In the mountains northeast of Xiongzhou, 50,000 troops of the Baoding Army are advancing along the south bank of the Baigou River toward Xiongzhou in the southwest. The location where the Baoding Army is stationed is actually in Wenzhou, south of Bazhou, which is not far away from Bazhou in a straight line.
One hundred and fifty miles away. However, there is a big river called Baigou River and a rolling mountain called Yantou Mountain between Wenzhou and Bazhou, so we need to cross the Baigou River and go around Yantou Mountain to reach it.
Bazhou.
When Bazhou was attacked by the Jurchen army, the Baoding Army was actually the quickest to get the news. They set up a lookout at the top of Yantou Mountain and set up post stations on both sides of the Baigou River when the Jurchen army attacked the city like tigers and wolves.
The news was delivered to Wenzhou, and Liu Jiayao, the commander of the Baoding Army stationed in Wenzhou, was so shocked that he almost choked to death on a piece of mutton.
After receiving the news, Qin Zhiyuan, the prefect of Wenzhou, immediately discussed with Liu Jiayao whether he should send troops to Bazhou for reinforcements, but Liu Jiayao refused. Liu Jiayao gave two reasons. First, the duty of the Baoding Army is to guard Wenzhou and Wenzhou.
In the border town defense line to the west, he cannot send troops at will until he receives an order. Secondly, although the Baoding army is very close to Bazhou, it needs to go far to rescue, which is not as good as the soldiers and horses of Xiongzhou and Ansu in the west.
The Guangxin Army and the Guangxin Army provided timely rescue. They were the ones who rescued us.
Qin Zhiyuan, the prefect of Wenzhou, had no choice. Although as the prefect of a local prefecture, he could mobilize the local garrison in emergencies, the rules of the border towns were different. From the time Yang Jun became the Privy Councilor, the mobilization of soldiers and horses in the border towns was all vested in the Privy Council.
.This is of course also for the consideration of linkage and command of border town defense to avoid chaos. But in fact, this is also part of Yang Jun's strengthening control of the army. All the powers of local state governments that would have the power to mobilize troops in an emergency are deprived.
All command of the army was returned to the Privy Council. Qin Zhiyuan wanted to rescue him, but as a prefect he only had 1,500 people from the city's government officials at his disposal, so there was nothing he could do about it.
Liu Jiayao was a man who was greedy for life and afraid of death. He just replaced Ma Yu, the former commander of the Baoding Army. Ma Yu was Yang Jun's former general. After Yang Jun was killed, Ma Yu was summoned to the capital, but he left immediately.
There was no return. The position of commander of the Baoding Army became vacant. Liu Jiayao was originally a deputy general. He thought this was an opportunity, so he asked someone to find the connection of the third commander Lu Tianci and gave him 10,000 taels of silver.
Lu Tianci later got his wish and was appointed as the commander of the Baoding Army. In fact, Liu Jiayao had a very bad reputation in the Baoding Army. He was a man who flattered his superiors and bullied his subordinates, and was despised by others. The former commander Ma Yu and the main generals in the army all
I didn't want to see him. However, it was this man who became the commander of the Baoding Army.
When he heard the news about the large-scale Jurchen invasion, Liu Jiayao cursed in his heart. He didn't want to spend the ten thousand taels of silver in vain. Since he took over as the commander, he had made a lot of money by short-changing the soldiers' pay and deducting their soldiers' pay.
However, the time was too short, less than a year, and the money had not been recovered yet. Now that the Jurchens came to attack, wouldn't it mean that the money would not be recovered, and instead, they would have to fight the Jurchens desperately? He did not want to fight the Jurchens desperately.
After Bazhou was captured, one thing he was most worried about was that the Jurchens would attack Wenzhou south, and then he would have to fight the Jurchens. But the good news is that the other side didn't even care about Wenzhou, and the Jurchens
After taking Bazhou, he rested for two days and then headed directly to Xiongzhou. This made Liu Jiayao breathe a long sigh of relief. He had already prepared that once the Jurchens attacked Wenzhou, he would immediately lead his army to retreat south and abandon Wenzhou.
Now it seems that the Jurchens are more interested in Xiongzhou. With Xiongzhou at the front, he can relax a little. Of course, he has no preparations to reinforce Xiongzhou. The Deputy Privy Envoy
Bai Qi was stationed in Xiongzhou, but this man was not favored by Lu Zhongtian, otherwise he would not have been sent to the border town from his position as the commander of the front department. If he had ordered him to rescue Xiongzhou, he would have
He will definitely not go. Liu Jiayao has already thought of the reason. He is one of the major garrison commanders in the border town. The mobilization of troops requires the order of Privy Councilor Lu Zhongtian. A mere deputy envoy has no right to mobilize his troops.
Baoding Army.
However, just a few days later, a carrier pigeon from the capital brought a personal order from Lu Zhongtian, requiring him to lead the Baoding Army to reinforce Xiongzhou within three days. After receiving the order, Liu Jiayao scolded all eight generations of Lu Zhongtian's ancestors and was furious.
They blew their beards and stared. The Lu family father and son had got so much money from them, but they had to die by themselves. They were worse than animals. But they were annoyed and they did not dare to disobey orders. Liu Jiayao had no choice but to lead his army and rushed to the west more than a hundred miles away.
Xiongzhou.
The official road from Wenzhou to Xiongzhou was built along the south bank of Baigou River. The soldiers and horses led by Liu Jiayao could only march from the official road to Xiongzhou. The large group of people and horses marched slowly on the official road, Liu Jiayao's expression on the horse
It was as miserable as mourning for a concubine. He felt that he was going to die here and that he might not have the chance to return to Wenzhou alive. He regretted not saying goodbye to several concubines in the brothel he had kept in Wenzhou when he left. He was afraid that his departure would be more unlucky than the other.
, he would never see them again, never taste their sweet little mouths, never hold their soft waists. Thinking of this, he put aside the Lu family father and son and the eight generations of Jurchen ancestors in his heart.
We scolded each other dozens of times.
The weather was extremely cold. The official road on the bank of the Baigou River was on a higher ground. Although it was blocked by Yantou Mountain on the north bank, the cold wind still penetrated into the armor. The road was muddy and difficult to travel, and the snow-covered official road was blocked by the hooves of the army's horses.
The soldiers and horses were trampled to pieces, and from time to time, chariots and horses fell and fell into the ground. The soldiers and horses were simply suffering while walking.
Finally, the official road ahead turned and entered a higher hillside. This is a small hill, and the official road passes through the hill, so the official road under your feet is full of gravel, and walking is drier. More
What’s important is that the mountains between the hills
The slope was gentle, making it a good place to camp. The sun was setting in the west, and although he could still walk for a while before it would get dark, Liu Jiayao didn't want to take a step away. He could linger for a while, but he didn't want to die so quickly. In the end, Liu Jiayao didn't want to leave.
Fortunately, before he arrived, Xiongzhou was occupied by the Jurchens, so he could return home in good faith.
"The men and horses are tired and it's getting late. We should set up camp and rest. Send the order and set up camp on the spot and start again tomorrow." Liu Jiayao passed down the order. The soldiers and horses drove into both sides of the hillside, cleared away the snow, cut grass and trees, and cleared the area.
When the open space came, soldiers and horses from each battalion set up camp on the spot one after another.
Liu Jiayao sat on a stone by the road to rest. His body was getting colder and his heart was extremely irritable. But soon, the tent was set up, the firewood was lit, the copper pot began to steam on the fire, and the guards around him began to
The dry food was baking on the fire, and the flour cakes also gave out an attractive fragrance, and Liu Jiayao felt much better. So he took off his armor, changed his cotton cloak, took off his boots, sat by the fire and started to eat by the fire.
Gradually relaxed.
Around the big tent, a simple camp was formed. Thousands of tents were spread on both sides of the hillsides, and countless bonfires were lit. The soldiers cooked hot water and baked food, preparing to eat and warm up before taking a good rest.
Late. As a troop that has not fought in a war for a long time, the daily training is also very lax. The amount of exercise many soldiers have done today is probably the most they have done in the past year, so they are all very tired. The entire military camp
A pleasant sigh filled with rest after exhaustion.
As the sun set, the weather became even colder. The soldiers hid in their tents to sleep. Only a small number of vigilant soldiers on duty on the hills on both sides huddled around with their swords in their hands, wandering around like ghosts.
The sky was getting dark, the noise in the camp was no longer loud, and snoring could be heard in many tents. At this moment, several soldiers who were huddled behind rocks on the west hillside to take shelter from the wind suddenly heard an unusual sound. They He hurriedly stretched out his head and looked around, and several arrows were shot in succession. The three soldiers were hit by arrows on their foreheads. They fell to the ground without even making a sound. Several other soldiers screamed in horror. They were just at this moment. I found that in the dim dusk at the foot of the hillside, there were countless dark shadows rushing up the hillside quickly. Those black shadows looked very eye-catching against the snow.
"There is an enemy! Enemy attack! Enemy attack!" Several soldiers shouted at the top of their lungs. At the same time, the shouts of another group of warning soldiers came from the hillside to the east.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
The piercing shouts broke the silent dusk. After hearing the news, the soldiers who were still asleep in the camp rushed out of the tent to check in panic. They first saw the figures of dozens of vigilant soldiers running down the hillside in panic. For a moment, they saw countless black spots appearing on the top of the hillside. Reflecting the gray sky, those black spots were densely packed with many people, and they were all cavalry.
"Enemy attack!" the soldiers in the camp screamed, and someone quickly blew the horn, but soon the cavalry on the hillside poured down the hillside like a flood. It was only tea time, and they were already there. He rushed to the edge of the camp and started slashing wildly.
Liu Jiayao had fallen asleep before. He was lying on the soft quilt and dreamed of the flower bed in the brothel. He was teasing and drinking with Xiao Taohong, the new star of Xiuchunlou, who he had newly fallen in love with. He was suddenly awakened by the noise and noise, and he suddenly woke up. He got up and asked loudly what happened.
The guards rushed in and reported in panic that there was an enemy attack on the camp. Liu Jiayao was almost frightened.
"Where's my armor? Where's my weapon? My boots? Get your horses ready. Let Lieutenant General Li and the others camp immediately. Damn, damn, how could this happen?" Liu Jiayao ordered in a panic, and the guards also He hurriedly found the boots that were roasting by the campfire, and the armor and knives that were thrown randomly in the corner of the tent. When he helped Liu Jiayao put on the armor, the east and west battalions had already been broken through by enemy cavalry.
Liu Jiayao got out of the tent and got on his horse. He saw the chaos in the camps on both sides. The opponent had broken through the tents on both sides and came straight to his position. The soldiers and horses of his men who rushed to fight could not resist it at all.
"Who is the opponent? How many soldiers and horses are there?" Liu Jiayao shouted.
"They are Jurchen cavalry, there are probably tens of thousands of them. Look, the mountains on both sides are covered in darkness," someone reported.
Liu Jiayao's mind was buzzing and he made a decision quickly.
"Instruct Lieutenant General Li and Lieutenant General Zhang to lead the east and west battalions to attack. Do not take a step back."
"Follow your orders!" Several guards ordered and left.
"General Liu, what about us? Where should we kill?" asked his guard camp general.
"Kill the hell! Protect me, general, and run!" Liu Jiayao turned his horse's head and galloped towards the entrance of the valley by the Baigou River. The guard camp general was stunned for a moment, and finally waved his hand, and thousands of cavalry followed Liu Jiayao He fled behind him.
The battle ended quickly. The cavalry raid and the general's immediate escape caused the Baoding Army, which was already a scumbag in terms of combat effectiveness, to be instantly defeated. The Jurchen cavalry chased and killed most of the fleeing Baoding Army. If it hadn't been for the darkness.
, if it is difficult to gallop in the snowy wilderness, the Jurchens will not give up easily. But even so, the battle ended at the first update, and the 50,000 Baoding Army was annihilated, 20,000 were annihilated, and more than 10,000 were captured, and the rest all abandoned their armor.
Escape was almost equivalent to the annihilation of the entire army. Of course, the commander of the Baoding Army, Liu Jiayao, fled with more than a thousand cavalry soldiers from the Guards Battalion. They ran so fast that the Jurchens did not even see them face to face.
.However, what Liu Jiayao didn’t know was that the Jurchen who attacked them
There are actually only 12,000 cavalrymen, and his troops are four times more than the opponent's. If he were not greedy for life and afraid of death, he could have killed his opponent and achieved great success. Without the courage to fight to the death, no matter how many troops and horses he has,
Just a lamb to the slaughter.
…
On the 12th day of the twelfth lunar month, the Guangxin Army in the northwest of Xiongzhou also encountered an ambush on its way to reinforce Xiongzhou. The commander of the Guangxin Army, Yuan Fei, was actually an extremely cautious person. He was actually very cautious during the march. After going through some complicated
When it came to the terrain, he would first send troops and horses to explore the situation before ordering the main force of his 60,000-strong army to pass through. As a veteran who had fought against enemies in the north many times in border towns, he made all the careful arrangements he could think of.
.
However, what he didn't expect was that his soldiers and horses were ambushed in an open snowfield. It was a snowfield on both sides of an artificial river called Heiludi, which was less than a day's journey from Xiongzhou.
, and it was a place with a wide field of vision. His soldiers and horses had already passed through the complex terrain of hillsides and woods, and when they came to this snowfield, he thought there would be no danger. However, when his
When the 60,000-strong army arrived at the center of the snowfield, countless enemy troops suddenly emerged from the snow from all directions. Four or five Jurchen cavalry were actually hiding in this snowfield. They were dressed in white camouflage.
They all hid in the snow and ambushed their opponents in the most unlikely place.
The Guangxin Army only had less than 5,000 cavalry, and the rest were all infantry. Under the charge and stranglehold of tens of thousands of Jurchen cavalry, after more than four hours of fighting, the commander of the Guangxin Army, Yuan Fei, was killed in the battle, and most of the 60,000 troops were killed or injured.
, the remaining troops fled. The Jurchen cavalry also suffered considerable losses. Nearly 4,000 Jurchen cavalry were killed and more than 3,000 horses were lost. If Yuan Fei was not beaten to death by a Jurchen general with a mace, the Guangxin Army
Their morale was shattered, and they were afraid that the Jurchen soldiers and horses would suffer even more losses in the face of the Guangxin Army who fought bravely and to the death.
The Yongning Army south of Xiongzhou reinforced Xiongzhou from south to north. It stands to reason that the Yongning Army was in the south of Xiongzhou. Although the reinforcement route was not close, the march should be safe. However, they were attacked by people returning from Xinle County.
The returning Yalu Buhua and Hulu's 50,000 Liao cavalry attacked. This time it was not an ambush, but an honest attack. The two sides had a face-to-face confrontation in the wilderness around Xinqiao Town. The strength of both sides was actually
Similarly, the Yongning Army also had 20,000 cavalry and more than 30,000 infantry, and its commander Wang Peng was also a strong general. The two sides engaged in a heart-warming battle that tested the combat effectiveness of both sides.
But I don't know that although the general is brave, the combat effectiveness of the soldiers is too different. Many of the elite soldiers were deployed as early as when Yang Jun attacked Liao. The battle lasted for a whole day, and the Yongning army was finally defeated. Yongning
The army commander Wang Peng died on the battlefield, and the entire army of 20,000 cavalry was wiped out. The infantry suffered tens of thousands casualties, and the rest fled shortly after the battle began. Wang Peng actually led the 20,000 cavalry and part of the infantry and women who still had combat effectiveness.
The Jurchens fought with 50,000 cavalry. Even so, the Jurchens also suffered over 10,000 casualties. This battle was already the deadliest battle since the Jurchens went south to attack the Zhou Dynasty.
In just half a month, the Jurchens' plan to siege the city and provide reinforcements was a great success. Three reinforcement armies were attacked by the Jurchens respectively, causing heavy losses. The 150,000 reinforcements that could have been reinforced were eaten by the Jurchens in this way.
Eighty or ninety thousand people were lost, and the rest had no fighting power after being defeated. Although the Jurchen army also paid a price, with more than 20,000 soldiers and horses killed and wounded. But compared with the results of the battle, it was already a huge success.
The Ansu and Shun'an armies originally wanted to reinforce Xiongzhou, but after their brothers and horses were ambushed and attacked by the Jurchen army one after another, they no longer dared to send reinforcements easily. Wanyan Agu wanted this effect.
, the two armies have nearly 80,000 troops. If reinforcements arrive, the situation will still be difficult. Since the other side is frightened, the goal has been achieved. From now on, they can attack Xiongzhou with peace of mind.
On the 19th day of the twelfth lunar month, the siege of Xiongzhou City began. The 220,000 Jurchen army began a fierce attack on Xiongzhou City, which was trapped in an isolated city. With the assistance of hundreds of catapults and dozens of Yunxiao siege vehicles.
Next, the siege began vigorously.
Bai Qi was sitting in command in the city. He had 100,000 men under his command, and he was determined to defend Xiongzhou. He believed that even if no reinforcements arrived, the other party would be wishful thinking in conquering Xiongzhou. The opponent's endless attack on the city,
Bai Qi commanded and dispatched a well-organized defense. In the first three days of the siege, the Jurchens did not succeed. However, when the city was isolated from the enemy and there was no way to survive, Bai Qi's generals and soldiers were not as anxious as Bai Qi.
Under the threat of death, the morale of the military began to waver.
On the third day, the city began to run out of supplies. The city defense supplies also ran out. More than half of the 100,000 soldiers and horses were casualties. Everyone was exhausted and dying under the Jurchens' attacks day and night. People began to despair.
On the seventh day, the Jurchens attacked the city wall. The moment the opponent climbed onto the city wall, their tensed nerves were broken. The Zhou garrison suddenly collapsed and collapsed. The Jurchens deliberately left the south gate without deploying troops.
Siege, the method of encircling three buildings is a kind of psychological warfare that makes the defenders wander between fighting and escaping. They chose to escape.
On the 26th of the twelfth lunar month, the Jurchen army led by Wanyan Agu finally took the hard nut of Xiongzhou after suffering nearly 60,000 casualties. It completely cut off the supply transit of other soldiers and horses in the northeastern town of Dazhou.
Hub. Although an unimaginable and almost unacceptable price was paid, after the victory of this battle, 80% of the nearly 400,000 troops of the Northeastern Zhou Dynasty defenders had been wiped out. There were no more decent Zhou Dynasty troops on the road leading to the capital of the Zhou Dynasty.
