In the lobby of Xingyuan Mansion, Zhao Hong was sitting high in the hall. The guard served a large cup of "bubble tea" that no one appreciated. The tea was fragrant and steaming.
Zhao Hong picked up the tea cup and looked at the courtiers below. Chen Longzhi and others all frowned and looked solemn.
Zhao Hong put down the teacup and smiled slightly.
"Two Mr. Chen, please calm down and drink some tea."
He was actually panicking inside, but he was just pretending to be calm.
Although he has a strong personality, he is also very emotional and does not want to see the casualties of his officers and soldiers.
Chen Longzhi and Lizhou East Road comfort envoy Chen Li and others looked at each other and listened to the order.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The emperor's calmness made them feel much more at ease.
Everyone picked up the teacups, but they were full of thoughts and drank tastelessly. The atmosphere in the lobby was still dull.
"My dear lords, the Tatar army, numbering 50,000, is approaching with great force. Aren't you all a little worried?"
Zhao Hong had no choice but to enlighten everyone.
After all, civil servants are civil servants and have no experience of fighting on the battlefield. If those generals were here, they would probably be ready to leave the city to fight.
"If His Majesty is not here, I won't feel anything. Now that His Majesty is in the city, I am always worried!"
Chen Li couldn't help it and spoke out first.
"Your Majesty, the Tatar cavalry come and go like the wind, and their field battles are incomparable to ours. Now that the Tatar army is besieging the city, if Jiang Wanzai and Wang Jian lead troops to rescue them, wouldn't they be playing into the Tatar army's plan to siege the city and lure the enemy? . After thinking about it, I still feel uneasy!"
Chen Longzhi said it immediately.
"Yes, Your Majesty! The same is true for me and others!"
"Your Majesty, I am worried about you!"
The civil servants below spoke one after another, all worried.
"My lords, it doesn't have to be like this at all!"
Zhao Hong looked at everyone and shook his head gently.
"Our army has strict military discipline. Without military orders, who would dare to send troops? I will not light up smoke until the last moment. I believe in my soldiers!"
If Xingyuan Fucheng doesn't light up the smoke of war, neither Jiang Wanzai nor Wang Jian's troops will dare to send troops. This was the previous military arrangement, and no one dared to disobey it without reason.
The ministers repeatedly said yes, but the earth-shattering sound of artillery, explosions, and shouts of killing continued outside. Everyone was forced to smile, but they were panicking in their hearts.
"Your Majesty is responsible for the safety of the Song Dynasty. His body of ten thousand gold should not be here. If there is anything wrong with your Majesty, I will die without redemption."
Xuan Zhen, Minister of the Ministry of War, had a frown on his face and his white beard was trembling, which clearly shows his inner uneasiness.
"Your Majesty, a gentleman would not stand under a dangerous wall, let alone Your Majesty, Your Majesty. Your Majesty is a bit arrogant. I have violated the remonstrance, and I will apologize to the court in the future!"
Chen Longzhi was disturbed by the shouts of killing outside, and followed him in solemn worship.
Zhao Hong shook his head secretly. These important ministers had experienced a war for the first time, and tens of thousands of Mongolian troops attacked. If those generals were here, they would definitely not be so restless.
"Gentlemen, let me ask you a question. How big is the Tatar army? How many infantry and cavalry are there?"
Zhao Hong picked up the teacup and asked softly.
"Back to Your Majesty, Commander Zhang has reported that there are fifty thousand Tatars, including ten thousand infantry and forty thousand cavalry."
Chen Longzhi replied confused.
"The Tatar cavalry is stronger than the field warriors. Of course, the hard work of attacking the city must be handed over to the Han infantry first. Ten thousand soldiers plus three thousand forbidden troops will fight against the ten thousand attacking Han troops. They will defend the city and have firearms. What else do you have to fear? If you attack it with five, divide it with two, and you can fight the enemy. Even if the entire 50,000 Tatar army attacks the city, our army will not be afraid. What else do you have to worry about?"
Zhao Hong took a few sips and put down the teacup again.
"As for the Tatar army besieging the city for reinforcements, you can rest assured. Our Song Dynasty border army has strict military discipline. They will not come without my summons. Even if they come, the two armies from the northwest will gather. Wang Jian's department on the Yangzhou Defense Line, He will never come."
Zhao Hong's words made all the ministers nod their heads, and many people's expressions also softened a lot.
Wang Jianzhen is guarding the throat going east, so he should not act rashly.
As for the combined forces of Lu Wende and Jiang Wanzai, they were also 50,000 strong, and it seemed that they would not be easily defeated.
"Your Majesty, I just don't know what's going on over there on Lizhou West Road right now?"
Chen Longzhi felt relieved and asked again unconsciously.
If Lu Wende's tribe really fights with the Tatar army in the field and can defeat the Subotai tribe that invaded Lizhou West Road, they can come for reinforcements, which will not only damage the opponent's morale, but also strengthen the Song army's strength in Xingyuan Rongsi.
"Lv Wende is young and energetic, I'm afraid he can't help but fight with the Tatar army in the field. We must not let anything happen!"
Xuan Zhen sighed again.
"The military order is like a mountain. Lu Wende will not be reluctant to fight. The west road of Lizhou is strong and clear. Subotai has no way to burn, kill and loot. He will definitely march west to Hanzhong and join up with Torre's army!"
Zhao Hong thought for a moment and then continued:
"Lizhou West Road is different from the Hanzhong Plain, with steep mountains and dangerous terrain. Subotai suffered losses there, and he will not make the same mistake again."
As soon as Bu Tai entered Hanzhong, Lu Wende, Cao Youwen, Yu Jie and other troops closed the door and beat the dogs. At that time, it will depend on the strength and courage of both Song and Meng.
Just thinking about the decisive battle between more than 100,000 troops makes me feel my adrenaline surge.
"Your Majesty, the Tatar infantry attacked the city. There were too many archers and thunder. Our army suffered more than 300 casualties!"
Xu Sheng came in to report, and most of the civil servants looked ugly.
"What about the Tartar losses?"
Zhao Hong calmly asked a question.
"Your Majesty, the Tatar infantry lost about five to six hundred people."
"Did the Tatar army use firearms? How about firearms?"
Zhao Hong asked softly, very curious about the firearms of the Mongolian army.
"Back to Your Majesty, the Tatar army used firearms. The heavy artillery on the artillery cart can fire about two hundred steps, but most of them were smashed by our artillery. The artillery cart cannot move forward. The Tatar small artillery can be brought near the city wall, but the range It's only less than a hundred steps away, and has very little lethality."
"What about the Thunderous Thunder?"
Zhao Hong was refreshed and sat upright.
In siege warfare, the lethality of artillery is limited. But Zhentian Lei was a powerful weapon in close combat, so he couldn't help but be nervous.
"Back to Your Majesty, the Tatar Sky Thunder seems to have only about two per infantry. The misfire rate of the Thunder Thunder is about 30%. After the Thunder Thunder explodes, most of them are two or three pieces of iron. There are not many. More than four or five pieces. Your Majesty, please take a look."
Xu Sheng took off the cloth bag and placed it on the table in front of Zhao Hong. He took out some broken iron pieces and a few thunderbolts that had not exploded.
"Your Majesty, be careful!"
Dong Songchen's face turned pale and he immediately stood in front of Zhao Hong.
Although the ministers in the hall did not move, their expressions changed.
The destructive power of Zhentian Lei is extraordinary. If you are not careful, flesh and blood will fly everywhere. Who is not afraid of Niang?
"The fuses of these thunderbolts have been removed and the gunpowder has been poured out. Your Majesty will not be hurt."
Xu Sheng pointed to a few leads on the table and said angrily.
This Dong Songchen is as guarded against thieves as he is, who does he think he is?
Speaking of which, he is the emperor's confidant. When he followed the emperor, Dong Songchen didn't know where he was?
Dong Songchen's face turned red and he stepped aside. Zhao Hong smiled slightly, picked up the iron piece and looked at it. Sure enough, it was two or three pieces of iron sheet that made up a thunderbolt. It was larger than the thunderbolt used by the Song Army.
The misfire rate of the Song Army's Zhentian Lei was around 10%. The Mongolian Army's gunpowder formula was definitely not as good as the Song Army's. 30% should be a reasonable figure.
"Where's the gunpowder that was poured out?"
It seems that the Mongolian army craftsmen also knew that the gunpowder was not as good as the Song army, so they chose to increase the amount of gunpowder to enhance its power.
Xu Sheng placed the gunpowder paper package on the table. Zhao Hong watched carefully and was secretly shocked.
He had seen too much of the Song Army's gunpowder. The gunpowder in front of him probably had some auxiliary substances added, and the purity of the nitrate and sulfur was not good. It was not as good as his own, but maybe it wouldn't be long before the other party studied it repeatedly and could catch up.
War promotes the progress of science and technology, as expected.
"Go down! If there is any military information, continue to report it!"
Zhao Hong nodded, Xu Sheng glared at Dong Songchen and retreated.
"Your Majesty, why are the Tatar sergeants only equipped with two thunderbolts each? Why is the misfire rate 20% higher than that of our army? The lethality seems to be not as good as our army."
Xuan Zhen asked suspiciously.
Two thunderbolts per person, ten thousand Mongolian infantry would be 20,000. If this were to attack the city, I wonder how many soldiers of the Song Army would be killed or injured?
"Don't underestimate Zhentian Lei. It reflects a country's national strength, including iron smelting technology, steel production, and gunpowder technology. The Tatar army is good at riding and shooting, and only infantry uses firearms. Steel production is insufficient, and gunpowder technology is backward. The production of Zhentian Lei is certainly insufficient, and its lethality is certainly limited."
Zhao Hong said, his heart became heavy.
The Mongolian army broke through Wuxiuguan and naturally captured some of the Song army's firearms. Fortunately, the soldiers blew up the ammunition depot, otherwise the losses would have been even greater.
Artillery is nothing, after all, gunpowder is the key. The main one was the Sky-shaking Thunder, which was extremely lethal and made him worried.
Needless to say, this Hanzhong battle will be more tragic than he imagined.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. There are still 10,000 soldiers and civilians in the city, and they can go to the city at any time to join the battle."
At this time, Xuan Zhen persuaded Zhao Hong to come.
Both sides have artillery and thunderbolts. The Mongolian army only has tens of thousands of thunderbolts and hundreds of artillery pieces, but the Song army has hundreds of thousands of thunderbolts and nearly a thousand artillery pieces. When the Mongolian army's thunder and artillery are exhausted, the advantage of the Song army's firearms will be reflected.
"Your Majesty, our army will probably suffer a lot of losses in this battle. We will immediately arrange for auxiliary troops to fight tomorrow to ensure the number of soldiers at the top of the city!"
Chen Longzhi couldn't help but play.
"Your Majesty, how long will this siege last?"
Chen Longzhi couldn't help but ask.
"If we lose one or two thousand people a day, with stops and starts, and the impact of rain, it will probably take about a month. I'm in the city, and Torre probably won't let it go."
In the face of huge temptation and benefits, Torre will not give up easily. This fierce battle has just begun.
"Your Majesty, the Tatar army has arrived outside the city!"
In the evening, the sergeant came in to report that the two Mongolian armies from the east and west finally met outside Xingyuanfu City.
"Everything that is supposed to come has come!"
Zhao Hong let out a long breath.
If we don't advance eastward from Taitai, it seems that Lu Wende has finally done nothing wrong. The Mongol army gathered in one place, with 70,000 troops, and Torre would not give up easily.
Let the storm come more violently!
