Yang Zaixing didn't sleep well all night. In his more than ten years of military career, the pressure had never been as great as it was today. He repeatedly considered various details, various possibilities, and various countermeasures until dawn.
Falling asleep.
The next day, Yang Zaixing discussed the details of the operation with his deputy Li Muqing. Li Muqing was not very in favor of the operation, but seeing that Yang Zaixing was fully committed, he no longer objected and began to fully cooperate with Yang Zaixing's plan.
Night fell again, it was cloudy at night, a crescent moon passed through the clouds, and the earth was bright and dark.
Thirty thousand Song troops were lying in ambush two miles away. Yang Zaixing personally led a thousand assault troops to crawl forward, about five hundred steps away from the city gate. They could not go any further. A thousand soldiers were lying on the ground, and you could see the defenders on the top of the city.
The army is patrolling back and forth.
What Yang Zaixing is worried about is the horse-faced wall. From the horse-faced wall, you can see the situation under the city wall. Although not every city has a horse-faced wall, in a big city like Luoyang, Xijing, it is impossible for a horse-faced wall not to exist.
However, no patrolling soldiers were seen on the wall in front of the horse. This made Yang Zaixing calm down a little. He turned around and waved his hand, and twenty soldiers were running around carrying a large box containing an iron rhinoceros. This was because Hong Wu personally led the troops.
The twenty soldiers were divided into two groups, one in front and one behind. The five in front were carrying the iron fire thunder, and the fifteen in the back were to respond. If they missed, they would quickly evacuate. The 1,000 people led by Yang Zaixing were the second wave to respond.
The response is the key to Yang Zaixing's plan. As long as the response is timely and sufficient, even if the enemy discovers it, the iron fire thunder can be snatched back and it will not fall into the enemy's hands.
"Wait!" Yu Hongwu stopped five of his men. He forcefully unscrewed the waterproof wooden cover on the iron fire mine, revealing the match rope and the opening of the fire mine.
"If the situation is critical, light a fire immediately, no matter where it is!"
"Follow the order!"
The five soldiers agreed, carrying the wooden box and ran towards the moat a hundred steps away. The moon was covered by clouds and the sky became dark. They ran faster and gradually approached the moat. The moat of Luoyang City was very wide and deep.
It was more than ten feet wide. A soldier gently slid into the water to test the condition of the moat. He swam back after a while and found that there was no problem. Others picked up the box and carefully prepared to put it into the water.
Yang Zaixing's heart almost rose to his throat. At this moment, a fire flashed on the wall in front of the horse.
"not good!"
Yang Zaixing immediately realized that something bad had happened and someone was watching the horse wall.
I saw hundreds of soldiers suddenly standing on the top of the city. They raised their bows and shot at several soldiers. Hundreds of crossbow arrows were shot down at the same time. Five soldiers were unable to dodge and were instantly shot into hedgehogs. They died tragically on the spot. The box fell to the ground.
The iron rhinoceros, which was as big as a winter melon, rolled out and rolled directly into the moat.
Yu Hongwu was so heartbroken that he jumped up and rushed towards the moat desperately. However, he was thrown to the ground by several of his men. Dozens of arrows shot over their heads. A soldier screamed, and he
was shot in the leg by an arrow.
Yang Zaixing's heart sank into the ice cave along with Tie Huolei. He stood up and ordered: "Come up with me!"
A thousand soldiers followed Yang Zaixing and rushed towards the moat. On the top of the city, thousands of soldiers were waiting with strong crossbows in their hands. At this moment, the sound of "Dang! Dang! Dang! Dang!" came from behind as the soldiers retreated.
Yang Zaixing stopped, looked at the moat with a sense of loss, and sighed, "Retreat!"
The whole army retreated quickly. On the top of the city, dozens of soldiers climbed down the ladder and went down to the city. After a while, they fished out the big winter melon from the moat, put it in a basket and hung it up on the top of the city.
At the same time, Yang Zaixing knelt down in front of the Chinese army's tent to plead guilty. Soon, some soldiers came out and read out the order of King Yong. Yang Zaixing was demoted from the commander of the military capital to the commander of the capital, and was relieved of his post as the chief general of the Eastern Expedition.
Liu Cui was appointed instead.
Yang Zaixing burst into tears. It was not that he felt sorry for his demotion, but that he had lost the opportunity to become the general of the Eastern Expedition, and the soldiers persuaded him to leave.
Chen Qing immediately summoned all the generals above the commander-in-chief to give lectures in the Chinese army's tent.
The lights were brightly lit in the big tent, and dozens of generals gathered together. Chen Qing said sternly to everyone: "Everyone has seen that as of tonight, General Yang Zaixing has lost three of three battles. Is our opponent too powerful? You can beg for it.
Yes, he has rich experience and a clear mind, but he is still far from the word 'powerful'. If he were powerful, he would have rebuilt Xin'an County into a fortified city long ago. If he was powerful, we would not be able to kill him from Mengjin Pass.
It is even more impossible to seize Hulao Pass so easily. We have been defeated three times in three battles. Where did we lose? We lost here!"
Chen Qing pointed at his own head, "We lost to ourselves, we underestimated the enemy. General Yang Zaixing is a typical example. When we failed for the second time, I said, Zhe Keqiu has careful thinking, rich experience, and watertight defenses. It is impossible to do it again."
It was so clear that a surprise attack was to be launched to seize the city. General Yang just didn’t believe it and still insisted on giving it a try? What’s the result now? Five brothers were shot and killed, and the most powerful iron fire thunder fell into the hands of the enemy. They copied it.
What to do? What a serious incident this is.
What is the root cause? Why is General Yang unwilling to give up and must give it a try? The root lies in the word "underestimating the enemy". He despises the enemy from the bottom of his heart. We were too successful before and could succeed in everything we do. The enemy is like
Like idiots, the golden soldiers are vulnerable, so our sneak attack will definitely succeed.
So I didn't stop him and let him try. Now I know how powerful he is. I finally know that I underestimated the enemy. If I lose the iron fire thunder, I must take responsibility. Demotion and dismissal are still the lightest punishment. If there is a next time, then press
Military regulations should be cut down!"
Chen Qing glanced at the crowd again and said slowly: "I am not calling you here to denounce Yang Zaixing, but I want to tell you through his lessons that from today on, no one is allowed to underestimate the enemy again.
If defeated, they will all be demoted and removed from office, and beaten with a hundred military sticks. Did everyone hear this?"
Everyone bowed and saluted together, "I will obey King Yong's order!"
Chen Qing added: "I will announce another rule. Iron fire thunder will not be used easily. If you want to use iron fire thunder, you must get my consent."
"Follow the order!"
"Everyone, please go back! Liu Cui and Li Mu please stay."
Everyone dispersed. At this time, Li Muqing brought Yu Hongwu up. Li Muqing said: "Your Highness, General Yu Hongwu wants to show His Highness something."
"What are you looking at?" Chen Qing turned to Yu Hongwu.
Yu Hongwu opened his palms, and on his palms was a wooden shell cover that looked like a teacup.
Chen Qing recognized at a glance that the wooden shell on the mouth of the iron fire thunder was made of jujube wood. It was hard and strong. It was usually inlaid on the mouth of the match rope, and the bottom was waxed. It has a very good waterproof effect. When using it, it must be knocked with a hammer first.
Drop it.
"Is this the shell cover on the iron rhinoceros? You unscrewed it!"
Yu Hongwu nodded, "It takes strength to unscrew the lid. I was worried that when the situation was critical, they would not have time to unscrew it, so I helped them unscrew it in advance."
Chen Qing was overjoyed. Even if the enemy picked up the Iron Fire Thunder, it would still be filled with water. The gunpowder and match rope were useless, leaving only a shell. Even if they imitated the shell, it would be useless. They could not make gunpowder.
Chen Qing breathed a long sigh of relief. What he was worried about now was that the other party would find a way to send the shell away if they found out that they couldn't imitate it.
Chen Qing made a prompt decision and sent out two thousand scouts to block all roads out of Luoyang City. No one was allowed to leave Luoyang City.