Royal road

"General, visit the horse to report that Gaodu has been under martial law!"

"As expected." Riding on the horse, Liu Cong snorted coldly.When he attacked Shangdang last time, he had suffered enough from the flames of war all the way and the martial law everywhere, so he was not in a hurry to march this time.Since it is not beneficial to rush forward with light cavalry, it is more appropriate to fight steadily and step by step.

This time the Han State aggressively attacked Jin, and did not take the line of Hangu Pass, but chose to attack Hanoi, cross the Yellow River along Mengjin, and go straight to Luoyang.In this way, not only can they avoid the edge of the Hongnong camp, but they can also approach the capital as soon as possible.Therefore, the [-] soldiers and horses were divided into two groups on the left and right, with Hanoi on the one hand and Shangdang on the other.

The 3 troops led by Liu Cong were responsible for the party's attack on the left.In fact, this battle was not very easy to fight. Ever since Liang Zixi took office in Bingzhou, the people below seemed to be falling apart, and there were small tribes fleeing every day.Although Lishi is still in the hands of Han, but there are no farming and fighting people. Such an empty frame, let alone sending troops, even maintaining the rule is very difficult.

What Pei Dun failed to do at the beginning, Liang Zixi only spent a few months to complete seven or eight.How can it not be chilling?

And this is why Liu Cong insisted on pleading for orders and personally attacked Shangdang.Having enemies like this on the back and belly is simply unsettling.He has already been defeated twice in Shangdang, and this time, no matter what, he has to get his shame back and earn back his meritorious status!

His good brother Liu He has already registered as the crown prince. After all, he is the direct son of Empress Huyan, so he cannot compete for the position.But no one knew what Liu Cong was thinking.He is the most beloved child of his father. It is said that when his mother gave birth to him, she had a dream of the sun entering her arms.Moreover, among the princes, he is the most talented and the most meritorious, so why let that idiot who can only read books inherit the throne?

Although the Han Dynasty practiced Confucianism and Legalism, he also studied in Luoyang Taixue for several years.But after all, the blood of Maodun Shanyu is shed on them. How can they only look at the concubine and not the strength?

As long as he can take down Shangdang, or even just take down Taihangxing, his father will definitely add officials and ranks for him.And that incomparably hypocritical elder brother can no longer underestimate himself...

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, Liu Cong tightened the reins of the horse in his hand, and said loudly: "Go to Shangdang, and conquer Gaodu!"

The horn blew, and tens of thousands of troops marched out, crossed Qinshui, and approached the city of Gaodu!

■

"The Xiongnu are about to attack the city!" Standing on the top of the wall of Gaodu, Zhu Guo looked gravely, looking at the artillery carts set up below.

This time the Huns did not come with light cavalry, but a mix of infantry and cavalry, and even brought a lot of siege equipment, obviously wanting to capture Gaodu in one fell swoop.If according to the previous time, only a few hundred soldiers were released to guard the city, the city might be destroyed in less than a day.Fortunately, General Yi had taken precautions and let them, the elite soldiers of the Brave Battalion, garrison Gaodu City.

But even so, the 3 horses under the city are not easy to deal with.Gaodu has been repaired many times over the years, but even if the city walls are heightened and thickened, it is still a county capital after all.How to survive the first few days is the key!

"Pass down the order to seal the city gate!" Zhu Guo sternly said.

Stacking sand and stones behind the city gate has always meant sticking to the death battle.Gao Du can't fall to the enemy anyway.I just don't know if there will be any more enemy soldiers in the mansion?

With a lot of thoughts, Zhu Guo didn't show this on his face, but said: "Let the county magistrate Guo appease the people, and send two more teams of civilians to the city."

The messengers rushed down the city quickly, while Zhu Guo shouted loudly, telling the soldiers at the top of the city to be on guard.

"Beat the drum!" Riding on the horse, Liu Cong led coldly, "As long as the capital city is destroyed, the whole army can enter and loot the city. All the battles in the city will be returned to you!"

This is the hint of massacre.Liu Yuan attaches great importance to reputation, but actually he doesn't like his subjects wantonly massacring the city.But Liu Cong can't control so much.Gao is a tough nut to crack, and if you want to crack it down, you have to increase your bargaining chips.It is adjacent to Taihang Xing, which is an important commercial road in Bingzhou, and it is also the place where Liang Zixi has a foothold. I don't know how much food has been accumulated in the city.Just this order is enough to ignite the fighting spirit of his subordinates.

Sure enough, when they heard Liu Cong's words, the eyes of those generals burst into fierce light.The rumbling drum sounded, and the cannon carts, ladders, and rush carts all rushed down the city.

After taking down Hedong, the Han Kingdom had a lot of siege equipment, including the Thunderbolt Cannon that he almost defeated before.Although it is not as good as Shangdang's cannon, Liu Cong will not let it go for nothing.Dozens of peasants pulled the cannons vigorously, and stones the size of human heads whizzed towards the top of the city, immediately suppressing them like locust arrows.

The carts covered with cowhide followed one after another, but what was hidden inside was not a giant log that crashed into the city wall, but soldiers carrying sandbags.Under the cover of the canopy, the dashing car quickly pushed down the city.When the moat is filled, you can take the flying ladder and grab the top of the city!

However, this arrangement was not so smooth.The bed crossbow at the top of the city made a sharp noise and shot at the thunderbolt cannon. Some of Lasuo's civilian husbands immediately fell to the ground and died.More than a dozen clay pots were accurately thrown at the front and back of the car, and the cowhide was covered with black grease, and was shot by rockets, burning into a fireball in an instant.The soldiers hidden inside rushed out screaming, and were shot to the ground by the rain of arrows from the top of the city.

Liu Cong stared at the cruel scene in front of him coldly, without moving a muscle.The siege will indeed cause loss, especially the attack on a strong city like Gaodu.But they can't get around it, playing high is the beginning of everything, and it is also a way to lure the enemy.Only in this way, the Shangdang soldiers and horses will get out of the hidden city and fight with them in the field.

If you can't defeat the Shangdang army, even if you take Gaodu, it won't be of much use.But this time, he didn't want to let those people lead him by the nose and fall into the preset trap.The battlefield of this decisive battle will be controlled by him!

"Send [-] soldiers to Taihang Pass, and within two days, we must capture Taihang Pass!" Liu Cong ordered coldly.

It may be difficult for 3 people to attack Gaodu.But for a small pass like Taihang Pass, 3000 people are enough to win it!Taihang Xing is no better than Gaodu, he is bound to win!

3000 people left the camp and headed towards Taihang Pass.The siege drums still did not stop, and the Xiongnu soldiers rushed towards the towering city wall in front of them like a turbid wave of iron and blood.

■

"General, the Huns have begun to attack the city! 3 troops besieged Gaodu, and thousands of soldiers were sent to surprise Taihang Pass!"

Tanma brings the latest news.Shangdang has gone through several battles, but its strength is actually not too many, less than 5000 at full count.And in order to prevent the Huns from attacking the city, they sent [-] soldiers to guard each city.How can these [-] people defeat an enemy that is many times their own?

Yiyan's face was as cold as ice: "Where is the Liang Mansion? Is there an invincible army?"

"I haven't seen it. But the scouts are watching closely. If they go out to save Gaodu, they will be raided by cavalry!"

This is the tactic of the Huns.Use the attack on Gaodu as bait to lure out their army.Whether against the Liang Mansion or against the Shangdang soldiers, the Xiongnu had an advantage in military strength and were not afraid of field battles.And if you let it go, Gaodu still doesn't know how many days he can last, and Taihangguan can even pass in one go.

Losing Taihang Xing, the Xiongnu opened up the road to Hanoi, and will encircle Luoyang with the West Route Army.It would be even better if Gaodu can be conquered. This city can be used as a base and deeply rooted in Shangdang territory.Not to mention the threat of heavy troops, but the safety of the Liang Mansion is worrying.

The enemy has a pretty good general.

However, Yiyan did not show any anxiety, or it can be said that these tactics did not surprise him at all.

"Order Tuoba Xianbei to speed up, and come to Liting immediately after escorting the food and grass. Two days later, the army will move out!" Yi Yan ordered.

Two days is their "should" reaction time.The enemy wanted to control the overall situation, so he gave that person the initiative.Only in this way can he earn a chance in the dead!

■

"Master Cui is in the back hall?" The day's class was finally over, Liang Rong walked out of the academy, and immediately asked the soldiers beside him in a low voice.

"Yes. Mr. Xiao Lang wants to go there?" the soldier asked.

"En!" Liang Rong nodded quickly.

The soldier didn't ask any more questions, and stepped forward to clear the way for Liang Rong.In the past few days, the prefect's mansion has been protected several times, and most of them are surrounded by the back house to take care of Liang Rong's daily life.Looking at these armored and murderous personal soldiers, how could Liang Rong not know the danger of Shangdang war?It's just that I didn't expect that my father sent so many personal soldiers to guard him!

If they went to the battlefield, these elites would be able to kill many enemies, but they stayed behind and stood by his side.This made Liang Rong feel a little indescribable.Like powerlessness, but also like shame.He knew that his father had experienced many battles, but this was the first time that he felt the pressure of the dense clouds of battle.

But Liang Rong was not frightened by this situation.On the contrary, he went to school as usual every day, and only went back to rest after staying in the academy for a long time.My father never asked him to leave Shangdang, he just wanted him to calm the hearts of the people in this county.No matter how worried Liang Rong was, he didn't show his face.But after school, he couldn't sit still, so he had to go to the back office to have a look, so he could feel at ease.

Without hesitation, he walked towards the back door.Cui Ji spends a lot of time these days in the strategy room deducing the situation of the war and controlling the rear military rations.This moment is no exception.I saw a crowd of people in the small back hall, and from time to time some officials walked in and out with books in their hands.In the center of the room, there is a huge sand table, on which the entire topography of Shangdang is depicted, as if the land of a county is placed in front of your eyes.

Liang Rong didn't disturb the busy Cui Ji, but just hid aside and watched the changes on the sand table.From Gaodu to Lucheng, it takes a day for a fast horse. This should be the situation of yesterday's battle.How many soldiers did the Huns come?How is the situation in the government?

"Young Master Rong!" Cui Ji spotted Liang Rong's figure and walked forward quickly, "But school is over?"

"Exactly!" Liang Rong hurriedly saluted the teacher, "Rong'er has delayed Mr.'s business."

"Where is it? You will learn these things sooner or later." Cui Ji didn't take it seriously, and personally led Liang Rong to the sand table, and pointed out, "This is the Xiongnu soldiers and horses, represented by black flags, one is one Thousand soldiers."

There are many flags planted densely there, there seem to be about thirty or so.Liang Rong's face turned pale: "Are they besieging Gaodu?"

"Exactly, Taihang Pass was also captured." Cui Ji pointed at another place.

Seeing the black flag planted on the small town representing Taihang Pass, Liang Rong's complexion became even uglier: "Then... what about our army?"

"It's still in Liting, and it will start tomorrow." Cui Ji replied simply.

Liang Rong's calculations were not bad, and he saw the number of red flags in Li Ting at a glance: "Only [-] soldiers? Can we win?"

He has read military books and knows the difficulty of winning more with less.The enemy army has doubled in size, can Gao hold it?

Cui Ji smiled slightly: "This is what Mr. Rong should know. The war is changing rapidly, but the strategy must be determined before sending out troops. Only with a way to deal with it can there be hope of victory. Another thing, General Yi is the most powerful under the command of the lord. Generals, in more than ten battles, big or small, no matter how many soldiers there are, they have never been defeated!"

Liang Rong's little heart was seized by these words.Undefeated!What a bold statement!That cold, somewhat weird face rushed into his mind.However, this time, he didn't have the feeling of rejection he had in the past.Father spent more time teaching that person than teaching himself.Is it because of this?If I was a few years older, would I be able to go out on behalf of my father and wipe out those villains who dared to offend Shangdang and even Bingzhou?

Seeing the little guy's face flushed with excitement, Cui Ji heaved a sigh of relief in his heart.After all, Liang Rong is the only son of the lord, if he is timid and cowardly, how can he support this great cause?But these days, his performance surprised everyone.If there is no surprise here, even many adults may not be able to do it.It is a good thing that he is now interested in the military ahead again.

"Come here, get a beard stool."

As someone moved the high stool, Cui Ji turned to Liang Rong and said, "Master Rong, I'm busy with military affairs here, so I don't have time to talk too much. If you want to, sit there and watch quietly?"

Liang Rong nodded vigorously, without Cui Ji's urging, he sat on the stool by himself, looking eager for knowledge.Cui Ji smiled slightly, ignored him, and started to deal with complicated military affairs again.