Updated: 2013-09-27

The Jieyi army has set a strategy, and naturally it will not delay, after all, the army of Qi from the east of Yangzhou and the north of Jiangzhou has begun to 'close' towards the east of Yangzhou. The longer it drags on, the more detrimental it will be to the Jie Yi army.

After Gu Shan and the generals of the Jieyi Army discussed, they decided to divide the troops into two routes. All the way north to Taicang and Jiading in the northeast of Yangzhou, under the banner of opening the blockade of the Qi army in the north of Yangzhou and opening up the contact with the Zhao army, the defenders of Wu County were 'pumped' out, and all the way to attack Wu County, and win over the water in the waters of Taihu Lake, surrender it, and merge it into the Jieyi Army.

Since the Jieyi Army has already planned to take over the waters of Taihu Lake and strive for greater active space and strategy for its own side, the waters of Taihu Lake naturally cannot be abandoned. If you want to move in the water, you need boats, and even more so, you need sailors. Speaking of sailors, there is no more suitable than these sailors, after all, the Jieyi army does not have time to specialize in training other sailors.

Taicang and Jiading are the northeast important places of Yangzhou. In the north of these two counties, it was the important place for the Qi army to defend Xuzhou on the south bank of the Yangtze River. And these two counties are the places where the rear of the northern Qi army hoards grain and materials are transferred. Therefore, for the Qi army, these two places are very crucial.

In the plan of the Qi army, the Qi army first took the 'chaotic' army in the eastern part of Jiangzhou, and then the 'chaotic' army in the eastern part of Yangzhou. Jiangzhou's 'chaotic' army was defeated by the last naval sortie, and its strength was greatly damaged. Therefore, it is easier to take this place first. It can also weaken the comprehensive strength of the 'chaotic' army because of this, and then eliminate the Jieyi army.

Knowing that Jiang Ming, the commander of the Jieyi Army, led the army north and marched to Taicang and Jiading counties, Yangzhou was shocked. It is said that there are many troops in Yangzhou, but most of them are deployed in the northern front and the central region. And the closest to the Jieyi Army is naturally the 20,000 defenders of Wu County.

Wu County is backed by Taihu Lake, with the Yangzhou Border Army to the north, and the Jieyi Army to the east and southeast. In order to seal the road for the Jieyi army to go north and west, here, the Qi army has successively replenished many men and horses. Wu County, which was originally only a few thousand, has now become a large barracks, where more than 20,000 troops are stationed in the Qi army.

However, despite this, the strategy of the Qi army was to start with the south and then the north, first the easy and then the difficult. Especially because the Jieyi Army has a relationship with the Zhao Army, the Qi Army is unwilling to let the southern 'chaotic' army develop and grow in a stalemate with the Jieyi Army. Therefore, although there are 20,000 troops in this Wu County, it is only responsible for intercepting and does not take the initiative to attack.

The defenders of Wu County did not take the initiative to attack, and the Jieyi army had no intention of breaking north and west. Since its establishment, the Jieyi Army has always developed to the south and southwest, so there has always been peace between the two.

However, as the Jieyi army marched north, the defenders of Wu County could not sit idly by. Taicang and Jia are located in the northeast of Wu County, which is very important to the Qi army in the north. Of course, the Qi army would not watch the Jieyi army stand out northward and meet the Zhao army in Xuzhou across the long sword. If the Jieyi army can break through the Yangtze River, then the Zhao army at the southeast end of Xuzhou can cross the Yangtze River and enter Yangzhou through the water division.

Therefore, after hearing the news, Shen Tuxiong, the commander of the defenders of Wu County, immediately raised more than 15,000 troops and went east to the south of Taicang and Jiading, preparing to intercept the Jieyi army. As a result, the 20,000 righteous army and the more than 15,000 Qi troops confronted the Wusong River.

At this moment, Gu Shan and Ji Tong, the deputy generals of the Jieyi Army, suddenly appeared outside Wu County at night and surrounded Wu County. Shen Tulie, the chief general of the Qi army stationed in Wu County, and Songjiang Prefecture guarded Zhou Yuan.

Shen Tu Lie is Shen Tuxiong's younger brother, and Zhou Yuan was defeated by the Jieyi army, hoping to atone for his sins and stay in the southeast of Liyang Mansion. The two of them had already been entrusted by Shen Tuxiong, so they paid close attention to every move of the rebel army in Songjiang Prefecture in the southeast. Moreover, after Shen Tuxiong left with his army, a large number of scouts were also arranged between Wu County and Songjiang Prefecture.

However, if the Jieyi army did not move, the abnormal movement still led the army to the bottom of Wu County overnight, and cut off the distress road between Wu County and Shen Tuxiong in the north. Those damned archers and cavalry scouts of the Jieyi Army, all the messengers for help sent out by Wu County were 'shot' and killed in the middle of the road. After the Jieyi army was supported by some of the Zhao army's war horses and some cavalry, the messengers of Yangzhou were completely destroyed.

After a short period of tension, Shen Tulie and Zhou Yuan made up their minds to have a good meeting with the Jieyi army outside the city, after all, the Jieyi army outside the city was only more than seven or eight thousand people. In Wu County, there are 5,000 Qi soldiers, plus the young and strong people in the city, there are no less than 10,000 people. Relying on the strong city walls and the advantageous location of the city, it should naturally be no problem to stick to the city. Shen Tulie naturally hoped to make a contribution in this battle. And Zhou Yuan is the same, in the past, he lost Songjiang Mansion, and he had long wanted to establish a meritorious service to wash away the shame of the past. Perhaps, defeating the Jieyi Army this time, there will be a chance to regain a foothold in the upper echelons of the Qi army in the future.

After dawn, Shen Tulie and Zhou Yuan immediately boarded the east 'gate' to carefully observe the movements of the righteous army outside the city. Looking at it from a distance, the Jieyi army outside the city did not have any major siege moves, they camped outside the city, and slowly carried out various preparations before the attack.

Obviously, the righteous army outside the city was waiting for the arrival of siege weapons in the rear, and if they carried siege weapons, the degree of advance would definitely not be so fast. But what does it mean that they are suddenly under the city and do not attack? Even if the Jieyi Army can intercept Wu County's messenger for help, but it can't stop the people sent by Shen Tuxiong, if Wu County and Shen Tuxiong lose contact for too long, then Shen Tuxiong will naturally understand that something is wrong with Wu County. More than 15,000 troops will naturally return to the division immediately. Even, the border army of the Qi army in the north will also return to the division to help.

"General! My lord! They seem to be digging tunnels! Suddenly, an officer reminded Shen Tu Lie and the two.

"Huh?" Shen Tulie and Zhou Yuan looked into the distance, and sure enough, in the angry morning fog outside the city, they saw a lot of Jieyi soldiers working hard in front of the east 'gate', constantly picking up a spade of dirt, and their figures turned out to be very high. Later, it gradually shrank into the land. The dirt around him was piled higher and higher. Soon after, the sun came out. He saw the ground more clearly, and sure enough, the Jieyi army outside the city was digging a trench.

"Authentic? It's a bit too earthy. Before their tunnels are dug up, my eldest brother's army is afraid that they have already returned to the division. Shen Tulie said contemptuously.

Zhou Yuan said in a deep voice: "Since the Jieyi Army dares to act, they must have their ideas, and they should not be careless. After all, the Jieyi Army occupies the entire Songjiang Mansion and half of Yuhang Mansion, and cannot be taken lightly. "Zhou Yuan lost the land of Songjiang Mansion, although he is a civil official, the main responsibility for losing the land is not him. However, this does not make him despise the ability of the Righteous Army.

Shen Tulie nodded and said in a deep voice: "Don't worry, Lord Zhou, Ben will not sit back and watch them come here. I will let the Jieyi Army know that this Wu County is not another small county that has no preparation at all. ”

He immediately ordered the soldiers to dig tunnels in the city, cut off all the passages into the city in advance, and at the same time, dig a number of wells in the city, reconnoiter the location of the tunnels of the Jieyi army, and destroy the tunnels of the Jieyi army at any time. At the same time, in order to combat the excavation enthusiasm of the Jieyi Army, and to let the Jieyi Army know the power of Wu County, Shen Tulie ordered the army to counterattack immediately.

"Chirp ......" The large crossbow machine at the head of the city is constantly whistling, 'shooting' out the crossbow arrows one by one. The long bolts of crossbow arrows, with a piercing sound of breaking through the air, 'shot' fiercely at the ground fifty or sixty feet away, and then there was no sound, for in front of the trenches there was a pile of earth dug out of the ground. The soft earth directly blocked the crossbow arrows, and only the short shafts of the arrows were exposed. Often, a hand is quietly stretched out from behind the mound, pulling up the crossbow arrows, and then gathering them to give them to their own crossbow troops for recycling.

"Damn! Catapult, go on! Shen Tu Lie snorted coldly and continued to order.

"Buzzing ......" the trebuchet on the head of the city, while throwing a dense number of stone projectiles, hoping to smash the enemy to pieces. The spinning stone projectiles kept flying in the sky, and the black shadows grew bigger and bigger, and finally all fell into the soft soil, splashing a thin layer of dust. In the same way, after a while, behind the mound, a pair of hands will appear, digging the stone projectiles out of the loose soil, patting the dirt on them, and sending them to the rear to be hoarded, as if to be left to their own trebuchet troops for waste use.

The rebels were all hiding in the trenches, and received very little damage, only a very small number of arrows 'shot' the trenches, but the crooked trenches firmly blocked the arrows, and the arrows could only be nailed to the wall. As for the stone bullets, none of the ten could hit the trench, and occasionally they landed in the trench, but only hit the dirt. The Jie Yi soldiers easily collected them, left them behind, and prepared to 'hand' them over to their own ranged troops.

In the rear camp, Gu Shan and Ji Tong, the deputy generals of the Jieyi Army, watched the counterattack of the Qi army on the city wall with an indifferent face, and did not order all the soldiers to dig trenches.

"Lao Gu, you said, if the Qi army in the city knew that most of our soldiers here were resting in the camp, how would the Qi army general react?" Ji Tong looked at the crossbow arrows and boulders that kept flying out of the city with clairvoyance, and laughed.

Gu Shan shook his head and smiled: "What else can you react, maybe in anger and shame, you will directly lead the army to kill." ”

Ji Tong said in a deep voice: "If he directly leads the army to kill, maybe our losses will be even greater." There are also 5,000 soldiers in the city. It's not easy to win a head-to-head battle. ”

Gu Shan sneered: "The guys in the city are responsible for the city's survival, if they let them lose the city, their responsibility will be great." There is also the grain and grass of the army of Shen Tuxiong's army in the city. Therefore, Shen Tulie and Zhou Yuan will not go out of the city easily. ”

On the county seat of Wuxian, seeing that his attack was ineffective, Shen Tulie felt that the Jieyi army outside the city was consuming his arrows and stone bullets, so he ordered to stop the 'shooting' and appointed archers to closely monitor the city wall.

In fact, the Jieyi army outside the city really didn't make any big moves, and on the surface, they seemed to be continuing to dig trenches, but in fact, the army was repairing. Hurriedly killing here from hundreds of miles away was not an easy task for the Jieyi army. In particular, some supplies did not arrive with the army.

"General, this is Li Xi, a close confidant under the command of Captain Lin Zhan of the Qi Army in the city. Of course, it's already ours now. In the evening, in the camp of the Jieyi Army, Gu Shan and Ji Tong were meeting with one person. Moreover, this person was introduced by Zhao Jun's secret guard. If Gu Shan hadn't gotten the news earlier, he wouldn't have believed it. The secret guards above have already put their hands into the middle-level officers of the Qi army.

"Subordinate Lin Zhan, I have seen two generals." Li Xi, who had a solemn face, saluted Gu Shan and Ji Tong.

"Very well, Lixi, how many people in your department can be used for you?" Gu Shan said solemnly with a 'pale' face.

"Returning to the general, Lord Lin Zhan has a thousand soldiers under his command, of which 600 can be used by Captain Lin, among them, many low-level officers are already aware of this situation. In addition, there are many people in the military formation who are 'inserted' by the Flying Eagle Guard. ”

"When can I act?" Ji Tong asked in a loud voice.

"Tomorrow night, Captain Lin is in charge of guarding the south 'gate', so tomorrow night is the best time to act." Li Xi replied in a deep voice.

"Tomorrow night? Very good. After nightfall, you go back to the city and tell Captain Lin that he will need to cooperate with us after late tomorrow night. Remember, be careful, but if there is an accident, the arrow will be transmitted. Gu Shan said in a deep voice.

After Li Xi left, Ji Tong asked with some concern: "Is this person reliable?" ”

Gu Shan said with a smile: "The people of the secret guard, moreover, they have been determined. Now that they have cooperated with us, it is natural that there will be no fight. It's not like you don't know how the people of the Secret Guard System behave. If they weren't sure, they wouldn't have done something like that. ”

Ji Tong said with a smile: "If this is the case, it can be said that it will be easy for this Wu County to be taken." ”

The night was silent, and the Jieyi army outside the city did not take any action, but the Qi defenders in the city were extremely nervous. Neither Shen Tulie nor Zhou Yuan could understand why the Jieyi Army had not yet taken action. In particular, the tunnels it excavated do not seem to be 'approaching' the city.

However, the Jieyi army outside the city 'made' some movements from time to time, so that Zhou Yuan and Shen Tulie had to be vigilant at all times. Especially outside the city, the rebel army was pitch black, and they couldn't see anything. At that time, the various voices that came out from time to time made them worry. I was afraid that if I was not careful, I was tricked by the Jieyi army and took the city.

Therefore, Zhou Yuan and Shen Tulie were sleeping, and they were also worried, and they got up from time to time to observe carefully to see if the Jieyi army outside the city was doing something.

The next morning, before dawn, the sound of the trumpet outside the city began to be remembered. The Jieyi army assembled, set up a formation, and prepared to attack the city, and the Jieyi army also had more than ten catapults and dozens of 'bed' crossbows.

"The Righteous Army was built overnight? Or are they transported from the rear? But where did the Jie Yi army get the 'bed' crossbow and catapult? How can these 'rebel' armies have all this? Zhou Yuan muttered to himself.

Shen Tu Lie, who was on Zhou Yuan's side, frowned and said, "Lord Zhou, don't forget, the Jieyi Army has taken the entire Songjiang Mansion and half of Yuhang Mansion, and it would be strange if they didn't have these in their hands. ”

Zhou Yuan said in a deep voice: "What General Shentu said, Zhou naturally understands. However, when the official left Songjiang Prefecture, he had already learned that the defenders of the major cities in Songjiang Prefecture had destroyed the 'bed' crossbow and other things that defended the city when the city was lost. As for this catapult, it is even more impossible, the land occupied by the Jieyi army is all in the rear of our Qi army, how can there be this thing? Besides, even if they get it from the treasury, they will have some bows and crossbows at most, and these 'bed' crossbows are not available in the treasury in various places. Except for the large armies of soldiers, the local garrisons did not have these equipment. ”

Shen Tulie frowned, and said in a deep voice: "In this way, these 'chaotic' armies can already build these sharp weapons by themselves?" It shouldn't be! The craftsmen who can make these sharp weapons are all under the jurisdiction of the government and have been summoned by the king. ”

Zhou Yuan said coldly: "This should be obtained from Zhao Guo!" It's hateful, Zhao Guo has reached out to us, ...... early"

"Get out of the way!" Before Zhou Yuan could finish speaking, Shen Tu Lie beside him straightened it aside. Zhou Yuan, who was stunned, saw a boulder fall from his side, and rolled to the rear, killing several soldiers who were originally standing beside him on the spot.

"Fight back! Destroy all the catapults of the rebel army! Shen Tu Lie saw that the catapults of the righteous army had smashed to his side, and immediately roared angrily. Moreover, these stone bullets seem to have been smashed out by themselves yesterday.

As a result, in the sky above the east 'gate' of Wu County, stone bullets flew back and forth from time to time, and smashed on the ground with a bang. And at this moment, the army of the Jieyi Army also began to take neat steps and approached the city gate.

"The Qi army has no way, take righteousness and cut it down!" The righteous army shouted neat slogans, stepped on neat steps, surging forward, cold armor, cold light and flickering weapons 'crossed' into a suffocating wall, and pushed towards the city wall unstoppably, only a moment of effort, has advanced to less than a hundred steps away from the city 'gate'.

"Hateful! A group of 'chaotic' military security dares to do this! Listening to the slogan of the Jieyi Army, Shen Tulie immediately became angry.

"These Jieyi troops really have the support of the Zhao army, otherwise, they would not have such momentum, except for the training of special 'doors', they will never form the same momentum as soldiers. Their armor, although not as good as ours, is not much worse. And their weapons, swordsmen and shieldmen, pikemen, crossbowmen, everything. Looking at the appearance of the righteous army outside the city, Zhou Yuan's brows furrowed, and he thought secretly.