Relying on the encouragement of Deputy Director Tao to personally charge into the battle, the anger and fighting spirit of the Xuzhou Army, which had been suppressed for a long time by the unfavorable climate, finally burst out. In the battle in the southern suburbs of Yecheng, the powerful Xuzhou Army only beheaded the enemy on the battlefield.

The level exceeded 4,000, and then they kicked over Yuan Tanjun's camp outside the city with an unstoppable force, forcing Yuan Tanjun's garrison outside the city to abandon the camp and flee back to the city. During the escape, they fought with each other on foot and on horseback, trampling on each other.

, there were countless dead people, and the frozen moat of Yecheng was almost full of corpses of Yuan Jun soldiers. The casualties were extremely heavy.

After the war, Deputy Director Tao arranged for the troops participating in the war to rest, and immediately dispatched the reserve team to build siege fortifications outside Yecheng. They first built fences and then dug trenches to build siege fortifications, preparing to completely trap the defenders in the city. Yuan Jun's scouts reported the news

When he was sent to Yuan Tan, the shocked Young Master Yuan Tan was not surprised but overjoyed. He laughed loudly and said: "Tao Thief must be crazy. How big is Ye City? He has never been to the city. At least he has seen it outside the city."

? If you want to rely on fences and trenches to block the way for our army to break through, what is it but a dream?"

"Yes, yes, the Tao thieves are simply stupid." Mr. Guo Tu also agreed: "If they want to trap Yecheng to death, the Tao thieves' siege must be at least forty miles long, and such weak fences and trenches

How much effect can it have? Isn't it easy for our army to break through? I think it is not necessary to pay attention to how the Tao thief builds fortifications and let him waste his military strength. While we rest and restore our military strength, we wait for the reinforcements from the Youzhou team.

Once we arrive, we will wait and work together with the reinforcements inside and outside, and we will definitely defeat the enemy!"

Hearing Guo Tu's words, even the resourceful Xin Pi and the high-ranking cadres who like to sing the opposite agreed this time, because a weak fence line of defense is indeed impossible to stop the full attack of Yuan Tan's army. And the siege lasts for a long time.

Forty miles, Yuan Tan's army could break through everywhere, leaving Xuzhou's army completely defenseless. Therefore, despite abundant supplies and the hope of reinforcements, Yuan Tan's army still had about 30,000 defenders available to the decision-makers.

, unanimously decided not to pay attention to the Xuzhou Army's siege fortifications, rest peacefully and let the army restore its morale strength, and wait until the main force of Youzhou came to help before trying to defeat the enemy.

The weather has just warmed up, and the ground has not yet thawed. Therefore, the Xuzhou Army's simple siege fortifications were also constructed very slowly. It took two days to barely build a weak fence line of defense, but the trench was half a foot deep and four feet wide.

Only the beginning had been started, and the Xuzhou soldiers digging the trenches still had to fight hard against the soil that was frozen as hard as iron. However, Deputy Director Tao was not anxious about this, and just told Gao Shun, Xu Huang and Liu who were going to stay behind on the Yecheng battlefield.

Ye built it slowly. Let the troops take turns to build it. Don't be anxious, and you must not be greedy for progress. Dig the trench too deep or too wide too early, let alone dig it within three miles of the bank of the Zhangshui River to alert the defenders. If anything happens, tell Liu

Ye discussed, and in short everything will wait until his reinforcements from Youzhou, which defeated Yuan Tan, return to Yecheng. Gao Shun, Xu Huang and others took the order and remembered the instructions carefully.

After making these arrangements and forcing Yuan Tan's army to approach Yecheng, on the morning of the third day, Deputy Director Tao led a main force of 50,000 people and set off northward, passing Yecheng via Pingyang Ferry. They crossed the Zhang River downstream of Yecheng.

, and then went directly north to the battlefield of Handan, eighty miles away from Yecheng, to attack the Juhu tribe of Yuan Tan's army entrenched there. He waited for work to fight against Yuan Tan's reinforcements transferred from Youzhou. At the same time, Jiang Qihe

The Youzhou reinforcements led by Qian Jia have already entered the territory of Zhao State and Julu respectively. They are less than half a month away from Handan, so there is not much time left for Deputy Director Tao to attack the enemy.

Yuan Jun's scouts sent the news of the Xuzhou Army's division to Yecheng. Master Yuan Tan was both happy and worried. What he was happy about was that the Youzhou reinforcements had already played a role before they arrived, forcing Xuzhou's main force to divide its troops and reducing the pressure on the battlefield in Yecheng;

What he was worried about was that if something went wrong with the Youzhou reinforcements, he would be completely isolated and helpless. So after repeated calculations, Yuan Tan accepted Guo Tu's suggestion and sent envoys to contact the three generals Juhu, Jiang Qi and Qianjia respectively.

He ordered Juhu to hold on to the city and not engage in field battles with the Xuzhou army, delaying time to wait for reinforcements. He also ordered Jiang Qi and Qianjia not to go south alone, but to meet up in Pingxiang first, and then join forces to go south, so that the Xuzhou army would not be able to defeat the Youzhou reinforcements one by one.

Chance.

In addition, Master Yuan Tan naturally had to give Jiang Qi and Qian Jia advice in the letter, warning them to be careful of the most despicable, vicious, rogue and shameless enemy in the world - the Xuzhou Gentleman Army! Inform the Gentleman Army

The characteristics of the tactics reminded Jiang Qi that Qian Jia should not be fooled into fighting with the Junzi Army, let alone launch a pursuit and lose his life in vain, so as not to repeat the same mistake he made in Langya. - This is not that Master Yuan Tan is afraid of being beaten by the Junzi Army, the key point is

It was a weird tactic of the Junzi Army, and it was simply the natural nemesis of Youzhou’s elite Karasuma Cavalry. Master Yuan Tan had to be extremely cautious.

Okay, now let’s take a look at the situation of Deputy Director Tao’s northern expedition to Handan. On the way north, Deputy Director Tao very carefully called Xun Chen, a local snake in Jizhou, to learn about the situation in Handan. Xun Chen replied: “Excuse me

My lord, although Handan's status in Jizhou is not as good as that of Yecheng, it is definitely no less than Nanpi. The important towns in Jizhou, such as Yingtao and Hejian, have very strong city defenses. This time, Juhu has been operating in Handan for two months during the battle in Yecheng.

We have made every effort to strengthen the city's defenses. If Juhu only defends without fighting, it will not be that easy for our army to take Handan."

Deputy Director Tao twirled his moustache and made calculations. Deputy Director Tao vaguely remembered that the great master Luo Guanzhong seemed to have reported that Ju Hu, Ju Shou's precious son, died in a field battle with Boss Cao when he was guarding Handan. But regardless of whether this was correct or not, Deputy Director Tao firmly believed

With his unlucky luck, he would definitely encounter a situation where Juhu would cheat and hold on to the city, and Juhu only had 7,000 second-line troops in his hands. As long as Juhu was in his right mind, he would definitely not launch a field war easily. So he thought about it for a moment.

Later, Deputy Director Tao suddenly asked: "Where did Zang Ba's team reach?"

"It's time to capture Xindu." Jia Laodu replied: "Zang Ba was ordered to capture Xindu and Yitao and cut off Yuan Tan's north-south connection. However, his grain and grass supplies were not transported by water, and they were all transported by land. In the heavy snow,

Supplies are more difficult than our main force. When we attacked Guangchuan, we encountered strong resistance and wasted a lot of time. In addition, it wasted time arguing with Yuan Shang to deliver Qinghe County. We also had to divide our troops to build counties to guard against Yuan Shang's chaos. Therefore, based on the battle reports from the previous period,

Judging from the results, General Zang Ba should have captured Xindu by now, but he must not have had time to advance to Yitao City yet."

"It's a pity." Deputy Director Tao, who originally wanted to hope that Zang Ba would stop Jiang Qi to buy time, sighed. Then he comforted himself: "But it's okay. Although Zang Ba can't delay Jiang Qi's move south, he can still maintain his strength and be ready at any time.

Prevent my precious third brother-in-law from messing around."

"My lord wants General Zang Ba to intercept Jiang Qi. Could it be that he wants to attack Handan?"

, but it is not without confidence that our army can quickly capture Handan."

"Mr. Youruo, what is your clever plan to break the city?" Deputy Director Tao asked hurriedly.

"Juhu killed Yuan Shang's confidant, Zhao State Prime Minister Li Ling, and forcibly integrated Yuan Shang's troops in Zhao State. In Handan City, there must be many old troops of Yuan Shang and Li Ling who are unwilling to surrender." Xun Chen replied: "In that case, my lord is attacking.

In front of the city, you might as well use your bow and arrow to shoot some arrows into the city. Call on Yuan Shang's old troops to rise up against Ju Hu and avenge Li Ling. When our army launches a strong attack, Yuan Shang's old troops will definitely create chaos in the city to welcome our army into the city, so that our army can quickly take control of the city.

Go down to Handan City."

Because Xun Chen's last suggestion to drive a wedge between Yuan Tan and Gao Gan had no effect, Deputy Director Tao was inevitably a little doubtful of Xun Chen's suggestion this time. But at this point, Deputy Director Tao had no choice but to nod in agreement and decided to continue.

Give it a try.

More than a day later, the Xuzhou Army troops came to the city. At this time, Deputy Director Tao's bad luck finally showed some signs of improvement. The Xuzhou Army scouts unexpectedly discovered that because of the sudden temperature drop two years ago, Handan

The water in the moat did not have time to be released. It was frozen harder than steel and has not melted yet, allowing the Xuzhou army to reach the gate of Handan City without filling the river. Deputy Director Tao was very happy. He immediately ordered the army to assemble the attack force brought by the army overnight.

The city's weapons, following Xun Chen's plan, shot a large number of arrows into Handan City overnight, calling on Yuan Shang's old troops in the city to initiate a mutiny, and opened the city gates to welcome the Xuzhou army into the city.

In addition, there is another point that is very beneficial to the Xuzhou army, that is, since the Niushui River dried up during the Western Han Dynasty, there are no large rivers around Handan to defend, and the open space on all sides is very conducive to the attackers launching attacks, so Deputy Director Tao also

He quickly made up his mind not to waste time on opportunistic pursuits, and that night he sent an order to all battalions and generals in the army, demanding that the city must be breached within one day, otherwise he would be severely punished!

The next day, the Xuzhou army began a fierce attack on Handan City, and Deputy Director Tao's decisive decision caught Juhu off guard. Juhu, who was far less capable than his father except for his loyalty, had previously determined that Deputy Director Tao was sure

He would follow the regular siege tactics, first set up camp and prepare enough siege weapons, and then launch the attack. He still had a few days to prepare, but Ju Hu said that he never expected that Deputy Director Tao would actually attack just now.

On the early morning of the next day after arriving outside Handan City, they launched a fierce attack on Handan before it was fully light. They were forced to rush into the battle with a serious lack of psychological preparation. There was a lot of panic in the arrangements and many opportunities were lost.

Time was in a hurry and the fighter aircraft was fleeting. From the beginning, Deputy Director Tao invested heavily in a fierce attack. At the same time, he attacked the four gates of Handan, the east, west, north and south from all directions. He ordered the infantry to take turns to attack the gates and walls of Handan in units of a thousand people. The four rams that were hastily assembled

The city gates were all used to hit the city gates. The infantry carried the flying ladders and shouted to charge. They rushed across the moat on the thick ice that had not yet melted. They put the flying ladders on the city wall one by one and climbed up quickly with their weapons in their teeth.

, climbing up quickly with the arrows falling like rain, the arrows and stones in the sky are like rain, and the heads on the ground are like ants, the scene is extremely spectacular.

To be honest, even though it was only the second line of Yuan Tan's army, the Handan defenders resisted very fiercely. They took advantage of their commanding position and used stones, hammers, ash bottles and bows and arrows to suppress the Xuzhou army's offensive, and were beaten back several times.

Although the Xuzhou Army's individual combat effectiveness and morale were higher than those of the enemy, it still succeeded in quickly ascending the city. From morning to noon, the soldiers were unable to climb the city to fight.

.

At noon, looking at the sun in the sky, and then looking at the ice of the moat that had been repeatedly trampled by our own soldiers, Deputy Director Tao gritted his teeth, knowing that the opportunity would be lost if he passed it today, and decisively ordered the soldiers to stop at the 150th gate at the south gate of Handan.

He built a drum stand outside the building and put a big cowhide drum on it. Then he personally took the flag to the drum stand and beat the drum with his own hands to cheer for his soldiers. The generals in Xuzhou were shocked and objected, but Deputy Director Tao shouted back and insisted on doing it in person.

When they went to beat the drums in front of the battle to boost the morale of their own soldiers, Jia Laoduhu and others had no choice but to order Ma Zhong to lead the guards to carry long shields. Together they climbed up the drum platform to protect Deputy Director Tao.

Deputy Director Tao's crazy move once again had a miraculous effect. Seeing the army commander personally coming to beat drums in front of the battle, the soldiers of the Xuzhou Army, whose morale had already been somewhat depleted, suddenly cheered like thunder, and they charged even more fiercely. The troops were fierce and marched forward inexorably. On the city wall

The defenders screamed in shock and were confused. Juhu on the tower was even more speechless. After finally coming back to his senses, he quickly shouted: "Crossbow! Crossbow! Aim at the Tao thief and shoot for me.

!shoot!"

Without Juhu's orders, some soldiers of the Yuan Army armed with strong bows and crossbows had already very cleverly aimed at Deputy Director Tao and opened fire - although it was difficult for ordinary bows and arrows to shoot at a distance of 150 steps, but strong bows and hard crossbows

But it could be easily shot, so in an instant, almost all the overwhelming and powerful arrows were shot at the drum platform where Deputy Director Tao was. The long shields in the hands of Ma Zhong and other guards simply exploded like fried beans. Several of them

The feather arrow almost flew over Deputy Director Tao's head, forcing Ma Zhong to ride on two guards and use a long shield to protect Deputy Director Tao's diagonally upwards. As a result, Ma Zhong quickly hit the shield in his hand.

The surface of the shield was densely covered with feathers and arrows of various colors. It looked like a turtle shell covered with feathers.

Deputy Director Tao personally stepped out to block the bullets, and the effect was more than just boosting morale. After almost all the bows and arrows were attracted by Deputy Director Tao himself, the Xuzhou soldiers who were on the offensive finally began to climb the city wall. The first one

Although the Xuzhou soldier who climbed the city wall was chopped into pieces in the blink of an eye, he also chopped down two enemies before he died. The companions behind took the opportunity to jump on the city wall to gain space, and fought to the death to win more for the companions behind.

More opportunities to visit the city.

As if they had a premonition that the end was near. The defenders on the city resisted even more fiercely, desperately throwing sheep's head stones, hammers, gray bottles and hot gold juice at the Xuzhou soldiers. The Xuzhou soldiers climbed up in company

Unable to dodge, they all fell down the ladder and fell down the city wall. But as soon as a Xuzhou soldier fell, he was still in mid-air. The second Xuzhou soldier was already charging up on the ladder, and simple and rough ladders came up one after another.

On the city wall, Xuzhou soldiers advanced inch by inch at the cost of blood, gradually approaching the top of the city wall.

Seeing that the Xuzhou Army's offensive was so fierce, and seeing that several city battlements had been breached by the Xuzhou Army, and dozens of Xuzhou soldiers rushed onto the city wall, the Handan garrison finally began to panic, and some soldiers who were greedy for life and feared death began to retreat.

The supervising team tried their best to kill and drive the retreating soldiers forward, but they could not stop one but could not stop the other. The morale of the defenders had reached a shaky state.

Realizing that something was wrong, Ju Hu wanted to personally lead his troops to put out the fire and fix the leak. However, as soon as he and his troops rushed down the city wall from the tower, the defenders screamed and screamed again, "There's a fire."

!There’s a fire in the city!”

"There's a fire in the city?!" Ju Hu was shocked. When he quickly turned to look at the situation in the city, he saw that there were indeed several fires in the city. The fire burned the streets, and the smoke shot straight into the sky. Then Ju Hu's face suddenly changed.

He turned pale and turned into the color of death, and said to himself: "It's over, it must be the remnants of Yuan Shang's traitorous gang who are causing trouble!"

Juhu guessed half the truth, and those who set fire to the city were, in addition to some old troops of the former Zhao Prime Minister Li Ling, there were also some Jizhou soldiers who were simply greedy for generous rewards. They were led by a Jizhou Tun General whose brother had joined the Xuzhou Army.

, suddenly set fire to create chaos in the city, cooperating with Xuzhou's army to attack Handan City. However, because the people in Handan City were dissatisfied with the Yuan brothers' heavy control of the people, they closed their doors and refused to come out to stop the rebels from setting fires. They just swept away the snow in front of their doors.

At home, some rangers even joined the arson team.

With the last glimmer of hope, Juhu quickly sent people into the city to quell the rebellion. However, the thick smoke in the city once again severely damaged the morale of the defenders, and once again boosted the already high morale of the Xuzhou Army.

Taking advantage of the panic, the Xuzhou soldiers climbed up as if they had wings, and rushed up the city wall one after another. With red eyes, they waved their weapons and killed the defenders without saying a word. The defenders retreated steadily, while the Xuzhou soldiers

He was advancing step by step, covering his companions behind him and constantly charging up the city wall.

As more and more Xuzhou soldiers are on the city wall, the elite advantage of Xuzhou soldiers is more and more exposed. They all look like crazy tigers. When they see the enemy, they chop, chop and stab them, and they hug the enemy on the city wall.
To be continued...