The lever bracket of the giant catapult rubbed against the bearings and made a strange piercing sound. The twisting force of the thick hemp rope made the catapult at the tail fly rapidly into the air, and a large stone immediately flew into the air with a bang.
Guo Shao and several of the generals' personal soldiers rode horses to inspect everywhere. The water in the moat had already drained away, and more and more catapults and ladders were rushed out and sent to the front line. The whole wilderness was in a spectacular clamor. There used to be a lot of farmland in the south of the city, but now it has been trampled into a flat wasteland by countless people, and the crops have been wiped out. Only in the distance can you see some undamaged paddy fields, with only rice piles left; the rice was harvested by the Zhou army soldiers and used as military rations.
They rode slowly for most of the day before they circled the city from the east along the south and arrived at the northwest. Now the siege was mainly done by catapults. In addition to damaging the parapets on the wall, they could also kill or injure some Southern Tang soldiers from time to time. Although it was slow, it was constantly consuming the enemy's strength. If the Southern Tang army showed signs of retreating from the wall, Guo Shao's generals would arrange a feint attack.
These were just minor actions. In order to please the people above, and because the water in the moat had dried up, General Guo Shao and other generals were planning a general attack from three sides.
There are not enough ladders yet, wait a few more days. Guo Shao couldn't help but say that once the attack started, the ladders would be damaged and consumed very quickly, so we must be fully prepared.
The oil used by the Southern Tang State was indeed a powerful weapon for defending the city, but Guo Shao didn't know where they dug it from. In this era, only open-pit oil mines could be mined, and drilling was not possible.
Li Chuyun also followed Guo Shao around the city many times. For them, they might be more familiar with the perimeter of Shouzhou City than their own home. The city wall surrounded a nearly square shape, with the Fei River to the north and Bagong Mountain on the other side. Guo Shao and others estimated the distance by walking, and the circumference of the entire city was at least fifteen miles; one side of the wall was three or four miles long.
At this time Li Chuyun said: My lord, I remembered a reminder. In addition to thinking about how to attack the city, we also have to defend and be careful of Liu Renzhan rushing out of the city to attack us.
After hearing this, a general laughed and said: "The Southern Tang army has been defeated repeatedly, relying on retreating in the strong city. Shouzhou City has become an isolated city. I don't believe they dare to come out to fight anyway."
But that was what Liu Renzhan and Li Chuyun emphasized. To defeat an opponent, one must first respect the opponent. Moreover, Liu Renzhan was a military general worthy of respect. They just served different masters.
Guo Shao said: I think what Brother Li said makes sense. Although there are many people besieging the city, most of them are local soldiers, and there are also a large number of civilians who have not been trained in battle. There are loopholes in the first place, and we must strengthen our defense. Brother Li, is there anything wrong with our army's siege fortifications
Li Chuyun said: "These fortifications were built by the predecessor, and the emperor has also inspected them. Any experienced general would besiege the city in this way. There is no problem with the fortifications. I am just worried about the combat effectiveness of the troops when attacked."
Although I am the commander of the left wing of the Hujie Army, I only have about 6,000 soldiers from the first and second armies. The rest of the troops are in the hands of Li Chongjin, not in Shouzhou. Guo Shaodao said that Li Jixun, the commander of the infantry division of the Imperial Guard Division, has as many as 20,000 elite infantry and cavalry. In the northwest direction of the Huai River, you can see a large camp, which is the station of the right wing.
Li Chuyun said softly: Li Jixun wants to wait there and fight against the reinforcements from Southern Tang.
After everyone heard this, those who understood understood that Li Jixun's troops had never come to Shouzhou City.
Guo Shao frowned and said: I will go to the right wing camp in person and ask Li Jixun to transfer troops to the front line. After all, if they are really attacked by Shouzhou soldiers, Li Jixun will also be responsible for being stationed so far away.
We can only try. Li Chuyun nodded and said, the outer battle line of Shouzhou City is so long, not counting the Fei River in the north, the east, west and south sides are more than ten miles long, if the six thousand soldiers are divided and stationed, the force will be too thin.
After hearing this, Guo Shao thought more and more that there was a loophole, so he immediately rushed to the right wing camp of the Hujie Army. In order to show his sincerity, he did not send anyone, but went to ask for soldiers in person. He traveled all night and arrived at the right wing central army camp in the middle of the night. He waited until dawn before he was allowed to see Li Jixun.
But Li Jixun said that Guo Shao was a mediocre person who was worrying too much. Guo was a lieutenant commander with a force of about 100,000 soldiers. It would be fine if he couldn't capture the city, but he was actually afraid that the defenders in the city would attack him in return. Is this acceptable
Another general beside him laughed and said: "Guo Dushi must think he is Han Xin, haha, Han Xin led more soldiers, the better." Another person said: "In Huainan, our dynasty has won victory after victory. If Guo Dushi is really defeated by the defenders who retreated to the city, he will be famous throughout the army."
Guo Shao came in person, ran half the night and froze outside for half the night, and was very angry. After he and his generals and soldiers left the camp, he couldn't help but turn around and spit and curse: "You are a paralyzed general." The generals and soldiers also cursed: "What kind of people are his men?"
When Li Chuyun returned to the front camp under the city, he heard that the right wing refused to send troops to assist in the defense, and he could only sigh and say nothing.
Guo Shao was also in a dilemma and said: If we send someone to ask Li Chongjin for instructions, it will probably not end well.
Li Chuyun said: The only plan for now is to let the First and Second Armies be stationed in the southeast, southwest and southwest corners. In this way, when attacked anywhere, there will be a part of the troops available to reinforce nearby. In addition, the lower-ranking soldiers eliminated from the various armies of the Palace Front Division are still usable, and some guards from the military governorates can also fight. Select them, assemble them into an army, and concentrate them in various locations.
Guo Shao thought it was a good idea, and first ordered the two armies of the left wing of the Hujie Army to change their stationing locations, and then summoned generals from all routes to the central army to discuss matters and deploy strategies for attack and defense.
Liu Renzhan also inspected the city walls every day. After watching for several days, he finally couldn't hold back and discussed with his generals: If I leave the city, I will definitely defeat the Zhou army.
The general dissuaded them from going out of the city, saying that they had not received an answer from their superiors. No one wanted to go out of the city to attack. The people under the city were like an ocean, and the camps formed a sea. There were probably 100,000 or 200,000 people. From a distance, there were still tents on the other side of the Huai River, and it was unclear how many troops there were. The disparity in military strength was too great, and everyone felt that it was very difficult to defend the city for two months.
Liu Renzhan had been observing for a long time. He no longer listened to the advice of the generals and said: "If you defend the city, you will die. These days, the Zhou army has cut down a lot of trees from Bagong Mountain and made so many siege equipment. They must be preparing to attack Shouzhou. Waiting for them to attack is not necessarily the way to defend the city."
Liu Renzhan pointed to the camp in the northwest and said, "That must be Li Chongjin's elite guards. The tents in the camp are much better than those of the soldiers under the city. They are so far away that they can't help us in time. This autumn, the weather is fine and it is the time to recruit soldiers on the battlefield. We can take the initiative to attack at any time that is favorable to us. This is the right time. The attackers and Li Chongjin are not in harmony, but our army is united. This is the right people. Our army can attack from any gate. This is the right place. If we don't dare to use the troops even though we have the right time, place and people, won't the world laugh at us for being cowardly?"
He added: The Zhou army has many soldiers, but the elite troops are keeping still and watching the fire from the other side of the river. The troops under the city are just so-so, so don't be afraid.
Although the generals were still worried, they had great faith in the highly prestigious Liu Renzhan, and they all submitted after hearing what he said.
Liu Renzhan then gave orders to fight, selected elite infantry and cavalry from the army, and prepared quietly. He also appointed his own son Liu Chong as the vanguard commander to lead the elite troops to prepare for the attack.
Liu Renzhan carefully observed the deployment of the Zhou army for a whole day again and made a decision: the elite troops would leave the city from the west of Dinghu Gate, and after succeeding, they would first burn the equipment by the Fei River, then turn around and attack south, burn the siege equipment in front, and then enter the city from the south of Tongfei Gate.
He pointed to a camp in the southwest corner: This group of people seemed to have strict military discipline and might be capable of fighting. The cavalry should catch them off guard and disperse their camp, and don't let them gather into a formation.
Liu Renzhan was on the tower, looking down from above, pointing his finger at the distance, as if he was pointing at the heaven and earth with the flick of his sleeves. He stood tall, looking up to the wind, and the thousands of soldiers and horses under the city seemed not to be a threat to him, and had already been trampled under his feet.
At this moment, Liu Renzhan frowned and saw the Zhou general from that day wandering in the distance. Although he couldn't see his face clearly, Liu Renzhan still recognized him as the one who rode to the city and wanted to shoot him with a bow and arrow. Many generals in the Zhou Dynasty were good at shooting. Legend has it that a Zhou general shot and killed a general of the defending army on the city wall at a distance of more than 200 steps. Liu Renzhan felt that this was inconsistent, but it was only an exaggeration in distance. He didn't want to play such tricks with the other general.
Bring the crossbow over here, I'll see if he dares to come near. Liu Renzhan immediately gave the order.
The general was two or three hundred steps away, and seemed to have spotted Liu Renzhan again, and was sitting on his horse, looking up. Liu Renzhan also frowned and looked at him, and the two of them stared at each other from a distance again.
But this time the general did not come, so Liu Renzhan ordered his subordinates to scold him. The man on the horse put his hand next to his ear and tilted his ear towards him, as if to indicate that he could not hear clearly.
Liu Renzhan couldn't help but mutter: In a few days, I will let you see how powerful I am, and then I will settle the matter with you.
He ignored it and ordered Liu Chong to select elite soldiers from various units and gather the troops to the west of the city, ready to act at any time. However, Liu Renzhan also had to observe in person when to open the city and seize the opportunity he thought was favorable.
At this time, the sun had gradually set on the horizon, and the Zhou army's catapults had also stopped firing. Those tall and heavy machines stood in the afterglow of the setting sun, forming dark shadows, and some levers were still rotating. At this moment, if you have seen the oil well drilling machine, you will definitely think of the scene on the oil well at sunset.
I wish you and your family happiness during the Mid-Autumn Festival. . . . There will be another update in the evening.