On the 25th of the first month of the second year of Yuanhe, Zhu Si invested 200,000 troops and divided his troops into three groups to attack Jeju, Yunzhou and Yanzhou, launching an all-out attack on Qi on a front line hundreds of miles long.
Li Na was also prepared. He sent 60,000 troops to guard Dong'a County in Jeju, Xuchang in Yunzhou and Rencheng County in Yanzhou. These three cities were well equipped with soldiers and supplies.
But Zhu Si also prepared for several months and sent a large number of detailed operations to find out the details of Li Na's cities. His army also prepared a large number of siege weapons. In particular, Zhu Si's Ordnance Bureau developed a huge archery tower, which was used during the attack. It played a huge role in urban warfare.
At the foot of Dong'a City, the horns were low and the war drums were thundering. Tens of thousands of soldiers shouted and rushed towards the west city wall. The moat outside the city wall had been filled in. A hundred steps away from the city wall, the soldiers built ten large archery towers.
The archery towers cover an area of several acres and are four feet high. There are hundreds of soldiers on each archery tower firing crossbow arrows at the top of the city. Ten arrow towers fire arrows at the same time, and the arrows are like rain, suppressing the defenders on the top of the city.
This was also due to the intelligence system Liu Sigu had mastered. The head of Dong'a City was slightly narrow and could not install trebuchets and stone cannons, so there was no threat to the archery tower.
The soldiers at the top of the city were suppressed by the crossbow arrows from the archery tower. A series of siege ladders were set up on the top of the city. The soldiers quickly climbed up. Rolling logs and boulders fell like hail from the top of the city. Groups of soldiers screamed and fell down the city. go.
However, there were ten siege ladders supported by archery towers. There were no boulders or sharp arrows on the heads of the siege soldiers. The soldiers finally climbed up to the top of the city and fought their way in. A gap began to appear on the top of the city.
More and more Zhu Si soldiers swarmed up from these ten gaps, and fierce hand-to-hand combat began on the top of the city. The west gate was gradually lost.
"Woo——" The horn of attack sounded, and 80,000 troops rushed toward Dong'a County like a tide. The west city gate slowly opened, and tens of thousands of troops rushed in...
Seven days after launching the offensive, Dong'a County was captured by Zhu Si's army. Zhao Kang, the chief defender of the city, was forced to surrender with his army, and Jeju was the first to fall.
The commander of Zhu Si's army who attacked Jeju was called Cao Yuanlang. After he captured Jeju, he immediately sent people to report the good news to Zhu Si and ask for merit.
Zhu Si was in Jiyin County, Caozhou at this time. This was also the logistical center of Zhu Si's army. In order to boost morale, Zhu Si Yujia personally conquered Li Na. He was bound to gain Li Na's territory.
"Okay! Good job!"
Zhu Si's excited shouts came from the palace. At this time, Liu Sigu, who had just walked to the door, heard Zhu Si's shouts. He quickly stopped and asked the guards in a low voice the reason for his excitement.
"Reporting to the military advisor? It seems that there is good news coming from Jeju."
Liu Sigu nodded. Jeju's victory was within his expectation. He was not surprised at all. Dong'a City's defensive capabilities were weaker and could not install large-scale city defense weapons. Therefore, their heavy weapons such as arrow towers could show their talents.
What if it was Licheng County in Qizhou or Xuchang County in Yunzhou? Neither of them would have much advantage.
Liu Sigu walked quickly into the inner hall, where Zhu Si was lying here drinking and having fun with several of his favorite concubines. After the news of the victory came, he drove the several favorite concubines back to the inner palace and read the express newspaper over and over again.
At this time, a guard reported, "The military advisor is here!"
"Let him in quickly!"
Zhu Si was in a good mood and eager to share the rare victory with Liu Sigu.
After a while, Liu Sigu walked into the back hall, bowed and said: "See your majesty!"
Zhu Si laughed and said: "Military advisor, there is good news from Jeju? Cao Yuanlang lived up to my trust and captured Jeju? He captured more than 16,000 enemy troops. I haven't had such a happy victory for a long time. The next step is straight away.
Attack Qizhou, capture Licheng, and hang Li Na's son on the city wall."
Liu Sigu smiled slightly and said: "Your Majesty, there is no need to rush to attack Qizhou. If you wait two days, Yunzhou will be defeated without a fight."
"Why is this?" Zhu Si asked in confusion.
"Your Majesty, there are only 40,000 troops in Licheng. Although the strength is not small, considering that we have 200,000 troops, Li Na's sense of security is definitely not enough. He will definitely withdraw an army, either to Xuchang County or to any other place.
As for cities and counties, considering the humble position, Xuchang County is more likely. After all, Yanzhou is a grain-producing land, and Rencheng County has always been a granary."
Zhu Si thought for a while and said: "How about laying an ambush halfway, and when they retreat, surround the 20,000-strong army. What do the military advisors think?"
As soon as Zhu Si finished speaking, a soldier in the hall shouted: "Your Majesty, urgent report from Xucheng County. The defenders of Xucheng County have abandoned the county and are retreating to Qizhou!"
Zhu Si was stunned and asked: "Why did you withdraw your troops so quickly?"
Liu Sigu thought for a while and asked: "Isn't it the pigeon letter your Majesty received?"
Zhu Si shook his head, "It's a military report sent by Cao Yuanlang!"
Liu Sigu sighed and said, "That's right. It will take at least two days from the time Cao Yuanlang finishes writing the express letter to sending someone to deliver it here. And the other party uses pigeon letters to make decisions very quickly."
"These damn bastards can run faster than rabbits!" Zhu Si cursed angrily.
Liu Sigu whispered: "Your Majesty, I have another important news about the Jin army!"
Zhu Si suddenly became excited, "What happened to the Jin army?"
"Wei Chen has just received information about Chang'an from Luoyang. Guo Song has sent an additional 30,000 troops to Xiangzhou."
"What does it mean to increase troops?"
"Your Majesty, Wei Chen has deduced before that Guo Song will most likely take advantage of our attack on Li Na to seize Huaixi. This should be his purpose of increasing his troops in Xiangzhou."
Zhu Si's originally good mood was suddenly ruined by this information. He threw the cup in his hand on the ground, smashed it into pieces, and cursed: "Son of a bitch, I don't care if he takes over Huainan, it's already cheap enough for him."
Damn, he still wants to occupy my Huaixi. He is bullying people too much. At worst, I will withdraw my troops and fight with him!"
"Your Majesty, calm down! Calm down!"
Liu Sigu repeatedly advised: "The Jin army captured Jingxiang, the south of the Yangtze River and Huainan. I knew that Huaixi could not be defended. Moreover, Gaoyou, the king of Huaixi County, also had ulterior motives. In fact, the imperial court could not control Huaixi very early, and it lasted for three consecutive years."
Isn't this the reason why His Majesty refused to let his son go back to Shouchun to visit relatives without getting a penny of tax from Huaixi?"
Zhu Si thought of Gao You, the king of Huaixi County, who was deeply dissatisfied with him. His anger calmed down a little. Dong Xizhi, the king of Xiangyang County, not only expanded his army to prepare for war, but also killed the supervisors and allowed his son to escape from Luoyang. Only then did Zhu Si become intolerable and sent a large army.
Crusade against Dong Xizhi.
Gao You, the king of Huaixi County, is a little better. He keeps paying tribute and singing praises. He seems to be loyal, but in fact he is acting in a shady manner. He finds various reasons to default on the taxes that the Huaixi states should pay to Luoyang. This is not a flood.
That was where drought and locust plagues that had never happened in a century broke out, and all the money and food were used for disaster relief. Zhu Si needed money and food to attack Li Na this time, so he sent people to investigate. It turned out that there was no disaster at all, and all the money and food were used by Gao You to build soldiers and armor.
, the equipment has been expanded.
Considering that Huaixi was surrounded by the Jin army on three sides and was surrounded by mountains to the north, Gaoyou really needed to prepare for war. Zhu Si finally had to endure it. But now that the Jin army really wanted to capture Huaixi, Zhu Si was a little anxious.
Zhu Si suppressed his anger and said: "How about ordering Gao You to abandon the retreat to northwest Huaihe and give Huaixi to Guo Song, and we will conserve our troops!"
After a moment of silence, Liu Sigu slowly said: "I'm afraid that army is no longer His Majesty's army, but loyal to Gao You."
Zhu Si's face changed, "What do you mean?"
"Your Majesty, if Gaoyou retreats north, he will inevitably retreat to Yingzhou and Yuzhou. These are our tax-heavy areas. Does your Majesty hope that these two states will be like Huaixi and never pay taxes again?"
Liu Sigu's words were heartbreaking, and Zhu Si sighed after a long while, "Okay! I don't care about Huaixi anymore, let them live or die!"
In fact, Liu Sigu did not completely tell the truth to Zhu Si. The Jin army had attacked Huaixi from three directions. Gaoyou divided his troops to station in various states, but was defeated by the Jin army one by one. He hurriedly sent people to ask for help from Zhu Si, but his request for help failed.
However, Liu Sigu withdrew the letter and did not tell Zhu Si.
Liu Sigu had a clear mind. They could not defend Huaixi at all. Saving Gao You would only waste resources, and letting him withdraw to the Central Plains would only add to the chaos. It would be better to let the Jin army destroy him.
Putting aside the affairs in Huaixi, Zhu Si divided his troops into two groups. One group of 50,000 troops continued to besiege Rencheng County, while the main force of 150,000 troops headed towards Qizhou.
...........
The Huaixi War has broken out. Liu Guanghuai led 20,000 troops to march east from Xiangzhou, defeated the 5,000 troops stationed in Shenzhou, and captured Shenzhou and Guangzhou. General Zhang Yun led 30,000 troops north from Jiangxia and swept across Anzhou.
In Huangzhou and Qizhou, the cavalry general Yang Miao led 20,000 troops north from Baling and captured Luzhou. Another cavalry general An Zhong led 20,000 troops north from Xuanzhou and captured Shuzhou.
In just five days, Gao You, the king of Huaixi County, lost consecutive battles. Seven of the eight states in Huaixi were lost, leaving only Shouzhou. On the one hand, Gao You sent people to ask for help from Zhu Si. On the other hand, he led the last group of troops.
Ten thousand troops defended Shouchun.
Four Jin armies entered Shouzhou, and 80,000 troops came to Shouchun City, and were about to launch the most violent attack on Shouchun City.
At the same time, Li Bing led 30,000 elite troops into Haizhou disguised as Zhu Si's army, preparing to welcome the arrival of the Quanzhou navy.