In the second year of Jianwu of the Song Dynasty, in winter, Hanzhong, Xingyuan Fucheng.
The night was vast, the cold wind was blowing, and the fire at the top of the city was blazing, illuminating the area dozens of steps outside the city wall. The Mongolian army camps outside the city are dotted all over the mountains and plains, which is a spectacular sight. The distance was shrouded in darkness, and heaven and earth merged into one.
"Zhao Er, it seems that the Tatars don't want to retreat yet."
Wang Ping was warming his hands on the briquette stove, his face was red, and there seemed to be small fish scale-like wounds on his cheeks.
The rivers in Hanzhong do not freeze, and there is no snow in winter. The Qinling Mountains block the cold current from the north, but the temperature is not high. When the wind blows, it is equally cold.
"If you don't want to retreat, don't retreat! If they still want to break the city, let's just dream!"
Zhao Er was warming himself by the fire and looking outside the city.
These Mongolian troops can really withstand the cold! Living in a tent in the wilderness, they are not afraid of the cold?
"Zhao Er, can Xingyuan Fucheng be defended?"
Wang Ping's brows tightened, his neck curled up, his face full of sadness.
"We can definitely hold it! The emperor is sitting in the city, and the army and people are strong, so we can definitely hold it!"
Zhao Er is quite confident.
"I heard that almost half of our brothers have been killed or injured. If we continue to defend, I don't know if we will survive?"
Wang Ping whispered, his mood seemed a little low.
"We have killed so many brothers in the battle, and the Tatar casualties are even greater!"
Zhao Er is open-minded and as heroic as ever.
"What are you afraid of? If you die, you will receive a pension of 100 gu, and you can go to the Martyrs' Shrine, where people will worship for generations. If you become disabled, you will receive a pension, you will be given land, and your family will be taken care of. What else do we want?"
"Zhao Er, we are soldiers of the Song Dynasty, we cannot underestimate ourselves."
On the contrary, Wang Ping said seriously, with a rare arrogance.
Zhao Er laughed and was about to speak when Wang Ping suddenly pulled him, whispered, stood up straight with a spear in hand.
"Your Majesty is here!"
Zhao Er was startled and immediately stood up.
"Soldiers, thank you for your hard work defending the city in the cold winter months!"
Surrounded by the ministers, Zhao Hong walked up to the top of the city and loudly expressed condolences to the soldiers on the wall.
After days of fierce fighting, half of the soldiers were lost. The Mongolian army attacked the city regardless of casualties, but they must not let down their morale.
"Killing thieves for the country! It's not hard work!"
Zhao's second-class soldiers from the Song Dynasty on the city wall were impassioned and gave standard answers.
"Sirs, you are all soldiers of the Song Dynasty. It is your bounden duty to protect your family and the country. I will not treat you badly, and the people will never forget you!"
Zhao Hong pointed to the city and his expression became serious.
"There are still 200,000 to 300,000 fellow villagers in the city. We have no escape route and must defend the city wall!"
Zhao Hong looked at the city defenders who were listening carefully and said loudly:
"Don't worry, soldiers. The Tatars can't break Xingyuan City. They can't hold it anymore! In a few days, reinforcements from all walks of life will arrive, killing the Tatars without leaving a single piece of armor behind!"
Zhao Hong laughed and waved back.
"In the twelfth lunar month of winter, the soldiers have had enough to eat and drink, and then defend the city well!"
Buckets of hot soup and baskets of hot cakes were brought up. They were steaming. The Song soldiers at the top of the city knelt down on one knee and spoke in unison.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The emperor is in Xingyuan Fucheng, so reinforcements will naturally come. The emperor said that it would not take a few days, and he must have already planned it.
"Soldiers, eat and drink while it's hot!"
Zhao Hong picked up a hot cake, ate it with big mouthfuls, and waved away. He walked along the city wall, stopping from time to time to interact with the Song soldiers. Everywhere he went was extremely lively and enjoyable.
He looked at the brightly lit Mongolian army camp outside the city and hesitated for a moment.
Torre is persistent enough and will not give up until the city is broken; the Mongolian army is tough enough and is not afraid of casualties. If the Mongolian army attacked again, he would consider lighting a beacon and calling in troops to rescue them.
He couldn't let the soldiers guarding the city lose all, and he could be caught in a trap.
It’s another new day, another fierce battle of blood and iron.
On the top of the Xingyuan Mansion City, Zhao Shu covered the roof with his shield. He looked at the Mongolian troops rushing outside the city and shouted:
"After fighting for so many days, why do the Tatar soldiers still have so many thunderbolts?"
Thunderstorms outside the city came like thunderstorms, and the airtight shields at the top of the city blocked the city wall one after another. They fell under the city wall and exploded, making the Mongolian soldiers howl. Some thunderbolts also exploded at the top of the city. Song soldiers were constantly injured and killed by shrapnel, unable to escape.
"I don't know either. It doesn't seem to be our army's Sky-shaking Thunder. It's bigger and not that powerful!"
Meng Gong directed the Song soldiers at the top of the city to fight back, but he was also confused.
A thunderbolt fell on the top of the city and exploded instantly. It only exploded into two pieces. One piece hit the crenellated wall and fell to the ground. The other piece hit a Song soldier in the waist, and he was immediately covered in blood.
After more than ten days of fierce fighting, both the Song and Mongolian sides suffered heavy casualties inside and outside the city. The losses on both sides amounted to thousands, but the Mongolian army that attacked the city suffered more casualties. The Mongol army attacked the city for more than ten days, either urgently or slowly, sometimes for half a day or all day long, intermittently, and I don't know what the plan was.
Compared with the Song Army's Sky Thunder that exploded into more than a dozen pieces, which was extremely fast and powerful, the Mongolian Army's Thunder Thunder mostly exploded into two or three pieces and had a much higher misfire rate. Even so, the Mongolian army's sky-shaking thunder also caused a lot of damage to the Song army at the top of the city.
Amidst the loud "pengpeng" sound, white air rose from the top of the city, several alphabet cannons roared together, and hundreds of iron pellets roared out, covering their heads and faces. The Mongolian troops outside the city wall fell to pieces, their shields were beaten to pieces, and their bodies Bloody arrows shot out, and many people fell in a pool of blood. Deaths and injuries were mixed, and screams resounded throughout the wilderness.
Another burst of artillery sounded, and the Mongolian infantry that rushed towards the city wall fell down countless times, and the ballistas and artillery carriages were smashed and staggered.
"shoot!"
In the Mongolian army's formation, arrows were fired, one after another, covering the sky and the sun. While the Song army at the top of the city was hiding, the remaining vehicles of the Mongolian army pushed up one after another.
The Mongolian army's shield-bearers protected it, and dozens of small cannons were set up beside the moat. The Mongolian army's gunners hurriedly loaded ammunition and couldn't wait to light the fuse.
"Puffy!"
The roar sounded by the moat, the fire suddenly appeared, the smoke filled the air, and the iron pellets went straight to the top of the city. The Song army fell over, and screams came one after another. The Song soldiers at the top of the city were frightened.
"here you go!"
In the Mongolian army's formation, Liu Heima saw it clearly and cheered loudly.
Artillery is indeed a powerful weapon for attacking cities and killing enemies. It is a pity that our own artillery has insufficient range and can only be fired at about a hundred steps. Its power is not as powerful as the Song army's artillery.
If the Mongolian army had the Song army's firearms...
Unfortunately, the gunpowder and iron smelting of the Mongolian army could not reach the level of the Song army. Even the gunner's professionalism is far behind.
"What are you looking at? I'm targeting him, kill him!"
At the top of the city, Meng Gong roared angrily and directed the gunners to load ammunition. Several artillery pieces at the top of the city were aimed at the Mongolian artillery beside the moat outside the city.
When did the Mongolian army also have artillery?
This is a bad sign!
"fire!"
As Meng Gong shouted angrily, the gunners placed the red-hot iron drills on the fire door one after another.
"Puffy!"
Dozens of small cannons opened fire at the same time, and the city was filled with smoke. Amidst the muffled thunder, iron pellets tore through the air and roared away, causing earth and rocks to fly by the moat. The Mongolian army's artillery carts saw chips and wood thorns flying, and several artillery pieces were in tatters. The gun truck fell down, and the gunners around the gun truck were covered in blood and almost all were shot. The Mongolian army's artillery offensive suddenly fell silent.
In the Mongolian army's formation, the cowhide drums "dong-dong" sounded. The Mongolian troops were all over the mountains and plains, braving the artillery fire of the Song army, and rushed to the city wall of Xingyuan Mansion. When they reached the shooting range, arrows were shot like locusts, one after another, towards the city. City head.
Under the cover of the rain of arrows, countless ladders were set up on the city wall, and countless Mongolian troops climbed up. Arrows were flying outside the city, and both sides were shot over. Countless Mongolian soldiers climbed onto the city, and a brutal close-quarters fight ensued.
"prick!"
The generals of the Song Army took the lead. Amidst the shouts, the spears were like moving steel coming out of the forest. Everywhere they went, there were pieces of blood flying. Amid the screams, countless Mongolian soldiers fell to the top of the city like dumplings. It was tragic and spectacular, the city was dyed red with blood, and the breath was full of pungent blood.
The two sides fought fiercely for half a day, and there were countless corpses under the city wall. It was not until the sound of Ming Jin's retreating troops was heard from the Mongolian army's formation that today's offensive and defensive battle came to an end.
Outside the city, in the Mongolian army's tent, Torre Subotai and others sat around, speechless.
For more than ten days, through dozens of battles, large and small, Xingyuan Fucheng stood firm and motionless, as stable as Mount Tai.
The key is that the Song Emperor is in the city of Xingyuan Mansion, and the Song troops from all over the country have not come to Qin Wang, which really makes them puzzled.
"What the hell is the Song army doing? Their emperor is in Xingyuanfu City, why don't they come to rescue him?"
The atmosphere in the tent was dull, and Kuo Duan couldn't help it, so he spoke first.
"It seems that this time, just like a few years ago, the Song army has already secured its walls and cleared the country. Otherwise, they would only have captured a few hundred Song people."
Subotai frowned. The battle situation in front of him reminded him of the battle in Mianzhou City three years ago. The situation was very similar.
According to the words of those Song people, the Song people ordered the people to move into the city a month or two ago. Are there any gods in the Song Army? How did they know that the Mongolian army was going to pass through Hanzhong?
"The people of Song Dynasty ordered to fortify the walls and clear the country two months ago. It seems that they were well prepared. Otherwise, Emperor Song would not have come to Hanzhong for no reason. This Emperor Song is very evil!"
Liu Heima shook his head, worried.
After more than ten days of fighting, the Han army under his command suffered nearly 10,000 casualties, and the camp was full of wounded soldiers, which made people anxious.
If the fighting continues, the Han army may be completely destroyed.
"What, are you scared?"
Torre raised his head, a fierce look in his eyes.
"The Song Emperor is in the city. As long as the Song Emperor is destroyed, it will be much stronger than the Jin State. The Song State has many people, the ground is full of food, and there are firearms. It is much stronger than the Jin State. If the Song Emperor is destroyed, the Jin State will be much easier to fight. No more! Without the Song Emperor, when our Mongolian army goes south, there will be no rivals! Do you understand?"
Torre made it clear, and Liu Heima nodded in agreement.
He also felt that Emperor Song was mysterious, difficult to deal with, and a person who was not easy to mess with.
"What on earth is Balshu doing? We have been fighting here for several months, but why is there no news from him? Did he not send troops?"
Kuo Duan couldn't help but complain.
The reason why the West Route Army did not go south from Keyi Gate to attack the Xixia Xingling Land, nor entered Hexi from Yumen Pass, was that they wanted to take the route to Hanzhong and catch the Song and Jin Dynasties by surprise. No one expected that they would get off to a bad start.
As for the Gaochang Kingdom in the Western Regions, tens of thousands of cavalry were fighting in the field, and they should have broken through the blockade of the Song Army in Hexi.
"The Song Army has heavily deployed troops in Hexi and Lintao Road. It may not be easy for Baer Shu to come over. He said before that he fought a battle with the Song Army and both sides suffered thousands of casualties. Now I'm afraid we can only rely on Own."
Subotai was secretly worried. Baershu only serves Genghis Khan. Now that Genghis Khan has died of illness, Baershu may not be easy to dispatch.
"Marshal, according to the reports from the soldiers, the Song army has 40,000 troops stationed in Longtingpu, Yangzhou, which is blocking the main route for our army to penetrate behind Tokyo. The situation is not good!"
The fierce general pressed Zhu'er a little hesitantly.
Going south, there is something weird everywhere. First, the Song army strengthened the walls and cleared the country, and then the Song emperor appeared in Hanzhong and followed the Song army to block the main route to the east. All this cannot help but make people suspicious.
"We are talking about Emperor Song now, not others!"
Torre was determined and asked with a cold face:
"Liu Heima, tell the truth, is there any way to break the city? Can you kill Emperor Song?"
"Marshal, I'm afraid the only way is to besiege the city and wait until there is no food or drink inside. I'm afraid there is no other way except this."
The elite Song army in the city will definitely be difficult to capture for a while. If we attack by force, we may lose more soldiers.
Liu Heima's words made Subotai shake his head.
"The Song army has strong walls and clear fields. There must be a lot of food and grass in the city. On the contrary, we can only hold on to food and grass for a few more days. If we can't plunder anything anymore, we have no choice but to march eastward."
An army of 60,000 people eats horses and chews every day, and consumes astronomical amounts of food and grass. If Wu Xiuguan had not been breached and some supplies of food and grass had not been achieved, the army would have been out of food.
"Marshal, let Liu Heima continue to besiege the city and dig trenches to prevent the Song army from breaking out. The cavalry marched eastward, defeated the Song army on the eastern front, opened up a passage to the east, and plundered grain, grass and baggage."
According to Zhu'er's words, all the generals nodded.
If you just attack the city, the cavalry will not be used, and it will be difficult to exert combat power. The Eastern Front is a field battle, and the Mongolian cavalry can handle it. After defeating the Song army, opening up the passage to the east, plundering food and grass, and being able to attack when advancing and defend when retreating, we have become invincible.
"If you ask me, go directly south, invade the hinterland of Sichuan, and kill him until he bleeds like a river. See if the Emperor of Song is afraid of him?"
Kuo Duan said bitterly, but he had a different view.
Historically, in 1236 AD (the third year of Duanping in the Southern Song Dynasty), it was Kuo Duan who led troops to attack Sichuan and massacred the residents of Chengdu. The thousand-year-old city has been reduced to nothing but human beings, with a staggering 1.4 million remains in the city.
Torre's heart moved and he shook his head.
"Our army is here to destroy the Jin Dynasty. If we can't kill the Song Emperor, we will advance eastward and destroy the Jin Kingdom first. If we want to attack Sichuan, we will have many opportunities in the future, but there is no need now."
Torre straightened his face and said seriously:
"We will attack the city again tomorrow to see if we can break it. If we still can't, stay in Zhu'er and lead 10,000 cavalry to besiege the city. The remaining 40,000 cavalry and 10,000 infantry will march eastward and defeat the Song army on the eastern front first. !”
All the generals obeyed the orders with great enthusiasm.
In siege warfare, you can't use your strength. In field battles, you must express your anger well.
This time the army went south, aiming to destroy Jin. It would be an unexpected surprise if we could defeat the Song army along the way and have a good looting.
The generals left, Liu Heima secretly breathed a sigh of relief, Subotai's face was gloomy, and the generals had different thoughts. Torre came out of the big tent and looked at the hazy sky and the gusting cold wind, and couldn't help but frown.
Looking at it like this, I'm afraid it's going to rain.
This is not a good sign!
