There has been a lot of rain recently, and the rivers and rivers are full. However, the capital of Northern Han Dynasty has been turned into a vast expanse of water inexplicably. Is this possible?
Just as some of the straight-minded Song soldiers were looking for their own team in panic, Yang Hao had a flash of inspiration in his heart and he understood: "Diversion of water to flood the city is because we, the Song Army, are using the natural power of heaven and earth to flood the city with water."
Just when Yang Hao thought of this, he heard the sound of war drums, and countless soldiers suddenly appeared in the valley where the river came from. Judging from the clothes, they were the Forbidden Army of the Song Dynasty. They were riding in small boats, and more of them were standing on thick logs.
On the huge raft made of lashings, strong bows and crossbows were mounted on the boat and raft. The soldiers leaned against the large shields as high as a person, and with the help of the surge of water, they rushed towards the south gate of the northern Han capital with noisy force without any effort.
go.
Since ancient times, with the help of the power of nature, the power has surpassed thousands of armies. A fire broke out in Bowangpo, and seven armies were flooded by Guan Yunchang. They all used the terrain and the natural power of water and fire to create a disaster. However, after all, here is
It is a tall and majestic city with a very broad and strong foundation. Can this man-made flood be controlled in one fell swoop?
"Look, look, look, those are the troops of General Yuhou Zhao of the Infantry Army." Some sharp-eyed soldiers shouted excitedly when they saw the flag erected on a large raft several feet in diameter. They stood on the ridge to watch.
As they stood, they saw General Zhao, the Marquis of the Infantry Army, leading all kinds of crude boats and rafts, shouting and fighting all the way to Beihan City.
The Northern Han army, which had long been relying on the city, immediately sent out a dense rain of arrows to attack them. Because the flood reached half the height of the city, they were already very close to the city head, but the boats and rafts standing on such a difficult-to-maneuver raft were
On the battlefield, they could neither carry heavy siege weapons nor dodge the enemy's arrows flexibly. There was an advantage but also a disadvantage. Although the Imperial Army of the Song Dynasty was brave and good at fighting, this round of charge still failed under the rain of countless arrows.
Immediately, the Song army originally stationed in the south camp launched another attack. One of the Song generals, Zhan Xing, abandoned his helmet and disarmed his armor, took a small boat ahead, and beat the war drum himself to boost morale. Unexpectedly, the arrows at the top of the city were like locusts, and he even dodged them.
Nowhere
One day, his own soldiers stood on the side of the narrow boat and used shields to protect his body. Only a small gap was accidentally exposed, and a sharp arrow hit his head. The general died, the soldiers dispersed, and the second round of charge failed.
.
Immediately, the Song army temporarily entered silence, and the generals were obviously discussing countermeasures for this situation. Yang Hao saw that the valley where they sent troops was connected to his own, and quickly called to the soldiers: "Let's hurry up.
Go and join the large group of people."
They walked all the way along the ridge and reached the valley where soldiers were hidden. They had already discovered the flags of the Song army. Suddenly they heard the soldiers exclaim: "My general Cheng has sent troops."
Yang Hao stopped and took a look, and sure enough, the Song army sent troops again. A large flag had the word "Cheng" written high on it, and under the flag stood Cheng Shixiong, holding a halberd and standing proudly. This time, the Song army no longer used manpower to attack hard.
There were dozens of wooden rafts in front of Cheng Shixiong, and countless pieces of wood and firewood were piled on the rafts. Only a few small schools controlled the direction on both sides of the raft, heading towards the North Han City.
When the raft was about to reach the south gate of the city, it was set on fire. The Song soldiers who knew water jumped into the water and swam behind. One raft after another hit the south gate. For a moment, the sky was filled with flames and thick smoke billowing, and the towers were destroyed.
The Northern Han soldiers who were garrisoned all fled to the city walls on both sides. The fire burned into the night, and even the water surface turned red.
While Yang Hao and others were watching the battle, they moved closer to the valley. Someone in the valley had already seen their team and had sent people to greet them. They asked if they were the people responsible for sweeping out the surrounding areas and returned, so they directed them to their formation.
Yang Hao and others were not in a hurry to rush to their city. They only watched their generals attack the city from the ridge.
Dozens of rafts were crowded together, and the flames shot up into the sky for more than half an hour. Before the remaining flames burned out, Cheng Shixiong's raft had already moved out of the way, and he shouted loudly: "Arrow!"
There was a loud response from behind. A raft larger than Cheng Shixiong's raft sailed forward and aimed at the city gate. There was a strange-looking large crossbow on the raft. It was an "Eight Ox Crossbow", and dozens of people were hanging on it.
Arrows, on the Eight Bull Crossbow, there is a huge arrow in the middle that is thicker than a spear, and there are three smaller arrows on the left and right, which is called "One Spear and Three Sword Arrows"
, this arrow shot at the gate that was almost completely burned by the fire. The huge city gate, which was already crumbling due to the fire, could not bear the heavy damage and collapsed. A torrent rushed in. Cheng Shixiong was overjoyed and was about to wave his halberd to give orders.
The three armies took the opportunity to enter the city. Unexpectedly, the city tower swayed a few times and suddenly collapsed because the lower part lost support and was soaked by floods.
When the huge tower fell, the flood stirred up a huge wave more than two feet high, overturned the first few boats and rafts, and pushed Cheng Shixiong's raft backwards.
He firmly nailed the raft and fell to the ground like many soldiers on the raft.
As a result, the city tower collapsed. Although the main body of the city tower was submerged in the water, it was blocked by it. It was a futile attempt to use the flood to rush into the city. Especially since a corner of the tower's cornice was still standing on the water, which hindered the approach and speed of rafts and boats.
It was even more affected. The guard at the head of the Northern Han Dynasty was none other than Liu Jiye. Seeing this, he secretly thought he was lucky and quickly organized his crossbowmen to shoot arrows from the left and right sides of the broken wall onto the raft to prevent them from approaching.
Liu Jiye stood at the top of the city, commanding and dispatching while holding a big bow in his hand, and personally shot arrows at the Song army. His archery skills were like a god, and he shot nothing. When the bowstring sounded, one of the Song soldiers would fall down with an arrow or fall headlong into the turbid flood.
.Cheng Shixiong stood on the swaying raft, with his feet
Wu Gen, whose usual bravery could not even reach six points, and the euphorbia in his hand had no use, so he drew his sword and struck the city with arrows. He was almost shot by Liu Jiye, and several people around him were shot by Liu Jiye.
The soldier had already been shot through the chest by Liu Jiye's magic arrow and fell to the ground.
Cheng Shixiong gnashed his teeth with hatred and shouted: "Send the arrows and seize the city head for me."
The eight-oxen crossbow changed its function again. Short and thick arrows were attached to the bow string, and they were shot to the city wall in rows and were nailed firmly into the wall. As long as the raft could get close to the city wall, the soldiers would
You can use the "ladder" made of these arrows to climb into the city, but the city's head is full of arrows, and there is no shortage of defensive weapons such as rolling logs and stones. The raft is not as fast as when walking under the city, and it is harder to get closer now.
.
The two sides fought fiercely for a long time, each with numerous casualties. While they were fighting together, another large straw bale was rolled out of the city. It was made of military horse materials. This big straw bale kept pushing forward on the water, and unexpectedly,
The hole caused by the collapse of the south city gate was repaired. Then
The firewood is soaked in water and is difficult to ignite. Even though it is wet, it still maintains the softness of the firewood. It is not afraid of being fired by the giant crossbow. Moreover, you cannot climb such a large haystack even if you get close to it. There is this haystack.
Being blocked, the hope of entering the city through the city gate became even slimmer.
Zhao Kuangyin watched from a distance and saw the Song soldiers being exposed to the rain of arrows on the city wall and falling into the water like dumplings. He wished he could personally wear armor and fight on the battlefield like he did back then, but... he was now the king of a country, and he wanted to marry him The battlefield has become an eternal dream. What's more, if he goes to the battlefield in person, can he succeed in the battle? I don't know which general in the city is commanding him, but he actually remains calm in the face of danger, turning the originally unfavorable conditions for the defenders into It was easier to defend the city. At this moment, the flood was surging, but the strength could not be borrowed. He had a large army but it was of no use. Zhao Kuangyin became more and more anxious. To the north... To the north, the fast horses of the Khitan people were approaching step by step.
"Send the order, Ming Jin withdraws the troops!" Zhao Kuangyin gritted his teeth and issued the order to withdraw the troops.
After three battles were defeated, leaving countless dead bodies behind, the Song army retreated with gold.
The sky has darkened, and the flow of the flood has slowed down. Dead trees and leaves are rolling up and down in the turbid water. In the distance, there are many corpses of soldiers floating in the water. In the vast ocean, the capital of Northern Han Dynasty seems to be floating. A huge fortress on the water, no one knows whether it can survive until the floods recede and the Khitans come, but at least now, at least tonight, it is still standing there in good condition.
The setting sun was like blood. Yang Hao, Fan Laosi, and Liu Shixuan were sitting side by side on a huge stone on the mountain ridge. The stone had been exposed to the sun for a day, and now there was still residual heat under the buttocks of the people sitting on it, making them feel very comfortable while ironing. It was already evening, but because of There was no wind, so it seemed extremely muggy.
At this time, if there are a few dark clouds in the sky and a drizzle, the whole world will immediately become cooler. However, there is clearly a vast ocean in front of them, and this man-made flood cannot reduce the heat of the weather. This is the reason why the weather is so hot. The difference between majesty and human power. How powerful is the emperor in the camp at this moment? Is he furious?
The three friends sat on the rocks and looked at the city in the distance that suddenly seemed unfamiliar. Fan Laosi sighed softly: "Now we are not afraid of the Han army attacking the camp, but it seems more difficult to capture this city. The general went to camp to discuss the military plan, and I don’t know if the officials can think of any other way."
Liu Shixuan pointed to the city in the distance and said: "Although the city wall is made of loess, it is stronger than bricks and stones, and the wall is extremely thick. The water cannot collapse it, but now that the water has slowed down, it will be even more difficult to work."
Yang Hao pondered for a moment and said: "The weather is extremely hot today. Since the water cannot wash away, what if the water is blocked again? Do you remember that the ground that has been soaked by rain will roll up a layer when exposed to the sun? Pi Lai. If the city wall that has been soaked by water is exposed to the scorching sun, it will definitely crack. Maybe then, just push it with your hand and the city wall will collapse."
Fan Laosi said with a "huh" sound: "This method seems good, maybe it is really feasible. Commander Yang is a close confidant of the general. You might as well tell the general about this idea."
"What are you talking about?" A thick voice suddenly came from behind. The three of them looked back, jumped up and crossed their arms and saluted: "The general is back."
"Well!" Cheng Shixiong had no airs of a general when he was not fighting. He waved his hand, walked over and sat down on the big stone, frowned and looked at the city in the distance, and said casually: "Sit down."
Fan Laosi and Liu Shixuan were not the people around him. They were separated from him by a layer of relationship. When they saw the general arriving, they felt a little cautious and hurriedly said: "I don't dare to disturb the general's thinking, so I will leave now."
Cheng Shixiong said angrily: "Think about it, think about it, so many people have died and the city is still motionless. It is better to fight day and night under the city. Maybe there is still an opportunity to take advantage of it. That bad idea from Cheng Dexuan..."
Speaking of this, he suddenly realized that something was wrong. Although it was Cheng Dexuan who came up with the idea, it was the officials who adopted it. It would be a bit disrespectful to complain like this. Although the three people in front of him were all under his command, he did not He didn't want to say anything more, so he waved his hand and said, "You go ahead."
The three people quickly retreated. Cheng Shixiong turned his head and glanced, then said: "Yang Hao, you stay."
Yang Hao stopped in response, and the other two people left quickly. Cheng Shixiong asked: "What method did you just say, soaking and drying?"
Yang Hao expressed his thoughts again. Cheng Shixiong smiled and said: "It's easy to say, but do you know that the yellow mud rammed earth city was soaked with glutinous rice juice when it was first built, and the city wall is very strong? Do you know that the city wall How thick is it? It's four feet long. It's not comparable to a layer of land. According to your method, the water will have to soak for at least ten days before the water vapor can penetrate the city wall. At that time, it will take another three to five days to block it. The gap, after the flood is released, it will take another five to seven to eight days for the city wall to crack. Calculating this, I am afraid...it will take about a month."
Yang Hao said: "General, we have been attacking the city for a month, killing and wounding countless brothers, but have not made any progress. Now it only takes a month to capture the city easily. Can't we wait?"
Cheng Shixiong shook his head and sighed: "Yes, we really can't wait any longer."
He stood up and walked a few steps forward. He stood on the cliff and looked at the lonely city in the water. Then he slowly turned his eyes to the north, pointed there, and said: "Early tomorrow morning, we have to set up camp and set up camp in Tuanbai Valley." .”
Yang Hao was stunned: "What were you doing there? What kind of Northern Han people did you find?"
Cheng Shixiong said in a deep voice: "It's not the Northern Han soldiers, but the Khitan soldiers. The Khitan people have sent troops!"
Yang Hao was immediately shocked after hearing this. The Huns of the Han Dynasty, the Turks of the Tang Dynasty, the Khitans of the Song Dynasty, the Jurchens, the Mongols, the Tatars of the Ming Dynasty, and the Jurchens. These nomadic peoples from the northern grasslands have always been the nightmare of the farming people in the Central Plains. Special The living environment has prompted them to always have stronger offensive force than the Han people in the Central Plains. Each of them is a born warrior. Their bravery, Yang Hao has known clearly in volumes of history books, and now... ...are about to confront them?
Cheng Shixiong said calmly: "I have just received the news that the Khitan troops are divided into two groups. One is led by the Prime Minister of the South Court Yelusha, the King of Hebei Yelu Dilie, and the generals Yelu Wa Ge, Yelu Deli, Ling Wen Du Min, and Xiang Wen Tang. The troops rushed to Tongtian River, and on the other hand, King Yelu Xiezhen of the South Courtyard and King Yelu Wuzhi of the North Court came from Jiayungling. The two armies responded to each other from a distance and formed a clamping force. They are coming fiercely."
Yang Hao was shocked when he heard this and said: "The Khitans actually put up such a huge array? This...isn't this an army that will overwhelm the country?"
Cheng Shixiong smiled slightly and said: "It's not necessarily possible that the army will overwhelm the country. There are many generals in the Northern Kingdom, and these are not the only generals. However, it is true that the ones sent this time are all their famous generals. The officials just discussed the military plan I am full of praise for the Khitan Emperor’s arrangement.”
Yang Hao said happily: "Full of praise? But the officials already have a countermeasure?"
Cheng Shixiong burst into laughter: "It's not for this reason. The Northern Emperor has just been established, and many generals in the country are dissatisfied. Under such circumstances, if the Northern Emperor is only worried about the safety of his throne and cares about the immediate things, he will definitely be unwilling to send troops to help the Northern Han Dynasty.
However, if he is smart enough and sees far enough, he will definitely seize this opportunity. Each tribe on the grassland has its own strong strength. If he conquers it by force,
If the ministries retain the throne, there will be endless troubles. If he can convince the ministries to unite them to rescue the Northern Han Dynasty on the grounds of protecting the Khitan, he will be able to take command and dispatch in his hands. Once he wins, this will be the first time for the new emperor to ascend the throne.
The first great achievement was that the Khitan emperor was very shrewd, and his officials recognized heroes and valued them, but as soon as he sent troops, it was very difficult for us to defeat the Northern Han Dynasty."
Yang Haodao: "Then the official ordered the general to garrison Tuanbai Valley to prevent the Khitans from attacking?"
Cheng Shixiong said: "Yes, the officials are bound to win this crusade against the Northern Han Dynasty. They have mobilized a large number of troops and supplies, so how can they return without success? When the officials first sent out troops, they were worried that the Khitans would eventually send troops, and they had already ordered
Pan Mei and Guo Jin guarded the bank of the Tongtian River, and ordered Li Jixun and He Jijun to guard the Chaoyun Ridge, blocking the way.
There are two important roads, one by water and one by land, but the officials are still worried. You have to know that once the Khitans are allowed to march straight in and join forces with the Northern Han army in the city, our army will be in danger, and the officials are afraid that they will not be able to return south safely. So,
He also sent me, Lao Cheng, to garrison in Tuanbai Valley, and to send out troops to meet Pan and Li at any time. As for the Northern Han Dynasty..."
Cheng Shixiong shook his head and sighed: "If several armies can stop the Khitan cavalry and persist for more than a month, the Northern Han Dynasty will have the surname Song from now on. If not, I am afraid that the official family will have to deal with this again.
Returned in vain. Alas,
The Northern Han Dynasty... is really a hard nut to crack. Since the Guo Wei Dynasty, they have been beaten back and forth, and they have been beaten repeatedly until today. The Northern Han Dynasty is getting poorer and poorer, and the more they fight, the more broken it is. However, with the support of the Khitan people, it
But he always refuses to fall."
Yang Hao asked worriedly: "So general, do you think we can withstand the attack of the Khitan cavalry for a month?"
Cheng Shixiong was silent for a while and said: "We haven't made any move yet. Who knows who will win and who will lose? But... according to my expectation, if the command is proper, it is possible to win a few battles, but the Khitan people are coming with great momentum. We want to defeat the Khitan people before they attack."
home
Blocking them at the door for a month is probably... very difficult to do. I guess the official thinks so too. He is just not willing to give in. In a few days, if there is still no hope of capturing North Seoul, he may change his mind.
Ready to withdraw our troops."
Yang Hao stood behind him and looked at the city surrounded by floods. He was silent for a long time and said: "General, I feel that if the Northern Han Dynasty cannot be destroyed by this effort, it may not be in vain. In fact,
, I have a method. This method will not work in the Central Plains, but here
In the vast and sparsely populated northwest, I believe it will work. My subordinates believe that as long as this method is used, the Northern Han Dynasty will be destroyed, but... this plan does not require killing with swords, guns, swords and halberds.
, but the trouble involved is no less than fighting on the battlefield. I don’t know if the officials will accept it.”
Cheng Shixiong suddenly turned around and said with great interest: "Oh, do you have any idea how to destroy the Northern Han Dynasty without using swords? Tell me about it, please tell me."
Yang Hao pointed down the mountain and said confidently: "This plan... is to draw fire from the bottom of the cauldron!"