Three hundred and twentieth chapters change tactics
He Lu bowed deeply to Liu Xiu and said, "My lord is as kind to the villain as a mountain, and I will remember it in my heart!"
Liu Xiu smiled and said, "Shopkeeper He, please don't be polite to me. I told you that I was just passing by to give Miss Miaoying a little maid." As he spoke, he glanced at Tian Xiuyue.
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"Yes, yes, yes! The villain takes the place of the dog girl, thank you so much, my lord!" As he spoke, He Lu bowed respectfully to Liu Xiu.
After a pause, he said: "My lord, five hundred stones of grain will be transported to Xiangcheng tomorrow. In addition, I also collected a batch of medicinal materials from some medicinal farmers."
Liu Xiu nodded and said with a smile: "Well done!" Food and grass are important, but medicinal materials are equally important. Now the army is short of all resources. Of course, the more important resources like food, grass and medicinal materials, the better.
"Okay, I've delivered the person, it's time to go back!"
He Lu said quickly: "I send you my lord's congratulations!"
Watching Liu Xiu and his party walk away, He Lu breathed a sigh of relief. Then he turned his eyes and fell on Tian Xiuyue. He raised the corner of his mouth and said with an amused smile: "Miss Tian, it's been a long time!"
As he spoke, he waved his hand behind him, summoned two servants, and dragged Tian Xiuyue into He Mansion.
On the way back to the county government office, Liu Xiu asked, "Does Di Sun know shopkeeper He?"
Ji Zun said: "We have met several times, but we don't have many personal relationships."
Liu Xiu asked: "What do Di Sun think of Shopkeeper He?"
Ji Zun pondered for a moment and said: "Shopkeeper He is quick-witted, tactful, and well-rounded. Although he used to work for Li Wen and Jia Xuan, he is still honest in business. I have never heard of him bullying others."
On the contrary, he sharpened his head and tried hard to squeeze into the crowd of nobles, but unfortunately he was never well received by the nobles. Ji Zun really didn't have much contact with He Lu, and I didn't have a deep understanding of him, but I didn't feel disgusted either.
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The price of grain at Yongcang Grain Store is very expensive, but most of the profits go into the pockets of Li Wen and Jia Xuan. He Lu just follows Li Wen and Jia Xuan and drinks some soup.
Liu Xiu listened quietly and said nothing more.
The next day, it was true as He Lu said. Five hundred shi of grain and a batch of medicinal materials were put into Yongcang Liang. He Lu did not keep any of them and sent them all to the Han army camp.
During this period, the Han army had raised a thousand kilograms of food and grass. If one kilogram was calculated as one hundred kilograms, it would be one hundred thousand kilograms, not too much, but not much, enough to feed three thousand soldiers for more than half a month.
Liu Xiu ordered that food be distributed to the soldiers. On the third day, Liu Xiu led three thousand cavalry and left Xiangcheng and went straight to Yangdi (di), the county seat of Yingchuan.
The cavalry marched from Xiangcheng to Yangdi and arrived in one day. As soon as the army arrived at Yangdi, they met their own spies. The spies reported to Liu Xiu everything about Yangdi.
At present, the number of county troops in Yangzhai City is only 2,000, but the number of strong men gathered is larger, 5,000 or 6,000, and the city defense is complete.
Perhaps the Han army suddenly captured Xiangcheng, which also sounded the alarm in Yangzhai. These five or six thousand strong men were all just summoned by the county government in the past few days.
In addition, in the past few days, the county government has been organizing manpower to strengthen the city defense, placing a large number of rolling logs and stones on the top of the city, in a posture of defending Yangdi.
After listening to the spies' report, Liu Xiu frowned secretly. There were more than two thousand county troops, which was indeed not many, but there were five or six thousand strong men to help defend the city, which was quite troublesome.
Liu Xiu led his troops to the vicinity of Yangzhai, climbed to a high place, and looked up. The city gate of Yangzhai had been closed, and the suspension bridge hung high. Because Yangzhai was adjacent to Yingshui, the moat was not only wide, but the water flow was also rapid.
Looking at the Yangzhai City Wall, it is a standard wall height of three feet and three feet. However, because of the moat, if the water depth of the moat is added, it will be far more than three feet and three feet. Looking towards the top of the city, you can see piles of
Rolling logs and stones are placed on the city wall, and you can't see the edge at a glance.
Liu Xiu secretly shook his head. If he really wanted to attack this Yangzhai, it would be as difficult as attacking Wancheng. It would not only require a large number of troops, but also special lengthened ladders, ships, etc. It was definitely not possible for them.
These three thousand cavalry can chew it down.
Feng Yi rushed forward, came to Liu Xiu's side, and said: "My lord, Yang Zhai is a tough guy!"
Liu Xiu smiled bitterly and nodded, saying: "With the current strength of our army, it is impossible to capture Yangdi by force."
Ma Wu intervened on the horse and said: "My lord, this subordinate is willing to go to fight against the enemy!"
Liu Xiu thought for a moment, nodded in agreement, and said, "Zizhang, be more careful!"
"Yes!" Ma Wu agreed, urged his horse to run down the high ground, and ordered two hundred cavalry, not those who were good at fighting, but those with a loud enough voice.
He took these two hundred cavalrymen and ran to a place a hundred paces away from Yangzhai and ordered his soldiers to scold their formation.
These two hundred cavalrymen with loud voices first took out their water bags and moistened their throats, then opened their throats and started shouting and cursing outside the city.
First, he scolded Wang Mang, the court, and then Yingchuan County, the prefect, and the captain. At first, he scolded him quite righteously, but later, he scolded his father, mother, and eighteen generations of the clan.
Greetings were given to them all.
In ancient times, there were no war-free cards as mentioned in storytelling. If you hang them out, the enemy will stop attacking you. If there were such a treasure, there would be no wars in history.
If one party does not dare to challenge, there are only two ways, either to run or to hide and defend.
As for the attacking side, it will be quite a headache when encountering an enemy who is cowering and defending. There is no good way to do it. They must either bite the bullet and attack hard, or use the trick of attacking the enemy and scolding the enemy out of the fortifications.
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Ma Wu led two hundred cavalrymen and scolded them from morning to noon. At noon, another group of soldiers were replaced and they continued to scold in front of the city.
The defenders at the top of Yangzhai City all turned red and white after being scolded. Some soldiers simply tore strips of cloth from their clothes, rolled them into balls, and blocked their ears.
This day was basically spent amidst the shouts and curses of the Han army. Liu Xiu ordered to set up camp two miles south of Yangzhai City. In the Chinese army tent, Liu Xiu looked at the temporarily arranged Yangzhai sand table and had a headache.
Ma Wu led his men and scolded them all day long, but they could not get the county troops out of the city. If they wanted to attack Yangdi by force, they had no chance of winning. The war suddenly reached a stalemate. What should we do?
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Now Liu Xiu is in trouble, and Ma Wu, Yao Qi, Feng Yi and others are also at a loss.
Ma Wu, who was sitting in the central military tent, slapped his thigh and said angrily: "This Yingchuan prefect and captain is a bastard! If you stay in the city, you will die or die!"
Liu Xiu paced back and forth in the Chinese military tent, his head lowered, silent in thought.
Feng Yi said seriously: "Actually, our army is stationed outside Yangzhai City, which is equivalent to trapping the county. People inside the city can't get out, and people outside the city can't get in either. According to our intelligence reports, the people inside the city can't get in."
The amount of food and grass is not much, but the population in the city is quite large. If we trap it for a month or two, I'm afraid there will be chaos in the city!"
Liu Xiu's pace suddenly paused, and then continued to walk back and forth.
Ma Wu thought for a while and said: "Gongsun Yan is right! We will be stationed outside Yangzhai City. If there are county soldiers coming to help, we will attack the county soldiers. If someone transports grain into the city, we will attack his grain transport team."
, Although our army only has three thousand soldiers, they are all cavalry and are fast. Three thousand men are enough to besiege a city!"
Liu Xiu suddenly stopped, walked to the handsome case, looked down at the sheepskin map on it, clicked his finger on the map, and said: "Two thousand soldiers, continue to be stationed outside Yangzhai City, I can lead a thousand soldiers,
Sneak attack on Yangguan!"
Yangguan?! After hearing Liu Xiu's words, everyone gathered around and looked at the map carefully.
Yangguan is located in the north of Yangzhai and is the only way to go north from Yangzhai. If Yangguan is captured, it will not only cut off Yangzhai's retreat route to the north, but also cut off reinforcements from the north of Yangzhai.
While Feng Yi was looking at the map, he couldn't help but nod his head. He raised the corner of his mouth and said in admiration: "My lord, this plan is wonderful! My lord's strategy is to attack the city first and attack the heart first. Once Yang Zhai knows that Yangguan has been lost,
, is occupied by our army, the morale of the army in the city will definitely be turbulent, I am afraid that in less than ten days and a half, there will be chaos in the city!"
After listening to Feng Yi's explanation, everyone present understood. Feng Yi continued: "Furthermore, the Yangguan side believed that our army was in Yangzhai, so it must be a precaution. Our army suddenly sent out a wave of troops to attack Yangguan, but
Take it by surprise, attack it unprepared, and conquer it in one fell swoop!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Ba intervened and said: "My lord, please allow me to accompany you!"
Ma Wu glared at Wang Ba, intervened and said: "I will follow my lord and attack Yangguan!"
Liu Xiu smiled, waved his hand and said: "Zizhang, Ci Kuang, Gongsun, you all need to stay in the camp and take command. During this period, if there are county soldiers to reinforce Yangzhai, they must not be allowed to enter the city. They must be there before
Outside the city, annihilate them in one fell swoop, leaving Yangzhai as an isolated city! In this way, only after I lead my army to capture Yangguan can I shake the fighting spirit of Yingchuan County!"
Ma Wu, Yao Qi, Feng Yi and others looked at each other and nodded, their lord's words were not unreasonable.
The real purpose of attacking Yangguan is actually to shake the morale of the Yangdi defenders. To put it bluntly, the main battlefield of this battle is still in Yangzhai, and Yangguan is just a secondary battlefield.
Liu Xiu continued: "In this battle, Zhong Xian, Ju Qing, Zi Wei, and Yuan Bo can accompany me to fight!"
Zhu You, Gai Yan, Fu Jun, and Wang Ba all stepped in and saluted Liu Xiu, saying in unison: "I obey my orders!"
Yingchuan Prefecture's stubborn defense of the city forced Liu Xiu's troops to give up their plan to storm Yangdi and settle for the next best thing. They divided their troops into two groups and guarded outside Yangdi City all the way, encircling points to call for reinforcements and quietly bypassing Yangdi.
, hit Yangguan in the north of Yangzhai.
Yangguan is a pass in the north of Yangzhai. Like Yangzhai, Yangguan is also next to Yingshui, with mountains on one side and water on the other, with a road sandwiched in the middle. The terrain is steep and the location is unique.
If there are enough troops and horses in Yangguan and it is heavily guarded, it will be difficult to defeat Yangguan even if Liu Xiu brings 10,000 or even tens of thousands of troops to attack, let alone a thousand troops and horses.
However, there are not many defenders in Yangguan now, less than 500 people, and they never dreamed that the Han army that was attacking the county would suddenly come around and attack them garrisoned in Yangguan.
Because there was a war in the southern part of Yingchuan during this period, many people were afraid of being affected and began to move north.
Yangguan is an important transportation thoroughfare, and a large number of people have to pass through it every day. Today is no exception. People preparing to cross the border lined up in a long queue outside.
Just as the soldiers guarding the pass were carefully checking the people passing through, they suddenly heard a rumbling sound in the distance.
The soldiers and common people present looked for news and saw a layer of sand and fog rising on the horizon in the distance. Because the distance was too far, at a glance, it looked like a tornado was blowing over.