Since the imperial army's siege equipment was largely destroyed, they could not attack the city in the afternoon. The next morning, after breakfast, the imperial army naturally resumed the manufacture of siege equipment.
Qiancheng County, as the seat of Qiancheng Prefecture, had city walls about four *zhang* high and wide enough for warhorses to gallop.
Surrounding the city was a moat of moderate size and considerable depth. Without siege equipment, it would be difficult to conquer such a city with human power alone.
Especially with at least seventy to eighty thousand troops stationed in the city, such a city was even harder to conquer, unless they ran out of ammunition and food.
However, the court did not know how much grain the King of Liu had in the city. But according to the court's analysis, the King of Liu should be able to supply food for fifty thousand troops for at least a year or a half, otherwise, in case of an accident, they would directly run out of food.
In those days, it was absolutely impossible to get by without some stored food.
A batch of siege equipment was hastily manufactured that morning, and when it was displayed outside, it was destroyed by people sent from the city.
The second, third, and fourth days were all the same.
This way of fighting confused the King of Liu, Li Mengdie, and others. Not only them, but An Xian and others were also confused. However, both sides were certain that Chu Chen intended to starve them to death in the city. But why did he surround them on three sides and leave one open?
"What is Chu Chen thinking?"
In the prefectural office of Qiancheng Prefecture City, Li Mengdie sat at the head of the table, looked around, and said in confusion.
The civil and military officials under her were all bewildered, clearly not knowing why Chu Chen was besieging them like this.
Logically speaking, the court should be actively quelling the rebellion. The longer it dragged on, the more disadvantageous it would be for the court. But after Chu Chen led his army here, except for a few battles at the beginning involving a thousand or so people, there had been no movement. What was the point of just surrounding them?
"My lords, do you know why this is happening?"
"Your subjects do not know."
All the ministers shook their heads.
Only Fan Ju, after a moment of thought, said, "Your Highness, I have an idea. I don't know if I should say it or not?"
"Speak," Li Mengdie said, raising her eyebrows slightly.
Fan Ju frowned and said, "I believe that Chu Chen's encirclement of us is intended to divide his forces, using a feigned encirclement to secretly dispatch elite troops to bypass Qiancheng Prefecture City and strike directly at our rear."
"What!"
"This is impossible!"
Everyone was shocked by Fan Ju's words.
If this were the case, and an elite force really managed to raid their rear, they wouldn't need many troops; just five thousand infantry could make their rear unstable, and perhaps even the cities in the rear would be attacked.
This guess even startled Li Mengdie, who quickly ordered, "Quick, send someone to investigate the enemy's strength!"
"Yes!"
Cai Guangyao, knowing the gravity of the situation, did not dare to delay and personally led people to the city wall to inspect.
However, it was not very clear from the city wall. To get more accurate information, Cai Guangyao even personally led a dozen riders out of the city and circled around the encircling armies of An Xian and the other two sides.
Afterward, he ordered men to detour through the gap and go around to the rear of the imperial army to check if the number of troops in the rear was accurate.
After a full several hours of activity, Cai Guangyao finally confirmed that the imperial army was not as Fan Ju had said, and returned to the prefectural office in anger.
"General Cai, how is it?"
Li Mengdie asked eagerly.
"Your Highness! This Fan Ju is simply talking nonsense. After repeated confirmation, I can be sure that there is no elite force going around the rear!"
Cai Guangyao, with a hint of anger, recounted the intelligence he had gathered.
The number of flags, tents, cooking fires, wheel tracks, and road marks all confirmed that the imperial army had not lost thousands of men.
Fan Ju's forehead was covered in cold sweat. Having made two wrong suggestions in a row, he felt a great sense of unease.
Li Mengdie took a deep breath and glanced at him disdainfully, saying, "Discussing the enemy situation, speak freely. This matter is not Fan Ju's fault; he was merely speaking out of caution."
"But if this is not the case, then what is Chu Chen doing with the imperial army? Is he really trying to starve us to death out of sheer wealth and power, wanting to reduce losses?"
She thought that if the court really wanted to do this, she would have no way out.
If she had confidence before, facing a court with an annual revenue of twenty million taels, she couldn't compete in a war of attrition.
"Your Highness, this general believes that no matter what Chu Chen wants to do or what schemes he has, as long as we hold the city walls and monitor them, it will be enough to prevent him from flanking us."
"We are still attacking and conquering cities in the rear. When that happens, with constant attacks, in a few months, the numerical advantage will no longer be on the side of the imperial court!"
Cai Guangyao said without any worry.
Li Mengdie was slightly relieved.
A few more days passed. Just as Li Mengdie and others thought that Chu Chen had no way to deal with such a city and could only surround it, they did not know that Chu Chen had already thought of a solution.
At night, in the central army tent outside Qiancheng Prefecture City, it was very lively.
Chu Chen sat at the head of the table and looked around, asking, "Gentlemen, have you all understood my orders?"
"Reporting to the Marshal, we all understand!"
"Very good, proceed with the plan immediately!"
"Yes!"
"Prime Minister, your strategy is truly divine!"
An Xian flattered him, causing Chu Chen to laugh heartily, "This is hardly a divine strategy; it's merely an open scheme. Regardless, falling behind means being beaten. The fact that these rebels didn't fight desperately from the beginning determined their end."
How could Chu Chen really spend months fighting the rebels led by the King of Liu, Li Mengdie? If he did, wouldn't his life be wasted in vain after simulating it?
Through countless life simulations, Chu Chen had long known the intelligence of the King of Liu's generals, strategists, and troops, while the King of Liu, Li Mengdie, knew nothing about him.
This war, or rather, from the moment Chu Chen took command, was already decided.
This was not an equal battle at all!
Behind the central army tent, hundreds of craftsmen and their apprentices were urgently assembling hot air balloons, with large fires burning around them for illumination.
Such a large-scale operation naturally alerted Li Mengdie in Qiancheng Prefecture City. She led her men to the city wall and looked into the distance, observing the bright fires outside the city, while there were not many fires nearby.
This unusual arrangement of fires made Li Mengdie sense that something was wrong. She shouted, "What is going on? Is there no one below the city? Quickly send someone to test it!"
"Yes!"
Cai Guangyao quickly arranged for men to go out and attack the camp outside the city.
He thought there should be few people left in the camp outside the city, but unexpectedly, they were easily killed into the camp, and then the camp was instantly lit up, with sounds of fighting everywhere.
Seeing this scene, Li Mengdie almost spat blood. She had walked right into a trap!
"This damned Chu Chen! As expected, he is full of tricks! I will surely kill you!"