Chapter 711: Three Days

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In the early morning of autumn, the red morning sun appears and disappears in the mist. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. biqUgE怂 ļ½‰ļ½Žļ½†ļ½

On the canal outside Cheongju, boats came and went, bringing grain, grass and ordnance.

The management of the Yellow River has been quite effective, especially after the fall of the Western Xia, and large-scale afforestation activities have begun in the upper reaches of the Yellow River. Especially in the Loess Plateau, the first generation has been less devastated by war, and vegetation restoration and soil and water conservation are being intensified.

The flooding of the Yellow River has decreased, and the original canal on the Hebei Road Plain is no longer seriously affected by sediment, and it has begun to recover in the past two years. It is no problem for the flat-bottomed boat with a shallow draft to be unimpeded, if it is not, this time against the Liao State, just the logistics grain and grass transportation will be enough.

Lai San used to be a boatman, but two years before the flooding of the Yellow River, he dragged his family and his family to beg for a living, and he was displaced, and his life was very embarrassing.

At that time, he was still the official family of the Ministry of Works, and after controlling the Yellow River, he could finally return to his hometown. Wen Xianggong ordered the prefectures and counties to allocate dozens of acres of land to the people, and several brothers in the family, their fathers, wives and children cultivated them. Because of the good water, Lai San ran a boat back then, and when he saw that the canal was restored to unimpeded, he returned to his old business, wanting to earn more money to supplement his family.

Especially the official family went to Liao this time to transport a large amount of grain and grass, and their shipwrights were also extremely busy. However, no one feels hard, and there are no complaints, all their current happy lives are given by the official Zhao Zhao, and they must understand Entu Bao as a person.

They also heard that there is no flood on Hebei Road now, and the biggest disaster is the Khitan people. As long as the sixteen states of Yanyun are recaptured, there will be no future troubles, in order to repay the favor. For the sake of a stable life for future generations. Everything is worth it.

After dawn. After unloading, the ships are preparing to leave and return to the south to continue transporting grain and grass. However, as soon as the boat left the dock, Lai San found that the hull of the boat was constantly shaking. But obviously there is no wind, even if it is empty, it will not shake so much, why is that......

Immediately afterwards, Lai San found that the water surface was also shaking, first there were ripples in circles, although they were waves. It's not the wind. It's the earth......

Lai San finally found out that the whole earth was trembling slightly, was it an earthquake? In the past few years, there have been several earthquakes on Hebei Road, and similar situations have occurred, and Lai San has seen it. Could it be another earthquake? I still remember that after the earthquake that year, mourning was all over the wilderness, and it was today's Xuanfu who made Wu Chong come to help.

Now that he has just lived a good life, there must be no more earthquake disasters, Lai San prayed silently in his heart. But he noticed that the ripples on the water were becoming more and more obvious. Apparently the shaking was more violent, could it be a big earthquake? That's not right. How can an earthquake last so long?

Lai San was very puzzled, and suddenly heard a shout from his companion, turned his head, looked through the dense fog that gradually dispersed, and saw the smoke and dust in the distance, advancing rapidly like a flood, gradually coming towards Cheongju City.

What's going on? After another moment, someone finally saw the doorway, it was the cavalry, it was the cavalry of the brigade. Only a large number of war horses galloping quickly can create such a strong shock.

In the midst of the consternation, these cavalry had already approached Qingzhou City, and the rolling murderous aura was overwhelming, and for a moment Lai San had a feeling of suffocation.

……

……

The Khitan army suddenly slaughtered under the city of Qingzhou, and the Song army was unexpected.

The fog obscured its tracks, and by the time it was discovered, it was pointless to do anything other than close the gates and defend against the enemy.

The guard general of Cheongju called Luo Jiancheng, and was shocked when he found out about this situation. If nothing else, just because the Great Song Emperor's Daxu was fluttering at the head of Qingzhou City, and there were only 8,000 defenders in Qingzhou City. Looking up, there are at least 30,000 Khitan iron cavalry outside the city, and there is a huge disparity in strength.

Luo Jiancheng can be regarded as an old man, and he didn't panic at the first time, but he was inevitably nervous. Immediately he ordered the gates to be shut and stones to be piled up behind them, so as to seal them up.

It's just 8,000 people guarding a city, and in the face of almost four times the number of troops, it is too difficult to defend the city. For them, 8,000 men were to defend the four walls. But for the Khitans, they only need to concentrate their forces, fight one side, and even only need to break through one point and they are done.

What will happen if the city is broken?

Luo Jiancheng didn't dare to think much about the possibility of the sky falling, and immediately sent an order to the Qingzhou government to mobilize all the sturdy men in the city to fight in the city, even if it was the only son in the family, he must obey the order, and now he must ensure the safety of the Great Song Emperor at all costs.

This can be regarded as increasing the self-confidence of the people and soldiers, and the most feared thing is to be afraid before the battle. It's just that Cheongju is not the closest city to the border after all, and the combat preparations in all aspects are not very sufficient, and the psychological preparation is also insufficient, so it seems that it is really a bit hasty.

The men who were requisitioned were rushing to the city, and the Khitan army launched an attack, Luo Jian originally planned to take the time to meet Emperor Zhao Zhao, but now he couldn't get away at all.

The Khitan attack was fierce, and in half an hour, all the Song troops on the outskirts of Qingzhou had been cleared, and a tentative assault on the city had been made. The Khitans did this, probably because they wanted to take advantage of the sudden attack, and the Song army panicked, so as to catch them off guard.

As a result, it failed, although the Song army blocked the first wave of Khitan attacks. But in just half an hour, hundreds of corpses had been left in the city. Now that the Khitans have retreated, they must be resting, and cutting down trees, preparing siege equipment, the real threat of a formal offensive has not yet begun, I don't know how many people will be killed by then? Whether it can withstand the impact of the Khitan army.

It's a lot of pressure!

Luo Jiancheng breathed a sigh of relief and was about to hurry up to meet Emperor Zhao Zhao, but when he turned around, he saw that the official family had already walked up to the city and was comforting the injured soldiers.

"The last general will see the official family!"

"General Luo doesn't have to be polite, what's the situation now?" In the end, he is worthy of being the king of a country, although the situation is critical, Zhao Zhao is extremely calm and does not have the slightest panic.

"The Khitan army is about 30,000, all of them are elite, and the last general has already sent people to the city to help garrison." Luo Jiancheng was concise and to the point, basically explaining the situation. The geometry of the Cheongju garrison and the defensive situation are well known and do not need to be repeated.

"Do you know who the other party is?" Zhao Zhao's face was expressionless, and he was very interested in who the enemy's main general was.

"I don't know yet!"

Zhao Zhao instructed: "Find a way to clarify this matter for me." ā€

"Yes!"

Zhao Zhao turned around and left, and Luo Jiancheng said in a low voice: "Wait a minute, the official family will have a few words that I don't know whether to say or not." ā€

"Say!"

Walking to a secluded place under the city tower, Luo Jiancheng said: "Your Majesty, the troops in Qingzhou are insufficient, and the Khitans are menacing, so I am afraid that there is danger." The official family has a golden body, can you move first, the official family has the elite guard of the Great Song Dynasty Blade, and the minister is leading the Qingzhou defenders to escort the official family to break out. ā€

Zhao Zhao frowned and said, "General Luo has no confidence in himself?" Or do you have no faith in me? ā€

"Don't dare!" Luo Jiancheng bowed down and said: "The ministers and the soldiers of Qingzhou will fight to the death to protect the safety of the official family." But in the end, there is a huge disparity in troops, and Cheongju does not have high walls and deep pools, so the minister is worried that in case ...... In case there is a slip-up...... The official family maintains the society of the Great Song Dynasty, and there must be no mistakes. ā€

Zhao Zhao asked rhetorically: "But the question is, do you guarantee that you can escort me to break out safely?" ā€ć€‚

Luo Jiancheng was speechless!

"Stay in Qingzhou, there is still a city wall to resist the Liao army, but if you go out of the city...... It is true that the blade of the Great Song Dynasty is elite, and the Qingzhou army built by you will also fight desperately. But on the plains outside the city, can it be the opponent of the Khitan cavalry? The opponent has several times the strength of our troops, and is better at cavalry combat, how difficult is it to slip out of their hands in the field? ā€

Luo Jiancheng was stunned, he was too anxious just now, the Khitans suddenly killed, and the city of Qingzhou was in danger. In this case, even if he has always been calm, even if he is resourceful, it is difficult to be calm. After all, it is related to the safety of the emperor and the national fortune of the Great Song Dynasty.

Hearing Zhao Zhao say this at this moment, he quickly came back to his senses, and he was really ill-conceived in the panic, and it was really dangerous to break through, and it was easier for the official family to make mistakes. That's a catastrophe that will never be recovered, a sinner for the ages.

"General Luo, don't mention the breakout again, I'm gone, what should the soldiers and civilians of Cheongju do? Do you want to give up on them? Zhao Zhao said in a deep voice: "Once the idea of breaking through is revealed, the confidence of the army and the people will be completely lost, and it is the real danger." You should know that this battle is of great significance to the Great Song Dynasty, and the morale of the national prestige that was finally mentioned cannot be wasted because of this. ā€

"Yes, the minister obeys the order, and the minister has done his best to defend Cheongju City desperately." Luo Jiancheng felt that the pressure on his shoulders was heavier, but it was also of great significance.

Zhao Zhao glanced at Luo Jiancheng approvingly, and said earnestly: "General Luo, the reason why I came to Qingzhou is actually because of your loyalty and bravery. Three days, you only need to resist me for three days, you will be a hero of the Great Song Dynasty, and I will issue a decree to crown you as a loyal and brave marquis, hereditary replacement, and rest with the country. ā€

Luo Jiancheng knelt down in front of Zhao Zhao, kowtowed, and said: "The minister must be loyal to his duties, swear to defend Qingzhou, and swear to defend Your Majesty!" ā€

"Well, I'm sure you can do it!"

After Zhao Zhao finished speaking, he turned around and left, Luo Jiancheng was surprised, but he felt heavy. Holding on for three days, although it is difficult, must be done no matter what.

Three days, why three days?

Luo Jiancheng suddenly thought of this question. The elite legions of the Song army were all in battle, at least three hundred miles away. Although there are also garrisons in nearby Mozhou and Yingzhou, there are not many troops, and even if they have the intention to rescue, I am afraid that they will not play a substantial role.

Even if it survives three days, will the reinforcements be able to rush back? By the way, the official family has always been fighting in the northwest, and has always been steady and experienced, so why was he so reckless this time and sent all the generals out to attack?

No, three days...... Thinking of the three-day appointment of the official family, a faint smile appeared on the corner of Luo Jiancheng's mouth, and he seemed to understand something.

The new book "Zaifu" asks for support! (To be continued......)