Han Zuo Gaomen

Chapter 927
Located on a slope not far from Santai in Yecheng, Ma Qiu stared at the crowded city and the flag hanging on the city that often woke him up in dreams in recent years, his slightly sunken eye sockets were full of tears. Serious thinking.

Compared with a few years ago, his appearance is very different, his body is more majestic and thick, and he has a stable and firm temperament. At a glance, he is a warrior who is used to life and death and has been in battle for a long time. Then there is the trio general who was raised by the powerful family in the early years, although he was full of vigor but less than ordinary experience.

The fact is exactly the same. He followed the king of Zhongshan back to Hebei, settled the chaos and suppressed the frontiers, defeated the Duan family, attacked Murong, drove Linhu, and captured Suotou. The leading young warrior in Hebei has become one of the most important generals under Zhongshan King's command. Even Kui'an and other veterans among the elders of the Jie nationality are dwarfed by him.

However, even so, there is still a nightmare that lingers in his heart for a long time.Or it wasn't just him, most of the generals who followed King Zhongshan to the south to participate in the Huai Shang battle had such a scar that they didn't want to mention.

Defeat is not terrible, what is terrible is that at the moment when life is conscious of the most beautiful and the most hopeful for the future, suddenly awakened from a dream, fled in a panic in an extremely absurd manner, full of shock, full of unwillingness, full of annoyance, and full of hope. It's palpitations.

Although later, they followed Zhongshan King to fight in Hebei under the extremely bad situation, and reversed the unfavorable situation little by little, and once again became the number one army in Hebei, which made people lose their face, and their collapsed confidence was restored and strengthened again.

But the big defeat at Huai Shang a few years ago, even in private, they didn't want to mention it to each other, and even felt the deep-seated fear in their sleep, and they were still full of strong humiliation after waking up. .

This year's battle, from the beginning of knowing that the Huainan Army was going north, Zhongshan King Bing Maqiu and other generals have been paying attention to it.Shi Kan's slow reaction and the disputes among his subordinates, they all saw it in their eyes, and their hearts were filled with an indescribable bad taste. As a bystander, they watched Shi Kan bewildered and didn't know that his death was coming. .

But when they realize that today's Shikan tribes are quite similar to their mentality back then, this evil pleasure will inevitably be greatly reduced.

When he learned that the Huainan army had reached the boundary, King Zhongshan summoned all the generals and made it clear that he would attack Yecheng.In the eyes of other generals, this is just an ordinary strategic goal. Although they are already very strong, they can only be regarded as the real overlords of Hebei only when they take down Xiangguo and Yecheng.

But only Ma Qiu and others know that the reason why King Zhongshan is determined to take Yecheng is another layer of revenge and even the meaning of smoothing out the fear in his heart.

If Yecheng was only regarded as a strategic goal, it would not be possible to give up the occupation of Qingzhou so early. After all, Qingzhou is a great source of money and food.Moreover, Xiangguo has been under siege for so long, and it is almost exhausted, so there is no need to mobilize troops from Yuanyi.

Subconsciously, King Zhongshan felt that Shi Kan would not be the opponent of the Huainan army, and the Huainan army might not be willing to reap the benefits of the fisherman. Therefore, a big battle between the two sides will definitely break out in Hebei, so we must concentrate all our forces and use the best The state of the Huainan army.

This kind of obsession, if you haven't experienced the ordeal at the beginning, you may not be able to understand it, and if you can't get revenge, the person involved will be ashamed to mention it.

It is precisely because of this obsession that the King of Zhongshan has always been paying close attention to the situation in Yecheng. Once the defensive force to kill Yecheng is insufficient, he immediately sent Ma Qiu to lead the cavalry to quickly rush to occupy Yecheng and consolidate it. Take the advantage of geography.

Right now, the battle in Xiangguo has also reached a critical moment. The sudden withdrawal of thousands of cavalry troops has a great impact on the battle, so Kui'an and other veterans are somewhat puzzled.

In their view, the Huainan army is far away from fighting, and Shi Kan is not mediocre, and he is sitting on tens of thousands of heroes in Hebei. It is impossible to win or lose the battle in the south too quickly. If you are in a hurry, you should put Xiangguo in the first place, first rectify the legal system, and then go south for profit.

To take a step back, even if the Huainan army defeated Shi Kan in the near future, they occupied Yecheng first.But after all, the guest army is fighting, and Hebei is a battlefield environment that they are completely unfamiliar with, so they can easily break through.

Being in such a panic right now, attracting the enemy to move and sharing strength, not only affects one's own military rhythm, but also shows timidity and lack of self-confidence.

Regarding this point, King Zhongshan did not give any explanation, but all the generals including Ma Qiu knew that they really did not have confidence, even within Hebei itself.

Facts have proved that Zhongshan Wang's caution is not superfluous.When Ma Qiu came to the south, he learned that Yecheng had been captured by the Huainan army. The confidence he had built up in the past few years almost collapsed, and he almost turned his head back.

However, he also realized that the forces under King Zhongshan were in an extremely delicate situation.

Although the King of Zhongshan himself is still strong and has made great military achievements in the past few years, he has retreated after all, and the old prestige is always shaken. Now the generals under his command, although Ma Qiu and other direct descendants are growing very fast, they still have to rely heavily on Kui'an and those Jie The elders of the family, and the other followers of Hu Yi are not as respectful as in previous years.

If he retreats without a fight this time, not to mention the ridicule he will encounter, the king of Zhongshan will definitely lose face, and even affect the current Xiangguo war.

Therefore, he could only grit his teeth, bite the bullet and continue to come south.Fortunately, on the way to the south, I learned more and more about the enemy. I knew that the Huainan army's attack on Yecheng was only a part of the army.As for the main force, they are still confronting Shi Kan's army on the south bank of Liyang.

After learning this, Ma Qiu breathed a sigh of relief, and then his mood became heavy again.It's just that it's just a partial division all the way. Before the main force has yet to advance north, Yecheng was captured so easily!

"This enemy general, Xie Ai... is indeed not an ordinary type."

Looking at the city not far away, Ma Qiu frowned even closer.He had never heard of the name Xie Ai before. He originally thought that even if the Huainan Army was able to create such a big momentum even if it went northward, at least it should be a general of the level such as Guo Song and Mao Bao. It is such a silent and nameless person.

However, although his name is unknown, after asking some Hebei people who had been in the rebel army a few days ago, he also understood Xie Ai's deeds since he went to the north, and he did not dare to neglect.Especially after learning about the three-banners military order that had spread around Yecheng in the past few days, I feel that this Xie Ai is by no means an ordinary general known for his bravery.

Such a view was never possessed by Ma Qiu in his early years.In the past, he only felt that in the face of absolute strength, all schemes and the like were vain, and they could be destroyed at the first glance. However, when their absolute strength surged southward, and their brains were almost blown out, he gradually realized that there are no absolutes in the world. relatively.

In particular, war is full of variables. It is a dynamic contest involving tens of thousands of people and fierce changes. Even relative advantages will be fleeting.

Of course, attaching importance to Xie Ai is important, but it is not enough to make Ma Qiu timid.In his opinion, even though Xie Ai had some clever tricks, he was just a low-ranking member of the Huainan Army who made a dangerous effort.

Just like in his early years, he always hoped to make great achievements and take risks frequently, but in fact, he is a general who can truly take charge of the field, so he will not be obsessed with this kind of risk-taking.If it's just one city and one place gaining or losing, this kind of bravery is commendable, but in a truly large-scale war, one or two risks may yield miraculous results, but it is also very likely to be self-defeating.

For example, right now, this Xie Ai seems to have extraordinary abilities, lightly marching northward to stir up the wind and rain, and in a very short period of time, he gathered tens of thousands of rioters and took Yecheng in one fell swoop.But this is also because of his backing against the huge Huainan Army, and those rioters are also because of the mighty Huainan Army.

But this Xie Ai made at least two fatal mistakes. The first is to overestimate the appeal of the Huainan army in Hebei. Once the chaotic people who are attached to him know that a strong enemy is coming, they will quickly abandon them.

This is tantamount to consuming the oppressive momentum created by the Huainan Army in advance. Even if the Huainan Army gains the upper hand later, these capricious people dare not take refuge in the past easily after exposing their shortcomings, fearing that they will be held accountable afterwards.

The second is to take a goal that is too big for its ability prematurely. Yecheng is one of the most important cities in Hebei, and no matter whether it gains or loses, it will cause a huge shock in the hearts of Hebei people.

Right now, the main force of the Huainan army is still by the river, and they are out of touch with the side divisions. It is true that taking Yecheng can strengthen its army, but if Xuan Xuan loses it, it will also greatly damage the army's prestige, which will inevitably affect or even disrupt the battle rhythm of the main force.

For example, right now, Ma Qiu has taken the absolute initiative. He can either surround the points for reinforcements, or directly attack Yecheng with force.

Each of these two has its own advantages. The former can take advantage of the Huainan Army's eagerness for reinforcements and effectively eliminate those who came to reinforce them.The latter can deter those who are wavering around and let them realize who is the real master of Hebei.

Moreover, it is also possible to have both. On the one hand, the rebels who returned along the way were sent to besiege and attack the enemy in Yecheng; on the other hand, scouts were widely deployed in the south.

Although Ma Qiu also heard from those people that the battle of Liyang was over and the Huainan army had won, he didn't really believe that Shi Kan would be so vulnerable.Even if this was true, the Huainan army would have a hard time holding back their mood with the huge temptation of Yecheng in front of them. The army will advance slowly, and there will be light soldiers rushing to help, and it will still give him a chance to break it separately.

Therefore, when he saw that there were no large-scale rebellious troops going out in the city, Ma Qiu led the army to move around the three platforms, and drove the rebellious troops that were wandering near the bank to a further place, but he did not let go. Let's kill.If you do this now, you will just force them to be enemies with you, and there will be no benefit other than venting your anger and acting fiercely.

In the end, Ma Qiu's army stopped at the southeast of Sandai.Right now his army is divided into two parts, one part is the [-] cavalry led by him from the south, and the other part is the thousands of Hebei rebels who took refuge along the way.Among the soldiers who came here for refuge, the leader was Zhang Lu from the Zhang family of Zongyangping, a local township in Hebei.

The cavalry itself is not used for attacking fortifications. Although the soldiers led by Ma Qiu are elites who are brave in both walking and cavalry, they do not intend to completely suppress the main force.So the initial siege test was naturally handed over to the rebellious army led by Yangping Zhang Lu.

"Yecheng is a great city in the country, and it is also the old foundation of the great king's achievements. It is a great shame for the strong men in our country to be captured by the southern thieves because of their incompetence! Right now, the southern thieves defending the city are nothing more than weak teachers and weak brigades. If you can fight Take it back, the king will reward you in the future!"

Ma Qiu recruited Zhang Lu and other leaders of the rebellious army to his eyes, and put on an attitude of encouragement, but in fact he had a lot of disgust for Zhang Lu.Because although Zhang Lu is from the family of the Jin people, he is considered relatives with Zhang Jie, the Jie general under the king's command, and Zhang Jack has no lack of competition with Ma Qiu right now.

In the future, if Zhang Lu belongs to the king, he will definitely become the power of Zhang Jackal's direct line.So at the moment to arrange for these disorderly troops to attack the city, Ma Qiu also wanted to consume Zhang Jackal's strength in advance, which can be regarded as killing two birds with one stone.

The Huainan Army's weapons are excellent, especially the long-range strikes are ferocious, but Ma Qiu's memory is still fresh. Zhang Lu's mob stepped forward to attack, which was completely consuming human lives.

Zhang Lu and the others didn't know that Ma Qiu had sinister intentions, or even if they knew, they would have nothing to do.After hearing Ma Qiu's encouragement, Zhang Lu and others also laughed and said: "The southern thieves messed up our country, and each other has great hatred. Now that General Ma is leading an army to help, we and the villagers will fight bravely for the sake of our country. Your Majesty will take back Ye City!"

After these people patted their chests and made promises, Dang even led their troops and approached Santai aggressively.Ma Qiu sent a large number of scouts to visit the south, and at the same time led the headquarters to follow slowly after the town.

Santai in Yecheng is a huge military stronghold, and the outermost area is a large area of ​​shack residential areas, mixed with some luxury manors.But right now, most of these buildings have already been vacated, and some of the houses left behind are made of heavy wood and stone materials, and they are left there unattended. Now they can be dismantled to make some simple siege equipment.

Beyond the three platforms, there was a plain. There used to be some ditches and other supporting fortifications. However, a large number of rebels gathered here before, digging and draining water for drinking water. At this moment, it is not enough to stop the rebels from attacking.

Soon, the rebels advanced under the city wall.This city had been built several times during the great prosperity of the Jie Kingdom. Although Shi Kan had not undergone major repairs in the past few years, he had also added many small-scale defenses.

Although a large number of rebels fled before, there are still nearly ten thousand people in the city.There are thousands of people scattered on the top of the city and on the towers of various bunkers, which should not be underestimated.

The rebellious army divided into several groups, and moved forward slowly against the wooden boards. When they reached within the range, a sparse rain of arrows was thrown from the top of the city.This caused a certain amount of trouble to the march of the chaotic army, and the originally loose formation became more scattered.

Seeing it, Ma Qiu from behind couldn't help shaking his head and sighing.Although he has not experienced a few tough battles, he can also see that it is only a hell that these chaotic troops can capture a strong and tall city.

Although Ma Qiu didn't intend to send his elite to dismount and attack the city, he still had some thoughts when he was in battle, so he led hundreds of cavalry around the city to watch and choose a few suitable places to attack the city.

Waiting and watching like this did make Ma Qiu discover a lot, for example, in the southwest corner of the city, it seems to be the Shikan cavalry barracks.There is a gap in the tall city wall here, and a gentle slope padded with earth and rocks extends into the city. When encountering a siege, if a cavalry is suddenly sent out from here to attack the enemy's position, it can be regarded as a powerful means of counterattack.

However, it is obvious that the Huainan army cannot use this arrangement, and they do not have a large-scale cavalry team at all.So the gap was blocked by messy trees, earth and rocks, and the slope extending outward was also cut off a few sections.

However, the overall layout reveals a sense of haste and crudeness, which is also in line with the facts. The Huainan army has only been stationed in Yecheng for a few days, and a large number of disorderly troops have to be integrated. It is absolutely impossible to fully manage the city in such a short period of time. No bugs.

Ma Qiu tried to lead the crowd to attack the slope once, and the dug-out gullies could not stop his cavalry with superb riding skills.Within a few breaths, the group reached the gap, and through the gaps between the wood and stones, they could see hundreds of Huainan soldiers waiting in formation behind them.

The Huainan army in the city also noticed the approach of the enemy, and hurriedly drew their bows and threw them outward. Ma Qiu swung his knife to split a few flying arrows, and couldn't help raising his eyebrows slightly. These arrows seemed to be weaker.

This discovery was hidden in his heart, and then he pulled his horse back and continued to observe around the city.There are still a few similar defensive loopholes, but there are Huainan soldiers stationed separately at the rear, which shows that they really put their heart into defending the city, but it is a pity that the time left for them is too short, and it is difficult to do everything.

When Ma Qiu returned to the attack site, he was so angry that he couldn't help but let out a rough breath from his nostrils.

This is also an excellent location to attack. There are several collapsed warehouse wrecks piled up directly at the foot of the city. The highest place is even less than ten feet away from the top of the city. One of the passages for the rebellious army to enter the city.

The Huainan army deployed about 2000 people here and there, and the number of attacking chaotic troops was more than [-]. At first, the momentum was not bad. Although the formation was messy, the noisy crowd was enough to shock people.

But in the middle of the attack, a team of hundreds of people suddenly jumped out from the top of the city, rushed into the rebellious army, hacked and killed dozens of people, and the rest of the rebellious army collapsed.When Ma Qiu returned, those rebels gathered in piles in the ruins far from the city wall, and they remained in a stalemate.

"What a bunch of thugs!"

Seeing this scene, Ma Qiu cursed angrily, and immediately ordered people to rush into the battle line to pick up that Zhang Lu.

Ma Qiu got off his horse, drew out his saber and slashed at Zhang Lu's feet, and roared angrily: "The dog thief is so perfunctory, do you think I dare not kill you!"

Zhang Lu couldn't help trembling after hearing the words, touched the sweat on his face, and then said aggrievedly: "M, how dare the last general... Before rushing to the city, only the last general's troops were the first, but the southern thief jumped the wall and turned back. Killing, most of the dead are led by the last general. It is really a villager who has long been involved in farming and sang, and it is difficult to resist the fierceness of the bandits!"

After Ma Qiu heard the words, he sneered a few times, and understood that these villagers were cunning and fearless when looting property, but in the real situation where the two armies are confronting each other, they cannot be expected to have any heroic ambition.

After pondering for a while, he said in a deep voice: "I will give you three hundred elite soldiers, and if you attack again later if you are still timid and afraid to fight, I will never spare you!"

"Don't dare, don't dare..."

Zhang Lu nodded hurriedly, and then looked eagerly at Ma Qiu.

Ma Qiu suppressed the disgust in his heart, not only singled out [-] elite soldiers, but even distributed nearly [-] bows, knives and armors that Zhang Lu carried in the army, always giving some sweetness to drive them to work hard.

After receiving these aids, Zhang Lu felt quite elated when he returned to the battle formation. He first distributed the weapons to his family, and then he took a armor suit that was one size bigger, and covered it with difficulty. outside.

Although he felt quite hot and heavy, he also had a solid sense of security. Then he brandished his sword and ordered the soldiers to continue to attack.

With the addition of more than [-] Jiehu elites, the pace of the attack was much faster this time. The foothold on the slope of the city was too narrow, and several boarding points were erected on the side with wood and stone.

The counterattack on the top of the city has also become busy. The person in charge of this section of defense is Wang Guang, the surrendered general from Ji County earlier. He is also considered a quite qualified general.

Although the enemy's offensive became more ferocious, it did not put too much pressure on the city. Wang Guang ordered the soldiers to throw bows, arrows, wood and stones to respond to the enemy.This section of the city was mainly defended by the rebel army from Ji County. Although there was a lot of panic, the enemy army was really not an elite army, and they were able to defend for a while.

The battle lasted for nearly an hour, and both sides were exhausted. Ma Qiu didn't expect these people to make any breakthroughs. When the battle was going on here, he led nearly a thousand soldiers to run around the city, and tentatively Harassed several defensive holes.Although there was no official attack, the enemy did not dare to relax under such circumstances, and naturally needed to deploy troops to deal with it.

After several trials like this, Ma Qiu roughly figured out the laws of the defense and dispatch of these enemy troops.Nearly [-] troops may seem like a lot, but you must know that the Three Terraces of Yecheng is a huge stronghold that can accommodate hundreds of thousands of people, so it is natural to focus on defense.

It is obvious that the enemy general Xie Ai is a newcomer. Although he has a dangerous strategy, but in such a battlefield environment where the general's basic dispatching ability is extremely tested, his performance is jerky and immature, and he has neglected the other several times.That is to say, Ma Qiu has become cautious now. If he really attacked strongly, he might have already entered the city.

When the sun was about to set, the first scouts sent back all the way back, said that a large number of routs had already appeared in the south, and it could be confirmed that the battle of Liyang was indeed won by the Huainan Army.

When Ma Qiu heard the news, he felt awe-inspiring, and after pondering for a while, Dang even ordered the soldiers to report the matter to King Zhongshan immediately, hoping that King Zhongshan would send some reinforcements to catch up as soon as conditions permit. Come to Yecheng.

At the same time, he also sent an order to the army to attack the city immediately, and make cooking and drinking after entering the city.He has already figured out the reality of this enemy general, so he doesn't need to waste any more time, and it doesn't make much sense to surround the spot for reinforcements.In a few hours, a large number of routs may appear in the south of Yecheng, and the first wave of reinforcements from the Huainan Army will also appear.

So right now, it is necessary to seize Yecheng as a stronghold first to avoid falling into a two-line battle, then arrange Zhang Lu and others to coordinate defense, and then lead the crowd to meet the enemy.

Soon, the cavalry of Ma Qiu's troops were divided into several thousand-man brigades, and rushed directly to the directions designated by Ma Qiu.And he led thousands of people outside, quickly wandering between various battlefields.These cavalry arrived at the battlefield quickly, then dismounted and rushed towards the holes with swords and bows.

Attacks were launched from several directions at the same time. Sure enough, the Huainan army's mobilization in the city was out of touch. One of the loopholes was not taken into account. Nearly a thousand Jiehu troops rushed in, while there were only hundreds of Huainan soldiers inside. Festival defeat.

Aware of this, Ma Qiu immediately ordered the soldiers in the other battlefields to quickly abandon the battle and get on their horses to move to the battlefield. In less than a quarter of an hour, more than [-] soldiers rushed into the city and wiped out the defense that was already full of loopholes. Tear a big gap.

However, at this moment, several tall warehouse stacks suddenly collapsed near the gap, and smoke and dust rose into the sky.

"The fish has finally bit the bait."

At this time, outside the smoke and dust, Xie Ai frowned slightly, staring at the pawns who were knocked down by the stacks and howling, he let out a long breath, and said in surprise: "It is so obvious that the enemy is still deficient. Being able to hold back the sun, I originally thought that this time the arrangement was useless."

Although there will be a tough battle after the enemy is brought into the city, Hu Run and other generals, seeing that Xie Ai's scheme has succeeded again, can't help laughing and said: "Maybe the thief general Ji Long sent this time also did it in the early years." Participating in the Huai Shang battle, I was terrified by the master Wang, so I must be cautious."

There is no lack of gimmicks in saying this, but neither the speaker nor the listener probably guessed that this is already a fact.

　It's another big chapter. I wanted to finish it completely, but I wrote a little more logically about the behavior of the characters, so I still couldn't finish it all. . .

　　
　
(End of this chapter)