Volume 5 Chapter 63: North and South Rise Together
At noon, beside the west fork of the Yellow River North Road.
A strong warhorse wearing a layer of leather armor and a leather mask tried hard to carry its master out from the gap in the north. There, people and horses were already close to each other, and the armor was so dense that the flags could not be unfolded at all, and the flashes of the weapons' blades were almost connected under the reflection of the midday sun.
The Song army's heavily armored long axemen and the Jin army's heavily armored cavalry swarmed in the front line, hacking and killing each other regardless of casualties. And extending a little bit outward, the heavy arrows and powerful crossbows of both sides, although the accidental injury rate was alarming, still did not dare to stop for a moment.
This gap, which is only two miles wide, has become a meat grinder. It just depends on who can't hold on first.
It can only be said that it was lucky for this warhorse and his master to be able to escape from the battle group, especially as they were heavy armored cavalrymen from the Jin army, whose goal was to break through this gap.
However, soon after the warhorse escaped from the battle group, it quickly slowed down on the bank of the Yellow River, whistling constantly, and then instinctively retracted its hind legs. It turned out that someone had cut a hole in the right hind leg of the majestic warhorse at some unknown time and place, and the skin was torn while running, and was hanging on the leg, so that bright red blood kept oozing out along the exposed wound and flowing along the torn skin onto the ground.
Even when it left the core of the battlefield where the temperature was relatively high and arrived at the riverside, a thin layer of white mist rose around the wound in the winter chill.
The Jurchen knight on the horse looked back and obviously noticed this, but the adrenaline brought by the previous battle in the core of the battle group was still working. He almost didn't hesitate for a moment, and directly swung the broken spear in his hand and hit the horse's butt hard, while exerting force with the spurs under his feet. The horse felt pain, turned on the spot, and continued to gallop. According to the master's signal, it went straight to a group of civilians dozens of steps away. The knight immediately threw down the spear, took a fist-thick cavalry hammer from his waist, and then raised it high.
These laborers were digging a new trench hastily under the orders of several soldiers... There was no other way. The fighting on the front was fierce, and casualties continued. As more and more wounded and bodies were carried to the back, the laborers were obviously afraid of the front. Coupled with a night of fatigue, many people refused to work anymore, so that the Song army had to use something like a supervision team to force these laborers to come to the rear of the gap and continue to build a second line of defense in order to further hinder the Jin cavalry.
As for the front line, the supervision team has been used long ago.
But no matter what, at this moment these civilians suddenly saw Jurchen heavily armored cavalry crossing the front line, riding on majestic war horses like iron towers, and then waving hammers at them, and they were immediately frightened and fled.
The few soldiers could only hastily pick up their weapons and try to stop them.
An arrow was shot first and pierced the leather armor on the warhorse's neck.
This arrow actually did not cause any substantial damage to the warhorse, but the arrowhead pierced the leather armor and the neck, which had an inexplicable miraculous effect... Not only did the warhorse's momentum slow down, but it also kept twisting its long neck and spinning on the spot to avoid the pain on its neck. During this gap, two Song soldiers holding spears had already taken the opportunity to rush forward, trying to stab the Jurchen knight who had obviously lost his weapon with their spears from the left and right.
Upon seeing this, the Jurchen knight cursed and reined in his horse again, while also being prepared to abandon his horse if necessary. However, unexpectedly, a thick arrow suddenly shot from behind, brushing against the armor of the still spinning Jurchen knight and hitting a Song army spearman in the face.
The knight looked back and saw that it was a fellow Jin soldier in heavy armor who had lost his horse. He was overjoyed, but had no time to thank him or anything. He just called out and called on the soldier in heavy armor to follow him. Ignoring the horse's neighing, he pulled out the arrow from the horse's neck with all his strength, forcibly reined in the horse, and prepared to charge again.
Seeing this, another Song army spearman was immediately frustrated and simply turned and fled with his spear. The knight was even more delighted, but his battlefield experience told him that the spearman had not let go of his spear, which might be a trick, and he should hand it over to his comrade who had a bow in his hand. So he ignored the spearman and turned directly to the Song army archer who had shot the arrow before.
The warhorse galloped past the archer's side, and the Jurchen knight hit the archer, who was obviously in a panic and about to escape, from behind with just one hammer.
However, when the knight succeeded in his attack, he reined in his horse and turned around, only to be shocked to find that his comrade who had helped him by shooting an arrow had disappeared without a trace. He had no idea when and how he died, and even his body was hard to find.
Of course, this Jurchen knight was not sympathizing with the world, but he rushed here alone, and the role of his comrades was beyond doubt. The other party had just saved his life, which was a clear proof. He was panicked when he suddenly lost his only comrade. And since he was panicked, coupled with the cold wind blowing by the river, the energy he had brought to the main battlefield was suddenly removed.
The knight began to have some doubts.
In fact, his worries were not wrong. When the surrounding Song soldiers came to their senses, they saw that there was only one knight. The knight had lost his weapon and his horse's leg was half broken and bloody. Sure enough, someone immediately started shouting and greeting on the battlefield. Then the knight saw seven or eight Song soldiers gathering together, with bows, crossbows, spears and shields, and coming towards him.
At this moment, the knight dared not to fight back, nor did he dare to go back to the gap that was like a meat grinder. Instead, he hesitated for a moment, turned his horse's head, and prepared to gallop towards the group of scattered civilians again.
But when they were about to catch up with one of the more obvious groups of civilians, suddenly, the warhorse stumbled, flipped over, and knelt down in a small trench that had been dug... The reason why this group of civilians could stay together when they fled was because someone called and led them to hide behind this newly dug trench.
That was not all. After the warhorse staggered, it did not throw the knight out at all because the horse was not going very fast. It just made the knight feel stuffy in the chest and dizzy, and his feet were trapped in the stirrups, causing him to lose control for a while.
The knight knew it was a life-and-death situation. Despite not having the strength to open his eyes, he squeezed the horse's belly with all his strength and pulled the reins at the same time, trying to pull the horse up.
And this majestic warhorse did not disappoint its owner. Its strong vitality and obedience acquired through years of training allowed it to raise one of its front hooves with all its strength, ready to rescue its owner.
But at this moment, an axe that was obviously not standard equipment but looked more like an axe used for logging suddenly appeared and chopped almost flatly at the warhorse's raised front hoof. The axe was stuck under the warhorse's knee, and blood gushed out. The warhorse was completely unable to support itself, and let out another whine and knelt down again.
"Grab his hammer!"
The Jin army knight was in great pain, but he could still hear someone shouting and gasping beside him. After hearing this, he quickly swung the cavalry hammer in his hand, trying to stop the other party.
However, he would have been fine if he didn't swing it, but when he swung it with all his strength, the hammer slipped out of his hand.
The laborer who had chopped off the horse's hooves before, Zhou Bin, was now in a state of disarray, his eyes red. He instinctively tried to pick up the hammer, and at the same time shouted to his fellow laborers:
"Pull him down! Hold him down! I'm going to finish him off!"
The civilians were not fools. When they saw that reinforcements were about to arrive, the Jin army cavalryman could not move. They rushed forward. Seven or eight of them pulled his arms and grabbed his helmet. They successfully dragged him off the horse and held down his limbs.
Poor Jurchen Puliyan, he was an old soldier who had experienced hundreds of battles. Now he lost his footing and was surrounded. How could he resist even if he struggled hard?
In a moment, he was pressed into the trench by these civilians, in the red mud stained with horse blood.
"Xiao Yi, come and lift his mask, don't let him bite you!" Zhou Bin picked up the cavalry hammer, walked to the side of the other's head, clenched his hands, and yelled orders to a slightly younger civilian beside him.
Xiao Yi, trembling with fear and in a hurry, quickly rode onto the cavalryman, then tried to remove the mask. He first tried to pull it down, and when that failed, he quickly pushed it upwards. Sure enough, the mask was pushed open, revealing a face that was about forty years old, with a rough appearance, but there was no essential difference between it and the surrounding civilians.
The face was staring at the person riding on him, with an obvious look of panic and pleading, but Xiao Yi was just at a loss.
Zhou Bin, who was squatting beside the knight, was slightly stunned when he saw this expression, but it was just a moment. The next moment, Captain Zhou, who had experienced too many things, did not hesitate. He raised the fist-thick cavalry hammer in his hand high up, and smashed it hard at the area under the opponent's eyes!
After one blow, everything was a mess of blood and flesh!
After two blows of hammer, the civilians around noticed that the cavalryman had lost all his strength and his whole body became loose!
After three blows, the face of this Jurchen knight from Guantao was no longer just red, but black, white, red, and yellow, all mixed together.
After killing this man, Zhou Bin did not stop at all. He just stood up and took the cavalry hammer in his hand and quickly made another assignment: "Lao Zhang, you go and lead them to continue repairing the trench. Dabao, Erbao, you two brothers quickly strip off his armor and hand it over to the officers of the Imperial Camp. Xiaoyi, you come with me to report the achievement to this garrison!"
The seven or eight Song soldiers who were preparing to surround and kill the Jin knight had actually already arrived dozens of steps away. However, seeing that the captain lured the enemy first and killed them later, and after three hammer strikes, he did not stop for a moment and distributed the weapons so calmly, they were already shocked. How could they still have the slightest intention of stealing the credit?
In the end, he was actually led by the village chief in a daze to go to the nearest flag to find the officer to report his achievement.
The nearest flag was just two hundred steps away. The general under his command was a commander named Zhang Kui. He was a veteran of the Red Heart Team. After accumulating merit at Yaoshan, he was transferred out of the Imperial Guard and served in the Right Army of the Imperial Camp. He quickly became the commander, but he had not fought in a battle for a long time and had no military achievements in leading troops in an organized manner, so he had never been able to cross the biggest step.
Without further ado, Zhang Kui had actually noticed the commotion caused by the gap further west a long time ago. He watched the scene coldly, and then listened attentively to the slightly nervous report of merit by the military scholar and the garrison commander. After everything was settled, he mounted his horse and headed eastward from here.
On the east side, there were thousands of Song soldiers lined up in neat rows. Although they were not a group of soldiers armed with long axes and heavy infantry, they had long spears and large crossbows, and were equipped with swords, shields, bows and arrows.
Zhang Kui walked straight to the largest flag in the row of troops, bowed, and made a suggestion.
"Leave a small gap along the river in the west, and your troops will set up a net in the rear to wait for them." Tian Shizhong, who had just returned from the front line, frowned slightly when he heard this. "Is it because the area along the river in the west can no longer hold out?"
“No, it’s just that I saw the tense situation at the front line with heavy casualties, while we were lined up in the rear and couldn’t go forward to help, and I couldn’t bear it.” Zhang Kui bowed in response.
"You are also worried that you won't get any credit, and you won't even be able to become a commander after the Northern Expedition is over, right?" Tian Shizhong said coldly. "Zhang Kui, do you think this is still a peaceful time, and this place is still the place where Jingdong is stationed? Do you think that without a leader of the Red Heart Team, Commander Liu will lose the ten secret letter boxes of the Right Army of the Imperial Camp?"
"I dare not!" Zhang Kui bowed his head quickly. "I have no selfish motives, I just consider the war situation."
"What the hell!" Tian Shizhong finally got angry. "Didn't you just see that there was still enough manpower for this battle, so you got selfish? Open your eyes and look at me. The battle ahead is so fierce. If we retreat and the situation collapses, who will be responsible? And don't we need to attack the city after this battle? Yuancheng is so big, with a circumference of more than 40 miles. The lowest part of the city wall is 30 feet high, and there are 70 or 80 towers, which is equivalent to eight famous cities... I don't know how much effort it will take? Get back with me! Guard the headquarters and wait for the order to attack!"
Zhang Kui fled in a panic.
After Zhang Kui left, Tian Shizhong's face darkened. He shifted his attention back to the battle line in front, but he couldn't help taking off his leather gloves and holding them tightly in his hands.
Moreover, as the actual commander of this battle, Tian Shizhong certainly had a higher perspective. Just as Zhang Kui did not care about the death of a single soldier, how could he care about the thoughts of a commander? He should have only cared about one thing at the beginning, that is, to hold the gap and ensure that the Jin army could not break through this line of defense.
However, from a macro perspective, this strategic goal was actually achieved from the moment the fighting began.
When the two armies met on a narrow road, they were fighting for their lives. If they could hold on, they would hold on, and if they couldn't, they would not. The Song army obviously held on. Not only did they hold on, they also had enough troops to set up a second line of defense in the rear.
Therefore, in this situation, just as Zhang Kui began to think about participating in the war and making meritorious contributions, Tian Shizhong, who had just returned from the front line, actually had some ideas - although he had been mentally prepared, the elite troops of the two armies were crowded in a narrow space, unable to advance or retreat, and could only consume each other's lives. This made Tian Shizhong, who had not fought a hard battle in several years, a little panicked. What he was worried about now was, what if this battle destroyed the three thousand long axe and heavy infantry and the foundation passed down to him by his father-in-law?
To put it bluntly, he was a little frightened by the cruelty and intense consumption on the front line.
But I have to say that no matter how worried you are, the current situation is that you cannot risk breaking the front line by making any replacements. You can only wait for the navy ships to arrive, and use the eight-ox crossbows and artillery carts to turn the tide of the war starting from the Ali tribe.
The sun gradually moved again, and as it was afternoon, the battlefield became more and more chaotic.
Fierce fighting was still going on at the gap in the front line. The Jin army still broke through the defense line on the east side of the Yongji Canal from time to time. At the same time, behind the second line of defense of the Song army, no less than seven or eight hundred corpses were lying there, and thousands of wounded were forced to be placed in the open air. Screams and groans were everywhere.
It's funny to say that in the morning, the civilians who were so frightened by the casualties that they needed a supervision team to maintain order, became much quieter when they saw more and more corpses and wounded people. They just kept digging trenches despite feeling extremely tired.
Of course, Zhang Kui finally got the chance to go into battle and fill a gap.
It was at this time that the river channel of the eastern branch of the Yellow River North Road was finally cleared, and the ships of the Song Army's Imperial Camp Navy were finally in place, and soon launched a salvo at the Ali tribe.
This time, the Eight-Ox Crossbows on the small steamer that were almost on the verge of being eliminated worked wonders. With one shot, three crossbow arrows as strong as iron spears were shot out directly and levelly, taking advantage of the height of the steamer. They were just within the maximum range of six or seven hundred steps and were pressed down to the ground. Combined with the densely packed Jin army, the lethality of this weapon reached a certain limit.
Often, a single shot of three arrows could instantly render dozens of people incapable of combat, with blood and flesh flying everywhere, or even limbs separated on the spot.
In comparison, all the artillery on a large ship that relies on projectile trajectories combined would probably not be as lethal as the eight-ox crossbow on a small ship.
There were a total of eight of these small steamers equipped with eight-ox crossbows in the Imperial Camp Navy.
By the end of the third round of salvos, the casualties caused to the Ali tribe by the naval attack had reached the total casualties in the ground combat in the previous morning.
What's more fatal is that faced with this unexpected and visually stunning attack, the Jin army of the Ali tribe finally began to waver. They no longer maintained their formation and battlefield discipline, and without waiting for Ali's military orders to be conveyed, they took the initiative to gather and squeeze towards the inner direction of the Yongji Canal to avoid the attack of the Eight Ox Crossbows.
For a moment, a blank area of seven or eight hundred steps was left on the narrow land north of the defense line, adjacent to the Yellow River channel on the east side.
Faced with such a situation, the Jurchen veteran Wanhu Ali, who was over 50 years old, was a little hesitant. But when he noticed that the two northernmost large ships had given up bombarding the river bank with artillery and turned directly to the north, he finally made up his mind and rode his horse directly onto the extremely simple floating bridge on the Yongji Canal.
Soon, they arrived under the Shaohe flag which was almost level with their own flag.
"Retreat!"
Ali got straight to the point. "It won't work in half a day, and it won't work in another half a day. Don't waste your troops here!"
Shaohe looked at Ali coldly and said, "If you can't charge a hundred or eighty cavalrymen back and forth, can you still call yourself a cavalryman?"
"There are ships of the Imperial Navy on the east river, all equipped with crossbows... Seven or eight hundred steps along the river, we can no longer stand." Ali said slowly with a blank expression. "Although I don't know what the situation is under the city, it is definitely weaker than us and can't hold back many people... If I were Yue Fei, I would definitely send a troop out along the east river to surround us from both sides."
"It won't be too late to retreat after they come out." Shao He hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. "There may still be soldiers in Yuancheng trying desperately to hold on to Yue Fei, waiting for us to get there."
"The Song army has already sent a ship to Guantao." Ali finally revealed the last fatal information. "If Guantao is taken by the Song navy and the Song army on the other side of the river... and then another army is sent from here along the east river to surround and bite us, our 20,000 people will be doomed."
Shao He finally changed color, but was puzzled: "Why does the Song army have so many soldiers?"
"It should be that the elite troops of the imperial camp who were withdrawn from the three states were dispatched here in advance... It's not 30,000 per city against 50,000, but 30,000 per city against 60,000 or 70,000." Ali remained calm. "The military strength was calculated from the beginning."
Shao He was filled with indignation: "Wang Bolong relied on his position to disobey the orders of the commander-in-chief, and even made mistakes in his work due to his greed for merit!"
"Listen to me." Ali sighed. "Shaohe, I know you and General Gao are old friends, and General Gao used to be evasive, hinting that he was a Goryeo, but in recent years he has gradually made it clear that he is a Bohai... After the departure of Brother Da (white on top and big on bottom), he has become the backbone of you Bohai people... It is normal for you to be afraid of him. But things are not that bad. Yuancheng is dozens of miles in circumference, with a total of 10,000 households in the city, and several thousand Bohai and Goryeo warriors that General Gao has gathered in advance, plus the 20,000 to 30,000 civilians recruited later. We also have sufficient supplies and weapons. We can still defend if we want, especially before this month, our reinforcements should arrive."
Shao He was still emotional, but he lowered his head and glanced around on his horse, then said coldly: "General Ali, I remember when I was still a marching officer, I heard of your name. You dared to contradict even several princes in person. Why are you so patient and persuasive now? Is it really because you are old and believe in Buddhism?"
Ali was silent for a while before he calmly responded, "I do believe in Buddhism, but this matter has nothing to do with it. I just gradually realized that if you want to persuade people, there is no benefit in speaking harshly. It is better to speak kindly and honestly to them."
Shaohe let out a long breath, then looked up and remained silent for a while.
"Your troops have suffered heavy casualties." Ali remained calm. "Retreat first, I'll cover your rear... But if you retreat now, they can't outflank you, and most of them are infantry, so they probably won't chase you."
"Wave the flag! Blow the horn!" Shao He finally stopped being so angry and gave the order. "Withdraw carefully! Be sure to take the wounded with you!"
The surrounding Jin troops had been waiting for this order for a long time. When they heard it, they immediately left. Ali also turned around to dispatch troops.
Just like that, the war ended suddenly, and the Jin army was the first to collapse... This was certainly not a surprise, but it still made many Song soldiers fighting on the front line overjoyed... Many people who were blood-thirsty ignored military orders and chased directly out of the gap, but soon encountered a counterattack from the Jin army and even collapsed for a time.
Fortunately, the Song army hastily raised the second line of defense, which stabilized the situation and the Jin army did not linger on.
The war ended very suddenly, not only at the gap. When the people on the city wall saw the reinforcements withdrawing, the Jin cavalry under the city also chose to withdraw at the signal from the people on the city wall... and Yue Fei did not even let his Beiwei Army risk crossing the Yongji Canal from the rear to block the Jin Army's route back to the city, but just let them enter the city.
Of course, there were various reasons for doing so. For example, there were many corner towers in the northwest of Daming City. If they fought below the city, they would be easily attacked from above. For another example, the artificial river of Yongji Canal was neither wide nor narrow, and there were no dense pontoon bridges laid inside the northern positions, so it might not be enough. For another example, Gao Jingshan was also a smart man. He even let some Jin cavalry take a detour to the safest southeast water gate to enter the city.
But reasons are just reasons after all. Not doing something is not doing it, but you could have done so.
This caused heavy losses to the subordinates, especially Division Tian, who fell into extreme anxiety when he discovered that the death rate of his own long-axe heavy infantry was as high as 20%.
That’s right, it’s not resentment or dissatisfaction, but uneasiness... After such a long time, although Tian Shizhong cannot be said to know Yue Fei intimately, he has somewhat understood the other’s temper.
"marshal!"
In the afternoon, after hastily assigning the frontline affairs, Tian Shizhong galloped to Yue Fei's four-character banner and asked hurriedly without getting off his horse. "The enemy's army is in a great rout, and the city must be shaken. Moreover, such a large city is dozens of miles around, and there will always be loopholes. Why not blow up the city with gunpowder tonight, and then recruit death squads to attack. Once successful, we can succeed and achieve a miracle?"
Yue Fei shook his head: "General Tian, if that was your plan, I should have spared no casualties and kept the cavalry outside the city as much as possible..."
Upon hearing this, Tian Shizhong sighed softly, and then stared at the other party again, almost helplessly: "Then what do you want to do?"
"General Tian, this is what I think." Yue Fei suddenly raised his hand, and the surrounding soldiers and horses moved away like a tide. Even the soldiers holding the banner took the initiative to evacuate. After the surrounding soldiers had moved away, the Marshal of the Hebei Front Army of the Song Dynasty calmly reined in his horse and responded. "As for the matter of bombing the city with gunpowder, as long as we store it properly and don't let it get wet, then whether it is successful or not, it should be the same in principle..."
"You want to wait and delay the main force of the Jin army? Are you afraid that the Jin army reinforcements will not come after seeing the loss of Damingfu, but will turn back to Taiyuan?" Tian Shizhong almost blurted out. "Isn't that right? You crossed the river to break the city, but more importantly, you wanted to use the break the city as a means to help the government contain the main force of the Jin army, right? From the beginning, you had a big plan! From the beginning, you crossed the river to target the main force of the Jurchen army! You wanted to wait until the main force of the Jurchens came, and then break the city! Is that right?"
Yue Fei responded calmly: "Brother Tian, you are wise!"
"But you also saw today that the Jin army's fighting power is still intact. Our army fought with two Wanhu in the wilderness, and both sides suffered heavy losses. If the main force of the Jin army arrives, will our army be able to blow up the city in time?" Tian Shizhong was furious. "If it's too late, the main force of 60,000 to 70,000 will be overthrown by the Jin army's 14, 15, and 10,000 Wanhu here in the wilderness. Can it make the government feel at ease?"
"So we must continue to build fortifications, leaving no gaps, and not fight in the wild!" Yue Fei remained calm. "Look at the situation today. If the fortifications are complete and there are no gaps, can we defend properly?"
Tian Shizhong shook his horse for a moment, obviously understanding, but shook his head heavily: "How much cultivation do you need to achieve?"
"Simple." Yue Fei stood on his horse and pointed at the mountains and rivers. "Yuancheng is at the narrowest part of the Yellow River, only 13 or 14 miles from east to west. We have already built such a line of defense in the north, so why not build one in the south as well, and then build another line along the west river bank, and also build a line of defense on the east river bank, and connect it with Damingcheng, and by the way, sail on land again, so that the navy can run parallel along the river..."
Tian Shizhong was almost dizzy: "You might as well say that you want to build a city here to surround Yuancheng!"
"So what if it's just for building a city?" Yue Fei obviously didn't care. "Build a city with a circumference of dozens of miles, or even a hundred miles..."
"How can we defend such a big city?" Tian Shizhong was still uneasy.
"Why can't they defend it?" This time it was Yue Fei's turn to frown. "Before the freezing, if there were naval forces on both sides of the waterway, even if the main force of the Jin army arrived, it would be useless and they could only deploy their forces from north to south. But you can see the situation today. They can't deploy their forces... They can defend it as firmly as Mount Tai."
"Of course I know, the key is what happens after the frost is frozen?" Tian Shizhong laughed in anger and interrupted him directly. "How can we resist? If we can't resist, we will just put all our eggs in one basket and blow up the city with gunpowder? Aren't you most afraid of such a desperate gamble? What if the gunpowder fails... all the troops, the fortune of a country, and ten years of hard work will be ruined here?"
"This is the key." Yue Fei pointed to the huge Yuancheng in front of the two. "I asked General Zhang, and he told me that the freezing period is at most forty days, but in fact it should only be thirty days. Let's not talk about gunpowder, let's just talk about one thing... If Gao Jingshan can defend this forty-li city with a circumference of 50,000 and more than 10,000 men for fifty or sixty days, why can't we defend a city with a circumference of 100 li for thirty or forty days with 60,000 to 70,000 soldiers and 70,000 to 80,000 civilians? This place is not even as big as Dongjing City. Are our troops not as good as those imperial guards ten years ago? But didn't Dongjing City defend for several months before the people in the city surrendered?"
Tian Shizhong was speechless, but he shook his head again and again: "Even though this place has the advantage of being on both sides of the river, it is a hasty fortification. How can it compare to Tokyo City?"
"Build earthen ramparts inside to surround Yuancheng, so that the soldiers inside cannot break out; build earthen ramparts outside, build trenches, erect barricades, and set up fences; build earthen hills in the middle, set up artillery vehicles, divide the camps, and arrange them layer by layer... As for the logistical preparations, I also asked Tang Huai to go behind to attack the Jin army's water strongholds immediately. After 40 days of logistical preparations, it will definitely be successful." Yue Fei spread his hands in response. "Please tell me clearly, brother Tian, why can't we defend it?"
Tian Shizhong had a gloomy face, pinched the warhorse's mane, and said nothing.
Yue Fei knew that the other party had surrendered, but he narrowed his eyes and looked around with disdain: "To put it bluntly, we should defend the city the same way as Taiyuan and Yuancheng... Just now Gao Jingshan sent someone to tell me that as long as he is in Yuancheng, Yuancheng will not be shaken by me... I also have something to say today, as long as I set up a fort here, even the Jin army can't shake it! Let you come! I have been waiting for them for ten years!"
Tian Shizhong just looked at the other party while panting, but gradually loosened his hold on the warhorse's mane - he had never succeeded in resisting the other party once.
