The two brothers gently turned their horses' heads and were about to escape quietly, but countless Song troops appeared from all directions and approached them.
Hundreds of soldiers surrounded them, dark and strong, with shields in front. Some held crossbows, aiming at Shi Quan and others, while some held thunderbolts ready to fire at any time.
"Who are you? Why are you here?"
On a high slope, behind the shield, surrounded by Song troops with bows and crossbows, a tall and powerful black-faced Song army shouted loudly. Looking around him, several small cannons had been set up, aiming at Shi. Quan and others moved extremely quickly.
The guards around Shi Quan raised their bows and arrows, aiming at the surrounding Song troops.
"Listen to me, put down your bows and arrows! Don't act rashly!"
Shi Yi glanced at his nervous brother and guards, and shouted loudly to stop everyone's impulse.
Shi Quan and the guards put down their bows and arrows one after another, and Shi Yi then saluted General Song with clasped fists on the high slope.
"General, below are the defenders of Zhigu Village. They are all Han people. May I ask, General, are they the king's division of the Northern Expedition of the Song Dynasty?"
"The defenders of Zhigu Village?"
The black-faced General Song nodded and said loudly:
"Since you are the Han army in Zhigu Village, put down your bows, arrows, swords and guns. I will not harm you. Otherwise, you will naturally know the consequences."
Brother Shi Yi looked at each other and ordered to go down. The guards couldn't wait to throw down their bows, arrows, swords and guns, but no one wanted to resist.
It seems that under the power of the Song army, everyone's body is very honest.
"General, my brothers and I are all Han Chinese and have no intention of confronting the King of the Song Dynasty. General, please don't abuse or insult us!"
The Song army came up to take away the swords and guns, and Shi Quan shouted loudly.
"Don't make it difficult for them, just tie your hands!"
The black-faced General Song gave a loud military order.
The Shi Quan brothers and the guards were brought to the ship. Everyone looked at the steamer with black smoke and their eyes widened.
I had only heard before that this time the ride was free.
On the bow of the ship, a group of Song Army generals pointed to both sides of the bank and seemed to be saying something about building a city wall and fortress. Shi Quan couldn't help shouting when he saw a person.
"Uncle Yan!"
The Song generals turned their heads one after another, and Shi Quan shouted excitedly again.
"Uncle Yan, it's me, I'm Shi Quan, and Shi Tianze is my uncle!"
The generals of the Song Dynasty came over one after another, each with a long beard and a kind face. They were the Han soldiers in Shandong, the former Mongolian country.
"Two great nephews, why are you here?"
Yan Shi was also surprised. The Song Army general behind him waved his hand, and the Song soldiers stepped forward and untied the two brothers.
"Are you the nephews of Shi Tianze, a member of the Han army in Zhending Prefecture?"
"General, that's right! The general is familiar with Shi Tianze, so he recognizes them both."
Yan Shi replied to Meng Gong, turned around and smiled at the Shi Quan brothers.
"My uncle has already surrendered to the Song Dynasty, and he plans to go to Zhigu Village to find you. This will save trouble."
Since he surrendered to the Song army, of course he had to submit some certificates of surrender, such as recruiting Shi Tianze, the most powerful Han army in Hebei, to surrender.
Brother Shi Quan looked at each other, both secretly surprised.
Yan Shi had tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in Shandong, so he surrendered to the enemy so easily?
Not only did he surrender to the enemy, but he also joined the Song army in the Northern Expedition against the Mongolian cavalry that dominated the world. Is the Song Army so scary?
"General Yan, please take a step to speak!"
A young man in his thirties wearing a green shirt whispered to Yan Shi.
"Two worthy nephews, let's talk about it later!"
Yan Shi bowed his hands to the Shi Quan brothers and followed the young man respectfully into the cabin together.
Yan Shi was very respectful to the young man. The young man was not wearing armor and did not seem to be a member of the military. Shi Quan suddenly became interested.
"General, who was that person just now? He couldn't be the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, could he?"
Shi Quan asked Meng Gong curiously, forgetting his own situation for a moment.
"I, the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, are based in Jinling and have not gone north. The man just now was the uncle of the Zhou Dynasty, and he is the most trusted by me, the Emperor of the Song Dynasty."
Meng Gong did not hide the two "turtles in the urn" either.
The uncle of the current dynasty!
The Shi brothers looked at each other again, both speechless.
All the uncles of the Song Dynasty court went north. It seemed that the Song army was bound to win the Northern Expedition.
Looking at both sides of the bank, watching the Song army attack by land and water, brother Shi Quan felt heavy in his heart. After a while, Shi Quan lost his voice and said:
"Brother...the Song army has a total of seventy or eighty thousand people! The cavalry alone is probably more than thirty...thirty thousand!"
Thirty thousand cavalry, thousands of artillery pieces, and tens of thousands of musketeers...
When did the Southerners become so powerful and ferocious?
"Second brother, I'm afraid it's more than 70,000 or 80,000. On those hundreds of ships, I'm afraid there are more than tens of thousands."
Shi Yi suppressed the shock in his heart and spoke out in a trembling voice.
There may be more than tens of thousands of naval forces on board the ships. It is impossible for the Song army to have only front troops and no rear divisions. Maybe the Emperor of Song Dynasty would lead a personal expedition and follow suit.
This Zhao Hong is a complete war-loving madman!
"Brother, Song Jun is not going to Zhending Mansion, is he?"
Shi Quan looked at the back of Song Jun heading west and suddenly shouted.
Except for Yanjing City and Zhending Mansion, small towns in Hebei have basically given up. If the Song army attacked Zhending Mansion first, wouldn't it mean that both jade and stone would be destroyed?
"Zhending Mansion? No, if I were the Emperor of Song Dynasty, I would take Yanjing and the passes of the Great Wall first!"
Shi Yi shook his head and spoke decisively.
Uncle Shi Tianze loved the people like a son and was very popular in Hebei. The Shi family was from a prominent family in Hebei. He was kind to people, helped and cared for the people, and never burned, killed, looted, or took human life lightly. The Emperor of the Song Dynasty was a man of great talent and strategy, so he would not make things difficult for a family like the Shi family, so as not to taint himself and hurt the hearts of the people of the North.
"Yanjing!"
Shi Quan was stunned and his eyes were full of disbelief.
Yanjing City is the most important town in the two rivers. The Jin Kingdom recruited 400,000 troops and 800,000 craftsmen and civilians, a total of 1.2 million military and civilian craftsmen, who worked hard for more than two years before expanding Yanjing City.
The circumference of Yanjing City is more than fifty miles, the city is more than four feet high, and there are three urban areas, including the Imperial Palace City, the Imperial City, and the Dacheng. The royal family lives in the imperial city, the royal family lives in the imperial city, and the common people live outside the imperial city. There are sixty-two squares and a market for the common people to trade.
Yanjing City is so impregnable, and there are more than 100,000 troops guarding the city. Although the Song army is powerful, it is not easy to capture Yanjing City.
"The Song army was so powerful that it was definitely not intentional. It must have been prepared. If the Song army occupied the passes of the Great Wall and then guarded the passes of Taihang and blocked the Hedong Pass, Hebei would be in trouble."
Shi Yi knew a lot about the terrain of the two rivers.
However, he was still skeptical about the Song army's capture of Yanjing City.
"Brother, what should we do? Should we report the news to uncle?"
Shi Quan looked around and lowered his voice.
"That's natural. The Song army came with bad intentions. We still have to find a way to report this to my uncle!"
Zhending Mansion is the headquarters of the Shi family, and all the Shi family live here. Shi Tianze guards the city, and tens of thousands of Han troops must not let anything happen.
"Brother, do you want to report the military situation to Yanjing?"
"Yanjing is more than two hundred miles away from Zhigu Village. The Song army is heading north. Sooner or later, Yanjing will get the news. Second brother, you should worry about us."
Shi Yi said with a wry smile.
They are now in jail, not knowing whether they will survive or not, and they still worry about these things.
"Brother, will the Song army attack Zhigu Village?"
"Zhiguzhai is located at Sanchakou, an important waterway. It reaches Yanjing via the canal in the north, the navigation river in the south to Hebei and Shandong, and is connected to the sea route via the Haihe River in the east. It is a sea and land hub. The Song army came from the sea. Do you think they will seize Zhigu Village? Guzhai?"
Shi Yi asked his brother in return.
With the strategic vision of the Song army generals, they would not fail to notice the importance of this place.
"Then how should we deal with it?"
Shi Quan asked in a low voice.
"What we can do is to wait for help and take it one step at a time."
"If the Song army attacks the city, wouldn't it be difficult for those brothers and people to escape?"
"What else can we do? You and I are both prisoners, so what can we do?"
Shi Quan looked at his younger brother seriously.
"Second brother, don't fight to the death with Song Jun unless you have to."
Shi Yi's words were profound. He looked at the end of the eastern sky and sighed quietly.
The land of Hebei is about to be turbulent again.
"Two good nephews, there is no need to fight to the death. There is always a solution."
Yan Shi suddenly appeared behind them, startling the two brothers.
"Uncle, tell me what you have to say, and I, my brother, are all ears!"
Shi Yi heard some clues and felt relieved.
It seems that Song Jun did not kill Shi Jia as hard as Zhang Rou.
"Two good nephews, the Song army is powerful and will restore the two rivers in one fell swoop. In order to avoid the destruction of life in Hebei, and for the prosperity of your Shi family, it is the best choice for the historian to submit to the Song Dynasty and benefit the country and the people. "
"Submit to the Song Dynasty?"
Shi Quan was stunned for a moment, then shook his head slightly and sneered.
"Uncle, let's not talk about Zhending Mansion's 50,000 troops. Everyone is united. If you want to recruit my Shi family, you must first capture Yanjing City!"
Yanjing City has hundreds of thousands of troops and tens of thousands of fine cavalry. No matter how ferocious the Song army is, it is impossible for them to gain the upper hand.
If the historians voted for the Song Dynasty and were driven out of Hebei by the Mongolian cavalry, wouldn't the historians be in vain and suffer unreasonable disasters?
"Uncle, can the Song army conquer Yanjing City, which has hundreds of thousands of troops and fifty or sixty thousand elite cavalry? The Mongolian cavalry is invincible in the field, and it cannot be scared away by a few cannons."
Shi Yi looked at Yan Shi with burning eyes, as if waiting for Yan Shi's answer.
"Fifty or sixty thousand elite cavalry?"
Yan Shi shook his head, smiled slightly, and said softly under the gaze of the Shi brothers:
"In the Battle of Hanzhong, the 50,000 Mongolian cavalry and the 20,000 Han troops of Liu Heima were commanded by the invincible Zong Wang Tuo Lei and the most powerful general in Mongolia, Subutai. However, they were not completely wiped out. They returned several times. People? Do Yanjing’s 50,000 or 60,000 elite cavalry have as many elite soldiers as Tuo Lei’s command?”
To be honest, both Shi brothers were stunned. Amidst the surprised gazes of the two brothers, Yan Shi continued:
"Dongliao has 10,000 cavalry, Zhang Hongyan has 10,000 cavalry, your Shijia has 10,000 cavalry, plus the 30,000 cavalry from Temutai and Kou Wenbuhua, the total is 60,000. Kou Wenbuhua will not go all-in, and the most people can fight Forty to fifty thousand cavalry. In addition to the same fifty thousand cavalry, the Song Army also had nearly ten thousand artillery pieces and hundreds of thousands of sky-shaking thunders, not to mention the newly formed fire gun troops."
As for rifled guns and explosive shells, he did not say anything. When the time comes to see real moves on the battlefield, everything will suddenly become clear.
"Uncle, in a field battle, the Mongolian cavalry will not be the opponent of the Song army."
Shi Quan was stubborn and still refused to accept it.
At this time, he forgot to ask the Song army if they wanted to attack Zhending Mansion first.
"My dear nephew, it's useless to talk more. You and I went together and arrived at Yanjing City and witnessed the fierce battle between the two sides. Let's go to Zhending Mansion to persuade your uncle. What do you think?"
Yan Shi smiled.
"Uncle, it's a deal!"
Shi Quan said decisively, and the two brothers looked at each other with relief.
The Song army attacks Yanjing City first, so Zhending Mansion can at least be fine for the time being.
"My dear nephew, it's a deal!"
Yan Shi said solemnly, looking towards Zhigu Village on the shore ahead.
"My dear nephew, you'd better tell the subordinates on the wall to be patient, lest they lose their lives in vain."
Shi Quan nodded in agreement, and Shi Yi frowned as he looked at the surging river water.
There are only a few hundred soldiers and civilians in Zhigu Village, so their lives are not in danger. So what about the 10,000 cavalry of the Shijia Army in Yanjing City?
Can they avoid the casualties caused by fighting with the Song army?
