The sun was setting, and the wind was getting stronger. It was not yet dark, and with the strong wind, I don't know when the Xiaoice particles floated down. Ice particles fall on the ground, and the ground is particularly slippery, and if you are not careful, you will fall.

The Song army collected its troops and returned to the camp, but I don't know how many soldiers fell to the ground, and the order was a little chaotic for a while. Fortunately, the Khitans at the head of the city had been defeated, and there was no accident, and they retreated to the camp safely. When I returned to the barracks, I heard that there were buns today, and there was a burst of jubilation in the army for a while.

In Liu Jianji's handsome tent, two fat leg of mutton were roasted on the fire, and in addition to mutton, there were plates of meat buns on the plate next to them.

Waiting for several generals under his command to come in, Liu Jianji said: "Bombarding the city wall today, you can see that the city wall of Quyang has cracks when it is almost evening. Tomorrow, with great effort, it should be able to break the city soon. I have been here for more than ten days, and today I will eat meat buns in the army and reward the whole army. I have prepared some wine and meat here, drink it today, rest early, and break the city tomorrow! ”

Several generals agreed with their hands and sat down one after another.

The soldier poured wine for everyone, and Liu Jianji said: "There was a sudden wind today, and it can be seen that the weather is going to be cold." We must break through the city as soon as possible, otherwise, when the surrounding rivers freeze and the Khitans rely on cavalry and escape, it will inevitably cause even more trouble. ”

Yang Sui said: "What the Taiwei said is true. The current Quyang City is sandwiched between the Tang River and the Purple River, and if the river is not frozen, the Khitans have nowhere to go. The battle here is over as soon as possible, and next, it is time for the Khitan army to go south. ”

Liu Jianji nodded: "Actually, this Khitan people came to attack Quyang, and the original idea was to seize Dingzhou, and this move to protect Jingtai in Zhou." If the battle is unfavorable, it can also cross the Lu River and go south to harass the prefecture and county. But I didn't expect that the weather would be warm this year, and the river would not freeze for a long time, so we blocked it here. It can be regarded as providential, and we can't miss it. ”

After speaking, he raised the wine bowl in front of him and said, "Let's have a drink!" I wish you a smooth defeat tomorrow! ”

Everyone raised their bowls and drank them all, picked up the meat buns in front of them, and ate them beautifully. At this time, the cooking technique was not as good as that of later generations, and the meat was not cooked enough in taste, but it was not as good as meat buns. And even if it is a general, he does not eat white noodles every day, and steamed buns are considered a delicacy.

After a few bowls of wine, the atmosphere became warm, and the generals talked about what they had seen and heard during the day.

Du Zhongxiao was very opposed to this style of eating and drinking before the war. According to the habits of later generations, at this time, the whole army should be waiting for the end, how to eat and drink, especially drinking. Later, I slowly figured it out and let it be like this in the army.

Compared to the posterity, in this era, there is nothing to do at night. When it gets dark, what else is there to do? Drinking and eating meat is actually not too late, and it will not delay the next day's war. It's not as good as when I was in the afterlife, I drank late and made a fuss casually, and it was the second half of the night. If one is not good, it is easy to not get up the next day.

As for the poor people, they could not afford to light the lamps, so they ate dinner before it was dark and went to bed when it was dark. Wake up early the next day, it's not that people in this era are industrious, and they don't sleep a lot when they calculate their sleep time. However, it is limited by the times, and it is necessary to make the sky as bright as possible, and you can only rest when it is dark.

After drinking for a while, Yang Sui said: "Tomorrow I will break through Quyang City, as well as the military camp to the west of the city." There were 10,000 soldiers there, what could it be counted at that time! The total annihilation of 30,000 Khitan cavalry in the first battle was really a rare victory. ”

Speaking of this, Zhu Gui said: "It's suddenly cold today, will the river be frozen?" If the river freezes and the Khitans suddenly go west, it will be a bit troublesome. Even if there are 10,000 people, there will be no big threat, but it will harass the state and county. ”

Liu Jianji said: "If you don't attack there first, you are afraid that the Khitan cavalry in the city will send troops to rescue and suffer the enemy on both sides." If the city is broken and only the lone army is left, it will be much easier to do. The river was not afraid of freezing, and suddenly, the Khitans were not prepared. There were 10,000 cavalry in our army, and even if they crossed the river and fled, and there were cavalry chasing after them, they would not be able to outrun them. ”

Yang Sui said: "Running west is Zhending Mansion." Dou Shunqing has already been informed, and preparations are made there, and Xingtang and Lingshou have heavy troops. ”

Jia Kui occupied the Flying Fox and cut off the Khitan route from the Taihang Mountains, and Zhending Mansion had become a safe rear. Dou Shunqing had already increased his troops to Xingtang and Lingshou, and even if the Khitans fled west, they would not have a chance to break through the city. At this time, there were 150,000 troops of the Song army around Quyang, and there was no room for escape. The Song army occupied Flying Fox, and Zhendingfu and Dingzhou were already safe, and the troops could be used for other purposes.

Liu Jianji said: "Taiwei Jia occupied the Flying Fox, and for the Khitan, there is no big change. But for our army, it's different. The Khitans could not go south from the Taihang Mountains, so Baozhou became the front line of course, and it was safe to hold the rear of Baozhou. In the past few months, Baozhou has been fortified and cleared, and the people within dozens of miles are all in the city. As long as the Khitans did not break through the city, they would have no supplies to go south. The so-called cavalry is crisscrossing everywhere, and it can't be crisscrossed. ”

Yang Sui nodded: "Yes, dozens of miles of strong walls are clear, and the court is decisive in this matter." ”

Liu Jianji said: "Decisiveness also has to have capital. If the railway hadn't been built this year, how would it have been able to clear the wilderness? If, as in previous years, the people were brought into the city, there would be no way to eat for several months, not to mention anything else. This year, in order to deal with the Khitan, the imperial court has invested a lot of money. Not only our hundreds of thousands of troops, but also hundreds of thousands of people in several states along the border, how much grain do we need? ”

At home, even if there is not enough food, people can usually survive the winter safely. But when you get to town, it's different. Even if there is a government subsidy for food, where does the firewood and grass come from? Where do you come from? Even if you drink water on a regular basis, it's not easy. The wells in ordinary towns are adapted to the original population of the city, and suddenly there are so many more people that they have to find another source of water. The border states were fortified and clear, and the Song Dynasty had to spend a lot of money. It is just that it depends on the railway, and what is lacking is transported, and it is just made up for it with national strength.

At this moment, Fang Hong came back from outside, patted his body and said, "It's snowing outside!" It's so big snow, it's white and I can't see it clearly. ”

Liu Jianji listened and hurriedly went out of the account to see. As soon as I got out of the tent, I saw snowflakes flying all over the sky, like goose feathers, falling one after another. The ground was already completely white, and the entire barracks was dressed in plain clothes.

After watching for a while, everyone returned to the tent.

Liu Jianji said: "Suddenly such a big snow, I don't know if it will stop tomorrow." ”

Zhu Gui said: "No matter whether it stops or not, the city will be broken tomorrow." Look at the weather now, it's going to get cold. After two more days, the river froze, and the Khitan people had the idea of escaping, and there would inevitably be endless trouble. ”

Yang Sui said: "That's right. It is not easy for us to attack the city when it snows, and it is even more difficult to defend the city. Tomorrow, we will use heavy artillery to collapse the city wall. ”

Fang Hong shook his head: "What if the snow falls too much and it is difficult to move tomorrow?" The army could not advance, and even if the walls were destroyed, there was no good way for a while. With tens of thousands of troops, it is not easy to march in the snow. ”

Liu Jianji said: "The snow is so heavy that it is difficult to move, so wait for the city wall to collapse, and hit the city with flowering bullets!" We are difficult to attack, and the Khitans are the same. They are stuck in the city, tens of thousands of soldiers, can they still resist cannonballs? ”