……

In Yongzhou City, Fa Ying's face was iron-blue, looking at a map of Bashu hanging in front of the hall, and he didn't say a word for a long time.

The day before yesterday, a fire in the granary had caused half of the city's grain to turn to ashes, which he had not expected, and the daily supplies needed by the 100,000-strong army, especially in terms of grain and grass, were astronomical.

If there is no military rations, and this place is far from the territory of Chu State, will these Chu soldiers who have been subjected to a reign of repression and terror break out into an unprecedented mutiny?

Fa Ying didn't dare to think about it, if this was the case, then his efforts in the past few years would definitely be in vain, and the Chu State would be short-lived, just like those separatist forces, and become a stepping stone for Liu Ce to unify the Central Plains.

"It seems that the only way to divert the attention of the soldiers and continue to fight a battle is to vent the grievances that are very likely to have accumulated in the army for a long time!"

Looking at the complex terrain of Bashu on the map, Fa Ying pointed directly to the boundary of Hezhou.

After Wang Jian's many years of operation, Hezhou City has long been impregnable, and the terrain of Hezhou is located in a high place, surrounded by rivers on three sides, if you want to break the city, you can only take the mountain road all the way to the front.

However, Wang Jian deserves to be a famous general of the Shu army, according to the strategy of the "mountain city defense system" of the rest of the ranks, the road up the mountain is rugged and difficult, and the key position is to directly destroy the mountain road, and it is almost impossible to sneak attack.

With such a complex terrain, there is no place for the Chu army's large-scale siege equipment, and Fa Ying also understands that it is impossible to capture Hezhou in a war, even if it is useless to besiege the city, because there is a large amount of arable mountains behind Hezhou City, which is enough for the daily needs of the military and civilians in China.

However, Fa Ying did not expect to win Hezhou in a war, but wanted to enter the boundary of Hezhou and plunder the towns on low ground, which was the first priority.

After all, no matter how you say it, the initial strategy of Yongzhou City has been a complete success, and the next thing to do is to expand the results.

Fa Ying also had some regret in his heart, if he hadn't implemented the strategy of plundering the city the day before yesterday, maybe the granary would not have caught fire, and this Northern Expedition would have been completed.

But Fa Ying knows his mistake but can't admit it, once he admits his mistake, then there will be a fatal loophole in the national policy formulated by him himself, laying the groundwork for the demise of Chu in the future.

"Someone, pass on General Qin!"

Qin Zongquan had to order him to come and visit: "My subordinates have seen the prime minister." ”

Fa Ying said: "General Qin, you have made a great contribution this time, and when you return to Beijing, you will personally meet the saint and reward you." ”

Qin Zongquan was overjoyed: "Everything is arranged by the prime minister, and his subordinates dare not take credit." ”

Fa Ying: "This dynasty will never treat meritorious people badly, General Qin and relax, no one can covet your merits,

But right now, I want to ask General Qin to do another trivial matter, I don't know if General Qin is willing? ”

Qin Zongquan arched his hand and said: "Obey the orders of the prime minister, and your subordinates will never give up." ”

"Good!" Fa Ying nodded with satisfaction, "You immediately order the men and horses now, and after breakfast tomorrow, immediately march to Suoyun Pass, and be sure to take Suoyun Pass within two days!" ”

Qin Zongquan replied loudly: "The subordinates will live up to their mission and quickly lock the cloud pass within two days." ”

……

On the other side, Wang Chang and others, who did not notice the movement of the Chu army for two days and one night, did not relax their vigilance because of this, but strictly arranged the fortifications, and were determined to fight the Chu army.

Wang Chang and several non-commissioned officers gathered around, pointed to the map and said: "The Chu army is strong, so you must not fight with it, and rely on the city wall to effectively destroy the enemy and reduce casualties.

If my expectations are correct, as long as Yu Rank Wang Jian is not in vain, he will receive news in seven days at most after the war starts.

Carefully calculate back and forth, as long as we stay here for a month, we can wait for reinforcements, of course, this is the worst plan,

If the casualty rate of the enemy army can be increased to more than 10% in the future, the Chu army is also very likely to retreat, in short, whether it is waiting for reinforcements or defeating the enemy army,

We must all stick to the lock cloud pass, now carefully count the materials, especially food, it is uncomfortable to kill the enemy hungry,

At this time, there is not so much attention, as long as it is eaten, no matter how unpalatable it is, you have to swallow it, okay, that's all, let's prepare. ”

After Wang Chang finished speaking, everyone immediately went to work according to their duties.

At this time, Sun Xueyou came to report: "A total of 20,000 people passed through Suoyun Pass, and now no one has passed by, can the gate be closed?" ”

Wang Chang nodded and said, "It's almost over, close the door and block it, and the whole army will enter the alert posture." ”

After Sun Xueyou left, Zhu Xuan timidly walked up to Wang Chang and asked, "Officer Wang, what can I do?" ”

Wang Chang said: "Vice General Zhu is more familiar with Shudi, so let's beg Vice General Zhu to go to the local government offices in Suoyun Pass to ask for military support.

I really can't ask for it, I hope to recruit some young people, even if it is a guy who cooks, it is best to bring a few carts of food, the next battle will be extremely difficult,

It has to be foolproof. ”

Zhu Xuan said: "I understand, so I will go to the neighborhood to raise grain and grass and recruit people." ”

"Well, thank you!" Wang Chang thanked him, and then lined up the fifteen Huzun cannons brought by the army and placed them on the head of the city.

A Tiger Zun cannon weighs thirty pounds, even if an adult can carry him on the march, although the power is not great, the farthest range is only seventy or eighty steps, but if the barrel is filled with scattered bullets, the lethality is very terrifying.

It just so happened that the shells carried by these interns to Shudi were all loose shells, and each cannon was filled with rusty iron filings, iron nails, ash powder, and stones sharpened at the four corners.

"There is a situation!"

At this moment, the non-commissioned officer who had been observing the outer terrain at the head of the city exclaimed.

Wang Chang decisively took out the speculum to inspect, and saw that five or six miles away from each other, a flag printed with the word "Chu" and the name "Qin" were slowly approaching Suoyun Pass.

From the dust and sand raised all over the ground, Wang Chang judged that the number of enemy troops was not less than 10,000.

Wang Chang put down the speculum, slapped down the battlement, and said excitedly: "Okay, I've finally looked forward to you!" Brothers, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,

We can't lose the face of the Far Eastern Military Academy, let alone live up to His Majesty's cultivation of us, let this group of thieves see how powerful our Far Eastern Army is! ”

"Good!"

In response to Wang Chang, there were deafening mutual cheers.

Some of these interns were orphans, some were rescued by the Han army among the homeless, and some of their fathers were killed by the Han army.

For Liu Ce, they decided to repay him with their lives, so that they could live up to his trust.

In the face of the upcoming war, these young non-commissioned officers were nervously sweating, but more than that, their eyes were shining and they were more excited than ever.