Chapter 342: Continue the attack on Xia County, everything is ready!

Chapter 342: Continue the attack on Xia County, everything is ready!

"It doesn't matter! The enemy has already started to attack the city. Pass my order down quickly. All units don't need to hold back any more. They must defend with all their strength!" At this moment, Zhang Liang stood on the top of the city wall, staring at the imperial army that was surging like a tide. His originally calm eyes suddenly flashed with a thoughtful look. After just a moment, he gave the order to Erniu beside him to defend with all his strength without hesitation.

"What? Fully defend? Sir, this..." When Erniu heard Zhang Liang's order, he was slightly startled, and a look of surprise appeared on his face. Because he knew very well that if all the city defense supplies currently stored in the city were used for full-scale defense, it would probably only last for one day at most, which was already the limit. Once these city defense supplies were exhausted, the difficulty of defending the city would increase exponentially.

However, facing Erniu's doubts and worries, Zhang Liang remained calm. He patted Erniu's shoulder gently and said slowly, "Don't worry, Erniu. Now that the lord has successfully broken through, at this moment, we can only fight to the death to have a chance of survival. The fierce offensive of the imperial army was actually within my expectations. So, just do as I say!"

After hearing Zhang Liang's words, Erniu hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded and said, "Yes!" After all, this was not only Zhang Liang's order, but also Gao Yao's previous instructions to him. At this critical moment, Erniu knew that he had no choice but to obey the order.

After Erniu received the order, he did not dare to delay for a moment and passed the order out as quickly as possible. As the order was issued, the atmosphere on the entire battlefield suddenly became tense.

The defenders of Xia County quickly took action, preparing for the fierce attack of the imperial army. In an instant, the sound of shouting, the sound of weapons clashing, and the sound of horses' hooves resounded through the sky.

The imperial army rushed towards the city wall like a tide, and the scene was as magnificent as a thousand horses galloping. However, just as they were about to approach the city wall, a dense mass of arrows suddenly appeared in the air, and these arrows hit each other like raindrops. The archers on both sides launched a fierce shooting, and the rain of arrows intertwined in the air into a web of death.

Although the imperial army was large in number, the southern border army, with its solid city walls and sufficient defense supplies, dealt a heavy blow to the enemy. Rolling logs, rocks, hot oil, and saltpeter poured down from the city walls, hitting the imperial soldiers charging below. For a moment, screams rang out one after another, and blood dyed the ground red.

The imperial army launched wave after wave of attacks, but they were all stubbornly repelled by the southern border army. Six or seven consecutive attacks failed, which dealt a heavy blow to the imperial army, which was originally in high spirits. Faced with such a strong defensive force, they had to temporarily call off the troops and withdraw to their main camp to re-adjust their strategic deployment.

At the same time, the sudden increase in the defense strength of the Southern Border Army caught Li Xin's attention. He keenly sensed that something was wrong, so he immediately led a team of confidants back to the Central Army tent and reported this important intelligence to the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan.

"General, you must not continue to attack rashly! Our army has suffered heavy casualties and huge losses!" At this moment, Li Xin, who was standing aside, said anxiously, his words were full of persuasion to the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan. He frowned and looked at Yi Xiaochuan eagerly, hoping that his words would make the other party give up the idea of ​​continuing the attack.

In the last round of all-out attack, our soldiers suffered a heavy blow, with more than 3,000 casualties. The reason for such heavy casualties was mainly because the enemy took us by surprise. Generally speaking, in such a confrontation, the initial stage is often based on tentative attacks, and even if there are losses, it is only a few hundred people. However, this battle is completely different, with nearly 3,000 soldiers lost at once. Such a huge number is undoubtedly shocking and heartbreaking.

However, in the face of Li Xin's earnest persuasion, Yi Xiaochuan did not waver in his determination. He tightly grasped the sword in his hand, stared at the enemy formation in front of him with a firm gaze, and responded decisively: "No! Reorganize the army immediately and prepare to launch another attack. The enemy will definitely try to break through and escape at this moment. We must not give them any opportunity. This general must trap all these tens of thousands of enemy troops in Xia County and not a single one will escape!"

In stark contrast to Li Xin's slightly slow reaction, the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan was able to so keenly perceive the true intention behind the Southern Border Army's actions. With his sharp eyes, he saw through the meaning of the Southern Border Army's reckless and unscrupulous consumption of city defense supplies - there was no doubt that they were obviously planning a breakout!

Faced with such a situation, the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan knew that he must not relax at all at this time, and must not miss this perfect opportunity to attack. If he wanted to trap all the enemy troops here, the only way was to continue the fierce attack and not give the enemy any breathing space. As long as he successfully annihilated these tens of thousands of soldiers of the Southern Border Army, there would be no main force of the Southern Border Army in the entire Xiang County that could resist the pace of the imperial army.

When Li Xin heard Yi Xiaochuan's radical battle plan, he could not help but frown. Although the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan's method was not completely useless, it was too risky and not worth the loss. Even if the Southern Border Army could be wiped out in the end, the imperial army would inevitably suffer a heavy blow. In contrast, it would be better to set up an ambush on the enemy's must-pass road.

Although this move may not ensure that the enemy will be completely wiped out, it is undoubtedly much safer than a tough frontal attack. After all, the victory or defeat of a war does not depend solely on a momentary brave charge, but more often requires the subtle use of wisdom and strategy to achieve the final victory.

"General, I think..." Li Xin frowned and looked at the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan in front of him with worry, wanting to say something but stopping himself. However, before he finished speaking, Yi Xiaochuan decisively raised his hand to interrupt him.

The mysterious Yi Xiaochuan looked solemn, staring at Li Xin with a firm gaze and said, "Old General, you have been through many battles and are very experienced, but you must understand the truth that kindness is not good for commanding an army, right? I know what you are thinking, but this battle is by no means as simple as just the gains and losses of Xia County! It is related to the victory or defeat of our entire battle!"

When Li Xin heard this, his lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to argue a few more times. But the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan did not give Li Xin a chance to speak. He continued to speak loudly: "If we can wipe out the enemy in one fell swoop this time, it will surely terrify the southern border army and make them fearful. In this way, we can achieve twice the result with half the effort and it will be easy when we conquer the southern border in the future!" At this point, a subtle cunning light flashed in the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan's eyes.

Li Xin's heart tightened when he saw this. He certainly understood that what Yi Xiaochuan said was reasonable. However, as a veteran who had experienced many battles, he could not bear the killing and sacrifice in the war.

Just as Li Xin was about to speak again, the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan suddenly stepped forward, approached Li Xin, and said in a low and powerful voice: "Old General, please trust my judgment! The situation is urgent now and there is no room for hesitation. Trust your majesty's judgment too."

Facing Yi Xiaochuan's ruthless obstruction and rebuttal, Li Xin finally sighed helplessly and slowly closed his mouth. He knew in his heart that although he had reservations about some of the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan's practices, at this moment, the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan's statement was undoubtedly a question of identity. Military orders are like mountains, and as a soldier, he can only obey orders.

Only an hour later, Li Xin led his army to launch another attack on Xia County, and it was an all-out attack. Such a powerful attack was even stronger than in the past, and the city was attacked from several directions at the same time. The previous attacks were basically launched in random directions at irregular intervals, or even feinted attacks on three sides while the main force attacked on one side.

But this time it was different. They directly launched an all-out attack, and several city gates were attacked with equal force. At this time, Zhang Liang had already arrived at the city, but he did not go far away. Instead, he stayed nearby as much as possible and deployed troops at any time to prepare for attacks from all directions.

It was under such circumstances that Zhang Liang finally realized how powerful Gao Yao's appeal was in the southern border. Previously, the people in Xia County took the initiative to help defend the city, but Zhang Liang did not take it seriously. However, in the past few days, when he saw these people really risking their lives to defend the city, Zhang Liang really began to appreciate Gao Yao's appeal. After all, using the people to help defend the city has been a tradition since ancient times. There is nothing much to say about this. At most, it shows that Gao Yao is more popular among the people.

But now that the battle has reached this point, all of these people are eager to try. There are many people standing by each wall, ready to climb up the wall to help defend the city when needed. They are not afraid even when facing life and death. This is not something that ordinary people can do.

After Zhang Liang learned about it, he realized the importance of Gao Yao. Gao Yao took the initiative to reduce the army according to the development of the southern border. If Gao Yao had not reduced the army, the number of troops would have exceeded 350,000. Gao Yao directly reduced the number of troops by more than 100,000. The reason for this was that it affected people's livelihood. Many families lacked labor.

Zhang Liang admired Gao Yao immensely for this, because Gao Yao was the first and only monarch Zhang Liang had ever seen who had disarmed the people.