Meishan Su family, Su Yun is the most virtuous

Chapter 264: The strategy is revealed! (Another three thousand!)

Wang Shunchen had nearly two thousand soldiers and horses in his hands, which gave him the confidence to fight against the heavy troops of the Dangxiang people.

But even so, it is still difficult.

There are still too few veterans in Qiying Camp!
In other words, if he had time to train according to the training methods of the veterans of the Qiying Camp, with a Qiying Camp of 2,000 and a strong city to rely on, he might not be unable to hold the city.

But it's too late now.

After ten days of fierce fighting, although the city was still there, the morale within the city had reached a point where it could no longer be maintained.

It is difficult to defend, and it is equally difficult to attack.

Ye Beima's face also looked very haggard.

During these ten days, he personally directed the operations, and all kinds of large-scale engineering equipment were directed towards Funing City.

Originally, he planned to go all out to capture Funing City, drive a nail into the heart of the Suide Army, and then draw a counterattack from the Suide Army, looking for an opportunity to fight a field battle and achieve a great victory similar to the victory of Yongle City.

In this way, his goal of sending troops was achieved.

But after ten days of non-stop attacks, the Funing City, which seemed to be on the verge of collapse at any moment, still stood firm!
This made Ye Beima more and more anxious.

He couldn't help but feel anxious.

Attacking a city is a job that involves extremely heavy casualties. Even if the number of people is dozens of times that of Funing City, the casualties when attacking the city may be ten times that of the defenders.

He didn't know how many casualties there were in Funing City after ten days of siege, but the casualties on his side had reached more than 7,000!
Now, the military leaders of all ranks within the army have gradually become afraid of fighting, and Ye Beima is gradually feeling that he can no longer command the troops.

Those military leaders, both big and small, were no longer as aggressive as before when attacking the city. If the enemy counterattacked slightly, they would retreat quickly.

Ye Beima was extremely angry about this, but he did not dare to join the law enforcement team and kill the escaped people on the battlefield. If he did so, he might be the first to die.

Ye Beima was born in a poor family. Unlike those generals who came from wealthy families and had their own armies, he only had a few hundred personal soldiers. If he really angered those military leaders, he might be the one to die.

This is the characteristic of the Western Xia military system.

In Western Xia, every citizen was a soldier. Whenever there was a war, tribes large and small would send out troops, and military leaders, big and small, basically brought their own armies.

This type of army is very useful when pursuing a victory, because victory means they can plunder, and they are naturally very motivated to do so.

But if they encounter a tough enemy, like now, if you ask them to attack the city regardless of casualties, they will definitely not be willing to do so.

After all, those who died were all members of their own tribe, and it might not even be profitable, so what's the point?

Not only that, the news coming from the rear was becoming increasingly grim.

Yinzhou City was breached and the stored food and fodder were burned up in one day. Now there is very little food left in Luowu City. The Song Dynasty has basically captured all the fortresses that can be attacked, and the food is almost gone.

Without timely replenishment from Yinzhou City, he would soon run out of food.

Even worse news came: Xiazhou was broken, Youzhou was broken, and all the food in the two states was burned!
The news came like a bolt from the blue.

At this moment, Ye Beima finally understood what Su Yun from Fuyan Road was planning.

At the border between Song and Xia, near the main attacking Suide Army, the supply route of the Western Xia army from the hinterland of Western Xia to Luowu City was: prefectures and counties near Xingqing Prefecture → Youzhou → Xiazhou → Yinzhou → Luowu City.

The reason for this route is that there is desert everywhere, and only these oasis cities can take on the responsibility of storing food and fodder.

The many deserts in the territory of Western Xia would certainly become obstacles for the Song Dynasty to attack Western Xia. As long as Western Xia defended these cities, it could stop the Song Dynasty’s army from attacking the heartland of Western Xia. But at the same time, these nodes were also the life and death line of the Western Xia army.

The Western Xia army entered the Song territory. If these nodes were cut off by the Song army, then the Western Xia army would be cut off!
Of course, Su Yun was fighting a guerrilla war this time. Although he broke the city, his own troops were too few, so he could only wreak havoc and burn food.

But this also hit them where they are most vulnerable.

All the food in Youzhou, Xiazhou and Yinzhou was burned, while the food in Hongzhou and Longzhou cannot be moved easily. There are a large number of defenders there. If the food there is moved, the people's morale will be unsettled!

In the past, the Song army's fighting strategy was to focus on Song territory, clear the fields, and then cut off the grain supply routes within Song territory.

Unexpectedly, Su Yun would take such an unconventional approach and go directly to the mainland of Daxia and burn the grain in Youzhou, Xiazhou and Yinzhou. In this way, if Western Xia wanted to transport grain over, the time and manpower required would be immeasurable!

Ye Beima knew very well that this time, he was doomed!
Of course, if they could quickly pry open the nearby fortresses such as Funing City and Mizhi Village and supply the army with the stored food, they might be able to hold out for some time, but now it was so difficult to attack Funing City, which was not easy to defend, which made him even more frustrated. Now many military leaders still didn't know that the food in the three cities had been burned. If they knew, the army would be in chaos!
However, this kind of thing was not something he could hide even if he wanted to. Rumors had already begun to spread. In recent days, more and more messengers had come from Western Xia to report the news. The news eventually leaked out, so every day there were always military leaders coming to inquire about the situation in the country.

Although Ye Beima tried to evade the question, the rumors in the army spread more and more.

There was no way around it, because the granaries in Luowu City were running out, but there was no domestic replenishment, which naturally aroused everyone's suspicion.

But military orders are as heavy as mountains. Under Ye Beima's strong pressure, the military leaders still did not dare to say anything openly.

The eleventh day.

Wang Shunchen got up early in the morning and stared outside Funing City. Smoke was rising from the Xia army camp outside Funing City early in the morning, and Wang Shunchen's heart suddenly became heavy.

Starting to cook so early, there must be another big battle today!

Just when he was anxious, he suddenly saw Qi Ying running towards him quickly, and even saw that he looked quite excited.

Qi Ying rushed in front of him, without saying anything, and directly handed him a piece of cloth, then said anxiously: "Someone sent a message from outside the city, take a look."

Wang Shunchen's heart moved, and he quickly shook open the cloth. When he saw it, he smiled and saw that it said: "Eight hundred cavalrymen have conquered Yinzhou, Xiazhou, and Youzhou. All the food in the three cities has been burned. The Xia army's food supply has been cut off. Hold on and wait for my news!"

The signature is the seal of the general manager of Fuyan Road.

Wang Shunchen hurriedly ran towards the city, leaving behind a message: "Guard the city wall!"

Wang Shunchen found Zheng Nian'an, who also looked haggard. He was still sleeping, but he didn't lose his temper when he was awakened. Instead, he immediately asked, "What's going on?"

Wang Shunchen handed over the cloth and said excitedly: "The governor has news! And it's great news!"

Zheng Nian'an almost snatched the cloth strip, took a look at it and was immediately overjoyed. He ran out barefoot. Wang Shunchen hurriedly followed him and indeed found Zhen Shixuan.

Zhen Shixuan was also very haggard. Although he did not have to participate in the defense of the city these days, he was still frightened three times a night. He did not fall asleep until three o'clock last night. When he saw Zheng Nian'an barefoot, he was immediately surprised and asked, "Is the city going to be breached?"

Zheng Nian'an felt a little embarrassed and said quickly: "Su Jinglüe has successively conquered Yinzhou, Xiazhou, and Youzhou, and the Xia army's food supply has been cut off!"

Zhen Shixuan was overjoyed and asked, "Did the Xia army retreat?"

Wang Shunchen said quickly: "Although we haven't retreated, we won't be able to hold out for long. These few days will be especially difficult. Ye Beima will definitely not give up. If we retreat like this, he will have to bear the responsibility for this failure. But if we can capture a few big cities, then at least he won't be held accountable."

Zhen Shixuan's heart suddenly tightened. He had been in Bian Jing for a long time and knew very well how terrifying it would be for someone without a way out.

Zhen Shixuan stood up and held Wang Shunchen's hand tightly, saying earnestly: "General Wang, I can't promise you anything if you defend Funing City, but if you can defend Funing City this time, I will give you the first credit!"

Zheng Nian'an stood nearby feeling somewhat embarrassed.

Zhen Shixuan originally should have said this to himself, the chief military general in the city, but over the past few days, Wang Shunchen's military ability was fully demonstrated, and he even put all his troops under his command.

Although there is no problem, it is still a bit embarrassing.

Wang Shunchen didn't say much, just nodded vigorously and then strode away.

Zhen Shixuan looked at Wang Shunchen's majestic back and praised: "What a fierce general!"

Zheng Nian'an quickly corrected his mentality: there are always some people who are gifted by God and cannot be compared with them.

Zheng Nian'an said with a smile: "He is a great general. Fortunately, we have him, otherwise Funing City would have been broken long ago!"

Zhen Shixuan smiled and said, "Master Su is still a good leader. Look at Qi Ying, he has been very brave these days. Oh, yes, there is also the Qi Ying Camp, which is amazing."

Zheng Nian'an felt a little uneasy. Qi Ying was sent out under his command. The previous Qi Ying camp was defeated by an attack of dozens of cavalrymen, but under Su Yun's command, the soldiers were so brave and good at fighting. Compared with them, wasn't he a loser?

Seeing this, Zhen Shixuan consoled him, "Master Su is a unique figure in the Song Dynasty. Even if he is compared with famous generals in ancient times, he is not necessarily weaker. You broke through Yinzhou City, Xiazhou, and Youzhou, and directly cut off the retreat of the Xia army. However, he only has 800 cavalrymen. Who can you argue with?
So, don't compare yourself. Comparing yourself to others will only make you angry. However, if you look at it from another angle, if it weren't for people like Mr. Su, we would all be in trouble this time, don't you think?"

Zheng Nian'an said quickly, "How dare I compare myself with Su Jinglie? I am ashamed. Su Jinglie can sweep away all the enemies with only 800 cavalrymen, but I have only 2,000 soldiers and a strong city to rely on, but I still had three surprises in one night. I am ashamed, ashamed!"

Zhen Shixuan ignored Zheng Nian'an. It was okay to comfort his subordinates, but he couldn't comfort them all the time. At this time, Zhen Shixuan said with longing: "I don't know how the Su family broke the city. It was just like a god descending from the sky. It's really fascinating!"

(End of this chapter)