Chapter 289 'Landing Thunder', the Great Victory at Cute Well
In the Song Army's artillery array one mile outside Mengjing East City, Wu Jie was observing the situation of the rebels in Mengjing East City with the telescope given to him by Zhao Guan's family when they were in the capital.
He saw that the city gate of Mengjing East City was tightly closed at this time, and thousands of party soldiers were ready for battle at various battlements on the city wall.
Wu Jie saw a military general wearing exquisite armor pointing at the prisoners who were put back by the Song army at the crenellation of the middle tower with the military flag...
Wu Jie judged that the general under the military flag on the city should be a senior officer of Mengjing City.
He ordered four of the gunners in the artillery battery to fire at the closed east city gate as normal, and the other six gunners to fire at the group of enemy troops under the military flag on the city tower.
Everything is ready on the Song Army's artillery array.
Although the Xixia defenders on Mengjing City were ready for battle, their traditional war concepts prevented them from realizing that the danger was approaching.
Now, they are still wondering why the Song army, which is a mile away, is not in a hurry to attack the city or set up camp?
If the Song army does not come to attack the city, then the defenders on the east city can only maintain the posture of bending their bows and arrows, or preparing stone throwing tools, or preparing rolling wood and thunder stones, just waiting for Song
The army is coming...
At this time, General Mengjing did not realize that the danger was coming. He glanced at the Song army who was standing still outside the city, and then recalled what the Xixia army prisoners who were released by the Song army said:
"The Song army will use thunder to attack the city... Let's run quickly!"
"Humph!" Lord Mengjing was furious and shouted:
"You still dare to attack our army's morale? Come here, push them down the city and kill them all!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Song Army had already fired!
"boom!"
"boom…………"
…………
Below the military flag on the city tower is the key place where Wu Jie directed the artillery bombardment.
Six huge blazing iron balls bombarded here almost at once.
"Bang!" Commander Mengjing, who was so arrogant just now, was lucky enough to be hit by a cannonball.
In an instant, his body was shattered by the cannonball!
The other Xixia soldiers on the city tower and the few prisoners released by the Song army were not much better. Most of them were killed by the bombardment, and a few were injured by the shock. They let out heart-piercing screams:
"ah?!"
"ah!"
"Ah ah ah ah ah……"
The thick and tall city gate of Mengjing City was also blown open by the red cannon brought by Zhao Guan's family to the Song Dynasty.
At this time, many Xixia soldiers and junior high schools were really frightened by the sudden sound of artillery and the extremely lethal shells.
What made the Xixia soldiers desperate was that the artillery shells dropped from the sky after the Song army's "Lightning Thunder" could hit them. However, they wanted to use bows and arrows and trebuchets to fight back, but the Song army one mile away was far beyond them.
range...
Now, the Xixia Army general guarding Mengjing was killed in the first wave of artillery strikes by the Song Army. The Xixia Army guarding the city was in a panic without a commander to command, and they were not sure whether to defend or retreat...
…
Many Xixia defenders on the city were extremely panicked. Many people fearfully poked half of their heads out of the crenellations and looked at the Song army's positions in the distance of the city.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t see it, you will be shocked when you see it!
Before, weren't there ten large iron cylinder-shaped objects in front of the Song Army formation that could "attract thunder from the sky"? Now, why are there more than thirty more giant objects that can "attract thunder from the sky"?
The Xixia defenders on Mengjing City were even more panicked, and they were already retreating.
In fact, the more than 30 artillery pieces pushed up by the Song army were fake, and they were all fake.
It was Guo Cheng who made a model of the red cannon using only some wood and iron tubes according to the trick that Zhao Guan's family taught him in the capital. Anyway, the distance between us and the enemy is so far, and the current Xixia soldiers do not have telescopes.
They looked at the model cannons at the Song Army's position, and they looked just like the real ones, which frightened them out of their wits.
Traveler Zhao Ji knows that war is about deceit. The trick is to use tricks to deceive the enemy, causing the enemy to make wrong judgments, thereby striving for a greater victory.
The strategy of doubting soldiers has been used in wars at home and abroad in ancient and modern times, and it has always worked wonders.
For example, in the war history of World War II that Zhao Ji knows, in the famous "Battle of Cyrenaica" that broke out in 1941, Germany's Rommel only had one tank regiment. Before the military parade, he ordered the soldiers to use
A large number of wooden boards were built to look like a "tank" and placed on the chassis of a car to make it move, creating the illusion of a large-scale German tank force.
This trick really deceived the British who flew over Tripoli to "watch the ceremony" to send a reconnaissance plane. The intelligence reported back was that "the German army is definitely not a tank regiment. The Germans have at least the configuration of an armored division." After that, Long Mei
I used fake tanks to feint a frontal attack, chased the superior British armored troops, and outflanked the 100,000 British troops with my main force...
The German-Italian forces commanded by Rommel defeated the British army, which had an absolute advantage, and in just 10 days, they regained the territory lost by the Italian army like a storm. Rommel became a god in this battle, and was named the "Desert Fox".
The buzz spread like wildfire.
When Zhao Ji had a secret talk with Guo Cheng in the capital, he was inspired by Rommel's use of suspicious soldiers in history. It is impossible for all the artillery produced by the Song Dynasty to be distributed to the Northwest Army to fight Xixia, so he can also try to use it.
Ten real red-coated cannons, combined with dozens of fake red-coated cannons to use the trick of suspecting soldiers.
At this time, the trick used by Zhao Guan's family worked. After the first wave of bombardment, the defenders on Mengjing City saw dozens of extra guns on the Song Army's position that could "lead the enemy" after losing their commander.
"Tian Lei" cannon barrel, first four to five hundred Xixia soldiers and primary schools who were greedy for life and feared death abandoned the city and then fled...
At this time, there were less than two thousand Xixia generals on Mengjing East City who were hesitating whether to flee or defend. They were indecisive.
"boom!"
"boom……"
The Song Army's second wave of bombardment began. The ground roared and shook, and the sound of explosions echoed in the city. The entire Mengjing City seemed to be trembling with fear...
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! With the roar of cannons, several battlements on the city wall were blown to pieces, and hundreds of Xixia archers behind the battlements were killed by cannonballs, many of them bombers.
Now, most of the Xixia soldiers on the east city of Mengjing are fighting for the lower city. They abandoned the east city and fled...
Guo Cheng, the commander-in-chief of the Song Army, saw that the artillery bombardment commanded by Wu Jie had achieved the purpose of frightening the enemy and blasting open the east city gate, so he said:
"Artillery cover, our army builds a pontoon bridge."
"Follow the order!"
The Song Army launched ten human-operated pontoon vehicles from the formation. Under the cover of the Song Army's artillery fire, they were almost not shot by the enemy's arrows. They quickly rushed to the moat of Mengjing East City and built ten pontoon bridges...
…
Veteran Guo Cheng shouted: "The cannonballs and gunpowder given to us by Zhao Guan's family are only a dozen boxes, so use them sparingly!"
The enemy has no intention of defending the city, now is the opportunity to attack the city!
Pioneer Yang Zaixing listens to the order, you lead 3,000 troops to attack the city!"
Yang Zaixing, who was wearing a helmet, had already prepared according to Guo Cheng's order. At this time, after hearing the commander's general order, he immediately obeyed the order on his horse:
"The general will get the order!"
Yang Zaixing seized the opportunity and shouted:
"Follow me to attack the city, kill the enemy and get rewards!"
"Kill!"
"Come on!"
The three thousand vanguard troops allocated by Guo Cheng to Yang Zaixing were all elite veterans who had been in the army for more than five years. When Song and Xia did not negotiate peace three years ago, they often fought against Xixia's Xiang army. They were all experienced veterans. Not only did they
Fight bravely and fight with favorable winds!
They had already seen that after their own Song Army used ten artillery pieces developed by the Zhao Guan family to bombard the east city of Mengjing several times, the enemy army had no fighting spirit. Although the distance was a mile away, they had already seen the east city.
Many enemy soldiers were shaking their heads, turning around and exposing the back of their heads, and then ran down one after another, and no one was seen.
These veterans of the Song Army have guessed based on experience that the Xixia Army guarding the east city of Mengjing is now scrambling to get down to the city and flee back into the city...
At this time, the commander-in-chief Guo Cheng had already issued the order to siege the city, and the vanguard officer Yang Zaixing, a military jinshi, had already rushed out of the formation. Wouldn't it be foolish for them not to follow the siege and harvest the heads of the rebels in exchange for military merit and rewards?
The 3,000-strong vanguard of the Song Army fought bravely to be the first, followed Yang Zaixing and rushed across the pontoon bridge, poured into the broken city gate, and charged into the city...
Sure enough, most of the Xixia soldiers in Mengjing East City had already fled, leaving only a few hundred Xixia soldiers who were injured by the shelling and could not escape.
The wounded enemy soldiers kept screaming...
The soldiers of the vanguard army under Yang Zaixing listened to the screams of wounded Xixia soldiers from the Mengjing East Gate Tower and various battlements. He seemed to also see the hanging coins he had obtained after harvesting the heads of enemy soldiers.
A beautiful tinkling sound.
Yang Zaixing rode up to grab the enemy and shouted: "The heads of the enemy's remnants on the east city will be harvested by our army who enter the city later. Our vanguard army will rush into the city with me and attack the main force of the enemy's retreating troops. Anyone who disobeys the order will be executed immediately!"
"
The ten messenger cavalry turned their horses' heads to carry the military order from the pioneer officer Yang Zaixing, and quickly conveyed his military order to each person in each group of the three thousand vanguard troops.
Yang Zaixing issued another military order: "You have an opportunity to receive heavy rewards for your meritorious service. Follow me to pursue and kill the main enemy army that has fled into the city. Kill them!"
"Kill!" Three thousand pioneer warriors of the Song Army rushed into the city with Yang Zaixing...
They soon caught up with a 500- to 600-man Xixia army that had fled. On the streets of Mengjin, Yang Zaixing led his men and started a killing spree...
The Song army brandished the extremely sharp scimitars and the unstoppable spears in their hands, and quickly aimed at the broken Xixia army of five to six hundred people and launched an offensive.
This is a killing where the strong bullies the weak...
About a moment later, the 3,000-man Song army led by Yang Zaixing wiped out 581 enemy generals who had fled. More than 50 people on the Song army were killed and more than 60 were injured.
Yang Zaixing ordered: "Pass my military order and divide one hundred troops to stay where they are. Protect the seriously wounded and most of our troops who are waiting for the follow-up to enter the city. The rest will follow me to attack the enemy's west gate from inside the city!"
"Follow orders..."
"Kill..."
"Kill..."
At the same time, Guo Cheng led the main force of the Song army into the city...
Guo Cheng ordered Wu Jie to lead 3,000 troops to capture the south city of Mengjing from within the city; Wu Lin ordered 3,000 troops to capture the north city of Mengjing from within the city...
In less than half a day, Mengjing City, which Xixia had been running for decades, fell...
In this battle, the Song army under Guo Cheng annihilated more than 5,000 enemies, captured more than 600 enemies, obtained more than 3,000 war horses, more than 3,000 sets of weapons and armor, and gained so much money and food that it was impossible to calculate the specific value at the moment;
In addition, there were about 3,000 remaining defeated soldiers in Mengjing City who escaped from the city on war horses...
The entire Mengjing defense line of Xixia was more than 180 miles long. It was centered on the solid Mengjing City, which was heavily guarded by troops, and extended to the left and right.
Along the entire Mengjing defense line, every mile away, there was a small stronghold garrisoned by nearly a hundred Xixia troops.
The Mengjing Defense Line has a total of 180 strongholds, large and small, all with Mengjing City as the center, transporting grain and grass for them, and changing defensive troops and horses.
Now, the main city of Mengjing has fallen into the hands of the Song Army, and the entire Mengjing defense line has also lost its logistical support and reinforcements when encountering enemies...
Guo Cheng ordered that each of his ten generals lead more than a thousand soldiers and horses to clear the strongholds of Mengjing's defense line...
The ten generals received the order and led their troops to attack...
When Guo Cheng came to the General's Mansion in Mengjing City, the first thing he thought of was to write a memorial about the victory of the Song Army in the Battle of Mengjing. In it, he truthfully wrote about today's victory. All the ministers used it. Zhao Guan's family was in the capital.
For the strategy planned by Wei Chen...
In his memorial, he also truthfully wrote that Wu Jie, Wu Lin, and Yang Zaixing, who were selected as martial arts scholars by Zhao Guanjia's additional martial arts examination Enke, were all outstanding generals. In the Battle of Mengjing, they fought bravely and killed many enemies. Zhao Guanjia's
It is true that the emperor recognizes heroes with his wise eyes...
In his victory memorial, he also used a lot of pen and ink to emphatically describe the devastating effect of the red cannon invented by Zhao Guan's genius when attacking the solid Mengjing City guarded by heavy Xixia troops.
The miraculous feat of destroying the city and blasting the enemy with artillery...
Although Guo Cheng is a famous general,
However, when he was writing the memorial, he could not help but praise the Zhao Guan family who he admired in his heart for being so wise and powerful after his great change of heart...
Guo Cheng felt that he was not like a treacherous minister who could only flatter him. He wrote the victory memorial truthfully, and his kind words about Zhao Guan's family were the voice of his loyalty to the emperor and patriotism.
After Guo Cheng finished writing the memorial for Meng Jin's victory, he read it again carefully and thought that there were no omissions in what he wrote and that he had written all the important points clearly. However, his cultural level was not as good as those who were born in the literary Jinshi family.
For a civil servant of the imperial court, it is already quite good to be able to write at this level.
The reason why Guo Cheng did not use his educated staff to write for him was because during the time when he went to Beijing to have contact with Zhao Guan's family, he had probably figured out that Zhao Guan's family had a great change of heart and was a saintly monarch and wise ruler who pursued truth from facts.
Guo Cheng personally put the memorial of Mengjing's victory into an envelope carefully, sealed it, stamped it, and gave it to ten cavalrymen to deliver the letter back to Weicheng Station, where hundreds of imperial cavalrymen were stationed to specially
Responsible for delivering battle reports to Zhao Guan's family who was visiting the northwest in person...