In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 863 Tragic

"You kept your promise."

Tian Yu comforted them, saying, "The reason they were willing to follow you was because they believed you could bring a better life to the people of Liangzhou, and you have indeed done so. Without your presence, even more people in Liangzhou would have died!"

What was the state of Liangzhou when Yang Zheng rebelled?

The common people bore heavy taxes, and corrupt officials and powerful families ruthlessly exploited them. Liangzhou at that time was truly a place where the people were living in misery, and people starved and froze to death every day.

It was Yang Zheng's appearance that brought a glimmer of hope to the starving people of Liangzhou. It was he who overthrew the rule of the imperial court and gave the people of Liangzhou a chance to survive.

Under Yang Zheng's rule, the people of Liangzhou are not wealthy, but at least no one is starving. For this alone, Yang Zheng can be considered to have done a great service.

"The fact that they are willing to die for you shows that they have placed their hopes on you."

Tian Yu patted Yang Zheng on the shoulder and said, "What you need to do is not to wallow in self-pity, but to do everything in your power to overthrow the court and let their families, and even all the people in the world, live a good life."

Yang Zheng wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes and said, "You're right! They've placed their hopes on me, and I can't let them down!"

After standing there for a while, staring at the gradually buried bodies of his personal guards, Yang Zheng turned around resolutely and returned to the camp with Tian Yu to summon the generals to discuss a strategy to break through the city.

"According to the information I have gathered, there are currently about 3,000 elite troops and about 20,000 serf soldiers in the Lu family manor."

Yang Zheng glanced at everyone in the tent and asked, "Does anyone have a strategy for breaking through the city?"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the tent fell into deep thought. The Lu family manor had already closed its gates and was in a state of strict defense. Their side had no better choice than to launch a forced attack on the city.

"The only solution now is to launch a direct and forceful attack on the city."

Tian Yu said, "General Yang, I know you cherish your soldiers, but a general should make decisive decisions and not miss a good opportunity because of a moment of soft-heartedness!"

Tian Yu knew perfectly well why Yang Zheng was unwilling to launch a forced attack on the city. It was clear from the tears Yang Zheng had shed earlier that he cherished his soldiers. A forced attack would inevitably result in heavy losses for his own army, and it was precisely because of this concern that Yang Zheng was reluctant to launch the attack.

A general should never be soft-hearted. Now the Lu family is clearly prepared to defend the Lu family manor to the death. Under these circumstances, we have no better choice than to forcefully attack the city.

Yang Zheng's face showed a struggle, but after a long while, he finally made up his mind and ordered, "Pass down the order to expedite the manufacture of siege equipment. The siege will officially begin in three days!"

"Yes!"

As soon as Yang Zheng issued his military order, the military camp instantly sprang into action. The soldiers stood ready for battle, while the civilian laborers accompanying the army performed their respective duties, urgently building various siege weapons.

Three days later, the fierce siege began!

Yang Zheng led an army of 80,000 to launch an attack from the west of the Lu Family Manor, while Tian Yu led a Great Wall Army of 100,000 to launch an attack from the north of the Lu Family Manor.

The walls of the Lu Family Manor seemed to have turned into a grinding wheel of flesh and blood, with countless soldiers of the Yang Family Army and the Great Wall Army either dying halfway up the wall or on the wall itself.

However, this could not destroy the fighting spirit of Yang Family Army and Great Wall Army. They continued to charge towards the city wall, attempting to break through this impregnable city with their own lives.

The Lu family, determined to defend to the death, dared not slacken their efforts in the slightest. Under the command of the Lu family, their retainers and the serfs who had been forcibly conscripted did their utmost to defend against wave after wave of attacks from the Yang family army and the Great Wall army, giving the army outside the city no chance to break through.

On the battlefield, one corpse after another fell from the sky, and one vibrant life after another fell on the city wall. The shouts of battle mixed with wails echoed continuously, and even the surface of the city wall seemed to be stained dark red with blood.

Outside the Lu family manor, it seemed to have turned into a living hell, with fallen corpses piling up into small hills.

"Damn it!"

Yang Zheng slammed his fist on the table, his eyes bloodshot.

Since the siege began, he hadn't had a good night's sleep, seeing countless soldiers fall every day. Every time he closed his eyes, he seemed to see the faces of those dead soldiers, which tore at his heart and made it hard for him to fall asleep.

It has now been 15 days since the siege began. In just half a month, the number of casualties among Yang Zheng's soldiers has reached an astonishing 20,000!

The Great Wall Army also suffered heavy losses; of its 100,000 troops, more than 10,000 have fallen on this battlefield.

"The Lu family..."

Tian Yu, who was accompanying Yang Zheng, also looked grim. Yang Zheng cherished his soldiers, and so did Tian Yu.

The sacrifice of ten thousand soldiers was enough to break Tian Yu's heart.

The reason why both sides suffered such great losses was not only because the Lu family occupied the city, but also because there were a large number of warriors in the Lu family's troops!

Because of the existence of the city wall, the Yang family army and the Great Wall army were already at a disadvantage. The Lu family also had a warrior regiment of up to three thousand men. The soldiers who managed to climb the city wall might be able to put up a fight against the Lu family's serf soldiers, but once they encountered the Lu family's warrior regiment...

They would be almost powerless to fight back and would fall down instantly.

Of course, while the Yang family army and the Great Wall army suffered such heavy losses, the Lu family also suffered some losses as well.

However, the Lu family's troop losses were far less than their own, with only about 3000 troops lost in half a month.

In other words... the casualty ratio between the two sides reached an astonishing ten to one, meaning that on average, our side had to sacrifice ten soldiers to kill one Lu family soldier.

This loss was clearly unacceptable to Yang Zheng and Tian Yu.

Whether it was the soldiers under Yang Zheng's command or the Great Wall Army led by Tian Yu, they were all battle-hardened elites. They couldn't even accept a one-for-one or two-for-one exchange, let alone a ten-for-one.

"General Tian."

With bloodshot eyes, Yang Zheng turned to Tian Yu and said, "If we continue fighting like this, even if we manage to capture the Lu family manor in the end, I'm afraid less than one-tenth of our soldiers will survive!"

Before the battle began, Yang Zheng knew that there were about 23,000 troops in the Lu family manor, while his side had a total of 180,000 troops. If calculated according to the previous ten-to-one casualty ratio, even if Yang Zheng and Tian Yu used all their troops, it would probably be difficult to take down the Lu family manor.

"I know, but we have no way out, do we?"

Tian Yu said in a deep voice.

Upon hearing this, Yang Zheng couldn't help but close his eyes.

Yes!

Neither he nor Tian Yu had any way out.