On Renwu in the autumn and August of the first year of Qianyou, the encirclement was established. Four days after the troops were stationed in the city, following the order of Liu Chengyou, the official army officially launched the first wave of attack on the rebels. According to Liu Chengyou's instructions, the troops of the Western Camp, led by Yao Yuanfu and Song Yanwo, launched an attack on the rebel Hexi Village.
Zhang Yansi, the defender of the enemy's Xizhai, was an ordinary mid-level officer in the Pu army before. He was appointed as the chief general of Xizhai by Li Shouzhen's confidants. His talents were limited. In terms of offense and defense, there was no comparison between Yao Yuanfu and Song Yanwo. opponent. Only with the help of deputy envoy Zhou Guangxun, the general was blocked.
To the southwest of Hedong City, facing the river, Liu Chengyou stood on the horse bank and looked to the west. Across the river, you can see the fireworks rising at Hexi Village, which is obviously a fire attack. The latest wave of killing sounds has lasted for less than half an hour, and has gradually weakened. Liu Chengyou stood looking at Xizhai until the killing sounds completely dissipated in the increasingly desolate autumn wind.
"It seems that the attack on the stronghold failed. This is the third attack in the past two days!" Liu Chengyou asked while stroking his mount's mane.
"Yes!" Following Liu Chengyou was a gray-bearded veteran with a ruddy complexion, wearing armor, and looking older and stronger.
This person's name is Hu Yanke, and he is also one of the ministers of the Yuan Dynasty. He is now the envoy of Xuanhui Beiyuan and serves as the governor of the camp. Already in his sixtieth year, he is humble, kind, and knowledgeable. He is one of the ten capable ministers in Liu Chengyou's eyes.
In the original history, he followed Guo Wei in countering the rebellion, served as military counselor, and provided Guo Wei with many important opinions on military decisions. Coincidentally, it was Guo Wei who recommended Hu Yanke to join the army for this expedition. The two seemed to have a good relationship.
"One burst of momentum will lead to failure, and three will be exhausted." Regardless of whether it was the right moment or not, Liu Chengyou pulled out a sentence and ordered: "Send the order to Yao Yuanfu to temporarily stop the attack, rein in the soldiers, regroup, and wait for the military order!"
Regarding the failure of the attack on the stronghold, Liu Chengyou did not have any negative emotions such as anger or dissatisfaction. Of course, this is also because the government and army have not yet contributed to the counter-rebellion. Otherwise, if they use all their strength, it will still be difficult to capture this small city, Liu Chengyou will definitely not be able to hold back.
Returning to the imperial camp, I sat down and took a few sips of tea. The battle report from the west was quickly presented to my desk through the navy on the Yellow River.
Yao Yuanfu and Song Yanwo jointly reported that after three days of attacking the stronghold, there were more than 700 casualties among the officers and soldiers of the West Camp. However, the rebels were not easy either. The battle losses were conservatively estimated at more than a thousand people. Based on this battle loss ratio, we can know the difference in combat power between the two sides. Moreover, under the attack of artillery, stone shells and heavy fire oil, the enemy's Hexi Zhai Zhai was severely damaged.
Yao Yuanfu said that the morale of the rebels in Guanzhai in Hexi was very low, and he asked for orders to continue the attack. He was willing to issue a military order and the enemy's stronghold would be destroyed within two days.
"General Yao Lao's ambition is as strong as his old age, and his heroic spirit and courage are vividly displayed on the paper, which makes people yearn for it!" The general handed the report to Hu Yanke, and Liu Chengyou curled his lips and said with emotion. Because of the war, Liu Chengyou asked Generals Yao and Song not to cross the river to visit him, so until now, Liu Chengyou has not seen this veteran general who has been in his ears many times this year.
"Yaogong has been in the army for many years, and his bravery is still as good as before. It is indeed admirable!" Hu Yanke smiled slightly, spoke in a Jin accent, and praised, then he handed over the military report: "Your Majesty, do you want to accept his invitation?"
"With Yaogong's ability as a general, leading the crowd and motivating bravery, it will certainly not be a problem to capture the enemy's stronghold. However, the casualties of the soldiers will probably not be small." Liu Chengyou said.
"Your Majesty is considerate of his subordinates and loves his soldiers as sons..."
Seeing that Hu Yanke was also opening his mouth to compliment him, Liu Chengyou gently raised his hand to stop him and asked, "I want to pacify Xizhai first, and then break Pucheng. Does Hu Qing have any strategy to break the stronghold?"
After hearing the question, Hu Yanke didn't show any embarrassment on his face. He thought about it for a moment, clasped his hands and said, "Maybe we can take some measures."
"Who?" Liu Chengyou asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Zhou Guangxun!" Hu Yanke said simply.
"Is this person available?"
With confidence in his eyes, Hu Yanke simply explained to Liu Chengyou: "This person was originally the deputy envoy to Hexi. The late emperor sent Li Shouzhen out to control the river, with the original intention of occupying the magpie's nest. In the previous campaign, Tongzhou was defeated, and Li Shouzhen captured him. The military power was replaced by the unknown Zhang Yansi..."
"This matter will be left to Hu Qing to handle!" Liu Chengyou said directly before Hu Yanke finished speaking.
After giving the order, Liu Chengyou thought for a while, then looked at Feng next to him and said: "Hexi Village can be used, and Hedong City can also imitate it! Feng Qing has the ability to observe people. He was also able to treat Li Shouzhen and his subordinates when he was sent to Hezhong before. Understand, you can choose the human world!”
"Yes!" After hearing the order, Feng Old Fox immediately stood up and responded with his hands in hand. His eyes moved shrewdly, and he was already thinking about it. He was slightly happy, and he realized that there was a possibility of doing this.
Liu Chengyou left all the time matters to these two veterans. He only needed to see the results.
For Liu Chengyou, it would be best if the fortress could be breached from within. However, Liu Chengyou did not relax at all and made intensive preparations for the fortress to be breached by external forces.
There are four gates to the east of the river, a big river to the west, and one is missing in the north. But on the east and south sides, with the combined efforts of tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians, after several days of hard work, the walled city stood horizontally, connected by fences, and built in layers, like two giant beasts. , and the heavy crossbows, artillery carts and "artillery" scattered among them are sharp fangs.
The front of the wall, seen from a distance, almost touches Pucheng, and is only a few dozen steps away from the moat. The moat was dug extremely deep by Li Shouzhen, which almost eliminated the possibility of an attack by the army. Look at the soldiers with swords, shields and spears stationed behind the wall, guarding against the enemy.
On the watchtower in the front row, hundreds of warriors held "big trumpets" and took turns shouting, persuading surrender, announcing, and intimidating.
"Execute only the first culprit, and ignore the rest" was shouted out again, and the generals in the city were asked to rectify the situation as soon as possible. If not, it will be too late to regret after the city is broken...
A large army is besieging a city. This method of destroying the enemy's morale and disrupting the morale of the army with just a few words has been tried and tested. After all, attacking the enemy's heart is the most important.
Looking at the layout of the city, it is not much different from Guo Wei's approach in official history. It's nothing more than building a stronghold and fighting a stupid war, but Liu Chengyou has no plan to fight for a year and a half.
Such a strategy is a good and safe method when the country is stable and has sufficient national strength. However, the loss of national power and the damage to people's livelihood are too serious.
In original history, the national power of the Later Han Dynasty was basically consumed in quelling the three rebellions. In order to support Guo Wei in defeating the thieves, Yang Bin, Wang Zhang and other ministers gathered money and food in the rear, and used all possible means. The harsh laws and tyranny of the Later Han Dynasty, especially during this period, were extremely exploitative and exploitative of the people. thing.
The result was that, by exhausting all means, carrying all the infamy, and transporting money and food to the river, the effect of suppressing the rebellion was certainly achieved, but more importantly, it was used to win over Guo Wei's military morale.
A small Hedong city, an isolated city with no foreign aid to rely on, and Li Shouzhen was unpopular, needed hundreds of thousands of troops to fight for a year? In the end, there was no fierce battle, and the people in the city were scattered and Li Shouzhen set himself on fire.
Raising thieves to respect themselves, no matter whether Guo Wei has this intention or not, the result is very clear. After the rebellion was put down, it was Guo Wei who gained the most.
It is said that Guo Wei was forced to rebel by Liu Chengyou. However, looking at Guo Wei's actions and methods before and after the rebellion in Hezhong, isn't his intention clearly revealed?
It’s just that the subsequent development is a bit out of control. Who would have thought that the original owner would be so hasty and cruel as soon as he lifted the table?
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Off topic.
