Chapter 235: Give Up
With only one military camp and most of the artillery team in hand, Ishii would certainly not attack the city rashly, but he would never be so willing to sit idle. He asked the auxiliary soldiers to build fortifications in front of Laoyaguan and placed more than a dozen cannons at the gate. Then, while waiting for Sun Jie, he dragged Liu Tieniu, who was also unable to bear the loneliness, to start a harassing attack on Bijie. Tieniu first built several earth slopes on the top of the wall at the limit of the Yongning Army's bow and arrow range. Then he used horses to drag several cannons every day, adjusted the position, jammed the wheels with wooden wedges, and fired at the city wall - back seat The gun truck suddenly jumped backwards up the slope, and then slid down due to gravity, and was firmly stuck back to the gun position by the wooden wedge.
At a distance of forty to fifty feet, each artillery team trained by Tieniu's countless big-eared scrapers was quite accurate. Two or three rounds of cannons passed by, and the city gate that was specially covered with iron sheets and smeared with wet mud was smashed into a pile of large and small pieces. Small holes. She Chongming saw that there were only a few hundred people struggling under the city, and he also judged that the Ming army in Laoyaguan was just the vanguard. He regretted not taking advantage of their unsteady footing to launch a counterattack: even if they won a small victory, they could at least improve the situation. It's time to boost morale and break the curse of "everyone must be defeated", but now it's too late.
Seeing that the city gate had become a sieve and it would be a waste of iron balls to hit it, Tieniu asked the artillery crew to change the bullets to blast the top of the wall. There were plenty of pebbles on the river beach anyway, and the gunpowder was not valuable. The defenders were all huddled behind the wall, and the actual killing effect was very limited, but it was really frustrating to just sit back and be bombarded, and their morale plummeted further. She Yin was furious and wanted to lead the cavalry to kill these guys, but She Chongming stopped him. After hiding behind the pile and observing for a while, King She discovered that five or six cannons were firing in turns in a leisurely manner, while the two or three cannons at the end were still silent. Apparently, they had all been loaded with shotguns and were waiting to bombard them out of the city. What about the counterattack team? The narrow city gate greatly restricted the formation of the formation. Everyone was crowded together. From such a close distance, one shot would turn into a bloody alley! Moreover, those guys didn't even bring any soldiers to protect the formation, but they had horses tied near each artillery group. After tying the artillery carts, they could run back to Laoyaguan... The Han army in Laoyaguan must have already arranged their defenses. No matter how good the footwork is, the Yunnan horse cannot climb the wall! Soon, the spies sent out also confirmed King She's judgment. Lao Ya closed the door and deployed a dozen cannons. Fortunately, Bijie has almost moved, so let them blast it.
News came from Guihuayi that the last batch of supplies had been put on the bamboo raft and headed downstream, which made She Chongming slightly relieved. The spies reported that Sun Jie's main force had also moved up and was gathering at Laoyaguan. Many auxiliary soldiers were cutting down trees all over the mountains and fields, presumably to build ladders and other siege equipment. She Chongming estimated that these preparations would take at least two days, so he decided to hold on for one more day and then withdraw. If Sun Jie launched his offensive, the two armies would be locked in a stalemate and he would bite him. Even if he could escape, he would probably be severely punished. Pull off a chunk of meat.
Sun Jie actually didn't want to attack Bijie. Although Zhang Heming had succeeded in a sneak attack in Fuchuan, this time when he looked at the wall from a distance, he knew that the city's defense had been greatly strengthened. On the one hand, Sun Jie was reluctant to waste his elite soldiers in this city that no longer had any strategic significance. On the other hand, An Yun'ao was newly attached and asked him to be the main attacker to bear the huge manpower losses, even though he did not dare to say anything. , but the seeds of resentment will definitely be planted in my heart. What's more, nearly 90% of his 4,000 soldiers were improvised from various tribes in Zhenxiong. In the future, he would be needed to help the court suppress the chieftains there. As soon as he came up, he filled the trenches with all the tribesmen's children as cannon fodder. This matter Children are not done by humans - well, many officials in the Ming Dynasty did do this, but at least Sun Jie couldn't do it.
An Yun'ao looked at the high walls of Bijie and secretly complained in his heart. Based on his experience, Marshal Sun will definitely order himself to take the lead - when he sent troops to Wusa Prefecture not long ago, Dian Fu Xie eloquently stated that the army and the army will "become each other's horns", "definitely serve as stamina", and "fight together to suppress". General Geng Hu didn't even take a step across the river, so he just watched hundreds of his men fend for themselves! Marshal Sun is so powerful, of course An Yun'ao doesn't dare to disobey his orders, but fortunately he has long been accustomed to it: just accept your fate, who told us to be born as a seedling? But Marshal Sun seemed to have noticed his worries. He seemed to casually mention that the Miao soldiers might not have much experience in attacking cities, so they would not be assigned to do the main attack. I hope you don't mind. This is not to look down on them. Everyone's ability in mountainous field battles is obvious to all. ...In the end, he smiled apologetically. An Yun'ao was deeply moved by Sun Jie's kindness.
What Sun Jie hopes most is to drag She Chongming to Bijie and ask Shuixi to keep giving him blood transfusions. It would be best if it takes three to five months. When they have exhausted all their strategic reserves and run out of oil, they will attack together. All his efforts were accomplished in one battle. Therefore, I was a little disappointed when I saw dozens of black smoke rising from Bijie City. At the same time, I secretly said hello to She Chongming: A man can bend and stretch, and he will break when he needs to!
Having said that, Sun Jie did not dare to speculate whether She Chongming had faked his retreat and then set up an ambush for himself in the city: Judging from the smoke and dust, there were only about twenty fire points - of course Sun Jie didn't know that it was because he was in the city. Under the pressure of Ishii Sheng, She Chongming could only focus on rushing to transport supplies, but there was really no time to pile firewood in the whole city - if he set fire to the strong walls to clear the fields and stop the pursuers, then he should completely burn the whole city with a fire. From Sun Jie's perspective, Such an arson method is enough to ambush heavy troops at several key locations and give the pursuers who rashly enter the city a surprise attack. At that time, as long as the city gate is blocked, the terrain and environment of the city are familiar and the troops have an absolute advantage, the first battalion to enter the city will be gone! But from a strategic perspective, Bijie has no defensive value. Abandoning the city and going east is the only correct choice... However, if I delay entering the city because I am afraid of being ambushed, and the fire spreads, a city will be burned for four times. Five days? Shandi is no better than Guandao. Not only can he no longer hope to catch up with She Chongming, but he will also have plenty of time to lay a trap for himself wherever he wants...
An Yun'ao, who was in trouble and had been looking for an opportunity to repay Marshal Sun's kindness, noticed Sun Jie's hesitation and followed the example of other generals and retaliated with a punch: "Commander, we are light, let's go and explore the army first." Jie nodded and was just thinking of saying a few words of thanks when An Yun Ao roared and ran out dozens of feet away with Zhenxiong's group of local soldiers screaming.
By the time Sun Jie received the report and his entire army entered the city, the fire was under control. The Miao soldiers in Zhenxiong are very experienced. Most of the Miao villages are bamboo buildings. Once a fire breaks out, it will be difficult to put out unless there is a water source next to it. The best way is to demolish the neighboring buildings and wait until the burning bamboo building burns out and the fire will naturally go out.
Shangguan Fei, who had a tacit understanding with each other, cast a searching look at Sun Jie. The latter nodded. Shangguan Fei gave a shout, and the cavalry galloped past the infantry battalions. They have to chase after each other in order to detect the enemy's situation for the army. It is best to bite the Yongning army's rear guard and hold it firmly like they did against Zhang Hu in Boryeongfu, waiting for the main force to come up and take a bite. Eat.
Due to the timely rescue by the Zhenxiong soldiers, most of Bijie was saved, so Sun Jie asked Shen Gang to stay and transport military supplies from Qixingguan to the city. He also sent military envoys north to report the military situation to Luo Qianxiang, and he led the main force along the official road. Pursue eastward. Just half a day after walking out, we encountered a horse team turning back. Shangguan Fei reported that the defenders of the Yongning Army had all boarded the boats and were sailing down the Xiangshui River. Shangguan Fei originally wanted to lead his team to pursue and harass along the official road along the river, but from time to time, cold arrows would be shot out from the forest beside the road, and the arrows were simmered with poison, killing two brothers in vain. Of course, Shangguan Fei was reluctant to order his men to abandon their horses and go into the forest to search, exchanging the lives of their precious armored cavalry and dead Miao thieves for one. Fortunately, the Yongning army's whereabouts were clear, so they came back angrily.
Sun Jie laid out the map: Xiangshui River flows all the way south, passing through Guihuayi, Geyayi, Dafangcheng, Jinjiyi, and then to Yachi. There are no decent strongholds along the way for two to three hundred miles - that is to say, The tens of thousands of fleeing enemies will not have any chance to rest or resupply for at least three or four days. Therefore, it is unlikely that they will storm the duck pond all the way. They will most likely abandon the boat and land shortly after passing the Jinji Post. . Where will they go after landing? To the south is Zhijin, which is An Bangyan's lair. However, although the accuracy of a map like a landscape painting is really worrying, it also has an advantage: it is clear at a glance. Zhijin is surrounded by mountains. It is a paradise for a small group of guerrilla troops. But if tens of thousands of troops enter, there will be no room for movement. As long as the officers and soldiers guard a few key roads, it will not take long. They all had to starve to death in the mountains. To the north are Shexiangyi, Shuixiyi, Guliyi, Huozhuobao, Jinsha... That area is the territory of Anzu. Although An Wei did not openly rebel with An Bangyan, everyone knew that it was just a layer of window paper that had not been punctured, and it was certain that he secretly supported the Yongning Army. In addition, there is another inducement that is fatally attractive to She Chongming in northwest Guizhou - Chishuiwei, the new nest, Yongning, the old nest, and Linzhou, the old village, the birthplace of the She family, are all within easy reach: the luxury thief will definitely go north!
Looking at the map, Sun Jie gradually formed a bold idea in his mind. However, doing so would be a bit embarrassing for Luo Qianxiang, and the stakes would be a bit too high.
Sun Jie shook his head and forced himself not to think about this bold and almost absurd idea. The gang leader, Lao Xu, brought dinner in. After many years of military life, he had developed the habit of eating quickly - fighting requires a lot of physical strength, and he didn't know when he would have the next meal, so he ate everything in the food box like a whirlwind. With his stomach full, Sun Jie went to sleep, preparing to get up early tomorrow to continue the pursuit.
However, after tossing and turning on the march for a long time, I still couldn't fall asleep. The harder I tried not to think about it, the stronger the thought became. Sun Jie simply got up and stared at the map for most of the night, thinking about his plan over and over again: This plan is indeed a bit bold. If it succeeds, the Miao chaos in the southwest will be wiped out in one fell swoop; but... if something happens suddenly, But it is not just as simple as all the previous efforts being wasted. Of course, his own future will be greatly affected, and Lord Zhu will also be greatly dragged down. He may even turn from the governor of the five provinces to a scapegoat prisoner overnight! Master Zhu will definitely agree to any of his plans, and there is no need to say anything about Lao Shun, but Liu Chao has no friendship with him at all, and his cooperation is necessary to realize his plan - it still has to be a feigned defeat, can he be willing to do so? ? Besides, even for a short while, would Luo Qianxiang be willing to spit out the fat in his mouth? Will others say that I am greedy for merit and take the great cause of defeating thieves as a trivial matter?
For the first time, Sun Jie felt that the burden he had to carry on his shoulders was too heavy.
When Dongfang turned white, Sun Jie came out of the handsome tent. The cold mountain wind blew, and my spirits were lifted. The mountain breeze also carried whispers from the camp soldiers: "That extravagant thief was so frightened by our commander that he ran away without even firing an arrow."
"That's right. That extravagant thief is really a good city. How can he stop us for two days? He just gave up."
give up!
These two words hit Sun Jie's eardrums like thunder and went straight into his mind!
yes! A great city, but the extravagant thief gave up when he said so. Worries, burdens, hesitations, shrinking, accusations... As long as I am dedicated to the Holy One and the Ming Dynasty, there is nothing I can't give up!
