It's getting dark.

He Sheng was standing on the enemy tower, holding an unfamiliar artifact, and through the transparent lens, observing the enemy camp in the distance outside the city.

The Liao army directly set up camp in a village near the county seat. From the clairvoyant mirror, it can be seen clearly that in several villages closest to the city, all the figures that come in and out are as small as ants.

Geographically, villages are generally built on high ground to protect against water accumulation after rains. At the same time, the village is directly connected to the road, and the transportation is also convenient. and a house, so that he would not pitch a tent. Defensively, a well-walled village is far more reliable than a makeshift camp. If there is still water in the village, it is an excellent place to stay. Now it's just a shortage of food, grass and water.

One end of the barrel fits snugly against one side of the eye socket. He Sheng had never had the opportunity to contact such a valuable weapon as a clairvoyant mirror before, but he heard that such a clairvoyant mirror could be worth more than 100 yuan anywhere. The hands holding the brass mirror are like Scrooge clutching gold bricks. The hand holding the lens barrel also made the brass mirror body warm, and the sweat oozing from the palm moistened the lens barrel, He Sheng wiped his hands vigorously on his clothes, wiped away the sweat, and held the lens barrel tightly, staring at the crowded enemy camp.

In the eyes that swept over He Sheng from below, there were many with envy and jealousy.

He Sheng relied on his name to curry favor, and now in the eyes of people, He Sheng is not the stupid little red guy, but the standard auspicious. In that case, then he can't be allowed to have an accident. Otherwise, if he hits a stray arrow in the battle array, it will be a big luck.

Someone proposed to give He Sheng a petty official and promote him to the rank of the envoy, but Han Gang vetoed it, and even did not agree to transfer him away from the city wall in case he would damage the morale of the army. Meritorious promotion is not the way to govern the army, and Han Gang is extremely principled in this regard. But to keep him safe, so someone still thought of a way to let He Sheng be a scout who watched the wind from afar, holding a clairvoyant to look at the enemy formation from afar.

The safety of the spaceship is actually very good, but the victims who once fell down are so famous that many people have a fear of stepping on the spaceship. He Sheng trembled and got into the small hanging basket, but before dusk, the wind in the air became much stronger, and the spaceship was blown in the sky and looked almost sideways. The general who guarded this section of the city wall hurriedly ordered the spaceship to be put away, and He Sheng, who was almost scared out of his guts, was finally put down and reconnoitred on the enemy tower instead. However, the wind blowing is not necessarily bad, and the Liao army's spaceship is also unusable, and it cannot detect the movement in the city.

He has been holding a clairvoyant mirror for more than half a day, and He Sheng's eyes are already dazzled. The sour eyes blinked and blinked, and suddenly they realized that the ant-like shadows in the village were leaving their camp in droves.

"Liao...... There's movement there! He Sheng's eyes finally left the barrel of the glasses, and he turned around and shouted in the building.

"Liao thieves have attacked the city?!" Just one of the military academies in the enemy building stepped over and snatched the clairvoyant mirror in He Sheng's hand.

"It seems to be ......gone," He Sheng said cautiously behind the military academy who had already raised the clairvoyant mirror.

Sure enough, I went to look for water. The remaining dozen officers and soldiers in the enemy tower immediately began to talk in a low voice.

Maybe it's a retreat. There is no food or water, so there is no way to attack the city. ’

If only that. ’

"What nonsense?!" The military academy turned around and roared, and the round eyes like brass bells glared around the building, causing the top floor of the enemy building to suddenly fall silent. Reaching out and stuffing the clairing mirror back into He Sheng's hand, he went downstairs, and did not forget to drop a sentence, "It's a horse that walks, not a person!" Later, learn to discern. ”

He Sheng held the clairvoyant mirror, nodded stunnedly, and heard the sound of going downstairs, which quickly disappeared to the bottom of the downstairs.

……………………

"There is movement in the Liaos!?"

"A large number of horses leaving?"

"Just a war horse?"

In the Daxiong Hall of Puci Temple, a group of people gathered around a long table, and the sand table, map, and city defense model were all put aside. More than a dozen pairs of eyes looked at the military academy that rushed to report the news,

Huang Shang, Tian Yu, and Taigu Zhixian asked questions one after another.

In Hangang's shogunate, or staff headquarters, there were many people who came and went. There are staff members brought by Han Gang, and there are also generals and colonels in the army-small envoys of the eighth and ninth grades, and even commanders of no rank-In addition, the local officials of Taigu County, the county magistrate, the county captain, and the chief secretary have all participated in the military meetings presided over by Han Gang, and are also allowed to speak and even make proposals.

Han Gang's approach was extremely rare, and most generals relied on themselves and their staff to formulate plans, solicit opinions from all sides, and then assign orders to them, in order to control all resources and information in their own hands. Instead of concentrating on the heads of different aspects to participate in decision-making like Han Gang, I simply control the general direction of the strategy.

Stabilizing the city, resisting foreign captives, and the unity of the army and the people is the premise of defending Taigu County, and to do things well, it requires the full cooperation of everyone. A series of plans formulated by Han Gang were indispensable for the cooperation of local officials. A simple order can only make people do things seven or eight percent at most, and if I am involved, things will be different, and the most obvious thing is that the initiative is greatly enhanced. The plan that came up with the most was not the best, but it was the most secure under Han Gang's control.

"It's just a war horse, and there aren't many cavalry accompanying it." The military academy gave Taigu Zhixian an affirmative answer.

"It seems that he is preparing to take the war horse away." Said a general who participated in the military medical service. If a horse has no water to drink, how quickly it will die, anyone who is slightly familiar with horse nature knows the way.

"Since I don't dare to drink horses in the river, I don't dare to drink water in the Liao people themselves." Huang Shang looked back at Han Gang and said, "This is a little better than expected. ”

Before Han Gang could speak, Taigu Zhixian immediately said: "The Liao thief fears the privy like a god, and he doesn't dare to take his life." ”

Han Gang smiled without saying a word. But in his heart, he said, 'Who is afraid of me, is afraid of the epidemic.''

Who can not be afraid of the epidemic? Who dares not to be afraid? The Liao people are also human! ”

In order to pollute the river water, feces and urine and even rotting corpses were poured into the water. Whether you dare to drink it or not, even if the running water is clean, this psychological pressure is inevitable. Now even the horses are led away to chase water and grass, and of course the Liao people dare not drink the river water.

Nowadays, the world's understanding of diseases and epidemics basically comes from Han Gang's series of popular science books on epidemic prevention and disease prevention. And the lack of understanding that the virus is actually the source of the disease adds to the fear. The fear of the epidemic came from the spread of cowpox in the Liao state. If it had been in the past, a little dirty water from the river would not have allowed them to dry up.

"Do you see the smoke?" Chen Feng suddenly asked.

"Yes, not much." The military academy replied.

Han Gang understood Chen Feng's intentions, and nodded approvingly to Yuan Jie, the Cheng of Taigu County, and said, "Yuan County Cheng, you have done a good job in this matter." ”

Taigu County Cheng is an old bureaucrat in his fifties who has no reputation, and when he heard Han Gang's praise, his face turned red, his jaw trembled, and he stammered.

Of course, it is worth commendating, being able to evacuate the villagers around Taigu City into the city safely, and destroying the firewood and grass straw that cannot be taken away, the whole set of work is presided over by this county prince. Thinking about his experience and ability, Taigu Zhixian, who was born as a Jinshi, is much worse.

"Do you see the horses of the Liao people clearly?" A military attache in attendance asked.

"The clairvoyant mirror can't see, I'm going to ask the rangers out of the city." Taigu Zhixian said with a smile.

Huang Sheng immediately answered: "No need to ask, in the previous reports of the rangers, many of them said that the mounts of the Liao people to explore the horses lost fat badly. ”

"It's not normal if you don't lose fat." Tian Yu said, "In an ordinary year, how can there be a reason for the Beiyu to send troops in the spring." This time I went back, and I don't know how many horses would die. ”

If it weren't for the situation, Yelu Yixin would not have sent troops south. Which Khitan doesn't know horse nature? After consuming a winter, the horse's physique has dropped dramatically, even if it is a meal of refined food, it will not be able to make up for the physical strength consumed by soybeans. In the spring, a long distance of 1,000 or 2,000 miles, the horses with slightly worse physique could not hold on.

"It's just the war horses that left, most of the soldiers stayed, and it seems that they have made up their minds, maybe they are going to prepare for the siege."

"Not a possibility, but a certainty. You heard that, too. ”

"How will the Liao thieves attack?"

"It's not difficult to rely on the number of people to build a mountain of soil. And there is no shortage of siege materials, and if you have a house, you will not be without wood. The city walls of Taigu County are not very high, and a slightly longer ladder can be easily set up. And there's the one outside the city. ”

"......" Taigu Zhixian groaned, and nodded after the most reluctance.

Taigu County is a county located on the main road, which is populated and has frequent business travel. This makes Taigu County a decisive difference from the military cities on the border and strategic places like Taiyuan.

There are moats in Taigu County, which can be regarded as wide, but a long section of them has been congested for a long time, and the wide stone bridge that crosses the Hao River outside the city gate is also a wide stone bridge rather than a more defensive suspension bridge.

On both sides of the official road extending from the city gate, there are rows of shops and restaurants, with the city gate bridge being the most dense, and even forming a more prosperous commercial area than the city. On the inside of the city wall, there are also many houses built close to the wall, which can save the masonry and labor of a wall, but it is really a terrible thing for the defense of the city.

The buildings attached to the inner side of the city walls made it necessary to pass through the passages at the top of the walls for the dispatch of troops and military supplies, and at the same time, it was necessary for everyone to shoot rockets into the city during the siege, and these buildings could be the source of fire because they were too close to the city walls. The hundreds of shops and houses on the outside will become the source of materials for the Liao army's concealment and siege equipment.

However, the matter was well resolved in the eyes of the people, and the other in the city said that as for the building outside the city, "it was nothing but a matter of fire." ”

It was not Han Gang who said this, but Huang Sheng who inherited his heart.

There is nothing that does not die in the war, but only some houses, and the people have taken refuge in the city, what dare not burn them? Huang Shang followed Han Gang, it can be said that he is an old soldier, he has killed thousands of people, and he will not blink an eye if he burns hundreds of empty houses. But under normal circumstances, this matter will only be taken to heart, and anything can happen during the war, and there is no need to say it openly.

"If the Liao army wants to borrow these houses, they can just set them on fire." Huang Shang said in a low voice, "We took the initiative to destroy the house, and the resentment was attributed to us. Because the Liao people began to attack the city, and the people naturally blamed the Liao thieves. ”

The houses outside the city may be used by the Liao people as a springboard for siege, or dismantled and decomposed into supplies, and if they are burned down tonight, there is naturally no need to worry about it. It would be better if it could be burned together with the Liao people. At that time, it was not a simple victory.

Thinking of the court's reward for the army, everyone thought about it for a while.

"Prepare for it." This time, Han Gang spoke for the first time in the military meeting, and his calm voice pulled back everyone's scattered hearts, "It's probably tonight!" ”

"Then there will be more fires in the city tonight!" Huang Shang's tone was high.

……………………

As the night grew darker, the lights lit up like stars, strung around the top of the city wall.

Looking at Taigu City in the dark night, the shadows under the city are far darker than the city walls.

"What does it mean to be dark under the lamp?" Xiao 13 withdrew his gaze into the distance and turned around to ask.

The task for tonight has already been assigned, and only his cronies and generals are left behind Xiao Shisan. was waiting for the most remedial order, but a group of generals didn't expect Xiao Shisan to ask this sentence, and they were stunned for a moment and didn't know how to answer.

Xiao Shisan pursed his lips tightly, but the smile lines at the corners of his mouth were extremely hideous and proud, "The brighter the brighter, the darker the darker it will naturally be." If you don't light the lamp, you can barely see the outline in the dark, but when you light the lamp, you will be even more difficult to see in the dark where you are not lighted. ”