Everyone only understood at this moment why Lord Han was sitting here neatly in his armed armor, it turned out that Lord Han had already made plans to attack the city tonight, so this was a meeting to raise the account and point troops, not a meeting to discuss countermeasures.

Some people have some doubts in their hearts, since the original intention of the imperial court is to unite the Jurchens to destroy Liao, then there is nothing wrong with attacking the city tonight, and the soft ones can't be hard, and this is no problem. But the problem is, the 80,000 soldiers and horses in this vanguard are all cavalry, and Lord Han wants to use these 80,000 cavalry to attack the city? Whether this is debatable. Zhuozhou is the gateway to the border town of the Liao people, with steep terrain, strong cities and perfect defense system. In the face of a fortified city, it is not something that can be rushed down casually.

"Lord Han, it is imperative to attack the city, and the passage to the crossing of the Sanggan River must be opened. But...... The Admiral thought, should we wait until the arrival of the next army before we can attack the city? A general clenched his fists and said.

Han Gang frowned and said, "What does General Yan mean by this?" ”

The general surnamed Yan bowed down and said, "Your Excellency, our 80,000 people are all cavalry, and we don't carry siege weapons, and we don't have a catapult siege vehicle, not even a ladder. Zhuozhou City is well defended, and if we attack the city like this, I am afraid that we will suffer losses. The last general thinks that it is more appropriate to wait for the arrival of heavy siege equipment and conquer Zhuozhou in one fell swoop? ”

Some of the generals nodded slightly, which was also pertinent. Attacking a city is not a field battle, rushing to the city cannot break through the city, and no matter how many people there are, they can only become live targets. Cavalry siege of the city, this is a taboo for soldiers, I am afraid it will not work.

Han Gang laughed and said, "General Yan, your idea is certainly for stability. However, this is not the case. I want to do that, too, but time waits for no one. Marshal Yang and the follow-up army will arrive in two days, and it doesn't hurt for us to wait here for two days, but these two days will also give the Liao people time to prepare. Since the Liao people are suspicious, they must have made some preparations. They may not have been sure that we would attack them, but if my 80,000 cavalry were stationed under the city and did not retreat, we would have confirmed our intention to attack. They will definitely increase their troops in Zhuozhou. According to intelligence, there are 120,000 Liao soldiers in Xijin Prefecture, and there are less than 20,000 soldiers and horses defending the city in Zhuozhou at the moment. In two days, the Xijin Mansion will make Zhuozhou more than 100,000 soldiers and horses. Do you think we should attack 20,000 with 80,000, or wait for the arrival of the follow-up troops and horses and attack 100,000 with more than 200,000? At this moment, the attack is to attack it unprepared, and take advantage of the emptiness of its forces to attack the city, and it will definitely be effective in one blow. ”

The generals pondered for a long time, and Han Gang continued: "As for the problem that we don't have siege equipment, I don't think it matters. This is a raid, not a siege. I think we just need to make some simple ladders. The forest is dense near the left, and hundreds of ladders can be built in an instant, so it is not a problem to use them for raiding the city. Besides, I would like to remind you that since we have been entrusted with high hopes to become the vanguard of the great army, if we dare not take the initiative to attack in the face of absolute superiority in troops, I think Marshal Yang must be very disappointed in us. I want you to understand that this is the first battle of the Liao attack, and it will also be the first merit of the army. I want to take you to the first merit, do we want to give the first merit to others? I, Han, have never been such a bastard in my life. Since you are under my Han, I will take you to make meritorious contributions and become officials. ”

At this point, the generals' doubts suddenly disappeared. Everyone knows the importance of the first battle, and this merit and honor naturally cannot be given away. Maybe Lord Han's analysis is right, there are not many defenders in Zhuozhou City, and he may not have expected that his side would immediately launch an offensive and surprise attack, maybe the problem is not so serious.

"Lord Han, you give the order. The lowly rank will take the city. Everyone said.

Han Gang shouted loudly: "Okay, the generals listen to the order, I order you to return to the camp immediately to reorganize the army." General Yan led his troops and horses to cut down trees and build ladders on the nearest mountain, and the rest of the soldiers and horses were ready to attack the city. After the third watch, it is necessary to build 500 ladders, and then launch a surprise attack. I hope that after dawn I can sit in the lobby of the Zhuozhou Mansion and drink tea, and you don't want to disappoint me. ”

"Yes!" All the generals shouted in unison, and the order was quickly left.

The whole barracks moved quickly after the order was given, and after receiving the order to attack the city, all the soldiers and horses began to reorganize their equipment and prepare for the siege. Although many people longed for a good night's rest after a long journey, no one dared to disobey the military orders, so they had to get up and prepare for battle.

The 10,000 soldiers and horses led by the deputy general Yan Qianshan were even busier, and they went to the hills near the left to cut down trees in the dark, and made a simple ladder nearby. Because they were not allowed to light torches, they had to use the night light to do things, many were stabbed by thorns, and many fell and fell in the potholed mountains and forests, and they were embarrassed. However, fortunately, the trees in the forest near the left are very dense, and the production of the ladder is not complicated, so the progress is also very fast. By the time of the third watch, nearly 600 simple ladders had been made, which was already more than the number Han Gang needed.

Everything was ready, and the cavalry units turned into infantry, lined up in the mountains in front of the city and waited for orders. Three more and one arrive. Han Gang decisively gave the order to attack the city, and the soldiers who were pressed immediately immediately rushed towards the direction of the city. There were no torches, no shouts, only heavy breathing and the sound of footsteps. This was a sneak attack, and Han Gang preferred to arrive under the city walls before the opposing defenders found out and catch them off guard. Therefore, he strictly ordered the soldiers not to shout loudly, and to keep the distance between them and the city walls as short as possible.

Tens of thousands of Great Zhou soldiers quickly rushed to the gravel ground outside the southern gate of Zhuozhou, which was less than four hundred steps away from the city wall. Han Gang looked at the head of Zhuozhou City, where it was still dark, with only a few lights flickering. This made Han Gang feel a little more at ease. Judging from these circumstances, the opponent should not have realized that they would attack by surprise, and they should be defenseless.

Four hundred steps! Three hundred steps!

The sound of countless feet stomping on the gravel of the ground had become so loud that it seemed impossible to hide. But the defenders at the head of the city still didn't seem to notice anything. There was no clamour, no flickering lights, and the blackened walls were like a python, crawling in front of it, waiting to be slaughtered.

Two hundred steps!

The range of arrows that can be attacked has been reached, and it is clear that the running footsteps are no longer hidden. The soldiers began to shout uncontrollably because the walls were in front of them. But there didn't seem to be any movement at the head of the city.

Han Gang, who was supervising the battle in the rear, suddenly felt that something was wrong. Judging by his experience, this seems to be something unusual. It is impossible that the defenders of the city have not reacted in this case, unless there are no defenders in the city, and the entire Zhuozhou city is empty.

Or is it ......

The answer was soon revealed, and when all the besieging soldiers and horses couldn't help but let out an earth-shattering roar and rushed within a hundred paces of the city, a terrifying humming sound of bowstrings vibrating came from the black city. Countless arrows fluttered their wings like locusts all over the sky. The number of arrows was huge, and the momentum was so ferocious, almost like a puff of black and oppressive clouds, shrouded in the formation of the Great Zhou soldiers who rushed to the city without dead ends.

The next moment, like a huge scythe wielding grass, the black-pressed Great Zhou soldiers fell like weeds. The terrifying thing is that the arrows hit so intensively that there was not a single live mouth in the range of the shot. Patches of hills, like mountains that have been cut down from trees and weeds, are bare and hollow.

Longbow and arrows, that is the unique attack weapon of the Liao people. The strength of the longbow of the Liao people can penetrate armor. The long body allows the arrows to fly with extreme precision. Even on such a night, the Liao defenders at the head of the city were still aiming. While it is clear that they can't see specific people, they are aiming with experience and feeling. The arrows were shot straight down from the city, so they were even stronger, piercing directly through the extremely expensive and sophisticated armor of the cavalry, and deep into the flesh and blood.

After only a few rounds of arrow rain, it caused huge casualties to the besieging soldiers and horses. The tens of thousands of soldiers in the first echelon struggled to charge in the rain of arrows, but when they rushed eighty paces away, nearly half of them were killed or wounded. After reaching the range of eighty paces, they were attacked by flying stones mixed with a rain of arrows. Those were fist-sized pebbles, and I don't know what device was used to shoot down from the city, and they fell one by one, causing a lot of damage.

The entire battlefield was filled with wails and screams, and the ground was littered with dead bodies, and countless wounded people wriggled and rolled on the ground.

No one expected that this midnight raid would turn into a one-sided massacre. The strength of the guards at the head of the city was beyond anyone's expectations. Not only is this 20,000 people defending the city, but judging from the density of the arrow rain, the number of people is more than 20,000. Otherwise they would not have been able to create such a fierce striking fire on the attack surface of Kandarich. This is an effect that cannot be achieved by 20,000 archers, and the number of Liao troops defending the city is afraid to double to as many as 40,000 or 50,000.

The situation on the battlefield was fed back to Han Gang in the rear, and Han Gang's heart was about to explode with anger. He suddenly realized that the Liao people had also set up a situation and deceived themselves. Previously, the Liao people reported the situation of the garrison in Xijin Prefecture and Zhuozhou, although this was not required by the Great Zhou to do this, but the analysis believed that they were in order to gain the absolute trust of the Great Zhou, so as not to let the Great Zhou soldiers and horses feel threatened after entering the Liao State. Now, Han just realized that it was a game that confused his side. The real number of soldiers and horses was far greater than the soldiers and horses they had reported, and the Liao people were clearly prepared for the sudden changes they least wanted to see.

Han Gang couldn't scold the Liao people for being cunning, because the Great Zhou side itself had bad intentions and had other intentions. The Liao people were only suspicious, but they did not take the initiative to attack. You are the one who takes the initiative to attack. It can be said that although the Liao people set up a bureau, if Da Zhou had no other intentions, he would not be fooled. Once attacked, the trap worked immediately. In fact, it was actually Han Gang who took the initiative to put his neck into this trap.