After resting in Fuling, Xiao Yuan immediately decided to march to Zitong and then attack Yizhou.
Zitong is not a small town, but a large county in the middle of Sichuan. Likewise, it is also the last barrier to Yizhou.
Under normal circumstances, Huang Songyuan should have deployed heavy troops in this city. He still has 10,000 guards in Yizhou, but he did not do so.
There was no Shu army garrisoned in Zitong. Xiao Yuan thought that his own army could just cross here. Others also thought so. Therefore, when they discussed the army, the generals did not focus on Zitong. It is under Chen Tai's command.
Su Yi said: "Huang Songyuan, the Lord of Shu, urgently ordered all the ministries to return for reinforcements. Now Chen Tai has abandoned General Peng Shuang's command and is leading his army back to Yizhou urgently. In the opinion of the last general, the first priority for our army now is not to capture the city or the territory." , but compete with Chen Tai for time to see who gets to Yizhou first."
"Whoever reaches Yizhou first will have complete initiative. No matter how many Shu troops there are, as long as Yizhou is certain, the overall situation will be determined."
He was right. When Xiao Yuan heard this, he nodded and said: "Su Yi's words are reasonable. There is no need to discuss this matter anymore. Let's march directly through Zitong."
Everyone in the Qin army thought that Zitong could pass directly, but no one expected that they would encounter strong resistance here.
A few days later, Xiao Yuan's troops came to the city.
At this moment, on Zitong City, the county governor Zhang Jingrui was dressed in official uniform, holding a sword, and was preparing to personally command the battle.
There were densely packed militiamen standing all over the city gates, all wearing commoners and holding spears. At first glance, they were the people in the city organized by the organization.
Outside the city gate, black armor and red tassels were overwhelming, and the Qin army's camp stretched with no end in sight.
With such a large army attacking the city, Zitong didn't have a single soldier, and his county guard actually refused to surrender. Seeing this, Xiao Yuan was slightly startled, then he lightly smashed the horse's belly and came to the point where the city was within a stone's throw, ready to persuade it to switch.
Due to previous military intelligence, Xiao Yuan knew the name of the governor of Zitong County. He was riding a war horse, wearing brocade clothes and a jade hairpin, and shouted:
"Master Zhang! Our army is besieging the city now, and Zitong can defeat it with a snap of his fingers! Don't resist stubbornly, lest you make a mistake!"
Hearing this, Zhang Jingrui naturally knew that the following was Lord Qin. He was located in the center of the city. He pointed his sword at Xiao Yuan in the air and shouted:
"Xiao thief! Evil thief! You are so ambitious! Invading my Shu land! I wish I could eat your flesh! I will sleep with you!"
He scolded him harshly. When Xiao Yuan heard this, he looked up and smiled and said: "Master Zhang! Don't be so excited. Why not follow Yong'an's example and take the initiative to open the city. With Master Zhang's talents, if you are willing to surrender sincerely, I will definitely protect you." You will not lose your glory and wealth."
"Traitor!" Unexpectedly, Zhang Jingrui glared and cursed again: "I am the head of a county! I am loyal to the emperor by eating the emperor's salary! How can I be a shameless rat like Li Minggui! Scholars can be killed but not humiliated! Don't want evil thieves. Say it again! I swear to live and die with Zitong!"
"Fire the arrow!" As he spoke, he raised his hand and waved.
Following his order, some of the militiamen on the city began to bend their bows and arrows, and started shooting at random below the city.
Most of the sparse arrows were nailed to the ground in front of Xiao Yuan. The latter pulled the reins slightly and his face became a little gloomy.
He didn't expect that Zhang Jingrui, a civil servant with no ability to restrain a chicken, could have such backbone.
The conversation between the two has reached this point. There is no need to say more. After Xiao Yuan returned to the formation, he also ordered an attack on the city.
However, the Qin army traveled a long distance and was exhausted all the way. Therefore, the siege on the first day did not last long. Zhang Jingrui organized the people to defend the city and collected a lot of kerosene. Using these things, they were able to barely block it. The first wave of Qin army's offensive.
In the end, Xiao Yuan could only withdraw his troops temporarily.
With the sound of gold ringing, the Qin army retreated, and Xiao Yuan's face became more and more gloomy.
"Zhang Jingrui is hateful! How dare you organize the people to block the way of my army in Zitong!"
He couldn't help but curse, but even so, he understood better that Zhang Jingrui's ability to organize so many people just showed that this person was probably a good official, otherwise, how could the people do it for him? Work hard.
Shangguan Wenruo said: "It is impossible for Zhang Jingrui to defend Zitong with the power of the people. He knows this very well, but he did it anyway. This shows that he is trying to delay time and stop our army. Approach Yizhou and create opportunities for Chen Tai's troops to return reinforcements."
"This man is not simple, he has strategy and backbone. He knew that he was going to die, but he still acted like this just to protect Yizhou. His loyalty is a lesson." Xiao Yuan praised.
After hearing this, Su Yi clasped his fists and said, "My lord, in my opinion, although Zitong defends the city with his own people, at this critical moment, our army must not be merciful to women, so as not to delay the war opportunity!"
He was right. If he could not cross Zitong, the situation would have changed drastically after Chen Tai returned to Yizhou to aid him. By then, if Yizhou could not be captured and the rear was cut off by Lian Xiao, the situation would be a bit dangerous. .
Thinking of this, a cold light flashed in Xiao Yuan's eyes. He was not an indecisive person, and he immediately said seriously: "Tomorrow, we must defeat Zitong!"
His military order means that the Qin army is about to launch a fierce attack.
The next day, with the beating of war drums, the Qin army began to rush towards the city gate crazily.
Aerial ladders were set up all over the city wall, and arrows from both sides were fired back and forth in the sky.
After a military order, Qin's soldiers don't care whether the people guarding the city are civilians or not. On the battlefield, either you die or I die!
This siege was countless times more ferocious than the first day!
The Qin army is brave and good at fighting, and can be called the army of tigers and wolves. When they fought hard battles with Xirong, they were frightened. It is conceivable that when they really launched a strong attack, how could the people alone resist it.
These common people have never been on a battlefield, and they have never seen such a formation!
Many people could still shoot arrows down at first, but when the Qin army emerged along the ladder, it was a face-to-face hand-to-hand combat.
When the city was closed, there were screams and chaos. Many people were so frightened that they threw away their weapons and fled.
How could civilians confront the regular army? It didn't take long for the Qin army to take advantage of the situation and attack the city.
Seeing this scene in Zhang Jingrui's eyes, his eyes were about to burst, he held a sword in his hand and couldn't help shouting:
"Hold! Folks! As long as we can hold on for two days! We can protect Yizhou! By then, the Qin army will retreat!"
His purpose is very clear, but ordinary people, after all, are not regular soldiers and have never been on the battlefield. At this time, they are unable to save themselves.
Immediately afterwards, the city gate was slammed open, and countless Qin troops swarmed in.
The people who were originally defending the city began to flee in all directions. Zhang Jingrui, still holding a sword, stood blankly on the top of the city.
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