"Situ Tai's people appeared in the Northland of Bingzhou? I didn't expect this Situ Tai to be brave. I wanted to deal with Cao Gang and the Northern Army of Bingzhou first, and then deal with the Bingzhou Army in the south of Bingzhou, but it seems that this Situ Tai is not a simple commodity, and he can actually see the threat that we brought to him after solving Cao Gang and the Northern Army of Bingzhou, and even intervened. Zhao Xun looked at the information in his hand and said with a smile, not at all bothered by Situ Tai's involvement.

As Situ Wen guessed, Zhao Xun's original intention was to gradually solve the problem of merging states from north to south. If you merge the state, the north can be said to have a Xiaoguo army. As for the entire Yongjun forces, especially the land of Yongzhou, they were completely under the all-round attack of the Xiaoguo Army. However, even if this Situ Tai intervenes, Zhao Xun is not afraid.

"Zhang Ji, pass the order, let all the departments prepare to attack on the whole front, in addition, to launch the internal response of all parts of Shuozhou Mansion, we must first solve this Hetao land, and besiege Cao Gang and the northern army of Bingzhou on all sides." Zhao Xun gave an order to the pro-guard officers beside him. Although Zhao Xun's more than 100,000 troops are all cavalry, the pro-guard army is good at foot and cavalry. In addition, in the intervening days, the propaganda of the cavalry, the agitation of the merchants, and the organization of the secret agents of the Shadow Division and the Eagle Eye Division, the eighteen counties of Shuozhou Prefecture and Wuyuan Prefecture were full of people who were willing to join. Even the defenders of each county, half of them have reached a secret agreement with the Xiaoguo army.

On July 7, in the territory of Shuozhou Prefecture and Wuyuan Prefecture and 18 counties, more than 100,000 Xiaoguo troops and countless ordinary people and young people acted together to attack the northern army of Bingzhou. Among them, the defenders of the eight counties directly opened the city gate and surrendered to the Xiaoguo army, and the remaining ten counties were also conquered successively with the cooperation of Neiying. On July 15, Shuozhou Mansion and Wuyuan Mansion were announced to have been conquered by the Xiaoguo Army. After Cao Gang received the news, he almost vomited blood and fainted in Yunzhou City, Yunzhou Prefecture.

"Fuck, they're all a bunch of bastards, eating Lao Tzu, drinking Lao Tzu, and they all end up being fucking traitors." In Yunzhou City, Cao Gang's eyes were red and he scolded.

Cao Gang sat on the land of the six prefectures in the north of the state, and took Yunzhou Mansion as the central army to take care of the left and right. However, now the Daizhou Mansion and Mayi Mansion in the east and the Shuozhou Mansion and Wuyuan Mansion in the west have all been taken by the Xiaoguo Army, and they only own the land of Dingxiang Mansion and Yunzhou Mansion. It can be said that in just half a month, his jurisdiction has been reduced by two-thirds. Although he still has 100,000 people in his hands and the Northern Army of Bingzhou, the decline of the Northern Army of Bingzhou has been undoubtedly revealed.

For the land of the two western provinces, the defenders of the eight counties, nearly 60,000 people surrendered the city, so that Cao Gang did not react at all, so that he who was ready to send troops to the west got the news of the fall of the two western provinces. Now, he has no other way than to scold.

And Zhu Miao, who had entered Yunzhou City for less than five days, that is, Situ Tai's envoy, was shocked and inexplicable. Although he knew the strength of the Xiaoguo army, he also figured out that the Xiaoguo army hurt Cao Gang and forced Cao Gang to agree to give in to Situ Tai. However, he didn't expect that Cao Gang had not agreed to his conditions, so that the northern army of Bingzhou would suffer such a big loss.

In fact, the defeat of Cao Gang and the Northern Army of Bingzhou was also inevitable. This is not because the Xiaoguo Army is strong, nor is it because the Xiaoguo Army has sharp armor. It's just that Cao Gang's actions in the north of Bingzhou have long been unable to win the support of the people here. Even the non-commissioned officers of the Northern Army and some middle and low-level officers were extremely dissatisfied with Cao Gang. In particular, after Zhao Xun rescued nearly 200,000 people who had been plundered by the Turks from the Turkic steppe and brought them back, the people in the northern part of the state completely lost hope in the northern army of the state and abandoned the northern army.

Don't forget, soldiers are also human beings, and they also have families and relatives. They are different from high-ranking officers, they are just ordinary young people living at the bottom, and they naturally know what the difference between the Xiaoguo Army and the Bingzhou Northern Army is to the people of Bingzhou Northland. Under the propaganda of businessmen and secret agents, and under the persuasion of their relatives and friends, these non-commissioned officers and middle- and low-level officers naturally knew how to choose. Coupled with the strength of the Xiaoguo army, if they don't want to die in vain, whether to fight or surrender, they will naturally make the wisest choice.

Of course, the reason why the siege was so fast was that in addition to the fact that the northern army defending the city had no intention of fighting, the more important thing was that when the city was attacked, it was thrown into the city wall with earth-shattering thunder. Today's earth-shattering thunder has been restructured more and more sophisticated. Throw them along with the oil bombs on the city wall with a catapult, and in a matter of moments, they will explode. Those cities that refused to surrender were successively breached by the Xiaoguo army under this kind of sharp, never-before-seen weapon.

There is another key reason for being able to conquer the land of the two provinces in such a short time. That is, at the beginning of the Xiaoguo army, it attacked from east to west, that is, it first cut into the Daizhou capital in the easternmost part of the northern land of Bingzhou, which made Cao Gang hurriedly move the army in the west to the east. And the land of the Hetao is another flat river, which has a great advantage for the cavalry. In the case of insufficient troops, the northern army of Bingzhou could only retreat into the city, and was divided and surrounded by the Xiaoguo army in various cities. In addition, the lack of food and grass makes it difficult to replenish armor and equipment, which makes it under pressure. In the case of persuasion, the perseverance of these defenders is not high. Therefore, Zhao Xun will take the land of the two western provinces with lightning speed in such a short period of time, and deal a blow to Cao Gang and the northern army of Bingzhou.

"Xu Lin and Zhou Liyan, the two of you will be the governors of Shuozhou Mansion and Wuyuan Mansion from now on, and the new policy of my Xiaoguo Army must be properly handled here. Especially in the land of Shuozhou, where different races live together, don't make any trouble. In addition to the reorganized government and county soldiers, I will also leave 40,000 soldiers with you to assist the two of you in taking over here. "Jiuyuan City, Zhao Xun explained in a deep voice to the two civil officials. These two people are civil officials drawn from Youzhou, and they are all very good officials in Youzhou. In order to govern this newly annexed land, the officials here are basically veterans from Youzhou, and of course, the adjutants and officials have also brought hundreds of people.

Xu Lin and Zhou Liyan bowed together and said, "Don't worry, the lord will never live up to the lord's trust, and we will handle this place properly." ”

Zhao Xun nodded and said, "Very good, in addition to the soldiers, I will also leave 10,000 Turkic slaves for each of you, so that they can become your labor in carrying out construction projects in these two provinces." By the way, you must also settle the people who have been diverted and rescued from the Turkic steppe. I will also keep half of the cattle for you to be cultivated by the people. As for those big clans, with a good reputation, they will be slowly restructured and rationally restructured. As for those with a very bad reputation, they will be severely punished, and justice will be served to the people here. Of course, the food and money in their hands is also one of the important ways to solve local poverty. ”

Subsequently, Zhao Xun explained to the two of them the problems that need to be paid attention to in governing the place, and then, Zhao Xun took the remaining 80,000 soldiers and headed to the southeast. The purpose is naturally the restless one in the south, and the merger army in it.

…………

Chengle County, on a slightly high slope outside the city, Li Chenfeng took Qin Daolin and a cadre of guards to come here on horseback, and you can see the dense crowd at the head of Chengle County from a distance.

Qin Daolin had been stationed outside the city for ten days, and he couldn't hold it anymore, pointing to Chengle County, and said to Li Chenfeng, who had just carried the logistics team and siege equipment: "A month ago, when our scouts explored here, this city was not so tall, and the arrow towers on the city wall were not so numerous. Even ten days ago, it was slightly weaker than now, and now, in these days, the city wall of Chengle County has been heightened and strengthened a lot, plus the trenches outside the city, if you want to rely on infantry to attack, I am afraid that you will lose a lot. However, Li Shuai has already brought our siege equipment, and he is not afraid. In addition, there are several large wells in the city that provide ample water to protect the city from our siege. ”

Li Chenfeng glanced at Qin Daolin and said with a smile: "I remember that a few days ago, General Qin repeatedly asked me for orders and wanted to attack the city directly. How can you refuse to attack the infantry today? ”

Qin Daolin shook his head and smiled: "The last general doesn't have the intention of fighting hard here with the lives of the soldiers, I want to pacify the surrounding small counties first." But now that the lord has conquered the land of Shuozhou Mansion and Wuyuan Mansion, the small counties around here are no longer insignificant. As long as we take this Chengle County, the surrounding counties will be passed on. Dingxiang Mansion has also been divided into two, and it will be much easier to do next. ”

Li Chenfeng laughed and said, "What General Qin said is very true, it seems that the worry in my heart is superfluous. Let's go, let's go back to the city, we're ready to take this city. ”

In the camp of the Xiaoguo Army outside Chengle County, Li Chen's demeanor was in the main position, and Qin Daolin and other generals were on both sides, talking about Zhao Xun's victory in the western part of the northern land of Bingzhou, which made the main generals excited. A middle-aged man in light armor strode in, clasped his hands into fists, and said, "Lin Yong, the captain of the heavy battalion, has seen Li Shuai, generals. ”

"You're welcome, sit down! We've been waiting for your news! Li Chenfeng waved his hand to sit down, and then asked with a smile: "Captain Lin, how much equipment did you bring with the baggage team this time?" ”

Lin Yong said confidently: "Because Li Shuai has already explained, in addition to the grain and grass, he also transported 100 crossbows, 30 large catapults, 100 medium-sized catapults, and all the stone bullets have been completed. In addition, there are more than 300 earth-shattering thunder and fire oil bombs. ”

Li Chenfeng nodded slightly, these siege equipment are coming, then, the Jiancheng of Chengle County in front of him will not be a problem to break through. But although all of these devices have been shipped, most of them are parts, and they still need to be assembled on the spot, "So, how much time does it take to assemble them!" ”

"The baggage team has specially trained non-commissioned officers in charge of these, so it doesn't take an hour and a half to assemble these equipment, and it won't take too long, and the subordinates have already asked the people below to start assembling them."

Li Chenfeng pondered in his mind for a while, and said, "Very good, in this way, after the soldiers have finished eating." We can start the operation, so let's get the soldiers to hurry up and eat, and let's attack the city overnight. ”

Dozens of large catapults were assembled in the afterglow of the setting sun, and soldiers placed polished stone bullets around them, as well as thunderbolts and fire oil bombs. The sky gradually darkened, a bright moon hung in the sky, and the black night shrouded the whole land.

Under the night, with the sound of "squeak" and "squeak", the catapult moved forward slowly, the siege distance of the large catapult was only more than a thousand meters, and the medium-sized one was only 800 meters, and the distance of more than 1,000 meters tossed for half an hour, but in half an hour, the soldiers of the north of the state at the head of Chengle County were nervous, and they did not dare to be careless at all, waiting for the Xiaoguo army under the city to attack the city.

In the camp of the Xiaoguo Army, Li Chenfeng and the generals were eating dinner, chatting and laughing without hurry, and the crescent moon outside had climbed the willow tops, and the soldiers of the Bingzhou North Army in Chengle County had been waiting from dusk until midnight, and the early stage was fine. Outside the city, there was still the movement of the Xiaoguo army, but after the catapult entered the firing range, just when the guards of Chengle County were waiting for the Xiaoguo army to attack, the Xiaoguo army on the opposite side died down, except for the darkness, more than a hundred huge shadows, there was no movement. This feeling of not being up or down is very depressing, people's spirits cannot be tense for a long time, after waiting for more than an hour, the Xiaoguo army still did not move at all, and the soldiers at the head of the city naturally relaxed.

"Damn, if you want to fight, be happy, get that half-hung thing, can't go up or down. It's not a fucking thing. "A defender is leaning on the battlements, and no one can stand the high tension for a long time, and the other party is in such a big formation, and the result is that the thunder is loud and the rain is not refreshing.

Not only ordinary soldiers, but also the officers and generals defending the city, all had ugly faces. Whoever has been tossed for a long time, and there is no movement, he will also be uncomfortable.

"General, it seems that those Xiaoguo troops are just making a show, and they haven't moved for so long, could it be that they are playing tricks, why don't we send a strange army to kill them and set fire to those catapults outside." Above the east city gate, the partial general Feng Ming said angrily to Cao Liejian, the main general beside him.

Cao Lie, the chief general of the Chengle County garrison, looked at the shadows outside the city fixedly, and stood at the head of the city silently. His eyes flickered and he looked into the dark night in the distance, and said: "You are not allowed to go out of the city, this is likely to be a trap set by the other party, send more soldiers to keep vigil in turn, and rest the soldiers to rest, the other party may be a tired strategy, and it is more likely to lure the enemy, we should not move to respond to all changes." As long as Chengle County is not lost, there will be no problems in Dingxiang Mansion, and this city is related to the overall situation of our and the Northern Army, and there can be no changes. ”

Although Cao Lie was eager to lead his army to rush out, he knew his duty better. Now he is the commander of the defenders of Dingxiang Mansion, responsible for the security of this important place in Dingxiang Mansion. As long as this Chengle County is not lost, there will be no problems in the surrounding counties. Then, there will be no major changes in the entire Dingxiang Mansion. But if this Chengle County is broken by the Xiaoguo army, then this Dingxiang Mansion will have no danger to defend, and it will be broken by the Xiaoguo army, and it will be an overnight thing. Although he is not optimistic about fighting the Xiaoguo army to the death, but now they have no other way.

I have to say that at this moment, Cao Lie regretted that he had not been able to persuade Cao Gang to refuse the Turks to get too close. Even if they get too close, they should not indulge the Turkic cavalry to plunder in the northern part of Bingzhou. As a result, the people of the entire prefecture and county in the northern region of Bingzhou now have an attitude of dissupport for the northern army of Bingzhou. Otherwise, how could the Northern Army of Bingzhou, which was on the holding side, be so passive? However, now these things are irreparable, and I can only think about it in my heart, and I can't buy regret medicine......

The camp of the Xiaoguo Army is different from the tense atmosphere of the defenders of Chengle County, and the soldiers and generals here do not have the tension when the big war is coming. It seems that they did not look too hard at the big battle in front of them.

"Li Shuai, I heard that the Yongjun forces in the south of Bingzhou have also intervened in the north?" Qin Daolin asked with a smile.

Li Chenfeng nodded and said, "Don't forget, this annexed state was originally Situ Lei's sphere of influence, and now it has been divided by Situ Lei to his fourth son Situ Tai." As the governor of the state, how could Situ Tai not care about the territory of his jurisdiction being occupied by others? Especially since it is our Xiaoguo Army that is about to occupy this place, he will not be able to live in peace. Situ Tai intervened in it, naturally he didn't want us to gain a foothold in the north of Bingzhou, and then bring him too much threat and oppression. ”

"Situ Tai? Isn't this the guy who defeated Murong Cheng, the king of Qi, at Bishui Pass? Ichizo was surprised.

"That's right, it's him, but although he defeated Murong Cheng in Yongzhou, he didn't seem to be favored by Situ Lei, and the princes were divided, and this prince, who had made great contributions to the forces of the Yongjun army, was assigned to this half of the state and became the governor of the state. In fact, Situ Tai should appear in Bishui Pass and Tiger Prison Pass is the most beneficial to the Yongjun forces. Qin Daolin shook his head and said. He also understands Situ Tai, after all, they are going to carry out operations in the land of merging states, and the opponent must be understood.

Li Chenfeng said with a smile: "Actually, Situ Lei is helpless to do this. Because of the usurpation of the throne, he was crusaded against by the princes of the world and the former Dayan courtiers, even within the sphere of influence of the Yongjun, there are also signs of instability. In order to shock the local forces, Situ Lei had no choice but to assign several of his capable sons and people from the Situ family to various state capitals. ”

And now Situ Lei's own health is sick, and the incident of Wang Shizi some time ago is an omen. The reason why Situ Tai, who had made great contributions, was placed in Bingzhou, in addition to maintaining the northern defense line, was also to prepare for his eldest son in Yongzhou to take over when he suddenly had an accident. After all, only when the eldest son is on the throne can a series of troubles be calmed down. Of course, if he Situ Lei was fine after quelling Murong Cheng's crusade, it would naturally be a different matter. ”

Qin Daolin shook his head and smiled: "I'm afraid that none of Situ Lei's sons are willing, if Situ Lei has an accident, can his eldest son be in charge of the Yongjun power banner, let's talk about it." However, this has nothing to do with us, the defeat of the Yongjun forces is beneficial to us......