Chapter 657 Attacking Zhuozhou
Both sides knew very well that the Pingzhou army was just looking for an excuse to attack Zhuozhou, and it didn't matter whether they agreed or not.
However, he had to refuse. If he asked for permission to pass through Zhuozhou, Zhuozhou would be attacked from both inside and outside. Unless Wei Kuang surrendered to Pingzhou, his reputation as a fool would spread as he agreed to let Zhuozhou pass through Zhuozhou.
So, Wei Kuang said, "Commander Dong, it's not convenient for us to pass through Zhuozhou."
Then, he changed the subject, "However, we understand your feelings. Lieutenant General Dong, if you trust me, Wei Kuang, just wait a moment. We will immediately send people to search and rescue, and once we find the person, we will return him to you as soon as possible, okay?"
Using his own spear to attack his own shield, Wei Kuang was good at speaking, and Dong Jichuan sighed in his heart.
His face was filled with regret as he said, "I, Dong Jichuan, naturally trust you, General Wei, but human lives are at stake, and we have offended you."
After Dong Jichuan said this, he returned to the team.
Qin Zhao raised the spear in his hand and without further ado, ordered, "Come on, prepare to attack the city!"
There's a big fish in Zhuozhou City! Qin Zhao knew Xie Zhan was in Zhuozhou. According to the news spread by their people in the city, he was still there.
Qin Zhao didn't know that as soon as Pingzhou issued the announcement, Xie Zhan had already quietly left Zhuozhou from the southwest with his men.
Wei Kuang knew at a glance that the Pingzhou army was planning to force their way through.
"The Pingzhou army is about to attack the city. Everyone, prepare to defend!" After saying this, Wei Kuang whispered to his deputy general, "According to the plan."
The deputy general nodded and went to carry out the task without further explanation.
Outside Zhuozhou City, during the few days since Xie Zhan came to Zhuozhou, he not only took steps to deal with the problems in Zhuozhou, but also arranged for people to build some simple fortifications outside Zhuozhou City at night, such as setting up roadblocks, chevaux de frise, and building trenches.
The engineers from Pingzhou are clearing these fortifications under the protection of their comrades.
In Zhuozhou City, the sounds of gongs and drums could be heard on all the main roads and streets.
"The Pingzhou army is coming!"
"The Pingzhou army is about to massacre the city!"
"Everyone who wants to leave the city, hurry up!"
Under the vigorous propaganda of the Dali soldiers, the already panicked people heard the sounds of various carriages outside, hurriedly packed up a simple bag and went out. As soon as they came out, they saw people walking hurriedly towards the city gate.
The people from Pingzhou who stayed in Zhuozhou as internal support saw that the situation was not right, and after discussing it, they immediately picked up their gongs and drums and went out.
"Everyone, don't panic. Pingzhou won't be massacred! Stay home safely. It's dangerous outside!"
"The Pingzhou army punishes evil and promotes good, and has nothing to do with ordinary people!"
Panic had already set in, and no matter how the traitors in Pingzhou tried to persuade them, the common people either voluntarily or were forced to go to the city gate.
The city of Zhuozhou was in chaos.
Wei Kuang looked at the endless crowd of people outside the city gate and prepared to carry out the plan given by the commander-in-chief.
Before Xie Zhan left, he knew very well that Zhuozhou was doomed to be lost. The entire economy collapsed and the people wanted to leave.
Pingzhou had been plotting to seize Zhuozhou, so its attack on Zhuozhou was both reasonable and unexpected. However, Pingzhou's feint to the east and attack in the west, a combination of attack and slashing, was too sudden.
There are too many people who want to leave the city. If their city gates are not opened, these people who want to leave will become a very unstable factor in the rear. It would be better to make good use of them and consume some of Pingzhou's strength.
The chaos in Zhuozhou City was vaguely heard outside.
Qin Zhao, Dong Jichuan and others looked solemn.
"Something's happening!"
"Tell the soldiers attacking the city ahead to be careful!"
Yes, the engineers have cleared the fortifications along the way, and the vanguard has begun to attack the city wall.
"Open the city gate!" Wei Kuang ordered.
At the front closest to the city gate, more than twenty steam-wheeled carts were ready to go, followed by countless ordinary people.
As soon as the city gate was opened, the twenty or so steam-wheeled carts rushed out, spreading out in an umbrella shape and rushing around recklessly. Some Pingzhou soldiers who were unable to dodge were knocked down.
The twenty or so steam-wheeled carts were transported by the Dali soldiers to a place about three or four feet away from the city gate and lined up in a row.
When the people of Zhuozhou saw the city gate open, they rushed out, but their way was blocked by steam-wheeled carts, so they had to disperse to both sides.
There were so many people that the common people knocked over the ladders.
Now we can’t attack the city at all.
The young generals in Pingzhou who were at the forefront immediately shouted, "Stop attacking the city! Retreat!" He asked the soldiers attacking the city to follow the crowd.
At this time, the Dali soldiers on the city wall took advantage of the high altitude advantage and began to shoot the Pingzhou soldiers below. They watched the Pingzhou soldiers shooting indiscriminately, not caring whether they hurt civilians or not.
For a moment, cries of pain and wails filled the air under the city wall.
This scene was seen by Qin Zhao, Dong Jichuan and others, and they immediately sent people to deal with the steamer cart.
"Using the people of Zhuozhou as human shields is shameless!"
Dong Jichuan said slowly, "Wei Kuang and the others are going to retreat." If the other party dared to do this, they must have already planned to abandon the city.
Dong Jichuan's prediction was correct. When Wei Kuang saw them, he immediately went to deal with the steam-wheeled carts and knew that the situation was over. He then led his men and slowly retreated towards the southwest.
Once the steamer carts were cleared, the people of Zhuozhou could evacuate normally.
People are still pouring in from the city gate.
As the young general of the vanguard team, Ma Jin immediately led his men to the city wall using ladders, and quickly dealt with the remaining soldiers on the wall, and then took his men to chase Wei Kuang.
Qin Zhao shouted behind him, "Don't pursue a desperate enemy! If you find that the situation is hopeless, stop immediately. Do you hear me?"
Zhuozhou City was already quite deserted. Ma Jin encountered a spy from Pingzhou while tracking them. The spy told him, "I saw them going that way."
Ma Jin immediately led his men in pursuit. When they got closer, they indeed saw a man with the figure of Xie Zhan. Taking another look, he discovered that he was wearing a special mask on his face. From the revealed appearance, it was indeed Xie Zhan.
He was overjoyed, "Chase!"
Ma Jin was Qin Zhao's confidant, so he knew that the big fish in Zhuozhou City was none other than Xie Zhan, the commander-in-chief of the Dali army.
Xie Wei led a group of people and ran towards the planned path, avoiding the pursuers behind them.
After treatment by the renowned doctor Xie Zhan had called in, the burns on Xie Wei's face had healed by about 70% to 80%. With the specially made mask on, his entire outline, including his eyebrows, eyes, and jawline, looked very similar to Xie Zhan at first glance.
He was assigned a task, and when he saw that the one chasing him was only the young general Ma Jin, he couldn't help feeling disappointed.
Twenty or thirty miles from Zhuozhou City, Xie Zhan stood on a high point, silently gazing northeastward, the direction of Zhuozhou. From the distance, the sounds of two armies clashing seemed to come.
Zhuozhou was ultimately not saved.
He tried to save the situation, and his methods were actually effective. If Zhuozhou was given a year or two, it might be able to recover.
However, the situation in Pingzhou has made Zhuozhou's ability to bear risks very low, and it will collapse at the slightest disturbance.
Zhuozhou is located at the border of Pingzhou, so it is easy for Pingzhou to influence Zhuozhou.
In fact, there is a way to block Pingzhou's influence on Zhuozhou. All we need to do is make Pingzhou chaotic or busy so that it has no time to take care of Zhuozhou.
However, Pingzhou is surrounded by sea to the south, and borders foreign tribes to the east and north, leaving only the southwest bordering Dali.
If Pingzhou wanted to be unable to take care of other things, either Dali would send troops to Pingzhou, or foreign tribes such as the Xianbei would attack Pingzhou in the north.
In the former, Pingzhou deployed heavy troops in Dai, Shanggu, and Yuyang counties. For a time, even if Dali sent troops, it would not be able to achieve immediate results.
If you want the Xianbei to send troops, the Xianbei are not stupid and will not take the initiative to attack without a reason. Moreover, it seems that the Xianbei are more willing to attack Dali than Pingzhou.
Another way is to attack the coastal areas of Pingzhou, but Pingzhou's navy is not bad either, and Dali may not be able to achieve good results immediately by dispatching its navy.
Xie Zhan thought that in just three years, Pingzhou had managed itself like an iron barrel, without any obvious shortcomings or flaws.
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