In the second year of Jianwu of the Great Song Dynasty, on November 16th, in the Hanzhong Plain of the Great Song Dynasty, there was Xingyuan Fucheng.
In the early morning, the sky is high, the clouds are clear, the mountains are stacked, and the air is cool, which should make people feel relaxed and refreshed. But the endless banners and horses added a lot of murderous atmosphere to the world.
Xingyuanfu City was surrounded by Mongolian camps in the east, north and west directions, completely surrounding Xingyuanfu City. Along the Han River, there were all the war horses drinking water. Human and horse excrement was everywhere. There were also countless Mongolian soldiers urinating into the Han River, laughing and playing in high spirits.
The Song soldiers on the city wall stood ready. They looked at the yellowed river, the domineering Mongolian soldiers, and the messy city outside. Many people frowned.
On more than two feet of the city wall, Song soldiers sat cross-legged in four rows along the inner city wall, row by row, row by row, in extremely neat order, occupying half of the width of the city wall. The new recruits opened their eyes, while the veterans closed their eyes and rested, waiting for the battle to come.
On the city wall, dark and shiny cannons were arranged neatly, with their black muzzles pointed directly outside the city. On the south wall, Zhao Shu, Meng Gong and other Song generals held telescopes and looked towards the Mongolian camp outside the city.
Outside the city, flags were flying, and as more than a dozen giant men beat war drums, the thrilling drum beats sounded, which was heart-stirring.
All the Mongolian soldiers stopped playing and became silent, and countless Mongolian infantry came out of the camp to gather. The huge trebuchet was quickly set up, and people pushed and horses pulled it out.
Among the Mongolian soldiers, there were many tanks, artillery carriages, and ballistae, numbering in the hundreds.
The Mongolian army surrounded them from three sides, overwhelming them. In front of them were many prisoners of Song soldiers and Song people, unkempt and pitiful. There seemed to be as many as two to three thousand people.
In front of the Mongolian army camp, Torre looked at the southern city head of Xingyuan Mansion and was silent for a long time.
The Song army at the top of the city was fully armored, armed with guns and weapons, and was motionless. Compared with the elite Jin army in Fengxiang Mansion, it was even worse. The muzzle of the cannon on the top of the city was faint, as if it was about to swallow everything, which made him feel cold in his heart.
A strong city with powerful artillery will probably not be captured easily.
This reminded him of those powerful fortresses on the Western Expedition, such as Husi On'er, Samarkand, Malu, etc. Each one was considered impregnable and indestructible, but in the end they were defeated by the Mongolian army and reduced to rubble.
What surprised him a little was that the Song army deployed heavy troops on the eastern front of Han Dynasty. Tens of thousands of troops seemed to be waiting for him to fight in the field.
Moreover, Emperor Song in Xingyuan City seemed to have no signs of peace talks, not to mention surrender, which made him angry and a little suspicious.
"Did Emperor Song send anyone here?"
The Song people were so determined, were they openly hostile to the Mongol Empire?
"Back to Marshal, it seems not yet!"
Li Changguo replied carefully from the side.
Invincible. Tens of thousands of Mongolian iron cavalry approached the city. Why didn't the Song army surrender?
Emperor Song wouldn't be frightened and fainted, right?
"Marshal, according to the confessions of the prisoners, there are 10,000 soldiers and hundreds of artillery in Xingyuan City, and Emperor Song also has thousands of imperial guards. The original Xingyuan army commander Cao Youwan was replaced, and now he is in charge of Zhao Shu. Cao You Wan was the commander-in-chief of the Song Army's reinforcements to Lingzhou in Xixia. Cao Youwan's elder brother, Cao Youwen, was the commander-in-chief of the Lizhou Rongsi back then, and is now the commander-in-chief of Xixia Road."
Liu Heima introduced Torre in detail.
"Xixia Road?"
Torre snorted coldly.
After the Song Emperor is destroyed, what nonsense Xixia Road will be destroyed later.
"Marshal, our army is encircling the area for reinforcements. If the Song armies from the east and west routes can't wait to come for reinforcements, destroy them first. Xingyuanfu City will inevitably collapse without attack. Marshal, leave the east route to me."
Kuo Duan was high-spirited and took the initiative to challenge.
"Marshal, this is good. Leave the West Road to me!"
Tabujier said excitedly, eager to try.
Encircling points and calling for reinforcements is the strength of the Mongolian cavalry. Forcibly attacking the city should be left to Liu Heima and other Han troops in the Central Plains.
"But, over there at Ogedai..."
Torre was already a little moved and seemed to be hesitant.
"Marshal, the only piece of land left in the Kingdom of Jin is the ruined area of Henan. It is already like a grasshopper after the autumn and can only jump around for a few days. If we capture Emperor Song, we can exchange it for countless gold and silver treasures. What will happen then? Revenge has been avenged!"
Kuo Duan said loudly, his face full of excitement.
In all the foreign wars in the history of the Song Dynasty, they not only lost power and humiliated the country, but also paid countless pieces of gold, silver and cloth as compensation. If you kill or capture the Emperor of Song Dynasty, you may be showered with wealth, gold, silver and jewels, beauties like clouds, food and cloth, whatever you want.
"Marshal, first encircle the city for reinforcements. It's best if we can capture the city. If we can't capture it, we will consume the Song army and force the Song Emperor to negotiate a peace or surrender. In this way, our army can insert itself behind the Jin Kingdom and save the lack of food and grass, as well as many unnecessary Trouble."
Li Changguo added fuel to the fire with a flattering smile on his face.
"Li Changguo, you have a good idea! Kuaduan raids the east and Tabji'er west. Liu Heima leads the Han army to attack the city."
After Tuo Lei finished his instructions, he looked at the city head and his eyes became cold again.
"Liu Heima, as long as you defeat the city of Xingyuan, I will guarantee you to be the king of the Central Plains in front of the Great Khan. In addition, I will send an order to the three armies. If you defeat the city of Xingyuan, you will not be sealed for seven days. The first warrior to climb the city will receive a thousand taels of gold. Thousands of cattle and sheep, three levels of official promotion! Who can kill or capture the Emperor of Song alive, ten thousand taels of gold, and ten thousand households in the Han army?"
Torre's military order was passed down, and the Mongolian army cheered.
After relaxing the ban for seven days, one thousand taels of gold can be burned, killed and looted.
With the methods of the Mongolian army, it was not easy to kill or capture the Song emperor alive.
Liu Heima looked at Gaocheng in the distance and frowned slightly.
He suddenly remembered the story of Lingzhou City five years ago. At that time, the 100,000 Mongolian army failed to capture Lingzhou City for several months. The city in front of us might not be easily captured with Emperor Song in charge.
Is it really that easy to be the king of the Central Plains?
On the top of the city, Huang Xi, the deputy general of the Song army who rescued Xixia in the year of Dinghai, and now the deputy commander of Xingyuan Mansion, held up a telescope to watch the high-spirited Mongolian army, frowning.
When they attacked Lingzhou City, the Mongolian army's trebuchet was no more than two feet long, and the stone was no more than thirty or forty kilograms. Now this machine was at least four feet tall, and the boulders piled up in the mountains seemed to be extremely huge, which really frightened him.
"The trebuchets of the Tatar army are much larger than they were five years ago!"
Huang Xi couldn't help but spit out something spontaneously.
"Huang Xi, the Tatar trebuchets are pretty good. I heard they also have firearms. I don't know if they are true or not. How powerful are they?"
After Zhao Ming finished speaking, he raised his telescope and looked around.
Also four years ago, the Song army defended the city of Mianzhou, but the Mongolian army's trebuchets could not hold up the Song army's artillery and returned without success. However, if the Mongolian army really has firearms, the pressure on the soldiers defending the city will double.
Many Song Army officers and soldiers on the top of the city also looked solemn at this moment, and they all looked at the Mongolian army camp.
"Look at the size of those boulders, I'm afraid they weigh about a hundred kilograms. Once they hit the city head, not only the brothers will be killed or injured, but the city wall will also be smashed down. There are also these houses in the city, His Majesty is still in the city..."
Zhao Shu glanced at Meng Gong, who smiled slightly and remained calm.
"Don't worry, General! Leave those big guys to me!"
When the Mongolian army broke through the impregnable Fengxiang Mansion, they used hundreds of trebuchets to smash down the walls of Fengxiang Mansion and then breach the city. If the Mongolian army wants to follow the same example, it depends on whether their trebuchets are strong enough.
It may be difficult for a solid iron ball to accurately hit the trebuchet, but a medium-sized cannon can cover a width of forty or fifty steps. If several cannons are fired at once, is it still afraid that it will not hit the target?
"General Meng, I heard that the Tatar army also has firearms. You must be careful."
Feeling touched, Zhao Yu solemnly reminded Meng Gong of the incident.
The artillery was okay, but if the Mongolian army attacked the city with thunder, it would be much more difficult.
"Don't worry, general, I have prepared earth bags, and all the soldiers have shields, wrap them around me!"
Meng Gong nodded and replied seriously.
The Song army defended the city, equipped with shields, earth bags, and war tents and other defensive fortifications. It was not so easy to throw the sky-shaking thunder on the top of the city to cause mass destruction.
Meng Gong was calm and composed, and Zhao Shu was also much calmer.
There is no such thing as death in war! It depends on who can carry it better.
With tens of thousands of troops coming, this will probably be another protracted and fierce battle, and the Han River will probably be dyed red.
People and horses were mobilized in the Mongolian army camp, and Song army prisoners and civilians came towards the city wall carrying earth and stones. It seemed that they wanted to fill in the moat and pave the way for the army to attack the city.
"General, do you want to fire?"
The prisoners of the Song army and the people of the Song Dynasty came from all directions, dragged on their shoulders, panicked, and stumbled straight to the moat. Huang Xi couldn't help shouting.
Once the Mongolian army fills in the moat and marches straight in, the difficulty of defending the city will be greatly increased.
"Let them fill it, just in time to concentrate the killing! There is no need to shoot those poor people, the cannonballs should be reserved for the Tatar army attacking the city!"
Zhao Shu shook his head and rejected his subordinate's suggestion.
Many of these Song prisoners and civilians were the defenders of Wuxiuguan and the family members of the soldiers. His former colleagues were forced to fill the river, and he was angry but helpless.
"Why don't they die fighting?"
Huang Xi looked at the prisoners of the Song Army filling the moat, his face was ugly, and he spoke bitterly.
If you don't fight to death, you will be driven away by the opponent like animals, which will bring shame to the soldiers of the Song Dynasty.
As soon as Huang Xi finished speaking, a prisoner of the Song Army suddenly threw away his earth bag, ran a few steps, jumped up, knocked the Mongolian cavalry off his horse, and then fell on the Mongolian cavalry who landed on the ground. He took out a knife somewhere on his body and stabbed him several times.
When the rabbit was up and the falcon was about to fall, the Song prisoner succeeded with one blow and quickly mounted his horse. Before the horse could run more than ten steps, he was shot down by locust-like feather arrows, including both men and horses. Several Song people around him were also shot down.
Several Mongolian cavalry came over on horseback, armed with long spears, and stabbed the Song prisoners who were like hedgehogs several times before riding away.
"These thieves!"
Huang Xi's face turned pale and he punched the wall with his fist.
"Stop looking! If you want revenge, there are plenty of opportunities!"
The surrounding Song army officers and soldiers were filled with grief and anger. Zhao Shu calmly gave orders to Huang Xi.
Huang Xi walked away with a dark face, probably still angry about the prisoner's treatment.
The Song soldiers on the city wall all held their shields tightly and stared outside the city.
The Mongolian army attacked the south city wall, because the north wall faced the Han River and could not garrison or attack the city. The east and west walls are relatively shorter. The south city wall is slightly shaped like an "eight" on the outside. The wall is long and there is a vast plain outside the city. It is easiest to set up a battle array to attack the city.
Driven by the Mongolian army, the threatened common people and Song army prisoners desperately arrived at a section of the moat opposite the south gate tower. Everyone's face was filled with panic and hopelessness. Countless amounts of earth and rocks were dumped into the moat, and the prisoners turned back one after another and carried them again and again.
Thousands of prisoners took action together, and in less than half an hour, the filled section of the moat disappeared, revealing a slope of more than ten feet.
As the Song army on top of the city watched, the prisoners came and went. An hour passed, and the moat of twenty or thirty feet had been filled in. Because it is winter, the water level of the moat is shallow. The water level of the unfilled moat has only risen a lot, but it has not overflowed the river.
The prisoners retreated, and in the Mongolian army's formation, the sound of horns sounded, breathtaking, as the black and overwhelming Mongolian army moved forward, which seemed to be in the direction of the south city wall.
