More than 100,000 rebels camped outside the city, stretching for miles. The densely packed heads and flags fluttering in the wind caused considerable visual impact and psychological pressure to the officers and soldiers in the city.
Especially the teams coming from the south are still coming in an endless stream, which makes people wonder how many people there are in the bandit army.
The bandit troops below the city were busy setting up camp and making fires to make food. On the city's upper limit, Yuji, his generals and a group of civil servants in the city stood high and looked into the distance, whispering something in a low voice with a heavy face.
In the tower behind him, Chang Yu was devouring his food, and in the blink of an eye, the two bowls of mutton soup reached the bottom.
Wiping his mouth: "San, your craftsmanship is really to my taste."
"It's fine if the factory owner likes it, but the price of mutton in the city has risen sharply recently..." Fang San's eyebrows were beaming, and he took the bowl and offered it to Chang Yusheng.
Chang Yu waved his hand to stop him, stood up and burped: "It can rise to the sky if you try hard. The admiral of our Dongchang factory still doesn't believe that he can't even eat a few kilograms of meat."
Fang Sanxiao smiled: "That's right. Later, I will buy a few kilograms of beef for the adults to change the taste."
Chang Yu couldn't help but swallowed his saliva. He did like to eat beef, but it was not easy to eat beef these days. The reason was very simple. Cows were the main labor force in this era. Simply put, they were national first-class protected animals.
So on TV, the kind of shouting in a small shop and the waiter will come and cut the beef is sheer nonsense.
Of course, it is not difficult for someone like Chang Yu to eat beef, but there is no need to go out of his way to satisfy his appetite.
"No, the mutton soup is very tonic and warms you up against the cold. Our family likes it." Chang Yu said, rubbing his belly, and then asked Fan Jiaqian, who was sitting at the door, "Is everyone here?"
"Back to the factory, sir, everyone is waiting outside the city." Fan Jiaqian stood up with a nervous and excited expression.
"Copy guys, do it!"
Chang Yu shouted loudly, then kicked the door open and walked out of the tower, causing Zhou Yuji, Wang Jimo and other big guys who were observing the movement of the bandits to turn their heads and look sideways.
But they saw Chang Yu and Fan Jiaqian walking out of the city tower with murderous intent. He didn't say hello to anyone, but gave Zhou Yuji a quick wink, turned around, and quickly went down to the city.
"Look at this posture, is it possible...?" Zhao Jianji murmured in a low voice. Everyone was surprised, especially Cai Maode, who looked very nervous: "At this time, he is going out of the city to fight... fight?"
Zhou Yuji smiled bitterly and shook his head gently: "You don't care about life and death. If you don't accept it, do it. Eunuch Chang has a strong and warlike temperament, but at this time, it can just boost morale!"
As he said that, he turned and looked down the city. Everyone was silent and looked at the east and west wings of the city. There were people fighting over there.
When the bandit army approached the city, they had to know clearly the layout of Taiyuan City's fortifications, so they sent out a large number of scouting horses to roam around the surrounding area.
However, in order to undermine the enemy's morale, Chang Yu engaged in psychological warfare and ordered Yang Zhenwei, who was stationed under the city, to send people to intercept and kill him.
Yang Zhenwei and He Chengxin were responsible for the defense of the city, with nearly 20,000 troops. Among them, the main force of more than 15,000 was deployed directly south of the city to watch every move of the rebels on the moat. At the same time, 3,000 troops were assigned to patrol the east, west, north and west of the city.
After receiving Chang Yu's order, these 3,000 men and horses separately went out to snipe and intercept the thief's probing horses outside the moat. Due to the large number of people and strength, the thief's probing horses were not low and it was difficult to cross the line.
But when Li Zicheng arrived, he wanted to establish his power over Chang Yu and adopted the same tactics, sending small groups of troops to fight against the patrols of officers and soldiers.
There is a five-mile trench array outside the moat. The trenches are deep and intricate, and there are sharp logs buried at the bottom of the trenches. The rebel soldiers and horses did not dare to approach, and since their purpose was not this, they detoured to the east and west wings.
To the south of the city was the front of the position. Chang Yu had put in a lot of effort, so there was a trench array that was more than ten miles long from east to west and five miles deep from north to south. To the west of the city was the main trunk of the Fen River. The river channel was tens to hundreds of meters wide. It was a natural barrier and had not been excavated.
There are only a few trenches in the east of the city, which are slightly inferior to those in the south of the city. The north of the city is at the rear, with only a moat. It’s not that Chang Yu didn’t dig trenches, but that he didn’t have enough time!
The rebels wanted to pass through from the east and west wings, but the officers and soldiers refused to let go. There was a small conflict between the scouting horses at first. As the officers and soldiers dispatched patrols, the rebels also sent out small groups of troops, and the conflict soon escalated.
The two sides were going back and forth, fighting on the outside of the trench positions on both wings. At a rough look, there were more than ten groups of troops, ranging from more than ten people to at most close to a hundred regiments. Although the scale was not too large, the battle for life was extremely fierce.
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Yang He was supported by Chang Yu and had already shown his intention. At this time, he was stationed outside the city and faced the rebel army. He had a heavy responsibility. After receiving Chang Yu's order, he also gave his subordinates a death order: fight to the death! Don't allow the rebel army to cross the line!
However, the rebel army also thought the same way, so the conflict below the city continued throughout the afternoon. The two sides took a breath before fighting again, and continued to send more manpower.
With a creak, the gate of the South Gate opened. Chang Yu took the lead, holding a long hand, wearing a helmet and armor, and rode out. Behind him, more than 200 cavalrymen surrounded him with murderous intent.
"Lord Factory Master"
Yang Zhenwei and He Chengxin, who were on duty outside the city and had been paying attention to the battle situation on both wings, hurried over.
"Get off the bridge" Chang Yu waved his sword, pointed at the suspension bridge on the moat and shouted.
"The last general will go to war with the factory boss!" Yang Zhenwei knew Chang Yu's intention and decided to order troops to accompany him.
"No, our hands are just itchy, let's go and warm up." Chang Yu said, patting the war horse with the back of his sword and leading the horse across the bridge.
These two hundred cavalry were composed of Tengxiang Guards and Eunuch Army.
Among the more than a thousand troops that Chang Yu brought from the capital, in terms of intelligence gathering, the Jinyi Guards were number one. In terms of single-on-one fights, the eunuch army could dominate, but in terms of charging into battle, the Tengxiang Guards had to be put aside. Let’s not talk about their strength.
But immediately he fell far away from the other guards.
Therefore, Tengxiang Guards must be brought with them when going out for fights. As for the eunuch army, it is Chang Yu's knife. It is not useful before it is used. But at this time, small-scale conflicts like this are exactly the best way to sharpen the knife.
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"Li Zhong, Li Tiezhu, take a hundred people to the east wing, and Fan Jiaqian will take people to the west wing with us." After crossing the moat, Chang Yu assigned tasks. In order to increase combat effectiveness, this time the manpower was mixed. The eunuch army was burly and powerful.
Xiangwei's riding skills are first-rate, and they complement each other to increase their combat power.
"Yang Zhenwei obeyed the order and led three thousand troops across the river!"
Seeing Chang Yu leading his people straight to the west along the moat, Zhou Yuji on the city raised his eyebrows, and then shouted to the people below the city.
He was worried about Chang Yu's safety. Although it was only a small-scale conflict now, the conflict points were all outside the trench array. The rebel army was right in front of him, and the situation could change at any time.
Zhou met Ji with good intentions, but he did bad things with good intentions.
"We've sent more troops... Hey, something's wrong..."
Conflicts broke out between the two sides. Although they were small-scale, the generals of both sides were always paying attention to the battle situation. After all, what seemed like a dispensable small conflict was actually a means of demonstration, and no one was willing to lose!
Seeing the opponent sending a force of more than a hundred men to fight, Generals Li Zicheng and Liu Zongmin were expressionless at first. Ma Chongxi also silently sent men and horses to support, but until Li Yan said something was wrong, everyone realized.
What was wrong was that the reinforcements of less than 200 troops had just divided into two groups and spread out along the moat towards the two wings. The men and horses originally stationed at the bottom of the city suddenly came across the river, mostly infantry, and entered the trench position to form a defensive formation.
What is this for? Everyone is confused. We are not attacking. Isn't it unnecessary for the officers and soldiers to do this?
If something goes wrong, there must be a monster!
But where is this monster? Li Zicheng and others squinted and began to guess!
There must be something wrong with the support army just now.
The rebel generals reacted almost subconsciously, following closely the two groups of men running along the outside of the moat towards the conflict site on the east and west wings.
However, the distance is too far and no one can see why.
"Ma Shiyao, please go and have a look. Don't be alarmed." Li Zicheng narrowed his eyes and said to the general next to him.
Ma Shiyao turned around and went straight to the west wing with more than 20 personal soldiers. At first glance, he looked like he was scouting for reinforcements.
"I always feel like there is a big fish" Li Guo murmured to himself, keeping his eyes on the men and horses led by Chang Yu. He saw that they had started running from the moat towards the trench position, and the distance to him was getting closer and closer.
clear.
"Good guy, it must be that bastard!" Li Guo suddenly raised his voice: "Father, look at that man and horse!"
Everyone looked at him in surprise. Suddenly, several people's expressions changed, and of course some looked confused.
"That's right, it must be that gelding!" Niu Jinxing gritted his teeth and said with hatred on his face.
Behind him, Liu Zongmin raised his eyebrows and asked, "Are you sure, military advisor?"
"That's right." Li Guo took over the topic: "All the eunuch's soldiers are dressed in dog skins!"
Chang Yu's identity was exposed.
The introduction was Zhou Yuji's good intentions, but what really exposed his identity was the uniforms of the eunuch army and Tengxiang Guards.
You must know that compared with the various popular fashion items of the bandit army, officers and soldiers all wear uniforms. Whether it is cotton-padded clothes or cotton armor, they are all original products from the factory. Of course, the colors are also uniform, mainly gray.
However, the uniforms of the eunuch army and the emperor's personal guards brought out by Chang Yu from the capital were very different from those of ordinary troops!
But for the eunuch army, they all wear black clothes and trousers, which is very different from ordinary soldiers. What's more terrible is that the Tengxiang Guards, who are the emperor's 26th Guards, are even more flamboyant.
Tengxiang's left and right guards, Wuxiang's left and right guards, collectively known as the Tengxiang Four Guards, are responsible for the emperor's bodyguards. They are the personal guards among the personal guards. The guards are uniformed in black uniforms, and even the armor is black, with tiger heads painted on them, that is,
Commonly known as the Black Tiger Army.
Chang Yu had fought against Li Guo in Jiaocheng, and he had seen the Tengxiang Guards' uniforms so obvious, so when he looked from a distance, he knew they were Chang Yu's men.
Is that person in the lead... with his bellicose personality...
It's him!
Although they are far apart and their faces are not clear, the iconic armor and sword are very unique.
At this moment, one of Ma Shiyao's soldiers who had gone away rushed over to report that the supporting soldiers were Chang Yu's men.
Will you give me a big gift package at the beginning?
Li Zicheng and Li Guo can be said to have vowed not to kill Chang Yu unless he killed him. Although they did not confirm Chang Yu's identity at this time, they also knew that he was definitely an important figure among the officers and soldiers, not to mention that he killed Li Laiheng and
Played with him three times and four times.
"My lord, please give the order immediately. The army will surround and kill that eunuch. His status is extraordinary. Whether he is captured alive or beheaded, he can kill the officers and soldiers with his spirit."
The crowd was furious, and Gu Junen was the first to speak!
"Wait a minute." Song Xiance waved his hand hurriedly: "This wolf has always been full of tricks and cunning. It is obvious that the officers and soldiers have taken precautions in advance. If we start a big fight, the opponent will definitely slip back into the formation early in the morning. Isn't it a vain attempt to draw water from a bamboo basket? Let's discuss it later!"
"What time has it been? Why don't we discuss it again?" Li Guo snorted coldly, and Li Zicheng next to him glared at him and said, "As a military advisor?"
"Send strong generals to pretend to be probing horses and get close to kill them!" Song Xiance said, while Niu Jinxing and others nodded in agreement.
Li Zicheng nodded slightly and approached with a small group of troops. The other party would definitely not take it seriously, and then a sudden attack would be feasible.
Of course, this small group of people are not ordinary pawns, but capable generals!
"Who wants to go?" Li Zicheng looked back and said, he had many men gathered together, and all of them were experienced in many battles.
"Father, the child is willing to go! Kill this animal to avenge Heng'er!" Li Guo had a determined look on his face, but could not hide his sadness and anger.
"The last general is willing to go" Almost at the same time, more than ten generals behind him asked for a fight. The one in the lead had the loudest voice, but it was Hao Yaoqi!
Hao Yaoqi and Chang Yu fought against each other twice, and were plotted both times. They were in a state of embarrassment and even almost died. This made their colleagues laugh at him, and he was already on fire in his heart. At this time, he wanted to eat Chang Yu alive.
"You two go together, and Ma Shiyao brings that gelded dog's head to see me!" Li Zicheng named the two people who were most eager to kill Chang Yu.
The two of them clasped their fists, got on their horses, and headed straight for Chang Yu's west wing with only a dozen soldiers!