Since even the Song Dynasty did not expect that the Shuanglong Army of Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling would abandon the south and head north, and also conduct a sudden march, then Shen Faxing, Li Zitong and others naturally could not have expected it!
Originally, they all thought that the Ssangyong Army would cooperate with the Song Clan to attack Lin Shihong's Chu State. After all, Lin Shihong was assassinated and the Chu State was in chaos. It was a golden opportunity for both the Ssangyong Army and the Song Clan.
In fact, forces such as Shen Faxing and Li Zitong were ready to sit back and watch the fight between tigers and tigers.
Then, they planned to wait until March and May, when the Song clan, the Shuanglong Army and the Chu State were exhausted from fighting, and then find a suitable opportunity to sneak attack the Shuanglong Army's base in Yuhang County, and give the Zhengzheng The Ssangyong Army, which is growing rapidly, will take a step back and give Ssangyong a disastrous start?
But no idea...
What Li Zitong and Shen Faxing couldn't figure out was that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were like crazy. They left the Chu Kingdom's large land in the south of the Yangtze River and did not attack it. Instead, they attacked it the next day after Kou Zhong returned. , and sent troops directly to their north?
then!
Caught off guard, Shen Faxing, who was closest to Yuhang County of the Ssangyong Army and was originally the defeated general of the Ssangyong Army, immediately suffered a big loss!
Especially after seeing the Ssangyong Army's machine-powered aircraft that could fly into the sky and drop fire oil cans for the first time, they didn't have any countermeasures. After the military camps and important towns and cities were burned down several times, they collapsed immediately. Thousands of miles away, not to mention important places along the canal, even the city of Changzhou was lost. And Shen Faxing was beaten by Kou Zhong so much that he fled to the east coast in a panic. He didn't know what the current situation was.
After Shen Faxing's territory was lost one after another, and after it was discovered that Shen Faxing's army had been routed thousands of miles away and even important places such as Changzhou that had been in operation for many years were lost, seeing that the Shuanglong Army was difficult to deal with and was very energetic, Li Zitong had no choice but to The army then voluntarily abandoned Danyang and retreated to Zhenjiang.
that's all!
When Xu Ziling, who had been fighting for a long time, was ordered to hurriedly lead an army of the Shuanglong Army to take Danyang without a fight and then continue to march north, preparing to capture Zhenjiang City in one go, what he saw was that the general Qin Wenchao under Li Zitong had already arrived in advance. After making preparations, he managed the towering city to be as solid as a hedgehog, with the flags and armor in full order and an astonishing attitude.
At this time, only ten days had passed since the Ssangyong Army launched a surprise attack.
"Oops..."
"Then Qin Wenchao is indeed a general under Li Zitong, but he is so cunning!"
"Even the drawbridge at the city gate was burned..."
"Young Marshal!"
"It seems that Wu Jun has realized that their advantage in Jiangnan is not as good as ours, so they simply made preparations to hold on for a long time?"
"look!"
"They have also set up iron locks on the river to block the river, and they set it up in the east direction. This is clearly to block our Yuhang Navy, and they are determined to guard Zhenjiang, which is a nail in our Jiangnan!"
At this time, on a high ground outside Zhenjiang City, through the thick fog in the early morning, I could see the defense situation of Zhenjiang City, the iron cables on the river, and the huge ships and troop transports of the Wu Kingdom passing by. He couldn't help but sigh, worried about the upcoming siege.
Obviously, it can be seen from the posture of the defenders that Qin Wenchao, the general under Li Zitong of Wu State, does not intend to fight with their Shuanglong Army in the field. Instead, he is preparing to defend Zhenjiang, and then rely on Wu State's naval superiority to retreat across the river. Defend, repel or even defeat their Double Dragon Army?
The terrible thing is that their Shuanglong Army has been marching for many days and rushed all the way from Yuhang. They rely on the fierceness they hold in their hearts and the morale of winning consecutive battles. Although the soldiers have no problems at the moment, the fact is Shangxu Xingzhi also knows that hunger, exhaustion and the uneasiness of long-distance attacks have already troubled everyone. If Zhenjiang cannot be captured as soon as possible, once the situation changes, I am afraid that the offensive and defensive positions will change, and those who want to run will have to be replaced. It's their Double Dragon Army.
"..."
Of course Xu Ziling, who was silent, also noticed it.
However, as the marshal of the Ssangyong Army and the coach of the siege of Zhenjiang City, he did not show it. He just watched the generals in front of his own forward camp not far away constantly boosting morale and inspiring in front of the assembled formation. The fighting will of the soldiers, watching them make various preparations for the siege.
For example, the craftsmen accompanying the army were using newly cut wood to assemble well rails, ladders, ferry tools, wooden curtains, rams, and catapults of all sizes.
Under the standard ruler of Senior Lu Miaozi, various standard accessories were quickly manufactured and quickly assembled by the craftsmen of the carpenter battalion. Then, those offensive weapons that might take several days to be prepared in the armies of other forces were City equipment, their Ssangyong Army had become quite large in just one night.
Of course, those pieces of wood have not undergone any drying treatment, so they are definitely not durable and not beautiful. However, considering that those things are used for sieges and are not made of high-precision wooden aircraft, Xu Ziling is not too concerned about it. Care too much.
While the craftsmen battalion of the Shuanglong Army were working hard to prepare siege equipment, a large number of archers and crossbowmen also began to disperse at various heights on the battlefield outside the city, setting up camps and assembling arrow towers one by one, preparing for the attack. After giving the signal, attack the city wall from a long distance and support the infantry's assault on the city.
Although it was summer and autumn at this time, the dew was still heavy. After a night of running and busy, most of the Ssangyong Army soldiers were soaked to the skin. However, their steps were still firm, their eyes were bright, and they gritted their teeth resolutely. , showing no fear at all.
"Everyone!"
"Whether it's a nail or not..."
"This battle is of great importance, we must pull it out as soon as possible!"
"Let's go!"
After finishing speaking, after looking at the general situation of Zhenjiang City's defense, Xu Ziling waved his riding whip, took the lead in riding down the high ground and rushed towards his own front army camp in front of the city gate.
As the morning fog dissipated, the scene inside Zhenjiang City gradually became clearer.
However, the towering city wall and the tightly closed city gate were obstacles that the Shuanglong Army could not get around no matter what. Looking at the towering city wall, Xu Ziling couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.
Because he knew that this battle would be the biggest test in the raid of their Double Dragon Army. It would be easy to win, but if they could not win the city in front of them, it would be a disaster!
"Send the order!"
"Prepare to attack the city!"
Soon, when Xu Ziling, Xu Xingzhi and other generals rode their horses to the front of the formation, and saw that most of the preparations of the soldiers were in place, he shouted loudly.
The siege of the city will not be possible in a day or two, especially when the Wu army defenders in front of them have been prepared in advance.
Therefore, Xu Ziling planned to test it out first to see the specific situation of the defenders before making the next decision.
"Here!!"
"Young Marshal has an order!"
"Prepare to attack the city!!"
"Young Marshal has an order!"
"Prepare to attack the city!!!"
"The young commander has an order..."
"Prepare……"
Just like that, as the herald held the flag high and galloped toward his own formations in the distance and shouted instructions, the front line of the Ssangyong Army, which had already arrived and had been prepared for a long time, began to move slowly. stand up.
After hearing the order, the soldiers responded one after another and began to work together to slowly chant slogans and move forward with siege equipment such as rams, well rails, and ladders.
Although it looked a little rushed, everyone could see that they still maintained a high fighting spirit and were not affected by the defenders' preparedness.
"..."
Seeing that the army was making final preparations, Xu Ziling didn't say much. He just stood under the banner in front of the formation with a group of generals and counselors and began to wait anxiously.
finally!
Nearly half an hour later, when all the siege equipment was in attack position, when groups of soldiers set up their formations, when the archers and crossbowmen camps on the left and right were all in place, we saw the soldiers in uniform. The armor was waiting in unison. Xu Ziling finally looked up at the sky and found that the weather was good today and there would be no such bad situation. He thought about it. Although he was still a little anxious and hesitant, he still waved and decided to launch it first. Look at the attack.
"!!"
"Send the order!"
"The whole army attacks the city!!!"
With the instructions of Marshal Xu Ziling, the flag bearer not far away began to wave the flag vigorously. At the same time, the huge war drum was officially beaten hard and excitedly by a muscular man.
Boom! Boom!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
"!!"
"attack!!!"
"Kill!"
"Take Zhenjiang City!!"
"Young Marshal has an order!"
"The first one to attack the city will be rewarded with a thousand gold coins and be granted the title of Marquis of Thousands of Households!!!"
"brothers!"
"Kill the enemy and achieve meritorious service today!"
"Kill!"
"drink!!!!"
At this dawn, the excited Ssangyong Army front troops resolutely launched an attack after hearing the long-awaited first sound of the drum.
Not long after!
As the first batch of soldiers braved the rain of arrows and flying stones to set up the trench tools on the trench studded with bamboo sticks, soon, the following soldiers were vigorously pushing the trench covered with thick wooden boards and cowhide. The car quickly rushed to the city gate and began to slam the wooden spine against the motionless city gate.
at the same time!
Well lanterns, ladders and other siege equipment also rumbled towards the city wall amidst the deafening shouts of the soldiers. In the arrow tower camps on both sides of the rear, the bows and crossbowmen used the ones made by Lu Miaozi. The advanced crossbows had the advantage in range, and they began to launch missiles at the guards on the city wall, forcing them to dodge in a hurry and not even bother to defend themselves.
Just like that, amid the deafening shouts and sounds of fighting, the battle quickly became intense, and it seemed to be faintly beneficial to the development of one side of the Ssangyong Army?
But...
That kind of scene seemed to have been expected by Qin Wenchao, the guard of Wu State.
Soon, under the shouts of the defending generals, when the Shuangyong Army approached the city wall and began to climb using ladders, countless defenders appeared.
They began to use the big rocks and rolling logs that they had prepared long ago to smash at the city gate, hoping to block the hastily assembled rush car. Soldiers of the Ssangyong Army under the car fender.
At the same time, the soldiers of the Wu Army on and within the city walls also used effective attack methods such as bows and arrows, flying rocks, and oil tanks to suppress the attacking Ssangyong Army in place, leaving those soldiers who bravely shouted forward to suppress the enemy. He kept falling down under the city wall or on the ladder.
In an instant, as the two sides continued to fight, blood flowed into rivers, and corpses littered the fields began to appear, and the battle situation between the two sides suddenly became more intense and anxious.
Especially for the Ssangyong Army, which is the siege side, its losses were at least two to three times that of the defenders, or even more!
"..."
Of course Xu Ziling, who was watching the battle from a distance, also saw that scene. For a moment, his heart was filled with anxiety and anger again, but he was helpless.
Because he knew it was inevitable.
There is a saying in the art of war: the first is to attack the enemy, the second is to attack the enemy, the second is to attack the enemy, and the third is to attack the city.
Attacking the enemy's cities and fortresses is the best strategy for using troops, because that kind of attack often results in more losses than gains. In order to capture a city, it takes a lot of manpower and material resources to build equipment, not to mention a lot of food, grass, and time. It's not cost-effective. Even if it ends up costing a lot of casualties in exchange for a ruined city, it can only be regarded as a miserable victory. That's not what their Double Dragon Army wants.
But he continued to issue orders, allowing his own archers and crossbowmen who had the advantage of shooting range to continue to use the advanced crossbows improved by Lu Miaozi to shoot at the guards on the city wall, providing as much help as they could to the soldiers attacking the city.
Although, the effect is not obvious?
There was nothing that could be done about it, because due to the rush of time, the number of advanced crossbows of their Shuanglong Army was still too small, so that the defenders could still stick to the city wall and use their shields to block arrows and arrows. While firing crossbows, he frantically and condescendingly fought back against the siege soldiers of the Ssangyong Army who wanted to climb up.
In this way, both sides continued to consume at the city gates and walls. Groups of soldiers from both sides began to fall, but groups of soldiers soon replaced them.
Fortunately!
I don’t know how long it took, but at this moment, air support from the Ssangyong Army finally arrived.
In the sky, a dozen human-powered wooden planes driven by the feet of martial arts masters began to appear staggeringly under the clouds above the Zhenjiang City Gate, with a height of at least several hundred feet!
They first circled like birds for a while, and then began to swoop in the midst of the cheers of the Ssangyong Army and the frightened and unclear running of Li Zitong's Wu Army soldiers, leaving behind each one of them who had been treated with special chemical dyes. A flaming oil can.
soon!
As flames exploded, the walls, towers at the top of Zhenjiang City, and many houses and material storage areas inside the city began to fall into a sea of flames. Then, the defenders, who had never experienced that kind of aerial attack, began to burn for the first time. It became chaotic like a headless fly.
But...
boom! ! !
At this moment, just when the morale of the Shuanglong Army was boosted and they wanted to take down the city wall in one fell swoop, and when Li Zitong's defenders were panicking, a loud noise broke the state between them.
It turned out that at this moment, I don’t know what happened, but a wooden plane that was hovering in the air and throwing oil cans suddenly lost control and fell down?
As the wooden thing whirled, it fell straight to the top of the city wall, smashed into pieces, and detonated the oil tank that had not been completely thrown. After igniting a fire, it seemed that the mysterious weapon high above was not invincible, and its front and rear were not even close. After just throwing away a hundred oil cans and flying away, the defenders' originally low morale suddenly rose again.
And this unexpected incident inevitably caused the troops of the Ssangyong Army to fall into silence.
Especially when they saw the planes that flew away quickly after dropping the oil cans and the city walls that did not seem to be seriously damaged, the originally high morale inevitably fell again.
"..."
Similarly, as the coach, Xu Ziling also had complicated emotions.
Especially when he saw that one of the two parachute pilots landed on the top of the city and was cut into pieces by the Wu army, while the other luckily landed outside the city but was still injured by several arrows and was barely carried away by the soldiers attacking the city. Afterwards, he knew that today's probing attack could not continue like this.
"Ming Jin!"
"withdraw troops!!"
Therefore, Xu Ziling took the initiative and gave the order without waiting for the stern-faced military advisor to make a fuss or the other generals to speak.
clang! clang! clang!
Just like that, as bursts of rapid golden sounds spread throughout the battlefield, the siege that lasted for less than half an hour came to a hasty end.
When the exhausted Ssangyong Army retreated like a tide, there were only corpses on the ground outside the city wall and at the city gate, as well as various wooden siege equipment that ignited fire and black smoke.
Looking back at the guards on the city wall, although black smoke and fire were still rising from the top of the city and inside the city, and even the city tower was still burned by the fire, they looked in high spirits and waved excitedly as if they were mocking the Ssangyong Army. They cheered loudly while holding weapons and flags, and Xu Ziling heard those vicious words and taunting and mocking curses from far away.
"Let's go!"
"Go back to camp!"
After losing at least hundreds of thousands of soldiers plus a valuable aircraft and a master pilot for nothing, Xu Ziling was certainly not in a good mood.
But it was not easy to return, so he had no other choice. He had to turn his horse's head with a dark face, and before the siege troops had completely retreated and counted the battle damage, he led the people to leave the former army camp and turned towards the distance. They rode away from the Chinese army camp which was further away from the city and at a higher position.
…
And just when the Shuanglong Army stopped their first confrontation with Li Zitong's Zhenjiang garrison and took the initiative to retreat, on a high mountain in the west, a man wearing a light green gown, carrying a simple long sword behind his back, with his head Wearing a bamboo hat and having a delicate face, the woman who explained vividly that 'clear water brings out hibiscus and naturally removes the carvings' also witnessed the whole process of the battle.
Then, when he saw the Ssangyong Army withdrawing its troops, and when he saw the dozen or so rickety magical 'flying mechanisms' flying towards the tightly defended camp behind the Ssangyong Army and circling and landing one after another, With twinkling eyes, she hesitated for a while before slowly turning around and leaving.
And if Xu Ziling were here, he would definitely be able to recognize him at a glance:
That woman was not the one who wanted to "choose the Ming Lord" for the world in Luoyang. In the end, she failed to snatch the "He's Bi" and was severely spanked by their Master Anne. Then she became angry and joined forces with all the forces to try. Who is Cihang Jingzhai’s concubine Xuanshi nun who secretly attacked his brother Kou Zhong on the river and wanted to kill Kou Zhong?
And now, the descendant of Cihang Jingzhai, the disciple of Cihang Jingzhai who appears to be compassionate on the surface, but secretly has evil intentions, has come to this crucial Zhenjiang battlefield again.
As for what she wants to do, it is still unknown.
But anyway, this time, she would definitely not be here to help Xu Ziling or the Ssangyong Army attack Zhenjiang City, nor would she be a mediator.
Quite the opposite!
She was probably here to sabotage the Ssangyong Army this time, that is, to assist Li Zitong's Wu army in defending Zhenjiang or even to defeat the Ssangyong Army.
——————————
(ω)Monthly passMonthly pass~
(End of chapter)
