Since he found out that the tens of thousands of newly transferred Taiping troops were all old and weak soldiers, Wu Chaoyue immediately guessed the real purpose of the Taiping army's bluff - to induce the Qing army to focus on the Shence Gate, and also to induce the Jiangning defenders to concentrate the elite soldiers and strong generals on the Shence Gate, and then take the opportunity to attack the other gates of Jiangning City, which looks the most dangerous, but is actually the safest!

Knowing this, Wu Chaoyue's various worries that had been suppressed in his heart in the past few days were immediately swept away, knowing that he could do nothing at all, just eat hot pot and sing songs, and wait for the Taiping army to enter the city from other city gates, and then he could take Wu Jun Lian Yong to break through and return to Shanghai to reunite with the comprador grandfather! And naturally, whether Li Fushi, a beautiful little widow, should be brought back to Shanghai, of course, also appeared in Wu Chaoyue's consideration.

It backfired, Wu Chaoyue soon found that he still thought too beautifully, humming ****** when he went up to the Shence Gate, before Wu Chaoyue could see the situation in the city clearly, Zhang Jigeng, who had just come to help in the battle, immediately greeted him, and without saying a word, he pulled Wu Chaoyue to the side of the arrow battlement, pointed to the Taiping Army camp in the distance and said: "Master Wu, look at the new camp of Long Hair, the situation seems to be a little wrong." ”

"What's wrong there?" Wu Chaoyue raised the binoculars suspiciously to take a closer look, but after only one glance, Wu Chaoyue quietly began to complain - the 30,000 Taiping troops who came in yesterday were stupidly digging trenches to protect the camp, and the tactics were obviously based on defense, so it is very likely that Zhang Jigeng, a hardcore traitor who is old and treacherous, has also become suspicious.

Sure enough, Zhang Jigeng really said beside Wu Chaoyue: "Master Wu, didn't you find this thing too weird?" Changmao's strength is dozens of times that of the defenders of Shence Gate, and the walls and fences have been built, which are enough to resist the surprise attack of our army out of the city, why do you still dig a trench to protect the camp and take a defensive position, intending to stalemate with our army for a long time? ”

Wu Chaoyue wanted to say that the Taiping Army was cautious in using soldiers, and he didn't think about victory and defeat before playing Go, so he paid attention to the camp fortifications, but considering that Zhang Jigeng was cunning and deceitful, he participated in the Battle of Changsha, which made the Taiping Army suffer, and his understanding of the Taiping Army was still above himself, and it was very difficult to fool him, Wu Chaoyue still changed his mind, and simply echoed Zhang Jigeng and said: "What Mr. Bingyuan said is extremely true, I also think it's a little weird, the long hair is big but pays attention to the defense, which is very wrong." ”

"Master Wu, then in your opinion, why did Long Hair do this?" Zhang Jigeng asked again.

"There are only two purposes." Wu Chaoyue replied without thinking about it: "First, to lure the enemy, I want our army to feel that they have been cowardly, and risk going out of the city to fight them. The second is that this long hair only looks like a large number of people, but in fact it is very weak in combat, so it is necessary to adopt a steady defense tactic. ”

I never thought that Wu Chaoyue's opinion would be completely consistent with his own, Zhang Jigeng was overjoyed, and hurriedly said: "Master Wu, since you also see it this way, then do we think of a way to test the real situation of this long hair?" ”

"It's time to test it." Wu Chaoyue nodded, and said: "But for the sake of safety, it is best not to risk sending troops to tempt, it is best to arrange a few dead soldiers to go out of the city at night, and use the cover of night to touch the side of the new camp of long hair, and explore the reality of this long hair up close." ”

"Director Wu is clever, and the students think the same!" Zhang Jigeng was even more happy when he heard it, and then he couldn't wait to say: "Director Wu, the elite of Lian Yong under your command, how about you arrange for a few Lian Yong to go out of the city to spy on it?" ”

"I already sent it last night." Wu Chaoyue muttered in his heart, but he flatly refused and said, "No! Mr. Bingyuan, it's not that I'm reluctant to let my Lian Yong take risks, it's that you also know that my Lian Yong is already only more than 400 people, and every sacrifice will directly weaken the overall combat effectiveness, so I can't let them take such a big risk. ”

After that, Wu Chaoyue also said: "And my Lian Yong is from Songjiang, not to mention anything else, it is difficult to get through the accent alone, if you accidentally run into a long-haired patrol when you go out of the city, you can't pretend to be a local." So to be cautious, it's best to arrange for a few locals to go out into town. ”

"It makes sense." Zhang Jigeng recognized Wu Chaoyue's opinion, and took the initiative to say: "In this way, my Lian Yong are all locals in Jiangning, I'll pick a few Lian Yong, and let them go down to the city with a rope tonight, and feel the close to the long-haired camp to spy on the enemy." ”

Wu Chaoyue agreed with a smile, but when Zhang Jigeng rushed to pick out the dead soldiers out of the city, Wu Chaoyue scolded him in his stomach at his back, "The dog traitor raised by the son of a bitch, are you a cheater?" If you really see through the Taiping Army's bluff, then Lao Tzu's breakthrough plan will be all disrupted by you? Dry! Since you are disrupted, I will make trouble, and I will never let you do this! ”

With the idea of making trouble in his heart, Wu Chaoyue of course immediately calculated how to destroy Zhang Jigeng's reconnaissance plan, and it is very simple to make trouble, as long as the Taiping army knows that they have revealed their flaws, or let the Taiping army know Zhang Jigeng's reconnaissance plan, and the difficulty is how to do this without alarming others.

At the same time, the Taiping army has been scared by the snipers of the Wu army, and they dare not go to the city to reconnoitre, even if they shoot the arrow book down the city, they may not be able to be picked up by the Taiping soldiers. Of course, it is definitely not possible to send Lian Yong out of the city to directly contact the Taiping army, and in a dilemma, Wu Chaoyue really can't think of any good way to sabotage and make trouble for a while.

When racking their brains, new troubles suddenly came to the door again, Qi Suzao suddenly sent someone to send an order, so that Wu Chaoyue and Zhang Jigeng immediately rushed to Yifengmen to listen to the order, Wu Chaoyue and Zhang Jigeng had no choice but to put down their work, go down to the city and go straight to Yifengmen. And after arriving at Yifengmen to go to the city, Wu Chaoyue and Zhang Jigeng found that Lu Jianying and Xianghou and other Jiangning bigwigs were here, and the two hurriedly stepped forward to salute, Lu Jianying waved his hand to say goodbye, and couldn't wait to say to Zhang Jigeng: "Bingyuan, come and see, what the hell is Changmao doing in Jinghai Temple?" ”

Zhang Jigeng agreed, and hurriedly stepped forward to observe the situation outside the city with a telescope, and Wu Chaoyue also stepped forward at the request of Qi Suzao, and also picked up the telescope to observe, and saw that a large number of Taiping troops were gathering in the area of Jinghai Temple in the northwest of Yifeng Gate, and they were also building defensive walls. Then the inexperienced Wu Chaoyue was still pondering the intention of the Taiping Army's move, but Zhang Jigeng's face had changed dramatically and exclaimed: "Not good! Longhair is digging tunnels again! Long Mao imagined attacking Changsha and Wuchang, digging tunnels to the foot of the city wall, burying gunpowder to blow up the city wall! ”

"It turns out that the real main direction of attack of the Taiping Army is in Yifengmen." Wu Chaoyue was overjoyed in his heart - Yifeng Gate is more than eight miles away from Shence Gate, if Yifeng Gate is broken, Wu Chaoyue will naturally have more time to retreat.

"Bingyuan, how can you be sure that Long Hair is going to attack the city?" Qi Suzao next to him hurriedly asked.

"It's simple." Zhang Jigeng pointed to the construction site of the Taiping Army and said: "Changmao did not have a vehicle to transport soil and stone to Jinghai Temple, but Changmao on the side of Jinghai Temple was ramming earth to build a wall. ”

After a careful look with a telescope and found that this was indeed the case, Wu Chaoyue was even more bitter in his heart, but Zhang Jigeng continued to disgust Wu Chaoyue, and immediately said to Lu Jianying and others: "Lu Zhitai, Qi Fantai, there are many miners in the Changmao army, and there are earthen camps dedicated to digging tunnels, and they are the best at attacking the city in the cave, and Wuchang City was broken by the hand of Changmao. Now Changmao is digging tunnels on the side of Yifengmen, which is enough to prove that the real main battlefield of Longhair is Yifengmen, and Yifengmen must immediately strengthen the defense in case of accidents! ”

"How to strengthen?" Qi Suzao hurriedly asked again.

"First, open deep trenches and build inner walls, so that long hairs can break through the outer walls and cannot enter the city." Zhang Jigeng suggested: "Second, to increase the garrison of Yifengmen, it is best to transfer the Songjiang regiment of Wu's chief to strengthen the troops of Yifengmen, give full play to the advantages of the Songjiang regiment in training firepower and marksmanship, and cooperate with the fortifications to annihilate the enemy!" ”

Hearing this, Wu Chaoyue of course wanted to strangle Zhang Jigeng to death on the spot, but fortunately, Lu Jianying's biggest advantage was that he couldn't listen to the correct opinion, so he immediately shook his head and said: "No, it's not sure whether Changmao is digging tunnels, so can you immediately tear down the streets and houses in the city to build walls?" Also, the war on the side of the Shence Gate is even tighter, so can troops be drawn from there? ”

"What Lu Zhitai said is extremely true." Jiangning General Xianghou, who had always disgusted Wu Chaoyue, suddenly became cute, and said: "The defense of the thirteen gates of Jiangning has been arranged, and although the war has been tight in the past few days, it has never given Changmao a chance to break into the city, which is enough to prove that our city defense deployment is correct and effective." Rashly adjusting the deployment of the defenders will inevitably expose flaws and give Longhair an opportunity to take advantage of. ”

Zhang Jigeng was so anxious that he was about to stomp his feet, and hurriedly introduced the suspicious signs he found on the side of the Shence Gate to Lu Jianying and the others, and then said: "Lu Zhitai, General Xiang, if it is really as the students and Chief Wu guessed, Changmao's side continues to increase troops to the Shence Gate, but it is the old and weak soldiers who are sent to bluff, then the students can be sure that there is actually no danger on the side of the Shence Gate, and the real main direction of attack of Long Mao is actually this Yifeng Gate!" ”

Lu Jianying and Xianghou were a little shaken, Wu Chaoyue saw that the situation was not good, so he could only hurriedly say to Lu Jianying and the others: "Ladies and gentlemen, please rest assured, the lower officials have already discussed with Mr. Bingyuan, we will send the dead soldiers down to the city tonight and take the risk to spy on the real situation of the Changmao camp, if the deployment of Changmao in the Shence Gate is really a bluff of the old and weak soldiers, then after the investigation tonight, there will be a report of results!" ”

After discussing a few words with Xianghou and Qi Suzao in a low voice, Lu Jianying said to Wu Chaoyue and Zhang Jigeng: "Okay, then you guys hurry up and act according to the plan, tomorrow morning, the old man must know the real situation of the long-haired camp over there in Shence Gate." ”

Wu Chaoyue and Zhang Jigeng agreed together, and then Zhang Jigeng was of course relieved, knowing that there was still hope for Lu Jianying, Xianghou and others to adopt his correct advice, but Wu Chaoyue scolded even more in his stomach, scolding Zhang Jigeng for being a traitor, and even more scolding Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing and others for not acting secretly, and arranging a strategy to attack the west can reveal so many flaws!

No matter how much you scold, it's useless, if you don't hurry up and find a way to sabotage Zhang Jigeng's reconnaissance plan, the trouble will definitely be greater, and in desperation, Wu Chaoyue had to hurriedly come up with a plan that is not very safe on the way back to Shence Gate, and just got rid of the hardcore traitor Zhang Jigeng when he returned to Shence Gate, he immediately asked Wu Dadao to find a Jiang Ning Lian Yong who had the courage to go down to the city for himself, and also specially explained that he must not want Zhang Jigeng's Lian Yong.

Lian Yong, who had the courage to go to the city, quickly found that it was Jiang Ning Lian Yong, who had helped Wu Chaoyue demolish the houses outside the city before, and had received silver from Wu Chaoyue, and had tasted the sweetness, so he was willing to work hard for Wu Chaoyue. The cautious and suspicious Wu Chaoyue carefully inquired about his identity and background, and confirmed that he had nothing to do with Zhang Jigeng, and then asked him: "Do you know that I called you here to prepare for you to go out of the city at night to investigate the enemy?" ”

"Yes." That Lian Yong replied truthfully: "Wu Junye has already said to the little one, please rest assured, the little one will definitely be able to complete the mission you have explained." ”

"Did you know that? Why should I risk you to go out of the city to investigate the enemy? ”

Wu Chaoyue asked again, that Lian Yong shook his head and said that he didn't know, Wu Chaoyue sighed, and said very casually: "It's because Mr. Bingyuan saw the flaws and suspected that the long hairs stationed outside the city were all old and weak soldiers, and even more suspected that the long hairs didn't want to fight the Shence Gate at all, in fact, the real target was Yifeng Gate, so he had to find someone to take the risk to see the situation of the long hair." But don't worry, I won't let you work in vain, it's done, I'll reward you with twenty taels of silver! ”

Na Lian Yong was overjoyed when he heard this, and quickly patted his chest and said that he would definitely complete the task, Wu Chaoyue nodded with satisfaction, and directly told Na Lian Yong, saying that he wanted to grab this credit, so that Na Lian Yong would go down to the city first after it was dark, and he must pay attention to secrecy. After Lian Yong agreed again, Wu Chaoyue also asked his own soldiers to take that Lian Yong down to drink wine and eat meat, and temporarily isolate him from others.

The stakes are very high, Wu Chaoyue stayed in the city of Shence Gate all day this day, and even ate dinner in the city, and when it was dark, Wu Chaoyue first sent Wu Dadao to entangle the hardcore traitor Zhang Jigeng for himself, and then personally commanded Wu Jun Lian Yong to put down Jiang Ning Lian Yong with a rope in the self-military defense area.

Until it was confirmed that Lian Yong had touched the direction of the Taiping army's camp by night, Wu Chaoyue asked his Lian Yong to deliberately light more torches on the city wall to create the illusion of crowd gathering, and deliberately stretched the torches and lanterns out of the wall, so that the Taiping army scouts who were sentry outside the city suspected that there was a special situation here. Then he ran to the city tower to find Zhang Jigeng, who was temporarily entangled by Wu Dada, and strongly persuaded Zhang Jigeng to let his Lian Yong go down to the city to reconnoiter at the time of the second watch, Zhang Jigeng did not think that Wu Chaoyue, whose hands were stained with the blood of the Taiping soldiers, would take the initiative to help the Taiping Army, nodded in agreement with Wu Chaoyue's suggestion, and let him wait for more than half an hour for Lian Yong, who had been prepared.

Good intentions are good rewards, at the critical moment, even God came to help, after more than half an hour, because they found that there were torches shaking in the firing range outside the city, the Qing gunners who were too nervous did not have time to ask Geng Huan and Wu Chaoyue and others for instructions, so they lit the fire and opened fire, and fired a few shots at those torches. When Zhang Jigeng heard the sound of artillery, it was too late to run to stop it, so he could only scold the Qing gunners who disturbed the enemy, and at the same time forced to let his Lian Yong wait for another half an hour before attacking, Wu Chaoyue snickered in his stomach, and kept praying in his heart that the Lian Yong he sent could be captured by the Taiping army.

Finally survived to the second halfway point, Wu Chaoyue and Zhang Jigeng worked together, commanded the green battalion soldiers to put down the three Jiang Ning Lian Yong brought out by Zhang Jigeng, and vaguely saw that after the three Lian Yong walked away, Wu Chaoyue and Zhang Jigeng, who were sleepy, just wanted to return to the city tower to sleep, but never thought that there were screams and roars in the darkness under the city, Wu Chaoyue and Zhang Jigeng quickly poked their heads out of the arrow battlement to observe the city, and vaguely saw a figure rushing towards this side, and shouted in a Jiangning accent: "There is long hair!" There is an ambush for the long hair! Ahh ”

With this scream, the figure fell to the ground with a bang, and then several more black shadows rushed up, dragging him quickly away from the scene. Seeing this scene, Wu Chaoyue was of course secretly happy in his heart, but Zhang Jigeng regretted that he was able to punch the wall, and said helplessly: "There is no way, my Lian Yong is likely to have been captured, don't expect to have another chance to go out of the city tonight to spy on Changmao's military intelligence." ”

There was indeed no hope, because on this night, Wu Chaoyue sent Lian Yong to the city first, and after being interrogated by Li Kaifang, he was escorted to the Taiping Army's Xiaguan Water Village and handed over to Yang Xiuqing, the military commander of the Taiping Army. After asking about Lian Yong's confession, Yang Xiuqing was shocked, and immediately ordered: "Order Li Kaifang, let him divide a part of the soldiers to take over the patrol duty of the feint army, the feint army camp is only allowed to dig the front trench, not the two wings and the trench behind it!" In addition, every night, suspicious soldiers are arranged outside the Shence Gate, and then 300 elite soldiers are arranged to ambush, ready to ambush the soldiers who go out of the city to ambush the demons. ”

"King Dong, what should I do over there at Jinghai Temple?" Wei Changhui next to him asked.

"Use the vehicle and some stones to build a fort!" Yang Xiuqing replied without even blinking an eyelid: "Bring a few more artillery pieces over and pretend to bombard the city." Oh, no, bombard the city directly! ”

"The East King's Clever Plan!" Wei Changhui slapped the table and praised: "If you really build a fort to bombard the city, the Qing Demon will definitely not be able to distinguish the real from the fake." ”

"It's all thanks to the blessing of surpassing the little demon." Yang Xiuqing sighed: "I didn't expect that the Qing Demon in Jiangning City was so treacherous, and he was able to guess the true intention of our army with a few clues. ”

After that, Yang Xiuqing couldn't help but have a little doubt in her heart, and said secretly: "Is it a bit big to surpass the little demon this time?" Last time, he lured Li Kaifang to attack the Shence Gate, but he even used it to the death, how could he tell such an important military situation in front of him who went out of the city to practice bravery? Is it a light enemy? Or is it deliberate? ”