The northwest border of the Song Dynasty, Lizhou West Road, one of the three passes and five states, Jiezhou.
Jiezhou is known as the "key to Qinlong" and the "throat of Bashu". It is a battleground for military strategists and an important thoroughfare for economic and trade exchanges. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Jiezhou was under the jurisdiction of Lizhou West Road. Because to the north is Xihe Prefecture, which is heavily guarded by Song Dynasty garrison, and to the west is the Tubo border with dangerous mountains and long rivers, so Jie Prefecture is in a relatively safe inland.
Economically speaking, Jiezhou is mostly mountainous and has no resources such as coal and iron. After years of war, although the people live a simple life, they are hardworking and are inadvertently ignored by Shangguan.
It was late February, the spring breeze was blowing, the mountains and rivers were beautiful, the Beiyu River passed through the north of Jiezhou City and flowed into the clear Bailong River, which was also an effective barrier to prevent the Jin people from invading southward.
It was just dawn, ten miles south of the city, in a huge valley, where thousands of Mongolian cavalry were lying in wait, and countless war horses were tied to trees with bits on them. The Mongolian cavalry wore helmets and armor, and carried several horned bows on their horses. Their quivers were huge, full of arrows, and they were fierce and ferocious.
In the valley, the corpses of dozens of Han and Tibetan people were lying on the ground, scattered everywhere. Their clothes were stripped off, and the Mongolian cavalry were in disguise, with axes and scimitars hidden by them. Some of them carried horned bows on their backs, just like the Tibetan people.
Jiezhou has "seven mountains, two rivers and one farmland". The surrounding mountains and ravines around Jiezhou City are perfect for hiding these Mongolian cavalry.
"Le Ajie, remember, you occupy the south gate first, and I will lead the cavalry to arrive soon after. Half of them destroyed the Song army's military camp outside the city, and the other half entered the city and destroyed Jiezhou City!"
The leader of the Mongolian army, Chaul, solemnly explained.
The reason why they chose to travel hundreds of miles from Tubo through mountains and ridges was that they wanted to enter the hinterland of Song Dynasty from Tubo and catch the Song army by surprise.
To avoid the eyes and ears of the Song army, in addition to burning, killing and looting, the Mongolian army also wanted to show off their force to make the cowardly Song people surrender.
"Chawu'er, don't worry! Just take care of those weak southerners and take them down in one fell swoop!"
The Mongolian warrior named Le Aji quickly finished cleaning up and saw that there were no flaws. A group of people came out of the valley and headed straight for Jiezhou City in twos and threes.
"Chawu'er, if you want me to tell you, you can just fight in. Why bother with all this?"
The sharp archer Centurion Zhe Farewell said disdainfully.
"Be careful. We didn't capture Lingzhou City. Khan has a bad temper and Subotai will kill anyone he sees. Just be careful. If you lose, be careful of your dog's head being chopped off and fed to the dogs!"
Chawu'er said coldly, and Zhebie didn't dare to say anything anymore.
The dog's head was cut off and fed to the dog! Subotai can definitely do something like this.
Although he is a sharp archer in the Mongolian army and is also known as Zhebie, he is not the "Four Dogs" alongside the Mongolian general Subotai, he is just an ordinary low-level general.
Among the Mongolian army, the "Four Heroes" Muhuali, Borhu, and Chi Laowen all passed away, and the "Four Dogs" Zhebie, Kublai, Zhelemi, and Subutai were left. Only one Subutai was left. alive.
It’s no wonder that Genghis Khan was furious and his condition worsened. So many important generals, including Borshu and Muhuali, including Genghis Khan’s eldest son Shuchi, passed away one after another, and he failed to conquer the hated Lingzhou City and Zhongxing Mansion.
The war is not going well, Subotai's temperament is already violent, and it has become even more violent recently. If he loses the battle, he will not really be skinned and cramped, and his head will be fed to the dog.
"Everyone take a rest and prepare to break into the city and plunder!"
Chaul ordered him to go down and sit down on the hillside.
"Chaul, tell me, is the Great Khan already..."
Zhebie leaned forward, looked at the soldiers around him, and asked softly.
In recent days, there have been rumors among the military that Genghis Khan died of a serious illness and could not survive for a few days. If the Great Khan died, wouldn't the Mongol army be in chaos?
"Shut up! Let people hear it, you don't want to live anymore!"
Chaul glanced around nervously and felt relieved when he saw that no one was paying attention.
"I'm not talking nonsense, but many people in the army think so. You and Subotai have a good relationship, do you know something?"
Zhebie asked cautiously, covering his mouth and asked in a low voice.
"Don't ask me, I don't know anything. The Great Khan has never come out since he entered Liupan Mountain. I'm afraid the Great Khan..."
Chawuer's words stopped abruptly, and his face became stern.
"Get out of here! Get ready to attack the city!"
"Yes Yes Yes!"
Zhebie smiled apologetically and walked away quickly.
Sweating profusely...
Chawu'er frowned, a little worried.
The gate of Jiezhou City was opened, and several Song soldiers came out, removed their horses, and began to let the people in and out of the city gate.
"Brother Hu, look at your listless look. Did you spend the whole night playing in the tiles?"
Zhao Gu held the red tassel gun, stood upright, and teased Hu Da opposite him.
"Military discipline is so strict, how dare you go out and play around? You want to train the local people, so I wrote it a little late."
Hu Daquan adjusted his military uniform to make himself look more energetic.
"Brother Hu, when will we be transferred to the border?"
Zhao Gu asked with a smile while letting the people in and out of the city.
These gatekeepers are all new soldiers assigned to Jiezhou. Jiezhou has been at peace for several years and life is peaceful. These recruits all want to go to the front line to make meritorious deeds.
As for the defense of the city, there was a team of 100 soldiers, with Hu Daquan in command and Wang Yu in charge. Because the inner city is too small and crowded, Jiezhou's military camp is located outside the city. There are two camps of the Xiang Army with a thousand people. They have been practicing every day for more than half a year, and they are in good shape.
"Zhao Gu, have you noticed that there seem to be more people entering the city today."
Hu Daquan did not answer Zhao Gu's words and looked at the people entering the city in confusion.
Han and Tibetan people live together in Jiezhou, with only about 20,000 to 30,000 people, but there don't seem to be such a large number of people entering the city on weekdays.
"Yeah?"
Zhao Gu raised his head in confusion and looked at the people entering the city.
"Whoosh!"
Before Zhao Gu could react, a feather arrow whizzed towards him. His body fell heavily backwards, blood spurted out, and blood gushed out from his chest, where he was hit by a feather arrow.
"Zhao Gu...get down!"
Hu Daquan broke into a cold sweat, rolled over instinctively, and shouted loudly. An arrow flew over his head and shot down another gatekeeper who was caught off guard next to him.
"Run!"
The people at the city gate were frightened and fled in all directions. The city gate and the city gate cave were in chaos, filled with people fleeing in all directions.
Feathered arrows were flying, and on the wall at the city gate, Song soldiers were shot down one after another, followed by a group of Tibetan people, dancing and holding horned bows and scimitars, approaching the city gate and slashing wildly, exacerbating the chaos at the city gate. The Tibetan people rushed forward and soon arrived at the South City Gate.
"bomb!"
Hu Daquan hid behind the earth bag at the city gate, shouted loudly, and directed the remaining Song soldiers to fight back.
A Song soldier had just thrown a smoke-shaking thunder when several feather arrows came towards him and shot him down. The thunderbolt in Song Bing's hand fell to the ground and exploded, causing earth and rocks to fly. Several Tibetan men holding scimitars were blown over, their flesh and blood flew everywhere, and the injured let out loud screams.
It was thrown out like a thunderstorm, and the attacking Mongolian soldiers were staggered by the explosion. Hu Daquan and dozens of Song soldiers rushed out with long spears and went straight to the remaining Mongolian soldiers.
The two sides fought hand-to-hand and clashed with swords and guns, causing blood and death immediately.
Hu Daquan stabbed a Mongolian soldier to death and was about to rush towards another man when he was suddenly awakened by the deafening sound of horse hooves in the distance. He looked up and saw billowing smoke and countless fierce Mongolian cavalry approaching.
"Go back quickly! Close the city gate!"
Hu Daquan was frightened, shouted angrily, and was about to run back, but was stopped by several Mongolian soldiers, and some Mongolian soldiers had already entered the city gate.
Hu Daquan was anxious, but had no choice. He looked towards the city wall. Dozens of Song soldiers were loading the artillery, and some were running towards the city gate.
Looking at the brothers around them, most of them were killed, leaving only two or three people still fighting to the death.
"go to hell!"
Hu Daquan's pupils were filled with blood. He was hit on the back and shot hard, stabbing the opposite Mongolian general in the throat. He knocked over a Mongolian soldier with his spear and was about to stab him when he received a knife in the neck and then another in the chest. The arrow fell to the sky.
Hu Daquan was lying on the ground, feeling that the sky was dark and arrows were flying all over the sky, heading straight towards the southern city wall of Jiezhou.
He vaguely heard the rumble of artillery and saw the smoke and dust billowing from the city gate. Then countless war horses passed by him and rushed straight into the city gate. The knights on the horses looked ferocious.
"Military...camp..."
He turned his head with difficulty and saw several corpses lying on Zhao Gu beside him. Zhao Gu unscrewed the iron cover with trembling fingers and opened the fire certificate.
"all!"
The thunderous explosion sounded, and the blood and flesh of the people and horses outside the city gate were splashed. Hu Daquan's vision was blurred, and everything in front of him slowly turned into darkness.
The rumble of horse hoofbeats was heard, and Wang Yu, who was watching on the city wall, couldn't believe his eyes.
South of Jiezhou City, where did so many...cavalry come from?
Several artillery pieces on the top of the city kept firing, but the enemy cavalry still rolled in and rushed into Jiezhou City like a whirlwind. Judging from the dense number, there were at least a thousand cavalry.
In addition to his one hundred soldiers in the city, the others were government officials and local militiamen. In front of these whirlwind cavalry...
Military camp!
Wang Yu was frightened, and as he glanced over, he saw groups of cavalry roaring past, already heading towards the east of the city like a whirlwind.
The military camp is full of Xiang soldiers who have not experienced actual combat. The enemy cavalry is so brave, and the military camp is probably doomed.
In the chaotic Jiezhou City, the Mongolian cavalry was slashing wildly. Jiezhou City may not be able to be defended.
"Li Shou, take your two brothers and report the military situation to Xihe Prefecture and Mian Prefecture! Fang Da, go and see the military camp!"
"Tou!"
Li Shou continued to argue, but Wang Yu's expression turned serious.
"Execute the military order! Explode the artillery and prepare to fight!"
Li Shou and Fang Da left separately, and Wang Yu shouted loudly.
"Du Tou, look! Isn't that the sedan chair of Mr. Zhizhou?"
shouted the sergeant, pointing down the street.
Wang Yu looked up and saw a green-roofed sedan overturned on the street. Countless people were in chaos and fleeing towards Beicheng.
He looked carefully and saw that an official in plainclothes without a hat, who was shouting and escaping in the crowd, seemed to be the magistrate of Jiezhou.
This coward even took off his official uniform at the critical moment.
"Tatar cavalry!"
As the sergeant screamed, a group of Mongolian cavalry rushed forward. The storm swept through the clouds, and the Zhizhou people were scattered in pieces, leaving only bloody corpses on the ground.
"Tou! The Tatar soldiers are coming up!"
The sergeant pointed at the city wall, and countless Mongolian soldiers rushed up. Before they arrived, the arrows rained down first.
"Brothers, sacrifice your life and see you in the next life!"
Wang Yu held the shield in his left hand, grasped the spear tightly in his right hand, and placed it on his left arm.
"Kill yourself to become a benevolent person, see you in the next life!"
Dozens of Song soldiers shouted angrily together, with pikemen in front and grenadiers behind, and headed straight for the Mongolian army.
Arrows were flying, and thunder and thunder exploded continuously. Both sides screamed and rushed, leaving a wall of corpses behind, and they quickly collided together.
The sound of "swish" was endless, and Wang Yu, covered with arrows, knelt down on the city wall with a look of reluctance until he died.
In the Xiangjun military camp outside the city, countless Mongolian cavalry were galloping freely, whistling arrows and killing indiscriminately. Some of the Song army resisted, while others fled. There were cries of father and mother, mixed with angry curses, and thunderous explosions continued to sound. But it is sporadic and cannot be scaled up.
On the city wall, Fang Da's face turned pale, but he had no choice but to watch his comrades being slaughtered by the opponent.
The Mongolian cavalry suddenly attacked, splitting and killing, and arrows rained down like rain. These Xiang troops who had never been on the battlefield could withstand such a fierce and ruthless impact.
"I'll fuck you, uncle!"
Fang Da rushed to the city gate, took off the thunderbolt and lit it. The sound of "swish" arrows continued. Fang Da was hit by several arrows. He was shot like a hedgehog. The violent explosion blew up his flesh and blood. , no interest.
Soon, the military camp outside the city became quiet, leaving only corpses and blood on the ground. The Mongolian cavalry dismounted one after another, and when they encountered wounded soldiers, they all took a few stabs, leaving no survivors.
"Chaul, what should we do next?"
Zhebie rushed over and asked excitedly, the quiver behind him was much empty.
"First break the Qifang Pass of the Song Army. Send troops to Mianzhou, send the Khan's gold medal to the Song Army, and ask them to surrender obediently!"
Chawuer looked outside the city with no expression on his face.
It seems that this weak Song army is not difficult to deal with as imagined.
"What about Jiezhou City?"
Zhebie asked excitedly.
"Same as before, after plundering it, set it on fire!"
Chawu'er remained calm and gave the military order coldly.
