"Liu Wu, you must remember to arrive at Niujiaping at Mao o'clock on the second day after seeing three fireworks."
"If there are any rangers, go into battle, prevent them from returning to the main battle line, and kill them as much as possible."
Gu Cheng warned Liu Wu again.
"Commander Gu, once..."
Liu Wu and the others were infantrymen of the Western Army, and they focused more on defending the city rather than fighting cavalry in the wilderness.
So, he was a little worried.
"There is no chance that the new army under our command will gather at Niujiaping. When the time comes, we will continue to fight side by side!"
The Western troops in Xiaoguan retreated, and the Western troops in Suiningbao also retreated. The Western troops in the entire middle road against Xixia's defense line, and all the Western troops in the border villages retreated.
When the morning light once again illuminated Suining Fort, the Xixia people began to attack the city again.
"Elevation 35, Shen Laosan, blow away the dog's trebuchet for me!"
"This group of fools rushes into Ling Lang, knowing that they can't reach the side wall, but they still pounce on it..."
"Commander, why don't we get closer and then fight? He threw gunpowder bullets in the sky and didn't fire a single shot. The shooting was ineffective. What I want most is the feeling of smashing the head with the butt of the gun..."
"Go away! Don't you see that there are no bullets in all the substances? You know what His Highness the Prince thinks!"
…
There is still time to talk nonsense, because the Xixia people are still doing what they did a few days ago, building trebuchets to throw stones at the side walls.
They fired gunpowder bombs and fired them at the trebuchet.
This happens every day. When I get too strong, I see Ling Lang approaching, and I just throw a wave of gunpowder bombs at them, killing them all, and then scare away another wave.
It's a pity that Xixia people are getting harder and harder to kill. They all know how to look up and see the trajectory of gunpowder bullets, and they also know how to avoid it. It's no longer the same as at the beginning, when a gunpowder bullet drops... it can scare a bunch of people.
.
The intensity of the siege has not changed, nor has the intensity of the defense. Except for the fact that there are more gunpowder bombs and fewer rolling logs and stones after Chu Ling Lang approaches, everything else remains the same. It is not felt that there are fewer Song troops guarding the border stronghold.
"What are they doing?"
"They are preparing for the cavalry to attack the city..."
The person speaking was from the Western Army, so he could understand it at a glance.
"Cavalry attacking the city?"
"Yes, use mounds of soil to form a slope that reaches the side wall, and then the cavalry will charge directly into the city!"
"We have gunpowder bombs."
"In the past few days, it feels like the horses of the Western thieves are no longer afraid of gunpowder bullets..."
The Western Army has been withdrawn for five days, and the Xixia people seem to be really preparing to use their elite troops to attack the city.
"what is that?"
If Zhao Xi were in Xiaoguan, he would definitely sigh... War is a seeder.
Don't underestimate the wisdom of the ancients. Just look at what's under Xiaoguan now, and you have to admit the role of war.
A thing like the roof of a house appeared, made of cowhide. It also looked like an umbrella, with a bulge in the middle and gentle slopes on both sides. Then, like a big caterpillar, it approached the side wall step by step...
"Elevation 25, kill it!"
"Boom...boom..."
The gunpowder bomb hit, but unfortunately, the umbrella-shaped caterpillar continued to crawl towards the side wall.
Gunpowder bombs are not the grenades of later generations. Even the soldiers of the guard camp cannot accurately grasp the fuse time of the gunpowder bombs, let alone the new troops and launchers.
This means that when the gunpowder bomb falls on the top of the umbrella-shaped caterpillar, if it fails to explode, it will fall to the ground along the slope, still three feet away from the umbrella-shaped caterpillar.
And if it explodes too early, it will have no effect on the umbrella-shaped caterpillars below.
Now there's trouble.
"Shoot in front of it, don't let it push forward!"
Gu Cheng issued the order again. He thought that even without the Western Army, their new army of less than a thousand people could hold off the Xixia people for a month. As a result, it had only been six or seven days, and they were about to be attacked.
In fact, on the third day after the Western Army withdrew, he could withdraw from Xiaoguan. However, the headquarters issued a maneuver order to the new army, and they could choose any time to retreat within ten days.
However, Gu Cheng was not in a hurry to withdraw. He understood that they would only need to reach the designated location ten days after the Western Army withdrew, so he held on for a few more days.
Now...
"Commander, it has stopped, but it seems they are building a mound..."
Alas... we have to withdraw. Gu Cheng looked at the Xixia people under the side wall and knew that he should withdraw.
The new army is a treasure, and it has been damaged dozens of times. It cannot be damaged anymore. The key is that he does not dare to lose it just because he defends Xiao Pass.
He also felt in his heart that he could defend Xiao Pass by cooperating with the Western Army. He didn't understand why the headquarters issued an order to retreat, but he knew he must obey it.
"Leave two wheeled launchers, change their positions and shoot the cow-hide caterpillar, and dismantle all the others. Let's withdraw tonight too!"
No one has any objection, this is not a fear of death, this is a military order, just obey it.
"Your Highness, in the past half month, eighteen camps south of Xiaoguan have been withdrawn."
"How about the east and west routes?"
"We will arrive at the designated location in three days."
Zhao Xi went to the sand table again and compared the reports, looking at the camps one by one and the lurking points one by one.
"This speed of retreat will not arouse suspicion, right?"
Zhao Xi was not sure. He was not sure whether such a compact retreat would stop the Xixia people.
In order to fulfill Han Qi's wish and to truly embolden the country to avenge its humiliation, he decided to set the battlefield at Haoshui River.
Once the Xixia people see through this, all the early planning will be in vain.
Although it won't be a disastrous defeat, there is no chance of an overwhelming victory.
"Your Highness, in the past when Western bandits attacked the country, the defenders at the border villages were defeated and fled, basically the same as now."
In fact, the retreat time for this strategic goal was jointly planned by the entire Qinzhou frontline headquarters.
In order to achieve the purpose of confusing the Xixia people, the garrison from Xiaoguan to Haoshuichuan was withdrawn in stages. The time was determined based on comprehensive considerations based on past battles, combined with the availability of firearms.
What you plan is up to man, and what is done is up to God. I have tried my best to do it to the best. Whether it can succeed in the end may really depend on God's will.
There is no way, this is not the future, communication is purely based on legs, and the earliest battle report received by the command center was three days ago.
The frontline headquarters has been moved forward, and is now in Longqian City, where the Deshun Army is stationed. Twenty miles to the north is Haoshuichuan.
Even so, the frontline headquarters is only three to five days away from the current frontline border village.
Zhao Xi knew that it was impossible for the Xixia people to gather all their troops in this canyon, and they certainly could not attack from the east and west.
The frontline headquarters strictly adheres to the orders of the border villages on the east and west routes, even if it mobilizes mobile forces to increase troops.
Anyway, I am not as famous as Guo Kui and Zhong E, so it is reasonable for the battle to be defeated.
Of course, the east and west routes have to show their eagerness to support the middle route...
As for the main forces on the east and west routes, they were already on standby at the encirclement and suppression site.