Updated: 2013-09-29

In addition, some young men gathered beside the catapult and waited for the officers' orders. The latest free chapters of the book can be found here. For many of the soldiers were to stay in the city, just in case. Therefore, the young people in the city and the young men recruited from Songjiang Mansion made full use of them, not only to let them assist in defending the city, but also to prevent them from 'making things' in the city. Especially those young men in Wu County, they had assisted Shentu Lie in guarding the city before, and they could be regarded as having experienced the battlefield, if they were left in the city, if they were teased by some people, they might not know what would happen.

Therefore, these manpower, if they are needed in wartime, they will be 'operated' as trebuchets, and if they are not needed in wartime, they will be responsible for building the city wall, which can be said to make the ultimate use of manpower.

After the alarm bell rang, Gu Shan and the other main persons in charge of the Jieyi Army quickly came to the tower of Beicheng. From the scout's report, it was learned that there were more than 30,000 Qi troops who came this time. Among them, 15,000 are Qi soldiers, and 5,000 are garrisons arranged by Liyang Mansion in Taicang and Jiading, and at this moment, they also came together with Shen Tuxiong. It seems that the defense of Taicang and Jiading and the task of containing the 20,000 Festival Rebel Army are naturally responsible for the soldiers of the border army of Liyang Mansion in the north. In addition, there are 10,000 young people, except for some of them are the people of Wu County, most of the rest are the people of Taicang and Jiading, this time with Shen Tuxiong, for Shen Tuxiong's army to assist in transporting grain and grass materials and building and transporting siege equipment.

Gu Shan and the others picked up their clairvoyances one after another, carefully looking at the wilderness beyond the limit of their vision in the north. Soon after, I saw the Qi army covering the sky and the sun, and the black pressure was all human heads, and soon filled all the clairvoyant vision. The banner in the middle is the huge word "Shentu", and sure enough, Shentu Xiong has arrived.

After a while, everyone didn't need clairvoyance to see the situation of the Qi army outside the city. The dense Huaixi Army, like a huge black line, slowly evolved into a black 'color' ocean, and finally entangled the entire Wu County.

A few days ago, after receiving the information that Shen Tu Lie had returned, Shen Tu Xiong was almost angry to death. Think about the fact that he just left Wu County, and now Wu County has been broken by the Jieyi Army. Don't say how you look at it, it's that the officials in Taicang and Jiading look at themselves a little wrong. Think about it, you can't even hold your own nest, how can you help us stay here?

When Shen Tuxiong saw the performance of the officials in the two places, he was naturally even more annoyed. You must know that the strategy of the King of Qi is to first go south and then to the north, that is, he Shen Tuxiong only needs to stick to this place and ignore the south. Now, instead of provoking the other party, he was actively knocked on the stick by the other party, and Shen Tuxiong's anger immediately exploded. I couldn't care about the situation in Taicang and Jiading anymore, and after reporting to the Taishou of Liyang Mansion, the Taishou of Liyang Mansion ordered him to immediately recapture Wu County, and the tasks of Taicang and Jiading were 'handed over' to the border army. After getting the news, Shen Tuxiong immediately gathered his men and horses, and when the border arrived, he immediately went straight to Wu County without stopping.

Because when Shen Tuxiong went to Taicang and Jiading to intercept the Jieyi army, because it was not a siege battle, there were no siege weapons. It is also because of this that Shen Tuxiong 'pumped' the people from Taicang and Jiading, until it was the only foundation for the rear, so that the people could build siege equipment such as ladders here earlier.

Shen Tuxiong hurried to Wu County, it can be said that the army was not repaired at all, and the 20,000 army arrived outside the city, which was also 'fine' exhausted. If it weren't for the fact that half of his soldiers were new soldiers, I was afraid that Gu Shan would have already led the army to attack. In addition, although the Qi army outside the city was tired, they were different from the local garrison, which was also the reason why Gu Shan had some scruples.

Seeing the trenches and horse rejection arrays outside of Nawu County, Shen Tuxiong couldn't help but hate. Seeing the dense array of righteous soldiers in the city, Shen Tuxiong couldn't help but be vigilant. This is obviously inconsistent with what Shen Tulie said about the seven or eight thousand soldiers, if the Jieyi army only has seven or eight thousand soldiers, they will never dare to arrange so many soldiers at one city 'gate'.

"It seems that the Jieyi army in the city has increased reinforcements in the past few days!" Unclear about the situation of the enemy troops in the city, and when his soldiers were exhausted, Shen Tuxiong could only withdraw his army and camp for twenty miles.

"It seems that this Shen Tuxiong is not a simple character!" Seeing that Shen Tuxiong did not attack the city further, but retreated twenty miles, Gu Shan's face couldn't help but tighten, and he said in a deep voice.

Xu Jianyou said in a deep voice: "It seems that there will be no big war today, we have a city defense, big brother, they don't have siege equipment, they can't get close." In addition, the ladder for the Qi army to ascend the city did not appear, which shows that they are still building siege equipment in the rear. So, in the short term, there will be no big war here. By the way, Captain Li of the Flying Eagle Guard has already invited the leader of the Linhu Water Bandits to the city, so let's go and solve this matter first. If we can be in the waters of Taihu Lake one day earlier, even if there is an accident in Wu County, we are not afraid. ”

Gu Shan nodded and said, "That's fine, our purpose this time is to open a gap in the waters of Taihu Lake." ”

Within the county office, Gu Shan and others met Hu Le, the leader of the bandits in the lake. Gu Shan and the others didn't expect that this Hu Le turned out to be a young man who was not very old, and he was extremely handsome. It's very different from what they thought they were looking like with a gangster.

"Hu Le has met all the generals, all the adults." Seeing Gu Shan and the others, Hu Le took the lead in speaking.

"Leader Hu is the person of the Zhao Army's secret guard?" Gu Shan asked in a deep voice.

Hu Le shook his head and said: "No, I am not from Zhao Jun, nor from the government, nor from the government, let alone from the secret guard, I am a fisherman from this lake." However, my parents and relatives died at the hands of the government. In the past, the government encircled and suppressed the water bandits, and in order to falsely report the war exploits, the fishermen of the Linhu generation suffered many disasters because of this. It was Captain Lin who saved me and supported us in calling the fishermen to rebel against the government in Linhu to take revenge. In addition, Captain Lin also provided intelligence, armor and equipment, and grain and grass materials for our Linhu Water Bandits, which made the Linhu Water Bandits expand to the point where they are now, with more than 5,000 brothers and more than 300 ships. Of course, most of them are small fishing boats. ”

"Now this Wu County is occupied by the righteous brothers, and most of the righteous brothers are beneficial to the people. Captain Lin persuaded me to join the Jieyi Army and fight against the Qi Army with you. ”

Gu Shan smiled: "In this way, Brother Hu is willing to work with us?" With Brother Hu joining, the righteous army of our festival will echo the eastern parts of Yangzhou and the Zhao army in the north, and in the future, we will be able to defeat the Qi army and return the people of the world to the world. ”

Hu Le said in a deep voice: "I can promise to participate in the charity with all my brothers, but Hu still has some questions that General Gu needs to answer, I wonder if General Gu can solve my doubts?" ”

Gu Shan was stunned for a moment, and then smiled: "Oh? Brother Hu has any questions that Gu needs to answer, but it doesn't matter, as long as Gu knows, he will definitely solve the 'confusion' for Brother Hu. ”

Hu Le said in a loud voice: "Hu wants to know, whether General Gu and the generals are from the north, and whether this section of the righteous army is dominated by the north?" Presumably, General Gu will not fail to answer this question. ”

As soon as Hu Le's words came out, the entire hall was silent. Gu Shan, Ji Tong and the four captains of the soldiers were all from the Zhao Jun Royal Academy. The county magistrate Xu Jianyou, the county magistrate who assists the county magistrate in handling the county's government affairs, and the county lieutenant in charge of the county soldiers in the county are all locals. However, their subordinates are all Zhao Jun'an's 'inserted' people. Even Xu Jianyou also knows the origin of Gu Shan and others, and he also knows that this righteous army is actually the righteous army controlled by Zhao Jun. However, these people were still taken aback by Hu Le's clear statement, especially those who didn't know the details very well, and they didn't dare to speak easily.

Gu Shan was also shocked by Hu Le's words, not that he didn't think that the other party should ask this, after all, he could get to know the Flying Eagle Captain of the Flying Eagle Guard who Zhao Jun put on the surface, and he could get the armor and equipment, food and grass materials and information provided by the Flying Eagle Guard, and naturally he also knew some information. However, Gu Shan just thought that the other party should not ask this question in public at this moment.

Gu Shan laughed and said in a deep voice: "Since Brother Hu is already aware of the situation, why do you need to ask more?" That's right, it does. How? Could it be that because of our connection with the north, Brother Hu is not willing to cooperate with us? ”

As he spoke, Gu Shan's face turned cold, and he said in a condensed voice: "The princes of the world, you can't compare with King Zhao, and the armies of the world can't compare with Zhao Jun." This territory under the jurisdiction of the Qi State will sooner or later be under the jurisdiction of my Zhao State. As for this Taihu Lake bandit, when the army of our Zhao army comes here, they will all disappear. Because...... I, the Zhao Kingdom, do not need forces and individuals who do not obey the orders of our king. ”

"Therefore, even if Leader Hu is unwilling to cooperate with us today, there is no way out in the future. In addition, how can Chief Hu's lakeside water be developed to this day, and Leader Hu is also very clear in his heart. Without the support of my Da Zhao, Leader Hu should not talk about revenge, that is, whether he can survive that day, or not. ”

Hu Le laughed and said in a deep voice: "General Gu misunderstood, the reason why Hu asked so much is also to hope that I can find a way to live for the thousands of people under my command." I have more than 5,000 people near the lake, but only more than 1,000 people can really go to the battlefield. The rest are the families of the brothers. I can't just take my brothers into battle and fight against the officers and soldiers until they die. I need them to have a way out, a way to live. ”

"As General Gu said before, among the princes, the Zhao army is the strongest, and the king of Zhao is the strongest. In the future, it should be King Zhao, who dominates the world, and not surprisingly, it is also King Zhao. Therefore, your righteous army naturally cannot be compared with Zhao Jun. If you want to occupy one side and become the king and hegemon, then it goes without saying that Hu will not let the brothers lose their lives because of this. ”

"If the Jieyi Army is related to the Zhao Army, and Zhao Guo stands behind it, then Hu is naturally willing to work with you to compete with this Qi Army. I don't vote for high-ranking officials in the future, I only hope that the brothers under my command can live a peaceful and stable life in the future. His subordinate Hu Le met with the general. With that, Hu Le solemnly saluted Gu Shan.

Gu Shan hurriedly helped Hu Le up, and said with a smile: "That's the case, then we will add another brother to the Jieyi Army, and with the participation of Brother Hu's army, our Jieyi Army will have another chance of winning." ”

Hu Le smiled: "It's the same with me or not, as long as we have the support of Zhao Jun behind us, what else do we have to fear?" However, General Gu can't continue to call me Brother Hu, there are people in the army, otherwise ......"

At this moment, Gu Shan also somewhat understood why Hu Le would ask the previous question at this moment. He did this on purpose, so that the upper echelons of the Jieyi Army understood that this Jieyi Army was still dominated by the Zhao Army, and it was the team of the Zhao State, and he had to make his status and identity clear. Perhaps, this is also Lin San's deliberate 'handover', also to remind himself.

However, Gu Shan didn't care about this, he didn't have the intention of being the king and hegemonic, and he didn't dare to turn his back on King Zhao. So, there was no other feeling in his mind.

"It's okay, since Brother Hu said so, Gu Mou pretended to be big, and Hu Le will be the captain of the Jieyi Army from now on. Captain Hu, I don't know when your department will be officially incorporated into the army and be used by us? ”

"You can do it at any time, but there are only more than a thousand people who can fight, but only seven or eight hundred people can be incorporated into the soldiers, so if you want to expand, you must continue to recruit the surrounding fishermen, or continue to 'force' other bandits to recruit their soldiers. In addition, if these bandits are incorporated into the soldiers, we will need to provide them with money. After all, they also need to support their families. Hu Le said in a deep voice.

Gu Shan nodded and said: "This is natural, although my righteous army is a righteous army, it does not mean that the soldiers have no rules to fight. The soldier's salary is naturally indispensable, and Hu Duwei does not need to worry about this. ”

"Okay, let's start reorganizing the soldiers for this period of time. However, I am not very familiar with the regular training of non-commissioned officers, so I need to allocate a few of the men sent by General Gu from the north. I need to correct their military rules and discipline at the beginning of the reorganization, so as to avoid problems in the future. Hu Le said. He also knows something about Zhao Jun, and naturally understands that Zhao Jun's military law and discipline are very strict. The men and horses under his command, after all, are used to being lazy, and if they don't train and rectify them well, there will definitely be 'chaos' in the future.

Gu Shan nodded and said, "It's okay, taking advantage of the time for Shen Tuxiong to counterattack, Hu Duwei will put the navy in order, which will also be convenient for us to use in the future." As for the manpower, it will be allocated to the lieutenant later. When it comes to training soldiers, I don't think there's anyone better suited than them. ”

Shen Tuxiong outside the city really didn't fight back immediately, but repaired it for a day and a night. Of course, it was also to wait for the arrival of the baggage team in the rear.

On the second day, Shen Tuxiong waved his army and began to attack Wu County. 20,000 Qi troops appeared outside the north 'gate', overwhelming. However, the Qi army did not have many siege equipment. In addition to dozens of ladders, there were twenty catapults. Seeing this, Gu Shan breathed a sigh of relief. The siege equipment of the Qi army did not exceed their expectations, and in addition, there were more than ten catapults in the city. Although there are not as many Qi troops as they are, they guard the city and have the advantage of geographical advantages, so they are naturally not afraid of the Qi army.

The first to be dispatched was not the 15,000 soldiers under the command of Shen Tuxiong, but the 5,000 garrisons brought from Taicang and Jiading. Their aim, of course, was to destroy the moats and horses outside the city. If you don't destroy these, the Qi army will not get close to the city wall.

The offensive was fierce at the beginning, and the Qi army directly smashed the rejection horse formation with catapults, and the rejection horse was quickly smashed under the control of the constantly rolling boulders. However, the appearance of the trench has affected the power of these cobblestones.

In addition, the fire speed of the catapult was very slow, and it was difficult to meet the needs of the siege. Therefore, it is obviously impossible to destroy the fortifications outside the city with catapults in full. Therefore, 5,000 garrisons and thousands of civilians were dispatched.

At this moment, Shen Tuxiong also found out that there were no less than 20,000 people in the city, in addition, there were 10,000 young men who came with the army from Songjiang Mansion and 10,000 young men who were recruited from the city. It can be said that the Jieyi Army has an advantage in terms of strength. However, what made Shen Tuxiong feel relieved was that half of the Jieyi army in the city were new pawns, which was not as strong as his own. Therefore, when it comes to siege, Shen Tuxiong is still full of hope.

"It's a pity that we don't have an internal response in the city, otherwise, maybe it will be faster." Shen Tuxiong sighed as he watched the constantly destroyed Jieyi Army become a line of defense.

"General, on the city wall, in addition to Zhao Jun, there are also young and strong people from Wu County. Why don't we 'shoot' a letter and ask these young men to assist us in fighting back against the rebels? Zhou Yuan said in a deep voice. Zhou Yuan, who was driven out of Wu County by the Jieyi Army, was also extremely annoyed at the moment.

Shen Tuxiong said coldly: "The Jieyi Army dares to let them appear on the city wall, so naturally I don't worry about them repeatedly. You are not unaware of some of the actions of the Jieyi Army, but I am afraid that in the past few days, the people in the city have already stood on the side of the Jieyi Army, and our actions will not have any effect at all. ”

"What puzzles General Ben is that you are only concerned about escaping, why did you not destroy the food and armor in the city treasury? If there is no food, the Jieyi army is afraid that the food alone will be enough for them to be busy, and they may have to collect it from the people in the city. If so, how could they win back the hearts and minds of the people so quickly? As far as I know, a lot of the grain hoarded in our treasury has been used by the Jieyi army to help those people, and in this way, these people have also become attached to the people. ”

"Also, if you look at the city wall, more than half of the armor and armor equipment worn by the Jieyi army are the standard armor equipment of our Qi army. These were originally our things, but now they are the weapons of the rebels against me. If you had destroyed him, why did you do this? As soon as he saw the armor and equipment worn by the righteous army on the city wall, Shen Tuxiong was full of annoyance. Those armor and equipment were all supplementary materials for his Shen Tuxiong department. But now, it's all the enemy they want to attack.