After the pre-war meeting, Ling Su and Xue Wei each returned to their military tents, while Shen Yi stayed at the Lian Qingshan camp.
Three days later, the left army of Teng County arrived at Lianqing Mountain and joined Shen Yi. A total of more than 40,000 troops went straight to Zouxian County.
The distance from Lian Qingshan to Zouxian County was already very close, only a few dozen miles, less than a hundred miles. Under the march of the army, Zouxian County was seen from a distance in two days.
However, it was already evening at this time, and the Zuo Route Army set up camp outside Zouxian County according to Shen Yi's instructions.
When the sun sets, the camp is finally completed.
That night, the moonlight was thick. Mr. Shen put on a cloak and walked out of the tent. Using the moonlight, he looked at Zouxian County not far away.
Su Ding, dressed in iron armor, followed Shen Yi. After Shen Yi stopped, he also stopped.
After Master Shen stared at Zouxian for a while, he shook his head slightly and said: "Unfortunately, after the incident in Xuzhou, the people of Qi became more wary of our agent Chen. Now not only can the story of Xuzhou be reproduced, but also the story of Di The reporting department’s intelligence capabilities in Shandong have almost disappeared.”
He looked at Zou County and whispered: "Now, I don't even know how many people there are in this county."
Shen Yi put more thought into Northern Qi than just one Lin Sheng.
Two years before Lin Sheng went north, the Di Newspaper Division had already started wiring in Northern Qi. Although they were all inconspicuous thin lines and did not go deep into the capital of Yan, Shen Yi's Di newspaper was in southern Zhili and Shandong at that time. To describe the reporter as well-informed is not an exaggeration at all.
After the incident in Xuzhou, although Lin Sheng and the Di Newspaper Division played an extremely critical role, even a decisive role, Shen Yi and the Di Newspaper Division also had to pay the price.
Because Lin Sheng was in contact with too many threads of the Di News Bureau, especially when he bought grain on a large scale, he used almost all the energy of the Di News Bureau.
In this case, it is very easy to reach other Di News Department personnel by following Lin Sheng's vine.
Therefore, after attacking Xuzhou, Shen Yi asked those candidates who were bound to be exposed to move south, and asked those who could still hide to shrink their tentacles and stop all actions.
Under such circumstances, the intelligence network that Di News had spent several years establishing ceased to exist almost overnight.
Even so, the Di News Division was retaliated by the Qing Jing Division of the Northern Qi Dynasty, and a small number of people were discovered and captured by the Qi people.
Due to various reasons, Shen Yi's intelligence network in Shandong was deeply hit and basically paralyzed.
Therefore, when he fights the war now, on the one hand, he mainly relies on the intelligence of the internal guards, and on the other hand, he relies on various intelligence to estimate the situation on the battlefield.
Su Ding lowered his head slightly and said: "The Di News Division under Duke Shen played a great role in the Battle of Xuzhou. In the documents of the Ministry of War, most of the credit for Xuzhou was given to the Huai'an Army. However, in the eyes of the general, The Di Newspaper Division has at least seven to eight successes."
Shen Yi looked back at Su Ding and shook his head slightly: "In the final analysis, the Di News Department is just a support."
"Besides, Di Newspaper Division is not suitable for taking too much credit."
At this point, Shen Yi did not continue, because it would be very complicated if he continued.
He looked at Zouxian and asked, "Have you thought about how to fight tomorrow?"
Su Ding also looked at Zouxian County and said: "Mr. Shen, although the city wall of this county is not short, it is not too high either. The city gate may not be strong. Tomorrow, we will prepare to attack from the four gates at the same time and use gunpowder to blow them open. City gate.”
Shen Yi immediately frowned, shook his head and said, "It can't be exploded."
He looked at Zouxian County and said in a deep voice: "If there is land under the city gate of this county that allows us to dig a hole and fill it with gunpowder, then it is indeed possible to blow up the city gate, but almost all city gates …”
"There are bluestones under the city gate. Not to mention digging them out on the battlefield, even if I give you time, it will be difficult to dig them out."
The power of gunpowder in this era is seriously insufficient. It is basically two different things from the high-explosive gunpowder or even liquid bombs in another world.
If used in a confined space, it is possible to blow open the city gate, but in an open environment, this is basically impossible.
After all, it is a city gate, not a wooden gate.
Although Su Ding was also born in Qianhu and had experienced military battles for a long time, he did not have much exposure to gunpowder before joining the Huai'an Army. In the early years when the Mingzhou Guards merged with the Japanese pirates, he spent most of his time using gunpowder. Cold weapons are the main ones.
Hearing what Shen Yi said, Su Ding scratched his head, and then said: "If this method is useless, then the general can only mobilize artillery and bombard one of the city gates. If it can be blasted open, then naturally it is good. If it can't be blasted, it will be good." open…"
He lowered his head slightly and said solemnly: "I have no choice but to do it."
Shen Yi put his hands behind his back and looked at Zouxian.
"Tomorrow... fight for a day first and see how good the Qi army is in this city."
Su Ding immediately lowered his head and said: "Don't worry, Mr. Shen. For such a big city, the top of the city can hold tens of thousands of people. In addition, the city wall is not very high. The craftsmen of the Zuo Route Army have been working overnight to make ladders." , even if it is chewed hard, it can be chewed off within ten days."
The siege equipment of this era was generally made from on-site materials.
Whether it is a ladder, a battering ram, or a catapult, it is all the same. It needs to temporarily cut down nearby wood to make it.
After all, the first priority of an army is mobility. If you carry these weapons with you, you will probably turn into a turtle.
After all, Shen Yi's Chinese army guard camp only brought some artillery powder, so its speed was slowed down a lot, and it has not yet caught up with the left army.
Mr. Shen did not speak any more, but silently raised his head and looked at the moon: "Let's talk after the fight tomorrow."
Su Ding lowered his head slightly and said nothing.
………………
Early the next morning, the Huai'an Army's Left Army began to arrange troops outside Zouxian County.
At about Si hour, the army rushed towards Zouxian County with improvised catapults, battering rams and other ordnance.
After arriving in front of the formation, Su Ding ordered more than 20 artillery pieces to bombard the city gate of Zouxian County together.
With loud explosions, after the three rounds of artillery ended, there were craters made by solid bullets on the Zouxian City Gate, but the overall city gate was still strong, without any signs of damage.
Su Ding looked back at Shen Yi who was watching the battle with a telescope behind him, and whispered: "Mr. Shen, the distance is too far!"
If these artillery pieces were closer, they would have a great chance of blasting open the city gate.
However, because there are crossbows in this era and there is no shortage of sharpshooters, artillery has recently been able to operate beyond the reach of a stone's throw.
When the enemy stands on a high place and launches all the missiles together, the effective damage can be as far as 200 steps away.
If there is a heavy crossbow on the tower, or even a bed crossbow, the killing distance can reach up to four to five hundred steps.
Therefore, the artillery can only fire at a distance of four hundred steps, which seriously reduces its actual combat capability.
After all, what Su Ding is using now is still the first-generation improved artillery that Shen Yi made in the southeast in the early years. Although the weight has become lighter, the actual power is still slightly inferior to those behemoths on the city wall that can easily weigh several kilograms. .
There was no expression on Shen Yi's face, and he just said lightly: "General Su is the leader here, how to fight. You make the decision yourself, don't ask me."
The Zouxian battlefield was just a small battlefield in the entire Northern Expedition. Originally, Shen Yi should not have been there in person, and it was not even enough to attract the attention of the commander-in-chief Shen Yi.
In the future, it would be more reasonable for a battle of this level to be led by a general who is in command of Qianshi or even a Qianhu level.
Su Ding looked at Shen Yi's expression and made a decision in his heart. He waved his hand and issued his order.
"Left Army Pioneer Battalion, form up!"
At Su Ding's order, five thousand-household camps came out almost at the same time.
They were the vanguard battalion of the Left Army, with a total of five thousand people.
Su Ding waved his hand and shouted: "Attack the city!"
The five thousand people did not hesitate much. As the military order was issued, they all rushed towards Zouxian County with shouts.
Su Ding and Shen Yi both raised their telescopes to observe the situation on the battlefield in Zouxian County.
Just as the two of them were carefully observing the situation, a familiar voice sounded in Shen Yi's ears.
"Mr. Shen, General Su!"
"The last general invites you to fight!"
Shen Yi put down the telescope and looked at the person.
Liu Mingyuan, the former deputy general of the Right Army, half-knelt in front of the two men, his head bowed deeply.
Mr. Shen did not speak, but looked at Su Ding with a half-smile.
Su Ding took a deep breath, strode forward, and shouted: "General Liu, attack Zouxian. Each battalion of our left army will have the opportunity to go into battle. Why are you anxious?"
Liu Mingyuan raised his head, glanced at Shen Yi's expression quickly, then lowered his head again, gritted his teeth and said: "The general wants to personally lead the troops to attack the city, so he will be punished and meritorious!"
Hearing his words, Shen Yi frowned slightly, then walked away with his hands behind his back, ignoring the two of them.
Seeing Shen Yi walking away, Su Ding walked up to Liu Mingyuan, grabbed his arm, lowered his voice, and shouted angrily: "General Liu, who in the army said you were guilty?"
Su Ding also felt a little helpless.
Liu Mingyuan is not a bad person in nature, but he has too many habits from the avant-garde institute, and...
Emotional intelligence is too low.
"Keep making trouble."
Su Ding looked at Shen Yi's back and warned in a low voice.
"It's really a mistake."
He took a deep breath, his voice hoarse.
"Don't worry, in my left army, when you perform meritorious service..."
(End of chapter)
