Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 233: Risking one's life

How long does it take to capture a city?

Some cities can be taken in one fell swoop, while others require years of siege.

However, those cities that were captured in one go were either because the morale of the defenders collapsed or because there were not enough soldiers defending the city. It has never been said that a city with sufficient defenders and united will was defeated with a crushing defeat.

The reason is self-evident. In the classical era, the defenders had too great a tactical advantage.

Under the big banner with the word "He" in the center of the chariot formation, He Boqiu, wearing a helmet and armor, actually had the mind to pour the cold tea in the water bag into the teacup he carried with him and drank it all in one gulp.

Cui Hema stood on a large cart, observing the situation outside the traffic jam from afar. Seeing He Boqiu's calm demeanor, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Brother, why aren't you worried at all?"

He Boqiu sipped the cold tea in his cup and said with a smile, "Why should I worry? Seven hundred civilians, five hundred regular soldiers, and three hundred armored soldiers guarding this chariot formation. If I'm still worried about this, then you and Zhang Chou will be looked down upon."

Cui Hema thought about it and nodded. "Indeed, the Duke of Wei's chariot formation is as solid as a fortress of iron. The Jin bandits only have 2,000 men, so we can hold them for a day and a night without any problem. But if we run out of water after a day and a night, then we'll be in trouble."

He Boqiu scoffed, "If reinforcements don't arrive within a day and a night, then Wei Dadao and Liu Feihuzi should jump into the Yishui River together. What's the point of the Northern Expedition? Just wait and see. Reinforcements will arrive within two hours, and there might even be more than one."

He Boqiu's current official position is the Tongpan of Yizhou. Basically, all the affairs of Yizhou, big or small, have to go through his hands. So he knew that the Tianping Army was coming as reinforcements, and he also knew that Liu Huai sent the Tianping Army to Juzhou to block the Houjin Army.

However, now this group of Jin troops that had circled around have arrived in front of us, and their personnel are still relatively intact. This is definitely not the result of a fierce battle with the Tianping Army.

Most likely, they relied on their large number of horses to bypass the Tianping Army.

That guy named Xin looks like a hero, how could he not chase after me?
Cui Toad nodded in agreement.

He has always believed in He Boqiu.

"Achou went to the north side, I'll go to the south side to check if there are any omissions."

"Go ahead." He Boqiu said with a smile, "If you can't hold on, raise the flag. When I see it, I'll send troops to help."

As Cui Hema walked, he laughed out loud and said, "Brother, don't worry about me here. You should prepare to go to Ah Chou's place."

He Boqiu smiled, then looked at He Laiye beside him and said, "Uncle Jiu, the Wuxing army is exhausted."

He Lai also nodded: "Indeed, they have begun to advance alone, using the regular army to make a desperate bet. How can it not be a desperate situation? As long as we swallow these two thousand Jin soldiers, our loyal army can push forward from the front."

He Lai was silent for a moment, then frowned again. "Ah Lang, there's something I don't understand. Before he was appointed commander-in-chief of the Wuxing Army, Meng Tian, he was once a frequent resident of Haizhou and Yizhou. I've met him a few times, and he's not a fool. Why did the battle turn out like this?"

He Boqiu laughed and said, "What else can we do? We are oppressed from above and have no support below. Even if he has 10,000 regular troops, what can he do?

Think about it, if the Jin Kingdom could be a little more normal, and Wanyan Zijin of Juzhou held on to Ju County, could the Wuxing Army that had circled behind them have joined forces with the Jin Army in Ju County to defeat the Tianping Army?
If Wanyan Liang had postponed the conquest of Song, sorted out internal affairs first, and sent three armies to besiege, could he have easily defeated the Loyal Army?

Even if we take a step back and say that the Wuxing Army cooperated with the local government and gathered the manpower and resources of the surrounding two or three states to fight, the Zhongyi Army would not be able to resist.

The Wuxing Army now has 10,000 soldiers, the local government has been wiped out, and there is no reinforcement. They appear to be very powerful, but if they suffer even the slightest setback, they will be powerless to continue their advance.

He Boqiu listened to the sudden shouts of killing and paused before saying, "Uncle Jiu, now is the time to stop."

It was indeed a setback.

At this time, nearly an hour had passed since the two thousand Jin soldiers officially started fighting with the chariot formation. The Jin army had surrounded the chariot formation and launched several fierce attacks, but they were almost all forced back by spears and crossbows.

Wendun Hunyu also charged twice personally, but the carts, with their wooden shields, were filled with crossbowmen, and any approach would be met with a barrage of fire. Some desperate Jin soldiers simply leaped from their horses into the chariot formation, attempting to force a breach from the inside, only to find soldiers wielding long weapons waiting behind them. Often, upon landing, they were knocked to the ground by spears and axes.

It was impossible to attack at all for a while.

Wen Dunhunyu was filled with hatred.

This is what a light-footed advance does. While it can catch the enemy off guard by taking them by surprise, once they are frustrated, they will be left with nothing but the things they carry with them.

At this time, you should bring a few baggage carts, drag out the grain bags and pile them under the cart formation to make a slope, so that the soldiers can rush in early.

Making a temporary ladder or even stealing ladders from nearby villages is not impossible, but it will inevitably waste time.

This kind of siege-like chariot attack formation cannot be solved by simply setting up a ladder. If enough troops cannot be deployed at the same time, it will become a tactic of adding fuel to the fire and is simply a waste of food.

After an hour, the rockets and more than a hundred ladders of various types were finally prepared.

Wen Dunhunyu's eyes were red as he said to Pushandong, "Adong, now is the time. There is no second chance. The loyal bandits will not sit idly by and watch us attack their baggage. If we delay any longer, their morale will be low and they will definitely send a large force to support us!"

Pushandong grabbed Wendunhunyu's horse reins and said, "Ayu, you are panicking! Let me advise you one last time. This chariot formation is difficult to get out. Let's just go straight to the loyal bandit camp and ignore them!" Wendunhunyu said loudly, "I'm not panicking! Adong, think about it. The chariot formation formed by the loyal bandits' baggage carts is so difficult to get out. How can their camp be easy to break? The plan now is to capture the chariot formation, drive away the defeated army, and attack their camp. Only then will there be a glimmer of hope.

Besides, didn't you say you didn't dare leave so many people behind? Why did you change your mind? "

Pu Sandong waved his hand to dismiss his personal guards, then addressed the chaotic battlefield, "Ayu, you're so clever! How can you not see that we two, Meng'an, are in a dangerous position? Even if we can capture the chariot formation, how much strength do we have left? Can we continue the fight? What if we tire ourselves out and are stopped by the pursuing Tianping Army?"

Wen Dunhunyu stared into Pushandong's eyes and said, "Then what do you think?"

Pu Sandong panted heavily and lowered his voice: "Don't force the chariot formation. While they are still intimidated, the two of us will take these flying ladders and rockets and quickly go to the loyal bandit camp. We can set fire from the side and rear, or attack the camp with a loud noise. We will attack for half an hour. If the commander-in-chief still can't break into the loyal bandit camp, it won't be our fault.

When the time comes, we will turn around and leave, heading south, burning and killing along the way. Kill, burn, and rob everything. I don't believe the loyal thieves will be able to sit still when the time comes!"

This is also a vicious plan, and it can be explained to both superiors and subordinates.

But the key is that this poison takes too long to take effect. It is unknown how many days it will take for the layers of pressure from the rear to be transmitted to the loyal army in the front.

Let’s get back to that dreaded September 10th deadline.

This is not the deadline for the Wuxing Army to break through the front camp of the Zhongyi Army, but the deadline for the Wuxing Army to recapture Linyi and open up the Linyi passage!
Wen Dun Hunyu hesitated for only a moment, then shook his head firmly, denying this statement: "Adong, things have come to this point, there is no need to try with all your strength, I am unwilling to give up.

You will be in charge of the support in the rear, and I will personally lead the entire army to attack the chariot formation from all sides. If it fails, we will turn around and implement your strategy.

It will only take about half an hour, so it won’t delay anything.”

Pu Sandong sighed deeply and shook his head again: "Ayu, you are a talented commander, and I am a fighting general. You just sit here and I will lead my guards to fight to the death."

Seeing Wendun Hunyu hesitate, Pushandong smiled: "Why, Ah Yu, are you still worried that I won't be attentive?"

Wen Dun Hunyu hesitated to speak, and finally nodded: "Be careful, if anything goes wrong, withdraw immediately."

Pu Sandong put down his neck, leaving only a pair of murderous eyes: "Of course I know. Don't worry, I won't throw my life away in this damn place."

After saying that, Pushandong waved his hand, and the guards blew the horns at the same time.

Hundreds of armored cavalry armed with bows and arrows rushed forward, first approaching to intimidate, and then circling the chariot formation and starting to shoot arrows.

These arrows could hardly cause any damage, but they still caused some chaos in the chariot formation.

The loyal army's crossbowmen were not willing to be outdone and stood up and fired back.

Similar to the Jin army, the Jin army could not shoot at the loyal army behind the cover, and the loyal army also found it difficult to hit the armored cavalry on the move.

The smoke and dust produced by the galloping war horses hid the infantry of the Wuxing Army.

In the chaos, the horn sound stopped and the drum sounded immediately.

Three hundred Wuxing Army archers lit the oilcloth wrapped around the arrowheads, quickly stepped forward from the west and south of the chariot formation, and fired a round of rockets.

This caused some chaos again, and no one even knew what was ignited. Amid screams, thick smoke rose from the traffic jam.

After several more rounds of arrow rain, Pushandong, who was hiding on the east side of the chariot formation, carried a flying ladder.

"rush!"

Under the cover of armored cavalry and smoke and dust, the three hundred Wuxing Army soldiers carrying flying ladders suddenly rushed out, but were not discovered by the Zhongyi Army until they got close.

"Over there, all the divine crossbows! Fire!"

An officer on the cart shouted orders, and twenty or thirty crossbows turned at the same time and shot out.

After a round of crossbow arrows, only two or three people from the Wuxing Army fell. Just as the crossbowmen were busy stringing the Shenbi crossbows, flying ladders had already been placed on the front of the carriage.

Pu Sandong drew a melon hammer from his waist, pointed ahead and said, "My men, follow me to kill the bandits!"

"kill!"

The shouting and screaming suddenly became intense.

An Pushandong, the seventh fiercest soldier of the Wuxing Army, rushed into the chariot formation first, holding two melon hammers.

(End of this chapter)