A day passed and Guo Shao didn't sleep well at night.
Early the next morning, the light outside the tent was dim and foggy. The weather should not change. The fog was formed by the lingering smoke from last night.
Your Majesty, I will boil some hot water for you, Lu Chengyong said behind him.
No need. Guo Shao withdrew his gaze from the door, lowered his head, scooped up cold water with both hands and poured it on his face. He exhaled and continued to wash his face with cold water.
His mind seemed to clear up a little, and he could clearly see the blue veins and pores on his arms, and the water droplets on his copper skin. When he stood up, a guard next to him handed him a cotton towel, and Guo Shao wiped his face and arms with it.
A servant was grinding ink. Outside the tent, orderly footsteps sounded, and two rows of armored soldiers walked out, and two young generals handed over the military tokens step by step.
Guo Shao dropped the towel, walked to the wooden desk and sat down. He picked up the brush and dipped it back and forth in the inkstone. Then he quickly drew a crooked right triangle on the paper, and then drew a vertical line in the middle.
This vertical line is like the height of the city wall of Youzhou City. One right angle side is the watchtower and the other side is the ground distance from the watchtower to the catapult position in the city.
The vertical wall divides the large right triangle into two similar triangles, one large and one small. Similar sides are proportional, and it is very easy to estimate them based on junior high school geometry knowledge; at least for Guo Shao.
If we want to build some watchtowers that can see the catapult positions, first of all, the closest position to the wall is 200 steps, about 300 meters. If it is too close, it may be within the range of heavy city defense weapons such as catapults and crossbows, and it will become a fixed live target. Secondly, the city wall is 30 feet high, about 10 meters. According to the ratio of the side length of the triangle, if the watchtower is 60 feet high, it can only see the scenery inside the city 200 steps away from the city wall.
This proves that it is impossible to see the arsenal in the city by building a watchtower, and the Liao army could not place the catapults 200 steps away from the city wall, so they could only attack their own people.
At this moment, a horn sounded in the air, of varying lengths and with a very boring and monotonous tone.
Guo Shao put down his brush and looked up to see how bright it was outside. It was getting light, but it seemed like it would take some time for the sun to rise.
A servant in cloth clothes and with his hair in a bun came in and said: Your Majesty, breakfast is ready.
I rinse my mouth first, then eat. Guo Shao's tone was steady.
The horn sound outside the tent would distract people's attention and make Guo Shao feel a little irritated; and it was a signal of preparation for war, which would increase the sense of urgency. But he still did not rush to eat breakfast while riding a horse like some ministers in Tokyo who went to court.
It's just that his movements became noticeably faster, but fast but not chaotic.
In his heart, Guo Shao has always believed that everything is made up of atoms, molecules and other particles. This concept suggests to him that as long as he keeps in the habit of small things, big things can still be under control.
He packed up, picked up a short sword with a gold-rimmed scabbard and hung it on his waist, then put it in a convenient position. Several servants in the tent bowed to Guo Shao.
The sun had already risen in the east, and it was still a sunny day today, but the residual smoke and haze over the camp made the sun look dim and unclear, as if there was a haze shrouding the sun.
Just like Guo Shao's mood, things were indeed not going smoothly.
Walking out of the tent, the view opened up. There were knights running outside the camp, a large number of soldiers in the camp were preparing weapons and armaments, some craftsmen were building equipment in the camp, and saws were making a clattering noise.
Just as he walked outside the central army tent, he saw Jingniang walking towards him quickly, so Guo Shao slowed down and waited.
Jingniang looked around and handed a torn envelope to Guo Shao without saying a word.
The secret sentries of the Bingcao Division have already discovered a large number of Liao cavalry between Miyun and Shunzhou in Tanzhou. Guo Shao pondered for a moment and thought: As expected, the Liao army still walked to Gubeikou, which is the closest point.
When he entered the central military tent, a group of civil and military officials were already waiting there. When they saw Guo Shao, they all stood up and saluted.
Guo Shao strode to the upper seat and sat down. Wang Pu immediately clasped his fists and said: "I have one thing to report first. Several tunnels were flooded last night. We have to abandon them and choose another place."
Guo Shao frowned and asked: Why is the water leaking now
As soon as the Zhou army arrived at Youzhou City, they began to build siege fortifications. They chose a location to dig tunnels and used gunpowder to blow up the city walls, and coordinated the siege with infantry and artillery. This had worked every time, and they followed the same strategy skillfully this time, with no reason to change these tactics.
Wang Pu said: The groundwater in Youzhou seems to be of varying depths. Although we have dug wells to test the depth, water still seeps in as we progress.
After hearing this, Guo Shao said: Let’s choose a new location, I will go to check it out later.
Wang Pu asked again: Last night the Central Army discussed the construction of a watchtower. Can the Front Camp Military Headquarters arrange for manpower
Guo Shao felt that building a watchtower was not very useful, but it was not completely useless. At a high place, it was easier to estimate the position of the enemy's catapults by throwing stones. Moreover, the central army could immediately come up with a countermeasure, which could also stabilize the morale of the army.
As for the method of filling the river and attacking the city, even if there are more casualties than before, we cannot stop.
Time was very tight, as the first batch of Liao reinforcements had already entered Hebei. Guo Shao immediately took out the report from the Bingcao Division and handed it to Wang Pu, and ordered that the various departments be informed of the situation reported by the Tang.
After a brief discussion, Guo Shao ordered the first drum to be struck in the central army. The military government also sent out messengers to convey the military order to various places.
Amid the rumbling of drums, the felt covering the cannons was lifted, and the soldiers in formation slowly moved forward. The land outside Youzhou City was like a huge machine running.
Northeast of Wenyu River, seven or eight Zhou army light cavalry were slowly wandering along a stream, not too far from another group of cavalry on the opposite side. The Zhou army light cavalry was equipped with leather armor, but the horses were not wearing heavy armor; the cavalry was even equipped with new plate armor, but the cavalry whose horses were not wearing iron armor were all classified as light cavalry.
The cavalry on the other side of the stream was more than ten Liao cavalrymen. Neither side made any rash moves nor ran away.
The Zhou army was led by a general. This was the first time he encountered Liao cavalry after wandering around for many days, so he did not leave immediately. The two sides just observed each other from a distance of about 100 steps, and neither spoke loudly, as if they were guessing each other's intentions.
The stream is neither wide nor deep, but it is at least half a person's depth, which will definitely affect the speed of the charge. There are also many rocks in the stream.
The lethality of a skilled cavalryman’s archery is only about 20 steps away, and it is not as easy to use the force on the horse as on the ground. So this distance is very delicate, and it is impossible to clash immediately, but you can see the opponent’s every move clearly.
Some of the soldiers were holding bows and arrows, some were holding swords and guns, and they watched nervously as the horsemen rode slowly.
At this moment, a small group of cavalrymen suddenly approached from the northwest. In the sunlight, the plate armor reflected the light, and it was obvious that they were Zhou's troops.
The morale of the Zhou army was immediately boosted, and they were all eager to give it a try.
Don't be impatient, just watch. The ten generals observed the direction and distance of their own people, took out a horizontal flute, and played an unpleasant sound.
The Liao army on the other side looked sideways, one at the stream and the other at the cavalry in the northwest.
The atmosphere suddenly became more tense. The ten generals of the Zhou army immediately put away their whistles, carefully pulled out arrows from their quivers, and said in a deep voice: "Brothers, pay attention! If they turn around and run, we will rush to them immediately."
He looked over and saw that the two sides were walking to a beach. This section of the stream was very shallow, not deep, and very flat and wide.
Prepare
Unexpectedly, there was a sudden loud shout from the opposite side, and the horses suddenly turned around and charged towards this side. The ten generals were not mistaken, the Liao cavalry did not run away, but rushed over instead.
The Zhou army soldiers had already spurred their horses to charge forward, and the ten generals no longer hesitated and shouted: Kill them!
Several riders spurred their horses to speed up, and the horses ran so fast that they soon stepped into the stream.
White waves splashed suddenly, and the ten generals widened their eyes, tensed their bodies, and quickly pulled the bowstring, aiming at the Liao cavalry in the front, with a bang. The arrow hit the target, but the opponent did not fall off the horse, and the distance was still a little far, and the arrow hit the opponent's armor.
After a moment, the sound of strings crackled and arrows hit the Zhou army's armor, making a clanging sound.
Without a word, the ten generals quickly put away their bows and drew a slender saber from their backs. Shouts of killing suddenly broke out.
General Dang Shi saw sparks flashing before his eyes, the collision of swords and knives, and the shock made his palms numb. The blades broke.
There was a scream immediately, and a Liao cavalryman smashed a Zhou soldier's shoulder with a blunt copper bone weapon, and the Zhou soldier fell off his horse. The two sides rushed past each other, and the sound of clanging and hitting could be heard from time to time.
A Zhou army knight stabbed with his lance but missed, but swept and hit a Liao army cavalryman. The lance was heavier than other horse-fighting weapons, but it did not knock the Liao army cavalryman off his horse. The guy turned sideways to relieve the force and did not fall off his horse. He sat back on the saddle very flexibly.
With a scream, the ten generals seized the right moment to draw their swords and slashed a Liao soldier just as a rider dodged past them. They then rushed past, leaving only the blood on their swords flying in the wind.
Soon the two armies crossed each other, and the remaining Zhou army hurriedly steadied their horses and rushed forward, stopping to turn their horses around. The ten generals looked hurriedly and saw that three riders were killed in the battle, all of them were injured and fell off their horses, still struggling in the stream. Half of the eight riders were killed in one go, while the Liao army only killed one rider and injured one.
The Liao army is twice as large as theirs.
Seven or eight Zhou cavalrymen from the northwest came up to reinforce them. The ten generals turned their heads quickly to take a look.
Someone hurriedly said: Wait for the reinforcements to come.
The ten generals looked at the three injured cavalrymen in the stream. The Liao army had turned around and started to charge again.
The tenth general said anxiously: If we leave now, the three brothers will be killed first. There is no time to weigh the pros and cons in the battle. The tenth general shouted: Kill them!