Pang Meng judged that Liu Xiu came so quickly and in such a hurry, so he must have planned to fight with himself.

Out of this concern, Pang Meng did not dare to attack Taocheng with all his might, and at the same time, he sent a letter to Dong Xian, asking Dong Xian to send troops to reinforce him.

Dong Xian received Pang Meng's summons, and did not hesitate much, first sent Su Mao, led an army of 30,000, and marched to Taoxiang, and then sent a strong leader, led 50,000 troops, and also marched into Taoxiang.

Su Mao and Jiaoqiang, who commanded a total of 80,000 troops, entered the boundary of Taoxiang one after the other, and besieged Taocheng with Pang Meng's army.

Dong Xian himself, together with Liu Xuan, led the main army of his own side, and then followed up.

Liu Xiu has already led the army to Rencheng, and the battle with Pang Meng is about to break out, Dong Xian's plan is that when Liu Xiu and Pang Meng, Su Mao, and Jiaoqiang are inseparable, he will lead the army to attack again, so that the Han army can be completely annihilated, and even if you are lucky, you can successfully capture Liu Xiu.

According to Pang Meng's judgment, since Liu Xiu arrived in Rencheng in a hurry, then he will definitely lead the army to take the initiative to attack next.

It's just that this time he misjudged Liu Xiu.

It was true that Liu Xiu rushed to Rencheng day and night in a hurry, but after Liu Xiu arrived in Rencheng, he was stationed there, and there was no sign of reinforcements in Taoxiang, nor did he have the intention of fighting Pang Meng to the death.

His move made Pang Meng, who knew Liu Xiu very well, the second monk of Zhang, confused, and didn't know what medicine Liu Xiu was selling in his gourd.

In fact, Liu Xiu thought very simply, the reason why he made a quick march and rushed to Rencheng as soon as possible was for only one purpose, which was to reassure his own defenders in Taocheng.

He took practical actions and clearly told the defenders of Taocheng led by Chen Jun, don't look at the many enemy troops outside the city, but don't panic, don't mess up, I, Liu Xiu, have personally led the army to rescue you.

As for when he chose to attack Pang Mengjun, he had to find a suitable fighter, at least now is definitely not a good time to attack.

Liu Xiu now only has 5,000 cavalry and 30,000 infantry, while the enemy's Pang Meng has a strength of about 50,000, and Su Mao and Jiaoqiang, who reinforced Pang Meng, have 80,000 troops, which together have a total of 130,000 troops.

This is nearly four times the strength of the Han army.

No matter how proud Liu Xiu is, he will no longer take the other party in his eyes, and he will not only take 30,000 people to go head-to-head with the other party's 130,000 army.

So Liu Xiude waited for Wu Han, Gai Yan, Wang Liang, Wang Chang, Ma Wu, Wang Ba and others to lead the army to rush over.

Before they arrived, Liu Xiu couldn't do anything in Rencheng.

However, the news that Liu Xiu arrived in Rencheng in time really boosted the morale of the Taocheng defenders.

Chen Jun organized the soldiers and civilians in the city to strengthen the city defenses, and many houses in the city were demolished by them, the door panels and windows were used as shields, the beams and pillars were used for rolling wood, and the stones of walls and foundations were used for stone.

In short, everything that can be used in the city is used and transported to the head of the city to defend against the enemy.

Pang Meng's army camp.

Inside the tent of the Chinese army.

Pang Meng sat in the center, and Su Mao and Jiaoqiang sat on either side of him.

Pang Meng was the first to ask: "Today, did Liu Xiuke send troops north?" ”

The generals looked at each other and shook their heads.

A general arched his hand and said: "Back to the king, Liu Xiu did not move in Rencheng, and not a single soldier left the camp!" ”

Pang Meng frowned, looked at Su Mao and Jiaoqiang, and said: "Liu Xiu led the army, traveling hundreds of miles day and night, I thought I was coming to fight with our army, but now he is firmly sitting in Rencheng, Liu Xiu's intention is really unpredictable!" ”

Jiao Qiang snorted disapprerovingly, and said with a sneer: "No matter whether Liu Xiuken is willing to send troops to fight, let's take down Taocheng first!" ”

He stood up and said, "At present, there are only more than 10,000 defenders in Taocheng, and our army can break the city without much effort. ”

Pang Meng frowned and was silent.

If Liu Xiu suddenly leads his army to kill the city when he is attacking the city with all his might, it will be very unfavorable to his own side! Before he could speak, Su Mao answered: "King Dongping, I thought the outstanding general was reasonable!" ”

"Oh?"

Pang Meng looked at Su Mao puzzled.

This person is brave and unscrupulous, he is a reckless man, but Su Mao is different, this person is resourceful, and the city government is quite deep.

He asked, "What is General Su's opinion?" ”

Su Mao smiled slightly and said: "There are only more than 30,000 soldiers and horses under Liu Xiu's command, and the reason why he refuses to serve in the city to fight now is obviously because he is afraid of the strength of our army.

Since Liu Xiu is unwilling to take the initiative to fight, we will force him to fight! There is Liu Xiu's henchman Chen Jun in Taocheng, as long as our army attacks the city with all its might, Taocheng is in an emergency, Liu Xiu wants to sit idly by and ignore it, he can only lead the army to help, at that time, our soldiers can kill Liu Xiu outside Taocheng City! ”

After hearing this, Jiaoqiang's eyes lit up, and he grinned and laughed: "That's right! That's right! That's what I mean! ”

Pang Meng thought about it carefully and felt that what Su Mao said was not unreasonable.

He asked again uncertainly: "Liu Xiu is in Rencheng, there are really only more than 30,000 soldiers and horses?" ”

One of the generals immediately stood up, intervened in the salute, and said, "My lord, it's true! Liu Xiu did lead 5,000 cavalry and 30,000 infantry to Rencheng! ”

Pang Meng squinted his eyes, no matter how good Liu Xiu is at fighting and scheming, but with only 30,000 people, what tricks can he play?

After thinking about it, Pang Meng finally made up his mind and said in a loud voice: "Tomorrow, our army will attack Taocheng with all its might!" ”

To make a long story short, the next day, the three main generals, Pang Meng, Su Mao, and Jiaoqiang, led their respective soldiers and horses, poured out of the nest, and went straight to Taocheng.

Pang Meng and others' eyeliner is all over the city and outside Rencheng, and Liu Xiu's eyeliner is also all over Taocheng.

Pang Meng, Su Mao, and Jiaoqiang led the army to invade Taocheng, and the news soon spread back to Rencheng.

After Long Yuan received the news, he immediately reported it to Liu Xiu.

Liu Xiu was in the military field of the camp and watched the drills of his own soldiers, Long Yuan hurriedly walked over and said: "Your Majesty, Pang Meng, Su Mao, and Jiaoqiang are leading the army to come out of the nest and want to attack Taocheng in a big way!" ”

Hearing this, the hearts of all the generals present were shocked, and people looked at Liu Xiu in unison, leaving only Liu Xiu to give an order, and he led his troops to fight.

After Liu Xiu heard this, he seemed to be fine, so he only nodded slightly, and said lightly: "I know." ”

"Your Majesty, there are only more than 10,000 defenders in Taocheng, and Pang Meng, Su Mao, and the strong troops have more than 100,000 people, if our army does not rush to reinforcements immediately, Taocheng will be lost!"

"Taocheng is in danger, please send troops to rescue immediately!"

"Your Majesty......" All the generals, you and I say a word, and they all advocate sending troops immediately to rescue Taocheng.

Liu Xiu smiled indifferently, and said with deep emotion: "All the generals don't need to be in a hurry, Taocheng is solid, even if there are more enemy troops, they can only look at the city and sigh, and they can't cross the thunder pool one step!" ”

The generals are all at a loss, Taocheng is not a big city, and there is no natural danger to rely on, there are more than 10,000 defenders in the city, and the enemy army does have more than 100,000, in this case, Taocheng can still hold it?

Everyone present couldn't understand where Liu Xiu's confidence came from.

Liu Xiu said with a smile: "I have already sent 50,000 soldiers and horses for Taocheng, Pang Meng, Su Mao, and Jiaoqiang want to attack Taocheng, that is asking for hardship!" ”

Everyone present opened their mouths in surprise, His Majesty sent 50,000 soldiers and horses to Taocheng?

When did this happen?

How come I've never heard of this?

Besides, where did you get the 50,000 soldiers and horses?

Liu Xiu waved his hand impatiently and said, "Keep practicing!" Be serious, the big war is coming, and the training of the soldiers must not be sloppy! ”

The generals of the Han army all had question marks in their heads, but they didn't dare to ask more, so they could only continue to practice on the school military field according to Liu Xiu's orders.

Liu Xiu got the news that Pang Meng, Su Mao, and Jiao Qiang attacked Taocheng, but they were completely unmoved, and the army stayed in the camp and closed the camp to practice.

If there are really 50,000 troops entering Taocheng, then it will be a ghost! The 50,000 army that Liu Xiu said was completely illusory, just to stabilize the morale of the army.

In fact, the defenders of Taocheng still have more than 10,000 people, but many people in Taocheng have spontaneously participated in the team defending the city, which has increased the strength of the defenders a lot.

In addition, when Liu Xiu did not come, most of the soldiers and civilians in Taocheng were depressed, and they had no confidence in this battle, and no people were willing to participate in the defense of the city.

The arrival of Liu Xiu brought hope to the soldiers and civilians of Taocheng, and the morale of the people was also stimulated, and they were ready to meet the enemy's attack with high morale.

Therefore, Liu Xiu did not send 50,000 soldiers to Taocheng, more precisely, he sent hope and fighting spirit to Taocheng.

Liu Xiu did not move in Rencheng, and next, Pang Meng, Su Mao, and Jiaoqiang's attack on Taocheng was not a feint, but a real fight.

The siege of more than 100,000 troops can be described as imposing, standing at the head of the city, looking out, the enemy army outside the city, one by one, overwhelming, at a glance can not see the edge.

As the commander-in-chief of the whole army, Pang Meng waved the command flag forward and gave the order to attack.

As the drums sounded, the phalanx of the first row took the lead in moving forward.

Even if it was only a tentative attack, there were tens of thousands of soldiers.

Twenty small squares in units of 500 people marched forward in a row.

Chen Jun, the lord of Peach City, personally climbed to the top of the city, looking at the enemy troops advancing outside the city, he pointed to the phalanx outside the city, and said to the people on the left and right: "This must be Pang Meng's subordinates!" ”

Most of the generals' troop formations are based on one unit and one phalanx, while Pang Meng's troop formation is willing to take the song as a unit and a phalanx.

Such an arrangement of troops is an extreme confidence in oneself, because the formation will be more flexible and more varied, but in the same way, the more difficult it will be for the soldiers to cooperate, and the higher the quality requirements for the soldiers.

Chen Jun squinted his glasses and said quietly: "At the beginning, Pang Meng sent his own elite subordinates into battle, today's battle is definitely not a feint, but a real fight!" ”

As he spoke, he said to the people around him: "Pass the order, and the whole army is ready to fight!" In addition, inform the people in the city to collect as many logs and stones as possible in case of emergency! ”

"Yes! Checkmate! ”

The surrounding generals intervened to give salutes and convey Chen Jun's orders.

When Pang Meng's military array advanced to within fifty steps of Taocheng, Chen Jun waved his sword forward and shouted, "Release the arrow!" ”

"Arrows—" The heralds pulled their necks and roared loudly, and the sound of arrows was heard one after another on the city.

Airplanes! A rain of arrows rose up from the top of the city, piercing the sky, with a piercing whistling sound, and smashed into the camp of Pang Mengjun.

Bang Bang Bang! The arrows crackled against the shields that people had raised, and every now and then a soldier screamed and fell to the ground.

After a rain of arrows, the second and third rounds followed.

Round after round of arrow arrays smashed into the camp of Pang Mengjun, which also caused more and more casualties among the advancing Pang Mengjun.

The phalanx of Pang Meng's army, against the rain of arrows flying down from the city, rushed to the front of the city wall, and then, one after another cloud ladders were erected, some Pang Mengjun released arrows to the city head, and some Pang Meng army began to charge towards the city head along the cloud ladder.

At this time, the rolling wood and stones prepared in the early stage came in handy, and the stones were smashed down from the wall by the defenders, as dense as hail, and the rolling logs fell into the crowd of Pang Mengjun under the city, and the screams were everywhere.

The siege battles were all started, and Pang Meng's soldiers continued to climb along the ladder as if they had been beaten with chicken blood.

Some were shot down by arrows, some were thrown down by stones, and some were thrown from mid-air by the defenders, even with ladders.

Pang Meng, who watched the battlefield in the Chinese army, has always been quiet, he is a veteran of the battlefield, this kind of scene, he has seen too much in his life.

He looked slowly at both sides of him, and his gaze swept towards Su Mao and Jiaoqiang.

Su Mao and Jiaoqiang are not fools, so they naturally know what Pang Meng means, and the two of them swung their swords forward almost at the same time, sending their respective subordinates to the battlefield and joining the battle.