Pang Wanchun was worthy of being the most famous general in the Wu Kingdom. Even when facing twice as many enemies as his military morale was wavering, he still led his troops and horses to defend the city of Huzhou watertight. Even though the Song army used all kinds of means to attack the city continuously for half a month, it failed to pose a great threat to the city. On the contrary, it suffered a lot of casualties.
Of course, this is also related to the fact that Sun Tu has always preserved his strength. The elite of the Shandong Army only attacked the city wall for two or three days at the beginning, and then they were left behind in the Chinese army. And other people from all walks of life did not really attack at all costs. This resulted in a situation where the army in front of them was blocked from Huzhou for more than half a month.
Many generals have some opinions on this, because in their opinion, as long as the Song army gives it a go and devotes all its troops to a fierce attack for several days, it will be difficult for the rebels to defend the current situation. But when they made this suggestion to Sun Tu several times, they were all rejected by him.
Because Sun Tu knew very well what his true purpose was, and it was not just to capture this Huzhou city. There are still many cities and rebels in the south of Huzhou waiting for them to deal with, especially Hangzhou, which is used as the capital by the rebels. The walls there are higher and there are more defenders. If they do not preserve their strength, they will inevitably hit a wall. This was not the result he wanted to see.
But his delay was not a small problem. Putting aside the pressure from the imperial court, the mere fact that the morale of the soldiers below was dampened was enough to make many people worried. On July 20th, even Dong Ping couldn't bear it and came to persuade him.
"General, it will do us no good to delay this. The morale of our brothers has begun to decline. Some people are saying strange things behind their backs, saying that General, you only want to preserve the strength of the Shandong Army, but treat other armies as Chess pieces..." Dong Ping said solemnly.
Song Jiang also followed up and said: "Yes, General, even our Shandong Army officers and soldiers are confused. More than ten brothers have asked me to fight, hoping to attack the city immediately. They believe that with the strength of our Shandong Army, With such fighting power, as long as we let go and attack, we will be able to capture Huzhou City within ten days!"
As soon as these two people started, other generals also joined in, hoping that Sun Tu would use all his troops. They were talking to each other, but Sun Tu half-closed his eyes and sat there calmly, showing no reaction. It wasn't until everyone finished talking that he smiled and said: "It seems that you are really carried away by the results of your repeated victories. You actually think that this Huzhou City can be easily attacked. Have you forgotten to count the numbers? How did we defend Changshu City with a disadvantaged force a few months ago? Changshu County City at that time was much thinner and smaller than Huzhou City. The rebel army attacked with 100,000 men, but it was not supported by our army for a long time. Now the two sides have changed their offensive and defensive positions, but The situation is actually the same.”
"This..." Everyone wanted to say that their own family was much stronger than the ragtag rebel army, but after meeting Sun Tu's eyes, they did not say anything.
Sun Tu smiled again: "Huzhou is the last strong city north of Hangzhou. We know this, and they know it even better, so Pang Wanchun will definitely do his best to defend it. We must not be impatient. As long as we are patient enough, sooner or later, one day If you can deplete the morale of the troops in the city, then you can easily break the city."
Seeing that Sun Tu had already made up his mind, the generals did not dare to say anything more and could only retreat with dignity. Only Song Jiang stayed alone. After he was the only two people left in the tent, he said, "General, since we
We cannot devote all our forces to the fierce attack on Huzhou. In my opinion, we can allocate part of our forces to continue south and capture some small cities in the rear first. On the one hand, it can give our soldiers hope, and on the other hand, it can completely isolate the Huzhou defenders and cut off all connections between them and the rear. I wonder what the general thinks? "
"Well, this is a good idea. You can give it a try." Sun Tu nodded: "But remember, only capture the small town, and don't rush in and attack near Hangzhou. In this way, I will leave this matter to you, and I will give you two Thousands of troops, be careful."
Song Jiang immediately clasped his fists and responded: "General, I will go all out to capture a few cities as soon as possible to boost the momentum of our army."
Early the next morning, Song Jiang gathered 20,000 horses and hurried away with some of his brothers from Liangshanbo. In order to put pressure on the foot defenders, Sun Tu even let this mixed force of 5,000 Shandong troops march south in front of the enemy.
At this time, the problem of Huzhou's geographical location is reflected. Although it is also located at a traffic hub, it is not like some important passes that block the only way for the army to go south. Once the attackers circle the city, this fortified city will become a complete display. Of course, Sun Tu did not dare to completely abandon it and lead his entire army directly south. Then there would be a dangerous situation where both front and rear would be enemies.
At the top of Huzhou City, looking at the Song Army encircling the city to the south, many generals were already a little anxious: "Pang Shuai, it is not an option for us to just defend here. We must defeat the enemy as soon as possible. If the Song Army is really allowed to do so, If they get behind us, we will really become an isolated city, and it will be difficult to defend it."
"Yes, Pang Shuai. In the past few days, the Song Army's combat power is not very strong. How about we take the initiative to attack and kill them while their troops are reduced and they are defenseless!" And the radical even proposed A bold idea came to him, and he planned to turn his defense into an offense.
Faced with these statements, Pang Wanchun was as unaffected as Sun Tu yesterday, and shook his head gently: "If you really follow what you said, you will be playing into Sun Tu's hands. Don't forget, he only had 40,000 to 50,000 yuan that day. One person can compete with my 100,000-strong army. Now the Song army outside the city is twice as many as mine. What is the difference between taking the initiative to leave the city and risking death
"Don't be deceived by the illusion of siege during this period. Sun Tu has always retained most of his strength just to paralyze us and trick us into fighting."
When the generals saw that he spoke solemnly, it was hard for them to express different opinions for a while. After only being silent for a while, he said: "Then... we just stay like this?"
"There is enough food and grass in the city, just keep watch." Pang Wanchun said without hesitation. At this time, he felt a little grateful to Qian Maocai. If he hadn't been harboring ulterior motives and hoarding food, grass and supplies in Huzhou early to prepare for unexpected events, I'm afraid he might not be able to secure so many soldiers and horses. But now, at least the food stored in the city is enough for them to defend for another two to three months.
Pang Wanchun firmly believed that with the abilities of Fang La, Fang Fei and Jiang Shihu, they would surely come up with a countermeasure to solve the current problem before then. What he has to do now is to drag the enemy troops under Huzhou City until the war changes, and then find an opportunity to defeat the enemy.
"Sun Tu, you are indeed a rare opponent. Let's compare who is more patient and who has better luck!" Pang Wanchun muttered in his heart as he looked at the Song Army camp several miles away.
It was as if I had a feeling, watching
Sun Tu, who was leading his army away from Song Jiang, also suddenly raised his head and looked at the head of Huzhou City. A sharp light flashed in his eyes: "Do you want to be more patient? Then give it a try!"
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When the lanterns come on, it is the most lively time in Bianjing City, when the dignitaries, princes and grandsons are having fun. But the whole Liang Mansion was a little quiet today, especially in the study room in the atrium. The servants didn't even dare to take a few breaths for fear of affecting the ministers inside.
Today, many high-ranking officials from the imperial court came to the Liang Mansion, all of whom were members of Master Liang's close relations. The one with the highest status among them was naturally Taiwei Gao Qiu, and the others with the lowest official positions must also be doctors in the army. They are all in the court. A high-ranking official in a red robe.
However, unlike in the past when they only talked about romance when they got together, today they were all very serious, with no smile on their faces. Just because there are always good news coming from the south recently, Sun Tu has taken several cities in the south one after another after replacing Zhu Meng. Looking at this situation, the complete quelling of Fangla Rebellion is close at hand.
This made Liang Shicheng, Gao Qiu and others feel a little nervous. If Sun Tu really made such a contribution, the officials would definitely give him a large reward. Once he completely established a foothold in the court, they would be in trouble.
"How do you think we should deal with this matter?" Liang Shicheng asked directly without going around in circles.
These officials in the court were silent for a while. It wasn't until they saw their unhappy expressions that Chang Shan, the Minister of War, said: "Actually, Taifu doesn't have to worry so much. Although Sun Tu seems to have won many battles, he is far from being able to win." Having determined the situation in Jiangnan, Fang La's rebel forces are still strong, and Hangzhou is one of the few fortified cities in Jiangnan, so it will be difficult to capture within a year and a half."
"Humph, we didn't think that Sun Tu would be able to achieve anything, but what about him? But he has made achievements one after another. Do you really dare to guarantee this time?" Liang Shicheng asked dissatisfiedly, but this time no one dared to take the blame. .
Seeing this, Gao Qiu smiled and said, "Actually, Tutor, you don't need to worry too much. Although Sun Tu's meritorious service is great, the disaster he has caused is even greater. Zhu Meng is a person close to His Majesty. Even after some time, he I won't forget this matter. As long as we see the right moment and apply some eye drops, we won't have to worry about getting rid of him? And when the civil strife is over, the officials will not keep him. "
"Although his words are good, Sun Tu's courage is greater than we thought. If we can't check and balance him, I'm afraid..." Liang Shicheng finally revealed what he was most worried about.
At this time, Yan Tiesheng, the doctor of the Ministry of Justice who was sitting at the back, suddenly said: "Two gentlemen, in my humble opinion, this matter is not difficult to handle. Why does the imperial court often capture local officials with just a decree? Isn't it because Are they worried? And what they are worried about is the means we can use to contain and deal with Sun Tu today!"
This sentence alone made Liang Shicheng and Gao Qiu perk up. They quickly understood it, and they all laughed and shook their heads: "Why did we forget this move? In the past, our hands could not reach the boundary of Qingzhou. It’s because Sun Tu is there, but it’s different now!”
Sun Tu would never have dreamed that while he was still thinking of ways to capture Huzhou at the minimum cost and put an end to the chaos in Jiangnan as soon as possible, these enemies in the court had already begun to reach behind him, thinking He attacked the person he cared about most...
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It was the first time this year that I went out to meet up with friends, so it was a little late. . . . .