Huainan, Shouchun.
At the head of the northern city, around the solid city walls, the corpses had been cleaned up, but there were dense traces of fighting everywhere. There were many burns on the parapets built with earth and bluestone, which were obviously caused by the kerosene bombs of the Han army.
In the past few days, the Han army launched a total of two attacks on the city. Thunderbolt cannons, crossbows and clinging attacks caused a lot of casualties to the Tang army defending the city, and their morale was reduced again.
However, even though the Han army had strong armor and brave soldiers, it was difficult to easily break the city without attacking with all its strength. Coupled with the cold weather and the good command and dispatch of Tang Army coach He Jingzhu, Shouchun City's defense was not so fragile. After all, a veteran may not have the strength and courage, but his decades of experience are also very valuable.
Especially the thunder cannons and kerosene bombs aimed at the Tang army. If they had not been prepared for it, they would have been defeated in one blow. However, the improved cart-throwing attack frequency was too fast, and the damage caused exceeded the expectations of the Shouchun defenders. More than 500 people were swallowed up by the fire, burned to death and burned. People in the Tang Dynasty were horrified and called it "Devil Flame".
The armies of both the north and the south have experienced the use of fierce fire oil in warfare, but it is still rare to use thunder cannons in this way.
Since the beginning of winter, the weather in Huainan has been pretty good. Although the environment is wet and cold, the weather has been beautiful and there has been no rain. The weather has always been sunny and sunny.
Under the blue sky, there were no clouds. Under Shouchun City, three thousand Saint Guard troops were arrayed in front of the city, not to attack the city, but to protect the remaining thunder cannons. Looking at the auxiliary soldiers and civilians who were operating sharp weapons, Wang Yansheng, as the commander, rode his horse around behind, waving his whip, and still yelling viciously: "Smash them with me, get rid of all those timid Huai thieves. Smash it out!"
Following Wang Jun's order, dozens of thunderbolt cannons were fired at the top of the city in turn during these days to attack the defenders. Soldiers were no longer sent to climb the city. Such tactics were extremely uncomfortable for Wang Yansheng, who was ordered to command. He is a brave general who is good at fighting, but no matter how depressed he is, he can only endure it due to the restrictions of military orders. However, in the past few days, his temper has become more and more violent.
The sound of "bang bang bang" impact, mixed with the screams and moans of the unlucky injured Tang army, filled the top of Shouchun City. As far as the eye can see, flying rocks break through the air, the momentum is astonishing. After Wang Jun tested the power of the kerosene bomb, he decided to save it before the subsequent supplies were lost.
However, stone bullets can be harvested on the spot. In the past few days, the Han army has launched more than 2,000 stone bullets into the city. Of course, the price is that the Thunderbolt cannons are difficult to withstand wear and tear, and more than ten of them were damaged, and the remaining ones are not far away from being scrapped.
About half an hour later, three more vehicles were damaged and were brought back to the camp for repairs.
Looking at the top of the city, Wang Yansheng became more and more uninterested and muttered: "What's the use of such an attack? Can Shouchun be destroyed?"
Immediately, he cursed angrily toward the city: "These Huai thieves, too, let us oppress them like this. If it were me, I would have rushed out and destroyed these carts. That old man named He is really as timid as a mouse." ....."
Next to Wang Yansheng, Han Lingkun, who was transferred from Fengchen camp with him, served as the commander of the first army on the right side of the guardian saint. Hearing Wang Yansheng's complaints and knowing his temper, he couldn't help but advise: "General, you'd better say less! If it gets to the ears of the king, you will inevitably be punished!"
"Humph!" He snorted lightly and stopped. Although Wang Yansheng is a bit rebellious, he is not stupid. Wang Jun should try to avoid his bad luck as much as possible.
"There are people in the court, but it's different. It's my turn to do this kind of dirty work!" Not daring to target Wang Jun, Wang Yansheng started to attack Li Chongjin again.
In Wang Yansheng's view, Li Chongjin relied on the power of his uncle Guo Wei to become the commander of the Guardian Army. In terms of bravery, he was definitely no match for him. However, the reality was that being pressured by Li Chongjin made him unhappy for a long time. .
Han Lingkun didn't comment on him. He was smart. If he did, Wang Yansheng could say it. After all, his character was like this. As for Han Lingkun, he was not willing to offend others casually.
"The king commanded the envoy, and the commander-in-chief sent the order to withdraw the troops and go to the commander's tent to discuss the troops!" When Wang Yansheng was bored, the words of the Chinese army commander made him feel like hearing the voice of a fairy.
When the troops were about to be withdrawn, he left it to Han Lingkun, and he galloped back to the camp, feeling energetic.
In the Han army's camp, in the solemn commander's tent, Wang Jun was sitting in charge. In the Huainan front camp, senior officers above the Xiang commander came, including the naval commander Xiang Xun and the Yingzhou regiment training Si Chao. The seats were clearly arranged. Strict hierarchy.
After scanning a circle around the generals, although he already knew what he was doing, Wang Jun still put on an air of arrogance and asked Shen Shihou: "Is everyone here?"
"Come back to Dudushuai, everyone is here!"
"Then let's get started!" Wang Jun waved his hand and said to Murong Yanzhao: "Let the generals here tell you about the movements of the Huai bandits!"
After receiving the order, Murong Yanzhao stood up, bowed humbly, and then said steadily: "After several rounds of inquiries, Liu Yanzhen was deployed in the north of the puppet Tang Dynasty. He led an army of 30,000 thieves from Qingliu Pass to the north, passed Anyuan of Haozhou, and was within a distance of guarding. Spring is less than one hundred and fifty miles away, and with one's feet, one can reach Shouchun in two days."
"In addition, the puppet Haozhou regiment training envoy Guo Tingwei and the military commander He Yanxi have sent troops from Zhongli, leading an army of more than 10,000 people on land and water to move west along the Huai River and approach the mouth of the vortex. The Tang army in Sizhou has also made unusual movements, fearing that it will go north. To invade Suzhou, the imperial court has sent Xu Yi's army to march westward to support our rear!"
"At the moment, the Tang army closest to our army is the enemy's informant army from Luzhou. The commander Zhang Quanyue led more than 6,000 troops and went north along the Feishui River. They have entered the territory of Anfeng, which is seventy miles away from Shouchun. Stop. I and the commander-in-chief's staff have speculated on their movements. They are worried about the strength of our army because of their small number of troops, and hope to wait for Liu Yanzhen's army to encircle our army!"
Referring to the map, Murong Yanzhao explained the movements of the Tang army to the commanders, and then said in a deep voice: "Obviously, Liu Yanzhen plans to use these three armies to encircle our army in Shouchun, and then cooperate with the defenders in the city to annihilate our army. !”
"Who is this Liu Yanzhen? He has a big appetite!" Wang Quanbin, the commander of the Fengguo Army, said immediately with disdain.
Among the generals of the Han army, there were really not many who thought highly of the Tang army. They were not deliberately underestimating the enemy, but just confident.
"I don't care who Liu Yanzhen is, I have already promised to defeat our army, behead my head, and present it to the Lord of the Tang Dynasty!" Wang Jun's face was stern, looking like he was irritated: "I want to take a look. , How many kilograms does this person have?"
With that said, Wang Jun stood up. When he stood, the generals who were familiar with his temperament and style all stood up. The ones who were a little sluggish, like Wang Yansheng, hurriedly stood up under Wang Jun's gaze... ..
There is a saying that Wang Jun's majesty and authority are really greater than that of Emperor Liu Chengyou sometimes.
After everyone stood up, Wang Jun paced in the tent and ordered: "In response to the movements of the Huai bandits, I have made a decision to deal with them."
"Obey the order!" One word made all the generals straighten their backs.
"Li Chongjin led the Guardian Zuoxiang Army eastward to fight Liu Yanzhen! Wang Quanbin led Fengguo Zuoxiang south along the east bank of Feishui to intercept Zhang Quan's army in Luzhou! Si Chao returned to Zhengyang and strictly guarded Fuliang to prevent the Shouzhou Navy If there is any mistake in the attack, military law will be dealt with! The remaining generals of the camp, leading the soldiers and Huaibei civilians, packed their luggage and supplies, and prepared to retreat to Xiacai!"
After a slight pause, Wang Jun looked at Xiang Xun again and said, "Commander Xiang Du will lead the Jingjiang Navy to prepare ships to cover and assist the army in retreating!"
On Wang Jun's side, the navy always only cooperates in combat, and even acts as the main force's logistics and transportation. It is so despised that it is almost unrestrained.
Xiang Xunhe raised his eyes and glanced at Wang Jun. Although he was holding his breath, he still had a calm face and responded: "Yes!"
However, some people still raised objections to Wang Jun's arrangements. For example, Li Chongjin said: "Commander Du, I have less than 5,000 soldiers in the left wing of the Guardian Saint. How can I fight against the more than 30,000 Huai thieves? And with such a division of troops, how can I defeat the Huai thieves? Heavy army. If the Chinese army is weak and the Shouchun defenders leave the city for a sneak attack, what should they do?"
"Are you going to teach me how to fight? Huh?" Li Chongjin's voice was loud, and Wang Jun's shout was even louder.
Facing Wang Jun's cold gaze, Li Chongjin's aura immediately weakened. After all, he was a generation shorter. In his impression, even Guo Wei respected Wang Jun very much. Lowering his head slightly, Li Chongjin whispered: "The general will not dare!"
"Furthermore, did I ask you to defeat Liu Yanzhen's army?" Wang Jun asked again.
Seeing that the atmosphere was a little tense, Murong Yanzhao came out to speak: "Everyone, Liu Yanzhen is arrogant. Wang Dushuai's plan is to take advantage of his arrogance, show his weakness by favoring the teacher, increase his arrogance, and seduce his arrogance. They come to attack. Including withdrawing troops to Cai, it is also a move to lure the enemy. The more than 30,000 Tang troops are Jinling Forbidden Army. If they can be wiped out in one fell swoop, they will definitely inflict heavy losses on the puppet Tang Dynasty!"
After Murong Yanzhao explained it like this, everyone came back to their senses.
"Do you understand? Are there any objections?" Wang Jun still had a bit of anger on his face. It was obvious that he was still dissatisfied with the generals' questioning of his orders. Although Li Chongjin was the only one who spoke, some people's emotions were almost written on their faces.
All the generals stopped talking.
Seeing that he was subdued, Wang Jun waved his hand: "Follow my orders, go down and prepare!"
"yes!"
Murong Yanzhao was ordered to supervise the operation. Only Wang Jun was left in the tent, sitting leisurely and drinking tea.
When Li Chongjin came out of his tent, he was stopped by Murong Yanzhao and gave him some instructions, to the effect that he should not try his best or fight with the Tang army. A small defeat would be enough.
Returning to the Holy Army garrison, gathering troops and horses, preparing weapons and dry food, Li Chongjin looked very unhappy. Being assigned to lose the battle makes me feel better.
