Fang Qifu stayed in Qingliang Temple for a long time, comparing Li Fei's secret letters and asking Luo Jinshui many things, including how to communicate secretly between outside the city and inside the city, how to identify the Holy Cult believers in the city, etc.
Zhao Tong had already explained these things carefully, and Luo Jinshui answered them one by one, making Fang Qifu nod his head.
Zhao Tong wrote a letter to Fang Qifu in the name of Li Fei and gave a plan, which was to cooperate with the outside, secretly open the Jiangning city gate, and launch a sneak attack with a large army.
This is a clever strategy. If you want to minimize the losses in seizing the city, except for the opponent directly opening the city and surrendering, this strategy is the best way to capture the city.
Fang Qifu had no doubt in his mind about it, but it was hard to have any doubts. Li Fei was the right envoy of the Ming Sect. Although he belonged to the lineage of Uighur saints, Zhen Lun's status in the sect was second only to Fang La and him. It's the number three figure.
And the believers in front of them could not deny that they had robbed and killed the escaping gentry. They had heads and genealogies to prove it. Who would dare to kill these wealthy gentry? Only those who want to rebel would dare to attack these people.
Therefore, Li Fei's strategy may not work, but it will definitely not be deceitful.
But Fang Qifu didn't feel that it was useless at this time. He only felt that this plan was very clever. Once it was manipulated properly, Jiangning's fall was just around the corner.
So, after asking for details carefully, he asked Luo Jinshui and Wu Song to pack up their belongings, take their men, and follow him to the army...
In the evening, the Zhu family sent someone to pick up Zhu Xiuniang from the Xuanfu Division, but Zhao Tao was not willing to let her go, so he replied, "Wu Niang is studying with the king and will stay for a few days and will return soon."
When Zhu Que heard the news in his mansion, his face immediately changed. He almost jumped up and cursed, and hurriedly summoned his family members for discussion.
The elders of the clan were divided into two factions. One faction said that now that the Zhu family was in decline, they just took this opportunity to send Wuniang to the King of Qin, and there was no way they could rely on the King of Qin to make a comeback in the future.
Another faction said that Wu Niang had a reputation as a talented woman, and who among the nobles in the world didn’t know that? It is a pity to be a child for the King of Qin, and the King of Qin is not a prince. It is hard to predict that after changing official families in the future, he will be squeezed out by the new emperor and it will be difficult to take power. Instead of being a child with the King of Qin, Wu Niang would be better off marrying the legitimate son of a rich family. It would be better to be a housewife, or a recent No. 2 pick, or a potential Hanlin official.
Zhu Que had a headache when he heard that everyone wanted to exchange his daughter for power. These tribesmen were just arguing about how to get the best price, and no one was thinking of ways to bring Wu Niang back.
He was so angry that he immediately left the discussion. Everyone dispersed in a hurry. The third prince was the oldest and walked the slowest. When he arrived at the door, he paused fiercely with the bird stick in his hand and said, "Everyone has been left behind. You Can we still snatch it back? Do you really think this is Shezhou? This is Jiangning!"
"I, I...when the thief thing is settled, I will unite several in-law families and go to Tokyo to file a complaint with the officials, accusing the King of Qin of robbing the people's daughters!" Zhu Que said angrily.
"Stop complaining. Maybe Wu Niang's children will be born by then. If you're not afraid of embarrassment, just go ahead and complain!" Sangong shook his head and walked out the door. You shouldn’t be allowed to be the clan leader!”
Zhu Que was so angry that he was trembling all over. They Jiangnan nobles were not afraid of any prince. Once they united, most of the court belonged to them. But things were just as Sangong said. This was Jiangning, and his Zhu family had no strength here. If you really wait for the thieves to be pacified before going to Tokyo to complain when you come to rob people, you don't know how long it will take. I'm afraid that Wu Niang will even have a child by then.
When he thought of this, Zhu Que suddenly felt dizzy and fell weakly onto the chair...
After dinner, Zhao Tong went to the guest room behind the Xuanfu Department. When he arrived at the door, he saw Ding Daxie personally guarding the door. He couldn't help but ask, "Is there a fuss?"
The corner of Ding Daxie's mouth twitched, wondering what his prince wanted to do, and said: "It's making trouble but not making trouble, just not eating or drinking."
Zhao Tong said, "Maybe you're not hungry?"
Crab Ding clicked his eyes and said, "Maybe... right."
Zhao Tong said: "Open the door, I'll go in and take a look."
The door was not locked, but there was one on the outside. Ding Daxie removed the bolt, and Zhao Tao opened the door and walked in. He saw Zhu Xiuniang sitting at the table in a daze.
Seeing him come in, Zhu Xiuniang looked embarrassed, stood up and said shyly: "How long does the prince want to lock up the civilian girls?"
Zhao Tie took a look at the furnishings in the room, nodded and said, "Stay here for a while, and let Xiuniang leave after the rebel army withdraws."
Zhu Xiuniang's eyes were cold and she said: "How can a common girl live here properly before she leaves the imperial court? Even if the prince is a gentleman who observes etiquette, how will a common girl face her family members and foreigners after she leaves? The honor of a common girl will be lost. How can we survive in this world?"
Zhao Tong smiled and walked forward. Zhu Xiuniang hurriedly stepped back. Zhao Tong came to the table and sat down and said: "I think too much. This king is here to protect you. There are more than 200,000 Fang La bandits outside the city. Just in case. We are not in a good position to defend the city, and if we are killed and come in, your family will be in danger. I heard that those bandits specialize in killing wealthy noble families, but do not touch the common people. If that happens, there will be a river of blood."
Zhu Xiuniang looked slightly panicked when she heard this, and then said: "Xiuniang lives with her family and dies with her family. The city is really ruined, how can she live in hiding? Your Majesty still lets me go back. Xiu Niang is very grateful!"
Zhao Tong said: "I said I would let you stay, so I will let you stay. I have sent a letter to your home, so don't say anything more. If there is nothing learned to discuss, I will leave here."
Zhu Xiuniang was stunned, with a trace of anger appearing on her calm face, and said: "I have always heard about the virtues of the King of Qin, but I never thought that he would be so rude and coercive. It seems that all the rumors in the world are false. I regret that I should not have believed in the rumors and was deceived into coming here!"
Hearing this, Zhao Tong narrowed his eyes and looked Zhu Xiuniang up and down. He saw that her eyebrows were like mountains, her eyes were like stars, and her cheeks were like jade. She was slightly angry but not angry at the moment, which added a bit of color, and couldn't help but smile.
Zhu Xiuniang looked at him with a blank look, her heart couldn't help but falter, she backed away again, until she hit the edge of the couch, and then she let out an exclamation.
Zhao Tong shook his head: "I just let you stay here, but I didn't force you rudely. Let's wait until the incident really comes up. It's useless to say this to you now. It will arouse my temper. I don't know if you will actually do anything. I’m afraid you’ll regret it too late!”
Zhu Xiuniang bit her lips and didn't dare to speak any more. She was afraid that Zhao Tong would do something forceful according to his words, so she leaned further in, lowered her head slightly, and two tears fell silently.
Zhao Tong stood up and walked out. When he was out of the door, he turned back and said: "I will ask the two maids and mothers to come over and help you later. If you have anything to say to them, just remember to eat. Otherwise, you will not have the strength to talk to me." Debate knowledge?”
After he finished speaking, he left. When Zhu Xiuniang heard the door slam shut, she threw herself on the bed and sobbed...
The next day, Fang Qifu's army began to move towards the front of Jiangning City. Many soldiers carried trees and vines, and used shield carts to clear the way. They set up the moat against the rain of arrows from the city head.
The shield chariot is thick and effective in resisting feather arrows. It is an indispensable tool for attacking the city. It is the most common among Fang Qifu's army. With this thing to protect the soldiers, it didn't take long for two wooden bridges to be built.
But just when Shi Bao was directing the soldiers to cross the bridge and charge down the city, they heard several violent roars from the top of Jiangning City, and then several huge bluestones were fired at them. A few of them hit the pontoon bridge, and they immediately hit them. The bridge was shattered, and the soldiers on it were beaten into a pulp and fell into the river.
Shi Bao couldn't help frowning when he saw this. As a vanguard officer, he naturally initiated the first battle of the siege. However, Jiangning was really different from other cities. Not to mention the wide moat, what he didn't expect was that there was a huge force on the city. flying cannon.
The Forbidden Army of the Great Song Dynasty had its own battalion, called the Flying Cannon Battalion, which specialized in various large and small stone cannons. The most powerful of them was the "Flying Cannon". These flying cannons had a long range and were operated by experienced veterans. You can also fix a range target so that you won't hit it randomly.
A bluestone cannon flew from the top of Jiangning City, which immediately silenced Shi Bao's side. The shield cart could defend against arrows and flying arrows, but it could not defend against the stone cannon. One of the shield carts had even been damaged by the stone cannon. Lose.
Shi Bao didn't expect Jiangning to have such a thing as flying cannons. Although the Song Dynasty city that was captured before had stone cannons, they were all small cannons and could not hit stones that were too heavy. But even these small cannons, on the city The soldiers were not good at using it and were even in a hurry, unable to cause much damage to the siege team.
But here in Jiangning, both the stone cannons and the gunners were obviously different from those cities. Shi Bao felt that this must have been brought here by King Qin from Tokyo, so he couldn't help but cursed: "Damn King of Birds, wait until Jiangning is captured and we will see how I deal with it." For you!"
He hurriedly mobilized his troops and horses in different directions, and a dozen of them rushed towards the moat, intending to continue to cross the river by force.
This was Fang Qifu's order. Although Fang Qifu had planned to use Li Fei's strategy to attack Jiangning internally and externally, the necessary steps to attack the city were indispensable. On the one hand, it was to confuse the defenders of Jiangning City, and on the other hand, it was also I want to explore the strength of Jiangning's protection. After all, even if I use a sneak attack, I still need to know the combat strength of Jiangning City's army so that we can make corresponding plans and deployments.
At this moment, these dozen passersby gave up on using shield carts to clear the way. Instead, they tied wooden boards to their backs, half-crouched, and continued to rush towards the moat while carrying trees and other objects.
The wooden plank on the back could withstand the damage of some bluestones, but when encountering large stones, the soldiers were still killed on the spot. In the end, only five or six people passed by, and the wooden bridge was built again on the moat.
As several wooden bridges were erected, the troops behind them rushed forward with a "hurrah". They braved the rain of stones and arrows, stepped on the wooden bridges and rushed to the other side of the moat. During this period, several more people were knocked into the river by stones. But part of it is finally over.
As the mouth of the moat opened, it was proved that carrying wooden planks on the back could resist those stone cannons, and many soldiers relied on this method to head towards the moat.
But at this moment, when the soldiers who had passed the city were rushing to the city gate, there were suddenly bursts of "pop, pop" sounds. Many people disappeared on the spot. If you look closely, you can see that they all lost their Falling into a camouflaged trench.
Shi Bao was stunned when he saw this, and then he clenched his fist in anger and cursed: "The King of Dogs and Birds is really too cunning!"
It turns out that trenches cannot be dug in ordinary city moats. In many small cities, the moats are close to the city walls. Once the trenches are dug, they will collapse, making it impossible to camouflage them, and even affecting the strength of the city walls.
But this Jiangning is different. Jiangning, the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties, has the word majestic under the four cities. The moat is still far away from the city wall, so it can be completely covered by trenches.
The trench was camouflaged, and the soldiers crossing the river were already panicking. Many of them fell in even if they didn't bother to look carefully.
At the bottom of the ditch, there were all kinds of wooden antlers, as well as thorns and iron forks, which immediately made the soldiers howl like ghosts and wolves, and many of them were directly stabbed to death in the ditch.
Upon seeing this, Shi Bao immediately issued an order: "Everyone, watch your steps and use your sword to clear the way!"
In a matter of moments, the camouflage on this trench was lifted. Looking at the various weapons inside, the soldiers above couldn't help but feel numb.
It's not easy to attack a city, especially a city like Jiangning. If you want to attack from the outside, you have to be mentally prepared to suffer heavy losses, but still be in vain!
Under normal circumstances, if a city like this were to be attacked by force, without five to ten times the strength of the troops, we would not even think about it and could only plan to encircle it.
But now it was just to test Jiangning's combat power, so Shi Bao once again ordered the rear troops to catch up and forcefully crossed the moat and crashed into the city gate.
At this moment, the ditch appeared, and the soldiers jumped over cautiously. Some saw that there were many bridges on the river, so they took one or two bridges and built them on the ditch.
But after passing this trench, after walking a few steps, the sound of "plop, plop" came again, and it turned out to be another trench.
Zhao Tong ordered his people to dig a total of two trenches in front of Jiangning City. These two trenches took a lot of work. After all, the excavated soil could not be thrown directly into the moat and had to be transported far away. But at this moment it was finally Came in handy.
With these two ditches, it would be extremely difficult for Fang La's army to set up ladders to attack the city or transport some other siege equipment unless the ditches were filled.
But how to fill it out? They had to go to the other side of the river to carry soil and fill it up, but instead of filling the ditch with soil, they were clearly filling it with human lives. How many people might die each time.
Shi Bao was so angry that he yelled: "King of Birds, a certain family is at odds with you!"
In the middle army, Fang Qifu looked at all this with an expressionless face, while Bao Daoyi on the side snorted coldly: "The King of Birds is so sinister, he actually dug two trenches in front of the city to trap our Holy Army soldiers. !”
Fang Qifo heard the words and glanced at him. This Taoist priest was dressed in semi-taoist and semi-vulgar clothes. He was short and fat, wore a Taoist crown, had half-black and white hair, a sinister and cold face, wore an apricot yellow robe, and carried a yellow handle behind his back. A sword wrapped in yellow and red silk.
Fang Qifu said: "When the two armies are fighting, they will use all possible means."
Bao Daoyi said: "If we meet in front of the battle, Zuo Envoy can use my sword to take the life of this bird king."
Fang Qifu shook his head and said: "How can we easily meet such a person? He is probably sitting in the center, pointing in all directions, so he will not show up easily."
Bao Daoyi was speechless after hearing the words, knowing that what Fang Qifu said was right. Looking at the soldiers rushing towards the city in front, his face couldn't help but become even colder.
At this time, a lot of dead bodies had accumulated under Jiangning City, but the soldiers finally arrived at the city, and some equipment was barely transported from behind. However, rolling logs and rocks began to be thrown down from the top of the city again, causing countless casualties.
As for the city gate below, dozens of soldiers rushed against it with thick logs, but they did not move at all. A large piece of bluestone was thrown down from the city. The soldiers who knocked at the door were so frightened that they threw the logs and ran away, but they still did not move. More than half of them were smashed to death.
As for the ladder that had just been put up on the top of the city, before he could be captured, it was directly overthrown by the Song soldiers at the top of the city with bows and arrows. It was impossible to climb up easily.
Fang Qifu watched for a moment from behind. Seeing that the casualties were too heavy, he ordered the troops to retreat. The Holy Army's first attack on Jiangning City was declared a failure...
(End of chapter)
