But Gao Huaiyuan knew that after all, this was not yet to the extent of short-handed combat, the Song army's current combat effectiveness was still weak compared with the Jin soldiers, and the real test should be in the next few days, at present, the Jin soldiers were only the vanguard troops arrived in Huangzhou, and the follow-up army of Fusan Anzhen was still on the way, once their army arrived, the battle would enter the decisive level.

Although Gao Huaiyuan knew this, he did not tell the defenders about these things, after all, after this day, these soldiers and generals who had never been tested by war could do it to such an extent, which made Gao Huaiyuan deeply gratified, at least what he was most worried about did not happen, this defender withstood the test of the first day and successfully survived, then the next thing will be much easier, once they adapt to this bloody battlefield, they will not collapse easily, The combat effectiveness will also be greatly improved in the future, laying a good foundation for the next step of the operation.

Gao Huaiyuan rested for a while, handed over the guard of the north of the city to Zheng Tizhi to take over, and told him to be careful of the surprise attack of the Jin soldiers at night, and to pay special attention to the movements of the Jin army's camp, and then turned around and went down to the city, and walked to the section where the military camp of Daye Township in the east of the city was stationed.

As soon as he stepped on the city wall of Dongcheng, Gao Huaiyuan heard the sound of someone crying bitterly, and then the light of the torch, he saw a villager lying next to the corpse of a fallen villager and crying bitterly, so he stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder and said: "Mourn and change!" This situation is unavoidable on the battlefield, and you can't solve the problem by crying like this! Cheer up, revenge for your brother is the right thing, don't cry out loud here, come on, carry this brother's body down! ”

After hearing the sound, the villager hurriedly put away his crying, sobbed and hurriedly saluted Gao Huaiyuan: "Lord County Lieutenant, the little one is not afraid of death, the little one is sad for my brother, his wife just gave birth to a son for him, he was shot to death by the Jin Army, and the little one really doesn't know how to go back to my sister-in-law to explain!" ”

"The government will give him a generous caress for his family, you don't have to worry about it, take a rest as soon as possible, and there are still things to do at night!" After Gao Huaiyuan comforted him twice, he asked the fallen villager to be carried off the city wall.

At this time, Zhou Hao, Guo Liang and others rushed over and immediately reported to Gao Huaiyuan about the situation of the first battle in the afternoon.

After listening to their report, Gao Huaiyuan was finally relieved, Zhou Hao and Guo Liang and others commanded Daye Township soldiers in the afternoon, and fought very resolutely here, repelled two attacks by the Jin soldiers in succession, and shot and killed many Jin soldiers, although they also paid some price, but the overall loss was not large, indicating that the role of the Bow and Arrow Society during this period of time has been highlighted, at least the township soldiers went into battle without chaos, which is a good sign, as for the people who came out of Crouching Tiger Village, there was no loss of anyone in this half-day fierce battle, and they are still safe, This made Gao Huaiyuan quite pleased.

After inspecting the situation in the east of the city, Gao Huaiyuan saw that the battle damage here was not large, and the Jin soldiers concentrated most of the stone cannons on the open ground in the north of the city to attack the city, and the east of the city basically did not use heavy stone cannons, only a few light whirlwind cannons, and the threat to the city wall here was not too great.

Just when Gao Huaiyuan explained to Zhou Hao and others the precautions for night guarding and fighting tomorrow, a soldier hurriedly climbed the city wall and reported to Gao Huaiyuan: "Qiyu Gao County Lieutenant, Lord Jiang has an urgent matter to discuss with the adult, please go to the mansion!" ”

Gao Huaiyuan nodded and agreed, he also happened to have something to find Jiang Fang, and he also had to discuss countermeasures with Jiang Fang about today's situation, so after arranging the affairs in the east of the city, he immediately got up and followed the soldier in the direction of the mansion.

As soon as he walked into the mansion, he saw that the hall inside was brightly lit, after Jiang Fang heard the news, he immediately came out with his robe, and very affectionately pulled Gao Huaiyuan's arm to connect him to the lobby, after entering, Gao Huaiyuan saw Jiang Fang set up a table of wine banquet in the lobby, and several civil officials in Huangzhou got up with a smile to welcome his arrival.

"The county lieutenant Gao has worked hard, today the county lieutenant personally supervised the battle, and even frustrated the morale of the golden soldiers, which is really gratifying, this official has a special banquet to entertain the county lieutenant Gao! Here are all colleagues in Huangzhou, Lieutenant Gao, please take a seat and be bowed by this official! Fortunately, County Lieutenant Gao is here today, if it weren't for County Captain Gao to help, this official really doesn't know what this battle will look like! Jiang Fang pulled Gao Huaiyuan to the table and said to Gao Huaiyuan in a sincere tone.

Gao Huaiyuan looked at the wine and food on the table, and felt a little crying and laughing, the war had just started at this time, and these civil officials still had the heart to engage in this thing, it was really a bit out of place!

However, seeing that these people are also sincere, Gao Huaiyuan is not easy to refute their face, so he said politely: "Lord Jiang is serious, this is a matter within Gao's responsibility, and he will never dare to take credit!" This is all because of Lord Jiang's good planning, so that our army has achieved such a victory today, if it is not for the help of Lord Jiang and you, we will not be able to fight in the city! If you want to say that you have merit, when it is counted on the heads of the city * soldiers, Gao is just one of them! Now that it's wartime, the lower officials will be exempt from this wine! ”

Everyone saw Gao Huaiyuan's attitude, and they were very comfortable in their hearts, the reason why they were so polite to Gao Huaiyuan was because Gao Huaiyuan's performance in the city today really made them have nothing to say, and now they can say that they have pinned their hopes on Gao Huaiyuan's body, it can be said that they have selfish intentions, in fact, in their hearts, for this battle of Huangzhou, they are also thinking about how to grab credit if they win!

So everyone was greeted again, Jiang Fang was also very happy, seeing that Gao Huaiyuan was unwilling to drink, so he ordered someone to remove the wine, Gao Huaiyuan sat down, looking at a table of good dishes, Gao Huaiyuan was really hungry at this time, shook off his cheeks and chewed, and put down his chopsticks after a big meal.

"Master Jiang! No wonder Gao swept everyone's interest, although our army repelled the Jin army's two onslaughts today, but the situation is not gratifying, the next battle may be more cruel, I am afraid you still have to be psychologically prepared!

Jin Bing is probably determined to come this time, although our army has won a small victory, but it can't slack off! At the end of the night tonight, I want to go out of the city, and I hope that Lord Jiang will preside over the convening of the city's future discussions! ”

After Gao Huaiyuan had eaten and drunk enough, he hugged his fists and said to Jiang Fang and the others.

Everyone was taken aback when they heard that Gao Huaiyuan actually wanted to go out of the city at night, so Jiang Fang hurriedly asked, "Why did the county lieutenant Gao go out of the city at this time?" ”

"Your Excellency has also seen that although we have blocked the attack of the Jin soldiers today, the golden soldier artillery carts under the city are a great threat to our city walls, if we continue to let them rage, the walls of Huangzhou City may not be able to withstand repeated bombardment, and for our soldiers, the threat of these things is also very great!

Therefore, the lower officials wanted to take a risk, and in the second half of the night, they organized a group of people who dared to die to go out of the city and set fire to the guns of these Jin troops, which could weaken the offensive ability of the Jin army, greatly delay their siege speed, and also boost the morale of our army, so that the soldiers and people of Huangzhou would be more determined to defend themselves! Gao Huaiyuan said what he thought.

After Jiang Fang heard this, he was even more surprised, while secretly admiring Gao Huaiyuan's courage, he was worried about him, and hurriedly said: "How can this be done!" There are many soldiers and horses outside the city, and we are now understaffed, so it is too dangerous to go out and attack the Jin soldiers, and Huangzhou City still has to rely on the county captain Gao to help the official guard, how can you risk going out of the city? Isn't that a bit too risky? ”

Gao Huaiyuan shook his head slightly and said, "Don't worry too much, adults!" Although there are a large number of Jin soldiers, but this is exactly what they expected, at the moment Jin Bing knows that our army is limited, and he never imagined that our army would go out of the city to raid their artillery carts, and the lower official went out of the city this time, and did not need to bring too many people, there were two hundred people who dared to die to go out of the city with the lower official, and the second half of the night was also when the people were sleepy and tired, and the official was confident that he would hit it with one blow and hit the Jin army by surprise! As long as Master Jiang gives the lower official an arrow, the lower official will go and gather the brave people! Pull out those evils! ”

After Jiang Fang and the others heard this, they couldn't help but look at Gao Huaiyuan differently, and deeply admired Gao Huaiyuan's courage, so they got up and praised Gao Huaiyuan again and again, and finally Jiang Fang agreed to Gao Huaiyuan's risky request, and ordered him to deal with the matter by himself.

After Gao Huaiyuan had Jiang Fang's consent, he did not dare to delay time, and immediately convened the city guards to discuss the matter, and informed the generals of this plan.

But Zhou Hao, who was standing in the queue, quit, and asked for an order: "Slow down!" Now that you are the commander of Huangzhou City, how can you risk your life? And the adults have been busy these days, and they are already very tired, and now they are going to venture out of the city to attack the Jin soldiers, this matter must not be done! In the next view, this time out of the city to raid the Jin soldiers, in the next wish to go out of the city on behalf of the adults to fight, please the adults to watch the enemy array! When we are done, we can also take us back to the city! ”

Gao Huaiyuan glanced at Zhou Hao gratefully, it was still his brother at the critical time! At this time, as a main general, he did know that it was not easy for him to go out of the city to take risks, once he fell outside the city, it would be a big blow to the overall morale of Huangzhou City, but he was not at ease to let Zhou Hao take the risk for him, after all, the brother was quite affectionate, and he couldn't convince himself a little by doing this, but he also knew that what Zhou Hao said was the truth, he had been busy for the past few days, and he had hardly rested for a while, and now he felt very tired, his eyes were full of bloodshots, It's really a bit hard to keep up physically, and if you go out of the city this time, you're really a little overwhelmed.

As soon as Zhou Hao's words landed, another person stood up and said loudly: "Zhou Yuhou's words are different, Master Gao should not go, you should not go, you are also the general of Dongcheng, if you go on an adventure, who will command Dongcheng, this kind of thing is still going on!" Master Gao treats me well, since following Lord Gao below, he has not made an inch, this time let the little one take someone to go! ”

Gao Huaiyuan looked fixedly, it turned out that the person who spoke was actually Dong Qiang, who was now following Zhou Hao to do things, and couldn't help but be overjoyed, because after this period of contact, he found that Dong Qiang was a good person, and he was also a brave and resourceful person, quite popular among the township brave archers, and he was relatively old, so he was a good candidate, so he nodded secretly in his heart.

Zhou Hao was still about to argue with Dong Qiang, Gao Huaiyuan stretched out his hand to stop Zhou Hao, and said: "Since this is the case, then you don't have to fight anymore, Dong Qiang can have such courage, this official is very pleased, since you are willing to go out of the city to make contributions, then this official will allow you to invite today, and you will lead this raid on the golden soldiers!" This time the matter is so decided, you now go down and immediately select the brave to gather under the northwest corner of the city, Lord Jiang has an order, all those who participate in the raid on the Jin army this time, regardless of life or death, will be given a heavy reward, this is the key to whether our Huangzhou City can be defended, you must prepare carefully! ……”

This discussion didn't last long, but Gao Huaiyuan was completely trusted by the soldiers in the city, and they really understood now that Gao Huaiyuan was really a tiger general who dared to act, and it was indeed not comparable to them!

After these officers returned to their own camps, they immediately began to select the brave men, and after hearing that this raid out of the city would give a heavy reward, there must really be brave men under the heavy reward, and soon the battalions organized two hundred brave men and concentrated them in the northwest corner of the Huangzhou city wall.

Gao Huaiyuan prepared three altars of fire oil for each soldier who went out on the expedition, and learned from the later generations, plugged the mouth of the altar with a tarpaulin, and each person was also equipped with a torch, just to be used to go out of the city to set fire, and also prepared a soft armor for everyone, and prepared a large number of ropes, hanging baskets and other things, ready to send them out of the city at any time, and gathered a large number of people here, ready to take them back to the city.

After being busy with these things, Gao Huaiyuan slept for a while, and ordered the people who went out to rest under the city, and when the second watch came, Jiang Fang, as the chief official of the city, also personally rushed to the starting point, and personally poured a bowl of good wine for these daring people, and made a bowl with them.

According to Gao Huaiyuan's orders, everyone blackened their whole body armor including their faces, checked the weapons on their bodies, and then under Gao Huaiyuan's order, they fell down the city with a rope hanging basket in the dark place on the side of the corner tower in the west of the city with Dong Qiang, and disappeared into the darkness.

Just when they were busy, the Jin Bing camp did not stop, after a day of fierce fighting, Hu Lu felt very depressed in his heart, originally he wanted to bring troops to Huangzhou to fight a beautiful assault battle, conquer Huangzhou in one fell swoop to ask for merit from the marshal Servant San'anzhen, but things were beyond his expectations, the defenders of Huangzhou City, who were not paid much attention to by him, showed a strong fighting spirit today, let him supervise the fierce battle for a day, and as a result, he didn't even touch the wall of Huangzhou City, and lost hundreds of soldiers. He couldn't help but start looking at the Huangzhou City in front of him again.

After collecting the troops, Hu Lu spur the deputy generals and partial generals in the battalion to discuss how to capture Huangzhou City as soon as possible, after some discussion, the generals also thought that it was impossible to take Huangzhou lightly, and only to take the method of strong attack to take Huangzhou City. They decided to change the direction of the main attack to the east of the city, because the moat in the east of the city was relatively narrow, and the terrain outside the city was relatively flat, which was more conducive to pushing the heavy siege equipment under the city, but at the same time, it was necessary to maintain pressure in the direction of the north of the city, so that the defenders in the city could not concentrate their forces to deal with their attack, and also confused the defenders, so that they could not grasp the direction of their main attack in the first place.

Even Hu Lu Thorn also recruited 300 soldiers from the army and handed them over to a subordinate commander, planning to cross the river from the west of the city, sneak attack the west gate of Huangzhou, and respond to the attack in the east of the city.

After this arrangement, Hu Lu Thorn then returned to the big tent to rest, only after dawn, once again launched a fierce attack on Huangzhou City, after a day of fierce fighting, the Jin army also felt very tired, most of them fell asleep, only a small number of patrol soldiers were still patrolling back and forth outside the city.

As Gao Huaiyuan expected, Hu Lu and his Jin army generals still ignored the dynamics of the defenders this time, and never expected that the Huangzhou defenders, who were short of troops, would actually send people who dared to die out of the city to attack them on the first night.

In the second half of the night, it was also the time when people slept the deepest, no one noticed that a group of black and oppressive figures suddenly appeared in the northwest corner of Huangzhou City, because it was not the place where the two armies fought, the Jin army did not leave any soldiers and horses in this section, and under the cover of night, two hundred soldiers quickly set up a number of bamboo and wood tied up bridges in the corner of the moat, and then quietly crossed the moat, and sneaked all the way to the stone cannons set up by the Jin soldiers outside the city.

Because to avoid being injured by the stray arrows and artillery fired by the defenders in the city at night, the Jin soldiers moved the stone cannons back a little after nightfall, and moved to a position a little farther away from the city wall, and most of the soldiers who operated the cannons also retreated to the camp, and there were not too many Jin soldiers guarding the carts, and they all hid behind the leather tents in case they were injured by the cold arrows shot by the city, most of the people had fallen asleep at this time, and only waited for the artillery to attack the city again after dawn, and did not expect that at this time there was a group of brave Song troops quietly touching their positions.

Gao Huaiyuan stood anxiously at the pass of a section of the city wall that was destroyed by the golden artillery during the day, watching the movement outside the city without blinking.

In this way, he and Jiang Fang and others waited anxiously until nearly three watches, and suddenly there was a shouting and killing sound outside the city, and soon there were raging fires in many places, after looking down from the city, they saw that the position of the golden soldier artillery rack outside the city was soon ignited, and with the urging of the night wind, it soon burned.