In the next two days, the Song army still gathered its forces to launch a continuous offensive against Wangjiang Gate in Hangzhou, with no intention of dividing its forces to attack other city gates. This naturally made the situation in the Wangjiangmen section more and more critical. In order to ensure safety, Pang Wanchun could only continue to mobilize troops and horses from elsewhere as backup to maintain a balance between the offense and defense.
However, while making this decision, Pang Wanchun became more and more certain about his guess. It was really strange for the Song Army to attack a gate without any regard for gain or loss. Based on his understanding of Sun Tu, this must mean that he was Hidden conspiracy.
Pang Wanchun was not the only one who held this view. Fang Fei and Jiang Shihu also had the same idea after venturing to the city to see the Song army's ferocious offensive. The latter even said bluntly: "This is a cover-up." , Sun Tuyue went to such great lengths to send troops to attack Wangjiang Gate, which proves that the city gate he really wants to capture is not here!"
"But which city gate will he attack? If my thinking is correct, he attacked our Hanmen Gate to cover up his ultimate goal of marching through the waterway. But we have five water gates in Hangzhou, so where should we focus on defense? ?" Pang Wanchun asked with a frown.
He knew very well that once Sun Titu was exposed, he would pose a great threat to a certain water gate. If he could not make plans in advance, he might be in danger. But there are thirteen city gates in Hangzhou, including eight droughts and five floods. We can't all invest heavily in defense. One or two water gates must be selected, and the target of the Song army must be targeted. This is the key to the battle between the two armies. Excellent generals and strategists determine the direction of the war, because as long as they guess the enemy's thoughts, they will have won the battle by seven points!
After saying this, Pang Wanchun and Fang Fei both turned their attention to Jiang Shihu. As a military advisor to the Wu army, he had always been able to predict the enemy's opportunities in the past, and he had made great contributions to Fang La's rise, and thus gained the reputation of having a perfect plan. No one can make up his mind now, so naturally this is the time for him to show off his skills.
Jiang Shihu pondered for a long time and then said: "If Sun Tuzhen sends an army to attack our water gate, how many troops will we have to deploy to defend it to ensure a great victory?"
"You must be three times as strong as the enemy to win with preparation. The Song army's combat power is far superior to our soldiers..." At this time, Pang Wanchun had nothing to hide, so he told the real situation: "And Nowadays, soldiers and horses must be left at every city gate, and a large number of manpower is needed at Wangjiang Gate. Calculated in this way, there are not many available people. If we divide the troops into two gates, we can only hold on to them. If we can bet on one gate, we will use our full strength. If we go here, we will definitely win a big victory, and maybe we can turn the tide of the war around!"
"Our five water gates in Hangzhou are all secretly connected to the Qiantang River outside. Have we taken corresponding precautions before? For example, setting up various wooden stakes and traps in the water to block the enemy, at least can they block enemy ships?"
"Yes, there are arrangements for each gate, especially the Qingbo Water Gate. Because it is located on the side of the palace, there are many obstacles. It is impossible for ordinary ships to pass through."
After hearing these words, Jiang Shihu showed a strange look on his face, but it was fleeting: "What about the two nearest water gates, Qiantang and Yongjin?"
"Because the water in those two areas is not as strong as expected, it is difficult for large ships to pass through, so the defense is not too strict. What the military advisor means...will they start from these two areas?" Pang Wanchun understood immediately and asked anxiously.
"There is a way to solve the problem of shallow water. Haven't you noticed? Recently, the river in my city has become much shallower than before. This is obviously related to the fact that the upper reaches outside the city have been cut off. Before, I thought this was the Song Army's plan to intercept the water and release it. Hong also laughed at them because they didn't understand the ways of water conservancy and geography and wanted to attack with water in winter. But now it seems that the Song army had other plans. They cut off the water upstream in order to make the water in these two gates suddenly rise. This allowed the ship to pass smoothly!"
Fang Fei exclaimed: "They calculated so carefully that they were preparing for this as early as seven or eight days ago? But from just this point, it can be inferred that the Song Army will attack these two water gates. Isn't it a little too hasty?"
"Not only that, but the more important thing is that these two city gates are closest to my Wangjiang Gate." Jiang Shihu said with a solemn expression: "Once their naval forces succeed in capturing the city gates, they can attack the land troops nearby. Send the horses there so that we can quickly capture and defend the main entrance to the city, and Hangzhou will be destroyed!"
Pang Wanchun slammed the table and asserted: "What the military advisor said is true. The Song army's target must be at these two water gates! I thought it was strange before that it would be easier to deploy troops to attack the city if other places were left alone. Why did the Song army choose to attack Wangjiang Gate if we didn’t attack our gate? Now we have completely understood that they had other intentions and came for one of the water gates."
"Then which one is the Song Army's real target?" Fang Fei also agreed with this inference and asked again hurriedly. Obviously, the correct answer is very close to them. As long as they select the target of the Song Army, they can win the battle.
"Yongjinmen!" Jiang Shihu asserted: "The Qiantang Gate area has always been prone to siltation, which is not conducive to the entry and exit of large ships. As long as Sun Tu knows something about Hangzhou, he will not choose to start from this gate. Of course, to be safe, We also need to defend Qiantang Gate more, but more and more must be put in front of Yongjin Gate. Also, if people prepare more fishing nets, hooks, bows and arrows, as long as the Song Army dares to attack our Yongjin Gate, they will have to pay Huge price!"
"I'll make the arrangements right now!" Pang Wanchun suddenly stood up excitedly. He didn't bother to be polite to the two of them, and hurried to convey the relevant orders.
It wasn't until he saw him leaving that Fang Feicai looked at Jiang Shihu again, his face much more relaxed than before: "If we can win this battle, I, Hangzhou, will definitely keep it. From this point of view, the worst plan you made before There is no need for him anymore. I don’t know if His Majesty will blame us for making arbitrary decisions and send him back to Wuzhou overnight."
"I hope so, His Majesty, His Majesty, as long as we win, he will be overjoyed and will never blame us for this." Jiang Shihu said with a smile. Fang Fei also smiled and nodded. He had already relaxed, but he didn't notice that there seemed to be something ulterior hidden in the depths of Jiang Shihu's eyes...
At the same time, the Song Army camped.
Seeing that another attack by the army was blocked by the defenders, and they could only retreat angrily in the end, Sun Tu didn't see much worry in his eyes, and even sighed: "Speaking of which, this Pang Wanchun is really... This is the most powerful opponent I have encountered since I led the army. His troops are actually not very strong, far inferior to our Shandong soldiers, but in terms of arranging troops and adapting to local conditions, he is clever enough to make him This ragtag group of rebels has defended the city gate for so long without losing any ground."
"yes,
This man is indeed a rare general. But he must have never dreamed of how we would break the city next! "Song Jiang replied confidently from the side.
"How is it, everything has been arranged?" When Sun Tu saw him saying this, he knew that this strategy was about to come to an end.
"Brothers were unfamiliar with this before, so we made more preparations. Now everything is ready. We only need to wait for the general's order, and our navy soldiers can be dispatched! This time, there are also those water weapons specially made by the general. Enter Hangzhou is even easier!" Song Jiang replied confidently.
"Have you made your decision? Who will attack Yongjinmen?" Sun Tu asked curiously.
Song Jiang's expression changed slightly, and then he slowly revealed the plan...
At the same time, behind the military camp, in the stockade next to the Qiantang River, the Zhang brothers were sitting opposite each other, with wine and food in front of them. Although alcohol is prohibited in the military during wartime, exceptions can be made for soldiers who are about to go into battle.
Zhang Heng took a sip from the wine bowl, and then looked at his brother: "Have you really decided? Will you take the Tong brothers to attack Yongjinmen?"
"Exactly, because only in this way can the three Ruan brothers no longer question the arrangements of brother Gongming, and you can also make great contributions to our brothers." Zhang Shun said with a calm smile, as if he said what he said It's just a small matter of a few coins, rather than a big achievement of breaking a gate and seizing the city.
"You are still so considerate of the overall situation. I'm really not as good as a brother like you in this regard." Zhang Heng smiled bitterly and drank the wine in the bowl in one sip: "It's a pity that your skills would not be exchanged with mine." , will definitely make great achievements.”
"We are all brothers. In fact, no matter who has made meritorious deeds, it is the same. Brother Gongming also has his own difficulties. He must level the bowl of water between us Liangshan brothers. Since I am his brother, I naturally have to think more about him." Zhang Shun smiled and said: "Besides, brother, don't really think that you can definitely take credit. Although I am not the main attacker, I am less dangerous, so I hope you can be more careful when the time comes."
"Haha, when I get into the water, I'm really not afraid of anyone. Even though I'm not very familiar with the waterways in Hangzhou, once I get into the water, it's my world." Zhang Henghao laughed angrily. road. He is always so optimistic, it seems that even if the sky falls, he can be used as a quilt to cover him.
Zhang Shun was also infected by it and laughed. After a moment, he said seriously: "Brother, I thought of something. In fact, neither you nor I are qualified to be officials. Why don't we brothers go back to Jiangzhou to fish after the chaos in Jiangnan is put down this time?"
"Huh?" Zhang Heng glanced at his brother in surprise. He really didn't expect him to have such an idea of retreat.
Zhang Shun smiled and said: "Compared with now, I prefer the unrestrained days in Shanzhai and Jiangzhou. And I believe that as long as the Fang La Rebellion is quelled, brother Gongming will be given a high official position. We don’t have to worry about him anymore.”
"Okay, actually I don't want to do such a thing for a long time. It's settled then. After the chaos is settled, we will return to Jiangzhou! As for those who deserve credit or not, just give them some money."
After talking, the two brothers looked at each other again, and then laughed. They believe that it won't be too long before they can have the happy life of their dreams.