Spoiler History: Starting from the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 572 War is the most important thing
Under Jiangning City, the atmosphere in the Song Army camp was slightly relaxed.

After all, anyone with a discerning eye knows that the only thing the Southern Tang relied on was the natural danger of the Yangtze River.

However, General Cao first pretended to be patrolling the river and sneaked across Hukou, and then fought in Chizhou, Tongling, Wuhu, Dangtu, and Caishiji, and finally succeeded in crossing the Yangtze River. The natural dangers no longer existed.

They fought for a long time before crossing the river, and less than a month after crossing the river, they successfully surrounded the capital.

However, because this winning streak was fast and urgent, even the final forced crossing of the Yangtze River was delayed. In this case, it was naturally difficult for the Song army to carry any exquisite siege equipment.

Therefore, facing Jiangning's fortified city, encirclement and reinforcements became the only option. However, Cao Bin also encouraged his men, saying that Jiangning city would be broken this year.

It sounds outrageous, but everyone under Cao Bin is excited.

After all, in the face of such a strong city, as long as the morale of the defenders is not exhausted, defending for three to five months is just like playing, and a year and a half is just a matter of course.

During the Three Kingdoms period, Lu Meng crossed the river in white clothes, and then Mi Fang presented the city. It is extremely rare for a strong city to be destroyed in one day.

Because of this, when Cao Bin heard the visitor's boast, even though he didn't believe it at all, he inevitably got curious:
"Where is the sharp weapon? Take me to see it quickly! If you don't have the effect you can boast about..."

Speaking of this, Cao Bin was in trouble.

Although the leader of the army was away, Cao Bin and Zhao Guan's family exchanged letters every two days, so he also knew something about the situation in the court.

But precisely because of this knowledge, Cao Bin couldn't understand the court at this time.

Thinking about when he led the army on an expedition, the officials treated the King of Jin with great honor and favor, just like the rumors on the streets. I am afraid that the officials of Zhao and Song were really passed down from brother to brother.

But after the expedition, he was overwhelmed by the changes in the situation in Bianliang City.

In October, he wrote a letter to the officials, saying that he had successfully crossed the river and that Li Yu would be kidnapped back to the officials within a year at the latest!
The official's reply praised the Caishiji River Crossing without hesitation, and then only mentioned this in an understatement at the end of the letter:
"The King of Jin suddenly became insane and attempted to assassinate me. Don't worry about the glory of the country. We should focus on the war."

This simple sentence made Cao Bin read it over and over for more than ten times, but he still couldn't believe that King Jin had lost his favor like this, and he felt a sense of unreality.

As the war continued to advance, Cao Bin finally digested the news when he successfully surrounded Jiangning in January after several battles.

But what he didn't expect was that the officials told him again that after the assassination of King Jin, he regretted it day by day. Now he had accepted the title of Yi Jue and became a monk in Xiangguo Temple with the title of Kong Jiong.

Needless to say, this was another overwhelming impact on Cao Bin.

It was also because of this that the news that the officials ordered Zhao Dezhao to take up a post in the Ministry of Work became dazzling in his eyes.

After all, as we all know, the official's eldest son died early. Zhao Dezhao was named the second son, but he was actually the eldest son. Now that the King of Jin has become Master Kongjiong, who can compete with Zhao Dezhao when it comes to inheriting the imperial line?
Therefore, it stands to reason that Cao Bin should say some military orders at this moment, and agree with the other party what will happen if Jiangning City cannot be breached within a time limit.

But thinking about the identity of the envoy from the Ministry of Industry of the other party, Cao Bin suddenly became hesitant.

What he didn't expect was that the person opposite seemed to have read his mind, and he patted his chest and promised:

"His Highness already said when he came here that he would issue a military order within thirty days!"

This made Cao Bin smile in surprise, and said with a smile that destroying the Southern Tang Dynasty was already a must-win situation, so why should it be like this?
They walked along the polite path without stopping, and when they reached the river, Cao Bin saw the true appearance of the thing that the visitor called a "sharp weapon."

The scattered parts were neatly stacked on the ship. Judging from the flags, Cao Bin judged that the opponent was probably galloping from Bianliang. In fact, this is why Cao Bin feels confident that he will win when he surrounds Jiang Ning.

After the troops surrounded Jiangning, the ships from Bianliang entered the Huaihe River through the Bianqu, and then entered the Yangtze River through the Hangou, connecting the north and the south without any hindrance.

All money and food from Bianliang can be transported here by waterway and canal transport. If there are no worries about logistics, isn't it still a matter of hand-holding to encircle an isolated city?
After inspecting the seals, Cao Bin was finally able to board the ship, but he was not skilled in craftsmanship, so even if he looked at the parts, he couldn't tell anything.

"General, instead of wasting your efforts here, it would be better to order the Imperial Army to fire stone bullets or bake clay balls."

Just when Cao Bin was still thinking hard, he heard someone say this. When he turned around, he saw a man who looked like an old farmer.

"But Master Yu?"

Cao Bin knew that the master craftsman in charge of the envoy from the Ministry of Industry was named Yu Hao.

Waving his hand, Yu Hao didn't like to be conciliatory, but said sincerely:
"The principle of this thing is simple, but if you want to rely on it to destroy the city, you need to weigh huge rocks and drop bombs, either stone pellets or mud pellets."

"If a general wants to follow his reasoning, he only needs to wait until all the bombs are dropped and the cannons and stones are fired, and then the reasoning will be self-evident."

"The earlier the bombs are ready, the earlier they can go to Jiangning City, and the earlier the general can make achievements."

Seeing Yu Hao's seriousness, Cao Bin's previous doubts about this "sharp weapon" disappeared. He was a straightforward person. After making up his mind, he went to Yu Hao to ask about the required counterweight stones and the weight and dimensions of the bomb. After that, he left in a hurry.

If he had a choice, between breaking the city in one month and returning to the capital to report his merits, or spending a year to siege Jiangning City without food, he would certainly choose the former without hesitation.

The Song army surrounding Jiangning City was slightly disorganized, while the Southern Tang army besieged in Jiangning City lost its fighting spirit early on.

It was impossible to go out to fight. They could not win again and again, and the Song army could not attack. They could only live by the high walls of Jiangning City.

However, in the past two days, the defenders of Jiangning City also found that the Song army outside suddenly became busy.

Some with good eyesight could vaguely see that the Song army seemed to have several large furnace pits and seemed to be cooking something. Some soldiers who did their duty went to the commander to report, but they received a nonchalant answer:
"Then the Song army has neither flying ladders nor chariots, so what city can they attack?"

After waiting for another two days, they saw objects similar to stone chariots rising up in the Song army's formation. Another soldier went to find the commander, and finally summoned the commander to the city wall. However, this man is said to have ancestors that can be traced back to The two officers named Wang looked at each other and showed no concern at all:

"What's the use of building a stone cart? Jiangning City is high, even if you throw some stone bullets..."

Before he finished speaking, the Southern Tang defenders felt that the city wall seemed to be shaking.

The soldiers standing by the city wall could see clearly that several projectiles as big as millstones flew up from the Song army's formation and hit the city wall firmly with a dull sound.

The officer surnamed Wang suddenly stopped talking and shouted in a sharp voice while running towards the city:
"You stick to the city wall and kill those who retreat! I will go find reinforcements right now!"

Cao Bin, who was at the bottom of the city, could see clearly that a stone bullet flew higher and immediately made a hole in the parapet wall. This made him very happy:

"Instruct the rear army to bake some more clay bombs, and burn more angular ones!"

"It may not take a month to capture Li Yu alive!"

(End of this chapter)