Gaoyou is located between Yangzhou and Chuzhou. It is named Gaoyou because of its low-lying land and high city foundation. It is also named after the Qin You Pavilion.
In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, Gaoyou County still belonged to Yangzhou. Later he was promoted to Gaoyoujun, and he was abolished and restored. When the Song Dynasty moved south, they still had Gaoyou's army. Due to years of war, they were in dilapidated state and were ineffective. Their military defense capabilities were extremely weak.
It was afternoon, and by the canal, Li Quan looked ugly and felt extremely restless as he watched the warships carrying many soldiers crossing the river.
"It's been half an hour, but less than 10,000 people have crossed over. How long will it take to wait until all the troops have crossed over?"
The speed of crossing the river was too slow, and Li Quan couldn't help but have a fit.
The Song army will chase them at any time. If they don't speed up, once they are caught up by the Song army, it will be another fierce battle, and many soldiers will die.
"En Mansion only has about a dozen warships and baggage, and can only pass about two thousand people at a time. There is really no way to speed up."
Zheng Yande's face was full of fatigue. The past few days of fighting and almost no sleep last night made him unable to cheer up.
More importantly, he felt that he no longer had the spirit.
"If the Song army comes here, how many soldiers will be lost?"
Li Quan replied dissatisfiedly, but finally did not get angry.
They withdrew their troops in the middle of the night last night, dug trenches, released water, and dug boats to block the river. The purpose was to prevent the Song army from pursuing. Now it seems that it has effectively prevented the Song army from pursuing.
"Enfu, if we cross the Huai River from Chuzhou, we may be able to catch the Song army by surprise."
Yang Miaozhen's uncle Liu Quan was looking at the mess of Mongolian soldiers on the shore, feeling worried.
"You know nothing!"
Li Quan scolded Liu Quan angrily, making the latter blush half of his face.
"If Chuzhou was still there, how could there be so many things? Even if the Song army in Chuzhou was defeated, how could they cross the Huai River and go north? If they were bitten by the Song army, how many men and horses would be lost?"
Li Quan's irritability was seen in his eyes, and all the generals were awe-inspiring. Yang Miaozhen quickly stepped forward and pulled away the blushing uncle.
In an emergency, the tree falls and the hozens scatter, but it must not happen.
"Uncle, drink some water, don't be impatient!"
Yang Miaozhen comforted her uncle, but did not refute Li Quan.
Since she lost Chuzhou, Li Quan's evil fire could not be directed at her, so her uncle became the scapegoat. She can also understand Li Quan's irritability. The Song army will come at any time, and it will be a tough battle then.
"Brothers, go and urge everyone so that everyone is well prepared and hurry up to cross the river!"
Yang Miaozhen ordered to go down, and the generals listened listlessly and walked away.
"Si Niang, I'm not talking about you, don't worry about it."
The generals walked away, Li Quan said something, his face still gloomy.
In the final analysis, this fierce battle was lost! Completely defeated!
"I know, you don't need to tell me. Over the years, there have been so many times when there is no way out, and we have been attacked by mountains of swords and seas of fire. Just look away, the worst is to start over from the beginning, it's no big deal."
Yang Miaozhen's words made Li Quan smile bitterly.
Start all over again? Easier said than done?
"Siniang, tell me, was it too rash for me to reject Emperor Song?"
Li Quan looked at the sparkling canal and suddenly sighed.
Not only did he overestimate himself, he also far underestimated the Song Army's combat power.
Now that things have happened, it's too late to regret.
"Official, don't think about these things now, just look forward. There are many obstacles ahead, and I'm still waiting for you to appease the morale of the army!"
Yang Miaozhen said decisively, making up his mind for Li Quan.
Now that Chuzhou has been lost and Yangzhou has been defeated, can we still beg for surrender from the Song Emperor again?
The current capital is not as good as before. Even if the Emperor of Song could forgive them, the scholar-bureaucrats of the Song court and the arrogant generals of the Song army would probably not agree.
What's more, there are still tens of thousands of troops, and they are far from exhausted. As the head coach of an army, we cannot be discouraged.
"Siniang, you are right! I have no control over my fate! My whole family, Li, was destroyed because of the Song army. Even if I risk my life, I will continue to fight against the Song army!"
"Guanren, you still have Li Fen, and you have so many brothers. What are you worried about?"
Yang Miaozhen continued to encourage Li Quan.
"Yes, I still have a son, you, and these brothers. I won't give up easily!"
Sure enough, Li Quan looked excited and became high-spirited.
Yang Miaozhen was secretly relieved. Li Quan is the backbone of the entire army. Everyone is watching and must not let the entire army down.
On the wall of Gaoyou Army, Chen Qiu, the military commander of Gaoyou, who was leaning against the wall and looking northwest, looked at the boatloads of Mongolian soldiers crossing the river. Thousands of troops and horses were densely packed on the bank. His face turned pale and his body trembled slightly.
Although there are three thousand soldiers in Gaoyou City, they are nothing compared to the fifty or sixty thousand Mongolian troops outside the city, let alone fighting in the field outside the city.
Fortunately, these guys were eager to cross the river, otherwise, Gao Youjun would definitely not be able to hold on, and his own life would be at stake.
"Ms. sir, these thieves suddenly crossed the river. They must have been defeated! Now they have even lost Chuzhou. It seems they are running for their lives!"
Deputy General Du Zhiguo whispered beside Chen Qiu. Starting in the afternoon, people fleeing one after another fled in. From their mouths, they learned that Chuzhou seemed to be occupied by the Song Army.
"They must have passed Gaoyou Lake, crossed the Huai River from Xuyi Army, entered Sizhou, and fled to Jinjing!"
General Liu Wenbin frowned and analyzed.
"So what if we escape? We can't just watch. There are so many traitors, what can we do?"
Chen Qiu came to his senses and replied lazily.
"Look at these guys, they have at least tens of thousands of cavalry. Who can resist them? However, now that these guys are gone, Huainan will be quiet, and the people can live in peace and contentment for a few days."
"My lord, Chuzhou has been recovered. Will the emperor let you be the lord of Chuzhou?"
Liu Wenbin said with a smile.
"It's better to forget it. Li Quan is gone, who knows if he will come back? Chuzhou is a strange place. All the court officials who took office, such as Xu Guo, Yao Chong, etc., had a good death? Although the court recovered Chuzhou is an important frontier town, so it’s better to stay away from it!”
Chen Qiu said with emotion that Du Zhiguo and Liu Wenbin looked at each other with their eyes separated.
The emperor talks about martial arts and training soldiers. Even if these scholar-bureaucrats want to take charge of the military, it may not be easy.
Suddenly, Liu Wenbin pointed to the north and said in surprise:
"Look, what is that?"
“There’s also one in the south!”
Du Zhiguo was also full of surprise.
"These are the officers and soldiers of the imperial court, what are you afraid of!"
Chen Qiu suddenly spoke. He could see clearly that on the mast of the warship on the canal, the flag with the word "Song" was flying high, which was extremely cordial.
"Officers!"
Everyone was refreshed. They lay on the city wall and looked around. They saw two directions, north and south. On the wilderness, flags were flying, and the tide of Song soldiers marched in neat steps. The cavalry protected the flanks, forming a large fan-shaped encirclement. , and surrounded the Mongolian soldiers by the canal.
The Song Army's navy, which had countless boats and oars, faced north and south on the canal and went straight to the Mongolian army on the canal.
At this time, there were no more than 10,000 Mongolian troops crossing the river, not even 20,000. Fortunately, most of the cavalry passed through, but most of the infantry still remained on the east bank.
"This time, these thieves have something to eat!"
Liu Wenbin pounded the city wall, his face full of excitement.
"Why are you happy? Most of these Mongolian troops are Han people. If the world is peaceful, do you think they are willing to become thieves?"
Chen Qiu snorted coldly, with complicated eyes.
Du Zhiguo nodded secretly. Although Chen Qiu is timid and afraid of getting into trouble, he is still admirable when it comes to being upright and honest and loving the people like a son.
On a warship crossing the canal, Li Quan looked at the Song army rolling in from the east bank of the canal. Flags were flying, warriors were armored, and horses were like walls. He couldn't help but tremble slightly, and his face was earth-colored.
The Song army is like endless locusts, probably numbering 100,000. With so much water surrounding the east bank of the canal, would most of the soldiers behind be lucky enough to cross the river?
And looking at the posture of the Song army, they showed no intention of stopping. They raised their heads and chests, stepped on the steps, and went straight to the Mongolian army on the east bank of the canal.
Li Quan came back to his senses and glanced at the Song Army warships coming from the north and south on the canal. There were still two or three miles away. The gunners on the ship were already busy loading ammunition and were ready to fire at any time.
Attacked from three sides from the east, south and north, the shore and the subordinates who were boarding the ship, they...
"Stop looking, get to the shore quickly! Get ashore!"
Seeing that Li Quan was in despair, Yang Miaozhen directed the boat to dock, dragged Li Quan and climbed up to the west bank of Gaoyou Lake.
"Entang, are the ships going back?"
The sailor on the boat asked confusedly.
"It's too late, hurry up and get ashore!"
As soon as Yang Miaozhen finished speaking, the sound of "pengpeng" artillery sounded from three directions, southeast, north, and south, which made her tremble with fear.
Some of the soldiers who were crossing the river might survive, but those on the east bank of the canal who were waiting to cross the river might not be able to escape.
Seeing the Song troops emerging from all directions, the Mongolian soldiers who were boarding and waiting to board the ship were shocked. The crowds on the shore were crowded, and the Mongolian troops became commotion.
"Why panic! The cavalry attacks the Song Army's formation, and the archers form a formation to block the Song Army's warships. Hurry up and cross the river!"
Zheng Yande shouted loudly, commanding the panicked Mongolian army, trying to stop the Song army.
Looking across the canal, Li Quan and his wife seemed to have landed, and Zheng Yande let out a sigh of relief.
This may be his last moment on earth.
"Brothers, fight with Song Jun!"
Zheng Yande got on his horse and drew his sword.
"Fight!"
The Mongolian cavalry raised their swords and shouted fiercely.
"Fight!"
Zheng Yande gathered all the soldiers and led more than 2,000 cavalrymen under his command who had not yet crossed the river, and went straight to the crowded Song army formation in the south.
The Song army formed a large formation in the south. Under the banner of the Chinese army, Du Shu couldn't help but sneer when he saw Zheng Yande and other Mongolian cavalry rolling in.
The Northern and Southern Song armies were engaged in a pincer attack, and they went directly to the Yangzhou Song army. Is this a matter of revenge, or is it to regain the situation?
"Artillery ready!"
The Mongolian army suddenly withdrew last night. The sunken ship blocked the canal and dug trenches to divert water into the swamp. The Song army had no choice but to fill in the soil and fish out the ship. It took two hours to clear the obstacle.
Sure enough, the Mongolian army had already crossed nearly half of the river.
Then, those who have not crossed the river cannot expect to be safe and sound.
The "pengpengpengpeng" sound of the cannon sounded, and the iron balls and iron pellets smashed into the rushing Mongolian army's cavalry formation.
Gunpowder smoke filled the air, the sound of artillery was earth-shattering, the Mongolian cavalry fell off their horses one after another, the men and horses had broken tendons and broken bones, and there were countless casualties. Amidst the flying dust, many knights still rushed out of the barrage, firing arrows and heading straight for the Song army's formation, which was just around the corner.
"Grenadiers, destroy them!"
The officer shouted angrily, and hundreds of grenadiers stepped forward and threw ignited thunderbolts.
Zheng Yande held a spear in his hand and galloped on his horse. Seeing the Song soldiers' formation right in front of him, several smoking thunderbolts fell in front of his horse. Zheng Yande was startled. As soon as he leaned against the horse's back, a "Tongtong" explosion sounded, and the rising smoke enveloped Zheng Yande.
The Mongolian cavalry was bombarded indiscriminately by artillery and thunder. Their blood and flesh were flying everywhere, and they were either dead or wounded. The miserable situation was unbearable to look at. Xiang Shibi and other Song generals who were watching the battle were all frightened.
He also admired the Mongolian cavalry for their bravery and fearlessness. However, the ferocity of our own firearms also inspired everyone in the Song army.
Firearms have changed the fundamental way of fighting wars.
Shells rained down from several directions, and the Mongolian soldiers who were boarding the ship on the canal bank were panicked. They had no time to escape, and hundreds of them were killed and injured. The warship was even riddled with holes and rocked on the shore.
Tens of thousands of Mongolian soldiers gathered on the shore, there was a sea of people, artillery roared from all directions, and iron balls flew in the air, like huge raindrops, hitting the crowd of Mongolian soldiers on the ferry, a blend of iron and blood.
Several Mongolian warships on the river rowed desperately toward the west. Several more were beaten and sank and spun around. The rest finally escaped to the west bank and left in a hurry.
There were corpses everywhere on the shore and on the river, and there was blood everywhere. The Mongolian army had no way to retreat, and the brave men mustered up their courage and rushed towards the Song army one after another, and a bloody fight began.
