New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

With a large army pressing in, the only thing we need to do now is to discuss countermeasures.

Hurriedly entering the military tent, Yue Fei spread a geomantic map of the area surrounding Guangling City on the table.

"Time was tight, there wasn't enough time to make a sand table, and even this drawing is rather rough, so we can only make do with it."

After two days of reconnaissance, he had memorized the terrain of Guangling. For Yue Fei, whether or not he had the map was irrelevant.

"Guangling City is surrounded by the Grand Canal to the east and south, making it very difficult for the Jin army to attack the city from these two locations. To the west of the city is a large area of ​​dense forest, which is convenient for the army to hide. However, since they are attacking the city, 200,000 people cannot disperse in that small area. Therefore, the main battlefield is still in the north of the city."

Yue Fei pointed to the northern part of the city on the map, then moved north again to Shugang. "This should be where the Jin army is encamped."

Tang Qian crossed his arms and nodded slightly. He had anticipated these things, which was why he had made many arrangements in the north of the city.

"However, we also need to send people to defend the other city gates to prevent enemy attacks."

However, other places are indeed easy to defend and difficult to attack. If the Jin army were to attack the cities from those places, the casualties would definitely double. Even if Wanyan Xieye was stupid, he would not make such a choice.

"Therefore, the north of the city is a crucial battleground for both sides, and an exceptionally brutal battle is bound to take place here."

Tang Qian could not deny Yue Fei's assessment.

Looking at this issue from the other party's perspective and understanding, his conclusion is completely accurate: 20,000 against 200,000, wouldn't that be a brutal battle? But in Tang Qian's opinion, when firearms meet cold weapons, it's not a battle between two sides, but a one-sided massacre.

With bombs made of gunpowder in hand, Tang Qian was confident that no Jin soldier would be able to get close to the walls of Guangling.

"I was responsible for holding back the main force of the Jin army in the north of the city, but I couldn't lift the siege of Guangling. What is General Yue's plan?"

"To throw the Jin army into disarray, we must cut off their food supplies. All the grain near Guangling City has already been transported into the city, so it is impossible for them to gather food locally. Therefore, my plan is to lead my troops to raid the Jin army's camp and burn their food supplies after they leave, and then ambush their follow-up supply train outside Chuzhou City to completely cut off the food supply of these 200,000 troops."

Tang Qian nodded again in agreement. Yue Fei only had two thousand cavalrymen, which was impossible for him to fight the two hundred thousand Jin troops head-on. Raiding the camp and burning the grain should be the only way.

"As long as my cousin can hold back Wanyan Xiye's main force at the North Gate for two hours, I am confident that I can complete this battle plan."

“If the initial battle is lost, given Wanyan Xieye’s temperament, he will definitely bet all of his troops.” Tang Qian had already experienced Wanyan Xieye’s volatile temper during the first siege of Tokyo in the first year of Jingkang. If he hadn’t seen that the other party was not long for life and given him treatment advice, Wanyan Xieye would definitely have gone all out to capture Tokyo. “Therefore, General Yue can implement the plan when the Jin army has left the camp. It will definitely be twice as effective with half the effort.”

Yue Fei frowned: "But if we do that, the pressure on the north side of the city will definitely increase exponentially. If we can't hold it, all our efforts will be in vain."

His actions outside the city were aimed at defending Guangling. Once the north gate was breached and the Jin army entered the city smoothly, all his efforts would be meaningless.

"It's alright, General. Just do as I say. We must preserve as much strength as possible. Our soldiers must not be sent to their deaths. As for the north side of the city, I have my own way of dealing with it."

These two thousand men were the foundation of Yue Fei's army. The death of any one of them would be a great loss to the entire army. Tang Qian absolutely did not want to see them perish during the raid on the camp.

"But……"

Yue Fei was about to object, but Tang Qian invoked his status as the city lord: "Since General Yue has pledged allegiance to my Guangling City, he must obey the orders of the city lord's mansion. The command authority for fighting outside the city naturally belongs to the general, but when to act must be at my discretion."

As the saying goes, military orders are as firm as mountains. Since Tang Qian had said so, Yue Fei, as his subordinate, could do nothing even if he felt it was inappropriate. However, judging from Tang Qian's appearance, he was not arrogant or conceited, and perhaps he really did have a way to protect himself.

In addition, there is a crucial point: what choice will Wanyan Xi make after the grain supplies are burned? If he chooses to retreat to Chuzhou, that would be a happy ending for everyone. However, if he is blinded by anger and chooses to continue attacking the city, then the north gate will still have to suffer a full-scale attack from 200,000 Jin troops.

Therefore, Tang Qian must be prepared to deal with the 200,000-strong Jin army no matter what.

If he were to lead two thousand soldiers to a safe retreat during the raid on the camp, he would have gained additional strength to resist the Jin army. Even if it was just a drop in the ocean, it would be better than nothing.

After pondering for a moment, he cupped his hands towards Tang Qian and said, "Then we will wait until the Jin army mobilizes in full force before taking any action. I assure you, Brother Tang, that we will fight a swift and decisive battle to relieve the siege of the north of the city as quickly as possible."

"Then let us part ways here. I will wait for General Yue's triumphant return, and we will drink the victory wine together on the Guangling city tower, stepping over the corpse of Wanyan Xieye."

After leaving the military tent, Tang Qian rode back to the city and immediately ordered the city to be sealed off, forbidding anyone from leaving the city.

Hearing that the Jin army would soon arrive in Guangling, the city's orderly atmosphere was immediately shattered by tension. Although everyone was prepared to live and die together and had witnessed the power of the new weapons demonstrated by the city lord's mansion, who could truly be fearless in the face of 200,000 enemy troops?

"The Jurchens are also mortals; they too experience birth, aging, sickness, and death. As long as we unite as one, we will surely be able to resist all invading enemies. My Tang family, consisting of six members, swears to live and die with Guangling."

Tang Qian's few words greatly boosted the confidence of tens of thousands of people in the city. The city lord was of such a noble status that he was willing to give up everything to defend Guangling to the death, and even let his whole family face life and death with him. Just for this integrity, he deserved the support and love of all the people.

Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted, "As long as we live, the city stands!" The square outside the prefectural government office immediately erupted in cheers, with everyone raising their fists and shouting, "As long as we live, the city stands; if the city falls, we die!"

"Good! As long as everyone is determined to fight to the end, we will definitely be able to defend our homeland! Next, we just need to follow the orders of the city lord's mansion, each doing our own job, and deal with the upcoming city defense battle. I can assure you that everyone present will be able to see the Jin army retreating in disarray."

"We swear to defend Guangling City to the death, and will never allow the Jin dogs to set foot in the city!"