On August 14, the Seventh Army handed over the camp in the south of the city to the Sixth Army, and all the teams scattered everywhere were built in the camp in the west of the city. As the road was unblocked, the Second Artillery Division (the three regiments were missing) also advanced to the camp outside the city of Xiangyang, and the main force of the Navy Guardian Navy also retreated from the front line of Gucheng to Fancheng Wharf. At this point, all the available siege troops of the Song army gathered under the city.

August 15th is the traditional Zhongyuan Festival, and it is certainly impossible to hold a big banquet during the war. Zhao Bing had already allocated special funds to order Lin Zhiwu to buy pigs, sheep, chickens and ducks, and reward the army according to the standards of one pig, two sheep, hundreds of chickens and ducks, and hundreds of pounds of wine in each battalion. He also fired leaflets to the city to inform the people in the city that in order to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival together, the Song army would quit for three days and no longer fire shells into the city.

On August 17, the Song army began to prepare for war, cutting down trees to create siege equipment, and making wooden rafts for crossing the river. An artillery observation station was established on Guishan Mountain, and two fifteen-meter-high watchtowers were erected in the west and south of the city, bringing the situation in the city into the eyes. The four independent divisions of the Huguangzhou Army, who assisted in the battle, also escorted a large number of ammunition and food to Yicheng, took over the defense in the rear, protected the transportation line, and established a forward material supply base in Xiangyang.

On August 18, Zhao Bing led the joint command to inspect the battalions, inspect the preparations and material supply, and made an attempt to start field hospitals in the rear battalion, and prepare to receive and treat the wounded at any time. Then he went deep into the grassroots, had heart-to-heart talks with the soldiers, and asked about their homes, but there were no difficulties to help solve them.

Zhao Bing once again emphasized the significance of conquering Xiangyang to the country, saying that this battle is a battle that concerns the fate of the country and a battle for future generations. Only by seizing Xiangyang can the danger in Jiangnan be completely relieved, allowing the people to enjoy peace forever, and their families can live and work in peace. Inspire everyone to fight bravely, not be afraid of sacrifice, win in one battle, and conquer Xiangyang. He will also go to the front line in person and always stand with everyone, and will not vow to return to Beijing without defeating Xiangyang.

On August 19, Zhao Bing convened the heads of the Xiangyang front line to hold pre-war meetings at the camp and deploy a siege operation plan. He decided to attack the Seventh Army as the main attack from Xicheng; the Sixth Army feinted the attack on the South Gate to restrain the troops of the defenders; the Fancheng defenders cooperated with the Yuxian Navy to carry out feint attacks at the North Gate to support the Sixth Army, and at the same time resumed artillery attacks on the North City and gradually increased their efforts.

However, this deployment was opposed by Pan Nian, the commander of the Sixth Army. He believed that the main attack and assist should not be strictly distinguished, but attacked at the same time and seized the opportunity. Whoever had the opportunity could be the first to break the city. He should not miss the opportunity because of distinguishing the main attack and assist. Everyone had a debate about this, because it was impossible to reasonably allocate existing resources without distinguishing the main attack and assist, which led to the inability of both parts to break the city, resulting in the delay of the opportunity to fight.

The two fights were fierce, especially Pan Nian and Wu Longqi, who were both in the palace, not only spoke harshly, but also almost started a fight. The battle was imminent and could not be delayed for a long time, and everyone looked at the emperor. Zhao Bing pondered for a moment and changed the assist of the Sixth Army to the main attack, but the firepower support remained unchanged and still leaned towards the Seventh Army.

The emperor patted the board and calmed the dispute. Although the other arrangements were still a little quarrel, they were mainly fighting for tasks, which did not affect the subsequent combat deployment, and demarcated their respective mission areas. Zhao Bing once again emphasized that the divisions should work together and not drag each other down because of the struggle for merit, causing delays in combat opportunities and would be severely punished.

Two days later, each unit formulated detailed combat plans based on its respective tasks and decomposed them one after another. It also actively carried out pre-war reconnaissance, organized training, strengthened combat readiness, and waited for the issuance of attack orders. At the same time, it launched a counterattack against the increasingly frequent attacks of the enemy defending in Xiangyang, ambushed the small enemy troops attacking at night, and went forward to capture enemy spies, and raided the enemy with cold guns and cold artillery.

On August 22, the camp issued a mobilization order for the general attack on Xiang, calling on all the officers and soldiers who participated in the war to fight the last battle of the Northern Expedition, seize Xiangyang, and wipe out the defending enemies. At the same time, rewards and punishment orders were issued, and those who violated discipline such as fearing the enemy, delaying opportunities for war, and leaking secrets were punished on the spot. The troops who first climbed the city were awarded the honorary title of "Xiangyang First Regiment", and the troops who first entered the city were awarded the honorary title of "Xiangyang First Division"; those who performed outstandingly in the battle were awarded the title of "Combat Hero" and the troops who first entered the city were awarded the honorary title of "Xiangyang First Division"; those who performed outstandingly in the battle were awarded the title of "Combat Hero" and the title of "Combat Hero"...

On August 24, the Seventh Army launched an attack on Xidaying outside Xiangyang City, opening the prelude to the capture of Xiangyang City.

In the early morning, the Second Division of the Seventh Army lined out of the camp and lined up in front of the enemy camp with two arrows. The enemy and our army were only about two miles apart, and it can be said that the opponent's movements could not be hidden from the other side. As soon as the enemy moved, the enemy had already discovered that the alarm bell rang, and the enemy in the camp quickly assembled to prepare for defense, and the enemy on the city also entered a state of combat readiness and prepared for reinforcements.

Wu Longqi climbed up to the high platform to look at the enemy camp. The enemy was not idle these days. Perhaps because of the artillery fire when the Song army attacked the mountain, they tried their best to strengthen the camp, widened the village wall to half a meter, the height to two meters, and reinforced it with logs. In order to prevent them from using the moat to swim across the moat, they also cut off the sluice between the city moat and lowered the water surface in the moat by one meter, so that they could not land directly.

At this time, the enemy troops in the camp had already climbed up to the village wall to guard the guard. Although Wu Longqi could not see the situation behind the village wall, he believed that there were archers there ready to shoot volleys. Once they entered the range, thousands of arrows would be fired at once, covering the attacking Song army in the overwhelming rain of arrows. Once they successfully crossed the river, the spearmen and sword and shield hands lying behind the wall would climb up to the village wall to block.

What made him depressed was that when the enemy saw him going to fight, he closed the gate of the village, pulled up the suspension bridge, refused to go out to fight, but hurried in it. He made him feel a little angry and cursed. You have three thousand-person teams, so you don’t want to come out to fight for a while, so that you can enjoy yourself, even if you are defeated, you will run back!

Wu Longqi picked up the telescope and looked at the Xiangyang city. The tall city wall stood in front of them like a cliff that reached the sky. The arrow towers above the city were towering, and the dense arrow windows were all opened. But it still could not hide the tall city towers on the main city, and there were countless soldiers hidden in it. The city walls had been covered by curtains, and there were many war sheds hidden behind them. There must be rolling wood, stones, gold juice, tinea oil and other things to guard the city.

The outer edge of the city wall is also full of fork wood. If you want to cross it, you must climb with your hands and you will be stabbed by the defenders' knives and guns. When blocking the wall or the front of the city gate, it has become a powerful weapon to block artillery. After it is damaged, it can be discarded immediately and replaced immediately. It can be repaired as soon as it is damaged. This thing is very simple to make and the materials can be obtained everywhere. As long as it is well prepared, it can be replaced like this, making it difficult for artillery to destroy the city wall.

What is most worrying is the catapult arranged on the city, which has a range of enough to cross the moat to hit the other side. As for the more powerful Xiangyang cannon, Wu Longqi believed that he was also hiding behind the city and was preparing to cause a fatal blow to them. But if he wanted to force the city, he had to break through the enemy Xidaying in front of him before he could push the front line to the other side of the moat.

But when Wu Longqi saw the flying thunder cannon hidden behind the door flag in front of the formation, he felt much more at ease. He had long known how many times he praised the new thing His Majesty made. This thing is much more powerful than a heavy cannon. As long as the "iron barrel" can be made, the caliber is as big as the "iron barrel". He even urged the craftsmen to create an iron cannon that is about meter thick, wanting to try how powerful it can be and whether it can blow the Xiangyang city wall in one shot!

However, before the craftsmen could take action, Wu Longqi was discovered and called and scolded by His Majesty, saying that he was simply a fool. If he really made that thing, he might be the one who would kill him first. Although his plan was stopped by His Majesty, he firmly believed that his idea was correct, so he secretly complained that His Majesty had too fine settlement and was reluctant to use so much gunpowder.

"The commander-in-chief, all the troops have already taken their place!" At this time, Guan Tong reported.

"Are the artillery ready?" Wu Longqi asked with his thoughts.

"The artillery soldiers are in place. Just wait for the command of the governor to receive the order. After they receive the order, they will fire artillery in the city and destroy the stone throwing machine arranged by the enemy!" Guan Tong replied.

"Who asked them? I asked if the thunder cannon is ready?" Wu Longqi stared at the front and asked again.

"Oh, all the twenty flying thunder cannons have been arranged, so I'm waiting for the order!" Guan Tongshou then understood what the governor was concerned about and quickly reported.

"Okay, order them to fire the artillery and prepare for the front army to charge!" Wu Longqi ordered.

As Wu Longqi issued the order, Guantong waved his hand and issued the order to fire the cannon. His eyes turned to the front of the formation. He kept thinking about the new things His Majesty wanted to show him. After a few days, he had been tortured by curiosity and could not sleep well, because it was related to whether he could complete the arduous siege task. He did not want Pan Nian to steal his head.

‘Boom, boom, boom…’ With a few dull blasts, Wu Longqi saw more than a dozen "disks" about the same size as the round shield rose into the air with the flash and smoke, slowly flying up more than ten feet high, falling into the enemy camp more than fifty feet away. Of course, he felt that it was slow, compared with rapid-fire cannons and heavy cannons, but it was not slow either, but it was just a few blinks.
Chapter completed!