I served as an admonisher in the Song Dynasty

Chapter 546: Clever Attack! Liao General: Song people are cunning, I am like a big fool
The eighth day of April.

The special envoy of Jiaozhi State was sentenced to death by hanging for "threatening and provoking war" by the Imperial City Administration and the execution was carried out in the Dali Temple Prison.

Afterwards, the Secretariat personally posted the official document to inform the world.

Chen Chu, the special envoy of Jiaozhi State, was instructed by the king of Jiaozhi State to ask the Song Dynasty to sign several unfair treaties on the grounds of forming an alliance with the Song Dynasty. He also threatened that if the Song Dynasty did not form an alliance, they would stir up chaos in the southern border and disrupt the war between Song and Liao. Therefore, he was sentenced to death.

at the same time.

The Zhongshu's letter of accusation was also sent to Jiaozhi State, which had to either apologize and admit its mistakes or fight a war with the Song Dynasty.

The people of Bianjing City strongly supported the Secretariat's tough approach.

This is what should happen in extraordinary times!
This move will certainly deter some "rebels" who intend to make plans during the Song-Liao War.

Of course, this is also related to the fact that the Song Dynasty continued to win battles in Yanyun.

The current Song Dynasty has the strength to not be threatened by any villain.

……

April 10th, afternoon.

The Eastern Route Army of the Song Dynasty, totaling more than 100,000 people, set up camp about 30 miles away from Youzhou City.

Late at night, in the central army camp.

Zhao Zhen, Han Qi and Su Liang looked through the strategies for capturing Youzhou submitted by the generals in recent days, their faces looking very serious.

The three of them had been watching from dusk till almost midnight.

The battle to attack You is particularly important for recovering Yanyun. The three of them need to combine the strategies of the generals, come up with a feasible plan, and act as soon as possible.

Zhao Zhen shook his head from time to time, obviously not seeing a strategy that he liked.

He is under great pressure at the moment.

Youzhou City is a large city that can accommodate more than 300,000 people.

It is nine miles long from north to south and has ten tall city gates.

To capture such a city, it is generally necessary to deploy at least three times the number of troops.

Although the soldiers of the Song Dynasty were elite and had firearms to support them, if they attacked head-on, even if they took the city, they probably would not have the manpower to recapture the entire Yanyun, let alone the entire Liao Kingdom.

Therefore, we must come up with a feasible plan.

In a war between two countries, siege is the most difficult.

then.

Emperor Taizong once led an army of 300,000 to besiege Youzhou.

After attacking for more than ten days, they still failed to break into the city. He was also hit by two arrows and almost died. In the end, he had to retreat.

Youzhou City.

It was a source of great regret for successive emperors of the Song Dynasty, and it was also the most important city that determined the outcome of the Song-Liao War.

He was holding his breath!
aside.

Su Liang was looking at the strategy while looking at the Youzhou sand table in front of him.

Su Liang had his own way of looking at strategies, but he would give up on anything that multiple generals advocated.

He only looks at whether some unconventional strategies are feasible.

Because the Liao army can certainly think of the strategies that most people can think of.

Han Qi watched and took notes at the same time. He was good at organizing and selecting the feasible aspects of the soldiers' strategies.

……

Half an hour later, the three of them finished reading all the documents.

Zhao Zhen ordered someone to bring a pot of strong tea, and then said to the two of them, "Tell us what you have to say!"

If they can't reach a preliminary conclusion tonight, the three of them will definitely stay up until dawn.

Han Qi stood up and walked to the Youzhou sand table.

"There are two ways to attack a city: attack it or besiege it. If you have more food but fewer men, attack it instead of besieging it. If you have less food but more men, besiege it instead of attacking it."

"At present, the Liao people have made preparations in Youzhou. The food supply may be enough to last for half a year. There are also three camps in the north, northwest and northeast of the city to receive reinforcements and connect to the food supply route. If we surround such a city, it will only increase consumption and have no value. Therefore, we should concentrate our forces and attack one of them."

"I suggest that we first take out the three Liao camps outside the city, leaving them without any help. If there are Liao soldiers coming from Shunzhou, we will surround them and kill the reinforcements first."

"Then, we will combine the real and fake forces, organize multiple teams, harass them from several sides, attack them from one side, and break through Youzhou City in one go!"

……

In addition to the defenses on the city walls, Youzhou City also has

Outside the city wall, there were many large stones piled up to resist the firearms of the Song Dynasty, as well as trenches and moats.

In addition, there are three camps built in the north according to the terrain.

There were nearly 10,000 Liao soldiers in each camp.

Their mission was to fight defensively when the Song army attacked, and to pursue when the Song army retreated, so as to tire out the Song army.

This kind of camp is the most annoying during a siege. They are like poisonous snakes that constantly retract their heads at the entrance of a cave. If you are not careful, you will be besieged by them.

Zhao Zhen nodded slightly.

"We can only attack and not surround. However, fighting this way will still cost us a lot. This battle will be difficult!"

Then, Zhao Zhen and Han Qi both looked at Su Liang.

Su Liang is best at processing ordinary strategies and making them eye-opening.

Su Liang said slowly, "I agree that we should attack instead of siege, but we are too tired to fight like this, and Yelu Liang should be able to guess that we will fight them head-on. I suggest that we make the fight more complicated, so that the Liao generals will never expect it!"

"Tell me in detail." Zhao Zhen said excitedly.

Su Liang slowed down.

"First, the Liao army must know that we want to fight a quick battle, because the shorter the battle, the lower our losses. Once the battle is prolonged, both sides will be exhausted and the possibility of us taking Youzhou will become lower and lower. However, this result is based on the premise that we will launch a full-scale siege from the beginning."

"I suggest that for the next half month, we should just launch feint attacks to tire out the enemy."

"We will pretend to attack the city, choose a city gate and attack fiercely, throw out wind, fire, thunder, bows, crossbows, and catapults to make a big noise, and then after half an hour of fierce attack, immediately withdraw. We can attack at night, in the morning, in the afternoon, or even at midnight. The time of the feint attack is irregular, so as to wear down the Liao army, make them sleep poorly every day and night, and become more and more anxious!"

"After half a month, we will choose a night with good weather and storm a city gate. This time, we must make the Liao army think that we are serious and ask them to transfer all their soldiers here. This time, we will still make a feint attack. Our goal is not the other city gates, but the three camps."

"My idea for these three camps is to defeat them with one strike and then directly occupy them."

"Combined with what Deputy Commander Han said, if Liao soldiers come to support us, we will surround and attack them again."

"After that, we will no longer feint and attack. We will lay siege to Youzhou City."

"siege?"

Zhao Zhen and Han Qi were both stunned. Every step Su Liang just said was beyond their expectations.

Now the city was going to be besieged again, and the two were very confused.

Su Liang continued, "The purpose of our siege is not to surround the city without attacking, but to make the Liao soldiers think that we are waiting for reinforcements from the Western and Central Armies. We don't need to besiege for several days, just three days will suffice."

"After three days, we will start attacking the city, but we will not choose one gate to attack, but five." "Attack one gate first, then the other four gates. The two sides must be far apart. The first gate to be attacked is a feint, and the other four gates are real attacks. We must be able to enter the city. When attacking the city, we will use wind, fire and thunder. After entering the city, our wind and fire guns will come in handy."

……

After Su Liang finished speaking, he turned around and saw Zhao Zhen and Han Qi were both writing and drawing on paper.

Su Liang’s strategy is indeed somewhat complicated.

Every step of the setup was unexpected, with one pitfall after another.

Virtual reality is real, real reality is virtual reality.

Especially the last strategy of "attack five city gates, one empty and four real".

The purpose is to create a time difference so that the Liao people cannot effectively mobilize their troops.

The Liao people were good at riding and shooting.

Once the city and street fighting breaks out, the Song Dynasty's wind and fire lances will be the dominant force.

"How about this strategy? Although it is a little difficult to implement, if we strictly follow this strategy, we can capture Youzhou in May. Sometimes, slow is fast." Su Liang said.

Zhao Zhen looked at the notes on the paper, reviewed them again, and murmured, "I think it's feasible."

"Every step was beyond the Liao army's expectations, especially the initial feint attack that lasted half a month, which exhausted their will and spirit. The Liao army could never have imagined it. The direction they could not imagine was a good direction."

On the side, Han Qi also smiled and nodded.

"Jingming, your mind alone can defeat more than 100,000 people on the other side. What a good plan, what a good plan!"

"Let me add one more thing. Although it is a feint attack, we must also consume and destroy the opponent's defense measures as much as possible to reduce the pressure for the real attack."

Zhao Zhen and Su Liang both nodded in approval.

If this policy can be implemented successfully.

In addition to being able to occupy Youzhou, it can also greatly damage the morale of the Liao army, and make the generals of the Eastern Army famous in military books. …

April 12th, nightfall.

More than 10,000 Hebei imperial guards rushed towards the southwest gate of Youzhou City, with shouts shaking the sky and the sound of gongs and drums.

After the firearms soldiers at the front built the catapults, they began to throw wind, fire and bombs frantically towards the city gate.

boom! boom! boom!
The water in the moat splashed and the stones in front of the city gate scattered.

The Liao soldiers on the city gate suddenly became anxious.

Before the Song soldiers were within range, they fired bows and crossbows. Some giant crossbows were also put into use, and the sound of "whoosh! whoosh! whoosh" could be heard in the night sky.

On the city floor.

The Liao Privy Councilor Yelu Liang stood in front and shouted: "Quickly dispatch troops from the South Gate and the Southeast Gate. Never allow the Song soldiers to rush across the moat!"

Yelu Liang knew that Song was eager to capture the city, but he didn't expect it to be so urgent.

Just as the Liao reinforcements on both sides rushed to the southwest gate, the offensive firepower suddenly increased.

The Song Dynasty suddenly sounded the call for troops to retreat.

This made Yelu Liang very angry. He didn't expect that the Song Dynasty was just testing him.

……

The next day, early in the morning, it was just dawn.

More than 10,000 Song Dynasty imperial guards attacked the city again, and this time the target of the attack was the southeast gate.

Same as last night.

Wind, fire, and thunder exploded everywhere, bows and crossbows and long arrows flew like rain at the enemy's city walls, and some people dug the ground to destroy the Liao soldiers' moat.

The momentum was very loud.

"Quickly send soldiers from the South Gate and Southwest Gate to reinforce. The Song soldiers are really attacking the city this time. We must defend with all our strength and don't slack off!" Yelu Liang shouted at the top of his lungs.

Then, when the Liao reinforcements arrived, the Song soldiers sounded the horn to withdraw.

This action made Yelu Liang so angry that he cursed.

Although feinting an attack is a common practice in the military, when attacking a city the general approach is to "disturbe the enemy from multiple sides while attacking from one side, making it difficult for the defenders to distinguish the real from the fake", the Song army acted it out too realistically.

Especially the terrifying wind, fire and thunder.

Although not much was thrown away.

But every time one was thrown, it was terrifying, as if the Song Dynasty was really going to attack the city.

Next.

The feint attack performance of the Song Dynasty's imperial guards officially entered the rhythm.

Sometimes they attacked three times a day, sometimes once every three days.

There is no pattern.

It is impossible to tell at first glance whether it is real or fake, and only when you retreat do you realize it is a feint.

The Liao army was almost driven crazy.

They must treat every attack as a real siege.

They didn't dare to gamble, because if they lost, the city might be destroyed and people might die.

The situation in the Song Dynasty military camp was relatively relaxed.

Han Qi, who was meticulous in his work, made a schedule. The Song Dynasty soldiers would make a feint attack on Youzhou City in batches, and spend the rest of the time recuperating.

The Song Dynasty dared to do so because, on the one hand, it was not afraid of the Liao reinforcements, and on the other hand, it had sufficient food and grass and dared to consume them in this way.

In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.

In Youzhou City.

Yelu Liang and a group of generals and advisers all had dark circles under their eyes, and looked at least three years older than they were half a month ago.

They dared not sleep.

The sounds of the Song Dynasty's wind, fire and thunder echoed in their heads at all times, and some people could hardly bear it anymore.

Yelu Liang's temper became more and more violent.

Yelu Hongji told him clearly before he came to Youzhou City.

In the battle of Youzhou, if we can gain the upper hand, the Liao army will come to our aid; if we are always at a disadvantage, we will strategically abandon Youzhou, or even the entire Yanyun.

Yelu Hongji did this in order to extend the Song army's front line while shortening the Liao army's combat route.

The Liao army had limited food supplies. If they were all lost in the Battle of Yanyun, their homeland would be in danger.

……

And this moment.

Pang Ji, Liang Shi and Yang Wenguang also led the Western Route Army to Yunzhou.

Compared with Youzhou, Yunzhou's defense is weaker.

Fifty thousand Northwestern Imperial Guards were promoted to the main force, and everyone was excited.

Pang Ji also adopted the strategy of "feinting and attacking" to first test Yunzhou's defense, and then gradually think about how to break the city.

With 50,000 Northwestern Imperial Guards, the battle of Yunzhou will be easier.

Zhao Zhen gave all the command and combat power to these three people. As long as they could capture Yunzhou, they would have the final say and could fight however they wanted.

……

May 1st, nightfall.

Ten thousand imperial guards from the Eastern Route Army broke into the south gate of Youzhou City again.

This time, the momentum was even greater, and a variety of large-scale siege equipment were used.

The Liao army continued to defend as usual.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Wind, fire and thunder exploded in the moat with great force.

The water level in the moat is now half that of half a month ago, because the Song army had created many tributaries by blasting or digging.

The huge rocks piled in front of the city gate were also blown to pieces.

The city wall, which was several meters high, was in ruins, with traces of firearms and crossbows all over it.

Upstairs at the city gate.

Yelu Liang was already somewhat mentally disturbed and was arranging defenses normally.

In the blink of an eye, an hour passed, and the Song soldiers were still attacking, and their attacks were getting more and more fierce.

"Oh no, this time, they are really attacking!" Yelu Liang jumped up and immediately ordered troops to be transferred from other directions.

And this moment.

The Song Dynasty sent a total of 60,000 troops to the three camps north of Youzhou City.

The attack on the South Gate was still a feint.

The three camps at the north gate are the targets of the Song soldiers tonight.

Zhao Zhen issued a death order that the three camps must be defeated in one battle.

The Song soldiers had been holding back for so long that they were all full of energy.

boom! boom! boom!
Soon, Fenghuo Lei took the lead in throwing it towards these castles.

The defenses of these castles were far less solid than that of Youzhou City, and the defenders inside had no idea that the Song army, which had feinted and not attacked them for half a month, would suddenly come for real.

The Song army wanted to attack this target by surprise.

Soon, the sound of charging and killing resounded through the sky, and the Song soldiers rushed towards the Liao soldiers like tigers descending from the mountains.

……

Half an hour later.

The Song soldiers who were attacking the south gate of Youzhou sounded the call to retreat when the attack was at its fiercest.

Yelu Liang looked at the reinforcements coming from all around him and felt a little confused. He became even more confused when he learned that the three castles in the north of the city were under attack.

At the moment, he couldn't tell whether it was true or false.

At this moment, he felt like a big fool. He had been fooled by the Song Dynasty for half a month, but he still didn't know what the Song Dynasty's real strategy was.

(End of this chapter)