The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th legions of the empire, with 120,000 troops, surrounded the east, south, and west sides of Shouzhou City, but left the north gate alone.

Although Spartacus, Cress, Leonidas, and others all came from other worlds, and they all had no formal military education, and led their troops to war on instinct, they all changed with the establishment of the empire.

Nowadays, these generals who lead the army of the empire have a copy of "The Art of War" at hand when they are fine, and they often read and study it even in wartime.

Nowadays, the method of attacking the city is called "encircling three ques and one", also known as "besieging the division must be que", which is one of the eight principles of using troops to fight a war listed by Sun Wu, a famous Chinese military strategist, in "Sun Tzu's Art of War".

Among them, "que" means "gap" and "gap". This means emphasizing the need to leave gaps when encircling the enemy.

In such a situation, if the enemy is surrounded on all sides, it may prompt the enemy commander to make up his mind to fight to the death. Conversely, if a gap is deliberately left behind, it can cause the enemy commander to vacillate between flight and death, and at the same time demoralize the enemy soldiers.

More importantly, leaving a gap is not to leave it alone, but to set up an ambush in the place where the enemy must escape, so that the enemy will fall into an ambush circle in the process of hasty escape. In particular, if the enemy besieges and holds the castle, once the enemy abandons the city and flees, he can avoid the pain of besieging the city and completely destroy the enemy army on the field battlefield.

In contrast, it is obviously much less difficult and costly to fight a fleeing enemy than to fight an enemy to the death. Generals with a little brains can calculate this account, so "besieging the division must be que" is a common tactic used by generals in all dynasties.

As a matter of fact, "encircling the division must be que" is not only a tactic of warfare, but also a method of thinking. The core of this is to require people to grasp the balance when dealing with things, leave room for them, don't talk too much, don't do things too desperately, and give the other party or the contradiction space and time to change, if it exceeds a certain limit, it will often backfire.

If you continue to exert pressure head-on, the opponent is very likely to "die in the net" and "burn the jade", which will eventually lead to the collapse of the negotiation and the previous efforts in vain.

The best way to avoid this outcome is to put yourself in the opponent's shoes, know what is at stake, point the other party to a way out that is acceptable to them, and steer the outcome of the negotiation in your favor.

Now the empire is heavily armed, one side is strong, the supplies are sufficient, and the morale is like a rainbow. On the other side, food and wages are scarce and morale is low, whether it is a few generals of the empire or a farmer who is defending in the city, they all know in their hearts who the final victory belongs to.

In this case, after deliberation, the four commanders of the empire decided to adopt the strategy of "encircling three queyi", they are now in the territory of the Song State, and they are also the active party that can attack freely, so there is no need to fight to the death with the 150,000 Song army in Shouzhou City.

The fierce siege lasted for a day, and the Imperial artillery was fired for a long time, and because of the quality of the barrels, it gradually subsided after nightfall.

Just when the Planter Dao and the defenders in the city thought that today's offensive of the Imperial Army was over, the fields outside the city resounded with a neat and heavy drum beat.

"Advance when you hear the drums, and retreat when you hear the sound of gold." Because the level of communication of the army in this era was low, the main way to command on the battlefield was to rely on flags and voices. Due to the neat and heavy sound of the cowhide drum and the long distance it traveled, it was chosen as the signal for the launch of the charge.

Hearing the drums of the attack coming from the Imperial Army's camp, observing the battlefield from the city tower, the face of the seed master in charge of the command changed color, his eyes and pupils contracted, and he hurriedly shouted: "Light more torches, all ready, as long as the enemy enters the firing range, the archers will start the first wave of attacks, and the others will prepare the stone gold juice!" ”

Today is the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, plus there are a few dark clouds floating over, there are no stars and no moon in the sky, and the torches in the hands of the soldiers of the Song Kingdom are extremely low except for being around.

The Song army threw their torches under the city to increase their visco, and soon the Imperial soldiers in black uniforms appeared, but they all stopped when they reached the range of the defenders at the head of the city.

Standing on the castle tower, he observed the movements of the Imperial Army, and when he found that the enemy had not attacked at night as he had imagined, a hint of alarm suddenly appeared in his heart.

Zizizi......

A slight burning sound sounded, and the two flames continued to approach Shouzhou City.

Just when the Seed Master Dao felt that the crisis was coming, two loud bangs shook the heavens and the earth!

With these two huge explosions, the city walls on the east and west sides of Shouzhou City were blown up, and the bricks and stones flying everywhere brought additional damage, and the Song soldiers on the city head who were affected by the explosion were even more miserable, and many people were drowned in dust without even making a sound.

Today's heavy artillery bombardment by the Imperial Army was not actually aimed at attacking the city, but to suppress the defenders at the head of the city, attract their attention, and provide cover for digging tunnels.

The Imperial Army, which was accustomed to using gunpowder weapons, certainly did not use the lives of its soldiers to attack the city to win the victory, and when encountering a fortified city, the use of explosives was their first choice.

Through the continuous research and development of the skilled craftsmen of the Imperial Ministry of Technology and Science, gunpowder has been continuously improved, and many gunpowder weapons with special purposes have also been invented, such as the standard explosive bags now equipped by the major legions, which are specially used for siege cities.

After two gaps appeared in the city wall, the imperial soldiers who had been preparing for a long time did not hesitate, and they followed the drums that became fierce and began to charge towards Shouzhou City!

Looking at the black imperial torrent pouring into the city, and the seed master Dao, who had fought several battles with the imperial army, couldn't help but sigh helplessly.

If the equipment and national strength of the two sides are comparable, the master can confidently defeat any opponent, but the difference in military strength between the two countries is not small.

Let the seed master Dao command some Song soldiers who have no fighting belief and most of them are still using swords and guns to fight against the imperial soldiers who are armed with muskets and grenades, such a battle makes his body and mind full of powerlessness.

After the imperial army entered the city, they instantly crushed the city wall and collapsed, and the Song soldiers who were still in a state of shock then formed several small teams according to their respective teams and companies and slowly advanced forward.

Shouzhou City, as the main battlefield, has to accommodate 150,000 Song troops, so the Seed Master Dao has already dismissed the people in the city, so the imperial army at this time does not need to scruple about anything, as long as there is a moving living creature in front of it, it will be set on fire by the entire assault team.