When Zhou Tinggou led his troops to the east gate of Shouzhou City, a fierce battle was taking place in the south of the city. And just as Li Yuan expected, the defense in Shouzhou City was empty at this time, and there were very few rebel soldiers on the east gate city.
So Zhou Tinggou decisively gave the order and formed an siege posture. However, the rebels on the top of the city saw that the Tang army was not large in number and kept a hundred steps away. The defender did not panic at all and kept the city gate tightly closed. The two sides were locked in a stalemate with bows and crossbows fired at them, and no one could take advantage.
Zhou Tinggou estimated the time and realized that Li Yuan's soldiers and horses should be fighting against the rebels. He became increasingly anxious and ordered his men to return to Bagong Mountain to inform Lin Sichang to complete the siege.
The rebels on the top of the city didn't take it seriously at first, but now they saw the Tang army quickly starting to dig ditches and build up soil, and then advancing step by step, and they couldn't help but become vigilant. At this time, several melodious horns were heard from Bagong Mountain, and the rebel soldiers saw in the distance a large number of Tang army flags suddenly erected in the mountains and forests to the east. Perhaps the dusk had deepened and their vision was dim. , it is suspected that a large number of Tang troops are hiding wherever there is trouble.
Zhou Tinggou looked up and saw the rebels running back and forth on the city. Even the guard turned around in panic to report. After another half an hour, he saw that the number of defenders on the city had increased significantly, which must have attracted many people. The few rebels returned to the city, but the rebels seemed to have no intention of leaving the city to pursue them. Only then did Zhou Tinggou order a retreat, and then calmly returned to the Bagong Mountain camp.
The mystery was solved, and the generals were all delighted and excited. Liu Renzhan, in particular, praised his old subordinate Zhou Tinggou for his prompt decision. However, Zhou Tinggou only said a few polite words and then began to talk about some things before the war. The generals quickly understood his intention and turned to praise him. Due to Li Yuan's precautions, Lin Sichang also received a lot of praise.
Time passed quickly. Although Li Yuan, Liu Renzhan and others were tired, they were not sleepy at the moment. There was still a serious problem before everyone, and that was the choice of advancing or retreating.
Shouzhou City is located on the south bank of the Huaihe River, at the mouth of the Feishui River entering the Huaihe River. It is the choke point for transportation between the north and the south. It has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. Li Jinquan rebelled based on this, and successively moved to Luzhou and Guangzhou. There was sufficient money, food and troops. At this time, it was no longer a disease of mustard moss. If it was not controlled in time, once it formed a resonance with the Zhou Dynasty in the north, it could attack the Northern Expedition army to the north and threaten the army to the south. In the hinterland of the Southern Tang Dynasty, the consequences will be disastrous.
Although the defection of the Huai Army of the Qing Dynasty made Li Jinquan lose his arms, Li Jinquan's direct line of the Holy Guard Army did not suffer much losses in today's battle. The Shouzhou rebels still numbered no less than 20,000, but they were no different than what they are now on Bagong Mountain. The Tang army was evenly matched in numbers.
Today's battle seems to have brought a lot of confidence to the generals, and the number of soldiers and horses has increased a lot. Therefore, most people agree that they should continue to attack the rebels and regain the lost territory.
Especially the veteran Liu Renzhan, who was already eager to serve the country, and the tragic death of his nephew Liu Chongjun obviously had a great impact on him. At this time, he gritted his teeth and said angrily: "Li Jinquan, the thief who has received so much kindness from Your Majesty, is so ungrateful! Now we are rebelling against the imperial court, causing chaos in the north of the Yangtze River, and massacring officials and people. Since we are leading the army here, how can we just sit back and watch?"
The generals of the Qinghuai Army who had just surrendered today, who had not dared to speak for a long time, could not help but talk about Li Jinquan's atrocities. The generals immediately became indignant and kept shouting: "Two great men! Shuai, we must not spare Li Jinquan easily! We should send troops to attack Shouzhou as soon as possible..."
Seeing everyone's high fighting spirit, Li Yuan frowned and remained silent, not because he was worried about welcoming the bride. It was his decision to go north in the first place, and the war has reached this point. It is obviously impossible to get rid of this mess now.
But now the situation between the enemy and us seems to be balanced, but Li Jinquan still has the advantage. With the three states in hand, the rebels can quickly replenish their troops, and with the Shouzhou city in his hand, it is a huge problem. Back then, Zhou Shizong, Chai Rong, led his elite troops to besiege the city one after another, but Liu Renzhan defended the city for more than a year without breaking through.
Li Yuan raised his hand to attract the attention of the generals, and then said in a deep voice: "Everyone, Shouzhou is an important border town of the Tang Dynasty. The city has high walls and plenty of money and food. However, our army is short of food and grass at the moment, and we have no siege equipment. With the two to thirty thousand soldiers and horses in hand, it is really difficult to conquer! This matter needs to be discussed in the long term!"
Liu Renzhan kept rubbing his fists together and said worriedly: "Marshal Li, three generations of my Liu family are from Shouzhou. How can I not know that the city of Shouzhou is strong? But today the rebel army has suffered a setback. If they don't try to attack the city as soon as possible. , if we delay for a little longer, I am worried that once the rebels can take a breather and even join forces with the Zhou State, it will be even more difficult!"
The generals saw that the two commanders had different opinions, but they both seemed to make sense, and they soon fell into their own entanglements.
Zhou Tinggou frowned and suddenly said: "Commander Li, I think our army can continue to take advantage of the deep forests and dense grass of Bagong Mountain to try to lure the rebels out..."
Li Yuan immediately shook his head and said with a wry smile: "Today's success was just a fluke, and all my troops later withdrew and did not actually attack the city. How could the rebels not see that Bagong Mountain was actually a bluff? Li Jinquan is not stupid. , the elite soldiers of the fortified city are in hand, and since he doesn’t know the reality, he can just defend the city gate and wait for the work. With the lessons learned from the past, I’m afraid this commander’s strategy of using grass and trees as soldiers will not have much effect!”
Liu Renzhan nodded in agreement, and then said calmly: "Commander Li's words are reasonable. Li Jinquan has always been cunning, but the rebels can't hold on, so how can we waste time in vain! Now our army is condescending on Bagong Mountain, which is enough You can move forward and retreat freely, and the traffic is no longer isolated. From here, a hundred miles east is Haozhou. Why don't I set off tomorrow, rush back to collect food and supplies, and then send a few fast horses to Jinling to ask for help. Your Majesty will definitely make a decision!"
Li Yuan agrees with this proposal. No matter what choice he makes, perhaps the biggest supporter in this crisis is Li Jing who is far away in the capital. After all, this country is still his. How can this emperor who wants to unify the world and calls himself a sage? Not anxious? So he said calmly: "Marshal Liu, please hurry back to Haozhou! In addition to the food and baggage required by the army, please also bring all the siege equipment in the city. It is best to send a few more fast horses to Jinling. !”
After arriving at Bagong Mountain, Liu Renzhan had already regarded Li Yuan as the backbone of the entire army. After hearing this, he immediately cupped his hands and said, "I accept your order!"
Li Yuan thought for a moment and then ordered to Zhou Tinggou: "General Zhou, while Marshal Liu is away from the camp, I order you to lead your cavalry to gallop back and forth in batches day and night at the foot of the mountain, raising more dust and setting up more flags to disrupt the enemy's sight. Can!"
"The rest of the generals should organize their troops and horses, and don't slack off. After Marshal Liu returns to camp, I will make arrangements for the siege!"
Seeing that the two generals decided to attack the city, the generals were in high spirits and naturally accepted the order one after another. Li Yuan nodded approvingly, but he couldn't help but joke that he was the protagonist of the attack on Shouzhou City this time, not Chai Rong. Even Liu Renzhan changed his position and was the one attacking the city. It's interesting to think about it...
