GBP Chapter 203: Dingzhou County Falls
Chapter 203: Dingzhou County Falls
After seeing off Tuoba He, Lu Zhi sent his general Lu Yuan's troops to join forces with Yuan Shan's troops, and the two armies set out as the vanguard.
Lu Zhi led his own troops as the central army and advanced slowly behind the two armies.
Xu Gang and Chen Qian managed to escape the enemy's encirclement, but they also let the enemy escape.
After meeting Niu Chuang, several people gathered together to discuss follow-up countermeasures.
"I didn't expect that even after killing their commander, we still couldn't stop their advance." Chen Qian originally thought that after killing the enemy leader, subsequent matters would be much easier.
"These are two armies with different commanders. The one confronting us head-on is the Lu family's Jin army. They are the most formidable force."
Niu Chuang is indeed a veteran in the army, knowledgeable and experienced. It is difficult for the rising generals of the new army to compare with him.
"Should we pursue them? We must slow down the enemy's advance."
"Of course. I'll continue to lead my troops in pursuit. You new troops are definitely more skilled at removing mines than we are. I'll leave this matter to you."
Seeing this, Xu Gang knew that this was a trap set by Niu Chuang and said hurriedly: "My battalion has suffered heavy casualties. We should leave this matter to the Sharp Knife Battalion."
Chen Qian almost laughed out loud at Xu Gang's words.
"Your battalion has suffered so many casualties. You should stay here to treat the wounded and remove the mines. Then send someone to inform the battalion commander to pursue the enemy forces in Luancheng and defeat them."
Fighting is not like treating someone to a meal. Xu Gang had no choice but to accept this reality. He finally put together a company of soldiers and followed Chen Qian's team.
……
Zhang Xiaosi was originally in Anping Town. If he walked along the foot of the mountain, he could reach the Pingshan Mine area, and then turn west to reach Pingyang County.
Unexpectedly, they encountered a river behind Fujiyama by chance, so they went south along the river.
Cheng Jushu led his troops from Dingzhou and rushed to Anping Town for investigation. He learned that these people were heading towards Jing County, so he continued to follow and pursue them.
Perhaps due to preconceived inertia of thinking, Cheng Jushu always believed that these people would go to Jing County and then flee to Bingzhou.
No one had expected that this group of people would end up in the northwest corner of Dingzhou County by accident.
"Marshal, look, is this their expressway?"
It was not until he saw the expressway that Zhang Xiaosi could not contain his joy.
"So, if we head south, we'll see..."
He had no idea where he was. "Send someone to capture a few people and ask them where we are."
They looted a lot of supplies along the way and basically did not harass the people while moving along the river.
In general, the Zhang family's intention was to enter the Central Plains and occupy a city in order to negotiate with the Zhou Dynasty.
"What? We are only more than 20 miles away from Dingzhou County?"
Upon learning of this, Zhang Xiaosi was so excited that he almost went crazy. What kind of luck had he got to have such an opportunity?
So without saying a word, he led everyone towards Dingzhou County.
Everything happened too suddenly, and Dingzhou County did not receive any intelligence about the enemy invasion.
Perhaps Cheng Jushu was too confident.
Or maybe Li Xin has lived too comfortably in recent years.
When Zhang Xiaosi arrived at the gate of Dingzhou County, the guard on duty mistakenly thought that they were reinforcements coming from the Dingzhou camp, only because there was a report that Luancheng encountered Jin troops and the prince had led his men there early in the morning.
"Enter the city!" Zhang Xiaosi didn't understand why the guards didn't close the city gate or stop them.
It was not until Zhang Xiaosi's troops approached the city gate that the guards realized that the situation was not good.
"Where are your troops from? Are there any rules for entering the city..."
Before he could finish his words, an arrow pierced his neck.
"Enemy attack..."
Seeing that the situation was not good, the other guards on the city wall shouted loudly.
"drive!……"
Zhang Xiaosi and his men had already entered the city, and immediately afterwards, the Zhang family army outside the city attacked Dingzhou County like a tide.
There were not many defenders to begin with, and some of them were taken away by Li Xin today. The person in charge of defending the city was a chief clerk, who was captured by Kashna before he could react to what was happening.
"This battle was too easy. Are we going to defend the city next?"
Cashner climbed up the city wall and looked at the several infantry guns on it, looking up and down curiously.
"Go ask someone who knows about this thing. It's quite strange."
"I've never seen it used. Since it's placed on the city wall, it must be a valuable treasure."
"I think so."
Zhang Xiaosi looked at the infantry gun, looking left and right curiously.
"General, there is a soldier who knows what this is."
A soldier from the Zhang family army came forward, escorting a soldier with a swollen face.
"You know what this is?"
Zhang Xiaosi asked.
"I know, this thing is called a cannon. It's a pity that you occupied the city before I could even use it. What a waste."
"Okay, stop sighing and tell me how to use it. I won't treat you unfairly."
"This thing is extremely simple. It's fired the same way as a crossbow. You see the iron pipe in the box? It fits into the slot at the back. Pull the rope and it will fire."
The explanation was very simple, and the soldiers defending the city did not seem to be lying.
"Let him come over here and try firing one."
Zhang Xiaosi could hardly suppress his excitement and gave orders to his men.
"Yes!"
The surrendered soldiers were brought to the infantry gun for demonstration.
He deftly released the gun's recoil latch and pressed the hammer with his foot, though during the demonstration it appeared as if he was moving it by hand.
"Watch this and put it into the slot. Once it's locked, pull the rope and it will fire."
A young general of the Zhang family army who was guarding beside him was eager to try it himself, so he stopped him and operated it himself. As a result, after a cannon shot, his ears were buzzing.
He was so angry that he swung his sword and killed the surrendered soldier who taught him.
"This thing called a cannon is really powerful. Fire another one."
Seeing this, Zhang Xiaosi was in a good mood and ordered his men to continue firing artillery shells.
This fool-proof method of launching is indeed simple, but the difficult part is loading the gunpowder and adjusting the launch angle.
"Marshal, here is a wooden board with inscriptions on it. It shows the elevation angle, launch distance, and the ratio of shell weight to charge."
"What does this mean?"
"Master, I don't understand!"
"If you don't understand, why don't you ask? Oh, where's the soldier who surrendered just now?"
"Forehead,……"
"Tell me, what happened?"
Zhang Xiaosi's face suddenly changed and he asked angrily.
"Reporting to the commander, he was chopped down by the generals who just reported their achievements."
"You bastard, why did you chop him down for no reason? He's already surrendered, so why can't you use him for my benefit? You're such a fool! He can't even handle the oil!"
After cursing, Zhang Xiaosi became more and more irritated.
"General, shouldn't you be happy to have obtained this treasure?"
"What use are these few? Since we have them here, there must be some in other places. I heard there is a workshop in Luancheng, there must be many in it. Let's take these cannons to Luancheng."
"Marshal, we are not familiar with these guns yet."
"Pass the word down. If you can find over a hundred surrendered soldiers who can fire cannons, I will stop looting the city. This will be a favor to them!"
What a murderous plot! If anyone prevented the surrender, he would be the criminal who allowed the looting of the city. On the contrary, the Zhang family army, who surrendered out of righteousness, would be helpless in the end.
In the end, as expected, these one hundred people were almost elected to Zhang Xiaosi, and Zhang Xiaosi kept his promise and did not harass or plunder the city of Dingzhou County.