When they received the news, Ximen Qing and Dadao Guan Sheng had already led their troops to thirty miles north of Gaizhou Prefecture. The two discussed, firstly, to set up camp here so that Niu Wenzhong would know about it; secondly, they would order Qin Ming and Lu Zhishen's troops to take advantage of the situation.
Then he entered and took advantage of the situation to capture Yangcheng and Qinshui counties.
There were only a few hundred soldiers left guarding the gate in Yangcheng. Within half an hour after Shi Xiu, the desperate man, showed the head of the powerful general Chu Heng, the soldiers raised the white flag and surrendered.
Therefore, Lu Zhishen and Shi Xiu captured Yangcheng County without losing any blood. Lu Zhishen, who thought that a big killing was still needed, was a little disappointed.
Qinshui County is another story.
The head of An Shirong, the general of Piwei, was beaten to pieces by Qin Ming and could not be recognized at all, so it could not be shown. However, Huang Xin of Zhensanshan had a plan in mind and ordered hundreds of soldiers to wear Beibei uniforms. The first ten or so were
They surrendered their troops, pretended to be remnants, opened the city gate, and swarmed in. After a battle, they drove away the remaining northern troops and occupied Qinshui County.
Lu Zhishen's 10,000 men suffered **100 casualties; Qin and Ming's 10,000 men suffered more than 1,000 casualties; less than 2,000 men defeated 40,000 horses. This business was indeed worthwhile.
Dadaoguan Sheng was overjoyed when he heard the news and asked Lu Zhishen and Qin Ming to temporarily station themselves in Yangcheng and Qinshui counties respectively; they would make plans after the whole territory was recovered.
In this way, only Gaizhou Prefecture, thirty miles to the south, is left.
As long as the Gaizhou capital is captured and the entire territory of Gaizhou is recovered, the victory will be complete.
Dadao Guan Sheng and Ximen Qing discussed that it was better to attack the heart and retain some strength, so that they would have more help in annihilating Tian Hu.
...
...
August eighteen.
The sad news came that Piwei general An Shirong and Biaowei general Chu Heng were dead, and Niu Wenzhong couldn't help spitting out a mouthful of blood.
The reputation of the Four Powers has now turned into four corpses.
Of the sixteen lieutenants under General Si Wei, only Qin Sheng, Mo Zhen, and Sheng Ben were left. Niu Wenzhong's situation was really miserable.
Think back to the time when hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers marched into Gaizhou, and King Tian Hu of Jin personally sent them off, how glorious it was? Niu Wenzhong even wanted to rely on this great achievement to show his strength.
Unexpectedly, instead of demonstrating his strength, he lost his strength.
No wonder Niu Wenzhong vomited blood.
Three generals, including Qin Sheng, Mo Zhen and Sheng Ben, got the news and came to see Niu Wenzhong sitting alone under the oil lamp, miserable and withered, not like a living person.
The three generals stepped forward to offer words of comfort, but Niu Wenzhong smiled bitterly and issued an order to ask for help from Zhaode Mansion.
There was really no other way and he asked Zhaode Mansion for help. Niu Wenzhong lost face and indirectly admitted his failure in Gaizhou.
But at the same time, Niu Wenzhong also made up his mind to use these soldiers in the city together with the people to drag the Song army here.
The food and grass in the city, under Niu Wenzhong's distribution, is enough for half a year; although the number of soldiers is less than 20,000, and thousands more are newly "recruited", more than 10,000 of them are Niu Wenzhong's old troops, all of whom are capable of fighting.
His combat capabilities are extraordinary.
These soldiers were also the most critical factor in Niu Wenzhong's decision.
The Song army had set up camp thirty miles north of the city and might launch an attack at any time. Niu Wenzhong braced himself for his illness and personally inspected the four gates in the southeast, northwest and northwest to see how well prepared the rolling stones, wood and other defensive equipment were.
...
...
August 19th.
The Song army broke out of camp and set up camp again three miles north of the city, but there were no signs of attacking the city.
Niu Wenzhong, Qin Sheng, Mo Zhen, and Sheng Ben could have a clear view of the Song army's camp from the city wall, and the sound of Song soldiers training could also be heard with the wind.
Ximen Qing and Guan Sheng demonstrated their military strength in this way.
This made Niu Wenzhong so angry that he almost vomited blood. Qin Sheng said angrily: "Three miles! Only three miles! What on earth do they want to do!"
"Stop talking." Mo Zhen pointed at the Song Army camp: "They did this just to weaken our fighting spirit. But what they didn't expect was that once the Zhaode Mansion got the news, they would soon send reinforcements. They delayed
The longer it takes, the more beneficial it will be to our army."
This sentence seemed to hit Niu Wenzhong's pain point. After a fit of coughing, his body was so weak that even his armor seemed to be several times heavier, leaving him breathless.
"Do we have to remain indifferent?" Sheng Ben suggested, "How about we carry out a night attack just like last time?"
"The Song army has been prepared for a long time. If our army does not rely on the city wall, will it be necessary to fight in the field?" Mo Zhen shook his head and said: "Definitely not!"
"How do you know if you haven't tried it?" Sheng Ben refused and insisted on his own point of view.
Qin Sheng interrupted: "Do you think we still have the capital to try?"
This sentence silenced the people present, and the most obvious sound was Niu Wenzhong's erratic breathing.
After a long time, Niu Wenzhong adjusted his breath again and made a direct judgment.
"Our army can only defend and wait for reinforcements. There is no other way out." Niu Wenzhong squinted his eyes and looked at the Song Army camp: "With their strength, they can completely surround three or four gates, but right now they are only at the north gate.
It’s nothing more than trying to make our troops lose their fighting spirit. If that’s the case, then they will win.”
Generals Qin Sheng, Mo Zhen, and Sheng Ben nodded silently.
Niu Wenzhong continued: "There will be various ways to make our army lose fighting spirit. The headless posts our army used before are one of them, but now the city is already monolithic. As long as we are more careful,
, Ximen Qing can’t get involved.”
What Niu Wenzhong thought was correct, but what he didn't expect was that the methods Ximen Qing used were beyond his imagination, and of course, beyond this era.
August 20th.
Outside the shooting range of the north gate, the Song army began to build a high platform, on which the armor of the four mighty generals was displayed.
To be precise, it was the armor ripped off Siwei's corpse.
At the same time, thousands of Song soldiers began to tell the story of how General Siwei died in unison.
The story, of course, contains a lot of water.
Thanks to Ximen Qing's efforts, the water content is not as big as usual.
"Speaking of the powerful general Fang Qiong's rat-headed deer eyes, the bones in his body are not more than three ounces...As soon as he saw our army, he rolled off his saddle and dismounted, dropped his weapons, raised his hands in the air, and shouted, "Heroes, spare your life!"
"Xiong Weiyu Yulin's martial arts skills are mediocre. He is not as good as a groom in our army... He was picked off his horse in less than one turn."
"Piwei General An Shirong is even more of a fool..."
"Biaowei General Chu Heng? There's no need to mention it. It's really like a ponytail lifting tofu. It's hard to lift it up..."
This kind of watered-down joke was "played" hundreds of times throughout the day. Although Niu Wenzhong and others knew it was false, they were unable to refute it.
The soldiers gradually began to feel like vomiting over this kind of joke, but "playing" it always caught up with them while they were eating.
And there was an inexplicable emotion spreading among the people in the city.
It turns out that these thieves who occupied the city and treated them like pigs and dogs are just the same people as them. Although there are five or six people in front of them, they are still flesh and blood.
After the joke was "played" for three days, the soldiers in the city were already vomiting, and there were also a few cases of resistance from the people.
Three soldiers were stoned to death by angry people.
Niu Wenzhong used an iron fist and arrested dozens of people and executed them one by one at the place where they were receiving rations.
The bad signs were temporarily suppressed, but the anger in the eyes of the people remained. Niu Wenzhong knew this very well.
The messenger sent should have arrived at Huguan?
Niu Wenzhong was calculating, but what he didn't know was that this last hope had been shattered in Baodu Mountain.
Long before him, Ximen Qing's messenger had arrived at Baodu Mountain and informed the three village owners in advance of recent developments that needed attention.
So when the messenger sent by Niu Wenzhong finally stepped into the boundaries of Zhaode Mansion, he was warmly welcomed by the three village owners of Baodu Mountain headed by Tang Bin.
After being invited to the village and having a feast of food and drinks, Niu Wenzhong's messenger was "very politely" sent on a road of no return.
Huangquan Road.
Niu Wenzhong's autographed letter was also sent to Ximen Qing.
August twenty-fifth.
Weather: Sunny, crisp autumn air, making people feel happy.
Niu Wenzhong, who had originally prepared cotton plugs to deal with the "player", was not in a happy mood.
Because the content of "playing" today has changed.
Soon, Niu Wenzhong realized that what was "played" today was a letter.
A handwritten letter from Niu Wenzhong asking for help.
The letter asking for help should have arrived at Zhaode Mansion.
Niu Wenzhong's complexion changed. He vomited blood that day and was bedridden.
Qin Sheng, Mo Zhen, Sheng Ben and other generals seemed to have seen the moment the city was breached, and their moods quickly affected the soldiers in the city.
A cloud of sadness enveloped Gaizhou Prefecture.
In the evening, a fire broke out in the warehouse where grain and grass were stored. This was naturally the work of Gushang Flea Shiqian and others.
This time, Niu Wenzhong's hope was completely cut off.
After counting, the remaining food and grass were not enough to last ten days.
Qin Sheng, Mo Zhen, Sheng Ben and other three generals clearly realized that even if the common people's rations were canceled from now on, and all soldiers' rations were distributed according to the minimum standard, it is estimated that in a month, they would have to eat people.
Niu Wenzhong was hit one after another and fell into a semi-conscious state.
August 27th.
There was a turmoil in the city, and the newly "recruited" soldiers united with the people to snatch the remaining food. After Qin Sheng, Mo Zhen, and Sheng Ben sent troops to suppress it, the number of soldiers in the city dropped to 60% of the previous number.
Less than 7,000 people.
Niu Wenzhong did not get the news because he had been in a coma for two days.
At the same time, the "playing" that had lasted for seven or eight days suddenly stopped.
Qin Sheng, Mo Zhen, Sheng Ben and other generals knew that this was a signal.
It is also the last chance they can get.
August twenty-eight.
partly cloudy.
Niu Wenzhong was beheaded while in a coma and sent to the Song Army camp.
After Guan Sheng and Ximen Qing verified Niu Wenzhong's head, they agreed to the conditions of Qin Sheng and others.
The north gate of Gaizhou Mansion was opened, and three generals including Qin Sheng, Mo Zhen, and Sheng Ben ordered their soldiers to walk out of the city gate and surrender to the Song army.
Ximen Qing's troops captured Gaizhou Prefecture without a single blow.
The entire territory of Gaizhou was recovered.
It was only then that the generals realized the weight behind the terms "psychological warfare" and "intelligence warfare" that Ximen Qing often said.