Six hundred and twentieth eighth chapter open the net
"Since we can't eliminate the officers and soldiers outside the city for a while, why not leave Yu Jue alone for the time being and attack the city directly? As long as we attack the city, won't everything be solved?" Chu Yiyi asked.
Hua Bushi shook his head and said: "No. There are still thousands of officers and soldiers outside the city. The rebel army will not be able to mobilize all its strength to attack the city. If it is not done well, it will be attacked from both sides. Moreover, Yu Jue has not been eliminated, and the morale of the defenders in the city is not discouraged. , even without the command of the general, it will be difficult to attack in a short period of time."
When attacking a fortified city, morale is far more important than troop strength. When the morale of the defenders is exhausted, the city will be breached. There are still three thousand officers and soldiers in Huaiqing City. If they see that General Yu Jue is still leading his troops in If they fight hard outside the city, their fighting spirit will not collapse. How easy is it for the rebels to break through the city in one fell swoop?
Chu Yiyi asked anxiously: "Can we only wait until the reinforcements from the government and army arrive, and our success will be defeated?"
Hua Bushi turned his starry eyes and said: "Of course not, there is another strategy we can try now." [
He turned to Ximen Tong and ordered: "A Tong, go find Brother Li quickly and tell him something for me. It is better to spread the net in all directions than to open one side."
Ximen Tong agreed and immediately rode away.
Chu Yiyi raised her eyebrows and said, "What do you mean by this sentence from the young master? Could it be that you want Li Zicheng to let Yu Jue go?"
Hua Bushi said: "Now this battle has become a stalemate. We have to waste all our hope. If we want to capture Huaiqing City, we can only change this situation. After all, we only want to capture the city, and we do not have to eliminate the official army."
Chu Yiyi suddenly realized, caressing her jade palm and said: "This is indeed a good plan! Let us give them a way out to escape back to the city. As long as the rebel army follows closely behind to kill them, they can rush straight to the city gate. Maybe we can even open the city gate and rush in, then we can capture Huaiqing City in one fell swoop!"
Hua Bushi said: "Madam is right. Now these more than 4,000 officers and soldiers are trapped on the hill, with a fire behind them. The only way to retreat is to die. That's why they will fight against the rebels so bravely, just like the king of Chu in ancient times." Xiang Yu's move to destroy the Qin Dynasty was similar to that of Yu Jue's use of troops. Instead of fighting them head-on, we should give them a way to escape, which can not only disrupt the fighting spirit of those soldiers, but also take advantage of the situation to defeat them. city."
Most soldiers who fight desperately do so out of necessity. As long as there is a chance to escape, few will fight for their lives.
Chu Yiyi said: "However, although we can be more generous, that Yu Jue is very smart, but he may not be fooled."
As long as he held on to the top of the mountain until reinforcements arrived, the situation could be reversed. Of course Yu Jue knew full well that there was no need for him to escape.
Hua Bushi said: "As a general, Yu Jue will not be fooled, but his soldiers may not have his knowledge."
After a while, Ximen Tong left and returned, and the situation of the rebel army's fierce attack on Xiaoshanbao also changed. Li Zicheng was also a resourceful person, and of course he could understand the meaning of "opening one side of the net" that Hua Bushi said.
Instead of attacking in a swarm before, the rebel troops now focused on the left side of the hillside. The troops surrounding the mountain also gathered to the left, clearly leaving a gap of more than ten feet wide on the other side.
The troops on both sides are infantry and more mobile cavalry. As long as the officers and soldiers on the hill rush down from that passage, they can run directly to the east gate of Huaiqing City, and as long as they run faster, they will definitely be able to escape. Get "Xing" life.
This is really a great temptation! The officers and soldiers who were heavily surrounded by enemies whose strength was several times greater were already in a situation of certain death. Now they suddenly have a way out. They want to hold on and not escape.
Isn't it easy?
Soon, several officers and soldiers broke away from the formation and fled down the mountain through the gap. The rebels did not intercept these deserters, but still only attacked the other side, as if as long as they could attack the top of the mountain, they ignored everything else.
Now that the pioneers had successful examples, more soldiers soon tried to escape from that exclusive safe passage. They were all not blocked and successfully escaped from the encirclement of the large group of rebels.
From three or five people to eight or ten people, then twenty or thirty people, fifty or sixty people, more and more officers and soldiers ran out of the gap in groups. Yu Jue in the formation on the top of the mountain
They shouted loudly that they were not allowed to run away, and those who violated the rules would be killed immediately. But if you don't run away, you will die in front of your eyes. Who can care so much? Besides, everyone in the team is running, how can such a thing happen to others?
back!
There were originally more than 4,000 officers and soldiers on the mountain, but more than 3,000 fled in less than a minute, leaving less than 1,000 people. The "Xuanwu Formation" had collapsed, and Yu Jue had to order the contraction of the formation and the defense line.
Retreat and only hold the small area on the top of the mountain.
The once overcrowded safety passage was finally empty. The remaining hundreds of people on the mountain were probably Yu Jue's trusted guards, and they would not leave the general and escape. But if Yu Jue wanted to fight with such a small force,
The charge of the rebels is already too difficult even if they form a defensive formation.[
Everyone on the hillside was overjoyed. Even Hua Bushi, who had always had a solemn expression, smiled and said: "Yu Jue's men have no soldiers! I watched for at least half an hour, Brother Li
We can deal with them and then attack the city wall, and there will be more than enough time!"
But at this moment, a horse galloped from behind the hillside. The young man on the horse was Meng Huan. He galloped, reined in the horse and stopped when he got close, and presented a small piece of paper to Chu Yiyi.
Chu Yiyi took the piece of paper and took a look at it, her face changed drastically, and she said: "Master Hua, the secret sentry we posted on the official road sent a message saying that 20,000 officers and soldiers led by Zhang Yingchang have left Huangshi.
Yu, we are rushing towards Huaiqing City, we will be here in half an hour!"
After hearing this, Hua Bushi was shocked and his expression changed. He originally estimated that Zhang Xianzhong's interception of the army at Huangshi Valley would be delayed for at least three hours. Unexpectedly, it was less than an hour and a half now. Zhang Yingchang's
The troops are almost here! Not to mention that Yu Jue outside the city has not been able to deal with it yet. Even if we only attack Huaiqing City, half an hour is not enough!
Chu Yiyi said: "Zhang Xianzhong has always been known for his bravery. The 8,000 men and horses under his command are all elite soldiers. He set up an ambush in Huangshi Valley and has a convenient location. How could Zhang Yingchang break through so quickly? Could it be that there was an error in the secret sentry report?
Meng Huan, go check it out again!"
Hua Bushi sighed and said: "The report should be correct. We probably overlooked something. Zhang Xianzhong failed to become the commander of the 36th Battalion that day. I think he was unhappy because he was unwilling to fight with this.
Contribute."
The "Eight Great Kings" Zhang Xianzhong was second only to Wang Ziyong in strength among the rebels, and was on par with Gao Yingxiang. He had a poor reputation because he was cruel and easy to kill, and Li Zicheng had already done what he had done to other rebel leaders that day.
After winning over each other, everyone raised their heads to welcome Xiang as the commander-in-chief, but the "eight kings" were not convinced at first thought.
It was a desperate move to send Zhang Xianzhong to lead the troops to intercept the official army. After Wang Ziyong left, the only combat-effective troops in the rebel army were Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong. Gao Yingxiang's troops had to stay to attack the city. , Zhang Xianzhong went there just to give up the choice, but unexpectedly something went wrong in the end.
Chu Yiyi said: "The reinforcements from the government and army will arrive in a blink of an eye. What should we do? Zhang Xianzhong really deserves to die. We will have to settle the score with him later!"
The Thirty-sixth Battalion of Rebels was not one body, and each group had its own interests. It is understandable that Zhang Xianzhong wanted to protect his own troops from losses and refused to use all his strength to intercept the officers and soldiers.
But if you do this, it will delay the plan.
Hua Bushi rolled his eyes a few times and saw that everyone had sad faces. Only Li Hu had a look of leisure and contentment on his face, with no sign of anxiety at all. He immediately asked: "Li Hu, you seem to be I’m not worried at all, but do you have an idea in mind?”
Li Hu said with a "hehe" smile: "Boss Shitou, it's not like you don't know. I know nothing about marching and fighting. How can I have an idea at this time? I just thought that the boss is extremely smart and will always come up with it no matter what time." There is no need for me, Li Hu, to worry about it."
Hearing Li Hu say this, Hua Bushi couldn't help but feel happy, and said: "You know how to be lazy! Well, I do have an idea, but I need your help and A Tong's help. Hey, I didn't want you to I’m afraid it’s impossible to fight directly with the army now.”
Li Hu said: "As long as the boss has an idea, what problems can there be! There is no need to worry about fighting with the army. My third senior brother and I have our faces covered, who can recognize who we are!"
Hua Bushi said: "That's true. Okay, you and Ah Tongmo will reveal your identity and rush into the army's formation to assassinate the commander-in-chief Yu Jue. But you have to remember that you can only kill and injure, absolutely not. Is it possible to kill?"
Li Hu said: "Since we want to kill him, wouldn't it be nice to kill him directly? Why should the boss be so merciful?"
Hua Bushi's face sank, and he said: "If I want to save his life, of course it will be useful. I just want to ask you if you can do it?"
Li Hu said: "Okay, I can stay as long as the boss says, no problem!"
He has always been arrogant, fierce and unruly, but he did not dare to disobey the "Stone Boss" in the slightest.
Hua Bushi turned to look at Ximen Tong, who also said: "Master, don't worry!"
Hua Bushi nodded and said: "Okay, time is urgent, you go quickly! Yu Jue's sword skills are not weak, you must be careful!" [
The two agreed, raised the reins and urged the horses to gallop away.
After Li Hu and Ximen Tong left, Chu Yiyi said: "What is the purpose of the young master wanting to kill Yu Jue but not taking his life?"
Hua Bushi smiled slightly and said: "The battle between the two armies is a battle of wits and strength between the generals of both sides. Although Yu Jue is a talented general, he is not without weaknesses. This time I will let him lead the rebel army to attack the city. "