Chapter 16 (1/2)

Qinghe County.

Wei will ma Chen standing on the low head of the city, looking at the distant horizon rolling soldiers and horses silent, afternoon sun from his side, cast a dark silhouette on the ground not far away.

Jingnan county is not far away from here, so the news of the Imperial Army's defeat and retreat has been completely spread in the past few days.

As a military general who was paid by the imperial court, Ma Chen was not in a good mood when he heard the news. Moreover, a more troublesome problem was quickly put before him: once Zhao Yuanjin, who had been slow to fight back, what would he do?

Qinghe County is only a small county, with a small population, low city walls and poor people. It has always been ignored by the government. When general Mengluo led his troops to encircle Zhao Yuanjin, only one guard (500 soldiers) of ordinary soldiers were stationed after the recovery of Zhao Yuanjin. They were still dissatisfied with the preparation, and there was a shortage of food, grass and weapons.

In fact, this kind of people can help maintain the order of the city and show the existence of the court's rule. It's very hard to resist the large-scale refugees and bandits.

So Ma Chen, sensing that the situation was not good, sent people to ask for support from the main force of the Imperial Army in Yangcheng County, and on the other hand, he mobilized the people in the county to repair the city wall and prepare rolling wood and stone to cope with the battle of seizing the city at any time.

However, the Imperial Army, whose morale was low and whose morale was low, had no intention to go out to battle. The general in charge of the military affairs temporarily gave Ma Chen the order that he should stick to the city and not retreat or surrender.

Forced to groan for a while, he can only talk about personnel, try his best to strengthen the city defense, hoping to win a chance of life.

It's just that I'm afraid of anything. I'm just reporting that Zhao Yuanjin's army has already arrived in Qinghe County, and the number will not be less than 3000.

So For Ma Chen and the county under his feet, it's just the difference between early death and late death.

Want to win? That's impossible. Even Mengluo's army is a strong enemy, and the mediocre Ma Chen does not think that he will have any chance.

”General Ma.” A voice came from behind.

He turned his head and saw that it was Liu Yi, a county magistrate of Qinghe County who had just taken office. He was a thin old man with a tired look. His eyes were filled with frustration.

Liu Yi has only been the head of a county for less than two months, and the affairs of the county have just been straightened out. How much spare power can he spare on military affairs? In the face of this sudden disaster of war, it is extremely rare that we do not abandon the city.

”County Lord.” Ma Chen answered weakly.

”Now that the bandits are under the city, how should we deal with it?” Liu asked uneasily.

”What else? We should be loyal to the court if we eat the salary of the court. When it comes to the end, it's nothing more than serving the country with one death. ” Ma Chen light tunnel.

“……” Liu county magistrate opened his mouth and could not say what he wanted to say.

In the end, he just sighed heavily and said: ”since the general has the heart to serve the death, I'm not a man who is greedy for life and death, so I'd better live and die with this county.”

Zhao Yuanjin's headquarters arrived very quickly. Four thousand troops set up barracks six miles away from the city, erected wooden walls, dug ditches, buried pots and cooked food. Special soldiers went out to inspect the terrain and cut down trees. Everything was busy but not chaotic.

Qin Feng looked around. When he went back last time, he collected a lot of information about the ancient marching and fighting, and the tactics of military tactics. He often looked over these days when he had nothing to do. Now he has learned a lot, so he is not a layman.

Back in the commander's tent, Zhao Yuanjin was discussing with several generals, and Su Mu was also present. Sun Xiangqing, who was staying in the county, did not come.

He did not say much. After saluting, he sat down and listened quietly.

”What's your opinion about this siege?” After a moment, Zhao Yuanjin turned to look at him.

”You can send someone to persuade him to surrender first. If not, you can order a strong attack.” Qin Feng was indifferent.

This is the advantage of our side. It is best for us to subdue people without fighting. If the other side is fighting in a corner, it is also possible to send troops to fight hard. In any case, the county town has few soldiers. The city wall is only three meters high, which can not last long.

”Sir, you are right. I mean it.” Lingyuanqing, the commander of the company, said with a smile.

”I think it's feasible,” said Song Wu, the commander in chief of Qinwei.

Several generals spoke one after another, with the same meaning. Then Zhao Yuanjin stopped hesitating and immediately ordered an emissary to set out to surrender. It is stated that as long as the other party agrees to offer the city, it will not only let bygones be bygones, but also retain the original appointment.

Results half an hour later, the emissary with a guilty face returned and kowtowed to Zhao Yuanjin.

Zhao Yuanjin did not hold much hope for this matter, so he did not blame him. The whole army is no longer hesitant and is preparing for the attack.

The next morning.

After breakfast, with the strong trumpet, a group of soldiers left the barracks one after another, and gathered in front of the city at a safe distance.

At the head of the city, the soldiers of the imperial court who were nervous and did not rest well all night were on guard. Some people rushed to ask the general and the magistrate to take charge of the situation.When Ma Chen and Liu Yi arrive at the city wall, they can see that a team of elite soldiers in the city are motionless, the array is neat and silent, and the murderous spirit is coming. An army of four thousand men, however, is like the power of a gathering of thousands of troops.