Water Margin begins as a captain in Yanggu County

Chapter 173 What else does the Prime Minister want?
As to which army was in the south, Tong Guan did not answer, but asked in return: "Ziqing, just tell me."

Su Wu pondered for a while, then spoke: "In my opinion, it would be better for us to stay in the south of Hangzhou."

"Why?" Tong Guan asked again.

Su Wu then continued, "Hangzhou is a big city with high and wide walls. There are many bandits inside the city, so it is difficult to break into the city. If we really use force to break into the city, we will suffer heavy losses. Tan Zhen is really untrustworthy. Only if we are in the south of Hangzhou can we really repel the bandits coming to support us from the south. As long as we repel the bandits who come to support us a few times, the morale of the bandits in Hangzhou will gradually collapse, and then we can break into the city!"

Liu Yanqing said, "That's true, but we have to attack the bandits who are coming to support us, and we have to attack the city. If the bandits send their troops south of the city, won't Tan Zhen be able to reap the benefits?"

Su Wu sneered: "Him? Mr. Liu, you need to be strong to be a fisherman. Even if you give him a chance, he will be useless!"

Su Wu had already seen this. For example, many of the imperial guards from the capital who came with him this time were the imperial guards from the capital that Gao Qiu had led to suppress Liangshan in the past. Some of them were the imperial guards from the capital that Su Wu had given money to pay for their return home. It was a joke to rely on these people to break the city...

In fact, Tong Guan didn't want to bring these imperial guards with him, so why did he bring them anyway? Because this matter was not subject to his will, and he couldn't just not bring them if he wanted to...

If he relied on Xin Xingzong's army of four or five thousand people, could he really leave all his assets in Jiangnan? If Xin Xingzong was really such a person, he would not flatter him like this.

Attacking a city is both difficult and easy. As for the difficult part, if the walls of the city are strong and the defenders are determined, then no matter how elite the attacking army is, it will be a costly war of attrition.

On the other hand, as long as the defenders are not determined, no matter how strong the walls are, they will not be of much use.

Tong Guan nodded and said, "Ziqing's idea is that we should not attack by force, but should use wits to defeat them, so as to weaken the morale of the bandits in Hangzhou..."

Su Wu nodded, "Yes, attacking the heart is better than attacking the city! Now in Hangzhou, the emperor's edict of guilt has been sent, and Fang La's people's hearts have been shaken. We just need to besiege the city and then implement the policy of pardoning the bandits, saying that only the accomplices will not be punished and only the main bandit will be punished. This will further move people's hearts. When the reinforcements are defeated several times outside the city, there will be many bandits in the city and people's hearts will be shaken soon..."

"Well, General Su is really good at planning!" Liu Yanqing also nodded. What Su Wu said made a lot of sense. The war to maintain internal stability and the war to resist foreign aggression are very different in terms of human nature.

Now that we are fighting in this prosperous area of ​​Jiangnan, we don't have to worry too much about logistics and supplies, so we can make long-term plans.

Tong Guan also said: "Su Wu's vanguard has already dampened the enemy's morale. The enemy must have been panic-stricken. If we use the method of attacking their hearts, I think the siege will not last too long. Let's follow this plan."

As Tong Guan spoke, he also looked at the crowd to see if they all agreed. After looking around and seeing that everyone nodded, he decided to act accordingly.

After Tong Guan looked at the crowd, he felt something strange in his heart. He looked at the crowd again, then at Su Wu, and thought about the things that Su Wu had said in the big tent before. This feeling became stronger.

What does it feel like?

It seems that Su Wu has great prestige in this army, and the men in the Western Army seem to be quite supportive of him...

After feeling it truly, Tong Guan smiled slightly, and seemed to be relieved in his heart. He was really happy to see it come to fruition...

After everyone had dispersed, Tong Guan kept Su Wu alone. He didn't have much to say, he just wanted to chat with Su Wu.

Tong Guan said slowly: "This time, you have offended Tan Zhen completely..."

Su Wu nodded: "I am not afraid of him..."

"It's not a matter of being afraid or not, I just worry about you..." Tong Guan said as he adjusted the cuffs of his left and right hands.

"Prime Minister, human affairs are just like this. Since he has come here, it must mean that no one is here to rob us... Since he is here to rob us, we naturally don't want to be robbed by him. Then someone must have offended him. General Liu is quite old and has a large family business. He can't do these things. Then I am young, and young people are ignorant and only care about temporary disputes. Isn't that just right?"

At this time, Su Wu stopped saying those stupid and obedient words.

Tong Guan nodded: "You are very insightful, you don't look like a man in his early twenties..."

Su Wu said, "I have the support of the Prime Minister, and my father-in-law is a student of the Prime Minister. If it were anyone else, there would be a way to change their family background, but for me and my father-in-law, there is no such thing. When it comes to favors and relationships, how can I not be the one who will charge into battle?"

No matter how straightforward Su Wu was, he had already gotten to the point.

Tong Guan sighed, looked at Su Wu, and said slowly: "I was still worried about your father-in-law... How should I put it? I was worried that he was not good enough, not experienced enough, and not smart enough. I was worried that he could not handle these things. Sometimes I even thought that if I really pushed him to a high position, would it harm him? Sometimes, it is safer not to be in the center of the storm. I can be at ease in a small official position and live a stable life..."

Tong Guan paused here, and Su Wu did not interrupt. He just stood up, picked up the teapot, and added some hot tea to Tong Guan's teacup.

Tong Guan also drank a sip, and then said: "I also thought that pushing him to that position, is it really right? Now looking at you, seeing you today, I have put aside most of my worries. With you by Peng Yuan's side, it may be suitable. You have means, Taoism, and wisdom, which are all higher than others. It's great."

"Thank you for your praise, Prime Minister. After all, I am young and my knowledge is limited," Su Wu replied.

"I wanted to praise you for being born with knowledge, but how can anyone be born with knowledge? You are just smart. You can understand everything at a glance and learn it immediately. This is a talent. I won't praise you, lest you really get proud and spoiled. The way of officialdom and the way of power are like walking on thin ice, and there is no end in life. You want what you don't have, and you are afraid of losing what you have. Even if it seems like I have reached the end, I still want a lot..."

The more Old Tong Guan spoke, the more serious his thoughts became.

Su Wu also asked: "What else does the Prime Minister want?"

Old Tong Guan smiled and said, "Let me ask you something first. Tell me, since ancient times... that is, since ancient times, when history has been recorded, which eunuchs have left their names in history?"

Su Wu didn't think much about it and just answered: "Well, it seems that there was no such thing as eunuchs too long ago. It was not until the Qin Dynasty that there was Zhao Gao, who left a bad reputation. By the Han Dynasty, eunuchs were even more notorious. There was not a single good word about them in history books. By the Tang Dynasty, Gao Lishi, it's hard to say whether he was good or bad, but he was also famous in history books..."

"Yes, to be honest, is there? Eunuchs don't have any really good reputation. Ziqing, tell me, if I died at this moment, what reputation would I have in history books?" Tong Guan also asked.

Su Wu could not answer anything else, so he just said: "That will surely spread your good name!"

Tong Guan shook his head: "Not necessarily, not necessarily... Who wrote the history books? History books were not written by you and me, but by the disciples of Grand Tutor Cai and Prime Minister Wang... I am dead, and they are alive. Their disciples want to record things, you say... Haha..."

Su Wu really didn't think about this, and only replied: "It's not a bad reputation. After all, he is the prime minister in charge of the army. So far, it's mostly good things. There haven't been any mistakes, right?"

Tong Guan added, "Yes, there were no major mistakes. We tried our best to maintain it, and tried every possible way to maintain it. That's all. In the history books, if you really think about it, it can't be said that there were any great achievements, or even any real achievements worthy of being written about. It can't be said that eliminating a few internal traitors is a great achievement, right?"

Su Wu slowly understood that people are complicated and their life cannot be fully described in a few lines.

Tong Guan continued, "If I don't have any great achievements, then I will just let those people write whatever they want, saying that I have gained and lost in the northwest, that I have eliminated a few traitors, and that I am so bad, and even that I have seized power in the army. If something happens in the future, then it will be my fault that I have corrupted the army of the Song Dynasty!"

Su Wu was suddenly shocked. Is the destruction of a country and the ruin of a family the fault of one or several people?
The Song Dynasty's military preparations were in disarray because of Tong Guan? Everyone else was right, but it was Tong Guan who messed up the entire Song Dynasty's more than one million imperial guards?
This is not the case. Although Tong Guan was responsible for these matters, and he could not escape these responsibilities, the country was destroyed and the family was ruined. From the emperor to the court officials, from the ancestors to the descendants, who in the Song Dynasty was not responsible?
Su Wu knew what Tong Guan was going to say, and it was actually somewhat sad.

Tong Guan said, "So, I want to do something, a truly great achievement, a great achievement that those who write cannot avoid. I, Tong Guan, am a eunuch, a worthless person, childless and childless, and no one cares about me, but I care. Throughout the dynasties, when it comes to eunuchs, I, Tong Guan, should leave a good name, a good name that no one can erase. This is what I want!"

Su Wu understood and decided to attack Liao and recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun!

As for this matter, if it were accomplished, it would be true. According to common sense, how could Tong Guan not be the first virtuous eunuch who truly left his name in history in the past five thousand years?

That really set a precedent. No one has ever done it before, and perhaps no one will be able to do it again...

It turns out that this is the motivation for Tong Guan, who was in his sixties and seventies, to do many things...

But Su Wu knew that everything... was too good to be true...

At this moment, Su Wu spoke well and badly, or rather, Su Wu knew too well what was good and bad.

Well, everyone has to have some aspirations. Even in my sixties or seventies, I still have this determination and ambition...

Bad, it is important for people to know themselves. People from top to bottom in the Song Dynasty, including Tong Guan, obviously lack this self-knowledge.

Even many people, represented by Tong Guan, were overwhelmed and dizzy.

Without commenting, Su Wu just said: "The Prime Minister has great ambitions! An old horse in the stable still has ambitions to run a thousand miles!"

Tong Guan waved his hands twice, then nodded: "Your father-in-law Peng Yuan will rely on you in the future, you should be self-reliant..."

Su Wu stopped talking about the politeness and just said, "Remember the Prime Minister's teachings."

"Okay... After these few words, I have thought about the past and future matters. I don't have much to worry about anymore. Just do it..." Tong Guan waved his hand, ending the topic and letting Su Wu go.

Su Wu stood up and bowed, saying, "I am young, so it is difficult for me to discuss these matters with you..."

"I don't want to have a conversation with you, I just want to talk to you. I'll tell you, you just need to listen and write it down. Go ahead..." Maybe Tong Guan really wanted to find someone to talk to...

Su Wu is the most suitable listener.

Su Wu nodded and walked out, feeling a little heavy in his heart. If he didn't know Tong Guan, if he wasn't so familiar with him, he would just call Tong Guan one of the six thieves of the Northern Song Dynasty, and would just call Tong Guan bad at this and that...

Su Wu also knew that it was correct to scold Tong Guan like this. Tong Guan should bear the blame and infamy for many things...

But now it’s like this... In fact, Tong Guan is really worthy of Su Wu’s empathy.

After all, it’s the same old saying, being bad is the original sin, and being bad deserves to be criticized.

Don't think too much, just do what's in front of you. We're about to set off and go back to the camp. There's still a lot to do...

Every time we set out, it is like a major move. War is really a hassle, it is so troublesome and it makes people feel exhausted.

Hangzhou is really not far away, so just lead the army there. With more than 100,000 people marching on the front line, there are many things to pay attention to.

Su Wu was learning, and learning very seriously, from Liu Yanqing that the Western Army's tactics were the real tactics for fighting external wars.

The Tanguts of Western Xia were also good at light and heavy cavalry, and were also good at rapid raids and ambushes in the mountains and rivers...

Just watching how Liu Yanqing marched, Su Wu kept asking questions.

Liu Yanqing also taught seriously, saying that when the army reached a narrow place, it was necessary to send fast horses to pass first, and also to send people to the high points on both sides to look out...

If you pass a narrow place, you must slow down, make defensive preparations, and let the rear army catch up slowly. You must not lose touch. It is safest to send the chariots on both wings. If you encounter an attack, the infantry should hold the position behind the chariots.

It also shows how Liu Yanqing dispatched cavalry and how he used cavalry. It also shows how the cavalry should be dispatched at intervals. In this way, sometimes even if there is no exact military information, just by looking at the intervals between the cavalry's return, one can deduce the enemy's whereabouts...

He also said that when marching in such a vast area, one should not march in a long snake shape, but should make the front wide and the two wings strong, and then gradually narrow the line backwards. In this way, it will be most convenient to mobilize on the battlefield.

……

All these are the key elements of marching on the battlefield, and Liu Yanqing learned many of them from his elders...

This kind of chat is often heard on the road.

Su Wu even took out a charcoal pencil to take notes on horseback. The more Su Wu took notes, the more Liu Yanqing was willing to talk, which inevitably gave him a sense of accomplishment...

The big city of Hangzhou has slowly appeared before our eyes. The size of Hangzhou is unimaginable. Although not as wide as Bianliang, it is still a city with no end in sight.

Twenty years ago, when Zhao Ji had just ascended the throne, during the Chongning period, household registration statistics showed that there were a total of 235,740 households in Hangzhou city, and the city's population had reached more than 300,000.

Now, I'm afraid the population is close to 400,000. A flat city with a population of 400,000 is so vast, and surrounded by high walls, it is really spectacular!
At this time, there were still 200,000 to 300,000 thieves in the city, which shows how crowded the city was.

Of course, no one knows how many people in the city died directly or indirectly at the hands of the butcher.

The southern army did not go around the city, but went around it far away from the city. This was a safe method. If the enemy troops in the city attacked, there would be enough time for them to react.

The Northern Army came slowly and began to set up camp in the north of Hangzhou.

After a long time, the southern army went around to the south of the city and began to set up camp.

The city was crowded with spectators. Su Wu and others did not know that at the moment the government troops set out, Fang La was no longer in Hangzhou. He had already gone towards Tonglu, Muzhou, which was Fang La's base camp.

The person who stayed in Hangzhou City was Prince Fang Tianding.

Among them was a fierce general, one of the four marshals, Marshal Nanli Shi Bao. Shi Bao was an extremely powerful man. In the story, he killed many generals, and the vanguard Suo Chao died at his hands.

There are also twenty-four great warriors, many generals, and the great general Wu Zhi and a group of people under his command.

In fact, the enemy army in Hangzhou city is very strong and has many elite soldiers.

It's not that Fang La's army doesn't have the ability to fight, it's just that Fang La doesn't have enough control over his men. In the past few days, no one was willing to be the first to fight Su Wu.

In fact, Fang La's strategy at this time was also correct. Relying on the strong city defense, as long as the imperial army failed to capture the city, the reinforcements would come to attack the imperial army. In this way, there was no need to defeat or kill the imperial army. As long as the imperial army could not hold on and retreated, the strategic situation would change and the morale of the army would immediately reverse.

In fact, it also implicitly conforms to a truth: build high walls, store up food, and slowly become king.

Among these three, Fang La actually made only one mistake in his grand strategy, which was that he "proclaimed himself king" too early, and thus distributed the greatest interests in his hands too early, causing all the people under him to become "provincial governors" with their own territories and interests.

But Fang La was also helpless. There were too many original shareholders and their power grew too fast. If the cake was not divided, he might not be able to control the people's hearts.

As long as Su Wu slowly set up the camp, more than 100,000 people would not be able to surround the big city of Hangzhou. Even if another 100,000 people came, they would not be able to surround it in terms of numbers.

But there is also a way to besiege, that is earthwork, digging and building ditches, and then using things like chevaux de frise to create obstacles, even a small number of people can lay siege to a large city.

Outside the city of Hangzhou, it immediately became a huge construction site with digging going on everywhere.

This is the basic operation of war, always digging, digging all the time, until the moment of hand-to-hand combat.

People think soldiers are good at wielding swords and spears, but in fact they are better at using hoes.

In the city of Hangzhou, there was complete silence. All the troops and units gathered in one place, waiting for orders to be dispatched at any time.

This actually gave the people of Hangzhou a sigh of relief. Over the past two months, almost 300,000 to 400,000 Hangzhou residents had been serving the 200,000 to 300,000 bandit troops and taking whatever they asked for.

As for how to serve...there is no need to say more.

The people finally breathed a sigh of relief, but they were still worried about many things, that is, eating...

Crown Prince Fang Tianding repeatedly issued orders to leave some food for the people, but how could these orders be fulfilled?
People have to survive. Maybe a few people can still hide some food and can hold on, but most people have already started to beg for food everywhere. There are also some families that were originally rich or officials, but all the male members have died, not to mention the female members, and their homes have become crowded residences for the bandits.

In Hangzhou, it is said to be quiet, but in fact it is dead silent...

There was no more crying, no more chickens crowing or dogs barking...

This is the pain of war...

Perhaps there is still a glimmer of hope, that is, everyone in the city gradually knows that the imperial army is besieging the city.

I was also afraid that if the imperial army were to win, these bandit troops would become hysterical and do something even worse.

The Hangzhou government office was originally the palace of Fang La, but now it was the central army of Crown Prince Fang Tianding.

Many civil and military officials were also present.

With Nanli Grand Marshal Shi Bao in charge, people's hearts are relatively stable, and the crown prince is in power, which makes him even more majestic.

Prince Fang Tianding said: "Everyone, this time, we should work together and fight together. If you win, you will have a bright future and enjoy endless wealth and glory. If you slack off and lose, what you have now will be nothing but a dream. This prince will live and die with the city, and it depends on you!"

Shi Bao said to himself: "Fight to the death!"

Everyone really looked determined: "Fight to the death!"

Although human hearts have become weaker than before, they are still there!
These people in front of us were the first ones to rise up in rebellion. Who would have been willing to rise up in rebellion at that time if they hadn't been really helpless?

Having come this far, these people are not the kind of people who will give up easily.

It's a time of crisis again. If one prospers, all prosper. If one suffers, all suffer. Regardless of whether the current Saint Fang La is a hero in everyone's mind, our fates are together at this moment! If you don't fight for others, you should fight for yourself!

Fang Tianding was now more confident. He looked around with satisfaction and said slowly, "I, the prince, will command the central army in all military matters. All matters concerning the battlefield will be entrusted to General Nanli!"

Shi Bao stood up and saluted: "Yes, sir!"

Fang Tianding said again: "Let's see which of the two armies of the imperial court is the main force, and Marshal Shi will go to that side."

"Of course it should be so!" Shi Bao answered with a frown. He knew in his heart that the imperial army coming today was completely different from the official army of Jiangnan in the past. He felt a lot of pressure in his heart.

The rebels in the city were discussing matters.

Outside the city, Su Wu, the commander of the southern army, welcomed a group of people who came from Wuzhou. This time they did not have to cross many mountains and hills because Su Wu had already arrived in the south of Hangzhou, and Wuzhou was south of Hangzhou.

Nowadays, bandits from all over the country mostly hide in the city for defense and do not move around.

Therefore, it was not difficult for the group of people from Wuzhou to come.

They were all old subordinates that Wang Bing of Wuzhou had sent people to find, as well as some newly recruited young and strong men. Among them, there were 1,300 to 1,400 old subordinates, and as many as 4,000 to 5,000 young and strong men.

Among them, Su Wu met a person, Zong Ying, the son of Zong Ze, as well as dozens of people from the Zong clan, young and old.

Zong Ying, after meeting him, was not a frivolous person. He seemed to be a kind and honest man. He had traveled a long way and when he saw Su Wu, he bowed to him with great respect: "Thank you for saving my life, General. All the Zong family members will remember this in their hearts."

Su Wu just went to help, but he also felt a little sentimental. The Zong family was not really a wealthy family. If one put aside Zong Ze at this moment, this family was just well-off.

The whole family, young and old, are not so pampered. It can be seen from their faces that most of them have dark skin, which represents this big family. Although they should have their own land to cultivate, they cannot support many people to study.

Su Wu asked, "I will send someone to take you to Huzhou first. There is a boat there. You can board the boat and head north to meet up with Zong Xianggong in Dongping Prefecture. You don't have to worry about the money. What do you think?"

Su Wu's words were of course out of affection, but also selfish. Moving Zong Ze's family, young and old, to Jingdong was a very meaningful thing...

Zong Ying turned around and looked at his family, old and young, and nodded: "That's fine, I thank the general for his care. But... I won't go, I would like to stay here with the army, and want to be around the general. I am familiar with the sages, and I can be a clerk, so I can be useful. This is also a small way to repay the general's kindness. Please..."

Su Wu nodded: "Alright, alright... let's do this!"

Su Wu had already arranged this, which was actually what he wanted. The old ones would eventually go, and the young ones would be kept by his side. Through their influence, they would be able to empathize with each other, and their interests would be bound together. In the future...

Once everything here is arranged, we will have to make arrangements for the several thousand people coming from Wuzhou. Su Wu does not need to worry about the training, as Wang Bing will definitely be a good hand.

Su Wu is in charge of military equipment, armor, weapons, money and food. He just waves his hand and the army will be provided with timely assistance.

Wang Bing, the commander-in-chief of the Wuzhou army, was no longer just a commissioned officer after Tong Guan came, but a full-time officer. Now, Wang Bing has more than a thousand of his old subordinates and four to five thousand young and strong men under his command, and now he has the strength to be the commander-in-chief of the army.

It also shows Wang Bing's reputation in Wuzhou. Among these young and strong men, there are really quite a few brave men who are willing to respond to his call.

To be honest, isn’t Wang Bing also the Hu Baoyi of Wuzhou and the timely rain of Yiwu?

If the world had not changed drastically, Wang Bing would probably have been just a small infantry commander in his life and would never have appeared on the historical stage.

If we think in this way, Song Jiang might actually have another way to go. The Liangshan bandits were bound to rise up anyway. If Song Jiang was not among the bandits but in the government, Zhang Shuye was the man who knew how to use people. If Song Jiang could show some talent and make contributions in fighting the bandits,

If Zhang Shuye could use one or two more people, Gao Qiu and Tong Guan would also come. Then wouldn't Song Jiang, a small clerk, have a future like Wang Bing?
Of course, these cannot be assumed, they are just for comparison.

They dug and continued digging day after day, first for three or four days, in order to build siege equipment. The armies from Jingdong and Northwest China all brought craftsmen with them, and all the siege equipment had to be built on site.

The south side is digging, the north side is digging. In fact, the east and west sides are also digging, and the trenches should be crisscrossed and connected.

Tan Zhen was getting a little anxious, and he complained in the central army tent: "Why hasn't the southern army moved for so long? Is it waiting for me to attack the city first? He is dreaming, isn't he? He wants to reap the benefits while I am the fisherman."

Xin Xingzong also nodded and said: "Perhaps, they are really waiting for us to make the first move, and wait for us to attack the city, and then the enemy troops will be drawn to the north, and then they will attack the city, which is a feint to the east and attack in the west!"

In fact, the troops were divided too early because Tan Zhen was impatient. Logically, he should have conquered Hangzhou first and then divided the troops. This would have been the most reasonable approach.

It's also because Hangzhou is too big, the distance between the north and the south is not close, and it takes a long time to walk.

Tan Zhen then said, "We don't plan to attack the south. If they don't attack the city, we won't attack the city either. Even if we agree to attack, we will just assume that they have to use more strength."

Xin Xingzong was overjoyed and nodded immediately: "That's right!"

Even Xin Xingzong knew that once the city was attacked, he would be the vanguard and there would be no second choice, so he was reluctant to give up the four or five thousand soldiers under his command.

Looking at the people present in the capital, they were all nodding. These people were not necessarily reluctant to give up their troops, but they were also afraid of fighting. If they were to climb a high wall like this, how tall would the wall of Hangzhou be?

Is this climbable?
By the way, in all the stories about siege battles, there are all kinds of methods used, and they are all very exciting, such as diverting water to flood the city or digging tunnels to enter.

In fact, in historical siege battles, there were not so many methods, and strong attacks were the norm.

Those methods are rare and only infrequent in history, so they are written about in great detail. Cities are strategic locations, and there are countless considerations in the selection of their sites. Under normal circumstances, how could they be easily flooded?

Speaking of the strength of the city, many people have misunderstandings about the solidity of the city. They think that it could be knocked down by a few hits from a catapult or by a few digging at the corners. How is this possible?
If this is the case, how could the historical events of defending cities for months and years have happened? Are the coaches all stupid?

Let's talk about Zhang Xun of the Tang Dynasty. He had an elite rebel army of more than 100,000 soldiers, but he was able to defend Suiyang even if he had to eat people. Let's talk about Wang Bing. The Jin army that dominated the world was so elite that eight of them could not conquer Taiyuan.

It is also said that Genghis Khan of Mongolia had an extremely elite army, but they were unable to conquer the city of Yanjing, which belonged to the Jin Dynasty, for years. The same was true for Xiangyang in the Southern Song Dynasty.

This is the norm in historical siege battles, where a brave city is like a natural moat.

As an aside, even in the age of artillery, a solid city is still a natural barrier.

Even during the Anti-Japanese War and the War of Liberation, the ancient city walls still stood out under the overwhelming attacks of modern artillery, and it was still costing countless lives. There are too many examples of this.

This is how strong the city walls are!

The city wall that Su Wu faced in front of him was exactly like this one.

Su Wu inspected the Hangzhou city wall countless times, always frowning and sighing.

Su Wu also changed some of his previous perceptions and ideas, saying that the Western Army weakened rapidly because they returned with a lot of money during their trip to the south of the Yangtze River, and therefore became cowardly.

Come to think of it, perhaps countless elite soldiers were consumed under the Jiangnan city wall.

Su Wu could even imagine how the men of the Western Army were willing to die, and how Tong Guan, who was bent on victory and wanted to launch a war against Liao, did not care about human lives and urged the siege.

One general's success is the result of the sacrifice of thousands of men. History records how the victory was won, but does not record the casualties of the elite who climbed the wall. It only says that Wang Bing broke into the city, but does not mention who Wang Bing led or how many casualties he suffered before he got in...

The elite troops of the Song Dynasty were few in number...

In fact, it was the first time that Su Wu witnessed the difficulty of attacking a battlefield. He also thought that the Song army's attack on Liao was not entirely a matter of abandoning their weapons and armor. They also broke into the Liao Dynasty's Yanjing City, but they missed everything.

Many people are guilty of this regrettable and tragic thing, and Tong Guan is even more guilty!
History, at all times, always has two sides.

Three days later, it was time to attack the city. There were already quite a few siege weapons, and the siege battle had to begin. It was not about winning in one battle, but about getting the war started.

As long as it starts, pressure will be applied and reinforcements from Hangzhou will arrive.

Tong Guan did not say much while waiting for the central army to discuss the matter. He just asked Su Wu: "You should talk about this matter first."

Tong Guan seemed to do so intentionally, as if he was helping Su Wu establish some kind of authority in the army.

Su Wu did not pretend, and just said: "My fellow colleagues, we are not those mediocre people in the north. We are here to make achievements. When the war starts, we must fight to attack the city. In this way, the people in the city will be terrified, and the reinforcements from outside will come to help. We should surround the city and attack the reinforcements!"

Su Wu was not discussing, he was really giving orders.

Everyone nodded, and Liu Yanqing said, "The method of surrounding a point and attacking the reinforcements is a good word and appropriate! It is also a good strategy! Once the reinforcements are dispersed, the people in the city will have no hope. They can either be trapped for a long time and slowly wait for death, or go out and give it a try. It is really smart!"

This is recognition!

Just looking at everyone, they all nodded. This idea is indeed a good one. General Su really understands military affairs and cares about the soldiers!
Su Wu said again: "Just ask, who will lead the charge?"

Su Wu glanced left and right!
Just look at countless people looking into Su Wu's eyes!

(Brothers, today's amount is a little less, 8,600. During the New Year, even the number of people who subscribe seems to have decreased... It's the last day, the beginning and end of the month, I habitually ask for votes, thank you brothers!)
(End of this chapter)