Chapter 4899 Snowstorm Offensive

Chapter 4899 Snowstorm Offensive
Although he was very depressed, An Yuanshou always admired his wife's wisdom and nodded immediately: "Then I will disguise myself and go out of the city to meet Pei Xingjian. I must make him understand that if my An family is slaughtered, the whole Hexi will fall into chaos. As for the home, I will leave it to my beloved wife."

Zhai Liuniang said generously: "Don't worry, my husband. When it comes to fighting in the city and arranging troops, I am ashamed of myself, but just defending the city is definitely impregnable. I will take care of the family business with the children and wait for your triumphant return."

"Father, you still have to be more careful when you go there."

An Zhongjing could not hide his worry. He knew that going to see Pei Xingjian this time would be extremely dangerous. What if Pei Xingjian arrested or even killed his father without saying a word? That would be like crying out to heaven and earth for help.

Maybe today's farewell will be forever...

An Yuanshou's eyes were filled with tears, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Don't worry, son. Even if your father is torn to pieces, he will fight for a glimmer of hope for you and your son!"

After saying that, he turned around and strode away.

I was afraid of showing weakness in front of my wife and children...

……

Niu Jinda rode his horse wearing a helmet and armor, with more than ten thousand soldiers rolling forward beside him and heading straight for Fanhe City. The murderous aura and momentum were so fierce that even the heavy snow could not avoid them.

The merchants and travelers they met along the way were all horrified, not knowing why the war had suddenly broken out in Hexi. They hurried to avoid it, or even stayed in nearby inns to find out how the situation was changing.

"Report! General, the Left Guards have all withdrawn to Fanhe City. Now the four gates of Fanhe City are closed and the city is cleared."

The scouts brought news about the situation in Fanhe City, which made Niu Jinda frown and feel a little worried.

In war, the key to victory or defeat is nothing more than "the right time, the right place, and the right people". For example, it snowed heavily today, making it difficult for the army to move and to give full play to its strength. Fanhe City is backed by Yanzhi Mountain and is located in a high position. The Macheng River runs across the city from north to south in the east. The city is located between mountains and rivers and is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Although Zuo Xiaowei was badly defeated by Zuo Wuwei in the battle of Guanzhong, he is now in a desperate situation with no way to retreat. He is bound to unite against the enemy and fight to the death.

None of the "right time, right place, and right people" is in Zuo Wuwei's favor. This battle will not be easy...

If we cannot defeat the enemy in one fell swoop, the war will inevitably drag on for a long time, and unexpected changes may occur.

But Cheng Yaojin was eager to return to Beijing, and naturally would not miss the opportunity that came to his doorstep, so he had to fight even if it was difficult.

"Pass the order down, the cavalry on the left wing will go around the north side of Fanhe City to cut off the official road and their retreat. At the same time, we will seal off tightly and cut off the supply of Fanhe City. The central army will follow me and set up camp at Macheng River!"

Want to defend the city and fight to the death?

Then I'll give you a chance to fight to the death!

As long as the official road to the north of Fanhe City is cut off, no matter how the war develops, the defeated soldiers will not disrupt the Hexi counties. In this way, the impact will be limited to the corner of Fanhe City, and the attacks that Cheng Yaojin will suffer afterwards will be minimized.

"Here!"

The military order was issued, and the cavalry on the left wing quickly broke away from the center army, slowly accelerated from the side of the official road, and then the horses' hooves neighed rapidly like thunder, sweeping up the snow on the road and rushing forward.

However, no matter how Niu Jinda cut off the official road and how swiftly the troops moved, the news that Zuo Wuwei had mobilized its elite troops to attack Fanhe City still spread to all directions with the merchants and travelers, and Hexi was shocked.

Since the demise of Xue Ju and his son, there has been no war in Hexi and Longyou for many years. The Tang Dynasty prospered and dominated the western frontier. The Silk Road was unprecedentedly prosperous. The Hexi counties became wealthy because of their strategic location, and because the water from the Qilian Mountains nourished the fertile soil and the grain harvest was good every year, it was a true "peace and prosperity for the country" and was not inferior to the prosperous Jiangnan area.

Although Tubo was eyeing them covetously from the southern foothills of the Qilian Mountains and the Anxi Army was engaged in endless wars in the Western Regions, the Hexi counties had been living in peace for so many years that ordinary people had even forgotten the pain and destruction brought by the war.

However, the war broke out suddenly, and it was possible that the flames of war would spread to the entire Hexi region and a catastrophe was imminent. How could we not be shocked and frightened?
……

Guzang is 150 miles away from Fanhe. The Zuo Wuwei army marched at full speed, but their speed was limited in the ice and snow. Fortunately, the soldiers were brave and elite, and they marched day and night, finally arriving at the east bank of the Macheng River at noon the next day. By the time they set up camp and had a rest, it was already evening.

The military camps were endless, and the smoke from cooking fires was vaguely visible in the cold wind and snow.

Niu Jinda had been in the military for half his life and was very experienced. Although he knew that this battle had to be decided quickly to avoid setbacks, he was not in a hurry. He formulated a detailed and prudent strategy overnight and communicated it to the entire army, allowing the soldiers to sleep well all night. On the morning of the third day, he launched the first exploratory attack.

The snow hasn't stopped yet.

Thousands of soldiers crossed the frozen Macheng River, holding shields and braving the arrows and stones, and rushed to the foot of Fanhe City, intending to hollow out the city wall to bury gunpowder. However, when they arrived at the foot of the city wall, they suddenly discovered that the entire wall was covered with a thick layer of ice...

Although the soldiers held up shields to block the arrows above their heads, they had little resistance to the falling rocks and logs, and suffered heavy casualties for a while.

After they finally dug out the bricks, buried the gunpowder and ignited it, the few remaining soldiers quickly retreated.

Boom boom boom!
Several dull explosions were heard, and the rising smoke was blown away by the cold wind and disappeared in the heavy snow, but the city wall remained standing.

Niu Jinda's face was gloomy and he was shocked. Gunpowder couldn't even blow down the wall of Fanhe City?
He immediately understood.

The enemy poured water on the city wall in advance, and it froze hard after one night, which was equivalent to wrapping the outside of the city wall with a layer of ice armor, making each brick seem like one piece and the city wall more solid. It not only increased the difficulty of climbing the city, but also unexpectedly withstood the gunpowder explosion.

There are capable people in Fanhe City!

Could it be that An Yuanshou was hiding his true power? After thinking about it, it was definitely not likely.

He had fought against An Yuanshou before and knew that he was brave but lacked strategy. To put it bluntly, he was a reckless man with courage but no strategy. He could never have imagined such a brilliant idea of ​​protecting the city with solid ice.

But they could only hold out for a while longer. Fanhe was an isolated city with no help from anywhere. The road to the south had been cut off. To the north, across the Great Wall, there was a vast desert. Behind them was the Yanzhi Mountain with its protruding peaks. In front of them was the elite Zuowu Guards...

War does not only depend on the combat power of both sides. Many factors such as time, terrain, people and so on determine the final outcome. It also depends on whether each side can put tremendous psychological pressure on the other side.

At this moment, Fanhe City is like an isolated island. Facing the continuous siege of the Zuowuwei, perhaps there is no need to wait until the city wall. Once the psychological pressure of the soldiers exceeds the threshold they can bear, they will immediately surrender without a fight or even collapse completely.

As for whether something unexpected will happen if the war drags on for a long time...that is something that the general Cheng Yaojin needs to consider, and has nothing to do with him as a military general.

"Bring me the map of Fanhe City!"

"Here!"

Immediately, a deputy general hurriedly brought the map, and Niu Jinda ordered him to put the map on the ground. The two of them held down the four corners of the map to prevent it from being blown away by the strong wind. The deputy generals and Sima officers nearby also hurried forward to form a circle to block the strong wind.

Niu Jinda looked carefully, pointed to one of the places, and asked the Sima beside him: "The scouts reported earlier that the granary of Fanhe City is here, right?"

Sima identified it and nodded, "That's right!"

Niu Jinda handed over the deputy general in charge of firearms and said, "Aim 20 rockets here and burn his granary for me!"

"Here!"

The deputy general measured with his fingers on the map to find out the location and distance of the granary, then got up and returned to his troops, set up the rockets, estimated the wind speed, and ordered them to be ignited.

Whoosh whoosh!
Twenty rockets took off one after another, dragging their smoking tails over the city walls. However, they were blown off course by a strong wind just as they reached their highest point before they fell. The deputy general shook his head and returned to Niu Jinda: "General, the wind is too strong, and it is difficult for the rockets to hit the target accurately."

Niu Jinda waved his hand with a cold face and ordered: "Pass the order, stop the attack, return to the camp to rest, and launch a fierce attack when the snow stops!"

"Here!"

……

Seeing the soldiers of Zuowuwei retreating like a tide in the wind and snow, the Fanhe defenders on the city walls cheered and their morale was greatly boosted.

Zhai Liuniang stood on the top of the city wall in military uniform, her bright red cloak fluttering in the strong wind. Her brows were furrowed as she stared closely at the retreating Zuowuwei and the Macheng River hidden in the wind and snow.

Several buildings in the city behind were set on fire by rockets and were emitting thick smoke.

Beside him, a general sincerely admired: "Madam, you are very smart. Tang Dynasty gunpowder is the enemy of cities. No matter how strong the city walls are, they can't withstand the power of gunpowder. They are invincible in the world, but today they can't do anything to the walls of our Fanhe City!"

"Water turns into ice, and it is as solid as a rock! After this battle, Madam's reputation will spread throughout the world and go down in history!"

Last night, Zhai Liuniang ordered the soldiers to set up pots in the city to melt the snow. The entire army was puzzled until the melted snow water was poured on the top of the city and froze into solid ice, then they suddenly realized what was going on.

It was even said that the scouts and spies of Zuo Wuwei had probably already scouted Fanhe City inside and out, with every well and every street marked. In particular, the most important granary was the enemy's main attack location, so the granary was emptied overnight. As a result, the granary was attacked by Zuo Wuwei's rockets today. Although the rockets did not land accurately and only ignited nearby houses and warehouses, they still made the soldiers and civilians in Fanhe City break out in cold sweats.

The current situation is that Fanhe City is surrounded and will inevitably be attacked in the future. With no external aid, there are tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians in the city. The daily food consumption for people and horses is huge. If the food is burned, the most terrifying scene may happen in Fanhe City in the future...

Faced with the praise and compliments from the officers and soldiers around her, Zhai Liuniang frowned and looked worried.

In the face of absolute superior military strength, any tricks and schemes would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot or a mayfly trying to shake a tree. As long as Zuo Wuwei was determined and spared no effort, Fanhe City would definitely not be able to withstand it.

I just hope my husband can persuade Pei Xingjian as soon as possible so that the An family and Fanhe City can escape this disaster...