diskusbooks Chapter 490: Early Attack
Chapter 490: Early Attack
In Jiaokou County, Zhu Zhanhui led the remaining soldiers and held out for nearly two hours.
However, strangely, the Huns did not pursue the victory as everyone expected.
During this period, the people in the city evacuated one after another and basically all left the city safely.
Seeing this, Zhu Zhanhui knew that it was meaningless to hold on any longer, so he reluctantly gave the order to give up.
Time passed quietly, and the next day, the sun shone on the earth. Gulizar led the team with high spirits, ready to capture Jiaokou County in one fell swoop.
When they arrived at the city in a rage, they were surprised to find that the county town had become a deserted city.
The Hun soldiers swaggered into the city and rushed towards the rich families like hungry wolves.
There was still a lot of food, as well as some exquisite porcelain and furniture left in the homes of the wealthy families.
The grain was naturally confiscated and used as military rations; and the Xiongnu soldiers couldn't wait to divide up the porcelain.
They fought over each other, arguing over a piece of porcelain until their faces turned red and they even came to blows. This fight seemed so absurd and meaningless, but it was actually happening in this empty city.
Now, there are two roads leading to Pingyang in front of Gulizar, one passes through Jinzhou and the other goes to Puzi.
After careful comparison, the route through Jinzhou is much closer, and according to intelligence, Jinzhou is relatively richer.
Jinzhou is a place with an extremely advantageous geographical location. It is not the only way to Pingyang, but it has unique strategic significance.
From Jiaokou, one can go directly east to Jinyang and south to Pingyang. In Gulizar's eyes, Jinzhou was like a tempting piece of fat meat, and he was determined to get it.
Taking Jinzhou will not only bring rich wealth, but also provide an excellent place to reorganize troops.
So, Gulizar turned to look at Jiao Zan and asked with a smile, "Chief Jiao Zan, we need to leave some people behind to guard Jiaokou. Who do you think would be the most suitable person to stay?"
As soon as Gulizar said this, Jiao Zan immediately understood his intention.
Jiao Zan sneered inwardly, but just said casually: "Whoever the Zuo Xian King thinks is suitable, then let him stay."
Gulizar was delighted to hear Jiao Zan's answer and continued:
"Ah! So, considering that you have been on this expedition and have never experienced a real battle, let's arrange it this way. You leave 10,000 people at Jiaokou, and we will attack Jinzhou together.
If we take Jinzhou, you can also have a good rest there."
Jiao Zan knew clearly in his mind that Gulizar's implication was that he wanted him to leave behind 10,000 men so that when they attacked Jinzhou, these 10,000 men could charge into battle and serve as cannon fodder.
But Gulizar was the leader of this team after all. Although Jiao Zan was dissatisfied, he couldn't object obviously. Helplessly, he had to nod and agree.
Recalling the Battle of Jiaokou, Gaddafi's team lost three thousand people.
For them who have been fighting frequently during this period, this loss seems to be basically negligible on the surface.
But in reality, every warrior is a valuable force.
Now, after taking Jinzhou, they have to attack Pingyang. Gulizar and his men have already made plans in their minds. They plan to let Jiao Zan's team hold on for a while when attacking Jinzhou, so as to minimize the losses of their own team.
After a day of rest, they once again led the team towards Jinzhou.
However, when they arrived in Jinzhou with great anticipation, they were surprised to find that, like Jiaokou County, the city was deserted. Jiao Zan had easily picked up a bargain.
Immediately afterwards, Gulizar planned to attack Pingyang.
But he knew in his heart that it would be difficult to successfully attack the city with the limited troops he had.
So, on the one hand, he hurriedly sent people back to inform Yelu Qing of the situation here in detail, hoping that Yelu Qing could send people south to support as soon as possible;
On the other hand, he also set his sights on Jiao Zan's troops, intending to let Jiao Zan leave another 10,000 people to garrison Jinzhou.
In his opinion, this city was dispensable for them as they were about to attack Pingyang.
When Jiao Zan heard Gulizar bring up this matter, his face instantly turned gloomy.
He said bluntly, "I only have 50,000 men in total, and you're going to take away almost half of our forces. What if we're defeated on the battlefield, or if someone attacks us from behind, what will we use to fight?"
After being asked this question by Jiao Zan, Gulizha was suddenly speechless and had no answer.
In fact, he himself was also afraid of being alone in deep enemy territory. Once surrounded by the enemy, he would be stuck in this unfamiliar place and would be unable to escape.
Gulizar calmed himself down and tried to persuade them with kind words, saying, "Chief Jiao Zan, we are only a hundred miles away from Pingyang. If there is any emergency here, we will definitely rush over to provide reinforcements."
Jiao Zan remained unmoved and firmly retorted, "This won't work. The enemy and us are evenly matched. If they send a larger force, these 10,000 men won't hold out for even a day. Once our army arrives, we'll face another difficult siege."
Jiao Zan firmly rejected Gulizar's proposal and refused to leave 10,000 people in Jinzhou under any circumstances.
Seeing this, Gulizar had no choice but to relax his conditions and said, "Then leave 20,000 men behind, no more. And Chief Yelu Qing will definitely send reinforcements, so there won't be any danger here."
Gulizar tried to persuade Jiao Zan again.
"Alright, Chief Jiao Zan, you won't be that unlucky. Besides, the Great Zhou army doesn't dare to confront us head-on right now."
Gaddafi was persuading impatiently.
Jiao Zan gave Gaddafi a fierce look and thought to himself: If I continue to refuse, it would be unreasonable and unconscionable.
After hesitating for a long time, Jiao Zan finally nodded and agreed.
Two days later, they still had not received Yelu Qing's reinforcements, but Gulizar was eager to attack Pingyang, so he decided not to wait any longer and led his team towards Pingyang.
Before leaving, Jiao Zan, considering the need to defend the city, left fifty mortars to the troops stationed in Jinzhou, and he himself took 150 mortars with him.
It was a hundred miles from their location to Pingyang, and with normal marching, they could reach the destination in one day.
That night, after some thought, Gulizar felt that it would be more appropriate to launch the attack at dawn the next day.
Pingyang City was built along the river, and the terrain to the west of the city was not conducive to large-scale attacks.
After observation, they believed that it would be more appropriate to launch an attack from the north gate and the east gate, and they deliberately left two directions open to give the defenders in the city a chance to escape.
This is not because they are soft-hearted, but because they are worried that if they push the enemy into a corner, the defenders will fight with their backs against the wall. In that case, the difficulty of attacking the city will be greatly increased.
At this time, there were 150,000 troops stationed in Pingyang City, while Gulizar and his men had less than 70,000 troops in total.
The purpose of their attack was not to completely occupy the city, but to intimidate the defenders in the city and obtain supplies from the city.
Therefore, catching the enemy off guard became the core strategy of this siege.
Pingyang City's walls were two and a half feet high, making it a medium-sized fortress. With sufficient troops and siege equipment like ladders, it was theoretically possible to attack the city.
However, at this time, the walls of Pingyang were filled with large-caliber artillery.
Especially at the North Gate and the East Gate, you can see a black gun barrel at every battlement, like a ferocious beast, staring at the movements outside the city.
Gulizar carefully observed and measured outside the city for a long time, and finally decided to launch a sneak attack in the early morning when the enemy's defense was relaxed.