At the same time that Qi Ji sealed the passage into the Water Gate Cave, a fierce battle was also taking place at the water gate near the urn city below. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

The enemy general, who pretended to be a middle-aged merchant, asked the soldier to shield him from inside the urn city. The arrows were fired, and soldiers were sent to continuously chop the iron fence with giant axes. As long as this iron fence is cut down, they can enter the urn city, and with their subsequent steady stream of troops, they will have a great deal of confidence in attacking the city.

Qi Ji saw that there was no threat to the city for the time being, so he came to the urn city to command.

The tun chief in charge of guarding this place came to Qi Ji and reported: "The situation is not very optimistic now, and the iron fence is about to be cut down. ”

Qi Ji frowned and looked at it, the arrows shot by the soldiers here were all blocked by the opponent's shield, and they could not cause damage at all, and the enemy soldiers who cut the fence did not have to worry about the attack from this side.

"Shoot enemy ships behind with rockets." Qi Ji quickly figured out a solution.

Following his order, the soldiers immediately found rockets, lit them, and shot them from above the enemy's shields into the watergate hole, landing on the enemy ship. The enemy ships caught fire more often, but they were quickly extinguished by the soldiers on board.

Although it didn't work, Qi Ji still saw hope.

"Go get the oil!"

Qi Ji asked the soldiers to risk their lives to pour several barrels of fire oil on the water surface at the iron fence, and a layer of black fire oil suddenly floated on the water surface and spread towards the water gate hole. Then the Liyang soldiers ignited the fire oil with rockets, and suddenly the water surface became a sea of fire.

The enemy soldiers who had no time to dodge were all swallowed up, and soon the fire spread to the ships, and the ships were all on fire. The small space in the door suddenly burst into flames, thick smoke billowed out, and the enemy soldiers jumped into the water one after another, fleeing for their lives outside the water gate.

The water gate was completely blocked by the firelight, and even if Zhou Ang led a large army to arrive at this time, it would be of no avail. He was also afraid that the fire would spread to his fleet, so he had no choice but to order a retreat.

With the destruction of the raiding fleet, the iron fence outside the water gate was also closed.

Zhou Ang withdrew to the ferry with the forward troops, and soon waited for Zhou Xin and Zhou Qiao, who came with the main force.

After discussing it, the three Zhou brothers felt that it would be difficult to succeed in attacking the Water Gate alone, so they decided to take a two-pronged approach, with most of the troops going to attack the South Gate, leaving a small part still in the Water Gate.

Liyang City also has a moat, but for the Danyang soldiers who have ships, the moat does not have much protection.

When the Zhou brothers were discussing, in Liyang City, the county magistrate Qin Yi was also negotiating with the county lieutenant Qi Ji.

Qin Yi asked, "Can you find out where the enemy is the troops?" Why are you attacking my Liyang, and how many troops are there? ”

Qi Ji had already gotten the news from Jinyiwei, "It's the soldiers and horses from Danyang who crossed the river, and the estimated strength is about 20,000." The current Danyang Taishou is Zhou Xin, I heard that it was Yuan Benchu's general, and he took Danyang on Yuan Benchu's orders. I once heard the news that Yuan Benchu also sent Zhou Ang to serve as the Taishou of Jiujiang, but it was unsuccessful. Zhou Ang also went to Danyang, and I guess they came for revenge. ”

"With so many troops, I'm afraid we won't be able to stop it! I don't know if Liu Taishou will send troops to the rescue. Qin Yi said worriedly.

"It should be, Liyang is the gateway to Huainan, and he will not give up Liyang for no reason. I'm just worried that the reinforcements will come too late and we won't be able to hold out until then. Qi Ji was also worried.

"Yes, there are only two thousand county soldiers in Liyang City, and the combat effectiveness may not be as good as the other party, this gap is really too big."

"Either way, we just do our best. I must not allow the people of Liyang City to suffer from the chaos of war. ”

"Old Qi, what do you say about Liu Taishou?" Qin Yi suddenly changed the topic.

Qi Ji didn't know why Qin Yi suddenly asked this, they had also discussed this issue in the past, and basically they still had a good impression of Taishou Liu Miao, thinking that he was a rare good official.

Qi Ji was a little uncertain about Qin Yi's thoughts, and said tentatively: "Qin County, you don't want to ......"

Qi Ji didn't say all the words, but looked around defensively.

Qin Yi understood what Qi Ji wanted to say, he shook his head and said, "I wouldn't have such stupid thoughts. Zhou Xin is only Yuan Benchu's general, not Yuan Benchu. I'm just thinking about how much effort we should put into keeping this calendar. ”

Qi Ji understood that when they were not sure about holding the city and when the reinforcements would come, they had to make some preparations, whether to live and die with the city or choose to give up, which made a big difference. If you are really optimistic about Liu Miao, the Taishou, and are willing to follow Liu Miao to do a career in the era of imminent turmoil, then this is an opportunity to perform.

"No matter what you choose, I have decided to stick to Liyang, just for the fathers and villagers of Liyang City." Qi Ji said without thinking.

Qin Yi then remembered that Qi Ji was from Liyang, wasn't it superfluous to tell him this? Qin Yi smiled helplessly, "Okay, I'll give up my life to accompany the gentleman." ”

The two of them have been partners for several years, and because they get along well, they have long been friends, which is why they talk about such a sensitive topic.

Since they have all decided, they no longer hesitate, and they have done a good job of dividing labor with each other, Qi Ji is responsible for defending the city, and Qin Yi is responsible for recruiting people to assist and raise materials for defending the city.

The day passed peacefully, and there was no further fighting.

On the second day, as soon as the sky was lit up, the rumbling war drums sounded outside the city.

The Zhou brothers made full preparations before sending out their troops, and carried a lot of simple ladders to climb the city with the army.

With the sound of the drums of siege, more than 10,000 soldiers of the Danyang Army quickly assembled by the Cao River outside the south gate, where many boats and bamboo rafts used to cross the moat had been gathered.

At the head of the city, the Liyang soldiers have also been prepared, except for a few reserve soldiers, almost all the Liyang County soldiers have boarded the city, in addition, there are many young and strong people.

Qi Ji held a spear in his hand and looked solemnly at the Danyang army that was calmly mobilizing, and the high ladder to the city made him deeply worried.

"It's still too few troops, and there is a lack of long-range weapons, otherwise how can you watch the other party do whatever they want like this?"

Qi Ji sighed secretly, and couldn't help but think of the words of the postal supervisor named Li Jing. Li Jing felt that the troops in Liyang were insufficient, and their combat effectiveness was worrisome, and it was difficult to cope with a possible attack, so he suggested that they hand over the county soldiers to the Taishou Mansion for training, or that the Taishou Mansion send troops to assist in defending the city. Qi Ji, as a native of Liyang, was worried that this was an excuse for Taishoufu to seize power, and swore at that time that there was no problem in Liyang City, and rejected Li Jing's proposal, but Li Jing didn't say much.

Thinking about it now, Qi Ji couldn't help but feel ashamed in his heart, he wanted to keep the right to speak in the major local families, but now he still had to count on the assistance of the Taishou Mansion. Only then did he realize that his vision was too small, and the development of the situation in the world was far from being like in the past, which allowed people to hold a city and a place in peace.

Perhaps, only heroes with great ambitions are the trendsetters of this era! Is Liu Taishou, who is becoming more and more famous, such a hero? ”

"General, the enemy soldiers are beginning to land." The reminder from the guards interrupted Qi Ji's thoughts.

"Quick! Archery! Qi Ji came back to his senses and ordered in a loud voice.