Outside the big fort, Yang Ye, who arrived with his army, was not in a hurry to attack. On the one hand, he arranged for his subordinates to monitor the enemy troops in the fort and set up camp outside the fort, and on the other hand, he sent people to contact the defenders of the bottle-shaped fortress who rushed from the northeast, and ordered the bottle-shaped general who was in charge of leading the team to his central army tent to discuss the matter--Yang Ye's position determined that he was the commander-in-chief of the operation to recapture the big fort and expel the invading Liao army.

In the evening, the basic construction of the Han army's camp outside the city was completed, which made the Han army responsible for guarding the movement in the fort secretly relieved. Everyone returned to the camp and prepared for dinner. At the same time, the deputy general of the bottle-shaped garrison also reached a consensus with Yang Ye on the issue of the unification of the bottle-shaped garrison under the command of Yang Ye.

Subsequently, Yang Ye went out of the Chinese military tent with the deputy general and his subordinates, and climbed a tall watchtower to look at the fortress.

Because the big fortress is only a military fortress that is not very large, so although its fortress wall is solid and thick, the actual height is not as good as the county city wall like Fanzhi and Yanmen, only a little more than two zhang, about six meters. And the height of the watchtower in Yang Ye's camp is about the same, so when Yang Ye and the others climb the watchtower, they can basically see the situation on the wall of the big fort - although the distance between the watchtower and the fortress wall is not close, and the current light is not as bright as at noon, but Yang Ye's eyes can still see a general situation.

Under careful observation, the more Yang Ye looked at it, the more strange he felt, and the more he looked at it, the more he couldn't understand the intentions of the enemy troops in the fort. In the past, although the Liao army would also attack some cities with weak defenses and dilapidated cities, when they faced a fort like Dabaoshu, which had a strong city and thousands of defenders, they usually went around the city and went directly to loot the people outside the city, so as to avoid attacking the fortified city and bringing too many losses to themselves.

But the so-called Liao army in the fort who came to "fight the grass valley" was completely opposite, they not only attacked and occupied the fortified fortress, but also did not loot around the fort, but all of them retreated in the fort, as if they planned to defend themselves in the fort and compete with the army on their side. However, according to the spies sent before, the number of enemy troops in the fort was only about 2,000. If the cavalry and van soldiers are removed, the maximum number of soldiers is 1,500. With such a small number of troops, even if he relied on the fortified city, he would have no chance of winning against his own army of 15,000 - after all, the ratio of 1 to 10 forces was there.

Just when Yang Ye was puzzled by the tactics of the enemy troops in the big fort, several enemy soldiers who showed most of their bodies from the battlements of the fort wall and looked at his own camp attracted his attention.

However, what attracted Yang Ye's attention was not the behavior of these soldiers who peeked out from behind the battlements to watch, but that after the other party watched for a while, one of the soldiers raised a strange-looking object in his hand, which was estimated to be some kind of weapon, put it on his shoulder, and pointed indiscriminately towards the Han army camp.

Although the soldier only made this gesture symbolically and then fell under the battlement again, the strange weapon on his shoulder and his movements made Yang Ye's heart move, remembering that at the end of March two years ago, in Shitai Village, not far from Dabao, he had seen this strange weapon in the hands of the enemy on the opposite side, and it was also a special firearm used against the shoulder-according to his eldest brother Yang Xin, this weapon was called a flintlock pistol. And the people who used that firearm were the same guards under the righteous brother.

Thinking of this, Yang Ye couldn't help but be stunned, could it be that the enemy army occupying the big fort on the opposite side had something to do with his righteous brother Yang Xin. But after thinking about it, Yang Ye felt that his idea was a bit ridiculous. Brother-in-law Yang Xinai is an ordinary member of the Liao State, although his family has little wealth, and his guards use the flintlock pistol, a strange and powerful weapon, but even if he has money and can make all kinds of strange and ingenious weapons, it is impossible for him to form a team of nearly 2,000 people, let alone enter the territory of the Han State through the many passes in the Liao State to take the initiative to provoke.

However, if it weren't for his brother-in-law Yang Xin, or his brother-in-law in the Liao State, who came with troops, then how to explain the flintlock pistol-like weapon in the hands of the enemy soldiers on the opposite side - although Yang Ye's understanding of the flintlock pistol is very limited, there is one thing he understands very well, that is, such a delicate and complex weapon as the flintlock pistol is by no means something that the craftsmen of Middle-earth can think of and manufacture, and only his own one is from overseas, A righteous brother who has far more knowledge than the people of Middle-earth, and his brothers who also come from overseas, can make it. ,

Thinking of this, Yang Ye's mind suddenly flashed with inspiration, and he thought of a secret agent sent to Zhou by the Han State - in the war of Chai Rong, the emperor of the Zhou State last year and this year, when he attacked the land of the north and south of the Tang River, a forbidden army called the "Shenji Army" had been used many times. The most striking and powerful weapons of this force are powder packs and artillery. Because of these two things, Yang Xin had also briefly introduced them to Yang Ye, because after Yang Ye got the news from the spies, he immediately guessed whether the deputy commander who led the "Shenji Army" of the Zhou State and attacked the city for Chai Rong would be his brother-in-law Yang Xin. If so, it means that this righteous brother of his has already served the court of the Zhou State, and then one day he will meet Yang Xin, who is the actual founder and commander of the "Shenji Army" of the Zhou State, on the battlefield - the Han and Zhou are enemies who will not stand on each other, and the war between the two sides will not stop until one of them is completely defeated.

There was a time when Yang Ye was very anxious that he might meet his righteous brother Yang Xinbing. The reason why this is the case, on the one hand, is that Yang Ye does not want to kill each other, and on the other hand, he is also worried about the safety of the Han State - the performance of the "Shenji Army" of the Zhou State in Huainan is there, and for the generals of the Han State, who have a deeper grudge against the Zhou State, Yang Ye will naturally think about what kind of result it will be if the Zhou State uses the "Shenji Army" when fighting the Han State. Although the news that came later—the name of the deputy commander was Xu Shao'an—overturned Yang Ye's speculation and dispelled his anxiety, so that Yang Ye did not have to worry about the problem of meeting the righteous brothers on the battlefield for the time being, his worries about the safety of the Han State were not dispelled. Because Yang Xin once said in his conversations and correspondence with him that among his sworn brothers, there was a person named Xu Shao'an. This man was the eighth of the "Qingyuan" brothers, and was a soldier when he was overseas.

With the same name, coupled with the fact that Xu Shao'an of Zhou Guo can train and command the "Divine Machine Army" using firearms so well, Yang Ye can conclude that this Xu Shao'an is Xu Shao'an. Although Yang Xin did not appear in the army of the Zhou State, there is no doubt that he and his brothers from overseas joined the Zhou State.

Fortunately, after Chai Rong occupied the land of Huainan, he neither took further offensive actions against the Tang State, nor did he turn around to attack the Han State, but ended the imperial expedition after stabilizing the form of Huainan and returned to the court. Although anyone with a discerning eye can see that Chai Rong's strike this time is only a temporary stop, so that the people can recuperate and prepare for the next war, there will be no major wars for at least a year during this period - it is precisely because of this that Yang Ye will leave Taiyuan and return to the border town of Daizhou, and refocus his attention on the Liao army, which often harasses from the south, so that he will lead a large army to fight after the occupation of Dabaoshu.

Since the weapons in the hands of the other party's soldiers were associated with the "Divine Machine Army" of the Zhou State under the command of Xu Shao'an, Yang Ye had a bold speculation at this time - the enemy army that captured Dabaoshu may be from the Zhou State, and it is likely to be the famous "Divine Machine Army". Although he still couldn't understand how such a Zhou army broke through the many passes and came to Dabaoshu, Yang Ye still did not immediately deny his speculation, but decided to conduct a tentative siege early the next morning to verify whether his speculation could be established.

After making up his mind, Yang Ye led his generals to climb down the watchtower and return to the Chinese military tent to continue the discussion, and the focus of the discussion also shifted from the unified command of the army to the question of how to fight the enemy in the fortress.

Out of the consideration that he was not absolutely sure of his own speculation, Yang Ye did not explain his views on the origin of the enemy troops in the fort to the generals, but only told everyone that since the combat effectiveness and identity of the enemy troops in the fort were not yet clear, the attack on the big fort should not be launched hastily, but should be cautious. Before the army officially launched an attack on Dabaoshu, it could first send a part of its troops to carry out one or several tentative attacks on Dabaoshu, and then formally attack the city after finding out the details of the enemy.

As the supreme commander of this army, Yang Ye's very modest proposal naturally no one would object, and the generals expressed their approval. Subsequently, Yang Ye appointed a lieutenant general from Yanmen Pass to be responsible for the tentative attack the next day. Although the deputy general of Yanmen Pass was reluctant to do this kind of tentative attack with an uncertain future, he did not dare to show anything on his lips, but pretended to be very resolute and gave orders to Yang Ye. ,

After arranging the trial attack for the next day, it was already dark. After Yang Ye and the generals had dinner together, they returned to their tents, ready to rest for the night and recuperate for the upcoming war.

Because in the past few days, they were either busy preparing for sending troops, or they were busy hurrying, for fear that the Liao army would flee back to Liao before they arrived at Dabaoshu, or go to other places to loot. In addition, after discussing the military situation and tactics with the generals for a long time in the afternoon, Rao is Yang Ye was strong and energetic, and he was also a little tired at this time. Therefore, after lying down on the marching bed, a burst of sleep came to Yang Ye.

Just when Yang Ye seemed to be asleep and a little dazed, he suddenly felt that the atmosphere in the tent didn't seem to be right, as if someone was staring at him. Although Yang Ye had not completely recovered from the confusion of being woken up by others at this time, his years of experience in the army still made him react in a series of ways. As soon as he stretched out his hand, he pulled out a waist knife from under his pillow, and then he rose from the military bed with great speed, and while his feet landed on the ground, he had roughly judged the approximate position of the man in the tent, and then swung the knife in that direction.

To Yang Ye's surprise, his knife was cut into the air. The uninvited guest in the tent was no longer in that position, but came to his side in a flash. The other party's agility made Yang Ye realize that he seemed to have encountered a strong enemy today, and it was impossible to get out by himself. Therefore, while changing the chop to slashing and sweeping with a knife, Yang Ye was ready to call out to his own soldiers outside the tent to come in and help. As a result, before Yang Ye could shout out, the agile uninvited guest spoke up first: "Brother Xian is in a hurry, it's the foolish brother who is here." ”

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