The night was dark, the sky was covered by black clouds, and the original moon was covered by black clouds in the north, hiding in the depths of the clouds.

However, inside and outside Dingping County, there is still a fire at the moment. Since the seventh day, the siege army of the Zhao army began to attack the city at night. Although it did not break through the southern city in one fell swoop, the continuous siege of the city day and night made the entire southern city wall become mottled. For this reason, the defenders did not dare to be careless. Even Cao Gang slightly relaxed the surveillance of the Bingzhou army, concentrating most of his troops at the south and east gates, and at the same time setting up a military camp in the southeast area of the city, and transferring the army here to facilitate the defense of the city.

The Zhao army camp, the entire barracks was red by the red fire. The clothes and armor of the soldiers who came and went rattled, bringing boundless murderous aura. In addition, in the barracks, there were still voices of various military orders and the sound of urgent assembly and transfer of non-commissioned soldiers.

"It seems that the time for the destruction of the city is tonight. The west of the city has the least number of defenders, and it is also the main gate of the state army. Now, because of the sudden onslaught of our army in the past two days, both the Bingzhou Army and the Northern Bingzhou Army have the opportunity to defend the city with their whole troops. As for this western city, it is dominated by the state army. Tonight is the time we agreed with the Bingzhou army, and half an hour later, our army will make a full-scale attack in Nancheng and make a huge noise. Han Meng, you led 3,000 elite armor soldiers as the vanguard, and after the battle in Nancheng, you took advantage of the chaos in the West Gate to raid Xicheng. Yang Hu, you Qin Shuai's 20,000 soldiers followed closely and entered Dingping. In the handsome tent, hundreds of thousands of generals and captains of the Zhao army gathered, and Zhao Xun arranged in a deep voice.

"Xu Yingcai, Jin Hai, Lu Feng, the three of you followed this king to attack the southern city, and immediately broke the city after Han Duwei and General Yang broke the city, causing chaos in the city. Yu Qing and Huang Pengyu, the two of you led 7,000 soldiers to take charge of the east gate and the north gate respectively. There are not many defenders in these two places, and if they can go down, they will go down, and they can't just intercept the fleeing troops in the city. This is not the state of the Northern Army, and none of them can be allowed to escape, especially these private soldiers of the Cao family. "For the Cao clan who colluded with the Turks in the northern part of Bingzhou and harmed many people, these will never be let go.

The Cao clan has left a lot of money in the city. What's more, they have a very bad reputation in the land of the annexation, and it can be said that the people are eager to eat their flesh raw. Therefore, this Cao Gang and Zhao Xun will not accept it, but will only kill him to increase his reputation, so that Zhao Jun can better rule here, and let more people accept him. The current Zhao Xun is not the beginning, and the current Cao Gang and the thirty or twenty thousand soldiers under his command are really not taken seriously by him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the whole territory of the state has fallen into the hands of our army, and the fighting has ceased in various places. This is the last place that has not yet been resolved. Therefore, this king does not want the rout army in the city to escape from the city, and he does not want any more bandits to appear in the surrounding land. Well, the troops acted according to the order, and after half an hour, the army moved. ”

"Subordinates take orders!" The generals responded in unison, and then they all went out to prepare.

"After tonight, there will be no more major battles in this annexed land. In a short time, this annexed state will be another solid rear of our army. Wei Zilin sighed and said, "For a few months, the Lord has successively defeated the Turks, the Northern Army and the Northern Army of Bingzhou, and the Army of Bingzhou, which really made the world look sideways." ”

Zhao Xun shook his head and said: "You just said the results we have achieved, but we have also paid a lot for here." How many caravans have we planted in order to quickly take the northern lands of the state? How many dart masters have been inserted into it? If it weren't for them, we would have been able to break through the Northland at lightning speed? This is not my credit, but the credit of the soldiers and those who quietly contributed to the battle of the army. ”

Speaking of this, Zhao Xun couldn't help but sigh a little, for this operation, in order to defeat the Turks who had just entered the country, in order to defeat the northern army of Bingzhou at a very fast speed and gain a firm foothold in the northern land of Bingzhou, Zhao Xun and the Secretary for Administration and Military Affairs planned for a long time. Even if it is money and food, it is also a heavy consumption. However, although the effort is great, the harvest is also very large, which is enough to make up for what is paid.

"By the way, some generals and colonels of the Northern Army of this state have also sent people to send out letters with arrows, hoping to be accepted by the lord, and they are willing to surrender to us. Won't the lord accept them? Zhang Yuanjing on the side asked slowly.

Zhao Xun said lightly: "You and I know the meaning of those generals, it is true that they are captains of the Northern Army of Bingzhou, but they are also members of the Cao clan and Cao Gang's cronies." In other words, this is actually Cao Gang begging for mercy from this king. It's a pity that if he hadn't colluded with the Turks and allowed the Turks to plague the people of the northern part of the state, this king would have accepted them a long time ago. You can't live if you do your own evil! For this kind of person, even if he doesn't give an account to the people, this king can't stay. ”

Zhang Yuanjing nodded slightly and didn't say anything more. For Zhao Xun's words, he naturally understood. Indeed, with a notorious person like Cao Gang now, Zhao Xun really can't stay. Of course, Cao Gang did not let Zhao Xun ignore the benefits that could be brought by pardoning him.

Above the southern city of Dingping, Cao Feng's clothes and armor were still stained with red blood, his eyes were red, and he looked at the Zhao army camp dozens of miles away.

"Cao Feng, what's the situation?" A loud cry woke Cao Feng up and woke him up from his trance.

"General! The camp of the Zhao army is brightly lit, and it seems that tonight, like the previous two nights, they are going to attack the city at night. Cao Feng said with a gloomy face to Cao Gang, the general of the Northern Army of Bingzhou, who had just rushed over, and then scolded angrily, "Damn, the siege of the city is not really fighting, but it is constantly harassing, which makes people uneasy." ”

Cao Gang raised his head and glanced at the red-colored Zhao army camp opposite, and said in a deep voice: "What? Can't bear it? Tired of the army! The reason why he is reluctant to attack is not that he is unwilling to lose too many men and horses here. This place was originally a heavy city where the border army transferred grain and grass in the past, and after our repair, we wanted to storm the city and pay a lot of money, do you think that a treacherous person like Xiang Zhao would be willing to let the soldiers in his hands be lost in this strong attack? ”

"Besides, he didn't start the assault at the beginning, not because he was afraid that we and the Bingzhou army would defend the city together. He deliberately besieged but did not attack, did not attack. In order to create a sense of discord between us and the army of the state, after all, our two armies were also enemies in the past. In the case of Zhao's strong army, there is naturally the possibility of being persuaded by them to surrender. ”

"Finally...... In the end, the actions of the Zhao army are also to show us that they are not in a hurry to attack the city, that is, they are putting pressure on us, telling us that they can trap us and make us unable to sleep peacefully. This is the root cause of the soldiers' unrest and the dissent of the state army. ”

"Well, it's useless to talk more, and continue to hold on tonight. In another four or five days, after the arrangements are made, let the young children of each family hide, and our army will kill Zhao Xun to live and die, which can be regarded as leaving a little seed for the clan. Cao Gang said in a low voice. Seeing that the surrender failed, Cao Gang naturally stopped thinking about it. Besides, even if he can surrender, he will sit on some preparations, after all, the mistake he made is too big, and the strength of the clan is ruined, but all the clan members are here. If one is not good, it will be wiped out. Therefore, Cao Gang also began to dig the tunnel leading to Cheng after the General's Mansion, and prepared to kill the army after the dug was completed, so that the Zhao army no longer paid attention to the entry and exit of this tunnel.

…………

"Knock...... Boom...... Knock ......"

Half an hour later, the Zhao army began to move again. In the sound of military drums all day long, under the light of countless torches, the infantry army began to approach the city, and all kinds of equipment, under the promotion and transportation of the sergeants, began to approach the city.

"Ready...... I prepare ...... Zhao Jun is here...... The Zhao army has attacked! Urged by Zhao Jun's military regulations, the guards guarding the city suddenly exclaimed in horror.

"Bastard! What are you panicking about? Calm down Lao Tzu...... Prepare for defense! Tonight, General Ben personally supervised the battle, where is the personal guard? Today you are the Warlords, and in the midst of the battle, those who dare to flee without permission, and those who do not respect the orders of the army. Those who speak falsely about failure and defect to the enemy will be killed! Seeing the panicked soldiers, Cao Gang's face became hideous.

"General, among them, there are also some young men who defend the city, so they ......" Cao Feng saw Cao Gang's face unswerving, and hurriedly explained.

Cao Gang's face was a little better, and he also knew that because he had to defend the city day and night, the defenders were insufficient. Therefore, Cao Gang came down and let many young and strong people directly join the sergeants to fight with the army. Therefore, every time it starts, there will be a lot of young people who panic and lose their composure.

Zhao Xun sat in the Chinese army, and all the generals and colonels with tasks led their own troops to leave the rear camp. At this moment, no one will pay attention to the rear camp. Of course, the dark rear camp is not something that the enemy troops on the city wall can see at this moment.

In this siege team, Zhao Xun invested a total of 20,000 troops, which can be said to be the largest number of troops dispatched in the past ten days. Without him, Zhao Xun hoped that Cao Gang could transfer all the soldiers and horses in the city and the soldiers and horses of the other four gates to facilitate his actions.

At the same time as the Zhao army attacked, the Bingzhou army, which had already moved the camp closer to the northwest, also quietly sent dozens of patrols to the west gate, and slowly approached the west gate.

Outside the southern city, the army of the Zhao army approached the city wall in an orderly manner. In front were the shield-wielding infantry, who held their shields high above their heads to protect them, and under the huge cloud of their shields, under which were a pair of soldiers with ladders marching forward, behind the infantry were as many as 3,000 archers and 2,000 crossbowmen, ready to shoot at the defenders of the city, and then behind them were dozens of rushing chariots. The so-called rushing chariot is a large chariot with a wooden frame, it can be up to tens of meters, or the same height as the city wall, divided into three to five layers, each layer can hide hundreds of elite soldiers. The wooden shelves are protected by thick leather, so you are not afraid of rockets. Some of the carts also have some mechanical logs installed inside, which are used to ram and destroy city gates or walls. Once the city wall and gate were broken, the elite soldiers hiding in the rushing car immediately rushed out of the rushing car, armed with spears, and entered the city, which was really a sharp weapon for attacking the city.

"Fortunately, we have prepared to surrender the Zhao army, this Zhao army's military power is really extraordinary. Ay...... Cao Gang, and the Northern Army...... I'm afraid it's going to be over! Yang Xing, the commander of the Bingzhou Army, who assisted in the defense, looked at the Zhao Army's military formation that was trampling on the ground, and couldn't help but sigh secretly.

"Could it be that Zhao Xun is going to storm tonight? No, even if it's a strong attack, it should be a daylight genius, right? Besides, how could they suddenly decide to attack? Seeing Zhao Jun approaching step by step, Cao Gang, whose face was extremely gloomy, suddenly shouted: "Release the arrow!" Shoot the arrows! Shoot them! ”

Without Cao Gang's orders, the defenders on the city wall had already begun to fight back. Suddenly, a rain of arrows poured out from the sky like locusts, shooting up and down. Although the defenders could take advantage of the city's height and begin a long-range attack on the besieging army, the defenders' counterattacks were far less powerful than the Zhao army's. Although because of the tentative attacks of the Zhao army for several days, the defenders got a lot of arrows. However, the defenders did not have many bows and crossbows. In other words, they are trapped here and cannot be effectively replenished, after all, in the war, the loss of armor and equipment is also very large.

Compared with the defenders, the wealthy Zhao army is different, the armor and equipment are all excellent, and they will not worry about the number problem. You must know that Zhao Jun's logistics team is very tight.

For a while, the air was filled with the sound of carved arrows cutting through the air, and the long arrows drew many arcs in the air, high or low, and many arrows collided in the back and forth, and finally bounced to the ground. However, the sharpness of Zhao's armor and the high morale of his soldiers took advantage. Not only that, but Zhao Jun also used his shield to resist long arrows falling from the sky, and his feet increased his speed.

"After several days of defending the city, the defenders were exhausted. The subordinates guessed, but I'm afraid they haven't been able to rest well recently. Wei Zilin looked at the rain of arrows on both sides, and couldn't help but smile and said.

Zhang Yuanjing looked at the battlefield in the distance, and said in a deep voice: "Logistics is very important to the war, if our army and the defenders change their identities with each other, they don't want to be close to the city for a hundred meters." The crossbowmen of our army alone were enough to give the siege team a pot to eat. ”

Suddenly, Cao Gang, who was defending the city, let out a loud roar, and among the defenders, a group of shield bearers appeared on the edge of the city wall, guarding the archers on the city wall, letting them attack with arrows, and at the same time using shield hands to resist the arrows that came from the fire.

"This Cao Gang still has some ability, but it's a pity that he is only trapped in this city now, which can be described as a turtle in an urn, even if he is capable, he can't even think of turning the sky upside down." Zhang Yuanjing, who was watching the situation with a monocular, sighed again.

"Come, give an order to the camp in the city, and let them come to support the defense of the city immediately. Damn, I'm afraid this Zhao Jun is going to change the temptation into a surprise attack. If they continue like this, if they break through, they will definitely attack to the death. Cao Feng, you go ......" Cao Gang looked at Chengwai's situation and ordered in a deep voice.

I saw the Zhao army outside the city, their infantry successfully came to the city with the help of the suppression of their own arrow rain just now, the infantry who were hidden behind the shield and held the ladder appeared under the city, and the well-trained ladder was erected, and then the ladder was tilted to the head of the city accurately, and the ladders hit the thick city wall of Dingping City, and put it on the head of Dingping City, countless infantry began to climb, and at the same time, in order to cooperate with the infantry to siege the city, the archers of the Zhao army began to shoot desperately at the head of the city, hoping to suppress the defenders' killing of the siege soldiers.

At this time, the defenders have no way to avoid, if they choose to hide and retreat at this time, once they are killed by the Zhao army on the city wall and make a gap, then everything will be over. Cao Gang knew very well that once the Zhao army broke through the city, with the morale and ability of the defenders, he was afraid that they would not be able to suppress it at all. Besides, now, the Zhao army besieging the city is much more powerful than the defending city.

Therefore, Cao Gang asked Cao Feng to go to the barracks to give orders, and let the barracks send troops to prepare for a full-scale war. At the same time, he had the defenders continue to shoot at the archers of the Zhao army, and on the other hand, they began to cast rolling wooden stones under the city, and poured boiling oil from a wok......

"Retreat ......"

As soon as the officers of the Zhao army saw the action on the city wall, they immediately asked the siege soldiers to retreat a little. Although many soldiers were scalded to death by boiling oil from the wastewater, the casualties were not high. Not only that, but the Zhao army also took advantage of the situation to surprise with a rain of arrows in the process of the defenders of the city tilting the boiling water and boiling oil.

All of a sudden, the screams, wails, and screams of the entire south gate were endless. The losses of both the defenders and the Zhao army began to gradually increase. Not long after, reinforcements from the Bingzhou Army and the Northern Army of the Bingzhou Army arrived, and they concentrated on smashing most of the vans with catapults in the city, making the moat once again an interval between attack and defense, and only after the Zhao army withdrew from the moat. However, for this reason, the defenders also buried all the more than 20 catapults in their hands under the collective projectile of Zhao Jun's catapults.

"What about your generals? Didn't General Ben give an order to let your general personally lead the army to help? Why is it missing? The Zhao army retreated slightly, and Cao Gang shouted and asked the commander of the reinforcements of the state army.

"General Hui, there were traces of the Zhao army outside the eastern, western, and northern cities before, and my general didn't dare to be careless, so he had already gone to inquire about the situation in person. Nowadays, the defenders of Xicheng and Beicheng are weak, and our generals dare not be careless. That's why the small leader came, after all, there was General Cao here, and he would be safe. General Wu Benlang of the Bingzhou Army hurriedly explained, and even Yang Xing, the general of the Bingzhou Army, who had been assisting in the defense of Nancheng, hurriedly persuaded him.

Later, Cao Gang also received information from the rest of his subordinates, and in the other three gates, there was a trace of Zhao Jun. Seeing this, Cao Gang did not continue to say anything more to Yang Li's future.

Although Cao Gang began to attack Yang Li slowly a few days ago, after all, he did not expect that Yang Li had surrendered to the Zhao army, let alone that when the Zhao army's siege of the city became more and more intense, it was the time when the Bingzhou army defected. However, it was at this time, in the middle of the night, that Yang Li had already begun to take action.