The fighting on the front line has not yet spread, but as the rain continues, Zizhou City has already entered a state of semi-martial law.
In the military camp near the city wall, soldiers are prohibited from going out and are on standby for dispatch at any time. Patrols have been tightened on the city wall and inside the city, and the number of scouts assigned tasks outside the city has doubled. In the past two months,
, this is the normal situation in Zizhou City every time a rainy day comes.
The bullock carts carried supplies from the southwest, and some of them were taken over without entering the city and sent to the front line. In the city, after Ning Yi and others patrolled the city wall, a new meeting was also being held.
"... On the front line, the reserve of hand grenades is less than 20% of the previous one. As for artillery shells, Huangming County and Yuyuxi have sent out more than ten requests for replenishment. The humidity in the mountains in winter has a greater impact on gunpowder than before.
What we expected before was slightly bigger. The Jurchens have also seen this situation clearly..."
"... Once they see it clearly, it will be easier for them to form a fixed mindset. According to the previous plan of the General Staff, at this time, we can start to consider taking the initiative to seize the initiative. After all, if we just stick to it, how many Jurchens are there?
They can catch up with as many people as they can. The casualties in Huangming County have exceeded 50,000, and they are still trying their best to catch up. This means that they can accept 100% loss... But if they take the initiative to attack, they will have to fight against each other.
If the loss is 20% more, they will collapse!"
"...The New Year is the most critical moment for both of us. The more we think about the New Year, the more trouble we will cause for each other. Since we are not prepared for the Peaceful Year, I think we can spend these two days
A decision has been made…”
In the small room, the meeting was held with the sound of lunch. Li Yi, Han Jing, Ning Yi and other high-level leaders gathered here, holding meals and planning the next strategy. Ning Yi looked at the map ahead and ate.
, thought about it for a while.
"Theoretically, the Jurchen side will think that we will treat the New Year as a key node."
He paused and waved his chopsticks.
"We will guess what the Jurchens are thinking about this matter, and the Jurchens will act accordingly because we have guessed what they think about us... In short, everyone will brace themselves for this period of time. Then,
Are you considering giving up all active attacks from today on to let them feel that we are preparing. Then... on the 28th, launch the first round of attacks and actively cut off their tense nerves. Next, on the first day of the new year,
To carry out a real all-out attack, I want to cut off the head of Huangming County..."
Everyone thought for a while, and Han Jing said: "If we want them to relax on the first day of the new year, the attack on the 28th must be done beautifully."
"We still have to consider whether the Jurchens will join us. After all, they have been leading the offensive in the past two months."
Such big strategic decisions are often not discussed publicly before preliminary intentions are made. A few people were holding a small meeting and discussing among themselves when someone came running from outside, bringing the most urgent battlefield intelligence.
The messenger sent the information in. Ning Yi wiped his mouth, took a look at it, then pressed it on the table and pushed it to the others.
"Yuyu Creek, the so-called 'fire-eating' operation has begun. It seems that things are developing faster than we imagined."
He picked up the bowl and started to eat. The news was simple. After reading the information one by one, the others began to eat faster. During this period, only Han Jing said jokingly: "Pretend to be calm, everyone."
"Hold on, hold on." Ning Yi smiled.
Soon after, news from the battlefield came one after another.
At the end of October in the 11th year of Jian Shuo, the Southwest War officially started. For two months now, the Chinese army has been on the defensive, while the Jurchens have taken the lead in the offensive.
However, as the war progressed, the comparison of combat power between the armies of both sides gradually became clearer. As the high-intensity combat continued, the Jurchen side gradually became exhausted in maintaining its logistics road, and the peripheral security became rigid in some links.
So at noon on December 19, the Chinese army's scout troops, which had been harassing the back roads of Huangming County, suddenly turned their target to Yuyu Creek.
At a quarter past noon, Chen Tian led a sudden attack with 300 elite troops, cutting off the mountain road seven miles away behind Yuyu Creek, destroying the mountain wall with explosives, and wreaking havoc on the surrounding key roads. At almost the same moment, on the battlefield of Yuyu Creek, five troops commanded by Qu Zhengyan
Taking the lead, more than a thousand people launched a full-scale counterattack against the more than 40,000 people in the Nulili camp.
As mentioned before, if the Jurchen side is always on the defensive, the Jurchen side will always suffer 100% battle losses. But if they choose to take the initiative to attack, according to previous battlefield experience, the Jurchen side's surrendered Han army will be defeated with 10% loss.
, Liaodong people, and Bohai people can resist to more than 20%. Only some elite Jurchens, Liaodong, and Bohai people can continue to fight even after 30% of the casualties.
In this regard, the damage ratio that the Chinese army can accept is higher.
At this moment, Yuyuxi has experienced two months of offensive. Some of the Han troops that were originally arranged to continue attacking in the winter rain were already working mechanically. Even some troops composed of Liaodong, Bohai, and Jurchens were
Feeling exhausted from the cycle of repeated attacks with no results. The elite of the Chinese army counterattacked from the originally complicated terrain.
The resolute and ferocious attack under the command of Qu Zhengyan first chose the target of the Jin-Jin Han army on the battlefield. Almost a moment after the battle, these troops were defeated by the heavy blow.
This year, outside Jiangning City in the late autumn, Zong Fu drove a million surrender troops to besiege the city, and was once beaten into a tragic situation by Jun Wu. Zong Han, who had learned the lessons of the eastern battlefield, only surrendered with a relatively elite and determined force.
The army increased the number of troops. In the past attacks, they played a certain role, but with the reversal of offensive and defensive trends, they were unable to persist on the battlefield for too long.
Tens of thousands of fighting figures pushed back the rain in the mountains.
The news that Yingzui Rock trapped Nianlili quickly reached Zizhou almost shortly after Qu Zhengyan launched his offensive.
In the room of the command post, figures carrying orders were running around, and the atmosphere had become heated. War horses rushed out of the rain curtain, and thousands of reserve soldiers in Zizhou City were wearing raincoats, leaving Zizhou and rushing to Yuyu Creek. Ning Yi put his fist
Smash it on the table and leave the room.
Li Yi came over from behind: "What are you going to do at this time?"
"It's none of my business. If you lose the battle, come and tell me. If you win, just celebrate. You don't have to call me."
He sent away Li Yi, and then also sent away most of the accompanying security personnel. He only called Hongti and said: "Let's go, let's go out for an adventure."
Hong Ti's eyes were slightly confused, but in the end he did not raise any questions. The two of them left the command post wearing raincoats and walked towards the city.
After passing the military martial law zone, there were not many residents left in Zizhou. Secondly, it was raining again. Only occasional pedestrians were seen walking on the road. Ning Yi held Hongti's hand and walked through the gray road.
After bypassing the secluded historic site called Du Fu Thatched Cottage, we stopped in front of a luxurious courtyard.
"Li Weixuan's Villa." Ning Yi stood at the street corner and looked around furtively, "The rich people, local tycoons, ran away when we attacked Zizhou. Two old people were left to look after the house.
Nursing home. Later, the old man fell ill and was taken away. I thought before that I could go in and have a look."
Hongti was stunned for a moment and couldn't help but laugh: "Just tell people no."
"How can it be more interesting than stealing?" Ning Yi smiled, "We, the couple, will play the role of male and female robbers today."
After getting along with each other for more than ten years, Hongti naturally knew that her husband-in-law often behaved naughty and outrageous. In the early years, he often ignored him whenever he got excited. The two of them were once chased by wolves on the Luliang Mountains late at night, and Ning Yi pulled him away.
She went to the wilds to mess around... In the years after the rebellion, there were children around. Ning Yi mostly dealt with things steadily, but occasionally he would organize some outings, picnics and other activities. Unexpectedly, at this time, he would do this again
A strange thought.
When the Chinese army entered Zizhou, most of the local wealthy and noble families were empty, and some of their houses had been robbed. As the war approached, after the Chinese army screened Zizhou City several times, ordinary refugees were also found.
After being cleared out of the city, the small courtyard wall could not stop the couple, who were highly skilled in martial arts. Ning Yi climbed up the wall, walked directly on it, and then went up to the roof to look at the inner courtyard.
"If there are assassins following around, they might be watching you somewhere at this time." Hongti looked around warily.
"That's what you said, keep a low profile."
Ning Yi was reminded by her and went down from the roof, looking inside the courtyard while moving forward.
Under the hazy sky, the courtyard that has not been inhabited for a long time looks dim, old, quiet and desolate, but traces of previous habitation can still be seen in many places. This is a large-scale courtyard group, with several front courtyards and backyards.
, residences, gardens, weeds have grown in the yards everywhere, and some yards have accumulated water and turned into small pools. In some yards, the things that have not been taken away seem to tell the story of people before they left.
Ning Yi even found the rouge and gouache from the drawers in some rooms and curiously visited the world where the female relatives lived.
Hongti followed Ning Yi all the way. Sometimes she would look at the living space, the calligraphy and paintings hanging in some rooms, the small objects left in the drawers of the study... In the past, she traveled around the world and also secretly explored
They passed some people's homes, but at this time the courtyards were empty. The couple watched the owner's departure from a distance, and their moods were naturally different.
She also gradually understood Ning Yi's thoughts: "When you were in Jiangning, you lived in a courtyard like this."
"The layout is similar. The Su family was rich. They first bought an old house, and later expanded and renovated it. When they entered the courtyard, hundreds of people lived there. I felt it was very noisy at the time, and I had to say hello to everyone I met. I felt
I was a little annoyed, so I thought at that time, it would be better to leave and not stay there."
Ning Yi smiled. They stood on a walkway on the second floor and could see the deep and quiet courtyards nearby: "However, sometimes it is more interesting. After eating, the courtyards are open one by one.
They all lit up the lamps, and at first glance they looked very smoky. Now the smoky smoke has gone out. At that time, there were all kinds of small things around. Tan'er dealt with things, and sometimes he would come back late with a few girls. Think about it.
Just like a child, you have also met Xiaochan and the others at that time."
Hongti smiled and said nothing, and Ning Yi leaned against the wall: "After Junwu came out of Jiangning, Jiangning was massacred. Nowadays, there are big things, but sometimes, I feel that it is better to live in small things occasionally.
It’s interesting. If you look at it from here, the courtyards that are occupied and unoccupied all have their little things more or less.”
As he said this, he sat down against the wall next to the corridor. The rain was still falling, soaking everything in the gray and gray in front of him. In the past in his memory, there would be smiling girls walking through Langyuan, and chirping children.
Running around and fighting. At this time, there is a war going on in the distance.
Under the collapsed Eagle Mouth Rock, knives and shields collided and fought in the muddy water. People collided with each other, and the smell of blood filled the air.
The light of the swung sword cut open the flesh, and the spear pierced the human stomach. Some people shouted, some screamed, some fell in the mud, and some pulled up the enemy's head and smashed it against the hard rock.
Blood gushed out from Mao Yishan's body. During the frenzied fight, he raised his shield in the surging muddy water and slammed it on Nian Lili's knee. Nian Lili leaned forward and punched him in the cheek.
, Mao Yishan's body shook, and he punched out with the same punch. The two were entangled. At a certain moment, Mao Yishan shouted and raised the whole body of Nian Lili in the air. With a bang, two figures appeared.
They were all smashed into the muddy water.
Nian Lili struggled wildly in the water. Mao Yishan punched him hard, but he kicked him away. He stood up from the muddy water and rushed forward. Mao Yishan also rushed up from the muddy water, holding the water in his hand.
The shield he took out was swung out like a bow stretched to its limit.
There was a terrifying whistling sound in the wind and rain, and half of Xian Lili's face was torn open by the shield. Two rows of teeth were exposed with the flesh and blood of his mouth. He staggered a few steps, his eyes still locked.
Mao Yishan, Mao Yishan has been running over from the muddy water, and his two big hands are like tigers clasping the ferocious head of Nulili.
Nian Lili's arms resisted reflexively, and the two figures walked a few steps in the muddy water. Mao Yishan pressed down on Nian Lili's tall body and smashed the back of his head against the bluestone.
He dropped it, pulled it up, smashed it down again, and hit it three times in a row.
In the dim light and shadow, ferocious figures were still fighting everywhere. Mao Yishan took the knife handed by his comrade and chopped off Niao Lili's head on the bluestone.