Chapter 463: Drawing Salary from the Bottom of the Cauldron

The great victory outside Xi'an was a great encouragement to the morale of the Song army, and when the good news reached Lin'an, Li Zong choked with laughter. However, this time, Li Zong did not rush to add officials to Shi Bin, Chen Yan, and Li Tingzhi, but only praised and praised them.

Shi Bin understands this very well, they have been promoted once before, but it is easy to be talked about if they want to be promoted in a month. Lu Wende will also have strong opinions along the way, and will even deviate from morality because of this.

High morale is what the commanders and generals want to see the most. Only in this way will the soldiers not be afraid of battle, and dare to rush forward regardless of life and death, if morale is low, it is likely to collapse before fighting.

And on the night when the 6,000 remnants of the defeated army fled into Taiyuan City, Shi Bin decided to take advantage of the victory to pursue and not let the Yuan people in the city have the slightest chance to breathe. Immediately sent people to launch a fierce attack, but did not expect that the Taiyuan defenders had good combat effectiveness, even if Ah Shu fainted and the dragons were leaderless, the Song army's attack lasted for two days and two nights, and the loss of nearly 4,000 people still did not enter the city.

This kind of result is too little, compared to the previous defeat of 20,000 people in the anti-ambush Ashu only lost 6,000 people, but at least the fruitful results of killing 12,000 yuan people are a little unacceptable. What's more, Shi Bin's total strength along the way is only 80,000, and he can't afford Shi Bin's waste.

The loss of such a style of play was too great, and most of the losses were Chen Yan and Li Tingzhi's people, and the two couldn't bear it anymore and finally ran to Shi Bin's tent to 'discuss'.

Without waiting for Xu Feng's report, and ignoring Xu Feng's obstruction, Chen Yan and Li Tingzhi rushed into Shi Bin's handsome tent. Of course, he knew why Chen Yan and Li Tingzhi came over, and Shi Bin also knew that his command in the past two days was a little inappropriate, so his attitude was very peaceful. didn't get into trouble with them because of their rudeness.

"Your Excellency, why are you here today?"

"Dashuai, why did the two of us come here to believe that you know very well, why bother pretending to be confused!" Chen Yan said unceremoniously.

"Chen Yan, pay attention to the tone of your voice!" Xu Feng said coldly on the side.

Maybe it was because he remembered that it was the boss sitting in front of him, and the deputy marshal who grew up in the strict society of the Great Song Dynasty immediately understood that he had misbehaved before. So he immediately confessed: "Marshal, please forgive me for being rude, but I still want to ask Marshal to tell me how long I am going to continue to attack Marshal like Li Jianjun." ”

If Chen Yan hadn't been so impulsive before, Shi Bin would have immediately told him that this kind of attack would stop today. But he did, so Shi Bin decided to play with him and relax himself.

"Lord Chen doesn't want me to attack like this?"

"Yes." Chen Yan hesitated for a moment and said: "This kind of attack is too damaging to the strength of our army, our army is now less than 70,000 people in total, and it can't withstand such attrition." ”

"Don't Lord Chen know that 'one blow, then decline, and three exhaustion'?" Shi Bin feigned anger.

Chen Yan is just a rough man, his brain is not as fast as Shi Bin, and he immediately has nothing to say when Shi Bin makes him like this.

In fact, they all came to Xingshi to ask for guilt, of course Li Tingzhi couldn't stand up to Chen Yan alone, so he also came out and said his opinion, that is, even if you want to take advantage of the victory and pursue Taiyuan in one go, you can't waste it so much. In fact, there was something he wanted to say but didn't dare to say, that is, he really wanted to ask Shi Bin why he and Chen Yan's subordinates were used as cannon fodder.

"It turns out that the two adults are here because of this, in fact, I don't want to fight this kind of war of attrition, but there is no other way. If the attack power is insufficient, the soldiers in the city will get a chance to breathe, and Taiyuan City will be even more difficult to fight. If we can't break it for a long time, not only will we have a grudge with Lu Wende, but we will also be attacked by traitors from the DPRK and China..." Shi Bin said very 'melancholy'.

This remark made Chen Yan and Li Tingzhi feel very aggrieved, because it made them feel that they only cared about selfish interests and did not know the general situation. Chen Yan decided to come to Shi Bin to 'discuss' before thinking about whether it was correct. Li Tingzhi was not persuaded by Shi Bin in the end, but repeatedly emphasized that even if he wanted to break the city as soon as possible, he should not waste it like this, otherwise once the troops were insufficient, a catastrophe would befall him.

"Master Li is reasonable, so how about we attack like this for another three days?" Shi Bin said with a smile.

"Three more days?" Chen Yan and Li Tingzhi were both very frightened. Because such heavy casualties will make the soldiers think that they are dying, and morale will quickly fall to the bottom. It doesn't matter if people die, if the morale is worn out, it will be dangerous.

"One day at most." Chen Yan has a firm attitude, clearly unwilling to compromise, and one day is the bottom line.

"I agree with Master Chen, for a maximum of one day. If the marshal can stop such an attack now, the soldiers of Li will thank the marshal for his life.

Li Tingzhi said very sincerely.

"Hey, Ci is not in charge of the soldiers, Ci is not in charge of the soldiers..." Shi Bin sighed and said in a fake manner, "How can you two lead the troops to fight?" Okay, for the sake of your face, I will extend today's attack for an hour, and if Taiyuan has not been broken by then, then we will discuss it again. ”

The two were very happy that Shi Bin made this decision, and Chen Yan was about to leave but was stopped by Li Tingzhi. Chen Yan, who didn't know why, had to stop and quietly watch what Li Tingzhi was going to do.

"Marshal, I believe you can also see that even if today's attack is extended for another hour, Taiyuan City may not be breached..." Li Tingzhi said very seriously.

"Li Tingzhi, what do you mean?" Before Li Tingzhi could finish speaking, Xu Feng interrupted rudely, "The marshal has already agreed to your conditions, don't get an inch!" Don't you know that military orders are like mountains? ”

Afraid of Shi Bin but not afraid of Xu Feng, Li Tingzhi said in a deep voice, "Lord Xu, please don't forget that I am a prison soldier. And I don't want the marshal to change the military order, but to discuss with the marshal what we should do next if we can't capture Taiyuan today. ”

Xu Feng is a smart person, and he knew that he couldn't let Shi Bin fall into embarrassment, so he immediately apologized to Li Tingzhi, saying that he was born lowly and didn't know how to be humble.

Time is pressing, people are dying all the time, naturally I don't want to listen to Xu Feng's apology, Li Tingzhi said that he didn't count, and then continued to ask Shi Bin how to break the city.

"Master Li, I have a way to break Taiyuan City, but I don't want to use this method..." Shi Bin said with some hesitation.

There is a way to break Taiyuan City, but you don't want to use this method? Li Tingzhi was very puzzled, since Shi Bin had already had a way, why didn't he use it?

But after knowing that there was a way, Li Tingzhi of course couldn't let his subordinates die in vain, so he asked impatiently, "May I ask the marshal, what is your method, can you tell me and listen to it?" ”

"Of course you can, Master Li knows about the return cannon, right?" Shi Bin asked.

"Know! It was the artifact of the handsome sweep across Henan and Jingdong, and Lord Chen and I already knew about it. I heard that the adults had used this artifact to conduct military exercises in Lin'an before. Li Tingzhi was overjoyed, knowing that if Shi Bin was willing to use this weapon, Taiyuan City would definitely be able to go down in one go.

"Then why didn't you use it before?" Chen Yan asked a little unpleasantly.

"This time the artillery is too lethal, Taiyuan City is so beautiful, and the commander really doesn't want it to be destroyed by artillery fire. What's more, if we can keep the city wall, it will also be beneficial to our garrison after capturing Taiyuan. If only the ruins remain, I am afraid that it will not be able to withstand the revenge of the Yuan people. ”

understood what Shi Bin was thinking, and Chen Yan and Li Tingzhi no longer blamed Shi Bin for having siege weapons but not using them. It's just that he still wants to find a way to break through Taiyuan as soon as possible, so he has been discussing with Shi Bin in the tent, and he hasn't left until the lights are on. We also talked while eating at dinner.

"Dashuai, is there really no way for us to fill it with human lives? You also know that we don't have many soldiers and horses, and we can't afford to consume them. Li Tingzhi said unwillingly with a sad face.

Chen Yan also nodded again and again after hearing this.

"In this way, no matter what, I will not do such a fierce attack from tomorrow, just ordinary intensity, and I will not make the people in the city comfortable. Of course, I won't just fill it with human lives, and if I haven't figured out a good way in five days, I'll have to use the return cannon, and we really can't afford to spend it. ”

This answer made Chen Yan and the others breathe a sigh of relief, after all, this is also a promise, with this promise, they are not afraid of the troops beating them up and becoming the commander of the light pole.

After the two left, Xu Feng said that Shi Bin was too benevolent, and in fact, he should follow Chen Yan and Li Tingzhi's intentions to attack for one more day to reduce their strength a little more. Prevent them from making waves when they forcibly occupy Taiyuan.

Shi Bin really hadn't thought about this, but it was too late. What's more, he didn't want too many people to die, so he didn't let Xu Feng chase the two back.

"Xu Feng, how do you say we can break the city with the least casualties?"

"Dashuai, Ashu will definitely never dare to confront Dashuai head-on again after this defeat, and will only defend the city as a shrinking turtle, so I think that if we want to reduce casualties, we must find another way."

"Going off the beaten track?" Shi Bin groaned.

"Yes, another way." Xu Feng said with certainty.

"Last time, you said that the grain and grass in Taiyuan City were enough for three years." Shi Bin asked with a sad face.

"Yes, sir. Although the Yuan people suffered this defeat, the Yuan people had enough food and grass, so it didn't take long for them to recover their breath. If we can't break the city during this time, it's going to be difficult. ”

"What about my army's food and grass?"

"Back to my lord, our army has enough food and grass, and it is enough for three or four years everywhere." Xu Feng said, and then suddenly said unhappily

Said: "It's just that we have to send a lot of soldiers and horses to protect the grain camp and prevent the Yuan people from burning grain, which can make us lose a lot of combat power." ”

Burning grain? Shi Bin seemed to have caught something when he heard this word. Immediately try to think about it. In the blink of an eye, Shi Bin immediately looked up to the sky and laughed: "Hahaha, okay, just burn the grain, I will burn all the grain and grass in Taiyuan City, and let Ah Shu surrender without a fight!" ”

"Burning grain?" Xu Feng felt incredible, and immediately asked, "My lord, Taiyuan City is nearly four zhang high, how can we burn the grain and grass in the city?" ”

"Have you forgotten that we still have a return cannon? We just need to figure out where the grain and grass in Taiyuan City are hoarded by Ah Shu, and we can use the return cannon to throw some fire-burning things into it, right? Shi Bin smiled.

"Burning Taiyuan? Handsome..." Xu Feng didn't expect Shi Bin to have such a crazy idea, and said tremblingly: "Don't you think this is too cruel? ”

"Cruelty? Isn't it cruel for our soldiers to die in vain outside the city? What's more, the burning of Taiyuan is just the burning of some houses, and the people in the city will not hide if they have hands and feet? What's more, when the war started, Na Ashu probably expelled all the people who had something to do with my Great Song Dynasty out of Taiyuan City, and most of the people in the city were supporters of the Yuan people, so what if they died? I'm happier if I die more! Shi Bin said solemnly: "Besides, if you burn the grain and grass of the Yuan people and give them a salary at the bottom of the kettle, Ah Shu has no way out but to escape, isn't it better for my Great Song?" ”

Finally persuaded by Shi Bin, Xu Feng immediately went to supervise the manufacture of the return cannon. Xu Feng was very good, but he made three return cannons in five days, Shi Bin was very happy, and immediately called Chen Yan and Li Tingzhi to discuss.

The two of them naturally saw the return artillery, thinking that Shi Bin was going to use the return cannon to attack the city, to fulfill his promise, and to reduce the loss of their own strength, of course, both of them were very happy.

"Marshal, did you please call us over today because of the artillery siege?" Li Tingzhi said with some excitement. Although he had heard of the prestige of this cannon, he had never seen the real scene, and of course he was a little excited.

"Yes and no." Shi Bin said with a smile.

"Yes or no? May I ask what you mean by this? Li Tingzhi was puzzled. He could only tell that the attack must be related to the return cannon, but it was unclear what the relationship was.

"In the past, when we used Huihui artillery to attack the city, we put hundreds of catties of boulders to bombard the city wall directly. I'm going to change things this time. ”

Something else? What else can you put in the back gun? Chen Yan and Li Tingzhi couldn't think of an answer, so they immediately asked Shi Bin.

"I want to burn the grain and grass of Arjuna." Shi Bin said coldly.

"Dashuai wants to burn Taiyuan?" Chen Yan and Li Tingzhi were like thunder.

Seeing that the two of them were stunned and couldn't wake up for a long time, Shi Bin smiled and said, "What's wrong with the two of you?" But burning grain is not to burn Taiyuan. ”

"Dashuai, this city is full of wooden houses, as long as a little spark is glued, it is a fire. If the adults throw the things that cause fire into the city, I am afraid that there will be no tiles left in this Taiyuan city. Li Tingzhi said very fearfully.

I didn't take into account that the old-fashioned houses were all wooden structures, and if the fire was bigger, the street would burn down. If you wantonly throw things that cause fire like yourself, I am afraid that Taiyuan City will really be burned to the ground except for the city wall, leaving only a pile of ruins.

But Shi Bin didn't want to change his mind, because it involved his prestige and the strength of the Song army. It was impossible for him to compromise, so he said very bluntly: "This law cannot be changed, and Taiyuan must be burned this time." A few tiled houses in the city have been burned down and can be rebuilt, and I must not let the soldiers of the Great Song Dynasty die in vain! Moreover, if a city is broken, it can be rebuilt, but if a man dies, he cannot be resurrected. ”

Shi Bin's attitude was obviously non-negotiable, and Chen Yan, an honest man, had to lower his head and prepare to carry out the order and raise the things to start the fire.

At this time, Li Tingzhi said: "Dashuai, I support Dashuai to burn grain, but I have a compromise method, I don't know if Dashuai is willing to listen to it." ”

A compromise? Shi Bin couldn't ask for it, so he immediately ordered Li Tingzhi to say it.

It turned out that Li Tingzhi's compromise method was to send people to infiltrate the city to determine the location of the grain storage, and then map out the specific bomb delivery method to ensure that the grain storage point was accurately dropped. In this way, more losses can be reduced and the damage to the Yuan people can be maximized.

This method made Shi Bin overjoyed and immediately agreed. His men were able to do this within 10 days.

On the 11th day, as soon as the return artillery fired a salvo, the city was full of flames, and the grain station was even more smokeless. Seeing this, Shi Bin and the others were overjoyed to know that the plan was successful. Immediately come down and storm Taiyuan.

Sure enough, Taiyuan City was drummed down, and the Yuan people all fled in the middle of the night, and Taiyuan naturally returned to the Great Song Dynasty.

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