Fenghou

Chapter 657
The [-] army set off immediately and arrived at the Yellow River at dusk. Two thousand engineering soldiers quickly built a pontoon bridge with sheepskin rafts. At one watch, the pontoon bridge was built. The pontoon bridge was about two feet wide. Two thick ropes were fixed on each side. They quickly crossed the Yellow River, and when it was almost dawn, all the [-] troops had crossed the Yellow River. In order to prevent unexpected intelligence, the engineering soldiers immediately dismantled the pontoon bridge.

After crossing the Yellow River, only [-] miles away from Yingli County, Liu Qiong ordered the army to rest in place and wait patiently for nightfall.

At this time, Yang Rui rushed back in time, and in a small camp tent, he reported to Liu Qiong and Tang Qian what he had observed last night.

"The circumference of the city is about twenty miles. There are about [-] people guarding the city at night. There are two gates in the east and west. Among them, the western city has the largest defenders, with about [-] people. The other three cities have about the same number of people."

"What about the defense during the day?" Tang Qian asked.

"Day and night are about the same, and there are about [-] people. I feel that the [-] people are divided into three shifts. It is obvious that they are well-trained."

"How do you know you're well-trained?"

They are interactive patrols, invulnerable.

Therefore, interactive patrol means that two teams of patrol soldiers are facing each other, and there will be no loopholes because one patrol team turns around to leave, and because the other patrol team is coming head-on, there will be no patrol loopholes on the city wall.

Liu Qiong and Tang Qian glanced at each other. They both had a lot of experience. From a city defender, it could be seen that the Xixia Army was well-trained and did not relax because they were far behind. Sneak attacks were not easy to fight.

Liu Qiong asked again: "How high is the city wall? Is there a moat?"

"The city wall is about two to five to three feet high, and there is no moat!"

Similar to the information they received before, except for the capital Xingqing, the Xixia cities do not have moats.

"How was the weather last night?"

Tang Qian asked carefully again. As the leader of the scouts, he knew the importance of the weather, and sometimes it would determine the success or failure of a war.

"It was clear in the first half of the night, but the clouds became more cloudy in the second half of the night."

Tang Qian nodded. It has been like this for the past few nights. It was clear in the first half of the night and cloudy in the second half of the night. I don't know if it will be the same tonight.

"General Tang, how do you think we should fight?" Liu Qiong asked.

Tang Qian pondered for a while and said, "Our biggest advantage is that the enemy doesn't know we exist. We must persist in this point. I think we still have to use fire oil. This is also our advantage and we cannot give up."

The two discussed for a while, and soon reached an agreement that Tang Qian would lead a thousand scouts to attack from the east wall, seize the city gate as soon as possible, and let the cavalry rush in.

Liu Qiong also considered pretending to be the Xixia army to deceive the city gate, but later gave up this idea. Xixia has its own complete and strict military system, and it also uses order and symbols, but what does the order of the Xixia army look like? No one knew, let alone what order talisman the Yingli County defenders had agreed to use with the imperial court, so it was completely unrealistic to cheat the city.

The Xixia army is not a puppet Qi army. They are well-trained and tenacious in combat. It is also wishful thinking to seize the city without bloodshed. Liu Qiong and Tang Qian know very well that they can't capture the city without going through a bloody battle. As long as the cavalry enters the city, they will Can use superior force to defeat the opponent.

Sure enough, it was the same night as last night. After four o’clock, the clouds in the dark blue sky finally increased. Pieces of gray clouds were flying southward at high speed in the sky, and a round of clear full moon appeared and disappeared in the clouds. , The land is sometimes covered with silver light, and sometimes it is pitch black.

Tang Qian led [-] elite soldiers to prostrate on the ground, followed by [-] soldiers. All [-] soldiers were carrying a skin bag of kerosene, about ten catties of kerosene, a shield on their backs, and swords in their hands.

When a piece of land covered the moon, the earth immediately became pitch black. Tang Qian and Sanbai's subordinates were waiting for this opportunity. They immediately got up and ran forward. After a while, the dark clouds drifted past, and the earth was once again covered with a layer of silver. , Song Jun lay motionless on the ground again.

There are about [-] defenders on the top of the city. They are patrolling back and forth on the top of the city. Although they are not hiding and sleeping, they will not stare at the outside of the city. After all, they are thousands of miles away from Lanzhou, and the war has not yet started. The system is strict, but the mentality of the soldiers is relaxed.

When the earth became dark again, Tang Qian led the soldiers to rush to the city wall again.

At this time, two Xixia cavalrymen rushed over from a distance, and the sound of horseshoes attracted the attention of the soldiers at the top of the city. The soldiers who had been patrolling also stopped in their tracks. A noose flew up to the top of the city and entangled the battlements.

The soldiers of the Song Army began to climb up quickly, and the defenders on the top of the city shouted and asked questions, and the soldiers on the top of the city sent letters answered impatiently, unwilling to cooperate with the requirements of the soldiers on the top of the city to check the order talisman.

Of course they couldn't get the order talisman, but they kept saying that they came from the capital with a look of arrogance.

The guard on the top of the city said angrily: "Don't think that you can disobey the rules because you are from the capital. Rules are rules. If you can't get a token, don't let me open the city!"

Several soldiers were lying on the battlements to watch the excitement. One of the soldiers glanced north inadvertently, just in time to see a black figure jumping off the battlements. , to illuminate the earth and the city walls into silvery white.

Under the bright moonlight, I saw dozens of black shadows struggling to climb up the city. The soldier was stunned. He suspected that he had seen it wrong. He rubbed his eyes and looked again, and immediately shouted, "There is an enemy! There is an enemy!"

The Xixia soldiers on the top of the city looked out one after another, saw the soldiers of the Song Army below the city, and shouted, "There is an enemy situation!"

"Dang! Dang! Dang!"

The ear-piercing alarm bell rang, and the whole city was shocked.

Tang Qian yelled inwardly, "Oops, they went up with less than a hundred people before they were discovered by the enemy. They were still one mile away from the city gate, so it would be difficult to seize the city gate."

Tang Qian immediately made a decision and ordered: "Give up going to the city and shoot two gunpowder arrows!"

Two red gunpowder arrows shot into the sky, and five hundred elite soldiers three hundred steps away and tens of thousands of cavalry two miles away launched simultaneously and rushed towards the city gate.

The Song Army also had a backup plan, which was to prepare a battering ram. If it failed to seize the city, it would use the battering ram.

Only two gunpowder arrows were fired, which meant that the capture of the city might have failed, and a backup plan was launched immediately. A hundred soldiers rushed forward with a huge battering ram, and two hundred soldiers on both sides raised their shields to protect them.

The fire was on the top of the city, and the soldiers sprayed out the kerosene, and the two ends of the city were on fire. Three soldiers spraying kerosene fell to the ground with arrows.

Yang Rui shouted, "Raise the shield!"

The soldiers squatted down, raised their shields, and resisted the enemy's dense arrows. There were more and more arrows, and the enemy reinforcements arrived. A soldier shouted from the battlements: "General Yang, Commander Tang ordered an immediate retreat!"

Yang Rui waved his hand, "Retreat!"

Song Jun held up his shield and retreated, grabbed the rope and slid down to the city.

Yang Rui suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back. He was shot by an arrow. When he turned his head, he saw dozens of Xixia soldiers climbing up from the inner city ladder, and there were still a dozen Song soldiers on the top of the city who had not retreated. .

Yang Rui roared, raised his shield and rushed up, swung his saber and slashed. Two Xixia soldiers couldn't dodge, were hit in the neck by the saber, and fell down the city screaming.

"General!"

Just as the soldiers were about to step forward to help, Yang Rui turned around and yelled, "The military order is like a mountain, retreat! Retreat!"

With tears in their eyes, the soldiers turned and went down the city one after another. Yang Rui slashed left and right, killing several people in a row, but the arrow wound on his back also made his strength fade quickly, and his body staggered.

The Xixia soldiers seized the opportunity and stabbed at Yang Rui with more than a dozen spears. Yang Rui was stabbed three times in a row, one of which hit his left chest.

At the last moment of his life, Yang Rui jumped up with all his strength, and fell down the city with two Xixia soldiers in his arms. At the same time, the last of his men also retreated.

(End of this chapter)