County Magistrate (for all citizens): I can watch ads and get unlimited resources.

Day 26

morning,

After recruiting the refugees,

Han Yilin also received three pieces of intelligence from Zhou Xun today.

[Intelligence 1: Last night, a dispute arose among the generals, and the 20,000 Pingtian Army troops have split up. Commander Xu Wanjun is leading 10,000 men southeast, while the other 10,000 are under the command of a deputy general. They are expected to arrive at Zhatian County around this afternoon.]

[Second intelligence report: King Pingtian Hong Shengguang plans to hold his coronation ceremony on the first day of the Lunar New Year next year.]

[Intelligence 3: Regarding the capital, the Pingtian Army has been moving around unusually frequently recently, seemingly in preparation for the coronation ceremony, aiming to eliminate all unstable factors in the short term.]

Since recruiting Zhou Xun,

Han Yilin seemed to have unlocked an intelligence system.

every day,

They can always receive three pieces of information.

only,

The scope of intelligence

The tasks assigned by Han Yilin were almost all related to the Pingtian Army, and there was no time lag in the intelligence.

in other words,

It's all stuff that happened in the past.

Unlike some novels where the protagonist can obtain information about the future by proposing marriage.

Even so,

from,

The information obtained was also of great help to Han Yilin.

For example, right now,

The last two pieces of information were simply ignored. Whether Hong Xiuquan or some other Hong-related person claimed the title of emperor or not had absolutely nothing to do with him.

perhaps,

The only thing that interested Han Yilin was

It's still called Hong Shengguang.

He's already the King of Peace.

To know,

The initial information obtained from the prisoners of the Pingtian Army mentioned that Hong Shengguang initially called himself the Great General of Pingtian when he raised his army.

right now,

He was called the King of Peace.

"So he's already declared himself king? No wonder he's in such a hurry to become emperor."

Look away

Look at the content above.

In contrast,

Han Yilin was clearly more concerned about the first point.

"They actually split their forces?"

He didn't know the reason for the division of troops, but the army was about to reach the outskirts of Zhatian County, and they suddenly had to divide their troops at this time.

moment,

Han Yilin felt much less pressure.

"If there are only 10,000 men, then defending them will be much simpler."

Just finished speaking,

Han Yilin's expression suddenly became somewhat strange.

"no......."

"Since when could I use the word 'only' to describe an army of ten thousand?"

"Have you been getting a bit too cocky lately?"

Ten thousand people,

Although it's half gone,

However, it was still four times the total strength of Zhatian County, and these soldiers were not bandits or outlaws, but real regular troops.

these years,

It's estimated they've clashed quite a few times with the regular army of the Jing Kingdom.

He didn't participate in the entire campaign to besiege the capital.

Each and every one of them must be a veteran of countless battles.

But no matter what

Compared to 20,000 people, this is definitely good news.

Stand up

In the last little bit of time

Han Yilin was not idle either, continuing to strengthen the defenses, especially leading people to move essential supplies for defending the city, such as logs and boulders.

near noon,

The last arrow tower is now complete.

So far,

Including the arrow towers built earlier, Zhatian County now has twenty-four, six on each side of the city wall.

These arrow towers,

It is connected to the city wall and protrudes outwards.

Somewhat similar to the horse-faced demons, the crossbowmen stationed within can attack enemies approaching the city walls from the side.

Especially the area below the city wall, which was originally a blind spot for the defenders, has all come within the attack range as the arrow towers protrude outwards.

just,

Compared to Mamian,

The arrow tower also has various buffs.

It can increase the damage and attack range of archers. The key is that Han Yilin also has the rare artifact Pan Yue City Foundation, which can increase damage and attack range itself. Now it is a double boost.

Combined with the firing rate of the Zhuge Repeating Crossbow,

Han Yilin was already looking forward to the scene of the Pingtian Army attacking the city.

......

Everything is ready.

Next,

It's just waiting.

Time passed slowly, and the wait didn't last long. By the afternoon, many red dots had appeared on the map.

The quantity is not large.

Each area has only about a hundred people.

There are a total of several teams.

They were scattered in different directions, slowly approaching Zhatian County.

"A scout, huh...?"

Han Yilin squinted, staring intently at the map.

These squads,

They did not approach Zhatian County directly, but moved around in the vicinity, seemingly scouting the terrain and city defenses.

Then,

More red dots

They started appearing on the map.

Dense red dots continuously surged into the watchtower's field of vision along the post road built by Han Yilin.

densely packed,

It extends a long distance in front and behind.

Compared to the Pingtian Army's previous invasion, the difference in scale and number this time is evident from the map.

"They're here."

Take a deep breath.

Having experienced the city defense before,

this time,

Han Yilin's mindset had calmed down considerably, and he was not as nervous as before.

"Go and call Cheng Murou over."

"Notify everyone to prepare for battle."

"yes!"

The soldiers accepted the order and left.

Not long after,

Cheng Murou then quickly climbed the city wall.

"The enemy has arrived?"

"Um."

Han Yilin pointed into the distance: "It shouldn't take more than half an hour for them to appear outside the city."

"Is Li Zehao ready?"

Cheng Murou nodded: "Yes, as instructed by the master, we have already led the cavalry to ambush outside the city."

Just like last time,

Han Yilin couldn't possibly put all his eggs in one basket by focusing solely on defending the city; you can't put all your eggs in one basket.

What if it breaks?

Therefore,

The method is the same as last time.

Li Zehao led his cavalry to camp outside the city, ready to harass the flanks of the Pingtian army at any time.

......

the other side.

As Du Mingyuan rode his warhorse, gazing at the gradually emerging Zhatian County in the distance, his originally calm expression grew increasingly solemn.

After the distance is close,

The first thing that catches the eye is the towering city wall.

The walls are constructed of a large amount of stone, making them flat and sturdy. Both their height and thickness far exceed those of ordinary county towns.

On the city tower,

Furthermore, one can see a large number of soldiers in full armor, already standing guard on the city walls.

among them,

What he cares about most is

It was still the arrow towers protruding from all sides.

Every so often, you can see a tall arrow tower.

These watchtowers were integrated with the city wall, with firing ports on the front and sides. As soon as the Pingtian Army approached the city wall, they would be attacked from both the front and the sides.

That is,

Holding up a shield is completely useless.

Seeing this,

Du Mingyuan's brows furrowed deeper and deeper, mainly because the county town in front of him was completely different from what the intelligence had described.

They said there were only a little over a thousand defenders, a few arrow towers, and no archers.

Although now,

He did not see the crossbowmen from Zhatian County.

But with so many arrow towers built, you're saying there weren't any crossbowmen?

Who would believe that?

After watching for a long time,

His brain was racing, trying to come up with a way to attack the city.

Ten thousand soldiers

Their numbers far exceeded those of the defending troops.

Du Mingyuan certainly wouldn't back down.

Moreover, this was a mission issued by the Heavenly King; to retreat without a fight would be a capital offense.

After a long silence,

Du Mingyuan slowly spoke: "Order the army to halt its advance and set up camp five miles outside the city."

"In addition, arrange for people to cut down the surrounding trees to build siege equipment, and send some scouts to scout the four walls. If we can arrange for spies to infiltrate the city, that would be even better."

"You must find out exactly how many troops are guarding the city."

"Yes, sir!"