Eight hundred and ninetieth chapters Jizhou attack and defense
Not long after Guo Ziyi sent troops into Yecheng, news came from the front that Shi Siming had retreated from Yuguan and fled to Liaodong. Everyone secretly admired Guo Linggong for his clever calculation and his prediction of the battle situation was so correct.
He called his son Guo Wen and his generals into the account, and calmly analyzed: "Now the main forces of Li Siye's army are concentrated in Youzhou, and Jizhou's troops are sparse. We can attack Jizhou immediately. As long as we hold Jizhou in our hands, we will
It's like a sharp knife stuck firmly in Hebei. Then relying on the continuous supply of food from the south via the rear canal to provide logistical support, we can attack and defend."
Pugu Huai'en stepped forward and crossed his arms and suggested: "It has been more than two months since Li Siye attacked Youzhou City, and the veterans are already exhausted. However, our army is in great momentum and strong. After capturing Jizhou, why not go directly north to capture Youzhou?
How about forcing him to return to Yunzhou?"
"No, no." Old Linggong waved his hand and said: "Don't overestimate the strength of the rebels. When a general encounters a battle, he should consider defeat before victory. Being able to capture Jizhou has fulfilled our original request. How to act in the future should be taken a step further.
Take a look."
All the generals crossed their arms and responded.
After a period of rest and recuperation, the Tang army immediately moved north to attack Jizhou.
Guarding Jizhou City was Zhang Guangtao, the governor of Hedong Province. When he led his army to attack Jizhou from Hedong, he only brought 15,000 troops. Compared with a large city like Xindu in Jizhou, this number of troops was somewhat stretched.
Zhang Guangtao organized soldiers to reinforce the city defense day and night and prepared defensive equipment. At the same time, Zhang Guangtao sent people to ask for help from Li Siye, who was stationed in Youzhou.
At this time, the powerful maneuverability of the Flying Tiger Cavalry became apparent. After receiving Li Siye's order, Li Chongbao immediately led 30,000 Flying Tiger Cavalry from Zhuozhou south to rescue Jizhou. It only took two days and nights to reach Wuyi County near Jizhou.
After he led his troops to Wuyi County, he took a short rest and ordered the soldiers to rest for two days to maintain their horses and prepare for battle.
There were many outstanding scouts among the Guo family's soldiers. They discovered the Flying Tiger Cavalry arriving in Wuyi County in advance and immediately rode back to report to Guo Ziyi.
After hearing this, Guo Ziyi felt as if he was facing a formidable enemy and ordered the army to stop attacking the city. He cut down trees and built fortifications opposite Jizhou City. After the initial construction of the earth fort was successful, he only sent one army to attack the south of Jizhou City every day, while the rest continued to build fortifications.
After processing, in just a dozen days, it already had the size of a small city.
Li Chongbao personally led Thirteen Riders to conduct reconnaissance on the hills west of Jizhou City. When he saw the walled city built by Guo Ziyi from a distance, he couldn't help but admire him: "I heard my father say how powerful Guo Ziyi was before, but now I see him and know how experienced he is in using troops. I
A few days after the army arrived in Wuyi County, he had already prepared countermeasures. He had 130,000 troops but chose to defend it with barriers. This is a clear sign that he will not give up until Jizhou is captured."
His lieutenant general said next to him: "Guo Ziyi's earthen fortress camp is very close to the Jizhou city wall and has a large number of troops. He only sends troops to attack the south city every day. If our army attacks with light cavalry, they can quickly retract the earthen fortress, just like a turtle shell.
It’s hard to swallow.”
"Really?" Li Chongbao said with a smile: "My father has hoarded a large amount of gunpowder in Jizhou City. There is a cannonball workshop in the city, and artillery is also deployed on the city. Although the number is not large, I can write to my father, please
He mobilized the Xuanwu artillery battalion and Kongming lanterns to participate in the battle. Under the bombardment of Xuanwu artillery, Youzhou City could not hold on, and his small earth-and-wood walled city was like a chicken and a dog."
As a compliment, the lieutenant general naturally had to ask Li Chongbao a question: "Xuanwu Cannon moves slowly with animals pulling it. From the south of Youzhou City to Jizhou, it travels thirty or forty miles a day. By the time they arrive, half a month has passed. What if Jizhou City appears during this period?"
What went wrong..."
"The city of Jizhou is well defended and has a large amount of firearms. If Zhang Guangtao cannot hold it for more than ten days, then he is not qualified to be the governor of Hedong. Besides, aren't there us? Divide the cavalry under his command into dozens of squads.
, harassing the enemy every day and waiting for the arrival of the Xuanwu Artillery Battalion."
"In addition, you immediately send half of the cavalry to go north and escort the Xuanwu Artillery Battalion when it goes south. You must not make any mistakes."
Guo Ziyi kept ordering people to pound the earth and extend the fortifications. The fortifications had already extended to the Jizhou city wall. Then he continued to send people to cut down trees and build siege equipment to attack the Jizhou city wall.
Zhang Guangtao mobilized the crossbows and artillery on the top of the city to fight back at the bottom of the city. Often the siege equipment that the Tang army spent a day building was completely destroyed after an afternoon of fierce siege fighting. The earthen ramparts that were finally built were destroyed.
The artillery fire turned it into a pile of dirt.
However, Guo Xi immediately organized manpower at night to re-build the earth wall. Although this move was too labor intensive, it was able to withstand the flying tiger cavalry that were watching eagerly not far away. The casualties on both sides were concentrated on and below the city. As for the flying tiger cavalry led by Li Chongbao,
The Tiger Cavalry did not carry any heavy equipment, so they could only approach the earthen fortress and fire arrows to attack, but there was no other way.
The earthen fortress of the Tang army gradually extended for tens of miles, forming a "凵"-shaped structure that surrounded three sides of Jizhou City. If the Xuanwu artillery battalion and the spindle-shaped Kongming lantern had arrived half a month later, they would have surrounded the entire city.
.
Guo Ziyi stood on the watchtower made of wood and looked at the city of Jizhou in the distance. He really did not expect that Jizhou City, which was only garrisoned by 15,000 people, would be so difficult to chew. Now that a month has passed, Jizhou City Guards General
He stood on the top of the city day and night without taking off his armor and resisted, and the city defense did not loosen in the slightest.
Of course, it will take some time to conquer Jizhou, but he can't just pin his hopes on siege. Li Siye's Flying Tiger Cavalry and the artillery battalion are swords and shields for each other. If he only has the Flying Tiger Cavalry, he and his 130,000 troops will not be afraid at all.
The opponent is watching from the side. But once the Flying Tiger Cavalry and the artillery battalion are combined, they are so powerful that they can break all formations.
He immediately ordered the generals to be summoned, called them forward and said: "The city of Jizhou is strong and difficult to conquer. I'm afraid the battle will take longer. But if we wait and Li Siye's artillery battalion arrives in Jizhou, we may be at a loss.
.”
The consort Guo Wen stepped forward and crossed his hands: "Father, please allocate five thousand light cavalry to your son. I am willing to lead the troops north to attack the Xuanwu Artillery Camp."
Sun Quanxu, the general, also stood up and said: "The prince-in-law has a noble status, how can he risk his life for danger? I am a poor general, so I am willing to go through this for my prince-in-law."
Guo Ziyi looked a little hesitant: "Quan Xu is a general, and leading an army in a surprise attack is really a matter of great talent but little use."
"Your Majesty, what is the difference between great use and small use? Quan Xu only knows that if we wait for enemy reinforcements to arrive, our attack on Jizhou will be completely defeated. We can only lift it lightly after doing it lightly. Please order me to lead the troops to attack the Xuanwu cannon."
camp."
"Okay," Guo Ziyi sighed and said, "The Xuanwu Artillery Battalion must be escorted by elite enemy troops along the way. The general must be careful and not be obsessed with victory or defeat."
"Please rest assured, sir, that the whole process will live up to expectations."
After the Tang army retreated to Jiangdong, war horses gradually became scarce. Guo Ziyi devoted all his strength to gather 9,000 war horses for his eldest son Quanxu, and selected 4,500 generals in the army who were good at riding and shooting. One man and two horses were dispatched in the early morning.
Attack north along Jizhou City.
At this time, the Xuanwu Artillery Battalion had just arrived in Luze County, Shenzhou. Li Siye equipped it with two escort teams, one of which was heavy infantry with a crossbow battalion and Modao team, and the other was the Flying Tiger Cavalry sent by Li Chongbao.