Liu Qi was born as a general and the son of Liu Zhongwu, the governor of the Luchuan Army.
Growing up in the army since childhood, he read military books, written them and practiced them together. He was not only well versed in the methods of marching and fighting, but also had strategic and tactical thinking, and his talents were very high.
Before the war between Song and Jin Dynasties, Liu Qi belonged to the Western Army. He fought against the Xixia people all the year round and won many victories. He was famous in Xixia. Because the Xixia people were afraid of Liu Qi, they would even use "Liu Dutong" to scare children when they kept crying. .
He is on the same level as Zhang Liao after the Battle of Hefei.
When the war between the Song and Jin Dynasties began, the Jin court coveted the land of Shaanxi. The Song court authorized Zhang Jun to organize a battle in Shaanxi and organize the Jin army to march westward. After Zhang Jun arrived in Shaanxi for inspection, he felt that Liu Qi was very talented and appointed him as the Jingyuan Road manager and general. Knowing Weizhou, he was promoted.
After the defeat of Fuping, Liu Qi came to Zhao Gou to protect Zhao Gou and became Zhao Gou's confidant, second only to Yang Cunzhong. He was promoted many times, and later formed an independent army and became a guarding general. He also fought in the battles of Shunchang and Zhegao. Good results were achieved in the two wars.
Although he later became a civil servant and was relieved of his military power, he still retained his reputation. Until Wanyan Liang's southern expedition, Wanyan Liang asked the generals who dared to attack Liu Qi's troops. None of the generals responded. Wanyan Liang was so angry that he decided to rule in person. The soldiers attacked Liu Qi.
This is probably the extent of his reputation.
But the hero was late, and he encountered an enemy that he could not fight against on his own. When he arrived, he could not reverse the situation, so he could only die in grief.
Wang Fang and his generals watched Liu Qi's last moments. When he died, they all cried together.
Soon, the news of Liu Qi's death spread throughout Yangzhou City, and the strong men of Yangzhou City and the soldiers brought by Liu Qi all cried incessantly.
Liu Qi was a forthright man with a calm and resolute personality. He had the demeanor of a Confucian general and did not love money. He managed the army with kindness and power, and was highly respected by the army.
After arriving in Yangzhou, he treated the people of Yangzhou in many ways, without disturbing the people in the slightest. He also recruited young men in a gentle manner and gave them enough money and food. Therefore, the young men and soldiers were grateful for Liu Qi's kindness and were all moved when they learned of Liu Qi's death. Feel sad for him.
After Wang Fang cried bitterly, he wiped his tears, ordered white flags to be erected on the city wall, and ordered the entire army to wear white headbands to express his grief for Liu Qi. At the same time, he used this grief to boost morale and turned the entire army into mourning soldiers. .
The morale of the Song army in Yangzhou City was improved in this atmosphere. For a time, the soldiers and civilians in the city felt the same hatred of the enemy, and were full of anger towards the Ming army outside the city. No one proposed surrender or escape anymore, and they decided to fight to the death. in the end.
Ling Zishi, the commander of the Ming army outside the city, was originally holding a military meeting with the officers and instructors above the commander of his battalion to discuss the key points of defense outside the city and the protection of food routes. Suddenly he heard crying in the city and saw white flags erected on the top of the city. He immediately realized that something big had happened in the city.
"I heard that Liu Qi was seriously ill and dragged his illness to Yangzhou to defend the city. Now it seems that Liu Qi may not have died of illness. If he had not died of illness, is there anyone in the city whose identity would allow the army to erect a white flag for him at the top of the city?"
Ling Zishi looked at Wei Shuang, the secretary of the Second Division, beside him.
"It certainly seems so."
Wei Shuang stared at the top of the city for a while, then said: "No one except Liu Qi has such qualifications, but I heard before that Liu Qi is fair in dealing with things and has won the hearts of the military. Now it turns out that he is extraordinary."
"How to say?"
Ling Zishi looked at Wei Shuang.
"Look, although Liu Qi died, the Song troops at the top of the city were well guarded, their flags were clear, and their morale was rising instead of declining. It seems that the Song troops in the city have become mourning soldiers now. We must be careful in the future."
Wei Shuang took out his equipped clairvoyance, looked at the city for a while, and gave this suggestion.
"It makes sense. I didn't expect that once Liu Qi died, the Song army would have more fighting spirit. It seems that he won the hearts of the soldiers and it was not just talk."
Ling Zishi also looked at the city with his clairvoyance for a while, nodded, and asked again: "We guard the outskirts of Yangzhou City and have the responsibility of guarding the grain road. If the Yangzhou defenders take the initiative to attack, I'm afraid it will cause damage to the grain road." It’s dangerous, I suggest we let the commander-in-chief know about this as soon as possible and ask him for his opinion.”
"That's fine. Anyway, let the commander-in-chief make preparations."
Wei Shuang nodded in agreement.
So soon, Ling Zishi sent people south to tell Zhou Zhi that Liu Qi died of illness and the Yangzhou defenders became mourning soldiers, and asked Zhou Zhi's opinion on the matter.
In order to speed up the war, Zhou Zhi chose to besiege Yangzhou City without attacking it. However, the defenders in Yangzhou City still existed. There had been no chaos for so many days, which showed that the food reserves in Yangzhou City were sufficient.
Regardless of whether there are anti-siege measures, the risk always exists, and this Song army always has the possibility of threatening the Ming army's food routes.
Now it's time to see whether this Song army can make some achievements before the Ming army makes an emergency landing in the Southern Song Dynasty.
Of course, this is very difficult.
When Zhou Zhi knew about this, he was already in Zhenjiang City.
He saw the large military reserves of the Song Army in Zhenjiang City, as well as the huge amount of food, military expenditures, military supplies, etc., and he was immediately overjoyed.
"The storage in this city is enough for my southern army to use for a month. The prosperity of the Southern Song Dynasty is true. Unfortunately, although it is rich, it has no courage. The army of 10,000 is scattered. If it is like Yangzhou, it can last for at least three to five months. Wouldn’t our army be in a dilemma then?”
Zhou Zhi mocked the Song army for being timid and incompetent. They had the advantage but did not dare to defend. When they saw that the Ming army had the advantage, they dispersed and gave up a huge amount of military resources. It is no wonder that the Jin Dynasty was able to achieve such great results.
However, it seems that there was almost no progress in the Southern Song Dynasty over the years.
The experience of almost subjugating the country has been forgotten in the dog's belly.
What a bunch of cowards!
"It's not that we can't understand why these Song soldiers fled so quickly, and they don't understand why they are fighting."
Zhou Zhixue stood beside Zhou Zhi and spoke slowly: "Song soldiers only became Song soldiers because they were desperate or forced to join the army. For them, joining the army was a means of survival.
I join the army just to stay alive, but when faced with a life-or-death situation, all but a few elites flee. Isn't it strange? Not to mention that the officers in the Song army had the power of life and death to take whatever they wanted from the soldiers. The Song soldiers secretly hated the officers, so how could they fight to the death for them? "
The generals immediately felt that what Zhou Zhixue said was very reasonable.
The Song Army is not like the Ming Army. The Ming Army soldiers themselves have no survival problems. The Ming Empire's policy of benefiting the people can make them live much better than before.
After joining the army, they can get more protection for their families, receive preferential policies in land and taxation, and the local government will take more care of them. Their life in the army is also quite good, with plenty to eat, warm clothes, and no superiors. He was often beaten and scolded, but he was still able to receive education. He understood many principles of life and work, which opened his eyes and gained knowledge.
There are not so many bad things happening in the army. There is natural cohesion and centripetal force. There is clear room for advancement and rewards when accumulating military merits. Of course, soldiers fight bravely and strive to be the first.
Comparing the two, the situation where the Song army retreated and the Ming army fought bravely to take the lead seemed extremely natural and not surprising.
Zhou Zhi then held a military meeting and decided on the next plan for the main force of the army to move in two directions.
He led them all the way to the south, and handed them over to his deputy general Ma Hongxing to lead them all the way to Jiankang Prefecture, striving to defeat the Song Ma infantry and naval forces in Zhenjiang Prefecture.
"Let's continue heading south. It seems that the probability of finding a hard nut to crack is very low."
Zhou Zhi pointed to the south: "I finally understand how the Jin people went south. The Southern Song Dynasty really didn't make any progress at all."
"What about the Navy? The Guazhou Navy is not all of the Southern Song Dynasty Navy."
Zhou Zhixue asked: "There are still navy in Jiankang Mansion, and there are also navy in Qingyuan Mansion."
"So I divided a team to go to Jiankang Prefecture, advance by land and water, and eat up the horse infantry and navy of Jiankang Prefecture. Mingzhou Navy will look to Kong Zhende to destroy the military power of the Southern Song Dynasty as much as possible. , this battle will definitely hurt the Southern Song Dynasty."
Zhou Zhi sneered: "If we capture Zhenjiang Prefecture and Jiankang Prefecture, and then destroy the Mingzhou Navy, we will completely destroy the Southern Song Dynasty's military power in the Jianghuai area. It will never be able to rebuild the Jianghuai area within five years." defense!"
