Seven hundred and fortieth chapters capture the city
The six defensive forts that were besieged in the south of Yuanqu were only defended by military attachés at the level of commander of the middle camp or deputy general of the Mongolian army. They originally surrendered to the Mongols along with Tian Weiye, but apart from being interested in fame and wealth,
Besides, how much loyalty can be said to the Mongol people?
Seeing more and more Liang Jun soldiers and horses pouring into the valley in the southern section of Zhiguanxing, the defenders of these six defense villages all chose to surrender one after another.
There is no mercy on the battlefield.
There are still 13,000 to 4,000 elite old soldiers of the Jin army in the city, as well as 5,000 to 6,000 able-bodied men. They have enough food, grass, and war weapons. Tian Weiye is definitely a veteran who cannot be ignored.
Wen Bo did not want a repeat of the battle of Xingyang in which Daliang sacrificed tens of thousands of elites and tens of thousands of auxiliary soldiers and civilians died bravely on the battlefield, so he directly reduced the number of soldiers from Ma Shou and other seven villages to a total of more than 4,500, and incorporated them into Yuanquxian
When the time is right, they will attack the city and attack the city to consume the strength of the defenders.
The generals who surrendered were treated favorably, but that was only relative. They were only given empty titles to scattered officials and raised up. For such surrendered generals who chose to surrender after being trapped in the city, it was impossible to let them take over the military power - Daliang
There is no shortage of generals like this.
Of course, after the ten advance camps were organized, Wenbo did not immediately launch a fierce offensive against Yuanqu City. In the early stage, he mainly focused on besieging the city and attacking with equipment, consuming the enemy's defensive materials and equipment, and attacking the defenders' weapons.
morale.
In the early stage of the war, Wenbo focused on the reinforcements coming south from Anyi and Jiangxian.
From Yuanqu to the north to Anyi and Jiangxian, there are two main branches at Zhiguanxing, but there are mostly narrow, deep gorges and large valleys along the road.
Xiao Siqing urged the garrisons in Anyi, Jiangxian and other places, including a large number of elite Mongolian cavalry, to go southward along the deep gorges and narrow valleys. The cavalry could not take advantage of long-distance roundabouts at all.
In such a terrain, the large army of soldiers and horses armed with strong crossbows, powerful crossbow carts and other heavy weapons can maximize their combat effectiveness, even to the point of terror.
The core purpose of the entire war originally planned by Han Qian was to besiege Yuanqu City and attract enemy reinforcements to fight in the deep gorges north of Yuanqu in order to maximize the annihilation of the direct troops of the Mongolian tribe.
Strategy.
In early April, Xiao Yiqing returned to Anyi from Yongzhou.
Although at this time, more troops and horses were continuously transferred from Taiyuan, Shangdang, Tongzhou, Linzhou and other places in the northern part of Guanzhong, bringing the number of Mongolian troops going south from Anyi and Jiangxian to as many as 50,000, but there were already tens of thousands before
The remains of the elite Mongolian troops lie in the deep gorge between Yuanqu and Anyi and Jiangxian counties.
The total casualties of Daliang soldiers and horses were less than a thousand.
Seeing this scene, Xiao Yiqing had to stop his nephew Xiao Siqing, who was about to kill him, and ordered him to change his tactics and build a barrier in the deep gorge in the north of Yuanqu, instead of trying to open up a channel to aid Yuanqu.
.
However, how could Wenbo ask the enemy to build overlapping barriers in the deep gorges and valleys north of Yuanqu, making it more difficult for them to subsequently attack the heart of the Fenshui River Valley such as Anyi and Jiangxian in the north?
Wen Bo directly transferred the two reserve brigades for subsequent reinforcements to Su Lie. Huo Li controlled the command and turned from defense to attack in the deep gorges and valleys. He attacked fiercely all the way north and reached Lishan in mid-May.
The edge of the peak ridge at the northern foot of Wangwu Mountain.
However, Wen Bo strictly ordered Su Lie and Huo Li not to rush into Anyi and the low mountains in the south of Jiang County, which are conducive to cavalry roundabout operations.
Attacking and capturing cities such as Anyi or Jiangxian is a battle goal that can only be achieved after Yuanqu is captured and the main force is assembled.
At that time, the siege of Yuanqu had lasted four months.
There was no moat outside Yuanqu City. In order to encircle the enemy, Wen Bo even dug a long moat more than ten feet deep around Yuanqu City. Together with the surrounding village and hard fortress, he surrounded Yuanqu City and restricted Tian Weiye from leading his troops.
Go out of the city to fight back or break out of the siege, and then slowly set up the cyclone cannon to blast Yuanqu City.
Yuanqu City has been repaired several times and is extremely strong. However, after four months of bombardment, most of the city walls on the southeast, north and south sides have collapsed.
Even though Tian Weiye organized soldiers and civilians in the city, surrounded the city with wooden palisades, filled it with earth and rocks, and continuously filled up the gaps, it was still dilapidated and not what it used to be.
Under Xiao Yiqing's supervision, Wang Yuankui, together with reinforcements transferred from Yanlin and other prefectures in northern Guanzhong, sent troops to attack Huazhou and Tongguan at the same time. However, in addition to an infantry brigade each in Huazhou and Tongguan, Han Qian was
Later, three reserve brigades were transferred and placed under the unified control of Jing Zhen to defend Heluo's western flank.
However, just as Han Qian expected, Wang Yuankui was granted the title of Military Envoy to Weinan, and his subordinates moved their family and relatives from Dingzhou, Hengzhou and other places to Yongzhou. They intended to use the Weihe River as a new base for management, so they were reluctant to take advantage of it.
Let the elite of the direct line fight.
Wang Yuankui did not bring out Heshuo's elite troops to attack the city, and the Mongol cavalry was not good at attacking the city. The surrender troops from Yanlin and other places were driven to Huazhou City, and the offensive was even sparse.
Wang Yuankui had no choice but to drive the brave men who had been forcibly recruited from the countryside to attack the city, in order to fend off Xiao Yiqing's doubts about the ineffectiveness of his attack.
Relatively speaking, it was easier for Kong Xirong to defend Lantian Pass and Deng Tai to defend Lueyang and other places.
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In mid-to-late June, Lishan Mountain, Wangwushan Mountain and the southern foot of Taihang Mountain entered the rainy season one after another. Heavy rains poured down from time to time, and flash floods poured into the Yuanqu Basin. Wenbo also had to shrink his troops to high terrain and slow down the attack on Yuanqu Basin.
attack.
However, at this time, all the soldiers and horses built strong fortresses in the valleys and gorges to the north and south of Yuanqu, completely controlling the middle and southern sections of Zhiguanxing. Even if the defenders were released from Yuanqu City, they would not be able to break out of the encirclement.
possible.
Yuanqu City has plenty of food, but that's only relatively speaking.
The rainy season on the north bank of the Yu River is short and rapid, ending in mid-July. The temperature in the mountains is cooler, which is suitable for attacking the city. At this time, food in Yuanqu City is already in short supply, and the daily rations of the defenders have been reduced to half.
Jin, ordinary people only eat a spoonful of black beans to satisfy their hunger.
At this time, Wenbo launched a large-scale advance into the camp and attacked the city from three sides day and night, consuming the enemy's physical strength and will.
The spring-arm bed crossbow and the spring-arm scorpion crossbow are pushed before the enemy city and have much higher accuracy than the cyclone cannon. The individual combat crossbow on the nest car can snipe at the city head and can continuously kill enemy soldiers.
.
By the beginning of August, Xian Dengying successfully captured the south gate of Yuanqu at the cost of 3,000 casualties, opening the way for the elite Liang army to enter the city directly from the south gate.
Tian Weiye excavated an inner trench on the inside of Yuanqu City, built a retaining wall on the inside of the inner trench, and also opened up the courtyards in the city for reinforcement.
To be honest, if we had attacked Yuanqu City in early February, we don’t know how much a heavy price and sacrifice we would have to pay to capture this city. But Wen Bo had to postpone it until mid-August, half a year later.
Officially entered the city and attacked street fighting.
Without reinforcements moving south for a long time, the morale of the defenders became increasingly low.
From June onward, food began to be scarce in the city, and the defenders suffered from semi-starvation for more than two months.
During this period, Wenbo organized cyclone cannons and other equipment to attack the city outside the city, which never stopped. The first-camp camp composed of descendants also had to feign attacks several times every day, just to prevent the defenders from resting.
When Daliang's elite soldiers entered the city, they saw that most of the elite soldiers from Luzhou were skinny and frail. They were wearing armor weighing fifty or sixty kilograms, holding spears and halberds, and their feet were a little fluttery.
On August 18, Li Qi personally led the elite troops to outflank him from two directions, and stormed into the Yuanqu County Yamen. He defeated the Yajun elites who were guarding the county Yamen courtyard, and captured the headquarters general and defenders in the Yamen courtyard for final resistance.
Tian Weiye.
At this time, there were still more than 6,000 remaining soldiers in Yuanqu City. At this moment, the will to resist completely collapsed, and they all surrendered, ending the eight-month offensive and defensive battle of Yuanqu.
With the capture of Tian Weiye, the first general of the Mongolian army, the first phase of the Zhiguanxing war came to an end, but the war did not stop.
The iron cable pontoon bridge connecting the north and south sides of the mausoleum has been built. Heavy carriages starting from the north of Luoyang City can transport grain, ordnance and other materials directly to Yuanqu City - Yuanqu goes south to Mashou Village, which serves as the gateway to Zhiguanxing.
In the southern section, since the Spring and Autumn Period, post roads have been repaired in all dynasties, and they are even wider than the newly built post roads between the mausoleum and Mianchi.
After more than two years of rest and recuperation, the various troops and horses played an increasingly important role in the battle, and the generals received preferential treatment. The biggest casualties in the attack on Yuanqu City were mainly from the Xianden battalion composed of lowered soldiers.
Withstanding the situation, the main force finally entered the city to fight in the streets, and then they fought hard. The casualties were not large, the physical energy consumption was limited, and the ability to continue fighting was not lost.
In addition to having Su Lie and Huo Li, who were tasked with interception operations in the early stage and suffered heavy casualties, withdraw to Yuanqu and the villages at the southern entrance of Zhiguanxing to rest and defend, Wen Bo also ordered Lin Sheng to lead his troops to guard the pass south of Anyi.
Contain the enemy forces in Anyi.
In late August, Wen Bo led the four infantry brigades of Li Qi, Han Bao, He Liufeng, and Wen Yuan, as well as the cavalry brigades Cao Babu and Zhu Zhenbu, which were transferred to Luoyang in late mid-month, together with two reserve brigades and two supply brigades.
The brigade and a first-strength battalion organized by five thousand soldiers from Yuanqu were put under the control of Wen Bo, who commanded the march north.
In early September, Liang's army, totaling more than 55,000 troops, crossed Shuanggou Ridge, entered Tazigou, arrived at the hills in southern Jiangxian County, and set up camp, eyeing Jiangxian City to the north.
In the Spring and Autumn Period, the Jin Kingdom built Jiangcheng in the southeast of the Fenshui River Valley and on the northern slope of Wangwu Mountain as its capital. After the Qin Dynasty destroyed the Six Kingdoms, Jiang County was established and belonged to Hedong County. It has been more than 1,100 years.
Jiangxian County is bounded by Yicheng County to the northeast, Wenxi County to the southwest, and Quwo County to the north. The four counties together form the most open hinterland of the Fen River valley.
After capturing Jiangxian County, we climbed to the main peak of Zijin Mountain on the north side of Jiangxian County. The Fenshui River meandering from the north turned a big bend in front of us and headed west until it merged into the Yuhe River from the north of Puban County.
Jiangxian County and the nearby cities of Wenxi, Quwo and Yicheng jointly form the valley on the southeast bank of the upper reaches of Fenshui River. It is actually a valley from which one can see Pujin Ferry to the west, Taiyuan Prefecture to the north, and Shangdang through Fenshui River to the east.
Strategic location.
In order to ensure that this strategic key point was not lost, Usu Dashi personally arrived in Jiangxian County in mid-August to supervise the battle. He assembled 50,000 infantry from all directions and 40,000 cavalry in Jiangxian. Counting the soldiers and horses on both wings, the Mongolian army
In mid-to-late August, more than 120,000 elite soldiers and horses were gathered in the lower reaches of the Fen River...