Since the last time Zhang Chong inquired about frustration, another six days have passed.

At this time, it was already July 5 of the first year of Taiwu, and more than a month had passed since the Northern Expedition was sworn in June, but the Taishan army was still trapped under the city of Zhending.

The Taishan army still besieged Zhending City and did not take a strong attack. But this is not to say that the Taishan army did nothing during this time, in fact, at the end of June, that is, the day of Zhang Chong's inquiry, the Taishan army had just completed a beautiful annihilation.

It turned out that on the same day, a military report sent from Jingcheng Pass was also delivered to Zhang Chong. This is the Jingcheng Pass left behind to send Le Jin, and it is just a thing.

Just the day before yesterday, Le Jin had just repelled an enemy army that was trying to climb out of the Jingcheng Pass, and the flag was the enemy army from Taiyuan.

Sure enough, with Zhang Chong's siege really fixed, not only Lu Zhi in the north couldn't sit still, but even Taiyuan, which had been watching the war in Hebei, also began to make moves.

Unlike the general people who think that Jingcheng is a pass, in fact, Jingcheng is a traffic artery, which is shared by Taiyuan and Changshan country.

Since it is a passage, it is a mouth at both ends. At the west pass, that is, near the side of the Taiyuan Basin, it is called the West Ancient Pass. It is the key pass of Taiyuan to resist the enemy from the east.

And the east of Jingcheng Road, that is, the side pass close to Changshan Country is called Tumen Pass, which is what we often call Jingcheng Pass, and our Lejin is stationed here with 500 soldiers.

Some people may ask, since the Jingcheng passage is so important, why didn't Lejin go directly to the Xiguguan in the west and directly defend the enemy at the western foot of Taihang Mountain? If you only guard the Jingcheng Pass, won't you put the enemy in the west into the Taihang Mountain?

Actually, that's what you think about from an economic point of view. Anyone who defends such a long valley should generally only defend the pass near the entrance, because if the defense is directly at the exit, the pressure is especially great in order to supply the defenders on the opposite side.

On the contrary, as long as the entrance to one side is held, the enemy army will have to maintain the difficult and long valley supply line by itself if it wants to attack, which will put pressure on the opposite side.

Therefore, Lejin only needs to guard the Jingcheng Pass.

There were two waves of people who attacked Lejin. A group is less than five miles away from Jingcheng Pass, the mountain liao of Baoqian Mountain, originally they also occupied Jingcheng Pass, and then saw Le come in and attack, thinking that the Han army had arrived, and hurriedly fled to Baoqian Mountain.

Later, there were not many people who came in these mountain liao to see the music, and once again clamored to go down the mountain to attack the pass. But such a rabble is the opponent of Lejin and his five hundred iron cavalry.

Le Jinshuai rode out of the pass with 300 iron horses, and in less than a moment, he defeated thousands of mountains and liao, captured 200 and returned.

But soon, the sentinel who Lejin put into the Taihang Mountain came with news, saying that a Han army, with countless banners, was flowing at the ferry, heading towards Jingcheng Pass.

Mianmanshui is a valley river originating from the western foot of Taihang Mountain, when Han Xin fought against the water, the so-called water is Mianmanshui.

And once the ferry is full of water, it is only two days away from Jingcheng Pass, and if it is fast, you can arrive day and night.

So, Le Jin hurriedly ordered a sentry to ride to the base camp of Zhending to ask for help, on the one hand, he was preparing for war in the pass.

As the most important pass of the Taishan Army on the west side, Jingcheng Pass must be held no matter what, otherwise this Northern Expedition will really end here.

Because the Han army's army crossing the river was very long, Lejin's sentinels were not able to accurately estimate the size of the Han army. But in terms of the number of people crossing the river, there were four or five thousand soldiers.

Such a large number of troops is undoubtedly very stressful for Lejin. He has a total of 500 people in his hands, and he really has to fight ten to compete.

But Lejin is not without good news.

One is that he took the lead in defeating the forces of Baoqian Mountain five miles away on the flank before the war. If when he fights with the Han army later, these mountain liaos holding calf mountains will attack Jingcheng Pass again, then he will really have no power to return to the sky.

Another point is that to the west of Jingcheng, the mountains are vertical and horizontal, and the roads are complicated, which is very unfavorable to the deployment of large troops. In other words, the number of people arranged by the Han army on one side is the same as that of his Lejin, and the numerical advantage on the opposite side cannot be developed at all. So for Lejin, it's not that you don't have to fight.

Finally, there is another point, that is, the Taiyuan Han army came from afar, and the supply line was very long. As long as he is happy to defend in Jingcheng, the supply of grain and straw for the Han army on the opposite side will be very long. At that time, when there were a large number of reinforcements in the rear, they could go around to the back of the Han army from the direction of Baoqi Mountain and cut off their supplies.

But these are all conservative, but he wants to play a wave of initiative.

Le Jin knew that the king had high hopes for him, otherwise he would not have pulled him from the Turquoise Cavalry system to the lower part of the tent, so Le Jin himself had a strong intention to make contributions.

So, after arranging the defense of the city pass, Le Jin personally took two sentry horsemen out of the pass, lurked in the mountains and forests, and personally observed the dynamics of the Han army.

That night, Le Jin returned.

After a general observation of the Han army, General Le Jin made the following arrangements for his five hundred cavalry.

He ordered all the iron cavalry under his command to dismount and fight, and then gathered all the 700 horses in the general. Then dozens of people were divided, each holding a drum, and quietly drove the horses into the valley to hide.

When dusk came on the second day, the Taiyuan Han army really rushed to the Jingcheng Pass.

Le Jin first tied all the 200 Shanliao prisoners to the head of the gate, so that the Han army thought that there were still soldiers defending the gate. Then he took the whole army of 450 ironclad soldiers out of the pass to fight the Han army in the field.

Lejin formed a phalanx of ten rows of fifty people in each row under the Jingcheng Pass. This width just closed the road, and the thickness of the ten rows allowed the platoons to continue to fight alternately, ensuring rest.

The Han army did not know the details of Jingcheng Pass.

In fact, they even knew that this level had been taken by Taishan thieves, and they only knew it when they arrived at the place.

However, the main general of this side was conceited that there were many troops, and when he saw that the Taishan thieves in the city pass actually chose to go out of the field battle, he didn't think much about it, and pressed the army and began to move to fight with the Taishan thieves.

The front rows of both armies were ironclad men, who would huddle together, thrashing and pushing each other in the most rudimentary and brutal way.

Lejin had been standing at the head of the sixth row, and there was a small slope here that allowed him to observe the changes in the battlefield from enough height.

Soon, it was getting darker. Le Jin saw that the time was almost up, and he was busy blowing the horn.

The rousing trumpet soon reached the nearby valley. The iron cavalry officers who had been prepared for a long time directly beat the war drums, and then the remaining officers rode on their war horses and drove the war horses of the whole army towards the battlefield at high speed.

For a time, the heavens and the earth were all rumbling with war drums, and dust was all over the sky, moving the earth.

At this time, the sky was already dark, and the Han army saw that the Taishan thieves were even fierce, and they all thought that the other side was prepared. Sure enough, you could hear a large cavalry army galloping towards you. They didn't know the details, thinking that the opposite side was ambushing, so they fled in a hurry.

Seeing that the Han army was scattered, Le Jin ordered a fierce pursuit of the Han army.

But Lejin's general, named Huang An, persuaded Lejin not to pursue further.

Huang An is a cross-fertilization student in the third phase, and is now in charge of the main force of the Iron Cavalry. He said to Le Jin:

"The generals, the so-called poor Kou Mo chase. To the west of Jingcheng, the mountains are high and densely forested, and there are large armies lurking at any time. Even if the other side is defeated, how can I not guard against others and lure me deeper? The reason why Zhao Xie and the other generals were defeated to Han Xin in Jingcheng back then was not because of his strategy to lure the enemy deeper? Now our troops are meager, and the city pass in the rear is a prisoner. Although they were all bound, who knew that there would not be one or two escapees? So I advise the generals not to chase again, it is better to clean up the battlefield and return to the customs to wait for help? ”

What Huang An said is very reasonable, Lejin is not a person who does not listen to persuasion, and knows that if he chases it again, the risks will outweigh the benefits.

So Le Jin Mingjin collected his troops, cleaned up the battlefield, and returned to Jingchengkou with the thirty Han soldiers who had surrendered. And as soon as I came back, I saw that there were already several Shanliao who didn't know how to break free from the rope and were about to flee.

Le Jin was secretly frightened, knowing that he was helped by Huang Anda. As a result, the two became more cordial, and Lejin no longer fought in the field, just waiting for reinforcements from the rear to arrive.

Soon, an army of 2,000 people came from Zhending, and the general was none other than Li Damu, a fierce general in the army.

Just when Li Damu took Le Jin and they were about to go out of the pass to fight the Han army, the report had been reported that the Han army in Taiyuan had retreated and retreated to the West Ancient Pass.

In this way, the attack of the Han army in Taiyuan came to an end.

But they didn't know that if they retreated here, they would harm the Zhending allies in the east.

……

Morning of July 5th.

When the Han army at the head of the city saw that the Taishan army under the city put more than ten flags representing the identity of the Han army in Taiyuan under the city, and saw the dozens of heads of the Han army, they were all panicked in their hearts.

Obviously, from what the thieves under the city said, combined with those banner heads, their Taiyuan reinforcements were defeated.

Recognizing this bad news, many Han troops in the city were mourned.

Not everyone can be as firm as Tian Kai and others. In fact, Zhending City has a bit of a strong crossbow feeling now.

After nearly a month of siege, the Taishan thieves on the nearby soil slope continued to shoot the Han army at the head of the city with longbows. Up to now, the number of casualties of the Han army has risen to 600, accounting for one-tenth of the total strength of the city.

This kind of passive beating is too damaging to morale. Compared to a month ago, morale in the city has hit rock bottom.

But now, after seeing the reinforcements destroyed, the morale of the city has once again fallen from the bottom to the abyss. Because their only hope is also lost.

After the siege, they have completely lost contact with the outside world. So they didn't know that on the north bank of Hutuoshui, Zhenbei General Lu Zhi had prepared an army of unprecedented scale. So they didn't know that the Taishan army only routed the reinforcements from Taiyuan, but was not able to annihilate it.

At this moment, many officials in the city were crushed to the last nerve, and they did not want to suffer any longer, so they looked at the city and jumped down.

There was luck, just broke his leg and wailed there. But some of them were unlucky, and they directly hit the antlers of the deer under the city, and the whole person was hung on the sharp wood, and the water flowed all over the ground.

But more of it is directly smeared on the ground with liver and brain, and a whimper.

The Han army at the head of the city kept jumping out of the city, making the atmosphere of Zhending City even more terrifying and depressing.

Knowing that the mood was wrong, Tian Kai, who was resting in the city, hurriedly led the troops to the city to suppress it, and after changing a group of city head soldiers, he reluctantly drove away this defeated emotion.

But the Taishan army did not give the Han army in Zhending City a rest at all, and today is the day of their general attack.

As the sixty-four cowhide drums of the Chinese army's big tent began to beat, the Taishan army on the front line began to act.

Six giant beast-like nest carts were slowly moving from outside the camp. Each nest cart had twenty oxen pulled in front and fifty wrestlers pushed behind.

These six giant nest cars lined up along the Zhending West City, and after half a moment, they finally moved to the head of the city.

At this time, the Han army on the west gate was already in chaos. The officials constantly issued military orders to their subordinates:

"Shoot at them."

So, after some panic, the Han army organized the first wave of counterattacks.

Hundreds of rockets pierced the sky and shot at the nest car on the opposite side, but with little success. These nest cars are wrapped in cowhide on the very front, how can it be useful.

Seeing that the rocket arrow was useless, he quickly said with a clever military officer:

"Hurry up and move the logs, all outside the city."

In this way, a large number of logs were moved, all of them sideways against the outside, blocking the giant nest cart from approaching the city.

This trick really worked, because the log blocked, the giant nest car under the city really couldn't be pushed.

Just when the Han army secretly breathed a sigh of relief, a rapid gong suddenly sounded below.

Then the Han army saw that a huge wooden board was suddenly put down on the cart on the opposite side, and it was buckled on the head of the city just now.

There were a few unlucky Han soldiers who didn't have time to hide, and were directly smashed by the wooden plank.

Obviously, the place where the original planks of the Taishan army fell should be more than a zhang behind the city wall. But because the Han army blocked it with logs, it was just placed at the head of the city now. It's not as strong as it was before, but it's enough.

After the long plank was lowered, a team of Tarzan Army warriors wrapped in iron armor were directly revealed. They were armed with axes or sabers, and leaped out as soon as the planks hit the ground.

These selected trappers soon stood on the head of Zhending City. They formed a small formation and pushed on both sides, leaving enough space for the robe in the rear to jump into the city.

But not all of them went so smoothly, and the six-seater giant nest car really made a difference in the four-seater.

There was one that was not far enough, and the longboard that was put down could not reach the city wall, and in the end, the armor soldiers in the nest car could only stare at the Han army at the opposite city, but they couldn't step forward.

There is one that is even worse, the Han army guards on the head of the city don't know how, so they leave fire oil. As soon as the wooden planks were placed in the nest car, the Han official on the opposite side threw over a piece of fire oil.

The crockpot collided with the iron clothes of the Taishan soldiers, and it shattered.

But the black oil also flowed down the armor soldiers.

Then the Han army on the head of the city burst into flames, and the tragedy happened.

The ten soldiers in the nest car were all burned into fire men without exception, and they jumped off the nest car with a wail and ended their lives.

What's even more tragic is that the inside of the nest car is not fireproof, so the fire quickly spread to the inside. In the end, except for the ten armor soldiers near the bottom exit who escaped with their lives, the fifty armor soldiers Xuanfeng of this team were directly burned to death forty people.

The giant nest car is also like a lit torch, releasing light and heat, but also amplifying the fear and cruelty of humans.

This is only the tip of the battlefield, but the more brutal battles continue at the head of the city.

(End of chapter)