Zhao Tai observed Yang Quan and raised his own questions.
Many of the generals on the side couldn't help but ponder. Zhang Rou suddenly said: "Your Majesty, have reinforcements arrived from Brother Meng? Mongolia thinks that with the support of reinforcements, it can enlarge the king into Hedong and defeat the king?"
Zhao Tai nodded, he had the same idea.
If Meng Ge did not come to Yangquan to block him and block him in Jingxing, it can only be that Meng Ge thought that there would be no problem in letting the Qi army enter Hedong.
"This time Gu led an army of 120,000 to attack Hedong. With Meng Ge's strength, he has absolutely no confidence that he can defeat King Gu." Shi Kai said solemnly: "That's why Gu Ye believes that Brother Meng has received reinforcements, and he has the confidence to do so." Let me go to the east of the river."
Wu Xian asked: "In that case, why doesn't Brother Meng give up Yangquan?"
Zhao Tai said: "There are two possibilities. One is to abandon Yangquan directly. Brother Meng is afraid that his intention is too obvious and the lonely king will not attack Taiyuan. The other is that Brother Meng's reinforcements have not been in place yet, and Yangquan needs to be defended. The army will resist for a while."
After hearing this, everyone couldn't help but nod their heads, feeling that Zhao Tai's analysis was quite reasonable.
"Then what does your Majesty mean, what should we do next?" Wu Xian asked.
Zhao Tai raised his whip and pointed at Yangquan City, "Of course we need to capture Yangquan first and open up the road to Taiyuan."
After finishing speaking, Zhao Tai pulled the reins of his horse and led a few people to continue to observe around the city. After learning more about the city's defenses, he ran back to the Qi army's camp.
At this time, the Qi army set up camp outside the city. The Qi army that left Jingxing first began to prepare siege equipment and waited for the subsequent troops to leave Jingxing.
The Jingxing passage is narrow, and 120,000 Qi troops marched along the mountain road. The forwards set up camp under Yangquan City, and the follow-up troops and baggage were still in Jingxing.
It took three days for the 120,000 Qi troops to walk out of Jingxing and enter the territory of Hedong.
The terrain at the Eighth Route of Taihang is very steep. If the Mongolian army wants to defend Hedong, the best plan is to block the Qi army in the passage.
Because of the narrow passage, as long as the Mongolian army defended the pass, the Qi army could not move forward. Not to mention the 120,000 Qi army, even a million people could only be blocked in the mountain road and could not get out at all.
Of course, Zhao Tai dared to lead 120,000 Qi troops directly to Jingxing to attack Hedong, preparing to force the Mongolian army's defense, and there was something to rely on.
That is the rapid development of Qi's artillery. Zhao Tai manufactured twenty heavy artillery for siege. Even if the Mongolian army blocked the front, he was confident of breaking through the obstruction and entering the hinterland of Hedong.
Now that the 120,000 troops have left Jingxing, the Qi army can spread out in the wilderness. It will be difficult for the Mongolian army to drive the Qi army back to Hebei.
That night, in the Qi army's tent, Zhao Tai stood in front of the map with his hands behind his hands, thinking about the situation in Hedong.
Before attacking Hedong, Zhao Tai sent many scouts to spy on Hedong's intelligence. He knew that Meng Ge could mobilize about 100,000 troops in Hedong, and half of them were the troops of Liu Heima and other princes. Their strength was far inferior to Zhao Tai's. 120,000 Qi troops.
Now that Brother Meng dares to let the Qi army in, it means that Brother Meng will receive a lot of reinforcements. Zhao Tai estimates that the number of troops that the Mongolian army can invest in the Hedong battle may exceed 200,000.
If the Mongolian army really gathered so many soldiers and horses, then the battle of Hedong would be the battle of Dingding.
After the Mongolian victory in this battle, Qi had to retreat to Hebei to recuperate and return to a defensive strategy in a short period of time, without the ability to launch a counterattack.
If Qi wins this battle, Hedong will be within easy reach, and the defeated Mongolia will be unable to resist the rise of Qi.
At this time, Zhao Tai was even able to force Mongolia to sign a peace agreement with Qi, requiring Mongolia to withdraw from the Great Wall and regain the entire lost land in the north.
Zhao Tai stood in the tent with his hands behind his back, thinking about whether to fight this battle.
At this time, the curtain was raised, and Wu Xian walked in, "Your Majesty, the soldiers are ready."
Zhao Tai heard this and retracted his thoughts, "I know."
At the top of Yangquan City, Mongolian general Liu Yuanzhen stood on top of the city, frowning as he watched the Qi army array outside the city.
Liu Yuanzhen was the eldest son of Liu Heima, the Shihou of Hedong. He led 7,000 troops to guard Yangquan and blocked the Qi army's westward march to Taiyuan.
During the Wokuotai period, Liu
The Liu family is now the local emperor of Hedong, controlling most of the land and population in Hedong.
If the Qi army invades Hedong and defeats Mongolia, everything the Liu family currently owns will be wiped out.
Therefore, after Zhao Tai arrived in Yangquan, he went to the book city and asked Liu Yuanzhen to surrender, but he directly refused.
After Zhao Tai refused to surrender, he also made harsh words. If he refused to surrender, he would cut the city into pieces with a knife after it was broken.
If others said this, Liu Yuanzhen would not take it seriously, but the person who said it was Zhao Tai. No matter what, Liu Yuanzhen did not dare to take Zhao Tai's words as fart.
Therefore, in order not to be chopped into pieces by Zhao Tai, Liu Yuanzhen could only defend the city to the death.
"Young Marshal, the Qi army is about to attack the city." The generals next to him pointed at the Qi army forming a formation outside the city, with a look of worry on their faces.
Liu Yuanzhen looked back at the generals, fearing that they would not be able to withstand the pressure and sell themselves out, and reassured everyone: "Don't worry. Prince Meng and my father only asked us to hold on for ten days. Now it has been three days." God, if we stay here for another seven days, I will lead you to break out."
Everyone listened to his words and managed to calm down a little.
Seeing this, Liu Yuanzhen looked outside the city again, holding his hands on the wall, gnashing his teeth and said: "Zhao Tai is also arrogant. He just captured the Central Plains, and he wants to capture Hedong again. With the national power of Qi, he can do it in one Will the Central Plains and Hedong be swallowed up in succession within this year? The Qi army occupied the Central Plains and dispersed its forces. I think his attack on Hedong this time will definitely fail."
At the head of Yangquan City, Liu Yuanzhen was determined to resist. He felt that relying on the city, there should be no problem in defending for seven days.
[In view of the general environment,
Behind him, many generals also reluctantly cheered up, preparing to hold on for a few days and then escape back to Taiyuan after completing their mission.
At this time, several thunders suddenly sounded in the Qi army formation outside the city, and then several cannonballs hit the city wall directly, making the entire city tremble.
On top of the city, the generals who had just made up their minds were jumped by this scene.
"It's artillery!" Everyone couldn't help but exclaimed.
White smoke rose from the Qi army's artillery array outside the city. After the gunners finished firing, they immediately reloaded, calibrated the gun position, and aimed again at the city head.
"Boom, boom, boom" a series of cannon sounds sounded, and the cannonballs smashed into the city wall one after another.
In a matter of seconds, the city wall was riddled with holes, and the bricks peeled off.
Because artillery had just appeared, all the cities in the world were not built with the intention of preventing artillery attacks.
The power of artillery is not comparable to that of trebuchets. At present, most city walls cannot withstand the bombardment of artillery.
At this time, the Qi army's artillery had only fired two rounds. The Mongolian army soldiers who had just strengthened their faith felt the trembling of the city wall, and they all turned pale with fright and their hearts beat wildly.
