Five hundred and fortieth chapters after the break
General Wang Long was ordered by Li Cheng to guard Weishui City. He also suspected that there was something fishy in the city, but he almost turned the city upside down. He checked every inch of land and every city brick and couldn't find anything suspicious, so he gave up.
In my heart, maybe Li Dutong was right. The other party was afraid of a hundred thousand troops and had to abandon the military city.
But Wang Long never imagined that the Song army did retain a hand, but this hand was not only inside the city, but also outside the city.
The organs in the city are located at the south city head. The south city head is slightly tilted, higher in the south and lower in the north. There is also a trench under the north wall of the city head. This design paved the way for the Song army to use kerosene to attack the city.
Of course, the puppet Qi army did not understand the Song army's siege methods. Naturally, they did not understand the subtle tilt of the ground at the top of the city. A raging fire could be ignited at the top of the city, but the flames could not last long, and the kerosene flowed into the trenches.
Inside.
The Song army had its own means of siege, which was demonstrated vividly when attacking Pingliang City. Unless the puppet Qi army mastered the method of putting out the fire in time, they would not be able to withstand the Song army's raging fire siege.
The foreshadowing outside the city was outside the south city. The Song army left an eighty-step line outside the south city and placed a dozen large stones as signs.
This eighty-step line is very important because it allows the Song army to use a small trebuchet to throw the kerosene cans right onto the top of the city.
Just before the enemy's camp grain warehouse was set alight, Liu Qiong also led the army to take action.
This time Chen Qing actually deployed two armies outside Chengji County. One was a scout battalion of 500 soldiers, led by the general Tang Qian. They were responsible for harassing the enemy and destroying the enemy's kerosene and fuel.
gunpowder.
The other army is the five thousand army commanded by Liu Qiong. They have only one mission, to recapture the Weishui military city and cut off the retreat of the 100,000 puppet Qi army...
To this end, Chen Qing gave Liu Qiong a large number of resources, including 300 small trebuchets, 6,000 altars of fierce fire oil, 1,000 fire troops, and 30 siege ladders.
At the fourth watch, 300 small trebuchets were quickly carried to the 80-step line. The soldiers reinforced the trebuchets on the ground. This small trebuchet can throw a twenty-kilogram clay pot of kerosene to the 80-step line.
The outer city top is also more accurate.
Each trebuchet was manned by five soldiers, was about one person tall, and had a throwing pole of one foot. When the black trebuchet appeared eighty steps away, the defenders on the top of the city vaguely saw some clues.
"There is an enemy!"
The soldiers on the top of the city shouted one after another. A soldier ran to the west top of the city and sounded the alarm, 'Dang! Dang! Dang!'
The general Wang Long was suddenly awakened. He ran out of the room without even having time to put on his shoes, and asked loudly in the courtyard: "What's going on?"
"I don't know exactly, but it seems to be an alarm bell coming from the west city!"
As soon as the soldier finished speaking, a soldier rushed over to report, "Commander, a large number of Song troops were discovered outside the southern city!"
Wang Long's eyes widened and he immediately shouted: "Send the whole army to go to Nancheng!"
There were a total of three thousand puppet Qi troops in the military city, and one thousand soldiers guarded the city at night. Under the command of the general Wang Long, they rushed out of the military camp and ran toward the south wall.
But before they could reach the south city wall, countless red fireballs suddenly appeared in the sky and flew towards the head of the south city. The head of the south city instantly turned into a sea of fire. Hundreds of soldiers on the head of the south city suddenly cried and screamed in all directions.
While running away, many soldiers were burned into flames. After running for dozens of steps, they fell down and were engulfed in the flames.
The soldiers under the city stopped one after another and looked at the raging fire above the southern city in fear.
Wang Long rode up on horseback and shouted: "The first battalion went to the east city head, and the second battalion went to the west city head!"
Two thousand soldiers immediately divided into two groups and rushed towards the East City and West City.
After two rounds of kerosene pots were thrown, there was no more soldiers at the head of the south city. Thousands of fire soldiers were dispatched. They rushed towards the south wall carrying twenty siege ladders.
Soon, siege ladders were erected at the head of the south city, and thousands of Huohuan soldiers swarmed up.
At the same time, a thousand soldiers carrying wet bedding also climbed towards the top of the city. Behind them, there were another two thousand soldiers, all of whom were elite and powerful in combat.
The soldiers of the Fire Huan Army rushed to the top of the city. The flames on the top of the city were mainly burning on the inside. There was almost no flame on the outer wall, but black smoke billowing, making it difficult to identify the direction.
However, the soldiers of the Fire Huan Army had undergone strict training and were different from ordinary people. They ran quickly to the east and west, rushed out of the flame zone, and began to quickly deploy defensive fortifications. Three hundred soldiers held large shields and spears.
Another two hundred soldiers stood behind the team holding divine arm crossbows.
At this time, the flames and thick smoke on the top of the city began to disappear one by one, and a large number of Song Army soldiers appeared on the top of the south city.
Wang Long saw it clearly and was shocked. He waved his sword and shouted: "The Song army has attacked the city, kill them!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a wolf-fang arrow shot out like lightning. Wang Long couldn't dodge, and the arrow hit his throat. He screamed, took two steps back, fell from the top of the city, and died instantly.
Liu Qiong put away her bow and arrows, brandished her big gun and shouted: "Brothers, kill me!"
"Kill!"
The Song soldiers who rushed to the top of the city charged towards the enemy.
There is no suspense in this battle. The soldiers of the Song Army are all elite and have strong combat effectiveness. With their superiority in numbers, their morale is high. The enemy general is killed in battle. However, their morale is low. They have no intention of fighting. They are killed by the Song Army and cry for their fathers and mothers. They surrender.
There are countless of them.
Before dawn, the Song army occupied Weishui City and surrendered more than 2,000 enemy troops. Some of the enemy troops opened the east city gate and escaped.
Five thousand Song troops reorganized the military city, moved kerosene and other supplies into the city, and deployed trebuchets on top of the city, waiting for the arrival of the main enemy army.
Li Cheng finally ordered the withdrawal. He had to make this decision. Although they rescued most of the soldiers and coins, the vital food and fodder were all burned by the fire, and the entire warehouse camp was burned to the ground.
One hundred thousand troops needed food, and tens of thousands of horses needed fodder, but the little food they had could only sustain the army for two days. Although Li Cheng ordered the news to be blocked, various news about food shortages had already spread like wildfire.
The whole army, including everyone in the army, was panicked and morale was low.
In the chaos, a hundred thousand troops hurriedly broke camp and retreated eastward.
‘woo woo’
A continuous sound of low horns came from the head of Chengji County. At this time, the army had withdrawn thirty miles away. Li Cheng looked back and looked solemnly. His aide Yao Bing sighed at the side: "The Song army should send troops!"
At this time, a spy galloped up from behind, stepped forward and clasped his fists, saying: "To report to the capital, the south gate of Chengji County is wide open, and countless soldiers are coming out of the city!"
"how many people?"
"When I saw it, there were almost 20,000 people there, but there was a mighty army coming out from behind. I don't know how many people there were."
"Hurry up and investigate, I want to know the exact number of people!"
"Follow the order!"
The spy turned around and galloped away.
Yao Bing pondered for a moment and asked: "Does the commander-in-chief still want to fight the Song army?"
Li Cheng sighed and said: "Morale is relatively low now, and I can't make up my mind. I'll decide based on the strength of the opponent's troops!"
At this time, Guan Shigu rode up and asked, "Has the other party sent troops?"
Li Cheng nodded, "The other party has already sent troops, but the number of troops is not yet known. I have asked spies to find out as soon as possible. Does General Guan want to fight the other party?"
Guan Shigu said: "We must be prepared for a decisive battle. It is still more than a hundred miles from here to the Wei River Military City. We have to spend the night on the road. I am afraid of the enemy's night attack."
Li Cheng looked at the sky and saw that it was already afternoon. He finally made up his mind, "Rather than being attacked halfway, it is better to set up a large formation now and fight the opponent decisively!"
Chen Qing left Hu Yantong and led 5,000 troops to defend the city. He personally led 40,000 troops to chase the main enemy force.
In preparation for this war, Chen Qing stationed 60,000 troops in Chengji County, including 40,000 cavalry and 20,000 infantry.
Previously, Liu Qiong led 5,000 infantry to Weishui City and left another 5,000 infantry to defend the city. But last night, Yang Zaixing led 10,000 cavalry to take the lead.
At present, Chen Qing's 40,000-strong army consists of 30,000 cavalry and 10,000 infantry. He is bound to win this battle.
Just after chasing twenty miles, the scouts from the front came to report, "The puppet Qi army has set up a formation at ten miles and is ready to fight us to the death!"
Of course Chen Qing would not give the initiative to the other party. He smiled slightly and said: "Pass my order and the whole army will rest where they are!"
If Li Cheng wants to set up a formation for a decisive battle, let him do it, and wait until dark for the decisive battle.
Chen Qing's real killer move to defeat his opponent is the night battle.