Chapter 270
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Chapter 270: Deployment
This time, Luo Ji might have just asked casually, but Zhou Yi suddenly became serious.
After some deliberation, he slowly said
“Leader, your subordinate believes that this siege has two objectives.”
“Continue.”
Luo Ji replied with a unexpressive expression.
Zhou Yi remained composed, having been a centurion and experienced in battle.
“The first objective is likely to test the troop deployment and the strength of Songhe City’s defensive forces.”
“Songhe City is a crucial hub connecting the iron triangle.”
“If they can capture it directly, that’s naturally for the best. If not, confirming the intelligence will still be beneficial for subsequent siege battles.”
Zhou Yi paused for a breath, then continued.
“The second objective is to prevent us from easily capturing Songshan City.”
“Once Songshan City falls, we will essentially have no worries and can directly send troops toward Shangyuan City after a slight adjustment.”
“This is clearly not what Zhou Dongnan wants to see.”
“Therefore, his purpose in doing this is to tell us that his large army has already arrived, and if we dare to send troops to attack Songshan City, then Songhe City will inevitably be captured by him.”
“He wants to restrain us through this method.”
After speaking, Zhou Yi’s gaze fell on Luo Ji’s face, as if seeking approval or something else.
Luo Ji, feeling this gaze, tilted his head and asked.
“Anything else?”
“Anything else?”
Zhou Yi’s expression froze for a moment, but Luo Ji’s expression and tone made him clearly realize that his thoughts were not thorough enough. Zhou Yi then fell into deep thought again.
Seeing this, Luo Ji chuckled, letting him think slowly.
It wasn’t that Zhou Yi was foolish, but rather that he hadn’t yet detached himself from his previous status and circumstances.
As an old saying goes, “He who is not in the position does not meddle in its politics.”
Zhou Yi was originally a small soldier, and his highest military rank was centurion.
However, regardless of being a small soldier or a centurion, according to his original situation, he had no room to intervene in matters like marching, fighting, and tactical layouts.
Over time, he naturally stopped thinking about such things.
What Luo Ji was doing now was prompting him to think.
A person engaged in a war and sitting in a command position needed to grasp the overall situation, but Zhou Yi’s analysis just now was limited to the immediate battle.
Luo Ji wanted him to think further.
Zhou Yi’s talent was evident.
Under Luo Ji’s guidance, after a brief deliberation, he quickly reacted.
“Songshan City? Is Zhou Dongnan moving troops to Songshan City?!”
“Most likely.”
Luo Ji calmly replied.
“But, but that would take at least 5 days or more, and if it’s a large-scale troop movement, it might take even longer!”
“So isn’t he sending troops to buy time for Songshan City? And it’s quite a show too.”
As he spoke, Luo Ji narrowed his eyes.
In the distant enemy formation, two towering siege towers appeared in their sight.
Seeing this, Zhou Yi was startled.
“Are those siege towers!?”
Also a siege weapon, a siege tower was far more costly than a battering ram.
It also took more time and effort to construct.
Each siege tower needed to be roughly level with the city wall.
Then, a large number of soldiers would hide inside the tower.
When the soldiers outside pushed the siege tower to the enemy’s city wall, the soldiers hiding in the tower would rush out in one go to capture the city wall.
Furthermore, these two siege towers were clearly one of Zhou Dongnan’s trump cards.
To intimidate Luo Ji this time, he actually brought them out directly.
And that was not all.
Upon closer inspection, Luo Ji also noticed a unit specifically carrying scaling ladders, soldiers who would rush to the city wall, then set up ladders on the outer perimeter and climb up.
The advantage of scaling ladders was clearly their low cost, making them one of the tools that relied on sheer numbers to win.
After all, large siege engines like siege towers, just by their appearance, indicated how high their cost was.
It must be said, with all this back and forth, the enemy’s siege force’s threat level was truly soaring, putting considerable pressure on Luo Ji standing on the city wall.
At the same time, it made him feel the depth of an old player in the Bronze rank.
“Do you see this formation?”
“Zhou Dongnan has no intention of allowing me any spare capacity to attack Songshan City, not to mention that it’s a mountain city with rough and difficult terrain.”
“With such terrain, whether siege engines can even be pushed up there is a question.”
“In other words, to capture Songshan City, we might only be able to rely on sheer troop numbers.”
“Under this premise, if the enemy is determined to defend the city walls, it would be extremely difficult for us to capture it with just the troops stationed in East Frontier City.”
“Not to mention that all the troops in East Frontier City cannot be deployed, and 500 troops must be left to guard the city.”
“In this situation, unless I draw troops from Songhe City, but you’ve seen the situation here in Songhe City.”
“The enemy’s massive army is bearing down on us.”
“If this city is retaken by Zhou Dongnan, you should know what that means, right?”
Zhou Yi certainly knew what that meant.
If Songhe City were recaptured, they, occupying only East Frontier City, would instantly be subjected to a dual attack from both Songhe City and Songshan City!
Their situation would immediately become very disadvantageous.
“But if we don’t capture Songshan City before the enemy’s reinforcements arrive, once they do, Songshan City’s troops will actively sally forth, and we, located in Songhe City, will still be caught in a pincer attack from both sides!”
“Exactly.”
Luo Ji nodded in agreement, then changed the subject.
“So, he’s waiting for reinforcements, and I’m also waiting for reinforcements.”
The forces that had arrived in East Frontier City earlier were just the vanguard led by Guo Jia and Guo Zhen.
His main army was still behind.
As they spoke, the siege forces outside the city had already blown the horn of attack.
Seeing the ballistas being pushed out from the enemy formation, Luo Ji raised his hand, signaling his crossbowmen to begin operating the triple-bow ballistas he had placed on the city wall to snipe the enemy.
It was a probing skirmish, but Luo Ji fought with unusual seriousness, pressing relentlessly.
He understood very well that if he showed any weakness, the enemy would most likely launch a full-scale assault.
After all, with two siege towers, combined with ballistas, scaling ladders, battering rams, and other siege equipment, this siege force was quite strong.
Coupled with their numerical superiority, if they truly fought with full force, with his current defending troops, the situation would likely be precarious.
Therefore, at such a time, he could not show weakness.
He had to fight aggressively to keep the enemy guessing his true strength, only then could he intimidate them into retreating.
However, now was not yet the time.
