Chapter 352 Attack the enemy and they will rescue him, lure the tiger away from the mountain!
In Qinghua City, the Tenglong Guard army galloped in with great force.

The cold iron armor and icy sharp blades are filled with a severe and chilling aura.

Before the army arrived at the city, several groups of armored cavalry dispersed and patrolled the entire city.

Afterwards, the army formed a line outside the city. Thousands of soldiers entered the battle formation in an orderly manner. In just two quarters of an hour, a huge military formation was set up outside the city.

Behind the army, many soldiers and engineers were setting up camp. Looking down from above, the first impression was one of order, everything seemed coordinated and orderly.

After the soldiers in the front had finished forming their battle array, Yang Zhengshan rode his horse and brought two hundred guards to the front of the battle array. Looking at the tall city wall, he stroked his beard.

Qinghuafu City is a big city. Not only are there tens of thousands of people living in the city, but there is also a Qing Palace.

Prince Qing’s Mansion is not a mansion, but a royal city. Since it is a royal city, it will naturally not be small.

The city wall of Qinghua Prefecture is about two meters high, with eight city gates on the four sides. There are tall gate towers on each gate. In comparison, the Acropolis of Tenglongwei seems very small.

A moment later, Yang Mingzhi came to Yang Zhengshan with more than a hundred cavalrymen.

"How is it?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

"The city wall is intact, there are no gaps, and the rebels are guarding the wall strictly!" said Yang Mingzhi.

Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly.

Fighting within Darong is different from conquering the Hu people in Donghai. Although the large tribes of the Hu people also have fixed tribe lands, their tribe lands have no city walls, at most there is a circle of wooden fences.

The main reason why Yang Zhengshan was able to gallop across the north and defeat seven Hu tribes in eight days was that there were no city walls blocking them, so they could easily rush into the Hu tribes.

Now they were facing a city whose two-meter-high wall was enough to stop most of the soldiers.

Without any tools, it would be difficult for even a warrior in the Body Tempering Realm to climb over a two-meter-high city wall, let alone an ordinary person without any cultivation.

Nowadays, the soldiers in the five camps of Tenglongwei are basically warriors, but most of the ordinary soldiers have not yet become warriors.

If they want to attack the city, they must have enough siege equipment.

"Go around and see if there are any trees that can be cut down!" Yang Zhengshan said.

"Yes!" Yang Mingzhi responded.

Just as Yang Zhengshan was observing the situation in Qinghua City, Prince Qing, Xu Maocai and Duan Heng on the city wall were also observing the situation of the Tenglong Guard army.

Looking at the neat formation, the soldiers who were as still as stones, and feeling the heavy and murderous aura, the three of them felt like they couldn't breathe.

"I've always heard that Yang Zhengshan is good at training soldiers and managing the army. After seeing him today, I find that the rumors are indeed true!" Prince Qing said with a serious expression.

Xu Maocai frowned, "Yang Zhengshan is not only good at training and managing the army, but also good at strategizing. His book Thirty-Six Strategies has spread throughout Dayong, and it is said that Liang Chu won the battle of Fushan City by relying on his strategy!"

Prince Qing nodded, "The current situation looks very unfavorable to us!"

"Well, but Your Majesty, there is no need to worry. Although the current situation is not favorable to us, as long as Ji Feiyu leads the army here, the situation will be reversed immediately!"

"When the time comes, as long as we build up our momentum, there will surely be countless people with lofty ideals in Liaodong who will join His Majesty!"

Xu Maocai stroked his sparse mustache and spoke confidently.

Duan Heng glanced at Xu Maocai and said, "The most urgent task is for us to get through this hurdle first and stop the attack of Tenglongwei, instead of thinking about the entire Liaodong."

He was not interested in Xu Maocai's bragging. He was more pragmatic. At this moment, his mind was full of how to defend, how to keep the Tenglong Guards outside the city, and how to hold on for a month until Ji Feiyu came.

Xu Maocai didn't care about his offense, but smiled confidently and said, "I already have a plan in mind, General Duan, don't worry!"

"What plan?" Duan Heng looked at him solemnly.

Xu Maocai looked at the majestic Tenglong Guard army outside the city, stroked his beard, and smiled faintly: "Attack them and they will be rescued, lure the tiger away from the mountain!"

Duan Heng frowned, "What do you mean?"

"General Duan, what do you think Yang Zhengshan will do if we attack Tenglongwei with 3,000 elite cavalry?" Xu Maocai asked with a smile.

Duan Heng's eyes flickered, "Yang Zhengshan will come back to help!"

"That's right! According to the intelligence we received, the Tenglong Guards sent out 15,000 soldiers this time, but the Acropolis only has 1,000 soldiers defending it!"

"Three thousand elite cavalry will definitely be able to capture the Acropolis, and inside the Acropolis is Yang Zhengshan's entire family!"

"He will definitely lead his troops back to help, but I don't think he will lead the entire army back to help. He will only lead the cavalry, which is the Fifth Battalion of the Tenglong Guards!"

Xu Maocai's eyes sparkled as he continued, "As long as he dares to lead his troops back to help, we will have a chance to defeat the Tenglong Guards in one fell swoop!"

"This~~" Duan Heng hesitated.

He was confident that he could hold out for a month by defending the city, but he was somewhat unsure if he had to go out of the city to fight.

"What? General Duan doesn't dare to go out of the city to fight?" Xu Maocai looked at Duan Heng with a smile.

Prince Qing also looked at Duan Heng. Duan Heng's old face turned red. How could he say he didn't dare in front of Prince Qing?

"How could that be? I'm just worried that Yang Zhengshan won't come back to help!"

Xu Maocai smiled and said, "Of course he will. Yang Zhengshan is extremely concerned about his family. He has a special liking for his wife and is very kind to his children and grandchildren. So his biggest weakness is that he cares too much about his family!"

He has studied Yang Zhengshan specifically and has a deep understanding of Yang Zhengshan's character.

Although Yang Zhengshan is a killer on the battlefield, he is a good husband, a good father, and a good grandfather at home!
Well, if Yang Zhengshan knew what Xu Maocai said about him, he would definitely thank him.

"No matter how many people he brings back for support, it is the best time for us to attack!" Xu Maocai said with a smile.

Prince Qing nodded slightly, "Although this is a bit risky, it is indeed our best option at the moment."

Between holding out for a month and defeating the Tenglong Guards, Prince Qing would naturally choose to defeat the Tenglong Guards, because he needed a victory to prove himself, to strengthen his momentum, and to attract more people to join him.

Rebellion is not just about fighting and killing, it also requires strategy and situation.

Now that he has Ji Feiyu's assistance, he has the foundation for a rebellion, but the power he controls is still too weak compared to the entire Darong.

He needs more people to see his strength, recognize his ability, and come to join him.

If he didn't know that Yang Zhengshan would not join him, he would actually want to win over Yang Zhengshan.

"Then when do we attack?" Duan Heng asked.

"No rush. It won't be too late to attack after they build the siege equipment!" said Xu Maocai.

Duan Heng felt a little relieved.

They now have two choices, one is to hold on, the other is to take the initiative to attack as planned by Xu Maocai. Xu Maocai did not rush to implement his plan in order to avoid a complete defeat.

It is actually beneficial for them to delay the process.

……

By nightfall, the army camp had been completed.

In the commander's tent, Yang Zhengshan summoned a group of generals to discuss the siege.

"Judging from the enemy's reaction, they are planning to hold the city and wait for Ji Feiyu to lead the army to support them!"

"I estimate that it will take Ji Feiyu about twenty days to a month to sort out the situation in Qingzhongshan Town, which means we only have twenty days!"

"We must take the city within 20 days, otherwise when Ji Feiyu arrives, we will be in great trouble!"

Yang Zhengshan said with a serious expression.

In Chongshan Town, Tang Feihu and Niu Zhuang are absolutely unable to stop Ji Feiyu. The number of soldiers under their command is less than 20,000. Even if the soldiers from various guard posts and city garrison camps are temporarily gathered together, the number will not exceed 50,000 at most.

The number of troops under Ji Feiyu's command is at least four times theirs.

With such a huge gap in military strength, it was already quite good for Tang Feihu and Niu Zhuang to hold on to their own territory, and they were completely unable to stop Ji Feiyu from heading south to Qinghua Prefecture.

Of course, this does not mean that Tang Feihu and Niu Zhuang are useless. They can at least tie down a part of Ji Feiyu's forces, preventing Ji Feiyu from marching south with all his strength.

"Do you have any good ideas?" Yang Zhengshan asked his subordinates.

Xie Yuan, Yang Mingzhi and the others looked at each other in bewilderment, while Song Dashan stared with his big eyes and said, "Sir, what good strategy can we have? We should just attack them directly. Do you think they can stop us?"

Yang Zhengshan rolled his eyes and said, "Shut up."

This idiot!

What a headache.

In fact, what Song Dashan said was correct. A strong attack is the simplest and most direct way.

Although Song Dashan is simple-minded, he is not stupid. His confidence comes from the strength of the Fifth Army Camp.

As the coach of the Fifth Army Battalion, he knows the Fifth Army Battalion best.

Today, the soldiers of the Fifth Army Battalion are no worse than those of the Garrison Battalion five years ago. In fact, in terms of individual soldier strength, the current Fifth Army Battalion is even stronger.

With the Five Army Battalions as the vanguard, it is entirely possible to capture Qinghua City in a short period of time.

But this is without considering casualties!

Yang Zhengshan didn't want to attack by force because the Tenglong Guards couldn't afford too many casualties now.

Don't forget, they will have to face Ji Feiyu's army later.

If the casualties were too heavy at this time, how could he deal with Ji Feiyu's army?
"It would be great if they could come out of the city to fight!" Xie Yuan said helplessly.

"Luring the snake out of its hole?" Yang Zhengshan seemed to be thinking about something. "Captain Wei, you said before that Prince Qing might have another cavalry!"

Wei Cen nodded and said, "Well, according to our investigation, the Qing Palace has purchased more than 5,000 war horses in recent years, while the Qing Palace Guards only have 1,000 cavalrymen, and the Qinghua Guards have no cavalrymen at all."

"So we infer that Prince Qing still has a cavalry of about 4,000 men!"

Yang Zhengshan thought for a moment, "Where would their cavalry hide?"

It is not easy to hide four thousand cavalrymen.

The amount of food and fodder needed for people and horses every month is not a small amount.

And a large area is needed to station this cavalry.

"It's definitely not in Qinghua Mansion!" Wei Cen said.

Yang Zhengshan's expression changed slightly, "If it's not in Qinghua Mansion, then where is it?"

"Chongshan Town? Impossible. Chongshan Town is full of garrisons and forts. It is impossible to hide a cavalry of 4,000 people."

"If it's on the west road of Chongshan Town, then it's possible, but then there's no need for Prince Qing to purchase war horses!"

Xie Yuan's eyes flickered, and he said, "So their cavalry must be hiding in Changqing Mountain!"

Yang Zhengshan smiled and nodded, "That's right, within the surrounding 300 miles, only Daqing Mountain can hide thousands of cavalry!"

Xie Yuan frowned again, "How can we lure the snake out of its hole? Their cavalry is outside, and we have to guard against a sneak attack from the cavalry!"

Yang Zhengshan tapped the table in front of him with his fingers. "You're right. We have to guard against sneak attacks by cavalry!"

"As for luring the snake out of its hole~"

He thought for a moment and suddenly said, "Xu Maocai has always been conceited and arrogant!"

Know thyself, ever-victorious!

Xu Maocai knew Yang Zhengshan's temper, so how could Yang Zhengshan not understand the abilities and strengths of the people around Prince Qing?
What's more, Yang Zhengshan has Wei Cen by his side to provide him with various information and intelligence.

"What does your Excellency mean?" Xie Yuan asked.

“Maybe they’ll come out of the cave on their own!”

Yang Zhengshan could not predict everything, and he could not foresee Xu Maocai's plan, but this did not prevent him from speculating on Xu Maocai's thoughts.

"They left the city on their own!" Xie Yuan thought for a moment and nodded slightly, "Then what should we do next?"

Yang Zhengshan shook his head slightly, "No hurry, let's make siege equipment first!"

Attacking a city is a technical job. You can't just carry a ladder and go there to attack a city.

There are many siege equipment, in addition to the simplest ladder, there are also siege ladders, trench bridges, siege weapons and various chariots, etc.

It's nonsense to just rush up with a ladder.

Before you even reach the city wall, you'll probably be shot to pieces.

In this way, Yang Zhengshan planned to manufacture siege equipment first, and Xu Maocai also planned to let Tenglongwei build the siege equipment before carrying out his own plan.

(End of this chapter)