepped forward. Things had escalated to this point, and everyone had a fallback plan except him!

He had staked the lives of everyone in his household as a guarantee. If the city walls had a problem now, it would mean that his entire Li family would likely not have a single survivor!

"Trying to cover it up now might not be easy, after all, many parts are still in the air..."

While it was simple to say, it was entirely different to do.

General He Guan, though he had never been in charge of constructing city walls, had been responsible for guarding the palace walls for many years and knew a thing or two.

If a city brick on the wall cracked, even in peacetime, it wouldn't be easy to repair. Even if only one brick was damaged, it would take at least ten days to half a month to fix.

Moreover, with the Jin people all over the outside of the city right now!

If they were discovered while repairing, the situation would truly be disastrous!

"My lord, your subordinate believes that instead of wasting time here discussing these matters, we should launch a surprise night raid tonight and give these Jin people a taste of our strength!"

While everyone was deep in thought, Yao Pingzhong, who had been quietly drinking water in a corner, suddenly stood up.

"What did you say?"

Upon hearing this, Li Gang's pupils constricted.

"Your subordinate believes that instead of passively defending here, it would be better to launch a surprise night raid tonight. If successful, the siege of Bianliang will be lifted!"

After Yao Pingzhong finished speaking, Li Gang's brow furrowed again. To be honest, he was very averse to such adventurism.

This had nothing to do with being rigid or stubborn; it was simply because they couldn't afford to lose!

"That's not feasible. Our troop strength is already limited. If the night raid fails, it might backfire. If anything happens to Bianliang city, who can bear the responsibility?"

Before Li Gang could respond, He Guan immediately stood up and retorted.

"Then what? This won't work, and that won't work! If you both say so, are we just supposed to sit here and wait to die? Have you considered something? What if the reinforcement army cannot arrive on time?"

No matter what He Guan said, Yao Pingzhong stubbornly insisted on his opinion.

"You're just arguing for the sake of it. Aren't there multiple routes for the reinforcement army? Would the entire world stand by and watch Bianliang fall? My lord, your subordinate firmly opposes a night raid outside the city!"

"Mr. He, what do you mean? Are you deliberately opposing me?"

Seeing He Guan directly in opposition to him, Yao Pingzhong slammed his hand on the table and stood up.

"What do you two want to do? Are you going to draw your swords here?"

Seeing the two men aggressively reaching for their sword hilts almost simultaneously, Li Gang, in his anger, smashed the teacup in his hand.

"Please forgive me, my lord!"

Seeing Li Gang's anger, the two who had been like fighting cocks stepped back and clasped their fists towards Li Gang almost at the same time.

"I know you both mean well for the country, but this matter is of great importance. The safety of Bianliang city concerns the lives of nearly a million residents, and even more so, the safety of His Majesty! Let's not talk about the night raid for now!"

"My lord is wise!"

Upon hearing Li Gang's words, He Guan glanced provocatively at Yao Pingzhong.

"My lord, although you are the Governor of the Eastern Capital, as you yourself said, this matter is of great importance. Your subordinate requests that His Majesty make the decision!"

Even though he knew his plan might not pass the emperor's review, Yao Pingzhong still wanted to try!

"Why are you putting yourself through this? If this plan fails, do you know the consequences?"

After listening to his words, even Li Gang couldn't help but let out a wry smile.

The risk of this idea was too high. If the emperor rejected it, it would be one thing. But if the emperor agreed to his plan, and he himself failed, then the once glorious Yao family, established over a hundred years, would likely fall apart.

After all, for such a significant mistake, someone would have to take the blame. At that time, the defeated Yao Pingzhong would surely be made a scapegoat.

"Your subordinate has thought it through. Please grant me your favor!"

Even with Li Gang's blatant warning, Yao Pingzhong simply would not listen.

Seeing the determination in his eyes, Li Gang felt helpless. The people of the Yao family were always the same...

Although he was the Governor of the Eastern Capital, and the generals under him were indeed directly responsible to him, for proposals where a general insisted and he himself couldn't make a decision, it naturally had to be submitted to the emperor for judgment.

"Your subordinate is willing to die for His Majesty!"

After bowing respectfully to Li Gang again, Yao Pingzhong knelt on the ground.

"Write your plan into a memorial and accompany me to the palace later!"

Since neither side could convince the other, Li Gang was out of options. He had to pass this hot potato to the emperor and see how the emperor would handle it.

Beneath the walls of Bianliang, the Song and Jin dynasties began their game of chess. Meanwhile, in Taiyuan city, Zhang Xiaochun's face was filled with grief and indignation.

In order to consume the heavy supplies as quickly as possible, Wen Yanlou ordered all the civilians within a twenty-mile radius to be rounded up!

"General, what is the purpose of us doing this? And the ones you've chosen are basically all the old, weak, women, and children..."

Seeing the increasing number of Song civilians in their hands, Wanyan Yinshu was finally unable to hold back and asked.

"How strong Taiyuan city is, I believe you all have a clear understanding of this by now. How could we easily take such a fortified city? There are only two paths before us: either we risk our lives to assault it, or we send more people in to deplete the city's grain reserves as quickly as possible!"

After his explanation, everyone's eyes lit up. This strategy seemed simple, but even they had to admit that it was indeed a good method!