The city gate of Xi County is covered with blue bricks and is about five meters high. The towers have towering eaves and the moat is about ten meters wide. Although a large number of wall bricks have fallen off, it is still considered a fortified city that is difficult to attack.

Wei Fufeng's heart felt cold. He came to Hedong just to deal with it. The nice thing was that he would just come here and let him attack the city. That was absolutely impossible.

Just as he was about to station troops outside the city gate and threaten them, he saw that the drawbridge was not pulled up and the city gate was open.

"Are you playing an empty city strategy? Or is there an ambush outside?" Wei Fufeng was secretly vigilant and subconsciously looked around.

I didn't see any troops, but I saw more than ten people walking out of the city gate.

The leader, wearing a blue official uniform, respectfully bowed to the former soldiers: "Xi County Magistrate Cao Zhihe, I sincerely welcome the arrival of the heavenly soldiers."

Wei Fufeng did not go over hastily and ordered the guards to ask what was going on.

The guards returned after asking, and told Wei Fufeng that when they learned that the imperial army was attacking, the governor of Xizhou abandoned the city with his subordinates and ran away, so the magistrate of Xi County left the city and surrendered.

"Go and ask, when did you run away?" Wei Fufeng asked immediately.

"Reporting to your lord, Magistrate Xi just said that he had just left not long ago and should have left the North City Gate now." Guards replied.

"Enter the city, Gan Fengchi, you lead an army of five hundred to pursue and kill, try to capture the governor alive, and don't let any one go." Wei Fufeng gave the order without hesitation, and the soldiers were ordered to rush to the south gate of Xi County.

After entering the city, the military commander Gan Fengchi led five hundred troops and ran along the street to the north gate.

Wei Fufeng, escorted by fifty Mingguang soldiers and fifty crossbowmen, plus two hundred baggage pikemen, stayed in the city to talk to the surrendered county magistrate.

Wei Fufeng and the Xi county magistrate climbed up to the city tower and looked out warily while asking questions. They learned that most of Xizhou's military strength had indeed been transferred by the Hedong Army, and it was said that they had gone to the north.

Wei Fufeng secretly thought about Li Kuangwei, the envoy of the northern expedition to Hedong, Li Kuangwei, the envoy of Youzhou Jiedu (Beijing).

Hedong Jiedushi Li Ke fought on multiple fronts, but he didn't know which side of the army he paid the most attention to.

Wei Fufeng asked again about the warehouses in Xi County. The answer from the magistrate of Xi County disappointed him. Most of Xizhou's men and grain had been taken away by the Hedong Army, and only three hundred shi of grains were left in the warehouse.

After a while, Gan Fengchi fortunately lived up to his orders and kept all the more than 300 people who had escaped, and a battle broke out between the two sides.

The sharp crossbows of the Fufeng Army caused more than a hundred casualties to the enemy. At the end of the battle, the Fufeng Army also suffered dozens of minor injuries. Four of them died, shot dead by the enemy's bows and arrows.

Death is inevitable in battle, and it is common for soldiers to die from illness and disease during the journey.

After the victory, in addition to bringing back nearly 200 prisoners, there were also 200 stone and grain carts, a cartload of property, five women, ten military bows, thirty chainmails, and nearly three hundred swords and guns.

The reason why all three hundred people were captured was because there were no horses to transport them, and the governor and the woman rode in an ox cart.

Although Wei Fufeng was very satisfied with the victory of seizing the city through surrender, he took the governor of Xizhou into the county prison, ordered people to inspect the warehouse, and strictly ordered the soldiers not to disturb the people.

At dusk, the scouts who went to Jinzhou came back and brought back news that shocked Wei Fufeng. The imperial army arrived in Jinzhou two days ago.

Fufeng's army set out more than half a month later than the imperial army, and marched deliberately slowly along the way. As a result, when they arrived in Xizhou, they covered one more state than the imperial army.

"Grandma, it's weird that you can win." Wei Fufeng cursed, never expecting that he would take action before the imperial army could.

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Wei Fufeng summoned the generals and military officers for a meeting. He originally planned to attack Shizhou tomorrow, but the imperial army had just arrived in Jinzhou. If he went to attack Shizhou alone, he would probably be attacked by a separate army from Taiyuan Prefecture, because

The imperial army did not arrive at Taiyuan Prefecture.

Sitting together for a discussion, Wei Fufeng first talked about Xizhou's military forces being transferred to the north, and then said that the imperial army was slow to move. If it attacked Shizhou again, it would trigger a counterattack by the Taiyuan Prefecture's Hedong Army.

The military envoy Gan Fengchi first said: "My lord, Xizhou's military strength was transferred to the north to fight, which shows that the commander of the Hedong Army is most afraid of the attack of Youzhou Jiedushi, and leaving Xizhou empty shows that the Hedong Army is very worried about the imperial army.

contempt."

Wei Fufeng nodded in approval, and Gan Fengchi added: "My subordinates think it is not appropriate to attack Shizhou, because Taiyuan Prefecture can have time to fight on two fronts, send 10,000 troops to counterattack Shizhou, and then resist the imperial army."

Wei Fufeng did not agree. He looked at the others and said, "Please tell me your thoughts and let our army make the most beneficial decision."

Wang Ze, who joined the army, saluted and said: "Your Excellency, I believe that Gan Tongjun's strategy is a sound method. However, I have heard from your Excellency that participating in the war in Hedong this time is just to obey the military orders of the imperial court. Therefore, I believe that Shizhou should be captured.

The Hedong Army is counterattacking, and you are giving up on Shizhou."

Wei Fufeng nodded, and military officer Feng Kai also stood up and saluted: "My subordinates agree that if you seize Shizhou early, you will be able to see the merits. If you wait until the Hedong Army notices the fall of Xizhou, it will definitely strengthen the defense of Shizhou."

Wei Fufeng nodded and looked at the others. Basically, there were two tone. He let the people disperse and thought about how to make a decision alone.

If you advance towards Shizhou, you will definitely not be able to defend it. It is said that you will evacuate if you encounter a counterattack. In fact, it will be very dangerous. If you are chased, you will easily lose your troops.

Staying in Xizhou will not lead to good results. The Hedong Army can also counterattack Xizhou.

The key is that Xizhou was nominally under the control of Hezhong Jiedushi. He occupied it, but he may not be recognized to participate in the war in Hedong.

Wei Fufeng shook his head in annoyance. He had misjudged the progress of the imperial army, which resulted in the lone army being passive. He also blamed his lack of experience and patience for not waiting for the scouts to return.

After thinking for a long time, Wei Fufeng decided to attack Shizhou. If he could capture Shizhou, he would immediately arrange a retreat and evacuate Shizhou early. This would not only establish the fact that he had captured Shizhou, but also ensure that Fufeng's army would escape the danger of being hunted.

.

Early the next morning, Wei Fufeng ordered the slaughter of cattle to reward the army, and sent people out on the streets to announce the distribution of rice grains. He distributed the grains in stock to the people of Xi County, leaving only the grains captured when arresting the governor.

In addition, using beef soup and rice as a temptation, he recruited prisoners to surrender, and obtained 173 troops. The surrendered troops were not only well fed, but also received military pay.

As a result of the food distribution, very few people came to receive it.

After Wei Fufeng received the report, he ordered his subordinates to bring some surrendered soldiers to deliver rice to each house, and asked his subordinates to tell the people that the Fufeng army could not stay in Xi County for a long time, and they could not bear to burn the rice in the warehouse. If they could not take it away, they would distribute it to the people.

In the afternoon, the Fufeng Army left Xi County, leaving no troops to guard it. The magistrate of Xi County watched the Fufeng Army retreating from the city tower, hesitated again and again, and delayed the report to Taiyuan Prefecture for a day.

Wei Fufeng was not afraid that the magistrate of Xi County would tell the Hedong Army that he was going to attack Shizhou, just to win a quick victory. If the city was difficult to conquer, he would give up and walk around Shizhou, then withdraw his troops and leave Hedong, leaving the scouts to investigate.

situation and wait for an opportunity to make a decision.

stone

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The prefecture is under the rule of the Hedong Army and is located on the east bank of the Yellow River. The prefecture governs Lishi County. Lishi River is a tributary of the Yellow River. It has Lishi County, Pingyi County, Fangshan County, Linquan County and Dinghu County under its jurisdiction.

Dinghu County is close to the Yellow River and has Mengmen Pass, a crossing of the Yellow River.

Wei Fufeng led a thousand soldiers into Shizhou at dusk and camped on a hill for the night. He summoned the promoted fire commander and team leader to discuss the plan to seize the city.

The plan is to have the surrendered troops pretend to be reinforcements from Taiyuan Prefecture and go into Lishi County to serve as internal reinforcements.

Wei Fufeng promised that if he could capture Lishi County, he would give a heavy reward and allow the soldiers to leave freely with their rewards.

Early the next morning, the Fufeng Army set off, with one hundred and fifty surrendered troops marching ahead, separated by five miles from the main force of the Fufeng Army.

The surrender of troops to seize the city was a temporary strategy that Wei Fufeng tried out. Regardless of whether the surrendered troops rebelled or fled, it would not be considered a loss to Fufeng's army.

At nearly noon, he arrived near Lishi County. Wei Fufeng looked at Lishi County from a distance and was secretly surprised at the authenticity of the theory of surrendering troops.

Lishi County is much taller than Xi County. The city wall is seven meters high and one wall is five miles long.

"Shizhou is indeed an important military area." Wei Fufeng sighed secretly.

According to reports from scouts, there were only 500 defenders in Lishi County. There were originally 3,000, and there were 1,000 at Mengmenguan Ferry.

Now there are only 300 troops at Mengmenguan Ferry, and the Hedong Army's multi-front operations have left Shizhou empty.

The troops detoured back to the East City Gate, pretending to be from Taiyuan Prefecture. The team walked towards the East City Gate in a scattered manner. There was only a stone's throw away from the East City Gate when some defenders ran over.

"Where are you from?" the defender asked.

"Taiyuan Prefecture is under the command of Mr. Li Tai of Lishi County." The leader of the team replied carelessly.

"Wait a moment, I'll report it." The defender stopped him.

"What are you waiting for? My throat is dry. We have come a long way." Qiu Zheng said impatiently. The surrender soldiers behind immediately started to cooperate with the noise, and even pushed the soldiers in front and shouted to hurry up.

The defender looked at it hesitantly, turned around and hurried back to the city gate.

The surrender troops continued to move forward. They had discussions on the road. Most of them felt that the commander of the Fufeng Army could keep his word. If he could leave with a heavy reward, it would be worth fighting.

The soldiers at the bottom of the troubled times have a very weak sense of belonging, and they only need food to eat. Basically, they have a mentality that people are more important than wealth. They are soldiers on the surface, but they are bandits in their hearts, and they only seek profit.

The defenders ran back to the city gate, and the surrender troops also approached outside the drawbridge.

The team member was very experienced and stopped moving forward, shouting: "Can you come in? I won't let you get some water. I'm dying of thirst."

There was an armored general on the tower looking down. There were dozens of archers at the crenellations of the female wall. After taking a look, the general turned around and gave instructions.

Soon, the defenders at the city gate shouted to let the surrender troops enter.

The surrender soldiers walked onto the suspension bridge in a chaotic manner and entered the city gate. Many surrender soldiers deliberately shouted, "Is there water?" The defenders at the city gate replied that there is water, and I will take you to drink it.

The surrender troops were entering the city, and the main force of Fufeng's army, under Wei Fufeng's order, rushed towards the east gate with all their strength.

The sentry at the city gate noticed it and immediately reported it to the superior officer. When the general looked outside, his expression changed drastically.

"Pull the suspension bridge." The general ordered sternly, but the surrender troops entering the city were launched, and they ruthlessly attacked the city gate defenders.

(End of chapter)
Chapter completed!