After a while, the headquarters staff and several commanders finished their respective tasks and entered the main room.
At this time, a fire was lit in the main room, and a sheep was roasted on it. There is a stove next to it, with a pot sitting on it, cooking a pot of mutton. The soldiers set a table of vegetables beside the fire, which consisted of radishes, crispy lotus roots, a few pickles, and a plate of salted duck eggs.
Jiang Min sat at the table and looked at the map attentively.
Everyone sat down against the fire and chatted in low voices about what they had seen in the past few days.
After a while, Jiang Min got up, walked to the fire and sat down. Li Shi, the supervisor of Zhao Yun, said: "Superintendent Li, after dinner, you lead the remaining troops in the regiment to the north of Yunzhong. There is a Golden Dragon King Temple there, and you will station there. The soldiers and horses under your command will follow. Each commander is divided into several groups and patrols the nearby roads. As long as there are Jurchens going north, they will be captured. No matter what their identity is, no one is allowed to pass."
Li Shi hurriedly crossed his hands and said yes.
Looking at the crowd, Jiang Min said: "If the Jin people want to escape, they must either flee to the east or flee to the north. Of course, they will give priority to fleeing to the east. If they cannot escape, they will run to the north. I have ordered Zhao Yun to guard the cowhide Pass, Li Shi goes to guard the north of the city, and tomorrow we can catch the turtle in the jar."
Deputy Commander Liang Xing said: "The Commander-in-Chief has made careful arrangements, and the Tartars in Yunzhong City will not be able to escape with their wings!"
Jiang Min smiled and said: "We have less than 20,000 soldiers. It is not easy to completely defend the big city in the clouds. However, we are all cavalry. If we want to seal all the people in the city, we must fully defend it." Take advantage of the characteristics of the cavalry. So it’s not scary for the people in the city to escape. It’s our fault that we can’t catch up.”
All the generals said yes together.
Looking outside the door, the cold wind howled and the withered grass made a crackling sound. Jiang Min said: "It's cold in the north. It's only October, and it's already a cold winter scene. I've already ordered everyone to drink three taels of wine tonight to warm up the soldiers. Wait until tomorrow, and the troops will arrive in the clouds. We only saw their true abilities below the city. We will have a dinner tonight, and each of you will drink half a catty of wine. If you want more, don’t drink any more."
All the generals were overjoyed and thanked Jiang Min with their hands crossed.
Jiang Min said: "The meat is already cooked, let's talk while eating."
Everyone took out a few pieces of meat from the stew pot, put them in the basin in front of them, and started sucking and eating. The soldier brought the wine and poured a bowl for everyone.
After taking a sip of wine, Li Shifu took out a piece of carrot from the bowl and asked curiously: "This thing looks red, what is it?"
Qiu Sheng, the secretary in charge, took a look and said: "This is a carrot introduced from the Western Regions. Many people don't know it. It tastes like a faint strange smell, which many people don't like. However, when cooking mutton, put some in the pot. , mutton naturally tastes good.”
Li Shifu put the carrot into his mouth, chewed it a few times, nodded and said: "We people from the northwest eat vegetables that are very flavorful, but they taste delicious. You guys from the south, I'm afraid you won't be able to eat this food. It tastes a bit like eating it in your mouth." The smell of turnips.”
Staff officer Wei Ren smiled and said: "We are all from the Central Plains, not from the south. If we are from the south, what do we call the people from Fujian and Guangnan?"
Li Shifu said: "Those are barbarians, and they are different from you."
Wei Ren laughed loudly after hearing this and said: "You said they are barbarians, but they still look at you that way! But then again, a thousand years ago, the Suide area could barely be considered the Central Plains, but now it is full of fishy smell. It will be restored to the possession of the Central Plains."
Everyone sighed together, not knowing what to say.
Northern Shaanxi and Datong have been areas where Han and Hu people lived together since the Han Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, because the Central Plains Dynasty did not control this area for a long time, the number of Han people decreased, while the number of Hu people increased greatly. Just like Li Shifu, although he was a minister of Song Dynasty, he was actually a barbarian.
Jiang Min ate a few pieces of meat, put down his bowl and said: "With one of our artillery regiments, due to time constraints, the cannons are only more than half of the normal artillery regiment. To attack Yunzhong City, we have to gather the cannons together and use the shortest cannons." It's time to blow down the city wall. Tomorrow, Shu Jiming's regiment will cooperate with the artillery regiment to attack the south of the city. Li Shifu's regiment will mainly defend the east of the city, and will also patrol the northwest sides. It is expected that by the afternoon, the Jurchens in the city will leave the city and escape Yes, you should pay attention to it."
Liang Xingdao: "We used two regiments, Li Shifu and Zhao Yun, to set up two lines of defense against those who escaped in the city. They should have escaped!"
Jiang Min nodded: "I hope so. Yunzhong is the Xijing of the Jin Dynasty. It has an important status. It would be better if people in the city can't drink it."
Datong Mansion was left in charge of the Si Yamen, and Nian Han sat in the middle with a gloomy face. Next to him are Gao Qingyi who stayed in Xijing, Han Qixian, the Privy Councilor, Xiao Qing, the military envoy of Dingwu Army, and Liu Si, the transshipment envoy of Shanxi. These people are all in high positions and have a very important position in the Kingdom of Jin.
After a long time, Nian Han said: "I underestimated Wang Xiaolie. I didn't expect that he would have the upper hand in Taiyuan and send tens of thousands of troops to the gates of Xijing. Now there is no way, we can only escape for our lives. .”
Han Qi first said: "Wang Xiaolie's men have penetrated deep into our territory, so there will not be many soldiers and horses. It is difficult for them to encircle the big city of Xijing!"
Xiao Qing sighed and said: "Although we can't surround the city, Xijing City can't stop the Song Army's artillery. I'm afraid the city will be broken soon."
Nianhan waved his hand and said to everyone: "At this time, there is no need to fight anymore. The Song army's artillery will definitely knock down the city wall. In order to win the battle in Taiyuan, we let the God of Grain take away all the artillery. Who can Can you imagine that Xijing City needs these?"
Everyone was silent, everyone lowered their heads and thought about their own thoughts.
Nianhan said: "Tomorrow the Song army will arrive at the city. You don't have to die here with me. Tonight, you can pack up separately and leave the city early tomorrow morning. This time you are escaping for your life. You will only take some clothes with you. The fewer people you take with you, the better!" "
Gao Qingyi said: "Marshal, why don't you come with us?"
Nian Han smiled bitterly and said: "As soon as I set off, Xijing City was in chaos and could not organize a defense. This is exactly what the Song Army wanted."
Gao Qingyi lowered his head and tried to think of a solution.
Nianhan was right. There is no army in Xijing now, only private soldiers from various prefectures. If Nianhan leaves, who can control these private soldiers? They were just afraid that they would disperse and rob the city. At that time, who will defend the city?
Han Qi first said: "If we leave, what will happen to the Marshal's family?"
Nianhan said: "I have to ask you all. When you leave, take my family with you. Remember, don't go to Youzhou, go directly back to Shangjing!"
Xiao Qing shook his head: "It's like this in Xijing, so what if I go to Youzhou?"
Nianhan nodded and said: "Yes, the 300,000 soldiers in Taiyuan are probably not in danger. How long can Youzhou defend in this situation? You go all the way to the north and go back to Beijing. Find someone early. A safe place to rest for the rest of your life.”
Nianhan's policies during his years in Xijing were extremely cruel, and the Song army would not give him any good results.
(End of chapter)
