In the twelfth lunar month of winter, the fields are lonely, with heavy snowfall and biting cold wind.
On the Lingzhou city wall, the Xixia soldiers guarding the city had red faces, exhaled white breath, rubbed their hands and stamped their feet, and let the snowflakes fall, quickly covering their heads and shoulders.
The dirty blood on the city wall was melted by the heavy snow, and after it was swept away, it was still clearly visible, which was shocking.
Under the city wall, thousands of corpses lay scattered in layers, covered with heavy snow. The low hills and the wilderness were silent, and the silence was so frightening.
The offensive and defensive battle of Lingzhou City lasted for more than half a month. It was bloody and tragic. The Xixia defenders lost nearly 10,000 people and the camp was full of wounded soldiers. New soldiers continued to fill the city head to cope with the huge casualties of the defenders.
The Mongolian army suffered even greater casualties, with nearly 20,000 dead and wounded, as evidenced by the hills of corpses of varying heights in the fields outside the city wall.
In the wilderness, accompanied by the sound of chanting, piles of firewood were blazing. It was the soldiers who were burning the bodies of their fallen comrades. The fire continued all night, which made people upset.
Yelu Chucai stood in front of the camp bag, frowning at the scene in front of him, secretly surprised in his heart.
The Mongolian army camp outside the city was endless. The Mongolian generals were yelling and cursing in the camp, dispatching troops and generals, and preparing siege equipment. The tide of Mongolian troops began to gather, obviously preparing for the next siege.
"When will this kind of siege, regardless of casualties, end?"
At some point, Chahan stood behind Yelu Chucai, looking at Lingzhou City in the distance with his brows also furrowed.
After more than half a month of siege, Lingzhou City remained standing. Genghis Khan was so furious that he ignored his health and personally supervised the battle, determined to capture Lingzhou City.
God knows, how long can Genghis Khan's body last?
"After the battle yesterday, more than 2,000 soldiers were killed and injured. The Great Khan was furious, vomited blood, and has not eaten until now. If Lingzhou City is not taken, it will be difficult to eliminate the hatred in the Great Khan's heart."
Yelu Chucai said leisurely.
Character determines destiny. Genghis Khan succeeded because of his indomitable tenacity, but sometimes he was too stubborn and could easily get into trouble.
"But Li Deren also knows that surrendering at this time is tantamount to death. Moreover, the Xia army has fought so hard that Lingzhou City will never surrender. Even if the city can be broken, how many casualties will the army have?"
As Chahan spoke, he glanced at the scene of burning corpses and frowned even more.
It used to be that the army only burned corpses at night, but now there are so many casualties that they no longer care about night and day.
"No one dared to persuade the Great Khan in his rage. I hope the army can capture Lingzhou City before New Year's Day."
Yelu Chucai sighed and suddenly asked:
"General Chahan, do Daxia have such powerful firearms?"
There were firearms in Xixia, but they were too few in number and not very powerful. Why are the weapons of the defenders in Lingzhou City so fierce?
"It seems not! I don't know where they got these murderous things?"
Chahan shook his head, confused.
In fact, what he didn't understand was that the Xia troops who used firearms were well-trained and were definitely a strong army.
Since Xixia has so many elite firearms and such ferocious firearms, why wait until this time to use them?
Both of them were full of questions. In the midst of their thoughts, drums and horns were blaring. The Mongolian army gathered in front of the camp. They carried ladders and pushed the few trebuchets that had been repaired. They swarmed out of the camp and filled the mountains and plains. , howling and heading towards Lingzhou City.
"The Xia people are so spirited. I don't know whether it's a blessing or a curse?"
Yelu Chucai sighed with emotion. Chahan was speechless for a moment and was speechless. He looked at the Lingzhou City Wall standing in the wilderness, which seemed to be still indestructible.
"Chahan, go back. If you want to break the city, it won't take a day or two."
Yelu Chucai left, leaving Chahan alone. He stared at the crowded Lingzhou city with complicated eyes. What was he thinking in his heart?
"Get ready to fight!"
On the Lingzhou city wall, Li Deren and Cao Youwan shouted loudly, and everyone looked solemn.
The main force of the Mongolian army attacked the city, and no one dared to be careless.
The Xia and Song garrison on the city wall stood ready, everyone held their weapons tightly and prepared their shields.
"General Cao, do you want to pour water on the city wall?"
Li Deren looked at Cao Youwan who was watching the enemy with a telescope.
In fact, the Mongolian army's ladders were equipped with iron hooks, and pouring ice on them could delay the attack, but it could not solve the fundamental problem.
"Your Highness, there is no need for the moment. The purpose of war is to kill the opponent as much as possible. Since the Tatar army thinks they can capture Lingzhou City, let them attack with confidence and take the opportunity to kill the opponent."
Cao Youwan put down his telescope. It seems that the Mongolian army's offensive today seems to be more fierce.
"But there are so many people in the Tatar army! Is Genghis Khan crazy?"
Li Deren looked at the endless Mongolian camps in the wilderness, and his heart tightened again.
It was originally thought that the Mongolian army numbered no more than 100,000, but in the fierce fighting along the way, they lost at least 10,000 to 20,000. Who knows, now it seems that there are more than 100,000.
Taking the casualties of the Mongolian infantry as an example, most of them were surrender soldiers and Han troops. The real Mongolian cavalry losses were not much.
"Your Highness, the real war has just begun. Only by severely defeating the Tatar army can Genghis Khan withdraw."
The emperor said that he must hold on until the end of June, and now it is the twelfth lunar month. The decisive battle is far from coming. The other side cannot easily retreat unless it suffers large-scale casualties.
"Your Highness, let me tell you a secret. The Tatar army has been infected with the epidemic. At least 20,000 to 30,000 people in the army cannot fight. Do you know that they want to break through Lingzhou City as soon as possible and get the rhubarb and other medicinal materials in the city? Heal their wounded and sick!”
Seeing Li Deren's frown, Cao Youwan deliberately raised his voice so that the surrounding soldiers could hear him.
Li Deren was taken aback and couldn't help but relax his frown.
If the Mongolian army is infected with the plague, the pressure on defending the city will be much less, and the defenders will not give up easily.
If this were the case, the Mongolian army would want to capture Lingzhou City in a short time, and Genghis Khan would take it for granted.
"General Cao, how do you know there is a plague in the Tatar army?"
Li Deren asked suspiciously, but deliberately lowered his voice.
The surrounding soldiers also pricked up their ears.
"Your Highness, the secret must not be leaked. In short, you believe me."
Cao Youwan didn't dare to say that this was Zhao Hong's prediction. In fact, he and all the Song generals in Lingzhou City did not know the estimated death of Genghis Khan. The only person who knew these predictions was Luo Shichang.
Even Yu Jie and him only knew about the plague in the Mongolian army and the earthquake in Zhongxing Mansion.
The emperor had no plans left, which made him admire, frightened, and secretly surprised.
The emperor, couldn't he really be sent down from heaven?
Li Deren was confused and nodded slightly.
Some things may really not be worth asking deeply.
"General Cao, why don't you use all your artillery? Zhentian Lei didn't throw much?"
After getting along with Cao Youwan for a long time, Li Deren did not hide anything and spoke frankly.
Not only were the firearms not used much, but even the Song soldiers who came to the city to assist in the battle were only two or three thousand at a time, rotating every two days, and they didn't know what it meant.
"Your Highness, the offensive and defensive battle in Lingzhou City is a protracted battle. If we run out of firearms, we will have to fight with real swords and guns. There are 200,000 people in the city. Do you think we should use less? "
At Cao Youwan's words, Li Deren smiled bitterly and shook his head helplessly.
The truth is this, but it just costs too many soldiers.
However, whenever the war is unfavorable or stalemate, artillery and thunder can always stop the decline in time and kill the Mongolian army. This also greatly increased the confidence of the defenders on the city.
This is enough. After all, you have to rely on yourself to defend the city.
"Your Highness, the Tatars are powerful and they seem determined to break the city. Today I sent five thousand brothers to the city. Don't worry!"
Cao Youwan laughed loudly and waved his hand, and countless Song troops wearing helmets and armor came to the top of the city one after another.
The Mongolian army was obviously anxious to launch such a large-scale siege and wanted to capture Lingzhou City regardless of casualties. The situation is critical, which is not the time to hide your weakness.
"General Cao, thank you very much!"
After fighting for more than half a month, the Song army suffered more than a thousand casualties, including many gunners. Today, more than half of the Song army went to the city because there were too many Mongolian troops attacking the city. With the Song army guarding him, Li Deren felt much more secure.
It is a pity that many of his soldiers do not have sophisticated armor like the Song Army, otherwise the casualties would be much smaller.
"Your Highness, the Tatar army is in ruins, and we have no choice but to accompany it to the end!"
Cao Youwan laughed, his fighting spirit raging.
Use large and small artillery and sky-shaking thunder together. Today, the Mongolian army must be littered with corpses and rivers of blood.
Li Deren was also excited. He looked at the Mongolian army swarming outside the city like locusts, frowned, and shouted loudly.
"Everyone, prepare to meet the enemy!"
The military order was issued, and all the soldiers who defended the city either hid behind the walls or set up planks and shields.
When the Mongolian army attacked the city, they mainly used archery. The range was long and the arrows rained heavily, one after another. The guards on the city wall had become accustomed to it and learned to deal with it after days of bloody battles.
"General, the emperor's "Tatar Policy" says that the Tatar army has some siege weapons and cannons. Why didn't they pull them out? Are the Tatars using some dirty trick?"
It was Yang Daquan again. Cao Youwan was so surprised that he asked quietly.
Didn't it say in "Tatar Strategy" that the Mongolian army had any siege weapons to return artillery fire? How come I didn't see it?
"I don't know. Maybe they didn't bring them during this expedition. But even if the Tatar army brought back artillery, I can blast them to pieces."
Cao Youwan hid behind the wall, raised his shield, and showed no sign of weakness, but secretly doubted in his heart.
Those loose trebuchets have a range of only two to three hundred steps. If a cannon is fired, they will be smashed to pieces immediately. They are not as good as the divine arm bow, so they can be said to be a weapon for siege.
Could it be that the emperor really made a miscalculation, or that the Mongolian army hid it and did not bring it out?
This is also one of the reasons why he has not used firearms on a large scale, just to prepare for emergencies.
