met free Page 2282
Page 2282
The musketeers also lined up neatly to defend against the enemy.
The entire army has more than 40,000 people.
In front of Wanyan Chamu and Sarihe,
A large vehicle formation was constructed in the southwest and due south of Gaocheng.
The siege speed is extremely slow.
The army set off in the morning.
Pushing cannons and siege equipment,
The formation wasn't fully set up until noon.
Wanyan Zongwang even led the vanguard to the battlefield!
"The Ming army is about to attack the city,"
"Should we still fight a decisive battle outside the city?"
Wanyan Zongwang didn't understand.
Wanyan Chamu said, "No matter what the Liangshan emperor wants to do,"
"Anyway, it's in our favor,"
"We can join forces with the defenders to attack the enemy from both sides!"
Wanyan Zongwang said, "It's not clear from here."
"I went into the city myself to investigate the enemy's situation."
Wanyan Zongwang arrived at the northwest of Gaocheng by boat.
Quickly ascend the south city wall.
The gate tower on the south city wall,
There are also nearby arrow towers.
It has been completely destroyed by Ming army artillery.
"Greetings, Marshal!"
Sariho stepped forward to greet him.
Wanyan Zongwang asked, "How is the morale of the garrison?"
Sariho said, "Morale is alright."
"It's because the Ming army's artillery is so powerful,"
"The constant shelling is so annoying."
"The arrow towers on the south and east city walls are all gone,"
"Our troops can only shoot arrows while standing on the city wall."
Wanyan Zongwang did not ask any further questions.
Instead, they carefully observed the movements of the Ming army outside the city.
It was already past noon.
The Ming army relied on the chariot formation,
They were actually digging trenches and building fortifications.
To prevent the Jin cavalry from charging from the flanks and rear!
Based on this amount of work,
We definitely won't be attacking the city today.
Wanyan Zongwang said to the messenger:
“Tell Wanyan Zhamu,”
"Have him send cavalry to circle around to the east,"
"Investigate the true nature of the Liangshan Emperor's camp."
In the late afternoon,
The Jin cavalry, having completed their reconnaissance, rushed back to report:
"The Liangshan Emperor's camp is now empty."
"No laborers were brought to the siege,"
"There is still surplus grain and supplies,"
"They should have all retreated into Gucheng (Jinzhou City)."
Chapter 268 Restraining the Main Force
Gucheng is located thirty li east of Gaocheng.
The place was piled high with grain and fodder.
There were also 6,000 Hebei local soldiers recruited by Wang Yan defending the area.
Wanyan Zongwang was extremely surprised to hear this.
At the same time, he was furious.
Zhao Yuan's behavior showed too much contempt for the Jin soldiers.
This was after preparations for the siege were completed.
Move the main force camp directly outside the city.
It's like building a fortress right up close.
Moreover, they didn't bring much food.
At most, it's enough for ten days.
They seemed confident of breaching the city within ten days.
Wanyan Chamu also climbed the city wall, observed for a while, and said:
"It's to take advantage of the fact that the Ming army's camps haven't been completed yet,"
"Launch an immediate attack from all four sides!"
"Should we wait until they've exhausted their strength and morale in the siege before attacking?"
"Let them attack the city,"
"Move all of our main force here,"
"Surround the Ming army here completely,"
"Not a single grain of rations from the Ming army is allowed to be transported here."
Wanyan Zongwang said,
"If the garrison of Zhao Prefecture dares to come to the rescue,"
"Let's take out those reinforcements first,"
"I will surround and kill the Liangshan Emperor here!"
The Liangshan emperor is really bullying people.
They completely disregarded the Jin soldiers.
Wanyan Zongwang felt that he was being ignored.
Zhao Yuan held up the binoculars,
You can clearly see Wanyan Zongwang speaking.
Wanyan Zongwang constructed multiple pontoon bridges across the Qinshui River.
They attempted to create a rapid passage connecting the two battlefields.
This action made Zhao Yuan no longer want to tolerate it.
If I keep enduring it...
The initiative on the battlefield was seized by the Jin army.
.....
Guan Sheng received a handwritten letter from Zhao Yuan.
They also learned that the main force of the Jin army had gone to Gaocheng.
That very night, he led his troops to Zhao Prefecture.
After reading Zhao Yuan's handwritten letter, Zong Ze was speechless with astonishment:
Why would Your Majesty take such a risk?
"If he can't quickly break through Gaocheng,"
"Or perhaps they were defeated and surrounded by the Jin army during the siege,"
"The entire war situation in Hebei is about to fall into complete disarray!"
He circulated the handwritten letter among his generals.
Li Shifu exclaimed in amazement, "Your Majesty is too crazy when it comes to fighting!"
Guan Sheng said, "Your Highness has heavy armor and firearms."
"As long as the soldiers' provisions haven't run out,"
"We are definitely not afraid of the Jin soldiers."
Yue Fei said, "His Majesty is using himself as bait."
"Tether the main force of the Jin army to them."
"Wanyan Zongwang has mobilized so many Jin soldiers,"
"Our army's eastern and central routes,"
"It should go smoothly,"
"They might have already captured Hejian Prefecture."
Zong Ze shook his head and sighed: "The Jurchens have different ideas from us."
"They don't care about the city at all,"
"Even if the entire Hebei province is lost,"
"The Jin people don't care either."
"As long as we eliminate the Crown Prince's main force,"
"They can take back any number of cities they capture."
Zhao Yuan wanted to establish a foothold in various areas.
Using itself as bait
This attracted more Jin soldiers to engage in a decisive battle.
This would allow Deng Chun, Han Shizhong, Li Gong, Yang Zaixing, and others to quickly conquer cities and seize territory.
Wanyan Zongwang only wanted to eliminate Zhao Yuan's main force.
They would rather lose all those cities.
The current situation,
Both sides got what they wanted.
It was a perfect match.
Meng Bangjie, who had just surrendered, said: