The Maojin knife from the late Jin Dynasty

Chapter 77 A Tentative Attack
In these days, Liu Tai not only encouraged the people to clear the countryside and stockpile supplies, but also built a ravine and an outer wall based on the current Laiwu City as defense facilities outside Laiwu City.

To put it simply, the soil excavated from the gully is piled up to form an outer wall. This kind of thing is not as strong as a real city wall. If the soldiers pull it a few times, the outer wall will be pulled apart. Even if there are heavy rains in the past few days, the outer wall will be pulled apart. , the outer wall collapsed directly.

It's just that it hasn't rained much since April, so the exterior wall at least looks decent.

But Liu Tai didn't plan how long this kind of outer wall would last. Even if it delayed Gou Xi's advance for one more day, it would still be valuable.

After all, if Gou Xi wants to attack the city, these blocking outer walls need to be cleared away, otherwise he will not be able to use his numerical advantage, and even many siege weapons will not be able to be sent in at all.

At the same time, Liu Ming and his soldiers relied on the outer wall to fight head-on with Gou Xi's army. If the situation went bad, they could retreat to Laiwu City.

Gou Xi looked at Laiwu. As a commander, when he came to a place, he almost instinctively observed the surrounding terrain and whether there were any resources that could be borrowed.

It has to be said that Liu Tai encouraged the people in Laiwu City to build strong walls and clear the fields to garrison the city. At least the trees around Laiwu City had long been cut down and made into lumber and sent to the city.

As for rivers, Laiwu does not have a moat, but hundreds of wells have been drilled in the city to ensure safe drinking water.

There really weren't many favorable terrains that Gou Xi could take advantage of. As for the mountain Gou Chun chose, Gou Xi didn't choose it. It wasn't that there was something wrong with the place Gou Chun chose, or that it was burned into ruins and was inconvenient to clean up.

But Gouchun only has 6000 people, so the mountain spring is enough for drinking, but Gou Xi leads an army of more than 2 people, so the water is naturally not enough!
Therefore, Gou Xi chose to station near a water source, probably where Xueye Lake is now, to ensure that the army had access to water.

However, this distance is a little far from the city of Laiwu City, so it has more offensive equipment than a normal army.

However, Gou Xi was a little afraid of Liu Tai. After all, Gou Xi knew Gou Chun's ability. He led his elite as a vanguard, and Liu Tai seized the opportunity to defeat him in just three days. If Liu Tai didn't have much strength, anyway, Gou Xi himself didn't believe it.

Therefore, the main camp is farther away from Laiwu. Although there will be some inconvenience in the attack, it is not easy for Liu Tai to make a surprise attack.

After Gou Xi prepared his soldiers, he asked Liu Hui to prepare siege equipment, and he, Xu Gong and Shao Xu began to lead the main force of the army to suppress Laiwu.

Gou Xi narrowed her eyes slightly at the situation in front of her and continued to Shao, "You lead your headquarters to test Laiwu's defense system!"

"Follow the order!" Shao Xu nodded and decisively ordered his troops to lead his troops towards Laiwu City!

Shao Xu's soldiers and horses are quite strong. They are all wearing armor and holding swords and shields. They exude a formidable evil spirit. At first glance, people will unconsciously think that they are the elite of the army.

The infantry under Shao Xu's command marched step by step, carefully holding up their large shields.

Liu Ming, who was stationed on the outer wall outside the city at the moment, watched this group of infantry approaching step by step without any fear.

He bent his bow and nocked an arrow, and said loudly to his soldiers, "This is the time, brothers, shoot them to death!"

When Liu Ming's soldiers heard the shouting, they also bent their bows. Although there was a wall in front of them, the problem was that they used a projectile method to shoot arrows. The hit rate of this kind of arrows can only be described as resigned.

Even Liu Ming himself was not known for being good at archery in Liu Tai's army.

But when the quantity becomes large, naturally no one cares about the hit rate. If the quantity is large, a few can be fooled.

"Raise your shield!" Shao Xu gave the order, and the soldiers neatly raised their shields above their heads.

In an instant, an airtight shield was formed, and the arrows thrown down basically fell on these shields, and then were bounced away.The damage this caused to the soldiers was almost negligible.

At the same time, Gou Xi ordered his soldiers to shoot from a long distance. The damage caused was naturally minimal, but it would definitely play a role in covering the continued advance of Shao Xu's troops.

"This Gou Xi striker is uniform, it doesn't look easy to deal with!" Liu Tai looked at the scene in front of him on the city.

Shao Xu also showed a bit of pride when he saw that he successfully contained Liu Tai's army.

Their mission is naturally not to attack Laiwu, and since there is a city wall, their troops are more likely to clean up the defense facilities outside the city and test the defense strength of Laiwu city.

But if it is only to this extent, then Shao Xu is confident enough to not only sweep away the defense facilities around Laiwu City, but also to capture the city in front of him in one go.

Shao Xu's face was not very happy, but suddenly there was a commotion in front, because the soldiers in front were walking, and a covered ravine suddenly appeared in front. The soldiers who had been defending the arrows above their heads had no time to prepare, and kicked He stepped on the air and fell into the ravine.

There were many sharp bamboo poles and wooden poles densely packed inside, which penetrated directly into their bodies.

As for the iron spear heads, because Liu Tai really didn't have the luxury to use them as traps at this time, but the wooden bamboo poles and wooden poles were obtained nearby and were given to the villagers to be whittled and used immediately. , but a lot of arrangements have been made.

Of course, because of this, some soldiers died face first on the ground, but there were also soldiers who relied on their fairly good armor, which played a protective role after all.

Not to mention, as a group of people in front died due to a sudden step on the air, although the people behind wanted to push forward, there was someone to back them up, so the probability of survival was a little higher.

At this time, Liu Ming did not hesitate. Taking advantage of the chaos in Shao Xu's army, several hundred-man squads that had been prepared rushed out along several roads specially reserved for passing people.

Liu Ming himself directed his troops to carry out bow and arrow support for the attack.

"Blow the drum!" Gou Xi saw the scene in front of him and immediately gave the order.

As the deafening drum beats passed on the battlefield, the troops under Shao Xu's command gradually regained order amidst the sound of the drums. They recalled the military discipline under Gou Xi's command that seemed to have been engraved in their bones, and The horror of being dominated by Gou Xi!
The sound of war drums helped the soldiers under Shao Xu's command to restore order, which in itself was a very remarkable thing.

Liu Ming was on the front line and felt more clearly that the several hundred-man regiments he had rushed out were not advancing at the moment, but retreating.

Liu Ming immediately asked military historians to blow the suona sound of fighting and retreating. The troops that rushed out maintained their military formation. Although they retreated step by step, they did not lose order. On the contrary, they knew that Liu Ming was holding the formation behind them. , there is still a bit of calmness in between.Shao Xu didn't feel much about this scene of fighting, but Gou Xi's eyes lit up, and then he frowned.

Shao Xu was just a general, and it was enough for him to be able to convey some simple orders.

But Gou Xi is now the No. 1 general in the Western Jin Dynasty. He can naturally see the value of the quality displayed by giving an order to allow the army that had already fallen into a melee to immediately reorganize and retreat while fighting.

Gou Xi knew very well that the soldiers under his command could not do it, because it was not possible for him to judge when to give the order, so that the soldiers could order a retreat. Even if he was not careful, the retreat would turn into a rout.

Your own orders can only be down to the level of the garrison at most. If you want the soldiers at the lowest level to implement your orders, you need brigade commanders, garrison commanders, corps commanders, chiefs, and other officers in your own army to implement the orders. .

At least in Gou Xi's view, it is impossible for a commander to be able to refine the military command to a specific person.

Being able to convey orders even to the level of the village commander is enough to kill indiscriminately on the battlefield.

But now, I saw that the other side's army was actually able to implement its command even to the soldiers fighting on the front line.

This had to make Gou Xi feel incredible. Just from this, Gou Xi understood that Liu Tai was definitely not an ordinary person.

"Ming Jin withdraws the troops!" Gou Xi said decisively to the messenger beside him.

"General, why don't you wait a moment longer!" Xu Gong said when he saw Gou Xi preparing to retreat, "The opponent's charge has exposed their weaknesses. As long as we persist a little longer, the defense facilities on the Laiwu frontline will be swept away." Got it!!”

Xu Gong didn't understand why Gou Xi chose to retreat at this time. At least in his opinion, there was no reason at all!
When Gou Xi heard Xu Gong's words, she glanced at Xu Gong. She really hated these aristocratic families the most!
However, Gou Xi ignored it and continued to issue orders to his messengers to withdraw their troops.

There are so many explanations in the army. Under military orders, even if you are asked to die, you must do it obediently!

Gou Xi looked at the exposed aisles of Liu Ming but smiled disdainfully.

For an army that can implement its command to individuals, if it chooses to garrison these corridors, even if it wants to attack, it will not be that easy.

Not to mention, when the other party retreats at this time, it looks like he is inviting you into a trap.

So Gou Xi chose to withdraw his troops. The original purpose of today was to let Shao Xu test Laiwu's defensive capabilities. Since he had found that Liu Tai's army was difficult to deal with, there was no need to fight to the death.

After all, his soldiers are the elite who fought all the way through the Eight Kings Rebellion, and they are not just going to drop them here casually. Let others fill in the ravines!
"Are you withdrawing now?" Liu Ming was a little stunned when he saw the scene in front of him, because Liu Ming originally thought that he would need to burn down the ravine before the other party would retreat because of the fire, but now it seems that it is not necessary. .

In contrast to Liu Ming, who just felt pity in his heart, Liu Tai stood on the city wall, but felt that the other party's withdrawal was not accidental, but that the other party noticed something, so he chose to retreat.

However, Liu Tai shouted loudly from the tower at this time, "The enemy has retreated. Our army has a great victory, a great victory!"

Liu Tai didn't know how to truly become a famous general, but Liu Tai knew that he should always boost the morale of his soldiers so that they could maintain sufficient mental strength to deal with any difficulties.

No matter what the reason was, Gou Xi retreated, but since Gou Xi retreated, he naturally wanted to tell the news to the entire army, so that they would be full of hope for defending the city.

The soldiers under Liu Tai's command were naturally encouraged and started shouting.

After Liu Ming and the soldiers outside returned to the city, Liu Tai immediately encouraged them and gave them honor.

At this time, Shao Xu returned to the military camp, looked at Gou Xi angrily, blushed, hesitated for a while, and said:

"Why did Ming Jin withdraw his troops and the other side retreated? Our army's morale was at its peak, so we just happened to kill him!"

Of course, Shao Xu understood that there were so many military orders on the battlefield, especially the troops under Gou Xi's command. If they did not obey Gou Xi's military orders, they would be killed by Gou Xi even if they won, so Shao Xu listened on the battlefield. Order, but after coming down, I was still full of anger.

When Gou Xi heard this, he glanced at Shao Xu calmly and said, "You are the closest to the battlefield and know the situation best!

If you think about it carefully, the attack and withdrawal of Liu Tai's hundreds of troops at that time were like fire and retreat like wind. It is most appropriate to describe them as advancing and retreating freely.Do you think you can really break through such an army in one go if you charge with your soldiers? "

Gou Xi said this and sneered again, "Think about it again, that uncovered corridor and the distance from the archers behind their outer wall. Even if it were me, the ravine itself would be the biggest trap. Set a fire and all pursuing enemies will be cut off!"

Shao Xu couldn't help but sweat profusely after hearing Gou Xi's words. He originally thought that Gou Xi had ruined his original possibility of victory, but now Shao Xu had to admit that if he attacked impulsively, he would probably further damage his soldiers.

"Liu Tai was able to seize the opportunity to defeat Zihou in a short period of time, which is not something he takes lightly. To deal with this kind of opponent, don't think about taking advantage. Wait until we build the siege weapons, and then directly penetrate all their defenses in one go. Okay!" Gou Xi said.

"Then, are we watching Liu Tai defend the city?!" Shao Xu couldn't help but worry at this moment.

"Didn't he just use the tactics of dividing his troops? He can let Xu Gong harass the military camp he set up on the other side. If this military camp is removed, we can also divide our troops and penetrate directly to Fenggao.

Even if the food harvest is not complete at this time, at least it will prevent him from harvesting! "

Gou Xi said calmly, "Just drag it slowly. Anyway, we are fighting in Taishan County, so we won't suffer any loss!"

Although they met for the first time, Gou Xi knew that Liu Tai was not easy to mess with, but he was the governor of Qingzhou, and Liu Tai only occupied Taishan County, so he had more resources at his disposal than Liu Tai.

If you continue to delay, you won’t be the one who suffers anyway!

(End of this chapter)