Fenghou

Chapter 997
Tang Qian captured [-] cargo ships by the river, all of which were flat-bottomed boats of [-] shi. Arriving in Xiangcheng County, eight thousand Song troops worked together to transport [-] shi of grain, [-] dans of forage, and a large amount of armored supplies onto ships and camels, and transported them back to Caizhou.

On the third day after Song Jun left Chenzhou, Jiedu envoy Li Qiong personally led an army of [-] to Xiangcheng County, Chenzhou. He was ordered by Wanyan Wushu to come to support Yingchang Mansion.

Li Qiong's face was very ugly. The food and supplies were looted, and there was nothing left. Some of the food and supplies belonged to him, but most of them were kept by Li Cheng. As one of the conditions for him to rescue Li Cheng, Wan Yanwu Shu also readily agreed.

But now that he has sent troops, the food and supplies have been taken away by the Song army. How can he rescue them next?

I was careless and sent too few guards, and Li Qiong regretted it for a while.

At this time, Deputy General Pan Gui stepped forward and said: "Jiedushi, I have just asked the government and the surrounding people, and they said that there are at least seven or eight thousand troops, far more than a thousand."

Li Qiong nodded, "I know, there must be more than a thousand people. With so much food and supplies, how could more than a thousand people move in just two days?"

"Could it be that Chen Qing sent troops to Caizhou?" Pan Gui asked in surprise.

"It stands to reason that no troops were sent."

Li Qiong pondered for a moment and said: "It should be a flexible cavalry force that can go wherever it is needed. Before capturing Yingchang Mansion, Chen Qing will not easily expand and disperse his forces."

"Jiedushi, what should we do now?" Several generals looked at him eagerly.

Li Qiong smiled wryly, he had already agreed to Wanyan Wushu, so could he withdraw the soldiers again?
He thought for a while and said: "It is estimated that there is still some grain in the folk warehouse, collect some, and take away what can be taken away. Yingchang Mansion is a major grain-producing area, and there should be grain in Yancheng."

Li Qiong's army ransacked Chenzhou again, and got more than [-] stones of grain and more than [-] ships. A few days later, the army marched to Yingchang Mansion in mighty force.

At the same time that Li Qiong's army arrived in Chenzhou, Chen Qing also personally led an army of [-] to attack Xuchang in a mighty manner.

On the official road to the east of Yingchang Mansion, a mighty army of [-] troops can't be seen at a glance, with dense spear points, shiny armor, and flags like clouds. There are more than [-] boats in the river next to it, and hundreds of trackers are on the shore. Pull the fiber.

Thousands of scout cavalry patrolled within [-] miles around the team to prevent enemy sneak attacks.

There are more than [-] camels in the middle of the team, keeping pace with the army, carrying heavy supplies, and striding forward.

Xiangcheng County is not far from Xuchang City, only more than a hundred miles, mainly because Xiangcheng County is close to Yingchang Mansion, basically a few miles to the east is Yingchang Mansion.

Chen Qing walked in front of the team on horseback, with big flags waving in the wind, but Chen Qing was listening to the report from Cheng Feng, the commander in chief. Cheng Feng was Tang Qian's lieutenant general, and he sent a thousand ships and a large amount of food and grass supplies.

"The humble staff also just got the news that on the third day after we left, Li Qiong led an army of [-] to Chenzhou. We were worried that he would withdraw to Bozhou if he ran out of food and grass, but we still collected some food and grass. , Continue to march towards Yingchang Mansion, now should be in Yancheng County of Yingchang Mansion."

Chen Qing turned his head and smiled at Zhang Xiao, the military adviser who had just arrived in Xiangcheng: "It seems that I was too worried, and I did everything possible to lure Li Qiong's army to come to Yingchang Mansion. Now it seems that there is no need at all, it is completely unnecessary."

Zhang Xiaowei smiled and said: "It should be Wanyan Wushu's order, Li Qiong dare not disobey, I guess Wanyan Wushu will also send [-] to [-] Jurchen cavalry south to look for opportunities."

After thinking for a while, Zhang Xiao continued: "Actually, I think it's a failure for Li Cheng to guard Xuchang County. If he doesn't defend Xuchang County, and join forces with Li Qiong and the Jurchen cavalry, he will have [-] to [-] soldiers. We can fight to the death."

Chen Qing shook his head, "Li Cheng has no way to control this plan. The Jurchen army came late, and Li Qiong's army also came late. Li Cheng must either stick to Xuchang County or give up Yingchang Mansion. I will never give them a chance to join forces. .”

Zhang Xiao said again: "Your Highness has thought about besieging the city and fighting for aid. Has anyone dealt with first?"

"I want to hear the opinion of the military division!"

Zhang Xiao pondered for a moment and said: "The Jurchens are cavalry, so it is not easy to fight. Li Qiong's army is infantry. It is enough to defeat him with [-] cavalry, but Li Qiong will definitely rely on the city to fight against our cavalry. The key here is to fight against our cavalry. Li Qiong's army led away from Jiancheng. At present, there are only two cities in Yingchuan Prefecture that can be defended. The others are small counties that are vulnerable. One fortified city is Xuchang County in the north, and the other fortified city is Yancheng County in the south. .”

Chen Qing said with a smile: "The most important thing is to lure Li Qiong's army out of Yancheng County, but Wanyanwushu will definitely help us achieve our wish. Wanyanwushu let them come to Xuchang, not let them stay in Yancheng Rest, you must put pressure on Li Qiong and force him to send troops north, just like he was forced to come to Yingchang Mansion."

Chen Qing said to Cheng Feng again: "Go back immediately and tell Tang Tongzhi to keep an eye on Li Qiong's army. Once his army leaves Yancheng and goes north, immediately cut off his retreat and prevent his army from returning to Yancheng. Then the army follows from afar, don't act rashly."

"Humble post obeys orders!"

Cheng Feng turned his horse's head and headed south with his men.

At this time, Gao Ding asked puzzled: "Could it be that Wanyan Wushu didn't expect that we would besiege the city and fight for aid, and he forced Li Qiong's army to go north?"

Chen Qing nodded, "Of course he wants to get it, but there are some things that must be done, such as support. Either the Jurchen army will come to support Xuchang, or Li Qiong's army will go north. He must let the signing army go north. According to the information we got , Wanyan Wushu is recruiting soldiers on a large scale again, and Zhang Zhongxiong is training the army in Kaifeng Mansion, do you understand? Every Jurchen soldier is very precious, but the Han soldiers are not necessarily so. As long as Li Qiong can escape, it is completely Yan Wushu will immediately replenish Li Qiong with new troops."

Gao Ding sighed, "I understand!"

At noon the next day, Chen Qing led the army to Xuchang County. Xuchang County was the old name of the Song Dynasty. The Jin Kingdom changed its name to Changshe County. The carriages drive side by side, and the moat is as wide as three feet.

There are about [-] people in the city and [-] defenders. The food stored in the city is enough to feed the entire city for half a year.

This is also due to the effective governance of Zhao Yuan, the magistrate of Yingchang, which has made it the number one grain-producing state in the Central Plains for seven consecutive years, and the only state without fleeing farmers. The people live and work in peace and contentment. .

The Western Army built a city-like barracks on the other side of the Yingshui River in the west of Xuchang County in three days, dug a ditch to divert water into the barracks, and built a wide bridge on the Yingshui River.

While building the barracks, hundreds of craftsmen began to install heavy trebuchets.

On the top of the city, Li Cheng stared at the barracks three miles away. Tens of thousands of troops were busy building the barracks. It turned out to be a plank barracks, which showed that the Song army didn't want to rush to attack the city.

"Jiedushi, the Song army didn't surround the city, so can we withdraw at any time?" A general asked in a low voice.

Li Cheng glared at him, "If I could withdraw, I would have withdrawn a long time ago. Chen Qing also knows that I will not withdraw, so there is no need to surround the city. But if you withdraw at this time, can you hide from his cavalry?"

Another general next to him said: "Chen Qing didn't besiege the city, I'm afraid he wanted to create opportunities for our reinforcements, and his real intention was to besiege the city and fight for reinforcements!"

Li Cheng nodded, "General Wang is absolutely correct. Chen Qing's real target is Li Qiong's [-] troops, but we must have reinforcements to arrive so that the soldiers can see hope and their morale can be maintained. If hope is lost, our The city will soon fall, and Chen Qing is well aware of this."

"Can you tell the soldiers that reinforcements are coming soon, like a kind of deception?"

Li Cheng smiled wryly and said: "Li Qiong can be deceived. They shouted to go north to support, but the army stayed in Yancheng, but we can't deceive the soldiers. We must keep sending people to ask for help from the fourth prince. As for whether Li Qiong will come or not?" , depends on how the fourth prince chooses."

At this time, Li Cheng's eyes fell on Yingshui two miles away. He saw the soldiers of the Song Army moving the huge catapult parts to An'an. His heart sank. The most worrying thing these days came. A heavy trebuchet.

(End of this chapter)