Lijun agreed that the mountain pass and the southern camp would report to each other in the morning and evening. In the middle of the day, the military report from the mountain pass has not yet arrived, and the messengers and horses sent out to contact here have all smashed the dogs like meat buns, and there is no return.

Thinking of the changes in the Red Turban Fishery and other places last night, Jin Depei became uneasy. He faintly felt that something was wrong, and when he climbed the watchtower, the rain had subsided, and the dark clouds that had pressed down on his head had no light, and the outline of the twin cities was much clearer.

From his position, you can see that surrounded by green mountains and fields, the slanting rain is densely weaved, and the city walls are like belts. There are several slender and towering protrusions in the city, which are expected to be temporary enemy towers and high platforms. Several rivers meander like a line from the edge of the city, and to the west of a large wilderness, the mountains stretch.

Three years ago, during the attack on the Twin Cities, he had crossed the mountain range with his army. There is only one mountain road suitable for marching, which is only wide enough to accommodate one car, and the deep forest beside the road is full of trees, and the day becomes dusk. The location of the mountain pass out of the mountain and into the mountain is extremely dangerous. Expand outward, into a valley in the shape of a half-cut gourd, the cliffs on both sides are precipices, dozens of zhang high, and the big trees are horizontal, covering the sky and the sun. The vines and shrubs on the ground are dense and entangled. Cheng Wei can be described as the so-called "heavenly prison" of the six dangers of the soldiers.

If you want to storm the mountain, no matter who you are, you will definitely have to pay a heavy price. Fortunately, last time and this time, they captured the mountain pass twice with the help of providence. Last time, there was Li Zichun Neiying, and the people who arranged it in the mountain pass were all their own people; This time, there was a strong wind and rain cover, and it was unprepared. But despite this, the Yamaguchi army reported heavy casualties. With a crowd of 2,000, they almost couldn't completely annihilate the 200 Red Turban defenders.

In view of this, although he superficially agreed with Qing Qianxing's judgment that the red scarf might take the mountain road to help Dingzhou, he did not believe it in his heart. He didn't think that the Red Turban could easily recapture the mountain pass, and even if he recaptured it, it would definitely break his muscles and bones and become a broken army. In this way, even if Dingzhou is supported, what is the use?

He prefers the red scarf to take the sea route.

The Red Turban's actions last night seemed to confirm his judgment, but if the Red Turban really wanted to use the port as a breakthrough, why had the defenders of the mountain pass not sent a military report until now?

A cool breeze blew the drizzle, slanting down the watchtower, staining him. Small raindrops slid down the iron armor, and his face and beard were wet, and he didn't realize it. Concentrate on guessing the enemy's mind.

The red scarf who came to attack the southern camp last night was obviously a suspicious soldier. The purpose of arranging suspicious soldiers is nothing more than two. one to cover the main action; The second makes it difficult for the other party to distinguish the truth from the false and delays time. Suppose that the intention of the Red Turban is to cover the main action, then where is its main force? Fishing ground? Mountain pass? City?

Suppose that the meaning of the red scarf is dragging out time. Dingzhou has been trapped for two days, how long is it delaying? It's the defender, it's at a disadvantage, and it should be in a hurry to fight back and get out of the way. Jin Depei shook his head, and was about to deny this hypothesis, when suddenly his heart moved.

Harassing the southern camp, sending troops to the shore, and blocking the north-south passage. Could it be ,...... The more he thought about it, the more he felt that there was such a possibility, so he hurriedly called out to his soldiers and hung down the hanging basket. Hurry up and rush to the tent.

I didn't have time to wait for the pro-soldiers to pass the word, so I broke in. There was a hot smell in his face, but because of the cold wind and rain, the ground was damp, and a brazier was placed along the edge of the tent.

"Dashuai!"

"What's the matter? Panicked. Qing Qianxing was lying on the table to study the map, and when he saw him in a hurry, he frowned, raised his eyes and asked. thought to himself, if a literati is a general, he just can't hold his breath.

Jin Depei didn't care to explain, and told his guess in a few words: "The red-headed thief behaves strangely at night, has the marshal ever thought that it is likely that the purpose of our army to stop but not surround has been reached?" Under the weight of our army, it abandoned the city and fled? He was beaming.

The reason why they built a camp twenty miles outside the city, only blocking the road and not besieging the city, on the one hand, was because of the shortage of soldiers and horses; On the other hand, I also hope that the red scarf will retreat and evacuate automatically. It is of course best to be able to defeat the twin cities without bloodshed.

This sentence came abruptly, Qing Qianxing suddenly guessed the key and asked, "The messenger sent to contact Yamaguchi has not come back yet?" ”

"Those sent by our army have not returned, and those sent by the mountain pass have not returned. Dashuai, the passage must have been cut off by the red thief! If there is no communication between the two places, it will have the opportunity to move from it. Attacking the camp last night, the general guessed that it was most likely to delay time and cover the withdrawal of the main force from the twin cities. ”

Qing Qianxing stood up, took two steps, and said: "When the head of the Red Thief Canal first came, it was easy to attack the nearby cities of Yizhou and other cities; Dare to cross the Yalu with a crowd of 10,000 people, go deep into the barren, and attack the twin cities by surprise. It is a brave and resourceful, resolute and resolute general. Although our army has the upper hand now, it is unfavorable to him, but the current situation has not driven him to death,......" Summing up his understanding of the Red Turban General, he said categorically, "This person will never easily abandon Shuangcheng, ignore Dingzhou, and retreat away." ”

What Qing Qianxing said made sense, Jin Depei put aside his judgment for the time being, and asked, "What does the big handsome think?" ”

"You're right, last night's attack on the camp, the red thief was indeed stalling for time. But the purpose is not to escape, but to fight back. Didn't the horse scout come last night to report, but if there was an army, about seven or eight hundred people, came out of the twin cities to reinforce the fishing grounds? Now the north-south passage is cut off again,......" Qing Qianxing snorted, and Zhao Jin Depei looked at the map closely, "Look." The red thieves want to fight back and aid Dingzhou, and there are only two ways to go, the mountain pass and the shore. Reinforcing the fishing grounds and cutting off the mountain pass will inevitably be one virtual and one real. ”

"Where is the void? Where is it true? ”

Qing Qianxing groaned and said: "All the way to the fishing ground, clear is true; Cut off the mountain pass pass, it looks like nothing. Ben Shuai thinks that the red thief is using it in the opposite way, and the real direction of attack should be in the mountain pass where it is bright and dark. ”

Kim Depei disagreed: "Yamaguchi is dangerously ,......"

Qing Qianxing laughed, "Everyone thinks that the mountain pass is dangerous, and everyone thinks that the shore is easy to walk." You say, if you change it, which one do you choose? He was not hypothetical, but factual, and added, "On the face of it, it seems that the red thief wants to go by sea. It divides the brigade into small units, not sending them out all at once, but reinforcing them little by little, seemingly for the sake of secrecy. If it's secret, why don't you avoid me from probing my ears and eyes? The reinforcements we learned about last night may be true, but the first few times we found out are definitely not true. ”

He sneered contemptuously and said, "The thief leader is also scheming. Attack our southern camp, reinforce the fishing grounds, and take two suspicious soldiers to cooperate with the mountain pass. "Estimating the arrival time of the red scarves who came to attack last night, he concluded, "The main force of the red thieves in the two cities must have left the city last night and attacked the mountain pass." The time to go out of the city was about the same as the suspicious soldiers who came to attack our battalion, when they were in Xu. ”

His analysis is reasonable and well-founded, and there is no way to refute Jin Depei's objections. He said: "The mountain pass is steep, and the handsome man knows it. Although the strength of the state and county armies is weak, it is more than enough to be guarded by 2,000 people. No matter how bold the red thief is,......" he couldn't refute directly, so he put it another way, saying, "That's the Heavenly Prison Jedi." ”

Qing Qianxing didn't argue with him. The red scarf went out of the city, for him, it was like a big pie falling from the sky, and the navigation water met the east wind. Last night, the idea of the twin cities came back to the fore. He was slightly excited, five thousand people, attacking an empty city, no problem.

But don't rush. He is sure of his own judgment, but if he wants to go to the army, he can't get around Jin Depei, and there is no definite intelligence as the basis, so it is difficult to convince.

He walked around the table, walked a few steps inside the tent, and called his own soldiers: "Send the messenger and the horse quickly, and go to the mountain pass and the fishing ground." Whether there is a war in the mountain pass, and how many red thieves there are in the fishing ground, must be found clearly. "Adding," if the mountain pass can't be approached, go around the twin cities and explore the number of military horses in the city. ”

The military horses of the twin cities, together with the Goryeo battalion, are in their early 2,000s.

Deng She is not short of people. When he attacked Shuangcheng, wasn't there only more than 3,000 people in Shuangchengli's army? I kept it the same for a day and a night. Although now he used fewer men and horses to defend the city, and mixed with the Goryeo battalion; But the number of the enemy troops in the south was not as great as he was in that day, only half. With two additions and subtractions, he is confident that he can be guaranteed to be fine for at least three or four days.

Three or four days, that's enough.

Wen Huaguo sent a messenger in the morning, and he was still attacking the mountain pass. The combat effectiveness of the Li army is not strong, and the terrain is too dangerous. It was too difficult to attack head-on, so Luo Guoqi offered a strategy, selected the army to jump, detoured a little way, turned to the back of the mountain pass, and made noise to attack, trying to see if it was useful.

In Deng She's plan, conquering the mountain pass and holding the twin cities are the two most critical points. If there is a mistake in these two points, everything will be closed.

To say that he is not anxious, that is impossible. One morning, I went out of the shed a few times. A few battalions of craftsmen were dispatched to make a simple catapult for defending the city, and they were ordered to be sent to the mountain pass to help Wenhua State offensive.

Zuo Che'er attacked the camp last night and went into battle in person, and he was very tired. He came back and rested for two hours, regained his energy, and followed Dunsher's side. Seeing that he was worried, he comforted: "The general doesn't need to worry, the villain attacked the camp last night, and the Li army's combat strength is ordinary." Bai had a ballista and a stone cannon, and he didn't dare to go out of the camp. sent out a hundred and ten cavalry, but they only dared to go around in the distance, counterattacking with bows and arrows, and did not have the courage to rush into battle and die. Compared with Zhang Jujing and Shijiabao's Tartar soldiers, the difference is too far. If it weren't for the general's strict orders, the villain would really want to attack in a real way, and he didn't dare to say that he would break the camp, and it would be no problem to kill him with a turtle and shrink his head. ”

Deng She asked him about the attack on the camp last night, the reaction of the enemy generals, the enemy's weapons, and the combat strength and morale of the enemy soldiers. smiled and said: "I heard Luo Tongzhi say that there were many shortages in the northwest of Goryeo, and the king of Goryeo stole Shuangcheng, afraid that the Tartars would come to him to settle accounts, and forcibly recruited Jeju people and untouchables from all provinces to replenish them. Its heart is different, and it is normal that its combat power is not high. ”

"The general is worried that the Li army will see through the truth and come to fight the twin cities?"

Zuo Che'er knows the roots, and the confidant does not have to hide it; Deng She really wanted to find someone to talk to and relieve the pressure, but when the words came to his lips, he swallowed again. If the king is not secret, he will lose his ministers; If the minister is not secret, he will lose his life; If the matter is not secret, it will be harmed. The level of the left car is not enough to know the opportunity.

He avoided the important and said lightly: "If the mountain pass is not lost, the Li army will not come to attack." ”

"Then the general is worried that the Lijun army will come to the aid of Yamaguchi?"

Before Zuo Che'er was promoted to the captain of the pro-soldiers, the highest position he held was the commander of the ten, and his strategic vision was not very good. Deng She was not impatient, and patiently explained: "With my twin cities here, the Li army will not rush to rescue the mountain pass. The one laid out by the Li army is a long snake formation, and as soon as our army comes out of the mountain pass, one is in the fishing ground, plus the twin cities, the three points are connected into a line, and it is also a long snake formation.

"The advantage of the Li army is that it has the danger of the terrain; The first strike is the strongest, and the initiative on the battlefield is in hand. The advantage of our army lies in the barrier of the twin cities, which is blocked between the mountain pass and the southern camp. If he came to attack Shuangcheng, General Wen could garrison one part of the mountain pass, and the rest galloped back, forcing him to fight in the field.

"If he goes to attack the mountain pass, he will score troops and horses to defend my twin cities to rescue, the twin cities are not as good as the mountain passes, if you want to completely defend them, you need too many military horses, and he is not strong enough to do it; He can also ignore my twin cities and try his best to rescue the mountain pass, then I can attack him from behind, no matter which option, just like they come to attack the twin cities, they can force him to fight in the field.

"Once in the field, although they are slightly more numerous, but the army is not even, the combat strength is weak, the cavalry is few, the other is short, and the length of the attack is long, they will not be so stupid."

"So, where are Lijun's strengths?" Zuo Che'er was grateful to Deng San for saving his life, he knew that he was insufficient, and he often hated that he couldn't share his worries for Deng She. Now it is no better than in the past, and he can also see that as long as the development is good, sooner or later, he will become a general with a single army, just like Wen, Chen and others; Therefore, I usually take the opportunity to follow Deng She's side, and whenever I don't understand, I immediately ask questions to enrich and improve myself.

Although Deng She was much younger than him, he was convinced of the skills and abilities he showed in several battles.

"The strength of the Li army is that one is familiar with geography, and it is a local battle, and it is convenient to raise and transport military salaries, grain and grass, and soldiers can replenish reinforcements at any time; second, stone cannons, bows and crossbows, and siege equipment; The three Nanying, Dingzhou, and Shankou are connected into a line, and the two are horns for each other, and there are many people. ”

The first point is that there is no way to change it; The second point is that we can find ways to change, such as forcing it to fight in the field; And the most important and most important point that needs to be paid attention to is the third point. Chess is born from the broken, and only by cutting off the echo of the Lijun can the twin cities have a way to live.

He stood on the tower of the city for a while, and saw from afar more than a dozen cavalry troops trying to pass through from the west, and the cavalry of Lu Qian's twelve divisions galloped to meet them. A few arrows were fired at each other, the Red Turban cavalry was unharmed, the Koreans fell from their horses one after another, and the rest retreated in a hurry.

Because there are no trees and houses, Deng She can see clearly. The combat effectiveness of the Lijun army is indeed not good. This relieved him a little.

It was almost noon, and the Zhuang Ding organized by Wu Henian and Luo Lilang pulled carts of tiles, bricks, pot covers, and door panels along the horse road. Deng She gathered hundreds of households from all armies, encouraged and encouraged, and ordered tiles and stones to be evenly distributed according to the battlements. Make a pile of tiles, a pile of masonry, and set aside to defend the city. There are not enough shields in the city, and if they do not have them, replace them with pot lids, door panels, etc.

There was wind and rain, and the torch candle could not be lit. Some lanterns were made and distributed to light up at night.

Wu Henian was ordered to pry a few rockeries and boulders from the governor's mansion and Li Chenggui's mansion and other large households. Half were sent to the city walls; Half of it is placed at the foot of the city, and in case the gate cannot be guarded, it can be piled up behind it as an obstacle. Several other city gates were piled up after the Wenhua Ministry of State left the city.

When Dunshe attacked the twin cities, there were also huge rocks behind the city gates. But he was unconscious at that point, I don't know. Later, when I heard Chen Hu report on entering the city, he said that it took a lot of effort to do this.

Busy until twilight came. Zhao Guo sent a messenger to report to the fishing ground: "Two hours ago, the southern camp of the Li army dispatched a thousand troops and horses to ambush the army on the seashore and attack our fishing ground. In accordance with the general's orders, the villain resisted a little, immediately withdrew, and pretended to flee. The five hundred Goryeo old and weak brought by Huang Deputy Wanhu pretended not to be restrained and let them scatter. ”

"Where is General Zhao now? Has the department been closed? Did the Lijun pursue? ”

"General Zhao feigned defeat and retreated more than 30 miles eastward, and when the villain came, most of the soldiers had already gathered and scattered into the forest to hide. The Li army chased after it, but because our army had already prepared, it was too late to return. ”

"Very good." So far, the game is considered a mid-game. On the optimistic side, it barely equalized the disadvantage at the beginning. Deng She gently touched the saber on his waist, would the Goryeo people move according to his thoughts? The weight on his shoulders quietly transformed, and he had expectations and worries in his heart.

"Don't enter the forest, don't panic when you encounter trouble". silently recited two sentences of Deng San's teachings. He turned around and said to the left car: "Tonight, I have to work hard for you." Give you three hundred men and horses, and attack the camp three times. This time, there is no need to fight. When the Lijun army leaves the camp, you retreat; He retreats, you advance, beat gongs and drums, harass him so that he can't rest, you are a great achievement. ”

The decision to hit the red scarf in the fishing ground was made by Jin Depei after being rewarded by the ranger, in order to avoid future troubles, and asked Qing Qianxing to make it. Without the cover of the night, there is a lack of shelter near the fishing ground, the red scarf is difficult to hide, and the truth is seen through by the beauty. According to Qing Qianxing's original intention, hundreds of people were too lazy to pay attention. After thinking about it, it is better to defeat and drive away, and the future of the province will get in the way. The boat had already been burned once, and if the fishermen were afraid that they would have hidden boats, they ordered that they should collect the fishing grounds and fishing village boats again, and all of them must be burned. If you do it, you should do it thoroughly.

He sat in the handsome tent, listened to Jin Depei's lecture on the results of the battle, and said slowly: "This marshal has a great merit to give to the general." I don't know, is the general willing to take it? ”

Jin Depei was stunned: "Great merit? ”

"Isn't it said that the old and weak rescued by the fishing ground, the red thieves of the twin cities all went out and went to the mountain pass, at this time there was an empty city, and there were less than two thousand guards? You and I will raise a large army and attack it, and within a day, we will be able to accomplish great things. ”

"This, this ,......" Jin Depei was taken aback and said, "Dashuai, my king's will, you and I are responsible for cooperating with Li Shuai." First settle the state, and then conquer the twin cities. ”

Qing Qianxing slapped the table: "Make a decision first?" Today's military newspaper in Dingzhou, you haven't read it! Last night, he should not have attacked, but he was almost attacked by red thieves. In the morning, the city was attacked, and two more soldiers were broken. Counting on him? Triumph is far away! He slowed his voice, "The general will be outside, and the king's order will not be affected." How long can the DPRK and China's finances be stretched? You know better than Ben Shuai, you say! ”

That's a good point. The southern side is severely plagued; It is indeed not possible under the city of Jiudun.

Qing Qianxing carefully analyzed: "There are only five or six thousand people in the red scarves in Shuangcheng, and it is impossible to attack the mountain pass and aid Dingzhou without four or five thousand people." In this way, he stayed in the city, and there were more than a thousand people. It is exactly the same as the number of people rescued from the fishery. Our army is full of weapons, and it is attacking and fighting fiercely, so why worry that the city will not be broken? After a pause, he said, "Exploring the horse and reporting it, I saw from a distance that the Shuangcheng City Tower and other places were broken, and the red thief did not have time to repair it." Wouldn't our odds of winning be one more percent? After going down to the twin cities, he captured the head of the thief; Dingzhou is lonely, there is no strong help outside, no strong help inside, it is a dead city. It's easy to break it again. ”

"What the big marshal said is very true, but how could the red thief not think of this?"

Qing Qianxing said contemptuously: "The red thief saw that my Nanying army and horses were not as good as when he attacked Shuangcheng at that time, so he sent it to chance; But I didn't expect that the situation was different at that time and at this time. He is a guest army, and I am a landlord. As soon as the king arrived, the beauties in the city treated each other with their feet. He is unstable inside, how can he keep it? ”

In the morning, Qing Qianxing's assertion on the main direction of the red scarf was confirmed. Jin Depei hesitated, perhaps, this time, his judgment will also be confirmed? After all, he was not at ease, and asked: "The big marshal guarantees that the main force of the red thief goes to the mountain pass?" What if he lurks outside the city, pretends to be empty, and lures me to attack it, so that I may be forced to fight in the field? ”

Around the Twin Cities, there were vast expanses of wilderness, a few small hills, and no place to hide thousands of soldiers and horses. Qing Qianxing smiled and said, "The Red Thief Hides the Army, and there is only one place outside the city. Pointing his finger on the map, Jin Depei pronounced the name of the place: "Mountain Pass!" ”

"Not bad. The 2,000 prefecture and county troops are far less than the elite of our department, and the commander forgives him for not being able to stop the red thief from striking a blow. A rabble of untouchables, it is not a pity to die. Qing Qianxing laughed cruelly, "There is only one point, but after the red thieves break through the mountain pass, they pretend to aid Dingzhou and make a posture to climb the mountain, but in fact, they have never gone far." As soon as I attacked the city, he turned back his rifle and flanked the two sides. ”

Jin Depei broke out in a cold sweat: "How to deal with it?" ”

"After it enters the mountain pass, our army will send military horses to investigate, and the mountain pass is in the hands of the red thief, and I will retreat. Yamaguchi is not in the hands of the red thief, I occupy it. Ben Shuai didn't believe it, the red thief had the ability to capture the mountain pass twice in a row. Then, you can attack the city in a big way. ”

Qing Qianxing's plan was exhaustive, and Jin Depei made up his mind and asked, "When will the city be attacked?" ”

——

1. All the ways.

The highest local administrative unit in Goryeo. At first, it was divided into ten realms, and later it was divided into five realms and two realms. The five provinces are civil affairs institutions and are divided into: Gyeongsang-do, Jeolla-do, Yanggwang-do, Sehae-do, and Jiaoju do; The second boundary is a military and political institution, which is divided into: the northern boundary and the eastern boundary.

The Twin Cities are on the eastern boundary.

In addition, the prefectures and counties under the direct jurisdiction of Wang Jing were divided into Gyeonggi (called Gi within 500 li of the capital, and this title came from the Tang Dynasty).

There are also three capitals: Wangjing Kaesong (also known as Songdu, Songjing, and Kaegyo, which is the birthplace of Goryeo Taejo), Xijing Pyongyang (also known as the Western Capital, the former capital of Goguryeo, the birthplace of Goryeo Taejo), and Nanjing Hanyang (now Seoul, in 1010, the Khitan invaded Goryeo, and Goryeo Hyeonjong fled to Hanyang and was promoted to Nanjing).

At first, a Tokyo Gyeongju (also known as the Eastern Capital; Formerly known as Jinju, the former capital of Silla), before the establishment of Nanjing, it was the capital of the east and west with Pyongyang; After the establishment of Nanjing, Xijing was added, known as "Little Sanjing". In 1012, the Kyoto number was abolished.

This system of accompanying the capital was modeled after China. The so-called "small" may be compared with Wang Jing.

2, Jeju.

Jeju Island, south of Goryeo, belongs to Jeolla Province.