As expected, the two men had formed an alliance with Li Zitong and borrowed grain and grass. After the false news came out, Yu Wenhuaji's 20,000-strong army immediately marched towards the north gate of Liangdu. Their leading troops arrived five days outside the city two days later. Immediately build forts, dig trenches and erect strongholds to build outposts.
Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked down from the top of a three-foot-tall cedar tree in the distance and had a clear view of the enemy's situation.
Kou Zhongdao: When it stops, it becomes a camp, and when it moves, it becomes a formation. This camp has both water and dangers to defend, so as to suppress the enemy and consolidate itself. It can be seen that our opponent this time is also a general with Yu Wenhua's bones, all of whom have military experience. Rich warriors cannot be underestimated.
Xu Ziling couldn't help but praise Kou Zhong. On the surface, he seemed to be careless and easy to get carried away. In fact, he was calm and prudent in situations and would not underestimate the enemy.
It is necessary to choose a place to set up camp. The enemy has set up the camp high on the hillside and cleared the nearby forests. They are meticulous in the defense of the camp. This shows that the Kou Zhong is not a ragtag group and does not dare to take it lightly. He has the basic conditions of an excellent commander.
Casually: What instructions does Mr. Lu’s secret manual give on this?
Kou Zhongdao: To set up a stronghold, you must set up camp, rest people and animals, guard the camp, keep the camp gate tight, protect the sick troops, check weapons, prepare fire alarms, stop disturbances, be responsible for traffic, cherish water and grass, issue night calls, set up lights, and prevent It's dark rain, so we have to go to the dark camp, question the people, avoid the water attack, etc. Have you had enough?
Xu Ziling listened to him casually reciting so many items that must be paid attention to when setting up camp: You are quite familiar with it.
Kou Zhong said proudly: This is called hard work and meritorious service, but it doesn't matter how you look at it. Do you think that although the location of this camp is dangerous, it is far more convenient than sending the siege tools to the city wall from there before reaching it. It is impractical to tire the mules and horses to death.
Xu Ziling observed carefully and said with a smile: You are starting to behave! There must be a damn reason why the Yuwen clan has set up camps like this for many generations. Is it mainly used for food camps and sick troops? In addition, it is even more important. It serves as a camp from the rear to support frontline operations.
Kou Zhong said happily: "Again, the hero has the same idea. This grain camp is the basis for Yu Wengu's army to come south this time. But because it is far behind and besieging the city, we dare not go out of the city to attack, so the defense must be weak. As long as we and Xuanyong Using a combination of surprise troops to catch him off guard, at least half of the fruits of victory are in our pockets! This battle does not seem to be difficult to win.
Xu Ziling gathered his eyes and took a clear view of the enemy's camp and said in a deep voice: "You see it too easily. This camp is surrounded by dangerous mountains. There are trenches outside and barriers inside. All we need to do is add some traps, sharp bamboos, caltrops and other defensive measures to build up the soil." Erect a fence to protect it with powerful crossbows, and arrange a wide range of security sentries around it. Plus there are many masters in Yuwen Pass, how can you attack it by force?
Kou Zhong laughed and said: You seem to have forgotten that Lu Miaozi's most powerful skill is not the art of war but the ingenuity of tools. In his book, he lists more than ten different methods of breaking down strongholds, such as attacking the city. To attack the city, you need to use ladders and wooden blocks. , Crash a car. You also need to use a car to attack a stronghold. As long as you can open one or two gaps and the enemy's troops are not strong, it will be easy to get caught in the stronghold.
Xu Ziling frowned and said: Where did the car come from?
Kou Zhongdao: Xuan Yong can be responsible for the modification. Now that I know the true story of Lu Miaozi, at least half of Sun Wu will be resurrected. Yu Wenwen's bones are delivered to my door like this. I don't want to steal sheep, steal grain and horses, and he is so angry that he is heartbroken and vomiting blood. What can I do? Mom? Don’t worry! I understand your filial piety!
Xu Ziling was dumbfounded by him, and at the same time, he was secretly frightened for all those who were enemies of Kou Zhong.
Kou Zhong himself was a military prodigy who had already shown his talents in many wars. Now he even memorized the war tools designed by Lu Miaozi in response to various situations. Once he gathered a group of elite warriors, how could the world be restored?
Do you have the military strength to resist them? I'm afraid Li Shimin will be defeated.
Now all he owes is a group of elite troops and "Yang Gong's Treasure House".
Kou Zhong said again: But the top priority now is not to attack the stronghold but to steal arrows. Do you know that all the available arrows in our city were shot in less than half an hour. At that time, we could not defend for long with only boiling oil, boiling water and stones.
Xu Ziling said in astonishment: How to steal an arrow?
Kou Zhong smiled and said: "It's not stealing but borrowing. This is just Kong Ming's old trick of borrowing arrows. Isn't it very cost-effective to give him fake arrows and give me real arrows?"
Point to the communication channel flowing on the left: The spies reported that the main army of Yuhuaguan will arrive tonight. I have ordered people to hide more than a hundred Kuai Ting boats filled with dummies in the dense forest on the other side to serve as his army.
When we arrived, we put the speedboat into the river and rushed down the river. There were only three people in each boat, one person was driving the boat and two people were shooting bamboo arrows. In addition, we sent troops to pretend to attack Yuwengugu. In panic, we had to give us some arrows to use before serving the main course.
Xu Ziling sighed: Now even I am confident that you will win this battle.
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Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were riding on the slope side by side, overlooking the spectacular scene of the moving light of torches on the grassland close to Tongji Canal.
Kou Zhong chuckled and said, "I'm not wrong, right?" Yu Wenhua must travel by the river in order to reduce the possibility of being attacked. Little did he know that he was playing into my hands.
Xu Ziling looked up at the starless night sky and said: Your plan of fake alliances and fake food has obviously worked, otherwise Yu Wenwen Gu would not be so anxious that he would rush the army even at night to give us an opportunity.
Kou Zhong took a deep breath and said: It's time!
Stop raising the fireworks and soar into the sky. A fiery red light flower explodes high in the sky, lighting up the dark night sky.
Liangdu's side immediately burst into flames and charged towards the enemy with torches. On the surface, it seemed to be a powerful force. But in fact, it was just a bluff by the militiamen, who each held two torches and lacked weapons, armor, and bows and arrows.
At first glance, it looked like nearly ten thousand people were launching a surprise attack on the intruders from the dense forests and hills near the north of Liangdu City.
Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling galloped behind nearly two hundred cavalry, all composed of the best warriors in the Pengliang Association with the best equestrian skills and martial arts skills. All the horses in Liangdu were used up to form the only cavalry team.
The enemy's torches in the distance caused chaos near the rear of the formation, but the front and middle sections were still orderly.
Kou Zhong smiled at Xu Ziling and said: This move was not taught by Linglongjiao, so it is called the torch watching method. We know that the second batch of Yuwen's army of 5,000 people is a mix of old and new, good and bad. The last one is composed of new soldiers.
Give him a trailing assault pack to take advantage.
The long line of torches dispersed and then stopped, showing that the enemy was arranging to fight.
Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, with their horses under their backs, followed by 237 riders, advanced through the forest and behind the enemy's formation along the route they had planned in advance.
boom!
Another firework exploded high in the sky.
There were shouts of killing from the other side of the river. More than a hundred canoes and speedboats filled with dummies rushed down the river. Hundreds of bamboo rockets burning oilcloth pierced the air on the river bank and headed towards the enemy who was deploying in the direction of Liangdu.
Throw it in.
The real soldiers on the boat hid behind the arrow shields and allowed the fake soldiers in clothes to be hit by arrows.
The wild forest and long grass along the coast burst into flames. When the enemy thought they were being attacked, they immediately broke into chaos, especially the rear army.
Kou Zhong gave an order, raised his shield with his left hand, and urged all his horses to attack the enemy's rear.
The two men switched to using the long sword, which was good for horse fighting, and took the lead through the sparse forest. They picked up more than ten arrows that seemed to be shot at the right moment and broke into the enemy's formation.
The coast was full of flaming boats with blazing flames, and the flames continued to increase everywhere. The sound was indeed terrifying.
Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were at war with each other as if they were two dragons. They went out to sea to challenge and attack, and enemies everywhere fell to the ground.
Yu Wenhua and this army were all infantry, responsible for transporting baggage, food and other items. They had already been frightened by the bluff attack from the front and back. At this time, they suddenly saw the enemy cavalry charging towards them, and their momentum was like a rainbow. They guessed that the leader was the famous one in the world.
Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were so distraught that they even thought they could capture the opponent's two hundred cavalry, but they broke up and fled in all directions without fighting.
Everyone was overjoyed, and under the instructions of Kou Zhong, they chased people and burned their cars.
The sound of hoofbeats roared, and hundreds of enemy cavalry rushed towards the coast.
Kou Zhong caught a glimpse of the leader, his old friend Yuwen Wudi, and laughed and said: Farewell, brother Wudi, farewell, brother Wuyi!
The leader and his subordinates rushed back to Liangdu in a hurry.
This battle not only borrowed tens of thousands of powerful arrows, but also burned a large number of enemy siege equipment and provisions. Most importantly, it greatly boosted the morale of the soldiers and civilians in the city and increased their confidence in the two men. However, our own losses were minimal, while the enemy suffered heavy casualties.
Neither of them could have imagined such a glorious victory. When they entered the city, Ren Meimei led the army and civilians to greet him with cheers that shook the city, vowing to share honor and disgrace with them both in life and death.
Who doesn’t hate Yuwen’s troops who looted and killed people along the way back north that day?
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Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling stood on the top of the north city wall and looked at the camp established by Yuwen's army inside and outside.
Xu Ziling said lightly: It will take at least two days for Yuhuagu to build forts on all sides to complete the encirclement. These two days are enough for us to do a lot of things.
Kou Zhong smiled and said: If we still want to grab food, last night we burned a lot of food and grass from Yu Wen Wudi's vanguard army. He must replenish the food from the rear camp. That is a good time for me to raid with light cavalry to grab food.
Then he sighed and said: It would be ideal if I had a team of black-armored elite cavalry like Li Zi.
Xu Ziling's expression changed and he said: Do you still remember the Sui Dynasty cavalry wearing heavy horse fighting equipment that you saw in Yangzhou in the early years? Even the horses seemed invulnerable, so majestic and majestic, why were they revolted and the equipment was poor and they lacked armor and weapons?
Did the rebels manage to escape without a trace?
Kou Zhong pondered: It must be because the people have lost their support and their morale is low!
Xu Ziling said: This is of course the main reason, but it can also be seen that the heavy-armed cavalry with armor and armor has long been outdated. For example, if you have such a heavy cavalry, how can you rush to intercept the food in time after receiving the report? In today's era
What emerged was the most flexible tactic of using a large number of field infantry to attack with light cavalry wearing only warrior armor. Li Zi made full use of this equipment and combat method.
Kou Zhongdao: I don’t know if it has something to do with my personality. I always prefer a combat method based on light cavalry, because cavalry can turn into infantry at any time, but infantry cannot turn into cavalry, so it is more flexible.
Xu Ziling smiled and said: You can't forget the sweetness you tasted in the Battle of Yanshi! But your words are not unreasonable.
Kou Zhong stretched himself and said, "What do you think I will do in a hurry after I clean up Yuwen's bones?"
Xu Ziling shook his head and said he didn't know.
Kou Zhong looked expectantly and said: I will try to summon a group of blacksmiths and craftsmen to work day and night to produce a batch of siege tools designed by Lu Miaozi for the purpose of recovering Jingling. I own Jingling and Xiangyang.
It will be within reach.
Before Xu Ziling had time to react, Ren Meimei led a slender man in his thirties who was tired of work and came to the two of them and said: This is our Rentang incense master Luo Qifei, known as "Ghost Shadow". He has been stalking Yu Wehua and the main army.
I had been observing the enemy's strength along the way, so I came now.
The two of them looked at this man, although his appearance was plain and he looked like an out-and-out country bumpkin, but his long limbs and dazzling eyes showed that he was extremely agile in mind and body.
Kou Zhong asked: Has the main force of Yuwen's army arrived?
Luo Qifei saluted solemnly and said: "We should arrive at dusk. The total army of 13,000 people is led by Yu Wenhuaji and Yu Wenzhihe. It is divided into four armies: the central army, the left and right, the marquis of Yu, and the rear army. Three thousand of them are
There are a thousand archers and crossbowmen, cavalry and the rest are infantry.
Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were moved at the same time not because of Yu Wenjun's strength, but because of the man's confidence in his words and the meticulousness of his intelligence.
Luo Qifei continued: Yuwen's army obviously suffered heavy losses in the battle with Li Mi. This can only be known from the fact that its cavalry used long bows instead of horn bows.
The two looked at each other blankly.
Ren Meimei said: Qifei used to be responsible for making equipment in the army for the Sui generals, so he is very good at this aspect.
Luo Qifei explained: Longbows are specially used for infantry and are mostly made of mulberry wood. The cavalry should use composite bows made of ribs. Longer bows are most convenient for use on horseback, so the cavalry of the Yuwen Army must use them.
The long bow was probably a last resort due to the lack of horned bows.
Kou Zhong sighed: There are very few spies as knowledgeable as Brother Luo.
Ren Meimei smiled and said: Qifei is not only good at Qinggong but also proficient in the art of disguise modification. As a spy, he is certainly better than anyone else.
Luo Qifei said: "You two uncles, don't call me brother Luo anymore. Just call me by my name. Then Qifei will serve the two uncles regardless of life and death. If you have any instructions, just give me one sentence."
Xu Ziling asked: According to Qifei's opinion, what is the real strength of Yuwen's army? Luo Qifei said: Except for the 4,000 people in the Chinese army, the others should be under-trained recruits. If I guess correctly, they will start attacking before dawn tomorrow.
city.
Kou Zhong said in astonishment: So urgent?
Luo Qifei said: Since the night before last, they have been taking turns repairing the siege equipment every time they set up camp to rest. If they had to attack the city immediately, why would they not let the soldiers rest? It would not be too late to start after they settled down under the city!
Ren Meimei asked: Do they have all the equipment to attack the city?
Luo Qifei said: "We have twenty ladder vehicles, one hundred catapults, ten crossbow vehicles, more than seventy arrow-blocking vehicles, and four nest vehicles, which are enough to attack the city."
Kou Zhong said harshly: If Yu Wenwen Gu wants to attack the city before dawn, then Yu Wen Wudi will make a feint attack tonight to shake the morale of our army and make us exhausted!
Xu Ziling asked: Can his siege equipment be more detailed?
Luo Qifei has a treasured saying: the flying ladder car is a double long ladder mounted on six wheels, with double windlass at the end of the ladder for the enemy to climb up the city; the catapult is a car with a huge trebuchet to throw the huge boulders.
It can destroy walls; the ballistae is a powerful crossbow that uses a winch to fire eight iron-feathered giant arrows at a time, and the range is as far as a thousand steps; the arrow-blocking cart is a four-wheeled cart covered with thick rawhide warriors hiding in it.
Then push the cart forward to block arrows and stones and reach the city. The nest cart is equipped with a high platform on the eight-wheeled cart to detect the enemy and shoot arrows into the city.
Kou Zhong's eyes lit up and he said: Can we pour down the kerosene and set a fire to burn all those damn cow hides, crossbows and ladders?
Luo Qifei shook his head and said: In the past two days, Yu Wenhuaji had people apply special anti-burn medicine on all siege equipment. This medicine will lose its effectiveness if exposed to the sun and rain; therefore, it must be applied as soon as possible after application. I just guessed that he would attack the city immediately after arriving.
Only then did the two of them suddenly realize.
They were also greatly puzzled by the fact that the enemy's siege equipment was so powerful, but the tools they used to defend the city were so crude that they couldn't be further from the same.
Leading troops out of the city to fight is like sending them to death.
At this moment, the light on the distant mountaintop flashed three times.
Kou Zhong knew that it was his own spies who reflected the sunshine in the mirror and reported the news. He put aside his worries for the time being and laughed and said, "Thank you for his flying! Sister Ren will take him to fly and settle down first. We will grab the food and grass and then talk to you."