Zhou Yu did not pin the outcome of this siege on any trebuchet.
After all, Zhou Yu knows very well the virtues of the gadgets he made.
Of course it's best if you can scare them. If you can't scare them, you have to attack the city as you should.
It was another day of offensive and defensive battles, and today's offensive and defensive battle gave Zhou Yu some hope of conquering E City.
In the past, although there were times when the city walls were attacked, Jiangdong Army would soon be driven down by the defenders and had to organize troops to attack again.
But today, Zhou Yu discovered that there was a part of the city wall in the south. After Jiangdong's army attacked it, they held on for about half an hour.
Although they were driven down by the Echeng defenders in the end, this at least shows that the Echeng defenders' current defense strength is declining and they can no longer guarantee support at any time like they did a few days ago.
This is what makes Zhou Yu the happiest in the past few days. This means that in the next few days, as long as Zhou Yu continues to attack at today's intensity regardless of casualties, Echeng will soon be unable to defend it.
Once Echeng is conquered and the Yangtze River waterway is cleared, we can march straight in. At the worst, if we collapse the river and defeat Zhu County and retreat, we can also occupy the eastern part of Jiangxia, which is not without gain.
Therefore, Zhou Yu continued to send troops to attack fiercely the next day, and Zhang Xi's side became increasingly uncomfortable.
The casualties of the soldiers were increasing every day. If they hadn't heard that reinforcements were approaching Zhu County, these soldiers would have been unable to hold on.
Zhang Xi is also worried. If he had known earlier, he should have asked Chen to keep an extra thousand people, so that he would not be so passive now.
Seeing that reinforcements are right in front of us, it would be a great loss if we were to lose at this moment.
But the problem now is this. Zhang Xi's troops are getting smaller and smaller, and there are almost no methods available. Apart from fighting to the death, Zhang Xi and Wei Yankou Feng can't think of any better ideas.
Even Zhang Xi thought about it, if it didn't work out, he would abandon the outer city, shrink his troops and retreat to the inner city, and use the Wengcheng to kill the enemy. As long as they survive these three days, when Chen Dao's reinforcements arrive, there may be a turning point.
Wei Yan still hesitated about this suggestion.
Abandoning the outer city is tantamount to a pure defense, handing over the initiative to the Jiangdong Army, and handing over your life and death to whether the reinforcements can arrive quickly.
This is what Wei Yan doesn't want to see. He still feels that it's not time to abandon the outer city.
However, Jiangdong Army's two consecutive days of siege also allowed Wei Yan to see that the defense of Hubei City was now stretched to the point of being stretched. Therefore, Wei Yan suggested to Zhang Xi that he should wait for one more day. If he really couldn't hold it, then retreat to the inner city. city.
After the three people had finished their discussion, they each prepared to separate anxiously. However, that night, soldiers from the north gate came to report that there was movement on the river to the north.
Zhang Xi heard this and quickly got up and went to the north gate. He happened to meet Wei Yan halfway who had also heard the report.
Neither of them said anything, they just mobilized their soldiers and rushed to the north gate.
Both of them hoped that reinforcements from Xiling had arrived in advance, but they were also worried that Jiangdong's army came late at night to defraud the city under the guise of reinforcements.
Now in Hubei City, the whole city is looking forward to the arrival of reinforcements. If Jiangdong Army really comes pretending to be reinforcements, and it is late at night when it is difficult to see the real situation, Zhang Xi and Wei Yan must be careful and screen carefully. If they are attacked by Jiangdong Army, If you really sneak in, there will be no need to defend this city.
Therefore, the two men not only immediately mobilized the soldiers who could still defend the city, but they also went to the north gate together to check what was going on along the river.
It is indeed an army, and it is also flying the flag of Jiangxia County. Looking from a distance, you can vaguely see the word "Chen" on the general's flag, and it looks like Chen Dao's army.
But Zhang Xi and Wei Yan did not dare to be careless, and continued to stare at the river, watching each other disembark from the boat and gather at the bottom of the city. At this time, Zhang Xi and Wei Yan breathed a sigh of relief.
Under the reflection of the torches, Zhang Xi and Wei Yan could barely recognize that the leading general was indeed Chen Dao, who came to the rescue two days earlier than expected.
At this time, Zhang Xi relaxed completely, his legs softened, and he sat down on the city wall.
Wei Yan looked at Zhang Xi with disdain, then turned around and went down to the tower, arranged for his soldiers to open the city gate, and let Chen Dao enter the city.
As soon as Chen Dao saw Zhang Xi, he quickly explained the reason why he came to help so many days late.
It turned out that Xiling had received a battle report from Zhang Xi more than a month ago and learned about Jiangdong's troop attack.
At that time, Chen Dao advocated immediate rescue.
But Liu Qi disagreed.
He believed that even if troops were to be sent, they must first report to Liu Biao of Xiangyang and obtain permission before sending troops. This was the formal process.
As a local governor, he used the army without orders from his superiors. What is the difference between this and Huang Zu? !
Before there is any order from Jingzhou Mu, various places should guard the city and improve defense.
As for E County, there are more than 20,000 navy troops to help. It is so easy to attack Jiangdong.
Liu Qi's actions, not to mention Chen Dao, even Su Fei were shocked. Has this young master lost his mind? !
In the prosperous times, Liu Qi's actions cannot be said to be right, but he cannot be said to be wrong either. He can only be said to have followed his duty.
But these are troubled times, and if you really want to stick to your duty, it’s not necessarily clear who belongs to Jingzhou. Why is this young master so stupid and sweet? !
As for the Jiangxia Navy, Su Fei knew the Jiangxia Navy very well.
If we say that in the early days of Huang Zu's reign, the Jiangxia Navy was indeed a strong force, but in the later years of Huang Zu's reign, the Jiangxia Navy had already been corrupted. It was not easy to maintain combat effectiveness, and we still expected them to be able to fight. Will he win against the Jiangdong navy? !
Su Fei therefore also advised Liu Qi, but because of Liu Biao's relationship, Su Fei did not dare to speak too bluntly to Liu Qi, so he could only advise him to send troops to rescue Echeng as soon as possible. Zhang Xi's life or death is not important, but Echeng really cannot be lost. Jiangxia will be open to the public.
Of course, the most important thing is that the Jiangxia navy cannot suffer too much loss, otherwise the whole of Jiangxia will be over.
Although Liu Qi was very moved when he heard this, he still had confidence in the Jiangxia Navy and insisted on fulfilling his duties as a courtier. He would wait until his father gave the order before sending out troops in a legitimate manner.
Okay, now Su Fei had no choice but to persuade him, and felt disappointed.
Su Fei was speechless. What could Chen Dao, the guest general, say? !
If he leads troops to rescue Zhang Xi today, Liu Qi will be able to relinquish his military power tomorrow.
As for Huang She, he was just watching the fun without saying a word.
Then, Liu Qi wrote a letter and sent it to Xiangyang quickly, while he continued to sit guard in Xiling, waiting for orders.
Within ten days, Liu Qi waited for a reply from Liu Biao in Xiangyang, and also for the retreating navy led by Chen Jiu.
Liu Biao directly scolded Liu Qi in the letter. Liu Biao almost got angry because of Liu Qi's letter, which caused his already poor health.
Liu Biao really couldn't understand how he could give birth to such a thing despite his wise life.
Major military affairs are changing rapidly. As the commander-in-chief of a party, he should adapt to the situation. If he is asked for instructions on everything, what should he, the prefect of Jiangxia, do? !
Another one, this is Jiangdong's army violating territory. Why don't you ask Jiangdong if they have any official documents from the court that allow them to attack their colleagues, and if they abide by their duties as ministers? !
While Liu Biao was scolding Liu Qi bloody, he asked Liu Qi to organize his army immediately. If the city of E was still in hand, he would immediately reinforce it. If the city of E was lost, he would retreat to Xiling and Xiakou and wait for reinforcements to be mobilized from Nanjun. Jiangxia.
As for Liu Biao himself, Liu Biao's current physical condition was already very bad, but he still held on to his strength and ordered Cai Mao to prepare for war, planning to fight a battle for Jiangxia with Jiangdong.
At this time, Chen Jiu, who was retreating from Hubei and passing through Xiling, also sent people to Xiling to deliver the message.
On the one hand, it was Chen Jiu's responsibility. On the other hand, Chen Jiu was doing Zhang Xi a favor.
Zhang Xi had no intention of forcibly blocking his retreat, so Chen Jiu gave Zhang Xi a favor and helped Zhang Xi report to Liu Qi and ask for reinforcements.
Chen can't guarantee whether he will succeed or not, but he has his heart set on it. Even if Zhang Xi cannot defend Echeng in the future, he cannot say that Chen is not loyal when he comes back.
As soon as Liu Qi heard that the navy had been defeated and Zhang Xi was still holding on to Hubei City, he became anxious and prepared to send reinforcements.
But at this time, Huang She stepped forward.
Huang She had no grudge against Zhang Xi, and it wasn't that he didn't want to rescue E County. It was just that Huang She came up with a bold plan.
Huang She first affirmed the decisiveness of Zhangxi's shipwreck and intercepted the river, and at the same time said that E city was the gateway to Jiangxia. When his father Huang Zu was still alive, he had specially strengthened the city defense, so that it would not be captured by Jiangdong so quickly, so there was no need to be too anxious. Go rescue.
On the contrary, now that Jiangdong's army is blocked under Echeng, Xia Zhi and Qichun in the rear must be empty.
"Why don't the prefect order E city to hold on? I am willing to lead ten thousand soldiers and horses from my headquarters to join Chen Ju's navy to cross the river, raid Xiaji and Qichun counties, burn the Jiangdong army's food and grass, and then use the navy to cut off the Jiangdong army's retreat. Introduction At that time, the eunuch will personally lead the army to fight Zhou Yu to the death in Echeng, and he will surely win easily."
This was Huang She's idea for Liu Qi.
It sounds pretty good.
When Jiangdong's army crossed the river, they would definitely need a place to store grain and grass, and the most likely places to store grain and grass were in Xiazhi and Qichun counties.
If Huang She really raided Jiangdong's army's food storage area, Jiangdong's army would definitely fall into chaos after a shortage of food, and its morale would be turbulent.
At that time, the young master Liu Qi can lead the army to easily defeat the Jiangdong Army led by Zhou Yu. This will be a great opportunity for Liu Qi to earn military merit and gain prestige.
It's just that. In Su Fei's opinion, this idea was simply unethical.
How do you know that Jiangdong will definitely put grain and grass in these two counties? Is it difficult to find a dangerous place to build a temporary granary? !
As the commander-in-chief of Jiangdong and the hero who assisted Sun Ce in conquering Jiangdong, Zhou Yu would not know the importance of logistical support? !
To take a step back, even if Huang She really captured Xia Pheasant and Qichun and burned the Jiangdong Army's food and grass, so what? !
If you don't have enough navy, what are you going to do to cut off Jiangdong's army's retreat? !
The boats of Chen Jiu's naval force had already been scuttled under the city of E County. Although Sha Xian had boats, they were only spare ones and the number was too small. Although there are three thousand spare naval forces, Huang She doesn't think that just relying on these people and ships can cut off the Jiangdong Army's retreat, right? !
If the Jiangxia navy had this capability, it would be great if they could directly defeat the Jiangdong army. Why would they sink their ships and cut off the river before returning to Shaxian?
Finally, and the most immoral part is to let the young master Liu Qi personally lead the army to fight Jiangdong. You really treat Jiangdong Zhou Yu as a bastard. Don't fail to win the decisive battle and experience a big defeat instead.
In the end, the young master Liu Qi was disgraced, but it was you, Huang She, who successfully regained two counties and your prestige increased greatly.
After all, the Jiangxia Huang family has not completely given up on controlling a place.
As Liu Biao's person in Jiangxia, Su Fei naturally saw these things clearly, but Chen Dao, who was not familiar with water warfare, and Liu Qi, who did not understand military affairs at all, were really fooled by Huang She and thought this idea seemed good.
At this time, Su Fei no longer wanted to say anything in this situation. He was already very disappointed with Liu Qi.
Originally, this was the case. Liu Qi was preparing to fight Zhou Yu vigorously, imagining that he would become famous after defeating Zhou Yu, and would rely on this achievement to become the shepherd of Jingzhou in the future. But Chen Dao was relatively calm after all.
Although Chen Dao does not understand water warfare, Chen Dao knows how to defend the city. He knows that there are few soldiers in E County and cannot defend it for a long time. If it is defended for a long time, it will be lost.
Therefore, Chen Dao suggested that even if Echeng is to be defended, it must be given hope that Echeng can hold on. Therefore, reinforcements must be sent just in case. If Echeng cannot be defended, there will be no " It’s a showdown.”
Therefore, Chen Dao persuaded Liu Qi to take the 3,000 men and horses he led as the first batch of reinforcements, and set off overnight, marching under starry night to aid Hubei City. Liu Qi organized the rear army and led the main force of Xiling to march slowly, waiting until Huang She attacked the pheasant. After fighting Qichun, he had a decisive battle with Zhou Yu.
Therefore, although Chen Dao was delayed for some time, he finally rushed slowly and successfully reached Echeng with support.
(End of chapter)
