The Tang army did not give up and tried to attack the Zhou army in the water again. However, a dense rain of arrows shot from the shore. The sharp arrows easily penetrated the armor. The Tang army who was hit by the arrow was carried into the water by the strong force of the arrow.

Stirring up a bloody splash.

Knowing that they were outmatched, the Tang army withdrew. Instead of returning to the east bank, which was already in flames, they fled straight down the river to the northeast. Facing the victory, the Zhou army did not cheer for victory, but was silent.

Wu Liang's boat has reached the middle of the river. "It's probably right here. I saw him fall off when the boat collided. He should not be far away wearing armor."

He then said to the dozens of fishermen operating the boat: "Please go into the water and look for it. If anyone finds the body, I will give him a thousand copper coins."

Thousands of dollars were enough for a family to live comfortably for two lifetimes. Dozens of fishermen immediately dived into the water naked except for the clothes on their bodies.

Bai Yanyu shouted loudly on the shore: "Don't waste your time. Where is the loess that doesn't bury people? It's better to get some incense and candles to worship as soon as possible and burn more paper money to save him from having no money to bribe the King of Hell."

Dakui pointed to the shore and roared: "What nonsense! If it is really buried in the loess, we won't look for it. You don't know that water ghosts can't be reincarnated."

"Alas..." Bai Yanyu sighed and said to his left and right: "You go find some incense and candles, and I will pay my respects..."

Bai Yanyu suddenly swallowed his words. He heard a splash of water and a head emerged from the river in front of him. He looked closely to see who it was if it wasn't Xu Xian. His face was as pale as paper and looked a bit scary.

Although Bai Yanyu was bold, he was also shocked, "Are you a human or a ghost..."

Xu Xian didn't answer him, he just opened his mouth and gasped for air. Bai Yan laughed loudly and said, "He's breathing! He's alive! Hahaha..."

He jumped into the water and pulled Xu Xian to the shore, "How the hell did you swim up here wearing armor!"

The soldiers of Hongjindu rushed into the water with shouts and lifted Xu Xian up. Only then did they realize that he was holding a big stone in his arms. Bai Yanyu patted his thigh and said, "Aren't you holding a stone?"

Did you come up? God, I have learned a lot today. I quickly called up the fools who were still fishing for people in the river and told them that Xu Dianzhi was back."

Bai Yanyu helped Xu Xian sit on a stone by the river, pointed at the arrows on Xu Xian's body with his finger, "There are nine arrows in total, I have been hit by twelve arrows at most, but I don't have the ability to hold a stone after being hit by an arrow.

Get out of the river!"

No matter what he said, Xu Xian didn't answer. He just kept panting and stared blankly at the other side, which was already burning into a sea of ​​fire. The flames soaring into the sky seemed to be higher than the mountains, and the rising smoke covered the sky.

Where is the shadow of the small village castle...

Benedict!

An arrow hit the bull's-eye, the sharp arrow penetrated three points into the wood, and the tail fin buzzed and trembled for a long time before it stopped.

Fifty steps away stood an old man holding a bow. He was about fifty years old, with gray beard and hair, thick eyebrows and tiger eyes, and a short beard under his chin. He was not tall and burly but looked very strong.

This old man is Liu Renzhan, the governor of the Huai Army of the Qing Dynasty in the Southern Tang Dynasty. His father Liu Jin was a general of Yang Xingmi. He once served as the Youjianmen general of the Southern Tang Dynasty, the governor of Luzhou, and the governor of Huangzhou. He was a Tongru and military commander.

Quite a political achievement.

After Li Jing succeeded to the throne, he was put in charge of the Imperial Guard, and he was regarded as Li Jing's confidant general. Later he was promoted to the military commander of Wuchang Army. Since the Battle of Gaoping, Chai Rong's reputation has increased, and Li Jing sent Liu Renzhan to

Shouzhou was appointed as the governor of the Qing Huai Army because Shouzhou was the gateway to Huainan. Losing Shouzhou would be like opening the middle gate, and all the land north of the Yangtze River would be under the attack of the Zhou army.

After Liu Renzhan arrived in Shouzhou, he immediately raised the city wall, dug a deep moat, and built several fortresses in important places around Shouzhou, making Shouzhou look like a railway.

Not giving up, Liu Renzhan also asked people to cut ice in the Huaihe River in winter, fearing that Zhou's army would take the opportunity to attack. It must be said that Liu Renzhan had done his best work, which is why Li Jing trusted him very much.

.

After Liu Renzhan finished shooting the arrow, he touched the arrow pot next to him and found that it was empty.

A young man next to him who looked somewhat similar to Liu Renzhan said: "I have finished shooting the ten arrows, and they all hit the target. My father's archery skills are still as good as before!"

This young man was Liu Chongjian, the third son of Liu Renzhan, who served as the commander of the Huai Army of the Qing Dynasty. He was smart and capable, and Liu Renzhan liked him deeply.

Liu Renzhan shook his head and said: "My father is getting old, and his eyesight is dim and he relies on his feelings. He is no longer as good as when he was young."

He handed the bow to his son, and the servant immediately brought the water that had been prepared. Liu Renzhan reached for the towel on the edge of the basin and saw a few grass ash floating on the basin. He looked up at the gray sky again.

Said: "Has the fire in the west not been extinguished yet?"

Liu Chongjian replied: "It was extinguished last night, but the reeds along the river have been completely burned."

Liu Renzhan twisted his towel and sighed: "Just for a small trip to Yuanbao, all the reeds were burned. Without the reeds for the farmers along the coast to weave mats and baskets, they lost another income."

Liu Chongjian gritted his teeth and said: "The Zhou army is really hateful. According to the soldiers who escaped from the far fortress, the enemy army only has three thousand people. Please give me one thousand elite soldiers, father. I will go out of the city and kill them all to vent my hatred."

.”

Liu Renzhan did not comment and just asked: "What are they doing now?"

"A scout just came to report that they have crossed the river and are building a pontoon bridge."

"It can be seen that there is a large army behind them. The thousand of you are not enough to fill the gap between your teeth." Liu Renzhan wiped his face and said: "Your Majesty has sent a decree, ordering Liu Yanzhen to deploy and lead an army of 20,000 for the northern camp.

He came to help, and ordered Huangfu Hui to lead 30,000 horses and garrison troops in Dingyuan. My father and son just defended Shouzhou, which is the greatest contribution."

Liu Chongjian's face showed a bit of disdain, "Liu Yanzhen is a mediocre and incompetent person who can only flatter you. It is unwise for Your Majesty to ask him to lead the army."

Liu Renzhan laughed and said, "Liu Yanzhen is indeed useless, but your Majesty gave him 5,000 naval troops among the 20,000 people he sent. The Northern Army is either infantry or cavalry. No matter how many people and horses there are, they will not go down the river as long as the navy intercepts them."

If they don’t know their way back, it doesn’t matter if I help Liu Yanzhen, haha..."

The fire beside the Huaihe River burned for a day and a night, covering a ten-mile radius in darkness. If you searched carefully, you could still find burnt waterfowl or roasted quail eggs.

It's a pity that the fort was also burned down. The Tang troops stationed inside should have fled before the fire came, leaving nothing behind. Fortunately, there was a small town not far to the south, and Bai Yanyu sent people there without any effort.

It was occupied and materials were found to build a pontoon on the original site.

We also found hundreds of civilians. At first, they were just like the fishermen who were operating the boats and were unwilling to come. After hearing that they were being paid, they reluctantly came over. They were still frowning and working passively until Bai Yanyu took the whip.

Now I feel a little more at ease with beating people.

Xu Xian was surprised that the Tang army did not send anyone to attack or harass them while they were building the pontoon bridge. After all, it was only more than 20 miles away from Shouzhou City, so it was inevitable to suspect that they had some conspiracy.

Bai Yanyu explained: "There is nothing surprising. The southern army is not strong in combat. If they fight in the field outside the city with 5,000 or 6,000 troops, they can draw a tie with more than 3,000 of us. Even so, the outcome is uncertain."

However, the Confederate army is good at defending. Instead of risking the loss of manpower in vain, it is better to wait and wait for our army to attack the city. Once we find that we are weak, they will come out of the city and take a bite. Just rest assured and build a bridge, they will not attack.

"

Just as Bai Yanyu said, they worked hard for half a month and built a wide pontoon bridge. The Tang army did not send anyone to attack. Only scouts came to check and had a small battle with the rogues.

Li Gu was not working behind the scenes. Along the way, he divided his troops and captured Gushi County and Bozhou, which wasted time. When he arrived at the Huaihe River, he saw that the forwards had even built a pontoon bridge, and he paid lip service to the two of them.

An unearned compliment.

After not seeing each other for more than half a month, Li Gu has become more and more like a commander. His shouts and curses are quite powerful. The general also tried his best to flatter him. He was really proud of the fact that he conquered three cities as soon as he sent out troops.

The army rested by the Huaihe River for two days, and Li Gu couldn't wait to rush to Shouzhou, which is twenty miles away. This is the main dish of this expedition to the Huaihe River. However, this main dish should not be as delicious as imagined.

After walking around the city wall, I really don’t know what to say.

Shouzhou City is not too big, but the city wall is very high. It is obvious that one section of the city wall was recently repaired. There seems to be not a single damaged wall brick in the more than ten miles of city wall. Compared with the neat and smooth Shouzhou City Wall, Kaifeng is full of bumps.

The city wall looked like a pockmarked face, no wonder Chai Rong couldn't stand it.

In addition, the moat in Shouzhou is also very wide, with a depth of two feet. The water is green and deep, and it is difficult to judge the depth. Li Gu simply asked the soldiers who were familiar with the water to investigate at night. The soldiers came back and reported that the moat was one foot deep, and the sides of the river bank were very steep.

He made a splash when he came ashore and was almost shot to death by the Tang army on the wall.

The Tang army in Shouzhou City did not panic and get frustrated because the enemy troops were approaching the city. They all stood upright at the crenels, with the spears in their hands never tilted. They patrolled day and night, and listened to Zhao who spent the entire night at the base of the wall.

Ke said they still had passwords, and they changed them twice in one night.

Compared with the towering city wall and the deep moat, Xu Xian felt that the old man in silver armor and cloak who often appeared on the city wall was more fearful. He could always be seen patrolling along the city wall, patting the soldiers' shoulders affectionately and talking to them.

Although they couldn't see their expressions clearly, it seemed from the soldiers' posture that they were respectful and close to him.

The time was favorable, the place was favorable, and the Zhou army seemed to be able to occupy nothing. However, after ten days of preparation, Li Gu launched an attack on Shouzhou City. He had no choice.

The mallet hit the machine of the bed crossbow hard, and the thick arrows flew towards the city wall, and the hard and sharp spear head hit the city wall with debris flying. The Tang army on the wall quickly shrank behind the earth wall, a

The slow-moving soldier Tang was directly shot in the head, and red and white liquid was thrown all over the sky.

The first wave of attacks had just stopped, and the second wave of attacks had already arrived. The catapults waved their powerful arms and shot huge stones towards the city head of Shouzhou.

Bang bang bang...

The stones hit the city wall and made a dull sound, leaving a slightly sunken pit. They fell into the water with a splash and stirred up large splashes; or they flew over the city wall with a roar, and no one knew whose house would be in trouble; if the force was too strong

If it happens to land on the city wall, there will be a burst of screams.

After two waves of attacks, the Tang army on the top of the city was temporarily suppressed. The Zhou army immediately pushed out more than ten carts and drove slowly towards the city wall of Shouzhou.

These dozen or so cars are very strange. They have no handles or guardrails. They have only a wide and neat flat surface with four huge wheels underneath. This thing is called a moat bridge, and as the name suggests, it is used to cross trenches or moats.

As long as the protruding parts at both ends of the moat bridge are placed on both sides of the moat, a convenient passage can be built for soldiers and other siege equipment to pass through.

The trench bridge was large and heavy, and even if dozens of people came to push it away, it would be very slow. However, the Zhou army on the wall did not attack them, and only aimed the crossbows behind the parapet at the Zhou army's trebuchets.

Bang!

After only one arrow, the tall trebuchet fell apart and slowly fell over. The soldiers who were operating the artillery dodged one after another. A few who were running slowly were directly nailed to the ground by the thick arrows, and their bellies were directly broken open, dripping with blood.

His entrails were scattered all over the floor.

It is lucky to be killed instantly. For example, the person who was shot through the butt could not die for a while, and could only scream hysterically until all the blood flowed out.

Zhou Jun's crossbows immediately counterattacked, and both sides went back and forth. Arrows with thick barrels continued to fly above and below the city, harvesting fresh lives in the most brutal way.

The moat bridge was getting closer and closer to the city wall. The archers on the top of the city finally began to shoot arrows at the soldiers of Zhou who were pushing the cart. The soldiers of Zhou quickly raised their shields to block the attack.

Arrows were raining down from the top of the city. Even if you had a shield in hand, you would inevitably be hit by arrows. If you moved a little slowly, you would be shot into a hedgehog. By the time you reached the edge of the moat, the number of soldiers pushing carts had already decreased by 20 to 30%.

There was a sound of water, and the moat bridge rushed into the moat, causing a huge splash. This did not mean that Zhou's soldiers had completed their work. They still had to straighten the tilted moat bridge in the water so that the two ends were on both sides of the moat.

The moat was so deep and steep that it was difficult to exert force, and above the head were the locust arrows and rolling wooden thunder stones of the Tang army. Even an iron man could be crushed by it, let alone a body of flesh and blood, which was only half done.

Those Zhou soldiers were all dead, and there were corpses floating in the moat.

Li Gu gritted his teeth and stamped his feet angrily: "Send another thousand people up here for me!"

Han Lingkun hurriedly advised: "The moat is deep and steep. Most of the soldiers are not familiar with the properties of water. I don't know how many people will be filled in if this continues. This method will not work. Let's think about it in the long term."

"What's the long-term plan? In addition to using a moat bridge, we can only fill the river with earth and rocks. How can such a wide and deep moat be filled evenly if tens of thousands of people don't have millions of square meters of earth and rocks?" Li Gu waved his big hand and said: "There is no need to discuss this matter again.
Chapter completed!