In the morning of the next day, when the sun had just shown its face over the mountains at the end of the grassland, Wanyan Hu led 50,000 Jurchen soldiers to the outskirts of Zhengzhou.
The Song army also left the city in full force. According to the old rules, they set a fire before leaving. After the army left the city, the entire Zhengzhou City had become a sea of fire. The soldiers held big logs and destroyed the city walls, gates and all defensive measures.
The fallen city wall filled the moat tightly, and an hour later, Zhengzhou was beyond recognition.
Wan Yanliang led his troops to watch all this from a distance, and was secretly shocked. The Song people really had a scorched-earth policy, and no grass grew wherever they went. If Huanglong Mansion fell into their hands, they would definitely destroy it in a short time.
But it's such a pity.
Wan Yanliang's "big army" was astonishing. They were all riding horses, but the horses were only covered with straw mats as saddles. The soldiers had no armor on their bodies. They were all wearing animal skins with half their arms and headscarves on their heads.
Wearing animal skin hats with pheasant feathers stuck in them, most of the soldiers had bare feet that were dark and stained with cow dung.
These are nothing more, the weapons in their hands are even more ridiculous. The bow is a bamboo bow, the spear is a bamboo spear, and some people even use white animal thigh bones as sticks. Only a few thousand of the 50,000 people have them.
There are iron tools, but also pitifully short daggers.
The soldiers of the Song Army looked pitifully at these beggar soldiers. Looking at their shiny armor and polished swords and guns, a sense of pride arose spontaneously. Wan Yanliang and his beggar soldiers could obviously see that.
This kind of disdain caused some fever on their faces, but they all held out their chests and bellies and refused to show any sign of envy.
However, Marshal Su was kind and amiable, with no trace of contempt in his smile. When Wan Yanliang met him, he even praised the Jurchen army a few times: "Sure enough, they are so powerful that they look like dragons and tigers. They are like figures between white mountains and black waters."
It's extraordinary. After seeing this army, I finally understand why the Liao people only became vassals to you instead of enslaving you."
Wan Yanliang was immediately attracted to the handsome young man with a slight moustache in front of him. He said a few words of modesty and straightened his back even more.
After the army set off, Pan Jiang asked Su Jin on the way: "Commander, how can such a Jurchen help? Bamboo arrows and bamboo spears are useless?"
Su Jin smiled and said nothing, thinking: If you knew that it was these naked natives who would build a great empire in the future, and even the Song Dynasty would be destroyed, you wouldn't think so.
Pan Jiangwu said to himself: "Commander, why don't we give them some weapons so that they can be more useful."
Su Jin suddenly changed his color and said: "What nonsense, is there any harm in raising tigers? Don't give them a single iron nail. After capturing Longzhou, all the weapons and supplies will be taken away. What can't be taken away will be destroyed on the spot. Don't leave anything behind."
Next; we are using them to help us contain the Liao army. The Liao army in the south must have returned to support, and we need them to rebel and contain it. After defeating the Liao state, do we have to cultivate another Jurchen who threatens us?"
Pan Jiang didn't understand why the commander was so afraid of this Jurchen tribe, but since Su Jin was so solemn, of course he had to obey his orders completely. Su Jin had already made up his mind. If he could destroy the Liao Kingdom, the next step would be to destroy the Jurchen tribe.
If they are destroyed, the worst we can do is drive them to the far north. The lessons of history must be learned and this hidden danger must not be left behind.
Two days later, when the Grand Pass was in sight, everyone took a breath of cold air when they first saw Longzhou. However, they saw tens of thousands of walls standing between the two mountains. On the only passage connecting the north and the south, a large dark city stood in the middle, with the power to look down on the world.
The terrain in the north and south is wide, so it is possible to attack, but the east and west city walls are less than four or five feet away from the cliff. There are no city gates at all, and the narrow passage between the city wall and the cliff cannot be established at all, because standing there is equivalent to sending your neck to the
In front of the garrison at the top of the city, let them chop it down.
Standing in front of this city, Su Jin felt a little weak. A complete frontal attack would pay a heavy price. It would be the same whether he bypassed the city or not. After spending a few days bypassing the city, the terrain was still the same. Two mountains.
A city is simply a place where a dog bites a hedgehog.
The losses from the frontal attack were too great. Su Jin had the idea of attacking from the cliffs on both sides, but it was ridiculous to try this method immediately. The dense forest blocked the sky and the sun, and the forest was full of thorns, vines and thorns.
They couldn't go up the mountain, but some generals immediately came up with a plan. They proposed a fire attack strategy. They burned the mountains and forests with fire. Even if they didn't attack, they would be roasted.
Su Jin also felt that this plan was feasible. The biggest advantage of this city was the terrain, but the biggest disadvantage was also the terrain. Su Jin didn't understand why the people who built the city didn't consider the factor of fire attack. After thinking about it carefully,
Su Jin suddenly realized that the mountains and forests are not so easy to catch fire. They are all evergreen fir and pine trees. It seems that it is easy to catch fire, but it is completely the opposite. It requires a huge amount of fuel to support combustion and a suitable wind direction; it is not a problem these days.
The gadgets can assist in burning, so there is no risk that the forest will be burned down; and even if the forest catches fire, the east and west sides of the city will be greatly affected, so it is obviously unrealistic to destroy the city with a fire attack.
Su Jin did have something to ignite the fire. He brought thousands of barrels of kerosene with him. If he wanted to use a fire attack, he could light a fire immediately. But the problem was that the kerosene was too precious, and the effect of the fire attack was not very good. Some of the gains outweighed the losses. Su Jin
Quite reluctant to give up.
On the second day of the camp, Su Jin called the generals in the tent to discuss how to attack. He said that there was no other way to attack except fire. Wanyan Hu also attended the meeting, but he said nothing and only immersed himself in eating.
The food on the table and the drinks you brought.
Jingtai suddenly remembered what Wanyanhu said. Before he came, he had said that he knew the weaknesses of Longzhou, so why not let him come up with solutions now? Jingtai asked Wanyanhu to come up with solutions, but the generals disagreed.
What can the natives in tiger skin skirts do?
Su Jin was very interested and said with a smile: "Chief Wanyan, if you have any good ideas, don't hide them. This city will be your city in the future, and you don't want us to burn down the mountains and forests and make this place a mess."
Wanyan Hu said: "Commander Su, fire attacks are useless. I have been to Longzhou many times. There are fire escape tunnels in the city. It may be useful if there is a fire in the city. It is harmless at all if the mountains and forests on both sides are on fire. Don't waste that energy.
"
Su Jin raised his eyebrows and said: "So, the only way is to attack by force? That's okay. I have craftsmen with the army. There is a lot of wood here. It is not difficult to build some siege equipment. We will definitely win it within ten days."
Wanyan Hu said: "Don't go to such trouble. I have already thought of a way. I will lead people to rush into the city, and your army will take advantage of the chaos to attack the city. If things go well, we can get there in half a day."
"boast!"
"The cowhide is flying all over the sky."
The generals of the Song army rolled their eyes and looked down upon him. This native in a tiger skin skirt was quite capable of making irresponsible remarks. It turned out that bragging was not the exclusive property of the Song people.
Su Jin smiled and said, "But how are you going to get into the city? It's going to be hard with a beating on the front and mountains and cliffs on the side."
Wanyan Hu said: "I have a way. My fifty thousand men will climb up the cliffs on both sides and climb to the top of the city. Just attack."
Su Jin was moved in his mind and said: "Enter the city by rappelling from the cliff? It's a good idea, I didn't think of it. But how can you climb up the cliff? It's difficult to walk in the forest. Are you going to cut through the thorns to open a way? Or you still need to burn down the forest before climbing up.
Go up?"
Wanyanhu stood up and cupped his hands and said: "Commander Su, there is no need to bother. We, the Jurchens, have their own Jurchen methods. The commander only needs to set a date for the attack. The rest is to use the fireworks in the city as a signal to raise the smoke to your army."
Attack the city, and we will be in the city then."
Su Jin saw that Wanyan Hu was so confident, and since it was Wanyan Hu's men who were leading the attack, there was no psychological burden on him, so he immediately gave the order, had breakfast and lunch early, and launched the attack at noon.
The 50,000 Jurchens roared loudly after Wanyanhu grunted, and then divided into two teams, one heading east and one heading west, heading towards the mountain. Seeing the bare feet and bare legs of these people, the generals of the Song army were stunned.
Li kept mumbling: "Isn't it bloody? The thorns and vines won't be polite to you. These Jurchens have lost their minds and gone crazy."
Su Jinduan sat on the horse and squinted as the Jurchens reached the foot of the mountain. The dark Jurchens quickly disappeared into the forest. Then the treetops trembled and rolled forward like wheat waves. The Jurchens on the treetops jumped and jumped as nimbly as swimming in the water.
fish.
The generals were also dumbfounded, and Su Jin sighed: "Now I know what it means to not look at people's appearance. They have lived in the mountains, forests and valleys for a long time, and they are good at running around in the trees, but I didn't expect it."
Pan Jiang sighed softly: "I know why the commander-in-chief is so guarded against them. He is not only brave, but also resourceful. He is already of excellent quality, but now he is supplemented by sharp blades and strong armor. He treats them as a serious problem."
Su Jin breathed a sigh of relief and shouted: "Everyone is ready, look for the fireworks signal, and attack the city immediately."