Chapter 572: War Is the Priority

Below Jiangning City, the atmosphere in the Song Army camp was slightly relaxed.

After all, everyone with a discerning eye knew that the only thing that the Southern Tang relied on was the natural barrier of the Yangtze River.

But General Cao first pretended to patrol the river and sneaked across Hukou, and then won battles in Chizhou, Tongling, Wuhu, Dangtu, and Caishiji, and finally successfully crossed the Yangtze River. The natural barrier no longer existed.

Before crossing the river, they fought for a long time, and less than a month after crossing the river, they successfully surrounded the capital.

However, because the continuous victory was fast and urgent, even the final crossing of the Yangtze River was a time difference. Under such circumstances, it was naturally difficult for the Song Army to carry any sophisticated siege equipment.

Therefore, facing the strong city of Jiangning, siege and attack became the only option, but Cao Bin also encouraged his subordinates, saying that Jiangning City would be broken this year.

It sounds outrageous, but Cao Bin's subordinates were all excited.

After all, facing such a strong city, as long as the morale of the defenders is not lost, then defending for three to five months is like playing, and a year or two is nothing.

During the Three Kingdoms period, Lu Meng crossed the river in white clothes and then received the surrender of Mi Fang. It was extremely rare for a strong city to be broken in one day.

That is why Cao Bin couldn't help but be curious when he heard the boast of the visitor, even if he didn't believe it at all:

"Where is the sharp weapon? Take me to see it quickly! If it is not as effective as you boast..."

At this point, Cao Bin was in trouble.

Although he led the army outside, Cao Bin and the Emperor Zhao had correspondence every two days, so he knew something about the situation in the court.

But because of this, Cao Bin was particularly confused about the court at that time.

When he led the army to the expedition, the Emperor treated the King of Jin with great honor and favor, almost like the rumors on the streets, the Emperor Zhao Song might really be passed down from brother to brother.

But after the expedition, the changes in the situation in Bianliang City were so overwhelming that he was overwhelmed.

In October, he wrote to the emperor, saying that he had successfully crossed the river, and would definitely bring Li Yu back to the emperor within a year at the latest!

The emperor replied with great praise for the Caishiji crossing battle, and then only mentioned it lightly at the end of the letter:

"The King of Jin suddenly became crazy and attempted to assassinate me, Guohua should not worry, and the war should be the priority."

This simple sentence made Cao Bin read it over and over again more than ten times, but he still couldn't believe that the King of Jin had lost his favor, and he simply felt unreal.

As the war continued to advance, Cao Bin finally digested the news after several consecutive victories and surrounded Jiangning in January.

But what he didn't expect was that the emperor told him again that the King of Jin regretted it every day after the assassination, and now he was willing to change his title and enter the Buddhist sect. He received the certificate of ordination and became a monk in Xiangguo Temple, with the Buddhist name Kong Jiong.

Needless to say, this was another overwhelming shock to Cao Bin.

That is why the news that the emperor ordered Zhao Dezhao to take charge of the Ministry of Works became eye-catching in his eyes.

After all, it is well known that the emperor's eldest son died early. Zhao Dezhao is called the second son, but in fact he is the eldest son. Now the King of Jin has become Master Kong Jiong. If it comes to succession, who can compete with Zhao Dezhao?

That is why Cao Bin should say some military orders at this moment, and agree with the other party that if Jiangning City cannot be broken within the time limit, then what will happen.

But thinking about the identity of the other party's envoy from the Ministry of Works, Cao Bin suddenly became hesitant.

Unexpectedly, the man on the other side seemed to have seen through his mind, and patted his chest on the spot to guarantee:

"When you came, Your Highness had already said that he was willing to set a military order within 30 days!"

This made Cao Bin smile shyly, and he laughed and said that destroying the Southern Tang was already a sure win, so why should he do this?

In this polite manner, Cao Bin walked without stopping, and when he came to the river, he also saw the true appearance of the "sharp weapon" called by the visitor.

The scattered parts were neatly stacked on the boat. From the flags, Cao Bin judged that the enemy was probably rushing from Bianliang.

In fact, this is also the reason why Cao Bin is confident of winning the siege of Jiangning.

After the siege of Jiangning, the boats sent by Bianliang entered the Huaihe River through the Bian Canal, and then entered the Yangtze River through the Han Canal, connecting the north and the south without any obstacles.

The money and grain of Bianliang can all be transported here by water. With no worries about logistics, isn't it easy to siege an isolated city?

After checking the seal, Cao Bin was finally able to board the ship, but he was not familiar with the work, so even if he looked at the parts, he couldn't tell what they were.

"Instead of wasting your energy here, the general might as well order the imperial guards to fire stone bullets or burn mud balls."

Just when Cao Bin was still struggling to think, he heard someone say so, and when he turned around, he saw a man who looked like an old farmer.

"But Master Yu?"

Cao Bin knew that the chief master of the Ministry of Works was named Yu Hao.

Waving his hands, Yu Hao did not like to play tricks here, but said earnestly:

"The principle of this thing is simple, but if you want to rely on it to break the city, you need to press heavy stones and bombs, stone balls and mud balls are all fine."

"If the general wants to follow the principle, just wait until the bombs are ready and the stone cannons are fired, and the principle will be self-evident."

"If the bombs are ready one day earlier, Jiangning City can be taken one day earlier, and the general can also achieve success one day earlier."

Seeing Yu Hao so serious, Cao Bin's previous doubts about this "sharp weapon" disappeared. He was a straightforward person. After making up his mind, he asked Yu Hao about the weight and size of the required counterweight stones and bombs, and then left in a hurry.

If he could choose, between breaking the city and returning to Beijing to report his achievements in one month and spending a year to besiege Jiangning City until it was starved of food, he would certainly choose the former without hesitation.

The Song army surrounding Jiangning City was slightly disorganized, while the Southern Tang army besieged in Jiangning City lost its fighting spirit early on.

It was impossible to go out to fight. They could not win again and again, and the Song army could not attack. They could only live by the high walls of Jiangning City.

However, in the past two days, the defenders of Jiangning City also discovered that the Song army outside suddenly became busy.

Some with good eyesight could vaguely see that the Song army seemed to have several large furnace pits and seemed to be cooking something. Some soldiers who did their duty went to the commander to report, but they received a nonchalant answer:

"Then the Song army has neither flying ladders nor chariots, so what city can they attack?"

After waiting for another two days, they saw objects similar to stone chariots rising up in the Song army's formation. Another soldier went to find the commander, and finally summoned the commander to the city wall. However, it is said that this man's ancestors can be traced back to The two officers named Wang looked at each other and showed no concern at all:

"What's the use of building a stone cart? Jiangning City is high, even if you throw some stone bullets..."

Before he finished speaking, the Southern Tang defenders felt that the city wall seemed to be shaking.

The soldiers standing by the city wall could see clearly that several projectiles as big as millstones flew up from the Song army's formation and hit the city wall firmly with a dull sound.

The officer surnamed Wang suddenly stopped talking and shouted in a sharp voice while running towards the city:

"You stick to the city wall and kill those who retreat! I will go find reinforcements right now!"

Cao Bin, who was at the bottom of the city, could see clearly that a stone bullet flew higher and immediately made a hole in the parapet wall. This made him very happy:

"Instruct the rear army to bake some more clay bombs, and burn more angular ones!"

"It may not take more than a month to capture Li Yu alive!"