As a civilian official, Xu Xuan only knew a little bit about military affairs.
This walk from the city wall was mainly to boost the morale of the defenders, and to get a general overview of the invading bandits, but I was actually unsure.
Therefore, he still wanted to seek the opinion of the captain under Zhou Mu regarding the situation.
"Captain Li, what do you think of the fighting strength of the thieves?"
In fact, what Xu Xuan wants to ask more is, how sure are you of holding Linzi?
"Xu He's Taiping Army should have good combat effectiveness and a large number of people." Li Jiayuan thought for a while and replied: "It is indeed a threat."
After all, they had rebelled several times, and even in terms of their performance in the camp, the Taiping Army was pretty good, although in Li Jiayuan's opinion it was still rough.
But from the perspective of the peasant rebel army, it is a rare level.
"As for the others..." At this point, Li Jiayuan sneered disdainfully: "The Red Eyebrow Army of the South China Army and others are just a bunch of people."
"In the eyes of the general, he is actually vulnerable!"
"Only Wang Zheng, the so-called heavenly army..."
Li Jiayuan changed the topic and his expression suddenly became serious:
"The report by the soldiers who came back that day was exaggerated by the general at the time, but now it seems that what he said was true."
"Lieutenant Dong did not know the details of the bandits and was caught off guard, so the defeat is understandable."
This is a side confirmation of the combat effectiveness of the Heavenly Army.
When Xu Xuan heard this, he nodded and said in a deep voice: "This son Wang Zheng does have some abilities."
"The general now has new doubts." Li Jiayuan frowned: "This Zhuzi has been in rebellion for only ten months. How on earth did he manage to train a group of Yellow Turban remnants into such a strong army?"
"Forget it, don't worry about it now." Li Jiayuan shook his head and continued: "Master Fu, from what I have seen today, the only real threats are Wang and Xu."
"I looked at the banner camp and found that among the thieves, there are about thirty to forty thousand young and strong men who can truly fight."
Speaking of this, Li Jiayuan said decisively: "Except for two variables, there is absolutely no possibility that our Linzi City will be breached!"
"Oh?" Xu Xuan perked up after hearing this. He was delighted by the confidence in the other person's tone, but he also quickly asked:
"What two variables?"
"First of all, outside, the bandits have no ambushes to hide, and no foreign aid can come to help!"
"Inside the two, the city will maintain its status quo and there will be no major changes."
"Captain can rest assured about the internal affairs!" Xu Xuan also promised with confidence: "I don't know how to manage the army and fight, but when it comes to internal affairs management, I will never let the captain and the soldiers fighting at the front have any future troubles!"
He understood Li Jiayuan's concerns. Internal changes were either due to internal chaos or insufficient supply of food, grass and equipment.
"As for the outside..."
Xu Xuan smiled self-deprecatingly: "Nowadays, all the first-rate bandits in Qingzhou are probably here. I don't think there will be any changes, and an ambush is unlikely!"
As he spoke, he seemed to have thought of something and reminded:
"Captain Li, apart from the main force of the thieves, they still held hundreds of thousands of refugees hostage!"
"I took a closer look just now. The number of people in the city is not the 400,000 that the thieves boasted. I'm afraid it's not much different, right?"
"Why should the refugees be afraid?" Li Jiayuan smiled brightly: "Aside from waving the flag and shouting, it will only be a waste of food rations!"
"But..." After thinking about it, he added: "The refugees are weak and are useless in frontal combat. It is estimated that most of them are driven by thieves to consume our military equipment and fill the moat."
Looking at Xu Xuan, Li Jiayuan bowed his hands and saluted: "The general will boldly suggest, Your Majesty, if we want to secure Linzi, we must not defend it to the death, let alone just defend it."
You can't just defend...that means attacking?
Hearing this, Xu Xuan looked hesitant and remained silent.
Nowadays, Linzi's military strength is not much, not to mention that he has a shadow.
Dong Lin also proposed to take the initiative last time...
As a result, more than 3,000 elite soldiers were lost in vain.
Many of them were servant guards drawn from various wealthy families in Linzi at that time...
For this reason, Xu Xuanke paid a high price to silence Youyou.
Come again this time?
But what Li Jiayuan said actually makes sense.
In particular, the other party also brought about the state animal's attack on Xuzhou this time.
At present, we are marching forward triumphantly and triumphantly. It is absolutely impossible to turn back and quell the chaos at this time, so it will be abandoned halfway.
After all, Linzi is in Qingzhou, not Yanzhou.
According to this situation, Linzi will need to hold on for a long time.
To achieve this strategic goal, the moat must not be filled up by bandits too quickly, further shortening the distance between the two parties.
Xu Xuan was also a person who had just made up his mind. He thought about it over and over again, and the hesitation and struggle on his face finally turned into a look of determination.
Looking at Li Jiayuan, he finally agreed.
"Captain Li, I will do as you say!"
"I allow you to lead one...five hundred cavalry out of the city to destroy the enemy!"
"Just remember, don't be greedy for merit and rush forward." Xu Xuan said solemnly: "Our army does not have many soldiers. It is better to protect one's own home than to defeat the bandits and make meritorious service. It is also impossible to leave the city gate for too long. The main purpose is to protect oneself at all times.
!”
"Don't worry, Lord." Li Jiayuan nodded vigorously: "The general will know the importance."
"By the way, if they are Wang Zheng's men, don't take the initiative to fight with them yet!"
Xu Xuan added another sentence.
...
The next day, the siege officially kicked off.
The so-called taking turns only determines the order among the three parties in the end.
During the drawing of lots yesterday, Wang Zheng and Xu He discovered that six other small forces had secretly formed another alliance.
Since Xu He proposed the so-called profit distribution and siege the city before discussing it, and with Wang Zheng's acquiescence, Chen Jiao and others were not really all out of their minds and did not see the sinister intentions.
In this case, they must also respond.
Just huddle together for warmth.
Otherwise, if according to what Xu He said, all eight forces would take turns to attack the city...
I'm afraid that before the Linzi city is broken, they will suffer heavy losses and be defeated.
So the two sides argued for a long time and finally compromised with each other.
These small fish and shrimps are allowed to temporarily merge into one family, but they are the first to rush forward.
As for Xu He and Wang Zheng, the order was decided by drawing lots.
In the end, Wang Zheng, who was blessed by Huang Tian, had the last laugh and appeared in the finale.
At this time, the refugees who were trapped by the six forces including Chen Jiao were driven to the front in groups.
They picked up heavy bags of sand and ran toward the section of the moat that the rebels had first marked.
Perhaps it is because of resentment, or perhaps everyone understands that not filling the river will lead to death, and filling the river... the government and the army cannot just sit idly by.
These nearly 100,000 refugees are not very motivated. After a short period of injury, they have been struggling for a long time.
"The thieves are starting to fill in the river!"
On the top of the city, a large number of officers and soldiers were well prepared.
Li Jiayuan, who went to the city to watch the battle, looked at the countless black spots under the city like ants moving, with a trace of unbearable expression in his eyes.
He disappeared immediately, leaving only a cold look in his eyes.
The order to attack was immediately issued.
next moment.
Arrows fell like rain and stones fell like scattered flowers, instantly raining down on the places where the refugees were most concentrated.
There is no equipment for self-defense, and no sense of dodge. In addition, the reaction and body are slow due to not eating enough...
In an instant, the sky was filled with wailing and pitiful screams, and the refugees fell down in droves.
In an instant, the moat turned into blood.
The casualties caused by just the first wave of attacks were heavy enough, and most of the refugees were completely frightened...
Everyone's first reaction was to burst into tears and hurriedly turned around and ran back.
For them, there is no casualty rate of a few percent.
Whenever he sees death around him, he almost collapses immediately.
"Raised by my little maid!"
Seeing this, Huo Kai, the leader of the Red Eyebrow Army, cursed and said:
"Kill all these deserters as a warning to others!"
Chen Jiao and others also ordered their own troops to rush forward and kill the chickens to scare the monkeys.
Seeing that the enemy camp had sent out real bandits, Li Jiayuan on the top of the city sneered and stared downward, calculating the distance.
When the opponent reached a suitable distance, Li Jiayuan finally showed his fangs.
As he waved his hand, the flag of the White Tower on the top of the city immediately changed, and the flag moved in the wind, drawing a sharp straight line.
"Prepare!"
The guards at the top of the city received the signal and immediately tightened their reins.
Behind him, more than five hundred cavalrymen were ready to attack.