Although the Chung Ling Army led by Liu Xiu was the party attacking the city, to put it bluntly, they were setting up an empty city strategy outside Chaoyang City.
At this time, as long as Yi Zhen and Xie Sheng lead their troops to attack the city, the more than 3,000 Chung Ling army led by Liu Xiu will undoubtedly be defeated.
This seemingly powerful army of more than 3,000 people is actually composed of temporarily recruited refugees with no training. Even the weapons are made of wood. How can such soldiers go to the battlefield to fight?
Liu Xiu was engaged in a psychological war with Yi Zhen and Xie Sheng, betting that they would not dare to go out of the city to fight.
If Yi Zhun and Xie Sheng were both incompetent idiots and reckless people, Liu Xiu would not dare to bet like this. It was precisely because Yi Zhun and Xie Sheng were both talented, learned and cautious people that he dared to bet with them.
mentality.
Liu Xiu's gamble was very successful in the early stage. When the Chung Ling army came to the city, the county soldiers in Chaoyang City did not dare to go out of the city to fight. Within three days, the county soldiers did not dare to step out of the city gate.
At this time, the main force of the Chung Ling Army, headed by Liu Ji and Deng Feng, had already launched a fierce attack on Xinye. Xinye also immediately asked for help from surrounding counties, and the neighboring Chaoyang County was naturally among the targets of Xinye's help.
After reading the letter sent by Xinda, the magistrate of Xinye County, Yi Zhen frowned and doubted it for a long time. The Chongling rebels actually ran to Xinye, and they were still the main force. So the Chongling rebels are now outside Chaoyang City.
What is it again?
He silently handed the letter to Xie Sheng. The latter took it and looked at it, frowning and murmuring: "How many troops are there in the Chung Ling rebellion?"
According to what Xinda said, the number of Chongling rebels who attacked Xinye was three to four thousand. Now, the number of Chongling rebels outside Chaoyang City must also be three to four thousand. In addition, it is reported that there are also three or four thousand rebels in Huyang County.
They gathered a large number of Chung Ling rebels, numbering between two and three thousand. After calculation, the total strength of the Chung Ling rebels exceeded 10,000. This was completely inconsistent with the intelligence they received!
The government official who came to deliver a letter for help bowed his hands to the two of them and said urgently: "Magistrate Yi, County Lieutenant Xie, Xinye has been attacked by the main force of the rebels, and is in danger. Please send troops to Chaoyang quickly for reinforcements!"
Yi Zhen sighed and said: "You should also know that there are currently three to four thousand rebels stationed outside Chaoyang City, eyeing Chaoyang. Once I mobilize county troops to reinforce Xinye, I am afraid that Chaoyang will be lost.
!”
"What County Magistrate Yi said is right!" Xie Sheng answered: "It's not that our county doesn't want to reinforce Xinye, but...it's really inseparable!"
"Is it possible that County Magistrate Yi and County Lieutenant Xie have forgotten the principle of dying with lips and teeth?" The official said in a trembling voice: "Once Xinye is lost, the connection between Chaoyang and the county will also be cut off. How long can an isolated city like Chaoyang hold on?
Woolen cloth?"
His words hit the point directly, and shocked both Yi Zhen and Xie Sheng's bodies. The two looked at each other and said: "You have worked hard all the way, go down and rest first. We are still going to assist Xinye."
It needs to be considered carefully.”
After sending away the official who delivered the letter, Xie Sheng said quietly: "Xinye really cannot make any mistakes, otherwise Chaoyang and Huyang counties will be the next unlucky ones!"
Yi Zhen also agreed that Xinye could not make mistakes. He spread his hands and said: "But outside the city, there are three to four thousand rebels watching eagerly. We really can't spare the troops to reinforce Xinye!"
"Don't you think it's strange, Magistrate Yi? According to the information we have, the Chongling rebels have a total of six or seven thousand troops, and this time the Chongling rebels have six or seven thousand troops attacking Chaoyang and Xinye."
Okay, so where did the troops to attack Huyang come from? Where did the troops who stayed behind in Caiyang, Deng County, Xiangxiang, and Tongling come from?"
Yi Zhen was stunned and asked: "What does Lieutenant Xie mean?"
Xie Sheng said sternly: "It is impossible for the number of rebels in Chung Ling to increase so much all at once. I suspect there is some fraud involved!"
"Is there a lie? Xinye has sent people to ask for help. There can't be any lies about the strength of the troops attacking Xinye, right? The rebels who attacked Chaoyang are now outside the city. You and I have seen it with our own eyes, so there can't be any lies, right?"
"Yeah, I saw it with my own eyes, that's why things are weird..." Xie Sheng rubbed his chin and murmured, "But some things, even if you see them with your own eyes, may not be true!"
Xinye's request for help reached Chaoyang City, and similarly, the Chungling Army's new field battle report also reached Liu Xiu's hands outside the city.
The main force of the Chung Ling Army, headed by Liu Ji and Deng Feng, stormed Xinye City, but the battle did not go well. Xinye's county soldiers were more powerful than Chaoyang County soldiers, with a total of four thousand, and Xinye's city walls were tall and thick.
Strong, easy to defend and difficult to attack.
More than 4,000 county soldiers huddled in the city and resisted desperately. Liu Ji and Deng Feng took turns to attack, but they failed to break through Xinye's city defense.
In the past few days of fighting, both sides suffered heavy casualties, but the difference was that the defenders could recruit strong men in the city at any time and replenish their forces in time, while the Chung Ling Army suffered one more casualty and one less during the battle.
As one goes and the other goes, the war has become increasingly difficult for the Chung Ling Army.
Liu Ji and Deng Feng's attack was blocked, and the war became stalemate. Liu Xiu and Li Yi each led their armies to a stalemate with the county soldiers in Chaoyang and Huyang. On the surface, the two sides entered a tug-of-war, but in fact, the Chung Ling Army
The initiative has gradually been lost, and the war is developing in an unfavorable direction.
At exactly this time, the county soldiers of Shandu County and the Hecheng Fortress Army, totaling more than two thousand people, jointly launched an attack on Deng County.
Shandu County is located to the west of Deng County, and the two counties are adjacent.
The county seat is located on the west bank of Mianshui River, while Hecheng Fortress is located on the east bank of Mianshui River. The city and the fortress are across the water.
The reason why such a fortress was built opposite Shandu City was mainly to prevent the invasion of the Southern Barbarians.
Shandu County is adjacent to Hanzhong County in Yizhou. At that time, the Nanman Army had already flowed to Hanzhong and could enter Shandu County at any time.
Realizing that there was a danger of being attacked by the Nanman barbarians, the Nanyang County government went to the imperial court and built a fortress on the opposite bank of Shandu County, naming it Hecheng.
If the Nanbarbarians really attack Shandu County, the people in the county can cross the Mianshui River and go to the east bank of the Mianshui River to escape the disaster of war. If the barbarians want to forcefully cross the Mianshui River, then the Hecheng Fortress set up on the east bank can effectively carry out the attack.
of blocking.
Hecheng Fortress is not big. Because the barbarian army has retreated, the fortress has become insignificant, and the number of permanent troops inside has been reduced to a few hundred people.
This time Shandu County launched an attack on Deng County by borrowing hundreds of garrison troops from Hecheng Fortress.
Although the number of troops stationed at Hecheng Fortress is not large, only a few hundred, its combat power is not low. It is composed of part of the Capital Army and part of the Nanyang County Army.
This time Shandu County attacked Deng County with great force.
The news soon spread to Deng County. After learning the news, Li Tong immediately sent someone to pass a letter to Liu Xiu.
Liu Xiu was secretly surprised when he received this urgent battle report from Li Tong. Currently, there are only a thousand troops left behind in Deng County, and there are more than 2,000 enemy troops coming to attack, including the fortress army. Not to be underestimated.
In the Chinese army tent, Liu Xiu handed the battle report to Deng Yu and others for circulation. After reading it, everyone gasped. Zhu You stood up and said urgently: "Lord, we must withdraw our troops immediately and return to rescue Deng County. !”
Fu Jun frowned and said, "We are in Chaoyang with the purpose of containing the Chaoyang County Army. If we retreat now, we are betraying our brothers who are attacking Xinye!"
Liu Xiu secretly shook his head. The current situation was no longer a question of whether to sell Liu Ji or not, but a question of his own life and death.
Deng Yu expressed what Liu Xiu was thinking. He said sternly: "The news that the Shandu County soldiers are attacking Deng County must have spread to Chaoyang City. Once our army retreats now, the result will be intercepted by the Shandu County soldiers. In pursuit of the Chaoyang County soldiers, our troops will be surrounded by enemies on both sides, unable to advance or retreat, and in danger of the entire army being annihilated!"
His words made everyone present realize the seriousness of the situation.
Zhu You was stunned for a long time and murmured: "So, our army cannot retreat!"
Liu Xiu said categorically: "We must retreat! We can no longer fight this battle!"
Liu Ji and Deng Feng have reached a stalemate. It is of little significance to continue to stay in Chaoyang. However, it is not easy to retreat now. As Deng Yu said, there is a possibility of being flanked by enemy forces from the two counties. Danger.
After hearing Liu Xiu's words, everyone present looked at each other with solemn expressions.
Zhu You asked: "Lord, if our army is retreating and the soldiers of Shandu County and Chaoyang County join forces to attack, how should our army respond?"
Liu Xiu tapped his forehead lightly with his fingers, shook his head and smiled bitterly. Let alone the county soldiers from the two places joining forces to attack, no matter which county soldiers took the initiative to attack, with the three thousand people on his side, they would not be able to defeat them. .
People looked at Liu Xiu eagerly, waiting for him to make a decision.
There were countless plans in Liu Xiu's mind, but none of them could withstand the deduction, and none of them could save his side from danger.
As time passed by, people's moods gradually became more and more impatient. Just as Zhu You was about to speak, Yan Guang waved his hand to him. He gently shook the feather fan in his hand and said softly and slowly: "Xian Zhong, please pour down for me. Have a cup of tea!”
Zhu You looked at Yan Guang in disbelief. At this critical moment, he still wanted to drink tea? Liu Xiu also raised his eyes and looked at Yan Guang. The latter smiled at him and said: "I believe that your lord will definitely Can come up with the best response."
Liu Xiu himself had no confidence, but Yan Guang still had full confidence in him, which made Liu Xiu couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Zhu You walked to the center of the camp, lifted the hot iron kettle, made a cup of tea for Liu Xiu, and carefully placed it in front of him.
Liu Xiu picked up the teacup, blew a few breaths, and took a slow sip. Then he put down the teacup, looked around at everyone present, and said, "Sell the refugees."
Sure enough! Yan Guang sighed secretly in his heart. He also thought of the tactic of selling the refugees, but he didn't say it because it was too cruel.
"Sell the refugees?"
"Our army retreated at night. To be precise, we let the refugees retreat first, and we stayed in the camp temporarily. There are Chaoyang spies around our camp. As soon as the refugees retreat, they will be able to discover it as soon as possible and pass the news to Chaoyang. "After hearing the news of our army's retreat, the main force of the county soldiers will inevitably go out of the city to pursue them. However, there will not be too many troops entering the camp to search. We can annihilate them in the camp." At this point, Liu Xiu lowered his head feebly.
"Then...where are the more than 3,000 refugees?" Zhu You looked at Liu Xiu blankly.
Yan Guang answered with a gloomy expression: "They will all become the main force of Chaoyang County soldiers."
