Chapter 343: The Great Official is in a State of Emergency, and the Mother Tiger is in a State of Emergency

Suo Chao's mentality changed after he went to Taiyuan.

Wu Song also married a princess, and Yang Zhi was instigated to stay and not leave, which was just a small shock, but he couldn't defeat Liu Tang and Xuan Zan in a martial arts competition, which was unacceptable.

What's worse, Wu Song actually learned to ride a horse and had a fierce horse battle with Lu Zhishen, which completely overturned his memory.

During that conversation in the tent, although they spoke cryptically, they both mentioned the direction.

Yang Chang is not only strong himself, but he can also make his brothers stronger together. This is completely unreasonable.

As a result, the original pioneer suddenly became negative. He often discussed life with others. He was no longer in a hurry when he had tasks, but just dealt with them silently.

Dong Ping and Zhang Qing were both surrendered generals. They were close in age to Suo Chao and they often interacted with each other. His strange behavior was noticed by the two of them.

After the secret observation was over, the two returned to the camp to rest.

Before daybreak the next day, each camp had already started cooking. At the same time, Song Jiang was at the pass, recruiting troops and making arrangements for the subsequent march.

Song Jiang had been waiting for several years and planning for a long time before he turned against Yang Chang and went to war, so he went all out when the battle began.

Except for Hu Yanzhuo, Shan Tinggui, and Wei Dingguo guarding Huaizhou; Zhang Shun, Zhu Fu, and Li Yun guarding Weizhou; Mu Chun and Duan Jingzhu guarding Xiangzhou, and Song Qing who was in Yingtianfu, all the brothers under his command were present.

They are: Wu Yong, Qin Ming, Hua Rong, Dong Ping, Zhang Qing, Xu Ning, Suo Chao, Dai Zong, Jie Zhen, Jie Bao, Yang Xiong, Shi Xiu, Huang Xin, Pei Xuan, Yan Shun, Xiang Chong, Li Gun, Kong Ming, Lü Fang, Guo Sheng, Tang Long, Gong Wang, Du Qian, Zhu Gui and Bai Sheng, a total of 25 people.

Of course, Kong Ming had been killed in the battle, Dai Zong had gone to Yanjing to meet Nianhan, and Zhu Gui was still undercover and had not returned to the team. At this time, there were actually only twenty-two old brothers standing in front of Song Jiang.

Song Jiang had finally captured Fengyue Pass, so there was no way he would leave no men to defend it. After a night of deliberation, he finally chose Li Zhen, Jie Bao and Bai Sheng.

Zou Run was an outsider after all, and Gu Dasao was the brothers' cousin. What if the two of them turned against them at the critical moment and caused immeasurable damage? Bai Sheng had already completed his mission, and if he was sent out again, it would easily lead to Zhu Gui's exposure. So Song Jiang asked him to stay in Fengyue Pass as well.

Marching deployment: The first group was still Hua Rong and Xu Ning leading the way; the second group was Yang Xiong, Shi Xiu, and Tang Long escorting fifty cannons; the third group was the main force led by Song Jiang, Wu Yong, Qin Ming and others; the fourth group was Huang Xin, Pei Xuan, Xiang Chong, and Li Gun escorting the baggage.

After a hurried breakfast, the troops from each formation set off one after another.

Fifty thousand soldiers rolled forward in the night until light shone from behind and the sky became brighter and brighter.

If you stand from a God's perspective, you will see a strange picture. This group of people are heading west with their backs to the light, as if they are chasing darkness.

Fengyue Pass was less than forty miles away from She County, and Song Jiang set out before dawn, so the enemy troops were at the gates of the city early in the afternoon.

There were 3,000 soldiers defending She County, and even if the defeated soldiers who escaped were included, the total number was less than 4,000, while Song Jiang brought 50,000 people and 50 cannons.

With such a huge disparity in military strength, based on Song Jiang's stereotype of Sun Li, he believed that Sun Li would definitely protect himself and choose to withdraw from She County and return to Licheng.

After all, Shexian City is small and not strong, and the food and grass reserves are not much, while Licheng in the rear is a big city with a more important strategic location.

To the northwest of Licheng is Xiangyuan, an important town in Luzhou. To the north of Xiangyuan is the territory of Weisheng Army. To the southwest of Licheng is Lucheng in the central part. Continuing south is Shangdang where Yan Qing is located, which is also the core hinterland of Luzhou.

It would be reasonable and logical for Sun Li to abandon She County and bring his troops back to Licheng.

However, the reality was beyond expectations. The gates of Shexian City were closed, flags were flying on the city wall, and the defenders were on high alert.

After listening to Hua Rong's report, Song Jiang frowned in disbelief, wondering what Sun Li wanted to do?
Seeking death on his own initiative? It doesn't fit his personality.

Do you want to rejoin me?

It's not easy to betray openly, so maybe holding on and being captured is also an option?

Sun Li, Sun Li, if you had known how to deal with current affairs in Liangshan, why would you have fallen into this predicament?

With your strength, Bing Yuchi, if you had shown your loyalty at the beginning, you would have had a place in Tiangang Star. Even if you were recruited later, you would not have been pushed to Lu Junyi.
"Captain, shall we fire our cannons?"

"install?"

Hua Rong interrupted Song Jiang's trance by asking for instructions.

Heisabalang was stunned for a moment, then said seriously: "After all, we have gathered together at Liangshan, and I really can't bear to see my former brothers torn to pieces. I'd better go and persuade him to surrender in person and give him another chance."

"okay."

Hua Rong was very surprised to hear this, and thought to himself, "Yesterday in front of Kong Ming's grave, you said that if you don't surrender, you will be killed without mercy. I have already tried to persuade him, but that guy refused to listen."

"Alas, I am just soft-hearted. Come on, lead the way!"

"Yes!"

This time it was Hua Rong's turn to be absent-minded, so Song Jiang patted his arm to wake him up, and then the two of them came to the foot of the city.

Sun Li looked down at him with a cold face. Seeing this, Song Jiang held up a horse whip and shouted, "Brother Sun, do you still remember Song Gongming?"

"I am the deputy commander of the Luzhou Army, not your brother Sun."

"Ok?"

Song Jiang was shocked when he heard this.

I'm talking to you about friendship, and you're talking about your position? I'm using the title of Grand Commandant? You're an ungrateful person.

"Deputy Chief Steward Sun, you have such great authority. The positions of my brothers are all higher than yours. Wu Yong, the Observation Envoy of Kaide, Hua Rong, the Defense Envoy of Xiangzhou, and Xu Ning, the Training Envoy of Weizhou."

"No need to tell Grandpa the names of the dishes. You officials appointed by the fake court, do you have the nerve to show off in front of others? You are leading a bunch of rabble, do you really think you are the dish?"

"very good."

Sun Li's words killed without bloodshed, which was equivalent to poking Song Jiang's lungs. Hei Sanlang was so angry that he gnashed his teeth and cursed coldly: "I gave you a chance, but you didn't want it. When Shexian City is captured later, you must remember your words!"

"Let's talk about it after it breaks, stop making noise!"

"Fire, fire!"

Song Jiang was so angry at this time that he yelled at Hua Rong.

Hua Rong then raised the flag to signal Tang Long, and then he saw the gunners lit the fuses and more than a dozen cannons fired at the north gate.

In the first round of bombardment, due to insufficient adjustment, only three shells hit the Shexian city wall. Tang Long ordered to continue to adjust the aiming, and the second round was launched after a long wait. The hit rate increased, but it was still not enough to destroy the city wall.

At that time, artillery had limited power, and the army mainly fought with cold weapons. Artillery was more of a psychological deterrent.

After three rounds of artillery fire, there was no obvious damage to the city wall of Shexian County, and the defenders on the city did not panic.

Wu Yong suggested to Song Jiang: "She County has no internal support, and Sun Li is personally stationed at the north gate. It is difficult to achieve results by focusing on one gate. It is better to transfer the remaining artillery to the two southeast gates. We can attack She County with three gates at once, leaving only the west gate open. This will definitely be effective."

"I originally planned to save enough shells for use at a critical moment later. If 50 artillery pieces were to fire at the same time, the consumption of shells would be staggering. Wouldn't that be too wasteful?"

"Don't be reluctant, Commander. It's better to take the city as soon as possible!"

"Okay, it's up to you."

Thinking of Sun Li's face just now, Song Jiang frowned and agreed. In this way, until dark, when the troops were withdrawn, fifty artillery pieces fired at the same time, firing a total of more than 600 shells, consuming half of Song Jiang's shells, but the defenders still did not surrender.

The three walls of She County that were bombarded were damaged to varying degrees, but the artillery landed in different places each time and thus failed to produce a destructive effect. Also, because Song Jiang did not bring siege equipment, the soldiers could not cooperate with the artillery attack and spent half the afternoon in vain.

Not only did they fail to capture the city after consuming half of the artillery shells, but two of the cannons exploded due to overheating, causing more than 20 casualties in the Huopao Battalion. Song Jiang was so angry that he couldn't eat dinner.

Seeing that Song Jiang was in a bad mood, the generals were unwilling to stay in the big tent and after the troops were withdrawn, they all stayed in their own camps, leaving only a few of his most trusted confidants in the big tent.

Seeing that no one was talking, Hua Rong took the initiative to come to Wu Yong and expressed his opinion: "Military Advisor, we have used up half of our shells today. If there is no effect tomorrow, should we consider a strong attack? Anyway, there are only 3,000 defenders. If we keep consuming them day and night, they will be exhausted to death!"

"From the perspective of today's situation, it is very likely that we can break through the city by force, but we don't have any siege equipment with us. If we want to break through by force, we have to make them on the spot, and we have to order people to cut down trees in advance."

"I'll arrange it tomorrow morning."

Before Wu Yong could finish his words, Song Jiang suddenly interrupted him and said, "The shells can no longer be used. I don't want to use them all up right away. I want to save them for the tough battle later."

"That's fine." Wu Yong nodded in affirmation and continued, "Let's follow Hua Fangyu's advice. We'll need equipment for the subsequent siege, so we should prepare now. However, if we keep all 50,000 people here, we might face enemy reinforcements if we spend too long in Shexian County, so we have to find a way to break the impasse."

"Military Advisor, do you have a plan?"

When Song Jiang heard this, his eyes lit up. He thought that if Wu Yong didn't mention it, it would be fine, but if he did, he must have had it all planned out.

Sure enough, Wu Yong added: "According to what Bai Sheng said, Zhu Gui is in Licheng right now. The Taiwei can dispatch a detachment to bypass Shexian and attack Licheng directly. As long as the detachment reaches Licheng, Zhu Gui will definitely respond in the city, and then Licheng will be like Fengyue Pass."

"Wonderful."

Song Jiang was depressed for a long time, but finally smiled and said to everyone excitedly: "Sun Li only has one general, Zou Run. Zou Run is dead now. Sun Li is guarding here. There is no other general stationed in Licheng. Can't Zhu Gui do whatever he wants? Once we take Licheng, She County will become an abandoned orphan. It doesn't matter whether we fight or not."

Hua Rong spoke first after hearing this and reminded seriously: "Captain, we still have to take She County, right? Otherwise, Sun Li will attack our military grain road."

"Haha." Song Jiang laughed: "Once we take over Licheng, we can get food right here. Why do we need a road to get food?"

"I forgot that for a moment."

"It doesn't matter."

Song Jiang waved his hand to Hua Rong, looked at Wu Yong and said sternly: "Military Advisor, I will assign you 10,000 infantry and cavalry. After dinner, we will set off overnight. We will try to march farther tomorrow, and capture Licheng for me the day after tomorrow."

“Who is going with me?”

"Qin Ming and the military advisor should go together. Also, take Zhang Qing, Gong Wang, and Yan Shun with you. That should be enough, right?"

"enough!"

Qin Ming was in the tent at the time, so Song Jiang asked someone to call Zhang Qing, Gong Wang and Yan Shun, and then encouraged them and told them nothing more.

It is said that there was no general guarding Licheng at that time, but things happened by coincidence.

A few days ago, when Wen Huanzhang was on his way back from a ceremony, he felt that rumors were rampant in Luzhou, and he had to rush back to Zezhou, so he suggested that Yan Qing handle it on his own, but suggested asking Hu Sanniang for help.

The Sparrow Army commanded by Gu Dasao is good at dealing with civilian issues. Perhaps they can easily cover up the rumors like a sparrow catching a bug.

Yan Qing listened to the advice and asked for help, and Hu Sanniang responded quickly.

She ordered Mrs. Gu and her husband to take a hundred sparrows south to Luzhou. Le He, who had not seen his sister for a long time, followed to help.

The three entered Luzhou and divided their forces into two groups. Gu Dasao and Sun Xin led sixty sparrows to Shangdang area, while Le He took the remaining sparrows to Shexian to meet Mrs. Le. After the reunion, they met in Licheng and then headed north together.

Taking into consideration that there were too many people in the Shangdang city and it would take Mrs. Gu several days to deal with the rumors, Le He stayed in She County with his sister and brother-in-law until the incident at Fengyueguan on April 30th.

Thinking that there was no general in Licheng, Sun Li issued the Licheng military order to Le He, asking him to bring Madam Le back overnight to help guard Licheng and report to Shangdang and Yangqu for help.

If Mrs. Gu and Sun Xin show up, let Le He hand over the military order to Mother Tiger.

Yes, the first person Sun Li thought of was Mrs. Gu, not his little brother Yuchi. After all, his sister-in-law was capable of commanding an army, and it should not be a problem for her to manage a garrison of thousands of people, while his younger brother Sun Xin could only assist her.

Le He and his sister traveled for two days. They thought that Mrs. Gu and her husband would not be able to arrive so quickly, but it turned out that they had already arrived in Licheng for three days.

When everyone reunited, Gu Dasao, Sun Xinzheng and Zhu Gui reminisced about the past and drank.

When the heroes of Liangshan gathered together, Gu Dasao and Sun Xin opened a hotel, and Zhu Gui also opened a hotel at the foot of the mountain. They were all 'hotel managers' under the 'Liangshan Group' and colleagues of the same department and level.

Although Zhu Gui joined Hedong relatively late, he was able to pass the "political review" of Yan Qing and Sun Li, and the enthusiastic Mrs. Gu still treated him as a brother.

The three were drinking happily when Le He rushed in with a panicked look on his face, shouting, "Stop drinking, something happened, Fengyue Pass is lost!"

"what?"

Mrs. Gu and Sun Xin exclaimed in unison.

One person spilled his wine, another dropped his chopsticks, but Zhu Gui was a little slow and added, "Impossible?"

Le He's face was full of sternness, and he said solemnly, "How can we take military affairs lightly? Song Jiang has 50,000 troops blocking the pass, and Zou Run was defeated and killed in battle. My brother-in-law asked me to return to Licheng to take charge, and it would be best if you are all here. We must quickly ask for help from the rear."

"Zou Run is dead? Who killed him?"

Sun Xin was close to Zou Run and was so angry that he punched the table. Mrs. Gu was calmer and stared at Le He and asked, "Let's talk about the situation in She County first. Fifty thousand troops is not a small number. Can uncle hold on?"

"Brother-in-law only has 3,000 defenders."

Le He knew the difference between the big and small Wang, so he chose to answer Mrs. Gu first. However, just as he started to introduce them, Sun Xin interrupted excitedly, "What? Then let's go and save them right away!"

"Boss, calm down!"

Mrs. Gu grabbed Sun Xin and said in a deep voice: "Three thousand against fifty thousand, and uncle still wants to defend it, which means he has the confidence. Wait for Le He to finish speaking."

"Well, there are 20,000 people in She County. My brother-in-law is going to mobilize the young and strong to defend the city together. He thinks they can hold out for a while."

"That's what I said, what else do you want to tell me, uncle?"

"this."

Le He took out the military token from his arms, handed it to Sister-in-law Gu, and said solemnly: "This is the military token of Licheng. Brother-in-law asked Sister-in-law to accept it. Licheng is handed over to you."

"Okay, let's just follow the rules. I will take the responsibility."

Mrs. Gu did not refuse. She held the military token and asked again, "Now tell me about Fengyue Pass. How long did Zou Run hold out before he died? It must have been a fierce battle, right?"

"It seems to have only been half a day. It seems that someone inside opened and closed the door, so."

"What did you say?"

Before Le He could finish his words, Mrs. Gu suddenly pounced on Zhu Gui and pinned him down, while shouting to Sun Xin, "Boss, bring the rope! This guy is a spy!"

(End of this chapter)