Eight hundred and eightieth chapter soldiers never tire of deceit
Chengdu is a large city with a population of more than 100,000. Such a city cannot be besieged with only 40,000 troops, so Li Siye focused his troops on the west and north of the city. This can prevent the enemy from suddenly leaving the city and defeat them one by one. However, the disadvantages are also obvious.
That is, the Jiannan Jiedushi in the city can contact the outside world and ask for help from the states in central Shu.
Yan Wu, the deputy envoy of Jiedu, and the messengers who sent messages to the various states left the city through the south gate. When they were discovered by the Tangqi team sent by Li Siye, they had already entered the county in central Sichuan like birds.
Yan Wu was indeed a capable minister and official. After leaving the city, he went directly to the territory of Xizhou where the Kunming Army was located. With the Kunming Army of 5,200 people as the center, he issued a summons to the states. Soon the Nanjiang Army came from Yaozhou City, and the Tianbao Army
Coming from Gongzhou City, only 500 people were left in Chengchuan Guards, and the remaining 1,500 people quickly gathered with the Kunming Army. The rest include Pingrong City, Yizhou, Maozhou, Weizhou, Songzhou and other ten states.
Soldiers and horses are also receiving military orders one after another. Some are waiting and watching, and some are leading their troops to come. In addition to the nearly 20,000 regular troops of the Jiannan Army, there are also regiment training camps and county soldiers from various states. Yan Wu estimates that there will always be
The military strength can reach more than 38,000 people, which is fully capable of fighting Li Siye's rebels.
Li Siye's Tangqi team reported the news to Li Siye that generals were sent to Chengdu. Duan Xiushi, the vanguard of the former army, came forward and suggested: "Li Hong sent generals out of the city to concentrate the Jiannan Army's troops in various states.
Come to attack us and rescue Chengdu, I think it is better to take advantage of the fact that they have not gathered yet, and lead 20,000 troops to sweep them first. If we wait for them to gather together and form a tower, there will be endless troubles in the future."
Li Siye pulled his beard and nodded. Due to the difficult and dangerous road to Sichuan, the army could not carry heavy artillery and other siege weapons into Shu. Even because of the burning of the plank road, they could only carry a small amount of heavy fire and thunder and other baggage, making it difficult to conquer Chengdu. Duan Xiu
It is true that instead of wasting troops on the city wall, it would be better to take the initiative and knock out the reinforcements Li Hong had placed his hope on, thus forcing him to surrender quickly.
In most things, change is better than staying the same, and moving is better than staying the same. He decisively said to Duan Xiushi: "I will give you 30,000 people, and divide the troops to go to Xizhou to attack the Kunming Army and part of the assembled Jiannan Army."
"How is this possible?" Duan Xiushi opened his mouth in surprise and objected: "The enemy's unity camp in Chengdu has 14,000 people. How can the army attacking the city be smaller than the army defending the city?
Once Li Xi and his men saw through the clues, they went out to attack the city. How could the safety of the lord be guaranteed?"
Li Siye waved his hand and said: "Don't worry about this. Li Hong is timid and cautious. Even if he suspects our army's division of troops, he will not dare to act rashly. I can also use suspicion tactics outside the city to keep the size of the camp at 30,000.
The number of people and cooking stoves per day should also be prepared at 30,000, so that the Jiannan Army in the city can be stabilized."
"In this case, my lord, you can rest assured and wait, I will definitely be able to defeat the rest of the Jiannan Army."
Duan Xiushi set out with 30,000 people, but he did not understand the topography of central Sichuan in advance. He thought that once he entered central Sichuan, he would find a flat plain with fertile fields thousands of miles away. However, Xizhou is a mountainous area. The Kunming Army was stationed here mainly to defend against Tibet. It is five miles away from Chengdu.
More than a hundred miles.
Yan Wu drove the assembled troops to Leshan, and Duan Xiushi arrived with his troops after hearing the news. The two sides had a brief confrontation in Leshan. The combat effectiveness of the Jiannan Army was naturally not as good as that of the Hexi Army, and they quickly retreated. Yan Wu knew that he was defeated.
, quickly led his troops to withdraw into Xizhou, and sent a messenger to inform the rest of the troops who were preparing to come, that they should take a detour from the mountainous area to Xizhou to avoid the main force of the Hexi Army.
Knowing that he could not defeat the Hexi Army on the frontal battlefield, Yan Wu adopted the tactics of avoiding retreat and going in circles, constantly recruiting the Jiannan Army who came from various places. Duan Xiu actually pursued the Jiannan Army all the way, mopping up the stragglers of the Jiannan Army.
In the end, the city of Xizhou was captured directly. However, in order to preserve his strength, Yan Wu took the initiative to retreat from Xizhou City to Songzhou.
Yan Wu's intention was obvious. He was using the procrastination tactic. Most of the Hexi Army came from the north and were not acclimated to the climate, and there was no logistical supply of food and fodder. As long as they persisted in dragging it out, the Hexi Army would inevitably be exhausted and disorganized.
Weak differences are bound to be reversed.
Duan Xiushi was also clearly aware of this, and wrote in the battle report to Li Siye that the enemy retreated to avoid the battle in order to tire out our troops, so the victory of this battle in Shu was still very slim.
Five days later, the messenger sent by Li Siye entered the city of Xizhou. Duan Xiuzhi was very anxious in his tent. No one came to see him and he only took the letter and waved, "Go down and have a rest!"
The messenger smiled and put his hands behind his back and said, "General, you have made a mistake in advancing or retreating. You are trapped in the city of Xizhou and you don't know what to do?"
Duan Xiushi looked up, held his forehead and smiled: "It turns out to be Mr. Wei, how dare I bother you to deliver the letter in person."
Wei Yingwu crossed his hands and said: "My duty is to lead the troops marching under your lord's tent, so naturally I have to share your worries. I am here not only to deliver a message to your lord, but also to relieve the general's worries."
Duan Xiushi came forward in surprise and held Wei Yingwu's hand and asked: "Can Mr. Wei help me find the main force of Yan Wu to fight with him?"
Wei Yingwu shook his head and said with a smile: "Yan Wu deliberately avoided the battle and retreated. We are not as familiar with the terrain in Sichuan as he is. Even if you find him, you will not be able to catch up."
Duan Xiushi was immediately discouraged: "If it's like what you said, our battle in Shu is destined to be a fruitless effort?"
"What did the general say? It will be difficult to defeat Yan Wu Shanzhan for a while, but Chengdu is within easy reach."
Duan Xiushi approached him and asked, "How can I get it?"
Wei Yingwu waved his fan unhurriedly: "General conquered the Jiannan Army led by Yan Wu. Although there was no major victory, there should be small victories, and there should also be prisoners and seizures."
"Of course it does."
"Since the general defeated Yan Wu, he should also have Yan Wu's head, which he can take back to Chengdu to report his victory to the lord."
"But I didn't defeat Yan Wu, and I don't have his head. I am even more ashamed to go back to see my lord."
Wei Yingwu smiled and said: "Don't worry, general. As the saying goes, a war never tires of deceit. This is the lord's plan. If you and his army are facing each other, you should have seen Yan Wu's appearance. Find one among the prisoners who looks close to him. Kill him with quicklime.
If it is pickled, it will turn green and dry over time. Unless Yan Wu himself appears, it will be difficult to tell the truth from the false."
Duan Xiushi hesitated for a moment. This was indeed a trick to deceive people. As a general who is good at fighting, he was really unwilling to use such low-level methods unless he had to.
"All right."
"General, it's best to leave for Chengdu tomorrow and don't give Yan Wu a chance to react.
Duan Xiushi followed Wei Yingwu's suggestions one by one, found a head according to Yan Wu's appearance, and escorted many prisoners of the Jiannan Army to Chengdu.
Yan Wu still didn't know what had happened. After learning that the Tang army had withdrawn from Xizhou, he led his troops back to Xizhou and continued to wait to accumulate strength so that he could deliver a fatal blow to the enemy when the time was right.