The entire area near the fork of the Yellow River has turned into a huge construction site.
Along the two Yellow Rivers, fifteen company camps for three to four thousand people are nearly completed. For these fifteen companies, Wanyan Loushi and Wanyan Xiebao really worked hard.
The Yellow River in this area is low-lying and lacks artificial management, so the river channel is difficult to fix. There are wetlands or small lakes formed by breaches everywhere. In addition, due to sedimentation, there are many shoals on the Yellow River. Therefore, fortification along the two Yellow Rivers is a very troublesome task, especially for the Jurchens who have never built a stronghold since the rise of the army. This task of fortification along the river is really hard, tiring and It was unpleasant, so the whole army was complaining to the sky!
That is to say, Wanyan Loushi's prestige in the army was too high, and the people below him were forced to do nothing, so they had to follow the instructions of Wanyan Xiebao, a junior, and conscientiously fill the earth with straw bags to build it. For the river embankment and the camp wall (the river embankment is also part of the camp wall), we also took thick timber from the southern foot of Montenegro and used carts to pull it here, and built it into fork rafts and carts (used to cover the pot-throwing soldiers). ), cannon, watchtower and pontoon.
In order to completely seal the two rivers and prevent the grain transport ships of the Song Army from passing through, Xiebao also ordered people to build two camps (two of the fifteen company camps) on the south bank of the Yellow River's Nan River and the west bank of the North River. Use pontoons to connect them to the other two camps on the opposite side of the river.
In the days when the construction of the company camp along the river was started, Wanyan Loushi and Wanyan Xiebao were still worried, fearing that Zhao Kai would use his troops quickly and not wait for them to finish building the camp. The state pounces...
But such a thing did not happen. When the wheel of history rolled to mid-May of the third year of Hongwu, the Yanhe River Battalion was finally completed!
Standing on the watchtower of the central camp, looking at the seven camps along the river on both sides, Wanyan Xiebao finally felt at ease. He took a long breath and said to Lou Shi next to him: "The recruitment... I can finally win this time! With the fifteen camps here, Zhao Kai can take the best strategy or the middle strategy." Either way, we can win!"
Lou Shi was also very satisfied with the fifteen companies in front of him. He nodded repeatedly and said: "I, the Jurchen, have always won with the sharpness of my soldiers. I can attack but cannot defend. If I don't have the power of exploding pots, I don't have to study the method of building a strong fortress. ...But now it is obviously not enough to only attack without defending. You must be able to attack and defend well to be invincible. Xie Bao, our older generation of generals are not good at defense. You are better than us in this regard. . Not bad, very good!”
"I'm sorry. I just read a few Han military books and learned some methods of building a camp. How can I claim to be good at defending them?"
Wanyan Loushi smiled and said: "You don't have to be too modest...I don't know how to attack these fifteen fortresses you built? Zhao Kai will have to go home when he sees such fortresses." ah!"
Wanyan Xiebao nodded seriously and said: "This is exactly what I am worried about... If Zhao Kai learns that the camp at the fork of the Yellow River is so strong, he will most likely choose the 'best policy' and raid Xingzhou , expel Xixia, and then use Xingling and Lingzhou as a base to advance."
Wanyan Loushi smiled nonchalantly: "If he can get Xu Tu in, we can storm Mobei... As long as the Yelu Dashi is destroyed, our rear will be safe, and we have plenty of time to waste with him."
"What the recruiter said is absolutely true!" Wanyan Xiebao finally showed a smile, "As long as the Yelu Dashi is destroyed, our Dajin can be like Daliao, controlling the grassland in the north, Yanyun in the south, Whale Sea in the east, and Whale Sea in the west. Liantianshan…there’s nothing to be afraid of anymore.”
After Xie Bao said this, they both laughed, and then went down to the watchtower together and returned to the Chinese army tent, preparing to serve wine to celebrate the completion of the camp. Before we could drink here, messengers sent by brothers Li Qianshun and Brother Richard arrived at the camp at the fork of the Yellow River, bringing the news that Xingzhou had been captured by the Song Army!
"Sure enough..." Wanyan Xiabao said with a frown, "Sure enough, Zhao Kai chose a good strategy!"
Wanyan Loushi nodded and said, "Zhao Kai is still good at using soldiers... He wouldn't ignore the life and death of his subordinates and attack our stronghold, right?"
Wanyan Xiebao asked the messenger again, "Are the Wu soldiers and King Jin okay?"
"Thanks to the supervisor," the messenger said, "the Wuzu and the King of Jin evacuated before the Song army invaded Xingzhou City... and will retreat to the territory of the Military Division of Baimaqiang Town for temporary shelter. For a while.”
"Okay!" Wanyan Xiabao said, "As long as Wu Zu and King Jin are fine... You go back and tell them that they should stay in the Military Division of Baimaqiang Town for a while. If Zhao Kaihuai If the army goes north to attack Heishan, then we will defeat them at the fork of the Yellow River together. By then, the land of Yinxia Xingling will still belong to the Dabai Gao Kingdom! If they still want some Song people's land, it can be easily discussed... .My country, Da Jin, is very generous to its allies."
.......
At the same time, Zhao Kai, accompanied by Xiang Ke, Li Xiaozhong, Li Yongqi, Xiao Heda and others, arrived at Xingzhou City, which had just been captured by Yue Fei and Li Shifu.
Oh, it can't be said to be a capture, because there was no conflict. Before the army led by Yue Fei and Li Shifu arrived, the two brothers Li Qianshun and Richard Brother had already fled in panic with Tie Yaozi.
Xingzhou was recaptured by the Song Army without any bloodshed!
"Brother, according to the reports from the patrol, the party's army should be withdrawn to the Baimaqiang Town Military Division... there are almost 40,000 to 50,000 people!"
"Officials, according to Xue Yuanli, the gold thieves have been building strongholds at the forks of the Yellow River these days... There are fifteen strongholds in total, one of which is built on the west bank of the North River of the Yellow River, and the other on the south bank of the Yellow River. The south bank of the river. These two camps are connected to the other two camps on the other side of the river by pontoon bridges, completely blocking the river!"
Yue Fei and Li Shifu have basically found out the situation of the Jin Thief and the troops led by Li Qianshun and Brother Richard. They also marked the general deployment of the Jin and Xia armies on a map.
Zhao Kai now stood with his hands behind his back on the map spread out on two tables that were merged together.
"Pengju, Prince Consort, how are you going to fight?" Zhao Kai asked.
Yue Fei said: "I have discussed it with the Prince Consort. Now we should divide our troops into two groups. One group will attack the Golden Thief Company at the fork of the Yellow River. The other group will cross the river along the north channel of the Yellow River and then go straight to Wu Lahaicheng."
Well, Yue Fei, who had just "broken through the gap in Helan Mountain", now has a huge appetite...Wanyan Xianbao also guesses what the upper, middle and lower strategies are. Well, Yue Fei, no matter what your top, middle or bottom strategies are, I want them all!
Of course, it makes sense for Yue Fei to be so coaxing - he has the pot! Each of the five generals under his Imperial Guard Army has an artillery battalion, and there is also an artillery battalion in the direct team of the Imperial Guard Army, with a total of 16 casserole cannons and 16 hot pot cannons!
Now the Jurchens have only seen the power of the fried pot, but have not realized that "hot pot" and "casserole" are more powerful than the fried pot... and the Jurchens have not yet studied law.
Because the requirements for the quality of gunpowder for frying pots are not too high...but the propellant used for casserole cannon and hot pot cannon cannot be careless. Otherwise, how much should I add? If you add too much, it will explode the barrel; if you add too little, you won't be able to hit far!
However, Zhao Kai did not make a decision immediately, but looked at his brother-in-law Li Shifu again - this brother-in-law was Zhao Kai's treasure! The ability to use cavalry is superior to that of Yue Fei!
And he also has a good view of the overall situation. If he is well cultivated, he will definitely become a leader in all areas.
Li Shifu said: "If the officials feel that dividing the troops is too risky, they can also concentrate their forces to attack the fork of the Yellow River first... But in this way, the gold thieves in Wu Lahai City may take advantage of our opportunity to attack the fork of the Yellow River. Go north to find Yelu Dashi's troops who are heading south. If the Dashi is gone, the Mobei grassland will probably be controlled by the Jurchens!"
Judging from what he meant, he also advocated "I want both the upper, middle and lower strategies"... and his focus also showed the overall situation.
The key to this battle is to win over Yelu Dashi and his Mobei Khitan!
If Yelu Dashi was killed by the Jurchens or driven to Central Asia, even if Zhao Kai captured Montenegro, it would not be of much significance.
Zhao Kai nodded approvingly, and then looked at Xiang Ke and Li Xiaozhong.
Xiang Ke smiled and said: "Brother, I, my brother, and Shao Yan will lead the troops to break up the gold thieves... we will definitely be able to contain them. Let Peng Ju, Prince Consort, and Xiao Taishi lead the elite troops." The Yellow River and Hebei enter Wulahai City. As long as they can capture Wulahai City, Black Mountain will win the battle!"
Li Xiaozhong also said: "Brother, just take charge in Xingzhou... With a few of our brothers, we can defeat the gold thief!"
After talking for a long time, it turned out that he didn’t want Zhao Kai to be in battle! Zhao Kai smiled and waved his hands and said: "I know that the Black Mountain battle is a bit dangerous...but I still have to come in person! It's not for anything else, and it's not that I don't believe you, but Wu Qimai, Yelu Dashi, Li Qianshun and Hebule They are all here! Among the people in the world who work for the emperor, only King Wu (Zhao Huan) and Duan Heyu of Dali have not come because they have a long way to go. I have already arrived in Xingzhou, how can I not go to the battlefield? "
Everyone saw that Zhao Kai insisted on his own opinion and had nothing to say. Yue Fei asked: "Brother, which group of soldiers do you want to lead?"
Zhao Kai smiled and said: "Pengju, your military skills are the best among us. You can take charge of your own business a long time ago... This time I will be stationed at the fork of the Yellow River, and Pengju will lead the Northern Route Army." Be the general!"
Because Yue Fei is so capable, Zhao Kai has always kept him by his side as a trump card. Until now, he has never had the opportunity to lead an army or go out of town. It's really a loss!
"My brother has accepted the decree!" Yue Fei was overjoyed when he heard this.
Zhao Kai said to Li Yongqi again: "Li Taiwei, your son is already in charge of the army and is the vanguard of this battle, so you don't need to send troops. You can stay in Xingzhou to guard against the party members coming back from the White Horse Army... ...In addition, the tens of thousands of newly recruited soldiers will be left to you to train.
Also, the wheat in the countryside of Xingzhou is almost ripe. We cannot let it rot in the fields. We have to arrange for people to harvest it... Only with this wheat can we have long-term capital in the northwest! "
