Not long ago.
Li Ting's troops broke into Kaifeng before the Song army, and immediately the city was ablaze.
Ding Haijun and the Jin army fought fiercely for a long time. The Jin army had already begun to fight and retreat. They did not dare to go to Lincaiguan, so they went north along the Cai River and gradually approached Kaifeng City.
The battlefield at this time was still more than ten miles away from Kaifeng. Guo Ning could not directly see the fire scene, but he could already see clusters of churning flames rising with thick smoke. Even the blazing sunlight could not cover up the fire.
In an instant, several more scout cavalry deployed on the periphery of the battlefield ventured across the battlefield to report.
Everyone was in a hurry, the focus and angle of observation were different, and the content of the report was also different, but everyone said: "The Song army conspired with the Jin people to set fire to Li Jieshuai's headquarters!"
At the same time, hanging on the hot air balloon used to monitor the Jin army's movements high above the battlefield, the soldier in charge of the lookout danced and threw down the wooden tablets used to send messages piece by piece, with writing on each piece. The big characters read: "The Song Army is guarding Nanxunmen! Kaifeng is on fire!"
Under such circumstances, how could Guo Ning still not know that the situation had unexpectedly changed again?
This change is different from a simple battlefield confrontation. Just like how he had fought fierce battles with the Mongolian army several times before, Guo Ning had already known that he was facing a powerful enemy. He had already been determined to cover up the water and earth with his troops, and he had even been prepared to pay a heavy price.
But at this moment, our own side clearly has the absolute upper hand in strategy and tactics, while the enemy is just lingering. A moment ago, he was very proud and confident that the situation was under control. But in the blink of an eye, he was plotted and his soldiers would suffer tragic casualties!
In the past two years, the size of the Ding Navy has expanded a lot, but Li Ting's Ying Navy Jiedushi Division is the key to defending the central capital and connecting the Bafu and Shandong strongholds, so there are many veterans under him. Many of them can talk to Guo Ning and can call him Guo Liulang with a straight face.
Before the navy launched this operation, many of the arrangements were classified, but some veterans sensed the tense atmosphere from clues. So just when Guo Ning was about to launch his army, several soldiers stationed at Wozikou Military Village in Qingzhou went to Tianjin Prefecture to meet Guo Ning privately, offering the summer grain output of their new fields and praying for the army's success. well.
These old soldiers are all in the city at the moment, suffering from the fire!
These people are all genuine members of our own family and die-hard supporters of Ding Haijun! Since ancient times, earthen jars have been hard to break without leaving the well. Since they joined the army, they would inevitably return their corpses wrapped in horse leather. But they actually failed to fight the enemy and perform meritorious service, and earn the title of wife and son. Instead, they were framed by the Song Dynasty and the Jurchen people, and even died in the fire?
What makes people even more angry is that this time they may have to pay Li Ting...
Li Ting and Guo Ning met when they were in trouble. They each had their own strengths when they were in Tanglu, Hebei. In fact, they had a very close friendship. They helped each other a lot when they retreated from northern Xinjiang in the early years. Moreover, Li Ting seems to be a carefree person, but he is actually very subtle and can understand Guo Ning's thoughts very well, so he is really an indispensable help to Guo Ning!
Guo Ning's hands and feet were cold, but an evil fire suddenly surged up in his heart. His throat felt salty and he almost vomited blood on the spot.
Fortunately, he was really determined and thought that the commander-in-chief was brave for the whole army, so he did not faint and fall off his horse. Even so, he pressed hard on the saddle bridge to maintain his balance. His teeth clenched and he was speechless for a moment.
What's even more troublesome is that if the Song people actually conspired with the Jurchens, would they have a back-up plan? Let's not talk about anything else, just talk about the war situation around Kaifeng. Could it be that Zhao Fang's troops are just the beginning, and the Song army will arrive one after another, relying on Kaifeng City to become the enemy of Ding Haijun?
According to Guo Ning's understanding of the Song Dynasty, although the Song army has a large number of soldiers, there are few who really dare to fight well. It is said that they do not have such power. The officials in Lin'an City are all thinking about making money, and it does not seem that they have such strength. Courage; before the Jurchens went south, the battle with them didn't seem fake, but...
A fire broke out in the city! Who knows if the people of Song Dynasty will go crazy?
Guo Ning sneered repeatedly and turned to look at Jin Jun in front of him from a distance.
Such changes have occurred in the city of Kaifeng. Will this golden army stop? Will you withdraw? Or will his morale be boosted and he will be brave enough to attack?
Looking at their movements, we can know whether the Jin people have made arrangements in advance, and from this we can also infer the degree of collusion between the Song and Jin families!
There were constant killing sounds all around, and Guo Ning could not take his eyes away. Several military generals heard about the changes in Kaifeng City one after another, and hurried over from behind. Seeing Guo Ning's expression, they did not dare to disturb him and waited patiently.
The Jin army on the opposite side first knew that the Song army and Ding Haijun were rushing towards the city, and they were obviously panicked. However, due to the distance between the Lincaiguan battlefield and Kaifeng City, ordinary soldiers did not see the enemy's movements with their own eyes, so they did not lose their fighting spirit, and they did not have the situation of people and horses trampling on each other and fleeing.
After the fire broke out in Kaifeng, a large number of Jin Army knights rode on horseback to deliver orders. All Jin Army units immediately cheered up and tried to stabilize the battle situation. There were even cheers from Jin Army soldiers in some places. There were several places where the two armies were entangled, and the navy must bear it. The pressure suddenly increased.
Guo Ning's thick eyebrows frowned, and his face became increasingly gloomy.
With his eyes, he could easily determine that this was not a trapped beast still fighting for the Jurchens. It was obvious that the Jin Army soldiers in those places were launching an orderly counterattack. They tried to force the navy back slightly, and then turned in front of the enemy to escape from the chaos.
The Jin army, which was still able to fight with its own side at this time, was undoubtedly loyal to the Kaifeng court. They want to escape, not because they want to escape, but because they have discovered that their side has new vitality, so they intend to preserve their own vitality for the future. And for what reason are they cheering...
Is it even worth thinking about?
"Tell Han Xuan that this battle has lasted too long! I will give him half a moment at most!"
"Tell Zhang Lin to knock out all the iron fire in half a moment!"
"Tell Wang Shixian to mobilize the troops from the rear team and be ready to assist the front team at any time, or to take over from the front team to clear the battlefield!
Guo Ning gave an order in a deep voice, and several cavalrymen rode off in response.
"I'm sending an order to all the troops and cavalry to assemble here!" Guo Ning picked up Tie Guduo from the saddle and said with a grin: "I have all my swords and weapons ready, and I have my stomach tightly bound, and I'm ready to follow me to Kaifeng! "
Several other messengers turned their horses and left.
Yelu Chucai suddenly arrived from behind and reached out to hold the reins of the war horse: "Duke!"
Guo Ning turned around and said, "What do you mean?"
Yelu Chucai lowered his voice: "This shouldn't be a premeditated plan by the Song people! All the officials under Shi Miyuan's sect are tied to us for the sake of maritime interests. The two families are at odds, and it will not benefit them at all! The trip to Shanghai The business has just begun, and now the ocean is flowing north, and countless large ships are rushing to Shandong, Zhongdu and other places. We only need to detain the Song Dynasty ships in a few ports, and those people will have to pay for three lifetimes. Boss! That hurts more than killing them!"
Seeing Guo Ning thoughtful, Yelu Chucai added: "What's more, how many years of hatred have accumulated between the Song Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty? The people of the Song Dynasty were ashamed of the blood feud during the Jingkang period, and they have been singing about it for hundreds of years. How can these two families unite? The Song Dynasty wants to unite with the Jin Kingdom, how can those Jurchens trust the Song people? Aren't they afraid that the Song people will suddenly fall out? Aren't they afraid of the Song people's revenge? My lord, there must be something fishy in this!"
What Yelu Chucai said was exactly the opinion of Guo Ning and his close advisers when they discussed the big policy. But at this moment, Guo Ning's blood boiled as he watched Li Ting's troops suffer. How could he be willing to think too much?
He looked at Yelu Chucai and said slowly: "What Jin Qing said about sea trade is very reasonable. We must immediately send an order to seize all Song ships, cargo, and sailors in the ports we control. Down."
"That's natural, they should be punished!" Yelu Chucai nodded repeatedly.
"As for what happened in Kaifeng City, and what the hell the Song Army was doing..." Guo Ning pressed down the rim of his iron helmet, revealing only his eyes with cold murderous intent: "I'll go and see for myself! "
Yelu Chucai was glared at by Guo Ning. He subconsciously let go of the hand holding the reins and took two steps back.
At this time, the cavalry units from various departments of the Chinese army were gathering rapidly, with only three or five cavalry units missing. Guo Ning was too lazy to wait any longer, so with a roar, he led more than a thousand fine knights and rode away on the ground.
The smoke kicked up by the horse's hooves choked Yelu Chucai and coughed repeatedly. He coughed and stamped his feet, and said anxiously: "As a general, why should you take risks at this time?"
After shouting a few words, when he saw Dong Jin arriving with hundreds of horses, Yelu Chucai rushed over fiercely, grabbed Dong Jin's saddle and shouted: "You protected the Duke of my country well!"
Dong Jin agreed repeatedly and urged his horse to catch up.
Ding Haijun's Chinese cavalry suddenly dispatched, like a raging wave rising from the deep sea. There was no warning beforehand, but it contained tremendous power.
Since they were going to Kaifeng, they did not bother with the Jurchens on the battlefield and chose to pass directly by Xiacang City in the north of the battlefield.
Nashangcang City was built by Shizong of the Later Zhou Dynasty to store rice grains shipped from the south in preparation for the Northern Expedition. Two hundred years later, all the city walls and buildings had collapsed, leaving only a platform that was more than two feet higher than the flat ground.
General Wanyan Sai of the Jin Army did not have a brother-in-law named Wang Chouhan. His subordinates had suffered a lot in the fight with Zhao Fang before, so they were not arranged by Wanyan Sai to raid the formation on the outside of the battlefield.
At this moment, he was leading hundreds of people, trying to seize the platform as a basis for subsequent fights. Unexpectedly, halfway through the march, they bumped into Ding Haijun's cavalry galloping like a stream.
Wang Chouhan repeatedly ordered his men to form a formation and raise their shields, but the enemy's cavalry came too fast, and their momentum was shattering, and they crashed into the infantry team in a blink of an eye. Thousands of cavalry formed a formation and passed by him on both sides. In the billowing smoke and dust, no one knew who was swinging the iron bone flower and smashing it hard.
Wang Chouhan hurriedly raised his sword with both hands to meet him, but the blade was smashed into pieces by Tie Guduo, and the blade flew in all directions. But Wang Chouhan's wrist bone was broken and he couldn't control the handle of the knife. So Tie Guduo continued to slam back against a twisted ridge of a knife, hitting him on the chest.
The armor and stomach on his chest were instantly dented by the impact, and his sternum and ribs were almost shattered. When he rolled over and fell to the ground, blood oozed from his eyes, mouth, ears and nose, and he died immediately.
"Don't stop, keep moving forward, let's go to Nanxunmen!" Guo Ning took back the iron bone flower and gave the order concisely.
The cavalry continued to accelerate, passing through the wailing Jin Army infantry on the ground, getting closer and closer to Kaifeng City.
