King Zhenbei stopped and looked at him in disbelief, "What did you say? The Yue people want to negotiate peace with him?"
The guard nodded, "Yes, yes."
King Zhenbei stepped forward, kicked the guard to the ground, and shouted hysterically: "Why? Why do they negotiate peace?"
"I will put them into Middle-earth and then leave after robbing them?"
"Is there such a good thing in the world?"
"Go and tell Bayar and the King of Yue that if they don't come to support you, I will lead my troops into the grassland!"
King Zhenbei lost his temper.
The guard nodded quickly and said: "Yes, I understand. I will go and pass the order now."
He wiped his cold sweat and left quickly.
The guards went to deliver the order, but it was too late.
Zhao Xiaole's 100,000 troops have arrived, and the attack on the city is only a matter of time.
What can be done if the Vietnamese troops move south?
When King Zhenbei was worried, an old man with white beard and hair, a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks appeared from behind the hall.
The old man had a cunning look on his face. He rolled his eyes slightly, laughed playfully, and stepped forward and said, "Why is the prince so troubled?"
When King Zhenbei saw him coming, he said angrily: "Qi Wensou, are you here to tease me?"
"Zhao Xiaole's troops have already arrived at the city. What else can I worry about?"
The old man's title is Qi Wensou.
He, Xiaobi scholar and Yanshan scholar jointly wrote a poem to test the reality of Jingyang.
They have been planning to annex Jingyang for a long time.
Qi Wensou laughed and said, "Zhao Xiaole is very easy to deal with. The old man will help the prince with a few tricks to ensure that Zhao Xiaole will retreat without a fight."
The king of Zhenbei said suspiciously: "What good plan do you have?"
Qi Wensou took a step forward, pointed at his mouth and said, "This old man's sharp tongue can defeat a hundred thousand troops."
King Zhenbei was slightly angry when he heard this, "Qi Wensou, are you trying to amuse me?"
Qi Wensou said with a solemn expression: "How dare the old man entertain the prince? Even if the prince has to wait for reinforcements from the grassland, it will still take time."
"Who will fight for this time?"
"The old man went to persuade Zhao Xiaole. If he can be persuaded, it's best. If he can't be persuaded, it will buy time for the prince. What's the loss for the prince?"
King Zhenbei's eyes flickered slightly, and he asked again: "Why are the Jin State and the Beiyang Chamber of Commerce unwilling to send troops?"
"Do you know the reason?"
Qi Wensou shook his head and said: "It's not that the two countries dare not send troops, they don't want to send troops in the first place."
The King of Zhenbei was puzzled, so Qi Wensou explained: "The Marquis of Zhenguo defeated the Yue people with shotguns. The Yue people were already afraid. How could others not be afraid?"
"Shotshots are extremely cruel, but they need to be used in conjunction with hot air balloons and catapults. If the catapults are good, there are ways to restrain them. The hot air balloons fly up to a hundred feet high. Even if there is an army of millions, they can only look up to the sky and sigh, and they are helpless.
!”
"How could other countries dare to send troops and anger Zhao Xiaole before they built hot air balloons?"
The King of Zhenbei gave a cold shout and said: "Jingyang has already told the world that shotguns will no longer be used. How dare Zhao Xiaole risk the disapproval of the world?"
Qi Wensou smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, your words are wrong. The mind of an eunuch is always unpredictable. Whatever he does, it is impossible to use common sense to predict it!"
King Zhenbei was silent.
Everything Zhao Xiaole did was unreasonable.
According to common sense, Jingyang has been destroyed.
He will have his own fiefdom.
He will become emperor.
He will create an eternal legacy.
After Zhao Xiaole appeared, everything changed.
The King of Minnan was imprisoned, Chuzhou was defended, and the Yue people were killed all the way from the capital and returned to the grassland.
Muskets, artillery, and hot air balloons, which one is consistent with common sense?
King Zhenbei had a profound understanding of the fear of the Yue people.
He also began to feel faintly afraid.
"Do you want to tell me that Zhao Xiaole is invincible and ask me to surrender with bare hands?"
King Zhenbei turned his back and said.
Qi Wensou's eyes flickered for a while and he said: "It just takes time. When other countries also have hot air balloons and shotguns, they will target Jingyang again."
"Your Majesty also needs time."
King Zhenbei turned around and stared at him seriously, "How can I buy time? If they don't send troops, what can I do?"
Qi Wensou snorted, "This is your prince's problem. The Beiyang caravan that Wang Zhi is in charge of has always been erratic. He heard that Zhao Xiaole's artillery was fierce, so naturally he refused to send any more troops."
"If the prince wants him to send troops, he can only state the interests. The prince must know how to choose."
"The Kingdom of Jin also wants the prince to buy time. As long as the prince holds on for a little while, the one who is in a hurry is Zhao Xiaole."
King Zhenbei thought of something, a flash of light flashed in his eyes, and he gradually regained his true character as a great hero.
"I understand."
"Let Zhao Xiaole defend and attack the city. I don't believe he can really capture it!"
…
Xiaoliang City is a small city, located close to Hongzhou.
It connects the main road from Xuzhou to Hongzhou. When King Zhenbei attacked Jiayuguan and besieged the capital, Xiaoliang City was an important transportation hub.
After Zhao Xiaole captured Xiaoliang City, he used this place as a stronghold and frequently dispatched chariots to bombard Hongzhou.
In front of Hongzhou, the Jingyang people dug trenches all over the place, with a broad road in the middle so that chariots could travel freely.
Pixiu attacked the city, chariots bombarded the city, and Zhao Xiaole tried many tactics, but failed to capture Hongzhou.
King Zhenbei hoarded a lot of food in Hongzhou, enough to feed the army for two years.
The Jinyang Chamber of Commerce also shipped a large amount of fresh bamboo from Yunnan and Guizhou to Hongzhou.
He is not afraid of fighting a protracted war, nor is he afraid of Zhao Xiaole using Pixiu.
The city wall of Hongzhou was built to defend against the Yue people heading south. It was built higher and thicker than that of Jiayuguan.
The tanks and artillery blasted past, and it was mostly drizzle.
Zhao Xiaole built a high platform in front of the city and installed artillery to bombard Hongzhou.
He did not expect that the King of Zhenbei had as many artillery pieces as he did. The Beiyang Caravan and the Jinyang Chamber of Commerce sold a large number of artillery pieces to the King of Zhenbei.
When the Yue people retreated, the remaining artillery pieces were also given to King Zhenbei.
The King of Zhenbei placed the artillery on the south city gate and, among other things, hit the high platform built by Zhao Xiaole.
Zhao Xiaole failed to break the city wall, and the high platform he built was badly damaged by King Zhenbei's bombardment. It was riddled with craters and had to be built many times.
After the bombardment continued for half a month, Zhao Xiaole was trapped in Xiaoliang City and could not advance even half a step.
Zhao Xiaole knew that the city was difficult to attack.
In the memory of his previous life, Nurhaci attacked Shanhaiguan and fought for half his life but failed to defeat it.
When he conquered Jiayuguan and Xuzhou, he used many tricks.
Hongzhou is the biggest problem he currently encounters.
It is difficult to bombard every day. Even if you bombard for a year and a half, you may not be able to conquer Hongzhou.
He did not dare to let his soldiers attack the city by force.
If the casualties of the soldiers are too heavy, the Yue and Jin will take the opportunity to send troops, and Zhao Xiaole's situation will become even more passive.
Food is also a big problem.
His food supply cannot sustain him for a year and a half.
Even if he spent money to buy it, the gain would not be worth the loss.
While Zhao Xiaole was thinking, another military report came that Wang Zhi of the Beiyang Caravan had landed troops.