Xu Huang guessed correctly, Wang Liao was indeed inquiring about the situation in the city and after confirming that there were less than 20,000 defenders in the city, he planned to give Xingyang City a night attack.

It's not that Wang Liao himself has confidence in the Wei army, but before he came, Wei Si repeatedly told him to solve the Xingyang war as soon as possible, and then return to the army to concentrate on dealing with Zhao.

Wei Si also knew that it was impossible for only 30,000 Wei troops to resist the tiger and wolf cavalry of Zhao State, but Xingyang was a general

The fat that is about to arrive in the mouth is really reluctant to throw away, which is why there is this saying.

Just after nightfall, Wang Liao took advantage of the night to quietly gather 30,000 Wei troops outside the eastern city wall of Xingyang and launched a surprise attack on Xingyang City.

Xu Huang vigilantly paid attention to the every move of the Wei army outside the city, and suddenly saw the sound of killing under the city, thousands of torches illuminated the night as if it were day, and countless ant-sized Wei soldiers rushed over under the cover of crossbowmen, carrying ladders and pushing siege vehicles.

The Tang army was caught off guard, Rao is Xu Huang reacted quickly, and he was almost climbed onto the city wall by the Wei army.

Fortunately, the thousands of defenders on the city wall fought bravely to kill the enemy, and the Yuan Shu crossbowmen who reacted also began to pour out their anger into the bow and crossbow array of the Wei army under the city wall, which barely delayed the offensive.

When Fang Li got the news and rushed over, he just saw such a thrilling situation.

After a month of quiet siege, Xingyang finally ushered in its first looming crisis.

"Kill!"

A Wei soldier in his twenties climbed all the way up the ladder, and was lucky enough to touch the edge of the battlements of the tower.

The Tang pawn in front of him seemed to be a newcomer, his frightened face was already clearly visible, Wei pawn was overjoyed, and raised his waist knife to split this Tang pawn in half.

Seeing that this recruit was so frightened that he couldn't move, and the blade was about to touch the delicate skin of the other party, Wei Zu suddenly felt a chill in his chest, and his limbs couldn't help but start to lose strength.

looked down in disbelief, but it turned out to be Tang Pawn next to him who had already stabbed him in the chest at some point.

Seeing that the battle exploits in his hands were about to disappear with his life, Wei Zu unwillingly stretched out his hand, but was immediately squeezed down by his comrades who climbed up from behind, and his body shook, falling down from the ladder and falling into a puddle of flesh.

Tang Xinding had just breathed a sigh of relief when the back of his head was slapped hard.

"What do you think!"

Fang Li picked up the big knife he grabbed casually and waved it, cut the waist of Wei Pawn, who was showing his head again, in half, and scolded angrily, "You have to go to Lord Yama in a daze, knives and guns don't have eyes on the battlefield!" ”

At this time, the 3,000 reinforcements from the north and south sides finally arrived under the leadership of Dian Wei and Liu Feng, and with the addition of 3,000 fresh troops, the Tang army's combat strength suddenly increased and once again repelled an attack by the Wei army.

Wang Liao Zhuma was motionless at the rear of the battlefield, paying attention to the battle situation on the city tower, and seeing that the front could not be attacked for a long time, he couldn't help frowning and said: "When did the Tang Army's combat strength become so strong?" It's been so long, and my 30,000 Great Wei elites haven't even taken down a city wall battlement? ”

Seeing that the battle at the head of the city was stalemate, the lieutenant general who stayed behind couldn't help but step forward immediately and cautiously persuaded: "General, the brothers have suffered heavy casualties, why don't you retreat first and then make a plan?" ”

"Nonsense! Don't you understand the truth of a bang? Wang Liao turned around and whipped a horse whip on the shoulder of the deputy general, furious, "Our army is only 30,000, wouldn't fighting a war of attrition with the Tang army defending the city be looking for death?" If you talk nonsense and disturb the morale of the army, you will be chopped alive! ”

The adjutant general bowed his head and retreated unwillingly, but he couldn't stop looking at the castle tower worriedly. General Wei Yu knew that the Tang army was not a soft persimmon, so he let the 60,000 army besiege but not attack, so that the Tang army would be defeated without a fight, and General Wang Liao insisted on attacking strongly, I am afraid that he is not pushing 30,000 comrades into a dead end!

The Xingyang meat grinder continued to run until the third watch, and the Wei army had more than 5,000 casualties, especially the crossbowmen who were taken care of by the Tang army, who had suffered nearly one-third of the casualties.

The adjutant general risked his death again, and the arrogant Wang Liao had to admit that the Wei army's momentum had been dissipated, and any further attack would only increase casualties, so he had to order Mingjin to withdraw his troops.

Hearing the sound of golden drums coming from the rear camp, the Wei army involuntarily breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly retreated like a tide, and the fear of the Tang army's fearlessness of death quietly took root in their hearts.

The Tang army held on the city tower for more than two hours, and Fang Li, who personally went into battle to kill the enemy, was already exhausted, and when he saw that the Wei army had finally retreated, many people sat directly on the ground and gasped for breath.

Dian Wei has been guarding Fang Li's side, and at this time, he also slapped the blood stains on his face, and couldn't help but scold: "Damn, I don't know who the main general of the Wei army has been replaced, and his temper is so big!" ”

What Wang Liao didn't know was that the Tang army had already consumed all its troops before it was prepared, and all the garrison equipment in the treasury had been moved, and if the Wei army really kept attacking, it would really be possible to take Xingyang City in one go after paying more than half of the casualties.

In this battle, the Tang army lost 1,000 people, more than 1,000 people were seriously injured and could not fight anymore, ten bed crossbows were damaged, three cars were scrapped, and no less than 300 Yuan Shu crossbows were scrapped under overload, which can be described as a heavy loss.

Fang Li was terrified while listening to Xu Huang's battle damage report, he didn't know which general was the one who dissuaded the Wei army from continuing to attack, if they could meet, Fang Li must hold his hand and thank him repeatedly!

Fortunately, a thousand reinforcements led by Lu Bu on the west wall arrived, and quickly replaced the seriously wounded soldiers on the city tower, and the rest of the soldiers rested in batches according to the severity of injury and fatigue under the leadership of Dian Wei Liu Feng.

Fang Li sat on the steps by the city wall, eating a mouthful of white porridge and a mouthful of bread, when he saw Lu Bu coming, his eyes rolled and he suddenly smiled: "Feng Xian, do you dare to go out of the city to beat him later?" ”

"Night raid?" Lu Bu's eyes lit up, "Why don't you dare, please ask the lord to give me a thousand light horses, and the minister will fight so that the Wei army can't find the north!" ”

Gongsun Yan, who didn't know when he appeared on the city wall to comfort the soldiers, also turned his head when he heard this: "The enemy army is tired, and it seems that the new commander is very arrogant when he arranges his troops, and he thinks that a night attack is feasible!" ”

"Okay, then it's decided!" Fang Li slapped his thigh, "How many cavalry are there in the city that can fight?" ”

Gongsun Yan lowered his head and calculated, and replied: "With the four soldiers who have been changed to foot soldiers, there are about four thousand people. ”

"More than 4,000 people, a little less..."Fang Li put the bowl on the ground and muttered to himself.

Lu Bu was just about to speak, but was stopped by Gongsun Yan's eyes, and couldn't help but look at him suspiciously. I saw a smile on the corner of Gongsun Yan's mouth, and asked softly, "Does the lord want to finish his work?" ”

Fang Li nodded: "Otherwise, it would be too wasteful for filial piety to risk his life for the calculation of the widow." ”

Gongsun Yan has been suppressed for too long under the aura of many advisers, and now he is finally the only one left in Xingyang City, just waiting for the opportunity to perform, and now seeing that Fang Li has finally encountered a problem, he can't help but show a forced smile:

"Don't worry, the Wei army was pressed and beaten by our Tang army, and there is already a shadow in my heart, and at this time, it is a tired army and a frightened bird, just a little trick, in the eyes of the Wei army, four thousand will become forty thousand."

"Oh?" Fang Li leaned forward, "What plan does Mr. Gongsun have to teach me?" ”

Lu Budianwei and the others also gathered around, wanting to hear what amazing words this Gongsun who had not offered a plan for a long time would say.

Gongsun Yan's strategy is actually very simple, seeing that everyone is staring at him with blazing eyes, he can't help but feel a little weak, and he touched his nose and said: "It's very simple, it's just a suspicious plan." ”

"Just let General Feng Xian lead more than 4,000 light horsemen to the back of the Wei camp, hang a branch on the tail of each horse, hold high the banner of Cao Mengdedu, and add the noise of the defenders in our city, the Wei army will definitely be in chaos, General Feng Xian will take the opportunity to kill, and the lord will sit and wait for the head of General Wei to be presented!"

Gongsun Yan finished talking endlessly, going to see everyone's reactions, but saw Fang Li's indescribable face.

"I have to say, sir's strategy is really... Old-fashioned! Fang Li shook his head with a smile, "But such a simple method of doubting soldiers, why didn't the widow think of it?" ”

Gongsun Yan humbly arched his hand: "The authorities are confused, the lord just didn't think about it." ”

Although the bluffing strategy was old-fashioned, Fang Li knew that Gongsun Yan was by no means a person who made false promises to sell his reputation and reputation, and he must have dared to offer this plan after careful observation of the Wei army.

Therefore, although the gap was too great, Fang Li still did not hesitate to adopt Gongsun Yan's suggestion, and ordered Lu Bu to lead the army out of the city quietly from the south gate, and four thousand light horsemen rolled the armor to wrap around the back of the Wei camp, and then hung the branches that had been prepared on the horse's tail.

While waiting for Lu Bu's signal, Fang Li had a whim, remembered the classic battle examples that had been used many times in history, and asked people to call Xingyang Ling to the city tower and ask, "How many ploughing cattle are there in the city now?" ”

Xingyang Ling was at a loss: "Returning to the lord, plus he is too old to work, and there are more than 300 heads that are being prepared for slaughter in the official government. ”

"It's a little bit, but it's better than nothing." Fang Li waved his hand, "Let your people gather these ploughing cattle as quickly as possible, and tell the owners of these cattle that when the war is over, the widow will compensate a hundredfold!" ”

Xingyang ordered the leader to retreat, and Gongsun Yan on the side suddenly realized: "What does the lord want?" ”

Fang Li smiled sinisterly: "That's right, since you want to play, how can you not play a whole set?" ”

After Fang Li and Xun Yu's reforms, the efficiency of the Tang State increased several times, and in less than a stick of incense, Xingyang Ling's servants gathered three hundred ploughing cattle at the city gate.

Liu Feng took Tang Bing to apply fire oil to the tail of each ploughing ox according to Fang Li's order, and the sturdy ploughing oxen only felt that the tail was cold and uncomfortable, but they did not know that death had befallen their heads.

After the preparations in the city were completed, Lu Bu's 4,000 cavalry happened to be in place.

The Wei army camp not far away was pitch black, and Wang Liao obviously didn't think that the Tang army, which had become a trapped beast, would have the courage to sneak attack after the arduous battle to defend the city, and there was not much arrangement except for the routine sentry posts.