In the Changchun view of Shuangfeng Mountain in the east of the city, Zhao Qi heard the movement outside, and ran out to take a look, somehow? Deng Su instructed the squad to go down to inquire, and replied that Zhao Xingde, the commander of the Baoyi Army, led 600 horsemen into the city, and Ezhou was thunderous. Zhao Qi was silent for a moment, and sighed: "Zhao Xingde is different from Chen Dong and others, but unfortunately it can't be used by me. Deng Su's face changed slightly, his brows furrowed but he didn't speak.

In the city of Ezhou, Zhao Xingde did not have time to dismantle the armor, after inspecting the northeast and southwest city walls, the red sun was already hanging, and he himself led the troops back to help everywhere, and the army's heart was settled. Chen Dong personally set up a banquet in the south building, called catching the wind and washing the dust, which was actually to stabilize the hearts of the people in the city.

The south building is located on the top of Huanghu Mountain, formerly known as Baiyun Pavilion. Ezhou is at the confluence of the great river and the Han River, the hills in the city are continuous, especially the terrain of the Yellow Bird Mountain is towering and controls the whole city, from the six departments of the Prime Minister's Mansion to the Yamen of the Ezhou Prefecture Government, the official offices at all levels are surrounded by the cloth and the foothills of the Yellow Bird Mountain, many pavilions and pavilions are staggered and built, and there is a sub-city at the foot of the mountain. The south tower is located at the highest place in Ezhou, facing west can overlook the Yellow Crane Tower, at a glance, the river is vast, the boat is like a cloud, under the threat of the three gunboats of the Han army, the Xiangyang / water army can only retreat behind the iron chains of the Hengjiang River, and there is almost no threat to the Ezhou city wall surrounded by the river. Looking to the east, the whole city of Ezhou is in full view, and the people and horses of Xiangyang are still swarming to attack the city, but at this time, the momentum of the attacking and defending sides is completely different from last night. The city received the news that reinforcements were about to arrive, and the morale was greatly boosted. And outside the city, Zhao Xingde returned to aid Ezhou, the news of Jiangzhou's victory over the Liao soldiers also spread, the Xiangyang army was sleepy and demoralized, and the generals of the battalions in Xijing and the southeast also had many plans to preserve their strength and leave a back road, and were no longer willing to attack the city with their own strength.

Before the banquet, Chen Dong first met with Zhao Xingde in Chu Pavilion. After the greetings, Chen Dong asked: "Xingde can know that Yelu Dashi has captured Xiangyang, and the Liao army will soon arrive at the city of Ezhou." Although he was now under siege by the Xiangyang army, Chen Dong's words did not mean to gloat, but carried deep worry.

"What?" Zhao Xingde was taken aback, and said in a lost voice, "Xiangyang Xiongcheng, how can it be lost overnight?" "He came all the way to avoid the post town, so he didn't even know the major news of the fall of Xiangyang. In order to fear people's hearts in Ezhou City, the news of the fall of Xiangyang was also blocked, and no one told Zhao Xingde about it all morning.

"Hmph," Chen Dong shook his head and said, "The city is the largest and the most strong, and there is no one in the world more than the capital of Bianliang." They can even lose Bianliang, and it is not surprising to lose Xiangyang again. Xiangyang is the southeast barrier, the waterway extends in all directions, and the southeast has to face the Liao army from now on. He slowly turned his back and looked north, not knowing when he would be able to regain his old homeland. A solemn atmosphere permeated, Zhao Xingde was silent for a moment, and asked, "When did Xiangyang fall?" ”

"It was the day before yesterday." Chen Dong replied.

"Although the Liao army has taken the city, it will take a lot of effort to consolidate the back road and clean up the city," Zhao Xingde muttered, "Ezhou is also a strong city, and there are hundreds of thousands of troops fighting, if it is Yelu Dashi, either the troops will not advance, sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight, wait for us to lose both, and then reap the benefits of the fishermen, or go south in one breath, sweep away Cao Di's hundreds of thousands of horses in one go, and then take advantage of the situation to seize Ezhou and sweep the southeast." He sighed, "If this is the case, the scouts of the Liao army may have arrived outside the city of Ezhou, within ten days, the cavalry forward can reach the city in three days, the cavalry can arrive in seven or eight days, and the infantry army, the sailors, and the iron bucket artillery team will arrive in more than ten days and twenty days." He paused for a moment, and then said, "When I entered the city today, I took over with the Xiangyang soldiers and horses, and from the perspective of morale, I am afraid that once the Liao Cavalry Brigade arrives, it is difficult to say whether they can hold the position." ”

"Really?" Chen Dong hesitated, "Can't even the cavalry stop it?" As soon as he finished speaking, he felt extremely ridiculous.

Chen Dong has also read a lot of military books and war strategies, from common sense, the Liao thief cavalry can not attack the fortification, the destruction of the city and the village is not the strength, the Song army only needs to deep ditch barriers, the battle is ready, the Liao thief cavalry can only dismount to fight, and even wait for the follow-up infantry brigade and artillery army to come up. However, since the invasion of the north and the south, there have been countless cities captured by the Liao cavalry. The so-called theory of "one horse is five steps" in the imperial court and the people has long been not limited to field battles, but has subtly turned into a deep fear of cavalry. Because of this, no matter how expensive it was to maintain the cavalry, Chen Dong gave his full support to the Zhenguo Army and the Baoyi Army to establish a cavalry, and firmly believed that only in this way could he compete with the Northern Prisoners.

Zhao Xingde nodded: "Husband fight, courage also." His tone was a little low, "The imperial court soldiers and horses have been repeatedly frustrated by the northern captives, and they have long been like frightened birds, I am afraid that once the imperial flag of Yelu Dashi arrives, it has not yet been engaged, and all the departments in Xiangyang are vying to retreat, and it is possible to trample on each other." "Since the fall of Hebei, the imperial court has been defeated repeatedly, and the Xijing and Southeast camps have sat back and watched the fall of Bianliang, although they have preserved their strength, they have consumed the most valuable thing in the army, morale. When you have become accustomed to avoiding war and protecting yourself, it is basically impossible to let the army fight to the death, unless you ...... His eyes changed slightly.

"I understand," Chen Dong asked again, "if Xiangyang is defeated, can we resist Yelu Dashi alone?" ”

Zhao Xingde was slightly stunned, silent for a moment, and did not speak. Chen Dong seemed to have an understanding, didn't ask any more, and sighed.

At this time, the shopkeeper reported that the gentry and officials in Ezhou City had already taken their seats, and invited the two to sit down, Chen Dong nodded, and went to the hall where the banquet was held hand in hand with Zhao Xingde. Ezhou has a lot of grain and grass reserves, but in the siege, it is still important to save. Every table is omitted to look at the plate, although a few meat and vegetarian dishes taste beautiful, but Chen Dong eats the same as chewing wax, only strengthens the spirit, and looks glorious, pulling Zhao Xingde to talk and laugh table by table. At the banquet, Chen Dong announced in public that more than 10,000 elite soldiers were going up the river, and Zhao Xingde had the right to command the Ezhou garrison soldiers and horses. Now that the two families are fighting each other, there is no need to be so polite to the traitorous party, and it is a matter of time before the family property is confiscated.

In the midst of the excitement, there was a sudden roar of cannons on the river, and everyone was startled, and many timid hands trembled, and even the wine was almost spilled. "Obediently, is the general of this sailor crazy?" Some people leaned on the window to watch, but there were no enemy ships approaching outside, and the gunboats on the river fired their guns repeatedly, and puffs of black smoke rose up, which was particularly conspicuous in the blue sky.

"It's a salute." Zhao Xingde picked up the wine glass and walked to the bed, and raised it with a slight smile, "It's similar to setting off firecrackers during the New Year." ”

On the bow of the river, Tong Yunjie put down the clairvoyant mirror, looked solemnly into the distance, and kept his fists with both hands as a salute.

"What the hell is going on?" The ship's gunners, centurions, sailors, gunners were whispering. After Tong Yunjie saluted, he restrained his respectful expression, put on a serious face, and inspected the gunboat again with wooden legs.

As if in response to him, the gunboat's flag shifted and waved. The head of the city of Ezhou was used as a scout to contact the Han army, and he knew the flag language, and he came back and forth after a short time to pay tribute to the good meaning, and the hearts of the people were put in the stomach. More than half of the city defense of Ezhou is now maintained by these three gunboats patrolling the river, and the Xiangyang Army and Navy Division have no choice but to do anything for a while. Seeing this, Chen Dong had a haze on his face.

After the feast, Zhao Xingde went to arrange the defense. Before leaving, the city of Ezhou was similar to a circle, which was not conducive to the power of firearms, and Zhao Xingde originally planned to build eight artillery forts outside the city wall, but Cao Liangshi did not attach much importance to these low fortifications, and the Xiangyang soldiers had just begun to attack, so they shrank their forces back into the city. Zhao Xingde's top priority was to wait for the reinforcements on the water to arrive, and then organize men and horses to recover several artillery forts in the east, so that the entire city could once again complete its fire prevention power.

After everyone left, Chen Dong left Cao Liangshi, and the two faced Dajiang.

Jiang Feng was stunned, and Chen Dong said: "Deng Shouyi sent an envoy to greet us, and he wants to make peace with us, what do you think?" ”