In the clear morning light, Xu Huai held the sword at his waist, climbed onto the Longjin Bridge that looked like a flying rainbow lying across the Cai River, and looked at the Zhuque Gate Tower a thousand steps away, showing its figure in the morning light.
Except for the important town of Bienzhou, most of the inner city walls in Dai Viet are low. However, Bianliang, as the capital of Dai Viet, the imperial city, the inner city and the outer city, the city walls are all over four feet high. The Zhuque Gate tower is more than four feet high, with low walls on all sides. Set against the short, dilapidated courtyard houses, it looks even more majestic and straight.
Behind the wall, the soldiers of Xiongzhou were holding bows, shields, halberds and spears, shining with a solemn light.
In addition to the frequent wars between Dai Viet and the Khitan in the first 30 to 40 years of the founding of the dynasty, the border with the Khitan was generally peaceful for more than a hundred years. The wars were far less intense and frequent than the Shaanxi Fifth Road bordering Dangxiang in the northwest. This also made the Northern Army Its combat effectiveness is generally weaker than that of the Western Army.
In the early years, the Xiongzhou soldiers and horses received a worse evaluation than the Tianxiong army in defending the Khitan imperial army.
However, after surrendering to the Chihu people, the hundreds of military officers and generals in Xiongzhou were no longer suppressed by the officials. The cruel and violent part of human nature was even deliberately indulged and nurtured, and it suddenly seemed as if they had just been suppressed. The ferocious beasts released from the cage bared their teeth and claws, and their combat effectiveness was greatly enhanced in a short period of time.
The Xiongzhou Army once charged into battle for the Red Husbands in Hebei, stormed the city, and achieved considerable military exploits. They killed other Hebei defenders and were unable to resist.
Han Shiliang and Ge Yu, as the two most trusted generals under the Huai Prince's command, initially followed Huai Prince Zhao Guan in Weizhou. They both fought against the Xiongzhou Army, but neither gained any advantage.
This also made Yang Congzong overconfident, thinking that if he led his elite troops out of Longjin Bridge, they would be able to severely defeat Chushan's edge, and thus underestimated how unfavorable the special terrain of Longjin Bridge and the north and south of Li Street was to them.
Although Yang Congzong's death was a heavy blow to the Yang family and the Xiongzhou Army, the Yang family has deep roots in Xiongzhou for several generations. The Yang family's descendants and the generals accumulated over several generations are intertwined in the army. Yang Jingchen's influence on the Xiongzhou Army The mastery has not been diminished.
After the initial panic yesterday, the Xiongzhou Army had generally returned to calm.
This can be seen from the relatively orderly and strict defensive arrangements in Bianliang City.
Xu Huai frowned slightly. What he was thinking about at this time was no longer to storm the inner city.
The defenders' will to resist has not obviously collapsed. They do not have considerable elite troops in Bianliang, and they do not have larger auxiliary troops or corresponding siege equipment available. With only two to three thousand elite troops, in such a hasty time, How is it possible to capture the inner city?
What Xu Huai was thinking about at this time was when Yang Jingchen and the generals of the Xiongzhou Army would come to their senses, and when they would reorganize their troops and horses to attack and attack again from the inner city.
Before that, not only the recruited veterans of the Jingsheng Army and the families of the Bianliang Forbidden Army generals who have not lost their blood need to be evacuated in advance, but most of the rebel generals also need to withdraw from Bianliang City and start evacuating to the outlying prefectures and counties. .
"They are all fucking greedy and greedy grandsons!"
Zhou Jing climbed onto the Longjin Bridge, and even though he had a calm temperament, he couldn't help but complain.
Yang Congzong was killed in front of the Ba Ge formation, and Yang Jingchen ordered the inner city to be completely closed. The Bianliang surrender troops guarding the outer city formed their own formations. It can be said that people were panicked and had no fighting spirit at all.
Chushan and the rebel generals galloped in the outer city, but no one was seen.
The defenders came out to intercept, and many military officials and veterans even deserted and walked out of the barracks without anyone stopping them.
However, Zhou Jing wanted to send people into these military camps to persuade the guards to change their appearance and return to Dai Viet, but most of them were blocked from the military camps.
Even though some guards secretly brought people sent by Zhou Jing into the military camp for negotiation, the conditions proposed were too unreasonable. They not only asked Chushan to promise that they would continue to command his troops after returning south, but also asked for official titles and titles.
They also asked Chushan to be responsible for protecting them and their children before evacuating southward. Without exception, they all refused to directly participate in the war in Bianliang.
"It's okay to just ignore these people. Is it possible that we still feel comfortable treating them like masters? I have said all the good things that should be said yesterday. Now we can urge these defenders to put down their weapons and surrender. It's three poles in the day and there is no good feedback. Okay.
We will start attacking from the military camps outside Guangli Gate and Baekje Gate. At this time, we have the opportunity not to attack hard. When the reinforcements of the Japanese soldiers arrive, these wallflowers will follow the Japanese soldiers and bite us at any time." Xu Huaichao Han Changfu and other rebel generals
He cupped his hands and said, "Next, I have to trouble General Han and you guys to work hard. I just want to take this opportunity to sharpen the edge of the army..."
"I will do whatever I can to punish the rebels for the imperial court and expel the barbarians as soon as possible!" Han Changfu and other rebel generals returned the greeting to Xu Huai. They then left the Longjin Bridge one after another and returned to their temporary stations to reorganize their troops and prepare for the attack on Caihe River.
The undefended defenders on the outside of the encircled area launched an attack.
The Chushan elite must now avoid unnecessary losses as much as possible, but the battle in Bianliang City cannot stop here.
A total of more than 10,000 rebel generals led by the Black Shirt Army entered Bianliang Outer City through Nanxun, Guangli, Baekje and other gates.
The soldiers of the rebel army were poorly equipped and supplied, resulting in weak combat effectiveness. However, yesterday they successfully entered Bianliang City with the Chushan elite. They also saw the Chushan elite killing the defender Yang Congzong in front of Longjin Bridge, and two of them were outnumbered.
The general-level figure annihilated more than 2,000 Xiongzhou elite soldiers who had once frightened them in one day. The morale of the rebel generals was also extremely strong.
Yesterday, the rebel generals entered the city, mainly to clear out the stubborn Xiongzhou soldiers in the area enclosed by the Cai River. At the same time, they cleared out the deserters and rested overnight. The next step was to start from Guangli Gate and Changtai Bridge.
, Baekjemun and other places launched a larger-scale offensive on both wings.
In addition to further sharpening the rebel troops and capturing weapons and armor to help improve their equipment level, the most important thing is to weaken as much as possible the strength of the Bianliang defenders to follow the counterattack after the reinforcements arrive.
At this time, several people were riding fast horses towards Longjin Bridge. Liu Yueting got off his horse and reported: "Our army has surrounded the general's capital stockade, but after all the good words, the enemy general will not surrender. The time limit is approaching, and the military envoy Shi decided to
We are storming the military capital stronghold, and we specially order Yueting to come and ask for instructions from the Commander-in-Chief!"
Xu Huai closed his eyes and thought for a while, then said to Xu Wujiang beside him: "Uncle Seventeen, please keep an eye on me for the time being. I and Uncle Seventeen will lead the cavalry to Jundu Village!"
Jundu Village is located thirty miles west of Bianliang City. As a must-attack place for this raid on Bianliang, it does not matter how critical its geographical location is or how strategic it is.
Although Dai Viet lacked war horses, the Gyeonggi Forbidden Army still herded more than 20,000 war horses at its peak. Yuma Lake and the surrounding grassland in the west of Bianliang City were the most important horse herding areas for the Gyeonggi Forbidden Army. The Gyeonggi Forbidden Army came to graze in winter and spring.
When it’s fat, it’s all concentrated near Yuma Lake.
Nearby pasture for fattening.
Jundu Village is where the Yuma Lake Racecourse Gongshe is located. It has the largest stable outside Bianliang City, and its scale is not slightly smaller than that of an ordinary county town.
After the fall of Bianliang, the imperial guards of the capital surrendered to the enemy one after another. The more than 20,000 war horses that the imperial court had spent so much effort on raising did not play any role and were captured by the Red Husbands.
Naturally, the Chihu people and other Tibetan tribes had no shortage of good horses, and the captured war horses were mainly divided among the tribes' vassals such as Yue Hailou, Xiao Qian, and Yang Jingchen.
At this time, the pastures were fertile, and the supply of grain in Bianliang was so short that the Xiongzhou Army was reluctant to raise them with concentrated feed, so the four to five thousand war horses were mainly kept at the Yuma Lake Horse Farm.
In order to lurk quietly to Yanling, Wei Shi and others were waiting for the opportunity. Most of the soldiers in the bodyguard camp left their war horses in Wuyang, Ye County, etc. Only the assault cavalry soldiers tried their best to kill more than three hundred soldiers.
A war horse was brought over.
If you are determined to recruit veterans of the Jingsheng Army and the loyal and brave men who have not lost their blood in the surrendered army, you cannot abandon their families and ignore them. It is also unrealistic to completely evacuate the families of these generals to surrounding states and counties.
The Chihu people were not that stupid. Once they realized that there were a large number of Jingsheng troops and the families of generals returning to the south, they hid in the surrounding states and counties, and launched more crazy massacres in the surrounding states and counties. How difficult would it be?
decision?
Therefore, after taking control of the area enclosed by the Cai River in the southern outer city of Bianliang yesterday, Xu Huai immediately ordered a collection of boats in order to escort Jiaxiao as far as possible to retreat south along the Cai River, and then made plans to recruit veterans of the Jingsheng Army and surrender troops.
Xu Huai, a righteous and brave man among them, also immediately sent dozens of messengers to Xinyang, Chushan and Zhaoling to deliver orders, confirm the route of retreat to the south, and order the remaining generals to do everything possible to support them near Zhiwanqiu in Chenzhou.
For the soldiers and horses who raided Bianliang, the main consideration was how to carry so many small troops and retreat south along Caihe River to the vicinity of Zhiwanqiu in Chenzhou.
The dams on both sides of the Cai River were seriously damaged. After the flood season, the river water became shallower. Not only could it not accommodate large ships, but hundreds of boats fully loaded with people would be evacuating southward. The speed would be excruciatingly slow. It was absolutely impossible to evacuate before the reinforcements arrived.
To the south of Wanqiu.
At the same time, the width of the Cai River water surface is limited, and they have many boats retreating south. They may completely block the Cai River by then, without taking any other precautions. After the captive troops and reinforcements arrive, it will be easy to attack them with crossbows.
Ordinary crossbows are easy to defend, but when the soldiers wrap the arrow clusters with fire starters and shoot them towards the ship array, how can they resist?
The war horses from Jundu Village are something they must obtain.
Only by capturing enough war horses from the military capital village can the guard camp be able to escort the fleet southward along the river.
Although the flood season has passed, many places on both sides of the Cai River have been flooded. It is still muddy at this time. Without enough war horses and other animals to replace the leg power, the soldiers cannot pass directly on foot.
In addition to having a battalion of Xiongzhou soldiers and two thousand servants stationed and raising horses, Jundu Village is also mainly located in the west of Bianliang City. If Xiao Qian heard the news in Zhengzhou and sent troops and horses to help, Jundu Village would be
The first stop for their reinforcements from the west.
If nothing unexpected happened, Xiao Qian must have noticed in Zhengzhou that they were about to attack Jundu Stronghold. It is hard to imagine that Xiao Qian did nothing and just let them take away the three or four thousand horses in Jundu Stronghold...
