Xiao Zhonggong scolded after listening to Yan Liang's explanation, where is the demeanor of the prime minister of a country, he is completely like a shrew on the street. He originally thought that Zhao Er was still released by himself at the moment when the war between the two countries was urgent, and there was the ancient style of not killing the envoys in front of the two armies, and he was considered a benevolent and righteous king, but he didn't expect that he was a wolf in sheep's clothing, and in the blink of an eye, he sent himself into this besieged Jedi.

"My lord, don't scold anymore, then Zhao Er is a hypocrite, let's think about how to solve the siege?" Xiao Yu saw that he was tired of scolding, so he ordered someone to send tea and persuasion.

"The northern invasion of the Southern Dynasty seems to be inevitable, yesterday on the way back I saw Zhao Er's camp stationed ten miles outside the city, I think it is to personally supervise the battle and attack Jinzhou, you can have a countermeasure." Xiao Zhonggong said with a frown.

"My lord, don't worry, there are 200,000 soldiers and civilians in Jinzhou City, and there are 60,000 tigers and wolves. Wan Yanliang said with a smile.

"The 200,000 soldiers and civilians consume a lot of grain and grass every day, and now that foreign aid is cut off, how long can the grain storage in the city last?" Xiao Zhonggong was not optimistic about this, he saw in Yingzhou that the grain trucks were constantly coming and going, and the heavy grain and grass on the wharf were piled up like mountains, and the masts were like clouds, and this was only hidden in one place, and if he wanted to delay by defending the city, he was afraid that he would starve to death first.

"Your Excellency, rest assured, there are millions of stones of grain and grass in the city, which is enough for the soldiers and civilians in the city to hold out until winter." Wan Yan Bingde replied with a smile.

"That's very good." Xiao Zhonggong nodded, but he was suspicious in his heart, Jinzhou had stored so much grain and grass, which obviously exceeded its combat readiness needs. Could it be that he still has any ideas, he couldn't help but squint at Wan Yan Liang.

"Hehe, millions of stones are just to stabilize the hearts of the army, in fact, there are only two months of needs in the city, this is still scattered and drunk to the Song, taking away tens of thousands of horses, otherwise it is only enough for a month." Xiao Yu was so shrewd, he immediately saw that Xiao Zhonggong was already suspicious, and hurriedly covered it up.

"What the Metropolitan Prison said is good, and now it is not much time. The siege of Jinzhou was lifted. The adults can go back to Beijing. Wan Yan Liang glared at Wan Yan Bingde, a mouthy donkey, and said with a smile, he knew that Xiao Zhonggong was the prime minister of a country, how could he not understand the domestic situation, there was so much grain and grass in Zuo Shuai's mansion. Can't help but let him be careful.

"Oh. Zuo Shuai said that the Song army would soon withdraw from the siege. What about that? Xiao Zhonggong was really attracted by the topic and no longer delved into the matter of grain and grass.

After Yan Liang, he thought about the emperor and the brotherhood was deep, and he would never see death or save him, and the Jin Shui Army had already blocked the Song army attacking Liaoyang in Heye. It will be annihilated in a few days, and the Song army, which has been heavily defeated, has to retreat, and he can use the help of reinforcements to join forces with the outside to break the Song army's chariot and reel again, and of course he can't forget to express his loyalty to the emperor. After listening to this, Xiao Zhonggong's face really eased slightly, and his mood was much better.

"Supervising the army, Lord Zuo Xiang is tired of saddle horses all the way, and the commander still has some military affairs to deal with, so I bother you to send him to the back house to rest." Wan Yan Liang saw Xiao Yu's vigorous looks, knowing that he had something to say to himself, so he found a reason to separate the two.

After sending the two away, Wan Yanliang and Xiao Yu and a few cronies returned to the hall and ordered their soldiers to strictly guard the gate and not let people enter and exit casually. In fact, everyone here understands that Zuo Shuaifu originally only had 30,000 soldiers, and the rest were all tribal troops temporarily requisitioned. Although Ding Zhuang was re-recruited in large numbers, most of them were old and weak, and less than half of the soldiers were able to fight, and these people lacked training, so that they were frightened by the artillery fire of the Song army in the first battle, and had to forcibly lock them outside the city and force them to die. As for the reinforcements, they have been grinding on the road for more than ten days, and they should have climbed there, so they don't have much hope, and the key depends on their own.

"Marshal, the Song army showed thunderous means in the first battle today, and tomorrow it will definitely transfer troops to attack the city, how should we deal with it?" Seeing that there were no outsiders, Xiao Yucai got to the point, with a hint of worry in his words, the strength that Song Jun showed today was too strong, so he couldn't help but tremble.

"The Song army is besieging the city on all sides, and its strength is not inferior to ours, but now it is impossible to judge which side they will attack?" Wan Yan nodded and said.

"Marshal, the last general thinks that the Song army's attack on Dongcheng is a suspicious army, and Zhao Er is accustomed to attacking the east and the west, so the last general will judge that tomorrow's Song army's attack on Dongcheng must be a feint, and Xicheng is most likely their main direction of attack." Shu Lie said that he was one of the three commanders of the Zuo Shuai Mansion.

"The last general thought that the Song army would attack Dongcheng tomorrow, and the outer ditches and barracks here had all been destroyed by artillery fire, and the other gates still existed, so the Song army would not be willing to seek difficulties. Moreover, the artillery used by the Song army to attack the city today is different from that of other days, and the power has been fought a lot. Another captain said, Shan Zhen.

"Oh, what's the difference?" Wan Yanliang asked in some surprise, Tu Danzhen is still Wan Yanliang's brother-in-law, and the relationship between the two is naturally closer.

"Dashuai, according to the soldiers who escaped from Congcheng, the iron bullets fired by the Song army were as big as rice bowls, and all the people in the giant trees around them were broken, and the 'thunderbolt fire' cast exploded on the ground, and there was no survivor within a radius of five zhang. This kind of artillery, which was unheard of in the past, is now used to attack the eastern city, apparently to focus on it. Tu Danzhen said.

"It stands to reason that artillery that can fire such a huge projectile must be huge and bulky, difficult to move, and it will be twice the result with half the effort to attack the city." Wan Yan nodded.

"Marshal, the last general just patrolled the city and found that the Song military camp outside the east city was brightly lit, and was transporting siege vehicles and bridge vehicles to the front of the battle, and a large amount of firewood and grass were piled up, all of which were used in the siege, and only the west city had soldiers and horses mobilized on the other three sides, which seemed to be moving eastward." A one-eyed general reported that his name was Han Chang, whose father was Han Qinghe, the commander of the Han army of the Jin State, and he had surrendered to the Song Dynasty during the Battle of Yanjing, while he remained in the Jin State. Later, Wan Yan Liang and the three of them pursued the Song army in Liaoyang, he was in the army at the time, desperate and bloody, the bullet in the left eye was bleeding and still wounded, saved Wan Yan Liang, and won his trust, and was promoted to the commander of ten thousand after arriving in Jinzhou, managing the Han army.

"Well, it seems that the Song army is going to feint to attack the west city, the main force is arranged in the east city, and the east city will be stormed tomorrow." Wan Yan Liang listened to the analysis of the two and said, "Han Chang, you led the Han army to quietly move to Xicheng tonight. Another 10,000 Ding Zhuang will be assigned to you, and the flag will be planted at the head of the city as a heavy defense; Tu Danzhen and Shulie changed your defense overnight to prepare for the battle in the eastern city, and prepared thunderbolts, rolling wood, stones, and fire oil, and when the enemy attacked the city, they suddenly killed and inflicted heavy losses on them. Allocate 10,000 to your two divisions, and prepare more earthen bags, wooden fences, and knife carts to block the destroyed city walls. ”

"The last general obeyed the order and immediately transferred the army to change the defense." The three of them saluted in unison.

"The Song army's artillery fire is sharp, you must pay attention to precautions, you can put heavy troops under the city wall, and then go to the city to defend when the Song army's artillery fire stops preparing to attack the city." After Yan Liang told them again, he let them leave. Xiao Yu was left alone to speak......

By this time, the drum had already been beaten three times. It was late at night, and the city had fallen silent after a slaughter, except for the sonorous sound of the footsteps of soldiers patrolling outside the hall and the clashing of weapons and armor. At this time, Wan Yanliang had lost the composure of commanding and laughing just now, but faced with anxiety and heavy thoughts.

"Metropolitan Prison. Do you think we can hold Jinzhou City? Wan Yanliang asked with a frown.

"Great. I thought that if the Song army was besieged for a long time, it would be difficult to hold it. Ten days and a half should be no problem. Xiao Yu thought for a while and said.

"In the past, I thought that with a deep city and plenty of grain and grass, even if Shangjing was breached. We can hold on too. But today, the artillery fire of the Song army was too powerful, and the fortified Guocheng was razed to the ground in less than half a day, and the two thousand elites were lost, which made me suddenly feel that the previous plan was too naïve. Wan Yanliang said leisurely, today's fierce artillery fire of the Song army also left a huge shock on him, and his confidence was greatly damaged.

"Don't be discouraged, as long as we can hold the city for a few days, the situation will definitely change, stay in the green mountains without worrying about no firewood, as long as we hold the fundamentals, there are still opportunities." Xiao Yu couldn't see a trace of panic on his face, and said with a smile.

"What do you think has changed?" Wan Yanliang asked in surprise, he was desperate when he was under siege at this time, and Xiao Yu's words made him grab a life-saving straw.

"The current shape shì seems sinister, but there is an opportunity in it. The Song army attacking Liaoyang was blocked, or even annihilated, but we could get a steady stream of reinforcements, and the Song army would inevitably retreat after suffering such a large loss. As far as I can i've thought, Zhao Er has already learned that his waterway troops have suffered heavy losses, otherwise how could he suddenly attack the city. Xiao Yu said.

"Metropolitan Supervisor, what is the relationship between the siege and the defeat of the army, and it is the best policy to retreat the troops as much as possible!" Wan Yanliang was a little confused, and couldn't figure out the key.

"Zhao Er is a treacherous person who has not been born for a thousand years, and even if he is defeated, he will not return empty-handed. He attacked Jinzhou just to lay the foundation for the future peace talks, and wanted to demarcate the boundary with this, otherwise how could he let Xiao Zhonggong come back lightly, which shows that he wants to leave a way back for the future, so as long as we keep the city, the outcome is not yet known. Xiao Yu smiled slightly mysteriously.

"Are you saying that Zhao Er's attack on Jinzhou City is just to make another profit before defeat, and letting Xiao Zhonggong come back is also to continue the peace talks, this is to show favor to him again, then Zuo Xiang just scolded Zhao Er in the hall and wronged Zhao Er." Wan Yanliang said, thinking of Xiao Zhonggong's angry appearance after learning that the city was besieged just now, he couldn't help but laugh dumbly.

"Hehe, there is news in Beijing that the Taishi is already terminally ill, and the days of ineffectiveness of the medical stone are numbered, but now the war is urgent and has to reluctantly preside over the overall situation, once he dies, the emperor has no one to rely on, and it will not take much time to provoke the anger of the government and the opposition, and the marshal will take the opportunity to raise the righteous army, the national line, and the big thing can be accomplished!" Xiao Yu said with a smile, as if the person sitting in front of him at this moment was already the Son of Heaven.

"What do you think of this person in the prison army?" Wan Yan Liang was also touched by it, and his feelings improved greatly, and he asked in his ear.

"Although the prison army is a person of the same path as us, he has no intention of supporting the commander, so this person can be used, but not too secret." Xiao Yu pondered for a moment and said.

"How is this person from Zuo, he also has the idea of usurping power, can he be used by us?" Wan Yanliang's face flashed with murderous intent, and he asked again.

"He is in the temple, and he is the head of a hundred officials, if he can be used by us, he will add a big help, and I will talk to him later." Xiao Yu nodded......

…………

While the city was still plotting to usurp the throne, the Song army was also busy, and the officers and soldiers of the 5th Artillery Brigade entered the position with the help of the 1st Baggage Brigade. In order to ensure that a breakthrough could be opened for the besieging troops at the first time, Zhao Xiao decided to let the artillery shoot at close range. However, due to the destruction of all the roads before the Jin army withdrew into the city, and heavy rain has fallen in recent days, and the ground is full of mud, but the sound of horses' hooves is easy to expose the target, and they can only drag thousands of pounds of heavy artillery into the position with manpower. They crossed more than a dozen trenches in front of the battle before they could send the cannon to within 500 paces of the city.

In order to disguise the actions of the artillerymen, the cavalry feigned maneuvers and galloped back and forth two arrows in front of the enemy's city to attract their attention. The infantry then set up a position three hundred paces in front of the enemy's trench at night, covering the artillery behind them from enemy attacks, and also serving as an assault position for their siege. The baggage brigade was busy repairing roads, transporting ammunition and siege equipment, and arranging sapper demolition teams to carry out secondary destruction of the remaining fortifications after the shelling and open up roads. The Tiger Wing Army in the east of the city was preparing for the siege with great fanfare. Confuse the enemy into believing that this is the main direction of attack.

According to the adjusted siege plan. The Song army strengthened the artillery battalions directly under the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th Artillery Battalions of the 5th Artillery Brigade and the artillery directly under the armies of the Tiger Wing Army, the Leopard General, and the Wolf General to Xicheng, and there will be more than 400 large and small artillery pieces to provide fire support for the siege troops, and there will be an artillery piece almost one step outside the city wall that is only more than a mile long. Such a high artillery density was unprecedented in the history of the Song army's land warfare. Even Zhao Xiao was the first time to command so many artillery units in actual combat.

When the night goes out. When the sun rose, the wolf generals, when they began to advance into the position, specially arranged for them to pass through the artillery position. In order to allow the infantry to watch the majestic lineup of artillery and increase their confidence in victory. Then the artillery battalion under the wolf general and the first battalion of the 5th artillery brigade began to test fire, and in order to prevent the exposure of positions and attempts, the rest of the battalions remained silent. One of the cannons knocked the flag of the Jin army on the tower to the ground, frightening the enemy to shrink behind the wall and not daring to show his head again.

When the morning fog dissipated, the direction of Dongcheng started first, and then Xicheng also received an order to shoot, and the soldiers quickly withdrew their camouflage, adjusted Zhuyuan, and loaded and fired. More than 500 artillery pieces roared in unison from the east and west directions, and Jinzhou City was suddenly shrouded in gunsmoke.

In the direction of the main attack in the west of the city, the artillery must first clear the obstacles arranged by the Jin army in front of the city. The trench dug by Wan Yanliang with tens of thousands of people collapsed section by section under the fierce bombardment of artillery fire, and the soil that was lifted up was gradually filled in. The corners and bars that had been used to hold back the cavalry's onslaught turned into a pile of debris and rotten wood, burning in the heat of the explosion. The breastwork wall used to block artillery fire was much thicker than the wall wall, and if it was hit by heavy artillery, it would fall several feet.

The most pitiful were the Jin soldiers behind the trenches, who scattered and fled under artillery fire, and some jumped into the trenches to take refuge, only to be buried alive in them; If a cat is not careful behind the breastwork, it will be crushed to death by the collapsing wall; The flowering shells fired by the mortars were even more terrifying, and after the explosion, only a huge pit and the surrounding mutilated corpses and howling wounded were left behind, and no one was spared. But the city gate has been closed, it is impossible to return to the city, stay here just to wait for death, the survivors have poured into the city of sheep and horses under the city, but when a cannonball destroyed the drawbridge, their last retreat was also cut off.

In just one hour, under the bombardment of artillery fire, the outer fortifications and defenders under the city of Jinzhou were swept away. The Jin army was unable to fire a single arrow and launch a counterattack, and thousands of people became the first martyrs of Jinzhou City. The Jin army at the head of the city had wanted to use trebuchets to suppress the Song army's artillery, but as soon as they ventured to shoot a stone projectile, they were discovered by artillery observers and immediately reported to the command post.

After destroying the enemy's outer defensive line, the artillery fire of the 1st and 2nd battalions of the 5th Artillery Brigade was transferred to the enemy's city wall, while the mortar of the 4th and 5th battalions raised the muzzle of the cannon and threw flower shells into the city, killing and injuring the enemy troops in the city. In order to increase their lethality, they began to move their positions forward, while the officers and men of the baggage brigade stepped forward to clear the passages, transport siege equipment, and prepare to build pontoon bridges.

'Boom, boom' At this moment, the chorus of ten thousand cannons has become a solo song of heavy artillery. Attacking the fortified city was the specialty of Qiao Shijun, the commander of the 5th Artillery Brigade, who used his experience in the expedition to Persia to bombard the castle, and concentrated the breech guns to fire solid shells to bombard the base of the city wall. Under the impact of projectiles weighing 30 catties, the bricks outside the city wall rained down, and the rammed earth layer that could not be shot by knives and arrows was dug out of a row of bullet holes as deep as a zhang.

Then, only a few flowering bullets are needed to enter the bullet hole, and under the concussion of the explosion and the gravity of the wall itself, the city wall that has lost its foundation will collapse along with the surrounding walls, forming a slow slope. The rest is simple, as long as you keep firing with solid bullets, the wall will fall into the inner side of the wall, forming a gap. The falling wall became a road leading to the city.

With a loud bang, the west city wall of Jinzhou finally couldn't support it under the continuous bombardment of heavy artillery, and after trembling a few times, it suddenly fell, forming a gap more than ten zhang wide. After the transfer of positions, several artillery battalions opened fire again, suppressing the enemy troops in Shangcheng and striking Ding Zhuang, who was trying to plug the gap. The wolf that had been gathering momentum for a long time jumped the officers and men of the 1st Brigade from the position, and took advantage of the smoke and dust that had not dispersed as a cover to launch an attack. The heavy artillery, on the other hand, took advantage of its long range and extended its fire into the city, opening the way for the attacking infantry troops...... (To be continued......)