For the people of Guanzhong, the days before the autumn harvest are basically spent in anticipation, longing, and a trace of yearning for a better future.

But for the Guanzhong soldiers stationed in Yongcheng, these few days have been extremely long······

"Your Highness!"

At noon on the third day of the outbreak of the Yongcheng Defense War, sitting on the corner tower of the inner city wall of Yongcheng, Liu Yingzheng watched the Huainan rebels retreat like a tide, but the arrival of Quzhou Hou Lishang was ushered in behind him again.

"Your Highness."

"Yuanyuan Taiwan News: More than 40,000 Qi soldiers in Hongxian led by the Marquis of Pingyang have arrived thirty miles east of the rebel camp three minutes ago!"

Hearing Li Shang's words, Liu Ying didn't look back, locked his deep gaze on the rebel array outside Yongcheng, frowned and let out a short sigh.

Although he had anticipated the situation that Yongcheng was about to face, the strength of the offensive launched by the rebels under Yingbu against Yongcheng was still somewhat beyond Liu Ying's expectations.

It has only been three days since the battle broke out, and if the first day was only fought from noon to dusk, and today it was only noon, and the battle broke out only two days ago.

In later generations, especially in modern warfare, two days may be enough time for many variables to occur.

But in the current era, especially the cavalry did not shine in the Central Plains of China, and the war was still based on chariots, supplemented by infantry in the early days of the ancient Chinese cold weapon era, a medium-sized battle with a total number of nearly 200,000 people on both sides of the enemy and us, two days, basically no different from the later generations often talk about 'two minutes, just two minutes. ’

A few very simple examples are enough to prove this conclusion.

——Famous battles left in history: Qin and Zhao Changping fought the first battle, from Qin to Shangdang County, South Korea, forcing Korea to cede Shangdang to Zhao, resulting in a confrontation between Qin and Zhao, and it took three years before and after Qin defeated Zhao!

Even if it is a single battle of Changping, it took five months from the official outbreak, to the replacement of Lian Po by Zhao Guo with Zhao Kuo, and then to the complete defeat of Zhao State.

Even after Ma Fujun was besieged by the pro-army, the army of Zhao State, which completely lost its grain and logistical supplies, lasted for forty-six days.

As for the time it took for Qin to destroy the Six Kingdoms, although in most people's influence, it was basically cutting melons and vegetables and pushing all the way, but in fact, it took 17 years from Yingzheng to crown the pro-government, integrate the Qin State, and then Qin swept away the Six Kingdoms and unified the world.

Judging from these data, as well as the marching speed of today's 'more than 10,000 soldiers and no more than 80 miles a day', two days is nothing for a medium-scale battle.

But what made Liu Ying feel heavy was that in the two days when 'nothing was counted', the Han soldiers stationed in Yongcheng had suffered more than 3,000 casualties!

The bows and arrows, boulders and other defending equipment in the city also consumed nearly 20% in just two days!

And such a casualty price, as well as the speed of wear and tear of the equipment defending the city, is undoubtedly unacceptable to Liu Ying no matter what.

In Liu Ying's mind, she still remembers a sentence.

-- In the era of cold weapons, if an armed force suffers more than 10 percent casualties, the morale of the army will be shaken, if it exceeds 20 percent, the morale of the army will be weakened, and if it exceeds 30 percent, it will basically be on the verge of collapse.

And now, in just two days, half of the 60,000 Yu Guan strokes under Liu Ying's command have been killed or wounded!

In addition, the consumption rate of the city's defense equipment was also greatly beyond Liu Ying's expectations.

If in the next few days, the city-defending equipment in Yongcheng will continue to wear out at this rate, then theoretically, in another eight days, Yongcheng will lose more than half of its defensive ability!

Without bows and arrows, boulders and rolling logs, the soldiers defending the city could only watch the rebels come from the rebel camp twenty miles away and put up long ladders on the city wall, except for supplementing them with filthy things such as gold soup and dung water.

After that, it will inevitably be hand-to-hand combat, hand-to-hand combat······

"Eight Days ······"

"Uh-huh·········"

With a calm face and a soft mutter, Liu Ying loosened her shirt a little irritably, and looked sideways at Li Shang's bloodshot eyes.

The meaning of Li Shang's words, Liu Ying understands it.

——According to the previous agreement, after receiving the news that 'Liu Yingzhong's army was attacked by rebels', the Hongxian Qi soldiers led by Pingyang Hou Cao Shen arrived at the battlefield on time.

And now, Cao Sen's army, which has arrived at the edge of the battlefield, is facing a very embarrassing problem.

- Set up camp!

The reason couldn't be simpler: Liu Yingdu had already learned about the arrival of Cao Shen's army through the 'Yuanyuantai', and the Anglo-Bu rebels who were outside the field must have also known about it.

It is even very likely that Liu Ying knew one step earlier!

No matter how you say it, Yingbu is a 'famous general', and he knows the intention of Cao Shen's army.

Therefore, after discovering that Cao Shen's army had arrived, Yingbu's attention was likely to be focused on Cao Shen's army, which was outside Yongcheng and did not have any shelter or shelter!

Of course, out of fear of the Yongcheng Han army, Yingbu will most likely not directly attack Cao Shen's army, which has an unstable foothold.

However, sending a small group of men and horses to harass and intimidate Cao Shen was so frightened that Cao Shen did not dare to order camp, so he could only order the army to be under martial law at all times, and Yingbu was still able to do it.

In this way, things are very awkward.

——In order to protect Liu Ying and keep Yongcheng, leave the Yingbu rebels outside Yongcheng, and the gate of Yongcheng must not be opened!

But in order to free Cao Shen's hands and spend half a day to a day to set up a military camp that can barely accommodate his soldiers, Liu Ying's army in Yongcheng must react to attract Yingbu's attention!

At the very least, it is necessary to let Yingbu adopt the strategy of 'waiting and seeing' for half a day to a day, so as to buy time for Cao Shen's army to set up camp and gain a foothold.

But then······

"The day before yesterday, the scout sent by the right Xiangguo was a fine horseman, is there a letter?"

Liu Ying suddenly asked, which immediately made Li Shang's face even darker.

"Your Highness."

"Most of the scouts sent by the ministers failed to break out of the siege of the thieves, and they returned in vain at dusk."

"More than a dozen people have not returned so far, and their lives and deaths are uncertain······"

Hearing Li Shang's words, even though he had expected it in his heart, Liu Ying couldn't help but let out a long sigh again.

At present, the biggest problem faced by the defenders of Yongcheng is not actually casualties, or the shortage of weapons, ordnance, and logistics.

——As the best source of soldiers today, the Yongcheng garrison from Guanzhong is incomparable to ordinary armies in their ability to withstand casualties.

Coupled with Liu Ying's existence, together with the blockbuster pension system that Liu Ying promised the day before yesterday, it can also make the soldiers have one more idea in their hearts to 'swear to protect His Royal Highness the Prince'.

As for the weapons and ordnance, although they are consumed a little quickly, they can still last for more than ten days.

Not to mention the military rations, the food stored in Yongcheng is now enough for the garrison in the city for at least two months!

What really made Liu Ying feel worried, and even strangely gave birth to a little irritability, was intelligence.

——The current Yongcheng has completely lost the means of communication with the outside world!

The scout troops under Yingbu's command have blocked the area within a radius of thirty miles around Yongcheng!

If there is a large force of soldiers, these scouts are powerless; But if it's just a dozen or even dozens of scout rangers, that's fine.

However, in this era, the only means of communication between the armies is the interspersed transmission of scout rangers······

This made Liu Ying, who was trapped in Yongcheng and surrounded by the Anglo-Bu rebels, unable to get any contact with the outside of the city at all.

- Even the news of the arrival of Cao Shen's army was seen with the naked eye from the lookout at the corner of the Yongcheng city wall, and it was reported to the Li Shang, who then told Liu Ying······

"Whew~"

"Brother-in-law, brother-in-law······"

"Don't make any mistakes on the way here······"

Looking at the west, in the direction where Zhang Ao's army was coming, Liu Ying couldn't help but let out a long sigh leisurely.

Then, Liu Ying's gaze fell to the rebel camp in the south of the city.

To be precise, it is Huaishui, which is further south than the rebel camp, and south of Huaishui.

"Yingyin Marquis ······"

There was another inexplicable whisper, Liu Ying's scattered eyes finally refocused, and when she turned to look at Li Shang, she once again brought a touch of deliberate calmness.

"Although Yongcheng is surrounded by thieves today, and there is no communication between inside and outside, the situation of Yongcheng is not yet in danger."

"——Before the war started, the king of Chu had 20,000 Chu soldiers each, stationed in Ling County and Xu County, and the other 100,000 soldiers led by the Marquis of Pingyang to garrison Hong County."

"Now the Marquis of Pingyang has arrived, and the Chu soldiers of Ling County and Xu County should also arrive soon."

The tone was quite calm, and Liu Ying squeezed out a relaxed smile again, pointing to the west.

"Another lonely brother-in-law, Zhang Ao, the commander of the horses, Xuanping Marquis, is leading hundreds of thousands of Guanzhong reinforcements to help the disciples of Yongcheng."

"At most, for more than ten days, the army of Xuanping Hou should also arrive."

After saying that, Liu Ying's face couldn't help but become more calm, and it seemed that saying these two sentences really made Liu Ying feel a little more at ease.

Then, Liu Ying stared deeply at Li Shang again, and raised his head in the direction of the rebel camp, but did not speak.

Seeing Liu Ying's actions, Li Shang thought about it for a while, and then he also understood Liu Ying's deep meaning, and a slight smile appeared on his face.

But a moment later, Li Shang looked at Liu Ying with a hint of hesitation again.

"Your Highness."

"All the reinforcements are about to arrive in Yongcheng, Yongcheng, and the ministers and the general Xinwuhou are stationed together, and within half a month, they should be worry-free."

"However, the Marquis of Pingyang led the army to arrive, and he was alone, and he died no more than 40,000; If His Royal Highness doesn't help, the Marquis of Pingyang will be able to camp outside the city······"

The topic was pulled back to the Qi army under Cao Shen by Li Shang again, and Liu Ying couldn't help but smile a little, pondered for a moment, and finally turned around with a calm face.

"Right Xiangguo thinks that how can Lone help each other so that the plight of the Marquis of Pingyang can be eased a little, and he has the opportunity to camp in Panpan, thinking that the soldiers of Wuyong City will come to help?"

Asking this question in a flat tone, Liu Ying cast his stern gaze on Li Shang's extremely hesitant face.

In his previous life, Liu Ying had also been the 'Son of Han Dynasty' for nearly ten years, and in the general strategic direction, Liu Ying may have some or less, and he can always have 'outstanding'.

But on top of this detailed strategy and strategy, Liu Ying doesn't have much talent.

As far as the current situation is concerned, the only way Liu Ying can think of is to open the gates of Yongcheng City and put on a posture of going out of the city to fight!

Only in this way can Yingbu temporarily leave Cao Shen's army behind and lead the army with excitement to fight a decisive battle with Liu Ying's army!

went to the sky, that is, left a small half of the soldiers and horses, and guarded Cao Shen's army on the flanks of the battlefield.

But in this way, the soldiers and horses in Guanzhong led by Liu Ying will completely lose the protection of Yongcheng, and the head-on battle in the field will also widen the gap between the forces of the two sides infinitely!

If you are not careful, it will be a fiasco of annihilation, waiting for Liu Ying, who is now standing on top of the city.

- If Liu Ying can still save her life······

Therefore, in Liu Ying's view, unless it is a last resort, the option of 'going out of the city to fight' must not be taken.

In addition, if there is any other way to make the rebels outside the city move their attention back to Yongcheng from the Cao Shen reinforcements who have just arrived and are in a dilemma, it is not within Liu Ying's ability.

Hearing Liu Ying's question, a look of confusion appeared on Li Shang's face.

"Open the gates a little ······"

seemed to say something tentatively, but without waiting for Liu Ying to frown, he saw Li Shang shaking his head to himself, and he took the lead in denying this idea.

"Now the enemy is outnumbered, and His Highness is here; Relying on the fortress of the city, the army can still turn around with the thief, but if the gate of the city is wide open, the army will go out and fight with the thief in the wilderness······"

Halfway through speaking, Li Shang shook his head again and lowered his head again.

After a long time, seeing that Li Shang was still frowning and bowing his head in a contemplative posture, Liu Ying couldn't help but sigh again, and immediately stepped forward slightly.

"Alas······"

"It's no wonder that the right Xiangguo is in the right direction."

"It's really that the arrival of the Marquis of Pingyang was too abrupt, and Yongcheng was besieged by thieves, so I couldn't prepare in advance······"

As if comforting, Liu Ying didn't forget to raise her head, patted Li Shang's expanded shoulder, which was a little higher than her head, before turning around and looking out of the city with a worried face.

"Uh-huh·······"

"If there is no other way, lonely, there is a plan."

Slightly unconfident to say this, Liu Ying raised her head slightly and looked at the scorching sun hanging in the air.

"At this moment, noon has passed; The solstice is dusk, and it is only three or four hours. ”

"If you can delay until dusk, wait until nightfall, and the Pingyang Hou Department can camp overnight?"

Hearing Liu Ying's words, Li Shang's eyes lit up slightly, and when he looked at Liu Ying, he quietly brought a little confusion.

"It is exactly as His Highness said."

"However, if the city gate is not opened and the army does not come out, how can we delay the Huainan thieves to dusk?"

Hearing Lishang's question, Liu Ying only groaned for a long time with a complicated expression, and finally nodded secretly.

"That's all it takes······"

muttering to herself, Liu Ying raised her head again, and looked at Li Shang's gaze, which was already faintly a little cunning.

"There is a letter alone, and I want to be with the thief."

"I don't know if there are brave warriors under the command of the Right Xiangguo, can you bring this book to the hands of the thieves?"