Chapter 371: Exploration to stop the horse, farewell to the dream of Yangzhou
On both sides of the Baigou River, mist rose.
In this early spring, the river was frozen solid, and no one knew how many spies were scattered on both sides.
Yang Lin's persistence in intelligence made Tong Guan admire him. After all, he was a scholar and was meticulous in his work.
In the Baigou River area, there were countless spies from the Long Live Camp, and Yang Lin openly informed Tong Guan of their locations to avoid accidental injuries.
Tong Guan's heart was agitated and he rode on horseback, unaware of his whereabouts. The Liao people had been informed of his whereabouts.
The far-reaching blocking horses are scouts in the Khitan military system. Whenever the Liao army goes out for an expedition, the troops and horses must be divided into three parts: the escort army, the vanguard army and the far-reaching blocking horses, each led by a general.
Among them, dozens to 10,000 brave men were selected to form an expedition force to go deep into enemy areas and find out the strength of the enemy's troops to ensure the smooth advancement of the army.
The area around the Baigou River is a rolling hilly area, making it easy to hide one's whereabouts. Tong Guan did not doubt that it was there. It was impossible to ambush in advance in such terrain.
Hundreds of horsemen guarding Tong Guan were passing by in a mighty manner, when suddenly a piercing scream came from the distance.
Everyone quickly reined in their horses and looked from a distance, but it turned out to be a majestic white eagle flying into the sky.
A young general's face turned serious and he stepped forward and said: "Father, there is no reason for this place. How can there be a white eagle soaring into the sky? It is not a good sign. And Yang Lin is so cunning, it is better not to go."
Tong Guan twisted his beard and said with a smile: "It is a God-given opportunity to take Youyan. How can we look forward and backward?"
Although Yang Lin is cunning and domineering in the court, bullying superiors and concealing subordinates, he only relies on His Majesty's favor. So he dares to harm others, but he dare not harm a certain boy. Hey, this kid just entered Bianliang, and he is still a certain boy.
Introduce him to the officials and know his name."
After everyone heard this, they felt a little calmer, Tong Guan gave an order, and everyone continued to move forward on horseback.
The official road leading directly to Baigou River winds in the hills and is hidden from view. The trees on the mountains are densely covered with shadows. The Song and Liao Dynasties had been at odds for more than a hundred years. On the Hebei front line, except for a few roads, there were no trees in other places.
The purpose of cutting down the rivers and allowing them to overflow was to prevent the Liao cavalry from rushing forward.
This is the nearest path to Hejian Mansion. It was opened by Yang Lin after he arrived.
A road was cut by Yang Lin along the Hedong River, but it has just begun here. In the surrounding towering trees that have not yet been cut down, countless elite expeditionary horses are lurking.
They held bows and arrows and stared closely at this narrow path. They came over last night, waiting for an opportunity to move.
Although I don't know how the generals above knew that someone was passing by today, obeying orders is a characteristic of distant scouts. These scouts would risk their lives to come to the enemy's rear at every turn, and no one would ever investigate the orders they received.
There were also many people holding dark gun barrels on the trees, similar to the rocket launchers of later generations.
The Song Dynasty paid more attention to firearms. When the Northern Song Dynasty was just established, the authorities set up a "gunpowder factory", and Kaifeng Prefecture was an important town for firearms manufacturing. There are many important military towns, such as Jiankang Prefecture on Jiangnan East Road, Jiangling Prefecture on Jinghu North Road, etc.
, all have such production factories. The cost is very huge. According to the "Song Huiyao·Shihuo" record, in order to produce gunpowder, during the reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty, the government "recruited 500,000 kilograms of sulfur from the Japanese market at one time."
, "Every one hundred thousand catties is a line", escorted from Mingzhou to Kaifeng Prefecture.
This output was quite astonishing in ancient times, dozens of times greater than that of the Manchu Qing Dynasty six hundred years later.
The gunpowder weapons of the Song Dynasty can be roughly divided into three categories: incendiary, explosive and tubular firearms. The first two categories need to be combined with projectile crossbows or trebuchets, and they can be used to project or directly burn or explode.
Enemies. Tubular firearms are closer to modern firearms.
During the reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty, in order to defend Xizhou and Hezhou, the Song court sent a large number of firearms including 100,000 divine arm rockets, 20,000 gunpowder bows and arrows, and 2,000 gunpowder artillery arrows from Kaifeng Mansion at one time, accounting for all the bows.
More than 10% of the crossbow arrows.
Although the Song Dynasty made every effort to prevent firearms from falling into the hands of the opposing northern ethnic minority regimes, and adopted technological blockades and monopolization of raw materials: sulfur and flame salt, it still could not prevent the Khitan, Xixia, Jin and Mongolia from mastering firearm technology.
.
Daliao also stole the "Fireball Gunpowder Recipe Tribulus Terrestris Fireball Gunpowder Recipe Poison Smoke Ball Gunpowder Recipe" from the Song Dynasty early.
The "Poison Smoke Ball" explodes and the poison inside the ball smokes, which acts like a poison gas bomb; the "Caltrop Fireball" uses the powerful thrust of the explosion to scatter the iron caltrops in the ball to kill the enemy; as for the "Artillery Gunpowder Method"
"The main reason is the combustion effect after the explosion.
What a coincidence that the entire Khitan firearms production was completed in Yanjing.
These gunpowder and firearms naturally belonged to Yelu Chun.
There was a rapid sound of horse hooves, and the Khitans on the trees became nervous, waiting for the prey to approach this ambush place.
They ignored the people and horses in front of them and just stared at the team, searching for their prey.
Finally, Tong Guan, who was surrounded by a group of people, arrived. His clothes were more noticeable. These Khitan people from far away from Yan were very familiar with the clothes of generals in the Song Dynasty. Tong Guan was wearing a robe given by the emperor.
More noble.
As they approached, the arrows rained down. Tong Guan and his soldiers could only hear the sound of trembling bowstrings as the arrows whizzed towards their own people.
Poisonous smoke filled the air, flames spread everywhere, and heat filled the sky. Shooting at such a close range maximized the power of the firearm, and its main function was to disturb the war horses.
Dozens of fire tubes have fallen from the trees to the ground. Fireworks are still shooting randomly, sparks are flying, the horses are startled, and there is a continuous neighing sound. Everyone has drawn their weapons, and the sound of breaking through the air is still making noises.
He was shocked to see that there were already seven or eight feather arrows, carrying strong wind and shooting straight towards his face!
"Protect Father!"
He never thought that he would be ambushed here, surrounded by scouts sent by Yang Lin. How could they not notice the ambush of so many people?
It's Yang Wenyuan, the little thief who wants to kill someone! This is the last thought of a generation of eunuchs when they are about to die. In the flash of lightning, he suddenly thought of Yangzhou Mansion five years ago, leaning on the red and green trees, enjoying life and wealth. The three of them talked about their life ambitions,
Introduce him as a close friend and make a friend who has been forgotten for many years.
The sharp arrow passed through Tong Guan's body, and with great force, he was shot off his horse. He was bleeding profusely, and he was standing straight up, obviously he could not die anymore.
The soldiers of the Shengjie Army looked like crazy demons. In their eagerness, they couldn't even reach the enemy in the tree. When everyone saw that Tong Guan was dead, and the enemy was out of their reach, these soldiers of the Shengjie Army couldn't even reach them.
The soldiers, with red eyes, dismounted to protect Tong Guan's body and wanted to drag him out.
Yuan Lanzi was not sure whether Tong Guan was dead, so he left others alone and focused on shooting these personal guards and the Tong Guan they were protecting.
These young bodyguards, regardless of the rain of arrows, tried their best to get close to Tong Guan's body and protected Tong Guan's body with their bodies.
One after another, like a moth rushing to a flame, there is no hesitation.
The Khitan people on the tree were moved by this. Their character was to shoot the leading general to death. As for the others, it didn't matter.
The rain of arrows stopped, allowing these personal guards to escort Tong Guan's body out. A white eagle circled over the dense forest.
One day later, the whole city of Hejian Mansion was filled with plain silk.
Several young generals from the Shengjie Army carried Tong Guan's coffin into the city, while Yang Lin was waiting at the door.
"Brother Tong Guan!"
The roar made everyone look sideways in fright, and they saw Yang Shaozai holding up his robe and rushing forward with tears streaming down his face.