Daqin arrests alchemists, what does it matter to me as a qi refiner?

If we could take advantage of the opportunity to reclaim farmland and transport food and grass from Songzhou to the top of the city wall, we could provide a continuous supply of food to the soldiers and train them at the same time.

Everyone was silent for a long time, and finally someone agreed with Yang Ling's suggestion: "What the Marshal said makes sense. I support reclaiming the land."

“I also support the reclamation of fields.”

……

Soon, more than thirty subordinates stood up to express their support for Yang Ling's proposal. These subordinates were all soldiers who had just joined Yang Ling and had a quarrel with him over food and grass, and were eventually recruited by Yang Ling.

Although Yang Ling's behavior was somewhat radical, it was a strategy to save their lives. They all knew the serious consequences of lack of food and grass. If they were really defeated, they would not only lose their lives, but also their positions and wealth. Instead of waiting to die, they might as well fight hard and perhaps win hope of survival.

Seeing that his men all supported the reclamation of the land, Yang Ling smiled and said, "Very good. Since everyone is willing to reclaim the wasteland, I am relieved. You should immediately prepare according to my instructions and try to complete this matter as soon as possible."

Soon, all kinds of oxen, farm tools and timber were transported, and thousands of laborers were temporarily recruited to build fortifications in the fields. They also began to cut down trees to make fences and set up chevaux de frise at the edges of the fields.

……

The sun sets in the west, dyeing half the sky red, and the sunset glow is like blood.

The lights on the city wall were bright. Yang Ling, Zhang Delu and other civil and military officials gathered on the top of the city wall to observe the Tibetan army positions in the distance.

Yang Ling pointed to the Tibetan army camp in the distance and said slowly, "The Tibetans now have less than three days of food. They dug such a deep trench outside the city because they are worried that we will evacuate from the northeast. Now we will rest in the city. No matter what means the Tibetans use, they can't do anything to us. I want to see how long they can hold out."

Zhang Delu couldn't help but smile bitterly when he heard this. If the Tibetans wanted to dig trenches outside the city, it meant that their food and grass were almost exhausted and they couldn't last more than three days, unless they used the wheel tactics, which would allow them to hold out longer. But how could the Tibetan army use the wheel tactics? After all, the food and grass in the city were transported by the guards of Datong Prefecture.

Yang Ling seemed to have guessed what Zhang Delu was thinking, and said with a smile: "Delu, don't worry about the Tibetans. They probably won't dare to dig trenches again, otherwise their food will run out and they will surely be defeated."

Seeing Yang Ling so confident, Zhang Delu stopped hesitating and continued to observe the Tibetan army outside the city.

The Tibetan army was still digging trenches, but compared to the previous two days, the depth of the trenches was much lower. It was obvious that they wanted to launch a sneak attack at night, but how could such a shallow trench hide from the archers on the city wall?

Seeing this situation, Zhang Delu's anxious heart calmed down a little, and he secretly prayed that the Tubo army's efforts would not be in vain, otherwise he really would not know how to face Yang Ling at that time.

Yang Ling looked at the Tibetan army camp in the distance and suddenly said, "The Tibetans are quite ambitious."

Zhang Delu looked up in astonishment. He knew Yang Ling was not talking nonsense, so he immediately asked, "What is your opinion, Marshal?"

Yang Ling said coldly: "The Tibetans are piling up stones beside the trench. It's clear that they want to blow down our city wall."

Yang Ling walked to the battlement, pointed at the Tibetan camp in the distance, and said sternly: "Look carefully. There are about 300 kilograms of boulders piled outside the Tibetan camp. The Tibetans placed these stones 40 feet away from the city wall. This distance is beyond the range of artillery. As long as we fire, the boulders can directly hit the city wall."

"In this case, even if our shells hit the rocks, it will be useless," said Zhang Delu.

Yang Ling said calmly, "If it were an ordinary stone, it wouldn't cause much damage even if it hit, at most it would damage bricks and walls, but this huge boulder is different. It is made of iron sand and is as powerful as a steel ingot. If it hits bricks, it will ignite the charred bricks, and then the whole city will be engulfed in flames. These huge stones of the Tibetans may be able to destroy all the gates near the city."

"Hiss!" Zhang Delu couldn't help but exclaimed when he heard Yang Ling's explanation. He didn't expect that this huge rock would be as hard as a steel ingot.

Zhang Delu looked carefully at the Tibetan camp in the distance, and indeed saw a lot of huge rocks beside the trench. He immediately felt a chill on his back. These Tibetans were really vicious, and they even used such a vicious move. If these huge rocks really broke through Datong City, the entire city would be reduced to ruins, and countless soldiers would be buried in the sea of ​​fire.

Zhang Delu gnashed his teeth and said, "Marshal, we must stop them. We must not watch the city being breached."

Zhang Delu knew that if he allowed the Tibetans to dig trenches outside the city, they would definitely attack the city at night.

"Marshal, I think we can send scouts to lurk in the dense forests far away. As long as the Tibetans dig trenches, we can detect the enemy situation and avoid being attacked by the Tibetans." Han Shizhong bowed and asked.

Yang Ling shook his head: "We may not be able to find the enemy by doing this. The Tibetan cavalry can go around our flanks to harass us. If we send elite troops to scout the enemy at night, wouldn't we fall into a trap? If the Tibetans take the opportunity to launch an attack, our casualties will definitely be unpredictable."

Everyone tried to persuade him, but Yang Ling firmly opposed to send troops to rescue Songpu Junyou. In Yang Ling's opinion, if the Tibetans attacked Datong at night, Daning City would definitely fall.

For now, the most reasonable approach is to wait and see.

Just as everyone was arguing, there were suddenly several firecrackers outside the city. Hearing the sound of firecrackers, everyone turned their heads to look outside, only to see bright lights flashing in the distance and smoke rising into the sky. Everyone turned their heads to look at Yang Ling at the same time, and their faces couldn't help but become strange.

Yang Ling naturally knew that this was the Tibetans sending him a signal, and he couldn't help but frown.

Yang Ling's original plan was to take the initiative to attack tomorrow when it gets dark, first use artillery to test the enemy's situation, and then use infantry to fight the enemy in street battles. Now that the Tibetans used fireworks to remind Yang Ling, it proved that they were ready to fight, so he needed to change his strategy and take the initiative to attack.

"De Lu, order all soldiers to prepare and launch the attack at 11:00 AM tomorrow morning!"

Yang Ling turned around and left, returning to his room to sleep. He was exhausted from traveling for days, and this time he could finally have a good rest.

Yang Ling returned to his room, washed up and lay on the bed, closing his eyes to rest, but he was not sleepy at all. Yang Ling knew that he had won the bet this time, the Tibetan army's tactics had been leaked, and he could be said to have won beautifully. But Yang Ling was not satisfied, if the Tibetan army attacked Datong City at night, then Datong City would be in great danger.

"No, I have to think of a foolproof plan tomorrow." Yang Ling murmured. This time, Yang Ling wanted not only to win the battle, but also to capture Pinggu City. Although he had sent troops from the east along the river bank to five miles northeast of Pinggu City and arranged fortifications, Yang Ling still felt unsafe.

Because according to his speculation, Matsuura Junsuke's detachment would definitely retreat, and their only target was Pinggu City. As long as Pinggu City was still there, even if he occupied the west of Pinggu City, what awaited him was only a false victory.

"Matsuura Junsuke will definitely concentrate his main forces to defend the county seat of Matsuura County. If I rashly seize Pinggu City, Matsuura Junsuke will certainly attack with all his might. No matter where we are attacked, other directions will be left empty, and my Datong City will be unable to protect both ends." The more Yang Ling thought about it, the more his head hurt. He wished he could grab his scalp and scream.

At this moment, the window of the room suddenly banged. Yang Ling was so scared that he suddenly turned over and sat up, shouting, "Who is it?"

"Master, there is an urgent military situation."

"come on in."

The door opened, and Yang Jiuwa walked in quickly, saying, "Master, Matsuura Junyou just led the cavalry to the east for reinforcements. It is estimated that they will reach the trench outside Datong City in half an hour."

"These bastards are here after all!" Zhang Delu cursed angrily.

Yang Ling's expression was uncertain. He hesitated for a long time before slowly asking, "De Lu, what do you think we should do?"

Zhang Delu said without thinking: "I think we should take the initiative!"

Yang Ling nodded and said, "Well, tell me, how do we fight?"

Zhang Delu thought for a moment before saying, "Matsuura Junyou's cavalry is fast and can easily rush to the outside of Datong City. We only need to build simple fortifications outside the city to stop Matsuura Junyou's cavalry. At the same time, we can send a small force to ambush around Datong City and attack when Matsuura Junyou's cavalry approaches the city, or simply lure Matsuura Junyou to send more troops, so that we can easily destroy them."

Yang Ling sighed and said, "Delu, your idea is indeed good, but if this happens, the defense of Datong City will be empty. If Songpu Junyou sends out elite cavalry to attack the city gate, or leads a large number of infantry to attack the city gate, the situation in Datong City will be dangerous."

"Master, we are ambushing outside the city this time, so there is no need to worry about the safety of the city walls. Even if Matsuura Junsuke's cavalry launches a sneak attack, I believe the soldiers in the city will fight to the death to defend the city walls. As long as we defend the city walls, with the supplies and defense equipment in the city, we have the confidence to defend Datong even if the Tibetans attack." Zhang Delu said confidently.

Zhang Delu was a native of Guanlong and had great confidence in the defenders of Datong City, especially when there was sufficient food and grass. Even if Matsuura Junsuke led the Tibetan cavalry to attack, the defenders in the city could rely on the city walls to resist to the end until they ran out of bullets and bows.

"Hey, De Lu, I also hope that our brothers in the city can hold on, but we don't have much time to waste. We can't fight the Tibetans to the death in the wild, right?" Yang Ling said with a wry smile.

Zhang Delu never thought that the plan he had designed with great effort would be rejected. He was so anxious that his eyes turned red. He said with his neck stiff, "What should we do? How about you personally lead people to recapture Pinggu County, and I will stay in the city to continue to defend it. As long as you take Pinggu County, Songpu Junyou will become a lone remnant of the bandits who dare not hang around in Baishui City. Then our Datong defenders can follow the clues and annihilate Songpu Junyou's troops."

Yang Ling stared at Zhang Delu and asked, "Delu, you have done a great job in the city these years. If you hadn't insisted on going out of the city to fight the enemy, I'm afraid we would be in big trouble this time. But now you want me to escape from the battlefield?"

Zhang Delu stared at Yang Ling blankly, then lowered his head and said, "I dare not!"

"In that case, let's fight according to the tactics I just formulated."

Zhang Delu raised his head and said, "Master..."

"Okay, I've made up my mind. Follow my orders tomorrow."

"As you command, I will tell the generals right away."

Yang Ling waved his hand to let Zhang Delu leave, then fell on the kang, covering his face with his hands, feeling weak all over. Although he was experienced on the battlefield, he had no experience in commanding operations in modern times. This kind of battle with a small number of troops against a large number made him a little confused and didn't know what to do.

Yang Ling couldn't help but recall the scene when he first went to the battlefield. At that time, he was supervising the battle on the front line. Whenever he saw the enemy rushing close, he would hold the bayonet tightly and bravely move forward. But what about this time? Yang Ling suddenly felt that there was no way to fight such a war, because he lacked sufficient control over the fighting method and the battlefield situation.

At this time, there was a knock on the door. Yang Ling recognized it as Yang Jiuwa's voice, so he shouted, "Come in!"

Yang Jiuwa ran into the room quickly and saw Yang Ling sitting there with a worried look on his face. He asked quickly, "Brother, what's wrong? Have you encountered any difficulties? Tell me and I'll give you some advice. Let's discuss a solution."

Yang Ling saw that it was Yang Jiuwa, and he forced a smile and asked, "Jiuwa, why did you come to see me? Is there something wrong?"

Yang Jiuwa scratched his head and said, "I followed my father to the town to inspect tonight. I heard that more than 20,000 troops of Songpu Junyou crossed the river from Gaomi to help this afternoon. Dad asked me to come and see how your injuries are recovering. Don't worry, the wounded here have basically recovered. Now everyone has eaten and is resting. I will send them out tomorrow."

Yang Jiuwa said this, but in fact Yang Tieniu asked him to come and see how Yang Ling's injuries were recovering.

"Oh, how are the wounded?" Yang Ling asked hurriedly.

"Except for a few hundred seriously injured patients, the rest have almost recovered."

"That's good. It shouldn't be a problem to deal with two or three thousand of Matsuura Junyou's troops, right?"

Yang Jiuwa answered without thinking: "It should be no problem, brother. I think Matsuura Junyou is coming with two brigades this time, with only 4,000 to 5,000 soldiers in total. Besides, there are 8,000 soldiers in the city. Even if Matsuura Junyou wants to split his forces to attack us, he can only mobilize two divisions at most, and the rest of the troops need to be dispersed."

Yang Ling nodded, "Okay, tomorrow morning I will follow you to the city to fight Song Pu Junyou. To deal with cavalry, we can only use wits, and we must not fight head-on. Let's dig a few trenches outside the north gate and set up a few barricades to block the enemy's footsteps. Then organize archers to shoot the enemy. Remember, if the enemy wants to bypass the barricades and rush into the city, don't hesitate to sacrifice a large number of civilians and wounded soldiers. Set fire to the city. As long as we can delay until the reinforcements arrive, victory is in sight." (End of this chapter)