From the fierce fighting in the early morning to noon, the Black Mountain bandits laid thousands of corpses under the city, and more than one soldier and civilian on top of the city died in blood. As the war went on, the number of people defending the city gradually decreased, and there were no more people left, and arrows were also fired. There are fewer and fewer, and the rolling stones and hammers are becoming sparse...
Seeing that the defense of the city was weakening, Zhang Yan personally beat the drum and urged the entire army to attack the city with all their strength. Today he vowed to defeat Dingxiang and slaughter all the creatures in the city.
Under Zhang Yan's coercion and encouragement, the Black Mountain Army gathered their courage again, shouted in unison, and launched an overwhelming attack on the city head!
"Hold on, you must hold on, our reinforcements will arrive in a few days!"
Wang Ling was fully clothed, holding a sword in one hand and a spear in the other, fighting bloody battles at the top of the city, doing his best to boost morale.
"The thieves will massacre the city after they break it. Let's help the prefect defend the city!"
At the critical moment, the county magistrate organized a team of more than 3,000 old and weak people to climb the city wall to help. There were white-haired old men in their sixties and seventies, children in their 13s, and women in their twenties and thirties. Each one held something that could be used as a weapon and smashed it hard at the thieves below the city. Although the combat effectiveness of this team is very small, it is better than nothing, and it can finally hinder the offensive of some thieves.
Just when the main force of the Black Mountain bandits was trying its best to attack Dingxiang, Sun Li and two reinforcements, Qianzhao, who saw Dingxiang in danger, also tried to get closer to the city, trying to enter the city and help defend the city.
However, they were blocked by Wang Dang and Sun Qing, two generals under Zhang Yan's command. Our own troops were far behind and it was difficult to break through the thieves' blockade. We could only try our best to cover up and respond to the soldiers and civilians in the city.
Wang Dang led 10,000 people and was responsible for intercepting the recruited troops. Although the number of thieves was large, their discipline was chaotic and their equipment was backward. Facing three thousand officers and soldiers, it was almost a draw. Both sides advanced and I retreated. The situation was stalemate, and no one could take advantage for a while.
But for the Black Mountain Army, if they can prevent the officers and soldiers from approaching Dingxiang City, it is a victory, so Wang Dang is not in a hurry. He took a close relative and immediately stood on a low slope, commanding the Montenegrin army to form a formation to block the officers and soldiers.
In the center of Yuan's army's formation, the banner with the word "Lean" fluttered in the wind. He stood on his horse with his eyebrows furrowed, looking anxiously at Dingxiang City in the distance. I wonder how long the defenders can hold on?
"Brother, the bandits are attacking Dingxiang with all their strength today, and the city is already in danger. If Wangdang cannot be defeated in a short time, I'm afraid that Governor Wang will be in danger!"
A young captain, about twenty years old, riding a bay-red horse, carrying a single-edged halberd, with a pale complexion, seven feet eight inches tall, said loudly to Qianzhao.
"Oh, I can see it too. Zhang Yan is going all out today and wants to capture Dingxiang at all costs. I also want to break through the siege and enter the city to reinforce Wang Ling, but I am entangled by Wang Dang's men and can't get through for a while. !" Qian waved his hand to stroke his beard and said with a worried look on his face.
The single-edged halberd in the young captain's hand pointed at Wang Dang on a short slope not far away, and said loudly to Qianzhao: "Brother, look, Wang Dang is watching the battle from the top. He has thrown all his soldiers into the battlefield. There are only famous soldiers. As the saying goes, to capture the thief first, capture the king. Please lend me a hundred cavalry, brother, and I will go around from behind the valley to attack Wang Dang from behind!"
"Valley?" Qianzhao asked doubtfully.
The young man nodded, pointed with his weapon at a small valley heading west, and said confidently: "In the past few nights, I have quietly explored the road. I will walk west along this valley for seven or eight miles. There is a branch road heading east. Follow it to the end, and you can go around to the back of the low slope where Wang Dang is, and the terrain is higher. A sudden attack will definitely catch Wang Dang off guard!"
"In this case, Wen Ji, you go ahead with your troops, but you must be careful. If the sneak attack fails, withdraw quickly and make plans again. Don't be reluctant to fight!"
After listening to Wen Ji's words, Qianzhao nodded in agreement, assigned one hundred cavalry under his command to Wen Ji, and ordered him to try a sneak attack.
Wen Ji whistled and waved the single-edged halberd in his hand, leading a hundred knights to the west. They quickly got into the valley and disappeared into the vast barren mountains, never to be traced again.
Although the slope where Wang Dang was located was not high, it was still higher than the battlefield where the two armies faced each other, so he could clearly see the situation in the opposing formation. Wen Ji led his troops westward into the valley and was seen by Wang Dang, but he thought they were officers and soldiers taking advantage of the opportunity to flee, so he didn't take it seriously.
Leading the army to come from the south, the king
Dang faced the battle from north to south, with the main force of the Montenegrin army behind him, so Wang Dang was not worried about his own safety; he threw all his 10,000 troops into the battlefield, leaving only six close associates to protect him.
Anyway, there are Montenegrin troops in front and behind him, so he is not afraid of any danger. If the officers and soldiers want to get close to him, they must first break through the 10,000 soldiers in front of them. Is it possible that they can fly over with wings?
Half an hour after Wen Ji arrived, he was about to reach behind Wang Dang at this moment. He quietly sent an order to the soldiers to fight and retreat, pretending to be defeated, so as to paralyze Wang Dang's vigilance.
Sure enough, when he saw the officers and soldiers showing signs of retreat, Wang Dang smiled and stroked his beard and said: "Haha... Although the officers and soldiers are elite, they are not strong enough. What can they do to me? I guess there will only be one more meal." The troops are about to be defeated!"
While he was talking, the sound of rapid horse hooves suddenly sounded from the side. Wang Dang hurriedly turned his head to check, and was suddenly shocked out of his mind. I saw a force of one hundred or ten officers and soldiers, neatly arrayed, with surging hooves, swooping down from a high altitude on the side, like a rapid advance, menacing and irresistible!
Wen Ji did not answer, and remained silent from beginning to end. While Wang Dang and his men were panicking, he led his troops into their formation.
He picked up a halberd and stabbed Wang Dang under the horse. Then he turned the weapon and cut Wang Dang's neck with the crescent-shaped blade on the back. The body was separated immediately. He lifted it up and took Wang Dang's head. In hand!
"The traitor king is dead, why don't the rest of us dismount and surrender?" Wen Ji held Wang Dang's head in his hand and shouted majestically.
After the general died, the ten men were in shock, running around like headless flies. More than half of them were killed by the officers and soldiers. Only a dozen riders fled north in panic, looking for the main army and reporting the news of Wang Dang's death.
"Pick up the enemy's horn, sound the horn and withdraw the troops!"
Wen Ji hung Wang Dang's head in front of his horse, waved his hand and cut off the Black Mountain flag and the "Lean" flag himself, and then ordered the soldiers to blow the horn to withdraw the troops.
The Black Mountain bandits were fighting fiercely with the officers and soldiers. Suddenly, there was chaos behind them. The flag was cut down, and the horn sounded to withdraw the troops. They were suddenly panicked. They didn't know what was happening behind them.
These traitor soldiers were originally a mob with little military discipline. They suddenly became a chaotic mess. Nearly ten thousand people fled in panic. In the panic, they trampled on each other and killed hundreds of people.
Qianzhao took the opportunity to cover up the killing and harvested the heads like melons and vegetables. In a short time, he killed more than two thousand Black Mountain bandit soldiers. They ran so slowly that they all knelt down to beg for mercy. There were about a thousand people in total.
Just when Qianzhao was about to accept the surrender of these traitors, Wen Ji had already rode down the hillside and reminded loudly: "Brother, these people are just pretending to surrender out of desperation, and they are not sincere. Our army is weak and cannot restrain them." , the main force of the Black Mountain bandits is not far away from the city, and they will sneak back to join the main force later. While these bandits are captured and unable to resist, we should eradicate them, kill them all, and eliminate the effective strength of the Black Mountain Bandits!"
After defeating Wang Dang's men, Qianzhao had two choices. One was to attack Dingxiang City and engage in a fierce battle with the Black Mountain Army, or to delay the fierce attack of the rebels, or to open a bloody road into the city to assist Wang Ling in defending the city. The second is to march north, attack front and back with Sun Li, defeat Sun Qing's troops, and then jointly rescue Wang Ling.
The garrisoned horse looked at the fierce battle at the top of the city. The defenders were gradually showing signs of exhaustion. He thought for a moment and ordered: "The whole army marches to the foot of Dingxiang City. We will fight to the death to open a bloody road. We will enter the city to help Wang Taishou secure the city and wait." Reinforcements are coming!”
As soon as Qianzhao finished speaking, Wen Ji stopped him: "Brother, no, if the Black Mountain bandits abandon the city and besiege us, the whole army may be annihilated!"
Wen Ji's words were not without consideration, but looking at the situation at the top of the city, the defenders could only hold on until evening at most. If it was later, they might not be able to protect Dingxiang. Therefore, Qian Zhaocai chose to take a desperate risk and planned to force a breakout into the city, then scale the city wall, assist Wang Ling in defending the city, and wait for reinforcements from Hebei.
Seeing Qianzhao's hesitation, Wen Ji continued to analyze the situation: "Brother is worried about the people in the city, and Ji feels the same. But our army only has less than three thousand, and the Black Mountain bandits have as many as seventy or eighty thousand. If our army marches to the city , the Black Mountain thieves stopped attacking the city and used all their strength to encircle and suppress us. Even though our army is elite, the thieves are just a mob, but they are outnumbered and trapped in a tight siege. I am afraid it will be impossible to escape the result of the annihilation of the entire army! If our army is destroyed, not only will we not be able to Lift the siege of Xiang and return it
It will severely demoralize the defenders in the city, make them lose their fighting spirit, and then fall into the city! "
As Wen Ji spoke, he broke off two branches from a small tree on the side of the road, split them from the middle, and continued talking: "If our army is like this branch, if it merges with Sun Li's men and horses, the thieves will want to It won’t be so easy to annihilate us..."
Then he separated the two branches and broke them in the middle: "If we and Sun Li fight independently, just like these separated branches, we will be easily defeated by the enemy!"
After hearing this, Qianzhao nodded and said with sincerity: "I understand, if our army moves forward alone, it will be very difficult; if we merge with Sun Li, we will strengthen our strength and increase our chances of winning. Although you are young, Wenji, you still have the ability to use troops. But your method is ten times better than mine. Brother, I feel inferior! I accept you as my brother. I really did not choose the wrong person!"
"Brother praises Ji. As the saying goes, those who confuse the authorities are clear to those who are watching. I think brother is worried about the people in the city, so he can't make up his mind!" Wen Ji bowed his hands and said modestly, and continued: "The only way forward is for our army to cooperate with Sun Li. With the troops in one place, we must first defeat Sun Qing's troops, and then work together to attack the rebels at the bottom of the city. This will not only neutralize the enemy's siege force, but also allow us to retreat unscathed. Otherwise, there is no way to win. Dao, unless reinforcements from Hebei arrive before dark!"
"In this case, we can only hope that Wang Ling can hold on to the city until we join forces with Sun Li, and then come to rescue them!"
Qian Zhao looked up to the sky and sighed, praying to God to bless the soldiers and civilians in the city to hold on for another half day, waiting for reinforcements. Then he raised his sword and headed north, leading his troops to join Sun Li.
Lou County is adjacent to the sea in the east.
Sun Jian and Zhang Hong stood on the shore, staring at the vast sea and listening to the waves crashing on the shore. Sun Jian said: "I, the Sun family, am a vassal of the Han Dynasty, and I shall be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor of the Han Dynasty. It is not that Sun Jian has selfish motives, but he really has his own difficulties." Sun Jian pointed to the endless sea.
"Jian is a minister of the Han Dynasty, and he should protect the Han border. Our land east of the Yangtze River has a long coast. In recent years, pirates have appeared everywhere, and banditry has occurred one after another. Jian is always present and dare not take it lightly. If the people along the coast are bullied by pirates, how can they be strong? An? Why should I explain to the court?" Sun Jian said righteously.
Zhang Hong twirled his beard and thought carefully. For Sun Jian, you can't use the same tactics as dealing with Jiangdong scholars. Sun Jian was fierce and straightforward, and derogatory comments would only make him angry and do bad things. Appropriate compliments and flattery are effective. So I had a calculation in my mind
"Wucheng Hou, you are really broad-minded and courageous as the sea. The general believed that General Wentai understood the righteousness, so he sent Zhang Hong over thousands of miles away." Zhang Hong put a high hat on Sun Jian.
Hearing this, Sun Jian smiled.
Zhang Hong was right when he said that Sun and his son were loyal men. But to say that he is as powerful as the ocean is an exaggeration. As for his temperament, Sun Jian was cold and unsmiling, ruthless in marching and fighting. But in ordinary life, he is very casual. When he has nothing to do, he often laughs and jokes with his subordinates, which is probably right.
After hearing Zhang Hong's compliment, Sun Jian smiled and said: "Mr. Zigang, please don't put a high hat on me. I, Sun Jian, can clearly see right and wrong, and I can also remember hatred clearly. I don't have as much magnanimity as Mr. Zigang said."
"General Wentai is humble."
"No!" Sun Jian turned his head with a sly smile on his face. But a pair of tiger eyes revealed a cold light.
"I, Sun Jian, am not only not very generous, I haven't read many books. I just know that forgetting national affairs is disloyal; forgetting private affairs is unheroic."
Zhang Hong was so shrewd that he naturally understood the meaning of Sun Jian's words. The state affairs Sun Jian mentioned naturally refers to the conquest of Cao Cao. And the so-called private matter is that Sun Jian almost died in Jingzhou!
Sun Jian mentioned these two things together, and his meaning was obvious. If you want me to participate in state affairs and conquer Cao Cao, you can! But the premise is that I must give an explanation for my private affairs and the future conquest of Jingzhou and Liu Biao!
Winning over Sun Jian is of great importance. Zhang Hong said: "Everyone is responsible for state affairs and world affairs. For private matters, others can only do their best, but it is inconvenient to interfere." Zhang Hong was tactful. He knew that Sun Jian would take revenge on Liu Biao sooner or later.
As Zhang Hong was an envoy from Hebei, of course he could not express his position directly and promised to support Sun Jian and attack Liu Biao. We can only vaguely say that the feud between Sun and Liu is a personal grudge and Hebei will not interfere.
Sun Jian also understood what Zhang Hong meant and stared at Zhang Hong with a smile. "What Mr. Zigang said, is it your own opinion or the general's idea?"
Zhang Hong once again showed the cunningness of a slick old woman. "Hehe, Zhang Hong has been in my lord's palace for many years. I imagine that my lord, as a general of the imperial court, is busy with everything and has no time to care about other people's private affairs."
"Hahaha..." Sun Jian laughed loudly, "Old Zhang, Old Zhang, you don't have to be so cunning when talking to me, Sun Jian, right?!"
"hey-hey……"
Sun Jian waved his hand generously. "Okay, I'll trust you, Lao Zhang, for once!"
Sun Jian's face was grim again. "I heard, Lao Zhang, you are going to Jingzhou. Please give Liu Jingsheng a message, saying that after I, Sun Jian, have finished handling the state affairs, I will talk to him about personal matters!"
Zhang Hong raised his hands and saluted and said: "General Wentai understands the great righteousness, which is a blessing for the country!" As for sending harsh words to seek revenge on someone's behalf, Zhang Hong would naturally not do such a stupid thing.
The people in Dingxiang City were shouting, and the flags of the Black Mountains were fluttering in the wind, making hunting sounds. The two sides fought fiercely for most of the day, and the sun had already set in the west.
Zhang Yan was surprised when he heard that the troops he had recruited had defeated Wang Dang's troops and beheaded Wang Dang. Wang Dang had been with him in the north and south for more than ten years, and he was considered to have been on the battlefield for a long time. With ten thousand people, Zhang Yan was surprised. Resisting three thousand officers and soldiers, it is not shameful to lose. What is surprising is that he lost his life!
"Hiss...this Qianzhao is really a talented general!"
The powerful leader couldn't hold back his surprise and took a deep breath. But what Zhang Yan didn't expect was that Wang Ling was not responsible for killing the king, but was planned by another young general Wen Ji.
Speaking of which, the newly appointed governor of Bingzhou has many talents. Wang Ling's ability to defend the city has already made the Black Mountain bandits suffer. They besieged the city for about ten days with more than ten times the force, costing more than 20,000 to 30,000 lives. , Dingxiang City, which is not tall, is still standing.
And now another trick has appeared. With the strength of three thousand men, Wang Dang's ten thousand men were easily defeated, and Wang Dang was killed in formation. This man's military ability is really scary!
"Tsk tsk... This is just the general who Yuan Xi left to look after his family. His abilities are already so outstanding. I guess the generals who follow him to fight Cao Cao are even more capable, right? If he goes all out to conquer our Montenegrin Army, I'm afraid the Taihang Mountains can't do anything. Are you still here?" Zhang Yan frowned, stroking his beard with his hand, thinking in his heart with an anxious look on his face.
At this moment, the scouts sent by Zhang Yan to spy on the movements of the recruiting troops came to report, "General Zhaolie, after the Yuan army defeated General Wangdang, they did not move towards the city, but ran north towards Bailang Mountain." The direction is gone!”
Zhang Yan has been traversing the Taihang Mountains for many years, and has become a powerful force. After hundreds of battles, he can understand the movements of Qian Zhao's army at a glance. Looking back, he said: "Qian Zhao wanted to meet up with Sun Li at Bailang Mountain, about 20 miles to the north. , and then come together to rescue Wang Ling. Either attack from the front and back to defeat Sun Qing; or force us to divide our troops to support and disperse our siege forces..."
"Then what should we do? Should we go to aid Sun Qing? We have a good relationship. If we want to send someone to support, let me go around in vain!"
