Late Tang

"Ya Nei, Rao Yang City, it can be broken in the flick of a finger!"

"Don't be careless. Although the duck is cooked, as long as it is not eaten, it may still fly."

Under the city of Raoyang, Wang Shiyuan was wearing a bright silver lacquer phoenix wings and wearing a mountain armor, holding a two-handed sword, standing under the banner, watching the battle in front of him intently.Standing back and standing beside him was his lieutenant, Lu Feng.At this time, it was already evening, and everyone in the Chengde Army Yamen knew that Wang Shiyuan, the envoy of soldiers and horses, had led five thousand soldiers and horses to storm Raoyang City for nearly a day. The fierce artillery fire dealt with a small city of Raoyang, and it shook the world and wept ghosts and gods.

The county magistrate and regiment training envoys of Raoyang City surrendered to the Qin army. They didn't want to die with the Wang family. Who would have expected that they would become the first cannon fodder to die? Although Raoyang is close to Yingzhou Hejian, It is the northern front line of Chengde, but it is only a small town. The Chengde army has not deployed many soldiers here. Their real gate is in Shenzhou in the south, and it is at most an early warning fence.How can some old and weak soldiers resist the onslaught of Chengde's army.

The defenders in Raoyang City, under such a fierce attack by the Chengde Ya army, were already at a loss. If they didn't know that they had no way out, there was still a glimmer of hope for the Hejian Qin army to come to rescue them. At this time, the city was already broken.

In less than a day, Chengde's tooth soldiers attacked the city wall several times, and once even hundreds of tooth troops attacked the city directly from the water gate.At this time, the army in the city knew that Wang Shiyuan threatened to massacre the city after breaking the city, so the whole city resisted with all their might, barely keeping the city unbroken.

However, under the onslaught of the day, they also paid a very heavy price.

At noon, the magistrate of Raoyang County was directly hit by a thunderbolt while directing the battle in the city, and there was no bones left.

In the afternoon, in the bloody battle to repel the hundreds of German troops who invaded the city from Shuimen, the Raoyang Regiment was killed by several arrows.

Before the day was over, the two main figures in Raoyang City who took the lead in surrendering to the Qin army and resisting the Chengde army had died in battle. Wang Shiyuan thought that there would be no leader in Raoyang City, and it would be easy to take down the small city of Raoyang. To his surprise, the county lieutenant of Raoyang City stood on the top of the city and continued to command. In addition, the patriarch of the Liu family in Raoyang City also took the whole family and all the family members to the city to preside over the defense. , and directly opened a warehouse to release grain, and distributed a lot of gold and silver to the people of Raoyang who helped defend the city.Under the fear of being massacred if the city is broken, and the city is being slaughtered with gold, silver, money and food, the soldiers and civilians in Raoyang City unexpectedly persisted for a long time. Until the evening, Raoyang City had already Like a flat boat in a storm, it seems that it is about to capsize at any time, but it has not capsized yet.

If it weren't for the fact that the command in the city was obviously not as good as the beginning, Wang Shiyuan would have wondered whether the Raoyang county magistrate and the regiment training envoy were not dead at all.

However, the balance of victory inevitably tilted towards Chengde Yajun after all, and the Raoyang army and civilians defending the city were getting more and more exhausted and unstoppable.

Lu Feng glanced at the river outside the city. This moat is a river that leads directly to the Hutuo River, and boats can be used for sailing. But now, in the cold winter of the twelfth lunar month, not only the moat has already frozen, but the Hutuo River has also completely frozen.The north is not like the south, no matter how wide the river is, it only has seasonal effects.In summer and autumn, rivers can be obstacles and defensive.But in spring and winter, the river freezes and becomes completely flat.That is, the huge fortress in Hejian has been maintaining the operation of sending people to break the ice in the moat every spring and winter.

The moat outside Raoyang City was frozen, which was a good thing for the Ya army who attacked the city.But Wang Shiyuan has always been a little uneasy, because this also means that the Hutuo River is also freezing, and Hejian City is just at the lower reaches of the Hutuo River. Now the ice on the river is so thick that it has long since become an extremely wide road. The cavalry group of the Qin Army can move south along the Hutuo River more easily and quickly.

In fact, Lu Feng also reminded him that besieging the three gates and letting go of Raoyang City will surely disintegrate their half-will, and they will abandon the city and flee.But the purpose of Wang Shiyuan's coming here is very clear. They are not here to take back the city, but to punish the traitors. To achieve the best results, of course, they will directly slaughter the whole city without leaving any behind.That being the case, how can it be open.

On the southeast corner, amidst the rapid sound of war drums, three hundred tooth soldiers rushed over with shouts.

Several ladders quickly climbed up to the city wall. Although the rolling stones and lumber fell from the city, it was obviously much less.Several soldiers took the lead, with a knife in one hand and a tiger-head heraldry shield covered with rawhide in the other. There was a panic.A group of people came to intercept them, but at this time those dutou had already jumped onto the top of the city, and as soon as they landed, they quickly took out the "palm thunder" from their waists, lit it on fire, and rushed towards it Raoyang soldiers and civilians threw it away, and heard a bang, and immediately two strong men of Raoyang who avoided avoiding it were blown to pieces of flesh and blood, and the others were also dizzy from shock.

Although the palm thunder is not as good as Qin Jun's thunder, it is more than enough to deal with a few people in Raoyang.

Before the gunpowder smoke cleared, they all shouted and rushed over with their knives in hand.

The dental soldiers below the city, seeing someone climbed to the top of the city again, couldn't help cheering, and their morale rose instantly.In a blink of an eye, several groups of tooth soldiers broke through the gap and climbed to the top of the city one after another.

"Rao Yang has taken it!" At this time, even Wang Shiyuan, who has always been prudent, couldn't help but shouted. He waved his hand, and immediately behind him, the orderly waved the command flag, and hundreds of Chengde teeth soldiers issued the order in unison. With a shout, they rushed towards Raoyang City. They divided into several groups and threw the ladder directly to the gaps.

Although Chengde Yajun's palm thunder is not as powerful as Qin's thunder and thunderbolt, it is a sharp weapon for siege at this time.For the time being, only officers above the captain of the Chengde Ya Army have the equipment to carry it. After getting used to it, every officer who ascends the city is equivalent to a small mobile catapult, and the power of a palm mine and a stone bullet is not small. where to go.

Seeing that Raoyang City was about to be destroyed, Lu Fengce immediately took a few steps forward, raised his arms and shouted loudly: "Listen up, my lords, there is an order from the Yamen to capture Raoyang and slaughter the city with blood. Those who enter the city first will rob them first, and those who enter the city later will be their mothers." Let's drink the northwest wind!"

Before he finished speaking, all the besiegers and those on standby cheered loudly at the top and bottom of the city, and the Yajun on the ladders even moved their hands and feet neatly, lest they would be left behind.

Those envoys and capitals who were waiting for orders under the city couldn't help but their hearts fluttered. Some rode over and challenged Wang Shiyuan to fight.Although the city of Raoyang is small, it is actually guarded by the Hutuo River. It has always been regarded as a smuggling point on the border with Qin Fan, and it is quite wealthy.But no matter how rich you are, if things are robbed a few times first and the ones who fall behind, they may be eating meat. They can't even drink soup, so they can only drink the northwest wind as Lu Feng said. up.

The treatment of the Chengde Yajun is better than that of the general Chengde army, and the food and salary are usually doubled.But if you compare it with the treatment of sergeants in the Qin army, it's far worse.These tooth soldiers are paid double, and the family also has land, and they don't have to pay taxes.But they often go out to fight, and most of them have to bring their own horses, armor, weapons, clothes, food and even medicinal materials.If you counted on that little food and salary, you would have starved to death, which is not enough to support your family.

They are counting on the opportunity to snatch it when they are fighting.Therefore, the army in the feudal town is not afraid of fighting, and even likes fighting.Every time a war is fought, before sending out troops, the feudal towns have to pay money for their departure. There are rewards for killing enemies, and compensation for injuries. Things like sending money with copper coins.

Of course, the biggest advantage is that it can be robbed.Not only can you rob the enemy's loot after breaking the enemy, but you can also rob the property of the enemy's people after breaking the city. Sometimes, regardless of the enemy or yourself, as long as it is on the battlefield or even on the marching route, you can rob.

Ever since the Five Thousand Teeth soldiers sent to Raoyang, these people have been looking forward to making a fortune by grabbing a fortune. At this time, they heard that they were going to fall behind others, so how could they hold back.

Wang Shiyuan looked up at the top of the city, and saw that the gap in the top of the city was getting bigger and bigger. Hundreds of soldiers had climbed the city, and the soldiers and civilians of Raoyang on the city were killed and retreated steadily.In fact, there was no need to climb the top of the city at this time, and he didn't have many ladders left. At this time, he should wait for the attackers to enter the city and open the city gate, and then lead the army to rush into the city.However, seeing all the generals gearing up, their eyes were red, they didn't want to lag behind, and they didn't want to disappoint.To lead the army, if he wants to make meritorious service, his subordinates will get rich, and the two sides will benefit each other, so everyone will always be loyal to him.

Immediately nodded and said: "Leave a battalion of soldiers in this yamen, and the rest will let them attack the city!"

When he issued an order, except for the soldiers of his battalion guards who couldn't help but be disappointed, the rest of the army were all smiling and cheering.Everyone scrambled towards the city wall of Raoyang. Some people didn't have a ladder, so they ran directly towards the city gate. They didn't know where to get a few logs, and a group of people lifted them up, and they went straight to the gate.

"Congratulations to Ya Nei, Raoyang City will be broken in less than a day. The marshal must be very happy to hear that." Seeing that the cooked duck had finally fallen into his mouth, Lu Feng smiled and congratulated Wang Shiyuan!

Wang Shiyuan was smiling all over his face, but suddenly he heard someone shouting loudly: "Report—"

He turned his head and saw a rider galloping towards them.

The man rolled off the horse directly, and several soldiers beside him hurriedly helped him up, only to find that there was a feathered arrow stuck in the man's back, and a battle robe, already soaked in blood.

A soldier recognized this person as a scout horse sent out, and previously sent a total of 100 scout cavalry, a team of ten, to scout the movement of the Qin army in the direction of Hejian and Cangzhou.Unexpectedly, only one came back at this time, and he was seriously injured.

A soldier took down a leather bag and poured a sip of wine into the spy's mouth. After passing the young man, the spy finally woke up leisurely. Seeing Wang Shiyuan, he struggled to his feet and reported weakly: "Yanei, Qin Jun, Qin Jun coming!"

When Wang Shiyuan saw this seriously injured spy, he was already mentally prepared.He asked in a deep voice: "How far is Qin Jun from here, and how many people are there?"

"Advancing on foot and horses, I can't count how many people and horses there are. When the subordinates met, they had already crossed Yingzhou and entered the territory of Shenzhou, which was less than a hundred miles away. At a glance, the Qin army was coming along the ice of the Hutuo River, covering the sky and covering the earth. , the flags are like a sea, boundless, there are at least tens of thousands of people!"

Although the spy was weak, his head was still clear and his speech was very orderly.But when it came to the number of people, he used several very powerful words in succession, and Wang Shiyuan's face changed continuously.

Lu Feng was stunned, "Overwhelming, boundless, at least tens of thousands of people? This is impossible. Hejian City did have 5000 troops stationed in the early years. But in the past few years, the Qin army captured Lu Long and Yiwu, and fully managed the Yan army. Beijing, Shanhaiguan, Junduguan, Lulongsai, Tianjin and Tangshan have been newly built. There are fewer and fewer soldiers and horses here in Hejian. According to intelligence, there are only three Qin soldiers in Hejian Fortress. There are [-] people, and there are also some united soldiers, township soldiers, and militiamen. The total number is less than [-]. Could it be that the Qin army in Hejian poured out of the city, and all of them came? But since last year, near Hejian Fortress All the united soldiers, township soldiers, and militiamen who were left behind were disarmed and returned to their hometowns, and only a few were usually on duty in Hejian City. Where did they get tens of thousands of horses?"

Wang Shiyuan was also surprised. When the Qin army issued an ultimatum to Chengde Town earlier, the Qin army next to them did not mobilize troops and horses in each of the cities, and the border was peaceful.It is precisely because of this that when Wang Jingyin made a decision, he thought that the Qin army was just scaring them, and had no real intention to go south with all its strength.

Chengde is not a small town, even if the Qin army wants to attack, they have to go all out.At least the soldiers and horses have not been moved, and the food and grass must be mobilized first. In addition, the Qin Army's soldiers are not many, and they are scattered in various states and counties.In any case, these actions are difficult to hide from the sky.But the Qin army didn't move at all before, so Wang Shiyuan led 180 soldiers and horses directly to Raoyang City, which is only [-] miles away from Hejian City, to clean up the gates and kill chickens to scare monkeys.

"The defenders of Hejian City are not so courageous. If they dare to attack with an empty city, he is not afraid that we will take the opportunity to seize Hejian Fortress, the first town in southern Jing?"

But just as he finished his words, he heard someone shout: "Look!"

When everyone looked up, they saw that the ice surface of the river that was excavated from the Hutuo River and led to the city of Raoyang was really densely covered with thousands of cavalry galloping over the river.At this time, the ice surface is extremely thick, and the horses stepping on the ice surface is really flat.

This cavalry was all wearing navy blue breastplates and red cloaks. The tall knights in front of the team were holding military flags, embroidered with Qin characters, and painted with black flying eagles.

"This, this. The cavalry of the Qin army, the Iron Cavalry Legion? This is impossible, they are too fast!" Lu Feng looked at the river with his eyes and muttered in his mouth. For a while, he couldn't believe it was true.Although there are only a thousand of these soldiers, anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is just a forward, or a scout.

Wang Shiyuan frowned, "The cavalry of the Qin Army are basically equipped with such equipment now. What is missing is the Iron Cavalry Legion. Looking at it, it looks more like the forward battalion of cavalry from the Hejian Fortress." (To be continued.)