In the last moment before dawn, flames swirled across the earth.
Mountains, woods, rivers, cities... long queues gathered in the dark night, the sound of orders, the sound of footsteps, the neighing of horses... all kinds of sounds boiled the night and gathered together.
In mid-November of the 10th year of Wu Jianshuo's reign, hundreds of thousands of troops were gathering in the same direction in the northwest of Fancheng.
This is the battlefield between the Jurchen West Route Army led by Wanyan Zonghan and the Western Army Group led by Beiwei Army. The entire battle has lasted for nearly three months.
The West Route battlefield is centered on Xiangyang and Fancheng systems, which are divided into the north and south sides of the Han River, and are defended by the Han River. On the Jurchen side, the main force of Zong Han's southern expedition army is 260,000 people, which can be mobilized by the puppet Qi warlords.
The Han army had nearly 400,000 troops, with a total strength of 700,000. The attack had 140,000 Beiwei troops as the core, and a dozen surrounding troops formed a defensive formation of more than 800,000.
The number of troops may be inaccurate, and the strength may also vary, but even if you cut off nearly half of the imaginary number, there are still nearly a million troops, filling a radius of a hundred miles near the two cities of Xiangfan, and fighting solidly for three times.
It's been more than a month.
If measured by the Jurchen's combat power and record at the time of the founding of the country, the core team of only 260,000 people was already a terrifying force that could conquer the entire world. But now and then, they have already experienced three southern invasions. For
The Jurchens were terrifying, and the Wu Dynasty was also mentally prepared. Secondly, with the efforts of the main war faction and Prince Junwu, in eight years, half of the huge power generated by Nanwu's economic expansion had been invested in war preparations.
, Yangzhou, Zhenjiang system, and Xiangfan system are the top priorities.
The defensive power accumulated with the country's material resources gave the Wu Dynasty some breathing space at this time.
Within a few years of retaking Xiangyang, Yue Fei did not hold on to the idea of holding on to the two cities of Xiangyang and Fan. With the Han River as a basis, he built buildings on the banks on both sides of the Xiangyang City and in the mountains at various dangerous and key points.
There were more than 20 walled cities and water forts. During this time when the Jurchens came south, the defenders of the West Route stationed heavy troops in each walled city to coordinate with each other. On the one hand, they used the advantage of city defense to weaken the Jurchen attack. On the other hand, Yue Fei used
The Han River transported elite troops, responded to various places, and even took the initiative to attack the weak points of the Jurchen army and the participating Han troops with low combat effectiveness.
In more than three months, the Beiwei Army won nine major victories, once defeating the main force of the Bronze Wolf Army led by Wanyan Saba, once repelling Ba Lisu head-on, and later fighting against Yin Shuke and Zong Han.
After retreating completely, General Yue, who was only in his early thirties, not only used his troops bravely and decisively, but also had strict military laws. His orders were as clear as a mountain. On the battlefield, anyone who retreated even half a step would be beheaded. Anyone who wavered in the military formation would be beheaded.
Those who retreat will be beheaded; those who do not obey orders will be beheaded; those who are slow to obey orders will have their official staff eighty and be demoted to the vanguard...
In a battle in August, the 60,000-strong army under the command of Li Huai, who was responsible for defending the flanks, was defeated in one blow due to a command error. After the war, Yue Fei ordered Li Huai to be taken to the top of the city and beheaded on the spot. In mid-September, Xiangcheng Village in the northwest of Fancheng was destroyed.
The Jurchen army gathered fire, and more than 4,000 people fled first. Yue Fei ordered the Wei army to form a formation and press forward. Facing the fleeing crowd, he waved his sword mercilessly, killing nearly 2,000 fleeing soldiers one after another, and killed the remaining 2,000.
The rest of the soldiers stopped unexpectedly, and many of them were frightened out of their wits. They would rather turn around to meet the Jurchens than dare to run towards the blades of the Wei army.
In October, Peng Hai, the nephew of Peng Guangyou, the Minister of War, indulged in drunkenness and indulged in delaying the military plane. Yue Fei arrested several officers who were drunk that night and put them on the execution stand. He pulled out the sword that Jun Wu had obtained from Zhou Yong and delayed the military plane.
They were all killed.
In the past, Yue Fei had a heavy weapon and ran Xiangfan. His military laws were strict, even to the point of being unkind. The rest of the army only heard about it. On many important events, Yue Fei interacted with other generals.
He didn't appear serious. He was strict about military rules, and everyone just thought it was his sense of territoriality in his own one-third of an acre.
Unexpectedly, at the beginning of this war, when Jun Wujiang entrusted all the troops on the west route to Yue Fei to lead and deploy them, this military law actually fell on others on the battlefield.
Li Huai led an army of 60,000, and was also a general in the Wu Dynasty army. In terms of rank, he was on the same level as Yue Fei, and even more senior. He usually treated him with a very low attitude, but Yue Fei, who was very respectful, actually had him arrested because of his command errors.
Beheaded with a knife.
All armies on the battlefield are also strict in enforcing military laws. However, the Xiangcheng Walled Village was already in ruins that day. Facing an army that was not one of its own, Beiwei's army waved his sword without hesitation. This was originally taboo. Who knows?
Knowing that the four thousand people were fleeing, Beiwei's army killed half of them. If the two thousand people behind had not stopped, everyone could see that Yue Fei could even kill them all on the spot. Such determination would be enough.
It really makes my scalp numb.
Peng Guangyou, the Minister of War, had numerous connections in the army, and Yue Fei also had a good relationship with him. After Peng Hai's accident, he also participated in the war in Xiangfan. Liu Guangshi, the senior general with the most seniority and reputation, also found Yue Fei to intercede for Peng Hai. Yue Fei
He took out the Emperor's Sword and offered it to Liu Guangshi with both hands: "If you want to save Peng, please kill me with this sword." Liu Guangshi's words were stuck in his throat, and he finally left with a puff of his sleeves.
Not to mention the hundreds of thousands of troops mobilized from other places. During this period, even within the Beiwei Army, many soldiers have suffered from strict military laws. After all, even when training troops, the more people under their command, the better.
Over the past few years, feeling the pressure from the north, Beiwei's army has expanded to 140,000, and it is hard to say whether more than half of them are elite.
After three months, Xiangyang was like a huge Shura field. The number of casualties on both sides exceeded 100,000, and the casualties on both sides continued to increase. But many people could already see that without this
If the strict military laws were imposed and without the active participation of the Wei army, Xiangfan's frontline defense of the Han River would have been broken long ago.
Since the war began, the power of the Jurchen army's offensive has been astonishing.
As a veteran who followed the Aguda uprising and had long been the number one general in the Jurchen army, when Wanyan Zonghan showed his attitude of giving it a go, the Wu Dynasty army on the front line in Xiangfan faced overwhelming pressure.
Just like the battle conditions that Lu Qiaoshan experienced in the southwest, with the emergence and large-scale application of new weapons such as artillery, the situation on the battlefield has undergone many new changes. The infantry that once could only be restrained by square formations
The team can easily suffer huge losses in front of a large number of artillery. If they just take the beating stupidly, the infantry formation will probably collapse in a short time.
Although in the early days of the emergence of artillery, some people believed that cavalry was restrained, due to the position restrictions of artillery, slow transfer and other factors, high-speed mobile attacks and flexible tactics were put on the primary agenda again, and whether cavalry or infantry,
The "veteran soldiers" whose morale or training is insufficient and whose quality is not up to a certain level can still play some role except hiding behind the city walls. But on the battlefield, they have lost their meaning.
If we go back to the first Tokyo defense battle more than ten years ago, the millions of Qinwang troops near Bianliang would be vulnerable to the more than 100,000 Beiwei troops.
In three months, Beiwei's army won nine large-scale victories. However, near Xiangfan, Zong Han, Xi Yin and others used fierce offensives to continuously uproot various camps outside the city. By November, most of the city was destroyed.
All the strongholds had been abandoned or breached. On the night of November 13th, near the fortress called Funiu City on the Han River, Shi Yunpeng, the chief general of the Wuhui Camp of the Wu Dynasty, led an army of 40,000 to encounter the Jin army on the way to transfer.
The contact had reached nighttime, and both sides had stopped moving in. The two sides were constantly rubbing against each other on a small scale, but each had already sent troops to ask for help. Behind Shi Yunpeng, Liu Guangshi's 60,000 main force was stationed in Funiu City, and more
There are more than 100,000 troops that can be mobilized in the distance.
On the morning of November 14th, when the first wisp of fish belly white streaked across the eastern sky, nearly 400,000 troops from both the Jin and Wu sides had arrived near Funiu City. Yue Fei led 40,000 elite Wei troops on their backs, and with Xi Yin, they had silver skills.
The main Jurchen elites and others entered the battlefield one after another.
The war broke out in the morning, and since then nearly 200,000 people have arrived from all over, kicking off the largest battle in Xiangfan since the war began. The entire war continued on the banks of the Han River
For more than ten days, Yue Fei commanded the army to continuously position themselves, build defense lines, and gradually move the battlefield to the vicinity of Funiu City Walled City. Relying on the geographical advantage and strength advantage, he began to confront and attack the Jurchen army. On November 17, Zong Han led
The 30,000 "Tushan Guards" under his command joined the battlefield and started fighting with the Wei army while covering the retreat of the remaining troops.
The Tushan Guards are the most elite guards that Zong Han has managed for many years. There are more than 30,000 of them, and they are among the most courageous Jurchen soldiers. Some are even over forty years old. Although their strength has declined, their awareness and courage on the battlefield have reached
At the peak, Yue Fei led the Beiwei army and fought fiercely with them for half a day, but finally retreated after being defeated.
After that, the Wu Dynasty army occupied Funiu Walled City and cooperated with the navy to defend it. The Jurchen army's siege equipment had also been pressed here. By the end of November, both sides had accumulated huge casualties. The walled city was
The Jurchens were exterminated, and the Wu Dynasty troops retreated to Xiangfan, but they still controlled the control of the Han River.
In the fierce and tenacious tug-of-war in Xiangyang, at the same end of November, several major events broke out in the world.
In Zhangcun, the center of the Chinese army in the southwest, when Ning Yi saw the envoy from the Wu Dynasty who came sneakily and listened to the other party's whimsical plan, Ning Yi fell into a daze.
The Wu Dynasty envoy who came secretly was named Cao Ji. He had a dignified appearance but smart and smooth eyebrows. He came to express goodwill on behalf of the Wu Dynasty Emperor Zhou Yong. According to the other party's mouth, according to Zhou Yong's ideas, each other
We have dealt with each other before, and even met each other - that was in Jiangning - since Ning Yi is Jun Wu and Zhou Pei's teacher, they are a family. Now that the Jurchens are powerful, Wu Dynasty is in danger, China
The army also said in its previous message that in times of crisis, we should act unanimously against the outside world and not fight with each other. Zhou Yong hoped that the Chinese army could send troops to fight against the Golden Dog and fulfill its promise.
Of course, as for the details of how to send troops, Zhou Yong himself did not actually have many regulations. He only said that if the Chinese army is willing, the Wu Dynasty will definitely cooperate with it. As for how to cooperate, Zhou Yong believes that the ideal state is Ning Yi.
I can find someone to come out and mediate in this difficult time. Anyway, do more publicity. He is over there. As long as there is a step to go down, he can come down...Bara, Bala, that's what I mean anyway.
Ning Yi repeatedly inquired several times and finally determined that there was no involvement of Jun Wu or Zhou Pei and others. Considering the fierce battle going on at this time, Ning Yi discussed with several people including the General Staff and wrote a letter to Zhou Yong.
, the letter sincerely informed him of the difficulty of the matter, and emphasized that if Zhou Yongzhen had such an idea, he would hand over the entire matter to Zhou Pei or Junwu, and everyone would discuss the matter carefully and openly.
In December of the tenth year of Jianshuo, this incident was like a wonderful joke. Every time Ning Yi thought about it, he couldn't help but laugh. He also felt that it was full of weird irony and illusion, just like a spicy and interesting story.
A fable. Of course, neither he nor anyone involved in this incident had thought of the nightmare consequences that this incident might cause.
In December of this year, there was little snow in the south of the Yangtze River, but the sky and the earth were extremely cold.
In the palace of Lin'an City, Zhou Yong, the emperor who was gradually losing weight, turning white at the temples, and with a decadent appearance, received a reply from the Southwest. This was Ning Yi's handwriting, and the wording was not formulaic. The words were kind and polite.
This made Zhou Yong's heart begin to warm up.
At this moment, the table in the imperial study room where Zhou Yong was located was already filled with battle reports from all over. He even had a large map hung on the wall, marking various places in a way that he could understand.
The battle situation. In all these years as emperor, Zhou Yong has never been so diligent in his work, but in the past six months, he has been looking at these things every day. These things make him feel cold, not as cold as the letter from Southwest.
warmth.
What made him feel the coldest was actually not these battle reports. They were things that not even his closest children knew.
In the box in the corner of the royal study, there are records about the shame of Jingping, about the cousin Zhou Ji who has been captured and sent to the north, and about all the tragic things that have happened due to the Jurchens over the years.
After becoming the monarch of the Wu Dynasty, some people felt that he was incompetent and ignorant. Although his abilities were limited, how could he be so ignorant?
When he first became emperor, he only thought that the Jurchens were powerful, and soon he began to think about the current situation he would face. He fled to Yangzhou, thinking that it was far enough, and lived in a state of intoxication in the palace. However, the Jurchens soon came and killed him.
Fleeing to the sea, he even left his children behind because of the fear in his heart. When the Jurchens retreated and returned to the shore, he came to Lin'an. He seemed to be dim, but in fact, he could finally know what he wanted to see about the outside world.
See.
He knew how powerful the Jurchens were and what they would do to him. From the things that came from the north every year, he could see clearly what kind of pig his cousin Zhou Ji was in the north.
The days of inferiority; the shame of Jingping, what happened to those relatives, those princes and princesses - if you just listen to it as a story, maybe you can gnash your teeth, but this is his future.
Even if you hide in the thickest city wall, what if you watch tens of millions of soldiers defending you outside the city? They can't defeat the Jurchens.
On the day when the battle is really fought and defeated, there is no way for me to escape.
Zhou Yong had been a dandy prince. He had played with the world and oppressed the people, but even he could not do such crazy things. Now, these things are going to fall on his head. Millions of soldiers? Tens of millions
Li Min? There are many things to say, but he was really going to be defeated. Within a few months, he was on his way to the north after being captured.
He didn't know that his son would read the news about Zhou Ji every year over the years, gnashing his teeth and feeling extremely humiliated and angry. But over the years, Zhou Yong himself was actually in a dark corner, seeing those news every year.
Something, he felt fear from the bottom of his heart.
He could understand the battle report on the table, what was written every day, the comparison of the numbers, the retreat of the defense line to the south every day... The daughter was alone and determined, and the son risked everything and fought hard at the front.
I want to reassure myself as a father that he can understand all these things.
Therefore, he sent envoys and secretly communicated with Southwest. Of course, the matter was quite difficult. He actually didn't know how Ning Yi could wipe out the crime of regicide, but the gentle attitude in the other party's heart made him feel that this
The beginning is not bad. As long as the other party has the intention, he will kill the emperor, so how difficult can other things be.
Zhou Yong did not dare to tell Zhou Pei what had happened. This winter, he tried to insinuate himself twice with his daughter. After Zhou Pei's words became more firm and decisive, Zhou Yong felt that his daughter could no longer communicate.
It seems that as the emperor, I can first release my goodwill to the southwest. Zhou Yong thought in his heart, and then he felt more and more reasonable. He is the emperor, and he can stick to his word. As long as he gets things started, the ministers want to suppress it.
It cannot be suppressed. In the southwest, Ning Yi is so smart that he will naturally take over the situation...
In this way, the seeds of disaster began to sprout in Zhou Yong's heart.
At the same time, Wanyan Zongfu's army forcibly crossed the Yangtze River, seized a dock near Jiangning, and launched a large-scale battle with the Wu Dynasty navy and army. Both sides suffered casualties. Junwu wrote a New Year's greeting note to the court in Zhenjiang, detailing the battle
The comparison of forces between the two sides, each other's advantages and disadvantages, and pointed out at the same time that Jin Guowu had been bedridden for nearly a year, and his health was deteriorating. The Han River and Yangtze River defense lines had not yet been breached at this time, and we already had several elite armies.
With the Jurchens fighting back and forth, we only need to hold back the Jurchen army in the coming year. Even if the war is temporarily at a disadvantage, as long as we drag the Jurchens into the quagmire, our Wu Dynasty will win and the Jurchens will eventually be defeated.
Although such a memorial is partly exaggerated, the entire strategic thinking cannot be mistaken. It is indeed a picture of the future that can be achieved and realized before everyone's eyes. On December 16, the memorial had not yet been sent to the south, and Jiangning was
The war continued, and urgent military information came from the east and reached Zhenjiang.
On the 14th day of the lunar month, Wu Shu came to Jiangyin and forcibly crossed the Yangtze River.
Jun Wu stood up from the room, and soon after, he rushed out of the door.
"...stop him."
Only this thought echoed in his mind. Of course, at this moment, he only subconsciously realized that something was wrong, but he had not yet thought of the huge chain reaction the whole thing would trigger.
Southeast of Jiangyin, light snow.
The huge cavalry bypassed the city and were heading south. Wu Shu was on the hill, with his usual ferocity and seriousness in his eyes.
The most elite cavalry troops in the Eastern Route Army, more than 50,000 people, are all with him.
The secret letter sent by Xi Yin was carried in the sleeve of his robe, and the handwriting on the secret letter had almost become blurred. If in normal times, Xi Yin didn't like him, he didn't like Xi Yin either, but in many major events
However, Wu Shu had to admit Xi Yin's vision and wisdom. This time during the Southern Expedition, Xi Yin did not show much hostility towards the Eastern Route Army. He had communicated and planned strategies with them earlier, and the tragedy in Yunzhong
Afterwards, Xiyin also sent urgent reminders and suggestions one after another.
Zongfu and Wushu adopted the suggestion.
The young prince of the Wu Dynasty wanted to drag the place of decisive battle to Zhenjiang and Jiangnan, but the real place of decisive battle was not here.
In December, Wushu's cavalry avoided the decisive battle.