Shi Le took a circuit and returned to the city from the north gate. He checked the number of soldiers and found that there were only thousands of soldiers on foot and cavalry.
He didn't have time to delay, and galloped directly on the street. After reaching the south wall, he got off his horse and went straight to the city head.
He was feeling a little anxious, the wounds on his body ached slightly, his legs and feet were a little sore, his temples were pounding, and he was breathing heavily. When the city guards saw him, they were dumbfounded and moved out of the way.
"How?" Shi Le went up to the city and immediately found Wang Yang and asked.
Wang Yang looked solemn and didn't say much. He just pointed to the outside of the city and said, "Your Majesty will know it at a glance."
Shi Le looked around and saw that on the vast land, corpses of men and horses were piled on top of each other, densely packed.
Countless prisoners lined up in a long queue, walking southward dejectedly.
He made a rough count and found that there were no fewer than five thousand people.
Thirty thousand infantrymen went out to fight in the city, and it is unknown how many were killed. The five thousand prisoners in front of them were solid, and it was really miserable.
Shao Xun actually doesn't have any fancy formations.
He stood on a high platform and did not have any outstanding command. He just gave an order when the time came, the army executed it, and then won, that's all.
It can be said that if he were replaced by a general with some experience, he would still be able to command like this and win the same victory.
Twelve thousand heavy infantrymen lined up in four small square formations on the front, rear, left and right to form a large formation. They could first withstand the cavalry charge, and then advance layer by layer. The infantry engaged in battle, destroying 30,000 of our own infantry in one fell swoop, driving them like sheep.
They rushed into the moat, passed the sheep and horse wall, and rushed to the city gate...
But he also understood that this was just his own unconvinced mentality.
Where can there be so much back and forth in a real battlefield?
In more than 90% of the field battles, the winner is decided within half an hour and the battle is over.
Besides, a force with such a low morale like them would be worthy of him if they didn't collapse at the first touch.
For Shao Xun, this was an extremely easy battle, far less intense than the Battle of Jamati.
The key now is——
"How many people have come back?" Shi Le grabbed Wang Yang and asked in a low voice.
As for the 40,000-strong army, even if they were densely packed together, they would still be in seven or eight square formations. He didn't believe that those who ran away first would not be able to come back.
"Only more than ten thousand people returned from the gates in the south of the city. The cavalry returned first, about three thousand, and the rest were mostly infantry." Wang Yang said, "I ordered arrows to be fired to close the city gate later. Thieves
The army was chasing so fast that they didn't dare to let anyone in anymore."
Having said this, Wang Yang felt a little ashamed.
"You did the right thing." Shi Le said: "If I hadn't made a decisive decision immediately, I might have allowed the rebel army to drive the defeated troops in."
Then he sighed.
There was a large amount of smoke and dust in the north of the city. It was the cavalry that followed him into battle. When they retreated, they left without saying goodbye.
He calculated the strength of the troops at hand and brought back two thousand cavalry and three thousand infantry. More than ten thousand people were defeated and retreated from the south of the city.
There are still 5,000 cavalry troops and 5,000 or 6,000 infantry troops in the city who have not yet gone into battle. These are the soldiers of Tao Bao, the prefect of Wei County. Their combat effectiveness is not good, so they were not allowed to go to battle at all this time.
In the areas south and east of Anyang, there are still thousands of riding horses active in the wild, and they will be of no use for a while.
What is really available now is actually only 17,000 to 8,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry, and with low morale and insufficient equipment, it will be very difficult.
Of course, theoretically speaking, there are more troops than this, because he also ordered a group of Yecheng men to be recruited and given equipment, which is also a force. But whether they can fight, only God knows.
"Your Majesty..." Wang Yang glanced at him cautiously, but hesitated to speak.
"Say." Shi Le waved his hand, but his eyes were still outside the city.
The five thousand prisoners were driven eastward by the Jin army and seemed to have begun building camps.
Wang Yang saw that Shi Le had noticed the movements of the Jin army, so he plucked up the courage and said, "Does the king still intend to defend Ye City?"
Shi Le didn't answer. He just looked at Wang Yang and said, "Continue talking."
"I think Shaoxun plans to besiege Yecheng." Wang Yang pointed outside and said: "His troops were originally stationed north of Caoqiao and south of Yecheng. Now they have divided their troops to the east of the city and started building camps. On the north side of the city
It seems that he has also sent people. If he is asked to dig trenches and build city walls, what do you think the king should do?"
From the moment Shao Xun's army arrived at Yecheng, the initiative was completely in his hands.
He could have dug huge trenches around Ye City, dug three layers of trenches, and diverted water to irrigate them.
The soil dug out of the trenches was tamped into a wall on the spot, and then we set up camp outside the triple trenches, built a high platform, and deployed bows and crossbows. How would we break out of the encirclement?
This is also the reason why Shi Le was unwilling to defend Yecheng.
Just three months of food and grass, if someone does this, the army will be hungry after three months, is it cannibalism?
Well, even if you can eat people, your morale will definitely be lower. When someone suddenly breaks in, large-scale defections will be inevitable.
It doesn't even have to wait until three months before someone surrenders.
I went out to the city to fight in the field today and came back with a huge defeat. The situation has not improved at all and has worsened. This battle can be regarded as lost.
Shao Xun's intention should not have changed, and he began to put it into practice: digging trenches and building walls to besiege Yecheng.
At the same time as the siege, there will definitely be an attack. On the one hand, it is to contain the defenders so that trenches can be dug outside the city. On the other hand, it is to take advantage of the low morale of the defenders to see if there is any advantage.
This is not——
"Dong dong dong..." The drums sounded, and the auxiliary soldiers of the Jin army who had not gone to war before were lined up in neat queues and slowly came closer. They were about to attack the city!
"Your Majesty, Shao Xun's troops are coming to Ye. The nearby Wubao Manor will definitely surrender and provide grain and soldiers. It will not take long to dig trenches and build walls. If you hesitate any longer, once Shao's thieves surround Ye City, they will not be able to leave.
Ah." Seeing that Shi Le didn't speak, Wang Yang was a little anxious.
Shi Le opened his mouth, but never said anything.
To put it bluntly, Yecheng is just a city built of earth, stone and wood. It is too large and requires too many troops to defend. There is no dangerous terrain around it, so it is easy to attack and difficult to defend.
From a military perspective, it is of little value.
But from a political perspective, it means too much.
The most famous city in Hebei, the hub of water transportation, the hegemony of Cao Wei...
These additions made Yecheng become very important.
He has been here for several years.
He encouraged farmers to teach, divided land and houses, wooed wealthy families, and trained soldiers. His second son was also born here.
Many of his generals were married to wealthy families in Yecheng.
He even planned to open a school here and let each general select his nephews and send them to study.
With so many plans and so many ties, how could we just leave?
Once you leave, years of hard work will be ruined, and your prestige will be gone.
Once he leaves, he will become a rootless person, and the tribes that rely on him may not buy him again - can't Shao Xun seduce the generals and chiefs?
Shi Le didn't dare to underestimate him so much.
He always felt that Shao Xun's methods were very powerful, and he might get along with the Hu leaders and let them work for him.
Once Yecheng was lost, he didn't know how many people were still willing to follow him.
The eighteen cavalry should be fine, but what about the soldiers below?
Even if there were a large number of people following him, wouldn't Shao Xun pursue him?
In the golden autumn of August, the harvest season, the fields of millet and wheat are everywhere, and the devil knows where he can hit them.
This man was so ruthless that he chased Jin Zhun until he had no way to go to the sky or to the bottom of the earth. He was hanging behind him neither far nor close, always maintaining a day's journey, which made the Huns panic. People kept falling behind, and there was no need to kill him.
, and dispersed by themselves.
Morale, this is the most overlooked thing, not only military morale, but also political morale.
Military morale was gone and soldiers were scattered.
Political morale was gone, just like the few ministers who fled from the north of the city and left without saying goodbye.
Difficult, difficult, difficult, dilemma!
He is already forty-one years old. If he is wandering around again, it would be fine if there are no foreign enemies. But with Wang Jun in the north and Shao Xun in the south, he has almost no possibility of self-reliance and no time.
Emperor Pingyang can move him around with a single order. Even if there are old brothers who are willing to follow him, they will eventually be wasted in meaningless battles one after another, ultimately adding to the power of the Liu family emperor.
.
"Your Majesty, you can't hesitate any longer." Wang Yang sighed and said: "Shao Xun has been planning a siege from the beginning. How can he attack a big city guarded by 50,000 soldiers with 70,000 troops? He no longer hides it.
once--"
Shi Le stopped what he was saying and asked: "If we retreat to Santai, do you think there will be a turn for the better?"
He didn't mention the outer city. After this great defeat, the outer city probably couldn't be defended.
Don't believe it?
The auxiliary troops of the Jin army have arrived at the gate of the city.
Under the command of the officer, the garrison at the top of the city picked up their bows and shot arrows - but it was just shooting arrows, and it was really not like arrows were raining down.
Their skills are very poor, not many people can shoot arrows in the first place.
The people who escaped were demoralized and continued to spread panic to the people around them. Moreover, they threw away most of their weapons during the escape. Not to mention bows, one spear per person was still enough to make up for it.
Shi Le felt that if he and Wang Yang hadn't stood at the top of the city, these frightened birds might have run away.
For the current plan, we can only get rid of these demoralized soldiers and select the best soldiers to retreat to the relatively strong Santai, where we may be able to hold on for a longer time.
"Your Majesty, if we retreat to Santai, Shao Xun will not need to dig trenches outside the city. He can directly move into Ye and dig trenches and build walls outside Santai. It will be completed in a few days." Wang Yang shook his head.
Shi Le said "Huh", as if he didn't notice the increasingly fierce killing sounds above and below the city, and just looked into the distance, frowning in thought.
Wang Yang didn't rush him, he just waited silently.
In his opinion, a few years after Da Hu entered Yecheng, he was no longer as straightforward as before.
When I was under Gongshi Fan, I ran away when I was defeated, and hid after I ran away. After the news passed, I came out again and gathered people to start a rebellion. What can you do to me?
But after changing from being a roving bandit to being a sitting bandit, there were now many altars and so-called "ambitions", and the ideas became more numerous and less pure.
"Defend the city first." Shi Le patted Wang Yang on the shoulder and said, "You take command at the top of the city, and I will rectify the broken troops."
Wang Yang was a little disappointed, but he still nodded and said: "I obey."
At this moment, some soldiers came up to report: Weiyuan General Liu Da was in the east of the city to persuade him to surrender. He said that after he was captured, Duke Chen personally untied him, gave him food, wine, brocade robes, and showed great care for him. He was treated with great care by Duke Chen.
Inspired by the call, he was deeply ashamed of his past mistakes and came to persuade him to surrender. Chen Gong only committed a crime against Da Hu, and ignored the rest. He took the thief's head and came to surrender, and he was immediately rewarded.
Shi Le and Wang Yang looked at each other, both speechless.
Liu Da is a cavalry commander of the Jie tribe. He is a younger brother of Shi Le's wife, Liu. He is worshiped as General Weiyuan. He is one level lower than the 18 cavalry generals who are generally fourth-grade generals. However, it should not be underestimated because he really has a foot and a foot.
Their own tribe is just like the tribe of the Jin tribe, Zhuangke.
Shao Xun, do you still want to be shameless? Try this trick!
At the same time, Shi Le felt a deep chill.
Liu Da can surrender, who else is reliable?
(Please give me a monthly ticket for more updates, fellow Yanzu.)
Chapter completed!