Sanniang Li, who had already received the news, was ready for battle.
Qu Tutong looked at the soldiers standing guard on the city wall. When he saw the army behind him, he did not panic at all. He knew that Sanniang Li must have received the news that he had led the army out of the city to attack her.
"Order the soldiers to start a fire to cook and set up camp!”Qu Tutong waved his hand and said loudly.
"Yes, sir!"
A messenger beside him received the order and immediately began to ride his horse slowly towards the army behind him. At the same time, he shouted,"General has ordered us to start a fire to cook and set up camp!”
The soldiers received the order and immediately set up camp. The Fire Head Camp started to light a fire and cook. In a short while, the camp was set up and the food was ready.
They had been marching since the morning and had not eaten until now. After walking for such a long time, they were naturally tired and had no energy.
The army behind Qu Tutong numbered only slightly more than ten thousand. He had arranged for the rest of the army to be stationed elsewhere. There were also some generals who had rushed to other counties with imperial edicts from the Imperial Court, ordering them to attack Li Sanniang's rebel army together.
Sanniang Li stood on the city wall and watched as Qu Tutong's army set up camp and started a fire to cook. No one knew what she was thinking.
Ma Sanbao said," Looking at the speed of setting up camp, these soldiers have obviously received very good training. The army in Qu Tutong's hands should be his elite army. However, why are there only so few people? It looks like there are only about 10,000 people. Where did the rest of the army go?"”
"More than ten thousand elite soldiers set up camp and started cooking. Qu Tutong wants to start the siege after sunset, but there are only ten thousand people. If we go out of the city now and directly destroy his ten thousand troops, will this work?”Sanniang Li asked as she looked at Qu Tutong's 10,000 strong army.
Ma Sanbao shook his head and replied," This is very likely a trap. He placed 10,000 troops in front of us and started a fire to cook. He wants us to leave the city. Now, the east gate is guarded by us, while the north gate is guarded by Zhang Yi and the others. If he leads the army to attack from one gate, then this is really a trap.”
Li Sanniang nodded. Although she wanted to take over Qu Tutong's 10,000 elite soldiers, Ma Sanbao was right. This was probably a trap.
At most, they only had 20,000 soldiers squeezed into this small county city, and another 20,000 soldiers were in Wugong County. 20,000 against 50,000, leaving the city rashly was not a wise decision.
"I remember Yun Yi once said something. When the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy is stationed, we harass; when the enemy is tired, we attack; when the enemy retreats, we pursue. It was not a strategy from Sun Tzu's Art of War, but it was the essence of the art of war. Now that Qu Tutong's 50,000 troops were exhausted, it was a good time for us to attack. Unfortunately, he must have thought of this as well, so he used a fake plan to suppress us with just 10,000 elites. As expected of the Great General of the Sui Army.”
Sanniang Li was a little emotional. Although she believed that she could win this battle, when the Sui army really came, she still found the difference between her and the Sui army.
Ma Sanbao didn't want to see Li Sanniang lose confidence at the beginning, so he immediately said,""We already have a plan. Just act according to our plan. As for this kind of bait, we don't have to worry about it. When the war comes, as long as we resist their attacks, we will have a chance to leave the city and fight them head-on.”
Sanniang Li nodded and said," Yes, just like what Yun Yi said. You have to defeat your opponent psychologically. Only then will you have a chance of winning."”
In the main camp, Qu Tutong began to eat the food prepared by the Fire Head Camp. There was a bowl of white rice porridge, a plate of smoked mutton, and a few special dishes from Chang 'an.
This kind of food could also be seen among the soldiers. After eating, they would have a big fight, so they naturally ate better.
Qu Tutong thought as he ate. He had ordered his 10,000-strong army to arrive here first. He had thought that Li Sanniang would come out of the city to attack, but he had not expected her to hold back. It seemed that her opponent was not a simple woman.
It seemed that the mission this time was a little difficult.
The sun soon set, and the sky turned dark. A great battle was about to begin.
"Woo!"
Behind Qu Tutong's army, the bugle horn was blown. The three generals led their troops to begin the first wave of attacks. At the same time, the bugle horn was also blown at the northern gate.
Sanniang Li, who had not received any news about the north gate, also received news that the north gate had been attacked. Moreover, it was the most ferocious attack.
"He wants to break through the north gate. Uncle Ma, go to the north gate immediately to support him. Leave this place to me!”
Li Sanniang shot an arrow to death and ordered Ma Sanbao, who was also shooting arrows. Ma Sanbao did not say anything and went down to the north gate to support them.
The alcohol that Yun Yi had invented was now piled up under the inner city wall. At the same time, there were kerosene and large stones on the city wall.
These were all necessary items to defend the city wall. Qu Tutong's siege army would use ladders to climb up, while Li Sanniang's soldiers would use large stones to smash down. After the stones were used up, there was still kerosene.
However, Qu Tutong's army had archers shooting arrows from below. When the two armies faced each other, the archers were the most lethal.
At the city gate below the city wall, Qu Tutong's army and the small team that was ramming the city gate used these huge pillars to ram the city gate.
However, when Li Sanniang was attacking Yu County, she saw that the city gate of Yu County was blown up by a few jars of alcohol. She immediately sent people to build the strongest city gate.
Qu Tutong's squad that had been charging at the city gate had lost hundreds of men. They had been charging for an hour, but they had not succeeded.
The siege continued into the night, and Qu Tutong's army did not manage to take the city gates. Half of the 10,000 elite soldiers were lost.
"Woo!"
The bugle call for retreat finally sounded. At this time, the soldiers of the two armies were already very tired. If this continued, they would probably collapse.
However, the soldiers on Li Sanniang's side were all refugees. They had been bullied by the soldiers and the government until they had no homes or relatives. They were directly displaced. Therefore, the hatred for the Sui Army was deep in their bones. Moreover, they still had their families in the city. Therefore, even if they were tired, they gritted their teeth and persevered.
However, the soldiers on Qu Tutong's side were different. Although they were elites and had many military merits after a battle, they still had to live to claim them.
Who would be willing to attack the city when they were exhausted? If they were not careful, they would directly lose their lives in the city tower. They were naturally unwilling.
Qu Tutong looked at his soldiers and realized that they were already exhausted. The effect of attacking the city had been greatly reduced. He immediately ordered them to retreat. If this continued, the situation would be disadvantageous to him.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。