ps: Thanks to Douban and Lao Jiang for the reward, thanks to jerd, acetic acid, Zhuzhu, fdhy and Zhou Xingbian for the monthly pass. I have to go to Xiangshan for a meeting tomorrow and will not return to the city until the day after tomorrow, so I can only stop updating for one day. It will be Friday.
Recovery, sorry sorry.
In the first few days of fighting, the thunder was loud and the rain was light. Youzhou sent out its entire army every day and set up a huge military formation under Shicheng in order to intimidate the Yingzhou Army. The Yingzhou Army also submitted time and time again and also sent troops out of the city to meet the enemy.
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However, the two sides did not actually make any big commotion, and the fighting was brief. The total number of dead and wounded soldiers on both sides was less than a hundred.
For Li Chengzhong, he does not want to start a decisive battle with the Yier Army prematurely, he needs to continue to delay time.
Liu Shouguang wanted to speed up the battle, but he had been unable to find a loophole in Yingzhou, so he was unable to launch a fierce attack. Because of the existence of the camp under the city, he could not devote heavy troops to the siege, and the originally planned
The plan of attacking the camp under the city, luring the Yingzhou army to come for reinforcements, and then annihilating the reinforcements also failed.
Every time the Yier Army made a posture of attacking the city camp, the Yingzhou Army would indeed dispatch, but the reinforcements they dispatched were placed in the open space less than half a mile between the south gate of Shicheng and the city camp.
The location is just under the effective coverage of arrows and stone throws at the top of the city. If the volunteer army wants to attack the supporting army, it will inevitably be threatened by the defenders at the top of the city.
If the reinforcements were not attacked, the reinforcements could enter the camp in a majestic manner through the gate of the city camp directly opposite the south gate of Shicheng. Moreover, Liu Shouguang also did not dare to invest heavy troops to storm the city camp, because the reinforcements sent out from Shicheng except
In addition to the infantry, there was also a large group of cavalry. These cavalry were staring at the open space between Shicheng and the camp below the city, making it possible for the volunteers to be stabbed in the back at all times.
Who says cavalry is useless in defending a city? As long as there is room to maneuver, cavalry is also the main force in defending a city!
The large number of cavalry in the Yingzhou Army also posed threats to the Volunteer Army: the Volunteer Army did not dare to push the heavy-duty siege equipment to the front line. These equipment were too cumbersome, such as ramming vehicles, ladders, and mobile archery towers.
, trebuchets, etc., once transported to the front, it is difficult to withdraw. As long as they are targeted by the Yingzhou Army cavalry, it will be quite troublesome.
The low-intensity battle lasted for many days, and Liu Shouguang and Liu Zhiwen could no longer sit still. They finally made up their mind and decided to fight a decisive battle regardless of losses.
Their plan was to focus their attack on the south side of the city camp. It was far away from the threat of arrows and stone throws from the Shicheng defenders, so they could avoid casualties. In order to place the engineering equipment in front of the city camp, the two decided to move the main force of the Yier Army
Moved to the south of the camp under the city to protect the two flanks of the siege army.
Such a plan will definitely not work relying on the Yier Army alone. The Yingzhou Army has a large number of cavalry, so Badu Cavalry must be mobilized to participate in the battle. Using cavalry against cavalry will lock up the mobile strength of the Yingzhou Army. At the same time, because of the strength of the Yier Army
They have all been mobilized to the south of the camp under the city. The Yingzhou Army is likely to seize this opportunity to leave the city. Whether it is to outflank the Yier Army's rear route, or to go straight to the Yier Army's middle camp, or even to attack the Yier Army Liangtai Camp. This is not possible.
Therefore, the Jizhou army was asked to fight to the death to contain Shicheng, and launched a fierce attack at the north gate and west gate of Shicheng.
This method of fighting is very tiring and will cause huge casualties. Because this plan still cannot prevent Shicheng from sending reinforcements to support the defense of the camp below the city, it is destined to be an arduous war of attrition. Liu Shouguang and Liu Zhiwen made simple speculations,
It is expected that it will take a loss of 3,000 to 5,000 men to conquer the city camp. Such losses will cause an ebb and flow in the strength of the Yier Army, Jizhou Soldiers and Badu Cavalry, which will be very detrimental to the future control of Lulong Prefecture. However,
They couldn't think of a better way, so they could only look at the present.
At the same time, there is another drawback in the plan, that is, whether Zhao Jing and Zhao Ba will cooperate sincerely. Even if they cooperate sincerely, will they do their best in combat? In the plan, Zhao Jing needs to command Ji
The state soldiers attacked the North Gate and South Gate regardless of losses, so as to truly contain the Yingzhou Army in the city. Zhao Ba also needed to command Badu's cavalry to stand ready and prepare for a head-on confrontation with the Yingzhou Army's cavalry.
In order to solve this problem, Liu Shouguang and Liu Zhiwen met with Zhao Jing and Zhao Ba respectively and proposed their plan. Sure enough, both of them agreed reluctantly. Liu Shouguang and Liu Zhiwen had to add many favorable conditions again.
Only then did Zhao Jing and Zhao Ba finally pat their chests and make a guarantee. These conditions include an increase of 30% in money and food every year, an increase in the proportion of war horses, local civil servants within their sphere of influence can be elected by themselves, etc.
After careful discussion, Liu Shouguang set the date for storming the city camp on the 25th of the first lunar month.
On that day, Liu Shouguang dispatched the main force of the volunteer army, 10,000 people, and marched to the south of the camp under the city. The army spread out its formation. The central army, the main force of 5,000 people to attack the camp, was organized into a left wing; the right wing was divided into two parts to protect the two wings.
As the most critical part of the entire plan, Zhou Zhiyu, who was forcibly brought here, finally came in handy.
Zhang Jingshao led the rear army to "protect" Zhou Zhiyu and set up a formation three miles west of the Yier Army's formation, less than one mile from the southwest corner of Shicheng. The flag with the characters "Liangtai Ambassador Zhou" was erected high.
This is a bait. It seems that Zhou Zhiyu's rear army is far away from the Yier Army, but close to Shicheng. It is very convenient for the city to send troops out of the city for rescue. But Zhao Ba has already agreed, and Badu Cavalry General is hiding in the woods behind.
, as long as the Yingzhou Army dares to leave the city and attack the rear army, the Badu Cavalry will launch a surprise attack on the Yingzhou Army leaving the city. At that time, the two thousand people on the right wing of the Yier Army guarding the left wing will also go straight to the rear of the Yingzhou Army.
, and annihilated the Yingzhou army leaving the city under the city.
If Li Chengzhong watched Zhou Zhiyu appear without rescuing him, as the former general of the Yingzhou Army, Zhou Zhiyu's appearance on the battlefield would also cause a serious blow to the morale of the Yingzhou Army, and would also be beneficial to the offensive of the Yier Army.
At the same time, when the Yier Army's offensive really goes wrong, Liu Shouguang can even push Zhou Zhiyu to the front line of the battle and use Zhou Zhiyu as a hostage to blackmail the Yingzhou Army, causing huge confusion to the Yingzhou Army's defense line.
For Liu Shouguang and Liu Zhiwen, Zhou Zhiyu is a deterrent weapon that is very easy to use no matter how it is used. They hope to see the effect today.
The change in the position of the army's formation had already foreshadowed the focus of the Yier Army's attack. The Yingzhou Army immediately sent out reinforcements, two thousand infantry and one thousand cavalry, gathered in the open space between Shicheng and the camp below the city.
On standby. The Yingzhou Army in the camp under the city was also busy as if flying, shifting the focus of defense to the south.
Liu Shouguang rode a horse and stepped onto the slope that the civilians had just built. He looked at the elite soldiers under his command, nodded with satisfaction, and glanced at the rear army formation in the distance. In the center of the army formation, there were two generals.
The flags fluttered in the biting cold wind. Because they were far apart, Liu Shouguang could not see clearly the name on the general flags, but he believed that if Li Chengzhong was on top of Shicheng City, then the opponent would definitely be able to see the "" on one of the general flags.
The word "week".
I wonder what the governor of Yingzhou would think when he saw Zhou Zhiyu in the military formation? Maybe he was conflicted? Or maybe he was not at the top of the city at the moment, but he would definitely be running towards the top of the city.
On the way there, the defenders will definitely report such a big thing.
The volunteer army used the war food at Chenshi and arrived at the south of the city camp at Sishi. It was just past two o'clock after the large formation was set up. The winter morning was very cold. Even if the sergeants were given winter clothes before leaving Youzhou, they still could not
Completely resisting the cold. Liu Shouguang decided to give Li Chengzhong a little more time to ensure that the other party knew about Zhou Zhiyu's arrival and to allow the other party to think carefully about how to deal with it. Of course, it would be best to go out of the city for rescue.
Liu Shouguang raised his hand to signal. Hu Linggui, the Yamen general, nodded and accepted the order. He got off his horse and pulled out the khaki Lulong order flag, which was as tall as two people. He clasped his hands and waved it up and down. All units of the volunteer army raised their flags in response, indicating that their headquarters
Already in place.
Hu Linggui signaled the drummer of the central army to beat the drum, and the twelve-sided cowhide drum sounded immediately, so all the troops in the military formation began to dance to the sound of the drum. The so-called "dance" actually means doing some simple warm-up movements, but it is blade-holding gymnastics, or
It is said to be an armed martial arts, and every move is precise. Because of the composition characteristics of the Volunteer Army, the "dance" of each branch is also different. Some are rigorous and steady, some are gorgeous and clever, and they are constantly competing with each other.
There is a desire to compete.
When fighting in the field in winter, especially in the north, the army must "dance" before the battle. The purpose is to allow the soldiers to move their hands and feet, that is, to warm up. After all, the weather is too cold, and it is impossible to fight without warming up before the battle.
This kind of warm-up has been called "war dance" since ancient times. Later, the emperor of Tang Dynasty adapted it and incorporated it into the palace songs and dances, and officially appeared on the stage. For example, "The Music of King Qin Breaking the Formation" was actually a simple gymnastics exercise before the army went to war.
It's just been processed.
During the interval between the dances of various units of the volunteer army, in whichever direction Hu Linggui waved the command flag, the volunteers in that direction shouted "Yum" in unison. Suddenly, a shout resounded in the wilderness that shook the entire field.
The Yingzhou Army is also warming up. The troops at the top of Shicheng City, in the camp below the city, and on standby in the middle are all active. But compared to the "dance" of the Yier Army, the Yingzhou Army's warm-up is much uglier. Their
The movements are closer to later gymnastics, stretching arms back and forth, bending and twisting hips, or jumping in place. The officers gave the command "one two three four, two two three four", and the soldiers followed the command and performed the same simple movements.
There was no noise, no shouting, no stabbing or chopping, it looked like nothing. If another time traveler appeared here, he would be quite surprised to find that this set of actions is completely the "Eighth Broadcast Set" of later generations.
gymnastics".
Liu Shouguang stood on the slope and inspected each unit of his volunteer army one by one. He was quite satisfied when he saw the majestic and gorgeous dance of the sergeants and listened to the mountain-like shouts.
Behind, countless firewood piles were gradually lit, and large iron pots were placed on the bonfires. The ice cubes in the pots began to melt. After the water was hot, the civilians would soak the wine cans in the hot water, and then give them to the soldiers participating in the attack one by one.
, it can warm up the body and strengthen the courage. This is the only way for the northern army to fight in winter.
When everything was ready, Liu Shouguang sent out several teams of scouts to contact the rear army, Jizhou soldiers and Badu cavalry respectively. Once they were all ready, the general attack could begin. To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote at Qidian.
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