After receiving the imperial edict, Guo Ziyi raised objections with a detached strategic vision. He believed that Youyan soldiers were strong in combat but lacked loyalty. They often used father and son to maintain the relationship between superiors and subordinates. Li Siye, on the other hand, had already formed a good and complete military system, so Li Siye
Of the two warring parties with Shi Siming, Li Siye has a higher chance of winning. If they just attack Wuguan or wait to reap the benefits, they will probably lose the opportunity to surrender a large number of Youzhou soldiers. Once Li Siye defeats Shi Siming, his military strength will be increased.
Greatly strengthened, they would no longer have the chance to regain the Central Plains.
However, not long after Li Yuxin ascended the throne, the Tang court was still dominated by Li Fuguo, and Guo Ziyi did not have much say. His proposal was personally vetoed by Li Fuguo in the court.
At this time, Li Siye led an army that had just conquered Ji County and was less than two hundred miles away from Youzhou City. Hearing that Guo Ziyi had led his army to the north, he easily recovered many cities and was close to Luoyang where the Yan army had withdrawn.
He put down the message sent by the scout and sighed: "Li Yu'er may become the biggest winner in the dispute between me and Shi Siming. He accepted Shi Siming's surrender and took back the land south of the Yellow River without any effort."
Most of the land really has the atmosphere of a new king."
Cen Shen stepped forward and crossed his arms and said: "My lord, now that we have strong troops and horses, it is a good time to plot against the Central Plains by taking advantage of the military conflict. No matter how the two sides surrender or form an alliance, our attitude will never change."
Li Siye nodded and said: "What Mr. Cen said is exactly what I want, but the Youzhou City occupied by Shi Siming now has strong troops and a strong city. If we want to capture it, we will need to lose a lot of troops. If we really lose both sides, it will not be worth the gain."
Already."
Cen Shen answered fluently: "Both Youzhou and the Central Plains have flat terrain, which can be used for large-scale transportation of cavalry and heavy firearms. This is our advantage. Nowadays, the Southern Dynasty has long been short of war horses and the ability to transport troops in the south.
And the siege capabilities are far inferior to ours. After we capture Youzhou, we can then go south to sweep the Central Plains states, defeat the imperial court and capture the Central Plains, and we can even go south to unify the Central Plains in one fell swoop."
In order to accumulate strength, Shi Siming took the initiative to shrink his troops. He assembled 140,000 troops in Yingzhou and Youzhou, and left 40,000 troops in Yecheng for Shi Chaoyi. Although he had surrendered voluntarily, he still could not trust the imperial court.
Guo Ziyi crossed the Yellow River north without following the rules, so he had to be prepared.
Prime Minister Xue Song suggested that he strengthen the city walls based on Yingzhou, Youzhou and Yecheng, and abandon the remaining cities to clear the country. The Yan army accumulated food and grass in these three cities, which could be used by the army for a year. In Leng Weapon
Under war conditions, there are very few people who can persist in besieging a city for more than six months without getting tired. When Li Siye attacks Youzhou and Yingzhou cannot be captured for a long time, it will be a good time for him to make a desperate counterattack.
Shi Siming had other plans. He had gone north to borrow troops from Tongluo and Shiwei, and married his daughter to Shiwei Khan as a means of marriage. Together with Luo, there were a total of 30,000 cavalry, and the infantry and cavalry under his command
Together they are 210,000. With these 210,000, what city can he defend? He wants to have a decisive battle between cavalry and cavalry, infantry and infantry with Li Siye on the plains of thousands of miles between Youbin.
, wiped them out completely. Then they conquered Yunzhou in one go, went south to Taiyuan, crossed the Yellow River and entered Guanzhong, gradually annexed all Li Siye's territory, and finally attacked the imperial court in turn.
However, the team sending off his bride was still on the way, and the borrowed soldiers had not yet arrived, so he had no choice but to wait patiently in Youzhou City.
Li Siye's 120,000 troops were already outside Youzhou City. He mobilized the most elite Feihuqi and Xuanwu artillery battalions under his command. There were more than 500 artillery pieces and countless ammunition.
On the first day of the siege, he ordered the Xuanwu Artillery Battalion to release artillery shells into Youzhou City. More than 2,000 explosive shells were fired and 3,000 violent thunder bombs were fired, causing a fire in the city. Shi Siming quickly organized people to put it out.
In the early morning of the next day, Shi Siming looked at the devastated city and said with a smile: "You all say how powerful Li Siye's artillery camp is, but in my opinion it is nothing more than that. My walls in Youzhou City are all made of blue bricks and glutinous rice mortar.
Cheng Cheng is not afraid of bombardment, and he can continue to bombard us for another fifty or sixty days.
On the early morning of the third day, the huge Kongming Lantern rose from the horizon. The soldiers of the Yan Army pointed at the city in fear. This was the second mysterious weapon used by their enemies. General Tian Chengsi used his three-stone
He opened his bow and aimed at one of the hot air balloons that was flying the lowest. However, the arrow lost its kinetic energy when it hit the highest point. It was still a few feet away from the balloon and fell crookedly.
Tian Chengsi looked at the hot air balloon and said thoughtfully: "Standing on these Kongming lanterns, you can clearly see everything in Youzhou City, how much fodder has been piled up, and how many troops have been hoarded. If they let the fierce thunder and fire come out again,
Dropping them from above can not only make up for the lack of artillery range, but also allow them to explode wherever they want. Quick, hide and don't gather together."
As soon as he finished speaking, an iron can was suddenly dropped from a hot air balloon basket above their heads. Tian Chengsi had quick eyes and quick hands and jumped down along the city wall. Then there was a violent explosion and blazing flames above their heads.
Turned a dozen soldiers into burning men.
Fierce fire thunder is a mixture of gunpowder and petroleum. It burns for a long time and does not go out. The soldiers of the Yan army are particularly afraid of this kind of thing.
But suddenly, God was kind, and a strong wind came up for no reason, blowing all the sky lanterns out of the confines of Youzhou City, and they were unable to continue to cause damage to the Yan army.
Li Siye was very angry and said to Xu Bin: "Can you modify these sky lanterns and provide them with a power to freely choose to stay, move forward or retreat in the air?"
Xu Bin replied slowly: "My lord, wait a moment. I will discuss with the craftsmen whether we can install the blacksmith's bellows on the balloon. Although it cannot withstand strong winds, there should be no problem with normal winds."
"Okay, let's stop the bombardment of Youzhou City for today, and wait until the Kongming Lantern transformation is completed before launching a general attack."
But he failed to wait for the best time to attack. The help Shi Siming paid a lot of money to hire had already arrived. After Tongluo and Shiwei cavalry arrived in Youzhou, they did not break into the city, but stayed at Yuguan in the north of Youzhou. This Yuguan
In the future, there will be a more famous name called Shanhaiguan.
The Shiwei people are not prepared to defend the city with Shi Siming at all. They are here to help. Either you pull out the army and our two families work together to have a field battle with the enemy, or they withdraw their troops and you can play by yourself.
Go to your city.
Shi Siming was not prepared to defend the city at all. It was not his character to hide behind the city wall and be bombarded. Now he had an army of 210,000. Even if his son Shi Chaoyi divided 40,000 in Yecheng, he would still have 170,000 to fight against Li Siye.
, afraid of a bird.
Sitting in the simple palace, he saw the letter written by his relatives, waved his hand to the generals below and said: "Now I have received reinforcements from Shi Wei's 30,000 cavalry, which is enough to fight Li Siye. I have already fought with Shi Wei
The Khan made an appointment to cook dinner at three o'clock tonight, and the army will leave the city at five o'clock. The two armies will jointly attack Li Siye's camp, giving him a surprise attack and a good start."