Amidst the banging of war drums, a new round of offensive is in full swing on Liangshan Mountain. However, if you look closely at the mountain, you will feel that this battle is too weird.
Although there were seven to eight thousand officers and soldiers on the mountain and below together, only a few hundred people could really be engaged in the battle at this time. As a result, the army's superiority in military strength could not be fully utilized. Every attack on the second pass of Liangshan seemed a little weak. Sometimes, before they could rush to the disconnected cliff, the officers and soldiers would attack. The army had been stopped in its tracks by the enemy's bows and arrows, and in the end they had no choice but to retreat. The result of such repeated back-and-forth is that the morale that the officers and soldiers had managed to build up by conquering a checkpoint in the past two days was running low...
The reason is still limited by the terrain. After crossing the Suotian Pass, the mountain road to Liangshan Village became even narrower and more rugged, and a mile or two up, there was a chasm-like chasm in front of the officers and soldiers - this was a two-foot-long chasm. After the Liangshan bandits demolished the wooden bridge on top of the cliff, it would be extremely difficult to pass through it. This is the second pass on Liangshan Mountain - Ape Difficulty Crossing!
If the terrain here is open enough, Sun Tuda can send people to push back the defenders with more abundant bow and crossbow weapons, and then send people to build the bridge calmly. However, the terrain in front of us is too narrow. At its narrowest point, only one or two people can stand side by side. As a result, the officers and soldiers cannot suppress the rebels on the other side of the cliff. On the contrary, the enemy on the opposite side can continue to attack because of their unscrupulousness. Obstruction of the government forces caused every offensive to end in failure.
After a few days, the only thing the officers and soldiers could do was to attack in succession, hoping that the enemy would become tired and relax, and then build a bridge and rush over in one go. However, it seems that this idea will not be realized in a short time.
Although the casualties of the officers and soldiers in the past four or five days were not too great, the dragging force was so difficult to use, and the morale of the officers and soldiers was still extremely serious. This made the military camp below look a little lifeless, and even the soldiers who were always full of fighting spirit were The Qingzhou Army lost its former glory at this moment.
The Liangshan leaders who looked down at this scene smiled quite happily. This time they finally made the officers and soldiers suffer! This also enhanced Song Jiang's prestige among the brothers again, because it was with his strong advocacy that the battle could turn around, and everyone paid more attention to his opinions.
For example, at this time, many people looked at Song Jiang and said, "Brother, as long as we continue to work like this, we can defeat the enemy, right?"
"As long as there are no accidents, that should be the case. The only thing we need to worry about is the water village below us. Now we have cut off contact with the water villages on three sides. If something happens to them, we will be out of reach if we want to rescue them." At this time, Song Jiang showed the overall view that a qualified general should have. He did not just focus on one point, but looked at the overall situation.
But his words caused a burst of laughter from all the brothers: "Brother is joking, our water village is the strongest, and there is no opponent in Shandong. Unless the officers and soldiers are impatient, they will never dare to attack easily." Into the water!”
These words immediately won the response of many people, and everyone had a deep understanding of their navy.
One hundred and twenty confidences. The main reason why Liangshan Bo is famous all over the world and stands today is because of the eight hundred miles of water and the powerful navy. If the officers and soldiers really dare to go into the water to attack, no matter how hard they come back, they will never come back. .
Even Wu Yong, who is as cautious as Wu Yong, smiled and said: "Brother is indeed a little too cautious. I have carefully looked at it and found that the officers and soldiers did not prepare any ships at all this time. Why do they attack my water stronghold? Could it be that they just rely on water from nearby?" Do you want to temporarily gather a group of fishing boats in the villages and towns?"
His words got to the root of the matter, which made Song Jiang smile with self-consciousness: "I'm a little unfounded. There are brothers Zhang Shun in Shuizhai. It seems that the three heroes of the Ruan family will not go wrong. Then as long as If we delay the time until the officers and soldiers run out of food and fodder, it will be time for us to fight back!"
"Brother, why don't we let our brothers from the water village sneak attack the officers and soldiers at night? If we can find an opportunity to burn their food and grass, maybe the winner can be determined in a short battle." Xu Ning suddenly proposed. As soon as an idea came up, it immediately gained support from many people.
But Song Jiang shook his head: "This is a bit risky. We are facing Sun Tu, who has always used his troops treacherously. We must not be careless in the slightest. Since we can win the final victory as long as we hold on firmly, why bother?"
Although some people murmured in their hearts, Song Jiang's reputation is now booming. Now that he has decided, no one dares to object again. Anyway, in everyone's opinion, they are sure to win this battle.
In this mood, the brothers who took turns guarding Yuannandu below also went all out, repelling the offensives of the official army time and time again, and the enemy almost became anxious. As a result, Song Jiang became more determined in his belief that this battle could be won in a protracted manner.
Two days later, this morning, the officers and soldiers did not launch an attack as before. Instead, they slowly approached the edge of the cliff and shouted loudly from above: "Sun Dujian wants to talk to the leader of the Song village. Please ask Song." The leader of the village will see you when he comes down the mountain!"
Come again? Under the suspicion and dissatisfaction of the brothers, Song Jiang quickly made a decision to meet with Sun Tu again to see what he had to say, and at the same time to explain the current situation to him clearly.
So after half a month apart, the two generals once again looked at each other in the air, but this time there were archers and shield bearers on both sides standing in front, always on guard, for fear that the enemy would take the opportunity to launch a cold arrow.
After seeing Sun Tu standing over there in military uniform, Song Jiang laughed and said, "Superintendent Sun, what do you have to say today? If you just want to bring up old matters again, you won't have to say anything to persuade us to surrender. Now we both know the situation of the war, and our village is in an invincible position... "
"Master Song, you are saying too much. This battle has only lasted for half a month, and our army's damage is even more limited. We have already taken out one of your key points. You actually dare to say that you are dead." Victory?" Sun Tu smiled and shook his head and said: "Yes, I met you today just to persuade you to surrender. This is not only for the sake of our Shandong army, but also for the sake of your Liangshan brothers. Because once I really break your stronghold, Deaths and injuries will be inevitable by then.”
"Hahaha... Sun Dujian, at this time, you still want to scare me with such words? Now your officers and soldiers can't even cross this ape."
If we can't pass it, let alone the three difficulties ahead of us, it is simply wishful thinking to break through my copycat. Also, if my prediction is correct, your army can hardly keep up with the food and grass. If you stop and retreat, you can still save your face. Otherwise, the result of the Qingzhou Army's previous attack on my mountain stronghold will be your end! "
Facing Song Jiang's sharp counterattack, Sun Tu was not annoyed, and just sighed softly: "Zhai Master Song, you and I are old friends, why do we have to make things so stiff? If you really think I'll take it, There's nothing you can do about your copycat village? But do you still remember how I destroyed Hutou Village?"
Just one sentence, but the smile on Song Jiang's face suddenly froze, and he remembered that incident many years ago.
At the beginning, the strongmen of Hutou Village in Xishangang, Yuncheng County took away Cai Jing's birth plan, and the army's attack and encirclement was frustrated. It was the fire attack at Sun Tu's suggestion that completely destroyed the village. Song Jiang even remembered the horrific scene of the oil being thrown up the mountain and then burned in flames. If that scene were to happen again, it would really be a disaster for Liangshan.
But soon, he regained his composure and replied: "You want to use fire to attack? Unfortunately, this is not the Xishan Mountain in Yuncheng County, and our Liangshan Village is not the Hutou Village. This is far away from our Dazhai. There are still seven or eight miles, and even if you really bring the catapult up, you won't be able to hit the mountain. And you can't even get over this ape, so how can you pose a threat to my stronghold?"
Sun Tu smiled and shook his head: "Of course I know that the fire attack will not work. When I mentioned it, I just wanted to tell you a truth. There are ways to break through the copycats you are waiting for. It just depends on whether anyone is willing to use their brains. For example, in Liangshanbo, the peripheral The water bank is indeed a natural barrier, but what if I dig out the lake embankment and divert water to others? Once the protection of the water bank is lost, can Liangshan still be able to defend it?"
As soon as these words came out, the expressions of the brothers around Song Jiang changed. No one expected that Sun Tu would take this step. But Song Jiang was stunned for a moment and then looked up to the sky and laughed: "Sun Dujian, you really know how to joke. How can you dig up these eight hundred miles of water so easily? If you really dare to do this, I, Liangshan Brother, I haven’t given you any trouble yet, but I’m afraid the local people and the Song Dynasty court are going to punish you.”
"It seems that you don't believe that I can break your copycat?" Sun Tu sighed: "I have given you the opportunity, I just hope you will not regret it in the future." Sun Tu looked at Song Jiang calmly, and then led the people to retreat. Went back.
Seeing how he retreated calmly, Song Jiang, who was still confident at first, suddenly became worried for some reason. Could it be that the other party really had some way to turn the tide of the battle in one fell swoop? But he thought about it for a long time, but he didn't see any loopholes in his copycat.
Perhaps, this was just Sun Tu's bluff, trying to force himself to surrender out of fear... In the end, Song Jiang could only comfort himself in this way.
He didn't know Sun Tu's real killing move, but one thing was correct. There was indeed a problem with the army's food supply. Another more serious problem also appeared two days later. A group of troops from Bianjing entered the military camp in a swaggering manner and brought a court order to Sun Tu—
After many days, the emperor's instructions for this battle were finally delivered!