The Beacon of Kyushu

Chapter 84

In midsummer, the scorching sun shone on the sturdy and tall city of Youzhou, steaming the Liao army waiting in full battle.At this time, there stood a handsome young man on the top of the city, about thirty years old, wearing a battle armor and a floral robe, holding an exquisite gold-handled folding fan. Feel.

With his left hand behind his back, he gently shook the folding fan with his right hand, squinting his eyes as if admiring the forest in the distance and the not too wide but clear Gaoliang River beside the forest.Behind him was a lieutenant who stood obediently behind the young man, silent.It seemed that he was afraid that if he said a wrong sentence, he would be punished by this young man.

The young man stood at the top of the city for a long time, sweat dripping down his forehead and onto the white robe of flowers he was wearing.The young man's face became a little ugly, and he shouted: "It's so hot, it's so hot! I don't know when my father will return to Linhuang Mansion to report on his work. If he doesn't come back, his precious son will be dried up alive." !"

The deputy general said with a smile on his face: "Little prince, although the old man Zhao Guangyi personally brought tens of thousands of people to attack Yanyun, you don't have to work so hard every day. Otherwise, when King Yan comes back, you should blame the officials gone."

While the two were talking, they suddenly heard loud noises coming from all sides of Youzhou City, like earthquakes and thunder.Not to mention the inexperienced little prince Hande gave way, even the battle-tested lieutenant Yelubi and the soldiers guarding the city became pale after hearing the loud noise.

Han Derang grabbed Yelubi's sleeve and said in a panic, "What... what is this sound? Is it thunder or the ground moving? Send someone to check it out, hurry up!"

Yelvbi was equally astonished, pointed to the front and said: "My lord, there is no need to investigate this matter, you can see what it is!"

Han Derang looked in the direction of his finger, and saw an endless sea of ​​people in the distance, like dense black clouds rolling in the sky, or like rough waves in the sea, surging towards Youzhou The city was rushing in, and the deafening bangs were the sound of their uniform footsteps, the clanging of armored swords and guns, and the noise of people shouting and neighing.

As the army got closer, the sound became louder and louder. Even though Han Derang tried his best to cover his ears, he was still so shaken that he almost passed out.Yelubi hurriedly supported Han Derang, and said helplessly, "My lord, there are too many Song troops. Even if we fight to the end, we will die together. Why don't we surrender!"

Han Derang stomped his feet angrily when he heard the words, and cursed: "Yelubi, this prince is a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death. Unless my father gives orders, I would rather die in battle than surrender to the people of Song Dynasty!"

Yelubi sighed helplessly, "Hey, since you don't want to surrender, then you should think of a way. Otherwise, you can stop the Song army for a few days with only the tall city wall, but you will surely fall after a long time!"

Han Derang scratched his ears and cheeks anxiously, paced back and forth on the top of the city, looked down the city for a while, and sighed up to the sky for a while.Seeing this, Yelubi thought to himself: "If this little ancestor comes up with a plan, I'm afraid that Youzhou City has already been captured by the Song people."

Soon, the Song army gathered under the city of Youzhou.

Looking at the top of the city, Zhao Guangyi saw that the guard was a young man, so he asked Cao Bin, "Cao Qing's family, I remember that the guard of Youzhou is Han Kuangsi, king of Yan, but why is there a young man standing on the city?"

Cao Bin also looked towards the top of the city, and said after a while: "Officials, this person should be Han Derang, the son of Han Kuangsi. Han Kuangsi is probably going to Linhuang Mansion to report on his duties. He may be here to guard the city for his father."

Zhao Guangyi laughed loudly when he heard the words, and said: "Hahaha, God is helping me! The order will be passed down, the army will encircle Youzhou City on all sides, and the Liao army in the city must be unable to fly. As long as you take Youzhou City, the entire Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures It is my world!"

Cao Bin hurriedly said: "Officials, no! If the city is besieged on all sides, the Liao army will fight desperately, which is not beautiful. It is better to open the net, so that the hearts of the army in the city will definitely fluctuate. When the time comes, the officials will take Youzhou again. It will be like a bag!"

Zhao Guangyi shook his head and said: "Cao Qing's family, I have heard for a long time that Liao's iron cavalry is amazing. If the net is opened and the cavalry in the city rush out, I am afraid that our army camp will not be able to hold on. At that time, we will not be able to shake the enemy's army, but our army camp will be chaotic first. It’s better to besiege the city on all sides.”

Cao Bin wanted to continue admonishing, but Zhao Guangyi waved his hand and stopped him, "Cao Qing's family doesn't need to say any more, I've made up my mind, you just need to execute it!"

"Yes..." Cao Bin replied helplessly, and went to give the order.

Soon, the Song Army built three layers of camps around Youzhou City, encircling the majestic and sturdy Youzhou City. After a short rest, they launched an attack under Zhao Guangyi's order.Some of these Song soldiers were holding spears, some were holding shields, some were carrying ladders, and some were pushing carts, and rushed towards Youzhou fearlessly.

Han Derang stood at the top of the city, waved at the guarding soldiers, and shouted: "Shoot, shoot them to death! They must not be allowed to climb up to Youzhou City!" Following his words, countless Liao troops at the top of the city raised their bows at the same time. Nocking arrows, countless sharp arrows shot towards the attacking Song army like a storm.

Although the Song army was strong, they were all mortal bodies after all. In an instant, countless Song soldiers were shot by random arrows, some of them could persist in fighting, and more fell to the ground and died.Relying on the large number of people, the Song army receded like a tide and rose again. No matter how many comrades in the same robe fell in front of them, there were always countless people stepping on the bones all over the ground and charging forward.

Some of these people are for the ideals in their hearts, some are to satisfy the desire to kill and set fire, but most of them are to receive a reward so that the whole family can live a better life.In the face of ideals, desires, and emotions, let alone a towering and solid city wall and a rain of arrows all over the sky, even if there are mountains of swords and seas of fire waiting for them, they will move towards the goal in their hearts without hesitation.

In such an environment, cowards will also become brave, and scholars who have no power to restrain chickens will also become warriors who fight to the death. Even Han Derang and Zhao Guangyi pulled out their swords at the same time and rushed to the front line to personally command Supervisor.

At this time, both the city and the city were soaked in blood, shrouded in shouts of killing, and ignited by the raging flames in the chests of the soldiers.The sound of the drums and trumpets of the Song and Liao armies shook the heavens and the earth, and the fierce killing intent soared into the sky!
The war lasted from noon to night, and the two sides were still evenly matched.Not to mention the soldiers who fought bloody battles, even the coaches of both sides were exhausted. In desperation, they had to rest temporarily and continue fighting until tomorrow morning.

At night, a crescent moon hung in the sky, Zhao Guangyi stood in front of Huang Luo's big tent with his hands behind his back, looked at the cold moonlight, and said silently in his heart, "Second brother, the Northern Han Dynasty, which neither you nor Zhou Shizong had captured, has been captured. I will destroy the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun that you all miss, and I will definitely take it! I will let the whole world know that I am not inferior to you in terms of martial arts or martial arts!"

At this moment, a young man in a silver robe walked past Zhao Guangyi, and Zhao Guangyi hurriedly shouted: "Yun Tongjuan, I have something to ask you."

Yun Zixiao faltered slightly, and then walked towards Zhao Guangyi, "Official, what are you looking for with this official? Don't you want to send this official to talk about surrendering Han Derang?"

Zhao Guangyi stroked his long beard, and said expectantly: "Exactly, if Yun Tong was able to persuade Liu Jiyuan to surrender before the sentence, he must also be able to persuade Han De to submit to my Song Dynasty, right?"

Yun Zixiao shook his head helplessly, "Officials, Han Derang's grandfather, Han Zhigu, was the founding father of the Liao Kingdom, and his father, Han Kuangsi, also held the position of king of Yan. Presumably Han Derang will never be ungrateful and submit to the Song Dynasty even if he is not talented. of."

Zhao Guangyi frowned slightly, and asked: "Then Yun Tongpan has any clever plan to capture Youzhou as soon as possible?"

Yun Zixiao thought for a while, and said: "The official family, Youzhou City is high and strong, and the guards will not surrender easily, and the humble minister has nothing to do. However, the humble minister has a good friend named Mo Feigong, and he is very proficient in the mechanism. , maybe he will have a way."

Zhao Guangyi suddenly realized when he heard the words, and said: "Yes, why did I forget such a genius! Almost all the generals of the Daming Mansion went out with me, and most of them are also in the army. Go and find him quickly, I will take care of you." There is a reward!" Yun Zixiao bowed, retreated slowly, and quickly disappeared into the endless tents.

After a while, Yun Zixiao brought Mo Feigong to Zhao Guangyi.

Zhao Guangyi didn't wait for Mo Feigong to salute, so he quickly asked: "General Mo, can you help me capture Youzhou City? If I can recover the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun in one fell swoop, I will definitely reward you heavily when I return to court!" "

Mo Fei said confidently: "The officials, there will be three ways to destroy Youzhou in the end. I wonder which one the officials are willing to adopt?"

Zhao Guangyi excitedly said: "General Mo's words are serious, quickly follow my tent to talk!" After he finished speaking, he opened the curtain and walked quickly into the tent, Yun Zixiao and Mo Feigong followed closely behind, entering Entered the big tent of Huangluo.

The arrangement in the big tent is very simple, except for a large and solid wooden couch, there is a sandalwood table and several sandalwood chairs.On the sandalwood table, there are also a few ancient military books and a topographic map of the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun.

Zhao Guangyi went to a chair in the middle and sat down, and said to the two: "The enemy is at present, there is no need to worry so much, you two should sit down quickly."

The two hurriedly said: "I am waiting in front of the official, how dare I sit down?"

Zhao Guangyi smiled, "If I let you sit, you can sit! Not to mention sitting, as long as you can help me take down the Yanyun Sixteen States, you will lie on my couch, and I will never blame you." Hearing the words, the man hurriedly gave a deep salute, and then sat down opposite Zhao Guangyi as he said.

As soon as they sat down, Zhao Guangyi couldn't wait to ask: "General Mo, what kind of tricks are the three methods you mentioned just now?"

Mo Feigong hurriedly introduced them one by one: "Officials, the best strategy for the last general is to use gunpowder and iron sand to build forty cannons by machine. As long as these cannons are fired at the same time, they will surely blow up the city wall of Youzhou. The army can move unimpeded. The middle strategy is to slightly improve the thunderbolt chariot, so that the height of its throwing stones is divided into three types: far, middle and near. Far can be used to attack the city of Youzhou, middle can be used to attack the defenders at the top of the city, and close can be used to fight outside the city. The Liao army, so that every shot will not be thrown aimlessly, but pointed and hit like a bow and arrow. As for the worst strategy, it is to use shields to cover some troops to reach the city of Youzhou, dig tunnels around the city wall, and Buried fire starters in it, and covered it with wooden boards, so that the foundation of Youzhou City will collapse."

Zhao Guangyi was very excited when he heard the words, and said, "General Mo, how long will this best strategy take?"

Mo Feigong said with some embarrassment: "Officials, don't say that the general has never made artillery, and no one has ever done it in thousands of years, so it will take at least a year for the general to make forty guns. artillery."

Zhao Guangyi shook his head and sighed regretfully, "Oh, a year is too long. I'm afraid that the situation of the Song and Liao armies will be settled by then, so what's the use of artillery?"

Mo Feigong nodded, and said: "The middle strategy will take three months to complete. I'm afraid the war will be over after the improvement of the Perak Chariot."

Zhao Guangyi said helplessly: "That's right, it seems that the only solution for the current situation is to use the worst strategy. I hope that the city foundation of Youzhou has already decayed, and this strategy can succeed in one fell swoop."

Mo Feigong stood up, cupped his hands and said, "Guanjia, since you have decided to take the worst strategy, then go ahead and prepare for it. But I hope that the Guanjia will be prosperous and the sky will be full of blessings, and this plan will succeed immediately!"

(End of this chapter)