The food delivery guy is here.

Just like that, inexplicably, Gao Yuan and the 1,700 troops of the First Division were surrounded in Puer by 4,000 Bozhou Army soldiers.

"Is this Yang Zhao crazy? He ran all the way here with 4,000 troops just to deliver himself as prey?"

Gao Yuan couldn't quite fathom Yang Zhao's thought process.

Xia Luqi was already eager to give it a try.

"My lord, This humble general is willing to lead the troops into battle and crush these people who do not know the immensity of heaven and earth."

Gao Yuan knew that with the combat power of the First Division, crushing these local soldiers outside was a sure thing.

However, he had some other thoughts in mind.

"Bang Jie, send someone out of the city overnight to notify Zhengze. Tell him to keep his movements concealed and ensure the enemy does not discover him. Also, to avoid any accidents, have him bring along those he just transferred. This time, I want to have a real feast."

Although he didn't understand what Gao Yuan meant, Xia Luqi still resolutely went to execute the order.

Upon receiving the message sent by Xia Luqi and Gao Yuan's written order, Liu Rengui immediately understood his intentions.

"My lord is trying to catch a big fish! Pass down the order: starting tomorrow, the Scouts will extend their range to fifty li, and the main army will hide during the day and move at night to keep their movements concealed."

Receiving the news from the front lines, Yang Zhao became even more certain that Gao Yuan was ill-prepared and, in his panic, had chosen to hold his ground and not come out.

Overjoyed, he began to calmly mobilize his forces.

Now, all thoughts of celebrating the festival vanished, and everyone began to busy themselves.

Soon, the 5,000 troops mobilized from Wumeng, Guiyang, and other places arrived at Puer.

To prevent reinforcements from West City and Menge, Yang Zhao specifically assigned 2,000 troops to garrison the key routes.

Now he felt that everything was foolproof and that he could finally eat this piece of fat that originally belonged to him.

"Are you sure there are only 1,000 men?"

"There are only 1,000 men here, and another 1,000 on the road to West City. They are all still building their camps."

Liu Rengui was overjoyed. Yang Zhao's supposedly safe arrangement was simply delivering prey, giving him the opportunity to defeat them one by one.

"Pass down the order: the rear of the army will become the vanguard. Tonight, the entire army will attack. Let's finish off these 1,000 men first."

The Bozhou Army would never have imagined that Liu Rengui's reinforcements had already passed their defensive positions.

Their camps were all defended facing the Southwest direction, leaving their rear completely exposed.

Late at night, the Bozhou Army soldiers, having been busy all day, ate their meal and went to sleep early.

In the Northeast direction, there were only a few token sentries.

With a few muffled groans, the souls of the sentries drifted out of their bodies.

The young soldiers who had been full of vitality just a moment ago now lay limp on the ground like sacks of rags.

This camp where 1,000 men were stationed was now completely defenseless.

"Keep the noise down. If you can sneak attack, do it!"

"Understood!"

Following Liu Rengui's order, dozens of small teams dashed toward the tents one by one.

The sound of flesh being sliced open by sharp blades was particularly distinct in the silent night.

The sneak attack was soon discovered by a patrol, but unfortunately, it was already too late.

Now, fewer than 700 men remained alive, unable to organize any decent resistance.

Just as the sky was beginning to brighten, the battle had completely ended, and the battlefield had already been cleared.

More than 400 Bozhou Army soldiers were killed, and the rest were taken prisoner before they even had a chance to pick up their weapons.

Ten days later, Yang Zhao arrived at the walls of Puer with his 3,000 most elite troops.

At this moment, he still did not know that he had already lost 2,000 troops.

"Gao Yuan, you are completely surrounded by me. If you are sensible, offer a ransom and withdraw from Puer, and I can spare your life."

Gao Yuan stood on the city wall, looking at the army camp outside, and tilted his head slightly to ask:

"How many troops are there?"

"Except for the North Gate, there are over 10,000 in total at the other three gates. My lord, this is a big piece of fat!"

Gao Yuan showed a look of deep satisfaction.

"Tsk tsk tsk, this Yang Zhao has really gone all out. This time, I will make him feel what it means to lose everything. Pass down the order: the entire army is to be on alert and prepare to fight a defensive battle."

"Understood!"

Yang Zhao shouted at the city wall for a long time until his throat was smoking, but to his surprise, there was not a single response. He immediately felt he had lost face.

"Ignorant fool, pass the order to attack the city tomorrow."

As the old lair of Zuo Long, although Puer did not have a moat, the city was built of rammed earth and was still quite sturdy.

The warehouses in the city were stocked with plenty of supplies for defending the city, which became Gao Yuan's confidence in holding it.

Each of the three gates was garrisoned by 400 soldiers and 200 able-bodied men, divided into two shifts to take turns on the walls.

Gao Yuan himself, along with Xia Luqi, each led 200 elite troops to form a reserve force, ready to plug any gaps at any time.

Liu Rengui, leading 3,000 troops, was currently lurking in the shadows, resting and gathering strength while looking for an opportunity to strike.

Early the next morning, after breakfast, the Bozhou Army marched out of their camp in full force and arrayed for battle.

Seeing that there were still only two or three hundred people on the city wall, just like yesterday, including some able-bodied men with fearful eyes, Yang Zhao was convinced that Gao Yuan was ill-prepared.

"It seems there are fewer than 1,000 defenders in the city. Three days—I will take Puer within three days."

Yang Zhao's confidence was also transmitted to his subordinates, and soon the Bozhou Army roared as they carried scaling ladders and charged over.

Looking at the dense swarm of enemy troops charging over, Gao Yuan sighed with regret:

"What a pity, there are no bows and arrows; otherwise, we could have shot down a hundred men in this round alone."

Seeing no arrows flying from the city wall, Yang Zhao became even more smug. Before his eyes, he already envisioned the scene of breaking into the city, with Gao Yuan fleeing in panic and begging for mercy on his knees.

This illusion made him completely ignore the stones and logs being thrown down from the city wall.

Stones weighing about ten jin, under the force of gravity, erupted with astonishing lethality; being hit by one meant a broken head and bleeding.

Not to mention the logs rolling down the scaling ladders, which were simply a great weapon for dealing with the ladders.

Xia Luqi's operation was even simpler: he directly used a pole to push the scaling ladders resting on the city wall away.

"Ah!"

The soldiers on the scaling ladders watched in despair as the ladders were pushed out and then fell down, losing their support.

Several soldiers were thrown into a daze, with broken legs and feet, losing their combat effectiveness.

Their comrades behind them had no intention of helping them up at all; instead, they trampled directly over them.

After pushing down a dozen scaling ladders, Xia Luqi hadn't even broken a sweat and immediately rushed to another city gate.

In less than two hours of siege in the morning, the Bozhou Army had suffered more than 800 casualties.

This casualty figure made Yang Zhao ache with pain, and his hatred for Gao Yuan increased by a few degrees.

As a transmigrator, Gao Yuan was very clear about a term called 'sunk cost.'

For Yang Zhao, the mobilization of the army, the consumption of provisions, and the casualties of the troops—this sunk cost was already very high.

If he couldn't take Puer, it would be a truly bloody loss.

Every day Yang Zhao stayed here, his losses would grow greater, and in the end, he would become like a gambler who had lost his mind.

That was the scenario Gao Yuan most wanted to see.

It wasn't that he hadn't fantasized about waiting for Yang Zhao to be utterly defeated, then launching a counterattack to take Dian Prefecture.

Soon, his fantasy was interrupted; Xia Luqi's mobile unit was tired and needed to be relieved.

Gao Yuan climbed up from the ground and drew his sword.

"Brothers, follow me!"

Outside the city, the siege troops completed their rotation; Yang Zhao was prepared not to give them any chance to catch their breath, aiming to take Puer in one go.

Taking advantage of the Bozhou Army's rotation, the defenders on the city wall also completed their rotation.

The high-spirited soldiers arrived on the city walls, stood at their posts, and gripped their weapons, eager for the fight.

The Bozhou Army, having completed their rotation, shouted and charged up, and the toppled scaling ladders were set up again.

Stones and logs on the city wall also began to pour down, and screams were incessant.

Gao Yuan took the lead, holding his horizontal blade, slashing left and right, continuously killing the enemy troops climbing onto the city wall.

In just one day of siege warfare, the city wall was stained red with blood, and the air was filled with a nauseating smell of blood.