It is said that the fire flows in the seventh month and the clothes are given in the ninth month. The time is about to enter July, but there is only some warmth in the land of Heshuo. This is undoubtedly good news for the two armies inside and outside Zhending City.
At least I don't have to endure the scorching heat.
In this slightly cool weather, Zhang Chong, who had just won the great victory of Yuanshi, led the base camp to Zhending City and held an army meeting to summarize the defense of Zhending City as soon as he led it.
……
In the first year of Taiwu, June 17th.
Outside Zhending City, the Northern Expeditionary Army of the Taiping Kingdom marched.
At this moment, Zhang Chong had summoned all civil and military subordinates to prepare for the first pre-war pacification of the entire army.
Zhang Chong had already learned about the battle situation in the previous two days from the self-reports of Generals Zhang Ying and Li Xian.
In fact, when the three flying armies of Feilong, Feihu, and Feibao arrived at Zhending City, soldiers in the city were sent down to burn the warehouses outside the city.
At that time, Xu Huang of the Flying Tiger Army also mobilized to put out the fire, but in the end it was too late. Except for a slightly distant warehouse, the rest was burned to ashes.
When Zhang Chong listened to this paragraph, he coldly asked Li Hu, Xu Huang, and Xi Shen:
"So, you know that the city cannot be underestimated?"
As soon as these words came out, the three generals were sweating profusely and did not dare to speak.
In fact, this was indeed concealed by the three people intentionally or unintentionally. They were initially unhappy with their cavalry and finally let the infantry pick peaches.
But later, when two generals Zhang Ying and Li Xian led the 2,000-strong rear army marshal's attack on Zhending City and were frustrated, the three generals knew something was wrong and were worried about being reprimanded, so they also joined the subsequent attack.
Arrows rained down from the top of the city, and three flying cavalry also fired arrows at the top of the city like locusts, killing the Zhending army.
After being frustrated, Generals Zhang Ying and Li Xian were unwilling to give in. Especially Zhang Ying, he is a member of the Zhang Chong clan, an old brother, and later a first-level general in the rear army marshal's department. He is quite proud of himself, and he is not willing to make a big fool of himself as soon as he comes.
So Zhang Ying and Li Xian discussed it and decided that the military report should still be sent to the base camp behind, but they would continue to attack the city tomorrow and they had to atone for their merits.
But little did they know that at night they were attacked by Tian Kai himself and hundreds of dead soldiers lowered from the top of the city.
Zhang Ying never thought that the city would dare to go out of the city for a night attack, but fortunately they still implemented the regulations from the old Taishan Army period. No matter how late or tired they were, they must form a stronghold before they could rest.
Therefore, Tian Kai just harassed the surroundings for a while and then withdrew.
Zhang Ying was worried that going out to pursue the enemy at night would give the enemy a chance to ambush him, so he held back and watched the enemy troops march away.
On the second day, the enraged rear army marshal launched a fierce attack on Zhending City, but other than hundreds more casualties, no substantial results were achieved.
So Zhang Ying and Li Xian stopped thinking and began to concentrate on consolidating the camp, waiting for the arrival of the base camp later.
When Zhang Chong received the military report from Zhang Ying and Li Xian, he thought that this was really not going to be easy to fight. At that time, Liu Hui of the Zhending royal family was nearby, so Zhang Chong asked Liu Hui if he knew Zhending.
He Liu Hui is from the Zhending King lineage, how could he not understand Zhending?
However, this was the first time that Liu Hui spoke to Zhang Chong in person. As a descendant of the royal family, he couldn't help but be excited. He knew that this was his opportunity.
So he told Zhang Chong the whole story of Zhending:
"Your Majesty, this Zhending was called Dongyuan in the early years. It was captured by the Zhao people from the Zhongshan people. Therefore, the Hutuo River crossing to the north of Zhending is also called Dongyuan Ferry. Later, during the period of Emperor Gaozu, Chen Xi rebelled, and Emperor Gaozu removed it. The city was renamed Zhending, and it has been used ever since.”
Seeing that Zhang Chong was still listening with interest, Liu Hui felt convinced and continued:
"If we talk about the quiet Ji, Zhending can be said to be blocked by the river. It is located in the quiet Ji, pillowing the Zhongshan Mountains with beautiful scenery, and crossing the wild Ji with bells. There are also abundant mountains and rivers here. It faces the Hu River and leans against the Hengshan Mountain. It can be said that when the battle between Yan and Zhao takes place, it reaches Heshuo. What's more important is that if we want to go north to Youdi, our army must go through Zhending."
Seeing Zhang Chong's confusion, Liu Hui told a secret about the interior of Northern Xinjiang. Its humanity:
"Although this dynasty is fighting in the west, it is more important than in the north. Your Majesty may have heard that the former officials of the Han Dynasty often talked about abandoning the Western Province, but haven't you never heard of abandoning the Northern Xinjiang? That's because the Northern Xinjiang has since There is a set of rules that do not cost the Han Dynasty money and food. Specifically, Jizhou's money and food are transferred to Youbian, so that the two border states are dedicated to the defense of Xianbei, and Jizhou also relies on You and Bing for peace. Jizhou is transferred to the enemy. Whoever defeats Jizhou will control northern Xinjiang. ”
After saying that, Liu Hui glanced at Zhang Chong. The meaning was very obvious. We are almost taking over the entire Jizhou. It is really difficult to support the Youzhou and Bingzhou behind. The opponent will either send their troops south to fight, or send a watch to surrender. It is not possible at all. There is the possibility of a long-term confrontation.
Zhang Chong understood what Liu Hui meant and was also thinking about it.
If the ownership of Jizhou determines the ownership of Northern Xinjiang, then the original strategy may need to be adjusted. Because as long as the northern part of Bingzhou and Youzhou do not want to be annexed, then their only chance is this battle.
Originally, Zhang Chong did not consider the hostile forces in the northern part of Bingzhou, especially in Taiyuan, as war variables. But looking at it now, it was still reckless.
But don’t panic, it’s too late now.
Also thinking of this loophole, Zhang Chong appreciated Liu Hui even more and motioned for him to continue. So, Liu Hui continued:
"There are two post roads for the money and grain sent from Jizhou to Zhuoxian and Taiyuan in Youzhou, and both of these roads must go through Zhending. In other words, once we occupy Zhending, the connection between Youzhou and Bingzhou and Jizhou will be blocked, so it is true that Bingzhou and Youzhou are the line of life and death. Once we launch an attack here, we will inevitably suffer a crazy counterattack from both sides.”
"Among them, for Bingzhou in the west, the most critical place is Jingxingkou. Jingxingkou is the only place where Bingzhou soldiers from Taiyuan go out from the east, and it is on the left side of Zhending. If our army stops at Zhending, At the bottom of the city, at that time, Bingzhou soldiers came out of Jingxing from the east and cut into my retreat, which would be a big disadvantage. "
"As for the north, the most important ones are the Hutuo River crossing north of Zhending and Dongyuan Ferry. If the Youzhou army wants to go south, it must pass through the Hutuo River. In the east area, our army is led by Dong Shuai The rear army marshal's headquarters is stationed in Xiaquyang to ensure that we have no worries in the east. Therefore, the only way for the northern army to go south is to attack from Dongyuandu. Therefore, before our army reaches Zhending City, I would like to divide it into two troops, one for each. Capture Jingxing and march down to Dongyuan Crossing with one soldier, then I will hold you in my arms and handle you at will."
Zhang Chong was overjoyed, hugged Liu Hui and said:
"I'm not just glad to have a good plan, but I'm glad to have a humerus!"
Therefore, Zhang Chong listened to Liu Huice and appointed Yue Jin, the general of the cavalry department under his tent, as the order of Jingxing, supervising his five hundred cavalry troops to capture Jingxing. He also promoted Liu Hui to be the commander-in-chief of the tent because he was good at understanding the situation of the land. He led three hundred cavalry to the north, penetrated directly into the rear of Zhending, and captured Dongyuan Ferry.
Therefore, when Zhang Chong held a general meeting of the entire army on June 17, Zhang Chong had actually made perfect arrangements for the Zhending battle, and now it was just a pre-war mobilization meeting.
Zhang Chong's traveling camp was set up on a slope ten miles outside Zhending South City.
At the beginning of the meeting, Xu Huang took the initiative to state his views on the battle.
He said to Zhang Chong:
"Your Majesty, it is not easy for me to seize the city. The city is strong and the soldiers are strong, and they have the courage to fight. Since the Northern Expedition, I have never seen the defenders in the city take the initiative to lower the city to fight. Under such circumstances, it is really I am not worried about whether Ding City will be defeated in a short period of time, because it will be under the attack of our army. However, I am worried that if our army is really able to attack the city, it will be defeated by the enemy. If Lu Zhi's army moves south, the situation will be greatly disadvantaged."
Zhang Chong was overjoyed when he heard Xu Huang's statement. As expected, the hero saw the same thing.
Zhang Chong looked around at the many generals in the tent and saw that most of them had this intention, and he felt very pleased with them.
A general who can think about defeat before thinking about victory is already a reassuring and excellent general.
So Zhang Chong didn't take anything lightly and told the generals present all the strategies he had discussed with Liu Hui.
For example, why should we take Dongyuan Ferry in the north, and why should we divide our forces to capture Jingxing. And why did Dong Fang, who was in Xiaquyang to the east, build a defensive position?
Those present were all senior military officials in the army, and all of them were commanders responsible for the lives of thousands of people. Therefore, Zhang Chong never creates any doubts, or asks you to guess, or I don’t want you to think, I want me to think.
Only through repeated and sufficient communication before the war can these senior commanders fully understand the overall strategic understanding. And even if there are other arrangements during the war, Zhang Chong will tell the whole story clearly. Instead of giving a rough sentence:
"Follow the order." Sure enough, after learning that the king had made such an arrangement, the generals were convinced and at the same time clamored for a fight, especially Zhang Ying, who came out directly and patted his chest. ：
"Second uncle, let my nephew go to fight and avenge his shame!"
Zhang Ying's father was the same generation as Zhang Chong, so even though Zhang Ying was older than Zhang Chong, he still had to call him second uncle.
However, Zhang Ying had other thoughts when calling him second uncle. He just wanted to be the first to get the title, so he used the title of second uncle.
Sure enough, as soon as Zhang Ying said this, many other warriors could only retreat silently no matter how unwilling they were.
Zhang Chong looked around and saw that his nephew was so brave, so he gave him this opportunity.
……
This time, after Zhang Ying learned the lessons from the previous two sieges, he decided to use cave siege tactics to capture Zhending.
He first built a camp in the east of Zhending City, then secretly dug tunnels inside the camp, and then sent all the excess earth and rocks outside the camp to build earth slopes, thinking that the soil could be used for two purposes.
But Tian Kai, who was at the top of Zhending City, had long noticed something strange in the east of the city.
Tian Kai didn't notice it at first. He just saw that the city was constantly sending soil to build a slope, so he thought that the opposite side was trying to build a high ground with soil, and then shot up the city.
But soon, Tian Kai felt something was wrong. He suddenly asked Dong Jun, the guard of Dongcheng, and asked:
"Can you see where they brought this soil from?"
Dong Jun is a real general. He didn't understand Tian Kai's accent at first, but he soon understood what Shangguan said and hurriedly replied:
"It looks like it was brought from the east! But I can't tell exactly where it was dug."
Tian Kai frowned, slapped the battlements, and cursed:
"The cunning thieves actually want to attack me."
Dong Jun quickly asked why he said that.
Tian Kai just asked:
"Since we are just building a mountain with earth, why don't we take the earth nearby instead of sending it from the rear? So I guess the bandits must be digging earth in the camp?"
Dong Jun suddenly realized.
Therefore, Tian Kai dug deep trenches near the city and set up many urns to look for caves outside the city.
But soon, Zhang Ying's excavation and siege stopped, and was stopped by the base camp.
But it was a handwritten letter from Zhang Chong, saying:
"Can you see how the city reacted to your sending away the soil? Stop digging, it's all gone into someone else's trap."
Zhang Ying suddenly realized, no wonder the other side did not leave the city to harass him to build a slope. It turned out that the other side saw his true identity.
But Zhang Ying is not discouraged. After all, we have built a slope, so let's lead the long archers to shoot at the opposite side of the slope. Our own bows can shoot farther and suppress the city head.
Sure enough, after borrowing 400 long archers from the friendly forces, and adding 200 of his own troops, he divided them into three, and suppressed Dongcheng at all times.
Zhang Ying also began to prepare a siege team, planning to personally lead the team to the top of the city first. So that his second uncle could see that their Zhang family also had tigers.
Here Zhang Ying is recruiting warriors from the army to prepare to ascend first.
Tian Kai was also taking action over there. He didn't expect that the other side's slope would create such a strong suppression for his side. Although not many people died, it had a serious impact on the morale of the city.
So Tian Kai lowered the city to attack the slope twice on June 19 and June 20, but he was killed both times by the lurking Feilong Army cavalry.
Just kidding, Zhang Ying is not a fool. The first time he was attacked by you at night, he just forgot about it. How many times in a row do you want to succeed?
In fact, Zhang Ying is really not smart enough.
The night attack on June 19 was indeed what he had expected. But after the counter-night attack, Zhang Ying asked Li Hu to return to the base camp to deliver the mission.
Li Hu thought that with the cunning in the city, there might be another night attack the next day.
But Zhang Ying only thought that Li Hu wanted to share the credit, so he refused to listen to Li Hu and let him go.
Li Hu had no choice but to ride back with five hundred.
But in fact, Li Hu lurked nearby again that night, preparing to squat for another night.
It turned out that Li Hu felt that he was sorry for not reporting Zhang Ying's military situation before, so he wanted to ease the relationship between the two. After all, Zhang Ying is also a follower, and he will not offend him if he can.
Then in the second half of the night, Li Hu indeed discovered a group of night attack teams in Zhending City, and then killed them all. And this time the result was even greater than last night, with a hundred bullets taken from the head alone.
Li Hu finally gave Zhang Ying 20 pieces and coaxed him out of it.
Such a straight-faced general may be naive, but he is also upright.
Seeing that both night attacks failed, Tian Kai decisively stopped the night attack and prepared to defend the city.
On June 21st, it rained heavily.
The Taishan Army under the city made a surprise attack from the east, south, west, and three gates. In the direction of the south gate, they used artillery vehicles to destroy several feet of the city wall.
Later, Zhao Jian, a powerful general of the Central Guard Army, organized two hundred armored soldiers to select forwards and scale the city to attack the enemy.
However, because the city guard Tian Kai led his troops from the east gate and personally supervised the front line of the south gate, ordering the officials to resist in the front, the people in the rear repaired the city head. So, kill at the front and repair at the back.
It only took a few hours for the originally destroyed city head to be rebuilt again.
Zhang Chong, who was watching the battle from the rear, saw the heavy casualties on the city wall and called for gold to withdraw his troops.
In the end, Zhao Jian withdrew from the city with less than a hundred people, and the south gate was littered with corpses. At least five or six hundred corpses were scattered on the city.
At the same time, the Taishan Army's attacks in other gates did not make much progress, so they withdrew after the sound of the golden ring.
The first time, a tentative attack, was unfavorable.
Thank you so much for your support, my dear friends, the book is no longer enough.