Dig, dig, dig......

His Majesty's order was to dig, and the Song army, except for the team in charge of guarding, all the people, including the sailors and soldiers on the ship, all went ashore and dug a trench three zhang wide and one zhang deep around Quanzhou City, which was completed overnight in one day and one night with the unremitting efforts of tens of thousands of people. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 He then turned around and dug another trench five miles from the city, which was deeper and wider, and took advantage of the mountains and rivers outside the city to set up several strongholds to block the passage into Quanzhou, and laid foothills in the flat land outside the moat, dug pits, diverted water for irrigation, and turned it into a swampy land.

On the third day, the two trenches had begun to take shape, but it was not too late, between these two trenches, the Song army began to set up camp and repair the camp, and will form a complete set of covered field fortifications by moving protective plates, mobile corridors and fortresses, etc., in addition to arranging the defensive soldiers, but also equipped with ballistas. The first part of the naval army was deployed along the east bank of the Jinjiang River and controlled the river bank along the city for ten miles, which was regarded as the completion of two internal and internal fortifications, and also completed the encirclement of Quanzhou City.

"Your Majesty, according to the report from the scouts, two days ago he instigated Du to lead his men and horses, and a total of 20,000 soldiers and horses from Zhangzhou are returning to Quanzhou, and there are still two days to reach it at the current marching speed. At the same time, it was found that the Xinghua Army and the enemy army in Fuzhou also showed signs of moving south, and they should have received a request for help from Quanzhou to come to the rescue! The Sheji held a pre-imperial meeting again to report on the battle situation, Zhao Mengjin introduced.

"What is the reaction of the Quanzhou army?" Zhang Shijie asked.

"Commander, Quanzhou City has been very quiet, except for the strengthening of the city's defense, no troops have been sent out of the city to engage in battle, and even scouts have not been sent!" Zhao Mengjin replied respectfully.

"This is strange, it stands to reason that they should have launched a surprise attack while our army was not firmly on the ground and prevented our army from rushing to repair the siege fortifications. Even if they launch a night attack to exhaust our army, what do they want? Zhang Shijie looked at His Majesty and said a little strangely.

"Nothing strange about it. Pu Shougeng thought that we had come from afar, and the military supplies and grain and grass we carried were limited, so it was difficult to besiege the city for a long time, and the materials in the city were sufficient to consume us. Besides, he thought that he would soon learn that he had been deceived and quickly return to reinforcements, so that he could join forces with the reinforcements to break the blockade and annihilate our army under the city! Ying Jieyan said.

"Hehe, Pu Shougeng is a trader, he doesn't want to do business at a discount, except for his private army in Quanzhou City, he is a cronie. There is a knife that instigates the capital, of course, he is not willing to contribute, but only wants to make a profit from it, but he doesn't know where to make money and not lose money in trading, at this time he is reluctant to make a little profit and lose the bottom in a blink of an eye! Zhao Hao said with a grin. The nature of a businessman is that he can't afford to be early, Pu Shougeng was a businessman in his bones in his previous lives, and the word interest has long been deeply rooted in his bone marrow. And he also likes to make money, but he knows that some money can be earned, and some money has to be paid back with his life.

"Your Majesty is right, you will eventually be defeated in the pursuit of profit!" Zhang Shijie said, he admired the little emperor more and more, he thought that his ability to win was picked up by luck, and he could find out that his majesty could win by plotting with His Majesty to conquer Quanzhou. This time, it was by taking advantage of the time difference in the marching speed of the two armies that he gained time to prepare for the siege and reinforcements, and to ensure that nothing went wrong.

"Your Majesty, then how do we fight?" Zhao Mengjin asked.

"Where do you think it's best to start?" Zhao Hao asked rhetorically.

"The south of Quanzhou City is adjacent to the sea, and it is a moat of its own, and the infantry army cannot attack; The west of the city is bordered by the river, and there are many streams, so it is difficult for the siege brigade to deploy; The east of the city is the main road of the Xinghua army to Quanzhou, which is easy to be attacked and disturbed by enemy reinforcements; The north of the city is backed by a mountain, and the terrain is high, so it is the best place for the main attack. Moreover, there are mostly the residences of the yamen of various divisions, and there are few merchants and people, and they will not cause excessive losses to the property in the city, and they also meet the requirements of His Majesty! Zhao Mengjin said.

"Well, Zhao Dutong judged correctly, only the west gate is easy to attack on all four sides, and the other three sides of the trench are wide and deep, which can be passed through the ship, and communicate with the Jinjiang River and the inland sea, it is difficult to fill and cut off the water flow, and the erection of pontoon bridges is also easy to be damaged, so that it is difficult to enter the city!" Zhang Shijie said that he had besieged the city for three months and knew the situation in Quanzhou well.

"Then how will you attack the city, and how long will it take!" Zhao Yu nodded and asked.

"Your Majesty, your subordinates are going to build a high platform by piling up earth as a mountain, then set up ballistas to suppress the enemy army at the head of the city, and then build a bridge to cross the river and climb the city!" Zhao Mengjin pondered for a moment and gritted his teeth and said, "My subordinates promise to break the city and attack the city within twenty days!" ”

"Twenty days is too much, it's already April 11, we don't have that much time, we can only give you ten days at most!" Zhao Yu said.

"Your Majesty, ten days is too little, can you give some grace time!" Zhao Mengjin said embarrassedly, he has already said it with his mouth wide open in twenty days, but His Majesty is still too long, and the construction of the mountain can not be completed in one or two days, and the instigation will be there in two days, and the troops need to be divided to defend, and the enemy army in the city will also harass, so it will not be like now, and it will not be possible to concentrate manpower and material resources to build the earth mountain.

"Your Majesty, the ten-day deadline is too tight, and if you rashly attack, it will inevitably cause great casualties!" Zhang Shijie also thought that it would be difficult to complete the deadline set by His Majesty.

"Your Majesty, is there a good plan to attack the city?" Ying Jieyan saw that the little emperor did not answer, as if he had thought of something, so he asked His Majesty.

"Liu Dutong, do you have any ideas?" Zhao Yu listened and turned to Liu Zhu and asked.

"Your Majesty, our navy is not good at attacking cities!" Liu Zhu originally thought that there would be nothing wrong when he attended the meeting, they had already completed the task of blockading the port and controlling Jinjiang according to the plan, and the siege of the city was of course a matter of the infantry army, and His Majesty asked him as soon as he asked.

"Not good at it, it doesn't mean that you can't, the waterway in the south city runs through the inside and outside of the city, can you enter the city through the water gate?" Zhao Yu asked.

"Your Majesty, Quanzhou City is equipped with two water gates, but the water gate is short, and only two small boats can be parallel, even if we can blow up the water gate and rush into the city, it is difficult to form an advantage, and it is still difficult to seize the city wall and control the city gate." Liu Zhu said with a wry smile.

"Well, you're right, but ...... You immediately arrange for someone to measure the water depth of the pier in front of the south city, and come back quickly! Zhao Yu nodded, and suddenly thought of something...... (To be continued.) )