Soon I got the investigation from Xuzhou, and on the way to the vicinity of Xuzhou City, I saw at least eight or nine family coats and flags of the princes outside the city, in addition to the larger ministry flags, there were dozens of them.

It is said that it has become a carnival feast for all kinds of invasion forces outside the city to divide the spoils of war, because of a certain haste and hurry, many military supplies and personnel still transported on the road were left behind in the suburbs of the city, so that these armed forces from all walks of life from the north of the city fought and fought hard.

In the place where the makeup reconnaissance team passed, at least seven or eight large and small encounters were encountered, because of the uneven distribution of the successive arrivals, and the conflict between the swords and swords was also involved in an inexplicable melee. Fortunately, there were no casualties, and they were rushed out.

Therefore, before they had time to get close to Xuzhou City, they were treated like flies, followed by the brigade to pick up cheap miscellaneous surnames, and drove them back with a very tough attitude.

Because there, the big clans of the princes outside the Saiwai have joined forces, and they have each demarcated the direction of attack and the area of control. But at least the adventure confirmed from a distance that Xuzhou, as the pivot of water and land transshipment, is still planted with the flag of the national dynasty on the head of the city.

When it comes to the direct command of the princes outside the Saiwai and the army under their command, it is completely different. It's like the big difference between a free-range herd and a deliberately trained hound.

Most of what we have seen and defeated so far are those who have had considerable discipline and organization, equipment and training. Their most prominent feature is the mobility on horseback, and even the archery skills that have been naturally good since childhood will still be deflated before my musket array.

But after the attack and defense outside the White Horse Temple, I saw these again, from the core combat power of the princes outside the Saiwai,

Under the tempering of the wind, frost, rain and snow and mutual battles outside the Saiwai, these unique directly subordinate troops do not lack the will to fight and experience, and the equipment and training of each family are not bad, but because they are limited by the environment and conditions, the number is quite limited.

Because the princes of Saiwai also possessed quite good mining and other resources, but in terms of people's livelihood and economy, except for pastures, there was a lack of fertile arable land to feed a sufficient population.

Therefore, if they can't join forces, they will not be able to compete with the Central Plains Imperial Court, which has huge manpower and material resources, as well as equipment and technological advantages, and can only play some kind of role in raiding and invading for a long time......

Xuzhou, Feng Lang, the commander of the left guard of the newly established camp, cautiously looked at the gurgling heads under the city, as well as the sound of various tones roaring wildly, and couldn't help but look more and more solemn.

As a veteran soldier from the Marine Corps, although his surname is Feng, his relationship and origin with the descendants of the so-called "Dragon King of the Sea" who flourished among the sailors were really too far away. Therefore, he is trying to find a way to participate in the selection of the new army's commanders, and then take this opportunity to participate in the sequence of the Northern Expedition to win fame.

He suddenly stuck to the battlements and stretched out the pipe, and quickly buckled his hair under the wall, and a figure clinging to the edge of the wall suddenly screamed, dragged out a line of blood and fell down, and quickly disappeared into the surging crowd.

Then a few arrows that counterattacked, but they had already clanged down on the wall bricks along the battlements he had retracted.

It's just that compared to the number of kills that these defenders have fought so far today, these enemies are still not necessarily reduced much, and as the casualties increase, the other side has become more cunning and cautious.

Some of them had even put on the ill-fitting but thick enough armor, picked up shields and some siege equipment, and under the cover of the same captured standard bows and crossbows, they launched one attack after another towards the gap in the wall.

The only thing that can make Feng Lang a little fortunate is that

So far, several points of contention have been on the flaws in the city walls. Thanks to the battle of Qingxu Town a few days ago, the attack on Xuzhou was too hard, and several defects have not been repaired so far. It can only be used to build up masonry and fences with all kinds of temporary piles, and hurriedly arrive at it as a line of defense.

During this period,

The reputation of the so-called guerrilla soldiers who were born in the guerrilla army and who was good at defending the first place in field warfare was once again proved to be really not boasting. Especially under the cover of sufficient city defense, it is enough to let the opposite side of the point, outnumbered and not fall behind.

In contrast, what is more disturbing is that the number of specially trained soldiers and auxiliaries is too small, and there is only one old battalion and an auxiliary brigade that are not fully organized, plus a large number of remnants of friendly troops that are mixed in and have a good will to fight and equipment, which constitute the basic quality of one of the so-called three marching battalion escorts.

Originally, as long as there was enough time and investment to train and sort out, these supplementary soldiers with extensive experience and basic training foundation could at least be used, but it was a pity that they did not have this opportunity.

Moreover, even the entire battalion escort army in a full state is really a drop in the bucket compared to those enemies gathered under the city, so they can only concentrate the soldiers of the old third battalion as the firefighting team of the city wall, exhausted in various emergency and dangerous sections.

Fortunately, thanks to Pengcheng's status as the location and transit hub of the Shuaisi, the materials and equipment in the city are quite sufficient, and a large number of logistics and support personnel are stranded. Even if nothing is done, listing on the walls can serve as a kind of bluff.

The inhabitants of the city, who had been under occupation, also rebelled against the normal state of apathy and non-cooperation under the great threat and pressure of burning and plundering from the outside, and took the initiative to help the previous invaders and occupying forces.

This reason is also very simple, as the occupation army of the Southern Dynasty, although there is no lack of all kinds of harsh control and high-pressure methods, at least they still need locals, to undertake labor and provide taxes. But if those unscrupulous Humal really want to break into the city, what kind of cruel and miserable things will happen is naturally self-evident.

Just from the men, women, and children who were dragged behind their horses and frolicked for fun in the camp of Humazi outside the city, some kind of desperate fate could be foreseen. Therefore, they had to fight again for a reason. Although the combat effectiveness of these people is worrying, at least it somewhat solves some of the worries of the defenders.

On the other hand,

Although the flag of the nominal commander is still flying in the air, only a few people, including him, know that it has long become an empty shell. All that remains is the role of bullying the enemy outside the city.

And in Xuzhou City, the large amount of baggage accumulated under the name of Shuai Si, together with their new and old camp guards, became a kind of honey and bait that attracted most of these Humaer.

This is the lesson and lesson they learned from the blood they had retreated from along the way after the initial chaos and disorder. These Humazi did not have a relatively strict and unified command and deployment, but according to the hell and domain of their respective origins, each had a prince outside the Saiwai, and a large part of the nomadic tribe acted separately.

All the purposes are only to plunder and plagiarism, and there is no specific strategic direction and advance plan, but only instinctively attack and destroy, and the objects that stand in the way, whether they are the Northern Dynasty or the Southern Army, or those local armed forces such as the wall-like Tutuan and the Volunteers, or those powerful and powerful people who have formed villages to protect themselves.

It's a pity that when he knew this, it was already too late, and Shuai Si urgently issued an order to let the soldiers and horses retreat and shrink, and under the wrong shape and understanding, it finally turned into an extremely bad failure and disaster. Marching in a cold environment, competing with these more hard-working and hardy Hu Mazi, for mobility and footsteps, is undoubtedly a matter of self-exposure.

Many of the returned teams were scattered halfway because of demoralization, hunger and fatigue due to lack of materials, or they were lucky enough to carry enough baggage, but they were directly routed on the road because of frequent enemy attacks, and finally arrived at Xuzhou to converge, almost no two or three remained.

Despite this, if these persevering people can work together, at least they will not have no strength, but unfortunately, the pessimism of failure has enveloped most people from the top down, and almost everyone is trying to escape from this place of death that is already doomed to failure and despair. It's just that under the mobilization and organization of Shuaiji, it was suppressed.

And then

To add insult to injury, Shuaiji dispatched most of the elite and all the mounts in the name of counterattacking, and after protruding southward before the enemy could completely close, he headed towards Huaishui, the direction of the last bridge, without looking back.

And among their marching guards, the Gun Army, which was obviously both a foot combat sequence and a relatively good defender, was left behind by the "extra grace" and continued to persist in fighting and attracting enemy troops. Because in the heavy encirclement of those Humar, these infantry soldiers even gave up at the time and broke through and fled, so they could only support themselves in the midst of hardship.

And in today's commandery, the highest-ranking left-behind personnel are just a judge who was left behind because of illness, a number of unambitious subordinates who were ordered to be in danger, and a bunch of civilian officials who were too low in rank and were abandoned and obviously not qualified to know.

This lack of trust and result made these former officers and men of the Third Battalion of the Guerrilla Army, who had been persuaded to stay by the coercion and temptation of the superiors and boasted that they had become the henchmen directly under the commander's direct government, and who thought that they had a better future, could not help but be a little discouraged and disappointed.

Some people even regret that they listened to the promises and persuasions at the beginning, and hesitated not to go to the main camp, although they are also likely to be in a desperate situation of hard fighting, but at least they do not have to worry about the problems behind it.

This kind of remorse complicated feelings, but it also makes them inspire a certain ruthlessness and rebellion in a desperate situation, as the style and tradition of the old Longzhou Tuanzuo, how can it be that when the opponent picks up the cheap in vain, even if it is difficult to escape the destruction in the end, at least let these enemies pay enough unforgettable tragic price to accompany the funeral.

This thought and drive have supported these few veterans, who have been fighting until now, and they are already scarred and exhausted.

He snorted suddenly, and saw a slight pause in the offensive below, and the Humal slowly retreated with some reluctance, making way for an open space that was covered with ice and snow and corpses.

Immediately afterwards, a knight with a plain flag galloped straight under the city wall, shouting a plea for negotiation.

Immediately after he arrived at the city, he shouted on the spot to persuade him to surrender. The content of what was said was nothing more than that the defenders of the city had already given up on the superiors, and that they had won enough respect and extra respect to be able to fight alone until now.

It's just that it will be useless to keep it like this, and it will increase each other's casualties. The entry of the foreign vassals into the customs is only for the sake of materials and wealth, and to eliminate them, the remnants of the Southern Dynasties, is not of much interest, so it is better to let them go.

Therefore, in the end, in the name of the eight great feudal families outside the Saiwai, they joined forces as a guarantee, and as long as they could peacefully cede the city, they would let these southern soldiers return safely, without pretentious obstruction and interception, and allowed to bring their own weapons and accompanying materials and goods.

In order to show their sincerity, all the departments under the city can stop attacking for one day, and let them pack up their own salutes and arrange the aftermath.

Such generous conditions suddenly made the defenders on the board look at each other, and their expressions and thoughts became a little complicated.

And Feng Lang's first reaction was that there was obviously a mole in the city, and someone leaked the truth and details in the city.

The second is that when will Hu Ma'er, who is under the leadership of these foreign feudal families, play this kind of scheme to openly shake and split people's hearts.

Moreover, it is the feudal army and Hu Mazi under the city that obviously have enough preliminary unified orders to save zài. Compared to the previous situation where each area was divided and attacked in turn, this is the biggest threat.

In the end, since the enemy dares to say it so big, it at least represents some kind of confidence and self-confidence, whether it is bluff coercion, or pretending to be paralyzed, it is likely that there is already a potential echo of the other party in Xuzhou City.

It's not good news to draw inferences from it. Feng Lang had no intention of staying on the city wall any longer.

"Quickly report to Cui Tongjun, and you must prevent changes in the city ......"