On May 22, the Central Route Army swearing-in meeting was held in Jiangzhou.
Song Yang only gave a brief speech and announced the official start of the Northern Expedition.
The curtain of the war of unification has begun.
The three armies launched together and attacked the designated target.
Of course, the Luo Xin Group has also moved, and large-scale mobilization cannot be hidden from the enemy.
Luo Xin's spies soon discovered Jiangzhou's movements.
He also originally had three armies going south, and happened to have a decisive battle with Song Yang's army.
On May 26, the first to face the enemy was the West Route Army.
Wei Nan led the Western Route Army out of Xiangyang and headed north into Dengzhou. At this time, there were two roads to take.
One goes north to Luoyang, the eastern capital, and the other goes straight to the west, Chang'an, the western capital.
After the army moves into action, Song Yang will not give specific combat strategies.
The battlefield is changing rapidly, and commanders at all levels have the power to adapt to circumstances and make decisions accordingly.
Wei Nan's main force of 30,000 people was stationed in Nanyang, and there were 20,000 auxiliary troops from the revival army from Dengzhou, Tangzhou, Junzhou and other places.
According to the information sent by the spies, the main force of Luo Xin's West Route Army is in Luoyang, with about 70,000 to 80,000 men per month. There are also some strong people and 40,000 to 50,000 auxiliary troops.
Wei Nan was wondering whether to attack Luoyang or go to Chang'an first.
There was almost no reconstruction after the natural disaster in Chang'an, but after all, it is one of the four capitals and has great strategic significance.
If we attack Chang'an first, the main force of Luo Xin West Road may go to rescue him and lead him out of Luoyang, which will also make it easier to eliminate him.
But it is also possible that the enemy was not fooled and did not save Chang'an and drove directly to Shannan East Road.
Go south from Luoyang and go directly to Dengzhou.
The defense work of the cities in Dengzhou was actually good. As long as the enemy troops were held for two or three days, Wei Nan's main force could turn back to rescue them.
"Everyone, what I mean is to pretend to attack Chang'an and lure the enemy deeper. Do you have any other opinions?"
At the military meeting, Wei Nan and several generals discussed how to fight this battle. He first expressed his thoughts and then solicited everyone's opinions.
This tradition comes from Song Yang. During the meeting, as long as there is no final decision on the policy, anyone can speak freely.
Qiao Jinglong clicked on the city of Chang'an on the map and said: "The symbolic significance of Chang'an is greater than the strategic significance. If the bandits do not go to the rescue, Dengzhou may be forced to bear the early pressure. Does the defender have this ability?"
Qiao Jinglong did not need to go out with the army, but he was the person in charge of Shannan East Road. The army was still in Shannan East Road, so he followed the army to Dengzhou.
"Don't worry, sir. The morale of Dengzhou's army is stable and there are sufficient soldiers. Although their combat power is not as good as that of Fangzhou's army, defending the city is not a problem. Besides, if the rebels go south, they must go through Luyang Pass, which is better to defend." Liao Kai said with fists in his hands.
"I have inspected Luyang Pass before, and it is indeed beneficial for defending the city. Now that we have added ten tiger crouching cannons, it will not be a big problem to defend the city." Wei Nan pointed at the two cities on the map and said.
"What Mr. Wei is saying is that this year, all Dengzhou prefectures have strengthened their defenses, and a lot of fortifications outside the city have been prepared. The security guards will be able to hold off the thieves for several months!" Liao Kai said confidently.
"Okay. I have no objection. Let's pretend to attack Chang'an and lure the enemy out of the city. If he goes south, we will attack from both inside and outside!" Qiao Jinglong said, pointing to Chang'an on the map.
After determining the strategic policy, Wei Nan led his army to move northwest the next day.
When the army is mobilized, the thieves will of course detect it.
The general of the West Route Army was Jiang Gong, one of the three great generals.
When he heard the news, he immediately smiled and said to the soldiers:
"They are smart. If we move, they will move too. In this way, the war will not only burn in their territory."
"Now he goes to attack Chang'an. There are few people and food in the city, and he can only do two things."
"First, Chang'an is Xijing. If Chang'an is captured, no matter what the outcome of the battle, we can report a great victory."
"Second, lure the snake out of the cave. Our army is stationed in Luoyang. If we don't move and they attack, we will have the advantage of defending the city. If we come out of the cave, whether it is to rescue Chang'an or enter the east road of Shannan, we will lose the defense of the city.
The benefits. As the saying goes, the offensive and defensive forces are different."
Jiang Gong gave a long speech, and finally looked around at the generals and said: "Our goal is to seize the east road of Shannan. Whether they move or not, and where they move has nothing to do with us."
"If Chang'an is lost, it's lost. What's the point of keeping the ruined city?"
"So, what I mean is that the army will attack the east road of Shannan, capture Dengzhou first, use Dengzhou as a springboard to capture Tangzhou and Suizhou, and finally surround Xiangzhou."
"As long as Xiangyang is broken, Shannan East Road will definitely become a mess. It's up to me to control it how I want!"
Jiang Gong was full of confidence when he said this.
He has more than 70,000 genuine troops and a strong army of 40,000 to 50,000 civilians.
Known as an army of 200,000, it is full of momentum and fighting spirit.
The thieves all wanted to go to the prosperous Shannan East Road to rob, and there was no one who didn't scream and attack.
As soon as Jiang Gong finished speaking, all the officers and men agreed, and regardless of Wei Nan's movements, they headed straight for Dengzhou.
Even if Wei Nan rescues him, 70,000 people versus 30,000 people can just about annihilate him.
Jiang Gong planned well and finalized his decision, and the army started moving that afternoon.
The vanguard of three thousand cavalry attacked Luyang Pass.
On May 24, three thousand cavalry arrived at Luyang Pass.
They originally wanted to attack Luyang Pass, but arrows rained down from the top of the city like locusts, and the vanguard had no choice but to retreat.
On May 26th, Jiang Gong's main force arrived at the gate of Luyang Pass and formed a formation to attack the city within a few days.
At noon, Wei Nan's main force also turned around and returned to Luyang Pass.
Luyang Pass is located between Funiu Mountain and Fangcheng Mountain.
It is the barrier of Dengzhou and Shannan East Road.
The main forces of the two armies met once, at the foot of Luyang Pass.
"General, how will we fight this battle?"
"How about just bombing them?"
On the top of the city, several thousands of households gathered around Wei Nan.
Wei Nan looked at the enemy's camp below the city. It was only about a thousand meters away from the top of the city, and cannons could even hit it directly.
"There is no need to use artillery today. We are defending the city. The thieves will definitely attack the city in the afternoon. There are many rolling stones and trees on the city, so resisting the attack will not be a problem."
"They just arrived today and their morale is at its peak. The battle to defend the city is just the right time to rub their morale down."
"As for the artillery... tomorrow morning, the army will leave the city under darkness and directly bombard his camp."
"If the siege fails and the battle is defeated again, the morale of the thieves will inevitably fall to the bottom. At that time, we can minimize the losses, gather them, and capture them!"
Wei Nan always adhered to Song Yang's teachings to reduce casualties, regardless of whether it was the enemy or ourselves.
In this era, talent is destined to be the most important resource. If all the Luo Xin Group is killed, the population of Jiangnan will not be enough to fill the Northland.
Therefore, Wei Nancai not only wanted to win the battle, but also wanted to protect the enemy's life.
"After this battle, our Jiangnan Renaissance Army will be completely famous!"
Wei Nan said, stroking the cannon beside him.
"Woo~woo~"
The trumpet sounded and the bandits began to attack.
Jiang Gong originally came here to capture the city and land, and he brought a lot of siege equipment.
There are cloud ladders, rope ladders, rushing carts, and frame carts.
As soon as the horn sounded, all kinds of equipment were pushed out.
The bandit soldiers pushed the engineering equipment gradually closer to Guancheng. When they reached a hundred steps, the city was once again covered with arrow rain.
"Anmin, Haosheng is commanding the battle. I am not as good as you in this city defense battle."
"Okay. Don't worry, they won't come back no matter what!"
Wei Nan retreated to the tower and handed over the defense work to Zhao Anmin.
Zhao Anmin also came out of the Jiangzhou Renaissance Army, but he was illiterate and his official position was not as high as that of Wei Nan.
Now it is Fangzhou Qianhu.
Zhao Anmin was best at defensive operations. When he was in the frontier army, he was responsible for defending the Beacon Fire Fortress. He defeated more with less and defended against barbarian attacks many times.
"Get all the thundering rocks and rolling wood ready for me! Don't throw them away, don't panic! When they get close, look at my command flag!"
Zhao Anmin emphasized again.
The defenders of Luyang Pass were the local Renaissance Army in Dengzhou. Although they were also the Renaissance Army, they were local troops with low training intensity and not many firearms.
But with the strong city, defense is not a problem.
"Dong dong dong!"
The war drums of the bandit soldiers sounded, and with the beating of the drums, the bandit soldiers below the city began to move faster, and soon they reached the top of the city.
"Now that the poles are in hand, let me lift the ladder down after it's put up!"
"Thunder Stone is ready!"
"put!"
Zhao Anmin gave an order, and the thunder stone at the top of the city was smashed down crazily.
Those who were pushing cloud ladders and throwing rope ladders below the city were directly hit and fell off their backs.
There were even two ladders that had their beams broken and stopped there.
However, there are a lot of ladders for the rebels. Even under the Thunder Stone, there are ladders erected on the top of the city.
"Get ready to roll the logs!"
Zhao Anmin commanded calmly.
The thieves started to climb, and those who moved quickly were halfway up in no time.
"Rolling wood, let go!"
The rolling wood rolled directly down the ladder, and the soldiers on the ladder were immediately smashed down.
Falling in mid-air, there are gravel arrow tips below. Many people were seriously injured when they fell directly.
"Raise your shield!"
“Tuk-tuk-tuk!”
The archers under the city began to fight back. Although the power of the missiles was not very strong, Zhao Anmin still asked Teng Dun to hold up a large shield to block the stray arrows.
"boom!"
"boom!"
After the bandit soldiers paid the price of hundreds of casualties, they finally pushed the cart to the city gate.
And began to hit the iron gate again and again.
There is a thick wooden gate behind the iron gate, which is held up by a huge stone bolt.
Although the charging car was powerful, it could not open the city gate for a while.
"Prepare the rocket, aim at the car, hit him for me!" Zhao Anmin pointed the flag directly at the car.
The defenders on the city immediately lit up rockets and fired continuously at the rammed vehicles.
The arrows on the city are larger and have a higher accuracy.
As soon as the rocket was fired, the car was shot.
While putting out the fire, the thieves continued to push the cart against the city gate.
Not to mention, Luo Xin's elite men had fought against the Western Expeditionary Army and the Sumo people, so they still had the energy to fight and fight.
Despite the rain of arrows, he managed to put out the fire that was charging the car.
"Not bad! It's a bit interesting!"
"Come here, bring the petrol bombs, be careful to stay away from the fire, don't light them!"
Zhao Anmin lay on the battlements and looked around. He found that the thieves were quite capable, so he planned to use gasoline bombs, which were incendiary weapons.
The oil production in Qiyuan has stabilized at around 20 barrels per day. It has been accumulated for more than a year, which is enough to burn.
Zhao Anmin's gasoline bombs are all packed in sealed jars. In order to facilitate throwing, the jars used are not large. Each jar weighs about five kilograms, and the weight of the bombs does not exceed ten kilograms.
If you throw it from the top of the city, you can still reach it about twenty meters away.
What's more, the rush car is right under the city, and it can hit the rush car if it falls vertically.
"Hey! This is the first time this thing has been used in actual combat. I don't know if the effect is as magical as Master Yu said. Come on, brothers, throw it down! Don't throw too much. Let's do a group first! "
There were four in a group. The four soldiers held the spies, looked at the crenel, and threw them down with a wave of their hands.
Bang!
There was a shattering sound, followed by a burst of fire.
"Bah bang bang!"
"Hoo ho ho!"
There were three more gasoline cans, and three streams of flames shot up into the sky, engulfing the car.
The rebel soldiers who were pushing towards them were all contaminated by gasoline. The flames and sparks from the few rounds of rockets just now were not extinguished. As soon as the gasoline came, they immediately started to burn.
"Ah! Help me! Help! Ah!"
"Fire! Come and put out the fire! Come and put out the fire! Ah! Help!"
The thieves dared to risk their lives by pushing the cart, and they dared to risk their lives to climb the city.
But the pain of the flames still made the thieves fearful.
Those who found fire on their bodies, in order to put out the fire, some rolled on the ground, and some let their companions beat them.
Some people took water bags and poured water directly on it, and some even jumped into the moat.
There is a ditch under Luyangguan City. It is not very wide, but it is as deep as one person.
Those who jumped in and knew how to swim could still struggle a few times, but the strange thing was that the water surface was still on fire.
The man who jumped into the water struggled to emerge, and immediately took another mouthful of flames.
If you go down further, you will probably not be able to come back up.
"Haha! This thing is really good! Four of them are so powerful. If there were too many, it would burn the sky!" Zhao Anmin laughed.
The first actual combat effect of gasoline was extremely obvious.
Four of them defeated the bandit's car attack.
And now there are 500 gasoline bombs in Luyang Pass!
"kill!"
The cry of killing rang out not far away, and a bandit jumped up from the top of the city.
But before he even took a breath, he was poked into a sieve.
There were three waves of people occupying the wall. The first row was for throwing thunder stones and rolling logs, the second row was for archery, and the third row was holding spears in order to prevent bandits from slipping into the city.
Under such tight defense, the thieves' strong attack only lasted for an hour.
"Clang clang clang!"
At the end of the day, the thieves ordered gold and retreated.
"Damn it! A small Luyang Pass is so difficult to chew!"
The siege troops tore them off, and Jiang Gong slapped the table angrily.
After an hour of siege fighting, less than twenty generals rushed to the top of the city, and they could only stand for five breaths at the longest.
It was even worse at the city gate. I bumped into the city gate seven or eight times, and even the cars I rushed were burned.
"General! The kind of kerosene in their hands is too overbearing and cannot be extinguished at all. Even if it is covered with sand and beaten, it will take a while, and everyone will be burned by that time!"
The few surviving members of the rush team said with lingering fear.
The dozen or so soldiers who rushed to the car with them were already charred corpses.
The impact of being burned alive was even greater than being stabbed to death when climbing the city.
These few surviving car rushers must not dare to push the car.
They would rather be stabbed to death than burned to death.
"What kind of kerosene is it and why does it burn so fast?"
"Put it in a jar and break it into pieces. It will burn when you see a little flame, and the fire will be very violent, much more powerful than ordinary fire oil."
"Yes. This thing will burn your clothes immediately if it sticks to your body. It's not easy to put it out even if you roll in place!"
Everyone started talking at once.
Jiang Gong's brows furrowed more and more tightly.
It is not easy to conduct an offensive and defensive battle on the city wall. As long as the defenders have some fighting will, it will be difficult to storm the city wall.
The trump card in Jiang Gong's hand is the ram. The ram is an improved one, and the general city gate can be opened with just ten blows.
But the kerosene has become a magic weapon to restrain the car from rushing.
"Tomorrow we will continue to attack from the front. Brothers from Yun Echelon who can climb the city will be rewarded five taels of silver by their families, regardless of life or death!"
"Starting from tomorrow, divide the climbing camp into three groups and give me a non-stop attack day and night!"
Jiang Gong issued a reward to encourage morale.
He also issued a death order and strengthened the attack intensity.
If there were no accidents, a city wall like Luyang Pass, which was not particularly dangerous and tall, could be captured in ten or eight days.
Of course, if there is no accident, the accident will happen soon.
"General! General!"
Early the next morning, Jiang Gong studied the tactics for most of the night. He was confused for a while before the guards rushed in to report.
"General! The main force of Fangzhou soldiers has left the city!"
"What? Out of town!"
Jiang Gong got up as soon as the carp was erect.
I thought that Fangzhou's main force was small and would stay in the city, but they actually dared to come out.
"How many people came out?"
"General, Fangzhou has at least 20,000 soldiers!"
"Twenty thousand? Haha! Just 20,000 people want to fight head-on with my army of 70,000 to 80,000?"
"This Fangzhou defender's brain is broken!"
"Since they want to die, let's help them! Send the order! Attack with the whole army! Annihilate these 20,000 people for me!"
Jiang Gong waved his hand and said energetically.
"Boom boom boom!"
As soon as Jiang Gong finished speaking, a burst of violent gunfire came.
Jiang Gong was stunned and looked outside hurriedly.
"It's thundering?"
"Ah! Thunder blew up the camp!"
"Boom boom boom!"
"Run away! Thunder Lord is coming to earth!"
No one would answer Jiang Gong. The fierce sound of gunfire accompanied by screams in the camp made Jiang Gong completely stupid.
The army has not yet assembled, and the troops have not yet left camp.
I was first made to collapse by this inexplicable thunder.
"What's going on! Find out for me!" Jiang Gong looked at the chaotic camp, grabbed a guard and shouted.
After receiving the order, the bodyguard went to investigate. He ran out four or five meters when suddenly a black dot fell from the sky and hit the bodyguard directly.
"puff!"
The personal guard turned into a puddle of minced meat, and blood stains jumped onto Jiang Gong's trousers.
"ah!"
Jiang Gong was shocked.
How could a good person suddenly explode?
"Boom, boom, boom!" There was another series of noises, and the Chinese army tent behind Jiang Gong was directly blown down.
The surroundings were full of broken soldiers who had been shelled by artillery shells.
Jiang Gong no longer had any intention of resisting. Now he just hoped that the thunder would not hit him.
"God have mercy on me! God have mercy on me!"
Jiang Gong cried and yelled as he ran away.
The general, who had been so high-spirited before to lead his troops on an expedition, completely lost his temper after just a few rounds of shelling.
Outside the camp, Wei Nan arranged a large row of squatting cannons, firing cannons, and cannons, all aiming at Jiang Gong's stronghold.
Without waiting for Jiang Gong to form his team, they were immediately bombarded indiscriminately.
After three rounds of bombing, Jiang Gong's camp was completely in chaos.
There is simply no way to organize organized resistance.
The Jiangzhou Fuxing Army fired their muskets and thrust forward into the bandit camp.
"Those who kneel down and surrender will avoid death, and those who resist stubbornly will be killed!"
"Put down your weapons and surrender without killing!"
The Renaissance troops shouted slogans to persuade them to surrender and rushed left and right in the bandit camp.
Sporadic resistance will have no effect at all.
More and more people are surrendering.
Soon most of the bandit soldiers in the bandit camp surrendered.