Datong City
This city, inherited from Jiubianbian Town in the Ming Dynasty, is made of rammed earth, with strips of azure bricks built with glutinous rice on the outside, a moat dug outside, and city defense facilities such as a urn city, a moon city, and an arrow tower inside.
Xuanda was the outermost gate of the Han Dynasty's sacred capital, which can be said to have brought the city's defense power to the extreme.
At the end of the afternoon, the spring sun was shining brightly, and in front of the tall Wuding Gate, drums were rumbling up and down the city wall. The Jurchen flag soldiers and Han flag soldiers below were preparing to rush cars and ladders to approach Datong City.
As far as the eye could see, the elite Jurchen Eight Banners, carrying yellow, white, and blue flags and wearing three-color bubble nail armor, gathered like streams to form a tidal wave, surging in densely and orderly, with a terrifying momentum.
At this moment, the cavalrymen with the blue flag, led by Prince Zheng, no, it should be the ordinary bannerman Jierhalang, are approaching the Wuding Gate of Datong City, with a look of determination on their faces.
Azig, on the other hand, was riding on a tall black-haired horse, holding a shining saber in his hand. Under the feathered helmet, his majestic face had all his beard and hair, and his eyes were glaring, urging him to move. The horse under its crotch swung the saber in its hand. Under the sunlight, white light swirled around it, and a roaring voice sounded: "Kill!"
At this moment, Azig stared at the big flag with the word "Jia" hanging on the main building of the city gate. Deep in his heart, he thought of his brother, Prince Yu Duduo, who died at the hands of the Han Dynasty's commander-in-chief, Marquis Yongning. And this person is in Datong City.
Datong City
At the main gate, Jia Heng was dressed in a black and red embroidered python suit, with the Emperor's Sword hanging on his waist and a monocular in his hand. He looked up at the surging Jurchen flag soldiers below the city wall, and could even see the faces of some Jurchen flag soldiers. A ferocious and indifferent expression.
Jia Heng looked at the four flags, his sharp sword-like eyes staring at the Jurchen Prince standing under the flags.
These are the Jurchen princes and Baelor.
Jia Heng said coldly: "Generals, listen to the order, be on guard and meet the enemy!"
As Jia Heng passed down the order in a short and powerful manner, he pulled out the Yanling knife with a "ru" sound, and the arrows entered the bow, and the sound of the bow strings was drawn with a uniform beauty.
E Zhe, who was on the side, looked solemn and sighed secretly in his heart.
The austere atmosphere of such a large country in the Central Plains is inferior to the large number of people in the grasslands.
The son Agula beside Ezhe, his young face flushed, looked at the young man in python suit with admiration in his eyes.
And Yaruo, who was wearing petite armor and insisted on coming to watch the changes in the battle situation, stared at the young man, her face flushed, and her eyes were inexplicably excited.
"Dong dong dong..."
The sound of the drums was as dense as raindrops, the Han soldiers were stringing their bows, and the firecrackers were being loaded with ammunition. Everything was completed in an orderly manner.
Silence, only the tense atmosphere of the war about to begin silently enveloped the entire city gate tower.
As the Qing soldiers carrying the ladder approached the moat, they waved the flag and said, "Let go!"
"Whizzing!!!"
As the sound of thunderbolts and strings sounded, arrows shot through the air.
The archer holding a strong bow, the stretched bow and the divine arm bow in his hand shot out a stream of arrows as dense as locusts, passing through the blue sky, filled with vast smoke and clouds, as if he paused for a moment in mid-air, cold and ghostly. The black arrow reflected the afterglow of the setting sun, and immediately landed on the heads of the densely packed Jurchen flags.
"Pfft..."
Screams sounded.
"Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding..."
Then, the arrows landed on the shields that were raised in unison, making a crisp sound of iron clashing.
"Puff, puff..." The sound of arrows piercing flesh kept coming and going.
As well as the ordinary soldiers who were suddenly hit by arrows, some were carried away by the kinetic energy of the arrows fired from the crossbows, and fell to the ground all of a sudden. They held the weapons in their upper bodies and still maintained the charging posture. When they fell to the ground, they suddenly fell to the ground. A pool of bright red blood spread from his chest.
At this moment, Jia Heng was holding a monocular telescope and observing the entire movement of the battlefield, his eyes gradually becoming serious.
The Jurchens' fighting will is obviously superior to that of the Han army.
"Raise your shield!"
At this moment, accompanied by the roar of the general shouting like a bell, the air seemed to be flapping its wings like locusts, and arrows were shot towards the Han army on the city wall.
The Qing army's counterattack came.
Then the Folan cannons bombarded the city top and exploded. The Han troops on the city head groaned and screamed again and again.
Jia Heng also quickly took the shield delivered by Chen Xiao and raised it with a cold expression.
Because Datong City is high, not all the Jurchen bows and arrows can be shot, and many of them hit the blue brick city wall, making a crisp "ding-dong-dang-dang" sound.
Occasionally, one or two were shot into the cracks of the bricks, and the tail feathers suddenly stopped due to the arrows, and the tail feathers trembled.
"Boom boom boom!"
At this time, the muzzles listed on the watchtower of Datong City also began to roar, tilting the shells downward, and the large clouds of gray gunpowder smoke filled the air, shooting at some Qing troops who had already circled close by the ladder.
The Han army's fire blunderbuss, or at this moment, the Lumi blunderbuss and the three-eyed blunderbuss are really not flattering. They are not much stronger than the three-eyed blunderbuss used in rural areas, and their penetrating damage to the Jurchen bannermen is much less.
The scattering firecrackers allowed many Qing troops to charge in pain even after being shot.
Seeing this scene, Jia Heng frowned and glanced at the Zhengbai Banner Chinese Army flag that had been pressed up. He could already see the leading general through the telescope.
He suppressed the thought of ordering the Hongyi cannon to fire immediately.
Opening fire now will definitely not have the effect of defeating the Jurchens. The Jurchens will just regroup after a period of chaos.
In fact, the entire offensive and defensive battle did not require Jia Heng to come over to command, but the Chinese army's flag standing on the gate tower of Datong City had the effect of anchoring the sea.
Stabilize military morale and popular support.
Then came the boring and boring siege battle. A ladder was placed on the top of the wall, and rolling logs and rocks were thrown down from the top of the city. They were smashed down from the top of the ladder like a bowling ball.
The boiling "golden juice" was poured downwards, and the Jurchen flag underneath was boiled and grinned. It fell from the ladder with blisters on its face.
Then there was a two-hour offensive and defensive battle. The Han army and the Qing army fought around the city head. The corpses on the city head fell from the city head and landed in the moat, and the blood stains spread.
Because there are 60,000 Beijing-camp infantry, 40,000 Beijing-camp cavalry, and 35,000 Datong soldiers and horses in the entire city of Datong, it can be said that they are heavily guarded and the troops are quite sufficient. Such an attack is more like a test.
Therefore, after a fierce siege, the Jurchen offensive gradually slowed down.
Until the evening, the sunset filled the sky, and the entire sky was soaked in golden red. Arrows and red blood stains still remained above the majestic Datong City. While the banner men gathering the corpses below, the Datong town army above attacked without tacit understanding.
At this moment, both sides were gathering wounded soldiers and treating them.
General Military Office
The lights were brightly lit and the figures were looking forward to the scene. The governor of Yaowu Camp in the capital, commanding Cai Quan, Marquis of Runan, Weiqi, Pang Shili and other officials in the capital such as Song Yuan, stared at the young man in python suit.
Jia Heng said thoughtfully: "In today's battle, the Jurchen offensive was particularly fierce. We almost gained a foothold on the city several times. Our army was slow to react and we still need to react quickly."
In fact, this is also an opportunity to temper the Beijing camp and the border troops. After this battle, the Han army's combat effectiveness will definitely be improved.
This is why he and the Jurchens started an offensive and defensive battle over the city.
The generals below nodded. At this time, the former Datong general came out to take the pot and said: "General, my soldiers and horses have not seen this kind of battle for a long time. They were panicked for a while. I hope you will forgive me, General."
At this moment, Ezhe and some tribes from Chahar Mongolia, Taiji, were also listening to the Han generals' discussion.
Jia Heng said: "The Chahar Mongolian warriors performed well this time. The warriors from the East Corner Tower shot and killed many Jurchen bannermen. I wonder which warrior they were from?"
With a faint smile on his face, Ezhe obviously felt honored and said, "They are Laczolt's bodyguards. They are good at riding and shooting."
At this time, behind Ezhe were two tall Mongolian men with beards and piercing eyes. One of them strode out, stroking his chest with one hand, and said: "I don't dare to praise you as a general, our warriors are all A natural shooter."
Jia Heng nodded and said: "Come here, give this warrior the wine that the palace emperor gave me."
At this time, Jia Fang came out of the crowd and held his hands.
The expressions of all the generals present changed, and many of them had strange colors.
Jia Heng looked at the generals around him and said: "Generals and commanders, the Jurchens have been ravaging our Han border for many years. Now, under the fortification of the city, there is talk of field battles, but if we hold on to the city, we cannot give the Jurchens a head-on attack." Beat me up, how can we have the dignity to return to the capital to see the Holy One and the elders of Guanzhong?"
The faces of all the generals present looked angry.
Then, after holding a meeting with the generals, Jia Heng came to the study room and saw that the lights were on, and a tall girl with a pure temperament was waiting for the dishes to be placed.
The girl is wearing a flying fish suit, with flawless jade-white cheeks without makeup, and her bright eyes are crystal clear under her shaving eyebrows.
Chen Xiao put down his chopsticks, took a basin of water over, and whispered: "I was thinking just now that Huang Taiji was frustrated on the western front and would definitely launch a surprise attack in Beiping. Why didn't you send troops to defend in advance."
Jia Heng washed his hands with a bang, and the orange candlelight reflected the bright face, and said: "Actually, there is no need at all. From Ji Town to Xuanhua, you can count how many passes there are for Jurchen raids, and so on. Setting up defenses only dilutes the strength of the troops and puts them under control everywhere.”
In other words, in addition to Xuanda as the defense line of Shenjing, he deliberately let the Jurchens break out from Hebei to Jizhen, in basketball terms.
The Jurchens are like a stall. As long as they want to sneak in, the big man really can't guard against them.
Well, life is unsatisfactory, and I am jealous of Jinzhou.
Chen Xiaoliuye's slender eyebrows were curved, his eyes flashed, and he said, "Then we can't just do nothing."
Jia Heng took the towel and wiped his hands, and said: "There will be some movement among the Jurchens in the past few days. I have sent a letter to Xie Zaiyi on a flying pigeon to inform him to lead troops and horses to support Peking."
Chen Xiao frowned and said, "Why don't you reject the enemy outside the pass?"
Jia Heng picked up the chopsticks, was silent for a moment, and said, "This is an opportunity to close the door and beat the dog."
To put it bluntly, the entire northern Great Wall defense line is too long and almost leaks like a sieve. The existing military strength or combat power cannot defend it at all. From Juyong Pass, Qiangzi Pass, Qingshan Pass, Shanhaiguan... each pass must be divided into troops. Reinforcement, but passive.
Moreover, from west to east, even with cavalry, it is not a wise move to defend passively and run exhausted.
Chen Xiaoqing's eyes flashed, pointing to the map hanging on the screen, and said: "In the direction of Juyongguan, the Jurchens may raise troops to attack."
Jia Heng said: "It's possible at Juyong Pass. I plan to send Xie Jing to rescue him, but he probably won't be able to make the trip. I have given an order to Xie Jing. After the fall of Juyong Pass, Juyong Pass must be recaptured. If several other passes are taken, If it is broken, we will do the same, and we must block the Jurchen's retreat."
Chen Xiao sat down, stared at the young man, and said softly: "Once the Jurchens come in and Peking is attacked, Shenjing will definitely be in an uproar."
Jia Heng's expression paused and he said: "There is nothing we can do about it. The Jurchens will attack a certain point all the way, and no one can defend it. Soldiers and horses from other areas will go to rescue them, and then other passes will be broken again. In this way, they will be left to one side and the other to the right. This is the situation of the Han Dynasty. As for Beiping, Mr. Li Ge is holding back the Jurchen troops in Beiping, and reinforcements will be sent from Shandong and Baoding."
If the Jurchens invaded Peiping and galloped across the country, he could almost imagine the four princes and eight nobles including the Prince of Nan'an in the sacred city celebrating each other.
Don't look at the fact that his actual main defense area is Xuanda, and the eastern front belongs to Li Zan, Minister of War.
It's just that he wears the seal of the general who conquered the captives, controls Shanxi, Hebei and other places, and leads the Beijing army in his hands. He will more or less be accused of improper use of troops.
Therefore, it is very necessary to annihilate the Xianglan Banner in time and achieve success before. At that time, the public opinion counterattack in this regard will be lighter.
Otherwise, Emperor Chongping would definitely have doubts.
Chen Xiao's heart moved slightly, he stared at the young man, and whispered: "It would be feasible to use Peiping as bait to attract the Jurchens to raid in."
At this moment, Jia Heng's strategy was roughly clear, which was to protect the western front and allow the Jurchens to break into the eastern front.
Because the western front is behind Taiyuan and Guanzhong, while the eastern front is Hebei and other places, which are weaker in terms of military strategy.
Jia Heng's face paused and he said: "For this reason, since we can't defend ourselves, it's better to let the Jurchens in, and then surround and annihilate them. Mr. Li Ge needs to withstand the Jurchens' offensive. In addition, he needs to arrange Ichiban, close the door and beat the dog, and in addition there is Huang Taiji in front of you."
He wanted to deal with Huang Taiji with all his strength, and Peiping needed to see the ability of Li Zan, the Minister of War.
Chen Xiao said softly: "That's it, let's eat first."
Jia Heng said softly, then picked up a piece of Mushu meat and put it in Chen Xiao's bowl, saying, "Eat more of this."
Chen Xiao lowered his head and ate the rice, a light blush appeared on Qingli's cheeks, and waves of sweetness surged in his heart.
…
…
At this moment, Dushikou City east of Xuanhua——
It was already evening, and the afterglow of the setting sun in the west fell on the winding mountains. Looking far into the distance, the soldiers and horses of the red flag and the Zhenglan flag, plus the soldiers and horses of the two Han army flags, were like a tide. The ground surrounded Dushikou.
On the narrow walled city, there were already corpses lying on each other's pillows, and their blood was flowing like a tide.
"Whizzing!!!"
Arrows were like rain, and they were thrown from the battlement walls along with rolling logs and stones, and rolled down along the newly green grass. Large balls of black and red blood and broken blades of the remaining soldiers were tangled in the grass, making it almost a mess.
Accompanied by the screams of the Jurchen bannermen, earth-shattering shouts of killing echoed in the valley.
And with ferocious faces, like wild beasts, they climbed up the ladder towards the city wall regardless of casualties, and occupied the city several times, but they were resisted by the Han army.
Under the walled city, under a large banner of the Chinese army, Wang Ziteng was wearing mountain armor. Under two thick eyebrows, his calm eyes were looking down at the offensive that was a little more fierce than before. His face was solemn, and his shoulders were bandaged with blood. Cloth towel.
It was in the morning that a stray arrow hit Wang Ziteng's shoulder. The situation was urgent at that time. Wang Ziteng bandaged it hastily and continued to press the Chinese flag on the city.
After all, he was a man who once served as the commander-in-chief of the Beijing Camp. He commanded more than 100,000 soldiers and horses, and he still had some courage and bravery.
To put it bluntly, Wang Ziteng's stupidity was mainly reflected in his low political level, unclear knowledge of people, and insufficient military skills. However, a general who can inherit the legacy of the Jia family in the military cannot be incompetent at all.
"General Wang, the Jurchens have increased their troops from Xuanhua City." Below, Deputy General Yu Wanshou said in a low voice with a solemn gaze under his brows.
Wang Ziteng pondered for a moment and then said: "The soldiers and horses from Xuanhua City have gathered here. Please ask General Xie for help immediately."
At this moment, a soldier walked up the stairs to the walled city and said, "General, General Xie sent his deputy Ding Qianshi with three thousand troops and horses."
Xie Zaiyi had long been keenly aware of the Jurchen's attack strategy, and immediately sent reinforcements to move towards Dushikou when the Jurchens were riding.
Wang Ziteng said: "Tell Ding Qian what happened. Just say that we are at the top of the city and ask him to come to help quickly."
But at this moment, the setting sun was shining in the evening, the night was low, the whole world was dark, and the military tents in the distance had already lit up lanterns.
"Dangdang..."
As the gongs sounded one after another, the Qing army below quickly retreated like a tide, retreating towards the camps that had been set up in the distance.
Seeing this, Wang Ziteng breathed a sigh of relief and said softly: "Go back."
At this moment, Yue Tuo and Hao Ge were discussing matters with Han generals Li Guohan, Tong Tulai and other generals. At this moment, there was a map spread out in front of everyone, reproducing the situation here.
Yue Tuo said: "The two banners of the Han army are still here to attract the attention of the Han army. Our army can go around here overnight and enter the pass. My father has already attacked Qiangzi Pass. It is said that the Han army in Beiping has increased its troops. .”
Just a few days later, Daishan and Nurhachi's grandson Beile Dudu joined forces to attack Qiangzi Pass, and a big battle broke out in Peiping.
Li Zan, the Second Assistant to the Han Cabinet, a scholar of Wuyingdian University and Minister of War, has written to Shandong Admiral Lu Qi to lead 50,000 troops to reinforce Peiping.
Kang Hong, the admiral of Hebei in Baoding, also led 30,000 troops and was ready to go.
Hauge pointed at the map and said coldly: "Even if the Han generals here know that our troops are withdrawing, they don't know the specific direction of my march. If they mobilize accordingly, they will just be exhausted!"
It can be said that during this period, Hauge was very upset. From Xuanhua to Dushikou, he was stunned that he had not conquered any place. This was in the past... Xuanda was not easy to attack, especially the two cities of Datong and Xuanhua, but other cities It is not difficult for the defense line to break into the Han border.
In fact, this was the case in the late Ming Dynasty in parallel time and space. Once the Jurchens entered a certain place, the capital was shocked and immediately ordered all ministries to come to the rescue. For example, take the Jurchens' fourth entry as an example.
Historical records: Zheng Xichao, the director of Ji Town, Sun Maolin, the sub-supervisory officer, Chen Zubao, the governor of Shuntian, Zhang Qiping, the governor of Baoding, Yan Jizu, the governor of Shandong, Wu Guojun and Chen Guowei, the chief soldiers of Ji Town, Zu Kuan and Li Chongzhen, the chief soldiers of the assistance and suppression, etc. A total of thirty-six people were beheaded.
Because Peiping was the capital of the Ming Dynasty, and the Jurchen invaders threatened the capital, the world was naturally shaken.
Therefore, Jia Heng protected Xuanda, consolidated Taiyuan, and attacked Ping'an Prefecture. He could go straight to Taiyuan and neglected the defense, so as to lure Huang Taiji to go deep behind when the war was in a stalemate, and set up pocket formations to seek big results.
(End of chapter)
