Li Chongjin also saw the Southern Tang soldiers laughing everywhere on the city wall. He could not help it and sent people to rebuke Guo Shao. Unexpectedly, the generals he sent came back and said: "Guo Shao said that we can dig more tunnels and he has come up with a good plan. Please be patient and don't be impatient."
Li Chongjin could not hold back his anger and slammed the chopping board, saying, "What a stupid idea digging a tunnel is. Go tell him that digging a tunnel can help capture Shouzhou City. I will use my palm as a pan to fry fish for him."
The general returned to Guo Shao again and told Wang Pu, Li Gu and many other generals what Li Chongjin had said. Everyone was silent and bowed their heads.
Guo Shao was also annoyed and said: Although General Li is in charge of the deployment and control of our troops, he interferes in every detail. How can we attack Shouzhou, a city as big as this, with high and thick walls? Can we take it down in one day? We have to give people time to prepare. I don’t want him to fry fish with his hands, just give me some time.
Wang Pu could not help but persuade him kindly: digging tunnels is useless, we have asked the captives, the person guarding the city is Liu Renzhan. This person is no trivial matter. It is rumored that he values soldiers more than money, is serious about military tactics, and can share weal and woe with his soldiers; he is proficient in military management and battle formations. The Lord of Southern Tang highly values Liu Renzhan for guarding Shouzhou. It is said that a month ago, a general wanted to attack Zhengyang, and Liu Renzhan tried his best to persuade him before the battle, saying that it was impossible to advance lightly; as a result, the Southern Tang general Liu Yanzhen did not listen and insisted on attacking Zhengyang. As expected, he was defeated, and the bodies of the soldiers were scattered all over the road for thirty miles. This man anticipated the enemy's moves, and he was one of the most famous generals in the Southern Tang Kingdom; he saw at a glance what Guo Dushi was going to do, which was to build houses and trenches to cover them up. Digging tunnels is useless
Guo Shao hurriedly said: I know Liu Renzhan can see that we are digging a tunnel, but I have other ideas. However, we were unlucky in the first tunnel, and we had no way to measure it, so we accidentally dug into groundwater, which caused the accident.
Wang Pu sighed and said nothing more.
When everyone dispersed, Wang Pu said privately: To be honest, I was sent by the government to check the siege situation. I can only report the truth and dare not lie about the current situation in Shouzhou. The attack is weak and there is no long-term strategy. Telling this to the government will be very disadvantageous to Guo Dushi.
Guo Shao bowed and said sincerely: "I am very touched that Prime Minister Wang can tell me this. But I think that Nan Tang used fierce fire oil, and the ant-like attack is very disadvantageous. We must change our strategy and cannot just attack blindly. I just can't determine whether the strategy I have in mind will work for the time being."
Wang Pu stamped his feet and said: "How can I explain this to the emperor when I go back? It will be very difficult.
Guo Shao also looked embarrassed. He did think of a way, but he had never actually tried it. Everything was just conceived in his mind. Who knew if it would work after it was put into use? If he said it now, it would be even more embarrassing. So he didn't dare to brag. He got angry at Li Chongjin's general just now because he couldn't help it; but he didn't dare to be angry with him and bet Shouzhou City with fried fish on his hand.
He said: "Prime Minister Wang, please stay for two more days. I have been inspecting everywhere for the past two days and found some places where we can make some changes. Let's show some achievements first, so as to stabilize the people above us."
I hope so, Wang Pu said.
Liu Renzhan didn't even wear a helmet. He sat on a bamboo chair on the tower and calmly observed the scene below the city. He was a veteran in his fifties. He stroked his beard and said: "I have seen all kinds of battles and storms. How dare you show off your petty tricks in front of me?"
Haha, everyone couldn't help but burst into laughter after hearing this, which was completely different from the situation of the Zhou army soldiers who were screaming and struggling under the city.
There was a huge sea of people under the city. The tall ladders and catapults stood like towers, like ships in the vast ocean. Looking far away, the Huai River formed a line of camps. It was unknown how many troops the Zhou army had. Huge stones whistled from the sky, but Liu Renzhan sat firmly, unmoved.
A general walked up from the stone steps, knelt on one knee and reported: Commander, the brothers have dug a tunnel in the south of the city, installed clay jars on all sides and sent people to guard it. If the enemy digs the tunnel into the city, the noise will be heard when the ground is broken.
Liu Renzhan nodded, looked back at the generals and said: The person who deployed the siege under the city must have been replaced. He has no idea how to fight and defend, and only uses petty tricks. Moreover, this person must not get along with Li Chongjin, and he has only been in office for a few days.
The general asked: How can you tell that the Zhou army has changed
Liu Renzhan laughed and said: "The attacking troops sometimes retreated and sometimes attacked the city, which must be a disagreement between the upper and lower levels. If I am not mistaken, the new generals did not want to attack the city, but were forced by Li Chongjin, so they hesitated and were undecided."
All the generals bowed in admiration, and some of them said excitedly: We are trapped in Shouzhou now, but fortunately we are under the command of Marshal Liu. It is really a blessing in disguise.
Some people were even more frank and said directly: Marshal Liu is the best general in our Tang Dynasty. It is a great honor to die under his command.
Another general said angrily: "It sounds so unpleasant, the emperor will not sit idly by and watch Shouzhou be besieged, not to mention that Marshal Liu is here. The emperor would rather lose Shouzhou than lose Marshal Liu."
Liu Renzhan had long been accustomed to everyone's love. All of this was accumulated by treating his soldiers like his family and making countless wise decisions when leading the troops to fight. He said calmly: The generals are not in harmony, and the various units cannot coordinate. This is an opportunity for battle. Send someone to try to get out of Feishui to ask for orders. I want to go out of the city to set up the troops and ask for a few moves from him.
A general hurriedly advised: The Zhou army is fierce in field battles.
Liu Renzhan disagreed and said: "The upper and lower levels are not in harmony, and those approaching the city are not elite soldiers. I will break their formation." He turned back and looked to the side and said: "Defending to the death is not a solution." Fortunately, there are no good generals in the Zhou army. If I attack the city, I will first dig a water gate in the moat and drain the moat water into the Fei River. The defenders are forced inside the city wall and can no longer stop the people outside the city from digging the river. It's a pity that Li Chongjin has trapped me for almost two months, and he even wants to fill the river with soil. What a waste!
As soon as he finished speaking, someone came upstairs in a hurry to report: Zhou Jun was digging a canal in the northwest corner.
The generals stopped talking and laughing, and their faces suddenly changed. Liu Renzhan said: "It was expected. Even if the moat is dug, he can't take Shouzhou. Come on, let me take a look."
At least several thousand laborers were digging desperately in the open space between the northwest corner of the city and the Fei River, raising a huge cloud of dust.
Guo Shao, along with his personal soldiers, rode with Wang Pu to watch the busy scene, pointing to the front and saying: "I have walked around the city several times in the past few days and found that the terrain of Shouzhou City and the water level of the moat are slightly higher than the Fei River, but not significantly; it may be because the water level of the Fei River has dropped since the beginning of autumn, which is almost August. As long as the moat and the Fei River are connected, the water will flow to the lower place, and the river water can still block the attack route around Shouzhou City.
Wang Pu looked at it for a long time, nodded and said: In fact, the moat of Shouzhou City is higher, there is an abandoned water fort blocking it, and there may be a dam blocking the water. If you don't look carefully, you will think that the two rivers are connected.
Guo Shao said: I didn't notice it at first. But a few days ago, when I led the army to cross the Fei River from the north, I found that the water level of the Fei River was very low. In some places, people could wade across the river on foot. But in recent days, I saw that the troops had a hard time transporting soil to fill the river, and the water in the moat was relatively deep. So I realized that the Tang army must have blocked the moat to store water and maintain the water level.
Guo Shao thought for a while and said: "If the water cannot be drained, there is another way. We can go to the upper reaches of the Feishui River to block the river and then change its course. This will take some time, but once the course is changed, we can dig a moat and surely we can drain the river water. We still have nearly 100,000 people in Shouzhou. It is better to let them dig the canal than to go up there and die."
Wang Pu bowed and said, "If the moat water is released, Shouzhou will be difficult to attack. But I will finally have something to say to the emperor when I return."
Guo Shao said in a deep voice: It would be better if Li Chongjin could shut up or allow me to suspend the siege.
Wang Pu said: The government attaches great importance to Shouzhou. Unless you can capture the city within a time limit, you cannot do as you please. Everyone is keeping an eye on Shouzhou.
Guo Shao thought about it, opened his mouth and then closed it again. He thought: The emperor is already unhappy with me. If I issue a military order, if it fails, I will be in trouble.
Wang Pu saw the situation clearly and hurried to say goodbye to report back. Guo Shao did not want to keep him any longer. Li Gu happened to be with him, so he asked Li Gu to help him prepare some materials. Li Gu questioned, but Guo Shao begged him again and again, saying that he would remember a big favor and repay him in the future. Li Gu had to agree reluctantly.
At this moment, Guo Shao suddenly found that a crossbow on the city wall was turned towards this side, and a general was standing there looking at him. Guo Shao rode away without saying a word.
The attendant also hurriedly turned around, but at this time a crossbow arrow thicker than his arm had already whistled down, at least two hundred steps away. There was a scream behind him, and when Guo Shao looked back, a knight was hit by a large crossbow arrow on his back and fell off his horse. Someone on the wall was shouting faintly, and Guo Shao heard it, as if he was scolding himself: You coward, I'll wait for you to release the water and attack the city, and see how you take Shouzhou.
Guo Shao was furious, took his bow and arrow, rode back to the city, jumped off his horse and drew his bow and arrow. Unexpectedly, the old general did not show off his bravery and turned around and left. Guo Shao cursed: I thought you were the only one who was not afraid of death.
Several arrows were thrown from the wall. Guo Shao quickly covered his face and neck with his arms, facing the thick chest of his armor towards the wall, and ran backwards. The arrows fell around him, but they were too far away to hit anything. At this time, the generals had hurriedly caught up with him, led the horse and asked Guo Shao to mount and leave.
Guo Shao walked away from the city wall and looked up. The old man was also looking at him. At this time, the two sides were more than 200 steps apart and could only look at each other from a distance.