The 70,000-strong Jin army marched toward Zhengzhou in a mighty manner after swearing an oath to fight in Kaifeng.
At this time, the Jin Army's cavalry galloped forward, and a large group of infantry followed behind with the baggage. In four days, they arrived at the gate of Zhengzhou City.
After Guo Dehai, the general of Zhengzhou, learned that the Jin army was attacking Zhengzhou, he sent fast horses to inform Wokuotai, while he closed the city gate tightly and stood firm.
He who is good at attacking will be good at defending.
Guo Dehai has little reputation in the Central Plains, but he is indeed famous in the Western Regions.
The success of the Mongols' Western Expedition and their ability to destroy Khwarezm was due to Guo Dehai.
Because Khwarezm at that time believed that the Mongols were mainly cavalry and thought that they were definitely not good at attacking cities, so they adopted a strategy of relying on the city to hold on. However, they did not know that the Mongols were different from the nomads who only had cavalry. They were attacking the Jin Kingdom. In the process, a large number of craftsmen were obtained, as well as Han Chinese troops who knew how to attack cities.
Guo Dehai was one of the Han troops who participated in the expedition and assisted the Mongolian army in capturing many cities.
Therefore, his offensive and defensive management was extremely rich. When he saw the 70,000 Jin army attacking in large numbers, and knowing that the Jin army had just defeated the Mongolian army on the east route and killed the Mongolian prince Kuaduan, his morale must be strong, so he decided to avoid the Jin army's advance and use the strong city of Zhengzhou to consume The Jin soldiers were waiting for the Wokuotai army to come for reinforcements.
This Zhengzhou City is a relatively important city on the Guanhe defense line. The city walls are relatively tall and can completely withstand the attack of the Jin army.
On the sixth day of the lunar month, the Jin Army's cavalry began to appear under the city of Zhengzhou. After discovering that the Mongolian army had closed the city gates and made a stand, Zhao Tai was overjoyed and urged the army to advance towards Zhengzhou quickly.
On the ninth day of the lunar month, 70,000 Jin troops came to the city. Before the pace had stopped and the forts had not been set up, Zhao Tai sent troops to dig trenches and set up obstacles outside the four gates of Zhengzhou to trap the Mongolian troops in the city.
That night, while the Mongolian army in the city did not know the intention of the Jin army, the 70,000 Jin soldiers were divided into two groups. Zhao Tai and Wuxian besieged Zhengzhou, while Yipua and Heda led 30,000 troops to march westward overnight. Block Hulao Pass and cut off the connection between Zhengzhou and Luoyang.
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Hulao Pass, also known as Sishui Pass, Chenggao Pass and Guxiao Pass, is the gateway to the east of Luoyang.
This pass is connected to Songyue Mountain in the south and the Yellow River in the north. It is surrounded by mountains and ridges, making it a natural danger. It has the tendency of "one man can guard the pass, but ten thousand people cannot open it". It has been a battleground for military strategists of all ages.
After Wokuotai broke through this pass, he left five thousand soldiers and horses to guard against the Jin army's westward advance and interfere with the main Mongolian attack on Luoyang.
At this time, the defenders at Hulao Pass had learned from the messenger sent from Zhengzhou that the main force of the Jin army was advancing westward.
Although Zhengzhou was blocking Hulao Pass in front of it, and the Jin soldiers could not attack Hulao Pass for a while, the defenders at the pass still strengthened their defense.
Zhao Tai defeated the Mongolian Eastern Route Army in Xuzhou, and his influence gradually became apparent at this time.
As a result, the morale of the Jin army was high, and after the Mongolian army heard the news, they put aside their contempt for the Jin soldiers. The defenders on Guancheng were all ready.
On the night of the tenth day of the lunar month, the sky was covered with clouds, the stars and moon were obscured, and the night shrouded the earth. The soldiers patrolling the city with torches could only see clearly what was happening within a hundred steps below the city.
At this time, hundreds of Mongolian soldiers were patrolling back and forth on the top of the city. Unconsciously, a dark army appeared a few hundred steps away from the city.
They used carts to line up in front of the pass, drove wooden piles into the ground, moved rocks and soil, and under the cover of night, they busily built a long wall outside the pass.
Although they tried their best to be careful, the noise they caused inevitably alerted the defenders on the city.
"Is General Guo here? We have an urgent military report!" A patrolman hurriedly came to the Guan Tower.
Guo Dongliang, the guard of Hulao Gate, knew that the situation was special recently, so he was resting in the gate building. When he heard the noise, he stood up quickly, picked up the saber hanging on the wall, opened the door and came out, "What's going on?"
"General, there is movement outside the city!" the soldiers reported quickly.
Guo Dongliang hurriedly came to the city head, leaning on the wall stacks and looking out, but he couldn't see clearly what was happening outside the city.
This made him frown. The officer beside him licked his lips and suggested nervously: "General, do you want to send someone out of the city to check?"
Guo Dongliang had a sullen face and shook his head, "No need! The Jin army has already marched westward from Kaifeng. It's too dark now. Be careful of fraud. Don't open or close the door at night."
If it had been in the past, Guo Dongliang would definitely have adopted the advice of his generals, but the news that Zhao Tai defeated the Mongolian army on the east route and killed Kuaduan was so shocking that the Mongolian army was a little afraid of Jin Bing, so they became more cautious in their actions. .
After saying that, he squinted for a while, only hearing the sound of clanking, but could not see clearly what was going on outside the city.
"Pass my military order and quickly dispatch two thousand archers to the city. Once someone approaches, shoot immediately!" Guo Dongliang suddenly ordered, "I will remain unchanged in response to any changes. I will know what is going on outside the city tomorrow morning."
Hulao was closed, and Guo Dongliang and two thousand archers guarded it all night, but they did not wait for the Jin soldiers to attack.
Early in the morning, the sun rose in the east and its light spread over the earth. The defenders on the city finally had a clear view.
At this time, Guo Dongliang was holding on to the city wall, looking at Guan Xia, his brows immediately furrowed, and his heart was full of doubts.
One night passed, and on the originally flat plain in front of Guan, a long wall suddenly appeared, parallel to Guancheng, connected to Songyue Mountain in the south and the Yellow River in the north.
Behind the long wall are white military tents. Countless Jin soldiers are walking through the camp, busy strengthening the long wall and setting up obstacles in front of the pass.
"What do Jin Bing mean?" Guo Dongliang frowned, "They don't plan to attack Hulao Pass and rescue Luoyang?"
No wonder Guo Dongliang was confused. When attacking Guancheng, the attacking side tried every means to demolish the obstacles in front of the pass. However, when the Jin army entered the pass, they built long walls and arranged deer antlers and horse-repelling stakes. Instead of demolishing the obstacles, they added more obstacles. It's really hard to understand.
"Yes! What are these golden soldiers going to do? They have set up so many obstacles, as if they are afraid that we will escape!" The generals around him also looked confused.
After hearing his words, Guo Dongliang's eyes suddenly widened with a look of astonishment on his face.
"No! I know what they want to do." Guo Dongliang suddenly exclaimed, "The Jin soldiers have a big appetite. They have eaten the Eastern Route Army, and they want to eat Zhengzhou, and they want to stop us from reinforcing Zhengzhou!"
This made Guo Dongliang a little frightened. If it had been before, he would have laughed off Jin Jun's actions.
But the situation is different now. Since the Jin army can eat the Mongolian army on the east route and cut off the broad end of the formation, it is not impossible to capture Zhengzhou.
Thinking of this, Guo Dongliang felt a little uneasy. He grabbed the clothes of the soldiers around him and shouted loudly: "Quick! You must hurry up immediately and inform the Khan of the situation here."
The soldiers nodded quickly, then hurriedly left Guancheng, jumped on their horses, and galloped towards Luoyang.
