I served as an admonisher in the Song Dynasty

Chapter 547: The Art of Feinting! Close Combat Begins

Soldiers who, deception also.

The defenders of the three major camps outside Youzhou city never expected that the Song army would attack them.

The camp is located outside the city gate, mainly for the supply route and for meeting up with reinforcements. It can be used for attack or defense.

Attacking a city through a camp is much more difficult than attacking the city gate directly.

Unless you want to lay siege to a city, attacking a fortress is a very bad choice.

But the Song army did just that.

Moreover, the attack was fierce and did not seem like a feint at all.

……

Half an hour later.

In a fortress outside the northwest gate of Youzhou City.

A burly Liao defender looked at the fierce attack of the Song army in front of him with a frown on his face.

"The city will be breached in half an hour at most. Our casualties are too great. Report to the Prime Minister immediately and request to withdraw our troops back into the city!" the defender said to his personal soldiers.

Just as the personal soldier was about to report, a soldier holding Yelu Liang's token walked over quickly.

"The Prime Minister has ordered that we defend the camp to the death. No one is allowed to retreat into the city without his permission!"

"what?"

Although the general was somewhat dissatisfied, he thought about it and immediately saluted and said, "I obey your command!"

Yelu Liang has his own plans.

Soldiers in the three camps may suffer casualties, but the city gates must not be lost.

Over the past half month, the Song Dynasty has been taking an unconventional approach, which made Yelu Liang feel that the Song Dynasty might want to attack the three cities by passing through them, because the defenses of these three cities are relatively weaker.

at the same time.

Yelu Liang has ordered his soldiers to provide support towards the north gate, northwest gate and east gate.

The soldiers in the three major camps were not allowed to retreat in order to buy time for him to set up defenses.

He had found out that there were at least 50,000 Song soldiers attacking the three major camps.

With such a scale, what else could they be doing if not attacking the city? There may be at least two more waves of Song troops attacking the city in the future.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

There were constant sounds of wind, fire and thunder.

Horse riding and archery were the Liao Dynasty's strong points, but this kind of city defense battle was not much different from that of the Song Dynasty.

The wind, fire, and thunder of the Song Dynasty destroyed not only their defensive measures, but also the fighting spirit of countless Liao soldiers.

……

Half an hour later.

At the north gate of Youzhou.

The Liao soldiers are deploying their defenses in full swing.

At this time, three sentinels arrived almost at the same time.

"Prime Minister, the North Gate fortress has been breached, the Song army's offensive is getting more and more fierce, the commander of the fortress begs to retreat back into the city!"

"Prime Minister, the fortress at the northwest gate has been breached. The Song army's offensive is becoming increasingly fierce. The commander of the fortress requests to retreat back into the city!"

"Prime Minister, the northeastern city gate has been breached, the Song army's offensive is getting more and more fierce, the commander of the fortress requests to retreat into the city!"

Yelu Liang's face darkened. He didn't expect that the three major fortresses could not even hold out for two hours.

He thought for a moment and said, "Tell them to keep 30% of the soldiers to defend against the enemy, and the rest to enter the city quickly. If the Song army approaches the city gate, close it immediately."

"Yes!" The three sentinels bowed at the same time.

After a while.

The soldiers from the three major camps began to retreat, and the remaining soldiers frantically resisted the attack of the Song Dynasty.

Another quarter of an hour passed.

The three city gates closest to the three major fortresses lowered their drawbridges and opened the city gates, and groups of Liao soldiers rushed into the city frantically.

The order is chaotic, they look more like refugees than soldiers.

Soon, the city gates closed.

The Liao soldiers who did not enter the city could only be killed by the Song soldiers.

After more than half an hour, the Song army completely occupied the three major camps.

Just when Yelu Liang thought that the Song army was going to take advantage of the situation to attack the city, the Song army suddenly stopped its actions. Some soldiers sorted out the spoils of the three major camps, while some soldiers turned around and returned to the base camp.

On the north gate of the city.

Yelu Liang looked confused.

"What? The Song soldiers retreated? This... isn't this the best time to attack the city? I have mobilized all the troops and weapons, but they actually retreated? Then what is the purpose of their fighting this battle? Just to kill people?"

Yelu Liang looked puzzled and paced back and forth frantically on the city gate tower.

The Eastern Route Army of the Song Dynasty had been in front of Youzhou City for more than half a month, and Yelu Liang was completely confused.

He had no idea what the Song Dynasty would do next.

After thinking for a moment, Yelu Liang said to the generals, "Next, we must be extremely alert. The attack on the three camps this time was still a feint by the Song Dynasty. We held on this time, which is worth celebrating, but the Song Dynasty will definitely attack again next time. Everything must be prepared as if it were a real attack, and there must be no slackness!"

"Yes, sir!" All the generals bowed at the same time.

Yelu Liang rubbed his head, turned around and went back to his military tent to rest.

He must use every bit of spare time to rest.

Otherwise, if the Song Dynasty had continued to fight in this way and Youzhou City had not been captured, he might have died suddenly.

The Song Dynasty kept the Liao soldiers defending the city in a state of mental tension for a long time, making them completely passive, but they did not dare to slack off in the slightest.

……

afternoon.

After Yelu Liang woke up, he was about to check the defenses of each city gate.

A sentry ran up to him.

"Prime Minister, it's bad! It's bad! The entire Song army has been dispatched. It's a black mass. It seems that there are more than 100,000 people rushing towards Youzhou City. Maybe... maybe they are going to launch a general attack!"

"What? The entire army is mobilized to launch a general attack?" Yelu Liang was a little confused. He put on his armor and ran towards the south gate of Youzhou City.

A quarter of an hour later.

Yelu Liang discovered traces of the Song army. They were overwhelming and dark. At a glance, he could tell that there were more than 100,000 people.

He looked confused.

When attacking a city, the more people the better.

Attacking in batches and maintaining the strongest firepower at all times is the correct way to attack a city, and everyone in the military understands this.

Half an hour later.

The Song army had arrived in front of Youzhou City and then dispersed evenly.

"This...is this going to be a siege?"

Yelu Liang saw through the Song army's arrangement. The only possible way to disperse the troops in this way was to besiege the city.

Yelu Liang pondered for a moment.

"It is possible that the Song army is really besieging the city. They are waiting for the Western Army to capture Yunzhou, and then join forces to attack Youzhou. Yes, that must be the case. The Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty is leading the army in person, so they will definitely take the safest approach."

Then, Yelu Liang instructed the generals behind him: "Guard the city gates well, and report the movements of the Song army under the city every half an hour. If there are Song soldiers gathering towards a certain city gate, report immediately!"

"Yes, Prime Minister!"

Then, both sides fell silent.

The Song soldiers set up pots outside the city to cook, eating when they were supposed to and sleeping when they were supposed to, just like they were having a picnic.

The Liao soldiers were trembling with fear and were half asleep and half awake when they slept, fearing that the Song Dynasty would suddenly launch an attack.

In the blink of an eye, two days passed.

In the past two days, the Song Dynasty has not launched any siege battles, and Yelu Liang increasingly feels that the Song army is waiting for reinforcements from the west.

The third day of the Song Dynasty’s siege on the city was the fifth day of May.

Near dusk.

Zhao Zhen, Han Qi, Su Liang, and more than thirty generals all gathered in the tent.

Zhao Zhen looked around and said loudly: "All generals, listen up. We will launch a general attack tomorrow."

Hearing this, all the generals became excited.

During these three days, the soldiers' food supplies had improved a lot and their rest time had become longer, which showed that the siege was approaching.

"This general offensive will be divided into five armies. The first army led by Xu Mang will launch an attack at three o'clock tomorrow morning, focusing on the south city gate. They will feint for an hour and then retreat when the Liao army reinforcements arrive."

"The remaining four armies will attack the northwest, northeast, southwest, and southeast gates respectively. This time, there is no limit to the number of wind, fire, thunder, wind, fire, and crossbows, but you must break the city. If any army lags behind, I will punish them severely!" "After entering the city, occupy the main roads and clear the obstacles. All Liao soldiers can be killed, as well as all civilians who threaten your lives or go out with weapons. In my eyes, your lives are more important than anyone else in Youzhou City!"

……

"I don't need to elaborate on how important Youzhou is to us! Let's go back and prepare!" Zhao Zhen said finally.

"Yes."

All the generals left the military tent in an orderly manner.

Han Qi and Su Liang also returned to their military tents to rest.

If the fighting starts tomorrow, it will probably take at least three days. They must conserve their energy to have the strength to deal with various unexpected events that may arise in the battle.

……

The next day, just after midnight.

Zhao Zhen, Han Qi and Su Liang gathered together, and Xu Mang began to check the siege equipment and make final preparations.

At this moment, everyone was very nervous.

Around three o'clock in the morning, tens of thousands of siege soldiers led by Xu Mang began to move.

The catapults and giant crossbows moved forward, and the archers and the first batch of siege soldiers were getting closer and closer to the South Gate.

"The Song army is going to attack the South Gate! The Song army is going to attack the South Gate! The Song army is going to attack the South Gate!"

The sentry on the South Gate soon discovered the movements of the Song army.

soon.

The Song Dynasty's catapults carrying wind, fire and thunder launched the first attack.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The wind, fire and thunder exploded on the city wall, creating holes nearly three inches deep.

Although it will not cause great damage to the city wall in a short period of time, as the Song soldiers advance, the wind, fire and thunder will explode on the city gate tower.

That would be a devastating blow to the Liao soldiers.

"Soldiers, attack the city!" Xu Mang shouted loudly, holding a long sword.

Drums were beating and command flags were waving.

Under the cover of wind, fire, thunder, bows and crossbows, the Song Dynasty's siege troops advanced madly towards the city gate.

……

Yelu Liang looked at the Song army attacking the city and the dark shadows behind them from afar, and immediately began to deploy soldiers to defend the South Gate.

Both attacking and defending a city are a competition of breath.

If you keep breathing hard and defend the city, you will most likely be able to hold it.

But once they lose their fighting spirit or are frightened by the enemy, the only outcome they will face is the destruction of the city and the death of their soldiers.

Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!
Thousands of arrows were fired.

The current Song army is well-equipped, and the quality and quantity of its bows and crossbows are higher than those of the Liao Kingdom.

In this kind of siege war, the enemy has no advantage at all.

Half an hour later, Xu Mang retreated with a group of siege soldiers, and then after a slight adjustment, he rushed forward with another group of siege soldiers.

Like the waves, endless.

This is how siege works. It is difficult to succeed in one go. It mostly requires continuous attacks.

If one attack fails, they will retreat and attack again. They can launch more than ten attacks in one night. If one of them can reach the city wall, it will be considered a success.

……

An hour later.

Just as Yelu Liang was mobilizing his troops and putting all his efforts into resisting at the South Gate.

The other four siege forces of the Song Dynasty moved.

"Reporting to the Prime Minister, there are four armies attacking our northwest gate, northeast gate, southwest gate, and southeast gate respectively. There are so many people that it is difficult to tell which one is the feint attack!"

Hearing this, Yelu Liang almost went crazy.

At first, he always thought that Youzhou had ten gates, which was equivalent to ten lives. Now he particularly hopes that Youzhou City has only one gate.

"Deploy defenses! Deploy defenses! Deploy defenses wherever there are Song troops. Whoever loses the city gate will have his head killed!" Yelu Liang shouted at the top of his lungs.

Immediately, Yelu Liang also rushed to the south gate.

Just as he was about to personally command the battle here, the Song Dynasty's siege troops suddenly retreated and dispersed in other directions.

Yelu Liang was so angry that he wanted to jump off the building.

A lot of defensive equipment had just been moved from other places and now had to be moved back.

The Song army was about to torture him to death.

……

Next.

The Song Dynasty was not going to play it safe. The four siege armies were all putting all their efforts into the attack.

Like waves.

As one group retreated, another group came forward, and the attack became more and more fierce.

Zhao Zhen, Han Qi, and Su Liang, wearing armor, stood in the center of the army. Soldiers kept coming to report on the battle situation of the four armies.

at the same time.

Various siege equipment and weapons and equipment were constantly sent forward.

Of course, there were also wounded soldiers who were sent down and received immediate treatment.

Although the combat effectiveness of the Hebei Imperial Guards was not as good as that of the Northwestern Imperial Guards, under the training of Pang Ji and Han Qi, their coordination was smooth.

at the same time.

There was a musketeer team of 3,000 men behind each of the four armies.

After entering the city, muskets are the best way to kill the enemy.

……

Not long after.

At daybreak, Song and Liao entered into a fierce battle.

The four siege armies of the Song Dynasty fought in turns and stormed the city walls almost without any rest.

Near noon.

Still none of the four armies managed to climb the city wall.

Zhao Zhen, Han Qi and Su Liang became nervous.

Han Qi looked at the recorded content and said, "The four attacking armies attacked the city six times, two attacked eight times, and one attacked nine times. This... this city should be captured!"

Every siege meant the death of a large number of siege soldiers.

Su Liang saw Zhao Zhen's serious expression and clenched fists from time to time, and immediately said: "Youzhou is very important to Liao, and there is Privy Envoy Yelu Liang in charge. There must be a lot of defensive equipment inside. Once we use them up, we should be able to break the city!"

As soon as Su Liang finished speaking, he saw a sentry running into the military tent.

He was gasping for breath and wanted to speak, but no sound came out.

This is due to excessive tension.

Zhao Zhen and Han Qi also looked at him nervously.

Su Liang hurriedly walked up to him and said, "Don't be nervous, don't rush to speak, breathe slowly, breathe slowly..."

After a while, the sentry's breathing calmed down.

With a look of delight on his face, he said, "Sir, our army has broken through the northwest gate and is entering the city!"

"it is good!"

Zhao Zhen walked back and forth excitedly, then suddenly gave Han Qi a bear hug, and then gave Su Liang a bear hug.

As long as one city gate can be broken, the other three gates will not be far away.

Half an hour later.

"Sir, the northeast gate has been breached, and the army is entering the city!"

Another hour passed, and the two sentries entered the tent at the same time.

"The official southwest gate has been breached!"

"The official southeast gate has been breached!"

Hearing that the four city gates had been breached, Zhao Zhen picked up his sword and shouted, "All troops, attack and wipe out all the enemy soldiers in the city!"

Next, there was hand-to-hand combat inside the city, which was the specialty of the Song soldiers and also the most brutal close combat.

Completely occupy Youzhou and begin the countdown.

(End of this chapter)