Snowflakes fell, covering the earth with a light layer of white.
This is the first snow of the year. It can’t wait to arrive as early as late autumn, and it also announces in advance that this year’s winter will be far colder than previous years.
In recent years, one winter has been as cold as the other. Due to the wind, snowflakes blew under the corridor. Two guards immediately came over and held up a big umbrella for Yang Lin.
Yang Lin waved his hand and stood in the wind, feeling the cold wind and snow.
"The Baiyu River area is ten times colder than here. We need to prepare enough cotton clothes for hundreds of thousands of people." Yang Lin sighed and cursed: "How come the Tatars can't freeze to death."
Behind him, young general Liu Qi was preparing to rush for reinforcements from the defense line in Hebei. He was passing by to pay homage to Yang Lin.
After hearing this, Liu Qi asked: "Young Master, the Baiyu River freezes in winter, why don't you take advantage of the situation to cover it up?"
"In a field battle with the Jurchen Tatars in the ice and snow? I'm afraid you don't know how the 700,000-strong Liao army was defeated by 20,000 people."
Han Leng is a victorious general whose achievements are astonishingly magnificent. He once defeated two arrogant European strongmen.
Yang Lin didn't want to be like them. He could spend it now and fight again after winter passed. It wouldn't be too late.
The Jurchens were cut off from the grasslands, there were no Mongolian warriors, and Youyan was lost. There would be no northern Han people to work for them. The Jin Kingdom established by the Jurchens was much weaker than in history.
As long as I continue to oppress their living environment, sooner or later, I will drive them back to their nest and then go straight to Huanglong.
The only worry is that the Tatars will not live well. After all, this severe cold is nothing to the Jurchen warriors. They have grown up in this environment since childhood.
What the Song Army has to do now is to hold on to the current defense line and lock them in a cage.
"How can we collect some charcoal and send it to the military camp to help them survive the cold winter?" Yang Lin said worriedly.
Liu Qi was a little startled, and then said with a smile: "Young Master still doesn't know? The military camp is not burning charcoal now, but using coal for heating."
"Someone in Bianliang made a stove and connected a chimney to discharge the thick smoke, or simply built a chimney with mud. Nowadays, several coal mines have been mined in Youyan area, at the southern foot of Yanshan Mountain, and they are continuously transported to
On the Great Wall.”
Yang Lin has been busy rebuilding after the earthquake these days. He did not expect that the military has made such progress.
It seems that folk technology is indeed gradually improving. If you think about it carefully, this is an inevitable phenomenon. You have laid such a good foundation, even if it is a piece of saline-alkali land, it should take root and sprout, and you will see some harvest.
If coal is utilized, it will lead to many technological advances. I heard that someone in Bianliang has already made a steam pumping machine.
In the sky in front of him, the snowflakes were getting bigger and bigger, and Yang Lin walked back to the room.
Liu Qi followed closely, and Yang Lin was in a much better mood than before. He smiled and said: "When you arrive at Baiyu River, tell Xi Yan that you must not take any further steps before the snow melts next year. Holding it is victory. If you want to hold the Baiyu River defense line
, I think the best way is to use the old fortress tactics of the Western Army. If one is not enough, we will build two; if two are not enough, we will build a hundred."
Xixia just forgot about this tactic. Yang Lin really liked this tactic. He worked step by step and strived for victory steadily. Even if the battle failed, it would not change the tendency of cannibalizing the opponent a little bit.
The Song Dynasty had a vast territory and a population of more than 100 million. It could be said to be unique in this era.
Why should I risk all my wealth to gamble with you on the battlefield? I will just wear you down little by little. No one can fight a protracted war with the Han people——
In the Baiyu River area, the military camps are connected together, facing the Tatars across the river.
After a series of defeats and setbacks, the arrogant and arrogant Jurchens began to unite a little, but of course they were certainly not as sincere as they were when they launched an army to conquer the Liao Dynasty.
Zong Han's death represented the collapse of a large interest group in the Jin Kingdom and ushered in a re-division of this power.
As Zong Han's ally, Wanyan Zongwang benefited the most this time, as many of Zong Han's old men defected to his command.
Among them, Wanyan Loushi was the most important. Although he was defeated and retreated to Baiyu River, Aguda was not punished.
Everyone knows that it was the collapse of Mongolia that led to Lou Shi's defeat. Before that, he had won three battles and advanced the battle line to Yunnei.
There are many strong fortresses, and there is no need for Yang Lin to order them. The old Western Army knew that to deal with aliens, especially such ferocious aliens, they must build fortresses.
Inside the city wall, which has a rammed earth base and stone shielding base, thick black smoke rises from each chimney.
The soldiers hid in the walled city and gathered around the stove to keep warm. As long as the Tatars did not attack, they would huddle in the warm rooms and never leave the house except for convenience.
Each fortress is full of various buildings, either to station troops or to store grain, grass and military supplies.
If the Tatars come to attack, several neighboring cities and villages will act as horns and support each other, and the Tatars will not be able to gain any advantage at all.
In this stalemate, the new troops from the Beijing camp arrived at the Baiyu River. Yao Pingzhong and others were a little uneasy, fearing that these people were increasing their troops to allow themselves to attack.
Attacking now would be fulfilling the Tatars' wishes. They dreamed of the Song army walking out of the walled city and fighting with them in the field to determine the outcome. That would be equivalent to destroying one's own strength.
When Liu Qi entered the camp, he first greeted several familiar generals and assistants, and then came to Yao Pingzhong's tent amidst everyone's inquiries.
Yao Pingzhong raised his head, sighed, and asked: "Commander Liu has come a long way to work hard, please take a seat quickly."
Liu Qi cupped his fists and said, "General Liu Qi has met Commander Yao. When he came here, he brought the military order from Shao Zai."
The generals in the tent were a little nervous at the mention of this, and Liu Qi said: "The Young Master said, let us build more military forts, forts, and cities, and then stick to the Baiyu River. If we hold this place until the snow melts, it will be a great victory.
"
The generals in the tent let out a long sigh of relief and looked a little happy. This was the order they wanted to hear most.
Yao Pingzhong said: "It is not difficult to defend the Baiyu River, because the Tatars also know that breaking through the Baiyu River is useless. They still need to attack Juyong Pass. Therefore, the main force of the Tatars has been attacking the Great Wall defense line. If Han Shizhong defends it,
If you can hold on, let alone wait until the snow melts, even if you hold on for three to five years, it won't be a problem."
As he said, the Great Wall defense line is the most difficult. Fortunately, this area has been managed by Han Shizhong for many years, and all kinds of fortifications, hidden posts, and buildings are available.
And with the return of the Han people in the north, the war became easier and easier to fight. Although the Tatars continued their offensives, they never broke through the Great Wall again.
Zong Han had been dead for half a year at this time, and without the Tatars saying they wanted to avenge him, the mentality of both the enemy and ourselves was changing.