Chapter 432

As the saying goes, when two armies are at war, they need to prepare for a rainy day. The Tianyuan Army has not even completely crossed the Panshui River yet, but Tang Yin has already made a plan to attack Zhangyu.

In the past two days, the Tianyuan Army dismissed the captured Peng Army as many as they could, and executed all the stubborn ones. Then Tang Yin dispatched several troops to recapture the villages and towns around Zhangyu, and completely isolate Zhangyu City first. Two days later, the Pingyuan Army, along with the military's food and supplies, crossed the Panshui River as scheduled. Tang Yin did not delay any longer and led the army to march towards Zhangyu.

Because of the lessons learned before, the Tianyuan Army was very cautious in this march. The spies responsible for spying had been sent to a place 20 miles away from the entire army, and all the important and dangerous places along the way were carefully checked. Along the way, the Tianyuan Army walked at a leisurely pace, and no accidents occurred. Three days later, they arrived at Zhangyu City smoothly.

Gaochuan County is full of mountains, except for Zhangyu City, which is a large plain. Looking around, it is flat and flat. Such a large county city is located on the plain, which is also very conspicuous. The outline of Zhangyu City can be seen clearly from a long distance.

Tang Yin's injury has now recovered by 10%. He rode on a horse, accompanied by his generals, and walked to a small mound with relatively high terrain, looking up at Zhangyu. Zhangyu City is square, and the city wall is not high, about 25 meters, just close to 8 meters. For a non-frontier city, such a city wall specification is also good. Looking into the city, high platforms and pavilions can be vaguely seen. It can be seen that Zhangyu City is still very prosperous.

After watching for a while, Tang Yin tilted his head and asked, "Do you know the number of enemy troops in the city now?"

Le Tian and Ai Jia both stepped forward and said, "Sir, Zhangyu has been sealed for several days, and our spies cannot enter the city, so we don't know the exact number of enemy troops for the time being, but through the deployment of troops in the surrounding villages and towns, we know that Zhangyu has increased its troops by nearly 20,000."

Yes! This is similar to Xiao Xin's original estimate. Zhangyu itself has 20,000 county soldiers, plus 20,000 drawn from other villages and towns, the number of troops has reached 40,000. If able-bodied men are captured in the city, the total number of troops should be around 50,000. According to the theorem of three times siege (the attacker's troops are three times the defender's), the 150,000 troops on our side can only be said to be just enough.

Tang Yin nodded, and said to Xiao Muqing and Ziying: "Set up camp two miles away from Zhangyu, rest for a day, and tomorrow morning, the whole army will attack the city!"

"Yes! Sir!" Xiao Muqing and Ziying both bowed in response.

According to Tang Yin's order, the Tianyuan Army set up camp two miles away from Zhangyu, and Ziying was responsible for setting up the camp. Ziying was born as a regular general, and his basic military concept was much stronger than Xiao Muqing. He was also very knowledgeable in setting up camps.

Ziying set up camps around Zhangyu City, surrounding the enemy's city walls. It is unrealistic for an army of 150,000 to surround such a large county city, and it is easy for the enemy to break through. Ziying's camping is real and fake. From the surface, the camps are basically the same, but in fact, the troops are mainly concentrated in a few key points, echoing each other. Once the opponent attacks blindly, it is easy to be hit by the joint efforts of the Tianyuan Army.

After Ziying had set up the camp, it was already dark. Tang Yin personally inspected it and was very satisfied with Ziying's performance. He praised him generously and went back to the central army tent to report the news.

Let's talk about Zhangyu City on the other side.

Zhangyu now has a lot of troops, even more than Tang Yin imagined. Adding up, there are 60,000 to 70,000 people. However, with so many troops, not many can really be used. There are only more than 20,000 county troops, and the other 20,000 are reserves recruited from the local area. The so-called reserves are actually veterans who have retired long ago. They are all in their 40s and 50s. Some of them even need crutches to walk, not to mention fighting in the battlefield. The remaining 20,000 to 30,000 people are all able-bodied men, but these able-bodied men are temporarily gathered from the people of Zhangyu City. They have never been on the battlefield and have no fighting skills. To put it bluntly, they are just 20,000 to 30,000 meat shields.

The only thing that can make people feel at ease about Zhangyu's current situation is that the city defense is complete and there is enough food and grass. This has also become the greatest confidence of Zhong Tian, ​​Zhan Wushuang, Zhan Wudi, Xiao Shang and others to resist the Tianyuan Army.

That night, Zhong Tian, ​​Zhan Wushuang and others gathered in the county capital. Although there were many people gathered in the hall, it was silent, the atmosphere was gloomy, and it was almost depressing that people could hardly breathe.

The Tianyuan Army has already arrived at the city, set up camps around the city, and surrounded Zhangyu City. This is just the beginning. There are still a steady stream of Tianyuan Army reinforcements behind. Only relying on the isolated city of Zhangyu, no one can be optimistic about resisting the Tianyuan Army with a large number of troops and high morale.

"My king! My lord!" As the voice was spoken, one of the generals under Xiao Shang walked out. This man was wearing a silver helmet and silver armor, tall and burly, in his early thirties, with a white face and black beard, a dignified appearance, heroic and majestic.

Wow! Zhong Tian had never taken Xiao Shang's generals seriously, but when he saw this general, his eyes lit up, thinking that he was in high spirits! He looked at Xiao Shang with a puzzled look on his face and asked, "Shang brother, who is this..."

"Oh! Your Majesty, these are my subordinates, named Hao Zhao." Xiao Shang turned his head to look at the general, frowned and asked, "Hao Zhao, what do you want?"

"My lord, I think our army should launch a surprise attack on the enemy camp tonight."

Oh? Hearing this, Zhong Tian, ​​Zhan Wushuang, and Zhan Wudi all cast their eyes on Hao Zhao's face.

Xiao Shang frowned secretly, this Hao Zhao said something bad, why did he insist on going out of the city to attack the enemy? He can't even hide now, how can he still go out to fight in the city? ! His face darkened and he scolded: "Stop talking nonsense, stand down!"

"Sir, the Tianyuan Army came from afar and set up a large camp of this size outside our city without stopping. The officers and men must be extremely exhausted. If they attack the camp at night, they will catch the enemy by surprise. Let our army achieve a great victory," Hao Zhao said seriously.

Xiao Shang was sincerely unwilling to go to war and couldn't listen to anything he said. When Hao Zhao finished speaking, his face became even colder and he shouted: "War is not a child's play. It's not as simple as you said. Why don't you retreat quickly?" Down……"

Before he could finish what he said, Zhong Tian waved his hand to interrupt him, and said quietly: "I think what these generals said is reasonable." After speaking, he looked at Zhan Wushuang again and asked: "General Wushuang, What do you think?"

Zhan Wushuang thought for a while and said, "Tang Yin is very cunning, and he has many capable and good generals around him. I'm afraid that the Tianyuan Army will not fail to guard against our army's sneak attack at night!"

Hao Zhao's eyes widened and he said to Xiao Shang: "Sir, when the enemy camped, the general also observed carefully. The enemy camp was empty and empty. The areas that looked like there were many soldiers were actually empty inside, and the areas that seemed weak were weak. There is a hidden murderous intention. On the surface, the enemy's central camp seems to be heavily defended, but in fact the main force of the Tianyuan Army is not here. My lord, you only need to give me three thousand troops, and I will sneak attack the enemy's central tent at night. We will definitely get Tang Yin's head back."

Xiao Shang looked at Hao Zhao who took the initiative to ask for military leave. Instead of being happy, he was itching with hatred. He secretly attacked the enemy's military tent and took Tang Yin's head. It sounds easy, but in fact it would not be that easy. If Tang Yin was really that If they were easy to kill, why would Zhan Wushuang, Zhan Wudi, or even Zhong Tian end up in this situation?

Snapped!

Xiao Shang suddenly slapped the table, his eyes spitting fire, he glared at Hao Zhao and shouted loudly: "Hao Zhao, don't talk nonsense anymore. If you dare to deceive our military morale again, I will punish you severely! Go back!"

Hao Zhao wanted to continue speaking. At this time, a young golden-armored warrior came out, grabbed Hao Zhao's wrist, and forced him back into the queue. At the same time, he whispered: "Brother Hao, sir I’m dissatisfied with your words, so don’t say any more.”

"But...but if we miss this excellent opportunity, our army will no longer have any hope of winning!" Hao Zhao shook his head and sighed.

The young general in golden armor took a deep look at Hao Zhao and said quietly: "Do your best and obey fate! There are many things that are beyond our control."

"Alas!" Hao Zhao looked up to the sky and sighed, deliberately raising his voice and saying, "If we don't go to war now, I'm afraid our army won't even have a chance to go to war in the future."

Xiao Shang snorted angrily, without even looking at Hao Zhao, pretending not to hear. As far as Xiao Shang is concerned, he is relatively open-minded and has a very gentle personality. Regardless of his ability, he is still tolerant of generals who disagree with him.

In fact, Zhan Wushuang is also considering whether Hao Zhao's plan is feasible. It is undeniable that he is right. The Tianyuan Army came from afar and set up camp without stopping. It is certain that they are exhausted, and tonight is indeed the case. A good opportunity to carry out a sneak attack could only be imagined by oneself, but would Tang Yin and his generals not think of it? If someone were to guard against this move, make preparations in advance, and make a hasty sneak attack, wouldn't it be like a sheep entering the tiger's mouth and only increasing casualties?

After careful consideration, Zhan Wushuang felt that a sneak attack at night would be too risky and not as safe as strictly guarding the city. What's more, they were in a critical moment and they could no longer afford any loss. In the end, Zhan Wushuang still did not express his position and rejected Hao Zhao's proposal with a silent attitude.

That night, Tianyuan's army did not attack the city, nor did they make any tentative harassment. Zhangyu was even more behaved, not a single soldier was sent out, and both sides spent the night calmly.

In the early morning of the next day, when the sky was just getting dark, drums were beating everywhere in the Tianyuan Army's camp, and the sound of ordering troops could not be heard. Not long after, a formation of 20,000 people from the Fengjun army poured out from the south camp, not far from Zhangzhou. Yu Yi stabilized his position a mile away. Then, the former sergeant moved to the left and right, and a tall infantry general walked out of the camp. This man held an oversized giant hammer and stood on his back. In front of the Fengjun formation, he looked at the city of Zhangyu and shouted loudly: "Rebels in the city, listen, I am a fighting tiger of the Tianyuan Army. Who dares to go out of the city and fight with me?"