Basa stayed at the foot of the mountain for a long time. After he turned around, he realized that, without the protection of siege equipment and no heavy weapons, he wanted to capture Changshu City before the army arrived. He could only attack from the side of the west side of the city. According to his observation, the city wall built on Yushan might be very difficult, only more than six feet, which is easier than forcing the moat to cross the moat and climb the high city. However, they had to climb the mountain and attack and dismount and fight, and it was not easy to successfully climb the city. I don’t know how many people would die on the mountain road of the attack.

After the city exploration, Basa returned to the camp, and the scouts who went out to explore the camp also returned to the camp. They patroled the surrounding thirty miles and found no trace of the Song army, and even the people did not see one. What frustrated them was that the fleeing soldiers and civilians implemented the strong walls of Chiye before leaving. They not only hid the grain and property, but also set fire to the straw and wheat straw. At this time, the fields had not yet been cultivated, and the grass did not sprout, and the main food for livestock was straw, which means that their war horses had nowhere to grazed and could only be fed by the food and grass they brought.

Basa realized the urgency of time at this time. He knew that after the Southern Dynasty received the news that his side had gone south, the Song army stationed in Jiankang, Shaoxing and other places would come, and the young emperor in Yangzhou would lead his troops back to defense. With their strength, they would arrive at most five days. At that time, his side's army must have crossed the river. Once they could not continue to move south due to lack of food and grass, they would face the fate of being surrounded and annihilated.

Then I must seize Changshu within three days, obtain food and supplies, and be replenished before the army can continue to move south. This kind of siege is urgent, even if I suffer huge casualties, I must do so. Now I only hope that the troops in Changshu city are scarce and it is difficult to withstand his continuous attacks. He can capture the city before his reinforcements arrive...

While Basa was exploring the city, Luo Datong, the chief commander of the Fifth Brigade of the Imperial Guards in Changshu, was also patrolling the city with everyone. They climbed the head of Zhenshanmen on Yushan Mountain to look north, and stationed in Yujia Town outside the city, some of which were reinforced by earth encirclement, some of which were herding horses by the river, and some of which were cutting down trees by the forest next to the town, just like a nest of ants busy, coming in and out. Although they could not see the specific situation clearly, they also knew that the enemy was preparing for the siege.

Looking at the enemy general flag, Luo Datong knew that the enemy front army arrived in Changshu was at least a team of 10,000 people, but he also received a reward from spies. The army in the Mongolian Yuan army that invaded the south last night had crossed the river and could reach the city within three days at most, and at this speed, the rear army would not arrive in more than five days later. Then, Changshu City had to face the siege of a hundred thousand troops.

Before the Laba Festival, the army began to secretly withdraw from the city of Yangzhou by various means. The Fifth Brigade of the Guardian Army also took a fleet of transporting supplies. In order to hide their tracks, more than 10,000 people in the brigade squeezed into the narrow cabin, eating, drinking, and urinating, and suffered a long-term crime. After passing through the canal and entering the Yangtze River, he traveled more than 200 miles under the nose of the Mengyuan. In order to prevent the enemy's eyewitness from discovering that a large army entered the city, they all entered the city at night, only two days earlier than the Mongolian army.

Even after entering the city, they still did not dare to reveal their whereabouts and could only stay in the granaries. Even when they went out to do activities, they could only pretend to be a servant carrying supplies. They dared to show up until they saw the warning message from the Mongolian army crossing the river, but they still used the method of only access but not leaving to block the city to prevent the enemy from finding out that the Song army was ready.

"Luo Dutong, the enemy is already pressing against the city, why don't the entire army go up to defend?" Chen Boyuan, the magistrate of Changshu, asked anxiously. He saw the Mongol Yuan detective cavalry running around the city. Even if he was just a civil servant, he knew that the Mongol Yuan was preparing to attack the city. The lord of the emperor who took over Changshu City still asked the army to stand by in the city, and only ordered a few generals to go up to the city, and they also changed their clothes and wore the uniforms of the baggage army and even the village soldiers. This made him puzzled and even more uneasy.

"Missar Chen, Your Majesty's imperial edict has been explained clearly, so that we must not only defend Changshu City, but also attract the enemy here. If the war has not started, all the troops will go to the city to defend. The enemy will know that we are already prepared and realize that this is a trap. Maybe we will give up continuing to move south and break Your Majesty's plan!" Luo Datong explained.

"Your Majesty had known that the Mongol Yuan Cong would invade Changshu in the south?" Chen Boyuan was stunned when he heard this.

"It's not just invading Changshu in the south, but trying to seize the entire Jiangnan!" Luo Datong corrected.

"That's right, why didn't Your Majesty return to Jiangnan, but instead let the enemy cross the river?" Chen Boyuan said in wonder.

"Minister Chen, Your Majesty is wise and powerful. The mystery is not something we can see. Just follow the saint's orders and act!" Luo Datong turned his face and said sternly.

He also came from an old camp. He was selected to accompany His Majesty to inherit the Grand Priest and won the Grand Priest's throne. Later, he entered the New Army Training Camp. He then worked in the imperial guards and was promoted to the commander of the commander with his military achievements. When he formed the Fifth Brigade of the Guards, he was transferred back to the brigade commander. He is not yet thirty years old. It is precisely because he watched the little emperor grow from nothing to something, from weak to strong, and grow the small court, so he has blind respect for the emperor. He heard that Chen Boyuan questioned His Majesty's arrangements and was naturally very unhappy.

"Luo Dutong, the lower magistrate is not disrespectful to Your Majesty, but just feels so unreasonable. Chen must obey the saint's orders and assist the magistrate in defending the city, even if he dies!" Chen Boyuan was also very depressed about Luo Datong's resentment. He was also the first Jinshi graduate in Qiongzhou to be admitted, and was considered a disciple of the emperor. Although their level of subjects was not high, his loyalty to the emperor was also understandable. He bowed to the north and said with a stern face.

"Minister Chen, I have a look in my eyes, please don't be surprised." Seeing this, Luo Datong also understood the misunderstanding and smiled. "Minister Chen also knew that Changshu City was a heavy area behind our army, and it was stockpiled with 500,000 stones of grain and a large number of military ammunition. After crossing the river, the enemy went straight here to seize Changshu to obtain supplies and serve as a base for continuing to move south. Therefore, our task is to defend the city no matter what the price it costs, and even burn both jade and stone!"

"Luo Dutong, the lower official understands." Chen Boyuan was not stupid either. Although he heard it easy, he knew the situation was urgent and said solemnly, "The gains and losses of Changshu are related to the victory and defeat of the war, and it is also related to the survival of the Song Dynasty. Even if the lower official is crushed to pieces, he must go to the national crisis with the main official!"

"Minister Chen, don't worry too much. Although our 5th Division of the Guards is the last advance, it is not a weak brigade. With this strong city, magister Chen will definitely live up to your Majesty's trust and defend the city, and wait for the change of the battle situation!" Luo Datong looked at Chen Boyuan, patted the thick city wall and said with confidence.

"Don't be polite if you need it. As long as you make good for the country, your subordinates will do their best!" Chen Boyuan bowed and said sincerely.

"In this way, I will be disrespectful!" Luo Datong was very pleased with his active cooperation attitude. After all, a local official who can cooperate sincerely can reduce a lot of trouble, and he does not have to worry about a fire in the backyard and can concentrate on fighting the enemy. "The enemy troops that the county magistrate Chen arrived are just vanguards. Tens of thousands of enemy troops will arrive one after another within a few days. They lack supplies and supplies. Only by seizing the city can they get the needs of continuing to move south. Therefore, this battle will be very tragic. This will inevitably make people feel upset and frightened. I also have to ask County magistrate Chen to calm the hearts of the people and prevent civil strife."

"Well, this is the matter of the subordinates. Don't worry, but..." Chen Boyuan nodded, but hesitated and swallowed the words below back.

"Brother Chen, we are guarding the lonely city together, and we can be said to live and die together. We should be loyal to each other. If you have anything to hide, you can say it as long as you say." Luo Datong saw that he was hesitant and wanted to say but stopped. He knew that he had something to say, but he was worried, so he turned his face and stared at his eyes and smiled.

"Since Chen Dutong is like this, the subordinates have a few words, whether they should be said or not, so they will speak out in a blunt manner!" Luo Datong was also a person who had rolled in his blood and fire. His eyes were murderous and arrogant, and the superiors were not angry and mighty. Chen Boyuan couldn't help but shuddered involuntarily. His eyes couldn't help but dodge, but he quickly calmed down.

"Di Tong Chen, have you ever thought that there was a baggage army stationed in Changshu City, all of which were adapted from the Mongolian Yuan Han army and the New Affiliated Army. If it were normal, they could still behave properly, but now there are many enemies and we are few, will they have a different intention and open the city to surrender the enemy?"

"Haha, Brother Chen's words are just a pun!" Luo Datong said with a big laugh after hearing this, but there was a hint of bitterness in his laughter.

Most of the baggage troops of the Song Dynasty came from prisoners in combat. They formed the 1, 2 and 3rd Divisions of the baggage in Qiongzhou. After recovering Jiangnan, they formed the 4th and 5th Divisions. Later, some craftsmen were dispatched to absorb some people from the north to form the 1st, 2nd, 3rd Divisions and the Du Shu Army jointly managed by the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War, and were responsible for the construction of the city and the task of controlling floods and clearing the waterways.

Since Changshu City is a logistics base for providing supplies to the front-line military towns, the stored materials are naturally assigned to the logistics department of the Ministry of War. The military troops managed in this way are affiliated to a regiment of the Fourth Division of the Ministry of War, with a regiment headquarters, a guard brigade responsible for the security and escort of materials, a custody brigade that manages the granaries, and a transport brigade responsible for the transportation of materials.

The battalions have different organizational and personnel depending on their tasks. The largest number of people is the transportation brigade, which is composed of mule and horse transport squadron, vehicle transport squadron, boat squadron and transport squadron, with a number of thousands; while the guard brigade holding weapons is a battalion-level scale of 33 units, and the weapons they hold are light weapons such as muskets, and the combat effectiveness is much lower.
Chapter completed!