cite Han

Chapter 399 Siege (3)

It is now midsummer, and although the sun has set, the sky is still bright.

"Clang, clang, clang..." Accompanied by bursts of clear gong sounds, Liu Jing's army stopped attacking the city and retreated from the battlefield in an orderly manner.

Seeing Liu Jingjun calling for gold to retreat, Cai Mao standing at the top of the city couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief, and looked around, seeing a mess as far as he could see.

The two sides fought fiercely for a whole day, Liu Jing's army suffered heavy casualties, and Jiangling's defenders also suffered heavy casualties. If things continue to be like today, within half a month, Jiangling will have no more soldiers to use.

Of course, Liu Jing couldn't last long with such an attack regardless of the cost.

Liu Qi, who had been hiding in the safe area behind since the start of the war, finally appeared at the top of the city to comfort the soldiers and inspire their morale.

At the same time, tens of thousands of civilians were driven up the city wall, carrying corpses, rescuing the wounded, recovering armor, arrows, sundries...

Liu Qi came to Cai Mao and said: "Military Master, you have worked hard." Then he looked out of the city and saw that Liu Jing's army was retreating in a neat line, the flags were not chaotic, and the order was in order. , if it can be used by adults, why be afraid of the north."

Cai Hao said, Jingnan people were not what they are now when they were under Zhang Xian's command.And this is what is scary about Liu Jing.

Liu Qi turned his head and asked Cai Mao beside him, "Military Master, after today's battle, from your point of view, are you sure you can stick to it for a month or two?"

Previously, Liu Biao tried to send troops to recapture Dangyang and re-open the roads between Xiangyang and Jiangling. As a result, the army could not attack Dangyang for a long time, and was defeated and returned to Xiangyang. They were unable to rescue Jiangling in a short time. Now they can only rely on themselves, and they must stick to it for at least a month or two. Only then can we wait for reinforcements from Xiangyang.

Cai Mao frowned and sighed: "When Liu Jing's child came across the river, I was confident that I could hold on for a year; before the war, I thought I could hold on for three months; after today's World War I, I think it is enough to hold on for a month." Fortunately."

When Liu Qi heard this, his expression became extremely ugly, and he said worriedly: "If it's only a month, the reinforcements may not be able to catch up."

Cai Mao said: "We have no rescue outside, and we are trapped in an isolated city. In addition, the southern thieves have very sophisticated attack tools and brave soldiers. One month is the limit." Baqiu is also the gateway to Jingnan, if Huang Jiangxia can go up the river and attack Baqiu to threaten Changsha, Liu Jing's army will definitely withdraw and retreat."

Hearing Cai Mao mentioning Huang Zu, Liu Qi became very angry. After Huang Zu defeated Sun Quan, he should have accepted it as soon as he saw it, but he was dazzled by the victory and pursued blindly. In the end, he was defeated by Sun Quan. Now he is hiding in the Jiang Xia is like a coward, unable to help at all, Liu Qi has the heart to kill this old thief.

Cai Mao didn't hate him, and the two looked at each other speechlessly for a moment.

Liu Jing returned to Jinxiang Daying, and immediately summoned the generals to hold a military meeting.

At the meeting, Li Yan, as a newcomer, actively offered advice and suggestions, and was very active.

Liu Jing also adopted his suggestion of digging tunnels. Jiangling City has high walls and thick walls, abundant grain reserves, and over [-] soldiers. It cannot be conquered in a short period of time.

Gan Ning proposed to recruit dare-death troops to attack Jiangling at night, and Liu Jing agreed after a little consideration.He didn't expect to capture Jiangling by night attack, as long as it could exhaust the enemy.

After nightfall, Gan Ning, Huang Zhong, and Wei Yan led [-] people to die, wearing armor and titles, resisting lifting the ladder, and went around the west wall to launch a surprise attack.

The reason for choosing this side is that the east and north city walls of Jiangling correspond to Liu Jing's Jinxiang and Jinan camps respectively, and are heavily guarded. In contrast, the west city wall is a little lax.

Gan Ning, Huang Zhong, and Wei Yan each with a hundred men entered the city at the same time from the upper, middle, and lower routes. The defenders didn't notice it immediately. Kill dozens of people.

Chaos broke out on the west city wall, and the shouts of killing filled the sky and covered the whole city. The people of Jiangling were all shocked. For a moment, the whole city was lit up with flames, reflecting the stars in the sky.

Chen Sheng, the defender of the west city, gathered his soldiers and rushed to the city to kill the enemy. However, Gan Ning, Huang Zhong, Wei Yan and others had already evacuated. At this time, there were only countless corpses and wounded defenders on the city.

Chen Sheng gritted his teeth in hatred, but there was nothing he could do.

Not long after, Cai Hao also rushed over. When he learned that Liu Jingjun had killed more than a hundred of his own troops and retreated calmly, his heart was filled with anger, and Chen Sheng, the general of the west city, naturally became his vent. The subject was scolded bloody.

Chen Sheng blushed and felt ashamed. He prostrated himself on the ground and pleaded guilty to Cai Mao. It was indeed his negligence that gave the enemy an opportunity.

Chen Sheng is a general in the army, and now he is in the midst of employing people, Cai Mao would not really punish him with military law, once he scolded him, his anger subsided, so he let him off lightly and let him take the blame and make meritorious service.

Cai Mao had just left the west wall, Gan Ning and the others came back, Cai Mao turned around and saw Gan Ning and the others did not go up the city again, but were clamoring outside the city.

At this time, the night was dark, and Cai Mao was afraid that there was an ambush outside, so he did not dare to send troops out of the city to attack it, but let the soldiers stand on the top of the city and drive them away with bows and crossbows.

Gan Ning led the crowd and disappeared into the night, and appeared in the north of the city half an hour later, making noises below the city, and then appeared in the east of the city, disturbing the Jiangling defenders all night, until Pingdan, when the sky gradually brightened, The ears of everyone finally calmed down.

Unfortunately, it didn't take long for Liu Jing's army to come out and attack Jiangling again.

Countless soldiers of Liu Jing's army braved the rain of arrows and stones to fight on the city wall and sacrificed their lives with the defenders. The sound of gold and iron clashing, the sound of weapons piercing the bones, and the screams of screams intertwined with each other, and together they composed the most cruel song in the world. of the movement.

The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, repeating the cycle, and Liu Jingjun is repeating the same thing mechanically every day-siege.

In a blink of an eye, May has come to an end. Liu Jing's army besieged Jiangling for ten days, but Jiangling remained standing. During this period, Gan Ning, Chu Fang, Han Guang and other warlord generals led their troops to the city one after another, fighting bloody battles, but they still failed to capture Jiangling.

After ten days, more than [-] soldiers were killed or injured, accounting for nearly one-sixth of the total number of the army. Liu Jing knew that Jiangling was not easy to capture, but seeing such a tragic number of casualties, he was still shocked.

At night, Liu Jing and Zhuge Liang shared the same bed. Talking about the casualties, he couldn't help sighing: "The "Art of War" said: "The first strategy is to attack the city, and the second is to attack the city. The method of attacking the city is a last resort." It is a wise saying." Machines and siege towers, even with the most advanced siege equipment in the classical era, it is still extremely difficult to lay down a strong city.

Zhuge Liang said: "The general occupies the entire south of Jing. Although we have suffered casualties, we can replenish our troops at any time. Jiangling is isolated and dead, and there is no place to replenish our troops. Recently, Jiangling has shown signs of decline. The day when the city can be conquered is not far away. "

"I hope so..."

(End of this chapter)