During this period of long-term tug of war with Sun Xiaozhe, the Anxi Army itself also suffered certain losses. Even if all the recruits from the forward selection battalion were added to the team, the overall size would only reach just over 20,000. Compared with the rebels, they do not have an absolute advantage in numbers. Therefore, there are not many soldiers assigned to each Xinke city. It is enough to defend oneself by occupying the city, but it is not possible to intercept the enemy's reinforcements.
Song Wu was a cautious person. Since he couldn't block the enemy's reinforcements, he simply stayed behind closed doors. Seeing that Song Wu was showing weakness, Cui Yunqi suddenly became ruthless and blocked the east gate of Jingyang City with his camp. He ordered his subordinates to cut down trees, and rushed to build ladders, rams and other siege equipment at starry night. They would not give up until the city was captured.
It was the middle of winter, and the north wind outside the city was as sharp as a knife. Even through the big cowhide tent, the chill was forced into my bones. Therefore, after only two days of wood cutting, dozens of people in the army fell ill because they could not bear the cold. Especially the newly recruited soldiers from Tongzhou, Fangzhou and other places cried bitterly all day long with their fingers as cold as white radishes. Even if the officials whipped them with whips, they could not stop their screams.
If this continues, even if Jingyang can be captured, no one will have the strength to support Chang'an. Huaihua General Qin Degang couldn't understand what Cui Yunqi was doing, so he found an opportunity he thought was suitable and whispered a reminder: "According to the Anxi Army intelligence report from Luoyang, Song Wu is the third-ranking figure in the army, and he has always done things well. Known for his stability. We only have five thousand brothers on hand. If he is determined to live or die with the city"
"Yes, yes!" Liu Guizhe, the General of Guards, happened to come in to report on the progress of making the ladder. Hearing Qin Degang's words, he quickly cleared his nose and spoke up. "This place is only about forty miles away from Chang'an. The Jingshui River and the Weishui River are frozen, so you can walk there everywhere. If our army goes all out, it will take about half a day at most to reach the north gate of Chang'an City. By then"
"Chi!" Cui Yunqi let out a contemptuous sneer through his nostrils, stuffing the second half of Liu Guizhe's sentence back into his throat. "Does General Yang know the time and place well? He even knows when the Jingshui and Weishui will freeze and whether the ice is hard enough?!"
"My subordinate, my subordinate used to work in the Longwu Army a few years ago. The military camp, the military camp is just north of Chang'an City." After being slapped in the face by his boss, Liu Guizhe didn't dare to be angry at all. He bowed his body and responded sarcastically.
"The same rebel general who lost the battle and was forced to surrender to the Yan Army, Huaide General Yang Xiwen was much more courageous than Liu Guizhe. Seeing that the former was so servile, he couldn't help but walked forward and bowed and said: "General Qi, General Mo and General Liu were stationed near Chang'an back then. At this time every year, they would ride their horses back and forth on the ice for several times. !¡±
¡°Why are you running back and forth a few times? See where you can set up an ambush and where you can set up traps?!¡± Cui Yunqi had never been very fond of such captured generals. He shrugged and asked with a sneer.
"This" Yang Xiwen took half a step back, his face as dark as an autumn eggplant. Cui Yunqi glanced at him coldly and continued to question: "What qualifications do you two have to interfere with the matters decided by this general? Are you so anxious to urge this general to go, do you want to send your brothers into Wang Mingyun's trap?" "
"I don't dare, I really don't dare. Your loyalty to the Yan Kingdom is a lesson to heaven and earth!" Yang Xiwen and Liu Guizhe shivered, and regardless of the grievances in their hearts, they knelt down straight. .
"Your loyalty to the Tang Dynasty back then is a lesson to the world?!" Cui Yunqi was unreasonable and continued to pursue and fight fiercely. "As a general, if you have neither strategy nor courage, then just do your job honestly. Don't always think that you are knowledgeable and point fingers everywhere. We Cui Jiajun doesn't have many brothers, and we can't stand up to outsiders. toss!"
Huaihua General Qin Degang was listening next to him, and his face felt hot. He endured it again and again, but finally couldn't hold it any longer. In the first half of the step, in the name of smoothing things over for Liu Guizhe and Yang Xiwen, he grinned and retorted: "The two of them also gave the general a suggestion out of good intentions. If the general feels it is inappropriate, he can just dismiss it. Why should he criticize too much?! Moreover, our army is indeed not sure that we can win Jingyang at a small cost. If we insist on attacking"
"Who said Cui was going to attack this city?!" Cui Yunqi originally wanted to use the opportunity to beat Qin Degang, so he interrupted him with a shrug and a smile.
"The general is not planning to attack the city?!" Qin Degang was completely confused by Cui Yunqi. He frowned and asked, "Since you are not planning to attack the city, why do you have people cutting down trees to make ladders? How many people will freeze in one night in this icy world? ah!"
¡°It¡¯s better to find something for them to do than to take them to die!¡± Cui Yunqi responded with his lips curled up, his fair face full of disdain."Send yourself to death?!" Qin Degang glanced at Cui Yunqi, and then at the two generals kneeling on the ground. After thinking for a long time, he hesitated and asked: "The general is saying that the enemy may have set up a trap for us to jump in front?! How did you see it? My subordinates really didn't think of this!"
"It's not possible, it's inevitable!" Cui Yunqi smiled coldly and said with great certainty, "How are the defense facilities in Chang'an and Xianyang? General Qin must also know it very well. It has been less than half a year since the Anxi Army returned to the Central Plains, even if it happens every day They are all recruiting and training soldiers, but they can't get 50,000 capable warriors. And no matter how poor Sun Xiaozhe's guys are, they can still get 20,000 brothers now. With 50,000 soldiers and horses to attack a famous city like Chang'an, there are still some soldiers stationed in the city. There are less than 10,000 defenders, do you think Wang Mingyun can hope to defeat them?"
"This" Qin Degang's face also turned red, not because of anger, but because of shame. After several contacts, the people of Dayan now regard the Anxi Army as an extremely important opponent. Therefore, the understanding of this army is far from what it was a few months ago. The approximate size of the army, the abilities, temperament and military preferences of the main generals, as well as the composition and combat effectiveness of the various parts of the army were all sent to the Yan court through various channels.
When An Lushan could still see, he ordered Yousi to copy the relevant information about the Anxi Army into a pamphlet and distribute it to the commanders of various armies. As Cui Qianyou's right-hand man, Qin Degang once read the pamphlet carefully. He knew that the Anxi Army was not large in size, and he also knew that Wang Xun was not a reckless man who acted impulsively regardless of the consequences.
Since Wang Xun is not a reckless man, it is impossible for him to attack Chang'an with only 20,000 brothers. Then, the true intention of the Anxi Army to push the front outside Chang'an City this time is obvious. Wang Xun tried to fish with a pole, and the bait tied to the hook was the two fortified cities of Chang'an and Xianyang. The reinforcements that rushed towards the two cities, no matter where they came from, were just stupid fish that were stunned by hunger. As long as they dare to come, they will not escape the fate of being lifted out of the water.
"They, they want to lay siege to the city for reinforcements!" Yang Xiwen and Liu Guizhe finally understood where they had made a mistake. They kowtowed in shame and repented in a low voice, "General, I am short-sighted. I just want to get there as soon as possible." When I rushed to Chang'an City, I really didn't expect this!"
"General, I was short-sighted and almost delayed your important event. But, I really didn't mean to push the brothers into the trap. General"
"Okay!" Cui Yunqi didn't have time to listen to the two people's chatter, so he interrupted impatiently, "If you want to push the brothers into the trap, you two have to be capable. Go down and do whatever you have to do, and don't worry about your responsibilities. Other things! Also, what you heard today must not be spread outside. Otherwise, once the defenders in the city know that Cui is deliberately using them to delay time, Cui will question you two!"
"I don't dare. I don't dare!"
"Remember it, general!" The two generals kowtowed again, got up with red faces, and scurried out with their heads in their hands. After running far away from the Chinese army's tent, Liu Guizhe turned around, glanced at it hatefully, and cursed in a low voice: "What the hell! The villain has succeeded. If your uncle hadn't been Cui Qianyou, where would it be your turn to have this army?" lead?!"
"Okay, we both got to this point by ourselves. No one is to blame!" Yang Xiwen wiped the blood seeping out of the corner of his mouth and advised in a low voice.
¡°Alas¡ª¡ª¡± Liu Guizhe sighed longly toward the sky, speechless.
That day in front of the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum, even if the two of them did not dismount and surrender, with their own skills, they might not be able to find a way out. Moreover, at the most critical moment of the battle, Wang Xun rushed over and snatched Wang Sili, Lu Chongben and other generals out from under Cui Qianyou's blade.
The rebels suffered a loss at the hands of Wang Xun, so of course they had to find a place to vent their grievances. The traitorous generals who voluntarily surrendered on the battlefield were the best targets for venting. Nowadays, no one under the Cui family army dares to blow his beard and stare at Liu and Yang. This time they came to aid Chang'an and sent the two of them over, always ready to serve as consumables on the front line of the battlefield.
¡®If I had known this, it would be better to die on the spot. At any rate, he has gained the reputation of being loyal and good, so that his ancestors, fathers, and descendants will not be able to hold their heads high in front of others. But where in the world can I buy regret medicine? ! Now even if I want to change my past, no one would dare to accept me! ¡¯ Thinking of this, Yang Xiwen also sighed quietly. "Forget it, let's take it one day at a time. Who knows whether it will be cloudy or sunny tomorrow!"
"Alas -" Liu Guizhe sighed again, wanting to say a few harsh words, but hesitated for a long time, but finally couldn't. The two returned to their respective camps in a dull manner, ate and slept in a dull manner. While he was tossing and turning, he remembered the past happy days in the Longwu Army, and his heart felt like a knife.
"Woo¡ª¡ª" A shrill warning sound pierced the night sky, streaking across the sky.??Everyone¡¯s dream. Liu Guizhe jumped up, put on his armor and pushed open the sleeping tent door. I saw thousands of stars rising from the field, rushing towards the camp like a tide.