Huali City is a medium-sized city. Because it is close to Hanlu City, the city has high walls and thick walls. It is both a gathering place for merchants and a place where heavy troops are garrisoned. There are more than 3,000 people stationed here. Wu Gen did not hesitate to take these people into his own pocket, just to replenish the soldiers lost in the previous battle with Zu Yuantong.
Today, the city has become a large construction site. Three trenches one foot deep have been dug along the city wall, and they are filled with sharp thorns. On the top of the city, racks of crossbows were busy adjusting their positions, and huge wooden rolling stones filled the top of the wall.
From time to time, falcons flew over the city, and soldiers and horses came in and out of the city gate. A large number of city residents are lining up in a long queue, rushing towards Hanlu City.
Less than two miles away from the south city gate, there is a small mound, which many people in the city call Linqiu. The forest hills were originally covered with trees, but now they have been cut down. There are no less than a dozen pointed fences along the slopes of the forest. Only some narrow passages are left in the middle for people to pass. The rest are large and small. trap.
Between Tuqiu and Huali City, military chariots were lined up end to end in two rows. Behind them, someone was using the chariots as a support to pile earth and rocks to build two earth walls, with a hundred steps between the walls.
Behind the earthen wall, the Northern Army was speeding up the construction of three military strongholds, connected with Linqiu and Huili City, which was equivalent to forcibly expanding Huili City into a small city.
Viewed from the air, a line of defense stretching ten miles was formed from Huili City to Linqiu, firmly blocking the coalition's path to the west. Although the nearly two miles of earthen wall in the middle looks crude, it is within the arrow range of Linqiu and Huili City, and can receive support from both parties. Coupled with the support from the military camp behind them, the troops are actually not weak.
This time Wu Gen invested almost all his military vehicles here. If time was not tight, according to his temperament, he would not have built seven or eight earth walls to stop the coalition's cavalry.
At the top of the forest hill, Wu Genzheng was discussing the deployment of defense with Baoxiang, Meng Shun and Lexi.
Linqiu is not big, and it is not easy to accommodate three thousand people. The reason why we must focus on setting up defenses here is because Linqiu is the only commanding height outside the entire Huali City. Occupying this hill, you can overlook Huali City. In addition, the terrifying range of the Cang family's cavalry is enough to threaten the south city gate.
Therefore, Wu Gen placed Meng Shun, the best defender, here, and Lexi, who was good at shooting, was also placed here to resist the Cang family's archers.
Just in case, Wu Gen handed over the Yan division sent by Ji Ye to the command of Meng Shun to prepare for the enemy's sudden attack.
The busiest thing these days is Que Xing, who helps dig tunnels in the mountains and build underground fortifications all day long.
I think back then, Que Xing had gone through the calamity with Wu Gen. After Suoji's careful feeding over the past few days, he has begun to show his magical powers.
Not only can its body be large or small, and it can move freely in the soil, but this guy can also spout a kind of venom that will turn it into a puddle of yellow water whenever it touches a person or a weapon. Even if the magic weapon is contaminated, spirituality will be greatly lost.
"Lexi, those Sky-shattering bows are quite useful." Wu Gen turned to look at Lexi, who was looking at the hard bow in his hand.
"This thing is very wonderful. With the blessing of this bow, I have the confidence to shoot with the Cang family." Lexi looked excited and couldn't put it down. "But there are not many soldiers who can use it, only 30%."
"That's almost it. This bow is inherently demanding on the human body." Wu Gen looked pained, and the jade he finally saved was gone again, "Meng Quchang, what else do you need here? Do you want any more?" Send someone here.”
Meng Shun glanced at the densely packed fences on the slope and pondered for a moment: "The terrain here is narrow, and it is useless to bring more people. If it is defeated, it will easily disturb the morale of the army. The only worries are the wounded and food and grass. In addition, the earth wall in the middle must be We need to be connected in case of emergencies. If our army retreats westward, it will need to be covered by men and horses. After all, neither the music director nor I have horses this time."
"Okay, I will lead people to guard the earthen wall when the time comes. Don't worry about the horses. Wu Yang will take care of it." Wu Gen nodded and looked to the east. The coalition forces have sent many scouts here in the past two days, but the large group of people has not yet appeared.
"Is the location of the final decisive battle set at Zhululing?" Baoxiang sat on the ground, sweating profusely under the scorching sun.
"Yes, I have informed Ji Ye of the plan. I actually don't really want to fight in the battle at Huili City. As you can see, there are wilderness all around here, which facilitates the movement of the army. The terrain at Zhuolu Ridge is better for our army. It's easy to defend, use high to defeat low, and there are many forks to maneuver." Wu Gen spread out a map and showed everyone the terrain of Capture Luling.
"It's just that we have to fight this battle, otherwise Ji Chen will punish us, and the Fearless Army will be handed over to others. At that time, whether we stay or leave, won't this make it difficult for Ji Ye." Wu Gentan. He took a breath and punched the ground hard, "So, I can only make an agreement with Ji Ye and be prepared. The main battlefield is Zhuolu Ridge. If the bandit army is strong and we can't escape, we will Defend Huili City and wait for him to come for reinforcements. Whether we live or die depends on God's will."
Meng Shun raised his head and looked at the two earthen walls under Lin Qiu that snaked all the way to Huili City. "Master, I'm not worried about Huili City and Lin Qiu. The weakest part of the current line of defense is these two miles." The ground. Not only do we have to face the impact of the opponent's cavalry, but also the soldiers of the Ba family. If the secret technique is used at close range, the foundation of the earth wall will be moved. It would be inappropriate if the foundation collapses. "
Upon hearing this, Baoxiang patted Meng Shun on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Old Meng, you are a good fighter, but you are far worse than Wu Genke in building walls and digging holes.
Anyone who has fought in a war can see that both Huali City and Linqiu are difficult to fight. Only the earth walls are the weakest points. Long wooden boards were driven under the earth wall. Even if the Ba family did something bad, his secret skills were limited after all. He could only change the terrain by three or four feet at most, so there was no need to worry too much about the earth wall collapsing.
In addition, both sides can support the earth wall from a high position. Behind the earth wall, all the Chinese troops have been assembled. Even if the enemy breaks in, as long as it does not completely collapse, it will be enough to eliminate these fish that have slipped through the net. "
"But without setting up these earthen walls, wouldn't it be better for us to defend Linqiu and Huili City." Lexi didn't understand why they wanted to deliberately increase the defensive front.
Wu Gen stood up and pointed at Huili City in the distance, "Actually, this has something to do with the location we chose for the decisive battle. If we only defend Linqiu and Huili City, it seems easier to defend, but the thieves are so numerous. If I were They are surrounded by these two places. How can we leave here smoothly and reach Zhuolu Ridge? With this wall blocking us, at least we will stop the enemy when we retreat.
Secondly, if this place is used as a decisive battle location, it is unobstructed in the wilderness and is extremely vulnerable to enemy attacks. What we do is to temporarily build a large city that has not been closed together so that the army can rely on it. "
Seeing Lexi's hesitant look, Meng Shun smiled and said: "I know what you want to say, so there is no need for the village leader to clear up the doubts. Isn't it just that if the coalition forces bypass the ten-mile defense line and attack us from the west?
This is simple. Not to mention the earth wall, the city is about forty miles long, and the forest hills are more than fifty miles long. If the enemy attacks from the west, his army will be stretched very thin over such a long distance, forming a long belt. Even if they only surround the city gate, many flaws will definitely be exposed.
If we really think that our cavalry is a vegetarian, choosing its weak points, disordering its troops, dividing and annihilating them, no matter how many coalition forces there are, how can we bear to be eaten up by this little bit.
If the coalition forces dare to do this, then let's not go to Luling and let's fight here. I think the village owner deliberately set up this earth wall to lure the enemy to attack. "
The corner of Wu Gen's mouth twitched. He really didn't think about luring the enemy to attack the earth wall and then dividing them to disturb the enemy and destroy them. He just wanted to have a wall to reassure himself.
Turning to face the east, Wu Gen laughed loudly, "Don't worry, the coalition forces will not be so stupid. Even if Lu Lie and others don't understand, how can those governors not know. Once this wall is erected, the coalition forces will have to attack three places at the same time, reducing the number of The pressure on my defense. If there is no geographical advantage, we will create a geographical advantage.
In this battle, I plan to let the Zuo Army be responsible for the defense at Linqiu, and the remaining Zuo Army and Aikai will be located in the military camp at the foot of the mountain. The Chinese army Zhang Wuyang led the Chinese army to garrison the other two military strongholds and the earthen wall, while Xue Xin led the right army to garrison Huoli City. As for Shui Xiaowei and Niu Chao, the mastiffs and wolves serve as reserve teams and are ready to receive orders to support various places. "
"What about Zu Yuantong?" Baoxiang heard Wu Gen's arrangement, but did not hear about Zu Yuantong's mission.
"Oh, I asked him to go to Capture Luling." Wu Gen scratched his head, "In the last battle, more than half of his troops were damaged and he has lost his combat effectiveness. It is better to go to Capture Luling in advance to lay out fortifications."
As he was talking, dust and smoke billowed under the forest hills, and a jade-white insect that was more than ten feet long and as thick as a bucket emerged from the soil. It raised its head and turned around. Its body suddenly shrank to three feet long, and its waist became as thick as an arm. , turned around and dug into the soil again.
After a while, the soil around Wu Gen's feet surged, and Chuxing emerged from the soil. When he saw Wu Gen, Que Xing wrapped his arms around his legs affectionately, climbed onto his arms and circled him several times. He stared at Wu Gen with black bean-like eyes, and patted his arm with his tail gently like a baby.
Wu Gen smiled and took out two pills from his arms, and then took out some Tianyan rice and fed it to Que Xing's mouth.
Not to mention Wu Gen's formation of troops and strong city defense, in the coalition camp, Lu Lie, Guyang Si and others were discussing the dispatch of troops.
After fighting Wu Gen a few days ago and letting him escape, Lu Lie originally wanted to take advantage of the victory and pursue it. However, under the persuasion of Gu Yangsi and several governors, he could only consolidate his troops first. After all, he had eaten the former in the previous battle. The loss caused by the disconnection between the army and the Chinese army. The coalition forces have more troops than the other side, and there is no need to give up their own advantages in order to march quickly.
But he didn't expect that there were some rumors among the army recently, which gave Lu Lie a headache, and he had to summon someone to deal with the matter.
"Brother Gu, Ji Chen actually didn't evacuate Wu Gen this time, so he got an advantage." In the big tent, Lu Lie was the first to speak.
"Ji Ye should have protected Wu Gen, but that's fine. Wu Gen will inevitably be constrained in the future, and he won't be able to do whatever he wants as before." Gu Yangsi put down a few pieces of paper in his hand and rubbed his temples, "But the coalition forces There is some trouble happening in the middle, I think you all have heard about it."
"Yes, there is a saying in the army these days that although there are six coalition forces this time, in fact it is the Lu family, the Gu family and our Cang family who are contributing. The Qiulin family, the Ba family and the Murong family are just sitting behind. Watching the tiger fight, many generals in the army are dissatisfied." Cang Yi said from the side.
"The Qiulin family withdrew because they lost a lot of troops and horses in front, and they had to patrol the grain road. As for the Ba family, Bahong handed over 10,000 troops to us without saying a word, and the other troops also returned Looking at Yediyuan, an important place for transshipment and coordinating the forward transportation of grain and fodder, is it possible to give up Yediyuan? As for the Murong family, what can those five thousand people and horses do?" Lu Lie looked angrily and slapped Shuai Ben hard. .
Gu Yangsi glanced at the people in the tent and said quietly: "Such ridiculous words should be the tactics of the other party to retaliate against us. They are not worth refuting. There are also some lists of Li Tongji's family here, including Qiu Linhe and Murong Yuqiang are both included.
Although they knew it was false, the list had been circulated among the military, causing many generals to worry that their retreat would be cut off. Everyone discussed how to deal with this matter. The war was about to start, so as not to shake the morale of the army. "
"Why don't we transfer Qiu Linhe and several others into the army? Then the rumors will be broken without any attack." Cang Yi suggested from the side.
"No." Gujiazhen Fugu dared to object categorically, "There have been many reports from the Japanese army in the past few days. There are rebel falcon troops appearing around our grain road. They should be scouting our army's movements. If the grain road is cut off, I'm afraid our army will not be able to survive." When we get to Hanlu City, we will collapse without a fight."
"Then why don't you ask the Murong family to send more troops to guard the food road?" Lu Lie looked at Guyang Si.
After a moment of silence, Gu Yangsi sighed, "Now that the Northern Army is building fortifications in Huali City, the longer it takes, the harder it will be to fight. It is better to send out troops sooner rather than later. That's good. Half of the Ba family's troops in Yediyuan will be destroyed." They were transferred to the front line to strengthen their military strength. The Qiulin family still guarded the food routes and provided camera support.
As for the Murong family, don't move. The more people there are, the greater the supply pressure will be. The key is that his family has some relationship with the Ji family. Just in case, let them guard Yediyuan, and the rest of the Ba family The men and horses restrained each other. At the same time, the spread of rumors is strictly prohibited in the army. Our army will move forward quickly and capture Huali City as soon as possible. See if you can, Brother Lu. "
"But, let's do it like this." Lu Lie thought for a while and finally made up his mind.
Some people died, but not completely...
