Throughout most of the night, under Wang Zheng's order, the Xuzhou army attacked seven times.
Unknowingly, under Wu Yuan's guidance, the Tianzhu camp also sneaked in nearly two hundred people in batches. Although this level of strength was not safe enough, seeing the dawn gradually emerging, Wang Zheng felt that he could not wait any longer.
Can't go down anymore.
On the one hand, time is extremely precious for him, and on the other hand, once it gets dark, it will naturally become more difficult to sneak into the enemy's hands, and there is also the possibility that Gao Lan and the Jizhou Army will discover it in advance, which would be more costly than gain.
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Moreover, more than two hundred third-level soldiers are actually enough in theory. After all, what Wang Zheng wants is to burn the food and grass, not to completely annihilate the Jizhou army. As long as they can unexpectedly rush in from the back mountain, ignite the flames, and delay the enemy from putting out the fire.
At such a speed, once the red flames soar into the sky, it will be enough to decide the entire battle!
The early spring of the first year of Jian'an was still a bit chilly, especially with the frequent rains in the previous period. Spending a night in the dark in the mountains with lush vegetation and being unable to make a sound was definitely a long ordeal.
Wu Yuan and the Tianzhu camp were having a hard time, and the same was true for the Jizhou garrison on the top of the mountain. After being deprived of much rest all night by Wang Zheng's tactics of exhausting the troops, many soldiers had dark circles under their eyes, and their hearts were filled with a knot.
anger.
As for the Xuzhou Army, after this tactic was used, the soldiers on both sides actually stayed up all night without rest. However, relatively speaking, it was just that the men on Wang Zheng's side were not so mentally uncomfortable, and on his side
If you have the advantage in numbers, you can make some rotations so that some new recruits who are overwhelmed can take a break without completely exhausting them.
Of course, at the last moment when the hazy night completely dissipated, both sides stopped.
Soon afterwards, the sun began to rise, and the yellowish mist slowly rose and gradually dissipated under the sunlight.
At this moment, the war drums that had not stopped all night began to beat again!
winter!
winter!
winter!
Accompanied by the low sound of war drums, Gao Lan jumped up suddenly, staring at the opposite side, and he guessed it subconsciously.
This time the Xuzhou Army will not attack like sheep!
Sure enough, at the end of the line of sight ahead, countless tiny black spots appeared at first, gradually expanded, increased in number, and roared towards the top of the mountain.
Under Gao Lan's gaze, those human figures gradually became clearer.
Tall body, sophisticated armor, sharp weapons, and pairs of blazing eyes full of murderous intent.
There were obviously only a thousand people, but this army rushed over so fiercely, with an unstoppable and invincible majesty, which made Gao Lan feel uneasy in surprise, and he immediately heard the sound of war drums like a giant beast roaring in mourning.
made judgment.
The enemy is using their elite troops!
"Enemy attack!" At the same time, the sentry in charge of the Jizhou Army quickly reminded his colleagues in a panicked voice: "Get into formation quickly!"
When the drums sounded again earlier, because the sky was not completely bright, many Jizhou troops subconsciously thought that this was still harassment, and felt a little irritated and disapproving. However, when the sentry mentioned that the enemy's vanguard was in the midst of these drums,
After rushing hundreds of steps quickly, they also started to panic.
This is close to the defenders' defense line!
Fortunately, Gao Lan made a decisive decision. If he hadn't ordered everyone to give up returning to the camp last night and instead put on armor and sit down to rest, given the situation last night, it would be difficult for Yuan Jun to assemble quickly now. Although he had not slept all night, he was mentally exhausted.
Quite tired, but realizing that the Xuzhou Army was going to take action this time, these Yuan soldiers quickly organized themselves.
Although his body was still a little stiff and cold, and the moist mountain wind also made his clothes and armor a little damp, when Wang Zheng led his men to attack, they encountered the Jizhou Army who had already completed the entire formation.
This undoubtedly surprised Wang Zheng, but the offensive that had been launched would naturally not stop because of this.
Following his order, this time the Tianzhu battalion charged at the front again!
At the same time, as it approached the top of the mountain, the terrain began to become gentler and more open, so the Xuzhou Army could invest a lot more troops at the same time. Soon, a large number of fully armed soldiers collided with the enemy with the desire for victory.
The cry of killing, the sound of gold and iron clashing, the scream of being slashed, the sharp whistle of arrows piercing the air, and the sonorous sound of being shot on the shield.
In order to attract the attention of the Jizhou army as much as possible, Wang Zheng basically went all out this time, even sparing no expense, and let the Tianzhu battalion charge at the forefront, precisely to have a wave of offensives to defeat the defenders, and at the same time create an advantage first
, and then let those new soldiers who can only fight with the wind at present rush forward to expand the advantage into victory.
Of course, mountains are different from plains after all. Normally speaking, such an overly dense deployment of troops will have very limited improvement in combat efficiency. After all, it is difficult to use all the terrain prophets. But with such momentum, the defenders will also have to invest more.
resistance, even if it is not proportional.
As expected, Gao Lan did not dare to be careless. Not only did he set up a double line of defense, but he also began to make full use of the terrain to resist the Xuzhou Army's attack. But even so, he did not enter and exit with the same trump cards as Wang Zheng. Instead, he hid his skills in the villages behind, and also
A performance of nearly 600 people was arranged.
On the one hand, if it becomes a protracted war, it can be replaced at any time. The granary must always be supervised; on the other hand, the granary must always be supervised.
Although Gao Lan had already confirmed when he came to Tuqiu Mountain on the first day that there was only one road up the mountain from the front, which meant that as long as this road was guarded and the enemy was blocked, there would be no problems with the granary, but after all, it was a matter of
It was important, not to mention that Gao Lan was not a direct descendant of Yuan Shao and his son, so he did not dare to make mistakes, so even though he knew it, he still did not dare to be careless, which can be said to be very cautious.
I have to say that the opponent's cautiousness caused Wu Yuan and others a little trouble when they climbed up through the back mountain, but it was just a little bit.
The reason is very simple. Under the fierce fighting on the front, even the defenders who stayed in the village did not have the time to patrol the mountains behind. All their attention was on the front. On weekdays, they might still lead the team.
The generals reprimanded them, but even the generals had no time to look around at the current situation.
What's more important is that the defenders who stayed in the village were scattered everywhere.
This undoubtedly gave Wu Yuan the opportunity to defeat them one by one.
Before Wang Zheng's army arrived, Wu Yuan had not only mastered how to climb from the back mountain to the top of the mountain during several spies with the Orion, but also roughly figured out where Yuan Jun's rations were stored.
At this moment, after taking a short rest, the nearly 300 soldiers of the Tianzhu camp who had secretly climbed the mountain began to divide into two groups and act separately according to Wu Yuan's analysis and judgment, using the cover of the gentle fog on the mountain.
The first road is to enter directly from the west of the village.
Under Wu Yuan's guidance, a group of people rushed in silently. It was not until they broke in from the backyard and walked more than a hundred steps that they encountered a group of defenders for the first time.
Whoosh whoosh!
Almost instantly, more than a dozen hundred-step snipers drew their bowstrings at the same time, and then they saw arrows flying away like locusts. The surprise on the faces of many Yuan Jun people on the opposite side did not even dissipate, and they were shot down in the blink of an eye.
Most of it.
"The enemy is rushing in!"
By the time Wu Yuan and his men rushed forward, three waves of Baibu sniper shots had been fired in an instant, killing most of the people. At this time, the only remaining Yuan Jun finally realized it and shouted out in shock.
But it's too late.
After a few more screams, the Tianzhu battalion almost crushed the remaining Yuan troops to death quickly, and then continued to charge forward like a whirlwind without even looking.
At this time, the fighting on the other side was fierce, and the people's voices were even louder. Especially the Xuzhou Army had received Wang Zheng's order and deliberately made noise to cover up the movements in the back. Therefore, the shouts on this side could not be heard.
It fell into the ears of Yuan Jun outside for the first time. It was not until more and more enemies rushed out from the back mountain like wolves and tigers that the soldiers of Yuan Jun at the second sentry point realized something was wrong.
"The Xuzhou Army has sneaked into the village!"
A dozen or so Yuan soldiers shouted and rushed forward in an attempt to hold back the enemy. Others immediately turned around and ran out while calling for reinforcements. However, they did not know that this time they were all elites from the Tianzhu camp sneaking in from the back mountain.
, almost all of them are third-level troops, and they may not be able to defeat them in the same number, let alone now they are outnumbered.
After instantly defeating the opponent's negligible resistance, Wu Yuan and others continued to go deep without stopping, turning left and right, and once again killed several waves of Yuan's troops who came to block them after hearing the news, they finally reached their destination.
Seeing the scene in front of them, everyone, including Wu Yuan, gasped in unison, with a mixture of excitement and regret in their eyes.
They were bags filled with grain and grass, stacked as high as a hill!
The exciting thing is that the more food and grass here, the greater the blow to the Jizhou army after burning. Unfortunately, if this place is further away from Fenggao, no matter how weak the defenders are, they can completely capture this place.
down, and then try to transport the grain and grass away instead of burning them so wastefully.
Today's Wang Zheng, today's Xuzhou, today's Heavenly Army...
There is also a shortage of food!
I don’t know who sighed first, and then, despite hesitation, bags of kerosene were poured onto the grain bags.
Then, a pungent smell began to grow in the air, and it quickly spread and filled the entire granary.
...
When Wu Yuan's group had taken the lead to reach the predetermined location, the other group of people led by Wang Xiong also took action.
Compared to Wu Yuan, this was Wang Xiong's first time here. Even with the village map provided by the old man, it still took a little more time. When they showed up at another food storage point, the one to the west was
The unusual movement has gradually spread.
The soldiers from Jizhou who rushed over didn't even see the kerosene being poured everywhere by the Tianzhu camp. Just smelling the pungent smell made everyone scream in fear and attack like crazy, trying to catch up.
After running away from the Xuzhou Army, they tried to put out the fire and began to gather reinforcements from everywhere.
But just as the defenders' attention was drawn to the west, they didn't know that a more dangerous situation was about to happen to the east of the village.
After completely wiping out a group of Yuan's troops blocking the road, Wang Xiong and others also saw food piled up in several houses. Some soldiers couldn't help but draw a knife and scratched the food bag, cutting a hole.
I saw countless pieces of white rice flowing out of it, sliding to the ground with a swishing sound.
“The best Linzi rice.”
The soldiers with Qingzhou nationality clicked their lips and sighed. Speaking of which, they haven't tasted the taste of rice from their hometown for many years.
After coming to Xuzhou, there are naturally not many opportunities. As for before coming to Xuzhou...
But he no longer has the qualifications.
These former refugees were even more discerning. After a casual look and weighing, they realized that the rice stored in the granary in front of them was worth nearly ten thousand kilograms.
If we had put it in the years when the harvest was not good, I don’t know how many lives could have been saved. Even for Wang Zheng and Xuzhou today, it would be a huge harvest.
It's a pity... now they all have to be burned...
Although they felt a little reluctant to give up, everyone present knew exactly what they were doing.
Food is naturally something to survive, but since it belongs to the enemy, it has become a murder weapon that is as threatening as a sword!
If you can’t take it away, you can only burn it!
Burn them all!
Before the next group of enemies arrived, everyone dispersed, hurriedly splashing fire oil, and piled up some dry grass and dead branches around them. After all, with every additional fire point and every piece of fuel-supporting materials seized, the Jizhou Army
The difficulty of putting out the fire will increase exponentially.
Soon after, when the work was almost done, Wu Yuan and Wang Xiong took the lead in throwing torches at almost the same time.
As torches were thrown out one after another, the fire spread quickly, and black smoke billowed into the sky.
Amidst the sizzling sound, countless grains of food were reduced to ashes. At the same time, the fire quickly expanded and turned into a sea of fire, quickly surrounding Tuqiushan, a century-old village that had been living on the mountain since the early Eastern Han Dynasty, and leading it to complete destruction.
.
Not long after, the fire that shot up into the sky was so intense that even the soldiers on the front line could see clearly.
When the Xuzhou Army saw the flames and black smoke on the top of the mountain, they naturally cheered and cheered.
On the other hand, the Jizhou people's morale, which was not very stable, plummeted and hit the bottom in an instant. Their duty was to guard the food and grass in the temple, but now the defense line is still there, but the food and grass are finished!
All Jizhou soldiers know how terrible the food and grass can be once they burn.
The entire mountaintop, inside and outside the village, will be reduced to ruins in the sea of fire.
"Quick, go back and put out the fire!"
Gao Lan's body was cold. He never expected that the enemy would manage to sneak in through such a tight defense line he had organized. Although he couldn't figure out how the enemy did it, there was only one way for him and the entire defenders to survive at the moment.
That is to try to put out the fire.
He didn't even care about blocking the Xuzhou Army on the opposite side. Except for the two soldiers who had already joined the battle line, the remaining soldiers, including himself, all turned back and ran towards the village crazily.
Worried that they were still in danger of being exterminated, Wu Yuan and Wang Xiong's troops did not withdraw immediately as a precaution. Instead, after holding on for a while and making a lot of sacrifices, the Jizhou people swarmed in behind the brigade.
Before coming, they started to fight and then retreated towards the back mountain.
For these culprits, Gao Lan and the Jizhou Army wanted to skin them and cut them into pieces, but at this time they had no mood or time to chase down these enemies.
Because they have to do a more important thing, put out the fire!
Countless Yuan soldiers returned to the village with helplessness and rushed to put out the fire. However, there were not many water sources on the mountain. Apart from a few deep wells, there was a clear pool. On weekdays, it could barely provide drinking water for thousands of defenders.
This is one of the reasons why there are not many defenders on the mountain. Now you want to use this little water to extinguish the fire that has already reached the sky?
Not long after, everyone dejectedly stopped holding wooden basins and buckets to fill the fire with water.
Because the fire has completely lost control!
When a bucket of water was poured over, the fire only weakened slightly, and then started to flourish again. When the next bucket of water came over, the fire had returned to its original state and even started to spread further. This scene is probably the most vivid explanation
What a drop in the bucket.
Where the fire first ignited, the ground was scorched black, and people could not get close within ten meters of the high temperature. No one put out the fire at the fire spot on the east road, and the two granaries where the fire initially broke out have begun to spread to the surrounding areas, forming a
There were as many as a dozen huge fires with a total area of several acres.
This kind of fire was absolutely impossible to extinguish in the feudal era with limited technical conditions.
The wooden barrel in the hands of the Jizhou soldiers was pitiful in front of the raging fire, to the point where it could not even let the sea of fire wave.
The only way to stop it is to let it burn everything it can ignite until there is nothing left to burn.
Gao Lan, who came in person, saw this scene from a distance, his face full of despair. At this time, he no longer needed to think about how to put out the fire, but to quickly find a way to evacuate people from it. Otherwise, wait until
If the fire gets further out of control and spreads, the entire city will be engulfed, and all the Jizhou soldiers who remain inside will turn into charred corpses.
But where can we retreat to?
The fact that the thieves can sneak in certainly means that there is still a way out, but from the number of people who have infiltrated, we can infer that that road will definitely not be easy. Otherwise, there will be more people than just this one. Besides that limited escape route
In addition, the only way they can choose to survive has been completely blocked by the Xuzhou Army with thousands of people on the opposite side!
When Yuan Tan and Guo Tu chose Tuqiu Mountain as the location for their granary, they naturally took a fancy to its steep mountain shape, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack. However, once such a terrain is broken through or surrounded by the enemy, it also means that the way to survive is cut off and they are waiting for death.
!
Even if Gao Lan had not made preparations in advance and cut an isolation belt around the top of the mountain to prevent the enemy from burning the mountain, which was considered as an insurance for his family, now Wang Zheng would only have to stay in place and block their way.
Wait for the fire to spread down the mountain and burn all the Jizhou troops to death!
But even so, it's just hanging on for a while, and it's also a dead end in the end.
Behind him was a sea of fire, and in front were enemies several times his size. The infantry under his command were tired and hungry, and all their water supplies and equipment were lost in the sea of fire. The morale of the army was completely gone. How could they still fight? What else could they do?
support?
To put it bluntly, even if Gao Lan managed to escape from this battle, he would probably have a narrow escape from death!
After all, once the news of the burning of the granary reaches the front line, if Yuan Tanfan still has some sense, he will withdraw his troops as soon as possible!
Otherwise, once the news is leaked and the morale of the military is shaken, it may be difficult to withdraw to Qingzhou.
However, this laborious expedition ended up with no gains. With Yuan Tan's character, he would definitely find someone to hold him accountable. Gao Lan didn't think the other party would let him go!
Rather than that, it would be better to die here!
At this moment, the Xuzhou Army's previously aggressive offensive slowed down and began to shrink slowly, and then countless people shouted one after another.
"Surrender without killing!"
"Abandon weapons without killing!"
Sounds seemed to come from all directions, dispelling Yuan Jun's last remaining will to fight. Amidst the clang, more and more people chose to lay down their weapons and surrender on the spot.
There is no other way. In this situation, surrender has become the only way to survive.
Seeing figures kneeling down one after another around him, Gao Lan stood there blankly, looking around blankly. Except for a few pro-soldiers who had followed him for many years and still clenched their swords, most of Yuan Jun on the top of the mountain was now kneeling down. On the ground, everything you can see is panic and despair.
Alas, the matter has come to this, what can I say?
He sighed, drew his sword and turned around. Just when he was about to kill himself, all the situations he had experienced since entering the tent of Yuan Shao and his son passed through his mind, and he couldn't help but feel a little hesitation in his heart.
I am a tall and dignified man, so I must not be greedy for life and afraid of death!
But he could die loyally to mediocre masters like Yuan Benchu and his son...
After all, Gao Lan was a little reluctant, unwilling, and even more disdainful!
During such a moment of hesitation, several soldiers nearby noticed Gao Lan's anomaly and were startled. At this time, they did not care about overcoming the situation and hurriedly rushed forward and snatched the sword away.
"Master, you must not do this!"
"Let's surrender."
Then, somehow, with the persuasion of several people around him, Gao Lan also threw down the weapon in his hand.