Yao Ping glanced at Cao Yong and said: "Commander, I have fought against the Khitans with you! The bravery and toughness of the Khitans left a deep impression on the general at that time! However, the commander led us to fight back desperately. , but can still compete with them!" He paused and frowned, "But facing the Yan Yun Army, Marshal, it's not that the last general has the ambition of others to destroy his own prestige, it is actually the Yan Yun Army that makes the last general feel helpless. The terrible feeling of confrontation! Dengzhou's loss was not only because the final general fell into Gao Hu's trick, but also because the Yanyun army was too powerful! At that time, our army fell into the valley, and the opponent only had two thousand Modao troops blocking the exit. However, our army could not break out no matter how hard we charged, and in the end the whole army was annihilated! If it was the Khitan army that blocked the exit at that time, we will eventually have the confidence to rush out in one fell swoop and return to Dengzhou!"
Yao Ping is the bravest general under Cao Yong. Even he said this, and the generals couldn't help but panic. Cao Yong frowned and said, "Are you saying that Yan Yun's army is indeed as powerful as the legend says?"
Yao Ping nodded and said: "Yan Yun is so sharp and invincible! This sentence is not a boast!"
Cao Yong thought: "When Cao Yong led his army into Sichuan, he encountered the Yanyun Ninth Army. He also said that the Yanyun Army's combat power was extremely terrifying. I didn't take it too seriously at the time. I just thought it was just Cao Yong who was suddenly attacked. The other party ambushed, so they were at a huge disadvantage! Now that you say so, it seems that my previous judgment of the Yanyun Army was wrong!" Then he said with emotion: "So what if it is strong! I, Cao Yong, swear to fight to the end with the Yanyun Army! "When the generals heard the commander's heroic words, they couldn't help but feel heroic. Yao Zhong said loudly: "What a man is afraid of what they will do! The worst is to die! If you can fight with an opponent like Yan Yunjun, you will have no regrets even if you die. Come on!" All the generals agreed.
Seeing that none of the generals were afraid of Yan Yun's army, Cao Yong couldn't help but feel relieved. Then he smiled confidently: "Although Yan Yun's army is strong, our army is not weak either. Our army has more troops than them! And there are Han With water as a barrier and the strong city of Xiangyang as a support, our army is actually invincible! There is no invincible army in the world, and the Yanyun Army will never be an exception!" The generals listened. After hearing Cao Yong's words, he couldn't help but regain some confidence.
Cao Yong walked to the sand table and the generals gathered around him.
Cao Yong pointed to the Han River to the north of Xiangyang and said: "To defend Xiangyang, we must first defend the Han River! Not all places in the Han River are suitable for large armies to cross the river. Except for Xiangyang, the only places suitable for large armies to cross the river are the Jun River in the northwest. Zhou (which is Wudang, Wudang Mountain is not far to the south of Junzhou), Gucheng, and Yicheng in the southeast, so whether you can defend Xiangyang depends on whether you can defend Junzhou, Gucheng and Yicheng." He raised his head. , glanced at the generals, "As the saying goes, if you defend for a long time, you will lose. If you just defend, you will be unable to defend sooner or later! Therefore, we must also be prepared for a counterattack. For this reason, we must send additional scouts to Hebei to conduct reconnaissance. Accurately grasp the dynamics of Yan Yun's army!" All the generals agreed in unison.
Yao Ping clasped his fists and said: "Commander, please give me a force to recapture Dengzhou! If we fail, I will die in battle and will never live in an ignoble way!"
Cao Yong looked at the sand table, frowned and thought for a long time, then slowly shook his head and said: "No! Since the Yanyun Army is so powerful! How many troops do we need to break through Dengzhou, which is defended by 40,000 to 50,000 Yanyun Army? I'm afraid there are none. There is no need to think about more than 200,000, and you don’t know how much time it will take and how much it will cost! Now that the main force of Yanyun will arrive soon, there will be no benefit in counterattacking Dengzhou, and they might even take advantage of the situation to counterattack! Dengzhou gave up!"
News of the fall of Dengzhou soon spread to Jinling. Zhao Heng and the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty were extremely frightened, and they all advised the emperor to move the emperor and the court to the safer Guangdong area. However, due to the insistence of the Grand Master, this proposal was finally abandoned. Among the people, the rumor that King Yan is the Bodhisattva of Light has reached a new level. The government officials who were originally ferocious in hunting down the rumor makers lost their previous momentum and restrained themselves a lot.
Cao Yong submitted a memorial to the emperor, suggesting that the royal family and rural gentry be called upon to contribute generously to the country and sponsor military expenditures to expand the army to resist foreign humiliation. The emperor discussed this proposal with the ministers in the court, but unexpectedly, the ministers unanimously opposed it and angrily accused Cao Yong's suggestion of being ridiculous. From ancient times to the present, the court has never heard of asking for sponsorship from the gentry. It is simply an insult to elegance and the way of a saint! Those who were even more outraged actually asked the emperor to remove Cao Yong from his post as commander-in-chief and hand it over to relevant departments for investigation! The emperor originally did not want to take out the money from his private treasury, but seeing the unanimous opposition of the civil and military ministers, he took the opportunity to veto Cao Yong's proposal.
Cao Yong received a reply from the court and saw that his proposal was rejected. He couldn't help but be disappointed. He looked up to the sky and sighed: "The country has reached this point, and these people still only care about their own selfish interests!"
Yao Ping said angrily: "That's all for others, but I didn't expect that the emperor and the royal family would also get nothing! Whose country is this for?"
Cao Yong sighed.
Yao Ping said: "The emperor and the royal family took more than half of the spoils obtained by our army's counterattack against the puppet emperor as internal funds. It is said that the value of gold and silver alone exceeds tens of millions of taels of silver! Now that Yanyun's army is approaching, they actually He refused to spend two taels of silver! Yet he was not stingy in building a luxurious palace in Jinling. What a fool!"
Cao Yong shouted: "A son does not talk about his father's faults, and a minister does not talk about his faults! You can't be so rude!" Yao Ping said: "Commander, I'm sorry to speak bluntly, this 'son does not talk about his father's faults, and his ministers do not talk about his faults'" is a big deal There is a problem. The father is wrong, but the son is not allowed to say it. The king is wrong, but the minister is not allowed to say it. What is going on? In this sense, wouldn’t it be a big mistake for Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, to accept remonstrance? But Bigan directly remonstrated. Doesn't death mean that you are looking for death yourself, like no one else?" Cao Yong huffed and was speechless for a moment. It's not that Cao Yong's eloquence is inferior to Yao Zhong's, it's that Confucianism is contradictory in many places, leaving no one able to defend himself.
Cao Yong said: "I heard that the situation in Yanyun is exactly the opposite! Let's talk about internal funds. The King of Yan has no internal funds at all. He just receives a monthly salary like all officials. Of course, the salary of the King of Yan is It is the highest. All other money and materials are stored in the public treasury to meet national expenses! All the national taxes are not like the past, said to be the king's. In Yanyun, those are all the country's. Public! Although King Yan is the lord of Yanyun, all he can get is salary. According to the laws of Yanyun, asking for anything else is a crime! Commander, although his subordinates are stupid, they are also I can feel that Yan Yun’s approach is much better than Song Dynasty’s approach!”
Cao Yong frowned, looked at Yao Ping, and asked in a deep voice: "What exactly do you want to say? Yao Ping sighed and said: "I just want to say that the kings and courts of the two sides are thousands of miles apart! Can we turn the tide just by relying on the so-called saint's way? Cao Yong couldn't help but feel confused for a while, and then said decisively: "Who is right and who is wrong, how can we tell clearly in a moment!" But since you and I are ministers of the Song Dynasty, we must fulfill our duties loyally and die exhausted! "
There was a look of contempt on Yao Ping's face, and he said: "The general will never risk his life for that court and the emperor!" He glanced at Cao Yong and said decisively: "But the commander-in-chief has the kindness to save and rebuild the general. , The general is willing to die on the battlefield for the commander-in-chief!" Cao Yong couldn't help feeling relieved, but also felt confused, patted Yao Ping's shoulder and sighed.
General Zhao Xiong hurried in from outside, cupped his fists and said, "Commander, Yan Yun's main force has arrived!"
Cao Yong was startled and hurriedly ran out of the commander's mansion and went straight to the north city gate. Looking up, I saw the north bank of the Han River, with banners and flags surging in the clouds, and the army like a tide, and the Yanyun army was overwhelming. Cao Yong frowned and murmured: "The real war is about to begin!" He turned to Yao Ping and shouted: "Send orders to Li Zheng, Fang Hong, and Liu Dali to be on guard and not to go into battle without permission!" Yao Ping responded and ran down. . Li Zheng, Fang Hong, and Liu Dali were all Cao Yong's generals and were ordered to defend Junzhou, Gucheng, and Yicheng. At present, the 400,000 troops in Cao Yong's hands have been divided into four parts. The main force of 200,000 troops is led by Cao Yong himself to guard Xiangyang. The other 200,000 troops are divided into three branches to defend Junzhou, Gucheng and Yicheng respectively.
Yanyun's army was stationed outside Dengzhou City, and Gao Hu rushed to the tent outside the city to meet Yang Peng. Yang Peng smiled and said: "General Gao's results exceeded my expectations! I originally thought that General Gao would be blocked by Dengzhou City, but I didn't expect General Gao to break the city in one fell swoop and take the lead in the Southern Expedition!" All the generals looked at Gao Hu with envy. Gao Hu smiled and clasped his fists and said, "The final general is just a bit lucky!"
Yang Peng stood up and walked to the sand table, and the generals gathered around him. Yang Peng asked Gao Hu: "What is the enemy's situation?" Gao Hu pointed to Xiangyang and said: "According to the detailed report, the 400,000 Song army on the opposite side is divided into four parts. One part of 200,000 is led by Cao Yong himself. Xiangyang, and the other three parts were led by his three generals Li Zheng, Fang Hong, and Liu Dali to defend Junzhou, Gucheng, and Yicheng."
Yang Peng put his hands on the sand table and looked at the sand table in front of him with a thoughtful look on his face. Duan Zhixian said carelessly: "Brother, I think we should concentrate our forces to attack Xiangyang. As long as Xiangyang is conquered, the rest will not matter!" Xiang Danian and other generals nodded in agreement and looked at Yang Peng.
Yang Peng still looked thoughtful and did not express his position. Ye Qi Guanyin said: "My uncle's idea is indeed very good, but I'm afraid it will be difficult to achieve the goal!" Then he pointed to Xiangyang, "We have all seen this Xiangyang just now. The city wall is extremely majestic and tall, even compared to Yanjing and Bianliang. If it is exceeded, and the Han River serves as a barrier, if we attack by force, even if we can capture it, we will suffer heavy losses!"
Ye Qi Guanyin added: "Furthermore, Xiangyang is heavily guarded, and the troops from the surrounding cities can come to help at any time. I have dealt with Cao Yong before, and he is definitely a powerful man with strong will, wisdom and courage! Our army can attack Xiangyang. It is said to be the strongest point to attack the opponent, but since the right time, place and people are not on our side, I am afraid it will be difficult to succeed!"
The generals felt that what the sister-in-law (empress) said was very reasonable, and they couldn't help but frown. Yang Peng looked at the sand table and thought. He was thinking about the strategy of attack. After a while, he smiled slightly, pointed at Xiangyang and said: "We will attack Xiangyang!" Everyone was startled, and Ye Qi Guanyin wanted to dissuade him, but suddenly his heart moved, he smiled sweetly, glanced at Yang Peng, and said: "Brother's. The strategy is very clever!"
The other generals did not understand what Yang Peng meant and looked at each other, feeling confused. Later that day, Yang Peng, accompanied by Yedi Guanyin, climbed a hill by the river and looked across. I saw the huge city of Xiangyang standing on the riverside, like a giant lock locking the thousands of miles of rivers and mountains in the south; the Han River flows meanderingly, sparkling, and is very vast, and the shore is densely planted with pickets to resist horses. Behind the horse-tipped stakes, there is a walled city built of wood and stone at regular intervals. There are varying numbers of soldiers and horses stationed in each walled city. From a distance, you can see the huge catapults in the walled city, as well as the dark of iron cannon.
Ye Qi Guanyin said: "Cao Yong is very well prepared, this battle will never be easy!" Yang Peng frowned and nodded. Ye Qi Guanyin said: "The general trend is now, maybe we can defeat others without fighting."
Yang Peng showed surprise and joked: "Guanyin, when did you believe this?" Ye Qi Guanyin smiled and said: "This is reasonable, isn't it?" He turned to look at Xiangyang on the other side, " Nowadays, our Yanyun is at its peak, while the Song Dynasty is already in decline. Everyone can see this. In this case, probably not everyone will be as willing as Wu Jie to tie their wealth and life to a country without Above the imperial court of hope! Not everyone can live and die with the country! For most people, their own wealth, life, glory and wealth are more important!"
Yang Peng nodded, looked at Ye Qi Guanyin, and said, "Do you want to send someone to sneak into the opponent's camp to lobby?" Ye Qi Guanyin nodded and said, "As long as there is an important person on the other side who is willing to surrender, it will be good for us. It’s a huge help!”
Yang Peng thought: "This method can be tried." He raised his head and said decisively: "That's it!" Then Yang Peng and his party returned to the big tent. Yang Peng called Wang Kai and asked him to select more than twenty secret guards who were clever and good at speaking, and ordered them to disguise themselves and dive across the Han River.
Yanyun's army rested for two days on the north bank of the Han River, while preparing bamboo and wooden boats and rafts. It was dawn on the third day, and the thunderous sound of war drums woke up the soldiers and civilians of the Song Dynasty on the south bank.
Cao Yong hurried up to the south city gate tower and looked to the north. In the early morning mist, he saw Yanyun's army arrayed on the north bank, like mountains and tides, while countless bamboo and wooden boats and rafts were densely docked in the water on the bank. Cao Yong was slightly taken aback and murmured: "What does Yang Peng want to do? Does he actually want to attack Xiangyang directly?" Cao Yong felt a little incredible, "Does he think he can forcefully break through the Han River defense line with the force in his hands? What if? In this case, he is too arrogant!" Although he thought so, he did not dare to neglect at all. He urgently ordered all the armies in the city and the villages outside the city to prepare for battle. He also ordered Yao Ping to lead an army of 50,000 to attack at any time to counterattack the opponent's attacks. The troops landed and at the same time ordered the prefect of Xiangyang to gather the young and middle-aged men in the city to help defend the city. Suddenly, the soldiers and civilians of the Song Dynasty became busy, and everyone was terrified.
Wuwuwu...a huge horn sound suddenly came from the other side. I saw the Yanyun front on the opposite side stretching to both sides, revealing hundreds of cannons. Cao Yong and others were surprised, because the appearance of those cannons was something they had never seen before. They were much taller and slender than traditional cannons. The long barrels were like the bodies of giant pythons, even though they were so far apart. Looking at it, one can't help but feel a bit intimidated. Military Advisor Liu Feng stared wide-eyed and couldn't help but said: "Then, what is that?"
At this moment, I saw a red flag raised in the middle of the artillery team on the other side. Cao Yong and others had already learned through careful study that the red flag would be raised when the Yanyun Artillery Team launched a bombardment. At this time, they were surprised to see the red flag on the other side raised, but they were more surprised: now there is a gap between the two sides. There is a river of Han River, and the two sides are more than two miles apart. How can the cannon hit it?
Before he could finish his thoughts, he saw the flames of Yanyun Army's artillery battalion on the opposite side shining brightly and white smoke billowing. Immediately, a huge roar and a sharp sound of breaking through the air rushed towards them. Before everyone could react, countless cannonballs slammed into the inside and outside of the city wall. There was a violent impact, dust was flying, and the wreckage was dancing. Although there was no target. How much damage was caused to the Song Army and Xiangyang City, but it greatly shocked the Song Army soldiers! They never dreamed that Yanyun's cannon was so powerful that it could be fired across the river! A Song Army general opened his eyes wide and said in horror: "Okay, what a powerful cannon! We, we are finished!"
Immediately, the Yanyun Army's artillery fire turned and began to bombard the fortresses outside Xiangyang City. The walled city is close to the water and is much shorter than the majestic and tall Xiangyang City. The Yanyun Army's new long-barreled artillery can hit the Xiangyang City Wall, and it is natural to bombard the walled cities outside the city. I saw the roar of cannons, and the cannonballs smashed into the walled city like a meteor shower. Dust was flying in the walled city, and broken bricks and wood shot up into the sky. From time to time, the wreckage of cannons and catapults could be seen being lifted into the air by the huge power of the cannonballs. The soldiers of the Song army suffered heavy casualties and fled with their heads in their hands. Many people no longer cared about guarding the walled city and scrambled to escape from the walled city and fled towards Xiangyang City. The Song army on the wall of Xiangyang watched helplessly, but there was nothing they could do.
Yanyun's artillery fire destroyed one walled city in an instant, and then bombarded the next walled city. In this way, the walled city outside Xiangyang City used to guard the river bank was blown to pieces by Yanyun's artillery fire, and Yanyun's army had not yet Once they began to cross the river, the fortifications used to defend the river banks were almost completely destroyed.
Seeing this scene, Cao Yong cursed angrily: "Damn it!" Seeing everyone around him showing fear, he immediately raised his voice and said: "Don't be afraid, everyone! Although the opponent's cannon is powerful, it is too far away to shake Xiangyang. City wall! When they cross the river, our army will go out of the city to counterattack. Then their artillery, no matter how powerful it is, will be useless!" Everyone felt that what the commander said was reasonable, and their panic subsided a lot, and they recovered gained some confidence.
Liu Feng looked at the other side and frowned: "The other side is about to cross the river!" Cao Yong quickly looked toward the other side and nodded when he saw that the other side's artillery team had stopped bombarding. Then I heard long horn sounds coming from the other side, and then I saw a strong general Yan Yun holding a mace leading nearly 10,000 soldiers to rush onto the bamboo and wooden rafts, and then hundreds of teams rowed towards this side. Come.
Cao Yong's eyes narrowed and he raised his voice: "All armies, prepare for battle!" The rapid drumbeats suddenly sounded loudly. When the troops heard the signal and realized that the enemy had launched a charge, they couldn't help but become nervous. But Yao Zhong, who was waiting at the city gate with an army of 50,000, was very excited. As soon as his opponent landed, he led his army to kill him to avenge his previous attack! Look up at the city gate tower. If the enemy troops land, a signal flag will be raised there, ordering them to attack!
After waiting anxiously for more than two quarters of an hour, a red flag suddenly flew up from the city gate. When Yao Ping saw the flag, he immediately became excited, raised his sword and shouted: "Brothers, come out with me and kill the enemy!" The soldiers were originally nervous and frightened, but now they heard the general shouting, and their hearts were filled with excitement. I couldn't help but feel a bloodthirsty impulse, and I couldn't help shouting in unison!
The city gate opened wide, and Yao Zhong immediately led an army of 50,000 people to rush out and rush towards the Yan Yun army who was landing. The gate of the city was still several hundred meters away from the river bank. The Song army was all infantry and would not be able to reach it in a short while.
When Xiang Danian saw the enemy troops leaving the city, he immediately ordered the more than a thousand soldiers and horses who had landed on the ground to prepare for battle, and at the same time ordered other soldiers and horses to step ashore. Cao Yong and others stood on the top of the city and gazed nervously outside the city. They saw 50,000 of their own troops rushing toward the shore like a tide. However, the Yanyun army that had already landed was not afraid and quickly formed a battle formation to prepare for the battle. . Liu Feng couldn't help but admired: "It is indeed a powerful and powerful brigade that is powerful in the world. Not only does it have no fear under such circumstances, it can also form a battle formation in the blink of an eye!" A general turned his head and said "No matter how strong they are, they can't really defeat ten of them. Our army is dozens of times stronger than the enemy's. We can definitely wipe out the enemy's army in one go!" Cao Yong and Liu Feng nodded, neither doubting this.
Suddenly, the loud rumbling sound appeared again, and it turned out to be Yan Yunjun's cannon firing again! Cao Yong and others were shocked. Before they could react, they saw dust and flesh flying in the middle of the own army that was rushing towards the enemy. Yanyun Army's artillery fire was actually directed at their own attacking troops! Liu Feng couldn't help shouting: "Oh no!"
The Song army was suddenly attacked by Yanyun's artillery fire. They were caught off guard and suffered heavy casualties. At the same time, they were frightened and frightened. The army instantly became confused. The Yanyun Army launched three consecutive rounds of artillery fire. The Song Army suffered heavy casualties and was in chaos. Some were at a loss, while others turned around and fled.
At this moment, Yanyun's artillery fire stopped bombarding, and the Yanyun Army soldiers who had already crossed the river rushed forward, all like tigers out of their boxes. The Yanyun army fiercely crashed into the middle of the Song army, swiping their swords and killing fiercely. The Song army was frightened and frightened, but they could not resist it. In an instant, they were killed with corpses all over the field and they were defeated like a mountain! The Yanyun army was chasing after them, and at the same time, the follow-up troops also began to cross the river!
What happened after all, let’s see what happens next.
