The prince is very fierce

Three days later.

In Caozhuang, the outpost of Xiangyang, 20,000 Chu troops were stationed behind the blockhouses and fortifications along the line. The crisscrossing ditches and horse barriers were like scars on the ground, stretching from Caozhuang to the foot of Xiangyang City.

At dusk, in the wilderness outside Caozhuang's defense line, the sand and dust raised by the marching infantry were like smoke and waves, covering the sky and the sun.

"Tiger"

"Tiger"

"Tiger"

A few miles away, the thunderous shouts reached the ears of the Chu army behind the fortifications.

Twenty thousand people were marching on the plains, and it was impossible to hide it from the eyes of the scouts. The Chu army had already begun preparations for war as early as Xu Buling came out of Nanyang. Their swords were unsheathed, their crossbows were cocked, and they were ready behind the impregnable defense line.

Soon, under the afterglow, a dark horse appeared at the end of the skyline.

On top of the black horse, a man dressed in a jet-black robe with gold trim and a prince's robe, holding a horse tree eight feet in length across the sky and earth, a black flag with the word "Xu" in it, rustled in the summer wind.

Then, invisible human walls on the left and right appeared, holding spears, and marched towards the Chu army's defense line step by step with neat and heavy steps.

Twenty thousand people were spread out on the plain, like an overwhelming force. The three thousand Xiliang troops in front had a solemn appearance. They were several miles away, and the Chu troops behind the defense line were so heavy that they were sweating on their foreheads and breathless.

In Xiangyang City, Chu Commander Qin Jing frowned; scouts came one after another from Caozhuang on flying horses to report the battle situation on the front line; the generals and staff of the four kings gathered in the Commander's Mansion, surrounding the huge map in the middle, noisily The sound keeps coming:

"How can there be such a fight? Twenty thousand people piled up and pushed together, pretending that the city wall didn't exist..."

"Guan Hongye is staying behind with 50,000 Xiliang troops, about ten miles away. It looks like he is waiting for Xu Buling to come over and die..."

"The scouts have investigated and found that there are no ambushes on the left and right wings. All 20,000 infantry are in the middle. There are not many ballistae, ladders, and chariots. It is simply not enough to attack the city. If we can get to the bottom of Xiangyang City, I will cut off my head and give it to Xu Bu Order to be a urinal..."

"How about the general leads his troops out and tries to kill Xu Buling under his horse..."

"This is obviously trying to lure the snake out of its hole. As long as it gets out of the defense line, Guan Hongye will definitely send the cavalry to strangle it. Just wait behind the defense line. I can't Xu Bu Ling really dare to attack..."

…

Qin Jing pressed his handsome sword with his hand. Although he said nothing, his thoughts were similar to those of the generals present. This is not to underestimate Xu Buling, but the disparity in military strength between the two sides is really huge.

There are more than 100,000 soldiers and horses stationed around Xiangyang, and there are endless reinforcements from the four kings in the rear. There is no need to worry about insufficient troops if one of them is killed to replace the other.

Xu Buling only had 20,000 infantry, and they were all government soldiers whose quality was not much different from that of the Chu army. When placed in front of Xiangyang, he was like a three-year-old child holding a wooden stick and trying to beat an eight-foot giant in heavy armor. Chinese.

The Chu army fired crossbows at the back of the fortifications, and even Xu Buling found it difficult to resist. After passing through the three lines of defense, there were probably only a few people left, so how could they attack the city?

Chu Jun was not the only one who had the same doubts as Qin Jing.

On the other side, the rear of Xu Jiajun.

Guan Hongye, wearing armor, stood at a high place, frowning as he watched Xu Buling set up his formation on the plain and press towards the tense Chu army's defense line.

The deputy general stood in front of him and said softly: "General, how can you fight like this? Isn't this a free gift..."

Many generals behind him also nodded. With regard to the battle in front of them, it would not be too much to say that everything was in vain.

Before the dangerous pass of the high wall, if you want to break through, it is a bad idea to launch a force attack with several times the number of troops. The casualties will be too high. Under normal circumstances, if the number of soldiers killed or wounded exceeds 20%, the camp will begin to collapse. After 30%, there is a risk of mutiny. Morale No matter how high-spirited the army is, if more than half of it is killed or injured, the soldiers will no longer be able to obey orders, and it will be useless to supervise the battle team.

In ancient times, those who wanted to attack a city usually resorted to flooding, digging tunnels, arranging internal counterattacks, or simply encircling them with all their ammunition and supplies. Xiangyang is Dayue's premier military fortress, with a three-foot-six city wall that cannot be erected by ordinary ladders. Go up, there are rolling logs, rocks, fierce fire, and an endless supply of oil. How can the soldiers climb up?

Although Guan Hongye had an affair with Xu Bu Ling, the 20,000 soldiers of the government were considered his soldiers. Xu Bu Ling sent them away like this. Afterwards, the whole army was wiped out. If the court blamed him, he would definitely have to be punished.

Guan Hongye thought for a moment, came to Tu Qianchu's side, and said:

"General Tu, the prince's strategy is not advisable. You should go over and persuade him to come back. If the soldiers suffer heavy casualties, it will be difficult to explain to the court."

Tu Qianchu held two copper hammers with a dull expression:

"General Guan is the commander-in-chief. The last general is now under the general's command. How can he move His Highness? If the general feels that the troops should not be used in this way, just go over and persuade him personally."

Guan Hongye frowned. If he had the order, he would have gone long ago. Xu Buling came over with 20,000 people and passed by Dengzhou without even showing his face. He sent someone to force Xu Buling to return to his base. Xu Buling also said, "Don't break Xiangyang, Tibet He came to see you first and ignored him at all.

Not only him, but also the Holy Emperor could not stop him; Xu Buring suddenly launched troops and had already sent an urgent report to Chang'an. The Holy Lord naturally did not want Xu Buring to lead the troops without permission, but the courtiers had the secret of breaking Nanyang last time. For example, everyone advised Xu Buling to try it.

If Xu Bu Ling really defeats Xiangyang, then there will be no threat from the Four Kings Rebellion. Next, let Xu Bu Ling fight all the way through; as long as the civil strife is calmed down, the whole country can be mobilized to deal with the Northern Qi Dynasty, and the situation in Northern Xinjiang will also be improved. It can be reversed quickly, which is the direction that civil and military officials hope to see.

The court is not the emperor's palace. Without reasonable reasons, the Holy Emperor cannot force Xu Buling to go back and stay.

After Guan Hongye tried to persuade him to no avail, he returned to his original position and looked at the black ants in the distance in front of the generals.

Twenty thousand people were spread out on the endless plain. From a distance, they actually didn't look like much. They stood in an orderly manner, which was a large square formation of two hundred people horizontally and a hundred people vertically. However, when arrayed during war, they could not stand neatly. All arms spread out front and back, and under the leadership of their respective centurions, they set up an offensive formation.

There were still three miles away from the Chu army's defense line, so Xu Buling stopped his horse on the plain and raised his hand to raise the horse's chariot.

As the command flag was waved, the 20,000 soldiers quickly stopped where they were and were waiting for orders.

Three miles is outside the range of the crossbow. The bed crossbow can barely hit it, but its accuracy is basically random.

Guan Hongye stopped when he saw Xu Buling so far away, and his eyes were slightly happy:

"Do you want to stop fighting?"

Stopping three miles away and being unable to shoot with a bow and arrow is indeed a bit of a bluff. But the deputy general squinted his eyes and looked carefully, and suddenly pointed at a few small spots behind Xu Buring:

"General, what is that?"

Guan Hongye stood two miles behind Xu Buling and watched the battle. Although he couldn't see the specific details, he could still see the large items inside the siege vehicle.

At this time, a dozen vehicles of different sizes were rolled out from the military formation behind Xu Buling, covered with black cloth.

Guan Hongye looked at it carefully for a moment, slightly confused:

"It wasn't a car crash, and it was wrapped in black cloth. Could it be the 'magic weapon' used to break Nanyang last time?"

If Xiangyang can be defeated, the only winning point is the "Lei Gong helps me" last time; last time when Nanyang was defeated, no one could see the details. Now that they discovered something unusual, the generals naturally ran forward, thinking Let’s see what tricks Xu Buling is hiding.

Unfortunately, after a while, Guan Hongye and all the generals looked speechless.

On the endless plain, 20,000 people were spread out in formation.

Xu Buling shouldered his horse's support, looked at the Chu army's defense line in the distance, and assumed an arrogant posture; behind Xu Buling, more than a thousand Xiliang troops quickly pulled up white cloth on the spot and a dozen black cloth The wrapped objects were surrounded, and patterns such as Yin Yang and Bagua were painted on the white cloth.

Behind the Chu army's defense line three miles away, the soldiers who were waiting in full formation poked their heads out from behind the fortifications and looked at Xu's army in the distance inexplicably, not knowing why.

The imperial generals looked at each other for a moment, all with stunned eyes:

"Your Highness, are you preparing to do something before the formation?"

Guan Hongye frowned and thought for a while: "There is no such thing as strange power and chaos in the battle between the two armies. It is probably a deception to confuse the Chu army..."

As a veteran on the battlefield, Guan Hongye's comments are obviously very discerning.

After the execution ground was set up, an old Taoist priest who was temporarily hired stood on a high place, holding a yin and yang flag in his hand, shaking it, and shouting something: "The four kings have caused trouble in the Central Plains, caused the wrath of God, and deserved to be punished by the gods." Penalty' and so on.

Although the Chu army on the opposite side couldn't hear it, the soldiers behind Xu Buling could hear it clearly.

All the soldiers looked blankly at the old Taoist priest who was surprised and scolded the four queens. He pointed the flag in his hand at the Chu army's defense line three miles away and shouted:

"break!"