Chapter 208: To others but not to others

From the fourth day, the Eastern Wei army's offensive against the city began to slow down.

But they built dozens of catapults and began to fire cannons into the city.

The walls were smashed for several days in a row. This caused great trouble to the Yan army. Deaths and injuries were minor matters, but the important thing was that it caused a lot of panic.

After seeing this, Li Yuanhui immediately ordered the navy behind to urgently deliver a batch of fishing nets, fixed them with brackets, and placed them behind the baffle.

The effect is still there.

Even if the stone breaks through the baffle, it cannot penetrate the fishing net.

Li Yuanhui, who had been in a passive state, was also aroused by the anger and sent orders to several cavalry units stationed at Ruxu Mountain in Dongguan.

Wait for the opportunity to strike.

The cavalry had been resting and gathering strength in the back these days, intending to use it as a backup for a counterattack.

But now Li Yuanhui didn’t think so much anymore. If he didn’t put some pressure on the Eastern Wei army, it would be difficult to defend the city.

Liu Ju, Chang Yanheng, Li Xuandao, Wang Tong and Luo Shixiang, these five people commanded more than 6,000 cavalry and stationed behind the East Pass of Ruxu Mountain.

After receiving Li Yuanhui's military order.

In addition to the heavy cavalry led by Luo Shixiang of Li Xuandao, Liu Ju, Chang Yanheng and Wang Tong all moved in full force.

The cavalry led by these three people alone has exceeded 5,000 people after several rounds of expansion.

The sound of 20,000 horse hooves trampling the ground with 5,000 cavalrymen was enough to create a momentum that would terrify the Eastern Wei army.

To the north, I saw a black mass of galloping cavalry, covering the mountains and plains, like a huge black wave, connecting the sky and the earth.

Faced with such a large number of cavalry, the commander of the Eastern Wei army in Jiangbei, the right general Zhu Jun, hurriedly called on the soldiers to form a formation to defend themselves or retreat to the camp.

Fortunately, Zhu Jun followed the advice of former general Li Xiong and arranged two infantry phalanxes on the flanks and used Wugang chariots to form a formation, which prevented the siege troops from facing the cavalry directly and avoided the fate of being directly overwhelmed.

But there was a problem. Although the phalanxes protecting the infantry on the flanks could block the direct charge of the Yan cavalry, their formation was fixed and could be easily bypassed.

The infantry attacking the city could retreat to the camp in time, but the bulky creatures like catapults were not so lucky.

The Yan cavalry doused them with kerosene and set them on fire, and then they retreated calmly.

In the following days, the Yan cavalry would occasionally come to the front of the battle formation to ride their horses, constantly putting some pressure on the Eastern Wei army, and sometimes even waking the Wei army in the middle of the night with the muffled sound of horses' hooves hitting the ground.

As for the siege, it also came to a standstill and the two sides were once again in a state of stalemate.

At night, on the bank of the river, Cao Yuanjing sat cross-legged, holding an arrow in his hand. On the arrow was a fish that had been filleted, sprinkled with salt and seasonings, and roasted directly over the fire.

Several generals around him, headed by King Cao Cheng of Chu, the Left General Lu Gongren, the Right General Zhu Jun, the Rear General Liu Changyan, the Guard General Han Ling, and the Commander General Wang Xiongyan, all sat around the fire like him, eating grilled meat and fish and drinking fine wine.

The grilled fish in Cao Yuanjing's hand was already golden on both sides. Cao Cheng, who was standing by, kept staring at it and said, "That's enough. If you grill it for a little longer, it will get burnt."

Cao Yuanjing smiled and said, "Why are you in such a hurry? Even though the outside of the fish is almost done, the middle is still a little raw. Take your time, don't be in a hurry."

Cao Cheng said: "It doesn't matter if it's raw. We have eaten raw fish before."

Cao Yuanjing shook his head and said, "Raw food has its own flavor, and cooked food has its own flavor. We can't generalize. Half-cooked food is the hardest to swallow, just like half-cooked rice."

"Look, this is the best heat, it's cooked soon." Before Cao Yuanjing finished speaking, Cao Cheng snatched it away and started to put it into his mouth. However, he burned his tongue with the first bite.

"Ha ha ha," after taking a long breath, Cao Cheng took another sip of wine and felt that his mouth and tongue were not so hot anymore.

"Ha ha ha ha"

The generals sitting around all laughed, as if they were familiar with this. The two brothers had a deep relationship, and even if Cao Yuanjing became the emperor, he would naturally not care about such things.

Among these generals, except Lu Gongren and Zhu Jun, two noble families of Wu County, the rest were all old brothers who had followed Cao Yuanjing in smuggling salt in the early years, or had joined him when the army was just starting. What had they not seen?

After laughing, Cao Yuanjing said: "General Lu, do you have any other way to break open this Ruxu Fort? We have been fighting for more than ten days and have lost nearly five or six thousand soldiers. It is not a good idea to continue fighting like this."

Lu Gongren restrained his smile, and then said seriously: "Both Ruxuwu and Liyang are strong cities. Since Li Yangzhou took office as the governor of Jianghuai, he has begun to build city defenses and improve fortifications year by year. Although he is young, he is steady and generous, and has light taxes and levies. He has made great achievements in military management and government administration. Now the people of Jianghuai all say that they hate that General Li did not come earlier, which shows that people's hearts are loyal to him."

"Moreover, Li Yangzhou used his troops with moderation, never took risks, and could be described as being as immovable as a mountain. In addition, there was a strong city to rely on, so even though the men of Jiangdong were brave, it would be difficult for them to break through the city."

Right General Zhu Jun said: "Perhaps we can find a way to encourage him to leave the city on his own initiative?"

Cao Chengdao: "It's useless. Two years ago, we shouted and cursed outside for several days, but nothing happened. Instead, he ordered people to attack our camp at night, which made our soldiers panic."

At this time, Cao Yuanjing said, "Why not leave some troops to defend Jiangbei and confront the Yan army in Ruxuwu? I will lead the army and join General Miao to attack Liyang. What do you think?"

Lu Gongren shook his head and said, "The enemy has the advantage of cavalry, and they can arrive in a flash after traveling dozens of miles."

He understood Cao Yuanjing's intention. The purpose was not to attack Liyang, but to use the attack on Liyang to lure the Yan army out of the city to fight.

However, the distance between Ruxuwu and Liyang is only a few dozen miles. For the cavalry, it would only take a few hours at most. There are beacons of the Yan army and a large number of scouts everywhere in Jiangbei.

It can be said that before all the Yan army's beacons were pulled out and all the Yan army's scouts were eliminated, the Eastern Wei army's actions on the north bank of the Yangtze River were basically untraceable.

In fact, Jiangdong was also well aware of the movements of the Yan army in Jianghuai and its approximate garrison situation.

The difficulty lies in the fact that even with nearly 100,000 troops, they are still very conservative and firmly guard various strategic locations.

If the Eastern Wei wanted to seize it, it had to send troops to fight to the death.

They have dangerous places and cities to rely on, and they have sufficient troops, food, and weapons. They also have a powerful mobile corps - the cavalry.

Thinking of this, Lu Gongren continued: "Do you know the story of Zhuge Wuhou's northern expedition?"

Even if you didn’t know it before, you know it now.

Cao Yuanjing shook his head and smiled bitterly, "This Sima Yi is a very shrewd man, but Li Yuanhui, at such a young age, has mastered his essence? At such a young age, who can afford to fight him?"

Lu Gongren said: "In fact, there may not be no chance."

Cao Yuanjing said: "General Lu, please speak."

"Whether our army attacks Ruxukou or Liyang, the Yan army is well-rested and waiting for the enemy to tire out. They only need to defend the city and consume the enemy's energy. But if I send troops to Yuzhang, will they still be able to sit still? Sun Tzu said: Those who arrive at the battlefield first and wait for the enemy are at ease, while those who arrive at the battlefield later and rush into battle are tired. Therefore, those who are good at fighting attack others instead of being attacked by others. We can't keep staring at these key places in Jiangbei, we have to make them move."

After Lu Gongren finished speaking, a smile appeared on his lips. Everyone fell into deep thought.

After a while, Cao Yuanjing stood up and said, "Maybe we can give it a try."

The firelight reflected on his face, flickering.

(End of this chapter)