At night, the sound of artillery fire outside the city continued. Boom, boom, sometimes dense, sometimes sparse, as if there is a melody.
Hong Hao leaned on the chair and looked at the moon in the sky. Although the moon is not round, the moonlight is very bright and sheds a cool light. The vegetable garden had long been bare, and under the moonlight, it seemed to be sprinkled with a mysterious color.
Zhao Bolin was guarding a pile of charcoal fire, feeling a little upset. Said: "I thought that when the Jin army attacked Xijing, they didn't encounter any trouble——"
"What trouble did Song Jun encounter again?" Hong Hao straightened his body. "They attacked the city this afternoon, how could they attack in half a day? If they attack tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, it would be very shocking."
Zhao Bolin said: "That's right. Xijing is one of the largest cities in the world. If we capture it in a few days, it will be amazing."
Hong Hao nodded. But I felt a little upset for no reason.
Outside the city, Jiang Min held a telescope in hand and looked at the city wall for a while through the light of the city's fire. Then he handed the binoculars to the soldiers and returned to the headquarters silently.
Seeing Jiang Min come back, Liang Xing raised his head and said, "How is it?"
Jiang Min said: "There are no enemy troops at the top of the city. It seems that the city wall can be blown down tomorrow morning. Let Shu Jiming's regiment be prepared and enter the city then!"
"So fast?" Liang Xing stood up suddenly, his tone full of surprise. "We can capture Yunzhong City in less than two days?"
Jiang Min nodded: "How many artillery pieces should we use to bombard the city wall? If we can hold on for two days, Yunzhong is considered a strong city. Nianhan committed suicide and sent all the troops to Taiyuan Prefecture, not even a single artillery piece was left behind! Now! We are here, and if he doesn’t wait to die, what else can he do?”
Liang Xing thought for a while and said, "If so, everyone will tell you whether Nianhan will take someone to escape tonight?"
Jiang Min said: "Of course I will escape! Not only Nianhan will escape, but also the Jurchen princes in the city who have not left the city during the day. I have ordered Li Shifu not to let go of anyone who escapes from the city at night!"
Only then did Liang Xing know that Jiang Min had already thought of this section.
After arriving at Datong Mansion, Jiang Min did not surround him on all sides, but only blocked the four city gates. Jurchens in the city who want to escape can still find a way out of the city. The purpose of this is, firstly, because Jiang Min has insufficient troops, and secondly, to keep the Jurchens hopeful. If they have hope, they will not trouble the Han people in the city. But it is not easy for these people to escape from the city. Outside the city, the Song army guarded the main roads. Not only the Jurchens, but also people of all ethnic groups were not allowed to leave the city.
After saying that, Jiang Min sat down in front of the case and carefully looked at the more detailed map of the surrounding area, without saying a word for a long time.
This is Jiang Min's habit. He must be thoroughly familiar with information such as the strength of his subordinates, the strength of the enemy's troops, and the surrounding terrain. There are many details that others can't think of, but Jiang Min can think of them. Jiang Min can also think of many methods that others can't think of.
After watching for a while, Wei Ren came in from the outside and said: "Looking at the appearance of the city wall, we can break the city tomorrow. We can see it, and the Jin army can naturally see it. Tonight, we must prevent the Jin army from escaping!"
Jiang Min said: "I have ordered Li Shifu and Shu Jiming to pay more attention to those who run out of the city. Let them leave the city for a while and then arrest them."
Wei Ren nodded and said: "It turns out that the commander-in-chief has thought of it a long time ago. We are cavalry, and the Jurchens will not be able to escape. But be careful, they may gather all the troops in the city to try to break out."
Jiang Min said calmly: "We are cavalry. No matter how many troops they gather, they can't escape!"
Wei Ren thought about it on the spot, nodded and said, "Everyone said yes. I thought it was too complicated."
He sat down at the table, closed his eyes and rested for a while, then asked: "Do you think there will be many maiden troops in the city?"
Jiang Min said: "About a thousand people. Counting the private soldiers of various Jurchen princes, there are at most 1,500 people."
Wei Ren said: "According to our estimates, there are about a thousand Jurchen officials in the city. So, there are at most three thousand Jurchen officials in the city."
Jiang Min said: "You can't just look at the Jurchens. There are also some Khitans, Xi people, and even Han people who are determined to follow the Jurchens. They must also be included. Counting all these people, I estimate that there are close to us who fight with us. Five thousand people.”
Wei Ren nodded: "There are quite a few. There are so many people, all using the method of loosening inside and tightening outside. Can we catch them all?"
Jiang Min smiled and said: "How is it possible to catch them all? There are always some people who can escape for various reasons. As long as those few important people cannot escape, it is enough. To catch important people, some less important people People, of course, have more opportunities.”
Wei Ren said: "We have three cavalry regiments, which are highly mobile. After occupying Yunzhong, we will send one or two regiments to attack Baideng. Those who escaped from Yunzhong must rest in Baideng. We will catch them all in one go. !”
Jiang Min was stunned for a while after hearing this. He nodded and said: "That's good. After the city is broken, order Zhao Yun and Li Shi's regiment to occupy Baideng and block the Jin army's road!"
After saying that, Jiang Min looked up from the map and said: "In this battle, the Jin army was basically an empty city in the area behind the mountain. There was no difficulty in conquering Yunzhong. Ordinarily, we can be considered successful at this point. However, I heard The meaning of Xuanfu's words is that it is best to occupy the counties around Yunzhong. Therefore, our most important thing is to occupy Dongsheng and Ningbian Prefectures. According to intelligence, Xixia has assembled 50,000 people near Zhuolun Village The army and the Heishan Weifu Supervisor Division also have more than 10,000 people going south. After occupying Yunzhong, you and I will go north together. The most important thing is how to deal with the Xixia army."
Wei Ren couldn't help frowning after hearing this: "Will the Xixia army definitely attack us?"
Jiang Min shook his head: "If we don't go to those places, it will still be the territory of the Jin people. If the Xixia people go to rob them, what can we say? Only when our army arrives, Xixia will directly attack our army."
Wei Ren nodded: "That's it."
When the Song and Jin Dynasties fought, Xixia would certainly reap the benefits. Since the beginning of the Battle of Taiyuan, Xixia has gathered tens of thousands of people in Zhuolun Village to confront Shao Xing's division on Linfu Road. If the Song army occupied Datong, Xixia would certainly take advantage of it. Yunnei, Dongsheng, Ningbian and Fengzhou in the north of the Jin Dynasty naturally became their prey.
If we just give in, Xixia's taste will get worse and worse, and things will be very troublesome. It is best to give them a severe blow when they attack, so that the Xixia people can completely put out this idea. This requires Jiang Min to take the initiative to attack with less and more strikes.
This was also a problem for Wei Ren. Hearing Jiang Min's words, he couldn't help but frown.
Jiang Min had a total of more than 50,000 troops, and Zhang Chi and Zhang Jun took more than 20,000 troops. In addition, after occupying Datong Mansion, Jiang Min had to guard the east, so Jiang Min could dispatch less than 20,000 troops. With more than 20,000 people, what are the chances of winning against Xixia's 50,000 or 60,000 people?
(End of chapter)
