It is said that fire flows in July and clothes are given in September. It is almost entering July, but there is only some warmth in the land of Heshuo. This is undoubtedly good news for the two armies inside and outside Zhending City.
At least you don't have to endure the intense heat.
In this slightly cool weather, Zhang Chong, who had just won a great victory over the Yuan clan, led his base camp to Zhending City and held an army meeting to review the defense of Zhending City as soon as he arrived at it.
…
The first year of Taiwu, June 17th.
Outside Zhending City, the Northern Expeditionary Army of the Taiping Kingdom marched.
At this moment, Zhang Chong had summoned all civil and military subordinates to prepare for the first pre-war pacification of the entire army.
Zhang Chong had already learned about the battle situation in the previous two days from the self-reports of Generals Zhang Ying and Li Xian.
In fact, when the flying dragon, flying tiger, and flying leopard armies arrived at the gates of Zhending City, soldiers in the city were sent down to burn the warehouses outside the city.
At that time, Xu Huang of the Flying Tiger Army also mobilized to put out the fire, but in the end it was too late. Except for a slightly distant warehouse, the rest was burned to ashes.
When Zhang Chong heard this paragraph, he coldly asked Li Hu, Xu Huang, and Xi Shen:
"So, you know that the city cannot be underestimated?"
As soon as these words came out, the three generals were sweating profusely and did not dare to speak.
In fact, this was indeed concealed by the three men intentionally or unintentionally. They were initially unhappy with their cavalry and finally let the infantry pick the peaches.
But later, Zhang Ying and Li Xian, two generals, led two thousand rear army marshals to launch an attack on Zhending City and were frustrated. The three generals knew that something was wrong and were worried about being reprimanded, so they also joined the subsequent attack.
Arrows rained down from the top of the city, and the three flying cavalry also fired arrows at the top of the city like locusts, killing the Zhending army as well.
After the setback, Zhang Ying and Li Xian were unwilling to give in. Especially Zhang Ying, who was from the Zhang Chong tribe and an old brother, and later became a first-level general in the rear army marshal's department. He was already quite conceited, so how could he be willing to do so?
Come and make a big fool of yourself.
So Zhang Ying and Li Xian discussed it and decided that the military report should still be sent to the base camp behind, but they would continue to attack the city tomorrow and they had to atone for their merits.
But little did they know that at night they were attacked at night by Tian Kai himself and hundreds of dead soldiers lowered from the top of the city.
Zhang Ying never thought that he would dare to go out of the city to attack at night, but fortunately they still implemented the regulations from the old Taishan Army period. No matter how late or tired they were, they must form a stronghold before they could rest.
Therefore, Tian Kai just harassed the surrounding area for a while and then withdrew.
Zhang Ying was worried that going out to pursue the enemy at night would give the enemy an opportunity to ambush him, so he held back and watched the enemy troops march away.
On the second day, the enraged rear army marshal launched a fierce attack on Zhending City, but other than hundreds more casualties, no substantial results were achieved.
So Zhang Ying and Li Xian stopped thinking and began to concentrate on establishing the camp, waiting for the arrival of the base camp later.
When Zhang Chong received the military report from Zhang Ying and Li Xian, he thought that Zhending was not easy to fight. At that time, Liu Hui from the Zhending royal family was nearby, so Zhang Chong asked Liu Hui if he knew about Zhending.
.
He Liu Hui is from the Zhending King lineage, how could he not understand Zhending?
However, this was the first time that Liu Hui spoke to Zhang Chong in person. As a descendant of the royal family, he couldn't help but be excited. He knew that this was his opportunity.
So he told Zhang Chong the whole story of Zhending:
"Your Majesty, this Zhending was called Dongyuan in the early years. It was captured by the Zhao people from the Zhongshan people. Therefore, the crossing of the Hutuo River in the north of Zhending is also called Dongyuan Ferry. Later, during the period of Emperor Gaozu, Chen Xi rebelled, and Emperor Gaozu removed it.
The city was renamed Zhending, and it has been used ever since."
Seeing that Zhang Chong was still listening with interest, Liu Hui felt convinced and continued:
"If we talk about the quiet Ji, Zhending can be said to be blocked by the river. It is located in the quiet Ji, pillowing the Zhongshan Mountain and facing the beautiful scenery, and crossing the wilderness of Hebei with Zhongling. There are also beautiful mountains and rivers here. It faces the Hu River and leans against the Hengshan Mountain.
It connects Yinghai on the left and Taihang on the right. It can be said that when Yan and Zhao clashed, they were more powerful than Heshuo. More importantly, if we want to go north to Youdi, the army must go through Zhending."
Seeing that Zhang Chong was puzzled, Liu Hui told a secret about the interior of Northern Xinjiang. He said:
"Although this dynasty is fighting in the west, it is more important than in the north. Your Majesty may have heard that the former officials of the Han Dynasty often talked about abandoning Xizhou, but haven't you never heard of abandoning Northern Xinjiang? That's because Northern Xinjiang has always
There is a set of rules that does not cost the Han Dynasty money and food. Specifically, Jizhou's money and food are transferred to You Bing, so that the two border states can focus on defending Xianbei, and Jizhou can also have peace. It is precisely because of You that all the two states rely on Bing.
If Jizhou is transferred to the enemy, whoever defeats Jizhou will control northern Xinjiang."
After saying that, Liu Hui glanced at Zhang Chong. The meaning was very clear. We are almost taking over the entire Jizhou. It is difficult to support the two states in the dark place behind. The opposite side will either send their troops south to fight, or send a watch to surrender. It is not possible at all.
There is the possibility of a long-term confrontation.
Zhang Chong understood what Liu Hui meant and was also thinking about it.
If the ownership of Jizhou determines the ownership of Northern Xinjiang, then the original strategy may need to be adjusted. Because as long as the northern part of Bingzhou and Youzhou do not want to be annexed, then their only chance is this battle.
Originally, Zhang Chong did not consider the hostile forces in the northern part of Bingzhou, especially in the Taiyuan area, as war variables. But now, it seems that he was still reckless.
But don’t panic, it’s too late now.
Also thinking of this loophole, Zhang Chong appreciated Liu Hui even more and motioned for him to continue. So Liu Hui continued:
"There are two post roads for the money and grain sent from Jizhou to Youzhou Zhuoxian and Taiyuan, and both of these roads must pass through Zhending. In other words, once we occupy Zhending, the connection between Youzhou and Bingzhou and Jizhou
will be blocked, so it is true that Bingzhou and Youzhou are the line of life and death. Once we launch an attack here, we will inevitably suffer a crazy counterattack from both sides."
"Among them, for Bingzhou in the west, the most critical place is Jingxingkou. Jingxingkou is the only place where Bingzhou soldiers from Taiyuan area must pass eastward, and it is on the left side of Zhending. If our army stops at Zhending
Below the city, and at that time, Bingzhou soldiers came out of Jingxing from the east and cut into my retreat, which would be a big disadvantage."
"As for the north, the most important ones are the Hutuo River crossing north of Zhending and Dongyuan Ferry. If the Youzhou army wants to go south, it must cross the Hutuo River. In the east area, our army is led by Dong Shuai
The rear army's marshal's headquarters is stationed in Xiaquyang to ensure that we have no worries in the east. Therefore, the only way for the northern army to go south is to attack from Dongyuandu. Therefore, before our army reaches Zhending City, I would like to divide it into two troops, one soldier at a time.
If I seize Jingxing and march to Dongyuan Crossing with one soldier, I will hold you in my arms and deal with you as I please."
Zhang Chong was overjoyed, hugged Liu Hui and said:
"I'm not just glad to have a good plan, but I'm glad to have a humerus!"
Therefore, Zhang Chong listened to Liu Huice and appointed Yue Jin, the general of the cavalry department under the tent, as the commander of Jingxing, supervising the five hundred cavalry of his headquarters to gallop and capture Jingxing. He also promoted Liu Hui to be the commander of the tent and led the three hundred cavalry to the north.
Directly penetrate the rear of Zhending and seize Dongyuan Ferry.
Therefore, when Zhang Chong held a general meeting with the entire army on June 17, Zhang Chong had actually made complete arrangements for this Zhending battle, and now it was just a pre-war mobilization meeting.
Zhang Chong's traveling camp was set up on a slope ten miles outside Zhending South City.
At the beginning of the meeting, Xu Huang took the initiative to state his views on the battle.
He said to Zhang Chong:
"Your Majesty, it is not easy for the general to seize the city. The city is strong and the soldiers are strong, and they have the courage to fight. Since the Northern Expedition, the general has never seen the defenders in the city take the initiative to lower the city to fight. Under such circumstances, it is really
Ding City will definitely not be able to be breached in a short period of time. I am not worried about whether Zhen Ding will be defeated, because it is under the front of our army, which will inevitably be huge. But I am worried that if our army is really Ding City, then the north will be defeated.
If Lu Zhi's army moves south, the situation will be greatly unfavorable."
Zhang Chong was overjoyed when he heard Xu Huang's statement. As expected, the hero saw the same thing.
Zhang Chong looked around at the many generals in the tent and saw that most of them had this intention, and he felt very pleased with them.
A general who can think about defeat before thinking about victory is already a reassuring and excellent general.
So Zhang Chong did not take any chances and told all the generals present about the strategies he had discussed with Liu Hui.
For example, why was it necessary to take Dongyuan Ferry in the north, why was it necessary to divide the troops to capture Jingxing, and why was Dong Fang ordered to build a defensive position in Quyang in the east.
Those present are all senior officers in the army, and they are all commanders responsible for the lives of thousands of people. Therefore, Zhang Chong never creates any doubts, or makes you guess, or does not want you to think, I want me
feel.
Only through repeated and sufficient communication before the war can these senior commanders fully understand the overall strategic understanding. And even if there are other arrangements during the war, Zhang Chong will explain the whole story clearly instead of giving a rough sentence:
"Do as you are told."
Sure enough, after learning that the king had made such an arrangement, all the generals were convinced and at the same time clamored for a fight, especially Zhang Ying, who came out directly and patted his chest:
"Second uncle, let my nephew go to fight and avenge his shame!"
Zhang Ying's father was the same generation as Zhang Chong, so even though Zhang Ying was older than Zhang Chong, he still had to be called second uncle.
However, Zhang Ying had other thoughts when calling him second uncle. He just wanted to be the first to get the title, so he used the title of second uncle.
Sure enough, as soon as Zhang Ying said this, many other warriors could only retreat silently no matter how unwilling they were.
Zhang Chong looked around and saw that his nephew was so brave, so he gave him this opportunity.
…
This time, after Zhang Ying learned the lessons from the previous two sieges, he decided to use cave siege tactics to capture Zhending.
He first built a camp in the east of Zhending City, then secretly dug tunnels inside the camp, and then sent all the excess earth and rocks outside the camp to build earth slopes, thinking that the soil could be used for two purposes.
But Tian Kai, who was at the top of Zhending City, had long noticed something strange in the east of the city.
Tian Kai didn't notice it at first, but he saw that the city was constantly sending soil to build a slope, thinking that the opposite side was trying to build a high ground with soil, and then shot it up the city.
But soon, Tian Kai felt something was wrong. He suddenly asked Dong Jun, the guard of Dongcheng, and asked:
"Can you see where they brought this soil from?"
Dong Jun was a true general. He didn't understand Tian Kai's accent at first, but he soon understood what Shangguan said and hurriedly replied:
"It looks like it was brought from the east! But I can't tell exactly where it was dug."
Tian Kai frowned, slapped the battlements, and cursed:
"The cunning thieves actually want to attack me."
Dong Jun quickly asked why he said that.
Tian Kai just asked:
"Since we are just building mountains with earth, why don't we just take the earth from nearby and instead send it from the rear? So I guess the bandits must be digging earth in the camp?"
Dong Jun suddenly realized.
Therefore, Tian Kai dug deep trenches near the city and set up many urns to search for caves outside the city.
But soon, Zhang Ying's excavation and siege stopped because he was stopped by the base camp.
But it was a handwritten letter from Zhang Chong, saying:
"You can see how the city reacted to your sending away the soil? Stop digging, it's all going to someone else's trap."
Zhang Ying suddenly realized, no wonder the other side did not leave the city to harass him to build a slope. It turned out that the other side saw his true identity.
But Zhang Ying is not discouraged. After all, we have built a slope. Then we will lead the long archers to shoot at the opposite side of the slope. Our own bows can shoot farther and suppress the city head.
Sure enough, after borrowing 400 long archers from the friendly army, and dividing them into three with the 200 of his own troops, he suppressed the east city at all times.
Zhang Ying also began to prepare an siege team, planning to personally lead the team to the top of the city first so that his second uncle could see that the Zhang family also had tigers.
Here Zhang Ying is recruiting warriors from the army to prepare to ascend first.
Tian Kai was also taking action over there. He didn't expect that the opponent's slope would create such a strong suppression for his side. Although not many people died, it had a serious impact on the morale of the city.
So Tian Kai lowered the city to attack the slope twice on June 19 and June 20, but he was killed both times by the lurking Feilong Army cavalry.
Just kidding, Zhang Ying is not a fool. The first time he was attacked by you at night, he just forgot about it. How many times in a row do you want to succeed?
In fact, Zhang Ying is really not smart enough.
The night attack on June 19 was indeed what he had expected. But after the counter-night attack, Zhang Ying asked Li Hu to return to the base camp to deliver the mission.
Li Hu thought that with the cunning in the city, there might be another night attack the next day.
But Zhang Ying only thought that Li Hu wanted to share the credit, so he refused to listen to what Li Hu said and let him go.
Li Hu had no choice but to ride back with five hundred.
But in fact, Li Hu lurked nearby again that night, preparing to spend another night.
It turned out that Li Hu felt that he was a bit sorry for not reporting Zhang Ying's military situation before, so he wanted to ease the relationship between the two. After all, Zhang Ying also had a follower, so he would not offend him if he could.
Then in the second half of the night, Li Hu indeed discovered a group of night raiders in Zhending City, and killed them all. This time, the results were even greater than last night, and he took a hundred bullets for their heads alone.
Li Hu finally gave twenty pills to Zhang Ying and coaxed the idiot into good health.
Such a straight-faced general may be naive, but he is also upright.
Seeing that the two night attacks failed, Tian Kai decisively stopped the night attack and prepared to defend the city.
On June 21st, it rained heavily.
Under the city, the Taishan Army made a surprise attack from three gates: east, south, and west. In the direction of the south gate, they used artillery vehicles to destroy several feet of the city wall.
Later, Zhao Jian, a powerful general of the Central Guard Army, organized two hundred armored men to select forwards and scale the city to attack the enemy.
However, Tian Kai, the city guard, led his troops from the east gate and personally supervised the front line of the south gate. He ordered the officials to resist in the front, and the people in the rear repaired the city head. So they killed the people in the front and repaired the city in the back.
It only took a few hours for the city head that was originally destroyed to be rebuilt again.
Zhang Chong, who was watching the battle from the rear, saw heavy casualties on the city walls and ordered his troops to retreat.
In the end, Zhao Jian withdrew from the city with less than a hundred people, and the south gate was littered with corpses. At least five to six hundred corpses were scattered on the city.
At the same time, the Taishan Army's attacks in other gates did not make much progress, so they withdrew after the sound of the golden ring.
The first time, a tentative attack, was unfavorable.
Thank you so much for your support, my dear friends, the book is no longer enough.