There was no moon in the new day, and the night sky was as dark as ever.

Above the Xiping Gate in Luzhou, Zhao Ta and Liyan Nazha stood side by side, looking at the city.

Just at dusk, the cavalry who were outside finally returned, and Luzhou City was a good killing.

Even if Wang Qing ordered the city to release arrows to cover, and the city opened the door to answer, in the end, there were countless casualties, 10,000 horsemen when they left, and only 6,000 returned to the city.

Although the Song army won, it also suffered a lot of losses, in front of the east and west gates, in the moat, there were countless corpses, and the moat water was soaked in scarlet.

Warhorses that have lost their masters run wild, broken weapons can be seen everywhere, and feathered arrows are thrown everywhere as if they are worthless.

The camp of the Song army was stationed in the north of Luzhou City, and the horses were circling around Luzhou City all the time, and they didn't know what they were investigating.

Liyanaza suddenly spoke: "Song Jun's move to divert the tiger from the mountain is too ingenious. ”

Zhao Ta said: "Where is ingenious? ”

Liyanaza said: "The Song army did not go to the Beicheng camp to harass, but went to the east and west cities, giving people the illusion that the purpose was not in the Beicheng camp at all, making people feel that they were not really plotting, and they only thought that they wanted to use the strategy in the east and west cities, so Marshal Duan inadvertently fell for the Song army's tricks." ”

Zhao Ta shook his head when he heard this, and laughed dryly.

Liyanaza said, "Could it be that General Li disagrees with me? ”

Zhao Ta glanced at her, and his vision was not clear in the dark, so he reached out and grabbed Liyan Nazha's slender hand.

Liyanaza trembled and said, "Let's go to the city tower to talk." ”

The two entered the city tower, and there was an oil lamp lit on the table in the building, and the lights were as bright as beans, and the shadows were full of shadows.

Liyanaza said: "I just said that the Song army used it well to transfer the tiger from the mountain, why did General Li laugh?" ”

Zhao Ta said: "Is this what it means to send troops to harass the east and west cities of Luzhou, attract the attention of the Beicheng battalion, and lure the Beicheng battalion to send troops to pursue?" ”

"Isn't it? ”

Zhao Ta touched his chin and said, "Why do I feel like I'm leading a snake out of a hole?" ”

Liyanaza was puzzled, "What lured the snake out of the hole?" ”

Zhao Ta said: "Ambush in advance, and then go to repeatedly harass them, annoying the people in the Beicheng camp and sending troops to chase them, and then lead them to the ambush place and take them by surprise." ”

Liyanaza was stunned when she heard this: "I'm afraid it won't be so simple...... The Song army had already used ambushes so many times before Shouzhou City, and they still used ambushes in Luzhou, how could anyone be tricked? ”

Zhao Ta shook his head and said: "It's just that there is no suitable place for ambush around Luzhou City, as for the later transfer of the tiger from the mountain, it is probably a plan to make a plan, there is no place for the ambush, and then I thought of the transfer of the tiger from the mountain." ”

Liyanaza looked at Zhao Ta and said, "I don't believe ......"

Zhao Ta said with a smile: "If you don't believe it, you don't believe it, I'm just guessing randomly, but the King of Qi of the Great Song Dynasty is really like a god with soldiers, which is admirable." ”

Liyanaza's eyes flashed, looking at him with a smile, Zhao Ta looked at her delicately, couldn't help but reach out and take her into his arms, and said in a low voice: "That Qi King Zhao Ta is clever, Shangguan General can't he like it?" ”

Liyan Nazha looked up at him, smiled again, and didn't speak, Zhao Ta said strangely: "Which one do you always laugh at?" ”

Liyanaza said in a low voice: "What General Li said is very true, this general has fallen in love with the king of Qi, how are you doing?" ”

Zhao Ta was stunned when he heard this, and said with a smile: "But when did it happen?" I don't know. ”

Liyanaza said: "This can't be said, General Li doesn't have to inquire." ”

Zhao Ta pondered: "I just remembered something, at that time, in the Longyou Stone Forest, what happened to the king seal of the Exquisite Country?" ”

Liyanaza said, "General Li still remembers this? ”

Zhao Ta said with a smile: "Naturally, I remember, I have always been curious about what the seal is for, I originally thought that the seal hid some secrets of the ancient country, but then I thought about it, it is unlikely, but the thing itself can sell for some silver." ”

Liyanaza whispered, "It has nothing to do with any secrets, but it is a tradition of my Uighur royal family, and I will not be clear for a while, but I will tell you more carefully when I have time." ”

Zhao Tan nodded, he really didn't know much about the Uighurs, and even in later generations, there were very few records about the Uighurs, and most of them were only superficial.

At this time, Zhao Ta's official position was restored to the Luzhou defense envoy, but because the Song army was in the city, the left and right envoys were no longer distinguished, but directly appointed five Luzhou defense envoys, and there was an additional five-city soldiers and horses steward, served by Qiu Xiang, and inspected the defense of Luzhou together.

Zhao Ta has not yet contacted the outside of the city, after all, the Song army needs to be repaired in successive battles, especially for lazy soldiers like the Gyeonggi Forbidden Army, it is a miracle to be able to win the battle, so even if they are contacted at this moment, I am afraid that they will not be able to act according to the secret letter immediately.

The content of the secret letter brought by Huang Gu is actually very simple, that is, wait for the opportunity, make an appointment, and then secretly open the Xiping Gate, and break Luzhou inside and outside.

It's easy to say that this opportunity to wait is mainly because the Song army has to be prepared, and the daily situation in Luzhou City is almost the same, so there is no need to wait for any special time.

As for the agreed time, it is naturally the agreed time for the sneak attack to open the Xiping Gate, as long as Zhao Ta and the other party can get in touch, the time can be completely determined through the flag.

The two then chatted for a while, Zhao Ta went downstairs and left, now the five defense envoys of Luzhou City, they don't have to patrol day and night like before, they all come in rotation, and they can be repaired after a fixed hour.

On the second day, Wang Qing roared again in the palace, but the ministers couldn't think of any second plan to retreat from the enemy, so they had to disperse hastily.

In the evening, Zhao Ta went to the neighboring mansion to give a lecture on the thirty-six strategies of Liyanazha, who was extremely talented in military affairs and learned very quickly, and could almost draw inferences from one another.

After such a few days, the Song army outside the city neither attacked the city nor scolded the formation, and confronted each other like this.

And the Song army's horses were still circling around the city, and as soon as the city gate was opened and wanted to chase and kill, they turned their horses around and ran.

At noon on this day, Zhao Ta inspected the top of the North City, and the general of the North City was still Lu Cheng, but two main generals and three deputy generals were also added, and three main generals and five deputy generals were guarded every day and night.

Zhao Ta stood at the head of the city and looked into the distance, and he could see the Song army camp in the distance.

The Song army did not lie dormant in the camp, but there were a few sentry men and horses wandering outside, and one of them seemed to be going to Luzhou City.

Lu Cheng said with a tangled face: "These Song soldiers will come over every day to provoke, they can't shoot, they can't catch up, they can't catch up, they are hateful." ”

Zhao Ta sighed: "Now the court can't come up with a charter, and it's not a way to keep it, and you have to fight it." ”

Lu Chengdao: "Who said no, so guarded...... General Li, you see that the Song army has come to provoke again! ”

Zhao Ta looked and saw a sentry Song army of about seven or eight hundred, which was walking towards Luzhou City unhurriedly and slowly.

Faintly visible in front of these cavalry were two generals, both wearing the armor of the army commander, one of whom seemed to have a gun in his hand, and the other with a weapon hanging next to his horse.

The cavalry stopped a stone's throw away from Luzhou City, it was closer, and the outline of the opposite face could be seen vaguely, Zhao Ta glanced at it a few times, his eyebrows were raised, and one of the two generals was Huang Gu.

If you don't know each other too well, you may not be able to recognize each other just by looking at the contours of your faces at such a distance, but the two have known each other since childhood, and they can be identified by just looking at their backs and figures, and Zhao Ta naturally recognized Huang Gu at a glance.

He leaned slightly at the head of the city and said, "General Lu, does this Song army send these soldiers and horses every day?" ”

Lu Cheng nodded, looking at the city with a look of resentment: "These Song soldiers are different from those who harassed the East and West Cities before, they neither shoot arrows nor curse, they just stand there chatting and talking, their voices are very loud, and they laugh wildly from time to time, and they simply treat me as if they are nothing." ”

"I see...... Zhao Ta continued to look at the city, only to see that those Song troops were also looking upward, after he was sure that Huang Gu could see his house, he couldn't help but smile: "General Lu, in fact, they are helpless against Luzhou, otherwise they would have attacked the city a long time ago, why bother to make these tricks that can't be put on the table." ”

Lu Chengdao: "The city of Luzhou is tall and strong, and there is plenty of food and grass at the moment, although we have suffered a few defeats and losses, but the soldiers and horses are not much less than the Song army, which will be easy to attack." ”

Zhao Ta nodded and said: "If the city is single-minded, with the grain and grass and army of Luzhou, the Song army wants to attack, I am afraid that it will not be possible to have another fifty percent of the troops!" ”

Lu Cheng shook his head and said: "General Li overestimates these Song troops too much, although Lu is not very familiar with military affairs, but he also knows that it is difficult to attack the city, with a high city like Luzhou, even if he gives the Song army twice the strength, I am afraid that it will not work, unless some conspiracies and tricks, it is possible to break Luzhou." ”

Zhao Ta laughed dryly twice when he heard this, and said, "General Lu is right. ”

He knew that Lu Cheng was right, according to the records of "Historical Records", "Zuo Biography" and other books, if an army wants to forcibly attack the city, it needs at least five times more troops of the enemy, and if it wants to besiege the city, it needs more than ten times the number of troops, and whether it can be broken is still two words.

However, there are not many people who really put out several times the army, and there are not many people who attack the city at a glance, most of them are after the soldiers come to the city, and the city is either frightened to abandon the city and flee, or directly open the city and surrender, or be trapped for a period of time, and have no choice but to surrender after cutting off food and grass.

In the face of several times or even more than ten times the number of troops, they still can't hold on to it, and some insist on fighting to the death, but there are very few.

In fact, there is a question about why it is necessary to attack the city during the battle.

If you can easily bypass the city and attack the capital of the enemy country, if you can break the capital, the country will naturally be in chaos, and the rest of the cities are more likely to fall to the wind, wouldn't it be more seconds?

The Battle of Baiju in the Spring and Autumn Period was like this.

Wei Yan's Meridian Valley conspiracy also thought so, but it didn't happen, but Deng Ai's battle to destroy Shu did it.

Even the battle of Jingjing in later generations was deep into Yingtianfu and succeeded in one fell swoop.

But the reason why this is rarely done is because many cities and passes are often built according to the terrain, which is in line with natural hazards, and even if there are roads outside the city to detour, many are not official roads, which only increases the risk of enemy attacks.

Since the city has not been captured, there is also a great hidden danger in the supply of logistics grain and grass, once it is surrounded by the enemy, it will be a catastrophe.

Therefore, most of the time it is necessary to attack the city, and after taking the city, it is very important to have a reliable rear to collect supplies, transport troops, and recuperate.

In addition, the Battle of Baiju, the Battle of Wei and the Battle of Ji Han, and Jingnan's deep penetration into Yingtianfu were because not all cities were dangerous and reliable, so it was actually possible to break through to the enemy's rear.

However, if you want to accomplish such a feat, it is difficult to do it with infantry alone, and you need a strong cavalry team to have a chance to make a quick surprise attack.

However, the cost of assembling a cavalry is enormous, and commanding such a cavalry is even more difficult.

"The Art of War" says: The first army is to attack and plan, the second is to attack the enemy, the second is to attack the army, and then the next is to attack the city.

Forced sieges are often extremely costly, and other methods are usually chosen.

The common siege is to besiege the city, only need to surround the city, cut off the material supply of the defender, consume the morale of the defender, break the defender's will to defend the city, force the other party to surrender, or use some tactics during this period, such as counter-plots, etc., to make the city itself chaotic, and then try to do it in one fell swoop.

The military strength of the Song soldiers is similar to that of the thief army in the city, and they can't encircle the city at all, and attacking the city can only be regarded as the last resort, but the loss is really unbearable, so it is probably necessary to use strategy.

Lu Cheng could see this, Zhao Ta was not surprised, this was not too difficult to understand, he looked at the city at this time, only to see that the Song army suddenly raised the flag and shook it twice in the wind.

Zhao Ta's pupils suddenly shrank, this is Huang Gu recognized him, and he was playing the flag.

Waving the flag twice in the wind, in the flag agreed upon by Zhao Ta and Huang Gu, it was to ask if it was feasible to attack the city in two days.

Zhao Ta secretly calculated in his heart that two days later would not be the time for Liyanaza to guard the Xiping Gate, so he couldn't help but turn around at the head of the city.

Turning around means no.

After a while, he turned around again, but Lu Cheng didn't pay attention to these movements, and even if he did, he couldn't see anything.

At this time, the Song army under the city shook the flag three times in a row, and this time Zhao Ta did not move, just squinted and watched.

Lu Cheng said on the side: "General Li, look, now I don't shoot arrows, I wave the flag every day to provoke, and I should shout after a while." ”

Zhao Tan smiled: "General Lu, I think this Song army has nothing to do, let's watch the clown jumping beam." ”

Lu Cheng nodded, looking helpless.

At this time, the banner soldiers of the Song army under the city seemed to tremble, and the flag fell suddenly, and it was actually hit horizontally on the horse, and then it was raised again by the flag soldiers.

Zhao Ta stood still at the head of the city, and the flag just now meant a midnight attack.

Lu Cheng said with a smile at this time: "The Song army can't even hold the flag steadily, it can be seen that it is really bad, the previous battles are just good luck, as for the siege, don't even think about it, I'm afraid that even if everyone is gone, I can't go up to the city wall." ”

Zhao Ta said: "General Lu's words are reasonable. ”

The Song army saw that Zhao Ta still did not move in the city, so he tilted the flag head to the west, and did not move for a long time.

This means attacking from Xicheng, Xicheng naturally refers to Xiping Gate, and the secret letter that Zhao Ta asked Huang Gu to bring mentioned that Xiping Gate can be opened.

Zhao Ta continued to move, and then saw that the flag soldiers began to raise and drop the flag up and down, and then all the Song soldiers began to shout loudly, meaning that it was set like this.

Three days later, at midnight, Xipingmen sneaked into the city.

Zhao Ta stretched out his left hand at this moment, nodded at those Song troops outside the city, shook his head and said, "General Lu, these Song troops are really arrogant!" ”

Lu Chengdao: "I can't wait to go out of the city to fight, but the prime minister doesn't allow it." ”

Zhao Ta's gesture of stretching out his hand to point is also a matter that is decided, and there is no need to change it.

Seeing this, the Song army under the city turned the horse's head and began to walk back.

Lu Chengdao: "Today, these Song soldiers returned early, and they have to grind more every day." ”

Zhao Ta said with a smile: "I can't make anything cheap, I just know it's boring." ”

Lu Chengdao: "I'm afraid so." ”

After speaking, Zhao Ta looked at it for a while, then turned around and said goodbye, and left the city.

(End of chapter)