In fact, Zhang Xutuo, who was old in the battlefield, didn't notice the scarcity of water in Menghai City. It's a pity that he specialized in surgery, so...
To be precise, Zhang Xutuo was forced to realize this problem. After spending a lot of effort to finally fill up the moats of Meng Hai City, Zhang Xutuo couldn't wait to launch a frontal attack, and he was already full of anger. The soldiers of the Sui Army in Qi County also vowed to take Meng Haicheng in the first battle, and kill Meng Haigong, who was a poor tactic, to avenge his sacrificed companions. In addition, the officers and soldiers of Liang County and Jiyin County were also sent to the battlefield by Zhang Xutuo, asking the Liang County team to feintly attack the north city of Menghai City, and the Jiyin County team was responsible for taking the Hulu River waterway to attack the north-south connection of Menghai City. To disperse the defenders' forces to a minimum, and also try to cut off the north-south connection of Meng Haicheng.
Although the Sui army prepared a large number of siege weapons for this battle and was mentally prepared for a tough battle, it was not until the siege battle really started that Zhang Xutuo realized that he still underestimated the ability of Meng Haigong's bandit army to defend the city , also overestimated the role that courage and fighting spirit can play in siege warfare.
It seems to be a replica of the original Luoyang offensive and defensive battle. All kinds of siege weapons of the Sui army were ingeniously restrained by Meng Haigong's bandit army. The ladder car was taken care of by the rocket, and the swallowtail torch was warmly entertained at a closer point. The Qijun soldiers who carried the ladder and rushed to climb were basically hit by hail and raindrops before they climbed halfway. Huiping Mumu smashed his head and blood, and fell into the air one after another. However, when the elite soldiers under Luo Shixin risked their lives for ants, dozens of ladders were already filled with soldiers, and they were about to climb to the city. However, several huge fire curtains fell on the city wall, bringing the flames to the Sui Dynasty. On the soldiers of the army, these brave soldiers of the Sui army were either burned to death, or were slightly injured and seriously injured. They roared unwillingly and fell from the top of the wall, and the most promising attack was repelled.
Seeing such a scene, Zhang Xutuo was of course heartbroken, and at the same time extremely puzzled. He didn't understand how Meng Haigong, who was born as a rich man in the countryside, could be so proficient in defense tactics that he could barely give himself a chance to break the city
What made Zhang Xutuo even more unbelievable was that they were still behind. Meng Haigong's bandit army was not reconciled to being passively beaten, and even dared to seize the opportunity to launch a counterattack. Under the city wall, they raided the Sui army of Jiyin County who were attacking the waterway of the Hulu River by boat and raft. The Sui army of Jiyin County had also been frightened by Meng Haigong for a long time. , was hacked and killed by the bandits who were chasing across the river and fled directly back to the main force of the Sui army. As a result, Zhang Xutuo was furious, not to mention beheading Jiyin, and the attacking vigor of the main force of the Sui army was too strong. Inevitably suffered a heavy blow, and morale declined.
Unable to attack for a long time, the casualties began to increase, and most of the large siege weapons were damaged. In the afternoon, Zhang Xutuo once considered ordering the Mingjin, but he was not reconciled. He hesitated and did not rotate the siege team in time. Indecision. Seeing this situation, Li Mi, Zhang Xutuo's nemesis, made a decisive decision and immediately suggested that Meng Haigong take turns to go to the city with new troops. At the same time, he ordered the archers to shoot the Artemisia annua arrows that had been prepared. The arrows made of Artemisia wormwood are very weak and usually only hit the face. Only the weak part can receive the effect, and at the same time, it can shoot lightly and not far away. It has almost no lethality against the well-equipped Sui army, and it has not received any killing effect after shooting! However…
However, he received an unimaginable effect of luring the enemy. After discovering that the thieves in the city had already shot Artemisia arrows, He Yanyu, who was commanding the attack on the front line, immediately decided that the thieves were short of arrows, and at the same time reported the news to Zhang Xu. In front of Tuo, Zhang Xutuo, who was hesitating whether to call the gold, also immediately fell into the trick. Not only did he immediately give up the plan to call the gold, he also beat the drums to continue the attack. He sent two armies of Mulan and Luo Shixin to join the battlefield in one breath, and devoted all the remaining siege troops to the city. Weapons, launched a strong attack on Meng Haicheng in a dense formation.
The continued strong attack of the Sui army in Qi County was of course met with a head-on blow from the bandit army in Meng Haicheng. Meng Haigong gave an order, and the bandit army, which was in the most sufficient state to defend the city, fired arrows at random, and five trebuchets had already been built. Throwing rocks to their heart's content, the densely packed Sui army immediately suffered heavy casualties. When they barely got close to the city wall, they were hit hard by rolling stones, wood and golden juice bottles. The bulky and sluggish large weapons also moved more slowly under the city full of corpses and sundries, and became the best targets for the bandit soldiers to set fire to, turning into huge fireballs one after another. There is still nothing to do with the towering tall city walls.
The generals of the Sui army roared with grievances below the city, and the bandit army laughed wildly in the upper city. Zhang Xutuo shouted for the trick, while Li Mi triumphantly explained to Meng Haigong and his wife on the city wall, "The Zhang Xutuo who made the cut was brave and brave. Seeing our army shoot Artemisia arrows, when people think that our army has exhausted their arrowheads, in order not to let our army have time to replenish the feather arrows, they must continue to attack at all costs. However, his team could not stop attacking the fortified city, and their spirits fell. His strength has been exhausted, and our army has taken the opportunity to counterattack violently. It is easy to hit his team hard, and after this battle is over, Zhang Xutuo's siege weapons are exhausted, and it will take time to rebuild them. The army can not only win a respite, but his team will also be more frustrated, and the morale of the army will be more depressed. If things go on like this, our army will win, and Zhang Xutuo will lose!"
"The Lord is brilliant! You are brilliant!" Meng Haigong and his wife laughed together, trusting and relying more on Li Mi. Li Mi also suggested that when the Sui army retreated, they should suddenly send troops from the north gate to surprise the Liangjun army in the north. The couple also accepted it without hesitation, and immediately started to arrange the layout.
Li Mi's mastery of the enemy's psychology and the use of tactics are indeed the masters in the world. When Zhang Xutuo had no choice but to order the gold call, the Liangjun Sui army who was tasked with a feint attack in Beicheng also withdrew. Beside the river, when he was about to cross the river from the bridge, Yang Jishan personally led 300 elite soldiers to rush out from the north gate and slammed into the back of the Sui army in Liangjun. In a vulnerable period, he was defeated by Yang Jishan, who took the lead, and jumped into the river one after another. He had no intention of fighting. Yang Jishan made a lot of money, and then rushed back to the city before the counterattack of the Sui army in Qi County. Zhang Xutuo's only reliable ally in this battle, the Liangjun Sui Army's morale was also greatly demoralized. Many soldiers had no intention of fighting again, and only hoped that the battle would end sooner, not caring about victory or defeat. The soldiers were extremely depressed.
In the face of Li Mi's endless tactics, Zhang Xutuo was completely helpless, and had to consider changing the tactics of the frontal attack and breaking the city with ingenuity. It was also a coincidence that when the Sui army retreated back to the camp, Zhang Xutuo suddenly discovered a not-so-special situation—many Qijun soldiers rushed to the nearby Makeng River as soon as they returned to the camp. Zhang Xutuo asked the reason carefully, and then he learned that it was because of the hot weather. The soldiers of the Sui army who went out to attack the city drank up their water bags early on, and they couldn't find a source of water to replenish on the battlefield of Menghai City, so they went to the camp as soon as they returned to the camp. Go to the river to drink water.
Accidentally discovering this small detail, Zhang Xutuo immediately remembered that there are few streams around Menghai City, and only two rivers, the Hulu River and the Makeng River, can provide water sources. Monitor the water intake of Menghai City, and survey the upper reaches of the Hulu River to see if the Hulu River can be cut off.
Zhang Xutuo was very frustrated by the situation of the scouts' reconnaissance. The scouts they sent out monitored the side of Menghai City for a whole day the next day, and found that the bandit army had only drawn water on the Hulu River bridge connecting the north and south cities five times, and the number was not large. A lot, every time a dozen buckets of water are taken away, which is enough to prove that there is plenty of drinking water in the city. At the same time, the scouts who scouted the upper reaches of the Hulu River also reported that the upper reaches of the Hulu River were relatively open, and there was no ideal space for water storage. Zhang Xutuo was even more disappointed when he heard the report, and completely gave up his plan to cut off the Hulu River.
In this way, the Qijun Sui army, which was originally very powerful in combat, was forced into absolute passivity. The front was the fortified Menghai City, and the back was a plethora of small groups of thieves making waves. It will hurt your vitality greatly; if you retreat, Meng Haigong's thieves will become more arrogant, and at the same time they will not be able to explain to the court; the stalemate will consume time and food and damage morale, and it will definitely give other thieves a big chance to take the opportunity. In a dilemma, the helpless Zhang Xutuo suddenly discovered that Chen Yingliang's refusal of his invitation to send troops at the beginning probably had a premonition that this situation would happen, so he refused to come to the battlefield of Meng Haicheng to seek guilt.
"If this is the real reason, Chen Yingliang, this brat, is really good at predicting things."
After secretly sighing, Zhang Xutuo shook his head, and continued to carefully recall the process of attacking the city with Shi Wansui and Yang Suping, thinking about the strategy of breaking the city, but at this moment, Yang Wang suddenly came to the central army tent Asking to see him, he said that he wanted to report important matters to Zhang Xutuo, Zhang Xutuo nodded and agreed to meet him. Soon after, Yang Wang entered the tent, and without being courteous to Zhang Xutuo, he cupped his hands and said, "Ambassador, I am here to report something to you. At my invitation, Chen Yingliang, the governor of Qiaojun, has already agreed. Send troops to the north, come here to help the subordinates attack Meng Haicheng. And he has already dispatched troops, and if the journey goes well, he can arrive here within four days."
Zhang Xutuo's face suddenly became gloomy, and he slapped the case in front of him and shouted: "Who told you to ask him for help? Did the old man give such an order?"
"Ambassador forgive me, you have never issued such an order, but according to the court code, you don't need to ask for your consent." Yang Wang calmly replied: "Half of Meng Haigong's thief city is in Liang County. In the territory, as the general guard of Liang County, Xiaguan shoulders the important task of eradicating the rebels in the whole county, and has the right to ask for help from neighboring counties when he is unable to do so, and does not need anyone's consent."
Zhang Xutuo was speechless, and after a while he snorted coldly: "Yang Tongshou really deserves to be the former Guozijian offering wine. He has read a lot and took advantage of the loopholes in the court's decrees. He is really amazing!"
"The ambassador was joking." Yang Wang didn't care about Zhang Xutuo's sarcasm, but just smiled and said, "I'm not taking advantage of loopholes, I'm just doing my duty."
"What a conscientious one!" Zhang Xutuo snorted again, and then said: "Since you invited him, then you are responsible for receiving him. Also, you invited the Qiaojun army, and their Food, grass and military supplies are all borne by you, Liang County, don't expect the old man to transfer money and food from the other eleven counties to support him!"
"Your official understands." Yang Wang nodded with a wry smile, and then said cautiously: "Ambassador Zhang, regarding this matter, I only have one small request. After the army from Qiaojun arrives, I hope you will take care of it for the sake of military and national affairs." , be more tolerant to the juniors, and listen to the opinions of the juniors appropriately. It is said in the Analects that if three people walk together, there must be my teacher. To adopt good strategies and follow the good advice is the right way to use troops."
Zhang Xutuo's face became even more ugly, and he said after a while: "Yang Tongshou, regardless of official position, you only compare age and qualifications. You don't seem to be qualified to teach me a lesson, do you? Besides, is this old man such a narrow-minded person? "
"If that's the case, then I'm going to resign." Yang Wang cupped his hands and said goodbye, while Zhang Xutuo waved his hand angrily, and sent Yang Wang away without showing any good looks.
Although Yang Wang, who invited Chen Yingliang to the north to help him in private, did not show any good looks, the generals of Qi County still felt a little strange, that is, Zhang Xutuo, who had been in a bad mood these days, suddenly became expressionless when he was on duty in the afternoon. He relaxed a lot, and entrusted the task of night patrol to his subordinates very rarely, and said: "Tonight, Qin Qiong and He Yanyu will patrol the camp carefully on behalf of the old man. The old man feels very tired and wants to sleep well. Don't bother me if it's nothing serious."
Hearing Zhang Xutuo's order, after looking at each other in blank dismay, Qin Qiong and He Yanyu happily accepted the order - because they all knew that Zhang Xutuo could not sleep well at night during this period, and basically there was no light in the tent He was so tired that his eye sockets were sunken, his whole body was visibly thinner, and no one would listen to his persuasion. Now Zhang Xutuo offered to have a good rest. Of course, Qin Qiong and He Yanyu, who respected Zhang Xutuo from the bottom of their hearts, couldn't wish for it.
It was night, and the lights in Zhang Xutuo's sleeping tent were really turned off early, but hard work is hard work, and when it was more than half of the fourth watch, Qin Qiong and He Yanyu, who were in charge of the night, could only bite the bullet and wake up the snoring Zhang Xutuo, who made a masterpiece, was startled when Zhang Xutuo, who was sleeping, quickly got up and asked, "What happened? The enemy robbed the camp? Didn't you hear the cry of killing?"
"Commander, we didn't rob the camp, but we were tricked by the bandits again." Qin Qiong replied with a sad face: "In the middle of the second watch, the scouts in charge of monitoring the movement of the enemy city suddenly noticed a change in the city. The bandit soldiers descended from the city with ropes, as if they were going to sneak attack on our camp. The last general didn’t dare to disturb you when he saw that you were finally asleep. He Yanyu stayed and continued to guard the camp. The last general led the army out of the camp and organized the bow The crossbowmen shot randomly, who knows..., who knows..., who knows later, those bandit soldiers were all straw men, and the best feathered arrows shot by the last generals were all inserted into the straw men, and the enemy pulled them up the city wall , the loss is considerable."
"It turned out to be like this." Zhang Xutuo felt relieved, sat back on the bed again, yawned and said: "It's okay, you are also loyal to your duties, and you accidentally fell into the trap because the enemy is too cunning. Be careful next time, and find the enemy Going down to the city, don’t be in a hurry to shoot arrows, find out first before talking.”
"But what if the enemy really goes down to the city?" Qin Qiong said worriedly: "If the enemy suddenly comes out of nowhere and really puts down some elite dead soldiers to raid our position, wouldn't we suffer a big loss?"
"Three nights." Zhang Xutuo lay back on the bed, rolled up the quilt, yawned and said: "Be careful for three more nights, after these three nights you will be fine, and then you won't be the traitor Meng Haigong Damn us, it's our turn to bully Meng Haigong's traitor."
"After three nights, it will be our turn to be the traitor of Yin Meng Haigong?" Qin Qiong and He Yanyu looked at each other, unable to understand what Zhang Xutuo meant, but when they wanted to ask again, they found that Zhang Xutuo had fallen into a drowsy sleep again go.
Just as Qin Qiong was worried, for the next three nights, the bandit army in Meng Haicheng put down their bluff every night. Although the soldiers of the Sui army didn't dare to catch the trick and shoot arrows indiscriminately, they were forced to go out of the camp every time to guard. I was very tired from being disturbed by the bandits. But Zhang Xutuo, who has a bad temper, was not irritated by the small actions of Meng Haigong's bandit army this time, and rashly launched an attack on the city. They all suspected that Zhang Xutuo seemed to have suddenly changed his personality and was possessed by some ghost, so there were many whispers about it in private.
While all the generals in Qi County were discussing, Meng Haigong and his wife and other leaders of the bandit army laughed in Menghai City, constantly praising Li Mi's ingenious plan as a god. The good arrows also exhausted the most difficult Qi County team by the way. In order to commend Li Mi's hard work, after confirming that the Sui army still did not attack the city, on the morning of the fourth day, Meng Haigong and his wife arranged a banquet for Li Mi. We can start tonight, organize 500 dead soldiers to go down to the city, and raid the officer camp."
"Master, are you in a hurry?" Ma Saifei said a little worriedly: "Our scouts found out that Zhang Xutuo's old dog made the troops take turns out of the camp every time to guard, is he playing the role of the officers and soldiers for a few more days? "
"Auntie, don't worry, there's no need." Li Mi said with a smile, "I didn't say to raid Zhang Xutuo's old dog's camp. In the past few days, I have been letting the straw man bluff in the middle of the second watch. The officers and soldiers are basically used to it." In order to be on guard at this time, we will send 500 elite soldiers down to the city at the second watch tonight, and attack the Liangjun camp by night, and we will win a big victory!"
"Brilliant plan!" Meng Haigong was overjoyed, raised his glass quickly and said, "Come on, my nephew and son-in-law, drink this glass and wish us a successful surprise attack tonight!"
"Thank you for recording." Li Mi smiled and toasted, and added: "But I haven't finished talking yet, the five hundred elite soldiers must be dressed in official uniforms tonight."
"Hahahaha!" Meng Haigong laughed even more happily, raised his glass and said, "Okay! Let's do it this way, come on, my nephew and son-in-law, do it!"
"Dry."
Li Mi smiled and raised his glass, but just as Li Mi put the glass to his lips, Meng Haigong's younger brother, Meng Yugui, hurried in from outside and shouted: "Brother, it's not good, our eyeliner is poked, Qiao The traitor Chen Yingliang from the county has also brought his soldiers and horses, and it is estimated that he will arrive in Menghai City this afternoon."
With a bang, the wine glass in Li Mi's hand fell to the ground, and the wine immediately spilled all over his body. Meng Haigong also jumped up in shock, and quickly asked, "How many soldiers and horses are there?"
"Ten regiments, two thousand people." Meng Yigui replied truthfully.
"Fuck! Scared me!" Meng Haigong heaved a sigh of relief after swearing, and waved his hands proudly: "It's okay, there are two thousand people, don't worry, if he dares to attack the city, my virtuous nephew and son-in-law will fight against him!" It will kill him!"
"Uncle Meng, I don't have the confidence." Li Mi's voice trembled suddenly, and he said with a mournful face, "Also, the sneak attack tonight must be cancelled."
"Why?!" Meng Haigong and his wife and Meng Yigui were all taken aback.
"Because that traitor Chen Yingliang will definitely send people to pretend to be our people and come to the city to defraud the city." Li Mi replied with a sad face: "At that time, we will be difficult to distinguish the enemy from ourselves in the dark. If we don't open the city, the soldiers who leave the city will definitely be wiped out. , if the city is opened, that traitor might take the opportunity to enter the city! Little thief Chen is much better at this kind of trickery than me!"
At the same time, in the camp of the Sui Army in Qi County, a shocking news quickly spread among the Qi County team—a despicable little thief, a shameless model, gambling thousands of dollars, fighting and poisoning, bribery, bribery, bribery, etc. Chen Yingliang, a sinister rat who does everything but good deeds, and a group of accomplices and lackeys who are cheating and abducting everywhere and pretending to be gods, come to Meng Hai City again to claim credit!