Two days after clearing Quyu, Zhang Ji left a thousand garrison in the city, and then raised his troops to go south to join the Baibo army in Yonghe and Lin counties. After arriving, he asked Yang Feng and Han Xian about the military situation on the front line. Yang and Han brought him excellent news: It turned out that since they broke the city, they had learned from the torture guards that there were only about 2,000 soldiers in Lishi City. Guardsmen, the granary is not enough for one month. /p
In such a situation, it must be easy to break the city, but they did not dare to take the credit, so they have been waiting for Zhang Ji to come. /p
Zhang Ji was very happy when he heard this. He said to the two of them: "Now that we are all colleagues, how can we be so polite?" Then he smiled and speculated: "Since the whereabouts of our army have been exposed, it must be that there are only two thousand people, and everything is going to be difficult. To stop our army, maybe Chen Chong has fled westward, leaving us with an empty city in the end. The top priority is to occupy the entire county, then go south to Hedong, and after joining forces with the generals of chariots and cavalry, I will express my merits to you two!"/p
After saying this, Han Xian and Yang Feng looked much better. They thanked Zhang Ji again, then rectified their soldiers, and planned to slowly move east as planned. Unexpectedly, just after setting off, the scouts who went to Lishi to investigate came back and reported to them that there were still people guarding Lishi, and there was no panic, and they seemed to be ready to fight for a long time. /p
Zhang Ji then asked who the guard general was, and the scout replied that the flag on the gate tower was Chen Chong's famous "Yu He You Ming" and "Shi Zi Reform" flag. Since the Xiongnu were pacified, this eight-character flag has become famous in Bingzhou, even if People in Xihe didn't know how to write their own names, but they could still recognize this awkward flag, because it meant that Yingchuan Chen Chong must be here. /p
When Yang Feng heard this, his expression was quite strange. Han Xian saw that he was a little afraid of war, and encouraged him in a low voice: "We will wait for the day when we raise troops again, it's just a matter of time. Now our army is ten times his, that's it." When Xiang Yu is resurrected, he will only be trapped in Gaixia, so why worry!"/p
Zhang Ji was even more happy. He remembered that the Grand Master mobilized before the Mianchi battle and said that the person who killed Chen Chong would be granted the title of Marquis of Wanhu. Although the battle failed afterwards, it was obvious that the Grand Master attached great importance to him. Now Chen Chong sticks to Lishi. In his opinion, Chen Chong was seeking death, and he was even more delighted. /p
Immediately ordered the army to advance quickly, and smiled at Han Siam on the way: "If we can't go faster, I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep for three days and three nights when Chen Chong escapes." In order to confirm that Chen Chong had not left, Zhang Ji sent several The scouts went to the city to look at the flags and reported them every half hour, but did not care about anything else. /p
The army then marched eastward. They stretched the team along the mountain road, which lasted twenty miles in front and back, passing through Xinsheng Mountain, Cypress Mountain, and Bell Tower Mountain one after another. They walked fifty miles in one day and stayed under Beishan Mountain at night. At night, Zhang Ji saw another wave of scouts, saying that all the residents outside the city were welcomed into the city, but there were no other changes, so he fell asleep in a daze. /p
Not long after, a bodyguard suddenly woke him up. He straightened up and asked the bodyguard, "What, did Chen Chong escape?"/p
The guard shook his head repeatedly, and then said: "General, there seems to be a mountain fire in the distance, and it seems to be burning badly! General, will you go and take a look?"/p
Opening the curtain, Zhang Ji looked around and saw the waning moon in the sky like a hook, the stars twinkling, and the night covering the fields like sea water. Where were the mountain fires? He called his bodyguard, who pointed out to him that it turned out that it was blocked by the blind corner of the fence. There was a faint red dot in the distance of the forest and close to the ground. If you didn't pay attention, you would mistakenly think it was a red dot. The stars were blocked by the mountains, so they gave off a little afterglow. /p…
Zhang Ji had been in the war for a long time, and he quickly saw that the mountain fire was more than ten miles away from him, and the fire was spreading. After only a moment, the fire gradually spread, like a ball of grass, and gradually there were A piece of fire lit up for him, turning the night into a rising pink. He couldn't help but be surprised: "There is such a big mountain fire?"/p
Such a rare sight, the soldiers were all woken up by their comrades one after another, and came out to watch. There were groups of three or five in the military camp, pointing at the red spots. Almost all the soldiers were awakened by the mountain fire. At this time, Yang Feng came to ask for an audience and said to Zhang Ji: "This must be Chen Chong's strategy to delay time."/p
Only then did Zhang Ji realize that the mountain fire was burning and the mountain road was narrow. If the mountain fire did not extinguish, they would have no choice but to stop on the trail until it was extinguished. However, this would go against Huangfu Song's urgent policy. He asked angrily: "Then what should I do?" Yang Feng was speechless. Such a mountain fire was no longer humanly possible to extinguish, and they could only see the mountain fire raging. /p
After a night, most of the soldiers returned to camp to rest. The mountain fire was still burning, but as the sun rose, the fire became even bigger. Thick black smoke billowed back and forth in the sky. The east wind was so strong that the mountain The fire was raging towards the north mountain, and the air was filled with the burning smell of ashes. /p
Zhang Ji could only ask his soldiers to take turns cutting down the dense forest on the east side of Beishan to prevent the fire from spreading. Although this move was successful, they still stopped at Beishan for three full days before continuing eastwards. Along the way, there were ruins of abandoned loess and charcoal wood on both sides. In the past, there were still frogs croaking, but now even the sound of birds has disappeared. Seeing this scene, the soldiers walked cautiously, although they could no longer see the light of the fire. But there still seemed to be burning warmth under his feet. Sergeant Bai Bo was quite frightened and said privately: The dragon head guarding the city can burn hundreds of miles to red ground. If it is an enemy, I really don't know how to defeat it. /p
They finally reached the foot of Lishi City. It was already dusk. Zhang Ji was in front of the army and saw two green flags still flying on the west gate. So he sent his nephew Zhang Xiu to shout in front of the city to see if he could undermine the morale of the city. /p
Zhang Xiu rode a white horse and went under the Lishi city wall alone. He looked up at the city tower and said loudly: "Zhang Xiu, the nephew of Zhang Ji, the general of the imperial family, is here. I would like to ask Chen Long to answer!"/p
He shouted a few more times and saw a commotion on the city wall. A man in armor poked his head out from the wall. He looked down at Zhang Xiu and spoke quickly. His voice was not loud but clear. There was penetration outside, and Zhang Xiu heard him clearly: "The great Han Dynasty Bingzhou Mu Chen Tingjian is here! If Zhang Sima has any polite words, there is no need to say them. If Zhang Sima wants to abandon the secret and turn to the light, I would welcome it."/p
After saying that, everyone in the city laughed, and there was a lot of noise for a while, which made Zhang Xiu look quite ugly. When everything calmed down, Zhang Xiu continued: "I have always known that Dragon Head is not afraid of death, but now Dragon Head But they don't care about the life and death of the people in the city? Now, the two commanders Han Xian and Yang Feng have surrendered to the imperial court out of great righteousness and helped our army pacify Shangjun. When the troops were approaching Li Shi, Huangfu Gong sent troops from Hedong to surround Anyi. The dragon head is indeed amazingly intelligent. , I have lost all the games at this moment, why am I still trying to control the chariot with my arms, and the whole city is in ruins? It is better to surrender as soon as possible, with the talent of Longshou, the Grand Master will treat you generously, please Longshou, think twice!"/p...
As soon as he finished speaking, there was another burst of laughter from above, and the people on the city replied: "I, Chen Tingjian, am a dignified man, how can I surrender to someone with my weaklings?" He added: "My city is strong and the soldiers are strong. There is plenty of food, and there are strong reinforcements in the east and west. It can be said that the attackers work hard and the defenders are at ease. I, Chen Ting, defend the city and have never broken the city. How can I surrender to you? I am still worried about you, although I don’t know what you are doing. Convince Han Siam and Yang Feng, but with such repeated villains, once you and others fail to attack the city and my foreign aid arrives, what will they do? By then, I am afraid that you and other Liang people will be spilled with blood and will never be able to go back! ”/p
Zhang Xiu was speechless and could only say helplessly: "In that case, let's compete on the battlefield!" Just as he was about to turn around and ride his horse, he heard the man on the city say again: "Wait a minute! I always treat Han Xian , Yang Feng is not weak. The two of them are back and forth, and it is really difficult for me to reconcile. I wonder if Zhang Sima can let the two of them come forward to answer?"/p
Before Zhang Xiu could reply, the guards on the city shouted loudly: "Let Han Xian and Yang Feng come and answer!" The words gathered into a wave and spread to the army. When Bai Bo's soldiers heard this, they all looked at Han Xian and Yang Feng. The two of them, hoping that they would speak righteously, stepped forward and rebuked them angrily. Unexpectedly, Han Xian and Yang Feng only said to the soldiers around them: "Why should we be so talkative on the battlefield? After we break the city, we will cut off other people's heads ourselves. Revenge for Hu Shuai!"/p
Seeing that they did not come, there was a burst of booing in the city, and Bai Bo's army was greatly demoralized. Zhang Ji didn't care about this. He waited for Zhang Xiu to come back and asked urgently: "Are you sure it is really Chen Tingjian?" Zhang Xiu said: "I have seen the portrait. He is indeed still in the city. I just looked at the number of people on the city wall. I am afraid that even the strong men in the city , all recruited."/p
Zhang Ji disagreed and waved his hand and said: "It's just a temporary recruitment. I can't hold the bow and sword accurately. How long can I defend the city? A thousand cattle and sheep are not as good as a claw of a tiger. I have brought people who have fought for a long time. Bai Bo's army They are also all familiar with sharp blades, and they can break the city with ease!"/p
That night, the incoming troops camped under Lishi City. Rulin's flags drew an arc along the Dongchuan River and surrounded Lishi City on the south bank. However, they immediately discovered a problem. The surrounding trees had been burned. When the light was gone, the soldiers had to search for something to camp on a barren land. In vain, they had to go more than ten miles away to cut down wood. /p
Chen Chong stood on the wall and watched the soldiers under the city holding open fire and carrying and erecting high drums. It was obvious that Zhang Ji planned to use this to disturb people's sleep and prevent the soldiers from resting, but this also meant that he would not attack the city tonight. In the end, Jianbi Qingye delayed precious time for Chen Chong, but he did not feel happy about it. Instead, he looked back and forth at the siege flags on the city. He stared at the familiar white wave flag with a sad look in his eyes. /p
At Haishi, Chen Chong went downstairs to the sound of drums that had just sounded, and went to the streets and alleys to patrol at night to maintain order. I met Yangmi on the road. Yang Mi had never expected that he would encounter such a war when he first came to seek refuge with Chen Chong. Now all the fleeing clansmen were fighting for Chen Chong. They went to the city wall to reorganize the city defense and install canals to prevent arrows. He asked rather worriedly: "Dragon Head" , how long will this war last?”/p
Chen Chong replied: "No more than two months." Seeing that he was so determined, Yang Mi only said that he would win within two months, so he felt at ease again and asked Chen Chong to take care of his people, and then left again. /p
When the guards accompanying him asked him why he had been there for two months, Chen Chong smiled and did not answer. /p
What he did not say was that even if the grain harvest was resumed, the city would only have enough food for two months. No matter how it was attacked or defended, no matter what the outcome was, after two months, the city would definitely be dead. /p
But looking on the bright side, at least this year will not be like previous years, and we are also preparing intensively on New Year's Eve. /pJi Han Zhangwu.
