Meishan Su family, Su Yun is the most virtuous

Chapter 425 The eve of the decisive battle!

Changan.

The military camp of Jingsai Army.

Zheng Chaozong frowned and stared at the sand table. There were many small flags planted around Chang'an on the sand table. These small flags were reinforcements sent by the Song Dynasty court. The scouts sent a report every two hours. These small flags were like a knife hanging over Zheng Chaozhong's head, making him dare not go all out to attack Chang'an City.

"Hef!"

Pingzi Cheng came in from outside like the wind, looking extremely excited.

Zheng Chaozong was stunned. He and Ping Zicheng were classmates at the Imperial College and had worked together for several years. Naturally, he knew what kind of person Ping Zicheng was.

Ping Zicheng has always been a person who never shows his emotions. Even if Mount Tai collapses in front of him, his expression will probably remain unchanged. Mr. Su Yun once commented on Ping Zicheng, saying that he is a general. I didn't expect that he would be so excited today.

Zheng Chaozong suddenly thought of a possibility, and his expression changed immediately. He asked anxiously, "Sir, did you defeat the Taiyuan army?"

As soon as these words came out, Ping Zicheng suddenly laughed: "Sir, you launched a surprise attack on Jinzhou and defeated Lu Huiqing in Jinzhou. The 30,000 Taiyuan troops have been defeated, and the Zhe family troops are so scared that they can't move forward. The reinforcements from Luoyang retreated to Mianchi. Now Chang'an City is an isolated city!"

Zheng Chaozong stood up suddenly, and then slapped the sugar, causing the entire sand table to jump. Ping Zicheng looked at Zheng Chaozong with some anger and said, "This sand table is not easy to make, please don't ruin it!"

Zheng Chaozong laughed loudly and said, "We have come to this point, what else do we need a sand table for?
I have studied the environment around Chang'an for a long time these days and no longer rely on this sand table. It doesn't matter even if it is destroyed now.

Let’s not talk about this anymore, just tell me what the situation is!”

Ping Zicheng said excitedly: "Sir, you personally led 3,000 cavalrymen, disguised as Song troops, sneaked directly from Jiangzhou to Jinzhou, and directly attacked Huanglong, captured Lu Huiqing, and made Jinzhou leaderless. When the Taiyuan army came out of the camp to rescue, you fought with the Taiyuan army in the field, defeated the Taiyuan cavalry head-on, and then rushed into the Taiyuan army camp and defeated all 30,000 Taiyuan troops.

This battle completely defeated the Taiyuan Army, captured more than 8,000 people, and the rest of the Taiyuan Army was either killed, injured or scattered. At this point, the Taiyuan Army no longer had the strength to support Chang'an! "

Zheng Chaozong heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this and asked, "Sir, can you evacuate Jinzhou safely?"

Ping Zicheng nodded and said, "When I received the message, the master had already retreated to Tongzhou, and ordered me to inform you that there are no reinforcements around Chang'an that can threaten you. You can attack Chang'an with all your strength!"

Zheng Chaozong punched Ping Zicheng on the chest. Ping Zicheng turned pale and said angrily: "If you are excited, you can hit yourself, why hit me!"

Zheng Chaozong ignored Ping Zicheng, leaned closer to the sand table, and stopped talking as if he had lost his mind.

Ping Zicheng sighed lightly and shook his head, then stood by and studied the sand table. After a while, he suddenly saw Zheng Chaozong raised his head and said solemnly: "Pass my order - at 11:00 am tomorrow, the whole army will move out.

The Tiger Wing Army was the vanguard, attacking the Golden Light Gate directly; the Dragon Cavalry Army went around to the rear to cut off the Ziwu Valley grain route;

Xu Jing led the main force of the Jingsai Army to station at Bashang. If that bastard Wen Yanbo dares to break out from the Tonghua Gate, he will never return. "

Ping Zicheng glanced at the direction of the moat marked on the sand table, and suddenly reached out to hold Zheng Chaozong's wrist: "Wait a minute. Although you have defeated the Taiyuan army, Lu Huiqing's former subordinates still have three grain and grass storage points in the west of the city. If we don't remove them."

"Why do we need to remove them?" Zheng Chaozong suddenly grabbed the command arrow on the table and threw it in the center of the map, "Send people to pretend to be the defeated Song army and lure Li Changzuo to steal food.

When his main force leaves the city, our Jingsai Army will break in from Chunming Gate - when Emperor Guangwu of Han conquered Luoyang, didn't he also take advantage of the enemy's opportunity to rob food?"

Suddenly, there was the sound of horse hooves approaching from outside the tent. A scout covered in blood rushed open the tent door and said, "Report! Flags were spotted in the direction of Luoyang. It's... It's the Zhe family army!"

Ping Zicheng's face suddenly changed, and he said, "Didn't the Zhe army hesitate to move forward? Why are they suddenly heading towards Luoyang?
No! Haifu, let me inform you, please stop the Zhe family army!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Chaozong suddenly burst into long laughter, and his laughter made the tassels on the tent rustle.

He suddenly pulled off the jade pendant from his waist and smashed it to the ground, the jade shattering into powder: "Zhe Keshi is here at the right time! I was just worried that I wouldn't have the chance to force Wen Yanbo into a decisive battle - send a message to the gentleman, asking him to lead the Tongzhou garrison to attack Hangu Pass directly and cut off the retreat of the Zhong family army.

Today I will let the world see whose flag should be hoisted on the top of Chang'an City!"

Ping Zicheng said anxiously: "Haifu, don't be too radical. With your military strength, it's already a stretch to open Chang'an City. If you still want to fight against the Zhe family army, I'm afraid that we will be attacked from both sides!
It is better to be cautious. I will ask you to deal with the Zhe family army, and we will focus on dealing with Chang'an City!"

Zheng Chaozong stopped Ping Zicheng and said, "Master, you have done enough. You were able to defeat 30,000 Taiyuan troops with only 3,000 cavalrymen. I have 30,000 elite Jingsai troops. If I can't even handle this situation, I would be unworthy of being your disciple!"

Ping Zicheng shook his head and said, "It's still a bit risky. The master originally wanted you to conquer Chang'an City from scratch. There's no need to take such a risk."

Zheng Chaozong smiled and said, "What I am doing is not risky, but a safe plan. Chang'an City is a powerful city in the world. If we attack it by force, it will easily cause too many casualties. Now Chang'an has been cut off from the food supply for a long time. As long as there is a chance to obtain food and fodder, Wen Yanbo will not give up. This way, we can lure the snake out of its hole!
Haha, the Jingsai Army is invincible in the world in field battles. If the Song Army dares to leave the city, I will make sure they can’t return. Then it will depend on what the old dog Wen Yanbo decides.”

Ping Zicheng frowned and said, "Wen Yanbo is a very cruel and hard-hearted person. He is afraid that Li Changzuo's troops will fall into danger, so he will not leave the city to support them."

"Then just eat Li Changzuo! Wen Yanbo of Li Changzuo's tribe may not care, but what if Zhe Keshi's tribe is also besieged by us?"

Ping Zicheng's eyes lit up and he asked, "Your target is the Zhe Keshi tribe?"

Zheng Chaozong nodded and said, "Zhe Keshi's troops came from Luoyang, and I'm afraid they have already joined the Luoyang reinforcements, otherwise he would never have the courage to enter the ambush circle created by you, sir.

Since he dares to come, it means that he is confident that he can resist Sir's army. I think he wants to advance steadily, build a strong camp and fight a stupid battle. If so, Sir will not be able to do anything to him for a while.

Therefore, why don't we surround the point and attack the reinforcements, and cooperate with you to devour Zhe Keshi's troops as the main goal. When Zhe Keshi's troops and the Luoyang reinforcements are completely swallowed up by us, when the Song army in Chang'an City learns of this, no matter how tough Wen Yanbo is, I'm afraid he won't be able to suppress his troops, and then he won't have the final say!"

Ping Zicheng Fumihiko's eyes lit up and he said, "Take away the firewood from under the cauldron! When the Chang'an army is completely desperate, that will be our chance!"

Zheng Chaozong held a small flag and outlined several routes on the sand table. He said with a smile: "If Zhe Keshi goes west from Luoyang, he must pass through Yiyang and Mianchi. The terrain in these two places is narrow, which is just suitable for your light cavalry and archery tactics."

He suddenly planted the command flag at the "Iron Gate Town" on the west side of Mianchi, where there were two mountains sandwiched together and only a narrow path could lead to the town. "Sir, you only need to place rolling logs and rocks on the hills on both sides, and you can block the Zhe family army in the valley for half a day. This half day is enough for us to set up a trap outside Chang'an City."

Ping Zicheng stared at the "pocket" on the map, and suddenly noticed that Zheng Chaozong had circled the entire area from Baqiao to Longshouyuan with cinnabar: "You mean, let the Tiger Wing Army pretend to retreat and lure the Zhe Family Army to Longshouyuan? But the terrain there is open and there is no strategic location to defend..."

"If there is no strategic location to defend, we can create strategic locations artificially." Zheng Chaozong suddenly took out a piece of parchment from his sleeve, on which was drawn a diagram of the distribution of densely packed horse traps and chevaux de frise stakes. "We can make some arrangements this time. We can have the engineering battalion dig a 'maze array' on the east side of Longshouyuan, cover the surface with loose soil, and plant flags of the Song army. When Zhe Keshi sees that our army has been 'defeated' to this point, he will definitely think that we were too flustered to set an ambush, so wait for his cavalry to step into the array..."

He clenched his fists suddenly, his knuckles turning white from the force. "Three hundred crossbows will be fired simultaneously from the west side of Longshouyuan. Even if Zhe Keshi grows wings, he can't fly out of this 'iron net'."

At 2:00 am, a scout came and presented a secret report.

Zheng Chaozong unfolded the secret report and saw Su Yun's handwriting, which was so strong that it could be seen through the back of the paper: "The Zhe family army has passed Mianchi and is still 60 miles away from Chang'an. The ambush troops at Hangu Pass are ready to cut off their retreat."

Zheng Chaozong was overjoyed when he saw this, and said, "Mr. is indeed a Mr., I just came up with this idea, and Mr. has already seen through it and has made preparations for this. Qinglan, can you rest assured now?"

He suddenly pressed the secret report on the "Hangu Pass" position on the sand table, and raised a fierce arc at the corner of his mouth: "Zhe Keshi, you thought you were here to put out the fire, but you didn't know that you have already become a turtle in the jar."

Ping Zicheng was about to speak, but he raised his hand to stop him, and then shouted outside: "Go call Xu Jing."

When the deputy general entered the tent, Zheng Chaozong put a scroll of silk book into his hand and said, "This is a 'fake letter for help'. Send your assassins to shoot it into Chang'an City and say that the vanguard of the Zhe family army has reached Bashang, and ask Wen Yanbo to open the city as soon as possible to respond."

Xu Jing took the book and saw the "tiger head seal" of the Zhe family army on it - it was peeled off from the body of a Zhe family ranger this morning. He suddenly clenched his fists and said, "If I see Zhe Keshi, I will definitely take off his "unicorn armor" and use it to cover the ground in the general's tent!"

Zheng Chaozong smiled and said, "That's great. The Zhe family's Qilin Armor is world-famous. It's just the right replacement for my broken armor."

He turned to look at Ping Zicheng and said, "Brother Qinglan, it's time to do the work that needs to be done. Your tactics of inciting rebellion and alienation are no less effective than ours. If you use them well, you may be able to break the city!"

Ping Zicheng smiled when he heard this, but he stopped trying to stop him. After all, Mr. Lian had already made this decision, so he naturally trusted Su Yun. He nodded and said, "Don't worry, the news of the defeat of Zhe Keshi's army and the Luoyang reinforcements will definitely reach Chang'an City, making it impossible for that old thief Wen Yanbo to block the news.

Hehe, by then everyone in Chang'an will know that Chang'an has completely become an isolated city, and without reinforcements in a short time, it will be a dead end!"

Zheng Chaozong nodded with satisfaction and said, "Very good! I hope that we can defeat Zhe Keshi on the battlefield, and you can defeat the Chang'an defenders psychologically!"

Ping Zicheng nodded firmly.

Zheng Chaozong said nothing more and walked outside to make military arrangements.

"Haifu," Ping Zicheng suddenly handed over a bowl of hot porridge, "Eat something, we'll move camp at dawn."

Zheng Chaozong took the bowl, but did not drink it. Instead, he stared at his reflection in the porridge.

The man in the reflection had eyes as sharp as an eagle. Where was the weakness of the former Imperial College scholar? He suddenly remembered what Su Yun said when he first took them to the battlefield: "Scholars in charge of the army are most afraid of gains and losses.

But if you can treat the world as a chessboard and people’s hearts as chess pieces, you can turn thousands of books into thousands of troops.”

At this moment, he is the chess player.

And Chang'an City is the key move he wants to make.

At exactly 1 a.m., a roar like a tsunami suddenly erupted from the Jingsai Army camp.

Zheng Chaozong jumped on his horse, and his saber flashed a cold light in the morning breeze.

He looked at the towering walls of Chang'an City in the distance, and suddenly remembered that three years ago in the Imperial College, he had clipped a maple leaf in the "Chang'an Chronicle" - now the maple leaf has long faded, but the blood surging in his chest at this moment is hotter than ever.

"Order the entire army," his voice mixed with the sound of horse hooves spread throughout the camp, "Target Chang'an, advance at full speed! Let Zhe Keshi see what the 'Thunder of the Jingsai Army' means!"

……

Inside Chang'an City, Wen Yanbo was staring at the "Zhe Family Army's Request for Assistance" in his hand with a frown.

The staff member said cautiously: "Master, could this letter be..."

"Of course I know it's a trap." Wen Yanbo suddenly slammed the letter on the table, his eyes flashing with cruelty, "But Li Changzuo's troops have been out of food for three days. If you don't bring back food and grass, I'm afraid they will mutiny tomorrow."

He suddenly turned around and looked out the window, only to see wisps of black smoke rising from the west direction of the city - that was a spy reporting that the grain storage point in Chang'an was on fire.

"Open the city!" Wen Yanbo suddenly pulled off the troop mobilization token from his waist and said, "Order Li Changzuo to lead 3,000 elite soldiers out of Chunming Gate and make sure to recover the food and grass before noon! As for the Zhe family army..."

He clenched his fists, knuckles pressed against his temples, "If this is really a trap, then let Li Changzuo be the bait to lure out Zheng Chaozong's main force - I don't believe that he can take down Chang'an and the Zhe Family Army at the same time with only 30,000 troops!"

After the staff left, Wen Yanbo walked to the city wall alone and looked at the Jingsai Army camp where smoke and dust were rising in the distance.

He suddenly remembered the secret report he received last month, which said that Zheng Chaozong would make a call from a high place before every battle, using the "provocation method" he learned in the Imperial Academy to boost morale.

At this moment, he seemed to hear the other party's voice penetrating the city wall and ringing in his ears: "Wen Yanbo, you are defending Chang'an like a turtle, do you dare to fight with my Jingsai army in the field?"

"Field battle?" Wen Yanbo suddenly sneered, his fingertips stroking the crossbow holes on the city wall, "Zheng Chaozong, Zheng Chaozong, do you think I don't know that the Jingsai Army is good at field battles? Unfortunately, this is Chang'an, an iron city that you can never break through - even if the Zhe family army is destroyed, I can still consume your food and aid!"

At the beginning of the morning hour, the suspension bridge of Chunming Gate was slowly lowered.

Li Changzuo was riding on his horse, looking at the grain storage point in the distance with thick smoke billowing out, his palms full of cold sweat.

He looked back at the tightly closed city gate and suddenly remembered Wen Yanbo's warning before he left: "If you dare to retreat, your entire family will be executed."

So he gritted his teeth and swung his sword forward: "Brothers, take back the food and grass, that's the way to survive!"

(End of this chapter)