Tang Tao frowned and said: "The general loves the people, and the subordinates admire him. However, the city of Chang'an is high and deep. If we attack by force, it may not be possible to capture it within a few months, and it will only increase casualties."
But Liu Ziqiu waved his hand firmly and said loudly: "What is the duty of a soldier? A soldier must sacrifice for the country and the nation! To achieve the goal by sacrificing the lives of the people, this does not mean that the soldier is a robber! The city must be attacked, Liu
The decision has been made and there is no need to discuss it further. Mr. Tang, Liu has two things to entrust me with."
When Tang Tao heard Liu Ziqiu's righteous words, he felt ashamed and hurriedly said: "Please give me your orders, general."
Liu Ziqiu waved his hand and said: "First, you properly arrange the concubines and maids in the palace. Second, appease the people of Jingzhao counties."
In fact, Liu Ziqiu had his own plan for attacking Chang'an City, but after all, his men lacked the talent to govern the country. Liu Ziqiu would try his best to win over every talent that could be conquered. The conversation just now was just Liu Ziqiu's test of Tang Tao. Passed
After testing, Liu Ziqiu has determined that Tang Ba is loyal to the Sui Dynasty and the Yang family, and Liu Ziqiu will break with the Yang family one day in the future. Therefore, even if he has gained Tang Ba's trust, Liu Ziqiu still cannot entrust Tang Ba with important responsibilities.
Both of these things were not complicated for Tang Tao. By sending Tang Tao to do it, he could not only play his role, but also temporarily keep him away from the battle to attack Chang'an. In the future, he will be rewarded based on his merits.
Yes, Tang Tao did not play a big role in the battle against Chang'an, so his future contributions will naturally be less, so Liu Ziqiu does not need to assign him an overly high position.
…
Although Liu Ziqiu's army moved quickly, as it approached Chang'an step by step, the news inevitably reached Yang Xuangan's ears. When he heard that Chang'an had been surrounded on three sides, Yang Xuangan was shocked and couldn't figure out where this army came from.
Did they come down from heaven?
Although Yang Xuangan still has 200,000 troops under his command, not all of these 200,000 troops are stationed in Chang'an. A considerable part of them are stationed in Feng Yi County. Tongguan, Pujin Pass and Longmen Pass in Feng Yi County are the three passes east of Chang'an.
That was the focus of the battle between Yang Xuangan and Li Yuan, so they had to send heavy troops to guard it. Although there were still 120,000 troops left in Chang'an City, most of these 120,000 troops were recently recruited soldiers who lacked training and had low combat effectiveness. They relied on these people to defend the city.
The city may be okay, but asking them to leave the city to fight these enemies who come from nowhere is tantamount to asking them to die.
However, according to reports from Tanma, there are not many soldiers and horses on each route outside the city. If we concentrate our forces to wipe out the enemy all the way, it is likely to completely turn the tide of the war.
Yang Xuangan couldn't decide whether to stick to Chang'an or go out to find the enemy for a decisive battle. During this hesitation, he lost the opportunity to leave the city for a decisive battle. Liu Ziqiu's army had completely surrounded Chang'an City.
After the siege of the city, Liu Ziqiu ordered people to invite Yu Wenkai over and asked: "Master Yuwen, is there really a way to allow the army to enter the city without anyone noticing?"
When he was in Xiping, Liu Ziqiu told Li Changshan that he still had to wait for someone, and that person was Yu Wenkai. The two capitals of the Sui Dynasty, Chang'an and Luoyang, were built under his auspices. The entire Chang'an city was designed by him.
He pretended in his mind that he was more familiar with the layout of Chang'an than anyone else. After Liu Ziqiu made the decision to march eastward, Yu Wenkai boasted that Haikou could allow the three armies to sneak into the city without anyone noticing.
Yu Wenkai ordered someone to carry a large sandbox. This sandbox was made by himself after he knew that Liu Ziqiu was going to attack Chang'an City. During this period, he had to march with Liu Ziqiu during the day and was busy making the sandbox at night. You can imagine the hard work.
Although it was hard work, Yu Wenkai had no complaints or regrets because he truly admired Liu Ziqiu.
Not to mention anything else, Yu Wenkai benefited greatly from Liu Ziqiu's method of making sand tables. The two areas Yu Wen Kai is best at are construction and machinery. Sand tables can not only be used in the military, but also in construction.
It is also of great use in making many of his ideas more intuitive. In particular, the concept of equal proportions proposed by Liu Ziqiu made the buildings designed by Yu Wenkai more accurate in both sand tables and drawings. He was a great inspiration.
On the other hand, the hardness and toughness of the iron smelted according to the method taught by Liu Ziqiu has reached a new level, allowing the machinery designed by Yu Wenkai to run more smoothly. Many parts are smaller than in the past, but can withstand greater loads.
In this regard, He Chou also benefited a lot, but He Chou was not proficient in architecture, so his feelings were far less profound than Yu Wenkai's.
It was an achievement that Yu Wenkai was proud of when he presided over the construction of Chang'an City. Although Luoyang and the Sixteenth Courtyard of Shanglin built in later generations were inseparable from his handiwork, the outer city of Luoyang was built very crudely, almost without construction.
The completed project was not in line with his original intention. The Sixteenth Courtyard of Shanglin was just a place for Yang Guang to play. No matter how magnificent it was, outsiders could not see its true appearance. Therefore, among the projects he built, he was the most proud of it.
It's still Chang'an.
Seeing that a war was about to break out in Chang'an, the result of the war would often cause huge damage to the city, and Liu Ziqiu also prepared a large number of trebuchets. These trebuchets were developed by Yu Wenkai and He Chou, and he knew very well about these trebuchets.
Due to the power of the machine, even the solid Chang'an City could not withstand the attacks of trebuchets day and night. Chang'an City was like Yu Wenkai's child. He certainly did not want Chang'an City to be destroyed by the war, which was another reason why he took the initiative to offer advice.
Yu Wenkai pointed to the sand table and said: "My lord, please look here."
Liu Ziqiu stared at the sand table for a while, nodded and said, "This is Guangtong Canal."
Guangtong Canal is also part of the Grand Canal, passing through the city from Chang'an City. Food from various places is transported to Chang'an through this canal. However, Chang'an City has set up two sluice gates. When the sluice gates are lowered, the flow from Guangzhou to Guangdong Province has already been blocked.
It is very unrealistic to enter Chang'an City by water.
"Yes, this is the Guangtong Canal." Yu Wenkai laughed and said, "My lord, please take a closer look. I have marked a red line here."
Liu Ziqiu was refreshed and asked, "Did you set up a secret passage in advance?"
Yu Wenkai said hurriedly: "How dare I set up a secret tunnel privately? This is a drainage ditch set up by my subordinates."
Hearing that Yu Wenkai had set up a drainage culvert, Liu Ziqiu's heart lit up. He was a special forces soldier, so he naturally understood what the drainage culvert meant, and he quickly asked: "How high is the drainage culvert? Does anyone else in the city know?"
Yu Wenkai thought for a while and said: "The lowest point of the culvert is more than five feet. It can completely accommodate a person to pass through. It just requires bending down. Most of the craftsmen who originally built Chang'an City were later transferred to continue to build Luoyang City. The city
Not many people probably know about this drainage culvert.”
Liu Ziqiu couldn't help but ponder, this was an adventure. If Yang Xuangan also knew about this drainage culvert, as long as he prepared an ambush at the exit, he would be wiped out as many people as he entered. But from the bottom of his heart, Liu Ziqiu didn't
He hoped to destroy the original walls and other buildings of Chang'an City through a forceful attack. He walked back and forth in the camp several times and asked again: "Where is the exit?"
Yu Wenkai knew this already and blurted out: "If the lord wants to enter Chang'an City through the drainage culvert, the entrance will be on Guangtong Canal. There are three exits in the city, one is Longshou Canal in the east of the city
, and there are two others, both in the south of the city, one is called Yong'an Canal, and the other is called Qingming Canal."
"South of the city! Quick, point me to someone, where is the south of the city?" Liu Ziqiu was overjoyed. According to the detailed reports of sneaking into the city in the early stage, although Chang'an City is large in scale, its population is seriously insufficient. There are more than ten residents in the south of the city.
There are very few, very deserted and desolate. If the exit is in the south direction of the city, the army can sneak in through the drainage culvert and assemble secretly there.
Yu Wenkai looked at the sand table for a while, pointed to two places with great certainty, and said: "Once the drainage culvert is determined, it is difficult to change it, and this is it!"
Liu Ziqiu nodded, pointed towards an exit on the Qingming Canal, and said: "This is the main direction of attack, and the other two points cannot be given up. Zhang Liang, lead your army and horses to launch a feint attack at the north gate, and be careful to use bows and arrows to suppress the city.
Shi Danai, you pick 10,000 elite soldiers to sneak into the city from the culvert to the exit of Qingming Canal, and then take advantage of the night to seize the south gate! Gui Haiqiu, you pick 5,000 elite soldiers to sneak into the city from the exit of Yong'an Canal. Your mission is to block the attack.
The reinforcements sent from the city to the south gate are Wen Hao!"
Wen Hao had just arrived from Tianshui. When he heard the order, he immediately raised his hands and said, "My lord, do you want me to sneak into Longshou Canal?"
Liu Ziqiu waved his hand and said: "Your mission is to lurk outside the south gate, cooperate with Stanali, and you must ensure that the south gate is captured and defended."
Wen Hao hadn't fought a tough battle for a long time, and he had been gearing up for a long time. But it was Shi Danai's task to seize the South Gate. He was only acting as a backup, so he was a little disappointed. He handed over his hands and said: "My lord, I am willing to sneak into the city and attack directly."
Miyagi!”
Liu Ziqiu chuckled and said: "Most of your subordinates are cavalry. After Shi Danai seizes the city gate, you can lead your troops to break in. Using the mobility of the cavalry, you can quickly highlight the two military camps in the city before the defenders can react.
, this is your main task. Is there no problem?"
Breaking into the enemy's camp, there will naturally be a fierce battle. Wen Hao became excited and said loudly: "Please rest assured, my lord, the general will definitely live up to his command!"
Liu Ziqiu waved his hand and said: "Okay, let's prepare separately. We will launch the attack only after the news from the city is conveyed."
Zhang Liang frowned and asked, "My lord, I wonder who led the group that sneaked into Longshou Canal?"