After the fierce battle during the day, both the Hu people and Yundale suffered heavy losses, and the Hu people put away their initial contempt, it was night, the sky was full of stars, and the howl of wolves came from the snow-capped mountains in the distance, adding a bit of cold murderous aura to this dark night.

Located at the junction of the northwest grassland and the northeast snow-capped mountains, the climate is extremely cold, the terrain is complex, and the strategic location is important, which is why the Hu people must take the city if they want to be entangled with the army.

At this moment, inside and outside Yunzhong City, there are heavily defended, and the Hu people's tent in the distance, although it is quiet, Li Feng, Zhao Fan and others still dare not relax their vigilance, and soldiers take turns guarding each city wall, so as not to launch a night attack by the Hu people.

However, what they didn't know was that at this moment, the Hu army had withdrawn to a clearing two miles away from Yunzhong City, and the tragic battle today caused the Hu army to suffer heavy losses, with thousands of casualties, and several Hu leaders who commanded 500 people were killed.

Inside a large tent, Yan Zha exposed his right shoulder, his right arm penetrated a wooden ring, and his mouth was biting leather, and a medical craftsman who accompanied the army was carefully taking out the arrow on his right arm.

This Yan was also brave and abnormal, such a cold day, and also suffered an arrow wound, but he didn't let out a moan, just bit the leather in his mouth, and endured the sharp pain from his right arm.

"Bang dang!"

A sharp pain came, Yan Zha was sweating profusely, closed his eyes, and a sharp arrow finally fell into the copper plate.

"Alright." At this time, the doctor who was sitting next to Yan Zha also breathed a long sigh of relief, and said: "Fortunately, the arrow is not fed with poison, and the person's arrow technique does not seem to be very accurate, this time it did not hurt the muscles and bones of adults, as long as you rest for more than ten days, you can be cured." ”

During the Warring States period, it was already popular to feed poison on swords, but this method was not used in large quantities in the army, and most of the people who liked to feed poison on weapons were assassins of this era.

For example, Jing Ke, one of the four great assassins of the Warring States Period, said in the assassination of King Qin, "Therefore, the prince wanted to seek the dagger of the world, and obtained the dagger of Mrs. Xu of Zhaoren, and took a hundred gold, so that the work was quenched with medicine, and the blood was wet, and everyone was dead." ”

Yan Zha took the handkerchief and wiped the cold sweat on his head, he also exhaled slowly, his eyes flickered slightly, at this time, a personal soldier next to him said: "My lord, I have already found out who shot this arrow?" ”

Yan Zha's brows furrowed, a touch of lust flashed in his eyes, and he said, "Who is it?" ”

Generally speaking, it is normal to put cold arrows on the battlefield, even if someone is hit by an arrow, he will not deliberately ask who the archery person is, but Yan Zha was quite impressed by the young general who shot the arrow, and felt that this son did not look like an ordinary general, so he specially sent someone to inquire about his details.

"A brother who participated in the war said that the enemy army called the young general Fan Gongzi at that time, according to his subordinates, this person should be Wu Chengjun, the new son of Zhao State, and Zhao Fan, the son of Zhao State." The pro-soldier said.

Hearing this, Yan Zha's face also became fierce in vain, and he gritted his teeth and said, "It turned out to be him!" ”

Yan Zha was thinking about capturing Zhao Fan and avenging Brother Yan Zan, but he didn't expect that he hadn't caught him yet, but he was hit by an arrow in his arm, and the new hatred and old hatred were added together, and he didn't have to think about it to know to what extent Yan Zha's hatred for Zhao Fan had reached now.

Although Yan Zha was reckless on the surface, he was also quite scheming, thinking of Zhao Fan's calmness and composure above the city, Yan Zha knew that this son was by no means an ordinary character, and immediately returned to his former calm.

However, this doesn't mean that he won't seek revenge on Zhao Fan, it's just that he hasn't thought of a good countermeasure, and he won't deal with this son easily.

At this time, Zhang Wu suddenly walked into the big tent slowly, this siege failed, as early as he expected, he had lived in Cloud City for a long time, and naturally knew that Cloud City was not so easy to break. However, even if he knew that he would not be able to break through Cloud City, this was the clarion call for the first siege battle, and it still had to be blown.

"General Yan, can the injuries be serious?" Although the relationship between Zhang Wu and Yan Zha is actually not very good, Zhang Wu still asked with a concerned face.

Yan Zha got up from the struggle, shook his head and said, "It didn't hurt the muscles and bones, it's not a big problem." ”

"If this is the case, then tomorrow we will continue to launch a siege war, this war, the faster we fight, the more beneficial it will be for us, after all, our food and grass are also extremely limited, and the food and drink of tens of thousands of troops is also a big problem." Zhang Wu said calmly.

The Hu army's practice was to feed the war with war, which was not suitable for fighting a war of attrition, and could not wait until the city ran out of ammunition and food, and surrendered automatically like the previous battles such as the siege of Handan by the Wei State.

This situation is undoubtedly impossible for the Hu army to appear.

They are only suitable for a quick battle and break through Cloudsdale as soon as possible.

Hearing this, Yan Zha also nodded, he was also very clear about this, and immediately said: "It turned out that this is the case, then Ming said that I personally led the army and led the Hu warriors to attack the head of the Zhao people's city." ”

He was extremely brave, and although he was wounded by an arrow, the ferocity on his face did not diminish in the slightest.

Zhang Wu waved his hand and said, "No, General Yan is injured, let Zhong Yong lead his troops to attack." However, this strategy needs to be changed, the walls of Cloud City are tall and strong, and it is extremely difficult to attack the city, so we will attack through tunnels instead, digging tunnels outside Cloud City to enter Cloud City. ”

Immediately, Yan Zha's eyes lit up, and this idea is indeed very feasible.

Zhang Wu continued: "King Benxian knows where to best dig tunnels and enter Cloud City, so I will order someone to start working while it is dark. ”

Zhang Wu had a hint of hideousness on his face, he had lived in Cloud City for so long, although his purpose was mainly to help Ye Fei**, but he was also secretly observing the topography and customs of Cloud City, so that when there was a war, it could come in handy.

"By the way, Lord Zuo Xian, how are Donghu and the Xiongnu doing now?" Yan Zha suddenly asked.

Zhang Wu's eyes moved slightly, and he smiled: "This is not General Yan's concern, this time I, Lin Hu, dare to send troops against Da Zhao, how can I not have their help, now, Donghu Xiang and the Hun King are gathering a large army and preparing to aid us." Moreover, the father is now discussing with them to bring over another vassal state that is enough to pose a strong threat to the Zhao State......"

At this time, Cloud City is a different scene, although it is night at this moment, but the city is still full of soldiers, people come and go, all the adult trees in the city, almost all have been cut down, and one by one the logs are dragged to the school yard in Cloud City, where wood and iron tools are piled up.

In the school grounds, hundreds of tents have been set up at this moment, and thousands of craftsmen, carpenters, blacksmiths and other craftsmen in Yunzhong City have been concentrated, and they continue to build weapons and city defense equipment according to Zhao Fan and Li Feng's instructions.

Seeing the city-guarding equipment made by Zhao Fan, Li Feng was already excited, he had been fighting with the Hu people for so long, and it was the first time he had seen such a sharp city-defending equipment, perhaps Yan Zha and Zhang Wu were too far away, and these flying hooks, wolf's tooth swatters and other equipment made by Zhao Fan were not too much, so they may not have noticed the new city-guarding equipment of Cloud City.

However, as the commanders and soldiers, Li Feng, who used these city-defending equipment at an effective time, really felt the power of these advanced equipment.

Therefore, he immediately ordered all the craftsmen to make every effort to build these city-defending equipment.

Not only the craftsmen, but almost the entire army and civilians of Cloudsdale were mobilized, and every household donated their private weapons, armor, bows and arrows, because they knew that if the city was destroyed, their fate would be extremely miserable.

If the city is broken, they will all become slaves of the Hu people, and it will be a nightmare for their lives.

On the other side of the school field, the soldiers of the first division led by Xu Ying were training 3,000 people, teaching them the most basic weapon skills.

The three thousand young and strong men have all been equipped with weapons and armor, and they are no longer ordinary cloth clothes, except for weak combat skills and clumsy use of weapons, the difference between them and regular soldiers can no longer be seen from the outside.

On the contrary, Xu Jia was temporarily appointed by Li Feng as the head of Bing Cao, in charge of the military affairs of Yunzhong City, while Zhao Fan and Li Feng led all the officers and soldiers of Yunzhong City to carry out city defense and other work.

Despite this, this is Xu Jia's first position after all, and he has great power and responsibility, all the money, food, materials and craftsmen are in his charge, and he is also conscientious and does not dare to slack off.

Li Feng only valued Xu Jia's potential in this area, and knew that he couldn't be busy alone, so he found five shrewd and capable stewards from the mansion to assist him, and allocated him another thousand soldiers.

Xu Jia was given carte blanche by Li Feng and Zhao Fan, and soon showed his outstanding talents, and in less than half a day, he put everything in order, and the work of building trebuchets and other equipment to defend the city began to run smoothly.

In fact, real strategists such as Zhuge Liang, Zhou Yu and others during the Three Kingdoms period, their real talent is not military strategy, but in handling government affairs, just like a general's talent is to command the army, not to fight on the battlefield.

From recruiting craftsmen, cutting down trees, managing materials, to drawing drawings, arranging wages, food and lodging, organizing craftsmen to divide labor and cooperate, etc., there are thousands of complicated affairs, and it is not easy to do almost everything well.

But it only took Xu Jia and the others half a day to handle everything properly and in an orderly manner, which had to amaze everyone that this young scholar had such outstanding talents.

At this time, Xu Jiazheng accompanied Li Feng and Zhao Fan to inspect the manufacturing progress of the weapons defending the city, as the current supreme commanders of Cloud City, Li Feng and Zhao Fan did not need to do it themselves, he had to focus on the overall defense.

Although Zhao Fan no longer holds any official position in Cloud City, his identity and status are special, and he is extremely noble, even Li Feng can't compare, so he has won the general support of the military and people of Cloud City, on the one hand, because he is Liu Biao's nephew, and his status is noble.

Zhao Fan saw that the groups of craftsmen were busy and the materials were transported in an orderly manner, and he was also very strange in his heart, so he asked Xu Jia with a smile: "It's only been half a day, and these craftsmen are on the right track, how did Xu Jia do it?" ”

Xu Jia smiled slightly, "Actually, it's very simple, every city has a craftsman's head, I just have to find these craftsmen, give them ten times the profit, stipulate when it will be completed, and promise how much reward I will give for every trebuchet and wolf's tooth shooting, and then everything is not worrying about me, they will naturally step up their efforts to urge the craftsman." ”

Zhao Fan suddenly realized, it turned out that Xu Jia had found a bunch of project managers, no wonder he could progress so quickly, this is a good way of management.

"And when will we be able to get the first one at the earliest?" Zhao Fan asked curiously again.

Xu Jia smiled mysteriously, "Childe, please come with me." ”

Li Feng was also quite interested at the moment, and immediately the two of them walked into a big tent with him, and they were stunned for a moment, only to see a huge stone cannon placed in the big tent, and several craftsmen were busy checking it.

The stone cannon, also known as the catapult, is actually an enlarged crossbow that can fire giant arrows and stones, with a range of between 50 and 100 steps, and has a positive defensive effect on defending the city.

For example, rolling wood and stone is a good weapon against the besieging army, but generally speaking, it requires a person to stand on the side of the city wall and throw the stone downward, so that it is very easy to be shot by the crossbow arrows of the besieging army below.

However, with the stone cannon, it can be launched from the air, avoiding the casualties of the defenders, and at the same time, the range is longer, the killing range is larger, and it is also an effective defensive weapon against ships and various siege weapons.

Zhao Fan stepped forward and gently stroked the first catapult, which was made of newly cut trees, and even the bark was unpeeled, which was slightly rough, but it could be seen that the binding was very strong.

With these catapults and wolf tooth swatters and other things, the confidence of the defenders of Cloud City suddenly soared, dozens of soldiers pointed around these city-guarding equipment, their faces were full of excitement, the lethality of these city-guarding equipment, they all saw it in their eyes today, so they also liked it very much in their hearts.

"Lord County Shou, you go back to the house to rest first, it's good to have me and Xu Jia here." At this moment, the night is already a little dark, nearly three watches, Ming said that the Hu soldiers will definitely start a big war again, as the commander of Cloud City, Li Feng must maintain strong physical strength and a calm head, so it is very important to rest well.

Li Feng naturally knew this, he looked at Zhao Fan and the others, and when he saw their firmness on their faces, he immediately nodded and said, "In this case, then I will go back to the house first, and you will wake me up in the middle of the night, and I will replace you at that time." ”

Because he was worried that the Hu people would launch a surprise attack in the middle of the night, he had to leave one of Li Feng and Zhao Fan to supervise the guards of Cloud City, so Li Feng had now returned to his house to rest, and Zhao Fan had to stay and keep patrolling Cloud City.

Looking at the back of Li Feng leaving, Zhao Fan also showed a smile on his face, Li Feng's mental pressure was too great during this time, Zhao Fan was actually very worried about him in his heart, because Li Feng was the county guard of Yunzhong County, the spiritual pillar of all the soldiers and civilians, if he fell, Yunzhong City was likely to be self-defeating, and seeing that Li Feng was finally willing to rest, Zhao Fan was naturally relieved.

Cloud City at night, it was very cold, the cold wind roared in the ears of all the soldiers defending the city, and everyone who was cold couldn't help but shrink their bodies, Zhao Fan was wearing a big hat, looking at the place where the Hu people camped at the head of the city.

It was silent, except for the faint light of the fire swaying lonely in the cold wind, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary......

"According to this trend, it is not difficult for us to defend Cloud City, I am afraid that those Lin Hu barbarians will think of other ways to attack the city." At this time, Xu Jia suddenly said.

Hearing this, Zhao Fan also nodded, in this regard, he naturally knew that Cloud City was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and Li Feng had already made preparations, built fortifications, fortified the walls, and concentrated all the materials and Cloud City.

Therefore, if the Hu people want to break through Yunzhong City, according to the conventional siege method, it is obviously not feasible.

Zhao Fan frowned slightly, he seemed to hear the meaning of Xu Jia's words, and immediately said: "Xu Jia, do you think the Hu people will use other methods to attack the city?" I don't know how? ”

"That's right, the commander of the Hu people is by no means stupid, and it is impossible for them not to see the problems we can see, so they will never put the hope of breaking the city on the strong attack, and will definitely think of some other tricks, such as fire attack, digging tunnels, flooding and other tactics to attack the city."

In the ancient art of war, the siege of the city, summed up the four tactics of storming, suppressing, tunneling and flooding, and attacked.

"A storming is the destruction of the city gates by ramming or burning, or sending a single army to approach the city and then attacking the city walls. In the first two situations of this tactic, the defenders are most afraid of desperately resisting, shooting with stabs, grabbing with eyes, burning and pouring, and hitting down with a fierce blow, which will inevitably cause heavy losses. In the latter case, the defenders were most afraid of lighting torches and sticking out of the city to close the city with dazzling firelight, so that the besiegers would fall into a situation of passive beating. Xu Jia said: "Judging from the current situation of the Hu people, it is impossible to attack by force. ”

Zhao Fan nodded, he knew this very well. In the Art of War, Sun Tzu called the siege of the city, also known as the siege of ten, the five sieges, and the times of battle. During the Warring States Period, the disparity between the forces of the attacking and defending sides could be so great that if the attacker besieged with 100,000 people, according to the argument in the Mozi, the defender only needed more than 4,000 people to defend the city.

Of course, this is naturally an exaggeration, attacking and defending the city, not entirely depends on the troops, which is related to the topography of the city, as well as a series of reasons, but it can be seen from this passage that the besieging side needs to pay a great price.

"In this way, there are only tactics left to suppress, dig tunnels, and attack flooding." Zhao Fan said.

Xu Jia nodded, he looked at the Huren camp in the distance, and said: "Suppression is the use of levy vehicles or earthen platforms to suppress the city wall with condescending firepower, "random arrows are fired, arrows are raining down", which is suitable for reconnaissance and harassment of the defenders or covering the attack. ”

Zhao Fan nodded, and said: "I've heard of this, but this tactic, the most afraid is to use the high commanding height, attack the nest car, guard the wooden building, if we build a wooden building about two or three zhang high on the city wall, so that the height of the city wall and the wooden building reaches about eight zhang high, not only can the car not reach, even if it is piled up, it is impossible to see immediate results, when the time comes, I will order the wooden city to set up a bed crossbow and a stone throwing car, and the commanding heights will be firmly in the hands of our Cloud City." (To be continued.) )