Chapter 175: The Crusade (8)

The next day, the army marched eastward. Tens of thousands of troops marched directly to the place where the original Qingshui County was located, and then set up the camp again. On the way over, you can see many villages along the road........ Ruin. These places were originally inhabited by ordinary people, but with the two invasions of the Xiliang people, these fields and villages that took years or more to reclaim have been crushed in the war.

The people in the vicinity had already been moved into the city by General Chen Cang, or moved to Guanzhong, and Han Sui's cavalry swept these places again. Many villages are now occupied by the invaders and have become garrisons for the Xiliang army. When Chen Cheng and the princes of Xiliang came to the vicinity of Chencang, they saw such a withered and overgrown appearance.

The main force of the army spread along the Liuchuan River, between Qingshui and Weishui, so that there was enough forage for the horses. The Qiang people are a half-cultivated and semi-pastoral people, although they also grow some crops such as millet, but most of the time they are still in a nomadic state. Han Sui had the most Qiang cavalry under his command, and the grassland required was also the largest.

Chen Cheng, Han Sui, Cheng Yi, Zhang Heng and others each led hundreds of cavalry to the city of Chencang. Han Sui pointed to the city in the distance, half pretentiously, half ostentatiously and said to Chen Cheng: "Please see, this is Chen Cangjian City!" This city is connected to the Qinling Mountains in the south, the remaining veins of Longshan in the north, the Weishui in the west, and the Qishan in the east, which is the barrier of the west of Guanzhong. If Chen Cang is not broken, we will not be able to attack Sanfu! ”

There are still the remains of swords, guns, swords, and halberds on the ground nearby, and there are even clusters of arrows and arrows left on the city walls, all of which show how fierce the battle was last year. In order to attack Guanzhong, the Xiliang people fought for more than 80 days under Chencang City, but they still failed to capture the small city in front of them.

Yes, Chencang City is not big, but the city wall is unusually strong, about three zhang high, about two zhang wide, wrapped in green bricks outside, rammed earth in the middle, there is a wide and deep trench outside the city wall, there are horse faces and enemy towers on the head of the city, such a strong city, only need to have three or five thousand defenders, can hold for a long time.

Chen Cheng listened to Han Sui's introduction while watching the morale of the defenders at the head of the city. Morale is such a thing as a mysterious thing, but experienced generals can know it at a glance. The cold light flickered on the top of the city, and the soldiers were wearing armor and did not look panicked, which showed that the morale of the defenders was high.

Also, they once defeated the Xiliang army once, not only gained a lot of combat experience, but also established a psychological advantage. Just after the autumn harvest, the city has accumulated enough grain and grass to eat for a year, even if the Xiliang army surrounds it for another eighty days, they will not be afraid.

Han Sui said: "The guard is Duan Xi, Duan Jiming's brother Duan Xuan, this person is skilled in bows and horses, and he is proficient in the art of war, which should not be underestimated. ”

Chen Cheng knew that Duan Xi was one of the "Liangzhou Sanming", and his military achievements were world-renowned, but Duan Xuan? Although he is Duan Xi's brother, the name Duan Xi seems to be unfamiliar. He looked back, and Cheng Yi, Yang Qiu, Song Jian and the others all had a slightly unnatural look on their faces. Last year, they were just a little short of able to complete their long-cherished wish to attack Guanzhong.

However, they ultimately failed. The consequences of the defeat were very serious, not only did the leader of the Xiliang army kill the kingdom, but a big melee almost broke out among the Xiliang princes. If Chen Cheng hadn't broken into Liangzhou, I was afraid that they would have killed each other in the dark. But the pressure is always there, and if it doesn't explode internally, it needs an opening to leak out. Therefore, they came to the city of Chencang again, the place that had made them defeated.

This time, their cavalry was even more ferocious, but no matter how strong the cavalry was, it was impossible to rush directly to the city walls. Song Jian, Zhang Heng and the others looked at each other, looking at Chen Cheng's eyes, hope and suspicion were intertwined, probably they didn't know what they were thinking.

The princes of Xiliang are accustomed to claiming that the king dominates one side, and they don't like to have someone give orders on their heads, but also hope that a strong man can lead them into the pass and obtain rich benefits. Chen Cheng felt that his current situation was similar to that of Huang Taiji in the late Ming Dynasty, his subordinates were a group of robbers, and if their desires could be satisfied, the position would become stable. Otherwise, they will rise up in rebellion.

He rode around Chen Cang for a small half circle, and when he saw that the city was well protected, he said, "It seems that Duan Xuan really knows the soldiers, and there are no loopholes here." Moreover, Chen Cangcheng is strong and thick, and it is impossible to take advantage of it. ”

Han Sui said in his heart: Isn't this nonsense? If Chen Cang is easy to fight, where is your turn?

Song Jian said loudly: "Don't say these useless, Chen Yuanjun, let's ask you, is there a way to break the city?" ”

Chen Cheng smiled and said, "Don't be impatient, although the city in front of me is strong, it is not difficult for me to break it. Just ........."

Hearing all his methods to break the city, everyone showed a look of doubt and joy, and Zhang Heng hurriedly said: "Just what? ”

"It's just that the army of Huangfu Song and Ding Yuan is in Chang'an, and the day and night are coming, if we attack Chencang, they lead the army to kill, what can we do?"

Zhang Heng said loudly: "There must be a way to make the king, isn't it?" ”

Chen Cheng smiled and said nothing, Zhang Heng realized something, he glanced at everyone present, and said loudly: "As long as Chen Yuanjun takes me to break through Chen Cangcheng, then I will always be the lord of Liangzhou!" Whoever dares to blow up the thorn, the big guys will send troops together to destroy him! ”

When Zhang Heng spoke, his eyes stared directly at Han Sui, making the latter unhappy. Han Sui scolded secretly in his heart: I obviously said that I would fight against Chen Cheng and others together, but I didn't expect that the first person to fight back was you Zhang Heng! It's the most unrighteous!

He scolded secretly in his heart, but he made a serious expression on his face, and said, "What General Zhang said is extremely true! As long as Chen Yuanjun can lead us to break through Chen Cang, he will always be the lord of Liangzhou! ”

Seeing that Han Sui also said the same, the others looked at each other and said in unison: "That's how it should be!" ”

After everyone had expressed their attitudes, Chen Cheng smiled and said, "Since you have elected me as the pastor of Liangzhou......"

Many princes had solemn expressions on their faces, but they were secretly scolding in their hearts: Who recommended you? It's all Cheng Yi and Yang Qiu, the two bad seeds!

"Since you have elected me as the pastor of Liangzhou, then I will accept it as a matter of course. Usually I don't care about you, but when I fight, I have to order unity, and if you make a contribution, you can share more of the spoils. If they do not obey orders and thus delay the fighter's plane, they must also be severely punished. Do you have any objections? ”

"Nope!"

"This is naturally how a war should be, but please make it better for you to break through the city quickly!"

"That's good," Chen Cheng pointed at Chen Cang and said, "This city is strong, don't think about tricks, let's set up camp first, then fill in the trench, and then use catapults to smash the city wall." ”

The princes were puzzled and asked, "Catapults?" What's that? A car that can throw stones? ”

Chen Cheng smiled: "You'll know when it's made." Now spend a few days setting up camp, cutting down more trees, and bringing more rocks back. ”

Although Han Sui and the others didn't know what Chen Cheng wanted to do, seeing that he was so confident, they decided to do what he said first.

Chen Cang is connected to Qinling in the south, Longshan in the north, there is no shortage of trees and stones, only half of the 100,000 troops were dispatched, and several nearby mountains were cut down, and a lot of stones on the mountain were also carried back. Then they began to erect fences, dig trenches, and build barracks, stables, enemy towers, and other buildings under the noses of the defenders of the city.

Just when the city was busy outside, there was a sound of footsteps on the city, and a military general, wearing iron armor and a hood, stepped forward and watched the movement outside the city. This person is seven feet tall, his face is slightly dark, he has a three-foot beard on his chin, and he looks like he has a strong temperament, it is Duan Xi's brother, Duan Xi is also.

Duan Xuan looked at it for a while, and asked the general standing on the side, "What is Xiliang Thief doing?" ”

It is obvious that the Xiliang army is encamping for a long time. Such an obvious thing, Duan Xuan is in the army, can he still not see it? It's just that he didn't believe that the princes of Xiliang would fall down twice in the same place, and he wondered if there was some trickery, so he asked like this.

Most of the generals under his command also participated in the defense of the city last year, and they all said: "Why should the general pay attention to the Xiliang people? We only need to guard the city, and the matter of destroying the enemy will be done by the emperor. ”

Outside the city, the banner covers the sky, the black oppressive crowd can not see the edge at a glance, and the Xiliang thieves have not 100,000 but 80,000, with this little force in the city, it is impossible to defeat the enemy. The best way is to defend the city firmly. Anyway, the walls of Chencang are tall, and there is a lot of grain in the city, even if the Xiliang people attack with all their might, they are confident that they will defend the city.

But in this world, faith alone is not enough. After all, this is a world where matter comes first. Of course, you can't do without spirit, but you can't have spirit alone. Napoleon once said: The first important thing in fighting a war is money, the second is money, and the third most important thing is money. He also said that the spirit of the three parts can be used as a material part.

But we all know that Napoleon was eventually overturned by the despicable British. So his words are not necessarily right.

Duan Xuan listened to the answer of the generals under his command, and felt a little relieved, but he still still doubted that the enemy would not be so stupid, and he had to fall in the same place twice. After looking at the city for a while, Duan Xuan asked, "Has the distress letter to Chang'an been sent?" ”

"Two messengers have already been sent!"

Duan Xuan said: "It's not enough, send another group of messengers over, to make it clear to Jing Zhaoyin and Huangfu Zhonglang that the Xiliang people are attacking this time, and the wind is in danger, please be sure to lead their troops to rescue!" ”

The subordinate asked puzzledly, "Don't you need to ask General Zhengxi for help?" ”

Duan Xuan snorted and said, "Ding Jianyang is not from Liangzhou, nor is he from Guanzhong, where will he care about our life or death?" Zhonglang Shogun and Jing Zhaoyin are our own people. ”

The generals all made a sudden realization, and they all praised: "General Gaojian! ”

"The general sees thousands of miles!"

Duan Xuan was used in his heart, but there was a serious expression on his face, "Don't just say it, the Xiliang thief was only defeated once last year, and he came again this year, it must not be so simple, cheer me up and defend the city well!" ”

"General, please rest assured, it's just a thief in the west, but it's just a clown who jumps off the beam. If you don't come, if you really dare to attack the city, you will definitely let them come and go! ”