Xie Ming

Chapter 225: Meeting on the Road
When the good news from all over the city was delivered to Xiao Jingchuan, Xiao Lang laughed happily, which was rare.

Hearing this, Qiu Zhizhong, who was standing nearby, was still worried, with his brows furrowed.

After a while, when Xiao Lang came back to his senses, he hurriedly added a reminder.

"Old Xiao!"

"I think this is a happy thing, but it is definitely not time for us to celebrate yet!"

"We had predicted and planned before. We expected that the Jiannu enemy would attack. Since they were chasing Li Zicheng, they would be short of food and grass, and it would be difficult to hold out for long!"

"So we have Ji Zu's plan to rob the enemy's rear and Hu Chen's plan to burn the whole city!"

"But right now, I am worried."

"Once Wu Sangui's troops are defeated and return to the camp, and their food and fodder are cut off, it is unknown whether the extremely angry Jiannu Ajige will jump off the wall and launch a strong attack alone!"

"We must not be careless and must make preparations early!" Qiu Zhixin was very careful and his words hit the nail on the head.

Hearing this, Xiao Lang also took a deep breath, then calmed down again and thought about it, taking it seriously.

"Oh? This?"

"Qiu, Mr. Qiu!"

"Do you mean to say that the enemy will turn desperate and attack Baoding City because of the lack of food?!"

Gu Changting, who was standing nearby, heard Zhizhong's words and hurriedly interrupted him.

"Haha, yes! Feiyu is right!" Xiao Lang replied.

"This time, Ajige led more than 20,000 troops to pursue us from the north."

"Among his troops, whether it's the Jiannu Manchu flag or Wu Sangui's Guanning cavalry, if we were to encounter them in a field battle, we would definitely be defeated! In terms of individual combat power, we are no match at all!"

"But now, our army is holding the city firmly, and the enemy's troops are outnumbered!"

"Baoding Prefecture has a wide city wall and a high and solid city wall. The enemy has more than 20,000 people. With such a large number, no matter how strong their fighting power is, they will not be able to exert it. It is difficult to effectively encircle Baoding!"

"So over the past two days, you have all seen it."

"The enemy soldiers took turns to attack the North Gate. At most, they only pretended to surround the East and West Gates, forming a siege on three sides. They always lacked the South Gate, leaving us some time to break out!"

"It is intended to shock our army and drive them to abandon the city!"

"So our strategy is to defend Baoding to the death and die in the city of Baoding!"

"At the moment, although the Manchu soldiers have not yet launched an actual attack, the miscellaneous Han troops who surrendered to the Qing have suffered heavy losses!"

"Soon, when Wu Sangui returns to the camp in defeat, Ajige, with his hot temper, will definitely not give up!"

"Before nightfall today, I watched from the city wall. The enemy camp was cooking in the stoves. I counted the fires, but they didn't match at all!"

"I'm afraid it's in the enemy camp. We may have run out of food now!"

"If Feiyu and I are right, then it will be tonight or tomorrow morning!"

"Ajige will definitely lead his troops to make a final effort and attack the city to vent his anger!"

Xiao Jingchuan made some comments and inferences, and his face became more serious and cautious as he spoke.

"Yes! Lao Xiao!"

"This few hours between today and tomorrow are of vital importance!" Zhizhong responded with a postscript.

Chang Ting, Sang Men Xing, Liu Erye and others nearby, upon hearing such a plan, also showed expressions of panic, and the atmosphere was tense for a while.

Seeing this, Xiao Lang paused, glanced at everyone one by one, and to ease everyone's surprise, he quickly changed the subject.

"hehe!"

"Fei Yu, look at these losers!"

"Are you really that shocked?!"

"Chang Ting, haven't you always wanted to see the white-armored soldiers of the Jiannu?!"

"Now the opportunity has come!"

"Besides, in my opinion, if the enemy really attacks with all their strength this time!"

"Then, as long as we can hold the city for one day!"

"Ajige's fierce attack failed, and he was exhausted after that!"

"By then, we should consider withdrawing our troops!"

"After all, the enemy is short of food and grass. If we delay for too long, we will surely be defeated!"

"The longer we delay, the more people will die!" Xiao Lang said slowly.

boom!
Boom boom boom!
The artillery bombardment continued.

The red cannon in the enemy's camp was very powerful. One of the cannons fired at this moment suddenly exploded at the entrance of the road. Immediately, earth and rocks flew over and splashed all over everyone.

Xiao Jingchuan and the others shook their heads and brushed off the dirt on their bodies, as if they were already used to this kind of thing and were not surprised at all!

"Report!"

But suddenly, while Xiao Lang was speaking, along with the artillery fire, a soldier came running to report the news from the entrance of the road.

The man gradually approached the general, knelt on one knee swiftly, and clasped his fists to report.

"Report, report to the general!"

"I am Wang Chuanwu from the east city, a subordinate of Adjutant Wang!"

"We are running low on troops at the East Gate. We have less than a hundred men left!"

"In case something goes wrong, Adjutant Wang sent me here to ask the general if he could send some more men over!"

"If the enemy makes any big move, the brothers below won't be able to cope with it!"

The soldier carrying the newspaper had a bitter face and asked for help in embarrassment.

Hearing this, Xiao Lang nodded, sighed, and replied.

"Oh! All right!"

"Second Master Liu!" Xiao Lang tilted his head and called out.

"Here! I'll follow your orders, General!" Upon hearing the order, Master Liu suddenly sat up straight and clasped his fists in anticipation.

"Well, you will lead the Chuanwuyuan tribe to transfer a hundred men from Dongguan, and go back with this little brother to serve as reinforcements!"

"Remember, tell Chuanwu clearly that the enemy may make a big move tonight and tomorrow morning, so tell him to be on high alert!"

"Success or failure may happen again!"

"Do you understand?!" Xiao Lang gave the order.

"Yes! I understand!" Mr. Liu replied seriously again.

After he finished speaking, he left the table without further delay and went to do his job as ordered.

On the other side of the hall, upon hearing about this Dongguan incident, he suddenly interrupted and reported it.

"That's right, General!"

"I have one more thing to ask."

"This time when I went to Xiguan, I heard that there was indeed a new situation with Li Hongsheng!"

"Just half an hour ago, Qin Jing's troops under Li Hongsheng happened to discover the siege tunnel dug by the enemy!"

"This guy is not vague either. He led his men to kill the enemy at the entrance of the tunnel, and even added kerosene and filled it with new soil!"

"Afterwards, he ordered people to inspect all areas around Xiguan City, and found seven or eight tunnels that were not fully dug!"

"All have been dealt with accordingly!" Changting suddenly mentioned this matter.

Upon hearing the story of the tunnel, Xiao Jingchuan was shocked!

"what?!"

"Did the enemy really launch a land attack at Xiguan?!" Xiao Lang said anxiously, pulling Chang Ting over.

"Ah, ah!"

"Yes, yes!"

"General, it's okay. The soldiers at West Gate have already handled it!" Chang Ting didn't understand the details and replied in surprise.

"Not good!" Xiao Lang frowned.

"Feiyu (Qiu Zhizhong), you go!"

"We are almost done now, hurry to the city!"

"Find Minglu, lead the soldiers with him, and conduct a thorough investigation of the city!"

"If we are caught off guard and let in a small group of enemy soldiers, then if Ajige launches a large-scale attack on the city and they come to join forces with us, how are we going to defend ourselves?!"

"You go to the city and prepare for the situation. Don't let the enemy take advantage of the opportunity! Do you understand?" Xiao Lang gave the order.

"Yes, I know!"

"I'll take care of the city's affairs!"

"Guard the four passes. You and the other generals should discuss this matter again!"

After saying this, Zhizhong did not dare to stay any longer, knowing that the matter was of great importance, so he turned around and retreated along the path.

Yu Changting, who was standing next to him, only realized it at this moment. He took a breath and slapped his forehead!
I thought to myself, it was really a careless omission that almost caused such a disaster!

(End of this chapter)