Qian County, the camp of the Wei army.

In the big tent, Cao Pi looked at the picture hanging on the screen and asked, "What is the situation of Zhong leaving the city today?" ”

"Your Majesty, Zhongli's guard general Xu Sheng will not fight with our army, and will hold on behind closed doors. Listening to the scouts, Xu Sheng was Huo Jun's henchman general, and since the town of Zhongli, he often led his troops to cross the Huai and plunder the Huaibei countryside. If you can't hold on to it today, you will have the idea of fighting to the death! Sun Zi said.

Cao Pi looked at everyone and asked, "Can Zhongli City be broken quickly?" ”

"I'm afraid it's difficult!"

Liu Ye stepped out of the queue and said: "Although Zhongli City is small, it is close to Huaishui, and the moat is deep and difficult to fill. And since last year, Xu Sheng has built a city, and there are many bows and crossbows stored in the city, and the grain and grass are as heavy as a mountain, and there are big crossbows to defend the city. ”

Zhongli City is ancient, it has long been owned by Zhongli State, and then Chu State built here, and then Qin set up a county.

Zhongli City is made of rammed earth, square on all sides, about 380 meters long from north to south, about 360 meters wide from east to west, and 5 meters high at the four corners of the city. The moat is eighteen meters high and is surrounded by a moat.

If you want to break Zhongli City, you have to fill the moat on the periphery of Zhongli City with soil, and due to the soil quality of Jianghuai, it is almost impossible to dig tunnels into the city.

Cao Pi frowned, looked at Cao Xiu, and asked, "Wen Lie has been guarding Shouchun for many years, and he has just returned from Zhongli, I don't know if there is a strategy to break the city?" ”

"This~"

Cao Xiu is crazy, they are not crazy yet!

Cao Xiu's tone was a little anxious, and he said: "Your Majesty, the army of thieves is guarding Huaiyin today, Guangling is empty and unprepared, and Hugh will be able to break it if he leads the elite soldiers." Guangling is taken by our army, and Huaidong will no longer be owned by water thieves! ”

Cao Pi shook his head, looked at everyone and asked, "Do you have anyone who agrees with Wen Lie's words?" ”

"In the past, he attacked Luoyang to base on the strong army. Stuck for several months, the hustle and bustle could not be restrained, and then the light and then entered Long from the avenue, and the army came to break the hustle and bustle. Now the minister is willing to come, and His Majesty will be able to sweep the Jianghuai after the army. If the minister is unfortunately defeated and killed, I hope that Your Majesty will not take it seriously. ”

"Back to Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty!"

Cao Pi interrupted Cao Xiu's words and said comfortingly: "It is very dangerous to attack Guangling, how can you be a general. Now we should be cautious in the use of troops, march in and out, first break the bell and leave the city, and then go down to Huaiyin. ”

"How should the army march today, and why should it break Zhongli?" Cao Pi asked.

Although Cao Xiu was dissatisfied with Cao Pi's refusal to adopt his opinion, he had no choice but to give in due to Cao Pi's imperial majesty!

"As for grain and grass, the thieves recruited people in Huaidong, cultivated acres of fields, and accumulated a lot of money and grain. Guangling is an important town for thieves, and there will be grain in the city for our army. Sun Tzu said, eat the enemy for a minute, when I am twenty minutes, the meaning is so! ”

"Your Majesty~"

"Hu's wish to lead the elite foot cavalry 10,000 people, negative ten days of food, to the southeast, straight to Guangling, block the ditch waterway, cut off the river water to Huaishui. His Majesty led the army to Zhongli, directly took Huaiyin, and then went down the way, and met with the ministers in Guangling. ”

After a pause, Cao Ren said: "Your Majesty, with the current situation, it is better to break Zhongli first, and then enter Huaiyin in the east, and then converge with the Qingxu soldiers and horses, and go south to Hangou to Guangling. ”

Cao Ren coughed a few times and said, "Your Majesty, although Wen Lie's intentions are good, Guangling is far away, and Jiang Ji's department guards Huaiyin. If there is a change in Guangling, and then fight back, Wen Lie is afraid that he is in danger of defeat! ”

Cao Pi's face was surprised, and he said: "Guangling is near the river, located in the belly of Jianghuai, and it should be thousands of miles away from here. Wen Lie led his troops and horses to attack Guangling, if the thief has a heavy army in Guangling, there is a risk of annihilation, and he can't do it! ”

The problem is that Cao Xiu can occupy Guangling City and resist the siege of the Southern Han Dynasty soldiers and horses like Laixi, but whether Cao Pi can break Huaiyin City and lead the army south to Guangling still needs to be said.

Cao Xiu's expression was solemn, and he said in a deep voice: "Although the water pirates are not the enemy of our army in the field battle, they are more than fortified in the city. Today, the elite left the city to attack the bell, and the soldiers and horses suffered a lot of losses, and there was no long-term benefit, and if they couldn't, they lost a lot. ”

Of course, although Cao Xiu has a strong temperament, he is not a fool. Because the current Guangling is due to the northward march of the army, the defenders in the city are empty. If Cao Xiu can really rush to Guangling, it will not be a problem to take Guangling City.

Today, the bell is not down from the city, and it goes directly to Guangling. If the Guangling garrison is prepared, all the people will be handed over to Jianghuai.

Everyone in the tent looked at each other, and then fell silent.

Cao Ren thought for a little and said: "Huaishui is shallow and narrow, and your majesty has a boat to use it today." It is better to make a pontoon bridge, and the upper and lower camps of Zhouzhu, so that it runs through the north and south, and the army comes and goes, and the grain crosses the bridge to the south. The army built equipment in the south, filled the city ditch with mud and sand, and then broke through the city with rushing cars, which can be pulled! ”

"Feasible!"

Cao Pi nodded and said, "You can choose from Da Sima~"

Without waiting for Cao Pi to finish speaking, Man Zhong hurriedly came out of the ranks, interrupted and said: "The first emperor was wise and brave, and he didn't dare to cross Huai easily. Now His Majesty wants to make a pontoon bridge to Huainan, and there is a suspicion of underestimating the enemy. Although the pontoon bridge leads to the north and south, it is very narrow when it goes together, and it should be a taboo for soldiers. ”

"If the thieves attack the pontoon bridge frequently, I am afraid that there will be leaks, and the soldiers and horses in Zhu are afraid that they will not be owned by Wei, but will be obtained by the thieves. When the Huaishui is surging, cut off the north and the south, and the elite soldiers on the Zhu, how can they defend? I hope that Your Majesty will be aware of the above things. ”

"In Berning's words, I think that a pontoon bridge cannot be built, so how can it break Zhongli?" Cao Pi asked dissatisfied.

"Your Majesty, the minister thought that he could go east, cut off Sikou, take Xiapi, and then go south with Qingxu soldiers and horses." Full pet said.

Cao Pi waved his hand and said: "Huaiyin and Ke, then Huaibei is owned by our army, why do you need to go east to compete with Boren!" ”

As he spoke, Cao Pi looked at Liu Ye, who was thinking, and asked, "Ziyang, if my army wants to attack Zhongli, can we build a pontoon bridge?" ”

Liu Ye pondered for a long time and said: "Your Majesty, what Man Taishou said is not unreasonable, but Shouchun and Matou are owned by our army, I live in the upstream, and the thief is downstream, and the situation is favorable to Your Majesty." The thief wants to attack my pontoon, and he should sail up the river. ”

"In order to prevent thieves from damaging our pontoon bridge, Your Majesty can build fireboats, and if the thieves sailor goes up the river, our army will meet it with a fireboat, then the thief army and sailor can break the thief's army, so that the thief will not dare to commit a crime. And on top of the Jiangzhu, build a high platform, and if there is a thief diving under the bridge, he will shoot it with a bow and crossbow. In this way, the bridge can be used to ensure the north-south exchange. ”

"Good!"

Cao Pi smiled with joy and said: "Today, Lao Da Sima and Wen Lie led a large army to Huainan to besiege Zhongli City; The hussar general (Cao Hong) led his troops to garrison Huaibei and destroyed the bridge to prevent water thieves. ”

"No!"

Under Liu Ye's supervision, Xiahou Ru led the army to camp in Zhouzhu in Huaishui, and then built a pontoon bridge. Cao Ren led 30,000 soldiers and horses to cross Huainan, joined up with Cao Xiu's headquarters, and began to build siege equipment.

——

Zhongli City, Xu Sheng stood on the city tower, looking at the dense Wei army outside the city, and couldn't help but clench the handle of the saber.

Seeing that there were many thieves, Xu He said worriedly: "General, with the number of thieves outside the city, the soldiers and horses have not seen reinforcements for a long time, I am afraid that I don't know how long I can hold on!" ”

Xu Sheng looked at the left and right sergeants, boosted morale, and said: "I, Sergeant Zhongli, will send troops and horses for the governor's tent, and the governor will abandon me and others!" ”

Pointing to the south, Xu Sheng raised his voice and said: "The thief army is easy to slaughter, you and my family are all in Huainan, if Zhongli is lost, the thief army will drive straight in, his wife and daughter will be bullied, and his children and nephews will be mutilated." Now we must not only defend the frontier for the Han Dynasty, but also defend the city for our wives and children! ”

"Establish meritorious deeds and repay your wife and children!" Xu Sheng raised his arms and exhaled.

The faces of the sergeants on the left and right were moved, and they shouted one after another: "Establish meritorious service, and repay your wife and children!" ”

Xu Sheng drew his sword out of its sheath and shouted: "Whoever commits the territory of the Han Dynasty will be broken by attack!" ”

"Those who invade the territory of the Han Dynasty will be attacked!"

After Xu Sheng's morale boost, the morale of the generals in the city was strong.

After that, Gao Chen went to Xu Sheng, pulled his clothes and said, "The governor ordered us to stick to May, why is it forbidden to say nothing now?" ”

The military orders sent from Wuhan were sent to Huaiyin under expedited conditions.

Gao Chen, the general of Xutai, received Huo Jun's letter, and immediately abandoned the Xuantai guard, and took advantage of the fact that the encirclement of the Wei army was not yet tight, and led the army into the city from the south gate.

Xu Sheng patted the city wall with his hand and said in a deep voice: "Defend the city with 4,000 soldiers and horses for five months, and tell the soldiers truthfully that the soldiers will die for it." and when the morale of the city is greatly lost, and then show the letter, and keep the city for a limited time, so as to encourage the soldiers. ”

Xu Shengyong is not only overlooked, but also has some strategy. Five months, a full hundred and fifty days, such a long time, if you tell the soldiers in the city, they will inevitably complain about it. Now the only way to boost morale is to hide it first and then tell everyone about it.

Gao Chen nodded and sighed, and said, "General, Chen is far from it!" ”

Xu Sheng patted Gao Chen on the shoulder and said, "The thief army will definitely fill the moat first, and then attack the city with weapons. In the future, the west gate will be guarded by the king, and I will personally guard the north gate. ”

"No!"

Without chatting with Gao Chen, Xu Sheng summoned the bed crossbowmen on the city tower and told him about the battle again.

It has been many years since Huo Jun summoned craftsmen to develop the three-bow bed crossbow, and the three-bow bed crossbow has gradually been manufactured and put into military operations. However, due to the huge physique and abnormal heaviness of the three-bow bed crossbow, it was difficult to use in the Northern Expedition, so most of them were used to defend the city.

Xu Sheng put his hand on the huge eight-bull crossbow and said: "Although the bed crossbow can shoot more than 800 steps, if you want to twist it, you have to combine the strength of dozens of people, so you can't shoot it if you can't see the enemy." Obey my commands, and do not shoot them without my command. ”

"Zhang Gui!"

"In!"

"The three bed crossbows in the north of the city are under your command, and only from my military orders. However, if you see the thief's head, you can find an opportunity to shoot a volley. Xu Sheng admonished.

Zhongli is an important town in Huaishang, and under the deployment of Huo Jun, there are seven bed crossbows in the city. As a heavy weapon of the military state, Xu Sheng attaches great importance to it. Its power is amazing, and it shoots siege equipment, all of which are destroyed. Hundreds of paces away, you can also shoot at the enemy.

Zhang Gui's eyes were bright and clever, and he said jokingly: "If I can shoot the thief head with a bed crossbow, but I don't know what reward the general has?" ”

"What do you want?"

"Hey, hey!"

Zhang Gui scratched his head and said, "I want the general's wine!" ”

"Look at you!"

Xu Sheng kicked Zhang Gui lightly and said with a smile: "If you can shoot the thief's head, your kid should go to Beijing to meet Your Majesty and the Governor." I'm afraid that you are daydreaming, and the ancestral tomb is smoking! ”

"Haha!" The crowd laughed.

(End of chapter)