In March of the third year of Xingqing in the Song Dynasty, Qingzhou, Shandong.
Qingzhou is located in a transportation hub and has an advantageous geographical location. It has mountains and rivers on its right, and the sea on its left. It controls the peninsula in the east, Yimeng in the south, and looks to the Bohai Sea in the north. It has been an important military town in the past dynasties. The city is ten meters high, the moat is more than ten meters wide, and the city circumference is 13 miles. Its scale is taller and more spacious than Jinan City. The Zhongyi Army under Li Quan straddled both sides of the Huai River. One was Chuzhou in the Song Dynasty south of the Huai River, guarded by his wife Yang Miaozhen and his brother Li Fu.
Qingzhou serves as Li Quan's base camp in Shandong.
However, despite sitting in the impregnable Qingzhou City, Li Quan was currently sitting in the lobby of the Qingzhou Governor's Office, holding a newspaper in his hand, frowning, and unable to show his joy.
Since September last year, the Mongolian general Bolu led his army into Shandong and pressed into the Qingzhou City. He wanted to recruit Li Quan to surrender, but Li Quan naturally refused. Bolu ordered an attack on Qingzhou, but Li Quan failed to repel the Mongolian soldiers, so Yingcheng defended itself. There were tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians in the city, but after being besieged for half a year, only a few thousand remained. The food and grass were exhausted, and the cattle and horses were eaten. Qingzhou City reached a critical moment of life and death.
If there is an earthquake, I am afraid that Li Quanhui, like Li Sui, the leader of the Xixia Kingdom with the same surname, will be on the verge of crying.
Since the anti-jin uprising, this is probably the most embarrassing and dangerous moment for him, Li Tiegiang.
Li Quan seemed to have a hard time deciding whether to surrender or break through.
His forehead was covered with sweat and his chest was already wet. However, Li Quan sat motionless on the chair and seemed not to feel anything.
"Enfu, why don't you have some porridge?"
General Tian Shirong came in, followed by several generals, all of whom were haggard and listless.
The Mongolian army besieged the city for a long time, and there was a lack of food in the city. Nine out of ten people starved to death. It was extremely difficult for generals like them to drink a bowl of gruel.
Li Quan raised his eyelids, glanced at the porridge on the table with disgust, and sat up slightly.
"Didn't Li Fu and Liu Qingfu send troops?"
Li Quan spoke lazily.
Li Fu was Li Quan's second brother, and Liu Qingfu was Li Quan's general. The two helped Li Quan's wife Yang Miaozhen stationed in Chuzhou, an important town on the border between Song and Jin Dynasties, and provided mutual aid to Li Quan in Qingzhou, Shandong.
"En Mansion, what the Tatars like most is to besiege the city and call for reinforcements. They have completely blocked the siege of Qingzhou City. Even if Vice General Li and the others come, I am afraid they will not be able to attack. Instead, they may be defeated by the Tatars' siege and reinforcements."
Another general, Zheng Yande, was also pessimistic in his words.
"Didn't the imperial court send reinforcements? Didn't it say that Emperor Song was training troops on Jiangnan East Road, and he didn't come to help us either?"
After Li Quan finished speaking, he picked up the porridge and drank it slowly.
The imperial court established a martial arts hall in Jinling, organized and trained new armies, and implemented new policies. He also found out clearly from newspapers in the Song Dynasty.
But in his opinion, this is all a scam and just a show. Fighting on the battlefield still requires a bloody fight with swords and guns. Can a strong army be cultivated?
"En Mansion, the Chuzhou Rebellion, and Peng Yibin's death, the imperial court has alienated us, and I'm afraid the imperial court will not send troops to reinforce it. We'd better give up on this idea!"
General Tian Shirong shook his head and said decisively.
Qingzhou is the boundary of Shandong and is the territory of the Jin people. If the Song Emperor sent troops to rescue, wouldn't it mean that he would have enmity with Mongolia and Jin at the same time?
No fool would do such a stupid thing.
What's more, Li Quan and Song Tingmao were at odds with each other and had been grudges for a long time. The reason why the Song Dynasty provided all the money and food to Li in Chuzhou was just to concentrate on implementing the New Deal and training the new army, and did not want to be hindered by foreign troubles.
When the Mongolian army besieged Li Quan, of course Song Ting could dodge as far as he could.
"Rescue? If I were Emperor Song, I would send troops to attack Chuzhou right now!"
General Liu Weicheng also said angrily.
Do you really not know what the Zhongyi Army has done in the past few years?
During the Chuzhou Rebellion, Li Quan killed the court ministers and envoy Xu Guo in Huaidong, launched an army to cause chaos, and took control of Chuzhou City, thus conspiring to rebel. The Song court was shocked and the whole world was shocked. Song Prime Minister Shi Miyuan settled the matter and tried to appease Li Quan, but the relationship between Li Quan and the court had already been forged.
Not to mention, Peng Yibin's entire army was wiped out in Hebei, and Emperor Song was furious and extremely dissatisfied with Li Quan. Emperor Song replaced Xu Xiji, the envoy of Huaidong who was close to Li Quan, and appointed Liu Gu, a cunning man with long sleeves and good dancing, to take office. This was obviously a response to Li Quan's arrogance, domineering and uncontrollable.
Qingzhou was under the rule of the Jin people, not the Song Dynasty. Even if the Song Emperor knew that the Mongolian army was besieging Qingzhou, he would sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, and would never send troops north to reinforce Qingzhou.
Li Quan is really big-hearted. He really thinks that Song Ting is the Guanyin Bodhisattva who saves the suffering and the Ninja Turtle with an open mind. He can swallow his anger and forget about it?
"It's all your fault! I want to negotiate peace with the Tatars in the winter, but you don't agree. Who is to blame for the current situation?"
Li Quan stood up suddenly, threw the porridge bowl in his hand, and roared loudly with an angry look on his face.
"I've been drinking this crap all day long. I can't even get enough to eat, and my mouth is full of fleas!"
Last winter, the Mongolian general Boru sent an envoy Li Xisun to surrender. Li Quan was about to surrender, but Li Xisun made rude remarks and angered his general Tian Shirong and others. They killed Li Xisun, and Li Quan had to hold on.
A month ago, seeing the lack of food in the city, Li Quan wanted to break out, but was intercepted by the Mongolian army outside the city. Thousands of people were beheaded. His subordinates trampled on each other and drowned countless people. Li Quan was defeated and had to retreat into the city to hold on.
Li Quan's words left all the generals speechless and dejected.
At that time, the troops were strong and the horses were strong, and they thought they could control their own destiny. Who knew they were vulnerable, and they didn't expect that Bolu would be in such a state after besieging the city for so long.
"Tian Shirong, how is the situation in the city?"
Li Quan seemed to have regained his composure, sat down again, and asked in a deep voice.
These people are his brothers in life and death. At this time, he cannot hurt the hearts of the soldiers.
"There are only more than 2,000 people left in the city. Others died in battle, starved to death, and died of illness. All the grass roots and tree bark have been eaten. It is already a situation where people cannibalize!"
Tian Shirong didn't even raise his head, and his answer was weak.
"Where are the brothers? How are they?"
Li Quan was not worried about the remaining people in the city. Even if these people died, he would not care. What he worries about is his soldiers and the morale of the military. This is his fundamental concern.
"Suffering from hunger and not having enough time to eat, the brothers lost the will to fight. Some brothers couldn't bear the loneliness, so they robbed some women in the city, but nothing serious happened."
Tian Shirong said lightly, without any guilt or uneasiness.
"Brothers have been through life and death. There are only six to seven thousand people left in the army of more than 20,000. Why don't you want them to relax? Without brothers, the women would have been snatched away by the Tatars for fun!"
General Zheng Yande also said coldly. Living on the verge of death all day long, why can't we indulge ourselves and be happy?
Li Quan was noncommittal about his subordinate's words, and his thoughts seemed to be wandering again.
Not to mention that the soldiers raped a few women, even burning, killing and looting was normal. If you work hard all day long, who knows if there will be a tomorrow.
He was silent for a moment and then asked unconsciously.
"The Tatar army has been surrounding Qingzhou for more than half a year. Where are the Jin soldiers? Didn't they fight the Tatars?"
After dealing with various forces for many years, Li Quan subconsciously thought that the Jin people might win over him.
"The Jin soldiers were frightened by the Tatars, and now they are all hiding in the south of the Yellow River pretending to be grandsons! En Mansion, don't count on them!"
Tian Shirong's face was full of contempt and he sneered softly.
The golden people who want to be unable to protect themselves are wildly imaginative.
"En Mansion, the Song people cannot be relied upon, let alone the Jin people. In the final analysis, we have to rely on ourselves."
Zheng Yande whispered, his eyes twinkling.
On their own!
Li Quan glanced at several generals and asked softly.
"Tian Shirong, do you think the Tatars will retreat? How long can the brothers hold on?"
Li Quan did not intend to surrender until the last moment. It's not that he is loyal to anyone, but that he is used to being divided and living alone. Destiny is still in your own hands.
Tian Shirong and Zheng Yande looked at each other, and after a moment, they hesitated to speak out.
"En Mansion, Genghis Khan is attacking Xixia, and there are many Han troops in the Tatar army in Shandong. It will not be difficult for them to siege the city. I am afraid the Tatars will not withdraw easily. There is a lack of food in the city, and the brothers may be able to support it for a month. But if Without reinforcements, we will be dead sooner or later!"
After Tian Shirong finished speaking, the other generals also shook their heads and sighed.
It seems that all the generals have no confidence in holding on to the city.
"These traitors are helping the emperor to do evil!"
Li Quan cursed fiercely and remained silent.
He often read newspapers in Song Dynasty, and he also learned a lot of new vocabulary.
All the generals were silent, and the hall was quiet.
"I heard that the Tatar army was very powerful. During the Western Expedition, they wiped out all kinds of enemies. They massacred millions of people in the city at one time. Is it so powerful?"
Zheng Yande rolled his eyes and mentioned the Mongolian army's western expedition.
"It's Khwarezm. They don't know how high the sky is! Can they provoke the Tatar army?"
There was something in Tian Shirong's words, but Liu Weicheng, the general, glared back at him.
"If you kill 400 of your people, you will kill millions of other people, and they still don't care. How overbearing!"
"What's wrong with being overbearing? What can you do? Xixia is not the same. It's been punished until the country is about to be destroyed. All the men are almost dead. You can't say no and you can't resist. If you don't go your way, you will be destroyed. What can you do? ?How dare you?"
Tian Shirong and Liu Weicheng started to quarrel.
"If you ask me, the Xixia people are still smart, and the Jin people are the most useless. They are playing themselves to death, and if they don't save Xixia, they don't even understand the meaning of death and coldness. It seems that they won't be able to survive for a few more years!"
Another general also joined in.
"Don't tell me a word. Where did everything go? I'm almost starving to death, and I'm worried about so many things. I'm really worried!"
Zheng Yande stopped the chattering of the generals angrily and turned to the silent Li Quan, cautiously.
"Enfu, you tell me what to do, brothers all listen to you!"
"Enfu, you speak, and the brothers will listen to you!"
Tian Shirong and others all echoed.
Li Quan, the hero of troubled times, has always been their backbone. At the critical moment of life and death, of course Li Quan takes the lead.
