There is some truth in the old saying, "You are a thief if you grow old but don't die". Just in a second thought, Gao Zhao guessed the origin of the kerosene.
At that time, Li Chengzhi was victorious in Chencang, and after returning to Beijing, he returned to his home. Yuan Ying, the leader, wanted to force him to give up the secret recipe of Tianlei, so Li Chengzhi used a steam bomb to deceive him.
Later, Gao Ying sent Cui Guang to look for him and ask for advice on where the oil was produced. Li Chengzhi said: Although kerosene is buried deep underground, it is like an underground river. If there is a main vein, there must be tributaries. This is why Jin Mingyi
Counties are definitely not limited to the oil lakes in Gaonu County.
At that time, the court was half convinced, until Xi Kangsheng captured Jinming regardless of casualties. He followed Li Chengzhi's instructions at the time and searched the map, and he actually found two places.
Unfortunately, it was buried deep and the reserves were small. Xi Kangsheng did not dare to dig with human lives like Gao Meng, so he had to use a stupid method: first pour water, wait for the oil to float to the surface, fish it out, and then steam it in a pot.
The output can be imagined.
It took Xi Kangsheng half a year to refine only a few thousand kilograms, and it was pure, thick, and mixed. Don't think about using it to make kerosene bombs, it would only be used for setting fires, and you should use it sparingly.
Otherwise, Xi Kangsheng would have taken it out to attack the city.
Seeing that Xiazhou built the city with ice, he wanted to fight stubbornly, but he was also afraid that Gao Zhao would go crazy and hurt Yuan Cheng, so Xi Kangsheng had no choice but to give Gao Zhao a blow.
At this moment, the oil poured on the city wall, and a fire with a radius of several feet spread out immediately. The archers then wrapped their arrows in linen cloth and aimed at the place where the fire started.
In just a few breaths, the area of the fire will expand several times. In a short time, a shallow pit will be burned into the ice wall.
And because most of the places where fires started were halfway up the wall, and the weather was cold and the ground was freezing, dripping water turned into ice. When the water was poured down the wall, it would freeze solid after flowing three to five feet at most, so there was no way to stop it.
That’s why Xi Kangsheng chose to launch the attack near sunset...
Gao Zhao still ordered his soldiers to pour water down continuously, as if he would not stop until the fire was extinguished.
Yuan Cheng and Yuan Yi looked at each other, wondering why Gao Zhao would do this. Yuan Huan was also puzzled and said suspiciously: "Captain, what if you just let Xi Kangsheng burn the wall? Fire can melt ice, how can it be done?
Can bricks, stones and rammed earth be boiled?"
Do you know anything about bird feathers?
Gao Zhao snorted coldly and cursed Yuan Huan secretly in his heart.
It is true that Xi Kangsheng cannot burn the wall, but he can explode it.
Thinking back to two years ago, when he learned that Li's Sky Thunder was actually made from gunpowder, Gao Zhao immediately secretly ordered Gao Meng to develop it.
The thing was made, but half the courtyard and more than a hundred confidants were destroyed.
Gao Zhao shuddered when he thought that just a few kilograms of oil could blow up several brick buildings into rubble.
If Xi Kangsheng followed the same method, he would first use kerosene to burn the ice wall, then send soldiers to attack the city, and then use thick logs to collide with carts as a shield to block falling rocks and rolling logs on the city. Then he would have the dead men hide under the carts and blow up the wall.
Even though the foundation of Tongwan city wall is three feet thick, how many times can it survive?
No wonder Yuan Cheng was so arrogant and dared to say things like "I would rather have broken jade than complete tiles". No wonder Xi Kangsheng was so mad that he dared to order his soldiers to attack the city?
Gao Zhaoyin was frightened and quickly ordered his cronies to bring in a large number of rockets, as well as flammable materials such as hemp poles and hay.
But as he expected, if Xi Kangsheng sent dead soldiers to blow up the city, he would try his best to use up all the rockets in Tongwan City to repel them.
The strange thing is that after only one round of shooting, no more oil cans were thrown. Xi Kangsheng just ordered the soldiers to shoot arrows.
But unfortunately, the ice wall is too thick, and the fire caused by flax, rags, etc. on the arrows cannot withstand the speed at which the ice melts into water and is extinguished.
As a result, there were fewer and fewer places to start fires, and for almost half an hour, there was no longer an open flame on the wall.
Could it be that Xi Kang didn't have much oil to make fire and couldn't withstand such consumption?
But there is no guarantee that it is not a small-scale sniper, so...
Gao Zhao was secretly suspicious and heard Yuan Cheng shout: "Gao Shouwen, if you see, you have seen Xi Shangshu's methods. You should know that he has a way to destroy the city. Why are you still so stubborn? The so-called knowing how to return when you have lost your way is time.
It’s not too late…”
Gao Zhao became irritated for a while and shouted coldly: "Detain him!"
I wanted to let these two people take a good look at how Xi Kangsheng looked at the city and sighed, and withdrew the troops in disgrace. But he didn't want to slap him hard, but slapped himself in the face first?
But it was difficult to recover from the overthrow. Since I and Yuan Cheng were ruined and had a bad reputation of breaking their promises and going back on their word, I had no choice but to bite the bullet and hit him.
As long as we can persist until Li Chengzhi raises his troops, victory or defeat can change hands, turning passivity into initiative.
Taking another step back: even if they want to surrender, they cannot be forced to do so according to the imperial edict.
Otherwise, I am afraid that before the city gate is opened and Xi Kangsheng has not entered the city, his subordinates such as Yuan Huan, Changsun Dao and other generals with foreign surnames who were promised kingships and titles will rebel first.
So let’s fight and see…
Thinking about it secretly, Gao Zhao breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the officers and soldiers under the city were gradually waning and seemed to be about to withdraw their troops...
Gao Zhao could think of frying the city with fire, and Xi Kangsheng could naturally think of it too. But once you think about it, it would be many times more difficult to implement it.
The most critical thing is that Xi Kangsheng has too little kerosene in his hand. Let alone blowing up the wall, it would be good if he can burn a few holes in the ice outside the city.
Good steel is used on the blade, so Xi Kangsheng turned to the next best thing. As long as he burns it for a round at a few precise places every day, Xi Kangsheng can feel as if he is facing a formidable enemy, and all the plants and trees are soldiers. Whenever there is a fire in one place, it will
I watered it with all my strength to put it out.
As time goes by, how thick will the ice in these places be when the weather gets warmer in spring?
You should know that the walls of Tongwan City are all made of steamed earth, and there are not brick and stone protective walls everywhere. Although they are not afraid of fire or rocks, what if it is water?
Xi Kangsheng could already imagine the sight of the rammed earth city walls being soaked in water and pieces of mud falling to the ground after spring began.
Until then, let's see if Gao Zhao can still laugh...
Seeing the last trace of rays of light falling over the Western Mountains, and the sky already turning dark, Xi Kangsheng shouted in a deep voice: "Retreat!"
The tents were stationed five miles away, mostly cotton tents, with carts as forts on the outside. Moreover, there was a lot of firewood and charcoal collected from Bogulu and Guanzhong this time, so there was no need to worry about the soldiers being unable to keep out the cold.
His subordinates accepted the order and went to pass the order to the front army commander Cui Yanbo. Xi Kangsheng also went down to the watchtower and prepared to drive back to the camp.
At the same time, he was still thinking about whether to hand over this place to Cui Yanbo. He would look at Liziyuan or Lishi Town to see if he could get a glimpse of a chance to break the situation...
But before boarding the carriage, a close friend suddenly came to report: "Shang Shu, when the mighty general (sixth grade) Yuan Shun led his army to patrol the west, he encountered a group of rebels. Most of them were captured on the spot, and a few of them were beheaded...
Two of them claimed to be Li Shixian, the father of the late Li Guogong, and Li Chenghong, his brother-in-law. Since General Yuan Shun did not recognize these two people, he urgently ordered his subordinates to send them outside the battle and hand them over to the Minister for disposal..."
Li Shixian, Li Chenghong?
Xi Kangsheng had a strange expression on his face: Gao Zhao had gone to great lengths to lure Li Shixian to Xiazhou, and he regarded it as a treasure, probably even more than Yuan Yi. But why wasn't he trapped in the city?
Brought outside the city?
Guessing in his mind, Xi Kangsheng shouted again in a cold voice: "Bring it here... Well, then go and inform Cui County Master (Cui Yanbo) as soon as possible to postpone the withdrawal of the troops for now..."
Xi Kangsheng was guessing whether something happened in the city...
In just a moment, the confidants escorted a carriage into the center. After helping the two people out of the carriage, Xi Kangsheng took a closer look with the torch, and his eyes suddenly lit up.
Is it really Lee Si-hyun?
Thanks to Li Chengzhi, when Xi Kang was born in Jingzhou and served as governor, he took care of Li Shixian. In addition, he and Zhang Jingzhi were relatives, and Zhang Jingzhi was Xi Kangsheng's right-hand man, so naturally he had to take a higher look at him.
Therefore, the two of them could not be more familiar.
Seeing how Li Shixian was tied up, Xi Kangsheng pretended to be angry and said, "I'm blind. Why don't you quickly untie Li Shenjun?"
Seeing Xi Kangsheng, Li Shixian had some enlightenment, and the wound on his chest suddenly started to hurt. In addition, he lost a lot of blood, was frightened and tired, his legs couldn't help but soften, and one knee involuntarily collapsed.
Kneel down.
Xi Kangsheng looked curious: "Why did Huaide do this great gift?"
Grandpa will give you a bird feather gift?
Li Shixian was very angry: "Shang Shu, Li is going to say that his legs are weak, do you believe it or not?"
"Believe it, why don't you believe it?"
Xi Kangsheng urged, "Get up quickly and tell me why Gao Shouwen let you out of the city?"
"How can that thief be so kind?"
As soon as he raised his hand, Li Shixian's teeth began to gnash, "He wanted to use a borrowed knife to kill people and divert misfortune, and he wanted to frame the minister... Unfortunately, Li Mouyu saw through it half way..."
Killing someone with a borrowed knife will lead to disaster?
Xi Kangsheng's heart trembled: "Please tell me quickly..."
Li Shixian was very eloquent. In just a few words, he gave an overview of what happened.
Xi Kangsheng sometimes frowned and sometimes cursed, and he was even more faintly afraid in his heart: This plan can be described as poisonous!
If Li Shixian hadn't been alert and sniffed out the clues, Gao Zhao would have succeeded: the revenge for killing his father is irreconcilable. With Li Chengzhi's character, how could he not avenge this?
But in the end, Gao Zhaoqi missed one move and failed?
After scolding for a while, Xi Kangsheng was a little surprised and doubtful: This time it seemed that it was all due to Li Shixian's unpretentiousness and unique insight. But in fact, it was due to his luck.
In the final analysis, Li Chengzhi's luck was better than that of Gao Zhao, and it was Li Shixian who was able to turn danger into good fortune, thus preventing both Xihai and the imperial court from suffering losses.
Looking at it the other way around, when Gao Zhao learns that his treacherous plot is exposed and Li Chengzhi hates him even more, what will he choose?
This plan is to seize chestnuts from the fire. Now that the success is on the verge of failure, Gao Zhao can only reap the consequences: either resist to the end, lose both sides with the imperial court, completely take advantage of Li Chengzhi, and kill all his Gao family members. Or cut off his tail and survive, and take shelter under the wings of the imperial court.
under……
Looking at it this way, it seems that the imperial court is still benefiting, but Xi Kangsheng knows that at this moment and at that moment, for Li Chengzhi today, as long as he can avoid premature war with the imperial court, this is a huge advantage.
In just one year, or even less than a year, he could tame the nearly 100,000 troops of Yuan Zhi and Luo Jian, and arrange all the hundreds of thousands of troops in Bei Town.
At that time, how should the court deal with such a powerful enemy?
That's all, in Li Chengzhi's words, if the sky falls, someone taller will hold it up, so why bother?
He sighed secretly, and ordered again and again: "Send the order, order County Master Cui to light up the lamp immediately, hoist the flag of war exemption, and then send an arrow letter to the city, saying that I have a big gift to give to Gao Shouwen.
Then he ordered Yuan Shun to escort all the rebels he had captured to the city walls, and first let Gao Shouwen debate the truth and falsehood..."
After a pause, he looked at Li Shixian again: "Thank you for your hard work, and I will go to the city with you, so that you can make that thief Gao Zhao give up..."
"Consolidate the original position!"
Responding casually, Li Shixian looked at Xi Kangsheng's face again, "Now that Li has escaped, Gao Shouwen must be in a state of panic all day long, as if he were mourning for his heir. He must also expect that there will be a disaster of annihilation in the future, so it is very possible
Eighty-nine people also surrendered to the city...but why did the minister not look happy, but instead frowned and depressed?"
Hearing this, Xi Kangsheng paused and glared at Li Shixian with squinting eyes: "Huaide, are you mocking me?"
"Why did Shangshu say this?"
"Hmph... You know that once Gao Zhao surrenders, the imperial court will definitely reorganize its army. After a year's rest at most, it will definitely send its troops to the west. By then, nine times out of ten, I will still be the commander. Let me ask you, how can I be happy?
Get up?"
Xi Kangsheng sneered repeatedly, "If that happens, I will be tied to the flagpole of the former army to see if Li Chengzhi chooses to save you, or would he rather bear the name of unfilial piety?"
Li Shixian's face suddenly turned pale.
Xi Kangsheng is not as despicable and shameless as Gao Zhao. He dares to say it, but he will definitely not be able to do it.
What Li Shixian was afraid of was a joke made by Li Chengzhi when he was chatting with him: I hope my father will be cautious in everything and be careful in everything, so as not to fall into the hands of the enemy. Otherwise, like Xiang Yu and Liu Bang in the late Qin Dynasty, if the enemy kidnaps his father
Before the battle, should my son surrender or fight?
That treacherous son was as good as his words, and his words were unusually bright. Could it be that he had already expected this day, so he used jokes to remind his father?
Thinking about it again, Xi Kangsheng just escaped from the wolf's den and fell into the tiger's den again. Xi Kangsheng relied on himself as a famous general and cherished his feathers, so he would never carry out such a scandalous trick. However, there are many shameless people in the huge court who are worse than pigs and dogs.
Isn’t it easy to find someone to take the blame?
Are you afraid that your fate will be a disaster?
Well, no!
The traitor once said that I should at least live to be an old man...
With confusion in his heart, Li Shixian followed Xi Kangsheng to the city like a puppet.
Just thinking that Xi Kangsheng would withdraw his troops, Gao Zhao had already climbed down the city wall. Suddenly he heard that the lights were brightly lit under the city, and he seemed to be burning the midnight oil to fight. He also heard that Xi Kangsheng had shot an arrow book and wanted to give him a big gift, so he hurriedly turned back.
return.
When they arrived at the top of the city, soldiers were going to the city to hang people. Gao Zhao looked carefully for a while and found that they were all dressed as soldiers from Xiazhou. They were all tied up and most of them were injured.
He was shocked: there were no soldiers sent out to fight in the city, how could they be defeated?
Isn't it the same team of armored cavalry that protected Li Shixian and his son as they headed west?
After a moment's thought, Gao Zhao's face suddenly turned pale: If the plan had been devised and both Li and his son died at the hands of officers and soldiers, how could Xi Kangsheng dare to say "a big gift"?
He shouted urgently: "But under Gao Mang... where is Gao Mang?"
"Lieutenant Bing, General Gao has died in the rebellion..."
"Where are Li Shi and his son?"
"Has been...captured alive by officers and soldiers..."
Captured alive? Captured alive?
Gao Zhao's vision went dark and he fell straight back...