Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

The famous Zhaozhou Bridge,

It was erected outside the South Gate, above the Xiao River.

The city wall is eleven meters high.

The city wall foundation is more than eight meters thick.

The rammed layer is nearly fifty centimeters thick.

The rammed hole is also more than 30 centimeters deep.

This type of city wall

Don't even mention the possibility of the trebuchet destroying it.

Even Zhao Yuan's artillery would be in trouble.

They came with heavy artillery.

It would take at least one or two months of continuous bombardment.

There are also barbicans on the east and west sides!

Given the Jin army's siege capabilities,

If no inside agent opens the city gates,

They could fight for a whole year and still not break through.

The Han troops from Hebei arrived one after another.

Under the cover of the Jin soldiers,

They began filling in the moat in the northwest and due north.

It only took half a day to fill it out.

They abandoned the plan to fill in the northwest.

The irregularly shaped city wall that's recessed there...

It can engage the enemy with crossfire.

The Hebei Han army responsible for filling the soil was repeatedly routed by arrows.

Wanyan Zongwang didn't expect to be able to break through the city.

Those cumbersome Hebei Han troops,

They were brought here to be used as cannon fodder.

He really dared not leave the Hebei Han army to defend the city.

They might turn against us on a large scale any day.

They're best used as cannon fodder in sieges now.

It can also deplete the Ming army's resources and strength.

Wanyan Zongwang's attention

It is always in the east and south.

To the east lies Zhao Yuan's main force, ninety li away.

To the south are Guan Sheng and Li Qiong, about thirty miles away.

He attacks whoever comes to his rescue.

The correct approach is to besiege the city and then attack the reinforcements.

As the year drew to a close, it was mid-October, according to the lunar calendar.

Although it hasn't snowed yet,

But the temperature has dropped significantly.

The moats to the north, northeast, and east,

Several areas have already been filled in by the Han army in Hebei.

The trebuchets bombarded the city walls every day.

In the middle of the night that day,

Li Qiong then discovered that a thick fog would form the next day.

After he consulted Guan Sheng,

Leading over three thousand soldiers,

We hurried along the west bank of the Xiao River.

Early in the morning, taking advantage of the thick fog,

After crossing the river, we arrived at the southeastern suburbs of Zhao Prefecture.

They perfectly avoided the Jin cavalry's return to reinforce Zhaozhou City.

Yue Fei was overjoyed: "Brother Li, you've come at just the right time!"

"The garrison strength of the city has been replenished."

Where is General Guan?

Li Qiong said, "General Guan is guarding Ningjin, he won't be coming."

"General Guan is truly a man of great character!" Yue Fei exclaimed.

Chapter 261 Human and Material Resources

They did not bring troops to rescue Zhao Prefecture.

It wasn't that Guan Sheng was afraid of death.

Instead, they did not claim credit for the city's defense from generals like Yue Fei.

Furthermore, Ningjin is also extremely important.

Guan Sheng's heavy workload did not allow him to highlight his achievements.

It is truly remarkable that this decision was made.

In fact, Guan Sheng also had his own ulterior motives.

He was appointed as the General of Hebei by Zhao Yuan.

Yue Fei and Li Qiong were nominally his subordinates.

However, Guan Sheng's time in Hebei was short.

We need to rely on the military generals here.

He was taking the opportunity to curry favor with Yue Fei and Li Qiong.

To facilitate issuing orders when commanding troops in the future.

And there's no need to compete for credit with one's own subordinates.

Some people, however, want to gain merit!

Li Shifu and his father commanded more than two thousand beggar soldiers.

After changing their equipment, they were eager to try it out.

He had no particular ambition to remain in Zhao Prefecture.

But to everyone's surprise, Wanyan Zongwang actually came to kill him in person.

"Commander Zong, there's a heavy fog today,"

"Perfect timing for a raid outside the city!"

Li Shifu found Zong Ze and said, "The Jurchens don't take us seriously."

"The place where ladders and parapets were built,"

"It is extremely close to the city wall."

"This humble general has prepared the ignition source,"

"Please lead eight hundred warriors out of the city to fight!"

Zong Ze nodded approvingly: "I'll give you eight hundred horses."

"Go back quickly."

Yue Fei, however, was already prepared.

They also came to Zong Ze to ask for permission to fight.

Zong Ze felt that the morale of the army was high.

They were then allowed to exit through different city gates.

Large siege weapons,

If water transport is convenient,

And the battlefield is not far from the rear.

After being disassembled, it was transported to the front line for assembly.

But most of the time,

They were all built hastily before the siege.

Zhen Ding Prefecture is 100 li away from Zhao Prefecture.

You can only take a boat after you reach Luancheng.

Therefore, Wanyan Zongwang manufactured the weapons on-site.

Moreover, their camp was several miles away from the city.

In order to save manpower and resources

Usually not far from the city,

Set up some defensive fortifications,

Troops were dispatched to protect the craftsmen as they worked near the city walls.

This also occurred during ancient siege warfare.

This is often the reason why the defending troops would go out of the city to destroy siege equipment.

Yue Fei's cavalry numbered only a few hundred.

There was no proper riding armor.

They removed a row of armor plates from the armor.

He modified it into riding armor himself.

They also covered the warhorse's vital parts with leather armor.

This can be considered as creating a valiant cavalry force.

Li Shifu appeared even more shabby.

They were all infantrymen guarding the stockade.

This time, the horses used to leave the city were...

These were all the spare horses that Yue Fei and his men had left over.

The two generals did not choose to gallop away on their horses.

They secretly left the city under the cover of thick fog.

They crept slowly toward the enemy's fortifications.

All the oil canisters were hung on the horse's back.

Opposite was a small village.