Hanzhong Basin, located between the Qinling Mountains and Daba Mountains, on the upper reaches of the Han River, has been known as a national treasure and a land of plenty since ancient times.
The Hanzhong Basin starts from Wuhou Town in Xi County in the west and ends at Longtingpu in Yangzhou in the east. It is about two hundred miles long and ten to fifty miles wide from north to south.
Yangzhou Longtingpu is located on the eastern edge of the Hanzhong Basin, bordering the Qinling Mountains to the north and Bashan Mountain to the south. There are more than ten miles between the north and the south, with ravines and steep terrain. The Song Army's Yangzhou defense line was set up here.
It is already winter, with mountains and mountains and clear springs everywhere. In the early morning, the wind is biting and cold, but it is exciting.
On the south bank of the Han River, there are countless Song military camps, from north to south, from high to low, directly to the bank of the Han River. The camps of the Song Army were arranged from south to north. The three large formations are about two miles apart, stretching for several miles from the Han River to the mountainside, making it a spectacular sight.
Since the Song army operated the Hanzhong frontier fortress, Hanzhong has been a big city, and military camps have been built in steep mountains and rivers. Just like the Yangzhou camp at this moment, it has been under construction for a long time and is finally put to use today.
To the north of the Han River, another Song army camp was located high up, taking advantage of the mountains to hold on to the danger. Many horse traps were dug at the foot of the west hillside and sprinkled with caltrops to prevent the enemy troops from crossing the Han River and escaping through the south bank of the Han River.
The two northern and southern military camps of the Song Army faced each other across the Han River to ensure that the eastern and eastern front lines of the Han Dynasty were foolproof.
North of the Han River, the Northern Camp of the Song Army was on a huge mountain ridge, surrounded by bags of earth, with hundreds of artillery muzzles facing outward. Wang Jian was standing on the mountain ridge, holding a telescope in his hand, heading west towards Hanzhong. Looking in the direction.
In the past few days, the weather has become fine, and scouts have been dispatched. There seems to be nothing unusual at Xingyuan Mansion. The generals on the eastern Yangzhou defense line are anxious, but they can only wait.
Wang Jian, the head coach of the Yangzhou Defense Line, looked west for a moment, turned his head, and was slightly startled when he saw Cao Youwan sitting on the ground with a frown on his face.
"Cao Er, don't think about the past anymore. The war is coming at any time, so don't be distracted!"
Cao Youwan is good, but he is too loyal and sometimes takes things for granted. As the big brother, he got along well with both Cao brothers, so Wang Jian quietly enlightened Cao Youwan.
I am afraid that these young generals will fail and give up on themselves.
"General Wang, I regret letting His Majesty down!"
Cao Youwan whispered, frowning, obviously in a low mood.
Among the three generals who committed crimes, both Yang Dayuan and Yang Dayuan have been brought to justice. However, Wang Kui, the commander of Yangzhou whom he single-handedly promoted, fled to Jinjing and has not been heard from since.
"Cao Er, your majesty hates the fact that iron cannot be made into steel. He hopes that the generals will all be Yue Fei and the civil servants will be like Wang Anshi. The higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment. However, your majesty still believes in you, otherwise he would not let you come here to make meritorious service. You are It is the pride of Jinling Martial Arts Hall to have acquired the "Soldier Soul". Don't let Your Majesty down again!"
Wang Jian seriously reminded and comforted Cao Youwan.
Cao Youwan was still too young. He was mentioned as the head coach in his twenties. It was understandable that he made some mistakes. The emperor did not beat him to death with a stick, but still gave him a chance.
"General Wang, you are right! I can't let His Majesty down anymore! I want him to know that there are people like Yue Wu, Mu Xin Jiaxuan and others in the world!"
The martial artist is like Yue Fei who is not afraid of death, the literary warrior is like Wang Anshi who serves the country and the people.
He was a military commander at a young age and had thousands of troops under his command. The emperor treated him well. Now is the time to repent.
Cao Youwan held the dagger at his waist and finally cheered up.
"Soldier soul" represents the pride he once had, and he cannot let this pride disappear.
"That's right! Cao Er, you are only in your twenties, and you have many opportunities to make achievements. Once the Tatar army attacks, this is your opportunity!"
Wang Jian persuaded him seriously. In fact, he himself is still young and vigorous in his thirties.
"General Wang, you are not much older than me. I heard that you have three wives and four concubines. Do you still have the strength to fight?"
Cao Youwan's mood improved a lot and he started making jokes about Wang Jian.
Indeed! The meritorious service of Dai Zui is right in front of me, but I am afraid that the Mongolian army will not come.
"Brother likes to have many children and grandchildren, isn't this okay?"
Wang Jian quickly changed the subject, pointed to the endless cavalry camp, and solemnly warned:
"Cao Er, I will leave the cavalry camp on the left wing of the army to you! If a Tatar cavalry breaks through, I will take it upon you!"
Once the Yangzhou defense line is breached, the hinterland of the Song Dynasty will be behind them. The road will be smooth and cannot withstand the ravages of the Mongolian army.
"Don't worry! General, I will never let you down!"
Cao Youwan nodded, taking the matter seriously.
The Mongolian army has invaded Hanzhong. If they want to pass through the Yangzhou defense line, they must first step on his body.
"I don't know, how is the fight in Xingyuan Mansion?"
Wang Jian's topic unconsciously returned to the war in the west.
"With the emperor in charge and the six armies serving their lives, the Tatar army wants to destroy the city of Xingyuan. Go ahead and dream!"
"I just don't know what's going on with your eldest brother and the others now?"
The two were talking when suddenly wolf smoke rose into the sky from the beacon on Beishan. Following the waving of flags on the archery tower, horns sounded in the camp and golden drums blared. All the troops came out of the camp one after another and quickly gathered in front of the camp. Soon one by one. The phalanx was erected.
"I'm going! The Tatar army is really coming!"
Cao Youwan stood up from the ground.
"With so much smoke, tens of thousands of Tatar troops must be coming!"
Commander Cao Shixiong's eyes shone and he couldn't help shouting.
"It seems that the Tatar army cannot attack Xingyuanfu City and wants to advance eastward!"
Wang Jian looked at the generals around him with cold eyes.
"Brothers, go down and get ready!"
Cao Youwan couldn't wait to get on his horse and ran towards the cavalry formation in the south, saying something loudly.
"General, I'm going to the cavalry formation!"
"Send the order, the whole army is ready to fight!"
After the generals left, Wang Jian loudly issued the military order, picked up the telescope, and looked to the west.
To the west, along the Han River, dozens of mounted Song Army scouts beat their horses wildly along the official road. After reporting, they rushed into the camp.
"General, the Tatar army is attacking, about thirty to forty thousand people, both on foot and on horseback!"
The scout came to report, breathing white air from his mouth and sweat dripping from his forehead.
"Return to the formation!"
Sure enough, the Mongol army advanced eastward. Wang Jian was refreshed and raised his telescope again. He saw smoke billowing to the west, countless human and horse heads emerging, banners covering his eyes, and the ground began to tremble, becoming more and more intense, making people's hearts beat. The Mongolian troops on foot and cavalry were pouring mercury on the ground, covering the sky and the earth, and all they could see were war horses and human heads. It was not until about five miles in front of the Song army's formation that the Mongolian army stopped advancing.
"I go!"
Wang Jian suppressed his heartbeat, put down his telescope and shouted loudly.
"All troops, prepare!"
With so many Mongolian infantry and cavalry, it seemed that they were going to break through the Hanzhong defense line in one fell swoop. Without firearms, I'm afraid they really wouldn't be a match for the Mongolian cavalry.
In the Mongolian army's formation, under the Chinese army's banner, the Mongolian army coach Torre and others were also watching the Song army's formation.
From south to north, the Song army's formations were phalanxed with swords and axes, standing still; the soldiers were dark and tough, wearing helmets and armor, and cold-light iron clothes; under the flags fluttering, there were forests of swords and guns, and cannons; there was also an archery tower. Towering, fenced trenches.
Obviously, Song Jun has made long-term plans.
"These Song dogs have been prepared for a long time, they are really insidious!"
Kuoduan held up a telescope, observed the Song army's defense line from north to south, from high to low, and cursed angrily.
The Song army was in great formation, with at least tens of thousands of soldiers. As expected, this was a premeditated attack.
"These Song dogs, they dare to fight with my Mongolian army in the field, they really don't want to die! Marshal, give the order!"
The warrior Ta Bujier cursed angrily.
The Mongolian cavalry dominates the world and is unparalleled in field battles. The Song army wants to fight the Mongolian cavalry, which makes him intolerable.
Xingyuanfu City was difficult to break, and it was blocked by rain for half a month, which made him almost crazy. It's time to have a fight and express the bad anger in my heart.
"Marshal, give the order! Break the Song army's formation in one fell swoop and kill them until their corpses litter the fields!"
Kuoduan's eyes were excited and ready to move.
Under the impact of the Mongolian cavalry, the Song army's infantry formation was not defeated in one fell swoop.
"Marshal, the Song Army's weapons are fierce, so be careful!"
Unable to capture the city, and blocked from going east, Liu Heima subconsciously felt that something was not right.
The Song army's formation was surrounded by mountains to the north and there were many small cannons, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. If the Mongolian army wanted to break the formation, they had to dismount and attack.
Needless to say, the more than 10,000 Han troops under his command were about to charge into battle again.
The Song Army's center was an artillery position and a large infantry formation. The terrain was slightly flat, but hundreds of artillery bombarded them indiscriminately, making my scalp numb just thinking about it.
As for the left wing of the Song Army, in addition to the infantry formation, thousands of Song Army cavalry were looking at them with cold eyes. Even if they broke through the Song Army's formation, it would not be easy.
"Set up camp, plunder the surroundings first, and craftsmen build instruments."
Torre frowned slightly as he looked at the Song Army formation in front of him.
He also roughly understood the situation in front of him. The Song army had ulterior motives and wanted to block the Mongolian army in Hanzhong, attack from both front and rear, and kill them wantonly.
Only by opening up the passage to the east can we break the current deadlock and take the initiative.
"Marshal, why don't we charge with thousands of cavalry and overwhelm the Song army's formation in one fell swoop?"
Kuo Duan stared hard at the Song Army's defense line in front of him, his eyes shining, and he was a little ready to move.
"Marshal, the Song Army's left wing is full of cavalry. If you just crush them directly, the Song Army's formation will be broken through from the left wing!"
Liu Heima was also ready to make a move.
"Are there so many artillery pieces on the right wing of the Song Army's cavalry just for display? Don't worry, let's test them first."
Torre said softly, and without even looking at the generals who were eager to fight, he passed on the military order.
The Song Army's defense line is airtight and the artillery is faint. If they attack by force, many soldiers will die.
From beginning to end, Torre and others never thought of crossing the Han River south and attacking the Song Army's South Camp. Probably they also understood that in the south there were high mountains and most of the Mongolian troops were cavalry. If they dismounted and attacked from their backs, they were afraid of greater casualties and the possibility of victory was almost zero.
The Mongolian army set up camp, cutting down trees and making equipment. The Song army just watched indifferently and did not go out to attack. They probably also knew that behind them was the hinterland of the Song Dynasty, so it was better to defend the defense line than to be careless.
