Li Qi's army stayed on the south bank for one night, and marched towards Shenglong Palace the next day. However, Li Qi was still afraid that the opponent would detour to the rear, so he left 10,000 soldiers led by Yue Fang to station in the Furiang River to cooperate with Han Shizhong's navy to defend
It should be more than enough.
In addition, they have to protect the wounded here.
Since the south bank is only thirty miles away from Shenglong Mansion, Li Qi's army arrived at Shenglong Mansion after half a day's journey.
This Jiaozhi is not like the Song Dynasty. There are cities everywhere. There are actually only two or three decent cities in Jiaozhi, such as Guangyuan Prefecture and Shenglong Mansion. It is said that the cities in Guangyuan Prefecture were built by the Han people, and the rest of the cities are
They are some mountain villages similar to Juili Pass.
Firstly, Jiaozhi is relatively poor and cannot afford to build a city on a large scale; secondly, the terrain here is very dangerous and there is no need to build a city; thirdly, the people here are mostly tribes and are accustomed to living in ethnic groups.
But it has to be said that the scale of Shenglong Mansion is still very impressive. It looks majestic from a distance, with the dragon and the tiger dominating the position. It is located directly from north to south and east to west, with the mountains and rivers facing away. The rest is wide and flat, and it is very convenient.
The soil is high and cool.
Although in terms of the scale of the city, it is absolutely impossible for Shenglong City to be comparable to Bianliang City. It is simply not on the same level.
However, there is an open land around Bianliang City, and Shenglong City is entrenched among the mountains, as if connected with the mountains. Its momentum is not weaker than that of Bianliang City.
Originally, the battle to defend the city was usually not carried out around the city wall. Unless it was at an absolute disadvantage, Jiaozhi did not intend to defend the city wall at first. However, in the battle of Furiang River, more than half of their elite troops were lost, and there were only two regular troops in the city.
Thirty thousand, it was obviously not a wise move to stick to the outer city any longer, so they all retreated to the city.
Prepare to defend the city wall.
At least that's what the slogan says.
Li Qi learned about the reality of Shenglong Mansion from Wang Jun, and knew that the other party had no strength to go out of the city to fight. So he ordered the army to surround the east, south, and north sides of Shenglong City, leaving only the west side. He made this arrangement to give Gao a chance to fight.
If Duan had a chance to enter the city, no matter what, he could not let Duan capture Gao first.
The Song army had just arrived at the city, and the princes and nobles in Shenglong City came to the city wall one after another. They saw that there was a dense darkness under the city wall. They couldn't help but feel numb. How could they continue to play this game?
Little did they know that Li Qi was also observing them with clairvoyance at this time, and suddenly said: "Yue Fei."
"What do you want the Privy Council to do?"
Li Qi smiled and said: "Order someone to get twenty crossbows and shoot them at the city gate, while beating the war drum to scare them."
"As commanded."
After a while, the sound of drums and shouts from the Song army camp was heard, which was deafening and fierce.
"Hoo! The enemy is about to attack."
The civil servants in Jiaozhi couldn't help but feel frightened when they heard the sound of war drums. Some even wanted to retreat immediately.
"Don't panic, everyone. The enemy doesn't seem to be attacking."
Veteran General Li Quansheng said hurriedly.
Those ministers all looked sideways at Li Quansheng with strange expressions, obviously showing a lack of trust.
Li Quansheng saw this and felt very depressed. It turns out that Li Quansheng was highly respected in Shenglong Mansion, but Furiang Jiang was defeated and all the elites were lost. He was shouldering the responsibility. He almost didn't get dismissed, but now there is really no one available in Shenglong Mansion.
Therefore, he was simply demoted and asked to lead the troops to defend the city wall.
Li Quansheng was already very guilty and wanted to kill himself to thank the world. At this time, he was already mentally prepared to sacrifice his life for the country.
The other ministers were stunned when they saw that the Song army did not blow the horn of attack, but only rolled out twenty chariots. Looking at the posture of the Song army, it did not look like they were going to attack the city.
"Prepare."
All twenty crossbows were already on the strings.
"put."
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Dozens of long arrows shot out.
"ah---!"
"The enemy is attacking."
The ministers in Jiaozhi were scared to death when they saw the long arrow flying. Most of them had never seen the power of the bed crossbow. They didn't know that it was still a thousand steps away. The Song army suddenly fired an arrow. What was even more terrible was that the arrow was still
It was really possible to shoot at them, and many people were so frightened that they ran away with their heads in their hands, cowering and hiding behind the soldiers.
Boom boom boom!
The sound of explosions frightened these ministers so much that they felt the city walls shaking under their feet.
Fortunately, the Song army's target was not them on the city wall, but the city gate.
Li Quansheng was also shocked. He thought that Song Jun was planning to break the news in this way, so he quickly ordered people to see the condition of the city gate. After a while, the person came and told Li Quansheng that the city gate was intact.
No matter how powerful Fuzi's crossbow was, it was not able to blow open the thick city gate.
But this is enough.
The Song army didn't even come out, but only twenty crossbows frightened these civil servants to death.
However, all this fell into Li Qi's eyes, and his goal had been achieved. He laughed and said: "With such ministers here, this Shenglong Mansion is already in my pocket."
On the other side of Jiaozhi, everyone shouted: "The enemy has such sharp weapons, how can we defend this city."
This was their instinctive reaction, but these words greatly damaged morale, and the soldiers couldn't help but feel frightened.
Li Quansheng saw it all, but he was still guilty at this time. He sighed in his heart and his expression was very sad.
Fortunately for these ministers, the Song army retreated a mile to set up camp after firing this round of crossbows, and did not rush to attack. This made them relieved.
Inside the Song Army's tent.
The sound of laughter came and went.
Yue Fei and other soldiers were all talking about the scene on the city wall just now, and they really looked down on the ministers of Cochin.
In fact, this also reflects the civil-military struggle in the Song Dynasty from the side. It is well known that civil servants do not look down on them as warriors, but military generals never looked down on those civil servants. It is just that the Song Dynasty used civil society to control military affairs, which made them military generals
They dare to be angry but dare not speak out. Now when they talk about the civil servants in Jiaozhi, they are also implying that the civil servants in the Song Dynasty were weak and incompetent.
Li Qi and Zhao Jingyan were as clear as a mirror, but they did not stop them and let them vent their feelings.
After a while, Yue Fei asked: "Privy Envoy, what should we do next?"
"what to do?"
Li Qi sneered and said, "Of course it depends on the other party's sincerity."
Zhao Jingyan said: "When do you think they will send someone to sue for peace?"
Li Qidao: "Tonight."
"tonight?"
Li Qi said confidently: "Don't believe it? Then what are you betting on?"
Zhao Jingyan shook her head and said bluntly: "Gambling is not allowed in the army."
Sweating! It seems that I am really carried away. But you don’t need to say it. Li Qi looked at Zhao Jingyan with a hint of reproach, coughed, glanced at Yue Fei and others, and said: "What did you just hear?"
"No."
All the soldiers shook their heads and said without hesitation.
"Taking care of it."
Li Qi even winked at Zhao Jingyan proudly.
What's there to be proud of? Aren't you just shameless? Zhao Jingyan rolled her eyes and asked again: "You actually expected that the other party would send someone to negotiate tonight. Let's see if you are ready."
Li Qi asked in surprise: "What should I prepare?"
Zhao Jingyan said: "Of course it's a negotiation."
"Who said I should go and talk in person?"
"You won't go?" Zhao Jingyan was stunned for a moment and said, "Do you want me to go?"
Li Qi opened his hands and said, "I didn't say that."
Zhao Jingyan was filled with curiosity after hearing this. She and Li Qi were the most suitable candidates for negotiation in the army. Yue Fei and others were still too young, and they were not important enough for such a level of negotiation. After thinking for a long time, she still couldn't figure it out.
A suitable candidate came, so he said: "Don't be too pretentious and tell me quickly, who do you plan to let go?"
"It's not him."
Li Qi pointed his hand backward.
Zhao Jingyan, Yue Fei and others looked in the direction he pointed.
"he?"
Everyone said in unison.
Li Qi said carelessly: "If you are happy again, don't look around. It's you."
"I?"
Yang Zaixing pointed at himself and said in shock.
Li Qi said cheerfully: "I never thought that a murderous maniac would be afraid!"
This coach is really unscrupulous.
...
As expected by Li Qi, in the evening, Jiaozhi sent envoys.
It's not that Li Qi is so powerful. In fact, this is just human nature. From the perspective of Jiaozhi, the Song army has already arrived at the city and may attack at any time. However, they suffered heavy losses in front of them. More than half of their elite troops were killed or injured.
There was no need to fight at all. Even Li Quansheng only responded with the determination to die, not the determination to win.
And they don't know when the Song Army will attack, maybe tomorrow. Once the war starts, it is very likely that the city gate will be breached by the Song Army within that day, so tonight is just a rest day for the Song Army.
But for Jiaozhi, it was a race against time. They had to do everything possible to stop the Song army's attack. Since they couldn't stop it with force, they could only rely on negotiation.
The sun sets, and the golden light gently shines on this land, but no one can guarantee that this is not the eve of a storm.
A group of people and horses came from the direction of Shenglong City towards the Song Army camp.
But halfway through the journey, the person in front suddenly stopped, and one person turned his horse around and came to the carriage in the middle.
"Sir, please come out and take a look."
"What's up?"
Before he finished speaking, he saw an old man opening the car curtain with one hand and sitting inside.
The guard pointed forward and said, "Sir, look."
The old man raised his eyes and saw a black-armored general riding a white horse and holding a spear in the middle of the road. This general was extremely tall. Under the golden light, his face could not be seen clearly. He just felt like a heavenly general.
.
This person is none other than Yang Zaixing.
The old man was still stunned for a moment and said: "Go over and ask."
"yes."
After a while, the guard turned back and said: "Sir, the man said that he was here to wait for you on the orders of the Privy Council of the Song Army."
The old man was stunned for a moment, waved his hand and said, "Let's go over there."
"yes."
More than a dozen guards escorted the carriage past and came to the front of Yang Zaixing. The old man walked out of the carriage and said with cupped hands: "I am Liu Qingtan, a Hanlin scholar. I wonder who you are?"
"The messenger."
Yang Zaixing didn't care whether you were a tutor or a master. There was a hint of indifference on his face, which meant that he didn't give any face. He said: "We, the privy envoys, are afraid that your trip will be in vain, so we asked you to wait."
When Liu Qingtan heard this, his heart immediately fell into the ice cellar. The implication of Yang Zaixing's words was that he would not even give them a chance to negotiate. He hurriedly said: "What do you mean by these words of the Privy Council?"
Yang Zaixing said calmly: "It's very simple. Our Privy Councilor says you are not sincere enough."
"Not sincere enough?"
When Liu Qingtan heard this, he felt a glimmer of hope again. Since he was not sincere enough, there was an opportunity to talk. He hurriedly said: "We all come here with a sincere heart."
Yang Zaixing said bluntly: "Sincerity is something we, the Privy Council, have never cared about. What we, the Privy Council, want is sincerity."
Liu Qingtan was a little confused after hearing this, and said: "Please forgive me for being stupid, but I don't know what the sincerity of your privy envoys is?"
Yang Zaixing took out a letter from his arms and threw it directly. A guard from the other party took the letter. Yang Zaixing said again: "Tomorrow morning, our Privy Council will be waiting for you in the big tent. Remember to show your sincerity.
Come and say goodbye."
After saying this, Yang Zaixing stopped talking and rode back.
The guard hurriedly handed the letter to Liu Qingtan. Liu Qingtan took it and opened it. He could not help frowning. After a long time, he sighed: "Go back." (To be continued...)